He bought the guitar for like $250. He was allowed to make payments for like $25 per week. They were only 20 years old in this video (the bass player was 19). That was their first year together as Grand Funk Railroad. In 1971, they sold out Shea Stadium in 7 days. It took the Beatles 7 weeks! Lead singer Mark Farner hadn't played guitar for about a year-and-a-half. He said he was "relearning it!" And he didn't start playing guitar until he was 15. Mark Farner is STILL performing at the age of 73.
Actually they sold out Shea Stadium in 72 HOURS! They were hired to open for Led Zeppelin’s 1969 tour and on only the second show opening for Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin’s manager had them unplugged mid set and kicked off of the stage because they were TOO GOOD!
@@stevenewcomer8837 You’re right! I interviewed Mark Farner a couple weeks ago on my show, and he corrected me!! Check it out - the interview is amazing.
Emotion enhances every note. Saw these guys when i was 16 and they were only four years older than i. I had been a drummer for four years when i saw them. Blew me away with their passion and love of their music.
Maybe the greatest live video ever recoreded on You Tube...These guys were just 18, 19 and 20 years old at this time....soon after this they were invited to the Atlanta Pop festival and then they rocketed up to be the hottest band in the world for the next 6 years or so selling out across the globe. They sold out Shea stadium in 72 hours in the days with no internet...an unheard of feat...and Mark was, and still is, GFR. He wrote 90% of the songs and music, was lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards, harmonica and played bass and the drums too. Incredibly talented man as were Don and Mel. Craig was great when he joined too...my favorite band by far for me growing up in the 70's. Will always be #1 for me...
Grand Funk was huge in the late sixties through mid seventies. Mark Farner is a great front man. Great voice, plays lead guitar, organ and harmonica. He has great stage presence. I met him twice after two concerts - really nice guy. I recommend you watch Heartbreaker live by them.
Saw them live at Shea Stadium in 1970…Mark Farner is the guitarist & played a Les Paul Messenger…This song is about a man in prison & he’s talking about what he will do after his release…The effect was called a Fuzz Box…It was a pedal with an on/off switch…They’re now defunct…Another classic performance by Deep Purple, live, 1970, Child in Time…
I'm sure that was awesome! Would've loved to experience live shows back then. I was actually thinking it could be about prison but for some reason my brain thought of a hard working man lol. Also, I have reacted to Child in Time (though not the live recording). If you'd like to check it out ua-cam.com/video/vePHl6nWkZc/v-deo.html
Dude, Grand Funk was on their red album tour and opening for them were an unknown Black Sabbath. Sabbath ate up Grand Funks heavy metal sound and ran with it . The following year Sabbath put out " Paranoid " The same fuzz guitar the same nuclear sirens and even the same name " Paranoid " !
Mark did gospel for a long time after GFR broke up. He's still performing some of his early works and just played at a casino near his hometown of Flint, MI.
The Drummer with the Bassist ended up ripping the lead singer Mark off! Mark couldn't believe the two of them basically left him penniless. Mark is an amazing Singer, Guitarist, he's an overall top Musician, his energy is so catchy & his skills are on point.
Yes. This was years AFTER Mark gave Don 100% of the songwriting credit for the song “We’re An American Band” which was GFR’s most famous song. Don asked Mark if he could have 100% of that song because he had never had 100% of anything in the band before and out of the goodness of his heart, he gave it away. Their Publicist, Lynn Goldsmith, witnessed it and has told the story many times. I guarantee Don knew that if he asked Mark out right like that, Mark would let him have it. He used Mark’s kindness against him. Don came to Mark with most of the lyrics. Musically, Mark composed the song right down to using the Cow Bell, and he even composed Don’s iconic drum solo that opens the song. 90% of GFR’s music library is all Mark Farner. One stage, Mark was the prototype of what a “Frontman” in a Rock Band would be. Only thing is, very, very few Frontmen play rhythm and lead guitars, harmonica, piano/organ AND SINGS LEAD VOCALS ON 98% OF THE SONGS! If you watch him on stage, he is also the MUSIC DIRECTOR! God Bless you Mark Farner. 🙏🏼 THE WORLD NEEDS MILLIONS MORE JUST LIKE YOU!!! 👏👏👏👏
GFR sold out globally from "69 through '75...best band in the world during that time frame. They blew Led Zeppelin off the stage when they played one gig together. The lead guitarist is Mark Farner....he started out in music playing bass, then went to lead guitar. He also plays keyboards on many GFR songs and he plays drums and harmonica as well. He also wrote 90% of the songs for GFR. In this video he and Don the drummer are both 20 years old. Mel on bass is only 18 years old here.
