Rock Hound State Park is located just East of Deming, along the Western edge of the Florida mountains (not to be confused with the state of the same name).

Unfortunately I was unable to book any programs here. Libraries in both Las Cruses and Placitas expressed an interest following my initial proposals, but neither ever followed through on that interest.

Anyway, with no evening commitment, I instead hiked the base of the mountain just beyond the campground.​

With our arrival in Arizona this evening, I have six talks over the next six days throughout the greater Phoenix area, starting at the Mesquite Library:

Saturday, 19 March 2016, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Mesquite Library, 4525 E Paradise Village Parkway N., Phoenix, AZ
From the Shadow of JFK: The Rise of Beatlemania in America
Many Beatles authors and scholars have cited John F. Kennedy's assassination on 22 November 1963 as a cause of the Beatles' sudden popularity in the United States in early 1964. Their logic: Kennedy's assassination made America sad, then the Beatles made America happy again. But this commonly accepted answer is overly simplistic. America has suffered numerous tragedies and rebounded each time, but the popularity and staying power of the Beatles remains unmatched in American history. The real answer is that Kennedy's life and death inadvertently primed the nation for the Beatles' arrival and success. This 60-minute program will explain how and why.

​JOHN (Aaron's father and travelling companion on this tour)
 
I was telling Aaron I don't understand how musicians survive many weeks on the road performing. This is the second week we've toured the South, and Aaron has presented several lectures. He's done the work, I've done most of the driving, and I'm pretty much beat.
 
There are times when I've thought I'd rather pull out the couch bed in our travel trailer and zone out for the evening rather than drive to the next lecture site.
 
Of course, if I weren't driving, I'd have missed the Texas ranch sign announcing the complaining residents of "Belly Acres," so there are some advantages to being behind the wheel.
 
But driving across the country is more tiring than I expected. The poor weather those first few days on the highway didn't help. We were plagued with rain almost constantly. My leg, neck and arm muscles would rebel after sitting behind the steering wheel awhile. I had been gripping the steering wheel of our 2010 Chevrolet Suburban long and strong enough that they felt like they'd transformed into a new steering wheel cover.
 
I have nothing but respect for semi tractor trailer drivers, but when they whoosh by in the passing lane, block the crosswinds and create a vacuum that forces you to grab that wheel and pull your rig the opposite way just to stay on the road, that gets tiring. Then, when the trucks have passed, the winds return to push you the other way. "Keep those hands on the wheel" takes on a different meaning than when my girlfriends used to spout such warnings when we'd go for a drive.
 
Paying attention to mirrors is important. However, the tow mirrors and the rear camera attached to our tow vehicle make pipsqueaks out of the monstrous semis approaching from behind. The mirrors and camera fool you into thinking you've got miles between you and other vehicles when in reality they're feet from you. More than once a truck seemingly far behind us and in the same lane has scared the bejesus out of me when it  swings into the left, passing lane just inches away.
 
I also have to quickly circumvent those blown truck tire cast-offs as we speed 70 mph along the pavement.
 
Not only that, but out the windshield is a constant array of distractions: Was that a Great Blue Heron soaring to the east? A hawk looks like a statue on that utility pole wire. What was that chicken-sized, skinny bird with the elongated tail (mostly likely a Roadrunner)?
 
Of course, Aaron pointed out that entertainers have employees to drive them to their gigs, set up lodging arrangements (we have plenty of required preparations to set up camp with our travel trailer), and arrange for meals.
 
Oh. Yeah. That's right. Maybe the superstar life wouldn't be so bad after all....

East:

South:

That's our camper on the near side of the street, in site 17. (Notice how the two tents - neither of which are ours - were placed on both sides of the shared pavilion.)

Though we're not in New Mexico quite yet, this is truly Breaking Bad country - we even saw an RV parked in the middle of nowhere, just off Interstate 10 - which is why we're watching that show throughout the trip. We finished season one last night, and we're now on to season two. And tomorrow we stay in New Mexico.

