A tribute to John Lennon with a little help from some friends

Beatles artist Shannon recently went to Liverpool for the city's tribute to John Lennon earlier in the month. Her artwork, "The Nine Faces of John," updated especially for the event, was used as the backdrop for the tribute concert.

Here's her account of the "Lennon Remembered"/"The Nine Faces of John" tribute. We also have some pictures in the slideshow that Shannon provided us and a video of Shannon at work painting a portrait of John Lennon:

What can I say? This was an awesome experience from a wide spectrum of variables…a roller coaster ride of “ALL GOOD”, you might say. And all dedicated to the great John Lennon.

I flew to Liverpool with Grammy Award Winner Dennis Ferrente. We have been friends for a while now and Dennis was involved with the concert as well. He worked on many of John’s solo albums including “Imagine”. Dennis has a massive catalog of people he has engineered for. The list is intense and besides John Lennon it includes Elvis Presley, Cher, Louie Armstrong, Alice Cooper, Duke Ellington, Chet Atkins, and so many more. What an eclectic group of musical talents he has worked with! The good point about Dennis is he doesn’t just do Rock or Country or Jazz, he does it all! And he is good at it.

As soon as you think it couldn’t get any better you’re in a cab and it’s just you and Alan White going to rehearsal and your talking about the new YES Album coming out. I mean, I love the Beatles but we all have our other faves. Me? I like Zeppelin, Cheap Trick, and one of my all time faves…YES. How could I not? I am a bassist and Paul McCartney is not the only reason I own a Rickenbacker bass. Let’s not forget the bassist from YES, Chris Squire! And if you are a bassist you have to appreciate a fantastic drummer like Alan White.

Well, here is the good stuff…He is a wonderfully charming man and his wife is lovely, too! The words that stick in my head with Alan are, “I hate bassists! But you Shannon…you’re alright in my book.” Alan was a blast to rehearse with…and to play the concert with. He is a dream come true for any bass guitarist. So, if I may, thanks Alan for the great nights.

I have known Joey Molland from different gigs and events around the globe. We bump into each other in The Cavern, usually at the bar. Reoccurring story: He will be in conversation and will bump into me (gently, of course). I kinda’ wait for it. So when he does, I always shout, “Hey! Why you hittin’ me?”. And he will turn around with a concerned look and then realize it’s me (again) and laugh and say hello. So that is an ongoing thing with us. But this time it was different. This time I had the pleasure to play LIVE with Joey at the Echo Arena and then at the VIP party later that eve. If you check out one of the Youtube videos (Shannon’s introduction) you can see me smiling when I see Joey pointing and  smiling at me onstage. I point back and say, “YOU!”. Later we went back to Joey’s room to see my artwork at The Hard Day’s Night Hotel. While checking it out we saw that he was in the “Young GEORGE room’ (George at about age 3 or 4) and the plaque on the wall described it as Young John. We both were like…”What the ___?”

I also had great times with Bill Heckle, Jon Keats, Tony Bramwell, Jay Goeppner, Mark McGann,  and many, many others.

Let’s not forget the coolest thing of the entire evening. While playing bass in front of thousands I was able to look up over my left shoulder and see my “Nine Faces of John” painting. At that point in time…all was right with the world.

Good things came out of this positive event dedicated to John Lennon. I am happy to say that Joey Molland is very interested in being involved with the line up of musicians already playing on my new CD. Already involved are Dennis Ferrante, Denny Laine, Steve Holley, and others) The list seems to create itself as we push forward.