R.I.P.

Michael Been of the Call died suddenly of a heart attack backstage at one of his son's shows. Details here.



Post Edited (08-20-10 09:58)

Damn. I hadn't talked to him in years, but I've been in bands that opened up for The Call, hung out, jammed, and talked with the man for hours. Great guy. Very opinionated and willing to call BS to its face. Damn.

Ah, that really stinks.

The Call fall into the same category as Jim Carroll, in that I was always certain they had a TP entry but when I check I discover they don't.

I thought the same thing. I'm only a casual fan, but it'd be nice if someone who really knows their catalog contributed an entry.

I was never that big a fan of the Call, but it's sad to hear this nonetheless.

And like you, Brad, I could have sworn that both they and Jim Carroll had entries. I feel like maybe they were in one of the early print editions and just never made it to the website?

Strange coincidence. From Wikipedia:

"Been was previously a member of Chicago band Aorta, and then, between 1969 and 1971, of Lovecraft, the successor band to the psychedelic rock group H. P. Lovecraft."

As Michael Toland points out on Facebook, today is H.P. Lovecraft's birthday. (The writer, of course. Not the band.)

There's a Lovecraft short story in there somewhere, about a dead writer's ghost needing to be fed the souls of the righteous...or something like that. It would have a sense of creeping dread and cosmic horror, whatever it would be. (Not to mention have about three times as many words as it needed to tell the story.)

Today would have been Lovecraft's 120th birthday. Been was 60, which is 1/2 of 120.

There's definitely a curse going on here.

And yeah, I always liked that he was a mentor for the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. (Been, not Lovecraft.)



Post Edited (08-20-10 15:56)

While I find this news sad, I can't be the only one who thinks it's cool he was touring and working with his son's band.

Absolutely. He was incredibly proud of their success.

Shame to hear about Been's passing.

Quote

I feel like maybe they were in one of the early print editions and just never made it to the website?

Nope. I've checked all three of my Olde Venerable Editions and there is no entry for The Call. How is that possible?

There is an entry for a band called Butt Trumpet. It's not a nice review, mind you. My dear, departed Rock-and-Roll Granny would have wagged her finger and reminded us all that: "If you can't say something nice about Butt Trumpet ..."

...

Call related maginalia:

Refer to an older thread to read a previous entry concerning that most vile theater experience where that barbaric, muscle-bound, sax-toting Neanderthal from Tina Turner's touring band mauled "I Still Believe" in that scene from The Lost Boys.

"Reconciled" by The Call was in fairly heavy rotation my first few years of high school. The lead track "Everywhere I Go" and "Tore The Old Place Down" are the numbers I can remember (aside from the aforementioned movie soundtrack casualty).

...

I could have sworn there was a Call entry as well. Weird.

did garth hudson tour with them?

Yes. He was pretty much a sixth member during their Mercury years. He plays the keyboard solo in "Walls" and can be seen in the video.

The Call were very influenced by The Band. Been's son's middle name is Levon, and Robbie Robertson played on Reconciled. Red Moon was their attempt to do a Band album.