Mark Farner lead guitar that you are trying to "express" many of us call "Raw"! Raw guitar yeah that's what many of we GFR call Mark's guitar licks! By the way this guitar of Mark's in this video was $200.00! He worked on it himself and made it "his own" as you can see and hear!
The wall of amps follows the same principle that used to be an Opera Singer's goal before there were electronic microphones: to reach the people in the "cheap seats", that's the back row. Personally, I used to like seeing live bands with their elaborate, huge sound systems. Peace.
I'm glad you realized the microphones were crapping out as Mark's sound pressure level peaked. Those were the studio microphones and not the ones Grand Funk used in concert.
Both Mark Farner the lead singer and Mel Schacher the bassist were using West tube driven amplifiers with West speaker cabinets. Mel had a bass amplifier with a built-in overdrive switch that he could activate with a foot pedal. Mel also had the neck pickup of his Fender Jazz bass replaced with a Humbucking pickup which gave his bass a deeper, thicker tone along with heavy guage flat wound strings that was very popular with many bass players during that time. Mel also had the bass speaker cabinets and you can see the word West behind him on the speaker cabinets in several shots. The stack of speakers was necessary because there wasn't good PA and speaker systems like there are today. This performance was from an early PBS show called the Show in Hershey Pennsylvania in 1969 that took high school students and let them listen to many of the top artists of the day. Much of the Show is available on UA-cam and I have three parts saved that I enjoy going back and watching. This was the first performance of the Show and I am not sure the young audience knew how to take the band.
I was 13 years old and went out and got my first drum kit after seeing this... they were grate... theirs a lot of stuff they did and a lot of good songs.. Closer to Home is a Big hit.. and Nothing is the same is also a big one but I love the band and like lots of there stuff.. Grate performance. It's 5 start..just grate, never gets old...
Love some Grand Funk! They have some great songs I hope you check out more. We're an American band by them is a must I think! The video is great. By the way your pretty damn good yourself singing the Zeppelin song. ❤🍀
Mark's story about the guitar here is it was the only one he could buy on credit at the time, but it was hollow. So he stuffed the holes with foam rubber, slapped strips of masking tape on it and threw some green paint on. Most definitely "custom"! Only 2 bands sold out Shea Stadium in NY. The Beatles and grand Funk Railroad, however GFR sold out 2 weeks faster than the Beatles did! Saw them several times in the 70's and always a fantastic show. Check out We're An American Band, I'm Your Captain/Closer to Home, Mean Mistreater, Heartbreaker just to name their major hits.
It was a 67 Musicraft Messanger. It’s rare. He also had/has an Aluminum Messanger that’s gorgeous. I’m pretty sure he owned a Les Paul that was owned by Steve Marriott and Peter Frampton used it on some songs he was own with GFR. I’m pretty sure he has more but those are the three I know about. I like guitars. Farner started out as a bass player, then went to the guitar, he plays keyboards, the drums and harmonica.
Sherry, you are partly correct. It is a 1967 Musicraft Messenger. The fuzz circuit was built into the Messenger which has a toggle switch at the bottom of the guitar in back of the volume and tone controls. If you are referring to the Chrome guitar that he used to play, it's called a Veleno built by John Veleno who passed away recently. The white Gibson that Mark Farner used to play that was given to him by Steve Marriott of Humble Pie was a Gibson SG Custom. He also had a backup Messenger guitar that was not painted green like Frankenstein and also a Gibson SG backup that was transparent Brown. I too love guitars and a guitarist and have a Messenger and Veleno gutars. Both unique in sound respectively.
Mark's guitar is a Messinger" semi - hollow body, if you look closely ,the F holes are taped up and under the front pickup is a fuzz switch. The first lyrics tells the story; " Walls and bars won't keep that stuff from me."
