Richie Havens birthday

Subject: Richie Havens
From: chris nightbird childs
Date: 25 Jan 05 - 01:24 AM

Happy Birthday to Richie!
It was a couple days ago. He turned Sixty-Four!

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: Peace
Date: 25 Jan 05 - 01:41 AM

Yo, Chris, good eye. Happy Birthday to you, Richie.

Murdoch

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: Teresa
Date: 25 Jan 05 - 01:47 AM

Love Richie. Happy birthday! Love that intense singing and I'd know the guitar sound right off. :) Here's hoping for many more years. ...

Teresa

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: fat B****rd
Date: 25 Jan 05 - 03:44 AM

Happy Belated Birthday Mr. Havens.

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: GUEST,Bob
Date: 25 Jan 05 - 11:05 PM

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: Bobert
Date: 25 Jan 05 - 11:12 PM

Yeah, Richie Havens has been had a lot of influence on me over the years and I love the guy... He's right there tellin' it the way it is... I've opnlu heard him play live twcie but it's more than his playin' but his spirit..

Richie Havens is the man... fir real...

Bobert

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: chris nightbird childs
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 01:03 AM

That's another reason why I love him and his music so much, he's real and he refuses to be anything else. Not only has he been an influence on my music, but he's also been a role model...

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 10:46 AM

..he also now has his own Guild signature model acoustic guitar. About $1800.

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: chris nightbird childs
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 11:19 AM

I've seen it. It's beautiful. He definitely needs the double pick guard!

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: GUEST,Claymore
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 12:02 PM

You may also know what I observed from doing his concert last year; he uses an open G tuning with a single bar chord running into whatever 1, 5, 7 chord structure he wants. He explained that no one ever taught him the "correct tuning" so he tuned it to one chord and figured out the 5 and 7 for himself.

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: chris nightbird childs
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 12:06 PM

Technically, it's Open D.
He learned the tuning and basically taught himself, so he could play the songs he was hearing in the Village. He has instructions on how to play in the tuning on his site!

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 12:33 PM

...recently I bought a used 12-string from a friend, just for something different. Tuned it to DADGAD and started playing. It's pretty easy to sound like you know how to play in that tuning without knowing very much at all - I am living proof. Especially fingerpicking with 12 strings. Dar Williams overheard some Celtic players at a festival call it "God's own tuning."

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: chris nightbird childs
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 12:40 PM

That guitar must sound HUGE! Maybe I'll try that! I've got a 70's Ventura 12...

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 12:50 PM

It's a cheapie Ibanez, made in China no less..it says it right on the sticker - with light guage strings. I think it sounds huge only because it has 12 strings. You should have better results from a better guitar, I'm guessing.

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: open mike
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 01:22 PM

check out his web site here: http://www.richiehavens.com/
his label : http://www.stormyforest.com/

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: PoppaGator
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 01:57 PM

Those inexpensive Chinese and Korean gitfiddles might prove to be better than many of us currently suspect. The computer power they can now use to reverse-engineer and duplicate proven good instruments is still quite new. Only time will tell how well this latest generation of cheapie knockoff instruments will stand up to years of wear and tear, but they are surprisingly good right now, when new.

Last week, I checked out a Chinese Washburn 6-string with terrific bright ringing tone and nicely set-up low action. The finish was less-than-perfect, with some visible dust and lint embedded in the varnish -- visible, that is, only when you look real close. At less than $250 for a great-sounding/easy-playing guitar, though, you should be able to live with some cosmetic imperfection...

Is this thread drift? It ain't about Richie, but the subject came up earlier in this thread...

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: chris nightbird childs
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 03:13 PM

To my experience so far (10 years as a musician) the 'cheapies' last and sound better to me. Go figure...

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: Fliss
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 03:58 PM

I saw Richie Havens at one of the Crystal Palace festivals in the early 70s. Great stuff.

Saw him too on Sesame street when my kids were small!
F

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 04:00 PM

Aside from cosmetics ...some cheapness you can't hide, like the way the tuners work....or if the strings 'pop' in the nut slot when tuning, which lets you know that the strings are binding in the nut slots, which may mean that the slots weren't cut properly, which may or may not be remedied by a little graphite in the slot .....

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: chris nightbird childs
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 04:11 PM

Well, those are the things you try to find out before you buy.
The guitar that Richie signed (see story above) is an Applause. They're made by Ovation, have the same round back, and it sounds great! It's just an inexpensive version... I've had it for years, and I've written just about all of my songs on it!

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: JedMarum
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 05:47 PM

I always liked Richie Havens and enjoyed his music - but when he played the Tucson Folk Festival a couple of years ago, I was floored. He just absolutely enthralled that 3000+ audience. It was one of the best music shows I've ever seen!

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: PoppaGator
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 07:01 PM

I think Richie Havens has the same rare gift as Pete Seeger, a unique ability to connect with every individual in a large audience. Whatever else might be different between their two styles, voices, repertoires, etc., the two are very similar in this one important respect.

How do you do that? I'd sure like to know...

Also: Chris ~ I've looked "above" a couple of times without finding a story about Richie signing a guitar. Is it in another thread, maybe?

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: chris nightbird childs
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 07:11 PM

Ah, in the 'review' thread. Sorry Poppa...

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: Brakn
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 08:27 PM

When was the first time he appeared on UK television? I know I saw him in Hyde Park.

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: mike_in_st_c
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 10:50 PM

I saw him at the Winnipeg Folk Festival a couple years ago. Absolutely dynamic! Even while tuning on stage. He was tuning for about five minutes, then apologised to the audience saying, " I've got two ears and only one of me between them..." (paraphrase). I was totally enthralled. May have even cried. Mike

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: chris nightbird childs
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 11:34 PM

That's RH for ya! Brilliant, funny, entertaining, AND his voice and music speak volumes...

Subject: RE: Richie Havens
From: iamjohnne
Date: 26 Jan 05 - 11:48 PM

Richie Havens is a class act. He and I have some mutual aquaintances, I emailed him at his sight and he sent me a personal email back. I felt quite special.

My friends who do know him say he is a genuine warm wonderful man.