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Cosmic Debris 1996 06
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I S S U E # 1 3 : J U N E 1 9 9 6
F I R S T A N N I V E R S A R Y I S S U E
=============================================================================
- The Specialists -
DJ Johnson.................Editor
Jim Andrews................HTML
coLeSLaw...................Cover & Title Artist
Lauren Giglio..............Administrative Assistant
Louise Johnson.............Administrative Assistant
- The Cosmik Writers -
Jim Andrews..................Music & Software Reviews
Cai Campbell.................Columnist & Record Reviews
coLeSLAw.....................Record Reviews
Robert Cummings..............Classical Reviews
Shaun Dale...................Politics & Record Reviews
Phil Dirt....................Columnist & Surfmeister Deluxe
David Fenigsohn..............Music & Film
Alex Gedeon..................Music & Film
Keith Gillard................Music & Record Reviews
Steven Leith.................Politics & Columnist
Steve Marshall...............Music & Record Reviews
The Platterpuss..............Record Reviews
Paul Remington...............Music & Record Reviews
=============================================================================
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
EDITOR'S NOTES: Notes on our first anniversary, and a "welcome in" to three
new staff members.
ONE YEAR OF COSMIK INTERVIEWS: One year and 27 interviews after we started
this thing, we thought it would be fun to take a look back. Here, then,
are clips from all 27!
LIFE AFTER Z: Keneally Flies Solo: After years of service to the Zappa's,
Mike Keneally takes his remarkable talent to new heights with his new
band, Beer For Dolphins. Article by Paul Remington.
MAKING WAVES WITH SUSAN & THE SURF TONES: Susan Yasinski balances her respect
for traditional surf and her love of good old garage music. An
outstanding guitarist, Susan talks about the music she loves and the
people she admires.
SURFER'S PARADISE: After the untimely death of Crossfires drummer Don Murray,
several surf bands (from The Surfaris to The Mermen and all ground in
between) got together to do a benefit concert called "Surfer's Paradise."
Phil dirt gives us a performance-by-performance description.
POLITICAL PLAYBOOK - Who's On First?: Isn't it just like American politians
to pull a bunch of fast ones at the last minute!? In the fourth
installment of the Political Playbook series, Shaun Dale pauses to let
the latest batch of weirdness sink in.
RECORD REVIEWS: TONS of 'em! Our most diverse offering yet. Blues, ska,
jazz, punk, pop, surf, garage, bluegrass, reggae, electronic, some other
stuff, and the debut of classical!
BETWEEN ZERO AND ONE (Steven Leith) - Colonialism Lives On: The Suit-Coats
are coming! The Suit-Coats are coming! Corporate colonialism finds it's
way into Mr. Leith's crosshairs.
IN THE DRIVE (Jim Andrews) - Fractal Dabbler 2.0 & WinJammer Pro 5.0: Jimbo
reviews two software packages; one for the painters and one for the music
makers.
PHIL'S GARAGE (Phil Dirt) - Is LOUD Better Than Soft?: Phil takes a look at
the ongoing argument between two camps of producers/engineers. Should
you crank it, or should you keep it quiet?
THE AUDIO FILE (Cai Campbell) - Turntable Tune-Up: So you've decided to dig
that turntable out of the closet and listen to your music on vinyl, the
way the good Lord intented, but the damn thing is all screwed up! What
would an audiophile do? Make adjustments! But that takes tools . . .
Well, relax! It's not as expensive as you think!
STUFF I NOTICED (DJ Johnson) - So How Come So Many Of You Don't Know What
DMX Is?: You love blues, you love jazz, reggae turns your crank and
you're pretty sure salsa is your new big thing. What would your perfect
radio station be? One where you could choose your genre at any given
moment!
THE DEBRIS FIELD: Quotes, a Book/CD review, and poetry (including Unibomber
Haiku and Rastafarian poetry!)
ADDRESSES TO SEND THE SUBPEONA'S TO: Where can you send your e-mail to?
Here's a list of likely addresses (and URL's).
=============================================================================
E D I T O R ' S N O T E S
By DJ Johnson
We're pretty excited this month, because this is our first anniversary issue.
One year doesn't sound like a very long time, but considering the fact that
most zines last three issues, it's a long LONG time. We've gone from a staff
of 7 to a staff of 18 in that time. The number of readers has grown so fast
we can hardly believe it. As we've added coverage of more genres of music
we've lost a few readers, but it seems we've gained 10 for every 1 lost.
Thank you all for sticking with us through the year. It's highly appreciated.
To commemorate this occasion, we're running a little retrospective called
"One Year Of Cosmik Conversations." We did a total of 27 interviews in our
first year, and all 27 are represented in small clips in this free-flowing
look back. That's going to be IT as far as anniversary chatter, though. One
thing we refuse to do is turn the entire issue into a big back-slap-o-rama.
This month, we welcome two new writers and an administrative person to the
Cosmik staff. Paul Remington debuts with an excellent piece on Mike Keneally,
a former Zappa and Z sideman who is currently tearing it up with his own band,
Beer For Dolphins. Paul also writes reviews of many genres, including our
latest addition to the list, classical. Robert Cummings also writes classical
reviews, drawing on what I've come to realize is a vast wealth of knowledge
on the subject. Lauren Giglio also joins the staff as an administrator who
will help out in several areas, including advertising. Welcome, y'all.
That's about it. We're rarin' to go, so let's start year number two.
Deej
=============================================================================
A Y E A R O F C O S M I K C O N V E R S A T I O N S
It's hard for me to believe it's been a year since the first issue of Cosmik
Debris (then "Cosmic Debris") went out over the Internet to about 100 people.
We had an ascii version, which we still have, and a graphic/sound executable
file version, which we no longer have. We went the World Wide Web route for
issue #5, and we've been there ever since. The staff of Cosmik Debris has
been very pleased with the fact that we are being read in at least 35 nations
every month. Our total readership is impossible to gauge, due to the large
number of online services that carry Cosmik but do not report download stats,
but we do know that the numbers are exciting, and we thank you all for coming
back every month.
We didn't want to do what so many publications do and make the entire issue
a "Happy Birthday To Us" thing, but we also didn't want to let the occasion
go by without some commemoration. What we came up with is this: "A Year Of
Cosmik Conversations." It's just a little stroll down memory lane via short
snips from each of the 27 interviews we did in our first year. There's no
real flow here, so put the logical part of your brain on coffee break and
just go with the no-flow for a while. We hope you enjoy it.
* * * *
GREG SHAW
The founder of Bomp Records, Greg Shaw, was a most interesting interviewee.
From a historical importance aspect, it's hard to find many more interesting.
Here, he talks about the fate of the music press. (Interview by DJ Johnson.)
COSMIK: Looking back, when do you think the music press really ran out of
important things to say?
