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High Notes: A Rock Memoir: Working with Rock Legends: Jefferson Airplane, through The Doors to the Grateful Dead
High Notes is a collection of fun stories. Seen through the eyes of an agent, a manager, a fan and a friend, these stories are the varied, true experiences of one man’s coming of age in the music business from 1966 to 1981.
Rock ‘n’ Roll icons of the 60s and 70s who inspired a generation were the author’s personal mentors, business partners, and friends. His experiences offer music and pop-culture lovers a reflective insider’s perspective on these amazing artists in one of the most compelling periods of American history.
From his tumultuous days on the road with Jim Morrison, to brunch with the Kennedys, to managing Jerry Garcia, to coked-out days with the Grateful Dead, run-ins with the Hells Angels and juke joints along the Mississippi, agent/manager Richard Loren recalls his journey through the turbulent era of rock’s ascendency. His humorous and heartfelt anecdotes illuminate music history and provide telling insights into some of the most notable entertainment personalities of the late Twentieth Century.
High Notes offers a broad look at the cultural era and focuses not on the glamour of the music industry but on its more human and vulnerable side as experienced, at first, by a twenty-one year old who adored music and was just getting his first taste of celebrity, big business and the countercultural movement.
Eminently readable and authentic, readers will find this insider’s account fascinating and satisfying.
Rock ‘n’ Roll icons of the 60s and 70s who inspired a generation were the author’s personal mentors, business partners, and friends. His experiences offer music and pop-culture lovers a reflective insider’s perspective on these amazing artists in one of the most compelling periods of American history.
From his tumultuous days on the road with Jim Morrison, to brunch with the Kennedys, to managing Jerry Garcia, to coked-out days with the Grateful Dead, run-ins with the Hells Angels and juke joints along the Mississippi, agent/manager Richard Loren recalls his journey through the turbulent era of rock’s ascendency. His humorous and heartfelt anecdotes illuminate music history and provide telling insights into some of the most notable entertainment personalities of the late Twentieth Century.
High Notes offers a broad look at the cultural era and focuses not on the glamour of the music industry but on its more human and vulnerable side as experienced, at first, by a twenty-one year old who adored music and was just getting his first taste of celebrity, big business and the countercultural movement.
Eminently readable and authentic, readers will find this insider’s account fascinating and satisfying.
270 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 27, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 22, 2014
this copy was given free from the publishers for a honest review... interesting book looking back at his musical management/agent career working with some of the rock legends felt in parts the book seems quite flat and didn't seem to have that spark you expect sometimes with musical business memoirs
November 18, 2018
I have a weird fascination. I like reading books by people who have worked within the music industry. So far, so normal, I hear you cry. Well, yes, but usually these books are by people that I don’t know and probably have never heard of (sorry Richard Loren). And that is exactly the position I found myself in when I read High Notes – A Rock Memoir.
High Notes is a truly fascinating real life account of one man’s rise and fall in an industry that is so very fickle. What comes out of it are great anecdotal stories of bands and artists, drugs and travel, and the general mayhem that is the music industry.
I really enjoyed High Notes – A Rock Memoir, if you like any of the bands mentioned in the blurb then I implore you to read this book. You will sit on the periphery of a time in history when rock music was arguably at its most powerful.
High Notes – A Rock Memoir: Working with Rock Legends Jefferson Airplane Through The Doors to the Grateful Dead by Richard Loren is available now.
High Notes is a truly fascinating real life account of one man’s rise and fall in an industry that is so very fickle. What comes out of it are great anecdotal stories of bands and artists, drugs and travel, and the general mayhem that is the music industry.
I really enjoyed High Notes – A Rock Memoir, if you like any of the bands mentioned in the blurb then I implore you to read this book. You will sit on the periphery of a time in history when rock music was arguably at its most powerful.
High Notes – A Rock Memoir: Working with Rock Legends Jefferson Airplane Through The Doors to the Grateful Dead by Richard Loren is available now.
June 20, 2019
A really interesting read. The author worked with so.e of the biggest names in the music business. It was so interesting to read about the shady, underside of the music world. This book is also interesting from another perspective. It provides a brutal insight into the nature of the music business. It has always been a system to steal from musicians as much as providing a venue for music.