Mark s guitar is a Messenger has an metal body & neck .Mark plugged the f holes .The Messenger was one of the first active guitars thus the fuzz sound Mel the bassets often used a fuzz tone for his sound he used a Fender jazz bass with an extra pickup probably can't get much deeper tone. Love your comments keep them in coming
The guitar is a Messenger guitar with a custom built-in Jimi Hendrix fuzz tone. There is an extra switch on it that Mark Farner can hit and get that lead tone. He had to stuff it with padding and tape up the F-holes to stop the incessant feedback from their sheer amount of volume.
As a drummer from this time, the snares in the bottom of the can were adjustable for the sound (tight or muddy), then the head adjustment for tightness or looser for the tone also. No choreography, or bullshit...just play man. Thanks for the memory.
this song is about a man in prison wanting to get out. Mel Schacher, the bassist is known as the god of thunder, for good reason. Mark Farner used this guitar for the first several years of the band. Donnie Brewer, the drummer, is IMO the greatest rock drummer ever ! They are all still performing regularly. You mentioned Janis, She and Mark were buddies.
Sad about their bitter breakup. Drummer went on to drum for Bob Seger. Wings of Pegasus review is interesting. The guy is lead guitarist in his own band
I feel fortunate to grow up in the 60's and 70's but that just means I'm frickin' old now....but I loved the music I grew up on....loved your reaction...fyi the drummer & guitar player were only 21 yrs old and believe it or not the bass player was only 18 yrs old....this band belongs in the rock and roll hall of Fame....I'd really love to see you react Pink Floyd....
Yeah I wish I could travel back to the 70's to see all my favorite bands play lol. But that's crazy to think that they were younger than me at this live performance! I've done a couple of PF reactions (more coming soon), also have a cover of Shine on
Great reaction and comments !! Marks guitar was an Musicraft, Eastwood "Messenger", and with single coils it fed-back like crazy so he put tape over the sound holes to minimize the FB. It also had an Aluminum Neck which added to the thin tone. I owned one in the later 70's but I didn't keep it very long... Mark Gigged the hell out of it till the mid '70' and started playing a "Veleno Original" ('72) and lately switched to a Parker Fly. Mark credits the Fly made him a better player, and is super light-weight !! I might have to try one these Les Pauls our getting too Heavy for me. I'm 74 years young and still rock'in too !! Long Live GFR !! anf Mark Farner, cause it ain't GFR without him !!
9:10 Contributing to the "beat up look" of the Messenger guitar, Farner put masking tape over the "F-holes" to control the feedback. In an interview, Farner said that he later saw his guitar on display at the R&R Hall of Fame. Funny how the guitar made there but Grand Funk didn't. I'm pretty sure that Messenger didn't play itself.
He was talking about being in prison - "These walls and bars won''t keep that stuff from me." "...You'll be my reefer. Gotta keep smokin' that thing..."
Eric Burdon and The Animals recorded this song in 1966 ! Its about getting busted for selling pot and not going to stop when they get out ! Grand Funk's cover is one of the best =) They will be touring this year first by their self and later will open for Kid Rock ! GFR was very popular in the 70's and sold Shea Stadium faster than The Beatles did !
The organ you are talking about with the whammy bat is a Hammond Organ. If you lookf or Lachey Doley videos on You Tube, the guy is from Australia and one great blues man
That's a Messenger guitar. He put the masking tape on it to cover the holes. He liked the way it sounded better. He was in prison for drugs and he is talking about what he is going to do after he gets out.
Bass is 19 yrs old, guitar and drummer 21 just fyi.... They were playing at a studio with about 10 people there... GFR never left anything on the table, everytime!
Don't know whether or not you've heard of him but most definitely check out a highly under-rated guitarist TOMMY BOLIN ! POST TOASTIE would be a excellent intro to his unbelievable guitar skills as well as his song writing. Tommy also had a few stints playing in the JAMES GANG &DEEPPURPLE
Yep saw the original group at Notre Dame they were really good. They broke up eventually bitterly. Mark Farmer still playing GFR had some commercial success also! OK youngster lol
The song is about a man in prison for pot. And he misses his woman and she will be his " High " when he gets out. Look at their equipment, compare to a stage you see on T.V. now.
