Lots of Buzz happening after Rick Springfield's appearance on Oprah yesterday. Rick hit the #1 spot on Google's "hot trends".Here are links to some of the discussions being generated:
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Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Oprah Buzz
Lots of Buzz happening after Rick Springfield's appearance on Oprah yesterday. Rick hit the #1 spot on Google's "hot trends".Parents of slain soldier thank pop star for honoring son
Lancasteronline.com
By JANE HOLAHAN, Staff
The last time Brandon Hardy was at the American Music Theatre, in February 2006, it was one of the happiest days of his life.He asked his girlfriend, Samantha DiGrazio, to marry him, courtesy of one of the big video screens in the theater, and she accepted.Jill and Warren Hardy's visit to the American Music Theatre Sunday night was a bittersweet occasion.The Cochranville couple were there to personally thank rock musician Rick Springfield for making the video "Christmas With You," featuring the names and pictures of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Their son, Brandon, was one of them.He had spent five years in the Air Force before joining the Marines, feeling there was more he could do for his country. He was killed at age 25 by a roadside bomb in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq in April 2006, before he could marry Samantha."We wanted to thank him for honoring our son," said Jill Hardy. "I had
the picture of Brandon that's in the video and I said, 'This is our son,' and he said, 'I know Brandon Hardy.' I felt he was touched by our being there."Springfield, who grew up in a military family in Australia, told the Hardys he has kids of his own and he can't imagine how it feels to lose a child.As the second anniversary of her son's death approaches, Mrs. Hardy said it doesn't get any easier to talk about her oldest child.
"It punches you in the gut," she said. "But you know, when I talk about Brandon, that's when I feel the strongest, if that makes sense, because I know Brandon was so proud of what he did."It is the pride in her son and all the men and women who serve in the armed forces and a strong belief that they should be honored for that service that makes Mrs. Hardy speak publicly about her son, even as it tears her apart.It's why she wanted to thank Springfield, even if she wasn't really a fan of the rocker who had a slew of hits in the 1980s, including the No. 1 "Jessie's Girl," and a role in the soap "General Hospital.""I knew who he was, but I wasn't particularly a fan," Mrs. Hardy said. "But I sure am now. "The concert was good she said, but maybe a little loud, at least for her and her husband."He's an awesome guitar player though," she said with a laugh.These meetings, including one with President Bush when he visited Lancaster in October, along with the ceremonies she attends and the anniversaries she observes, can bring on plenty of pain, but they bring pride too."I will do whatever it takes to support the troops," she said. "And I just appreciate that someone like Rick Springfield, who has the resources to do it, wants to honor these men and women so publicly."Mrs. Hardy said a deep faith in God has kept her and her family, which includes son Chad, 18, and daughters Kristin, 23, and Kari, 21, strong."Without the lord in my life, I would not be able to get through this," she said succinctly. "I know without a doubt, that I will see Brandon some day."She relies on her faith to give her strength."Every time I think I can't talk about it one more time, God says yes you can and Brandon says yes you can."That doesn't mean she doesn't have tough times."On my lowest days, the lord always sends someone to help me through it, a card in the mail, flowers," Mrs. Hardy said. "And one day he sent Rick Springfield."Mrs. Hardy's strength will be tested again. Son Chad is going to Marine bootcamp in June.Like his brother, Chad has a deep desire to serve his country and is willing to face the prospect that he also might pay the ultimate price."I told myself I could handle it," Mrs. Hardy said. "And I am so proud of him. How can I let him go? How can I not? It's what he is called to do. I can't change that."
Their son, Brandon, was one of them.He had spent five years in the Air Force before joining the Marines, feeling there was more he could do for his country. He was killed at age 25 by a roadside bomb in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq in April 2006, before he could marry Samantha."We wanted to thank him for honoring our son," said Jill Hardy. "I had
the picture of Brandon that's in the video and I said, 'This is our son,' and he said, 'I know Brandon Hardy.' I felt he was touched by our being there."Springfield, who grew up in a military family in Australia, told the Hardys he has kids of his own and he can't imagine how it feels to lose a child.As the second anniversary of her son's death approaches, Mrs. Hardy said it doesn't get any easier to talk about her oldest child."It punches you in the gut," she said. "But you know, when I talk about Brandon, that's when I feel the strongest, if that makes sense, because I know Brandon was so proud of what he did."It is the pride in her son and all the men and women who serve in the armed forces and a strong belief that they should be honored for that service that makes Mrs. Hardy speak publicly about her son, even as it tears her apart.It's why she wanted to thank Springfield, even if she wasn't really a fan of the rocker who had a slew of hits in the 1980s, including the No. 1 "Jessie's Girl," and a role in the soap "General Hospital.""I knew who he was, but I wasn't particularly a fan," Mrs. Hardy said. "But I sure am now. "The concert was good she said, but maybe a little loud, at least for her and her husband."He's an awesome guitar player though," she said with a laugh.These meetings, including one with President Bush when he visited Lancaster in October, along with the ceremonies she attends and the anniversaries she observes, can bring on plenty of pain, but they bring pride too."I will do whatever it takes to support the troops," she said. "And I just appreciate that someone like Rick Springfield, who has the resources to do it, wants to honor these men and women so publicly."Mrs. Hardy said a deep faith in God has kept her and her family, which includes son Chad, 18, and daughters Kristin, 23, and Kari, 21, strong."Without the lord in my life, I would not be able to get through this," she said succinctly. "I know without a doubt, that I will see Brandon some day."She relies on her faith to give her strength."Every time I think I can't talk about it one more time, God says yes you can and Brandon says yes you can."That doesn't mean she doesn't have tough times."On my lowest days, the lord always sends someone to help me through it, a card in the mail, flowers," Mrs. Hardy said. "And one day he sent Rick Springfield."Mrs. Hardy's strength will be tested again. Son Chad is going to Marine bootcamp in June.Like his brother, Chad has a deep desire to serve his country and is willing to face the prospect that he also might pay the ultimate price."I told myself I could handle it," Mrs. Hardy said. "And I am so proud of him. How can I let him go? How can I not? It's what he is called to do. I can't change that."
CONTACT US: jholahan@LNPnews.com or 481-6016
Also, here is a link to a news story prior to the day of the concert:
http://www.wgal.com/video/15387133/index.html
Also, here is a link to a news story prior to the day of the concert:
http://www.wgal.com/video/15387133/index.html
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Rick on Oprah
Today is finally the day that Rick's appearance on Oprah is being aired.Check out the following links that are on Oprah's website.
