Hemp seeds are perhaps the purest, most nutritionally dense food on our
planet. They are rich in vitamins and minerals, and are also the only
edible seeds with gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which is an essential
fatty acid. In fact, its essential fatty acid ratio is absolutely
perfect for our bodies. Many people think that it is impossible to be
a vegan because protein comes from animal products such as meat and
cheese. In actual fact, hemp seeds are a highly nutritious source of
protein that is easily digested by the body in its natural raw state.
Some of the benefits of regularly including this potent and delicious super food in your diet are:
*
Heart Health and Lowered Blood Pressure - High blood pressure is a sign
that the heart is being overworked from having to constantly force
blood through sluggish blood vessels. Clinical studies indicate that
hemp products reduce inflammation and improve circulation, which means
that the blood can flow and take the pressure off the heart.
The Many Environmental and Health Benefits of Hemp
Environmental and Economic Benefits of Hemp Hemp is the same plant as
marijuana, its scientific name is "cannabis sativa." For
thousands of years hemp was used to make dozens of
commercial products like paper, rope, canvas, and textiles.
In fact, the very name "canvas" comes from the Dutch word
meaning cannabis, which is marijuana. That's correct, real
canvas is made from marijuana! Many years ago
hemp/marijuana was unjustly banned. However, hemp has
recently been rediscoverd as a plant that has enormous
environmental, economic, and commercial potential. What
follows are some fascinating facts about hemp/marijuana -
facts that will shock most people:
This is what wikipedia.org had to say In modern times hemp is used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, clothing, biodegradable plastics, construction (as with Hempcrete
and insulation), body products, health food and bio-fuel. Hemp is thus
legally grown in many countries across the world including Spain, China,
Japan, Korea, France, North Africa and Ireland. Although hemp is
commonly associated with marijuana (hemp's THC-rich cousin), since 2007 the commercial success of hemp food products has grown considerably. Hemp is one of the faster growing biomasses known, producing up to 25 tonnes of dry matter per hectare per year.
A typical average yield in large scale modern agriculture is about
2.5–3.5 t/ac (air dry stem yields of dry, retted stalks per acre at 12%
moisture). Approximately one tonne of bast fiber and 2–3 tonnes of core
material can be decorticated from 3–4 tonnes of good quality, dry retted
straw. to learn more Click Here
I want to thank YOUTUBE and http://en.wikipedia.org/ making this happen
for me I love connecting the two together this way you can find out
about the song and the person as you listen to the music. Also if you do
not see a band that you would like to read about stroll down to the
bottom and where it says just ask john post your request thank you
"Poker Face"
Single by Lady Gaga
from the album The Fame
Released September 23, 2008
Format CD single, digital download, 7" vinyl
Recorded 2008; Record Plant Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Genre Electropop, dance-pop
Length 3:58
Label Streamline, Kon Live, Cherrytree, Interscope
Writer(s) Stefani Germanotta, Nadir Khayat
Producer RedOne
Lady Gaga singles chronology
"Just Dance"
(2008) "Poker Face"
(2008) "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)"
(2009)
Music video
Poker Face
at Youtube.com
The Fame track listing
[show]14 tracks
"Poker Face" is a song by American recording artist and songwriter Lady Gaga from her debut album, The Fame. Produced by RedOne, it was released as the album's second single in late 2008 for some markets and in early 2009 for the rest of the world. The song is an uptempo electropop and dance-pop song in the key of G# minor, following in the footsteps of her previous single "Just Dance" but with a darker musical tone. The main idea behind the song is bisexuality and was a tribute by Gaga to her rock n' roll boyfriends. Lyrically, "Poker Face" is about a woman engaged in the practice of cockteasing.
"Poker Face" was well received by most critics, who praised the robotic hook and the chorus. The song attained worldwide success, topping the charts in twenty countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and many European countries. "Poker Face" is also the most downloaded song in the British chart history. It is among the best-selling singles of all time, having sold over 12 million copies. The accompanying music video for the song portrays Gaga singing it in various costumes and playing strip poker in a getaway villa.
