TERRY & THE PIRATES

Too Close For Comfort (Wild Bunch LP)

Winterland, SF, 1977. Photo by Jonathan Perry

Too Close For Comfort (Legend CD)

Higher resolution artwork from Legend CD: Booklet, Pages 1 & 8, Booklet, Pages 2 & 3, Booklet, Pages 4 & 5, Booklet, Pages 6 & 7, Back, CD

Collage by Alton Kelley
Photo (C) John Cipollina (Brian Kilcourse) - Terry Dolan (The Terry Dolan Collection) - Greg Douglass (The Greg Douglass Collection) - David Hayes (Dennis L. Callahan courtesy of David Hayes)

All tracks written by Terry Dolan, published by Whirlwind Chaser B.M.I., except:
Brown Skin Monkey Bag by Terry Dolan - Greg Douglass    Whirlwind Chaser B.M.I.
Don't Do It by Holland - Dozier - Holland    Stong Agate B.M.I.
Mystery Train by S. Phillips - H. Parker, Jr Hi    Low Music B.M.I.
Higher and Higher by P. Smith - C. Jackson - R. Miner    Chevis Pub Warner - Tamerlane - B.R.C. Music
Writing You A Letter by Alvin Lee    Chrysalis Music Corp., ASCAP
Ain't Living Long Like This by R. Crowell    Jolly Cheeks Music B.M.I.

Too Close For Comfort (Evangeline/Acadia CD)

The Doubtful Handshake

Line CD.

Artwork from Line CD: Booklet, Pages 1 & 4, Booklet, Pages 2 & 3, Back

Produced by John Cipollina, Jim Stern & Terry Dolan
Assisted by Peter Sears on Keyboards and Jim Sterns, our Engineer
Recorded: April 1980, Kelly Quan's, S.F. and Luna Productions, Petaluma
Scout Eastern Territories: Hans Kruger

"The Doubtful Handshake" by C. M. Russell (C) 1910, used by permission Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Cover: Mark Jacobsen/design

The Doubtful Handshake

Made In Germany Music CD.

Produced by John Cipollina, Jim Stern & Terry Dolan
Re-issue Co-Producer & Project Coordinator: Mike Somavilla
Recordings Mastered by: Hoppi
Liner Notes: Mike Somavilla
Cover Art: Charles M. Russell
Booklet Layout and Design: Uwe Doms

Dedicated to the memories of John Cipollina and Nicky Hopkins, thanks for the music guys, we sure kicked some ass didn't we and thanks for the unforgettable memories too. I miss you both... Terry Dolan.

Recorded in 1980 in part at Kelly Quan's in San Francisco; and mostly at Luna Productions in Petaluma, California by the incomparable Engineer and Producer Jim Stern.

Photos and memorabilia courtesy of: Patty Ball Davis, The Terry Dolan Collection, Pat Johnson, Jeff Helwig, Keith Mason, The Mike Somavilla Collection, Bradley Wood, Jon Sievert, www.humblepress.com and Ed Perlstein, www.musicimages.com

[Notes from Made In Germany Music re-issue]

"Hazy Recollections of Dysfunctional Behavior or The Marin Morons Have the Last "Arrrrrrrrrr, Matey!" By Greg Douglass

You know, the chances of me writing anything of historical veracity about any Terry and the Pirates recording session were probably slim decades ago, let alone now, but let's access the corrupted hard drive of my nervous system and see what happens... (insert sounds of a wheezing computer desperately trying to boot up here...) OK... "Doubtful Handshake", is, without a doubt, the best of the Pirates albums musically. Everyone in the band was at the peak of their musical powers, Terry was writing his ass off, and we were working fairly regularly around the Bay Area so the tunes had a chance to gestate properly in dark, smokey, hippie filled halls.

John and I had already forged not only a quirky friendship (man, we were a couple of strange puppies) but an equally quirky musical bond. We were so different as players, but somehow it all worked. We never did figure out why, and that's probably a good thing. Sometimes, as Iris Dement, said, it's best to "Let the Mystery Be". I'm just glad it happened, I'm glad we got it on tape, and although John and I always did our coolest guitar interplay live, this is the best stuff we did with the Pirates in studio.

