VAN DORN

Van would like to hear from you.  If you have a question for him or a story you would like to share that relates to the Moonrakers or one of their concerts, you may contact him at veederdorn@aol.com. 

Live footage of Van performing his Frank Sinatra Tribute at the Cherry Festival in Beaumont, CA in 2005 was recently posted on YouTube.  You can view this below:

A new clip of a different mix of "Three Brothers, a Garden and Love" has been posted in the blue paragraph near the bottom.  Check it Out!

Van recently found a photo from a show he played with a trio in 1980 in New York.  This is what he had to say about it:  The photo is of my small trio from Lou's Bar and Grille in Utica, New York taken on New Year's Eve 1980. The Bass Player on the left in the picture is Buddy, and the Drummer behind me is James. The group performed there every Friday and Saturday night for the entire winter.
The owner of the place, Al Barbato, owned a Les Paul Gold Top that he kept in the storeroom propped up against a wall.  He let me play it every week so when I'd come in on Friday and Saturday nights I'd go back there and pick it up and use it. 
That was a fun little trio we had, and the audience was as cool as they get.

I was at the EAA Camarillo Airshow again this year (2009). They put on a great show with lots of nonstop action. There were aircraft coming across the flightline from all directions at once.
The coordination of all the different aircraft in their operations, solo and in formations, was truly amazing.
Veeder

And here is the latest of Van's songs for you to hear called "Who Can Say."  Click here to listen to it.  

Next is a track recently recorded by Van called "Harmonics of Gravity in the Wind."  It is an experimental meditation song that is best listened to through headphones.  Here's what Van had to say: "It's sort of a "meditation" type music thing I'm experimenting with called Frequency Following Response.  I titled the track "Harmonics Of Gravity In The Wind" and for a small donation to "The Cause" any Raker Fans out in cyber-land can get one sent to them, plus four more Frequency Following Response tracks on the same CD for a total of FIVE Frequency Following Response Tracks.  If you turn it up a bit and listen thru the headphones you'll hear how it does what is known as Frequency Following Response which is a thing the brain does automatically under certain states of listening to certain sound Frequencies, and it creates a state sort of like meditation."  Click here to listen to this song.  If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the CD please contact Van at the e-mail address mentioned above.

Up next is a re-working of the Beach Boys song "Getcha Back."  Van spent a lot of time on this project that he did mainly for fun because he liked the song.  Now you can check it out by clicking here.

  What follows is a clip from an extremely rare single that Van released in the early seventies.  Here is the information on it:  

VEEDER VAN DORN – PLANET OF LOVE/SLIDERS GLIDER
SHUFFLE RECORDS-573

This extremely rare record was recorded in a studio in Burbank, California in 1971.  Van used multiple tracks to get the sound, playing all of the instruments himself, including the sound of his Ford F-1 pickup motor mixed in on one track, and an AM radio tuned to KRLA in one part of the B-side.   The drums were borrowed from friend John Kay of Steppenwolf who lived in L.A. at the time.

You can hear Van's vintage Fender Telecaster on the beginning and throughout “Planet of Love,” as well as the bottleneck slide guitar work on the B-side, “Slider's Glider.”  "Planet of Love" rings with a definite garage rock sound with the lyrics delivering a message of hope.  The B-side, “Slider's Glider,” is an instrumental that he wrote for a short Drive-In-Movie trailer about gliders in the air over Aspen, Colorado.  It has a floating Wes Montgomery guitar style, and a classical sounding piano interlude in the middle where the sound of a Rolling Stones record mysteriously fades in for a moment and then fades out.  

Only 500 of these 45s were ever pressed, but the song did receive airplay on several Rocky Mountain radio stations.  All of the recordings made during the 1971 "Planet of Love" sessions were mastered at Paramount Records by Van's friend, L.A. Sound Engineer; Ray Thompson.  Click here for a soundclip of "Planet of Love."

Van has recorded another new song, a Tribute to the five original members of The Beach Boys called "Three Brothers, A Garden and Love."  Today, June 2, 2011, I have posted a new clip of it from a different mix than what was previously posted on November 23, 2008.  You can hear this clip by clicking here. As with the songs mentioned below, if you would like a copy just write Van a note at the e-mail address above and he'll send you a personalized autographed CD for a small donation to "The Cause".

Van has recently recorded two new songs.  The first is called "Surgin' U.S.A."  It is a takeoff of The Beach Boys song, "Surfin U.S.A.  Click here to hear a sample. This is what Van had to say about it:  "It's a NEW 2007 Political Project that has been getting airplay on classic rock stations and college stations across the U.S.  Air America has also played it."  
The second song is a cover of The Beach Boys Christmas song, "Little Saint Nick."  Van: "I worked with Beach Boys writer Roger Christian at KOVA Radio in Ojai, California and we wrote some songs together in 1980.  As a tribute to his memory I'm taking musical surfing safaris down memory lane and will be covering a lot of The Beach Boys material in the coming years."  Click here for a sample clip of "Little Saint Nick."

If you would like a copy of either or both songs, just write a note to Van at the e-mail address above and he'll send you a personalized autographed CD for a small donation to "The Cause".  

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Hello friends.....
  I've received Moonraker email from people we went to high school and college with, played in bands with, and generally ran around with in Colorado in the old days.  Time has sure gone fast in the last 40 years, but I know that the Rock and Roll Spirit of our High School and College days will always be a part of us and our memories. 

So HEY everybody, get out your old baggies and sandals now and then......  keep your old boogie shoes dusted off and don't grow "too" old...."too" fast. 
Here's sending lots of good wishes and warm feelings to all our old Moonraker friends.

Sincerely,
Van Dorn

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