SHAW: Sometime in the early 70s. The whole context of some kind of "rock
culture" died along with all the other "pretentions" of the 60s and I
think it was that sense of shared community that brought out the best in
the writers of the period. At the same time, the most gifted writers
tended to move on...the rock press was pretty unrewarding, financially
and otherwise. I'm sure Nik Cohn was much happier writing "Saturday Night
Fever" than "Rock From the Beginning," though it was rock's loss. In the
absence of an entrenched aesthetic system, new writers who came along
ended up just being flacks or fanzine jerkoffs. And in some way, I think
writing for fanzines deprived writers of the benefit of a wide audience
and good editing, factors I'm sure made a difference for me.
WARREN CUCCURULLO
We founded Cosmik on some of Frank Zappa's principles, and even named the
zine after one of his coolest songs. This was our first interview with a
former member of his band. Warren also founded Missing Persons, and for
the last decade has been a member of Duran Duran. (Interview by DJ Johnson.)
Cosmik: How did you come to Zappa's attention and ultimately end up in his
band?
WC: Davey Moire introduced me to Frank in '76. We then became friends and
myself and Al Malkin and some of the other N.Y. crew would hang out with
FZ when he was in town. He knew we'd always be at the shows around the
east coast and Smothers would set me up with passes. Terry (Bozzio) and I
became friends at that time also and me with Thomas Nordegg as well...my
whole future being plotted out then and there. Occasionally I'd play tapes
of my solos for FZ and he loved my playing. I think I got the gig because
of my enthusiasm for his music and his guitar style.
Cosmik: There are so many stories floating around out there. Set the record
straight. What was it really like being a member Zappa's band? Was he
really a slave-driver?
WC: I could never feel slave driven by him. The more the better, I think.
The band I was in loved challenges. I was the newest member. My energy
definitely helped us a lot through the "Joe's" sessions.
Cosmik: You've already honored Frank Zappa with great instrumentals. In
your own words, though, what's the most important thing that people should
know about Frank?
WC: He was the smartest, hardest working and funniest motherfucker ever -
Period.
THE MEL-TONES
Mel Waldorf is a relatively unknown surf guitarist with great chops. Since
this interview, he has broken up the band and moved from Rhode Island to
Montreal, where he has assembled a new version of The Mel-Tones. Here, the
band talks about Mel's car. (Interview by DJ Johnson.)
CD: Powerwagon [The Mel-Tones' first tape release] is named after your old
car, isn't that right, Mel?
Mel: That's right. The Powerwagon was a mid 80's Olds Custom Cruiser
wagon. Fake wook, wire wheel covers, V-8, the works. I used to drag
race it on the streets when I was in high school.
CD: That fits the old 60's "Surf n Drag" ethic nicely. How about
waxing poetic about that car for a moment?
Chris: How about waxing the car poetically?
Mel: Well, you had time to compose poetry, waxing her took so damn long.
I used to really push that car hard. I remember once, I was coming
back from doing some work on Cape Cod. I was driving along 495, I had
two other guys and the back full of drilling gear. I saw a Ferrari in
the fast lane. It's November, and this guy has his top down, and he's
wearing a leather flying cap. So, I couldn't help making a stand for
America, and got in the lane behind him, and flashed to pass. The
Ferrari took off, and I took off after him. Well, I finally caught
him, about ten miles later. I have no idea how fast we were going, my
speedo ended at 85, and we were way off the end. I got the chance to
pass him, and the look on his face was priceless.
(getting starry eyed here)
Jeff: As a passenger, you learned quickly how to brace yourself for a ride.
Mel: True. Sadly, all the years finally caught up on her, and the
Powerwagon threw all her gaskets. A rebuild just wasn't in the cards,
especially after getting pulled by the police. 70 in a 55.
Fortunately I had slowed down for the turn.
CD: Is it all part of the mystique, for you? The hot rod, the Fender
guitars? You know, the total experience?
Mel: Well, I don't know about a "total experience" but surf and drag are
definitely intertwined for me. I had a Ventures tape in the wagon, it
was just about the only thing I'd listen to when I went driving. And
it left a big impression on me. Surf, speed, adrenaline...the Fender
guitars, well, they're as essential as a V-8.
THE BASEMENT BRATS
The Basement Brats are one of the hottest bands we've run into so far. They
are from Halden, Norway. Ole "Magnum" Olsen, the lead singer, talked to us
about censorship. (Interview by DJ Johnson.)
CD: Egil's song, "Fed Up," may be the only song ever to talk about
Christmas AND have a line like "Hey, girl, I don't need your
fucking cunt!" Do you ever feel the effects of censorship
there?
Magnum: Not yet, anyway. We haven't played in any English speaking
countries yet, though. If we ever get big, they'll probably put
the idiotic "parental warning" label on our albums...
Despite that one line, you'll notice that there's not really a
lot of swearing in our lyrics. Personally, I think I've only
used swear words in my lyrics once or twice, when I felt there
was really no way around it if I wanted to be able to say what
I wanted to say. That's not because I'm afraid of being
censored or anything, though... rather because I haven't found
it necessary. We're not the Sex Pistols, you know...
I'm really glad we don't live in the States... If the bloody
CDA (Ed. Note: Communications Decency Act) gets passed in the
House, I guess the lyrics for "Fed Up" would be censored off our
Web site... It's insane! Have you seen the list of the senators
who voted in favor of that bloody thing? Did you notice that not
ONE of them had an e-mail address? They don't know what the
bloody fuck they're voting for! They're quite utterly clueless!
And then bloody TIME jumps on the wagon with that "cyberporn"
article, which by the way is based on a flawed report. Sometimes
I long back to the days, a couple of years ago, when it was
possible to get into an FTP site almost any time you wanted, the
AOL babies had to keep their "me too" posts on AOL and power
hungry politicians who couldn't use a bloody word processor, and
probably still can't, had never heard about it. Remind me to get
one of those "The Internet is full - go away!" T-shirts...
CD: But the Internet brings you new fans. People find your WWW
site, get curious, and seek out your music. Wouldn't your
wearing that shirt be a lot like Kurt Cobain saying "Fuck you
for buying our records! We don't wanna be famous" while he was
living in a mansion? Not on that scale, of course, but still
biting the hand that feeds?
Magnum: No, I don't mean it that way; it's just a personal thing, really,
from a spoiled old-timer. Well, four years or so, anyway.