Two words will explain why this album sounds so good... Jim Stern. Jim was not only a great engineer and producer; he was simpatico with the Pirates milieu. The Pirates was formed as a sort of men's club for Marin musicians to do "Something Else" rather than their regular gig, a way to get loose and blow off steam in a low pressure, often really strange situation. Jim fit right in immediatley, and while he understood the importance of fun in the band, he also brought a huge amount of experience and.. Dare I say it... professionalism to the table. Some of the best guitar sounds I ever got were done in Jim's hallway in Petaluma. I had my Gibson 345 plugged into my Musicman 212HD. The amp was just singing, and the sound of that hallway as epic. Jim was a creative, pleasantly nutty guy, and a Pirate to the one. Arrrrr, matey! Somebody had to say that in these fucking liner notes.

Part of the fun of working with the Pirates was the chance to work with so many great players. Our rhythmic core at this point was the David Hayes/Jeff Myer velvet juggernaut. I was privilged to have worked with these guys in a number of projects, and 30 years and many rhythm sections later, I realize how spoiled I was. Pete Sears was and is not only a great musician, but also a truly lovely human being who often went out of his way to place me in positive musical situations over the years. Love you, Pete!

Terry Dolan... my love for the obnoxious, frenetic little irish bastard remains unchanged after all these years. Terry was the spark plug, a tsunami of pure personality that held the band together (as much as the Pirates could ever be described as "together"...) Terry was, of course, an unceasing source of creativity, but he was also someone who drew talent to him and used it beautifully. That, in itself, is a gift. Terry Dolan was the heart and soul of Pirates through thick and thin, and I know it wasn't always easy (I, for one, was an absolute nightmare to deal with at times, but that's a whole other bunch of lineer notes.) Terry, wherever you are holed up these days, be happy and thank you for making all this music happen.

It's amazing that the Pirates ever happened. It was a bunch of insane, disorganized, drug fueled (c'mon, you knew that!) reprobates who got together to have a little fun and ended up having a party that lasted for decades. You hold in your hand some snapshots of the party, (kind of like the end credits of "The Hangover").

If I knew this shit was going end up as some kind of historical artifact; I would have paid more attention to my tuning.

Enjoy!

"Psychedelic Trails Out On The Western Plains" the story of Terry & The Pirates & The Doubtful Handshake by Mike Somavilla - Based on personal conversations and stories with Terry Dolan, Greg Douglass, David Hayes, Jeff Myer, Pete Sears and Jim Stern.

Out of the mist and fog of the San Francisco bay emerged an amazing band that for 26 years treated the Bay Area to some of the best music to ever emanate from out of every nook and cranny of every bar and night club around. There was a spirit of adventure to their music, sort of pioneering spirit that had permeated the San Francisco Bay Area music scene at that time, especially in Marin County in the early 1970's. Now nobody embodied this feeling more than artists like Terry Dolan, John Cipollina, Greg Douglas, David Hayes, and Jeff Myer. They were original, crazy, cowboy "Rock'n-Rollers" better known to the world over as Terry & The Pirates.

To many, including Terry, feel that "The Doubtful Handshake" is his best studio album to date and to make this version special we found some rare photos for the booklet, and included two cool bonus tracks to make it more alluring and exciting as well. Moreover Greg Douglass wrote a great introduction and the band members along with their producer extraordinaire reflect on their days thirty years ago on the making of "The Doubtful Handshake", not to mention playing in Terry & The Pirates. Terry & The Pirates and Made In Germany Music hope you will enjoy this new edition of "The Doubtful Handshake".

In 1980 Terry & The Pirates set out to record their first album, though they had been in the studio many times before, this was the first time they went in with the goal of making a record versus just recording some songs, albeit some great songs. "The Doubtful Handshake" was a group effort with each member bringing in their own contributions to the album. The studio was what would now be considered old school with its multi-track tape, but back then it was state of the art and recording decisions had to be made on the fly by the engineer and producer... and when the art of splicong tape was never having to say "I'm sorry".

In those days the Pirates were so accustomed to playing together that as Terry put it "We could knock out live basic tracks in one take so we were in and out in one day", and then over dubbed everything else later. Keep in mind it was 30 years ago since "The Doubtful Handshake" was recorded, and there's not a whole lot to remember about these sessions, because back then, as one person recalled, "it was better living through chemistry and the family pharmacist was always around". The overall consensus concerning The Doubtful Handshake sessions was that they all had a real good time and had lot of fun making music and hanging out together.

