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From: headeastrocks
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  • One great group,

  • Considering that you don't have much to work with (what with no video), you did a great job of putting this tribute video together! This is my favorite Head East song, to be sure! I got to meet John when he was lead singer for Petra, ca. 1995-96. I'm glad he's not boozing anymore (sober 34 years myself).

  • Sweet Sweet Memories , Michael Jay, Emerald City

  • Moon & Barb from the Red Lion say hi!!! great mix sure brings back many great times.

  • I got to see this band live in the Salt Palace in 79. They were first out on stage and were followed by Uriah Heep, then Rush. Awesome concert. I still play Flat As A Pancake every now and again. This is a classic song that will continue on.

  • Saw them in 78 when they were at the top of their game. They were right up there with REO, Journey, Kansas, Blue Oyster Cult, and Aerosmith, all bands that I saw that year. Great bands, great shows!

  • My very first concert of many: Head East @ Kaskaskia College about 1974. Fun times!

  • My God I partied with these guys back in the 70's in Charleston Illinois..... You know John didn't have to give up his career in order to worship God....he could've done both......Saw them a couple years ago (new version).....Not even close......They were with slink rand band (for those that go way back to the 70's.....Slink now sucks.....broke my heart I was in love with slink....lol

  • I saw them open for Dave Mason in the 70's and they played the first song and the crowd was stone quiet. they were good but after a few how are you Bostons they left. the guy next to me took out a beer and was about to peg it at the stage and I grabbed his arm and asked him what he was doing. He looked at me and said he could make it from there.

  • Wow! Fantastic!

    I saw them in about 1990 when they opened up for Molly Hachet in Golden, CO at the Buffalo Rose. I went there to see MH with my brother (we got in for free because I gave the Molly Hachet roadies a tour of the Coors brewery--freakin' great job!) but I had to admit Head East were the better band. . .and I LOVE Molly Hachet!

    Just listen to these guys! They're awesome!

  • Excellent version!

  • Comment removed

  • It's so odd hearing John Schlitt's vocals with another band. I grew up listening to Petra (Still listen to them) and I never thought about how he had this whole life before his time with the group. I just hope the Head East gang don't hate each other now and I'm glad Youtube exists so I can hear this stuff.

  • @deejrandom I saw Head East a few months ago at First Council Casino in Newkirk,Ok.

    They still start there concert by saying "A&M recording artist Head East" Roger Boyd is the only oringal member left. I missedf seeing them in 1977 at Hays, Ks. Missed them in 2000 at Cipple Creek, Co. And missed them again in 2003 in Dodge City,Ks Would of loved to see John Schillit as a member of Head East. I saw him in Dodge City Ks. as Petra's lead singer and he was awesome.

  • I remember seeing Headeast in my home town (Crawfordsville Indiana) at wabash college may 1st 1981

  • They were from Illinois, they were talented underated, and truly epic! This song still gives me chills!

  • @twasbrilling33 the whole "Flat as a Pancake" album rocks from beginning to end!

  • Holy shit this song kicks!!! Never heard this before, where the hell was this hiding?

  • @twasbrillig33 All over the place bro, its a kicker you r right!!

  • John Schlitt has been a Born again Christian for at least the last thirty years singing in the Christian band Petra. Look up John Schlitt testimony on youtube.

  • epitome of Classic Rock...

  • Amen. I saw Head East with Van Halen at Sunken Gardens in San Antonio, Texas in 1978. Does it get any better than that? Yes!! We were fucked up on some great Mexican pot with Strawberry wine coolers. Summertime. And there were two pretty girls with us who loved to give head!! Head South!

  • I seen them in a small bar in missouri back in the mid-70s.

  • It was great growing up in the midwest, I really relate to that 70's show, you got turned onto a lot of bands that weren't big on the coasts. Head East was certainly one of them. Still great to hear, reminds me of cruisin' around the countryside in the middle of nowhere, stoned out of our minds and listening to all this stuff.

  • is was oly 16 at the time

  • this was at busch stadium in st louis is was there.

  • the bass line is so friggin badass!! this is in my top ten songs of all time list!!

  • One of the best bands of all time. Too bad John had to become a religious nut.

  • CLASSIC. Plain & Simple!  Love It!

  • back in 85 the bar i worked for was getting ready for HEAD EAST to come. it was Labor day weekend,i worked the whole weekend being band security,with no sleep.After the concert i drove to see my girlfriend,she wasn't home, so i drove back home(witch was 50 miles) and fell asleep driving.The result was herific. I broke 6 ribs,left ankel,and my back in 8 places,i was left paralized from the chest down,the worst thing to me was i was a kick ass drummer and there went my dream,and future.

