By Danny Coleman
originally published: 03/26/2015
"We replace songs with similar ones to what's been removed," says a laughing John Lodge; bassist for the legendary rock band The Moody Blues. "We usually encore with "Ride My See-Saw" because that keeps the audience going and let's face it; aren't we all on a seesaw going up and down through life?" 
The above answers were to the question; "With so many hits; how do you choose an encore?" Lodge had no trouble responding immediately to the inquiry as he recently discussed the Moody Blues and their current tour which kicked off on March 19. The short tour will make two stops in New Jersey; first in Newark at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center Prudential Hall on April 3 and then at Caesars Atlantic City Hotel and Casino on April 4.
According to Lodge, the band is armed and ready to return to the States and they relish the opportunity to perform live. "The tour starts on March 19 and we have two dates in New Jersey then we are kind of all over before we end up at Red Rocks in Denver Colorado on May 10," he enthusiastically stated. "We are a live performing band and we truly do love performing live. We have various reasons to go on the road this time. We have a live box set from the Polydor years, we are working on a CD/DVD but really it's all about, for me anyway, performing for the fans. We continue to write and play Moody Blues music for the fans."
Sprung from the ashes of several bands in John's native UK, he and Justin Hayward were asked to join the band in 1966; teaming up with Mike Pinder and Graeme Edge in the process. Little did he know and least of all expect, that decades later they would remain a force to reckon with in the music realm; selling more than fifty five million albums world wide since their inception. "I didn't expect it at all," said a laughing yet seemingly humbled lodge. "I really had no idea what our record sales were until one day I was on a train to London and my pal says to me, "See those out there?" He was pointing to houses as we went along. "You've sold so many records that just about every tenth house may have one of them." That kind of put it in perspective a bit and I thought to myself, "Wow, that's really something." I had no idea what the numbers were being bandied about and certainly never dreamed that I'd still be on tour today; I don't think anyone could ever foresee something like that."
The band not only sold their music to millions to the tune of eighteen platinum records but also set the standard for other bands as their 1967 classic album "Days of Future Passed" which contained the mega-hits, "Nights In White Satin" and "Tuesday Afternoon," stayed on the Billboard charts for more than two years and is widely credited with being one of the first "Concept Albums."
The "Moodies" as they're known, were also one of the first bands to incorporate a large orchestral presence or sound into their music; something that Lodge felt was only a natural progression. "What happened was, we had four singers. We had every vocal range covered and we had a flute in the mix and Mike on piano and he found the mellotron and the string sound. Mike had mastered it completely and the make up of the band was such that we followed harmonies and we began to do some intricate things with melody had begun experimenting somewhat; it just seemed like the logical next step to put the orchestral sound into what we were doing. We didn't know at the time of course what exactly we had done but it worked out nicely I'd say (laughs)."
Like most bands, one thing or another, be it egos, desired time off or just creative differences leads to break ups or separations and the Moody Blues were no different. Lodge says it was a group decision to take a break from the rigors of the road and that they never really called it quits. "We were so young when we first started," he said pensively. "We started out as five of us and one roadie and we found ourselves with our own touring company, our own record company, record stores and it'd gotten so big. We felt that we were becoming what we weren't about really. We were losing touch and our personal identities so we took a break. We got together in L.A. to do "Octave" and to produce our live album "Live at The Royal Albert Hall," and we thought, "Why are we bothering with this five year old material?" So we decided that we'd like to try and make another record and we literally put it all back together with a phone call and we've been working together in one capacity or another ever since."
Each member has also explored solo efforts and various other projects but the band was never far from their minds. Lodge's latest solo effort, "10,000 Light Years Ago" is based loosely on his time spent as a musician and his longevity with a nod to the Moody Blues. "My new record is sort of two fold. I need to keep busy, if you sit in the dark no one hears you; if you know what I mean. I try to remain viable and this album is a reflection of sorts, well at least the title is, to my time spent with the Moody Blues. 10,000 years is how it feels, it seems like a lifetime ago that we all started, that I started in music. Honestly? I never thought that I'd have a career in music, so yeah, it's all very amazing to me."