Pete Sears - "Doubtful Handshake" mostly brings to mind images of old Marin and a time of musical invention and orginality. During a magical moment in time when amazing guitar gunslingers and outlaw rock n' roll epitomized the "anything goes" approach to playing music; when the songwriting was unfettered by any thoughts of conforming to radio airplay and selling records, although of course people seldom complained if they did.

David Hayes - To save money we did some overdubbing at Jim Stern's house (Van had given him a bunch of recording gear) and it was done and dusted. It was always fun as we all got along famously and played well together.

Jim Stern - I remember Kelly Quan's recording studio; they tried to con me to come in there and straighten things out - it was a jumbled mess of unknown wires etc, etc so I gracefuily bowed out! We did most of the recording at my place (Luna Productions) and I remember putting Greg's amp down the hall and the mic at the other end to get the lead sound. We used all the rooms for something! We laughed a lot! It was always a gas working with this bunch of guys.

Pete Sears - Only a couple of images of those sessions actually come to mind... my good friend David Hayes laying down some very cool bass parts and a vague remembrance of me sitting there pounding away at a grand piano. I have always liked Terry's writing and Terry & The Pirates created something in that album that represented the old ways... when a trip to the record store meant something special and you purchased a complete package. When albums created a mood and the cover displayed a beautiful piece of artwork as exemplified on the cover of "The Doubtful Handshake", and when you got to hold something substantial in your hands.

"I remember Jim Stern guiding everyone through the process with a skilful and steady helm. It also meant a lot to me to play with these guys again as I had lost touch with many of them after joining Jefferson Starship in 1974. John Cipollina and Terry were pretty much joined at the hip and Terry's band the "Pirates" were a joy to experience live, as well as listen to on vinyl and CD".

Jeff Myer - Playing with John and Greg was always fun with their dueling guitars, they both made each other play better. It was a pretty intense band and although we all got along famously and enjoyed playing together, no matter how talented we were as players individually, we all made each other sound good together, The "Pirates" were not a big draw, but their fans were very loyal.

"Seems like it was prior to 1980, that's the year I joined The Edge, the Jesse Colin Young Band had seen its last days so I was hoping one of these other bands was going to make some money, but it wasn't to be. Working with Jim Stern was great he was so together. We all laughed a lot, David and Greg were always funny and Terry having had been burned by the music business was a little cynical but very funny at the same time and one of the mosted gifted songwriters I've ever had the pleasure to work with."

Jim Stern - I agree with Jeff. I was extremely busy in the studio making records in those years. So many sessions and records before and since have merged 45 years of sessions into just a couple of generic "sessions" where the bands includes: Duke Ellington, Van Morrison, Tommy James, Woody Herman, John Lee Hooker, Cannonball Adderley, McCoy Tyner, Country Joe McDonald, David Grisman, etc.,, etc. ad infinitum and of course Terry & The Pirates!

"Later I'd get John on as many dates as I could even though he wasn't playing guitar. You see, John had a rapidograph fine pointed pen on which he was a master. He kept detailed notes for me in the control room and filled out all the tape box labels on several records and with just everybody else he recorded with too. They were great; although the writing was so small I'd probably not be able to read them today! I know that none of you have aged, but I turned 66 in July - whoodathunkit! I'm still making records although I'm supposed to be retired I still find myself arguing with record labels about production and deadlines although they seem to be a dying breed these days."

In August 1980 Von Willi Andresen from Sounds Magazine in Germany wrote "The center point responsible for this wondrous piece of work is Terry Dolan". "Terry & The Pirates are a rock band that can't be superseded". "The Doubtful Handshake is without a doubt the hottest rock record that has come from the West Coast in America". "Their music is the new wave to the past old West Coast Times! "Sometimes it sounds more Quicksilvery than Quicksilver".

I think those statements still holds true to this day and with CDs like "Too Close For Comfort", "Comanche Boots", and "Return To Silverado Trail" (where you'll find a fairly lengthy story about them.), just to mention a few, only further goes to prove what am amzing group of incredible musicians they were. And when given the chance to tear it up a stage, nobody could "Rock" it better than Terry & The Pirates, where every song played by the band and felt by their fans was like an encore.

