PRLog – July 12, 2015 – PHILADELPHIA — Jennifer Vanderslice is always thinking ahead to what would be of the most interest to her blog readers, and she is excited to announce that she will be taking her blog to the Big Easy for extensive research of the Beatles for future posts to her website – Beatles Freak Reviews. She will be traveling from July 17-21, 2015.
Tag Archives: Beatle concerts
Beatles Freak Review blogger heads to New Orleans in search of the FAB | PRLog
Filed under Beatles-freak
Book Review: “Horse-Doggin'” by Dave Morrell
Author Dave Morrell is a guy you just love to hate! He’s the guy that had that job working in the WEA distribution center…touching, feeling, smelling, caressing, fondling and listening to all the new records that all us ordinary people had to wait to get our hands on! And he had the audacity to write a book about it!
After reading that Dave Morrell was to be a guest on Jude Kessler’s John Lennon Hour show on November 18, 2014, I decided it might be worth my while to find out who this guy is. Jude wrote that he was friends with John Lennon and had written a book called Horse-Doggin’. When I checked on Amazon, the Kindle version of Horse-Doggin’ was only 79 pages, presenting me with the opportunity to get the book and read it before his interview tonight.
If you like books with fluffy words and long drawn out descriptions of a look, a sunset or a song, this is not the book for you. Dave is very concise and direct with his words. There are no paragraphs with the same sentence written three different ways in this book! Just the way I like my books. He gets straight to the point of telling his stories without a lot of nonsense filler. Along the way through his post high school years, he attends to the very best concerts of 1972-1973, meets musical legends backstage and at parties and even shares and exchanges albums with John Lennon. He holds the very first Beatles convention in his bedroom and is often referred to as a Beatles Freak!
Wonderful book with wonderful stories. Not the best writing style…but it’ll get you through the night!
I rate this book: 3 out of 4 Beetles!
Filed under Beatles books, Beatles-freak, festival, John Lennon
Book Review: ‘Confessions of a Beatlemaniac’ by Dee Elias
-
‘Confessions of a Beatlemaniac’ by Dee Elias
- ‘Confessions of a Beatlemaniac’ by Dee Elias
I had the pleasure of meeting Dee Elias at the Fest for Beatles Fans in Chicago and finding out about her book ‘Confessions of a Beatlemaniac: A true story of a fan who broke all the rules to meet the Beatles!‘ Without even reading a word, I got the impression that Dee’s story is going to become huge among other Beatles fans.
Though this book is currently listed on Amazon.com as being for ages 10 – 18, it’s definitely a multi-generational read. Taken from the pages of Dee’s diary when she was 14-16 years old, this book tells of the extent to which Dee, her friends and many other Beatlemaniacs would go to just to get close to the Beatles. This is the story of how she honed her technique by managing to meet other stars like Sonny & Cher and Simon & Garfunkel.
Why did she wait so long to tell her story? When I spoke with her at the fest, she said not only did she think no one would be interested, she also was still keeping her antics a secret from her parents 50 years later!
If you’re looking for a fun book directly from the heart of a true Beatle fan who was THERE, you’ll enjoy this quick (168 page) read. (And you absolutely won’t want to miss the story of Dee’s encounter with Billy J. Kramer!)
This book is available for Kindle at Amazon.com. Paperbacks are available exclusively through Dee’s website: www.ConfessionsOfABeatleManiac.com.
You can follow Dee on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Confessionsofabeatlemaniac
I rate this book: 4 out of 4 Beetles
Filed under Beatles books, Beatles-freak, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, reviews, Ringo Starr
Johnny come lately, the new kid in town…
“Everybody’s talking
There’s a new kid in town
People started walking
There’s a new kid in town” – Eagles
With the approach of the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles coming to the United States, it seems that new events, festivals and conferences are popping up everywhere to celebrate the occasion. And though the Fest for Beatles Fans is the biggest fest around, some of the others aren’t to shabby!
One of the biggest events will be at Penn State University in Altoona, PA on the weekend of February 7-9, 2014 and is called ‘It was 50 Years Ago Today: An International Beatles Celebration.’ This three day event isn’t a festival. It’s a conference. According to their website, “In addition to panels and presentations, the conference will include film screenings, musical performances, art and photography exhibits, and keynote addresses by leading Beatles critics and musicologists.”
The director of this event is Dr. Kenneth Womack, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at PSU Altoona, and the author of: Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles, The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles, Reading the Beatles: Cultural Studies, Literary Criticism, And the Fab Four and the soon to be released The Beatles Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: Everything Fab Four.
A few of the respected 50+ experts set to appear at this conference are:
Mark Lewisohn – regarded as one of the world’s leading Beatles authorities, Mark is the author of the NY Times bestseller Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years, Volume 1.
Andy Babiuk – the foremost authority on the equipment used to create the Beatles’ music and the author of Beatles Gear: All the Fab Four’s Instruments from Stage to Studio. Andy is also a staff consultant to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH.
Walter Everett – the author of the Beatles As Musicians book series, Mr. Everett is also a member of the School of Music faculty at the University of Michigan and the author of The Foundations of Rock.