Basically, I think it would be quite practical if EVERYBODY was
connected to the Internet, 'cause then I could e-mail people
instead of calling them. I hate phones... Anyway, the thing that
irritates me the most is all the BBS's and other commercial
online services, like the infamous America Online who have
suddenly connected to the Internet without giving their users
much information on what it's about and how it differs from a
BBS - for instance that a simple news posting is taking up a lot
of bandwidth while it's being sent to thousands of news servers
around the world and taking up disk space on all of those servers
afterwards, so you have to consider if what you have to say is
worth that. I don't want to throw anyone out of the Internet, and
I'm not the flaming type either, but I'd like educated users. A
lot of people jump on the Internet bandwagon simply because it's
presently trendy to do so. But of course, it's never so bad
that's it's not good for anything. They might find the Basement
Brats site...
PHILLIP CRAFT
Phillip Craft has a public access talk show in Seattle called "Political
Playhouse." He is an outspoken opponent of censorship. He came to national
attention a few years ago when he and several friends took over the station
for a four and a half hour broadcast in which most of them were stark naked.
(Interview by Jim Andrews.)
PC: Well see, I was employed in that kind of liberal work policy as well,
because I was a school bus driver...I was laid off, I only worked 180 days
a year. I was laid off...I'd collect unemployment and I had a return to
work date all set up so I didn't have to look for work. I also made the
most out of my work experience. I was involved in the union, I was the
negotiator, I negotiated the contract for Laidlaw. When we chose to take
economic action, I was the strike captain...led the strike...the first
school bus driver strike in Seattle. And I think that was a valuable
lesson. The process of negotiations and dealing with a multi-million dollar
corporation, ya know. It totally changed my mindset. And after the fact,
Laidlaw had lied to us, manipulated us, hired private detectives to follow
me, tried to rake up as much dirt as possible, they tried to light fires
under my ass because of the controversial politics of the show, and I'm a
school bus driver. So they're telling the media "Ya know, the guy leading
the strike...He's that NAKED guy on public access."
CD: Do you ever find that to be...throughout your daily life, do you find
that there are a lot of people who associate you with that? I mean, people
who actually know you personally wouldn't, but everyone else who has heard
your name would probably associate you with being the naked guy. Does that
affect you in any way outside of television?
PC: I think it's funny.
CD: You don't think people sometimes miss the point? Guys calling up and
saying "Hey, why don't ya have her take her PANTIES off, too..."
PC: Well, of course. That's part of the point as well. We're trying to
reach people who aren't necessarily already converted. So they're not
initially gonna get the point.
CD: So, preaching to the choir isn't gonna do any good...
PC: Right, because the choir already knows and they're hip and they get
the point. But I'm trying to get to people who already don't agree, and at
first when they see the stuff, they're not gonna get it, because they don't
have the context. And that's then when it's up to us to establish the
context. And they tune in, they watch the show on a regular basis, and
they might not watch the show BECAUSE of the political content, they might
watch it because it breaks rules, and because it's not like anything else
on TV, so they might develop an affinity for a character on the show...And
eventually, they WILL get the point, and when they do, the battle is won.
Because then, they can't be brainwashed by all the bullshit that comes
across the airwaves. They've all of a sudden gained a little context on
what information is and what truth, liberty, and nudity really are. All
of a sudden they understand that censorship is just about the controlling
of information. And most people DON'T get that, and that's why censorship
is the tool and the power that it is. Because most people aren't hip
to how it's being used.
MOMUS
Momus is an internationally known recording artist with a long discography of
controversial and unusual material. Here, he talks about his own inner
struggles with controversy. (Interview by Keith Gillard.)
Momus: Playing on Friday night in Galway gave me little glimpse of how
STRANGE my work is. Being that private in public, and expecting to get
paid for it!
KG: What material did you do?
Momus: I had just about 40 minutes. I did all the heavy stuff about death,
necrophilia, pedophilia, more death, breasts . . .It even shocked me
. . .to hear it all together like that.
KG: That kind of stuff'll get you kicked off America OnLine!!!
Momus: Well that's probably why I'm not on AOL.
KG: Is that mostly earlier material?
Momus: Yes, in the 90s I mellowed out, tried to "put the leaves back on the
tree," to rediscover emotion and even attain innocence again. I pulled
back from satire and reportage. I left London, about which I'd felt very
ambivalent. Now I live somewhere I approve of (Paris) and write about
different things.
KG: You seem to be doing a good job of attempting to re-attain innocence.
Voyager seems to be the landmark album in terms of subject matter and
approach.
Momus: How long can the foreign correspondent sit on the sidelines of the
battle before he notices that he's getting spattered with blood? Or even
that he is a part of the war, that it's being waged for his benefit?
KG: The voyeur . . .
Momus: I felt implicated in the sleaze I was documenting. So I withdrew and
discovered two things: Japan and the Internet. Or rather Japan discovered
me. And I identified a shy and austere part of myself with Japanese
culture. I wrote a lot of songs for Japanese girls, and in a sense became
one.
MATCHBOOK SHANNON
Omaha, Nebraska, is home to Matchbook Shannon, a band that calls its music
"Cuddle Punk." The songs are story-oriented and powerful. In this segment,
they talked about that kind of songwriting. (Interview by DJ Johnson.)
CD: I think there may be a trend now toward more meaningful songs...Stories
in songs as opposed to the more hormonal stuff. Do you think the public
is getting bored with the "getting drunk and getting laid" genre?
Jon: I'd like to think so.
Doug: I hope so.
Jon: I always think that people kind of like made this split between the
visceral and the intellectual, like you can't be smart and party.
I don't think those two have to be separated, necessarily. It seems
to me rock and roll has always picked up on the sex and the drinking.
Rock and roll can be about intelligence, too.
CD: Jon, when I talked to you the other day, you mentioned Gertrude Stein,
who is an author I know nothing about. You mentioned that she influenced
"I (Tonic)." What's the connection?
Jon: She was a writer in Paris around 1913, and she was one of those writers
who was ahead of her time; and people still don't understand her, kind
of like James Joyce, and she's just one of my favorite writers. I think
a lot of the things that I read and a lot of literary ideas go into
lyric and songwriting ideas, actually. For most people who would pick
it up, it just looks almost like gibberish, cuz she wanted to destroy
plot. She wanted to destroy subject. And those are kind of the ideas
that are going through that song and that also influenced me to try to
have it not settle into a single key. The whole idea of questioning
the scientific approach to things...that there can be one answer to
anything, that maybe everything is really a complex issue of several
possible answers. In a sense, that guitar solo kind of sounds like
gibberish when you listen to it. If you listen to it, you can hear
what's going on. There are two different ideas that are going on, and
each one of them makes sense alone. You put them together and it just
doesn't. And to me, when I listen to that, that's what I like is that
I listen to it and I'm confused. I like finding musical ideas that I
don't understand right away. I guess that's what I like about the
literature, too. I read it and I think "What was this person possibly
thinking?" And then you got to try to figure that out.
THE REPROBATES
Just a bunch o' punks from DC. The Reprobates mix power with humor in their
music, and that's a mix we could get behind. So it was that they became our
very first interview. Here, they talk about getting small. (Interview by
Alan Wright.)