Given the arid landscape, I'm quite surprised by the quantity of vegetation. There can't be much rain here because even modest precipitation would quickly erode the loose sand - even the three-and-a-half gallons we drained from the trailer water pipes washed a significant hole in the campsite terrain.

Upon waking this morning, however, I was again surprised to find dew covering the entire park. Plus, clouds blanketed the overcast sky. Despite practically nonexistent rainfall, there appears to be enough moisture to sustain plant life, which have no doubt evolved to maximize what little water they can collect.

​JOHN (Aaron's father and travelling companion on this tour):
 
Here's my favorite story from Monahans Sandhill State Park in Texas: I went from our trailer to the Suburban to get something and check out tinkling chain sounds too close to come from any camp site other than ours. Outside, I saw a white SUV with its engine running parked on the nearby road, and a U-Haul trailer, probably 8-10 feet long, sitting in the oncoming traffic lane. A woman, about 40, was picking up the hitch of the trailer, obviously empty, and maneuvering it back and forth to position it to be moved into a site across from us. That seemed odd, but the park superintendent had mentioned there was a nearby site occupied by two women campers.
 
Just as I was going to offer to help push the trailer, the SUV driver, a hefty woman, got out of the vehicle and pushed the trailer from behind while the first woman pulled. I asked if I could help. The second woman grunted, "No, I think we got it." The SUV door then opened, the dome light brightened the inside, and there sat at least three bulky young men, obviously sons of the hefty woman, with earphones in use and some kind of handheld electronic devices throwing a bluish reflection off their faces. None of them seemed aware of the gallant and gentlemanly action they should have been engaged in. Okay, maybe they had offered to assist and the two women thanked them and verbally patted them on the back for their courteous offer.
 
Yeah right, John. What handheld universe are you living in? Well, I found the answer to that question.
 
While watching the unchivalrous youths tapping away in the SUV, I looked up and saw a generous amount of stars scattered across the sky. There was the easily-recognized Big Dipper constellation. The tail and mid-section of Draco the Dragon was almost visible. Orion's belt was unmistakable. And a short distance from that heavenly clothing accessory was the auriga, the herdsman, paired with a teeny triangle on its side that represented his "kids." We saw Jupiter, Polaris and a bright first quarter moon trying to wash the fainter stars into oblivion. Now that's worth watching.
 
P.S. Walking through the appropriately-named Sandhill state park at night seemed like meandering through mountains of snow. The bright half moon shining on the white sand could easily have fooled someone who had left snow piles behind in Kenosha just a week and a-half before.

Waxahachie (I assume it's a Native American term) is pronounced like "walks ah ha chee" said quickly. Dad, on the other hand, consistently tells people, "We're going to wax a hootchie". Sometimes it takes a double-take and a good three count before people realize that we're going to the Dallas suburb and not a Brazilian salon!

​JOHN (Aaron's father and travelling companion on this tour):
 
We listened to the "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young-Greatest Hits" album during one of our drives between lectures. The compilation was mostly CSN and not so much Y. But Aaron noticed a new grittiness when Young made the band a quartet. The Canadian guitarist's work often was raw, giving protest songs such as "Ohio" that indignant bite. Contrast that to the exact guitar picking and layered -- or "heavy," as Aaron described it -- harmonies on "Helplessly Hoping," from the bands' self-titled debut album in 1969, when it was a trio.
 
I thought I'd give a quick lesson about that long playing record, which I purchased. The music obviously helped elbow aside the blossoming pre-metal music of Steppenwolf, Led Zepplin and Jimi Hendrix with its softer, gentler style, and scored well on the charts. CSN's unplugged approach helped other bands embrace more of the same into the early 1970s.
 
