Fascinating! I love the Cryan' Shames! They were the first rock band I ever saw live. It was at the Ridgeland Common facility in Oak Park, Illinois in 1966 (?). I was so impressed by Jim Fairs' guitar licks and he was so young on top of it all. We did Ben Franklin's Almanac and We Could be Happy in my high school rock band (Graf Zepplin - we had our name before Led Zeppelin was formed just to be clear). Now I know why the lyrics of Ben Franklin's Almanac never made sense to me. The lyrics were never meant to make sense in the first place. The thing that always impressed me about the Cryan' Shames was their harmonies. Just out of this world! I rank their harmonies right up there with CSN harmonies. Could be we're in love and Sunshine Psalm off their 2nd album are two cases at point. I was glad to learn that the reason for the personnel changes was not because of the original members not getting along. I speculated that Jim Fairs could have been difficult to work with out of being so full of himself from being as talented as he was that the other members of the band just kicked him out of the band because they couldn't take him anymore. But that didn't seem to be the case. Correct? Tom said Jim got burned out about playing live and just wanted to record and thus went in another direction with his music. Is that true? Anyway, I really enjoyed your video series on the Cryan Shames, my favorite Chicago band!
Great comment I, too, played in a high school rock band, and the Shames were our favorite band. We could have done an entire set just with Shames and New Colony Six songs.
Thanks Bernie. I saw The Cryan' Shames live twice. Once at the Auditorium with Procol Harum, The Staple Singers, and Rotary Connection. A great, great concert. The other time was at Lane Tech H.S. in Chicago in 1968. The warmup band was the Boston Tea Party. The Cryan' Shames are still one of my favorite bands.
I saw The Cryan Shames at The Catacombs club in Houston. I knew nothin' 'bout them but they blew me away with their dynamic stage show 'n super talent. They tossed copies o' A Scratch In The Sky lp out to the audience. I've been a devoted fans ever since. They remain one o' the best live acts I've ever seen...yes I was in the right place at the right time!
Great series with TD! Lifetime fan and our kids listen to several of the ones they grew up listening to. It was always disappointing to me that the world didn’t get to hear their music.
Greenburg, Glickstein, Charles, David Smith & Jones has always been a favorite track. Only recently did I realize it's based on The Beatles track Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band! A variation for sure but so similar...you can't unhear it once you "get it".
Thanks Not sure about website buy Tom did tell me he is in charge of the official Cryan' Shames Facebook page. Wish someone had some movie film or TV clips from those days.
@@berniedropstheneedle684 They were on Showcase '68. Played !st Train to CA and the Warm. Some online film lab has the tapes, but will only rent them out to documentary type people.
I (Kent Murdick) played in a band in Gainesville, FL with Isaac and Don Felder called the Continentals. We were about 14 at the time. The band really stunk but were were the cheapest and practically only band in town. I'm sorry the Cryan Shames didn't hit it big. Of course Don joined the Eagles and I went on to write books for Mel Bay. I don't know what the hell happened to the drummer. Kent Murdick
Fascinating! I love the Cryan' Shames! They were the first rock band I ever saw live. It was at the Ridgeland Common facility in Oak Park, Illinois in 1966 (?). I was so impressed by Jim Fairs' guitar licks and he was so young on top of it all. We did Ben Franklin's Almanac and We Could be Happy in my high school rock band (Graf Zepplin - we had our name before Led Zeppelin was formed just to be clear). Now I know why the lyrics of Ben Franklin's Almanac never made sense to me. The lyrics were never meant to make sense in the first place. The thing that always impressed me about the Cryan' Shames was their harmonies. Just out of this world! I rank their harmonies right up there with CSN harmonies. Could be we're in love and Sunshine Psalm off their 2nd album are two cases at point. I was glad to learn that the reason for the personnel changes was not because of the original members not getting along. I speculated that Jim Fairs could have been difficult to work with out of being so full of himself from being as talented as he was that the other members of the band just kicked him out of the band because they couldn't take him anymore. But that didn't seem to be the case. Correct? Tom said Jim got burned out about playing live and just wanted to record and thus went in another direction with his music. Is that true? Anyway, I really enjoyed your video series on the Cryan Shames, my favorite Chicago band!
I go with Tom's memory on why Jim left. I really enjoyed interviewing Tom. The Shames were my fav Chicago band. Thanks for the comments.
Great comment I, too, played in a high school rock band, and the Shames were our favorite band. We could have done an entire set just with Shames and New Colony Six songs.
Bernie you have done yourself proud. Thanks for interviewing me for this.
Tom. My pleasure and thanks again for spending the time and sharing the memories. Stay safe and healthy.
Thanks Bernie. I saw The Cryan' Shames live twice. Once at the Auditorium with Procol Harum, The Staple Singers, and Rotary Connection. A great, great concert. The other time was at Lane Tech H.S. in Chicago in 1968. The warmup band was the Boston Tea Party. The Cryan' Shames are still one of my favorite bands.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the comments
Nothing on vinyl compared with A Scratch in the Sky - it was a masterpiece. Thank you Tom and the rest of the band.
You are most welcome. I loved doing the interview with Tom. And I loved Cryan' Shames
Tom, we're all 70 or more!! ❤️
Will you still love me, will you still feed me when I'm 74/
Thank you Bernie and Tom! I love this album and hearing the background from Tom!! So great!!!
Thanks, I really enjoyed interviewing Tom. I loved his stories and I loved the Cryan Shames. It was a true pleasure.
Great job. Truly enjoyed this series. Thanks Tom and Bernie!
Yeah we had some fun times playing all those Cryan' Shames songs in our band didn''t we? Tom was a joy to interview and oh the memories!
I saw The Cryan Shames at The Catacombs club in Houston. I knew nothin' 'bout them but they blew me away with their dynamic stage show 'n super talent. They tossed copies o' A Scratch In The Sky lp out to the audience. I've been a devoted fans ever since. They remain one o' the best live acts I've ever seen...yes I was in the right place at the right time!
Thank you John
@@2flubadub 'Tis I who thank you for the fantastic performance 'n those wonderful records!
Great series with TD! Lifetime fan and our kids listen to several of the ones they grew up listening to. It was always disappointing to me that the world didn’t get to hear their music.
Thank you, Cryan' Shames Rocks and I count Tom as a friend
Greenburg, Glickstein, Charles, David Smith & Jones has always been a favorite track. Only recently did I realize it's based on The Beatles track Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band! A variation for sure but so similar...you can't unhear it once you "get it".
Another great episode. You mentioned their website, which is great, but I don't think they update it anymore.
Thanks Not sure about website buy Tom did tell me he is in charge of the official Cryan' Shames Facebook page. Wish someone had some movie film or TV clips from those days.
@@berniedropstheneedle684 They were on Showcase '68. Played !st Train to CA and the Warm. Some online film lab has the tapes, but will only rent them out to documentary type people.
I (Kent Murdick) played in a band in Gainesville, FL with Isaac and Don Felder called the Continentals. We were about 14 at the time. The band really stunk but were were the cheapest and practically only band in town. I'm sorry the Cryan Shames didn't hit it big. Of course Don joined the Eagles and I went on to write books for Mel Bay. I don't know what the hell happened to the drummer. Kent Murdick
Yes I just read this And that is amazing I had no idea that you were in a band with Isaac and one of my other favorite guitar players Don Felder
@@2flubadub Also, when I left the Continentals, Stephen Stills joined the band.
the fuck of it is the greatest the best band in the world during this time period
I would have to agree