blue cheer - Summertime Blues

A short film about the band Blue Cheer and their hit Summertime Blues. This was made for the TOP2000 a go go. Directed by Arjan Vlakveld

[@foursail100]

I met Blue Cheer outside The Fillmore East in April of 1968, talked with them, and then went inside and watched them play onstage !

[@dobrepytanie828]

How was it? How would you describe that experience (seeing Blue Cheer live)?

[@EAveryGtrBass]

Blue Cheer Invented Heavy Metal!!!!

[@hyzercreek]

Yes, it's true

[@loudmind68]

Yes, they did it

[@williamcolville8773]

Roll dem bones.blue cheer forever.

[@PAINFOOL13]

!969 Colorado springs auditorium , I was up against the stage front and center and could feel the the sound from the wall of Marshall's and the amped drums .. I will never forget it ..

[@supermamamaxi]

Dude, We heard about that show all the way back east. You saw it!!! Where ever they played, it was an "event" like like the Trinity Tests! This interview on the video, I was present for as I am the drummer playing on it. I am one of you, a complete Cheer fan. I have the memorabilia collection to go with, including the famous Vincebus Eruptum "Pill" poster from Music Scene Magazine (1968). It's huge and framed. Dickie was a great guy and he stayed at my house for 2 months while we worked on the album, "What Doesn't Kill You". We were recording that at the time the Dutch film crew came to video. This was shown on the equivalent of 60 Minutes TV News Show in Holland. I remember that the film crew were leaving for the Amazon rain forest the next day to film something else. Dickie's interview is probably his most candid and he tells a lot of truths that he never shared. That being said, there is very little of that kind of information about the band that is revealed. At that time I was really thinking more that I was doing their original drummer "Paul Whaley" a solid favor as he could not make it into the U.S. from Hamburg to record the album. In the end he was able to come over and record a couple of songs for the album . So it ended up that we shared the album. I was a little put out by that but I now feel very good about that as I not only got a year in Blue Cheer but I got to share the album with 2/3 of the original band. I also played 3 legendary gigs with them at that time. Just so you know, the first show was at Laconia, NH bike week outdoors in a circus tent. It was jam packed and when we tested our gear out, the crowd moved back 30 feet at least as if we were KIng Kong ready to break those chrome steel chains and get loose!! Hahaha! I am a better person for this. I had to share as I hung on every word you wrote about the Colorado Gig. I have the official postcard from that gig with an American Indian Chief painted in Psych colors. Your thoughts on the band are the same as mine and they were a true force of nature. Many bands have tried to cop the sound but always came up short in my book, including Black Sabbath. Cheers

[@PAINFOOL13]

@@supermamamaxi wow , bro how awesome .I envy your time with dickie . They were like my Religion at the time. Being at the stage front n center feeling thre air off of Pauls massive playing. Its burned into me forever. Saw so many groups cream ,floyd who played in Quad ..iron butterfly .jimi at red rocks .Jethro T , mountain ,yes . So many memories I feel a kinship with you . Was in my first band 1967 8th grade lol Mostly local bar gigs in southern colo . Colo springs had so many concerts But Blue Cheer was n is a standout . How i wish i could do it all once more. Be well my BC brother . Thanks for you exsperiances 👍🏻🤘🏻

[@PAINFOOL13]

Oh i forgot Vanilla Fudge ..

[@loudmind68]

Blue Cheer = Genesis of Heavy Metal

[@simonkormendy849]

These guys were both inventors and early pioneers of Heavy Metal, along with bands like Cream, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Iron Butterfly, Steppenwolf, and etc.

[@stewgotz1]

BLUE CHEER....LOUDER THAN GOD!!!!

[@TheRockandroll420]

Im 15 I know who blue cheer is and is one of my fave bands

[@supermamamaxi]

God! We miss you Dickie!!!!!!!!!!

[@WeedVulva]

What a legend, people dont even know the half. Sad hes gone were losing everyone now.

[@Beatlejoose56]

I always liked Blue Cheer , it worked great on grass stains.

[@LeeEisenstein]

I loved this tune back in the day. Bought their first two recordings, E Pluribus... and Outside Inside. I consider both to be masterpieces. Bravo, Blue Cheer!

[@juliusschwencke142]

...Vincebus Erruptum

[@WilliamBarryRoberts]

@@juliusschwencke142 E Pluribus Eruptum

[@sauquoit13456]

On this day in 1968 {February 10th} Blue Cheer performed "Summertime Blues" on the late Dick Clark's 'American Bandstand'... One month later on March 2nd it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; eventually it peaked at #14 and spent 13 weeks on the Top 100... It reached #3 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart... A favorite of Bruce Springsteen; he has played it in 24 concerts between 1978 and 2012... R.I.P. Mr. Cochran {1938 - 1960} and Mr. Clark {1929 - 2012}... {See the 7th post below}

[@jonathan401]

I'm a fetus and I love Blue Cheer!