Jude Southerland Kessler – a Beatles expert, author and host of her own radio show, Ms. Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series. She has spent nearly 30 years researching John Lennon and the Beatles for her 9 book series., making her a leading expert on the topic of the Fab Four.
Dr. Kit O’Toole – For over 19 years, Dr. O’Toole has written music, concert, and book reviews, interviews, popular culture essays, and technology “how to” articles. Her work has appeared at: Blogcritics.org, Something Else Reviews, Blinded by Sound, Cinema Sentries, Seattle PI and Beatlefan magazine.
This is definitely set to be one of the most intellectual of all the Beatles events to be held in 2014! And what’s cool about their registration is that you not only can you sign up for which days you would like to attend, you can add your meals and accommodations to your package as you like!
For more information on this conference, along with a schedule of events & presenters, and registration, check out their website: http://www.altoona.psu.edu/beatles.
Movie Review: The Love We Make (Documentary)
I have the honor of getting an advance copy of Paul McCartney’s 9/11 documentary’The Love We Make’. This movie will debut on Showtime on September 10th.
This film isn’t what I thought it was going to be. Done in black & white, the camera follows Paul in New York City in his travels from October 11, 2001 to October 23, 2001 and his day-to-day dealings to organize and prepare for The Concert for New York, a benefit concert that was held on October 20, 2001. If you were expecting a 90 minute film on Paul’s reaction to 9/11, then you will be truly disappointed. If you’re a McCartney fan that wants to see what it’s like to be Sir Paul, then this film is for you.
During TV and radio interviews leading up to the concert, Paul touches on issues dealing with how he’s dealt with grief in his life, how he deals with the conflict of being a pacifist after the devastation of 9/11 and how he came to the realization that he needed to do something while sitting in a plane on the tarmac watching the twin towers burn.
Mixed in with the interviews are Paul and his band rehearsing for The Concert for New York with many guest cameos as Paul discusses debuting his new song, “Freedom” for the first time at the show. Celebrities to watch for in this documentary: Ozzy Osbourne, Howard Stern, Barbara Walters, Pete Townsend, Bill Clinton, Harrison Ford, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jim Carey…along with many more.
There are moments when Paul reminisces about the days with the Beatles and is even asked at one point, “Wouldn’t this be a perfect opportunity for the remaining Beatles to get back together”. (Watch the movie for the answer!) And it was interesting to see Paul once again trying to outrun his fans in NYC.
Though not a true post 9/11 documentary, I believe this is a must see for more than just McCartney fans. There are moments that will just give you goosebumps.
Check the Showtime website for their multiple scheduled airtimes over the next week…you won’t want to miss this! This movie will also be available On-Demand starting September 11th.
On December 6, 2011, this documentary became available on DVD and Blu-Ray.
So how would I rate a documentary by an actual Beatle? You’d be crazy if you think I’d give it anything less than…
I rate this movie: 4 out of 4 Beetles
Filed under movies, Paul McCartney, reviews, Uncategorized
Book Review: A Date With A Beatle by Judith Kristen
A Date With A Beatle by Judith Kristen
This was my second attempt at reading A Date With A Beatle. I had bought the book at the Fest for Beatles Fans in NJ in 2010. The first time through, I managed to get to page 61 of this 171 page book about a young girl’s attempt to meet George Harrison. I’ll give my first impression report and in the end…I’ll give my overall impression after actually finishing this book.
I picked up this book after meetin Judith Kristen and her husband at The Fest. Knowing that the first editions of Jude Southerland Kessler‘s self-published novel on John Lennon now sell for up to $1000, I figured I’d pick up a 1st edition copy of ‘A Date With A Beatle‘ as an investment. After reading the first 19 very short chapters of this book, I just cringed. Something just didn’t sit right with me about how a woman could remember such detail after 45 years. It was then I saw in the front of the book, “This book is partially fictionalized”. Then it made sense to me that I wasn’t quite sure how much was made up and I felt duped! I put the book down for over a year.
Last week, I decided to pick this book up again and finally review it, knowing full well that this could turn out really bad for any future dealings with Ms. Kristen or her husband since we’ve been known to be seen in the came circles.
Once again…I struggled. After only 1o chapters, I felt like this was work, but I championed on…determined to finish and review it. I tried to anaylize why I was struggling with the way the story was being presented and then it hit me that Judith Kristen is also a children’s book author and I believe that in her own way…she dumbed down this book a bit much. Or maybe it’s the attempt to write it in her voice as it was when she was 16. Or maybe it was the over-the-top conversations between her and her friends and police officers. Finally, I can say I finished it.
I can honestly say that by the her last attempt to meet George Harrison in the story in this book, she had me hooked. The ending is whitty and will make you smile. I am glad I read it…and the latest edition has a beautiful new cover from Beatles artist Eric Cash. I’ve also read that Ms. Kristen has been invited to Beatles Week in Liverpool later this month and then will start a book tour of German where her book has now been published in German. Best of luck to her!
You can buy her book on Amazon.
I can believe I’m about to say this….but…
I rate this book: 3 out of 4 Beetles
Filed under Beatles books, Beatles-freak, George Harrison, music, reviews
Beatles-Freak's Reviews 