@@samuraikaito They have sold 30 million record and had 13 gold records with quite a few top 40 hits. They were actually two different sounding groups, heavy bluey rock like this from 1969 to about 1972 and a more polished rock radio freindly sounding band from 1973 till they spilt in 1976. They still tour as two groups, the drummer and bass player tour and Grand Funk and the lead singer and one who wrote 95% of the songs tours as Mark Farners American band. His band is the better of the two and he got screwed around by the other two hence why they use the band name and not him.
The story I was told is that they didn’t particularly hit it off well with rock critics and it resulted in a back lash from many of them though not all. Not sure what triggered it.
@@Slo-ryde Their manager Terry Knight was a total ass to the press and thought that any press was good press, so in turn they ended up black balling the band and it still hasn`t completely went away to this day. The fans love them, and the critics hate them.
@@webman1956 well it makes sense that TK had something to do with it. God knows what he was telling the press without GF even being aware! The degree of damage that guy did in their early years is amazing. It’s a wonder they kept it together for as long as they did….sad ending for them.
Nope. Song begins with him telling you he's in jail, working in the laundry, and waiting until he could get out & see his girl again. (jail laundry was hot as an oven, got blistered hands from handling canvas laundry bags (he changed the original lyrics from canvas to "nickel bags" which makes no sense.) Great show, much better than when the Animals sang it, but I wonder if he got all those Cobra-serpentine moves from Yoga sessions.
Hello, Did you read the lyrics? He is in prison thinking about getting out. dude wake up. he's playing a GIBSON LES PAUL. never hear of Gibson? the guitar is just painted. the guitar is using a fuzz box.
They had a unique sound that NOBODY could imitate! A true American original!
He bought the guitar for like $250. He was allowed to make payments for like $25 per week. They were only 20 years old in this video (the bass player was 19). That was their first year together as Grand Funk Railroad. In 1971, they sold out Shea Stadium in 7 days. It took the Beatles 7 weeks! Lead singer Mark Farner hadn't played guitar for about a year-and-a-half. He said he was "relearning it!" And he didn't start playing guitar until he was 15. Mark Farner is STILL performing at the age of 73.
Fucking amazing. I'm 26 and they all look about the same age or older....Only 20 years old and they whip this shit out my fucking God.
Schacher was 18 here.
Actually they sold out Shea Stadium in 72 HOURS! They were hired to open for Led Zeppelin’s 1969 tour and on only the second show opening for Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin’s manager had them unplugged mid set and kicked off of the stage because they were TOO GOOD!
@@stevenewcomer8837 You’re right! I interviewed Mark Farner a couple weeks ago on my show, and he corrected me!! Check it out - the interview is amazing.
Bass player 18 years old on this video
When your 15yrs old and this is the first concert you get to go to, well let's just say, l never looked back, l'm still on that journey 🤟🤪 Rock on!!
Kudos to you! Haha my first concert wouldn't stand a chance against this
@@samuraikaito lol, who was it?
Drake 😂😅
Agree. I was 14.
Emotion enhances every note. Saw these guys when i was 16 and they were only four years older than i. I had been a drummer for four years when i saw them. Blew me away with their passion and love of their music.
They played like this every night. Unbelievable.
Maybe the greatest live video ever recoreded on You Tube...These guys were just 18, 19 and 20 years old at this time....soon after this they were invited to the Atlanta Pop festival and then they rocketed up to be the hottest band in the world for the next 6 years or so selling out across the globe. They sold out Shea stadium in 72 hours in the days with no internet...an unheard of feat...and Mark was, and still is, GFR. He wrote 90% of the songs and music, was lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards, harmonica and played bass and the drums too. Incredibly talented man as were Don and Mel. Craig was great when he joined too...my favorite band by far for me growing up in the 70's. Will always be #1 for me...
“Funk” ain’t in their name for nothing!
Grand Funk was huge in the late sixties through mid seventies. Mark Farner is a great front man. Great voice, plays lead guitar, organ and harmonica. He has great stage presence. I met him twice after two concerts - really nice guy. I recommend you watch Heartbreaker live by them.
Absolutely! It's so good
Funk owned the midwest back in the 70's.
