BRENTWOOD BUTLER BRINGS BIG BLOG NEWS ABOUT BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD REUNION BENEFITTING BRIDGE SCHOOL!!

Its official! The long awaited Buffalo Springfield reunion is set for October 23rd and 24th.

Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Richie Furay and Jim Messina along with drummer Bruce Vitale sitting in for the late Dewey Marting and Joe Vitale on bass in place of the late Bruce Palmer. Big Gene was asked to play bass but has tickets for Sufjan Stevens Phoenix and L.A. shows that weekend and respectfully declined, (although if Shakey does come through with a ticket Big Gene would be more than happy to fly up on the 23rd wink wink)


Two weeks ago, Buffalo Springfield guitarist Richie Furay got a text message from Neil Young that simply said, “Call me.” “I called and he asked me if I’d be up for a reunion at the Bridge School Benefit,” Furay says. “He said, ‘If you’re into it, I think Stephen [Stills] will be into it.’ The three of us then arranged a conference call, chit-chatted for a few minutes, and planned it all out. The last time I was onstage with them was the last Buffalo Springfield show at the Long Beach Arena back in 1968. Our lives have gone in different directions and I wouldn’t say that we’re close friends, but we’re friends and its an opportunity for us to get together again for a good cause. I’m very excited.”

“We’re going to play for 35-40 minutes,” Furay says. “The setlist will probably be composed of the three albums, though probably more of the first album with a few of the second album and maybe ‘On The Way Home’ from the last one. I really have no idea, though. I’m just going to show up and have a good time.” He says it will be bittersweet, however, to be up there without Martin and Palmer. “Those guys made the sound,” Furay says. “For as many people as were in and out of the Springfield, it was the five of us that really created a sound that people really remember the most.”

In the 1980s the original five members attempted to reform on three separate occasions. “All three times were at Stephen’s house,” says Furay. “The first time was pretty amazing. The second time was a little lackluster, then the third time never really happened. The rest of us were shooting for a tour, but there just wasn’t a flow.” Furay, who continues to tour in his solo career and serves as the senior pastor at the Calvary Chapel in Broomfield Colorado, said he never imagined a reunion would happen at this late date. “I didn’t give it much of a chance at all,” he says. “Whether anything happens after this, I certainly don’t know. Generally speaking, it’s Neil that gets these things set up and happening. We’re not really saying ‘Hey New York and Chicago and Miami and Denver, we’re coming to your city.’ This is two shows for charity. Everybody who gets a chance to come out and hear it will be like ‘Wow, I heard a little bit of history here.’”*

Good Job Shakey! You're excused for not knowing who Ben Keith was now...............

Big Gene

*Thanks to Andy Greene at Rolling Stone.