CD: I was going to ask you about one of the songs on the EP called "Drugs."
I take it you guys are pro-legalization, at least of pot?
[outburst of laughter]
Mike: We've only been doing it for a couple of years, so I wouldn't quite
call us pros yet, but we're working on it.
[more laughter]
Jason: It's like a political thing. It's something we wrote in high school
a couple of years ago, but I guess it gets the point across.
Mike: We're anything but a political band, that song is not even saying
"Drugs are cool, everyone should do drugs." It's just that everyone should
have that option. It's not a peer pressure song or anything like that.
Jason: It's the decriminalizing aspect of it.
Billy: It kind of comes down to First Amendment rights.
Mike: I definitely think there's a group of people that sit around and do
drugs and do nothing with their lives, but I also believe that there's a
big population of people who use drugs and are very creative. Take the
Village Voice, this writer broke a big article on pot and how he liked to
go home and smoke a big joint after work. Andy Warhol, he totally believed
people could be creative on drugs.
Frank: Not that we're experts or anything.
Mike: I'm so high strung anyway, that pot brings me down to a level where
I can deal with people. Otherwise, I'm one big pot of coffee. It helps me
formulate my thoughts.
Frank: What I think is, um... oh, nevermind, I forgot what I was going to say!
THE GREAT SURF SUMMIT (ONE)
We came up with the crazy idea of having an e-mail interview with several of
the best surf musicians in the world--all at once. The Great Surf Summit
turned out to be one of our coolest interviews. So great it needed a second
part! During the course of the first part, Pollo Del Mar's outstanding
guitarist, Ferenc Dobronyi, offered this comment. It seemed to define the
power of instro surf better than any ten books on the subject could.
(Interview by DJ Johnson.)
FERENC DOBRONYI: I think that one of the greatest parts of the resurgence of
surf music is audience acceptance. It is a real leap of faith for
non-musician music fans to watch all instrumental music. Having a lead
singer gives a typical rock band a focus for most of the audience. Sure,
a lead guitarist will take a solo for one verse, but then all attention
turns back to the singer, and the words that he sings carry a direct
meaning, whereas in all instrumental band, the music is the focus. And
pure music exists on a non-verbal, emotional plane where it will have a
different meaning for everyone who hears it. Surf music touches our
primal instincts. The heavy reverb carries a sonic envelope similar to
that of white-noise. White-noise is also the sound of waves hitting the
beach. The fans who were first attracted to the music of the Bel-aires
were surfers. Whether they knew it or not, they literally heard the sound
of the ocean crashing somewhere behind the pounding rhythm and minor
chords of "Mr. Moto." When an audience listens to and sees a surf band,
they are sure to get caught up in the trappings of rock'n'roll: the
guitars, bass and drums, the light show, the guys on stage. But somewhere
beneath the reptile mind level of their consciousness, they are attracted
to the primordial call of the ocean, the birthplace of all life on our
planet, burned into the most recessive corners of our DNA. I see the
resurgence in the popularity of surf music as a shift in the social and
environmental consciousness of our times.
TEISCO DEL REY
Speaking of great instro musicians! Teisco Del Rey is one of the best. He's
also a music journalist with a quick wit. Here's a little taste of that
interview. (Interview by DJ Johnson.)
Cosmik: What's the most important consideration in covering a song?
Teisco: It has to be something I can put my own stamp on. I hear something
and it goes through my filtration system and comes out in my style. A
perfect example would be "Seville"--from Verdi to Bugs Bunny to me,
obviously leaning a lot on the Dick Dale influence, but switching to
Duane Eddy for the bridge.
Cosmik: Was Dick Dale a big influence early on?
Teisco: Not early on, no. To tell you the truth, if I got the Dick Dale
influence, it was probably second hand. At least a lot of it. People
don't realize today that if you didn't live in Southern California, you
just sort of knew this guy's name as a legend. He didn't have hit records.
I mean, he's less than a one-hit-wonder. He had, I think, one or two . . .
"Let's Go Trippin'" and "Miserlou" . . . ever get on the charts as singles,
and that was back in the days when singles were all you had. I heard
"Let's Go Trippin'" probably first by The Beach Boys. And probably
"Miserlou," too, for that matter. Their first album had both of those
tunes on it, I think. Their first or second album. And The Beach Boys
were heavyweight enough that you would actually go out and buy the album.
On the other hand, one of the biggest influences in my life, probably,
was hearing the song "Pipeline." If The Chantays never did anything
else, that would have been enough. You can't improve upon that little
piece of instrumental imagery. It's amazing to me. It was written and
recorded by a couple of sixteen year old guys. The guitar players were
named Brian Carmen and Bob Spickard. I got to meet those guys once.
And the funny thing was they came up to me at one of those N.A.M.M.
[National Association of Musical Merchandisers] shows, and I was there
with Guitar Player [magazine], and they came up, familiar with my writing
about weird guitars, and they were sort of fans of mine before I'd
recorded or anything. And I said "I've always had one question. Which
of you guys played which part?" Brian Carmen said "well, I played the
[Teisco sings the rhythm part]" and Bob Spickard said "yeah, I played
the melody." And I looked at these guys and said "you two guys, combined,
are my biggest guitar influence." They were just blown away. But I
mean, they are! That is such a classic. It's probably been recorded
hundreds of times by now. See, I think it's safe to say that them doing
that reverby double picked sort of mandolin style picking on the guitar,
ANY of those surf bands got that from Dick Dale.
[a bit later in same interview]
But I mean, you know, I think most people would have to agree that Stevie
Ray Vaughan was one of the most powerful guitar players. Go see "Back To
The Beach." It's worth the whole lousy movie to see those guys jam on
"Pipeline" and see Dick Dale just BURY him! And you know, I'm not trying
to put down Stevie. I loved the guy. But it's like when people come up
to me and say "hey man, you sound just like Dick Dale," I usually look
around and make sure Dick Dale is nowhere in the county. Then I can go
"thank you very much."
THE VANDALS
The Old Man Radio Hour Interviews were conducted by a disc jockey named Art
Fridrich. He was nice enough to share the transcripts with Cosmik Debris,
but it was far too short lived. Art moved from Eerie, Pennsylvania to
Washington DC and left the radio biz. In his early 40s, he called himself
The Old Man because the music he covered was punk and most of his listeners
were less than half his age. In this interview, he talked to Warren
Fitzgerald (guitar) and Joe Escalante (bass) from one of punk's most enduring
bands, The Vandals.
T.O.M.: One thing I sort of noticed in that record [Sweatin' To The Oldies],
but I'm a little bit deaf from too many concerts, is that it sounded like
maybe the attitude of the crowd changed a little bit during that show?
Warren: I Don't know. Should we tell him our secret?