  • @SuperExdrummer damn man. I don't even know what to say to that. But I felt like at least trying.

    that's real sad

    don't let anything keep you from being happy though. as humans, all we can do is try

  • Dam! Remember the days of straight forward Rock and Roll like this? WOW

  • @mrhoffame Yeah....My, my hear all the garbage now. Those were some days, take it clear back to Joe Cocker Live "Little Help from my Friends" look it up; 'Roll With the Changes" by REO; it goes on and on but nowadays it is a blue moon when I hear anything good. Yeah You Tube is good.

  • @Bigdaddynmomma2 I know what you mean. I was at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a while ago and they have this theatre there that plays a lot of the Woodstock footage. I mean I have the dvd and have seen it many a times, but watching Joe Cocker do Little Help on the big screen with that sound system was incredible!

  • Ofttimes, one hit is PLENTY!

  • As the former drummer for Bloodrock in the lat 70's and with Too Smooth and Rattlesnake in the 80's, I can tell you this is one of rock's greatest songs. A great band. Also, there was a band out of Texas in the late 60's and early 70's called Navasota. They were great!!

  • Never had the pleasure of seeing them live, but this song KICKS SERIOUS ASS!!

  • i've loved this song for years and had no idea that the singer is now the singer in Petra

  • love this tune ,love u-tube,found so much music i used to have that i lost and thaught i'd never hear again (ac/dc soulstripper live) which is awesome w/the echo and reverb,and old classics like this!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Nicely done! Great video!

  • Love this song! Saw them in '74---just great!

  • I saw them twice in 1978 opening for Heart and in 1979 opening for UFO, both times they blew the headliners away

  • ahh the 70s life was so much simpler and the music was awesome!

  • I used to be a dj in college (1977-1981), and played Head East constantly. I've said over the years that this song should rank among the greatest rock n roll songs of all time. In my humble opinion, this song defines CLASSIC.

  • Poll time: What's better?  Free's ARN or Head East's NBAR?? Love em both and perhaps two of the greatest rock songs from the 70s........................

  • I was at the Winterland Show in 1976...they opened for J. Geil's Band. Funny thing was 5 years earlier they played my high school in central Indiana- Knightstown. There's a photo in our yearbook.

  • @perdidokey1 That's awesome!! I envy you indeed - unfortunately I wasn't even born yet! Any stories from the show or anything inparticular that stuck out about the Head East set? Would love to hear anything you have to share. Also, I encourage you to go to the Wolfgangs Vault website and drop them a note asking them to post the video footage of this show - I'm sure they'd love hearing from someone who was there! :)

  • @perdidokey1 that's wild...I was at that show...Do you remember the giant closed circuit TV that Bill Graham had installed there? I also fondly remember him coming out and reading letters that he received from fans...and every third one simply read 'When is Led Zeppelin coming?'...Great days...

  • @kurtmanerz1 ...Sure I remember the closed circuit TV and the famous backlit stage. It was an amazing old building..balcony and theater folding seats on the side. The crowd was terrific...not hassles..everyone sharing.

  • @perdidokey1 kick ass man!

  • Saw them live at Wichita State University back in 83, they kicked ass!

  • Steve Huston was my instructor for Pro Tools at The Art Institute in the early 2000's. Really cool guy. I couldn't believe someone who I've listened to my whole life was teaching me how to record music.

  • @TheSlickZero Which Art Institute??

  • @Newzchspy Art Institute of Houston

  • The Coolest Album Cover of All-time @ 2 : 57 Check It out

  • a good use of the synth is when it is pared up with gitars like the '70's, not the 80's, Head E. ROCK ON!!!

  • One of the best songs ever!!! Rock on!!!!!!!!

  • Heard it this am on mark & brian had to hear it again .

  • @losteroni In 1991 while my dad played drums for Head East they were invited to perform "Never Been Any Reason" live on the air for either Mark or Brian's birthday party - NBAR was one of their all time favorite tunes, as well as "Thats the night that the lights went out in Georgia" which Vicki Lawrence was there to perform. I've often wondered if they recorded that show.. Would love to get a copy!

  • @headeastrocks

    I first saw Head East in 1975, they played my High School Senior Dance, it was 50 cents admission.

  • @losteroni LOL! That's how I ended up here. Heard them somewhere Thurs or Fri & been humming the song all wknd. I remember these guys from years ago.

  • Damn great performance!

  • ACDC meets ELP. Love it.

  • FREAKIN AWESOME!!!!!!!