Gaga performed the song for the eighth season of the television show American Idol as well as the Fame Ball and Monster Ball tours. The live performances included an electronic version and an acoustic version, which she played on the piano. It was nominated for both Song of the Year and Record of the Year at the 52nd Grammy Awards, and won the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.[4] Rolling Stone ranked it number ninety-six on their list of 100 Best Songs of the 2000s decade. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 103 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
"Poker Face" was written by Lady Gaga and RedOne, while the music has been produced by RedOne. Gaga stated in an interview that "Poker Face" was written by her as a pop song and was a tribute to her "rock 'n' roll boyfriends." She also stated that the main idea behind the song was sex and gambling. In an interview with UK's Daily Star, Gaga noted of the song, "It's about a lot of different things. I gamble but I’ve also dated a lot of guys who are really into sex and booze and gambling, so I wanted to write a record my boyfriends would like too." In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, when asked about the meaning of the line "bluffin' with my muffin", Gaga explained that it really was a metaphor for her vulva.
"Obviously, it's my pussy's poker face! I took that line from another song I wrote but never released, called 'Blueberry Kisses.' It was about a girl singing to her boyfriend about how she wants him to go down on her, and I used the lyric. [Gaga sings] 'Blueberry kisses, the muffin man misses them kisses'."
During her Fame Ball Tour performance at Palm Springs, California, on April 11, 2009, Gaga explained to the crowd the true meaning behind the term "Poker Face" used in the song. She suggested that the song dealt with her personal experience with bisexuality. The idea behind the song was to be with a man but fantasizing about a woman, hence the man in the song needs to read her "Poker Face" to understand what is going through her mind. The idea was taken from AC/DC's song "The Jack" off their High Voltage release.
Gaga performing "Poker Face" on The Monster Ball Tour, wearing a dress made of guns
Priya Elan from The Times, in a review for The Fame, said that "Poker Face" was one of the finest moments of the album with its "love-as-card-game cheek." BBC reviewed the "strut-tastic" single as "expressing her overwhelming desire for celebrity and fortune." Bill Lamb of About.com said, "'Poker Face' works well on pop radio, but with slight mixing alterations it would be equally at home in a dark, sweaty, late night party atmosphere. She has refreshed the pop world in the US and UK at one of the slowest times of the year. 'Poker Face' keeps the motors humming as everyone waits for the next step forward from Lady Gaga." Chris Williams of Billboard also gave a positive review of the song saying, "Once again, hooks are aplenty, with '80s-inspired synthesizers, robotic verses and a warm, sunny hook in the chorus, which is even more addictive than the previous single ('Just Dance')...With a focused artistic vision, a swagger in her interview style and above all, a fantastic collection of diverse pop nuggets, Gaga is playing her cards right—and "Poker" is another obvious ace."
Slant Magazine music reviewer Sal Cinquemani included "Poker Face" among the songs that work in The Fame, namely tracks like "Starstruck," "Paper Gangsta" and "Summerboy". Matthew Chisling from Allmusic called the song "infectious" and along with the title track "The Fame", complimented them for "rejuvenating the vibe on the album for its second half." Andy Downing from The Chicago Tribune called the song "jaunty" while reviewing Gaga's Fame Ball tour. Evan Sawdey from PopMatters.com felt that "Poker Face" along with the track "Paparazzi", duplicate much of the same "glitzy territory that previous single 'Just Dance' had covered, but never once does it feel like Gaga is deliberately repeating herself."Rolling Stone in a review for The Fame Ball Tour compared the live acoustic "bluesy" version of "Poker Face" with the music of singer Amy Winehouse. Erika Hobert from the New Times Broward-Palm Beach newspaper called the song "trashtastic Europop." The song was nominated for Grammy Awards in the categories for Song of The Year, Record of The Year, and Best Dance Recording, ultimately winning the last of these.
To finish reading article in its entirety CLICK HERE
Finding the best job that suits your personality and your lifestyle is never easy. It’s actually a full time job itself. To better understand your needs and increase your chance of succeeding in your chosen field, you need to conduct a personal evaluation.
It is normal for every person to strive for career advancement and growth. It makes them feel that all of their hard work has paid off and that a promotion is, indeed, the best reward they can get.
However, for some whose luck seems to be so illusive, they have to find their own growth somewhere else. That is why most of them opted for executive job searches, where they hope that someday they would be lucky enough to find the executive job that they have long been dreaming for.
But is it really just luck? Or are there some factors that need to be considered when searching for that executive job of their dreams?
Landing a good executive job is not dependent on luck. For people who wish to learn some tips regarding executive job searches, here are some pointers on how to get that dream job:
Lifehouse is an American rock band from Los Angeles comprising Jason Wade (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Rick Woolstenhulme, Jr. (drums, percussion), Bryce Soderberg (bass guitar, back-up vocals) and Ben Carey (lead guitar).
