The young, talented musicians in Raven were individually unique and collectively dynamic, adding accents and playing off each other's riffs.
That's why Raven's biggest fans were musicians. In the book "The Longest Cocktail Party", George Harrison said, "The Raven is one of the best American bands I've ever heard."
It was in New York City, while playing at Ungano's, that Janis Joplin crossed paths with Raven. She, too, was taken with their music and attempted to secretly tape record them. She tried to hire keyboardist Jim Calire to join her in Big Brother and the Holding Company, but Calire declined.
The band also turned down offers by Jimi Hendrix and George Harrison to produce them. British bands like Jethro Tull and Led Zeppelin were opening for the popular Raven before they had signed a recording contract. Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin's guitarist said, "Raven's John Weitz is one of the best guitar players in the world."
When they toured England, appearing at Royal Albert Hall with Eric Clapton and Cream, Raven opened for many acts such as Joe Cocker, Blood Sweat and Tears, and Buddy Guy. With the help once again of Jimi Hendrix, they finally signed with Columbia, producing only one album.
"It's a shame more people don't know about Raven." said Mario Calire, Jim's son and drummer for The Wallflowers, "That album was nasty, melodic and had everything: R&B,blues,rock and funk. To me, Raven defined group synergy." (Buffalo News 12.8.00)
Raven, was short-lived, disbanding not long after their England tour, leaving little canned material for the archives. They say some of the best music goes unrecorded, heard by the few who are part of the experience, bonding both players and audience in the moment. That may be why Raven existed.
Separately, the members of Raven continued in music. Guitarist Tony Gallo's soulful voice appears in numerous films and TV commercials. Drummer Extraordanaire, Gary Mallaber, has a discography that reads like Rocks Top 100 List, and is just as long. Tom Calandra stayed in Buffalo to influence others at the roots level. There were plans to record a new CD, but when Tom Calandra passed away in 1998, the remaining members felt they had lost the heart of the band and it would never be the same. Jim Calire recently commented, "Tom was the best string man I've ever known."
For five beautiful souls, it was always about the music. The musical legends of our time loved, and were inspired by them. They are woven into our daily lives. Van Morrison's "Moondance", Steve Miller's "Anything" (that's Gary), "America" (Gary and Jim), "Man on the Moon" (that's Tony). The good news is, there's still more to come.
I recently spoke with Brian Buel, who is currently launching his first CD, "State of Change", co-produced by Jim Calire. I asked Brian if he knew anything about Raven, since he worked so closely with Jim Calire on state of change. "I'd heard of Raven," Brian said, "But not from Jimmy - he doesn't talk much about his past."
Maybe that's because Calire, who has never stopped playing and performing, prefers to focus presently on the upcoming tour with Brian Buel beginning in Austin during the South By Southwest music festival (Lucy's Retired Surfer's Bar, March 13 - 15). Can we expect to hear any remnant of what was Raven?
After hearing state of change, with Brian's poetic lyrics and flowing melodies, enhanced by Calire's rich tapestry of arrangements, it's evident that Jim Calire is way beyond that, he's into the future.
"It's a great experience each time I play with Jimmy," said Buel. "We've assembled some amazing players and every gig is a blast. You know that it's good when fellow musicians come up after the show and tell you they dig it."