Happy Together Concerts Return: Revisiting Best in Summer Classic Rock Memories

For classic rock concertgoers, there's no better time than summer to enjoy music performed in festivals, arenas, and concert halls across the country. Families often plan their vacations around music they want to hear and shows they want to attend. The 26th Anniversary Happy Together Tour is in full swing again, providing multiple opportunities for music lovers to catch their favorite classic artists in concert. Recognize these guys? No, it's not Lady Gaga's roadies: It's Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, aka Flo and Eddie, aka The Turtles.

This year's tour began July 8th in Westbury, NY, and toured across Connecticut, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey, back to Pennsylvania, Florida, and Georgia. So, after three straight weeks of shows, the tour broke for a week's rest. That rest was short-lived for Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna because The Buckinghams traveled, with their full band, to Ocean City, NJ and then to Pensacola, FL for a private party. For full story on examiner.com, click here.

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In Memoriam — Martin Joseph Grebb

On the first day of a new year and a new decade, friends and family of Marty Grebb read a post on his Facebook page that sparked instant concern. The composition he shared had required much thought, and in it, Marty shared his love, regard, concern, and caring for virtually every person he’d worked with professionally, loved in his lifetime, and showed how deep his feelings ran for an earlier day and time when his body and mind were not wracked in pain by the five types of cancer he said he’d battled over time. The outpouring of love and support, expressions of concern, reminders of so many who had friended him on Facebook and felt as though they’d really known him, were nothing short of amazing. Offers of “please call me” or “we are worried about you” or “hang on, brother, we are here” filled the comments section. If there were a point in time when he was wavering in his attitude about what his plan was, everyone did whatever they could yesterday, New Year’s Day, to show their supp...

In Memory of John Poulos, March 31, 1947 - March 26, 1980

Five days before his 33rd birthday, we lost John Poulos, a dear friend who was like a brother to us, as well as The Buckinghams’ drummer. Often described as the heartbeat of our band, he was known to most Buckinghams’ fans of the 60s simply as Jon-Jon. To know John was to love him. With his outgoing personality, he never met a stranger. His talent is remembered best in the style he displayed on drum fills and riffs on our hits, including “Don’t You Care,” “Hey Baby, They’re Playing Our Song,” and “Kind of a Drag.” It’s not surprising that Jon-Jon was included as one of the Top 10 drummers in Modern Drummer Magazine. Contemporary MySpace profiles of aspiring amateur and professional musicians today include the name John Poulos among their musical influences. That’s an honor both fitting and accurate for a musician who was truly one of a kind. Nick and I recall that one of John’s own musical influences was Bobby Elliot, drummer for The Hollies, whose signature beret and tossing of his he...

Singer/Songwriters Kiki Ebsen and Carl Giammarese Collaborate on Joni Mitchell's "Circle Game"

In addition to performing with The Buckinghams, in the past few years, Carl Giammarese has enjoyed recording with other performers, which is much easier these days when most musicians have in-home studios. Especially during COVID did Carl find the long-distance projects rewarding and enjoyable, and his songs with Joey Molland, Lisa McClowery, and Dave Mikulskis were all well received. Carl’s latest collaboration is a distance duet with singer/songwriter Kiki Ebsen, on a Joni Mitchell classic: “Circle Game.” Kiki is a native of Los Angeles and longtime music veteran as keyboard player and singer for Grammy-winning and platinum-selling artists including Al Jarreau, Boz Scaggs, Tracy Chapman, Michael McDonald, Belinda Carlisle, Wilson Phillips, and for over a decade with Christopher Cross before the Yacht Rock tours began. Carl said recently, “I don't know any artist that captures the essence and sound of Joni Mitchell more than Kiki Ebsen.” Nine years ago, Kiki decided that th...

The Buckinghams in Concert

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