Once upon a time, four young men were desperately trying to figure out what to call their new rock 'n' roll band. They tried to come up with a band name for three months.
In frustration, their lead singer, Eric "The Kid" Carmen, uttering a line often delivered by the character Froggy in the old "Little Rascals" comedies, shouted out, "Aw, Raspberries!"
His bandmates jumped on the name, and these Merseybeat-inspired lads became "Raspberries" --- not "The Raspberries" as some would later call them, since the "The" in the name would have made them like everyone else. No, these guys were, and are, "Raspberries": a name designed to give a collective "raspberry" to the norms of the music industry.
Raspberries were formed at a time when bands played 20-minute songs on albums or extended jam sessions on stage, with bands competing to see who had the longest hair or the hairiest beard. "Raspberries" became the hottest band in Cleveland, Ohio, and then they conquered the American music charts.
"Raspberries", often called "The Godfathers Of Power Pop", now consider themselves the first "alternative" band because they were the alternative to everything else then on the market: a group of four self-impressed mods with carefully-styled hair, no beards and wearing matching clothing while playing three-minute rock 'n' roll love letters to fans around the world.
The original band existed from 1970 until 1975, with its "core" lineup of Eric Carmen (rhythm guitar, keyboards, vocals), Wally Bryson (lead guitar, vocals), Dave Smalley (bass, vocals) and Jim Bonfanti (drums, vocals) being the best-known lineup from 1971-73 (a lineup that scored six of the band's seven Billboard Hot 100 singles, including the million-seller "Go All The Way").
That "core" reformed the band in 2004 with a performance at the opening of the House Of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio, which sold-out in four minutes of sales on Ticketmaster. Not bad for a group that hadn't played together for 30 years.
They followed that with nine more concerts from coast-to-coast in 2004-2005, playing to packed houses at House of Blues locations and before large crowds at a couple of outdoor venues.
The New York Daily News recently ranked the band's gigs in New York City as among the 10 best live concerts of 2005 (placing the band in the company of groups like U2).
Raspberries audiences included such rock icons as Max Weinberg and Little Steven Van Zandt from the E Street Band, Paul Stanley of Kiss, Jon Bon Jovi, Clem Burke of Blondie, Kathy Valentine from The Go-Go's, Rick Springfield, Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols, Alex Chilton (The Box Tops, Big Star), Gilby Clarke (Guns 'n' Roses, Candy), Kyle Vincent (Candy) and members of various other bands (including The Knack, The Rascals, Fotomaker, The Romantics and Survivor).
Bruce Springsteen
Celebrating the band's reunion, Bruce Springsteen dedicated his tune "All That Heaven Allows" at various stops on his own solo tour in 2005, telling audiences, "The Raspberries had great stuff. And they had a great record called 'Overnight Sensation' - one of the greatest little pop operas that anybody ever did. So, I'm gonna send this one out to the Raspberries."
Not to be outdone, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith recently had Eric Carmen take his photo with him backstage after an Aerosmith gig --- respect from one's fellow musicians may come late in life, but it does surface, which is a cool thing (and you can view the photo at http://www.ericcarmen.com/images/DSC00624.jpg).
"Raspberries TONIGHT!"
In their 2005 book, Raspberries TONIGHT!", authors Bernie Hogya and Ken Sharp follow the amazing journey of these rock 'n' roll icons during their triumphant reunion tour in 2004-2005.
In their 100-page, heavily-illustrated (with mostly color photos by Gene Taylor), paperback the authors share their backstage pass with the reader, as they take you inside the one-shot reunion concert that became a tour, a VH-1 "Hangin' With" episode and a reunion that may last as the band contemplates their future and a possible new studio album.
The book is a fun romp with Raspberries behind-the-scenes as they prepare to tour and on the road with the band through the first few gigs (the book ends with the band's sell-out return to New York City for two nights at B. B. King's, the "core" lineup's first NYC gigs since playing Carnegie Hall in 1973).
Purchasing information
The book is published by EricCarmen.Com (publishers of "Eric Carmen: Marathon Man"). Information on buying the book is at: http://www.ericcarmen.com/razzbook.htm (where you can look at some inside pages and the book's cool cover shot).
The authors
Bernie Hogya and Ken Sharp, authors of 2004's book biography "Eric Carmen: Marathon Man" (which was recently named one of the Best Music Books Of 2005 by the influential British music magazine "Record Collector"), helped propel the reunion of Raspberries with their previous book by getting band members to talk together one more time.
Hogya, an advertising executive, co-wrote the New York Times Best-Seller "The Milk Mustache Book" (which sold 250,000 copies for Ballantine Books) and its follow-up "Milk Mustache Mania" (for Scholastic Books). Both books are about the "Got Milk?" advertising campaign which he helped create.
Sharp, author of 1993's "Overnight Sensation: The Story Of The Raspberries", has also written book biographies on bands including The Beatles, Cheap Trick and Kiss (Sharp is a contributing editor to their official fanzine). A music journalist by trade, he is also a musician with three albums under his belt.
This book
"Raspberries TONIGHT!" by Bernie Hogya and Ken Sharp includes a short history of the band with some classic images from their Top 40 years (including previously unseen shots from the photo sessions for their 1972 LP "Fresh" --- an album that peaked at # 36 and featured the hits "I Wanna Be With You" and "Let's Pretend").