To see some pictures from the show along with some information, check this out:
http://www2.oprah.com/tows/slide/200802/20080226/slide_20080226_350_101.jhtml
To see a video clip, check this out:
http://www2.oprah.com/videochannel/videochannel_player.jhtml?video=1944&category=14
To see some backstage footage go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYLDk2vL_g4
To leave a comment on the Oprah website, go here:
http://www.oprah.com/community/thread/23903
Monday, February 25, 2008
Rick Springfield - Dearborn, MI
Dearborn, MI 2/23/08
Ford Community Art Center
Ford Community Art Center
Review by Michelle Porchia
Photo by Jen Haskin
There was no opening act this night, not even the Squirts. :-( The show started out with what sounded almost like the intro to the video montage, without the video. Little snippets of Rick tunes, interspersed with Nomad music/drum beats. I think I read somewhere that someone said this was the 'old' intro. I'm also thinking he must've not used this one much, as the old one I remember is the Nomad music. No matter. You know you're gonna see him in a few seconds - it could be dead silence and my heart would still start pounding.
He took the stage to Who Killed Rock N' Roll. No surprise there...and I love the new addition to the wardrobe of the brown long-sleeved top though. Very yummy! That song seems to go over very well here in Detroit. Lots of screams & woo-hoos from the crowd. (Or maybe it's just that *he took the stage high*?) On to Itsalwaysomething -- a favorite of mine. I'm so glad he's added this one back into the set list for the time being. It appears he still performs the signature move at the 'soul of a gigolo' line as well! Next up, Affair of the Heart. I've been going to these shows for so long, I remember this as the intro song. When this starts I always have this little thought of 'now the show can begin'. It's almost as if the first two were warm up's for the show. After AOTH, Alyson. Another fave. Why do these *old* songs always seem as if I'm hearing them for the first time?
Then we move on to IDEFY. Lots of crowd points...from us to him, him to us. The song feeling is mutual for some fans in attendance. After that, Rock of Life. The crowd sings along here with Hey -Woo's! After ROL, it appeared as if Rick was going into Red House - lots of strumming and solo-ing with the guitar, and doing that little riff that sounds a lot like April 24th to me. But he surprised us all by going into "Crossroads" -the Eric Clapton/Cream song. It rocked! Actually, it more than rocked - it was downright awesome and on par with the original. I'm one of those fans that is usually disappointed when yet another cover gets added to the set list rather than one of Rick's tunes - but I have to say that this one really impressed me.
While we're still trying to recover from being blown away by Crossroads the opening notes to Living in Oz started up! How fabulous to have this in the middle of the set, rather than as an encore song. (Although it's an awesome encore tune as well!) After LIO, Kristina. Another crowd fave I believe. The roars have now become deafening, we are just eating this man up. Then we were treated to Red House. As always, a heated and soulful performance. He was wailing on his guitar at one point almost as if he was venting some pent-up frustrations. Into DTTS that includes the required sing-along extended version. Rick wandered into the crowd and plucked out some of the cutest little girls in the Detroit area, all willing to ham it up with him at the microphone. At one point Rick labeled them "future American Idol competitors". What was really cute was the two who came up on stage with him once he made his way back. Rick's impression of a little girl swaying back & forth and looking at her feet is hilarious. He gave one of the little girls a stuffed devil that was placed on the stage and the crowd went "Awwww". He said, "That was cute. Let's do that again." So he took it from her, and gave it back and got a bigger Awwww. Once the sugar high of all that cuteness started to wear off, Rick and the band went into the Medley.
After the Medley, George appeared ready to hook Rick up to his remote mike. Rick decided to do a little "I Can't Explain" by the Who first. Then Rick stated it was time for the gay moment of the show, and lifted his arms & guitar for George. The band went into the beginning of the Bay City Rollers "Saturday Night" to which Rick sang along to until he was ready to move on. We heard the prerequisite "I did a movie in the 80's...blah blah...Hard to Swallow" and then Love Somebody started up. He started on his crowd walkabout.
Rick makes his way over to where we are during Love Somebody. He is now straddling the arms of the seat of the woman 3 seats from me, who has remained seated. Her expression looks like a cross between horrified and turned on. It's here that he stays and does his cell phone 'bit'. He asks for a phone, and someone hands him one. He plays a bit of My Generation with the cell phone, and then proceeds to make a phone call. At first he was going to call "home" asking if anyone was home and the woman said her husband was. So he said, "Well, he knows where you are, that won't work." Then he sees AVON in her list. So he starts yelling out, "Rick Springfield calling!" Instead of Avon calling. He gets a recording, and leaves a message about how he doesn't need to enter his account number since he's RICK SPRINGFIELD (and the crowd roars). The whole time he is still standing on this woman's chair. The crowd is surging so much that I almost end up in her husband's lap at least twice. (apologizing the whole time). While all this is going on, an older couple is making their way to the stage. Rick notices them when they walk across to Matt. Matt introduces them as The Kramers. Rick then tells the audience that Matt is from Detroit (Matt corrected him and said Warren, MI) and that 1/2 of us there probably knew that as we were related to Matt anyway. Matt hands Mr. Kramer a guitar and Mrs. Kramer a tambourine. They pretend to play along to MG. Matt tells Rick to play Some Enchanted Evening, to which Rick knows-not-at-all. I think they got one verse out.
Rick then says it's a good time for Human Touch. He covers most of the main floor during HT. He then makes his way back to the front to end HT and begin Jessie's Girl. It's total pandemonium in the crowd now...we've just received the HT and now the familiar notes drive everyone into a frenzy. He pauses after the first stanza to do the 'drive every woman crazy/heavy breathing' bit. He leaves the stage after JG to the sound of the excited (?) breathing played before the encore. It's almost as if it's in sync with the crowd. After what seemed like ages, the band with Rick takes the stage once again. Rick is now wearing a white t-shirt that has the Australian flag on it. Above the flag it says "Australian" and below, "and cute too". The familiar notes of I'll Make You Happy start up. Once again, the crowd roars. After IMYH - Love is Alright Tonite -complete with the preamble of "the only party song I've ever written". Rick leaves the stage after a big hug, to the beginning notes of Jesus Saves being piped in on the venue's speakers.
There was no opening act this night, not even the Squirts. :-( The show started out with what sounded almost like the intro to the video montage, without the video. Little snippets of Rick tunes, interspersed with Nomad music/drum beats. I think I read somewhere that someone said this was the 'old' intro. I'm also thinking he must've not used this one much, as the old one I remember is the Nomad music. No matter. You know you're gonna see him in a few seconds - it could be dead silence and my heart would still start pounding.
He took the stage to Who Killed Rock N' Roll. No surprise there...and I love the new addition to the wardrobe of the brown long-sleeved top though. Very yummy! That song seems to go over very well here in Detroit. Lots of screams & woo-hoos from the crowd. (Or maybe it's just that *he took the stage high*?) On to Itsalwaysomething -- a favorite of mine. I'm so glad he's added this one back into the set list for the time being. It appears he still performs the signature move at the 'soul of a gigolo' line as well! Next up, Affair of the Heart. I've been going to these shows for so long, I remember this as the intro song. When this starts I always have this little thought of 'now the show can begin'. It's almost as if the first two were warm up's for the show. After AOTH, Alyson. Another fave. Why do these *old* songs always seem as if I'm hearing them for the first time?