November 14, 2021
This was a fun read. It's hard to put down once you get started. Having met Richard and enjoyed hearing some of the stories I was very pleased to see that that they are now in a book for all to read. An interesting take on behind the scenes evolution of how creative projects come to fruition, including the business side of things.
June 27, 2024
Richard Loren has written a nice book about his life and times in rock management which manages to be gracious and truthful without being condescending about the various personalities with which his life was embossed over his career in "the industry." My ONLY gripe with the book is that it begins where the career takes off and epilogs with the beginning of his life, before that point. I generally like memoirs that tell it all from the beginning, but that is my personal preference, and obviously not "Zippy's" editors.
The night I met Steve Parrish, Donna Godchaux, and JerryGarcia I admit I was much more fascinated by the ability just to get to hang out with these people rather than much acknowledge Richard, whom I shared a table with as I spoke with Donna. I guess part of me was more shell-shocked and star struck just by my sheer luck at stumbling right into their little scene, although on retrospect I wish that I had had more of a chance to speak with Donna's husband, with whom I shared mutual friends as well as a mutual track into the Dead world. But all the same. Loren had a hand in some of Garcia's more notable but excusably failed side projects such as the never-to-materialize Sirens of Titan movie, and in getting the Dead into Egypt, and both of those episodes are well-covered. In those years I got regular updates from the Dead through their in-house newsletters as well as promotional record mail-outs, and I'll always be grateful for the opportunity I had getting "as far as I did" with these folks. The fact Richard is a solid friend with David Grisman has real appeal to me now, as well, since I'm getting further into the study of mandolin, and Grisman has for years been the go-to guy for all that in my world.
An interesting coincidence (to me, personally) on the book is that the copy I read came through an inter-library loan to my town's library from the Marin Co. Free Library in Stinson Beach, where Jerry, Richard, and Keith and Donna all lived in the mid seventies.
It is hard not to like these folks when they do happen to carry themselves with a major hit of charisma and class, for all the denigration that gets thrown at them for being "counter culture" and "antisocial debauchees." I like this book as much as I do Rock Scully's, even if it barely competes with that for length. And I am sure there are more stories Richard left out for the sake of brevity and respect for certain characters. But it was interesting reading for a night and morning, so I'll recommend it to Dead freaks as part of the larger tapestry which is the legacy of the Grateful Dead and of Jerry Garcia, who was one inimitable soul, rightly.
The night I met Steve Parrish, Donna Godchaux, and JerryGarcia I admit I was much more fascinated by the ability just to get to hang out with these people rather than much acknowledge Richard, whom I shared a table with as I spoke with Donna. I guess part of me was more shell-shocked and star struck just by my sheer luck at stumbling right into their little scene, although on retrospect I wish that I had had more of a chance to speak with Donna's husband, with whom I shared mutual friends as well as a mutual track into the Dead world. But all the same. Loren had a hand in some of Garcia's more notable but excusably failed side projects such as the never-to-materialize Sirens of Titan movie, and in getting the Dead into Egypt, and both of those episodes are well-covered. In those years I got regular updates from the Dead through their in-house newsletters as well as promotional record mail-outs, and I'll always be grateful for the opportunity I had getting "as far as I did" with these folks. The fact Richard is a solid friend with David Grisman has real appeal to me now, as well, since I'm getting further into the study of mandolin, and Grisman has for years been the go-to guy for all that in my world.
An interesting coincidence (to me, personally) on the book is that the copy I read came through an inter-library loan to my town's library from the Marin Co. Free Library in Stinson Beach, where Jerry, Richard, and Keith and Donna all lived in the mid seventies.
It is hard not to like these folks when they do happen to carry themselves with a major hit of charisma and class, for all the denigration that gets thrown at them for being "counter culture" and "antisocial debauchees." I like this book as much as I do Rock Scully's, even if it barely competes with that for length. And I am sure there are more stories Richard left out for the sake of brevity and respect for certain characters. But it was interesting reading for a night and morning, so I'll recommend it to Dead freaks as part of the larger tapestry which is the legacy of the Grateful Dead and of Jerry Garcia, who was one inimitable soul, rightly.