Joe: Yeah.
Warren: OK, here's what we did, cause I produced that record. At the show,
they had two audience mics, left and right. There's about a thousand
people at the show, but they weren't picking anyone up. You could only
hear the people right in front of the microphones and then you'd hear
one person going "Fuck you, fuck you," and that was it. So when I was in
the studio mixing, I looked through a cd sound effects collection, found
some good boos, and put them on there. They added a nice ambiance to the
whole show. People usually put applause or courteous applause for their
live albums, but we decided to spice it up with a little bit of bad
attitude.
Joe: It was from a professional wrestling match.
Warren: Yeah, professional wrestling sound effects. We looped it and brought
it in and out throughout the album.
T.O.M.: (laughing) That's awesome. I'm sitting there listening and it's New
Year's Eve in Orange County and I've never spent any time there, but I
always think of it as Richard Nixon territory.
Warren: Oh yes, it is. It definitely added a scary element to it. The thing
that you can't really capture if you've only got two people coming
through on the microphones.
PETE SHELLEY
The Buzzcocks were one of the most important bands in punk's golden era, the
mid 70s. Pete Shelley was one of the principle songwriters of that band.
Pete's not a big fan of the chart system, and he told us why. (Interview by
DJ Johnson.)
Cosmik: I've read quotes by you where you've flatly stated that sales
didn't interest you as much as making music you liked. Did that
change at all when that song charted? Was there more of an inner
drive to get back on the charts, at least initially?
Shelley: It's all a big game really with all the fun of a lottery draw.
Cosmik: So does that mean you were actually turned off by the whole chart
mentality?
Shelley: In the UK the charts are a list of the best selling records that
week. (A) sells 10,000 copies in a week and has a higher chart
position than (B) that sells 7,500. If after the first week (A) sells
5,000 copies and (B) sells again 7,500 then (B) will have a higher
position than (A). Both have sold 15,000 after two weeks but the first
has had a higher chart position. So the first trick is to sell your
records as fast as you can. The public are given the idea that in the
first week that (A) is better than (B). In what way better? Not a
better record. Not a better song. The only thing the chart has told
us is which record sold the most in one week. The only people who need
to know this kind of information are salesmen. Both records sold to
the same number of 'fans.' Yet when you compare the two records what
do you see? Record (A) got higher in the charts than (B). So the
popular myth is that (A) is better than (B).
Cosmik: Very manipulative. So the whole thing's just a joke.
Shelley: The American system is even funnier. The charts are based less on
sales than on airplay. So the charts are based on airplay. Who decides
that? Do you get a vote?
ARE YOU DECENT?
Steven Leith conducted this interview of Cai Campbell (Great Gig BBS), Matt
Lampe (Deputy Director of Administrative Services for the City of Seattle),
and Douglas Brick (System Administrator for "Speakeasy Cafe/Network") just
as the US Senate had voted in favor of the Communications Decency Act. As
part of our Anti-Censorship issue (July 95), this was a very timely interview.
Steve: What changes will you make in your network to comply with
the law as you understand it?
Cai: Absolutely none. The law is preposterous and in direct
violation of my (and my subscribers') First Amendment rights. I
take steps to insure that minors do not have access to the more
questionable material, but the very nature of my service suggests
that there may be material available that some may find
offensive. What really bugs me about this law is that "indecent"
is not defined. Indeed, it cannot be defined. It's about as
subjective a word as you're ever going to find. I find this law
indecent. As such, any service carrying the text of this tripe
should be held accountable.
Matt: I don't foresee much change except perhaps some notice or
warning when entering the forum that the material is unedited and
could be viewed as offensive.
Doug: I don't plan on making any changes to my network, since
it's simply a pipeline to the Internet as a whole. I don't feel
that I'm responsible in any way for its content.
Steve: Do you think that enforcement of decency on the Net will
be possible?
Cai: Absolutely not. It will simply force the "hard core"
underground. I'm sure they will make a few token arrests and I
think the overall tone of online communication will be altered.
It is very, very sad that our government feels the need to
instill feelings of paranoia in its citizenry. That's the mark
of a dictatorship, not a democracy!
THE SWINGING UTTERS
The Old Man struck again with The Swinging Utters. This time, the subject
was censorship. (Interview by Art Fridrich.)
OLD MAN: It's part of the information growth. I could be wrong, but the
proliferation of zines and everything else is spurred in part by the music
explosion. I see this growth of zines and on the one hand it's really good
and I always tell kids, yeah, whatever it is, say whatever it is you want to
say. If people like it, they'll read it, if they don't they won't. I'm
certainly no judge, but let your emotions hang out, do a fanzine, do whatever
it is you want to do.
MAX: Sure. Speak your mind. It's your magazine, say whatever it is you want
to say, but think about what it is you want to say and think about how it
effects other people.
OLD MAN: It's the one freedom we have, but it's also the one thing that we
can abuse really easily.
MAX: I would never, ever take away the freedom of speech. Across the board,
whatever it is you want to say. You've got that right. But I would hope that
people would take the time to think about how it affects other people and how
it hurts other peoples' feelings. Some magazines are there for the booze and
the drugs, and that's cool. Some magazines that are there are political.
Others that are straight edge. I think that it's important that there's a
wide variety, but I also think that it's cool that people don't knock each
other. Take the time to listen to what other people have to say.
THE MERMEN
One of the hardest bands to define, The Mermen play instrumentals that are
part surf and part psychedelia. They have gained quite a bit a popularity
lately--their most recent EP, "Song Of The Cows," reaching number 7 on the
college charts this month. In this segment, bassist Allen Wright talked
about the jump to a major label. (Interview by DJ Johnson.)
Cosmik: Now that you're with a major label, how has life changed?
Allen: Any time that another person or entity is added into the chain of
communication between artist and listener mis-communications increase.
These people don't speak for us. They speak for their own interests
using our name. Hopefully, given the way the system is set up, they
have integrity and chutzpah. We always call 'em up and send 'em little
presents and reminders saying: "Do good work for us...we know where you
live!"
Cosmik: A lot of people complain about lost creative freedom and pressure
for new releases when they go to a major. Have you run into that?
Allen: To Mesa's credit, they have realized that, while they like the music,
and believe in it, they don't understand it. So, too, they realize that
they can't try to control it. So they release little bits of money to
us and expect us to deliver the goods in a music world dominated by six
figure budgets. But at least they leave us alone. We actually present
THEM with ideas for marketing and promoting us in the real world. I hope
we are a pain in their ass!
DAVE CRIDER
Mono Men guitarist Dave Crider also happens to own Estrus Records. Fans of
garage and/or surf music know that Estrus is among the coolest labels out
there. When we started our semi-regular feature, "Labelled," Estrus was the
logical choice to kick it off. (Interview by Cai Campbell.)