  • "Save my life for I'm going down for the last time"! Just listening to this I couldn't help how prophetic that was as John would become the lead singer for Petra for more than 20 years!!!

  • SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Awesome vid mix - hats off to you my friend you are making me feel like I am 20 again :)

  • wow!

  • My first concert I went to was Head East in 1977. in Aberdeen SD. They were mind blowing!!!

  • STEVE HUSTON IS MY AUDIO TEACHER AT THE ART INSTITUTE OF HOUSTON!!!

    cool ass dude

  • These guys opened for the King Dome concert in Seattle before Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles. Would have been maybe the best triple header rock concert of all time if the sound quality in the dome hadn't been so bad. Funny part is, if you Google the show, the Seattle newspaper credits John David Souther as the opening act whereas it was actually Head East.

  • John Schitt became a Christian, he became the lead vocal for petra a Christian group. He was awesome singer with petra too.

  • John Schitt became a Christian, he became the lead vocal for petra a Christian group.

  • One of my 2 favorite songs to sail to... The other being Wagner's Ride of the Valkyrie

  • I used to listen to this in my car on 8 track, over and over back in the high school days.

  • John Schlitt - one of the most underrated rock vocalists of all time. I don't know much about the "Christian Metal" he's doing lately though. Footage of Head East seems really difficult to come by. Perhaps a product of the meteoric rise and fall they experienced. As far as synthetic sound goes this song tops with Children of the Sun (Much respect to Billy Thorpe) for all time coolest opening album tracks ever.

  • I always thought a chick was one of the vocalists! oops I'm sorry!

  • 3 people headed west :(

  • @miz666 That was great. I couldn't stop laughing at your comment LOL!

  • Can you give me a hell yeah!

  • Wow, so great...that just knocked me out, flat as a pancake

  • I remember when this song came out. I was completely hooked. I like the long version better than the short one. Here, 40 years later, I will never get tired of hearing Never Been Any Reason. It should be in the top 10 of greatest songs of all time.

  • That was montage-o-licious (pronounced montodgealitious, oh whatever). New word for you Webster's dictionary and I want a nickel for everyone that says it.

    OK enough of that. It was GREAT!!! Is that better? Awesome job!!!! Thanks for posting it.

  • Head East's and REO Speedwagon ("You Get What You Play For") have always stood out as 2 bands who seemd to sound BETTER live than many bands.

    I've LOVE this song since the late 70's.

  • i love headeast man head east had funny album covers.

  • Saw them live 3 times in 78 & 79...in 79 they open for UFO at they blew them off stage

  • Great video! good work.

    This song Rocks !

    Headeast is awesome.!

  • Yeah! been listening to these guys since the 70s.

  • I saw these guys at the Ambassador Theatre, in St. Louis (1976). It was the only concert that I ever saw in that old theatre. Everyone stood up and jumped up and down, during the entire show. A bit much, but hey, I was 18 and I liked it!

    Mike Sanders

  • Vocals are dead nuts on , have all their albums , no one in Canada knew them - thanks US radio

  • EXCELLENT DUDE!!! Really...bomb ass song, and you did ti great justice with the montage of footage!!! Kudos!!!

  • This song kicks major ass! Brings back great memories of a simpler time.

  • I saw them at The Jeffersonian (biker bar) in Jefferson City, MO in 1988. Awesome concert. When they played this song, towards the end of the keyboard solo, Roger started breaking chunks out of the ceiling with his keyboard. The place went crazy!

  • I used to work with Steve back in LA during the 90s. Totally cool cat.

  • finding stuff like this is WHY I LOVE YOUTUBE!!!!~

  • @eddied29 Me too. Amen. Real nice job headeastrocks.

  • so much awesomeness in this song......vocals, keys, a capella, harmonies, base line, drum lines, energy out the ass, crescendoes many, words, meaning, and for some reason this song is still here after 40 fking years !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Awesome job ! Thanks for posting.

  • Do you remember? No? Then turn it up and jam out!!!

  • top musicians of all time. phil collins, dream theater, head east, mike patton, buckethead, dave grohl, king crimson.

  • They are from Champaign=Urbana, Illinois

    Heard them every Thurs. nite @ Red Lion during college days

  • Tune was Here!!!~

  • Iowa Uber Alles!!!

  • I seen Head East in the 75 or 76 in Mt Pleasant MI open up for Foghat , People were bowing Foghat when they come out on stage SCREAMING for Head East Great Video !!! You did great job !! Danny

  • the best version of this song BY FAR. I had this album back in the late 70's

  • I don't like classic rock much, but I have loved this song for over thirty years. On mixed tapes, it sticks out in a glorious way.