Then we move on to IDEFY. Lots of crowd points...from us to him, him to us. The song feeling is mutual for some fans in attendance. After that, Rock of Life. The crowd sings along here with Hey -Woo's! After ROL, it appeared as if Rick was going into Red House - lots of strumming and solo-ing with the guitar, and doing that little riff that sounds a lot like April 24th to me. But he surprised us all by going into "Crossroads" -the Eric Clapton/Cream song. It rocked! Actually, it more than rocked - it was downright awesome and on par with the original. I'm one of those fans that is usually disappointed when yet another cover gets added to the set list rather than one of Rick's tunes - but I have to say that this one really impressed me.
While we're still trying to recover from being blown away by Crossroads the opening notes to Living in Oz started up! How fabulous to have this in the middle of the set, rather than as an encore song. (Although it's an awesome encore tune as well!) After LIO, Kristina. Another crowd fave I believe. The roars have now become deafening, we are just eating this man up. Then we were treated to Red House. As always, a heated and soulful performance. He was wailing on his guitar at one point almost as if he was venting some pent-up frustrations. Into DTTS that includes the required sing-along extended version. Rick wandered into the crowd and plucked out some of the cutest little girls in the Detroit area, all willing to ham it up with him at the microphone. At one point Rick labeled them "future American Idol competitors". What was really cute was the two who came up on stage with him once he made his way back. Rick's impression of a little girl swaying back & forth and looking at her feet is hilarious. He gave one of the little girls a stuffed devil that was placed on the stage and the crowd went "Awwww". He said, "That was cute. Let's do that again." So he took it from her, and gave it back and got a bigger Awwww. Once the sugar high of all that cuteness started to wear off, Rick and the band went into the Medley.
After the Medley, George appeared ready to hook Rick up to his remote mike. Rick decided to do a little "I Can't Explain" by the Who first. Then Rick stated it was time for the gay moment of the show, and lifted his arms & guitar for George. The band went into the beginning of the Bay City Rollers "Saturday Night" to which Rick sang along to until he was ready to move on. We heard the prerequisite "I did a movie in the 80's...blah blah...Hard to Swallow" and then Love Somebody started up. He started on his crowd walkabout.
Rick makes his way over to where we are during Love Somebody. He is now straddling the arms of the seat of the woman 3 seats from me, who has remained seated. Her expression looks like a cross between horrified and turned on. It's here that he stays and does his cell phone 'bit'. He asks for a phone, and someone hands him one. He plays a bit of My Generation with the cell phone, and then proceeds to make a phone call. At first he was going to call "home" asking if anyone was home and the woman said her husband was. So he said, "Well, he knows where you are, that won't work." Then he sees AVON in her list. So he starts yelling out, "Rick Springfield calling!" Instead of Avon calling. He gets a recording, and leaves a message about how he doesn't need to enter his account number since he's RICK SPRINGFIELD (and the crowd roars). The whole time he is still standing on this woman's chair. The crowd is surging so much that I almost end up in her husband's lap at least twice. (apologizing the whole time). While all this is going on, an older couple is making their way to the stage. Rick notices them when they walk across to Matt. Matt introduces them as The Kramers. Rick then tells the audience that Matt is from Detroit (Matt corrected him and said Warren, MI) and that 1/2 of us there probably knew that as we were related to Matt anyway. Matt hands Mr. Kramer a guitar and Mrs. Kramer a tambourine. They pretend to play along to MG. Matt tells Rick to play Some Enchanted Evening, to which Rick knows-not-at-all. I think they got one verse out.
Rick then says it's a good time for Human Touch. He covers most of the main floor during HT. He then makes his way back to the front to end HT and begin Jessie's Girl. It's total pandemonium in the crowd now...we've just received the HT and now the familiar notes drive everyone into a frenzy. He pauses after the first stanza to do the 'drive every woman crazy/heavy breathing' bit. He leaves the stage after JG to the sound of the excited (?) breathing played before the encore. It's almost as if it's in sync with the crowd. After what seemed like ages, the band with Rick takes the stage once again. Rick is now wearing a white t-shirt that has the Australian flag on it. Above the flag it says "Australian" and below, "and cute too". The familiar notes of I'll Make You Happy start up. Once again, the crowd roars. After IMYH - Love is Alright Tonite -complete with the preamble of "the only party song I've ever written". Rick leaves the stage after a big hug, to the beginning notes of Jesus Saves being piped in on the venue's speakers.
Rick Springfield Rocks Amish Country
Photo by Allisyn Pletch
Review by Rosie Malthaner
The day started out with a sound check. When we arrived we were told the guys were running late. We found out later that their plane had to be turned around due to some problem with the door. When they finally arrived we got the show going. They guys got to work and Ronnie offered to send Rick to dinner after he did his thing with us but he declined and said he would stay to sound check. The guys in the bad were all in playful moods joking and playing around on the stage as they got things set up. Rick was gracious and took lots of pictures with us and did the autograph thing. Looked at all the goodies he received. It was a small group of people. When they were finally ready for him, they rehearsed Affair of the Heart and most of WKRR. It was a great sound check and a little longer than most because they were late and we got to see the whole thing. As we were leaving about 6, fans were already arriving at the venue. Rick still needed to shower and eat so we knew we would be on "Rick time" from here on out.
Back for the show and yes, it was running late as expected. But the show started and Rick and the guys were on fire. He played about 4 songs before really talking to the audience. He talked about the cruise and how he was really looking forward to it. And all the celebs that would be there, Jackie Z, Kimberly, John Waite and his dear friend Doug Davidson. He also threatened to have "Naked" night, but I wouldn't hold my breath. lol
He had the white shirt with black vest on, which I love! Pretty good set list. He made his way into the crowd for DTTS where he strode over a man that didn't really want to sing but he got him to in the end. Lots of kids in the audience and he tried to hit as many as he could for a chance at DTTS. Then when he got back on stage he brought up the most adorable little girl, she was about 4. He asked her to dance and she said NO!. He got her to sing though. The stage got rushed a few songs before this as there was absolutely no security.
After DTTS the wrong mic was put back on the stand and it took a few minutes to get that fixed but Rick kept playing. He once again cut his hand (I think this is becoming a habit so if you have front row seats, bring band aids. lol) Someone gave him a large band aid and he wanted to know what kind of injury was required to use it. George then appeared with one but he was too late. I think Rick and the guys were a little punchy from their travels that day because Rick was really active on the stage, doing lots of dance moves and kicks. At one point Rick pretended to collapse on the stage. They guys were goofing around as well every chance they got. Someone handed Rick a fan club folder from the 80's and he proceeded to go through the whole thing and mentioned that one of the pictures in there, his mother has on her wall in Australia.