CD: I've been listening to the new Mono Men release, "Beer, Bowlin', Booze,
Broads" quite a bit lately. I love it! The music is great and the whole
premise is just too insane, I mean, being recorded in a bowling alley at
a bachelor party. It's just so... so...Mono Men! Did you set out to
purposefully record the event for an album?
Crider: Not at all. In fact, we were originally just going to play Tom's
bachelor party and go home, but we decided to use that show as spring
board for a mid-west/southern tour. I was also able to put Bottle Shock
together the weekend before Tom's party which was a blast. It was
Brendan's idea to record the show as he has a mobile studio and is a fan
so we figured what the hell. We really didn't intend to release
anything, just document it, but Brendan did such a great job with the
recording that we figured what the hell.
CD: Estrus has done very well as a quality independent label. Has there been
any interest by larger distributors or record companies to handle your
catalog? For that matter, have the Mono Men received any kind of offer
from a major record label?
Crider: All of my distribution is handled by Mordam Records in San Francisco
and I have no desire to go elsewhere. They have their shit together, are
honest and most importantly really care about the labels and bands that
they work with. Mono Men have been approached by major labels, but I
ain't interested. Fuck 'em all.
CD: It seems as if there are more Mono Men records available on other
independent record labels than your own Estrus label! Is this to help
show your support for those labels?
Crider: We try to work with labels and people that we like. The thought is
that the label will be able to sell enough Mono Men singles to fund a few
other projects and we get a stack of singles in return. That's cool.
LEE JOSEPH
Dionysus/Hell Yeah! honcho Lee Joseph, in another edition of "Labelled,"
talked about his reasons for starting the Hell Yeah! imprint. (Interview by
DJ Johnson.)
Cosmik: Why did you start Hell Yeah Records?
LJ: When the "garage" bands dried up and there was a lot of cool non-60s
music happening in the 80s, we released some records that...fans of
Dionysus didn't dig. At the same time, I'm sure that a lot of others
would have liked the records but..they couldn't get past the name
Dionysus cause they expected a 60s sound. Stuff like Kings Of Oblivion,
Trash Can School, Dana Lynn, Lance Kaufman, Axel Grinders, later Yard
Trauma... So, we decided to get a new identity for the release of these
kinds of records.
Cosmik: Hot Damn is an unusual band, to say the least... Is it a challenge
to promote a band that plays, I don't know, porn-punk?
LJ: Aime has no real problems promoting the group. To say the least, they
rock like crazy! They get either great or totally shitty reviews. The
people who pan 'em just don't get it...The band LOVES the bad reviews
though.
GLENN DICKER
Glenn Dicker, of Upstart Records, is one of the most successful indie label
guys you're likely to run into. Almost everything he and his partners have
touched has been successful by indie standards. Some have been successful
by ANY standards. (Interview by DJ Johnson.)
CD: You've had some amazing talent on your label, and the thing that is
so amazing is you actually started out with a Laika & The Cosmonauts
album, "Instruments Of Terror," so you really hit the ground running.
Were you surprised by how quickly things fell into place, or am I way
off in assuming they did?
Glenn: You assume correctly. Putting out the Laika record was exactly
what really got things rolling immediately. As soon as we got that
going, everything really fell into place quickly with Teisco, the
Tailgators, the Halibuts and it just kept moving after that. It was
an unstoppable thing once we got going. We'll always look on Laika
in a very special way, since they were the spark that really got us
going. Not to mention they've become close friends.
CD: How did you manage to line up Laika as a first release?
Glenn: That's a cool story. What happened was that one of my partners at
the time was working for Rounder Records doing Export, and the Finnish
version of "Instruments" on Amigo records ended up on his desk by some
twist of fate. They were looking for some mail order support in the
States and we grabbed the CD and checked it out. We all thought it was
amazing, still do, and it was then that the three of us decided to work
together and put out this record in the U.S. It couldn't of been a
better thing to start a label with. I've always loved surf music and
this was beyond anything I considered pure surf, something new.
TOM CASSAR
Vital Music Records is a company to watch. They put out some of the coolest
indie punk in America. One of Tom Cassar's pet projects is his "Dumbrock"
series, where he gets several of his bands together on one project. The best
of these, so far, was "Tommy (In 7 Minutes Flat)." 14 bands played shortened
versions of songs from The Who's rock opera. It's a classic recording.
(Interview by DJ Johnson.)
CD: "Tommy" must have been a blast to make. Can you tell us the story of
the recording sessions for that and for "You Know My Name?"
Cassar: The Tommy sessions were produced by my partner Jim Fourniadis along
with Andy Maltz (Sea Monkeys). The whole record consisted of many
short songs done separatedly in the studio which were mixed down to
one 16 track tape for final mixing. The last track had about a dozen
musicians playing in an all star band which we called The See Me,
Feel Me Orchestra. The You Know My Name side was done similarly
though with only 4 parts. It happened remarkably quickly with only
one track not working which was redone. The real time was spent in
preproduction figuring out how to keep it under 7 minutes as well as
scheduling 16 bands to record!
CD: I understand the See Me, Feel Me Orchestra had a great guitarist by
the name of Cassar. I think you played acoustic bass on the Rats Of
Unusual Size cut, too, if I'm not mistaken. Was there a point along
the way when you all realized you were making something great and
different?
Cassar: I think when the idea was conceived we knew that it had the potential
of being something special. There was also a great chance that it
would be disastrous, and we actually had one song redone by another
band because it didn't work. The artwork was a mess at one point but
myself and Dave the Spazz from the Sea Monkeys rescued it and did it
over from scratch.
THE GREAT SURF SUMMIT (TWO)
For part two of this monster interview, the original 10 players were joined
by 3 more. Here's some interplay between Dave Arnson (Insect Surfers), John
Blair (Jon and the Nightriders), Allen Whitman (The Mermen), Joe Emery
(Death Valley) and Phil Dirt (KFJC disc jockey). (Interview by DJ Johnson.)
DAVID ARNSON: Being in an instro band is a roadblock, period! My favorite
quote is in Teisco del Rey's cd booklet: Drunk Fan: "Can you play
something with words so we can dance to it?" I think every instro band
has experienced this syndrome. I remember once sitting with a well
connected booking agent listening to our tape and he was trying to make
up lyric melodies for us! (of course this meeting didn't work out!)
Also, a lot of people still equate "surf music" exclusively with a
"beach blanket bingo" image. That kind of image and style is still fun
up to a point, but it's just "tip of the iceberg" of the music's
potential. I think this perception is gradually changing, though.
I'm heartened by a lot of punk and/or "alternative" type bands doing
instros like Bill Nelson's latest record, Polvo, Dub Narcotic, Pell
Mell, Don Caballero, Savage Republic/Scenic, Monochrome Set, Sonic
Youth's Lee Renaldo and Thurston Moore's solo albums, etc. etc. and
so on, up to and including a lot of new surf/instro bands playing now.
