Continuing a series looking back at the old Bruce Hornsby newsletters that Melissa Reagan would post out in the 1990s. This one looks ahead at the “tentatively titled Hot House” and shouts out new bassist, JV Collier!
Bonnie Raitt Tour
The “Bonnie & Bruce Tour” lasted from early July to mid-November, consisting of 62 shows throughout the country. Bruce and the band played for an hour, then usually played with Bonnie on “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and two other songs, often ending in Bruce and Bonnie trading licks and generally fooling around on stage.
New bassist J.V. Collier fit in wonderfully and ended up recording two tracks with the band for the upcoming record. The band also played several solo dates during the tour which were the standard two-and-a-half-to three-hour solo shows, most notably at Cape Cod, MA, York, PA, Medford, OR, and Toledo, OH.
Fifth Album
Bruce’s fifth album, tentatively titled “Hot House,” is almost finished.
Most songs are mixed, and the band recorded a new song called “Spider Fingers” for two days in Virginia immediately after the Bonnie tour ended.
Guest artists on the album include some of the usual suspects (Pat Metheny, Bela Fleck, and Jerry Garcia) and some new ones (Chaka Khan and singers from Teddy Riley’s new band Blackstreet, Levi Little, and David Hollister).
Otherwise, the current band, plus Jimmy Haslip on bass, handles almost everything else. This is also the second album with engineer Wayne Pooley.
The release date is up in the air due to executive upheaval at Bruce’s label, RCA Records, but look for “Hot House” in the spring.
Woodstock
Bruce and J.V. Collier played at the Woodstock ’94 festival in August as special guests sitting in with The Band. Bruce sang verses of “The Weight” and “I Shall Be Released” and played on “Willie and The Hand Jive,” “Rock and Roll Shoes,” and “The Shape I’m In.” Bruce and J.V. also played with Bobby Weir of The Dead on “Throwing Stones,” “Easy Answers,” and “Take Me To The River,” as well as playing and singing “The Valley Road” with all of the above. Although Bruce and J.V. didn’t make the recently released record, they reportedly made the forthcoming book.
Ken Burns’ “Baseball” with Branford Marsalis
Bruce and Branford’s rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” was used on the first and last nights of the nine-part series on PBS. The piece was recorded in one take, live on The Tonight Show set in February before the band’s performance on the show. It is available on CD from Nonesuch Records.
Chaka Khan
Bruce wrote a song with Chaka Khan and played on the track in Los Angeles in September for her upcoming Elektra release.
Magazine Articles
People often ask where they can find interviews and articles written about Bruce, and here are a few of the latest. Bruce was featured in the USAir in-flight magazine, Entertainair. He was also interviewed in the latest issue of the Grateful Dead fan magazine, Dupree’s Diamond News (Issue #29), and the Elton John fan magazine, East End Lights. Rolling Stone published pictures and a story about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction last January and a “Random Notes” photo of Bruce, Lou Reed, Bob Weir, and Rob Wasserman at the Wasserman Trios Concert at the Beacon Theatre in New York about Bruce’s contribution to Wasserman’s “Trios.” Harbor Lights Bruce’s album “Harbor Lights” is the winner of the Downbeat Reader’s Poll Beyond Album of the Year (meaning all music other than Jazz and Blues) by a wide margin.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Grateful Dead
We have some further information on the Grateful Dead’s induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which we told you about in the Winter 1994 Newsletter. In January, Bruce inducted the Grateful Dead into the Hall of Fame at a gala dinner in New York City. Six members of the band, along with a cardboard cutout of Jerry Garcia, accepted the honor after Bruce’s speech. Other inductees included Elton John, The Band, Rod Stewart, and The Animals.
Bruce also played piano with Bob Weir, Chuck Berry, John Popper of Blues Traveler, and the CBS Orchestra on Willie Dixon’s “Wang Dang Doodle” and Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven.” Bruce sat in with The Dead in March at Nassau Coliseum, New York and in August at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Bruce Hornsby Anthology
Warner Brothers Publications has released the Bruce Hornsby Anthology. It is a compilation of Bruce’s first seven years of songwriting and contains forty songs, including “The End of the Innocence” and “The Way It Is.” Look for it or order it at your local music store. The ISBN number is 0-89724-425-7.
Merchandise
We still have Bruce Hornsby merchandise, including “Harbor Lights” and “The Range” items. if you would like to receive an order form, please write to this address: P.O. Box 3545, Williamsburg, VA 23187. This offer is only available in the U.S.
Internet
People on the Information Highway wanting to share information about Bruce have created a newsgroup. Michael Witt, who initially proposed the newsgroup, says computer users reading Usenet can access the newsgroup by subscribing to rec.music.artists.bruce-hornsby
It is important to put a hyphen between Bruce’s first and last names when you subscribe. If you have further questions regarding subscribing, contact your local system administrator.
This newsletter will also be posted on the Net in Bruce’s newsgroup.
Questions for Bruce
1. What does the “R” stand for in your middle name?
Randall.
2. Is there any plan to release a video containing all of the video clips released over the past eight years?
No time soon, but maybe later.
3. Is there any plan to release a video of the “Harbor Lights” concert for sale in Australia?
At this time, there are no plans to release a video in Australia.
4. Can Australian fans look forward to a concert down here in the near future?
If the next record is successful, then I would love to tour in Australia next year.
5. How many years have you been in the music business?
I started playing gigs in 1972 and writing original music in 1978. I signed a publishing deal with 20th Century-Fox Music as a songwriter in 1980, thus entering the actual music business proper.
6. Who has been the biggest influence in your career?
Several great musicians: Elton John, Leon Russell, Bob Dylan, The Band, The Grateful Dead, Kaith Jarrot, Bill Evans, Bud Powell, McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock.
7. What music did you listen to when you were growing up?
It was mostly Top 40 and soul music, including Motown and Stax-Volt, as a kid until I heard Joe Cocker, Leon Russeli, and Elton John. Then I got into blues music, such as Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, Professor Longhair, Dr. John, John Lee Hooker, and Paul Butterfield, and then jazz music by the artists mentioned above.
8. What’s the schedule for the newsletter?
Basically, it’s loose. We put one out whenever there’s enough information to fill up a page or two, usually two or three times a year. The next one will probably come out in the spring when we have some release date information on the new album.