Thirty years ago this year Elvis Costello released his first album, My Aim is True. He later went on to play with the Attractions, but on this first album he was backed by a bunch of Americans - a band called Clover.
Clover was a California country-rock band from the Bay Area that was plucked out of near-obscurity by Nick Lowe and his manager Jake Riviera and brought over to England, where they made two records for Phonogram. And remained in obscurity. Clover unfortunately suffered from poor timing: no sooner had their plane landed in England when the Sex Pistols burst on the scene, obliterating the demand for the pub rock they played.
After a while Clover gave up, disbanded, and went home. Clover had several drummers over the years, and they all moved on to other things. Bassist John Ciambotti became a chiropractor. Lead singer Alex Call went on to record a few solo albums and pen some notable hits. Guitarist John McFee joined the Doobie Brothers, where he still plays today. And keyboardist Sean Hopper, along with singer/harpist Huey Louis (as he was then known), went on to form Huey Lewis and the News.
But before all that happened the future Elvis Costello was spending his time working in the computer operations department of a cosmetics producer and hustling his demo tapes. Eventually Nick Lowe and Jake Riviera took a chance on him, and Elvis started taking sick days to go down to the studio to record his album.
Through the Lowe/Riviera connection Elvis ended up recording it with Clover, who were then being passed off under the feeble alias "The Shamrocks" due to their lack of proper UK working papers. As a result of the legal issues Elvis Costello and Clover never appeared on a stage together. That is, not until this past Thursday night.
Read part II.
Comments (1)
Knee'd less to say, it's amazing the things i've read about mmyself in the last few weeks and days... especially about not being present during the resent Clover/Elvis Costello gig at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. Unfortunatly, i'mm not privy to what went on nor what mostly was said during the live performance of a retooled Elvis album but i can assure you and everyone else that for whatever reasons, yes, i have moved on to other things besides playing drumms but again yes, i still DO play the drumms. In fact i've never really stopped since the age of 12. Drumms are mmy life and will always be in mmy blood.
When i heard this gig was happening a few weeks before it did by countless email messages and a few phone calls asking when and if i'd be there, as a resident near the town of Sacramento, i thought Great! Maybe now i'll get a chance to play with the boys again. In this long mmusic career they were one of mmy most favourite bands i've ever played with - bar none...and to perform Elvis' My Aim is True album once again would have been more than awesome. I've remembered every lick and every beat ever since day one.
But unfortunately, although i did an interview about mmy artwork on KXJZ Sacramento's NPR station that same week, i heard that for some reason i couldn't be found even though i received more messages than one can count from mostly strangers...it's sad really... Now of course i'mm reading some of the reasons why i wasn't there that sure don't make sense, especially in this age of computers and technology. In any case, i was disappointed to have missed the opportunity and hope that some day that phone call will come to once again join the boys for a few good riffs. It was more than fun while it lasted... mmusic is mmy life and always will be as long as i can hold the sticks.
Thanks for the kind words and best to to ya's.... MMicky Shine
Posted by MMicky Shine | December 12, 2007 12:36 AM
Posted on December 12, 2007 00:36