Only Kid With A Camera

Hey! Can I hang out with you guys?

I want to take a moment to say "welcome" to all my new FB friends. Our recent video discussing the incredible Karen Carpenter sparked thousands of interesting and inspiring comments. It's a thrill to hear from others who respect the greatest artists in pop music history. I've been working towards producing videos as my full time gig. But music copyright issues make that "challenging" to say the least. Most people who make videos about music only play short snippets of songs (to avoid copyright infringement). But if I limit myself to 10 seconds it will defeat the purpose of making videos in the first place. I want to continue playing these amazing songs! Unfortunately that means I can't earn income from most of my videos. If you haven't subscribed to my YouTube channel please do! If you appreciate my videos please consider making a donation. Any amount of help will be much appreciated!

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This is a new band "Willis". I absolutely love these guys. The studio version of this song is stunning; and one of the first I've heard in years that doesn't use a click track (metronome). They make music the way it used to be done; playing together in the studio trying to capture that magical performance.

WILLIS - I Think I Like When It Rains (Live Session) Follow us on IG: (https://www.instagram.com/thebandwillis)Text WILLIS: 615-802-9326Stream "I Think I Like When It Rains," on Spotify: https://...

Grimace. A national treasure.

Remember Paul Williams? Did you know he wrote ‘We've Only Just Begun,' 'Rainy Days and Mondays' and 'I Won't Last A Day Without You' for The Carpenters?

My best friend Bruce and I would be so excited for the quarterly JC Penney catalog to come in the mail. We flipped straight to the toy section to check out the latest Mego action figures. Both of us went through at least two Batman and Robins each. I'll never forget my first Batman fell apart while our families were on vacation together. The rubber bands that held it together melted in the heat of a hot tub! I was heartbroken!

https://youtube.com/shorts/Y8iHpd22Pmk?si=kbHQZ8bhBcag62vi

Randy tells Stan that he's Lorde | from South Park All rights go to Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS), Comedy Central and South Park Studios.From _South Park: Season 18, Episode 3 *"The Cissy"*__My Social...

Our kitten crawled up our tree.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyyqUjjPJvh/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

I had the pleasure of interviewing Caleb Quaye and one of the things we talked about was his guitar playing on Elton John’s albums. Here is his story of the intro for Ballad of a well Known Gun! Just amazing! To listen to the whole interview link in bio Only Kid With a Camera on YouTube. #interview #calebquayeofficial #eltonjohn #eltonjohnbandmembers #eltonjohnband #guitarist #tumbleweedconnection #balladofawellknowngun #eltonjohn70s #calebquaye #onlykidwithacamera #jonblackstone #legendaryguitarist #musichistory #dickjamesmusic #iconicalbum

I confess this isn’t the photo I had on my wall as a 14 year old kid (like most boys my age I had the famous swimsuit poster). But Suzanne Somers also appealed to me because she had such a sweet persona and was an intelligent comedic actress. Being obsessed with films and actors I was actually interested in that stuff. I remember watching her interviews with Johnny Carson, Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin; and she was a really interesting and naturally charming person. She wasn’t just a pinup girl like the token sexpots appearing on TV shows in the ‘70s. Suzanne had a personality that was so attractive. As you can probably tell I had a big crush on her. I’m sad to hear of her passing. It’s one more touchstone with my youth lost forever in time.

I recently visited the home of Caleb Quaye in Los Angeles to discuss his amazing career and the new documentary "Louder Than Rock”. Caleb goes back to the time when Elton was Reg Dwight; a young keyboardist playing in pubs around England. Caleb played on Elton’s first 4 studio albums; and later rejoined Elton for his last two classic '70s albums: Rock Of The Westies and Blue Moves. Needless to say Caleb Quaye has lived a remarkable life; and it was a privilege to interview someone who had such a profound impact on my own life. We even listened to some of my favorite tracks! Click blue to watch! https://youtu.be/XrCgAcKYxhg

If you're a fan of Elton John's classic songs you'll enjoy my recent interview with Caleb Quaye. He and Elton met when they were both young kids with dreams of making music. Caleb opened the doors that introduced Elton to the world. He then became his guitar player. You've heard him play on Elton's hits; but his life story is even more incredible than his immense talents. To watch click the blue link: https://youtu.be/XrCgAcKYxhg

For those of you who have enjoyed my videos and music I finally have my own merchandise! To check out my store click the blue link. https://jon-blackstone.creator-spring.com