David Hayes - Black lights, black clothes, half empty clubs. Miss Keiko, the club manager, is trying to tell us something, her mouth is moving but we're so loud we can't hear her. A fan is chewing on a speaker cable so "Chippo" kicks on the truck horns to back him off. Me and the drummer are shoveling coal as fast as we can while John and Greg slink around the stage. Terry is screaming into the microphone, playing random chords, broken strings flying everywhere, that was Terry & The Pirates.

"The best musicians around passed through that band just to get a taste because there was no other place to get it. Terry and his songs held that runaway train on the tracks for close to 20 years and anybody who got to take the ride will never forget it".

Pete Sears - For those who care about the roots of the "San Francisco Sound"... Terry Dolan and "The Doubtful Handshake" is a must.

Terry & The Pirates are no longer making music these days, but those that got the opportunity to witness them live whether it was during their reign as part of the San Francisco music scene, during their rare trip to Nevada or their 72 hour sojourn to Europe walked way from that experience never to be the same again.

I'm going to leave off with something said by Jeff Myer which I feel sums up the Terry & The Pirates experience best. - "I had a lot of fun being a "Pirate", playing in a band with with Terry, John, Greg, David, Pete and the other guys hanging out and making music was very entertaining. I feel very lucky to have been involved with several bands whose members had unique personalities that were all their own, but my memories of playing with Terry & The Pirates will always be very special to me... I spent a lot of time laughing through the 70's & 80's... what more could a guy ask for".

Mike Somavilla © August 2010

Terry Dolan - I'd like to personally thank all of the great players with whom it's been my honor and privilege to play with over the years. To each and every one of you I'm especially proud to be able to call you a friend, brother and "Pirate", thanks for making my music so special.

"And thank you to all of my family & friends for enriching my life beyond my wildest dreams; I love you all so much".

"Also let me not forget the fantastic fans of Terry & The Pirates... Thank you for your love and support, you guys were the best audiences. I'm glad you were there with us on our marvelous musical journey, we couldn't have done it without you and I thank [you] for being there".

Terry Dolan would like to give special thanks to:

John Cipollina, Greg Douglass, David Hayes, Jeff Myer, Pete Sears, Andy Kirby, David Weber, Hutch Hutchinson, Nicky Hopkins, Jim Stern, Mike Somavilla, David Libert, Pete Macklin, Angie Dolan, Antonia Cipollina, Tony Kaprielian, Moira Hopkins, Peter Morgan, Mark Jacobsen, Keith Mason, Jon Sievert, Bradley Wood, Ed Perlstein, Jeff Helwig, Patty Ball Davis, Pat Johnson, Michelle Maxwell, The Gilcrease Museum, Ecki Steig and Manfred Schutz.

Wind Dancer

Artwork from Rag Baby/Line CD: Booklet, Pages 1 & 4, Back

Country Plow 4:02 The Beginning 3:57 Something To Lose 3:03 Poetrain 4:25		Heartbeatin' Away 5:05 Shadow of the Buffalo 3:50 True Medicine 4:06 Montana Eyes 5:15
Terry Dolan: Lead Vocals and Acoustic Guitar Greg Douglass: Lead and Rhythm Guitars John Cipollina: Guitars Lonnie Turner: Bass Guitar Andrew Kirby: Drums and Vocal Backup Nicky Hopkins: Keyboards Pee Wee Ellis: Saxophone on "Poetrain" Joe Goldmark: Pedal Steel on "Country Plow" All tracks recorded at Fantasy Records, November 1975		Terry Dolan: Vocals and Acoustic Guitar Greg Douglass: Lead and Rhythm Guitar John Cipollina: Lead Guitar David Hayes: Bass Guitar and Vocals Jeff Myer: Drums and Percussion Nicky Hopkins: Keyboards Pam Tillis: Vocals Back-ups, with the Rowan Brothers, Dallas Williams, and David Hayes on "Heartbreakin' Away" and "Montana Eyes" Jarrett Washington: Synthesizer Bob Yance: Flute Billy Saunders: Guitar on "True Medicine" Joe Goldmark: Pedal Steel All tracks recorded at Different Fur Music, San Francisco, May 1977 Mixed and produced at Fantasy Records, Berkeley, May 1981

Back Cover photo by Scura Louis
Calligraphy by John Cipollina
Graphics by Mark Jacobsen/design

All songs by Terry Dolan (C) Whirlwind Chaser Music, BMI
Special thanks to Peter Morgan and Bill Belmont,
Mark Jacobsen, Zohn Artman, and Angie Dolan: "for hope, when there was none."
Cover art from "Betamax" by Star Harthern and Mark Jacobsen. Used by permission (C) 1979 Supergraphics, Inc.

