Also see: NEARfest 2000 ~ Kit Watkins ~ ProgDay 2002
Bookmarks: The Muse Awakens
From: "Mark Fonda" <>
I've really been getting into Happy the Man lately... jazz fusion with many intricate
& complex melodies and patterns, all-instrumental, delicate yet strong... a class
act!! I have the first untitled album (1977), 'Crafty Hands' (1978) and 'Live'
(1978)... I also have 'Better Late...' (1983), 'Beginnings' (1992) and 'Death Crowns'
(1976/1999, previously unreleased material!) all on order. These guys are an
American prog enigma... and we've never even mentioned them on e-Prog! Kit Watkins is
the keyboardist and he has several solo releases of which I have 'Kinetic Vapors' (1993)
and 'Sunstruck' (1994)... much more electronic and somewhat new-agey, but still very good.
From: "Kurt Rongey" <>
The first Happy the Man LP is one of my very favorite prog albums. Kit Watkins is an
absolutely amazing keyboardist, and is probably my favorite monophonic synth soloist.
Some of the solos on this album are absolutely astounding. It also is one of
those albums that has an indescribable "feel" to it, like it was made by
musicians in some alternate dimension or something. I've never enjoyed any of the
other albums nearly as much as this one, even Crafty Hands. Haven't heard Death's
Crown yet. I'm sure it's good, but everything's a let down after the self-titled.
The live CD is quite good, with some of the songs off the first album having a
slightly different feel due to replacement drummer Coco Roussel (who is also excellent.)
From: "Craig Shipley" <>
...you can get him at http://www.lindenmusic.com/kitwatkins/index_2019.htm.
Lotsa samples of his music, so investigate... May I recommend his WET, DARK AND LOW
release (Kit's blast at all the tinkly airie-fairie NooWage music that was clogging up the
music bins at that time) along with AZURE and SUNSTRUCK. I really haven't investigated his
recent material that much, so you are on your own there... Watkins was with Camel on the I
CAN SEE YOUR HOUSE FROM HERE and the official bootleg CAMEL ON THE ROAD 81. I'm pretty
sure that he joined after NUDE and left before THE SINGLE FACTOR. Watkins did not want to
tour, so this is the reason why he left the band...
From: Mike De Lang <>
I have "3rd Better Late "and"Live"which I like alot but I understand
both the first album and "Crafty Hands" are much better and are worth a pretty
penny on vinyl. I also have "Calling" by However, an American band that played very
good Canterbury style prog. and features Kit Watkins on one of the tracks. I believe He
played also on one of Camels' later releases after Peter Bardens left.
From: Peter Abusamra <>
I've owned Happy The Man's live cd for a couple of years and really love. My
question is are their studio cds as powerful as the live? I did buy Beginnings
when I was at Nearfest and it doesn't really doesn't hit me like the live one.
Thoughts? Recommendations?
From: "Alan J. Mallery" <>
I think their studio albums come off better then the live stuff. _Beginnings_ is
mostly marginal early stuff, for completists only. You need to get their 1st s/t
album and _Crafty Hands_. Those are about to be released domestically in the US
by One Way records.
From: August Smarra <>
Although Beginnings is quite interesting to an old Happy The Man fan like me,
IMO it doesn't compare to their studio recordings, Happy The Man and Crafty
Hands. I talked to Stanley Whitaker a few weeks ago, before a Ten Jinn concert
that he was playing in, and these two LPs have been remastered by Kit Watkins
himself. They are going to be released by One Way records this month and in
Stan's opinion, they sound incredible (better then the originals)! IMHO they are
two of the finest examples of of Prog ever. Kit Watkins has one of the most
unique styles of soloing ever.
> Not sure what the tittle is, because it doesn't say on the album, but
the one with "Stumpy meets the firecracker in stencil forest", is my
favorite.
That's the one that's just called Happy The Man.
> I have the new one (old live), and happy 3 on CD, still fall back to the
LP though. Maybe it's just me, but I prefer when they take their chops out for
us to see, instead of the dreamy down tempo stuff
Stan also said that they are definitely getting together to record a new CD
and maybe more.