Those going to any Moody blues show can expect a tour of their own of sorts as Lodge says the band likes to take its audiences on a ride that spans their entire career. "We like to set our concerts up like an album; take our audiences on a journey. We prefer to play songs from all of our different eras and run songs together like we would when piecing together an album. We do it that way so that when the audiences leave; we hope they want to come back!"
Check out the Moody Blues complete with all tour and ticket information at www.moodybluestoday.com and John Lodge can be found at www.johnlodge.com .
That's it for this week! Please continue to support live and original music and until next week....ROCK ON!
THIS WEEKS CALENDAR LISTINGS
Amarones Windsor Inn
29 Church St. Windsor
(609) 448-7144
Thurs. 6:30 p.m. "Country" Ron Crites
Fri. 8 p.m. Larry D
Sat. 8 p.m. Sounds of The street
Wed. 7:30 p.m. Robert Bruce
Blend Bar & Bistro
911 Highway 33, Hamilton
(609) 245-8887
Tues. 8 p.m. Triviajam
The Backstage at Championship Bar
931 Chambers St. Trenton
Fri. 6 p.m. Mephiskapheles, Hub City Stompers, The Stark Blues, Backyard Superheroes, Autocracy East, Zymotic youth. All ages, $13/$15
Sat. 5 p.m. Deadline Tuesday, Windermere, My Version Of It, Still Searching, Ten Cent Days, Astrokatz, Broken Angels. All ages, $10
Mon. 4 p.m. Oceano, Lorna Shore, The Last Ten Seconds Of Life, Boris The Blade, Martyr Defiled, Footage Of A Yeti, Oceans Of Illusions, Today We Die. All ages, $13/$15
Candlelight Lounge
24 Passaic St. Trenton
(609) 695-9612
Sat. 3 p.m. Bruce Williams Sax Quartet. (No cover-$10 minimum)
Chickie's & Pete's
183 US Highway 130 North Bordentown
(609) 298-9182
Tues. 8 p.m. Acoustic Music Night feat. The Dawgs
Dog & Bull Brew House810 Bristol Pike (Rte. 13) Croydon, PA.
(215) 788-2855
Thurs. 8 p.m. Jayded John
Fri. (4 p.m.) Keli Vale jazz Duo (9 p.m.) Mike Estabrook
Sat. (11 a.m.) "Saturday Brunch Jam" Michael Leggerie feat. (9 p.m.) Vic's Mix
Sun. (11 a.m.) "Sunday Brunch" feat. The Evolution Jazz Band (3 p.m.) Kevin Toft and The All Stars
Mon. 8 p.m. Dustin Beck
Tues. 8 p.m. Paul Donavan
Wed. 8 p.m. Joe Robinson
Dubh Linn Square
167 Rte. 130 North Bordentown
(609) 298-7100
Thurs. Ladies Night
Fri. 9 p.m. Some Assembly Required
Sun. 4 p.m. Irish Sessions
Mon. Military Day
Fran's Pub
116 S. Main St. New Hope, PA.
(215)862-5539
Mon. 8 p.m. Open Blues Jam
All shows 21+
Havana New Hope
105 S. Main Street. New Hope, Pa.
(215) 862-9897
Thurs. 10 p.m. "Beat The Clock" College Night DJ Dance Party
Fri. 8:30 p.m. The Loop
Sat. 8:30 p.m. Rusty
Sun. 8 p.m. Tony Levin of The Levin Brothers. Doors at 6 p.m., $20
Mon. 10 p.m. Karaoke w/ DJ Ron
Wed. 8 p.m. Damon Johnson (Thin Lizzy, Alice Cooper, Black Star Riders, Brother Cane). Doors at 6 p.m., $15, $40 VIP includes: early entry, pick pack, two song acoustic performance, meet and greet, signed photo.