It took George two tries to get the head set right for Rick's venture into the crowd. Rick stayed on stage for most of Love Somebody and then ventured out. Rick was yelling at Rodger from the audience because he kept banging the drums. What Rick didn't realize was that Matt had brought two little girls up on stage to play the tambourine and Rodger was trying to get his attention. He did his standard cell call and he made it quite far back before retreating to the stage. Once back on we got our standard Jessie's Girl and band intro.
Back on stage for a two song encore!!! I thought Rick and the guys really put on a great show. It was great to see old friends and make a few news ones too. Can't wait for the triple header in March now!
Set list: (not necessarily in the correct order)
WKRR
It's Always Something
Afair of the Heart
Rock of Life
Alyson
Living in Oz
I've Done Everything for You
Crossroads
Red House
Kristina
DTTS
The Medley
Love Somebody
My Generation
Human Touch
Another cover song that for the life of me remember the name of
Jessie's Girl
Encore
I'll Make You Happy
Love is Allright Tonight
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Rick Springfield in Riverside, Iowa
Riverside, Iowa 2/22/08Riverside Casino
review and photo by Laura Hoppe
The show was in this huge banquet/meeting room. I thought this was strange as it wasn't the typical theater or table seating most casinos have. They put out banquet style chair (which were quickly stacked back up at the end of the show). It seemed like the first five rows or so were VIP seats. When the show started, most of them sat down while everyone else stood up. Most people were standing by the end of the show though. There was a big stage though with a ton of lighting. The set list was a nice change up from last year and the show seemed to be a little longer than usual.
Who Killed Rock N Roll
It's Always Something
Affair of the Heart
Alyson
I've Done Everything For you
Rock of Life
Crossroad Blues (Robert Johnson Cover)
Living In Oz
Kristina
Red House (Jimi Hendrix Cover)
Don't Talk To Strangers
Medley
I Can't Explain (One verse - The Who Cover)
Love Somebody
My Generation (The Who Cover)
Human Touch
Jessie's Girl
Encore –
I'll Make You Happy
Love Is Alright Tonight
Here are some other things that happened during the show.
- There were lots of guitar issues toward the beginning of the show. I think Rick changed guitars three times during one song. He didn't even have a guitar in his hands for parts of the first 3-4 songs. I remember during "Rock of Life" when he sang the line "I pick up my guitar", he pretended to play some air guitar and looked over to the side stage to see where his guitar was.
- Rick noticed a sign that said "Rick, it's my bday" and said he got scared for a second because he thought it said "Rick, it's your baby".
- People were throwing stuff up on stage all night. There were some "gifts" which he opened. Some women in the front row had given him Starbucks cards (I think about 4 of them) and he mentioned how he didn't have stock in Starbucks but he should have. He then said Kenny G (I think that's who it was) had bought stock in Starbucks a while back and that God was just paying him back for giving him such bad hair. Someone tossed up a t-shirt that I think had picture of them as kids. He asked a lady which one she was (on the shirt) about three times and I guess she didn't understand him because finally he said really slowly "Point to the breast that you are on". Then he said "Awwww, cute!". There were a few ladies that were wearing neon green boas. One threw one up right before the Medley and Rick put it over his shoulders and then by the end of the song, it was hanging down his arm over his guitar.
- Noticing the older "sitters" in the front rows, Rick started talking about how they probably thought they were coming to see this nice quiet doctor from General Hospital and asked a couple people if they knew who he was.
- There were really grabby women in the front row. After one particular groping, Rick said…"Where were you girls when I was 16" and proceeded to tell his sad story about how he couldn't get girls when he was younger and that women are so much more aggressive now and how his boys are fighting them off.
- For "Don't Talk To Strangers", he forgot the words and had the audience help him get back on track. During the line "How's Life in the big city", he said that we weren't in a big city at all. We were in Iowa. He had quite a few people sing including a security guard who he said was not paying attention and made him sing a second time. When he came out further into the crowd to "find a guy" he turned around towards the front and said "hey, who gave me a wedgie". He said if they did again on the way back that he would "mess" (paraphrasing…lol) them up.
- At one point he mentioned again how small the city was and that he never panders to the audience by saying stuff like "Hey Iowa". He said his wife was from the Midwest (to which our little group of Wisconsinites screamed) and that they know how to raise good women in the Midwest.
- During the "Red House" line "I might as well go on back down go back 'cross yonder over the hill" he added "even if I have to crawl through the snow". It was still really snow covered in Iowa that day.
- Before Love Somebody, Rick was rambling a bit and talking about "Hard To Hold". I'm not sure what Rodger did but Rick asked him if he was keeping him from something else better to do. Then he said "Drum solo" but Rodger just basically kept the same beat and didn't do anything fancy so Rick asked if he should do a drum solo. Everyone cheered, trying to get Rick behind the drums, but he didn't do it L.
- Rick come out into the audience during "Love Somebody" and tried to get to all the different sections. He played in front of us for a little bit (Yeah!) during Love Somebody/My Generation. He did make a cell phone call but couldn't get through to the first two people. Someone gave him a phone but when he asked if they knew who it was, she said "Rick Springfield" and he said, "Damn…that's my line" and said he was "set up". I think he might have fallen off a chair at some point because he said people needed to hold him up better.
- Rick came out for the encore in a tan t-shirt. He said "You guys look like you're happy" and then started playing "I'll Make You Happy". I didn't realize how much I miss this song in the set list so it was really cool to hear again.
Who Killed Rock N Roll
It's Always Something
Affair of the Heart
Alyson
I've Done Everything For you
Rock of Life
Crossroad Blues (Robert Johnson Cover)
Living In Oz
Kristina
Red House (Jimi Hendrix Cover)
Don't Talk To Strangers
Medley
I Can't Explain (One verse - The Who Cover)
Love Somebody
My Generation (The Who Cover)
Human Touch
Jessie's Girl
Encore –
I'll Make You Happy
Love Is Alright Tonight
Here are some other things that happened during the show.
- There were lots of guitar issues toward the beginning of the show. I think Rick changed guitars three times during one song. He didn't even have a guitar in his hands for parts of the first 3-4 songs. I remember during "Rock of Life" when he sang the line "I pick up my guitar", he pretended to play some air guitar and looked over to the side stage to see where his guitar was.
- Rick noticed a sign that said "Rick, it's my bday" and said he got scared for a second because he thought it said "Rick, it's your baby".
- People were throwing stuff up on stage all night. There were some "gifts" which he opened. Some women in the front row had given him Starbucks cards (I think about 4 of them) and he mentioned how he didn't have stock in Starbucks but he should have. He then said Kenny G (I think that's who it was) had bought stock in Starbucks a while back and that God was just paying him back for giving him such bad hair. Someone tossed up a t-shirt that I think had picture of them as kids. He asked a lady which one she was (on the shirt) about three times and I guess she didn't understand him because finally he said really slowly "Point to the breast that you are on". Then he said "Awwww, cute!". There were a few ladies that were wearing neon green boas. One threw one up right before the Medley and Rick put it over his shoulders and then by the end of the song, it was hanging down his arm over his guitar.