The track listing above is how the tracks appear on the LP version, and in the booklet and insert of the CD version.
The tracks are listed on the CD label in a different order (which matches how they are on the CD):
1 Heart Beatin' Away, 2 True Medicine, 3 Shadow Of The Buffalo, 4 Montana Eyes, 5 Country Plow, 6 The Beginning, 7 Something To Lose, 8 Poetrain

Rising of the Moon

Artwork from LP: Front, Back, Insert 1 Insert 2

Terry & The Pirates Fan Club Tapes
1. Terry & The Pirates - "Untitled"

Tracks
1.	See What Your Love Can Do	3:13
2.	Angie	5:20
3.	Rainbow	3:44
4.	Inlaws & Outlaws	4:57
5.	Truer Than Blue	4:21
6.	Who Asked Ya?	5:09
7.	I Can't Dance	2:31
8.	It's All In Your Mind	3:17
"This is a 46 min Maxell UDS-I tape containing over 30 minutes of music. The titles listed on the cassette insert are: See What Ya Love, Angie, Rainbow, Inlaws & Outlaws, Truer than Blue, So Who Asked Ya, I Can't Dance, It's All In Your Mind. Signed inside the insert by Terry Dolan in red ink & inscribed to me. I marked side a) "In The Beginning" and side b) "Side 1 of unreleased Warner Bros lp + studio tracks"."
2. Terry & The Pirates - "In The Beginning"
Tracks
1.	Love's Made A Fool Of You	2:19
2.	Dog Mountain Blues	4:27
3.	Genoa	2:55
4.	The Beginning	2:17
5.	Maya	5:52
6.	Yes I Do > Shadow of the Buffalo	6:37
7.	Gun Metal Blues	3:59
8.	I Wish I Were Your River	5:42
"This is a 46 min Maxell UDS-I tape containing over 30 minutes of music. The titles listed on the cassette insert are: Loves Made a Fool, Dog Mountain, Genoa, The Beginning, Maya, Yes I Do, Shadow of The Buffalo, River. Signed outside the insert by Terry Dolan in red ink. I marked side a) "Going Nowhere Slow" and side b) "Demos & Acoustic Rangers Live"."
"As I remember it, some of the titles listed on the inserts of tapes 1 & 2 are switched on the tapes. All the titles listed are present it's just that the order of the tracks on these two tapes doesn't match the inserts."
3. Terry & The Pirates - "It's a Monkey's Jungle"
Tracks
1.	Writin' You a Letter
2.	False Start
3.	Shadow of The Buffalo //
4.	False Start
5.	False Start
6.	Brown Skin Monkey Bag (version 1)
7.	Brown Skin Monkey Bag (version 2) //
8.	Brown Skin Monkey Bag (version 3)
9.	Jailhouse Rock
10.	Jungle Love (instrumental version)
11.	Jungle Love
12.	99 Rock (version 1)
13.	99 Rock (version 2)
14.	99 Rock (version 3)
"This is a 46 min Hi Bias 70 us stereo tape w/ Dolby B and preprinted labels and contains over 30 minutes of music."
"As I recall the performance & sound quality on this was about the same as on the Too Close For Comfort lp."
4. Terry Dolan - "Acoustic Strangers"
Tracks
1.	Sugar Babe
2.	Pleasant Street
3.	Queen of Thieves
4.	Big Divide
5.	Cuckoo
6.	Hard to be Soft
7.	I Ride an Ol' Paint
8.	I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
"This is a 46 min Hi Bias 70 us stereo tape w/ Dolby B and preprinted labels and contains over 30 minutes of music. Cipollina IS NOT on this tape."