We also listened to an album by The Zombies that included "Time Of The Season." The song reminded me that some friends misheard a few of the lyrics: "It's the time of the season for lov-ing" was perceived as "It's the time of the season for Lov-ey." Who's  Lovey? The song was released in 1968, soon after the three-year run of a popular television program titled "Gilligan's Island." One of the seven characters stranded on the uncharted title isle was the wife of a millionaire, whose pet name for her was Lovey.
 
P.S. Aaron noted that CSN's "Our House" had a descending bass line, which the Beatles used in "Hello Goodbye" and many other songs.
 
Ah, I learn something new with every note.

Since yesterday's program in Lake Dallas was canceled, Dad and I DARTed downtown to visit the Sixth Floor Museum.

John F. Kennedy, of course, was assassinated in Dealey Plaza in Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald on 22 November 1963. The tragedy is often cited as an influence on the explosion of Beatlemania in the US some three months later - the subject of my book "From the Shadow of JFK: The Rise of Beatlemania in America" (2015). Oswald shot from a sixth floor window of what was then the Texas School Book Depository. While the building's name has since changed to the Dallas County Administration Building, the structure itself remains, and its penultimate story turned into a Kennedy museum.

Admission included a self-guided audio tour - a handheld device with headphones that allowed visitors to listen to spoken narration in addition to reading and observing the displays. I've seen similar set-ups at other museums (and zoos) but I've never actually used them before. After yesterday, I would use them again.

The problem with being reasonably well-read on any given subject is that it's difficult to find anything new. I encounter this problem with the Beatles on a daily basis. And while I do NOT consider myself a Kennedy expert, I am well aware of his story and his accomplishments. Last October, while touring New England, I visited the JFK Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. Unsurprisingly, much of the Sixth Floor Museum's exhibits cover the same material.

While I can't say I learned anything that could aid my presentations, I did finally understand the three-dimensional logistics of the assassination. I've read many times of where the motorcade traveled (right on Houston, left on Elm), and of how Oswald shot from the Book Depository. But written word descriptions are meaningless compared to physically standing there and observing the geography in person. I finally understand what "the grassy knoll" is, where it is, and why it's important!

The exact spot where Oswald fired those fatal shots is now behind Plexiglas, as is the diagonal corner, where Oswald's rifle was found. This preserves the historic location but also prevents anybody from peering out from that window. Visitors can, however, look out the neighboring windows on to Elm St, where an X in the middle lane of the road marks the precise location where the President was hit.

While photography was prohibited inside the building, I did get a shot outside. The X is circled in black, and the sniper's location indicated with a yellow arrow.

The primary reason we stopped in Dallas (as opposed to other Texas metropolises) for several nights is because we have relatives in the area. Uncle Mike and Aunt Melly moved from Blue Springs, MO (suburb of Kansas City) to Waxahachie, TX (suburb of Dallas) last July. (My June 2015 tour around Kansas City was designed to visit them at their old house.)

Mike, a big Dallas Cowboys fan, expressed an interest in visiting their (relatively) new stadium (it opened June 2009). And while I lean more towards baseball than football, it caught my interest.

The tours cost $35 per person - more than I would pay to attend a game, much less for a tour. But for some reason tickets were 50% off yesterday, so we took the tour for *just* $17.50 each. And at nearly two hours in duration, I'd say we got our money's worth.

The tour started at 1pm, giving us about 45 minutes to browse the stadium gift shop beforehand. As it turned out, the tour tickets were one of the cheapest things available.

How about a hat for $40?

Or a Tony Romo jersey for $300?

Or a pair of snakeskin boots for $600?

The stadium itself reminds me of Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, in that both stadia are feature retractable domes. But where the seats at the Brewers' park wrap from the left field foul pole around home plate and out to the right field foul pole, the seats at the Cowboys' wrapped entirely around the field - a full 360 degrees. That helps account for why Milwaukee's stadium holds 42,000 compared to Dallas' 90,000. Our tour guide, Glenn, said it is the largest domed stadium in the world. And I believe him.