- Noticing the older "sitters" in the front rows, Rick started talking about how they probably thought they were coming to see this nice quiet doctor from General Hospital and asked a couple people if they knew who he was.
- There were really grabby women in the front row. After one particular groping, Rick said…"Where were you girls when I was 16" and proceeded to tell his sad story about how he couldn't get girls when he was younger and that women are so much more aggressive now and how his boys are fighting them off.
- For "Don't Talk To Strangers", he forgot the words and had the audience help him get back on track. During the line "How's Life in the big city", he said that we weren't in a big city at all. We were in Iowa. He had quite a few people sing including a security guard who he said was not paying attention and made him sing a second time. When he came out further into the crowd to "find a guy" he turned around towards the front and said "hey, who gave me a wedgie". He said if they did again on the way back that he would "mess" (paraphrasing…lol) them up.
- At one point he mentioned again how small the city was and that he never panders to the audience by saying stuff like "Hey Iowa". He said his wife was from the Midwest (to which our little group of Wisconsinites screamed) and that they know how to raise good women in the Midwest.
- During the "Red House" line "I might as well go on back down go back 'cross yonder over the hill" he added "even if I have to crawl through the snow". It was still really snow covered in Iowa that day.
- Before Love Somebody, Rick was rambling a bit and talking about "Hard To Hold". I'm not sure what Rodger did but Rick asked him if he was keeping him from something else better to do. Then he said "Drum solo" but Rodger just basically kept the same beat and didn't do anything fancy so Rick asked if he should do a drum solo. Everyone cheered, trying to get Rick behind the drums, but he didn't do it L.
- Rick come out into the audience during "Love Somebody" and tried to get to all the different sections. He played in front of us for a little bit (Yeah!) during Love Somebody/My Generation. He did make a cell phone call but couldn't get through to the first two people. Someone gave him a phone but when he asked if they knew who it was, she said "Rick Springfield" and he said, "Damn…that's my line" and said he was "set up". I think he might have fallen off a chair at some point because he said people needed to hold him up better.
- Rick came out for the encore in a tan t-shirt. He said "You guys look like you're happy" and then started playing "I'll Make You Happy". I didn't realize how much I miss this song in the set list so it was really cool to hear again.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Affair of the Heart
Springfield strums up affair of the heart
By Diana Nollen
The Gazette
http://gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080223/NEWS/35983512
Singer/actor Rick Springfield performed before a sold-out crowd Friday night at the Riverside Casino Event Center in Riverside.
Singer/actor Rick Springfield performed before a sold-out crowd Friday night at the Riverside Casino Event Center in Riverside.
RIVERSIDE - Rick Springfield is hot. He's Hollywood handsome, but isn't afraid to work up a lather leaping around the stage and into the arms of legions of screaming female fans spanning two generations.
Boomer mothers had the hots for Dr. Noah Drake on television's "General Hospital" while swooning to "Jessie's Girl" climbing the '80s pop charts.
Twenty-five years later, their grown daughters also got to swoon as Springfield reprised his McDreamy role on the popular daytime soap in 2005.
And Friday night, mothers and daughters joined forces to scream non-stop during nearly two hours of hot rock at the Riverside Casino Event Center. They snatched up every ticket more than a month before the concert, and dragged along a few men, who got caught up in the action. Even the big burly guys in front of me were bopping to the beat and holding cameras and phones aloft to snap photos.
Springfield, looking fit and fine at 56, knows how to play up his assets — by not taking himself too seriously. His boyish grin and baiting banter — tossing out not-so-subtle innuendo about his heartthrob screen roles — helped warm up an already pumped-up crowd of 1,140 fans.
But the smartest, most daring thing he did to win over everyone in the room was to jump off the stage and into the crowd several times, bringing his larger-than-life persona upfront and personal. He even grabbed a fan's cell phone and called a couple of people from her directory — a guy who wasn't home to get the call and a woman who knew right away it was him.
Along the way, he played a string of hits, backed by his four-piece band. With a sweeping arc of his right arm, he hit the strings with bouquets of roses tossed by his fans, scattering rose petals around the stage and launching into a hot lick on "Affair of the Heart.
""I've Done Everything for You" brought screams of instant recognition at the opening strains — a frenzy that continued throughout the concert until Springfield's final leap and kick ended each high voltage hit.
We heard "Human Touch," "Love Somebody," "What Kind Of Fool Am I," "Don't Talk To Strangers," "Celebrate Youth," "Bop 'til You Drop," "State of the Heart" and "Calling All Girls." We also heard lesser-known tunes and old tunes wrapped up in new trappings, from gentle reggae beats to soulful blues guitar.
On an evening that could have been about ego, it was all about the fans. And everyone left smiling.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Interview from Nashville
CONCERT BLAST! INTERVIEWS RICK SPRINGFIELD
Rick Springfield came to perform two nights at the World's Famous Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, TN.On Rick's first night, Friday, February 15th, Mike and Tom met with Rick Springfield backstage for a short interview (Brian was out of town on business). Rick was super nice and answered all the questions without hesitation. He discussed the various places he lived, his youth, his acting, his family, his upcoming CD, and many other things.Listen as Mike, Tom, and Rick discuss the life of Bruce... I mean Rick Springfield. ENJOY THE SHOW!
Photo by Caralyn Wichers, Wildhorse 2/08
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Rick Springfield on Oprah 2/26
According to the Oprah Winfrey website, Rick Springfield will be on Oprah next Tuesday, Febrary 26. A preview can be seen here on the Oprah site.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Rick Springfield rocks Nashville
The Wildhorse Saloon
Nashville TN
Feb 15 & 16th 2008
Review & picture by Caralyn Wichers
The Wildhorse Saloon was the place to be this weekend. Friday night was awesome and who knew Rick and the guys could improve on that?!?!?!?
Feb 15th
The Squirts opened a little after 8pm and were great. Matt, George and Rodger were really into it and played some great tunes like First Time and The Way I See You. They did such a good job that the folks that hadn’t heard them before, bought out all of the Resquirted CDs. They played til about 8:30pm.
At around 9:05 the intro music started and Rick came out to a screaming standing room only crowd. He wore a cool dark short sleeved shirt with sparkling rinestones and jeans. They went right into Who Killed Rock and Roll and Rick got everyone clapping and went into It’s Always Something. This is so cool live.
Affair of the Heart
Alyson
I’ve Done Everything for You
Rock of Life
He did some fancy guitar work and went into Wild Thing followed by Living In Oz and more fancy guitar playing. Someone yelled to him that it was her birthday and he asked if it really was. He said yeah I know its your birthday and went right into the Beatles song and sang some of It’s your birthday.