From: Robert LaDuca <>
Here is an official Happy the Man announcement from Stan Whitaker (guitar):
"KEYBOARDIST EXTRAORDINAIRE DAVID ROSENTHAL JOINS HTM David Rosenthal came
down last weekend to jam with Frank and I and it was sheer magic. He knows every
note and nuance Kit ever played, and his compositions he submitted blew us away!
He's got the HTM vibe down!!! Check out his website. He's played with Billy Joel
the past 5-6 years, Cyndi Lauper, Robert Palmer, Rainbow and others! He
orchestrated and transcribed Yngwie Malsteem's latest symphony for guitar and
orchestra album! He actually transcribed a bunch of Happy stuff for
"fun" which is how Rick and I first met him at a Vision (our first
band after Happy) gig in New York. He proudly displayed full transcriptions for
"Knee Nymphs" and others which totally knocked us out! I remember him
being surprised we didn't write that stuff out! I was like "are you
kidding? I wouldn't know where to start!" He was Steve Vai's roommate at
Berkley and while Steve was transcribing Zappa, David was transcribing Happy the
Man! We're his favorite band of all time apparently, so we're BOTH real happy!
By the way, the band, 'live' and new record, is the "Crafty Hands"
lineup sans Kit. He only wanted to do the record and not the 'live' thing, and
the other four of us really want a 'band' again, so the new keyboardist is David
Rosenthal." There you have it! Kit Watkins has decided not to play live
with the band again. The band does go forward with Kit's blessing. However, DO
NOT despair! The Happy the Man performance at NEARfest 2000 will be
electrifying! Stan has assured me personally that David Rosenthal is amazing
player and fits the keyboard spot in HTM all too well. We can't wait to hear the
results on the forthcoming record and on stage at NEARfest!
From: "Fisher, Lee" <>
Subject: Happy the Man article
There's a Happy the Man article (more of an anecdote really) on disinfo.com
http://www.disinfo.com/disinfo?p=folder&title=Happy+The+Man Happy The Man
Happy the Man's story is of salvation, of chances dashed, of greedy corporate
music executives' promises, and a Listening Public who wouldn't know the sound
of God's Own orchestra if it came to bugle them in their sleep. On a night when
you feel like committing suicide, please remember this story, and then don't
try. Put on Crafty Hands instead, and lie back - it'll pass, whatever It is. I
discovered a fantastic sound one evening (1983) probably in a stoned or drunken
slumber, beachside Santa Barbara. Some long-haired Pirate Radio meister (KTYD)
cued up seventy uninterrupted minutes of Happy the Man's music: an indelible
memory in my skull. I jumped out of bed and phoned KTYD's listener line, because
I had to know. "Yeah, pretty good, aren't they. Too bad nobody bought their
records. They broke up about four years ago. From Washington D.C./Virginia area.
Peter Gabriel once called them, 'my favorite band,' " he said, and I had
every good reason to believe him. In 1972 a few college pals and a recently
discharged Army grunt were bitten by an unlikely Muse. Five Americans
alternately trained or enamored of classical music, jazz and British progressive
rock: Genesis, Gentle Giant and Van der Graf Generator. Doomed to failure,
obviously; but for seven years, the quintet kept plugging. Drummers came and
went, but the core sound remained Pure. When it was over, a song was etched upon
the American landscape. We've heard nothing like it before or since. Kit
Watkins, Rick Kennell, Stan Whitaker, Frank Wyatt (and drummers Mike Beck, Ron
Riddle, and Coco Roussel) honed their chops by night. They worked by day as
hospital orderlies, construction workers, whatever paid the bills. Happy the Man
were the toast of the Eastern Seaboard by 1974, garnering near-orgasmic reviews
in the Washington Post and smaller, regional throwaways. Nightly, packed clubs
were blown away, first by note-perfect covers of Genesis's Watcher of the Skies
and King Crimson's eponymous In the Court of the Crimson King, and later by
original works - symphonic skywriting - titles as unlikely as the band's future:
Mister Mirror's Reflections on Dreams, Stumpy Meets the Firecracker in Stencil
Forest, While Yellow Crome Shine (from Aldous Huxley's novel Chrome Yellow:
tells you where their heads were at). What was once sweet turned bittersweet,
then just got old: playing like ascendant Lords and living like hobos, never
breaking out of the college campus and regional festival circuit. Kit Watkins
was lured away by Camel, a mirage. Ron Riddle toured and recorded with Blue
Oyster Cult, then onto NBC session work. In a bitter reflection, guitarist Stan
Whitaker was asked by and turned down Peter Gabriel's third solo album and
subsequent tour. The rest languished. What might have been? I'm listening right
now on continuous repeat to Service With a Smile from the Crafty Hands CD: first
an LP, then it was nothing. All of Happy the Man's output went out of print.