ALLEN WHITMAN: One of my favorite topics. For years industry types gave
us a constant litany of: "I like it, but I don't know what to DO with
it!" If I heard that once, I heard it a hundred times. And, oh, I so
much wanted to tell them exactly what they could do with it!
PHIL DIRT: Eliminators' Rhythm guitarist Preston Wilson related a priceless
tale during the second set at Woodies on the Wharf that really clarifies
the depth of the discrepancy between reality and perception. ."..we had
this guy here earlier, ...uh...he's sitting over here (pointed) in the
front saying...uh...'you guys gonna sing a song today?' I kept saying
'we're an instrumental surf band.' He says '...well, who's your lead
singer?' so I held up my guitar and told him 'Leo Fender was (made) the
lead singer.'...& I was over here (points to their Merchandise table)
standing and he says 'um...what time does this Leo guy show up to
play?'" Roadblocks...perception & common language are the first order
problem. I'm reminded of the failures of the early computer translation
programs. The English phrase "the flesh is weak but the spirit is
willing" came out "the meat is rotten, but the Vodka is strong" in
Russian. 1. Bands that call themselves surf just cuz they don't sing
(Hekawis) make it hard for the rest. 2. The public's sudden awareness
via "Pulp Fiction" has brought them to call it "Pulp Fiction Music."
You can fight all you want, but a photocopy will forever more be a Xerox
copy. So, consider a name change that will identify with the masses,
like pulp surf, or something. It's not like there's a real strong
relationship between the music and surfers (except in So Cal - sorry
Dave), so even "Pulp Rock" would do. I'm emotionally opposed to such
heresy, but it's a way around the identity crisis. 3. Many musicians
seem to be apologetic about playing surf when they talk about it, and
the uninitiated are put off, like it's a lesser form. Eric Clapton
couldn't double pick with full arm thrust for 4 minutes to save his
life. Stand tall! The audience is there, brothers & sisters. I have
a huge audience these days. Clubs in the know will book anything that
calls itself surf...it's your move. I wrote my thesis on "The Emperor's
New Clothes."..sorry!
JOE EMERY: Well DJ, it's pretty simple: We are all teetering on the
brink of insanity (as all great minds are), while all the grungies up
in Seattle are teetering on the brink of drug overdose (and let's not
forget that "drug overdose" is an A&R term for multiplatinum record
sales). Plus junkies make good poster boy sickly heartthrob types and
are easier to push around... they don't make trouble for the big boys.
Us instro guys, we're loners, rebels...
JOHN BLAIR: So Joe, are you saying that all of us should start taking
drugs and strive for overdose heaven, thereby making us candidates for
multiplatinum record sales? Or is this some sly comment about Kurt
Cobain's use of a Fender Jazzmaster? I don't think I'm teetering on
the brink of insanity, although it feels like it sometimes (especially
after spending an hour and a half in the studio "punching in" four bars
of some ridiculously simple lead track). I will agree with you,
however, that surf music and great minds do go together. I'll take
my tongue out of my cheek now if you will.
JOE EMERY: Overdose heaven? Can you really overdose on Reese's peanut
butter cups? No, all I'm saying is "big industry" morons wouldn't know
decent music if it bit them on the ass. I'm the last guy to say, "Let's
keep cool music to ourselves," and no one is ever happier than I am when
a really cool band makes it big (and it does happen), but judging by the
garbage that has been thrust upon us by major labels of late, I'm not
going to hold my breath. I hope this doesn't sound too negative - maybe
I've just heard too many Stone Temple Pilots songs on our "Alternative"
station the last couple of days. : )
THE WIVES
Sue Horwitz, guitarist, singer and songwriter of New York City's The Wives,
is a kick-ass guitarist with a big sound. Here, she talked about the "women
who rock" acceptance syndrome. (Interview by DJ Johnson.)
Cosmik: Do you think there's still a macho attitude in the punk scene that
might cause the crowd to see you as a novelty? The "Oh, look! Chicks!"
crap?
Sue: We've been pretty lucky with this. As we've gotten better known, the
macho shit has pretty much disappeared. At the same time, though, I know
that if we're playing somewhere new, outside of New York City, there's
bound to be assholes in the crowd who will assume that we're gonna suck.
Cosmik: How do you handle that when you know you kick ass with the best of
the male bands?
Sue: I relish it, because I know that they're gonna be blown away as soon
as they hear us. It's the greatest fuck-you ever!
Cosmik: Do you ever get that attitude from the bands?
Sue: Not so much from punk bands. They're usually either really cool and
friendly, or just indifferent, which is fine too. Other kinds of bands
though... I gotta tell you this story. About a year and a half ago, we
played on a bill in Boston with three other bands from New York. The
promoter thought it would be cool to have a "New York Night" -- like
anybody in Boston gives a fuck -- so he booked us all together, even
though the other bands were boy glam rockers, feather boas and all! We
all decided to rent a bus to get up there, and the whole way up, the boys
and their girlfriends listened to bubblegum pop and primped. They spent
more time on their hair and makeup than any woman I know. I'm sure they
thought we were freaks, since we were, like, reading books for five hours
on the way up and just generally spending time by ourselves. So we got
up there, and a couple of them immediately tried to con the soundman into
making us play first, which was not the deal that we had with the club.
Luckily, Mary walked into the conversation at just the right time and got
it all straight. They weren't too pleased. So they continued to ignore
us, and we set up for soundcheck. As soon as we started playing, it was
like a naked woman had walked by -- all of their heads swiveled, in
unison, toward the stage. I swear, I saw it with my own eyes! Needless
to say, we didn't have to do much equipment lifting at the end of the
night!
Cosmik: From arrogant snots to drooling fans and instant roadies in one
easy lesson. There's a certain sense of justice in that. The bands
that do maintain the attitude, though, do you think it might be that
they resent you for sounding more powerful than they do and being a
better band than they are?
Sue: Some of them undoubtedly do, which I can understand. More often,
though, most band guys seem to get pretty sheepish after they've given us
attitude and then realized that we've kicked far more talented asses than
theirs! Not to sound too 70's, man, but maybe we've enlightened a few
neanderthals along the way.
MAN OR ASTRO-MAN?
The hardest working aliens on Earth stood still long enough to do this
interview for us, and we were quite grateful. We talked about that crazy
work ethic of theirs. (Interview by DJ Johnson.)
Cosmik: Well, now that Man or Astro-Man? is what it is, and your schedule
is so jammed with touring and recording, do you ever want to hand over
the promoting job and take a deep breath and, I dunno, maybe a day off?
