April 4, 2018
HIPPIEFEST TOUR 2018 TO ROLL INTO TOWN ON “MAGIC” BUS
FILLED WITH HALCYON DAY HIT MAKERS INCLUDING VANILLA FUDGE,
RICK DERRINGER, MITCH RYDER & THE DETROIT WHEELS
AND BADFINGER FEATURING JOEY MOLLAND BEGINNING IN JULY
Hey man, what’s happenin’?
We’ll tell you what’s happenin’… HIPPIEFEST 2018!
Flower power is back and it’s coming your way!
It’s peace, love, happiness and an evening full of great music that has stood the test of time.
Come July, you’ll have a chance to let your freak flags fly, once again, as the immensely popular Hippiefest tour — featuring Vanilla Fudge, Rick Derringer, Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels and Badfinger featuring Joey Molland — returns to celebrate an incredible era in music and American culture.
We’re not ones to keep you hangin’ on!
Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo!
Good Golly Miss Molly!
If you want it, here it is, come and get it!
Hippiefest is celebrating its ninth tour this year with greatest hits that span the generations.
Vanilla Fudge was one of the first American groups to infuse psychedelia into a heavy rock sound to create “psychedelic symphonic rock,” an eclectic genre which would, among its many offshoots, eventually morph into heavy metal. Although, at first, the band did not record original material, they were best known for their dramatic, heavy, slowed-down arrangements of contemporary pop songs which they developed into works of epic proportions. In 1967, the band, formerly known as The Pigeons, changed their name to Vanilla Fudge and the rest is history. It wasn’t long before the band — featuring organist/vocalist Mark Stein, guitarist/vocalist Vince Martell, drummer/vocalist Carmine Appice and bassist/vocalist Tim Bogert — was touring extensively behind its covers-heavy, jam-oriented, self-titled debut album, Vanilla Fudge, to expand their fan base. It was released the day after the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album (6/2/1967) and quickly rose up the charts to #4 without the aid of a big hit single. In 1968, the group performed their heavy-rocking, trippy, psychedelic version of The Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” on The Ed Sullivan Show and released their second album, The Beat Goes On, that also escalated into the Top 20. The band toured with Jimi Hendrix, played dates equal-billed or headlined with groups such as Cream, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, among many others; late in the year, they toured with the fledgling Led Zeppelin as their opening act. Over the years, the band (now consisting of Stein, Martell, Appice and eight-year member, bassist/vocalist Pete Bremy) has continued to perform and record together. In 2016, they released their most recent studio CD, titled Spirit of ’67. Last year, Vanilla Fudge celebrated their 50th Anniversary!
When guitar slinger Rick Derringer breaks into his legendary rock anthem, “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo,” you’ll likely see many an air guitar in the audience. Now more than four decades after its release, the hugely popular hit continues to be a staple on classic rock radio and has been featured in several movies over the years including the Richard Linklater cult classic, Dazed and Confused, and other flicks including The Spirit of ’76, Rush, Stag and What A Girl Wants. It’s a little known fact that before his success as a solo artist, Rick had a band at the age of 17 called The McCoys that had a #1 hit in 1965 called “Hang on Sloopy.” Yep, that’s Rick! The song would eventually be knocked out of the top spot by the Beatles’ “Yesterday.” In 1966, Rick and the band would find themselves opening up for the Rolling Stones on their entire American tour. Although “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo” was written and recorded a few years earlier with friend and legendary guitarist Johnny Winter, it would be Rick’s solo version in 1973 that would propel him into the stratosphere of rock stardom. In 1977, Rick appeared on Led Zeppelin’s last North American tour. In the years to follow, Rick would perform with such artists as Alice Cooper (“Under My Wheels”), Steely Dan (“Show Biz Kids” and “Chained Lightning”), Richie Havens, Edgar Winter, Johnny Winter and Weird Al Yankovic among others. In the past few years, Rick has performed on a variety of package tours including Rock’n’Blues Fest, Rock Legends and Hippiefest.
The hits began for Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels at the tail end of ’65, with the release of their first hit single, “Jenny Take a Ride!”. In 1966, they recorded and began to perform a medley featuring Little Richard’s “Jenny Jenny” and Chuck Willis’ classic R&B song, “C.C. Rider.” The song would quickly enter the Top Ten charts, setting the stage for what was to come that year. Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels would follow up their initial hit with two more in ’66 including a rendition of the Righteous Brothers’ “Little Latin Lupe Lu” and the song that would, ultimately, be their biggest hit, “Devil With A Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly.” A year later, in typical Detroit fashion, Mitch and the band kept their pedal to the metal and delivered another Top Ten song called “Sock It To Me-Baby!” At the end of 1979, Bruce Springsteen would pay tribute to the band by performing the “Detroit Medley,” a selection of the band’s greatest hits including “Devil With A Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly,” “Jenny Take A Ride!” and “C.C. Rider” for the triple live No Nukes album. In 1983, Mitch released an album titled, Never Kick A Sleeping Dog, produced by John Cougar Mellencamp that thrust him back into the spotlight with the Prince-penned song, “When You Were Mine.” Mitch has recorded over two dozen albums in his illustrious career and continues to tour all over the world. Known for his incredible live show, Mitch will be bringing all his hits in a night to remember.
If you’re aware of such classic rock songs as “Come and Get It,” “No Matter What,” “Day After Day” and “Baby Blue,” then you’ll thoroughly enjoy the Hippiefest performance of Badfinger featuring Joey Molland. A veteran of Hippiefests past, Molland returns with the music he helped make famous. At the end of 1969, Joey auditioned for a band called The Iveys that would soon be renamed Badfinger. As they say, the rest is history. From 1970 to 1972, the band would experience four consecutive worldwide hits. Joey departed in 1974, quickly forming another band called Natural Gas that would go on to tour with Yes and Peter Frampton. In the years to follow, Joey would perform with various incarnations of Badfinger in addition to putting out a few solo projects. Due to its use in the finale of the hugely popular TV show, Breaking Bad, “Baby Blue” has had a recent resurgence of sorts, being introduced to a whole new audience and generation. In late March of 2015, a song Joey wrote years ago titled, “Sweet Tuesday Morning,” was released on iTunes to benefit WhyHunger, a grassroots support organization started by the late, great Harry Chapin. Recorded by Mary Ramsey (10,000 Maniacs) and a new songstress by the name of Savannah, the song features Joey on guitar and harmony vocals. He continues to enjoy performing the hits for fans all year long.
Sure, the long hair may be gone… but we all know the music lives on!
Here’s your chance to show your kids (and their kids) what you’ve been talking about all these years!
Relive the past with the new generation… no shoes, no shirt, no problem!
And remember, just like great music, tie-dye never goes out of style!
Come out and enjoy the fun in an evening to remember!
*If you’d like to interview one of the artists regarding the tour or need additional press materials, please contact Jeff Albright / The Albright Entertainment Group at rockstarpr@aol.com.
*All tour dates to be announced soon.
OFFICIAL ARTIST WEBSITES
www.vanillafudge.com
www.rickderringer.com
www.mitchryder.net
www.badfingersite.com