The title is both a nod to the band's minor chart hit single from 1973 "Tonight" (which peaked at # 69 in Billboard and which has since been covered by Motley Crue) and to a band playing "tonight" at your local musical venue.
"Raspberries TONIGHT!" features interviews with the band, profiles of "The Overdubs" (support musicians for the tour), reflections by the band's current stage crew (many of them veterans of the 1970s Raspberries' stage crews), media commentary and lots of great color photos of Raspberries on stage during the tour.
Also included are set lists from the shows covered in the book.
The complete story of how the band came together once again is told in fascinating detail, from the efforts of Jim Bonfanti to convince each member of the group to play a reunion concert to the band's humble acceptance that fans were spending lots of money to fly in from North America, Europe and Japan to see them play in Cleveland.
It's the story of a group of guys who never have fully come to terms with their place in rock history, but who are very pleased to remind everyone that they still love rock 'n' roll music.
Great photos
The 100-page, over-sized paperback is printed on glossy pages that allow the mostly color photographs to shine. Gene Taylor, the band's official photographer, originally photographed the band in the 1970s, and his love for the group is apparent in his shots of the band performing live during the 2004-2005 tour.
There is one black-and-white photo that stands out for this Raspberries fan: taken by Bernie Hogya, it shows lead singer Eric Carmen, standing while he plays his keyboards in a rehearsal shot while bassist Dave Smalley looks on intently from a chair, a wonderful look of admiration on his face --- its a memorable shot because it shows without words how far these two have come, from not speaking for decades due to a difficult parting in 1973 (when Dave was fired from the band over differences with Eric) to becoming buddies once again.
It is, however, Gene Taylor's color shots of the band and its fans at concerts around the United States that capture one's attention: rich in detail, somehow conveying in print the passion of a live concert as well as any photographer I've yet encountered.
Allowing the band to speak
Another dimension to the book is that the authors at some point wisely turn the book over to the band, more or less, allowing quotes from the band's members to take over the book --- this is a good thing. Uninterrupted by editorial questions or commentary, the band members describe a tour then in progress. Their thoughts are revealing and honest.
Among the mentions: Dave Smalley marvels at being in a band again, Jim Bonfanti loves the fact that his children and grandchildren finally get to see him perform as a Raspberry, Wally Bryson praises Eric for dressing like a rock star again and Eric Carmen praises Wally as his favorite guitar player.
What seems to strike the band members the most is the fans: not just one-time teenagers from the 1970s reliving their youth, but the wide range of ages of people in the audiences, from the young to the old.
The band also seems awe-struck by the celebrities showing up at concerts and praising the band (including Jon Bon Jovi, who told Fox News about his experience at a sold-out New York City concert).
A fan letter from Iraq
Another touching moment from the tour is the reading of an email from a fan serving with U. S. forces in Iraq, lamenting not being able to attend the reunion shows but praising the band for reuniting.
As bassist Dave Smalley (an Army veteran wounded in the Vietnam war) says in the book, noting that he's not trying to be political but that he has personal memories of being a soldier in a war, "The battlefield can be a very lonely place... That's why I try to say something at every show - for people to just send their energy or prayers or whatever out to our soldiers."
Meanwhile, back in the U. S. press
Like a good "tour book," which this book is in so many ways, included are press comments from the tour (coverage ranged from TV and radio mentions to print praise in newspapers and magazines).
A nice addition, too, are comments from other celebrities especially for the book, such as Little Steven Van Zandt, radio deejay and long-time member of Springsteen's E Street Band.
Van Zandt, who had his picture taken with Raspberries after a New York City gig, makes comments that include the following, "right-on" (yes, I still say that, "can you dig it?") statement:
"The Raspberries are reclaiming their legacy now. It's important that they stay together... you have to stake out that turf and remind everyone of your place in history. Raspberries are doing that."
Final recommendation
The book's main appeal will be to fans of Raspberries, not just to those who saw the band perform, but to those fans who missed the shows and hope for more shows to come.
I believe "Raspberries TONIGHT!" will also appeal to people who have given up on youthful dreams --- if a bunch of 56-year-old men can patch up their scars and differences to become best friends again, that's a hopeful sign for the world, I think. To me, there's nothing cooler than people willing to forgive past differences and prove that The Beatles were right when they said "all you need is love."
I saw the band in Louisville in 1973. They took the entire ticket at the gate (thank you, Sanders Productions!), and there was no table selling T-shirts or tour books at the time. Raspberries have corrected that problem with this reunion, selling all manner of goods at the official websites of EricCarmen.Com (run by author Bernie Hogya) and Raspberries.Net (run by guitarist Wally Bryson's wife, Kay) and at the band's shows.
"Raspberries TONIGHT!" by Bernie Hogya and Ken Sharp is a welcome addition to the suddenly available Raspberries merchandise items (which includes the European reissue of all four studio albums and the U. S. release of an anthology, "Greatest," in 2005 on Capitol Records).
The only flaw I can find is incorrect website addresses for the solo websites of Dave Smalley, Wally Bryson and Jim Bonfanti --- the correct links appear below in the "on the web" section of this review.
On the web
Official Raspberries site: http://www.raspberries.net
Official Wally Bryson site: http://www.thebrysongroup.com
Official Dave Smalley site: http://www.davesmalley.com
Official Jim Bonfanti site: http://www.boxerrocks.com
Official Eric Carmen site: http://www.ericcarmen.com
Official Gene Taylor site: http://www.genetaylorphotography.com
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2008 Shopping.com, Inc.