All shows 21+
Ivy Tavern
3108 S. Broad Street, Hamilton
(609) 888-1435
Fri. 10 p.m. Gunsmoke
Sat. 10 p.m. Kindred Spirit
All shows 21+
John & Peter's
96 S. Main St. New Hope, Pa.
(215) 862-5981
Thurs. 9 p.m. The GTV's
Fri. 9 p.m. Ammunition
Sat. (3 p.m.) The Liz Nordstrom Band (9 p.m.) Husky Burnette
Sun. (3 p.m.) Miss Pumpkin Presents: "A Drag Show benefit" (9 p.m.) Collin J Rocker
Mon. 9 p.m. Open Mic. Night w/ Tim
Tues. 9 p.m. DJ Aggreschen
Wed. 9:30 p.m. The Invitational
All shows 21+
JoJo's Tavern
2677 Nottingham Way Hamilton
(609) 586-2678
Wed. 10 p.m. Karaoke
Paint the Roses Tea and Café
37 West Broad Street Hopewell
(609) 466-8200
Sat. 11 a.m. Bryan Hill
Palermo's Of Hamilton
310 Klockner Rd. Hamilton
(609) 838-7979
Thurs. 9 p.m. Karaoke
All shows 21+
Patriot's Crossing
1339 River Rd. Titusville
(609) 737-2780
Fri. 7:30 p.m. Joe D'Angelo & Friends
Sat. 7:30 p.m. Audio Pilot
Randy Now's Man Cave
134 Farnsworth Avenue Bordentown
(609) 424-3766
Check web site for upcoming events
RHO Waterfront
50 Riverview Plaza Trenton
(609) 393-7300
Thurs. 10 p.m. "College Night" w/ DJ Wessy Wes
Fri. (4 p.m.) Happy Hour Buffet. $10
Sat. (TBA)
Sunsets at Cream Ridge
181 Rte. 539 Cream Ridge
(609) 208-2500
Fri. 9:30 p.m. Polish Nannies
Sat. 9:30 p.m. Tangled
All shows 21+
Tavern On The Lake
101 Main St. Hightstown
(609) 426-9345
Fri. 9 p.m. Dragonfly
Sat. 9 p.m. El Ka Bong
Wed. 8 p.m. Karaoke Night
The HOB Tavern
146 Second Street
(609) 291-7020
Sat. 9 p.m. Karaoke
The Ivy Inn
248 Nassau St. Princeton
(609) 921-8555
Thurs. 10 p.m. Karaoke w/ DJ Ron
Fri. 10 p.m. Seth Tieger Band
Sat. 10 p.m. River Dogs
Tues. 8 p.m. Quizzo w/ Bob E Luv
Wed. 8:30 p.m. Tune Trivia (10:30 p.m.) DJ Rockn Ron
Wed. 10 p.m. Heads Up / DJ Rockn Ron
The Record Collector
358 Farnsworth Avenue Bordentown
(609) 324-0880
Fri. 8 p.m. Mulebone / Lorraine Leckie Trio w/ Hugh Pool. All ages, doors at 7:30 p.m., $12 (advance)
The Sun National Bank Center
81 Hamilton Ave. Trenton
(609) 656-3200
Check web site for upcoming events
Tir Na Nog
1324 Hamilton Ave. Trenton
(609) 392-2554
Fri. 9 p.m. Frank Squared (F2)
Sat. 9 p.m. John Patrick Bastiani
All shows 21+
Trenton Buzz
702 Pine St. Trenton
(609) 392-6000
Thurs. 8 p.m. Open Mic. w/ Hek Cat
Trenton Social
449 South Broad Street Trenton
(609) 989-7777
Thurs. 8:30 p.m. Cinema Thursday Presents: "Rocky Balboa"
Fri. 7 p.m. First Friday
Mon. 10 p.m. Service Industry Night w/ DJ-Jay Kountree
Tues. 7 p.m. Open Mic.
Triumph Brewing Company (New Hope, Pa. Location)
400 Union Square New Hope, Pa.
(215) 862-8300
Fri. 10 p.m. Ellis Ashbrook ($5 cover charge)
Sat. 10 p.m. No Good Sister ($5 cover charge)
Sun. 7 p.m. Open Jam Night
Tues. 9 p.m. Challenge Accepted
All shows 21+
Wildflowers Inn
2572 Pennington Rd. Pennington
Sat. 9 p.m. Live Acoustic Rock
Mon. 9 p.m. Karaoke
