Dynamic Range: Scenes from Scene Magazine

Happy 75th birthday, Joe Walsh! Born in Wichita, Kansas on November 20, 1947, Walsh has been on my musical radar since he helped form the James Gang in the late 60s. He's equal parts smart, funny, talented, and genuine to his fans, and my life has been better for having his music in it. I often joke (is it really a joke?) that I don't trust people who don't like Joe Walsh.

Walsh became one of "Cleveland's adopted sons" (a phrase later coined by WMMS disc jockey Kid Leo) shortly after he attended Kent State University and then joined the Cleveland-based James Gang in 1969. By the mid-70s, he had recorded three albums with that band, formed a new band called Barnstorm that released just one album, then embarked on a solo career. In 1976, Walsh was asked to replace Bernie Leadon in The Eagles, making his debut with that band on "Hotel California". Through it all, he remained a local hero to many Clevelanders (myself included).

Scene Magazine - April 14-20, 1977

In the spring of 1977, local entertainment weekly Scene Magazine interviewed Walsh. The subject was mainly his involvement with The Eagles but several questions focused on his solo career and his upcoming solo album at the time, the one eventually titled, 'But Seriously, Folks...' (Apparently, one of his other ideas for a title was, 'The Best Things In Life Are Fleas'.) As is the case with any photo I post on my blog, you should be able to click on this to enlarge it.

The interview with Joe Walsh

I have adjusted many of the photos here to boost the contrast and turn them into black and white. I opted not to do that to the cover photo (and a couple others below) because they also involved blue ink. The entire issue had yellowed the way the above cover shot appears.

As with any other time I post something from an old Scene Magazine, I would be remiss if I didn't also post some of the other reviews, ads, venue announcements, etc. at the time. Again, you should be able to click on any image below to enlarge it.