“[Harvard] has the material as well as the gift of gab.” Robin Vaughan, Boston Herald, 6/6/04
“The splendidly named Harvard sees the Velvets through the eyes neither bleary nor jaded nor excessively worshipful, and among many sharp insights nails the idea that it wasn’t just LouLouLou with, oh yeah, John Cale and the chick who split after this debut and the drummer who played standing up and the bass player who moved to Austin. Anybody who’s heard “Sunday Morning” as the sun’s coming up on a Sunday morning knows the Velvets were a BAND, and for these two sides of vinyl there was no more powerful idea. A-” Austin American-Statesman, Oct. 17, 2004
“A bite-sized look at the creation of one of the more seminal albums of our time .well worth dipping into.” David Hill, Shredded Paper Magazine, Fall 2004 issue
Author Harvard has succeeded in finding the right mix between objective research and personal connection with his subject. Jason Dropor, Record Collector, October 2004–Jason Dropor
From the Inside Flap
In 1966, some studios, like Abbey Road, had technicians in white lab coats, and even the less formal studios usually had actual engineering graduates behind the consoles. Studios were still more about science than art. Clients who dared make technical suggestions were treated with bemusement, derision, or hostility. The Velvets were a young band under constant critical attack, and the pressure to conform in order to gain acceptance must have been tremendous. Most bands of that era compromised with their record companies, through wholesale revamping of their image from wardrobe to musical style, changing or omitting lyrics, creating drastically edited versions for radio airplay, or eliminating songs entirely from their sets and records. With Andy Warhol in the band s corner, such threats were minimized.
About the Author
Joe Harvard became an Ivy-trained archaeologist before settling into a long career as a musician, producer-engineer, promoter and indie pioneer. Co-founder of Fort Apache Recording [1985], Helldorado Productions (originators of Music at the Middle East Restaurant, Cambridge) [1988], NYC’s Tribal Soundz [1999], & Asbury’s Cranial Mass Productions [2008], winner of the WFNX/Boston Phoenix Best Local Producer title [1989] and NYC’s prestigious Moth StorySLAM Championship [2001], his most recent accolades include Asbury Music Awards for Top Americana Band [2009], Top Multi-Instrumentalist [2010] and Top Avant-Garde Act [2010].
He continues to play regular live shows with Velveeta [the Velvet Underground tribute band], the Cockwalkers [Boston Garage at its best], solo as the Human Slinky, and with the Joe Harvard Band. He is currently working on a second book of true stories from the world of rock, and his travel experiences in the U.S., U.K., Saudi Arabia, Greece and Pakistan, and adapting the once-online Boston Rock Storybook for print.
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