One of thee best and most powerful 3piece bands ever, mega
Saw them live at Shea Stadium in 1970…Mark Farner is the guitarist & played a Les Paul Messenger…This song is about a man in prison & he’s talking about what he will do after his release…The effect was called a Fuzz Box…It was a pedal with an on/off switch…They’re now defunct…Another classic performance by Deep Purple, live, 1970, Child in Time…
I'm sure that was awesome! Would've loved to experience live shows back then. I was actually thinking it could be about prison but for some reason my brain thought of a hard working man lol.
Also, I have reacted to Child in Time (though not the live recording). If you'd like to check it out ua-cam.com/video/vePHl6nWkZc/v-deo.html
@@samuraikaito Saw them perform it live 3x…
@@samuraikaito Ten Years After, Live at Woodstock, I’m Going Home…ua-cam.com/video/2YB7qyn5MVs/v-deo.html
If you like heavy fuzz check out their song Paranoid. It's not the Sabbath tune, just the same title.
Dude, Grand Funk was on their red album tour and opening for them were an unknown Black Sabbath.
Sabbath ate up Grand Funks heavy metal sound and ran with it . The following year Sabbath put out "
Paranoid " The same fuzz guitar the same nuclear sirens and even the same name " Paranoid " !
Mark did gospel for a long time after GFR broke up. He's still performing some of his early works and just played at a casino near his hometown of Flint, MI.
Back when it was all talent. They really knew how to sing and play their instruments. Miss those days.
There are still some great talent out but I definitely agree it is few a far between these days
Inside a prison, looking out. “When I get out you just wait and see / these walls and bars won’t keep that stuff from me.”
The Drummer with the Bassist ended up ripping the lead singer Mark off! Mark couldn't believe the two of them basically left him penniless.
Mark is an amazing Singer, Guitarist, he's an overall top Musician, his energy is so catchy & his skills are on point.
Yes. This was years AFTER Mark gave Don 100% of the songwriting credit for the song “We’re An American Band” which was GFR’s most famous song. Don asked Mark if he could have 100% of that song because he had never had 100% of anything in the band before and out of the goodness of his heart, he gave it away. Their Publicist, Lynn Goldsmith, witnessed it and has told the story many times. I guarantee Don knew that if he asked Mark out right like that, Mark would let him have it. He used Mark’s kindness against him. Don came to Mark with most of the lyrics. Musically, Mark composed the song right down to using the Cow Bell, and he even composed Don’s iconic drum solo that opens the song. 90% of GFR’s music library is all Mark Farner. One stage, Mark was the prototype of what a “Frontman” in a Rock Band would be. Only thing is, very, very few Frontmen play rhythm and lead guitars, harmonica, piano/organ AND SINGS LEAD VOCALS ON 98% OF THE SONGS! If you watch him on stage, he is also the MUSIC DIRECTOR! God Bless you Mark Farner. 🙏🏼 THE WORLD NEEDS MILLIONS MORE JUST LIKE YOU!!! 👏👏👏👏
GFR sold out globally from "69 through '75...best band in the world during that time frame. They blew Led Zeppelin off the stage when they played one gig together. The lead guitarist is Mark Farner....he started out in music playing bass, then went to lead guitar. He also plays keyboards on many GFR songs and he plays drums and harmonica as well. He also wrote 90% of the songs for GFR. In this video he and Don the drummer are both 20 years old. Mel on bass is only 18 years old here.
I can’t believe how young they are, here!
Hell ov a band. Mega Huge back in the day. Super HUGE !
Thanks for the reaction !
Mark Farner lead guitar that you are trying to "express" many of us call "Raw"! Raw guitar yeah that's what many of we GFR call Mark's guitar licks! By the way this guitar of Mark's in this video was $200.00! He worked on it himself and made it "his own" as you can see and hear!
The wall of amps follows the same principle that used to be an Opera Singer's goal before there were electronic microphones: to reach the people in the "cheap seats", that's the back row. Personally, I used to like seeing live bands with their elaborate, huge sound systems. Peace.
I had no idea about the Opera thing, totally makes sense though
I'm glad you realized the microphones were crapping out as Mark's sound pressure level peaked. Those were the studio microphones and not the ones Grand Funk used in concert.
