Three Lessons I Learned in 1978 Touring With Van Halen

by Stevie Adamek

Van Halen’s first album had just come out in early 1978, and they had two huge hits, Running with the Devil and You Really Got Me. I was in a band called Bighorn, a five-man group based out of Seattle that sounded like a cross between Elton John and Queen. We had just been signed to CBS Canada and USA. I had been a producer for five years at Seattle West studios, which produced Heart, Foghat, Shyanne, and other bands. Based on some studio work I had done with a couple of the other band members, Bighorn’s management had asked me to join the band in August 1977 to write songs for the group as well as play drums. Then Bighorn was recruited to open for Van Halen.

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Production and Songwriting Interview With John Darlington of John Talk Radio

We had a great time chatting with John Darlington of BlogTalk’s John Talk Radio. In this hour long show, you’ll hear Stevie talk about his production wizardry, and also hear the story of the song Creation (on the Zombie Lover EP) from Solveig. We covered a wide range of subjects with John – everything from the story arc of a song to how to turn a studio song into a live performance. We revealed some of our early live concert influences, and talked about our recent experiences collaborating long distance.with other songwriters like Elizabeth Butler (Texas) and Kevin Jones (UK).

Solveig’s Guest Blog on The Change Blog

“I am the midwife of my mother’s death”

That’s the title of a poem I wrote a few months before my 81-year-old mother had a stroke and passed away. I wrote it because I felt responsible, yet helpless, to ease her pain as her body became less reliable, her thoughts less coherent, and her resolve to continue living began to fade. Since being diagnosed with congestive heart failure, my mother had become increasingly dependent on me to help her manage the routines of life that sustained her and brought her joy – grocery shopping, swimming weekly at the gym, visiting my house once a week, or going to the doctor.

This is the story of what I learned about dying from the final months, weeks and days of my mother’s life. [Read more…]