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Getting a namecheck in a song is one way for a town to bring in tourists. Winslow, Arizona will forever be deemed a place to take it easy but for one town in northern California, a song reference provided something of a mixed blessing. Lodi is on Route 99 between Stockton and Sacramento and in 1969 it became the inspiration for a song about failure. A young John Fogerty was leading Creedence Clearwater Revival to international fame when he heard the town’s name and thought it sounded just the kind of place he might end up in if the band’s success proved short-lived. The very sound of the place – pronounced Load-eye – seemed unusual and Fogerty imagined himself scraping a living with barely enough to catch a Greyhound bus home.

In little more than three minutes, the song describes a young singer setting out on the road, “Seekin’ my fame and fortune/And lookin’ for a pot of gold”. But over the years “things got bad and things got worse” as the contacts are lost and the audience becomes a crowd of disinterested drunks. Wishing that he had a dollar for every song sung in such surroundings, he confronts reality with a refrain that concludes each of the four verses – “Oh Lord, I’m stuck in Lodi again”.

It’s often supposed that Creedence may have played a dismal show there, or broken down in their van, or that the song is autobiographical in some way, but Fogerty maintains that it is a piece of pure imagination. The apparent simplicity of the song disguises its genius for the story resonates with anyone who has ever wanted to stand in front of an audience.

Perhaps the mark of a great song is that it can be played in almost any style, from campfire to concert hall. The easy chord structure and spare arrangement make it suitable for a solo act but over the years it’s been covered by artists as wide-ranging as Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakam on the one hand and Ronnie Hawkins and Bo Diddley on the other. Blues and bluegrass versions work well, from Freddie King to Emmylou Harris and the Nash Ramblers and a year after its release it was given the full orchestral treatment by Tom Jones on American TV. The Welshman belts it out with the same powerful delivery that Fogerty employs in a song like ‘Fortunate Son’ and there’s a similarity in their voices but the presence of a full string and brass section makes it harder to believe Sir Tom is playing alone in a dive-bar. Unlike Tina Turner’s big-band treatment of ‘Proud Mary’, it’s a song that is more suited to a plaintive vocal such as the versions by Shawn Colvin and the American blues singer Janiva Magness. These cut to the quick.

In 2013, Fogerty himself released a new version of ‘Lodi’, accompanied by his sons Shane and Tyler, who also play in his touring band. It’s a freewheeling, thumping blues in the manner of Canned Heat’s version of ‘Rollin’ and Tumblin’. It works well.

Fifty-five years after he wrote ‘Lodi’, Fogerty continues to tour with his enduring songs and at his 2023 UK shows, a bottle of champagne was brought onstage in order for him to toast the reacquisition of their copyright. In amongst the string of well-known hits was ‘Lodi’. Originally released as the ‘B’ side of ‘Bad Moon Rising’, it’s up there with the best of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Thankfully things didn’t end badly for John Fogerty, nor indeed did the townspeople of Lodi suffer, for the phrase “Oh Lord, stuck in Lodi again” is always the first thing they hear when a tourist drops by to check out this thriving town in the Californian wine country.

THE WOLFGANG PRESS
ANNOUNCE DETAILS OF A NEW ALBUM

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Bhad Bhabie speaks.

Have vintage gear? You may want to get your things in order and make an estate plan or your studio could end up in the bin…

It’s not the kind of thing you usually think about, but you will die. Eventually, we all do. Hopefully, that happens naturally after a long and fulfilling life. However, if it should happen sooner than later, do you have all of your end-of-life preparations in order?

If you’re like most people, you don’t. It’s not something that young people tend to think about. And that includes music producers. But if you have anything even remotely valuable in your studio – vintage synthesizers or drum machines, costly gear, a fully loaded computer – you may want to consider what will happen to it if you should suddenly pass away. 

Because if you don’t make up an estate plan, it’s probably going into the trash.

What is an Estate Plan?

To make sure that your musical equipment ends up where you want it to, you’ll need to make a will. This is known as an estate plan. Laws around estate plans differ from country to country (and in the US, often from state to state) but the following should give you a general idea about them.

“An estate plan ensures that your wishes are respected and your legacy is preserved,” said Patricia De Fonte, JD, L.LM, Founder of De Fonte Law. De Fonte Law is a boutique estate planning firm in California that works with artists, musicians and writers.

“An estate plan is a set of legal documents and instructions that outlines how you want your assets,” she continued, “including musical instruments and gear and other possessions, to be managed and distributed after you pass away. It also includes details about who will take care of your responsibilities if you suddenly cannot.”

How to Make an Estate Plan

You need to create an estate plan to leave your studio gear to someone. In it, you have to say who you want to receive your property clearly. This can include anything and everything you own, from your synths and samplers to the cords that connect them.

You’ll also need to make a list of all the things that you want to bequeath.

Next, you should choose an executor. This is the person that you will entrust to make sure your wishes are carried out. “It might be that you name a close family member to oversee your estate,” said Patricia, “but (you could choose) another musician or industry professional to oversee … the distribution, sale or donation of your equipment and gear.”

Finally, you should store your estate plan somewhere safe and let someone, likely the executor, know where it is.

