Mark Lindsay : Here He Comes ….. Again !
When people began talking up Mark Lindsay the past few weeks , I admit to a fit of apprehension . I mean , Lindsay was not only one of the Pac Northwest ’ s biggest musical exports , he was the biggest . When it came to rock ‘ n ’ roll , Lindsay was a monster here in Oregon and in fact all over the Pac Northwest . Well , Paul Revere and The Raiders were and , of course , Lindsay was the Raider of choice for most of us . At least by the time Dick Clark dragged them down south to bolster Where The Action Is ( more than one of us felt betrayed that they went , even if it was their big chance ). Pre-Action ? Maybe not . It took Lindsay a bit of time to make his mark and when you ’ re playing the D Street Corral and county fairs , it ain ’ t easy .
Lindsay did it , though . He was a wild man . Crazy as a loon . A friend of mine told me a story about him , about how he disappeared one night when the Raiders were playing this club outside of Springfield — The Cascade Club . The band could hear his voice — he was still singing — but they couldn ’ t tell where he was , exactly . Finally , they looked up and there he was , hanging from the rafters with one arm , holding the microphone with the other , singing his ass off .
Was it true ? Hell if I know . Rumors like that spread like wildfire when the press started picking up on the band and Lindsay was the brunt of most , so who knows ? Do I believe it ? Why not ? Like I said , the guy was a wild man . And when he played , he played like a wild man . The whole band was wild , for Chrissake ! That version you saw on the TV screen ? That was the G-rated version . From what everyone tells me , depending upon the night , the band could crank it up to XXX .
So was I nervous about Lindsay doing a new album ? Absolutely . Paul Revere & The Raiders ’ Here They Come is a favorite today , but when I was a senior in high school , I played it a minimum of once a day for months . I loved those guys ! Do I ever want to see Lindsay fall on his face ? Hell , no . I may have stopped loving the band , especially after personnel changes , but the band who played on that album were gods to me . I was heartbroken when Doc Holliday left the band . I accepted Phil Volk , but Doc was my man , you know ?
Well , there was no Doc on the new album , Life Out Loud . I know . I checked . No Raiders at all , in fact . There was a Grip Weed , though . The Grip Weeds ‘ Kurt Reil played drums on about