The band came to mainstream prominent in 2001 with the hit single "Hanging by a Moment" from their début studio album, No Name Face. Although the song peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, the single won a Billboard Music Award for Hot 100 Single of the Year, having spent twenty weeks in the top 10 and more than a year on the charts.
In 2002, Lifehouse released their follow-up album Stanley Climbfall. Since then, they have released three more albums: the eponymous Lifehouse in 2005, Who We Are in 2007, and Smoke & Mirrors in 2010. These albums have spawned the singles "You and Me", "First Time", and "Whatever It Takes", which have all been top 40 hits in the US.[citation needed]
To date, Lifehouse has sold over 15 million singles and albums worldwide, approximately 5 million of which are albums
History
1996–2000: Blyss and formation of Lifehouse
After having moved to Los Angeles in 1995, 15-year-old Jason Wade, who had been writing songs since his parents' divorce as a coping mechanism, met bassist Sergio Andrade, his next-door neighbour and future bandmate and founding member of Lifehouse.
In 1996, Wade, Andrande, and Jon "Diff" Palmer formed "Blyss", the forerunner of Lifehouse, and began to play live shows at high schools and colleges to build up a reputation. Later, Collin Hayden and Aaron Lord were added to the band.
Soon thereafter, word-of-mouth reached producer Ron Aniello, who introduced the band to Jude Cole, who in turn introduce them to DreamWorks Records principal Michael Ostin.
In 1998, DreamWorks Records financially backed the recording of Blyss's first demos, which were produced by Aniello. Some of these recordings would form the 1999 EP Diff's Lucky Day, which would be sold at live concerts or distributed among friends and music industry contacts.
In 2000, Blyss changed its name to "Lifehouse". Frontman Jason Wade said on their choosing the band name, "It's about what we do as a band and for me personally. Most of this record is about my life and about life's circumstances. Not only my life, but other peoples' lives. We thought Lifehouse was a good name for it."
2000: No Name Face
In 2000, Lifehouse entered the recording studio to record their debut major label release, with twelve of the fifteen Diff's Lucky Day session demos being re-recorded, remixed, and released as No Name Face; five of the twelve tracks from Diff's Lucky Day would be re-released on No Name Face.
By the release date of Lifehouse's début album, October 31, 2000, Palmer had left the band, and Wade and Andrade were the only remaining founding members.
Soon after recording No Name Face, Wade and Andrade met Rick Woolstenhulme, who joined as the band's full-time drummer after an audition after having learnt that Lifehouse needed a drummer. At the time, Woolstenhulme would rehearse in an adjacent room to Lifehouse and frequently he and Wade would pass each other without meeting the other.
No Name Face met significant commercial success and established the band, and eventually would sell in excess of 4 million copies worldwide. This was in part due to the success of "Hanging by a Moment", Lifehouse's first commercial single and a song that Wade had written on the spur of the moment, and the charisma and talent of Wade;
DreamWork Record's focus was, as such, primarily on frontman Jason Wade. "Hanging by a Moment" was the third song in chart history to be named the "No. 1 Song of the Year" on the Billboard Hot 100 despite not having reached No. 1 on any weekly Billboard Hot 100 survey (after Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs' "Wooly Bully" in 1965 and Faith Hill's "Breathe" in 2000). The second single from the album, "Sick Cycle Carousel", was not as commercially successful as "Hanging by a Moment", and peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart; and, the third and final single was "Breathing", a reworking of a song that was featured on Diff's Lucky Day.
The song "Everything" was the first of many songs by Lifehouse that would be featured in the future hit WB drama Smallville, in the series pilot and first-season finale episodes, and would be featured on the series' first soundtrack, Smallville: The Talon Mix. Seven of the band's songs would be featured in episodes of the series' first four seasons, and the band itself would perform live at the Smallville prom at the end of the fourth-season episode "Spirit". One song, "You and Me" would be released on the series' second soundtrack, Smallville: The Metropolis Mix, in an extended form, subtitled the "Wedding Version" ("You and Me (Wedding Version). The song "Everything" was also used in the series' 200th episode, titled "Homecoming", in the show's 10th and final season, as an homage to the series pilot and first-season finale episodes.