  • headeast, rock,n.roll

  • Once, again......great work! Man, these Pics & Footage...& MUSIC! put me right back in the DAY......Excellent work & appreciate time & effort that went into them. (vids)........

  • back in the 70s i was so into head east i made a plan to sneak out of the house so i could get to the concert when they came to town. i totally dug john schlitt. then i saw him perform at red rocks with petra some 15 or more years later ? and he still was commanding the stage and he looked fine too! lol

  • What is YOUR REASON ??

  • In the early '80's I was working in radio. We hired a new sales person. His name was Dan Birney. I remember him coming into the station and asking him, "so what did you do before radio?" Dan said "well I was in a band." I said cool which one. He went to the music library and grabbed the Flat as a Pancake Album turned it over and pointed to his picture. It was really awesome! I only knew Dan a short time. Nice man for sure. Never Been Any Reason...Epic.

  • In the early '80's I was working in radio. We hired a new sales person. His name was Dan Birney. I remember him coming into the station and asking him, "so what did you do before radio?" Dan said "well I was in a band." I said cool which one. He went to the music library and grabbed the Flat as a Pancake Album turned it over and pointed to his picture. It was really awesome! I only knew Dan a short time. Nice man for sure.

  • saw them alot when they started out in bars in Illinois, we loved them alot and were not surprised when they "made" it. Great! have the Flat As A Pancake album. I remember when we got it, my late husband loved it!

  • saw them alot when they started out in bars in Illinois, we loved them alot and were not surprised when they "made" it.  Great!

  • One hit wonders...... but man oh man....What a hit!

  • Glad I got the chance to see them live! great show!

  • It's amazing, once you here the song LIVE, it makes the Studio Version sound watered down, they need to release some live footage, that's a must! I am only 39, I never got to see Head East with Schlitt singing, my older brother just told me of how good the show was that he saw at the Township Auditorium in Columbia, SC back in the Mid-Late 1970's.

  • I sent a request for the LIVE footage! Is it ever gonna be released?

  • you did do a great job with this..i saw them in moses washington..they were unforgettable

  • Fantastic montage! I have been playing music for over 30 years, and each band I have been in has played this tune, even a band WITHOUT KEYS!! LOVE IT!!

  • You guys are still awesome!!!!!!!!!!!

  • This brings a good feelin ain't had in such a long time! Love it! Thanks so much for making my night headeastrocks ♥♥

  • Cool to see the pictures of John with the Jam Music Magazine T shirt, (Jam was an Okla Music Magazine) I remember they played Okla a number times back in the 70's and was always a great time when they played. Both Vernon Gowdy and I have some of our pictures posted at the Head East web site... or did the last time I looked.. and I also provided quite a few to John's web site...

  • @RichGalbraith 'JAM' WAS ALSO A FLORIDA MUSIC MAG. =-)

  • @RichGalbraith 'JAM' WAS ALSO A FLORIDA MUSIC MAG. =-) THEY ALSO PLAYED COCOA BEACH ALOT....=-)

  • this song makes me want to make babies.

  • Outstanding! Great Job

  • OUTSTANDING!!!

  • Awesome, great job!! I'm a huge Head East fan too, and really appreciate you putting this together.

  • God bless John Schlitt. He's a walking miracle. Thank God he didn't end up like Henrix or Cobain. Like Saul of Tarsus, he had an experience on the road to Damascus.

  • John Schlitt rocking the house.

  • First off great video! Nice work.

    I Saw them at a (I think it was actually a moose lodge) in Pekin Illinois in the mid-late 70's - I was a 12-13 and they had a great stage presence and absolutely rocked.

    It was exhilarating experience.

  • You did a fantastic job on this! The sound quality was awesome having the band mates names and a variety of pics and then a live recording interfaced with the still pics made for a great watch. It really shows when people take pride in their work. You my friend are a professional. Quick question ~ Was this band from Colorado Springs,CO?

  • Thanks for the compliments. Yeah I have a passion for Head East stuff especially - and when I realized the lack of video available of them I took the little material I could find and wanted to make a vid that was entertaining for Head East fans to watch. Most of the members of Head East were from Illinois, in their early days they played very often in St. Louis, MO aswell as lived there as a band in the mid 70s so they have always claimed St. Louie as home.

  • @headeastrocks You've got quite a bit of editing ability, too, cuz to have the pics flow together, like the do is AWESOME!!! I also liked seeing early footage of Mike Sommerville, before he got so messed up, cuz now days, I don't even think he can play. Yep, they hit the road and the road hit back!!!