Then he sang Don’t Talk to Strangers and had a few folks sing. Eventually he had this cute 7 year old boy named Malcolm climb up on stage with him to sing. He did such a cute job. Rick said “You’d the Man”
They played the Bop Til You Drop Medley which includes
Celebrate Youth
Calling All Girls ( a few notes of Jessie’s girl and tricks the first timers)
Don’t Walk Away
State of the heart
What Kind of Fool Am I
I Get Excited and back to Bop til you Drop
He got hooked up to go out to the crowd and told everyone the Rules.
Rule #1 Don’t touch my ass
Rule #2 Don’t touch my ass
Rule #3 There is no rule number 3
Rule #4 If I’m gonna fall you can ignore the first 2 rules.
As he was getting ready to come out someone handed him a 2 dollar bill and he was so funny when he yelled “Is that all I’m worth?!?!?
He did the usual Hard to Hold intro where he said he made a movie in the 80s that had a few good songs. Did Love Somebody in the audience and yes stopped at my table. It was my first rose shower and I snapped a picture as soon as I could and I realized a petal fell in my mouth and the bouquet landed on my face. Okay probably too many details for most of you but for a few you can pretend you were there too.
Kept surfing the audience playing My Generation even after he broke a table and fell off of one quite gracefully. Good thing some fans were there to help. He used a cell phone to play the guitar and call Anita. A man answered and said hold on I’ll get her. She gets on the phone and he says hello Do you know who this is. She says yes Christopher?!?!? It was too funny when he said No this is Rick Springfield and then she didn’t come back. He said she was still on the line but I think she thought this Christopher played a joke on her and she hung up or she went into shock finding out she was talking to Rick. It had to be one of the funniest phone calls I have seen him make in a while.
He played Human Touch and went really far out into the crowd and even fell again. Where he gets this energy I will never know?!?!? He made it back to the stage for Jessie’s Girl and left the stage. Everyone was whistling and clapping and really wanted an encore. Rick and the guys came back out. Rick was wearing an orange t-shirt I haven’t seen before and he come right up to the microphone and says Is anyone wasted tonight??? The crowd went nuts and it dawned on me we were going to get at least a 2 song encore. So he sang Wasted and ended with Love is Alright Tonight.
As I was getting ready to leave I looked down and right at my spot was a guitar pick. I guess he dropped it for me when the bouquet of smashed roses fell on me.
Feb 15th
The Squirts opened a little after 8pm and were great. Matt, George and Rodger were really into it and played some great tunes like First Time and The Way I See You. They did such a good job that the folks that hadn’t heard them before, bought out all of the Resquirted CDs. They played til about 8:30pm.
At around 9:05 the intro music started and Rick came out to a screaming standing room only crowd. He wore a cool dark short sleeved shirt with sparkling rinestones and jeans. They went right into Who Killed Rock and Roll and Rick got everyone clapping and went into It’s Always Something. This is so cool live.
Affair of the Heart
Alyson
I’ve Done Everything for You
Rock of Life
He did some fancy guitar work and went into Wild Thing followed by Living In Oz and more fancy guitar playing. Someone yelled to him that it was her birthday and he asked if it really was. He said yeah I know its your birthday and went right into the Beatles song and sang some of It’s your birthday.
Then he sang Don’t Talk to Strangers and had a few folks sing. Eventually he had this cute 7 year old boy named Malcolm climb up on stage with him to sing. He did such a cute job. Rick said “You’d the Man”
They played the Bop Til You Drop Medley which includes
Celebrate Youth
Calling All Girls ( a few notes of Jessie’s girl and tricks the first timers)
Don’t Walk Away
State of the heart
What Kind of Fool Am I
I Get Excited and back to Bop til you Drop
He got hooked up to go out to the crowd and told everyone the Rules.
Rule #1 Don’t touch my ass
Rule #2 Don’t touch my ass
Rule #3 There is no rule number 3
Rule #4 If I’m gonna fall you can ignore the first 2 rules.
As he was getting ready to come out someone handed him a 2 dollar bill and he was so funny when he yelled “Is that all I’m worth?!?!?
He did the usual Hard to Hold intro where he said he made a movie in the 80s that had a few good songs. Did Love Somebody in the audience and yes stopped at my table. It was my first rose shower and I snapped a picture as soon as I could and I realized a petal fell in my mouth and the bouquet landed on my face. Okay probably too many details for most of you but for a few you can pretend you were there too.
Kept surfing the audience playing My Generation even after he broke a table and fell off of one quite gracefully. Good thing some fans were there to help. He used a cell phone to play the guitar and call Anita. A man answered and said hold on I’ll get her. She gets on the phone and he says hello Do you know who this is. She says yes Christopher?!?!? It was too funny when he said No this is Rick Springfield and then she didn’t come back. He said she was still on the line but I think she thought this Christopher played a joke on her and she hung up or she went into shock finding out she was talking to Rick. It had to be one of the funniest phone calls I have seen him make in a while.
He played Human Touch and went really far out into the crowd and even fell again. Where he gets this energy I will never know?!?!? He made it back to the stage for Jessie’s Girl and left the stage. Everyone was whistling and clapping and really wanted an encore. Rick and the guys came back out. Rick was wearing an orange t-shirt I haven’t seen before and he come right up to the microphone and says Is anyone wasted tonight??? The crowd went nuts and it dawned on me we were going to get at least a 2 song encore. So he sang Wasted and ended with Love is Alright Tonight.
As I was getting ready to leave I looked down and right at my spot was a guitar pick. I guess he dropped it for me when the bouquet of smashed roses fell on me.
Feb 16th
We were treated to the Squirts again. Again they delivered. It was so cute someone handed Matt a small bouquet of roses and he was so agreeable and did an excellent rose explosion. He was fast too so of course I didn’t get the photo. They played for about a half hour and were really having a good time on stage.
A little after 9pm Rick came out wearing a long sleeved brown shirt and jeans. They opened with Who Killed Rock and Roll and went right into Will I
Affair of the Heart
Kristina and Rick spaced it and had to start over. It was so cute.
I’ve Done Everything for You
Rock of Life
Fire by Jimmy Hendrix which was great
Living in Oz
Then 2 songs I have never heard him play before.
They played Crossroads which was great.
Then he got an acoustic guitar and told everyone he was going to play a new song. So new that the guys in the band hadn’t heard it before. He told everyone about Sahara and how he met her when she was 5 and how she passed away from cancer at 13. He said Amy (Saraha’s mom) was in the audience and the song was titled Saint Sahara. It was amazing?!?!?!?!?
They played Red House and Don’t Talk to Strangers and asked the audience to sing the French words and commented on how he can never remember those words. Then he yelled lets see how many tables I collapse tonight?!? They turn up the lights and he noticed another level and yells I dig you guys!!!
He sees a sign that it is a girl’s 12th birthday so he makes his way over there and asks her to come up on stage. He asks her name. It’s Brittany and he says you’re the good Brittany right not like the other one. He gets so silly and starts waving his hands in the air and dancing the bump with her. Eventually he asks her to sing and she does a great job.