The song "Somewhere in Between" also from No Name Face featured in the first-season episode of Falcon Beach, titled "The Blame Game".
2002–05: Stanley Climbfall
Main article: Stanley Climbfall
Shortly after a long tour for No Name Face, Lifehouse reentered the studio to cut their second album, Stanley Climbfall. The album's initial success was short-lived and its singles, "Spin" and "Take Me Away", were vastly overshadowed by the success of the first album. Shortly after the album debuted, Rick's brother Sean Woolstenhulme (of The Calling) officially became the fourth member of the band in June 2002. He had previously toured with Lifehouse.
In April 2004, Sergio Andrade confirmed that he had decided to leave the band to pursue individual projects. Shortly after his departure, Sean also left the band to pursue other musical projects such as Abandoned Pools and The Jimmy Chamberlin Complex.
[edit]2005–07: Lifehouse
Main article: Lifehouse (album)
Jason Wade and Rick Woolstenhulme remained the active members of Lifehouse. In late 2004, Bryce Soderberg (previously of AM Radio) signed on as Lifehouse's new bassist. On July 6, 2004, they went to Maryland to begin work on their eponymous third album. Lifehouse was released on March 22, 2005 and was produced by John Alagia.
The album's first single, "You and Me", was released for airplay on January 18, 2005. It was written several years prior and was originally performed by Jason Wade in the 2000 independent film All Over Again. The song was a success and stayed on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for 62 weeks (the fifth longest-charted in history), peaking at No. 5. The song also appears on the soundtrack to Smallville. One episode, "Spirit", featured the band actually performing it and three other songs from the album ("Come Back Down", "Blind", and "Undone") on the show. The song has also appeared on Cold Case, Boston Legal, Gavin & Stacey, Everwood, Grey's Anatomy, The 4400 and Medium. The song "All In All" was featured in Scrubs.
The music video for the album's second single, "Blind", was released October 19, 2005. It stars Tina Majorino and features several other up-and-coming young actors such as Sarch McClain, Stephen Cheung, Christopher Thien Duc Van and Andy Walters.
In 2006, the song 'Good Enough' was featured in the Disney film 'The Wild' and was repeated over the end credits.
2007–09: Who We Are
Main article: Who We Are (Lifehouse album)
Their fourth album, entitled Who We Are, was released on June 19, 2007. The album features Wade, Woolstenhulme and Soderberg as its lineup, and "rocks a little harder" than their previous album, according to the band The album was recorded in Kiefer Sutherland and Jude Cole's recording studio, Ironworks Studios, in Los Angeles. The album's release was followed by a tour with The Goo Goo Dolls and Colbie Caillat, which began June 15 at the Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, AZ, after which the band embarked on a "worldwide headlining tour".
The album's first single was "First Time", released on April 24, 2007. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 48 in May and peaked at No. 3 on the Hot Adult Top 40 Charts.
The album's second single, "Whatever It Takes", was released to radio stations on October 29, 2007. The song's music video premiered on Yahoo Music on November 16, 2007.
"Broken", the album's third single, has appeared on several TV series, including Grey's Anatomy ("Lay Your Hands On Me"), Criminal Minds ("In Name and Blood"), One Tree Hill, One Life To Live and The Hills. Most recently, it was featured in the motion picture soundtrack The Time Traveler's Wife. So far, it has peaked at No. 83 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video for "Broken" officially debuted on VH1's Top 20 Countdown on September 20, 2008.
The song "Who We Are" was used in an advertisement on A&E to promote their original programming.[citation needed]
Lifehouse held a contest to make a video for the song "Make Me Over".[21] The band gave 60 USC School of Cinematic Arts graduate students a chance to shoot the video for their new single. The winning video premiered at a gala event on December 5, 2008 at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, CA.
As of October 2008, the album had been certified gold
On April 11, 2009, the band announced that Ben Carey was an official member of the band. They said that they had been "a four piece for some time" and that Ben is "family to us". Ben had been touring with the band since 2004.
2009–2010: Smoke & Mirrors
Main article: Smoke & Mirrors (Lifehouse album)
Lifehouse announced in August 2008 that they would be starting on their fifth album, which was tentatively scheduled for a late 2009 release. The band entered the studio on November 12, 2008 to begin working on the project. They stated in an interview at ESPN Magazine's NEXT Party during Super Bowl XLIII that the album should be released in late 2009. Lifehouse revealed during their 2009 tour that the album would also include the band's previously released single "From Where You Are." It was announced on October 15 that the new album would be called Smoke & Mirrors and would be released on December 8, 2009. However, on November 13, 2009, the band stated on its web page that it would now be released on February 2, 2010.
The first single was "Halfway Gone," which was released on October 27, 2009. The music video premiered on the VH1 Top 20 on VH1.com at the end of November The album was released in a standard, deluxe, and two-disc deluxe edition. On December 22, Tommy2.net reported that the album had been pushed back once again, this time to February 23, 2010. The album was then delayed again, but was released on March 2, 2010.
The album debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 with 54,203 sold. This marked the highest chart debut of their ten year career, beating out first week chart position for their 2002 sophomore set Stanley Climbfall, which debuted at No. 7.
2011–present
In August 2011, Lifehouse announced on their official Facebook page that they were working on their sixth studio album.
I want to thank YOUTUBE and http://en.wikipedia.org/ making this happen for me I love connecting the two together this way you can find out about the song and the person as you listen to the music,.Also if you do not see a band that you would like to read about stroll down to the bottom and where it says just ask john post your request thank you
The Outfield
Tony Lewis Of "The Outfield" 1986 - The Stone Balloon - Newark, DE - Photo By Sam Cali
Background information
OriginLondon, England, UK
GenresPop rock, power pop
Years active1984–present
LabelsColumbia, MCA, Sidewinder
Websitewww.theoutfield.com
Members
Tony Lewis
John Spinks
Alan Jackman
Past members
Simon Dawson
The Outfield are an English pop rock/power pop power trio based in London, England. The Outfield are unusual for a British band in that they enjoyed commercial success in the U.S., but never enjoyed a similar success in their homeland. They began recording during the mid-1980s, and they released their first album, Play Deep, in 1985 through Columbia Records. The album reached #9 on the Billboard 200 list and then reached triple platinum in America. Their single "Your Love" reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as #7 on the Mainstream Rock chart, and it became their signature song. It went on to be featured in a number of 80s-themed compilation albums, and over 1,000 covers and remixes by other artists have been released physically and/or online. The other singles "Say It Isn't So" and "Everytime You Cry" also made it into the top 20 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
The band continued to record and tour through the 1980s and then into the early 1990s. While their second album, Bangin', hit the top 20 on the Billboard 200 list had both singles hit the Top 40 Mainstream Rock chart, the group began losing their popular audience by their third album, Voices of Babylon, in 1989. Drummer Alan Jackman left and, now as a duo, they recorded Diamond Days in 1991. After the disappointing response to their 1992 album Rockeye, which represented a shift towards progressive rock and arena rock, the group essentially disbanded in the 90s. They resumed touring in 1998, and thereafter released two live albums via their website including a new studio album, Any Time Now, released by Sidewinder Records in March 2006. In 2009, original drummer Alan Jackman announced he was returning to The Outfield and the band would be recording a new album. The band's latest album, Replay, was released on June 28, 2011 and constituted a comeback to their traditional pop rock sound which has produced two #1 regional chart hits in "California Sun" and "A Long, Long Time Ago".
Beginnings and Columbia era
Bassist/singer Tony Lewis, guitarist/keyboardist and songwriter John Spinks, and drummer Alan Jackman played together in the late-70s in a straightforward power pop band called Sirius B. Although rehearsing for about six months and playing several gigs, their style did not match the punk rock that was surging in popularity in England and they broke up. Several years afterward, they gathered back together in London's East End under the name The Baseball Boys. They performed in and around London until a demo got them signed to Columbia/CBS Records in 1984.
Spinks adopted the name 'Baseball Boys' from a teen gang called "The Baseball Furies" in the cult film The Warriors, a movie that he had just seen. Although he used the name as a joke and "[j]ust to be outrageous", record company people responded favourably. The band got a reputation as a very "American-sounding" group and signed in the U.S. after playing for just a few months in England. Their manager, an American living in England, recommended a new band name with a similar attitude since 'Baseball Boys' seemed too "tacky" and "tongue-in-cheek". Spinks has said, "the Outfield was the most left-wing kind of thing we liked."