Did you know that this is considered 8vtightest rock performance ever recorded? What do you think?
Speechless. Talk about energy!!! Man!!!!
If you can’t focus on the bass in this song… You just don’t get it! Loli
Right on!
GFR’s song “We’re an American band” is one of the most well known songs in popular music history
Both Mark Farner the lead singer and Mel Schacher the bassist were using West tube driven amplifiers with West speaker cabinets. Mel had a bass amplifier with a built-in overdrive switch that he could activate with a foot pedal. Mel also had the neck pickup of his Fender Jazz bass replaced with a Humbucking pickup which gave his bass a deeper, thicker tone along with heavy guage flat wound strings that was very popular with many bass players during that time. Mel also had the bass speaker cabinets and you can see the word West behind him on the speaker cabinets in several shots. The stack of speakers was necessary because there wasn't good PA and speaker systems like there are today. This performance was from an early PBS show called the Show in Hershey Pennsylvania in 1969 that took high school students and let them listen to many of the top artists of the day. Much of the Show is available on UA-cam and I have three parts saved that I enjoy going back and watching. This was the first performance of the Show and I am not sure the young audience knew how to take the band.
I was 13 years old and went out and got my first drum kit after seeing this... they were grate... theirs a lot of stuff they did and a lot of good songs.. Closer to Home is a Big hit.. and Nothing is the same is also a big one but I love the band and like lots of there stuff.. Grate performance. It's 5 start..just grate, never gets old...
Love some Grand Funk! They have some great songs I hope you check out more. We're an American band by them is a must I think! The video is great. By the way your pretty damn good yourself singing the Zeppelin song. ❤🍀
Thank you! It's one of my favorites to play 😁
Mark's story about the guitar here is it was the only one he could buy on credit at the time, but it was hollow. So he stuffed the holes with foam rubber, slapped strips of masking tape on it and threw some green paint on. Most definitely "custom"! Only 2 bands sold out Shea Stadium in NY. The Beatles and grand Funk Railroad, however GFR sold out 2 weeks faster than the Beatles did! Saw them several times in the 70's and always a fantastic show. Check out We're An American Band, I'm Your Captain/Closer to Home, Mean Mistreater, Heartbreaker just to name their major hits.
It was a 67 Musicraft Messanger. It’s rare. He also had/has an Aluminum Messanger that’s gorgeous. I’m pretty sure he owned a Les Paul that was owned by Steve Marriott and Peter Frampton used it on some songs he was own with GFR. I’m pretty sure he has more but those are the three I know about. I like guitars. Farner started out as a bass player, then went to the guitar, he plays keyboards, the drums and harmonica.
Never heard of that guitar, guess since there aren't many around at this point
@@samuraikaito They said that guitar is in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame but this band is not there! Unbelievable.
Sherry, you are partly correct. It is a 1967 Musicraft Messenger. The fuzz circuit was built into the Messenger which has a toggle switch at the bottom of the guitar in back of the volume and tone controls. If you are referring to the Chrome guitar that he used to play, it's called a Veleno built by John Veleno who passed away recently. The white Gibson that Mark Farner used to play that was given to him by Steve Marriott of Humble Pie was a Gibson SG Custom. He also had a backup Messenger guitar that was not painted green like Frankenstein and also a Gibson SG backup that was transparent Brown. I too love guitars and a guitarist and have a Messenger and Veleno gutars. Both unique in sound respectively.
I’d never seen one of your videos. It was really good! Subbed. Happy Holidays! 🎄
Thanks for subbing, happy holidays!
Mark's guitar is a Messinger" semi - hollow body, if you look closely ,the F holes are taped up and under the front pickup is a fuzz switch. The first lyrics tells the story; " Walls and bars won't keep that stuff from me."
Mark s guitar is a Messenger has an metal body & neck .Mark plugged the f holes .The Messenger was one of the first active guitars thus the fuzz sound Mel the bassets often used a fuzz tone for his sound he used a Fender jazz bass with an extra pickup probably can't get much deeper tone. Love your comments keep them in coming
The guitar is a Messenger guitar with a custom built-in Jimi Hendrix fuzz tone. There is an extra switch on it that Mark Farner can hit and get that lead tone. He had to stuff it with padding and tape up the F-holes to stop the incessant feedback from their sheer amount of volume.
Oh that's dope! Don't think anyone has mentioned that yet
Awesome! GFR!
As a drummer from this time, the snares in the bottom of the can were adjustable for the sound (tight or muddy), then the head adjustment for tightness or looser for the tone also. No choreography, or bullshit...just play man. Thanks for the memory.
that guitar is a Musicraft Messenger guitar, $700 - $800 back in '67. sounds great, don't it. you shoulda seen them live...i did a half dozen times.
Wish I could go back in time 😅
Mark paid $200 for that Messenger guitar and paid $25 at a time till it was paid off. Those are his words.
Very good analysis by samurai, of a complicated song!👍
this song is about a man in prison wanting to get out. Mel Schacher, the bassist is known as the god of thunder, for good reason. Mark Farner used this guitar for the first several years of the band. Donnie Brewer, the drummer, is IMO the greatest rock drummer ever ! They are all still performing regularly. You mentioned Janis, She and Mark were buddies.
Farner - bringing his American Indian Spirit shining through - a powerhouse band to the max !!
Sad about their bitter breakup. Drummer went on to drum for Bob Seger.
Wings of Pegasus review is interesting. The guy is lead guitarist in his own band
I feel fortunate to grow up in the 60's and 70's but that just means I'm frickin' old now....but I loved the music I grew up on....loved your reaction...fyi the drummer & guitar player were only 21 yrs old and believe it or not the bass player was only 18 yrs old....this band belongs in the rock and roll hall of Fame....I'd really love to see you react Pink Floyd....
Yeah I wish I could travel back to the 70's to see all my favorite bands play lol. But that's crazy to think that they were younger than me at this live performance! I've done a couple of PF reactions (more coming soon), also have a cover of Shine on
Mark farmer had said his guitar was a 200 dollar guitar that he modified, hence the duck tape everywhere on it.
To quote Tuco from Breaking Bad: "TIGHT TIGHT TIGHT!"
they were all so well synced
Great reaction and comments !! Marks guitar was an Musicraft, Eastwood "Messenger", and with single coils it fed-back like crazy so he put tape over the sound holes to minimize the FB. It also had an Aluminum Neck which added to the thin tone. I owned one in the later 70's but I didn't keep it very long... Mark Gigged the hell out of it till the mid '70' and started playing a "Veleno Original" ('72) and lately switched to a Parker Fly. Mark credits the Fly made him a better player, and is super light-weight !! I might have to try one these Les Pauls our getting too Heavy for me. I'm 74 years young and still rock'in too !! Long Live GFR !! anf Mark Farner, cause it ain't GFR without him !!
this is the origin of _"Rock-N-Roll Stank Face"_
also, the moment you realize your (grand)parents rocked *_WAY HARDER_* than you ever will.
9:10 Contributing to the "beat up look" of the Messenger guitar, Farner put masking tape over the "F-holes" to control the feedback. In an interview, Farner said that he later saw his guitar on display at the R&R Hall of Fame. Funny how the guitar made there but Grand Funk didn't. I'm pretty sure that Messenger didn't play itself.
Love them! Have you checked out the solo on Stairway to Heaven live from MSG?
Yep, fantastic!
He was talking about being in prison - "These walls and bars won''t keep that stuff from me." "...You'll be my reefer. Gotta keep smokin' that thing..."
excellent reaction!
Glad you enjoyed
Great reaction.
Eric Burdon and The Animals recorded this song in 1966 ! Its about getting busted for selling pot and not going to stop when they get out ! Grand Funk's cover is one of the best =) They will be touring this year first by their self and later will open for Kid Rock ! GFR was very popular in the 70's and sold Shea Stadium faster than The Beatles did !
Great Job!
The organ you are talking about with the whammy bat is a Hammond Organ. If you lookf or Lachey Doley videos on You Tube, the guy is from Australia and one great blues man
That's a Messenger guitar. He put the masking tape on it to cover the holes. He liked the way it sounded better.
He was in prison for drugs and he is talking about what he is going to do after he gets out.
Bass is 19 yrs old, guitar and drummer 21 just fyi.... They were playing at a studio with about 10 people there... GFR never left anything on the table, everytime!