They continue with the Bop til You Drop medley and then he starts to spell SATURDAY NIGHT and they do a few lines of the Bay City rollers song. Then they do a little bit of Can’t Explain. He got hooked up to into the audience and was really talkative so much so I don’t think he notice the drumstick Rodger threw at him. He finally gets into No Satisfaction and is out in the audience and does Love Somebody followed by My Generation. He really lays into his guitar. I wonder where does he get that energy. Eventually he makes a cell phone call to a Liz and does the usual order pizza and beer for thousands.
He is really surfing the audience, and continues with Human Touch and quickly disappears into the stairwell and comes out at the middle balcony. He starts walking along the edge and fans were going nuts. I for one was petrified someone would accidentally push him over. He even started Jessie’s Girl in the balcony and quickly made his way back on stage to finish.
For his encore he came back out and said he’d sing Perfect, but that was if he remembered it. Woohoo double encore 2 nights in a row!!! Just when I was thinking about cutting back on the number of shows I am going to go too. After all I have to save for the cruise rightJ These were the longest and most interesting concerts I have ever seen him do. Probably the most men I have seen at a show too. And quite a few of the fans found out about the cruise and now they want tickets too.
Hope you enjoyed the review and now I just can’t wait for Lancaster
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Tour dates for Rick Springfield Summer 08
The tour dates for Summer 2008 continue to roll in!
05.16.08
Elizabeth, IN
Caesars Indiana
06.07.08
Cherokee, NC
Harrah's Cherokee Casino
06.14.08
Oklahoma City, OK
Frontier City
06.20.08
Albuquerque, NM
Isleta Casino & Resort
07.04.08
Dublin, OH
Independence Celebration
07.05.08
Lac du Flambeau, WI
Lake of the Torches Casino0
8.01.08
Peachtree City, GA
Frederick Brown, JR Amphitheater
08.02.08
Peachtree City, GA
Frederick Brown, JR Amphitheater
05.16.08
Elizabeth, IN
Caesars Indiana
06.07.08
Cherokee, NC
Harrah's Cherokee Casino
06.14.08
Oklahoma City, OK
Frontier City
06.20.08
Albuquerque, NM
Isleta Casino & Resort
07.04.08
Dublin, OH
Independence Celebration
07.05.08
Lac du Flambeau, WI
Lake of the Torches Casino0
8.01.08
Peachtree City, GA
Frederick Brown, JR Amphitheater
08.02.08
Peachtree City, GA
Frederick Brown, JR Amphitheater
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Jessie's Guy
'80s heartthrob Rick Springfield hasn't stopped making musicBy Eric Clark
The Gazette
eric.clark@gazettecommunications.com
RIVERSIDE — Rick Springfield found major success in the early '80s with the albums "Working Class Dog," "Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet" and "Living in Oz."
Those albums spawned most of Springfield's biggest hits, like "Jessie's Girl," "I've Done Everything for You," "Don't Talk to Strangers" and "Affair of the Heart."
But ask the 56-year-old (58-year-old) singer to name his favorite release and you'll get a surprising response.
"'Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance,'" says Springfield, naming his 2004 record, which most of his '80s fans probably didn't even know existed. "I said exactly what I wanted to say on that album. It was a very dark time and I feel like I captured that feeling."
Springfield obviously is someone who doesn't want to get stuck in the past, which surely is where plenty of his hearthtrob-era fans place him. Springfield performs Feb. 22 at Riverside Casino.
Unbeknown to pretty much everyone except his most ardent fans, Springfield didn't stop making music in 1983. In fact, Springfield has released five albums since 1999, including two studio albums, a covers record, a Christmas CD and a greatest-hits collection.
"I love making new music," says Springfield, calling while driving in Los Angeles. "I consider myself a songwriter first and a guitarist and performer second. Writing songs always has been how I've connected with people."
Springfield isn't letting up, either. He just finished writing a new album, and he'll soon be in the studio recording it, with hopes of a 2008 release. Springfield says the new album will be more pop-oriented than "Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance," which has more of a rock 'n' roll feel.
"The songs are great," Springfield says. "That's what I always focus on."
Although Springfield isn't content to rest on his laurels, he says he isn't trying to erase the past. He still plays all of his old hit songs in concert, and he says he's still proud of the massive success those songs had.
Springfield's trademark song is "Jessie's Girl," which hit No. 1 on the pop chart in 1981. The song, about pining for a friend's significant other, has become nearly ubiquitous over the years, appearing in numerous movies, TV shows and commercials.
"I recently read somewhere that 'Jessie's Girl' has become the No. 1 karaoke song of all time," Springfield says. "I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not, but I'll take it."
Springfield says his hits are very special to him."They're beyond songs to me," Springfield says. "When I play them it's like I'm introducing a family member."Springfield can't say for sure why "Jessie's Girl" became such a big hit, but he has a few theories.
"It says something very succinctly that everybody can relate to," Springfield says. "Plus, both guys and girls seem to equally like the song."
If you watched "Oprah" yesterday you might have seen Springfield surprise a longtime fan. Oprah Winfrey invited him on the show to meet a woman who considered herself one of Springfield's biggest fans. (please note, this episode of Oprah has not yet aired, but should be broadcast soon)
"I surprised her and she got really freaked out," Springfield says. "It was a lot of fun."
When he's not surprising unsuspecting fans, Springfield continues to make music. Last year, after almost 40 years in the music business, he finally took the yuletide plunge and released his first Christmas album.
Springfield says he was inspired to make a Christmas album because he had written a song (co-written with Derek Hilland) called "Christmas With You" about troops spending the holidays overseas. With an original Christmas song in hand, he decided it was the perfect time to release a Christmas collection.
The album ended up also being called "Christmas With You," and Springfield rounded it out with traditional, not rockin', Christmas songs.
"I can't stand rock 'n' roll Christmas records," Springfield says. "Christmas is supposed to be a quiet and reflective time."
With another new album slated for this year, Springfield shows no sign of slowing down. Despite all of his past accomplishments, he says he's always trying to look toward the future.
"Goals are what keep you going, if you don't have goals your life just stops," Springfield says. "I want to keep creating new music and getting better at what I do."
Those albums spawned most of Springfield's biggest hits, like "Jessie's Girl," "I've Done Everything for You," "Don't Talk to Strangers" and "Affair of the Heart."
But ask the 56-year-old (58-year-old) singer to name his favorite release and you'll get a surprising response.
"'Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance,'" says Springfield, naming his 2004 record, which most of his '80s fans probably didn't even know existed. "I said exactly what I wanted to say on that album. It was a very dark time and I feel like I captured that feeling."
Springfield obviously is someone who doesn't want to get stuck in the past, which surely is where plenty of his hearthtrob-era fans place him. Springfield performs Feb. 22 at Riverside Casino.