​For comparison, here's Miller Park:

And here's the Cowboys' stadium:

This evening's "Band of the Sixties" in Lake Dallas was cancelled (apparently they had to cut back employees in addition to programming because of budget cuts), but tomorrow's "Band of the Sixties" in Benbrook is a go:

Tuesday, 15 March 2016, 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Benbrook Library, 1065 Mercedes St, Benbrook, TX
The Beatles: Band of the Sixties
Explore the music of The Beatles in this 60-minute multimedia presentation (part history and part musical analysis) spanning the full 1960's: beginning with the band's seminal visits to Hamburg, continuing through Beatlemania, and concluding with Abbey Road. The program will be supplemented with audio clips of music and excerpts from interviews with the band members.

The term "budget cuts" seems to be an all-too-common refrain around libraries. Last month the Jacksonville, FL library canceled four of their five bookings due to financial cutbacks. And this month the Lake Dallas, TX library might have to cancel tomorrow's program for the same reason. The Lake Dallas Friends of the Library (the group responsible for programming) has disbanded because of funding restrictions, suspending all programming indefinitely.

Joe Gunter, the Lake Dallas library director, emailed me on Thursday explaining "we are going to have to cancel", but confusingly in the same email offered a reduced rate (payment lower than what we had agreed upon months ago). I replied promptly accepting the reduced rate and encouraging him to not cancel the program. That was Thursday. As of this writing (Sunday morning), I still have not heard anything back at all. So I'm not even sure if tomorrow's program is happening or not.

While this is hugely frustrating for me (Joe admitted he's known about this for two weeks but never bothered telling me until three days ago), it's even worse for the library, which has suffered 45% budget cuts over the past two years. I hope that trend reverses. If it doesn't, then the future looks pretty bleak for the Lake Dallas library, and many other libraries across the nation facing similar budget cuts.

I really hope we're still on for tomorrow, but with no communication either way, I'm just not sure. If you plan to attend, be sure to call beforehand (their number is 940-497-3566) to confirm things are still on:

Monday, 14 March 2016, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Lake Dallas Public Library, 302 S Shady Shores Rd, Lake Dallas, TX 
The Beatles: Band of the Sixties
Explore the music of The Beatles in this 60-minute multimedia presentation (part history and part musical analysis) spanning the full 1960's: beginning with the band's seminal visits to Hamburg, continuing through Beatlemania, and concluding with Abbey Road. The program will be supplemented with audio clips of music and excerpts from interviews with the band members.

AARON:

Some months ago, Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, bought Ringo Starr's 1963 Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl three-piece drum kit (using which he recorded "Can't Buy Me Love" among other songs) at an auction for $2.25 million. This purchase expanded his Beatles instrument collection, which already included Lennon's guitar which he played on "Paperback Writer". An article in Rolling Stone about the auction cited Irsay's hope for a Beatles festival in Indianapolis: "In the spirit of the music, Irsay doesn't plan on just stashing the famed drum kit behind glass; instead, he says he hopes to throw a party – similar to the Lennon tribute in New York – where artists would perform Fab Four songs using the legendary Beatles instruments he's housing in his collection." (Source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/colts-owner-why-i-paid-2-2-million-for-ringo-starrs-drum-kit-20151206#ixzz42cauzpV7)

Last week, while returning home from my Florida tour, the last program was at the Alexandrian Public Library in Mount Vernon, IN. Just East of Mount Vernon is Evansville, home of Lanea Stagg, author of Recipe Records - A Culinary Tribute to The Beatles. Lanea and I met for lunch on March 3 and we discussed Irsay's acquisition as well as his interest in a Beatles convention in Indianapolis, with both of us extremely interested in the prospect.

Then, after the presentation in Louisville the other day, several people commented that they were looking forward to Abbey Road on the River in May, where I will be giving three presentations during the festival: "The Influence of American Rock 'n' Roll on the Beatles" on May 27, "Carte Blanche: The Beatles' White Album" on May 28, and "Let it Be: The Beatles, January 1969" on May 29. Many people also mentioned that 2016 will be the last year AROTR is held in Louisville. That was news to me, but after a little digging I discovered it is indeed true: Abbey Road on the River will be held in Jeffersonville, IN in 2017, just North of Louisville. It is uncertain whether this change of location is permanent or temporary.