December 28, 2014
This book for me was more of a look at the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia. I was not too interested with his time with the Doors, even though I have their albums, yes I still listen to vinyl. Growing up in Southern California we got saturated with their music and I actually like some of their songs that never made it to the radio better than some of their hits. His time with Jefferson airplane was interesting and again I wish he could have gone into more detail if possible. Once you get to the Grateful Dead period the book takes off for a while and you get behind the scenes of the tours, recording sessions and then his memories of Jerry Garcia, now he was a character but also a talented musician. The whole band was I thought. I started listen to them in the early 70s just about the time when Richard Loren, started working for them and then later for Jerry. You get a little look into some of the back fighting that went on. You also see how they worked out marketing ideas such as t-shirts, books, photos, etc... When the in fighting started in the band Loren, who always had a separate office and keep separate accounts one for the band and one for Jerry’s, items. Members of the band still wanted to bring in a new person, he said fine and did not renew their contract but still had one with Jerry. I thought that to be strange that Jerry had one for the band and one just for himself. After a while when Jerry’s contract with Loren was ready to be renewed Loren decline to renew, saying he felt it was time to move on. Later on members of the band came to him to say they made a mistake by going with a different agency and that made him feel better. The sad part was when Jerry was sick he only got to see him once for a short time and after that even though Jerry wanted to see him he was not allowed in. there are parts of this book that might be a little slow for some people, but the main part of the book is when Richard Loren and Jerry Garcia were working together to keep the Grateful Dead, in peoples mind with no major hit. The “Dead Heads “bought their music and everyone could buy their t- shirts at least in California. Now you can watch their concerts on DVD’S. so overall not a bad book, if you are into this type of music and want to get a glimpse into what it was like. I got this book from net galley.
December 1, 2015
It was such a pleasure to read High Notes as it flowed smoothly and read like the author was telling me the stories vs my reading them… does that make sense? The situations the author describes are entertaining and yet also thought provoking as his insightful observations and critical eye do not just look outward but inward as well. The book strikes that fine balance of relating stories that could easily turn into bragging but instead, because of the author's casual and honest delivery combined with his passion for life/music/etc, he brings you into his world and you feel caught up in his journey vs being an observer.
Granted much of what he describes felt strangely familiar largely because though I am living a different life I still feel that simply having chosen a slightly less conventional path provides significant common ground between the author and I. Anywho, it was a great read and I paused frequently to consider his observations while at other times I simply laughed. Particularly loved the section about Zeb Hahab "My plan was in fact idiotic."
There were a few sections where I felt the narrative and the transitions were awkward and abrupt and some of the story was missing - basically I wanted more and wished that a bit more effort was put into connecting the threads but I suppose thats a positive of sorts as well.
I should note that I met and became friend's with Rich back in the 90's after he enrolled at a school I worked at in San Francisco. We lost touch for the past twenty years after I moved away until I happened upon this book and we have since reconnected.
Granted much of what he describes felt strangely familiar largely because though I am living a different life I still feel that simply having chosen a slightly less conventional path provides significant common ground between the author and I. Anywho, it was a great read and I paused frequently to consider his observations while at other times I simply laughed. Particularly loved the section about Zeb Hahab "My plan was in fact idiotic."
There were a few sections where I felt the narrative and the transitions were awkward and abrupt and some of the story was missing - basically I wanted more and wished that a bit more effort was put into connecting the threads but I suppose thats a positive of sorts as well.
I should note that I met and became friend's with Rich back in the 90's after he enrolled at a school I worked at in San Francisco. We lost touch for the past twenty years after I moved away until I happened upon this book and we have since reconnected.
January 28, 2015
I received this from NetGalley in exchange for this unbiased review.
This book was strange. It's a very surface look at the people Loren worked for and with, but a very deep look at Loren's love of pot.
I love music memoirs, but as I finished this one, I realized that this one lacked depth. There wasn't much about any of the bands that I hadn't read elsewhere, especially The Doors.
It could have been a much better book than it was.
This book was strange. It's a very surface look at the people Loren worked for and with, but a very deep look at Loren's love of pot.
I love music memoirs, but as I finished this one, I realized that this one lacked depth. There wasn't much about any of the bands that I hadn't read elsewhere, especially The Doors.
It could have been a much better book than it was.
September 29, 2014
I always love the insiders' stories of the music industry... and naive li'l me is always shocked - SHOCKED - at the stories of drugs and debauchery. Loren's memoir is an engrossing read that I am sure I'll go back to time and time again. A great storyteller - and I have a feeling a few of my friends may be getting this for a holiday gift!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews