Get Behind Fanny Get Behind Fanny

Episode 41! In this episode, we wrap up our hashtag series with part two of #NickeyNotes! We read fan’s emails and messages about Nickey’s many talents and songs. We play the rare “No Deposit, No Return” tune from the CD version of “Fanny Hill” and then “Beside Myself” from Mothers Pride. Plus we might sneak in one or two more songs! Listen to find out!

Also, stay tuned at the end for some cool announcements from the Posco Posse!

Episode 40! In this episode, it’s a very special beginning to our hashtag of #NickeyNotes! So special that you will just have to listen to see what we’re talking about! Hint: It’s all about Nickey Barclay!

Episode 39! In this episode, it’s Part 2 of our hashtag #AskAlice! Fanny’s drummer answers fan’s questions as she talks about her drumming on a variety of Fanny tunes. We play the original vocal version of “Rock Bottom Blues” which is a bonus track on the “Fanny Hill” CD, and then we play Fanny’s only blues song “Lonesome Pine” which is a bonus track on the “Mothers Pride” CD.  We also play some shorter clips from other Fanny tunes!

Episode 38! In this episode, it’s Part 1 of our hashtag #AskAlice! Fanny’s drummer answers fan’s questions as she talks about her drumming on a variety of Fanny tunes. We play “Seven Roads” from Fanny’s first album, and “A Little While Later” from the “Charity Ball” album in full, as well as clips from other songs.



“Seven Roads”

Okay, just re-listened! Must say, I like the first version better (I think, the only difference was the intro organ cut, and vocals either added to or re-done ~ I noticed a few crossing parts) because it feels so much better and vital! And, quite frankly, I can feel all our hours of jamming and playing and just jamming and jamming!

I think Jean and I started the groove and Alice came down and we were off!

And now, to Alice’s parts: From the intro, Alice has got her part “blocked out,” exquisitely. She starts out with a few hh hits, then launches. She is incrdible, and all of it is exciting! You know, Alice’s style (and maybe, everyone’s drum parts back then, but in particular Alice has it down) is “busy” compared to now, but it totally works! And try to do it without her perfectly placed fills, no baby ~ no no, won’t work. I also noticed that on ‘Hey Bulldog,’ you gotta do her parts – when we first played with Lee [Jean’s son], he of course was playing the modern way, and I was like ‘what’s wrong?’ It was, like, chubby, clunky, no life, even though what he was playing was in essence, perfectly fine. So, we listened, and I said, ‘You gotta absolutely do what Alice did.’ Click!

As I was listening to version #2, I noted just a little lick at 2:15 that Alice repeated a few times, it just talks to you. (well, if you know how to listen ~ but even if not, you can feel it). And how about that last long press roll Alice does at the end?? Godalmighty, how dare she?? Who does that?? Alice, that’s who – she went right to the line, and crossed it. Total success!

You know, when Jean and I did a Honolulu gig back in the late ’90s, fans came out of the woodwork. And a few told us that they’d seen Fanny in the Midwest back in the day. They were like, “how did she do that???!” They said her parts were impossible, but she did ’em anyway. Their mouths were still wide open. Now, that’ drumming Art and, moreover, sleight of hand 🙂 )” – June Millington

“It was an exercise in writing a rock song…when we wrote it. We wanted to have the song represent ourselves and to show that we had the ability to pound away at rock…but because we’re Fanny – we were melody conscious and lyrics conscious – not just straight-ahead R&R. And so what we came up with was a much more polished rock song. It was our sound and that’s how we did rock.” – Jean Millington on Fanny’s approach to “Seven Roads”

“A Little While Later”

Alice gives it a lot of space at the top (we all do, I think it was just Jean with the piano) and when Alice comes in she’s just loping, nice and easy. Perfect. And on the choruses, the cymbal part must’ve been overdubbed because it’s in double-time and there’s no way she could’ve played that along with the underlying drum track. (and I must say, I didn’t stick around – or maybe, pay attention to – every bit that was laid down, I knew it was going on but also knew everyone was taking care of business. Essentially, I’d just get in the way. Much better to hang out with Harry Nilsson or whoever else was around!). We must’ve done this track with a click, but at the end of chorus two there’s, again, that sleight of hand because I could swear that Alice slows the drums down just that little bit (after the triplets) to get us back into the lope-y feel of that repeat first verse: perfect.

Episode 37! In this episode, we continue hashtag #JuneJams with part two of our discussion of June Millington’s songs and guitar playing. We chat about the songs “Bitter Wine” from Fanny’s first album, and “Hey Bulldog” & “Ain’t That Peculiar” from Fanny Hill. Plus some other delicious things along the way!

She gave women permission to play electric guitar. I mean, I didn’t take up the electric guitar ’til…the mid-’70s, so I was, like, 24, and I just wanted to play like June. But I was never, never the kind of electric guitar player that June was, but I remember playing with Cris [Williamson], doing solos with June…that was like something [that] I never thought would happen – that we’d play electric guitars together. She‘s taught so many women – gave so many women permission, and the strength to be balls out guitar players! And what she’s doing now with young women is phenomenal. I rave about IMA [IMA.org] all the time. When people want to know, “Well, how can we learn,” and I tell them to go to IMA. Go study under June Millington, because she is the master. To me, she’s the one. I talk about her all the time in interviews.”

-Tret Fure in a 2021 Zoom interview with Dr. K

Episode 36! In this episode, we continue to shake things up by continuing our hashtag series. This episode is #JuneJams as we cover Fanny’s guitarist June Millington! We asked June what three songs she wanted to feature and she picked “Place In The Country,” “Badge,” and “It Takes a Lotta Good Lovin'”. We’ll continue with more of #JuneJams in episode 37 so ask any questions for June using the hashtag #JuneJams!

And don’t forget to look below for Fanny roadie Segrave’s email about June’s amp set-up back in the day.

From Segrave, Fanny’s Roadie:

I don’t remember June ever using anything but a Wah-wah pedal. She also had a Fender Twin reverb amp with JBL speakers. For the guitar through the Leslie [speaker], I built an adapter with a pedal having two buttons. One disconnected the speakers in the amp (actually it substituted a very high power resistor for the speakers, as simply disconnecting them would have damaged the amp). At the same time, it disconnected one of Nickey’s two Leslies from the B3 [Hammond organ] and substituted a tapped off signal from the resistor to feed the Leslie (Leslies have their own amplifiers built in, a B3 doesn’t actually have any power output at all). The other button changed the rotation rate of the Leslie when it was switched to June’s amp instead of the B3. So in effect, the B3 had one cable going directly to the Leslie just behind Nickey (we put it on a flight case to bring the sound closer to ear level). The other Leslie cable from the B3 went to my adapter. June’s speakers were not plugged into her amp; the speakers and the amp were both plugged into my adapter. Then there was a third Leslie cable from the adapter to the Leslie on June’s side of the stage.