Arista Records had invested US$250,000; Ken Scott (Mahavishnu Orchestra, Dixie
Dregs, David Bowie, Supertramp) created the first two albums' timeless
production values. A long-delayed third LP followed. Twenty years later, Happy
the Man decided "What the hell?" and remastered the original analogs
on a shoestring, in a Virginia home-studio. Eno, you got nothing on these guys .
. . and there falls a little tear down my cheek. I recall my first acid trip:
seated as a child-Buddha with this song as my Initiatory trigger: the most
indelible 2:37 I have ever heard. Bone-crunching rhythm section, a Keith
Emerson-shaming Moog, a guitar like a lightning bolt in your third eye. Shot
right through to the Soul. Happy the Man has reformed (the original Crafty Hands
line-up), with Kit Watkin's blessings (stage-shy now, a studio-only guy). The NEARfest
prog-rock gathering (June 2000) reviews are like a wet dream. They promise a new
CD: a rare, fine wine, you can't rush it. Don't ever give up. Research by Todd
Brendan Fahey fargone@fargonebooks.com
From: Goss, Ed <> Date: Fri Aug 18, 2000 2:38pm Subject: Happy The Man See today's Washington Post article on Happy The Man at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47627-2000Aug17.html NIGHTWATCH By Eric Brace Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, August 18, 2000; Page N11 IN 1977, Happy the Man released its self-titled debut on Arista records. In 1978, its second release, "Crafty Hands," hit the stores. The band's reputation as Washington's answer to British prog-rockers such as Genesis, Gentle Giant and Yes was growing. But the music world was changing. Punk rock was shaking things up. Kids weren't glomming onto Happy the Man's complex instrumentals and lush symphonic rock the way they might have if HTM had come along five years earlier. In 1979, the band was dropped from Arista, and the stress of it all spelled the end of the band as a working unit. But its core audience never disappeared, and (largely because of the Internet's singular ability to unite people with common interests from around the globe) Happy the Man's currency in prog-rock circles never diminished. Guitarist Stan Whitaker was working in California with the band Ten Jinn and regularly found himself the focus of attention at concerts. "We'd be playing at progressive rock festivals," says Whitaker, "and word would get out that the Happy the Man guitarist was in the band, and people would come around asking for autographs and telling me how much they loved the band. It was incredible." Promoters began telling him that if he'd pull together a Happy the Man reunion, then they would immediately be headlining festivals, no problem. "I hopped on the phone and called Rick and Frank, and they both said, 'Let's do it.' " That would be bassist Rick Kennell and keyboardist/saxophonist Frank Wyatt, band members from way back. We're talking 1972 in Germany where Kennell and Whitaker crossed paths, then the next year at James Madison University, where Whitaker and Wyatt met in a music theory class. It was there that keyboardist Kit Watkins joined the group, and where Kennell again caught up with Whitaker and the band was truly born. In 1975 the group (the name taken from a passage in Goethe's "Faust") moved to Washington and immediately got loads of airplay on WGTB, the still-missed progressive radio station at Georgetown University. The buzz was immediate and widespread, causing Peter Gabriel to come to the band's Arlington house to see about hiring them as his touring band. That never happened, in part because of Arista signing the band at about the same time. "When we were dropped by Arista, I moved to New York and concentrated on the business end," says Kennell, who has managed and produced bands for the past 20 years, and says he hardly ever picked up his bass. "But getting back together with the guys is just like reliving your childhood or something. It was hard because you felt like you were a failure at 24, so it's nice to go back and have a chance to do it again." He