His guitar had a fuzz built into it. He had a switch to turn it on & off.
Try Edger and Johnny Winter doing Tobacco Road its a killer jam live like this but blues Edger plays organ , sax and sings his ass off. its a must see
Actually, Rick Derringer was the one who did all the hot guitar licks for Tobacco Road…
@@henryruizph.d7161 Not in this cover its live
@@garya7893 I don’t recall saying anything about seeing that particular footage live…If I did, kindly point it out to me…
@@henryruizph.d7161 Sorry
Here's Mark Farner talking about his Messenger guitar: ua-cam.com/video/McFV1Hc3IcA/v-deo.html
You sound great!
Don't know whether or not you've heard of him but most definitely check out a highly under-rated guitarist TOMMY BOLIN !
POST TOASTIE would be a excellent intro to his unbelievable guitar skills as well as his song writing. Tommy also had a few stints playing in the JAMES GANG &DEEPPURPLE
Yep saw the original group at Notre Dame they were really good. They broke up eventually bitterly. Mark Farmer still playing GFR had some commercial success also! OK youngster lol
His guitar has an aluminum neck. He had to stuff foam in the F holes to keep it from feed back so much That why there is duct on the the body.
think he used painter masking tape on the semi-hollow or hollow guitar and possibly rewired the pickups and knobs
I'm sure you figured it out already, but Farner played a Musicraft Messenger.
If you really want to hear the Drummer sing Try you some Black Licorice just a suggestion 😉
The song is about a man in prison for pot. And he misses his woman and she will be his " High " when he gets out.
Look at their equipment, compare to a stage you see on T.V. now.
That guitar is an aluminum body and neck.. he stuffed it full of tissues and taped the shit out of it to keep it from squeeeel-ing 😮
Inside Looking Out- in jail/prison.
This is late but, these guys are not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…WTF?!?
Always loved Mark, but that being said, I preferred Don's voice!
Bass player is 18 years old.
The music critics treated them like total shit and still do to this day.
That's crazy but also maybe why I haven't heard of them
@@samuraikaito They have sold 30 million record and had 13 gold records with quite a few top 40 hits. They were actually two different sounding groups, heavy bluey rock like this from 1969 to about 1972 and a more polished rock radio freindly sounding band from 1973 till they spilt in 1976. They still tour as two groups, the drummer and bass player tour and Grand Funk and the lead singer and one who wrote 95% of the songs tours as Mark Farners American band. His band is the better of the two and he got screwed around by the other two hence why they use the band name and not him.
The story I was told is that they didn’t particularly hit it off well with rock critics and it resulted in a back lash from many of them though not all. Not sure what triggered it.
@@Slo-ryde Their manager Terry Knight was a total ass to the press and thought that any press was good press, so in turn they ended up black balling the band and it still hasn`t completely went away to this day. The fans love them, and the critics hate them.
@@webman1956 well it makes sense that TK had something to do with it. God knows what he was telling the press without GF even being aware! The degree of damage that guy did in their early years is amazing. It’s a wonder they kept it together for as long as they did….sad ending for them.
Nope. Song begins with him telling you he's in jail, working in the laundry, and waiting until he could get out & see his girl again. (jail laundry was hot as an oven, got blistered hands from handling canvas laundry bags (he changed the original lyrics from canvas to "nickel bags" which makes no sense.) Great show, much better than when the Animals sang it, but I wonder if he got all those Cobra-serpentine moves from Yoga sessions.
Being from that era, I can tell you that a nickel bag is one way of buying pot. A matchbox was another way.😂😂😂
Hello, Did you read the lyrics? He is in prison thinking about getting out. dude wake up. he's playing a GIBSON LES PAUL. never hear of Gibson? the guitar is just painted. the guitar is using a fuzz box.
That is most certainly not a Les Paul, it's not even a Gibson
It's a hollow bodied Musicraft Messenger. He stuffed it with foam and taped over the F holes to keep the feedback down.
And yet still not in RRHOF….sad
Maybe the bassist is just being himself.
This is 1969.
prison
They sold out the Beatles!!
It would have been be great if Mark could’ve teamed up with Janice Joplin on this song and just feed off of each other