Spinks expressed a strong love for the American sport of baseball, while also being a devoted fan of association football, saying:
The thing about American sports — baseball and football — is that they're far more show business, far more a spectacle, than British sports. In England, it's just sort of everyday soccer matches. You get 30,000 people in the freezing cold in the middle of winter watching guys chase around in mud. In America, you have the sunny days, and the baseball diamond is really nicely laid out. In England, you'd see these guys covered in mud within 10 minutes. It's not such a nice spectacle to watch.
Their debut album, Play Deep, produced by William Wittman, was issued in 1985, and was a success. The album would go on to reach triple platinum sales status and the Top 10 in the US album charts; it also featured a Top 10 single entry with "Your Love", which peaked at #6. The band toured extensively, opening for Journey and Starship.
Spinks made a point of mentioning that band was "totally into not smoking or doing drugs" in interviews.
1987 saw the release of their second album, Bangin'. This album did not achieve the acclaim of Play Deep, but it did spawn a Top 40 single "Since You've Been Gone" (not to be confused with the 1970s Rainbow and Head East hit of the same name) and the minor radio/MTV hit "No Surrender", and the album was certified Gold in the U.S.. A US summer tour opening for Night Ranger followed.
For the group's third album, 1989's Voices of Babylon, a new producer (David Kahne) and sound was evident. The title track was a Top 25 single and "My Paradise" was a mid-sized album-rock hit, but overall the group's popularity continued to decline.
After the Babylon LP, Alan Jackman parted ways with the band and was replaced for a concert tour by Paul Read.
MCA era
Spinks and Lewis continued as a duo, switched labels and began recording Diamond Days for MCA. Playing drums on the disc was session drummer Simon Dawson. The LP, released in 1990, produced a Top 30 US hit, "For You".
Quick to follow was "One Hot Country", included on the soundtrack for the 1991 action film If Looks Could Kill.
The Outfield returned with 1992's Rockeye. Its leadoff single, "Closer to Me", was a near Top 40 hit, and a second release, "Winning It All", gained some notice due to extensive play during NBC's NBA Finals coverage, NBA Superstars series featuring Larry Bird, the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics and the film The Mighty Ducks. Simon Dawson, who played on Rockeye, would eventually become the band's official third member.
1990s and 2000s
The band took an extended hiatus during the mid-1990s as changing musical fashions, especially the popularity of edgier bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam, made life difficult for older bands with a less fashionable aesthetic.
The Outfield returned to their East End roots, and often played low-key gigs at a local pub, where much of the clientele were unaware that the group had sold millions of records in the US. Unfortunately, this situation was typical of the problems The Outfield had faced in their homeland: little recognition and a much smaller following than they had experienced in the US.
Nevertheless, the band would reappear with a fan club-only release, entitled It Ain't Over..., and resume touring. Soon thereafter, in 1999, they released Extra Innings, an odds-and-ends compilation of new and older, unreleased songs.
In the early 2000s, the band issued two live collections via their official website: Live in Brazil and The Outfield Live. In March 2006, the band released Any Time Now, a new studio album.
In 2009, the original line up of John Spinks, Tony Lewis and Alan Jackman returned to a London recording studio to record their first album together since Voices of Babylon was recorded in 1988. In addition, The Outfield announced Brent Bitner had taken over the band's management and launched their official Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and MySpace pages in November 2009. On March 22, 2011, the Outfield announced that their upcoming album will be called Replay. Replay was recorded in various studios in the south of England that included production work at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. Replay was produced by The Outfield and Brent Bitner with executive production by John Spinks. On June 28, 2011, Replay was released to rave reviews. The lead single, "California Sun", was a regional number one AOR chart hit and has subsequently been the second most added song on AC radio as of August 15, 2011. A limited advanced release of the band's possible second single, "A Long, Long Time Ago", reached number one on Worldwide FM ClassX Radio's AOR chart in the second week of August 2011.
BIOGRAPHY
The Early Years
The band basically evolved out of a place named ‘Scarf Studios’ in the East End of London. In the early days ‘Scarf’ was just a rehearsal studio with very little recording going on.
The first ever ‘official’ recording session (at Scarf 1980) involved John Spinks, Tony Lewis, Alan Jackman and a singer named Jimmy Boswell. It was called ‘Sirus B’. Tony wasn’t really singing out front then. Jimmy was the vocalist in the band at the time, especially as he had a big, brand new van. “Sirus B” only did two gigs and it all fell apart. It was a case of more van than content
Somewhere during 1981 / 1982 a guy named Allan Alderson took over co-ownership of Scarf Studios. At that time John was in a local hard rock band named ‘Running Blind’ Tony was in an indie-style group called ‘Precious Pups’ Alan was playing with various cover bands working the London pub circuit.