When Natalie and I moved from Connecticut last summer, one reason we chose Indiana as our new home was because it lives up to its nickname as "The Crossroads of America". We had narrowed our decision down to Chicago or Indy, selecting the latter because its central location facilitates my travel. A tour down to Florida and back is easier from Indianapolis than from Chicago or Hartford. Same goes for this current tour to Arizona.

Conversely, this easily accessible geographical location also makes the Circle City an ideal city to host large crowds. Indy has frequently hosted conventions (Comicon, Star Wars Celebration III) and sporting events (the Super Bowl in 2012, and NCAA Final Four in 2010 and 2015, not to mention the Indianapolis 500 every spring).

The city's ability to host conventions, combined with the fact that the owner of the city's NFL team has explicitly expressed an interest, and that two major Beatles authors live near by, makes a pretty compelling case for why Indianapolis should host a Beatles festival in the near future. Plus, an already-established Beatles festival in Louisville (just two hours South of Indy) appears to be seeking a new location.

So here's to the notion of the first-ever Indianapolis Beatles convention!

More immediate, however, is tomorrow's continuation of my current tour. Just as last week's "The Influence of American Rock 'n' Roll on the Beatles" in Brentwood, TN (just South of Nashville) could hardly have been in a more appropriate geographical location, so too tomorrow's "From the Shadow of JFK: The Rise of Beatlemania in America" in Burleson, TX (just Southwest of Dallas) could hardly be in a more appropriate geographical location:

Saturday, 12 March 2016, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Burleson Public Library, 248 SW Johnson Ave, Burleson, TX
From the Shadow of JFK: The Rise of Beatlemania in America
Many Beatles authors and scholars have cited John F. Kennedy's assassination on 22 November 1963 as a cause of the Beatles' sudden popularity in the United States in early 1964. Their logic: Kennedy's assassination made America sad, then the Beatles made America happy again. But this commonly accepted answer is overly simplistic. America has suffered numerous tragedies and rebounded each time, but the popularity and staying power of the Beatles remains unmatched in American history. The real answer is that Kennedy's life and death inadvertently primed the nation for the Beatles' arrival and success. This 60-minute program will explain how and why.

JOHN:
​
I was worried when Aaron planned on giving presentations about the Beatles in America's southern states. I recall the destructive response from Dixie residents, including in Memphis and Dallas -- areas in which Aaron had scheduled talks -- to John Lennon's opinions that his band was more popular than Jesus Christ.  Death threats and bonfires fueled by Beatles albums and merchandise greeted the four musicians when they toured the southern U.S. soon after the remarks were made public.
 
There is a telling story about one of two Beatles concerts in Memphis, TN in August 1966 when someone lobbed a firecracker onto the stage. When it exploded, each of the startled Beatles wondered which of the others had been shot.
 
So, would there still be antagonistic feelings toward the Fab Four? Would those residents turn their wrath on Aaron, the messenger? Well, Beatles fan Lisa Ketcham, who works at the Southham, MS library, where Aaron's March 9 talk detailed the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album, has not seen or heard lingering traces of the backlash.
 
"I find a lot of the younger generation don't even know who the Beatles are anymore, and that just kills me," she said. "I'm thinking, 'Somebody didn't raise you right.'" ​

AARON:

Last June I set a new attendance record at the Topeka, KS library when 122 Fab Four fanatics attended a round of "Band of the Sixties". It broke a record that had stood for more than year. But Topeka's reign came to an end last night at the Louisville, KY library, which drew 167.

Finding the library proved the most difficult part of the whole evening. Somehow I had the address for a branch library rather than the main library, and I showed up promptly only to find out the real location was some miles East.

