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The 20th Annual Jim Peterik’s World Stage Extravanganza is this coming Saturday, January 12th at the Wentz Center in Naperville, IL!!  Join Jim and his special guests The Ides of March, David Pack (former lead singer of Ambrosia), Gary Wright (Of Dream Weaver fame), Alex Ligertwood (former lead singer of Santana), Toby Hitchcock, Colin Peterik, Leslie Hunt, Riley Pettrone and The Mighty World Stage Band!! Plus, you never know if there will be a surprise guest or not!

Tickets are almost gone. You need this in your life. Come join us for an evening of music, brotherhood, and friendship!

https://finearts.northcentralcollege.edu/event/jim-peterik-and-world-stage-3

Cornerstones of Rock Concert- Another Sell-out Crowd!

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It was another great night of memorable music by the original artists who recorded the hits back in the day!  

The Ides of March, The Buckinghams, the Cryan Shames, The New Colony Six, Jimy Sohns of the Shadows of Knight and Ted Alliota of Alliota, Haynes and Jeremiah filled the Arcada Theater in St. Charles, IL, and played those national hit songs they made famous in the late ‘60’s and 70’s, reawakening so many memories of simpler, happier days.

Everyone came ready to dance and sing along as the bands did their thing. This night, host Ron Onesti asked about forgotten songs, and the bands each responded with some of the “almost-hit” they had, that still are some of their favorites.  

The Cornerstones of Rock show has received great reviews from fans and promoters wherever is has been preformed, and there’s too much fun to be had to stop any time, soon!

R.I.P. Dick Dearborn, Engineer on ‘Vehicle”

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We were saddened to hear that Dick Dearborn had just passed away at age 91. Dick was the CBS staff engineer when the Ides Of March first came into Columbia studios on Fairbanks in Chicago to record our first demos for what would get us our record deal with Warner Brothers.
 
Guided by our producer/ managers Frank Rand and Bob Destocki we had come to the session with four new songs to present. The last song on our demo tape was a song we would perform at teen clubs all over Chicagoland called Vehicle.  
 
Dick Dearborn always wore the suit and tie of a loyal CBS employee but his heart was that of a true musician. He had a kind and patient manner as he set up the many microphones required to accommodate a big horn band like the Ides and dialed in the sounds. In those days we all recorded at the same time in one room, so leakage between instruments were always a huge issue. Dick handled that with ease.
 
As Larry said, “He saved the master take of Vehicle with a razor blade and experience.. !” referring to the well-known story about the accidental deletion of part of the master take and Dick having to splice it in from a different take.
He was also the master of one of the first 16 track multi- track recorders in Chicago.
 
After we landed our record deal he engineered our entire album with Frank and Bob producing.
 
Dick will be remembered for many things (his son and I have talked recently about Dick when we met a few times at a blues bar in Saugatuck) but for the Ides he will always be the guy that caught lightning in a bottle- one magical take on a song that would take us Berwyn teens to the top of the charts. Dick, you were the co-pilot of our Vehicle. Rock in peace. Jim Peterik, Larry Millas, Bob Bergland and Mike Borch.
 
Thanks to Dick’s son James for the photos.

Lions and Tigers and.. IDES ! Oh, my!

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The Ides played to a huge crowd last Saturday at the Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Illinois for their Summer Nights concert series. It was a perfect night for an outdoor concert, and the Zoo staff couldn’t have been more helpful in providing for a great evening! There were even some “tigers” in the audience to enjoy the show!

A Tribute To Bob Destocki

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The Ides Really Rocked The Boat This Time!

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For the second year in a row, The Ides of March were honored to be invited to play on the mighty Moody Blues Cruise to the Caribbean. This year’s cruise featured many fine artists such as the Zombies, Alan Parsons, Ambrosia, The Orchestra, Richie Furay, Jefferson Starship and many more, and, of course, the new Hall of Fame inductees, The Moody Blues.

This is an awesome sea cruise, with great music and wonderful people, including our incredible hosts, the Moody Blues, the fine crew that has to pull off miracles to handle the intense schedule of the many bands and venues on the ship, and the cruisers, the music lovers who come to enjoy the music!

Playing to an overflowing crowd in the club venue, and a full house in the main theater, the Ides were welcomed back with great enthusiasm, and really rocked the boat, as shared in the pictures below. The Ides met many new and old friends at the merchandise signing after the theater concert, and we really hope to do it, again, in the future!

Photo by Iron Mike Savoia Photography