  • @headeastrocks

    Awsome job of piecing this together. Like you said there is virtually no good footage of Head East in concert. Just an awesome song and one of my best memories from the era. Thanks for posting this !!

  • @headeastrocks the storage house they had on chambers road was the site of several parties. I once met Gary ritchrath, Kevin C. (REO) Punky Meadows, Greg G. (Angel) and the guys from Starcastle. Great times back inthe 70's. Then in NC I went to a HE show in 87' wearing my k-she hat and Roger Boyd immediatly recognized it..

  • @kshe95realrockradio Thats awesome! Yes, I've often heard from the band and fans alike how instumental KSHE95 was in helping put Head East on the map! :)

  • @Quazisong

    I couldn't agree more. He did a bang -up job on this one- the song, of course, speaks, shouts for itself, but the graphics give it more life. And a context- I mean, the guys and the crowds they played, well, looked just like they do in the photos. By the way, the band was huge in the Midwest as were a whole bunch of great hard rocking but melodic bands from the 70s.

  • @Quazisong No, Illinois...Champaign/Urbana area.

  • @Quazisong NO, they were NOT from CO. They were from Champaign/Urbana, Illinois,( home of the Fighting Illini) and played at the U of I campus many times. REO was also from the same area and same era!!!

  • saw them live in an Iowa street partay, was fun, got a signed cd, lol!

  • Excellent video thanks for posting!!!!

  • There coming to Alton IL this Thursday gates 6pm concert 7pm it`s free no coolers downtown new amp

  • Saw them do this at a little bar in Sigel Illinois. Great little bar and a GREAT song

  • @duggin9 I have the same album. Got it when they were still in Champaign, Ill

  • Saw them do this in a little bar in Sigel Illinois. Great Bar and a GREAT band. The good old days.

  • This band should've received so much more recognition. This song is EPIC!

  • I love, love this song. I am a child of the 70s. Good times.

  • I grew up in the late 70's outside of Peoria Illinois, and used to sneak into dive bars to see Head East- they were our local heros made good. As a kid it was EPIC. These guys sounded great live and are from an era where bands played instruments, and there was no pro tools or lexicon tremolos to makeup for a crappy performance.

    Back then you either sucked or rocked and these guys rocked.

  • would that fat drummer stop messin the song and let john sing!!!!

  • people dont understand on how much these guys were a phenonmenon.. This was the music back in the day!

  • played at my senior prom 1978 sheriton lockport ny.

  • this guy was god when he was with HE,why would he wanna sing with some fake band like Petra,Too bad what xtianity does to cool people in america.

  • @Leonunitas

    The funny thing is that John got fired for being too wild with his cocaine addiction, yet it was the band that got him into coke because they thought he was too much of a nice guy that it would hurt his stage presence. They basically ruined their frontman who later turned his life around, got straight, and then had a ministry with Petra.

    If you think Petra is fake that just shows how bitter and ignorant you are. Petra was ground-breaking throughout its 33 year ministry.

  • John Schlitt was Head East

  • @wheelzwheela

    John Schlitt is also Petra!

  • Still have my signed cd by these guys after a show in Ia. was fun, nice guys!!

  • Totally AWESOME!!! Always loved Head East!

  • What a great Band!!! I met these guys in 1979 at WHSY radio station in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Great guys!! Brings back alot of memories.!!

  • they played a free concert at a festival in Abingdon Virginia, about 20 miles from where I live. I feel stupid for not going lol. my parents did...wish I would have

  • @midnight347 Who did he play with at that time

  • John please do it one more time !

  • John would never do this again not after 20 years with Petra. When he was in HE he was a broken soul a bad father and a no good husband by his own admission. With Petra he was drug free his marriage and family life were better and he was happy. With HE all he wanted was to kill himself. I met him 3 times with Petra and had conversations with him. I can assure you that he will never go back to HE. His latest song is called Only Men and in it he proclaims that God is God and we are only men.

  • scrappsify dude your like 50 years old and you have nothing better to do with your time then spam my youtube email account. Stop doing drugs grow up and find God he can help you out man.

    GG15

  • I find it hard to believe that John would turn his back on his Petra fan his wife and his Lord just to return to a band that by his own admission fired him and refuses to speak to him to this day. I think that it would take a miracle for that to happen. I also think John would rather sing his own songs then songs from 40 years ago. If you wanna live in the past at least pick a good era like the 80's.

    GG15

  • @GULLYGUS15 I need to hear more on this and when it happened ??

  • @slinkygirlusa More on what? John Schlitt was fired from Head East because of drug addiction. He left music for a short time before becoming the frontman for the christian rock band Petra. He was Petra's lead singer for over 20 years up until they retired the band.