Deeper Digs: Casey Van Beek and the Tulsa Groove - Heaven Forever
Christian has the immense pleasure of getting to know two of Tulsa’s finest musicians, Casey Van Beek and Walt Richmond, who are two parts of the Casey Van Beek and the Tulsa Groove band and they have a new album called, Heaven Forever. It’s out now. So for some good old down home rock n roll, go get the record wherever you get your tunes!
Casey was born in Holland but raised in Los Angeles from the age of five, and fit right in to the burgeoning local ‘60s rock scene. By his teens he was playing bass and singing in The Vibrants, who opened for The Dave Clark Five and The Rolling Stones’ first L.A. area show, and also toured with Peter and Gordon. He moved on to backing the wonderful Linda Ronstadt, along with two guys named Don Henley and Glenn Frey. When the duo left to start the Eagles, Casey headed to Tulsa with Don Preston to record with the Shelter People, part of Leon Russell’s Shelter Records label.
Tulsa surprised him—the blues, country, and rockabilly had fermented there into a mellow blend called the Tulsa Sound, and he quickly discovered that the bands in town were playing as much Freddy King and B.B. King as Merle Haggard.
Then he realized he was home, a place where the music vibes were right, and where you could get out of town into open country in five minutes. It took a while to find his way into the scene, but fairly soon he was in a band with Walt Richmond and Jim Byfield. And is once more.
Eventually, Casey joined Tulsa’s multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated band The Tractors, which included Casey, Walt Richmond who also joins us today, and the future Tulsa Groove member Ron Getman. Do you remember the hit Baby Likes to Rock It. Got them to the White House and we will talk about that for sure!
Three members of the Groove (Richmond, Byfield, and Steve Hickerson), would back Bonnie Raitt during her tenure in Tulsa, playing shows in the area to (successfully!) protest the construction of the Black Fox Nuclear Power Plant. Walt would go on to play on Tulsan JJ Cale’s Grammy-winning Gold album collaboration with Eric Clapton, The Road to Escondido, so impressing Eric that he’s played on all of his albums since then.
When they weren’t on the road collaborating with people like Clapton, Cale, Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, or Bill Medley, they played around town.
Casey and Walt Richmond began to get tight, first recording Christmas songs, then writing original Christmas songs, then gathering at Walt’s home studio to record more of their own originals and favorite covers, selecting the best players around to add their touches on a few songs at a time.This wasn’t to satisfy anyone’s record contract or dreams of stardom, but out of camaraderie and an enjoyment of each other’s musical company; music for music’s sake. There’s a purity to that.
So they have a new record out this week called ‘Heaven Forever’, produced by Walt Richmond, that showcases what they are capable of when they focus their in-demand skills on their own music.
They are carrying on the legendary Tulsa sound of forerunners like Leon Russell, JJ Cale and Elvin Bishop, the band is adding their own new flavors while keeping that historic tradition alive for current and future generations.Heaven Forever by Casey Van Beek and the Tulsa Groove is set for release on April 24, 2020, via the Little Village Foundation. It will be available on all the major digital platforms.
http://littlevillagefoundation.com/casey-van-beek-and-the-tulsa-groove/