[@hambone9119]

@eurorocker79 Hasselvander is so fucking cool just like Dickie was, he is friendly and down to earth.

[@davedee4382]

Of Course I remember when the single came out and it was a hit and rightfully so. Great recording, wonderful song from the 1950s that was always being played during the summer on a.m. radio and it was transformed into this very modern acid rock sound. Or I guess you could call it hard rock it was known by both back then that type of music that is. The great thing about this recording it should’ve been studied back then another words producers should’ve really give it is a listen to because this was mixed oh so well. A lot of attempts to make hard rock records didn’t work because you had a really good song but they couldn’t reproduce what people were feeling in clubs with that kind of music was played. Sometimes though that type of music was a total failure and actually hurt peoples ears. This recording is recorded and mixed so well that these guys get away with that type of music yet it’s a commercial hit record! You’ll notice that the lead is distorted and has a great stain on it. Well it is not buried in the recording (which is what people usually do) it’s very clear very upfront. You’ll notice it’s the same thing with the vocal. Listen to live recordings of this song at the vocal is buried and it sounds like a mess. But hear the recording on the actual record and the vocal is upfront and Clear. When the vocal is heard the lead guitar isn’t playing , when the lead guitar is playing the vocal isn’t! That’s really a great that trade off ; that way each of them to take the center spot nice and upfront in the mix , clear really precise you could hear everything in the vocal and on the lead because they exchange with each other. The distorted rhythm guitar if that’s what it is you know a lot of people think it’s just one guitar but sounds to me like there’s a rhythm guitar playing that’s distorted; do you notice how compressed and in the back that is in the mix? Yeah that’s the right thing to do. Even though live distorted rhythm is turned up loud and everybody thinks that that and the drums are carrying the song, no it’s got to be compressed and remain low in the mix. It’s there it’s so well that you can hear it but it does not dominate. That is so important. Last of all we have the base. Now you can’t hear the bass on this recording when you’re listening to it on your telephone or your iPad whatever. It’s all so compressed. But if you were to hear a 45 RPM single or say a CD of this song and play it on something that was really good quality and didn’t purposely pop up the bass you would hear the bass. The bass carries the song with being locked in with the drums! And there you are; that is fantastic it’s not the distorted rhythm carrying the song even though it’s there and it’s important but the drums and the bass they’re driving the song. And also you have a great drummer and it again the drums are mixed so well. You can really hear every fill that the Drummer is doing. And that’s important because of this song those drum fills are to be heard!!!! They’re not supposed to be in the background, they’re not supposed to necessarily play with something else, it’s almost like every time you have a fill it’s almost like a solo! It’s supposed to be heard. You listen to it again; listen to the drums you’ll see that that’s true. Yes whoever arranged this whoever mixed it along with the musicians who play well and cooperated, you end up with a really fantastic hard rock recording and remember this was 1967 this wasn’t in the 80s this was not in the 90s this was back then before you had digital! You had to know what you were doing and you had to be a good studio musician; these guys did and they pulled this off. The only problem is where were the other hits by this band? The band seems capable the people working in the studio are capable of a need or needed were more songs. What happened?

[@eurorocker79]

@pat12pack Sure is man, that guy is pretty hard to miss. On the other hand, I miss Dickie terribly... Blue Cheer were one in a million, I love to see them laughing and having fun together. That's the coolest thing about playing music and digging bands!!

[@hyzercreek]

Is this Dickie Petersen?

[@bflo1000]

Yes

[@RiverFlow58]

rock fucking on!

[@dannyhood66]

Total fried crisp crust!

[@JAC1138]

Does anyone know how to achieve the guitar effect at 0:56? I would've thought that you would just slide up and down the neck, but apparently that's not the case.

[@Kgio-2112]

You gotta jack that geetar off!

[@thomasdudley4558]

Dickie thrown of thrash

[@dannyhood66]

Blue cheer' looked like cousin it.

[@rockking05]

Whose that cute blonde in the background ?

[@pat12pack]

Is that Joe Hasslevander?

[@dyr234]

man I asked the same thing

[@danielrozell4815]

Yes

[@Patricia13386]

Dickie Peterson looks like to my uncle Julian xD.

[@EyesHaveMiles420]

I know, right? Lol.

[@PhaQfag]

ok, would you like a reward or a special prize for that??

[@loudmind68]

Yes.

[@nofuture92]

Black Sabbath formed and started writing proper material in 1968

[@loudmind68]

Not really. The 4 piece band iommy-osbourne-butler-ward started to work it out together in the middle of 1969.

[@howardamess452]

Blue Cheer AND Black Sabbath were both responsible for sub genres of metal- Acid/stoner/punky/biker/grunger/pre-proto power trio...a la Grand Funk/Pentagram/Seattle Music/Motorhead(Blue Cheer) Speed/Stoner/Death/Grindcore/Doom/Stoner/Satanic( Sabbath). Both amazing and worthwhile!