Once the error was discovered and (we thought) corrected, the GPS took us to yet another branch library. Strike two. I always try to arrive 45-60 minutes early to set up. By this point, it was 5:50 (start at 6:30).

Eventually we found our way to the downtown library, but of course parking anywhere in any downtown can be an exercise in futility. A giant sign with the words "PUBLIC PARKING" and an arrow pointing to the right lead us to another sign a few yards away which read "NO PARKING". Fine, we'll just pay for the meter. Turned out, the meter only charged until 6pm, and since we were half an hour late because we visited every OTHER library in the city, so we got to park for free.

As is often the case, the hard part was just getting started. Once a program gets off the ground, things typically go smoothly (except for the one time the fire alarm went off and we all had to evacuate the building - no joke).

Here's hoping the remaining stops on this tour are (1) easier to find, and (2) draw even bigger crowds. Topeka held the title for nine months. How long will Louisville hold it? It's a distinct possibility that the attendance record will be broken in May of this year when I speak at Abbey Road on the River - in Louisville!

Thursday, 10 March 2016, 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Saline County Library, 1800 Smithers Dr, Benton, AR
The History of Rock 'n' Roll
This 60-minute multimedia presentation will trace the development of Rock 'n' Roll (as distinct from Rock of the 1960's) from its roots in the blues and country music, through its pinnacle in the mid 1950s, its abrupt decline in the late 50s, and conclude with its legacy and influence on musicians of subsequent decades. Artists discussed will include Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and others.

JOHN:

​When our two sons moved into their college years and away from home, Polly and I figured we'd never be able to take vacations with the four of us together anymore. We'd have to rely on our memories and photographs of trips to places such as Dinosaur National Monument, the Rocky Mountains and Devil's Tower. But I was wrong, for once.
 
We all traveled to Estes Park, CO in June 2014 for a family reunion. In 2015, we reunited for a trip to visit relatives in Missouri. Both years, we and Aaron planned the journey so he could give Beatles talks along the way. That's twice in two years that we were able to gather together again -- a much better record than the Beatles, who once were facetiously offered $3,000 for a reunion on Saturday Night Live in the 1970s.
 
This year, Aaron and I are together for a great two and a-half week lecture tour from Kentucky to Arizona, and I'm happy to be part of it and that he wanted me to accompany him. I hear so much about people's children spending little time with them that I wasn't sure Aaron would be interested in yet several more weeks on the road together.
 
But I was wrong, for twice.

Thursday, October 15, 2015, Dodger Stadium: National League Division Series, Game 5. In a classic clash of the titans, the New York Mets' sophomore superstar Jacob DeGrom pitched against the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2009 Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke in a do-or-die situation for both teams.

DeGrom struggled at first, giving up two runs in the first inning. “Early on I was having a tough time locating, especially with the fast ball,” he said Jacob deGrom during a post-game interview. “I was having a hard time getting my fast ball down and that’s normally how I attack hitters.” (Source: http://1045theteam.com/how-jacob-degrom-won-game-5-without-his-best-stuff/) And yet, despite not having his best stuff, he still found success. - he didn't let the problems interfere with the bottom line. The Mets won 3-2 and advanced to the National League Championship Series, and DeGrom was credited statistically with the win. (Source: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN201510150.shtml)

If I may borrow the notion, tour #2 of the new year initiates today as we drive to Louisville for a program this evening and then to Mississippi for another one tomorrow. And it appears that I've come down with a double whammy of a common cold mixed with food poisoning. The worst of it was Friday, when it felt like I spent the entire night in the bathroom. And while I'm much, MUCH better than I was, I'm still not back to normal. When you do as many presentations as I do, there are going to be problems: health issues (I had a mild cold last October-November during my New England tour), technical problems (I've encountered projectors that don't work, speakers that won't turn on, cables with shorts, microphones with deafening feedback, et cetera), and traffic jams (which are perhaps the most frustrating because you can't do anything about them). But in spite of any and all those problems, I always find a way to get the job done, because whether you're a baseball pitcher or a Beatles scholar that's what it means to be a professional - you don't let the problems interfere with the end result.

