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Toney Ventura at the helm of his project studio. |
Producer Andy Sabin at Crackers Neck Studios after a long drive, short
sleep and an intensive studio re-assembly. |
An incredible moment in the history of Rock & Roll... Mike's two greatest
guitar influences and musical partners meet for the first time. Toney
Ventura with Frank Curtis. |
Producer Andy Sabin with Toney Ventura and Frank Curtis. |
Frank Curtis getting his tone dialed in on his Fender Stratocaster and
Mesa Boogie guitar amp. |
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Frank and his Strat. |
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Toney's lush Tacoma acoustic guitar and Ibanez Les Paul. |
Frank's Mesa Boogie amp and "Leslie" rotating speaker cabinet, heard on
Planet Love. |
Invasion of the Ventura home! |
The Ventura family plus... Thanks Toney and Nicky... You are the greatest!
(Without these folks, there wouldn't be a Mike Beck CD... I am forever
in your debt! Thank you.) |
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Frank and his custom Ovation acoustic 12-string guitar. |
Producer Andy Sabin and guitarist Frank Curtis. |
Guess who! |
Frank and Mike posed for some promo shots in Toney's backyard... Giant
City State Park, part of the Shawnee National Forest.
Photo by Andy Sabin. |
Photo by Andy Sabin. |
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Photo by Andy Sabin. |
Photo by Andy Sabin. |
Photo by Andy Sabin. |
Photo by Andy Sabin. |
Photo by Andy Sabin. |
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Photo by Andy Sabin. |
Photo by Andy Sabin. |
The view from Toney's backyard, overlooking downtown Makanda, Illinois.
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Photo by Andy Sabin. |
Photo by Andy Sabin. |
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Photo by Andy Sabin. |
Toney Ventura playing his Tacoma acoustic. A beautiful guitar played by
a beautiful guitarist. |
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Frank playing Toney's Tacoma. |
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Singer / publishing magnate Jason Thomas. |
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Frank Curtis, Mike Ricci and Jason Thomas. |
Frank Curtis and Mike Ricci, singing together for the first time.
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The passion, the heart-wrenching... Oh... Nevermind. |
Mike Ricci sang his heart out on this session. Thanks Mike! You can hear
him on Johnny Y., The Screw and Soulshine. |
Toney Ventura singing background vocals. |
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Jason Thomas can also be heard on Johnny Y., The Screw and Soulshine.
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Mike Ricci at the mic (foreground), with Andy Sabin and Frank Curtis lurking
nearby. |
A photo of a photo showing Toney's wife Nicky meeting Colonel Sanders.
Damn cool! |
Jason, Mike and Frank surround the AKG C12 for vocals on Soulshine.
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Toney Ventura at the mic for vocals. |
The Makanda Men's Chorus rehearsing vocals for Soulshine.
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Mike Ricci strums through a rehearsal of Soulshine. |
Frank pulls out his Les Paul for the recording of Planet Love.
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Producer Andy Sabin expresses his feelings about working with Mike Beck.
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Andy Sabin describes this photo as "Pro-Tools getting into my head". Mike
imagines finishing the album. |
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Toney Ventura on his Ibanez Les Paul recording guitar for Planet Love.
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Frank, Tuesday morning, back on his 12 string Ovation. |
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Frank pulled off a brilliant 12-string guitar solo that can be heard on
The Ghost of Mrs. Adler. |
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Mike and Frank on the Makanda boardwalk, posing for promo shots.
Photo by Andy Sabin. |
Photo by Andy Sabin. |
Photo by Andy Sabin. |
Frank, Toney and Andy Sabin on the Makanda boardwalk. |
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Toney, Mike and Frank.
Photo by Andy Sabin. |
Dowtown Makanda, Illinois. This is it... The entire downtown Makanda,
located at the heart of Giant City State Park in the Shawnee National
Forest just a few miles south of Carbondale. |