James Jimmi Seiter - The Byrds--My Way, Volume 1

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without written permission of the publisher.

ISBN 9781623094904

Text copyright 2012 by James Seiter

All rights reserved

Library of Congress registration available upon request

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Written By:

James Jimmi Seiter

Edited By:

Samantha Seiter

Photos Enhanced By:

Christian Bryan

Cover Photo:

From Jimmi Seiters private collection

This Book is dedicated to:

My wife Samantha for her loyalty and love

My sons Max & Ashley

Special Mention:

Peggy Hanson

All those devoted fans

CONTENTS

About The Author

James Seiter

James Jimmi Seiter was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His journey with the Byrds began in 1966, after which he worked with the Flying Burrito Brothers and many other great artists. This path took him through a remarkable time (60s and 70s) when the music business was just waking up to Rock-N-Roll. He now lives in Asia with his wife of 10 years, Samantha Seiter.

The Byrds My Way

By Jimmi Seiter

Introduction

This book deals with my journey, through what was a remarkable time in the music business, and my version of the events as I lived them, that shaped a few of Americas foremost Rock/Folk/Pop bands of the 60s & 70s The BYRDS, The FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS and many others. My name is James Seiter or Jimmi as I was known in those days. I have for many years read and been told stories by those who have found me via the Internet, about what they have read or believe to be true about the Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers and others I have known and worked with over the years. Many of these stories initially came from me, and yet I was badly misquoted in so many cases, and in others the facts are just not true. Often an author is only able to write what he/she is told by others if they do not have first-hand knowledge of the subject matter. They then tend to believe what they are told and write a version of events as they understood it. This body of work is written from my own personal experience, and does not embody anything that I need to get from anyone else. I started to write my book many years ago, but have not been solely focused on it until recently.

For many of you who do not know, I was the Byrds Road Manager (for lack of a better word) when I began that journey in 1966. I ended up doing so much more, and yet I have never really been given any of that credit, or respect, by some who were involved. Unlike other bands, I was alone on the road with the Byrds for most of my career. That in itself was unusual, as many support bands had an entire crew of people doing what I did all alone for the Byrds. This is really my attempt to set the record straight as to what was really happening inside the workings of the Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers then; and on into my own career after that with so many others that crossed my path. I feel strongly that this is a story that needs to be told, as it has not really ever been told correctly; bits and pieces have been told but not the story as I know it. The real story should be told, that is what this is, as I lived it. Other authors missed many points they only think they got right. If I try to justify some of their shows in the day to day accounts, it becomes obvious that they had access to old information or preliminary schedules, not the real versions. They write it, you believe it because it is written, and that much I understand: but so often I read a book on these subjects that is so far from the truth, I can no longer continue to read.

My journey leads me from the Byrds to the Flying Burrito Brothers back to the Byrds, Terry Melcher, Brian Wilson, Alice Cooper, David Cassidy, back to the Flying Burrito Brothers II. My path has also crossed with many other great artists such as Stevie Wonder, Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, and John Denver, just to name a few.

There are only 42 stories in Volume 1; my first attempt at this venture of telling the story. There are planned to be 10 Volumes in all, so I hope you will all enjoy the journey. It has been a long time coming, but I just had to step up and say it out loud because I got tired of reading all the lies told by those who were not even there!

Enjoy, and please do respond with your comments.

Contact Email Address: James Jimmi Seiter -

Preface

Okay, so you say to yourself another boring book about a band, well maybe, and why would I write a book anyway? The Byrds were more than just a band, they were touring the USA and the world before anyone else did. Yes, the Beatles were doing it, but not on the local concert level that the Byrds did it, they did only big shows in big cities. The story needs to be told from my side. For years now many fans have asked me questions about people Ive known, things I have done, and places I have been: and when I answer the questions and tell the stories I am continually told that I should write a book. So here I am, writing a book to answer all those questions. And of course for my family so they know what paths I had traveled in my life. This is also a way for my sons to know who I am and where I have been, and of course my wife, Samantha. She too asks me about my past for many reasons: well, here it is. Where do I begin? This is my story, and sure you can disagree because you have read all the other books that have written about these same issues, but often those versions are simply not true. I will tell you the truth, so you too will know. Decide for yourself, as this is how it happened for me: My Way

It all started when I was young and my mom and dad wanted us all to take music lessons. I was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. I am the middle son of 3. My older brother Joe Jr. was playing the trumpet; I chose the drums and my younger brother John, in later years, the piano/drums. I dont now remember why, but the drums seemed to be what I wanted to play. I was maybe 10 years old; reading music and learning what a para-diddle was, it seemed so far-fetched and yet I was good at it. I had real trouble with the practicing at home though. A youngster practicing the drums is probably the worst noise that you can imagine; I knew it then, I know it even better now. Then there were those painful memories of playing something for relatives or friends. What does a drummer play at age 11 to impress someone else? Also, those music school shows on the Admiral, cruising down the Mississippi, that were done each year by the music school as our recital. Wow, I hated them so much, but the boat trip made it easier to bear. It was my first exposure to playing in front of a lot of people. This went on until my high school years and orchestra class. It was there that I met some other players. My older brother Joe had a big band by then, and they played Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey songs, with charts and music stands with lights. A dance band playing all that old style music; it was the end of an era, but who knew? I loved being there for the rehearsals of Joes band; he was a very good trumpet player and band leader. They had a 15 piece band, I think, and played at a lot of dances around the area. When they played in our living room, the house rocked for sure! But this was becoming the age of Rock-N-Roll, and my friend Vince, a violinist from the High School orchestra, asked me if I wanted to join him (on electric guitar) and his brother (on electric bass) in a Rock-N-Roll band. I said yes and thats how it all started for me. We added a horn player and that was our band. We too played a lot of teen town dances in the area: all the local churches held such events. We would also play for parties, then moved into specialty events, and then into a few clubs. It was then that we added a female singer and became Vince Arter and the Hi-Fives. We even had white shirts with the band name on the pocket. We were actually quite good for the times. Then something happened which was very hip for that era. On a Thursday night, at our usual rehearsal at Vinces garage, a big Black Cadillac pulled up and out stepped a young, thin Ike Turner. He was a big star in those days in St. Louis. He had brought his drummer, bassist and sax players with him, and was going to teach us how to play his music! Ike and the band came there every week for many months.