When Should You Make an Estate Plan?

We tend not to think about dying when we’re busy living, but perhaps we should. If you suffered an unfortunate accident tonight, would you be comfortable with what happened to your studio? If it’s just a 2017 PC, Scarlett Solo and a pair of Rokit 5s you might not be too concerned. However, if you’ve just spent the last three years building up a professional studio with high-class gear and enviable vintage instruments, you may want to start thinking about end of life preparations. 

“It’s never too early to start thinking about making an estate plan,” urged Patricia. “Even young people should consider it, especially if they have valuable items like music gear.”

[quote align=right text=”If you’ve just spent the last three years building up a professional studio with high-class gear and enviable vintage instruments, you may want to start thinking about end of life preparations”]

Is a Homemade Will Legally Binding?

Say that you decide it’s worth it to make an estate plan. Surely you can just write up a list of your things and who gets them, and that’s good enough? Unfortunately, no. You can’t just dash out, “I (your name) being of sound mind and body…” There are rules to follow.

“A homemade estate plan can be legally binding,” clarified Patricia, “but it must meet strict legal requirements. This usually includes being written clearly, signed by you, and witnessed correctly. However, it is safer to get professional help to avoid any mistakes that could make your estate plan invalid.”

What Happens to Your Studio if You Don’t Make an Estate Plan?

Should you pass without having made an estate plan, the law will decide who gets your possessions. This is called being intestate and it varies depending on where you live. However, it usually means that your immediate family inherits your belongings. 

“This might not align with your wishes,” said Patricia, “so it’s better to make an estate plan to have control over who gets what.”

In the worst case scenario, as when immediate family can’t be located, your items will be disposed of quickly – and that can mean throwing everything away.

Who Should You Give Your Gear To?

Who to gift your gear to in your estate plan is entirely up to you. It could be your musical partner or bandmates, or it could be friends or fellow musicians. 

You may want to consider donating some or all of your gear to a local school or charity. Some charities, like Save The Children, have policies in place to help you bequeath items to them in your will. 

[quote align=right text=”In the worst case scenario, as when immediate family can’t be located, your items will be disposed of quickly – and that can mean throwing everything away”]

The Vintage Synthesizer Museum

If you have particularly rare pieces of gear in your collection, one such recipient could be the Vintage Synthesizer Museum in Los Angeles. VSM is an interactive museum and electronic music recording studio. You would be sure of your gear being used and cared for.

Vintage Synthesizer Museum

“If someone was looking to leave their studio to VSM, we would certainly prefer to have a discussion about what that would look like,” said Lance Hill, the curator at the Vintage Synthesizer Museum. “That being said, a discussion in advance isn’t always an option and we would certainly be open to taking in whatever gear was being offered.”

Lance encourages anyone thinking of leaving their gear to VSM to discuss it with their immediate family before doing so. Interested parties can email Lance to discuss the details.

The Alan R. Pearlman Foundation

Another possibility is the Alan R. Pearlman Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to making the inventions of the late founder of ARP accessible to the public. We spoke with Dina Pearlman-Ifil, Executive Director, about gifting any ARP gear to the foundation.

Attack: Are you open to people leaving you their vintage gear when they pass?

Dina Pearlman-Ifil: Yes, we are. We believe the instruments belong in the hands of artists to make new soundscapes and this should not be cost prohibitive to the musician. One of our main projects, ARPs for All, enables these often rare synthesizers to be played by musicians of all levels and means. 

If so, how should people arrange this? 

People can reach out to me at any time via . We can discuss what works best for you. In many cases, a donation of an instrument is considered tax deductible. We can arrange for shipping or pick-up if necessary. If it’s been in storage for a long period of time, we suggest that the instrument not be turned on without consultation, and either inspected by a professional vintage synthesizer restoration expert or sent to us to give the instrument new life.

Do you prefer that they speak with you ahead of time?

I am always happy to chat with someone about this. I know firsthand that dealing with estate planning is emotional and one thing we can assure is that the instruments will live on. We are happy to create a plaque to memorialize the original owner, and/or include a story on our website about the history of the synthesizer.

In part two of this series, we’ll look at what happens to your music – your copyrights, your publishing rights, and even your voice and likeness – when you die.

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How a live recording of a concert can preserve one powerful moment indelibly in time.

“We are on the road to world peace, freedom, and integration”, declares ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax in 1965, as he introduces this historic concert. With songs which were encoded with powerful messages of resistance to slavery and oppression, the powerful subtext of the concert was crystal clear, even then. From behind him on the stage, however, some of the greatest Black folk singers of their time say nothing. Their thoughts on Lomax’s overly optimistic prediction were to come through in the songs they presented that evening. Songs that prayed to a Biblical God for justice, songs that spoke of the pure barbarity and horror of slavery, the death and murder of so many brought from Africa over the centuries, songs that spoke of the thousands and thousands of marchers in America at that very time during the Civil Rights movement.

“If I can’t march, I can sing“, said Mable Hillery of the Georgia Sea Island Singers, herself a noted Civil Rights activist and frequent marcher who had stayed back from protests to testify before this crowd of mostly young, white people in New York City. Their collective mission was to help people understand what slavery was, where this music was coming from and how it could inform the future.

The “Complete Friends of Old-Time Music Concert” is not just a live recording but a previously unheard, historically significant document. This unique piece of history that captures the reality of the Black American experience through folk songs is a captivating intersection of Black folk traditions and civil rights activism. In the midst of the Civil Rights Era, they used a range of songs, from Biblical to apocalyptic, to make a potent and specific point about the past horrors and the change needed for justice in the present and future.

The album is a rich tapestry of traditional music featuring a variety of genres from the Island and beyond. It includes stirring work songs, emotionally charged spirituals, jubilant songs for children, and revelatory renditions of Mississippi blues. Four of the songs, in particular, released in advance of the album, provide a vivid narrative of the history these artists aimed to convey, adding depth and context to the overall experience.

“Buzzard Lope (Dance)“, sung by Bessie Jones, John Davis, & The Georgia Sea Island Singers, is one of the most haunting songs on the album. A spiritual dance with African origins, this folkloric song reflects the horror and humiliation of enslaved black people whose bodies were thrown in the fields to rot rather than buried in the time of slavery. Singers would gather in a circle, cloth representing the body; as they danced, individuals would enter the circle and mimic the buzzard by snatching the cloth.

“Read ‘Em John,” sung by John Davis, Bessie Jones, and The Georgia Sea Island Singers, can be traced to emancipation. It speaks of the one enslaved person who could read being asked to read the letter telling the other enslaved people that they were now free. It is a simple but lively celebration packed with sheer joy and enthusiasm.

“Chevrolet“, from the early recorded blues tradition, is a 1930 Memphis Minnie song sung here by Ed Young and Emma Ramsey. Young’s fife playing ties it back to the Mississippi fife and drum tradition that traces back to the Civil War. The fun song, however, is about a brand new Chevrolet and the coming of new technology and was recently made famous when Mary J. Blige sang it a cappella in a 2017 Super Bowl ad.

“Marching on the Mississippi Line” is sung by Mable Hillery and Emma Ramsay. Hillery was part of The Georgia Sea Island Singers, but she was also participating in freedom-song teach-ins in the South during the Civil Rights Era. Having spoken about how she couldn’t be out marching because she was at this concert instead, she brought together Biblical ideals with modern politics for a song that still resonates today.

It was a star-studded concert, and the excitement of these seminal musicians joining together on songs and inspiring each other in this live recording is palpable. They clearly revel in playing together, having found common ground across very different Black communities in America. The spoken introductions to the songs capture the traditions of the time, and the musicality, mainly through handclapping, flutes, and stringed instruments, is wholesome and moving as the performers and audience alike put their all into the evening.

The recognition and foresight of this movement in 1965 were brave and groundbreaking, yet, astonishingly, some sixty years later, the fight for freedom from slavery and oppression in its many forms continues across the globe. Despite being acknowledged for centuries, the release of this live recording is a pertinent, valuable reminder that the job is far from done.

The Complete Friends of Old Time Music Concert by Bessie Jones, John Davis & the Georgia Sea Island Singers with Mississippi Fred McDowell & Ed Young

Tyler Childers will bring his eagerly awaited live show to Australia and New Zealand early in 2025.

According to Associated Press, Childers is “one of country music’s most compelling and unpredictable artists.” He released his acclaimed new album, ‘Rustin’ In The Rain,’ late last year via Hickman Holler Records/RCA Records, which includes the GRAMMY and ACM-nominated single, ‘In Your Love.’

Childers’ music, is steeped in the rich traditions of his Kentucky homeland, and resonates with a rare authenticity. Childers’ lyrics, often painted with the struggles and triumphs of the working class, hit like a punch to the gut.

‘In Your Love’ has garnered over 10 million video views to date, 180 million on-demand streams and received praise from outlets such as NPR Music, Billboard, Pitchfork, Stereogum, The Advocate and Rolling Stone, who declared it “the music video of compassion and caring we need right now,” while USA Today called the video “a much-needed portrait of inclusivity.”

TYLER CHILDERS MULE PULL TOUR AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND 2025
SPARK ARENA, AUCKLAND THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6
SANDSTONE POINT HOTEL, BRISBANE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8
THE GREEN ROOM, BYRON BAY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9
HORDERN PAVILION, SYDNEY WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12
FORESHORE PARK, NEWCASTLE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15
ROYAL THEATRE, CANBERRA SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16
SIDNEY MYER MUSIC BOWL, MELBOURNE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20
COAL CREEK COMMUNITY PARK & MUSEUM, KORUMBURRA SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22

General sale begins Friday, July 12th at 10am local time
My Live Nation pre-sale begins on Thursday, July 11th at 2pm local time
Ticket information available via livenation.com.au, livenation.co.nz or lovepolice.com.au

Sabrina Carpenter has made UK chart history. Moreover, the singer had both the number one and number two spots on the British singles chart for the third week in a row with her tracks “Please Please Please” and “Espresso.” This marks Carpenter as the first female artist in the history of the Official Charts to […]

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