I recently watched a Rick Beato video about the dangers A.I. pose to music. To my ears most modern music sounds like A.I. already. For decades music has sounded manipulated and computer generated (as opposed to a group of musicians performing magic in the recording studio). IMHO the demise of modern music began when everyone started using a click track in the recording studio. That didn’t become the standard until the ‘80s; and it coincides with the time pop music was increasingly more about programming than musicianship. Imagine if “The Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin had been recorded with everyone following a click track! It would have taken so much power, dynamics and humanity out of that incredible recording. For me that’s what has destroyed modern music. EVERYTHING must be conformed to the computer grid. Everything must be “fine tuned” to the point of removing everything human. On most recordings the only human performance you’ll hear is the singer; and even the vocal is assembled, tuned and manipulated to the point where anything resembling an actual performance is removed. I know people who work in Nashville who once worked as recording engineers. Now it’s their job to sit at a computer and make sure every single note and beat is precisely conformed to “perfection”. I’m always amazed when I listen to old recordings; the natural way the band moves together. The tempo will get slightly faster during chorus then drop back down for verses etc. The natural ebb and flow of tempo as a group of musicians interpret the song as a group. I believe it’s the combination of human performance and great songwriting that gives classic rock its unique longevity. In the golden age of popular music the goal of producers and recording engineers was to capture a remarkable performance. Now those people assemble samples and tracks to create the illusion of a performance. It’s become totally backwards. That’s the main reason I believe most music created over the past 20 years will pass away along with the generation that downloaded it to their phones. Most modern “music” isn’t about music anymore; it’s about repetitive hooks, sonic trickery and digital manipulation. It’s like cotton candy. It might taste really good for awhile; but it loses its appeal very quickly. Usually you end up throwing most of it into the garbage.

I just received this message regarding a band I played in "The Britt'ns". We performed an authentic tribute to the music of the '60s and early '70s. It's so wonderful (and funny) I have to share it here:
"I was at UW in the mid 80’s and took a class called Music 162, which was something like “contemporary music appreciation” which sounded like an easy A to me! I mean cmon! Everyone knows the three famous guitarists who were in the Yardbirds, right?!(Actual test question.) One of our assignments was to go see a live band and write a paper about the show. I wrote about seeing the Brittin’s at the Hall if Fame, which I could get into with fake I.D.! I got an A! Loved those shows!"

This is a wonderful photo of my mom with her kids (left to right) Bill, me and Amber. Based on the stylish Nehru jacket Bill is wearing I think this was taken in 1970. Bill was a huge Beatles fan (hence his jacket and necklace) so I grew up listening to The Beatles and my dad playing his favorite artist Frank Sinatra. I'm so thankful I was exposed to such amazing music at such a young age. Around this time I spent my birthday money to buy my first pop music albums. I went to the local drugstore and on the "new releases" rack were "Let It Be" by The Beatles (released May 13, 1970) and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel (released January 26, 1970). I took both records home and listened to them constantly (and I mean constantly). That was the beginning of my love affair with music.

My family and friends used to visit this half sunken ship in Ocean Shores Washington in the 1970s. You could climb all over; inside and out. Being a huge fan of Poseidon Adventure made visiting this shipwreck a very cool experience. By holding your camera horizontal to the leaning boat deck you could take these great pictures that made it look as if you were defeating gravity! This was one of many times I visited this sunken ship with my best friend Bruce Peterson and his family. They always made me feel so welcome and part of their family fun. I had such a blast when I was a kid because Bruce's parents always allowed him and his sister Lisa to invite their friends on family vacations and adventures. It seemed like every weekend there was some kind of adventure! The funnest days of my childhood were spent with the Peterson family. Left to right - me, Bruce's dad Dr. Ted, Bruce's sister Lisa and her friend Marit Knorr.

I just had to share this photo. I saw it on social media today. This is a kid (just like me) who became the proud owner of a Chewbacca mask released by Don Post Studios in the summer of 1977. In episode one of "The Star Wars Phenomenon" I tell my own story of begging my parents to drive me to California to pick up a Darth Vader mask directly from the Don Post factory in Glendale. They gave me a tour of the factory and at the end handed me the box and said, "Jon, you are the first customer in the world to receive this mask". Quite a mind blowing experience for a 13 year old Star Wars fanatic!

Thank you for all the great comments on my video podcast "The Elton John Band - A Celebration of Musical Excellence". Many of you roughly my same age so I thought you might enjoy some memories of discovering Elton's music and becoming a music fanatic in the 1970s.
My Story: Almost all kids my age loved Crocodile Rock but it was Elderberry Wine that made me want to hear more. Then a friend of our family (a beautiful 16 year old girl who was my first crush) was raving about "this cool guy named Elton John". She was totally in love with Elton and her enthusiasm lead me to buy my first Elton album "Caribou". I was 10 years old! I remember how magical it was to sit in front of my record played with headphones on looking at the photos, reading the lyrics and the musician credits. Elton's albums are so amazing to listen to on headphones! Gus Dudgeon was a master producer (like George Martin) and made each track a totally unique sonic adventure. I remember being really intrigued by "I've Seen The Saucers", "Solar Prestige" and "Ticking". As a kid I found Ticking really moving. I'd play it over and over again. After Caribou I started asking for Elton albums for birthdays and Christmas. I remember receiving Yellow Brick Road from my mom for my 11th birthday. I was so thrilled. At my party all my friends got mad because they wanted to go outside and play and I just wanted to sit in my room and listen to all four sides of this amazing new album! 🤣 I was hooked! Then I bought Don't Shoot Me out of my hard earned money made mowing the lawn etc. I loved the artwork, the photos, the lyrics and I become even more fascinated with the Elton John Band. Don't Shoot Me was also very cinematic (like Yellow Brick Road) and I was a huge movie fan. Next, my mom gave me the "Elton John" album for Christmas. I'll never forget how stunned and impressed I was by the orchestral vibe of that record. It was my first taste of the early Elton sound and it was so different. My favorites were "Greatest Discovery", "First Episode at Hienton" and "The King Must Die". I was different than most kids my age in that music was really important to me and the poignant, poetic lyrics combined with such cinematic music really impacted me. But the ultimate Elton experience was purchasing Captain Fantastic on the day it was released. My mom took me to the record store (DJs Sound City in Seattle) and the place was packed with fans lined to buy the new Elton John album. I remember driving home, unwrapping the album, totally blown away by the the artwork, the souvenir booklets, the poster and that cool photo of the EJ Band. The fact the vinyl center label was the cover art (as opposed to the MCA rainbow label) was even more cool! Buying and opening that album was the funnest experience I ever had as a music fan. I begged my parents to let me see Elton live on the 74 tour; but I was just a little too young. When he returned in 75 for the "Westies" tour they let me go with a group of kids from my school. That was my very first concert and I was totally blown away. I was disappointed I wasn't seeing the original EJ Band; but it was an amazing experience. I waited all night for them to play Pinball Wizard (my favorite track at the time) and was bummed they didn't play it. As my friends and I were almost to the place our parents were picking us up I could hear the opening of Pinball Wizard booming from the Arena behind me! Because it was our first concert we didn't know about encores! We thought the show was over! I was so mad! 🤣Another note about Pinball Wizard. I was hearing the song on AM top 40 radio but it was never released as a single in the US. It drove me totally crazy because I wanted it so bad! Every time our family went to the local pizza parlor I would play it on the jukebox over and over (driving all the patrons and my family crazy). I also did the same with "Sick City" (the B side to Don't Let The Sun Go Down). I was so obsessed to have Pinball Wizard I actually wrote a letter the MCA records AND the Elton John fan club asking if they would PLEASE send me a copy! One more story: My best friend Bruce (who appears in my JAWS podcast) were such total Elton fanatics that we used to mime to the records (the same way kids pretended to be The Beatles a generation before). We would take turns who would play which member of the band. Bruce always wanted to be Nigel and I always wanted to be Elton or Davey. When we became teenagers Bruce and I ended up forming our first band together and played professionally throughout the 80s and beyond (The IOSIS Band). Of course Bruce chose to play the drums. I have a lot of fun films and videos of us playing together on my YouTube channel if you're interested. My love and passion for music eventually lead me to Nashville where I met my musical heroes Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson. Not only did I meet them; they both played on my first album! I still can't believe God blessed me with such an amazing opportunity. I still feel like the kid in Christmas Story. His father knew how much his son wanted that Red Ryder range model air rifle and his dad took joy in surprising his son with the desire of his heart. That's how I feel about being able to work with Dee and Nigel. The fact that I started hanging out with Dee and got to know him is the icing on the cake. To this day I remember him as one of the kindest, funnest, easiest hangs I've ever had. From the first time I met him I felt instantly comfortable as if he was a life long friend. In some ways I guess he was. I hope I haven't rambled on too long. Sometimes when I reminisce about those days the memories start pouring out and I can't stop.