Silverado Trail

Artwork from Big Beat CD: Booklet, Pages 1 & 8, Booklet, Pages 2 & 3, Booklet, Pages 4 & 5, Booklet, Pages 6 & 7, Back

Dedicated to the memory of John Cipollina

Produced by Dan Healy and Terry Dolan
Recording Engineers: Charlie Kaiser, Jim Draper, Ron Middag
& Tony Berardini
Mix Down: Don Pearson/Ultra Sound (with special thanks)
Mixed at Studio D, Sausalito CA Fantasy Recording, Berkeley, CA
Special helpers and true thanks -
Bill Belmont, Roger Armstrong, Dan Healy, Don Pearson,
Dan Godfrey, Alan Burton, Buck Shinn, Jesse Block, Steve Brown,
Jim Draper, Andrea Seltzer, Antonia & Evelyn C., Kent Wisecarver,
Alan Blaustein, Jimbo Juanis, Jan Pope, Leslie Mason, Cindy & Freeway,
Fan Man, Charlie Kaiser, Steve Herman Dolan, Crest of the Wave Productions.
For information contact:
Mike Somavilla, Terry & The Pirates Fan Club, Box 5593, San Francisco, CA 94101

Sleeve designed by Phil Smee at Waldos
Direct Metal Mastered from digital tapes
Post Production by Adam Skeaping at D.E.S.

The copyright in this sound recording is owned by Terry Dolan
and is licensed to Ace Records Ltd

All tracks written by Terry Dolan and published by Whirlwind Chaser Music, except
"Sweet Emotions" Blue Hazlehurst Copyright Control
"I Can't Dance" Tom T. Hall Olofsong Music
"Follow Her Around " David Hayes Spring Haze Music
"Rising of the Moon" Trad arr. Terry Dolan

Return To Silverado

Comanche Boots

Rockpalast: West Coast Legends Volume 5 (DVD)

Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany, December 6, 1982

It's going on twenty eight years since Terry & The Pirates went on their whirlwind seventy two hour tour of Europe to play three gigs. Since that time both John Cipollina and Nicky Hopkins have passed away, and over the ensuing years with all of the hard rocking and partying that has transpired and considering just the passage of time alone, it may have left some the band's memories a little hazy. I know if John was still around he'd probably be able to write a book about it, but since he's not we'll try to tell you the story as best we can.

The cold weather conditions of going to Germany in the dead of winter is not the most perfect setting for a bunch of musicians who were accustomed to the bright sunshine and idyllic hills of picturesque Marin County in Northern California; but when you live to play the music that you love, you really don't have any choice, but to go and follow your muse.

Bill Belmont from Rag Baby Records helped set things up for Terry. It was December of 1982 when Terry & The Pirates embarked on what is now jokingly referred to by the band as the "Torture Tour" and for good reason - it was grueling.

This tour was going to be a little strange because their guitarist Greg Douglass had prior tour commitments with the Greg Kihn Band and would be unable to be a part of it, so Terry Dolan, John Cipollina, David Hayes, Greg Elmore and Nicky Hopkins would have to go on without him.

The night before they were to leave for Germany their wives and girlfriends made sure to "keep the boys busy" until the wee wee hours to help ensure that they would behave themselves while on tour. No one is talking as to whether this tactic worked or not and maybe that's a good thing, but the general consensus was if they weren't traveling, getting a quick bite to eat, doing a sound check or playing a gig, they were trying to get a little shut eye in between.

The next day Thursday December 2nd began with an early morning wakeup call, then everybody piling in to the limousine for the ride to the airport. These were going to be some hard gigs for the Pirates' starting with a 8 hour flight to Kennedy airport in New York then a twelve hour flight from New York to Brussels, and after that it was a long arduous train ride to Amsterdam for their first show arriving dead tired on zero sleep.

The poster for this show on Saturday 12/4/82 (errors and typos included) advertised it as; terry dolan (Doobie Bros) david hayes (Van Morrison band) nicky hopkins (ex Rolling Stones) john cippolina & greg elmore (ex Quicksilver s) and greg allman (Allman Bros). Did the promoter really not know who was going to be playing that night? It should go without saying that Gregg Allman was not there and has never been a member of Terry & The Pirates either.

Terry Dolan - Our first gig was in Amsterdam on December 4th and it was hard on us because we didn't have any sleep the night before and we gave them one helluva show and they gave us very little in response for all of our efforts. I thought Amsterdam audiences sucked and were lame; they just stood there and barley clapped. We didn't know what to think of all this.

