Howdy Gene Clark fans! 

This month's Echoes is chock full o' good stuff. First some news...

Sundazed Records is taking pre-orders for this special color vinyl 45 of The Byrds Eight Miles High. From Sundazed:

"This special Sundazed release marks the first use of the recently-located original mono mixdown masters. McGuinn has always felt that the first recordings of these songs were more spontaneous. And when asked about the RCA version of ‘‘Eight Miles High’’ Crosby declared, ‘‘It was a stunner, it was better, it was stronger. It was the way we wanted it to be.’’"

The campaign to Induct Gene Clark into the Songwriters Hall of Fame is nearing 2,500 signatures! As of this writing we're still *46* signatures shy of reaching that goal. Nominations will take place later this summer, so PLEASE sign the petition and spread the word. The more the better! Once the goal of 2.5K signatures is met, we'll be giving away one copy of The Byrds Video Album DVD with 12 high quality videos of their tv appearances from 1965-1967. The lucky winner will be announced on the Facebook page for the petition, on Twitter and in this newsletter. 

If you live in the Bonner Springs/Kansas City MO area, the Bonner Springs Historic Preservation Society will be hosting a special night profiling Gene Clark and The Byrds on Thursday, June 8th at 7pm at the Bonner Springs Library. Please see details below and if you happen to attend, drop me a line and let me know how it went!

1967 was a big year for music and among all of the celebrations going on (including our own  Gene Clark 50 tributes), is a compilation CD by British writer, broadcaster and music journalist, Jon Savage. The CD includes the single 45 version of Gene's So You Say You Lost Your Baby which was released in that magical year as the second single from his debut solo album Gene Clark With The Gosdin Brothers. You can read a review of the 1967: The Year Pop Divided CD here.

Speaking of British writers, Johnny Rogan's new book, Requiem For The Timeless Volume 2 is scheduled for release in August, 2017. In this volume, Johnny Rogan writes in depth about Byrds members Gene Clark, Michael Clarke, Kevin Kelley, Gram Parsons, Clarence White and Skip Battin. The Clarkophile will have an exclusive interview with Johnny about his book on his blogspot in August, so be sure to check it out. There will also be a 5Q with Johnny in the August issue of Echoes. Pre-orders for the book can be made here.

Added to the archives on the website is another article from Zigzag Magazine, titled Byrds May Come and Byrds May Go But Gene Clark Flies on Forever by Jean-Pierre Moisset. This article from 1975 updates readers on Gene's career in anticipation of the new release of his masterwork No Other. Look for the rare ad for the album at the end of the article.

Recently I came across some photos of Gene with Roger from 1978 by freelance photographer Michael Conen. The photos of Gene Clark with Roger McGuinn were taken on April 14, 1978 at Bogart's in Cincinatti, Ohio before the formation of McGuinn, Clark and Hillman. One of the photos is interesting because it shows Gene with a Fender Telecaster! (Gene hadn't been photographed with an electric guitar for 10 years.) Michael has graciously allowed us to show his photos on the Special Collections page on the Gene Clark website for your enjoyment. You can read about the show and details on the photography on Michael Conen's blog here.

Last but certainly not least is this month's 5 Questions with PETER OLIVA. Peter has a wealth of great stories about his time with Gene. I think you'll enjoy this one!

Whew! That's about all for now. So long until next time! Keep on Clarkin'!

Left: Peter Oliva Right: L-R: Andy Kandanes, Rick Clark, Peter Oliva, Billy Shea, Tommy Kaye, Gene Clark (kneeling). Photo: Torbjorn Clavero.

PETER OLIVA began his career as a session player in NYC’s Greenwich Village scene in the 1960s before moving on to California in the 1970s, whereupon he first met and jammed with Gene, both of whom were by then living in the Mendocin area. In 1976, Peter backed Gene in the Mendocino Rhythm Section – a band whose core later membership later evolved into the hard-rocking KC Southern Band (with Billy Shea, Thomas Jefferson Kaye and Andy Kandanes), captured for posterity on the 3 Byrds Land in London release.Into the early 80s, Peter also played in one of the many incarnations of Gene's touring group, the Firebyrds. Now a Gospel singer-songwriter, Peter and his wife have traveled across the US on numerous occasions with his traveling music ministry since 1990.

peterolivamusicministry.com.

1 - When was the first time you met Gene?

Back in 1971, me and some other local Mendocino musicians were playing in the only coffee house in town at the time called "The Pyewackett". Now I had never met Gene before, but I knew from the local gossip chain that he lived up there. So, this particular night Gene comes stumbling in with his guitar case in hand, and everyone is whispering, "Do you know who that is? That's Gene Clark from the Byrds". At that time, I was a young sassy New York bass player, and to me, I could have cared less who he was. It just didn't impress me. Well Geno comes up and has his guitar with him and asks if he could sit in, to which all these guys say, "sure man, c'mon". So, Gene pulls out his guitar and starts playing random chords that made no sense, or that had no relatable musical structure! (Oh, did I also say that he was, Skunk Drunk?!) Well all these guys up there couldn't follow what he was playing. Embarrassed, confused, huffing and puffing, one by one they left the stage. I myself wasn't going for it, and I'm thinkin' to myself, "big deal ‘Byrd Boy!’ You ain’t gonna mess me up".  So I followed everything he played. He then finishes his highway symphony, and then he turns around, and smiles at me, with that crazy Geno grin of his, packs up his guitar, and leaves. Now all these small-town hippie musicians and patrons start in to backbiting, putting him down, and generally scorning the guy! I didn't care one way or the other, I was into no excuses, and if you played a song with me back then I would follow whatever you were doing and make it sound good, or better, that was my job! No big brag on me, but I wasn't just out from under the cabbage leaf either. I had just months prior arrived from New York where I had the privilege of playing with some very heavy weight musicians back there, and even though I was just a kid, I earned their respect, and was well accepted by them. I was a Player, period!

2 - What is your favorite Gene Clark story/memory?

Let's fast-forward now 10-12 years. I had played, toured and recorded for some time in bands with Gene and at that time the present band incarnation was, "The FireByrds". The one night that stands out in memory though became a revelation of the man to me! Geno and I roomed together on the road, so we hung out some because of this. We were both hungry, and it was late after doing some show in upstate New York, so we found this little late night mom & pop restaurant, order, and commence to chowing down. While this is happening, and I've got a mouth full of food, Gene looks at me, (again with that grin) and says, "Peter, you know why you're here?” I said, "cause I'm hungry" he laughs, (by the way, Geno had this kinda goofy Kansas mid-west hick kid laugh. You had to hear it to know what I’m talking about! I think I miss that stupid laugh the most about him!) Then he says to me, "remember that night way back in Mendocino when you all were playing and I came and sat in with you guys and started playing anything I felt like; you remember that?” So I said, "yeah Gene, I remember that, real well. Do you mean to say you remember that?” So he just continues and says, "that's why you're here! All those guys were assholes and belong up there, I knew who they were. But you played every stinkin' stupid chord I played and followed me through it all! That's why you're here!" Then he goes back to eating. I was amazed! That he should have any memory of that night (in Mendocino)? The guy was blasted! But...this is what many missed in their assumed evaluations of Geno! That. This. Was. Gene! One-of-a-kind. Still “one of the boys”. But, whatever preconceptions people may have had of him, or what they were saying - he was aware of it all! A lot of people who had written him off as this hick Midwest guy, who just made it on savant writing talent, missed something big about Geno. The vein ran a lot deeper. Poets are too often misunderstood for their frailties. I know there are others who really knew him too, but with Geno, assumed identities had to be left at the door, and you just had to sit down with him and be your real self. Folks, you know? ‘Cause most of the time, that's who he was. Yeah, I met Gene Clark back in '71. And years later, over some escarole and bean soup, I met him again.  There were a lot of good times between Geno and I, and it would take too long to mention all the different particular incidents that occurred, and anyway most are personal and just not for public consumption.

Left: The KC Southern band: L-R: Peter Oliva, Gene Clark, Billy Shea, Tommy Kaye and Andy Kandanes (photo courtesy Gunnar Gunnarsson). Right: FireByrds: L-R Michael Clarke, Matt Andes, Gene Clark, Peter Oliva and Michael Hardwick.

3 - What do you know about Gene that you would want his fans to know?

As far as who Gene was, he was a guy who loved the camaraderie of a band, and as I stated before, he was just, one of the boys. He never pulled star trips on people. He was also a sensitive man and had a real tap on the muse! A true poet–nothing pretentious about him! He loved his boys (Kelly and Kai Clark) and talked about them a lot. He had some major-league problems, and they kept him from being a lot more well known then he was, but as I have stated before, he was just "real people"!

4 - Favorite Gene Clark Song/Album? I have a lot of favorite songs!

On that "Hell Tour", Geno was working on a song that came to be known as "Gypsy Rider" and he used to sing it to me, over & over in our hotel room, 'cause, as I said, we were road roomies. Even though he'd drive me crazy at times going over that tune, I still really like that song, and I got to watch it develop over the course of that tour. Another one is an early Byrds' song that I think catches the quintessential sound that came to be known as, "Folk Rock" and that song is, "I Knew I'd Want You". He, and Bob Dylan were the pioneers of that sound. Bob on the East Coast & Geno, really nailing it in his early Byrds songs that became the West Coast LA Folk Rock sound as well as being one of the first to develop the "Country Rock" sound, which as you know, many other bands picked up on.

5 - fill in the blank: I think Gene Clark should be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame because...

Gene should be in the Songwriters Hall of Fame because HE SHOULD!!!!! The man was prolific and poetic, not to mention again his pioneering spirit that sparked the Folk Rock & Country Rock genres. I don't know who makes these decisions about who gets in, but they are sorely missing the boat on Gene Clark!!!