Of course there are limits. Baseball broadcasters are fond of saying, "You can play hurt, but you can't play injured." Meaning you can still effectively play the game with bumps and bruises, but at some point the pain hinders your effectiveness on the field. Obviously, you can't play with a broken leg. (Ask Reuben Tejada and Chase Utley about that!)

Similarly, had I had a speaking engagement Friday night, I would have canceled - there's no way I could have functioned while THAT sick. But now, even though I'm not feeling 100% right now, the presentations I deliver tonight and tomorrow will be 100%.

Wednesday, 9 March 2016, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
M. R. Davis Public Library, 8554 Northwest Dr, Southaven, MS
The Beatles' Alter Ego, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Since its release in 1967, the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band has often been regarded as the single greatest rock album ever made, and one of the first rock concept albums. This 90-minute multimedia presentation will observe and discuss the landmark album track by track, citing musical and historical precedents, and illustrating the development of the songs through excerpts from interviews with the band members and clips of discarded takes.

"How did you get so into the Beatles"?

It has to be the question I'm asked most frequently, fielding it after almost every speaking engagement. And given my relatively young age of thirty, it is perhaps the most obvious of inquiries. With my peers more interested in the music of Brittney Spears, Eminem, Limp Bizkit, and Korn, why and how did I find the Fab Four?

My interest in the Beatles stems directly from my father's interest in the band. He was 10 years old when the band debuted on Ed Sullivan on 9 February 1964, and like many Baby Boomers remembers the occasion vividly (including my grandmother's quote, "That's the last we'll ever hear of this band!"). So he grew up listening to the Beatles and eagerly awaiting each new single and album release.

I, then, grew up listening to the band through him. Grocery run? Let's put in a Beatles tape on the way! I can't remember a time when I wasn't aware and appreciative of "She Loves You", "Lady Madonna", "Help!", or any number of their other songs.

When I entered graduate school at Boston University in the fall of 2008 was around the time the stereo remastered CDs were released - that big black box containing their complete official oeuvre, which I now consider the definitive collection.

My experiences in grad school heavily shaped my aesthetic preferences. When I arrived in New England, I identified more as a "serious" classical musician than a pop musician. I remember joking with friends about creating a Facebook group called "I hate pop culture". And while I never actually initiated such a group, it displayed my dislike of the commercial drivel known as pop music. With Northeastern schools maintaining a reputation for intellectual rigor, I eagerly anticipated my graduate studies.

My primary interest in Beantown, however, was the new music scene. I reasoned (wrongfully as it turned out) that because there were so many concerts and new music performances on the East Coast (certainly far more than we had in Wisconsin or Indiana), that was evidence that the new music scene was healthy and thriving. Unfortunately, that confused the notions of quantity with quality. I attended dozens of concerts, many of which were new music oriented (as many as four per day) and heard several hundred premiere performances. While a small handful of them stood out from the vast oceans of mediocrity, the overwhelming majority left my memory within minutes. I also noticed a pattern regarding the audiences: There were typically more people performing on stage than there were listening in the crowd. Yes, Boston had an inordinate quantity of new music performances, but that did not translate into quality of music, which consequently failed to develop a substantial following. After a year of consistent disappointment, I just couldn't take much more. I remember walking out of one concert because American Idol was on in an hour and I knew it would be more musically stimulating and satisfying than anything I was currently hearing.

Around the same time, I re-discovered my love of baseball. As far back as I can recall, I've been fond of baseball. For a few years I fell under the spell of football (I was living in Indianapolis when the Colts defeated my Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI on 4 February 2007), but facing a dismal present in 2009, I found solace in returning to the past - including my boyhood obsession with America's National Pastime. This was greatly enhanced by my proximity to Fenway Park, home of the storied Boston Red Sox, who had recently won the 2004 and 2007 World Series. Similar to that day I abandoned the live concert in favor of American Idol, I recall a date in the spring of 2009 when I had the choice of attending a concert or listening to the Sox game on WEEI radio (not even watching it on TV - I was a poor starving grad student and couldn't afford the New England Sports Network or the MLB.TV streaming internet subscriptions). I chose the latter. And I never regretted it.

