Beckies Story, Produced By Yours Truly, Out On February 28th

 

When the Beckies’ sole album was released in 1976, it should have capped a remarkable era for keyboardist and songwriter Michael Brown. What had begun ten years before with the Left Banke and “Walk Away Renee” culminated in this band, whom Brown spoke highly of for the rest of his life. Despite good reviews, the album got lost in the shuffle of summer releases, unable to find a wider audience.

I first discovered the Beckies in the late 1990s, as I was diving deep into my Left Banke journey. I found a promo copy of the album on one of my first trips to Nashville. I was instantly drawn to the album, though the album’s muddy mix always seemed to hold myself and other fans back. 

I met Beckies guitarist Jimmy McAllister in 2003 vis email, when he wrote a magazine to complement an article I’d written on the Left Banke. He enthused about his time with the Beckies, and the demos that the band had made leading up to the album’s recording. He sent me a CD of the band’s first demos, and promised to send me more. When Jimmy died in 2006, an avid collector in England, John Kennedy sent me the entire set of demos, saying “Jimmy wanted you to have this.”

I had been thinking about a collection of the Beckies material for some time, featuring the original Sire album alongside the demos. When Omnivore Recordings asked me last year if I had any projects to put forth, I knew that this chance had arrived.

Over the past year, I reached out to band members Scott Trusty, Gary Hodgden (West) and Mark Abel, as well as the families of Michael Brown and Jimmy McAllister. All of whom gave me their blessings for this project. Trusty and Abel both did lengthy interviews with me, filling in a timeline that has never been properly explored, as well as picking out demos for the second disc. 

Omnivore licensed the album from Rhino, and mastering guru Michael Graves went to work. When I received his new mastering of the album, it was a stop everything moment for me. Songs and harmony parts that were once buried now sparkle, as do the demos that Graves also mastered for a complete package. After all these years, the Beckies now sound better than ever.

So here it is. Nearly fifty years after it was released, and nearly thirty years since I first heard of the band, the Beckies’ moment has finally arrived. I wrote the liner notes, and produced this project alongside Cheryl Pawelski, who has way more coolness and Grammys than I do.

To Michael, Jimmy, Scott, Gary, Mark and their families, thank you. To Omnivore Recordings, thank you. To those of you that have been with me, and put up with me during my time researching the Left Banke and its adjacent archives, thank you. The release of this collection marks the end of a chapter for me, but the music will always be out there, waiting for its next discovery. 

Good To Know: The Beckies Story, out February 28th on Omnivore Recordings. 

Left Banke, forever. Michael Brown, forever. Beckies, forever.

https://omnivorerecordings.com/shop/good-to-know/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdQtqACQOZ0&list=OLAK5uy_kPwwGux14OS5vJRgFTdT7e8eue7FAMCow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyZgBNrzbUA'

RIP Garth Hudson

 In August of 2004, I spent a night in Morgantown, West Virginia, boxing 20,000 albums for a friend of mine. All by myself. I slept on the floor of this empty 120 year-old building, waiting for the moving van to arrive the next morning. I got back to Charlotte at 6pm, and fell asleep for an hour, totally exhausted. Scott Avett called and woke me up. We talked for 20 minutes, and I had to ask him later what we talked about.

Somehow, I got myself to the Neighborhood Theatre that evening for a show with Burrito Deluxe. The band featured Sneaky Pete Kleinow of the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Garth Hudson of the Band. It was a good show, but I told myself, “I’ll say hello to Pete and Garth, and then I’ll go back to bed.” Garth and I started talking about records, and he mentioned an obscure 78 rpm record, and I said, “Wait, I have that record.” “I’ve never met anyone that knows about, much less owns that record,” responded Garth. The record had been made by the Communist Party of New York City during the 1930s, and somehow had ended up left in a cottage that my dad’s parents bought in 1960. I'd never realized the origins of that record until Garth told me that night.

After a while, Garth asked if I knew of any good places to eat that were still open. I recommended the Landmark Diner. Garth said, “Are you going?” “Yes, I am,” I replied. Garth, Sneaky Pete (who was celebrating his birthday that day) and Jeff Davis (former American Rhythm Aces bass player) piled into my car. I had to throw trash from my backseat into the trunk. Garth sat upfront, Pete and Jeff in the back. At one point, I started laughing. “What’s up, Daniel?” Garth asked. “I have been so many road trips with the Basement Tapes and the first two Burrito Brothers records on one cassette,” I responded, “and now you guys are in my car!”

Garth and I sat in one booth, and Pete and Jeff sat across from us. We all talked records. At one point, Rick Danko came up in conversation. I tried not to to bring up the Band, as I knew that every fan had done that with Garth that night. Garth smiled at the thought of Rick, paused, and looked up at me. “You and Rick would’ve gotten on great,” Garth told me. “You both like to laugh.” I have no idea how I kept it together after that. I thanked him for saying that, but inside, I was a puddle on the floor.

I dropped off the band at their hotel, and Garth said as he got out of the car, “Man, talking to you tonight has really inspired me on some things.” I thanked him for all of his years of inspiration.! I eventually went home, got up the next morning for a video shoot, and proceeded to have one of the worst shoots in my life. Subjects throwing hissy fits, you name it. Would I have changed a thing about the night before? Not on your life.

Farewell to one of the most remarkable musicians and minds I have ever had the honor of meeting. Let us know what its like up there, Garth, and what their record collection is like. Safe travels, from your friend in North Carolina. Until I photograph you again, some sunny day.

-Daniel

January 21, 2024

RIP Peter Yarrow

Peter Yarrow

Knight Theater

Charlotte, NC

October 2011.

Safe travels. 

-Daniel

January 8, 2025

New Plastic EP Interview With Myself And Walter Egan

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXdq7m5ixF4

-Daniel

Janury 8, 2025

Avett NYE and Press On Pics Now Posted

Photos from the Avett Brothers NYE show, and the Press On Fund event are now posted over at @danielcostonphotos, and at danielcostonmusicphotos.com. See you at the next adventure, and see you on the road.

-Daniel

January 2, 2025