echoes the others (including new keyboardist David Rosenthal, who replaced Watkins, and drummer Ron Riddle, who played on "Crafty Hands" but never performed live with the band) when he says, "I told the guys that if this doesn't turn out to be fun, count me out." Luckily, so far it's nothing but fun. Wyatt, who sold his cabinet-making shop in Galax, Va., to move back to the area, says, "at first I was worried that this was my mid-life crisis, but now it feels like my mid-life revival." The band gave its first performance in 20 years at the State Theatre (703/237-0300) in June and returns there Saturday, where it will record the show with an eye toward a live CD. "We're hoping to get that one out in a hurry," Whitaker says. "We'll sell that at shows and on the Internet. But I'm really excited about the next studio record. That'll happen soon, with all new material." The tunes are by Wyatt, Whitaker and newcomer Rosenthal, and are coming faster than the band can handle. "We have way too much new stuff for one record," Whitaker says. "It's funny, in L.A. I was trying to write real commercial stuff for movies and TV and that was always really hard for me. But with this band, this kind of music just pours out of me." The One Way record label has recently reissued both HTM Arista records, and you can find out more about all this at www.happytheman.com.
From: "Mike Prete" <>
Date: Mon May 27, 2002 9:51 pm
Subject: HAPPY THE MAN to co-headline ProgDay!
American symphonic prog legends Happy the Man will be headlining the 2002 ProgDay festival, taking place this Labor Day weekend in Chapel
Hill, NC. One of the great symphonic bands of the progressive rock era,
both Happy the Man studio albums from the 70s are acknowledged classics of the
genre. They got back together a couple of years back to headline NEARfest 2000,
and are working on material for a new album. Anyone who has seen them can tell
you that Happy the Man is as powerful a live experience today as ever. Featuring
the line-up of Rick Kennell (bass), David Rosenthal (keyboards), Ron Riddle
(drums), Stan Whitaker (guitar, vocals), and Frank Wyatt (keyboards, woodwinds),
the appearance of Happy the Man at ProgDay will no doubt stand as one of the
highlights of its eight-year history. Tickets are now on sale for ProgDay 2002,
a two-day festival of progressive rock. Already confirmed for the event are
Kraan (Germany), The Muffins, Avant Garden and IZZ (all
US), Tempano (Venezuela) and Thieves' Kitchen (UK). One more band is still to be
announced. Taking place every year since 1995, ProgDay is the longest-running
North American prog festival, and is a by-fans, for-fans event, organized by a
dedicated team of volunteers. Its idyllic outdoor environment and community
atmosphere makes it an unforgettable weekend of music and spirit.
For more information: http://www.progday.com/ http://www.happytheman.com/
Date: Sat, 30 Oct 2004 From: "elclintcollins"
<> Subject: New Happy the Man!
I just finished my first listen to the new Happy The Man - The Muse Awakens. For
my tastes, Happy the Man has always been one of my absolute favorite bands of
all time. The lineup on the new cd is all of the original members except for the
drummer and keyboards. I was worried about that since Kit Watkins and Ron
Riddle\Mike Beck are incredible, one of a kind musicians who can't really be
replaced. The new guys, David Rosenthal on keyboards and Joe Bergamini on drums
are incredible musicians in their own right and have obviously spent a
lot of time listening to old Happy the Man to get just the right feel and sound.
If I didn't bother to read the liner notes I would have that that is was the
original band. From the opening moments I got douche chills. The trademark Happy
the Man sounds are all there. Obviously, it's the kind of music that takes
mulitple listens to fully grasp. On first listen I have to say that I'm thrilled
to have my old favorites back. The old magic is still there in abundance. I wish
they would play at Baja Prog next spring! Run out and buy this immediately!