Unbeknown to pretty much everyone except his most ardent fans, Springfield didn't stop making music in 1983. In fact, Springfield has released five albums since 1999, including two studio albums, a covers record, a Christmas CD and a greatest-hits collection.
"I love making new music," says Springfield, calling while driving in Los Angeles. "I consider myself a songwriter first and a guitarist and performer second. Writing songs always has been how I've connected with people."
Springfield isn't letting up, either. He just finished writing a new album, and he'll soon be in the studio recording it, with hopes of a 2008 release. Springfield says the new album will be more pop-oriented than "Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance," which has more of a rock 'n' roll feel.
"The songs are great," Springfield says. "That's what I always focus on."
Although Springfield isn't content to rest on his laurels, he says he isn't trying to erase the past. He still plays all of his old hit songs in concert, and he says he's still proud of the massive success those songs had.
Springfield's trademark song is "Jessie's Girl," which hit No. 1 on the pop chart in 1981. The song, about pining for a friend's significant other, has become nearly ubiquitous over the years, appearing in numerous movies, TV shows and commercials.
"I recently read somewhere that 'Jessie's Girl' has become the No. 1 karaoke song of all time," Springfield says. "I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not, but I'll take it."
Springfield says his hits are very special to him."They're beyond songs to me," Springfield says. "When I play them it's like I'm introducing a family member."Springfield can't say for sure why "Jessie's Girl" became such a big hit, but he has a few theories.
"It says something very succinctly that everybody can relate to," Springfield says. "Plus, both guys and girls seem to equally like the song."
If you watched "Oprah" yesterday you might have seen Springfield surprise a longtime fan. Oprah Winfrey invited him on the show to meet a woman who considered herself one of Springfield's biggest fans. (please note, this episode of Oprah has not yet aired, but should be broadcast soon)
"I surprised her and she got really freaked out," Springfield says. "It was a lot of fun."
When he's not surprising unsuspecting fans, Springfield continues to make music. Last year, after almost 40 years in the music business, he finally took the yuletide plunge and released his first Christmas album.
Springfield says he was inspired to make a Christmas album because he had written a song (co-written with Derek Hilland) called "Christmas With You" about troops spending the holidays overseas. With an original Christmas song in hand, he decided it was the perfect time to release a Christmas collection.
The album ended up also being called "Christmas With You," and Springfield rounded it out with traditional, not rockin', Christmas songs.
"I can't stand rock 'n' roll Christmas records," Springfield says. "Christmas is supposed to be a quiet and reflective time."
With another new album slated for this year, Springfield shows no sign of slowing down. Despite all of his past accomplishments, he says he's always trying to look toward the future.
"Goals are what keep you going, if you don't have goals your life just stops," Springfield says. "I want to keep creating new music and getting better at what I do."
Original article can be found here.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Vamplitude now available
Vamplitude, written by Kathleen Mendelin and inspired by Rick Springfield's 2004 release - shock/denial/anger/acceptance is now available for purchase. Click here for details
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Update on Oprah
Click here for the advertisement that was shown on Oprah today.
Also, Rick filmed his appearance on Oprah today. Reports from people in the audience are stating that the show will now air in two parts, and Rick's portion may not be shown next week.
We will post a firm air date when more information becomes available.
Some detailed accounts from people in the audience can be found at the message board of rickspringfield.com
Also, Rick filmed his appearance on Oprah today. Reports from people in the audience are stating that the show will now air in two parts, and Rick's portion may not be shown next week.
We will post a firm air date when more information becomes available.
Some detailed accounts from people in the audience can be found at the message board of rickspringfield.com
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Rick Springfield in Miami, OK
Miami, OKBuffalo Run Casino
2/1/08
Most probably aren't aware that this city in OK is pronounced as "Miama", not Miami like in Florida. This was announced to be a sold out show! Rick started the show wearing a leather jacket and his glasses.
During Alyson, He cut himself in a couple of places and asked for a bandaid. Later, he asked how it could be so hot in a place so cold. Then he asked if anyone in the audience was actually from there and that he was still looking for the "a" at the end of Miami. During Don't Talk to Strangers, he sang the 2nd verse instead of the first verse (which he seems to do a lot) and does his usual "I've only been singing this for 25 years". When he went out into the audience to get some people to sing, he was mobbed and grabbed by one girl in particular, so when he went to go back on stage, he said "oh no, there's the crazy one, I'm going back over here". He mentioned that they were going to be on Oprah, and that he was going to be jumping on the couch and doing weird [stuff]. He talked about a movie he did in 1983 (filmed in 83 maybe, released in 1984, I think he used to say 1984, not sure why he backed it up a year) and that it was a really expensive video, mostly for "this song", and went into Love Somebody.
During My Generation, he called Pizza Hut on someone's cell phone. He noticed the Pizza Hut was in Missouri, and he said "are we in Missouri?". When Pizza Hut answered, he asked "Do you know who this is?" yelled "It's Rick Springfield", then ordered 3000 pizza's, asked if they had beer, so ordered 3000 pizza and beer and asked if they could deliver it to "Miama" and then he asked if he got that right, and said we'd pick it up in "Missoura" (with an "a" on the end instead of an "i" [haha]). After the song, he thanked Brian for holding him up for the whole song. When he got back on the stage after Human Touch he told the audience they were crazier than he was.
He did get flashed a few times from the audience, especially toward the end.
The full set list was as follows:
Who Killed Rock and Roll
itsalwaysomething
Affair of the Heart
Alyson
I've Done Everything For You
Rock of Life
Wild Thing
Living in Oz
Red House
Don't Talk to Strangers
Medley
Love Somebody
My Generation
Human Touch
Jessie's Girl
Wasted
Love is Alright Tonite
Rick Springfield - Sound Check video on CBS11TV
Here's some footage from the sound check in Fort Worth, TX at Billy Bob's on 2/2. Rick is performing Affair of the Heart. http://cbs11tv.com/video/?id=24479@ktvt.dayport.comAnd here's an interview:
http://cbs11tv.com/video/?id=24438@ktvt.dayport.com
To find additional footage, do a search for "rick springfield" on the cbs11 page and it will bring up a few more clips.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
TV listings for Rick Springfield
It seems VH1C has added this to thier roatation.
Classic Pop Up Video #138
VH1C
Thurs Feb 7th 2008 10 pm est
Sun Feb 10th 2008 10:30pm est
Debuting on VH1 in 1996, "Pop-Up Video" introduced the "info-nugget," a graphic factoid bubble that "pops" onto the screen, so viewers can watch their favorite music videos as well as read interesting and unusual facts about the video, including behind-the-scenes production dish, bio bits, trivia, and more. Over the years, "Pop Up Video" has spawned board games, books, TV commercials.
#138 -Honey - Mariah Carey I'll Make Love To You - Boyz II Men Father Figure - George Michael Burning Down the House - Talking Heads Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