After a while, Scarf started to adopt a more ‘Recording Studio’ approach and became a social gathering point for local musicians. Other East End faces like Paul Dianno from Iron Maiden and some of the lesser known punk bands often rehearsed and recorded at Scarf. The guys (still pre-Outfield), also helped with various sessions, albeit as a backing band, one of which was with Louise Goffin (Carol Kings daughter).
Around the same time Allan suggested that John should hook up with Mark Lewis (a studio engineer at Scarf) as a musical team mate. Being a bit of an entrepreneur, Alan offered John and Mark some free downtime studio hours in hope of getting them a publishing deal (of some description), consequently, Allan basically started acting in somewhat of an early management role.
John and Mark experimented with lots of styles of music together. Feeling encouraged bywhat he was hearing, Allan Alderson started playing the demo's to various people in the music biz who subsequently asked if they could see the band play live…a band that didn’t really exist.
The Baseball Boys
John wrote the words 'Baseball Boys' on the spine of one of their demo cassettes, albeit it was a similar name to one of the street gangs from the movie, 'The Warriors'. It marked the first time ‘they’ (John and Mark) were thought of as a band.
One of the ‘varied’ demos that John and Mark had recorded together got the attention of a young production company. Within weeks John and Mark were offered a production deal. Basically it was just allowing the production company access to some of the songs. Mark would not commit to any production deal with John, leaving him to go it alone thus putting a bit of a strain on their relationship. The deal with the production company, nor the songs, went anywhere.
Realizing that things had not gone as planned with the production company, Allan Alderson once again stepped in and took over the reins in John’s song writing career. Although a band of some description had continued to operate during that short production period (mainly based around John, Alan Jackman and a couple of various bass players), Allan Alderson still continued to encourage and push John in the direction of his song writing. Allan Alderson suggested that John should resume his working association with Mark Lewis. John and Mark rebuilt their friendship and the songs started to roll off (usually about one per week).
At that time, John and Mark had started to incorporate various other musicians who frequented the studio to help on the demos. Alan Jackman was almost always involved (although another drummer 'Ted Butler' from the Precious Pups auditioned and played on a couple of tracks along the way). By then another friend ‘Nigel Palmer’ had started to rotate with Mark as the house / band’s studio engineer at Scarf.
Things moved along and John, Mark, Alan Jackman, and a school teacher friend named Ian McNaughton (on bass and lead vocals) did a couple of gigs retaining the name Baseball Boys. That particular permutation of The Baseball Boys also fell apart, seemingly due to Ian's lack of commitment to the project.
Late 1982 / Early 1983
About that same time, John and Mark went to see Tony play in his band named ‘Precious Pups’ at the Bridge House pub in the East End of London. Although the PP’s played an original set of songs with Tony on vocals, John was a bit confused as to why Tony was singing (as John thought) in the wrong vocal register. John had previously seen Tony sing a cover version of The Police's 'Message in a Bottle' with Johnny Wick's covers band, Freeway.
Soon after, John asked Tony (as a long-standing friend), to come and sing on some newly written Baseball Boy’s demo's, (albeit in his higher register). Tony agreed and chose to join the Baseball Boys on a permanent basis. Everybody went through a 'getting to know you again' period and it was around that time that the Baseball Boys recorded their first self funded single, 'Never Told Lies'.
The newer demo's with Mark now serving mainly as the engineer (although again 'back in the band’ so to speak) started to get some feedback from people inside the music industry. The band then set out on an 18 month-long stint of gigs in pubs and clubs around the UK.
On the day of the third show (at the 'Mitre' pub in south London), Mark Lewis's mum called the venue during sound check (6pm) to say that Mark couldn't make the gig. Everybody was a bit upset at being let down at the last moment but John, Tony and Alan carried on regardless and played their first show as a three piece band.
The following day, Allan Alderson called a meeting at John’s house with just Alan, Tony and John present (not Mark). Allan Alderson 'in a moment of leadership' suggested that Alan, Tony and John should carry on without Mark. Allen then went on to inform Mark that he was no longer a band member.