"The promoter was extremely excited by our performance and telling us how fantastic we were, and we told him that we weren't sure because of the audiences' lack of response to our music. He reassures us that we were great; and tells us how their audiences very rarely give anybody an encore, and how they gave us two".

The band already exhausted by this time from their long trip and wired from playing "Rock-n-Roll" through their bodies until well after 2:00 AM had to be up at six in the morning. When they awoke to continue on their way they mutually concurred that this tour was murder and drove off to their next gig.

Of course border crossings for rock bands are always an ordeal and a lot of fun too…Not! If you want to know about this story you'll have to ask Terry in person. Next they drove to Bonn Germany for their second gig on December 5th and Terry & The Pirates got six encores that night and John would have played more had the band let him. They finally had to practically drag him off the stage, because they wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep before getting up the next morning to go play their third and final gig in Hamburg Germany the next day.

They arrived in Hamburg on Monday Dec 6 1982 and had a 12:00PM - 3:00PM load in, a sound check from 3:45PM -7:00PM, with their concert beginning at 9:00 PM and going until 1:00AM. Terry & The Pirates played in a huge room and held the audience in the palm of their hands throughout the night. The band played an amazing and blazing set of pure adrenalin filled music for 100 minutes that just poured out of them, spilling on to the floor of the club and drenching everybody in its wake.

The German audience's response to their music was overwhelming as they watched in delight and awe at the site of Terry & The Pirates playing sixteen of their finest songs. This concert event was filmed and recorded for Rockpalast, a German Television program which aired it for years in Europe.

David Hayes - For the German TV show we were crammed onto a charter flight to Brussels. It was horrible. We were early for the train to Amsterdam so we went to a restaurant for breakfast and were refused service. I guess we were too scary for the owner. Nicky called him a "Fat Belgian Bastard" and we went to the train station and ate rolls.

We did a great gig in Holland and went on to Germany on a roll and after that nailed the TV show. Then we schlepped home. It was exhausting but fun, actually.

Greg Elmore - When I think back on these days I have nothing but fond memories of playing with Terry & The Pirates, our gigs were always fun and full of surprises, and man could we play some kick ass "Rock-N-Roll". When I listen back to our records I'm amazed and happy at how good they still sound after all this time and how great we played together.

"Terry Dolan is a great songwriter and playing with him, David Hayes, John Cipollina, and Greg Douglass were some of the best times of my life. Not only did we connect well on stage, but we were good friends off stage too.

"No matter what band I was in, be it Quicksilver Messenger Service, Terry & The Pirates, Thunder & Lightning or Problem Child, I always enjoyed playing with John. The first time I went to Europe with John was with Nick Gravenites and that was a lot of fun. So when this opportunity arose to play in Europe with Terry & The Pirates I wasn't about to pass it up, especially given the chance to work with Nicky Hopkins again.

"I loved playing with Nicky and hadn't worked with him since our days together in the Quicksilver Messenger Service and this short tour was bound to be an adventure of a lifetime and I wasn't about to miss out on it for anything. I just wish that Greg Douglass would have been with us".

"The tour went by in a blink of an eye and seeing how it was 28 years ago and only lasted for 3 days there's not a lot to remember between the traveling, sleeping, eating and playing 3 gigs in a quick succession. I do remember that we had a ton of fun hanging out and playing some great music together and how much the fans loved every minute of it too, just as much as we did".

Terry Dolan - By the end of the tour, especially after the Rockpalast show, it was all starting to take its toll on us. We had three gigs in three days straight, mostly without sleep and on top of it being jet lagged to shit. Not to mention having to put up with freezing weather, lousy transportation, and tiny hotel rooms with barely any heat. This only made us long even more for our comfy homes and loving families in the Bay Area who were anxiously awaiting our homecoming.

Aside from all the fun they had playing music over the last 72 hours, even amidst of all of the travails that they had endured while on the road; one boon to all of this was that Terry & The Pirates already had sold out shows waiting for them upon their return. They took much delight from this fact and after a few days of rest they were back to being their old selves again playing some remarkable "Rock-N-Roll" in their usual Terry & The Pirates style and fashion.

Mike Somavilla © September 2010

Rockpalast: West Coast Legends Volume 5 (CD)

Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany 6.12.1982