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Odds & Ends: John Fogerty, Leslie West, Wanee Festival and Ol’ Dirty Bastard
John Fogerty makes his acting debut this week, Leslie West returns to the road, Wanee Festival announces when it will announce its lineup, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s FBI file has been released.
Photo: Jason Moore
Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Calif.
But don’t bother trying to purchase the new version of “Fortunate Son” on iTunes. The song will be made available as a free download from JohnFogerty.com for one week after the program airs.
As to Fogerty’s acting chops, evidently he plays himself. The advance description for the episode says “Fogerty has his stolen guitar returned to him by Iraq war veteran Walter Sherman (Geoff Stults). When the guitar is returned, Fogerty thanks Walter and says, “All my songs were in that guitar.”
Leslie West’s Great New Ride
Guitarist Leslie West returns to America’s touring superhighway at the end of this month when he embarks on a short series of East Coast dates with Uli Jon Roth.
West, a diabetic, experienced extreme swelling in his leg last year, resulting in surgeons amputating the limb up to the knee.
This time around West will be riding in style. The Vehicle Production Group, a new American car company that designs, engineers and distributes specialty vehicles, gave West a brand new MV-1. The vehicle is the first to be designed from the ground up for wheelchair accessibility and is the only factory-built transporter that meets or exceeds the Americans With Disabilities Act guidelines.
West received the MV-1 in December.
“This is nicer than any guitar I have ever owned, and I’ve had some pretty incredible instruments including my own Leslie West Dean Signature Series,” West said. “I was speechless. People would be proud to own this vehicle.”
West will have plenty of opportunities to break in his new ride. Upcoming dates include New York City at the B.B. King Blues Club Jan. 31; Foxboro, Mass., at Showcase Live Feb. 1; Sellersville, Pa., at Sellersville Theater 1894 Feb. 3; and Sayreville, N.J., at Starland Ballroom Feb. 4; before returning to NYC and the B.B. King Blues Club for a Feb. 6 gig.
Wanee Announces Announcement
The annual Wanee Festival in Live Oak, Fla., says it will announce its lineup Jan. 16. Of course, you know The Allman Brothers Band will be there. After all, they host they event. But everything else will be revealed for the April 19-21 extravaganza come Monday.
Tickets for Wanee go on sale Jan. 20. Visit WaneeFestival.com for more information.
Photo: AP Photo
Heroes of Woodstock Concert, Bethal, N.Y.
Ol’ Dirty Bastard, We Hardly Knew Ya
A website’s FBI Freedom Of Information request for the late Russell Jones who was better known as Wu-Tang Clan’s Ol’ Dirty Bastard, resulted in a 90-plus page report allegedly connecting Jones and the group with murder, connections to the Bloods gang, carjacking and other violent activities.
Along with his music, Ol’ Dirty Bastard is also remembered for interrupting Shawn Colvin receiving the song of the year award at the 1998 Grammy Awards and complaining that Wu Tang Clan should have won for best rap album instead of Sean “Diddy” Combs.
The 94-page report is available at gun.io. Although some information has been redacted, there’s plenty of indications that ODB and his Wu Tang Clan comrades had their fingers in many pies and were reportedly investigated by the New York Police Department as well as the FBI.
Here’s a sample:
“Information developed by the Detectives determined that the WTC has purchased numerous guns from the Stubenville, Ohio, area through the use of a [redacted]. Members of the WTC have been identified as being present during the purchase through a photo spread shown to the sellers of the guns. At least one of these guns purchased in Stubenville, Ohio, by the [redacted] has been identified as the murder weapon in the killing of Robert Johnson, aka Pooh, on Staten Island, New York, on 12/30/97.”
There’s plenty more where that came from. Just click here for the complete Freedom Of Information Act report.