John, Tony and Alan did carry on, although there were many times where they were near to calling it a day feeling that it was almost impossible to break into the music business. That said, the band still continued to record at Scarf Studios, with Nigel Palmer now as their permanent engineer. The guys seemed to be in the studio night and day (literally). (John……) I remember one night (during winter) when it was so cold we all needed to play in our coats and scarf’s on. Alan (Plug by then) was playing 'percussion' overdubs kneeling on the studio floor at about 2am. It was absolutely freezing cold and his hands were almost blue, so much so, he could barely hold the sticks.
Another memory (John recalls) was watching Tony scream 'Don't turn your back on me baby' whilst recording the demo for 'Taking My Chances', albeit in the middle of the night when all concerned were trying hard not to fall asleep through tiredness. We then started looking for some weird noises to put in the drop down section and found a German DJ talking on some pirate radio station. It was all hit and miss but we seemed to make it work. Towards the end of 1983 things had started to slow down and it began to feel like the band was going around in circles playing the same venues. There was a certain point in the development where Allan Alderson called John to one side and explained, quote, “ I’m hitting a brick wall with the industry. I feel as though I’ve taken the band as far as I can”, (albeit with him being a studio manager). Allan then suggested that he intended approaching some established major management companies on the band’s behalf.
Allan Alderson eventually made contact with Kip Krones and took John to meet Kip at MAM management in London. Allan by then had also found the band a publicist who started to get them some reviews in the British music press. One of his [the publicist’s] contacts turned out to be a guy named Derek Oliver from Kerrang (rock magazine) who wrote the band an amazing review (almost as if one of their mum's had written it).
Kip (after hearing the demo’s) started working alongside Allan Alderson in developing the bands future. Allan was now dealing solely with the musical / studio development and Kip more with the business end of things. It was during the summer of 1984 that John wrote most of Play Deep. Although the band already had a lot of songs in the bag (i.e. Nervous Alibi, I Don't Need Her, Taking My Chances, 61 seconds and Mystery Man) there were no obvious sounding hits. Allan Alderson made it clear to John how important it was to have those ‘hits.’ The next three songs that John wrote were ‘Your Love’, ‘Every Time You Cry’ and ‘All The Love’ (originally with Piano). After that John wrote Say It Isn't So and, later on, Talk to Me.
As time went by, and with endless gigs under their belt, the band’s first real big show (to an audience of thirty thousand) was at Knebworth, playing as Andy Peircy’s backing band. (Andy was previously the front man for the group ‘After the Fire’ who had a Top 5 hit in the States with Der Kommissar).
Summer 1984
By this point EMI in England had started to show interest in the band. Kip’s contact at EMI (London) had put him in touch with his counter part in the states, a guy named Steve Ralbovski. During the second half of 1984 the band seemed to move up a gear in concert / gig appearances, ending up as the support band on the Grand Slam’s final tour (featuring Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy). John, Tony and Alan were now all taking time off from work to do the shows, driving long distances from the East End and back again in the middle of the night after the shows were over. (John…….) “I still remember Tony playing the first song of the Grand Slam tour ‘totally out of tune’. He had just been given his new status bass which had no head stock and he couldn't see the dots on his fret board, thus he played every note of the song (Tiny Lights) a semi tone sharp”, I think the audience thought we were ‘avant garde.
In November of 1984 Kip Krones took John off to New York to meet Steve Ralbovsky (by then at Columbia Records) and Bill Whittman (the band’s first producer). That trip was multi-purpose, one of which was an exercise to get the songs finished. To that end, John was left (encouraged by Kip) to walk the streets of NY for the first time ‘soaking up the atmosphere’ and listening to American Radio on a ghetto blaster that Kip had bought (haggled) off a street tramp for $5 dollars.
In early 1985, (whilst Johns mum was seriously ill) all three members of the band went back to New York to do pre-production for ‘Play Deep’ at Top Cat studios (albeit some of the songs were still somewhat incomplete). At the band’s request they were given studio time at the Record Plant at which the middle 8 for Every Time You Cry was demo’d for the first time (by luck). That whole experience was a bittersweet time for John, the band was getting ready to record 'Play Deep' whilst knowing his mum only had a short time to live.
The band went into Air Studios on February 12th, 1985 to make their 1st album. The first track recorded was 'Taking My Chances'. On the second day at Air, just after John had finished recording the guide guitar for 'Your Love', Allan Alderson came to the studio and accompanied John to the hospital whereupon his mum died later that same day February13th.
To be continued……………………