In another nod to my past, I also rediscovered pop music. Having more or less shunned it during my undergrad and early grad years, I now embraced it. From summer 2009 through summer 2010 I lived in Revere, MA and commuted by subway to the BU campus. During those daily 60-minute rides each way, I listened to countless hours of music - and especially Beatles music. I thus returned to the music I grew up with, but came to it with more musically experienced and educated ears - and ears starved of musical engagement and enjoyment. That gave me a new appreciation for music I was already quite familiar with, an appreciation based on my own terms rather than on my father's.

On one such train ride I listened to the album Magical Mystery Tour. Though conceived and released as a double EP in England, the American release (the version I was listening to) was a full album, which supplemented the original British tracks with several singles ("Strawberry Fields Forever", "Penny Lane", "I Am the Walrus", "All You Need is Love", and "Baby You're a Rich Man"). When "Walrus" played, it suddenly dawned on me how historically important the Beatles are - they're so much more than just catchy pop music, but a landmark in 20th Century music.

At some point I realized that so-called "serious classical music" wasn't so serious after all. I'm willing to bet that the majority of people reading this have never even heard of Luciano Berio, George Crumb, Iannis Xenakis, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Gyorgy Ligeti, or Elliott Carter - much less heard any of their music. Yet these men are consistently regarded as the leading composers of their time. By contrast, I'm willing to bet that the majority of people reading this (and, for that matter, the majority of the public at large) is at least peripherally aware of the Beatles. When I spoke in October 2015 at Grace Academy (an inner-city girls' middle school in Hartford, CT where I worked as music teacher from August 2011 til June 2015) one of my first questions to them was, "How many have ever heard of the Beatles?" Most hands (probably two thirds) went up. Then I asked a harder question, "Who can name the four band members?" Collectively they came up with John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, and George Clooney! I have to admit, that was better than I expected from 12-year-olds who prefer listening to Daddy Yankee, Nicki Minaj, and Beyonce. But even they proved reasonably knowledgeable about the Beatles. I suspect they would not have fared as well had I asked them to name members of Nirvana, the Rolling Stones, or Kiss.

Bottom line: Grad school showed me that the most substantial and historically significant music of the a half century ago was not that of Berio, Stockhausen or Ligeti, or the like, but rather that of Lennon/McCartney.
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While the Beatles had certainly grabbed my attention by the time I graduated from BU in May 2010, it would be another year before fully committing to their music. In June 2011 I made a conscious decision to study and analyze Beatles music, and I won a research grant through the University of Hartford in November of that year to do just that. The way the grant worked was the university provided the university's music library with funds to make purchases at my request. With a budget of $1,100, I purchased 56 books, 10 CDs, 10 DVDs, and a set of 5 VHS tapes. While I wasn't able to keep those materials (they are now a permanent part of the library's collection), they provided the foundation on to which I've established my career. To this day I still have not read every single the books I purchased, but I have at least consulted all 81 items.

Having spent a full year wading through and digesting all of those sources, I first presented on the band on 8 November 2012, the first meeting of a six-week course through LifeLearn, West Hartford's continuing education program. That seminar eventually evolved into "The Beatles: Band of the Sixties", which I have delivered many times throughout the United States and England. With "Band of the Sixties" proving so successful (it remains to this day by far my most popular presentation), I expanded my repertoire with more focused programs, including ones on A Hard Day's Night, "Yesterday", Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, "Strawberry Fields Forever", and quite a few more. With so much public interest and so much demand from libraries, I took a leap of faith by quitting all my other jobs in June 2015 so that I could focus on the Beatles full time.