Birdstuff: We've tried to take breaks, but usually we get bored shitless
after a week. This is what we do - we're nerds for hire. We've had lots
of management companies contact us, but doing peripheral tasks is nearly
as fun as the performances. If we ever let go of that we'll be a bunch
of sell-out dorks, doing it for the wrong reasons.
Cosmik: I'm curious to know what your favorite MOAM? records are. So many
to choose from, I know...
Birdstuff: I really like the "Mission Into Chaos" E.P. and the live album.
Star Crunch is really only distinctly satisfied with the "Project
Infinity" L.P. Coco usually says "What's the blue one...?"
Cosmik: One of the coolest things about your concerts is the uncertainty,
like "will the samples fire," or "will the TV screens stay on," and what
makes it cool is the way you handle the goofs on stage. Are there ever
times when technical screw ups start to get on your nerves?
Birdstuff: This is usually the determining factor of a great or mediocre
show - the amount of tension that can be digested due to technical
difficulties.
Cosmik: It never seems to matter, anyway, because your shows are so
amazing. Every single person I've ever spoken with who's seen you
guys play live rave about the show and the power of the music. All
four of you are in constant high-speed motion. How do you get up for
that night after night?
Birdstuff: Our ultimate goal has been an all out complete energy expanded
free for all where if someone passes out, whoever's left just keeps
playing. I really still can't fucking believe people want to see us
play, it makes me want to smash my head through the kick drum every
night. We get really excited before every show and it works great
because it is definitely a show-off factor. We're not really a single
unit - we're all basically trying to out-do one another.
PAT PAULSEN
Comedian Pat Paulsen is running for President again. In fact, he actually
took second among Democrats in New Hampshire behind only Bill Clinton. The
Paulsen interview was done in two segments--one political and humorous, one
semi-serious where we talked about his life and times. This is from the
political segment. (Interview by DJ Johnson.)
Cosmik: You once chose yourself as your running mate. Who are you
considering for this go around?
Paulsen: I'm planning on asking Colin Powell to change parties just like I
did. This will help me with the rich white vote.
Cosmik: What is your stand on the NRA, gun control and the gun lobby?
Paulsen: As a sportsman, I have always felt guns should only be used for
fishing.
Cosmik: Now that the "war on drugs" is being questioned so seriously, and
people like William F. Buckley are advocating legalization of drugs,
what side of the fence are you coming down on?
Paulsen: I am against legalizing drugs because I feel there would be too
many traffic mishaps, but then who the hell would care?
Cosmik: Did you ever inhale?
Paulsen: I started to inhale when I was a very young baby, and have been
inhaling ever since. Seriously though, one could not go through the
sixties without experimenting with pot.
THE BRAIN SURGEONS
Former Blue Oyster Cult drummer
Albert Bouchard and rock critic Deborah
Frost, along with three friends, are The Brain Surgeons. The band picks up
where BOC left off. Our interview with Al and Deborah covered everything
from their marriage to their record collection. (Interview by DJ Johnson.)
Cosmik: The first three [BOC] albums almost sound like a different band than
everything from "Agents Of Fortune" forward. Was there a shift in
philosophy or maybe different influences like Patti Smith in the studio?
Al: We were writing with Patti Smith from day one . . . Baby Ice Dog, Career
of Evil . . . so that was not a factor in our direction shift. But shift
we did and it was quite conscious. We had discussed it as early as before
the On Your Feet Or On Your Knees album. The first three albums were an
aural painting of hell, BOC's Inferno, if you will. We eventually got
tired of that and wanted the songs to be more personal, more real. Later
we drifted back to the dark stuff but the hell-theme seemed corny to us
after awhile.
Cosmik: When did it start to feel corny? Cultosaurus Erectus? Fires Of
Unknown Origin?
Al: No we got tired of it around the Agents era. When we went back to the
dark stuff, around Cultosaurus, we resolved we were not going back to the
bad old days.
[Later, about The Brain Surgeons...]
Cosmik: You're both listed as producers. Was that as difficult as it sounds?
How hard is it to compromise on those occasions when you're pretty sure
your way is right and the other one has the wrong idea?
Deborah: Actually, we fight a lot more about simple every day things--like
who's gonna take out the garbage--than aesthetic issues. After a couple
hearings, what makes it sonically--even if the idea originally seemed
pretty out there to either one of us--is pretty obvious. Who's gonna be
in charge of dinner, on the other hand, is really something to fight about!
HAGFISH
The Old Man Radio Hour Interviews provided another entertaining read when
George from Hagfish talked about life on the road. (Interview by Art
Fridrich.)
T.O.M.: I guess when people like me think of big bands touring, we think of
private coaches with all the luxuries of home. What do you guys tour
around in?
GEORGE: Right! Private coaches? I wish! Try an old van we bought that had
100,000 miles on it!!!! It was used to give tours of the Ewing "Dallas"
ranch (no, I'm not making this up)! It was pretty big as vans go -- but
caught fire outside Las Vegas in the desert!
T.O.M.: No one will ever accuse me of being totally original and the next
question certainly has all the markings of proving the point. What are
the high points and low points of life on the road?
GEORGE: Well, let's see...High points that come immediately to mind:
Playing at music festivals like in Seattle, Indianapolis, Portland and
Dallas in front of lots of moshing kids; seeing a kid in a city we'd
never been to walk into a store and buy our CD; hearing our music on
the radio; talking to cool kids in weird places who dig our music;
getting to play with great groups like the Rev, the Suckers, Bad Brains,
Tripping Daisy, Everclear, Babes, Bosstones, UFOFU, etc. Lows: Driving
all day and night to gigs that are cancelled! Lower: Flying all week
long (like this week): First in Portland, then Manchester, UK, then San
Francisco, then NYC, then LA. Its scary when you've never been on a
plane before! Lowest: Having your van catch fire in the desert!!!!
Then scrambling all week to try to figure out how to finish the tour!
BRENT OLIVER
Brent Oliver is barely 21, and already he's played in several of Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada's most popular bands. He's also got his own record label,
Green Pepper Records. We interviewed him for one of our "Labelled" features.
(Interview by DJ Johnson.)
Cosmik: Some people think "Canadian" is a genre. There IS a sound...
Can you define a Canadian sound?
Oliver: Sort of. I guess singing about your girlfriend or your truck could
be Canadian. Plus, there seems to be a certain beat that Canadian bands
fall into, but I'm not sure if there is one Canadian sound...at least on
the indy level. Bands like Kittens, from Winnepeg, are on the same label
as Hayden (Sonic Unyon) and they're polar opposites musically. I think
the more indie music that's accessible, the less of any sound, ANY
country is going to find. Bands will just be bands.
Cosmik: How about an Alberta or Edmonton sound?
Oliver: Not really. Someone told me a couple years ago that everyone in
Edmonton sounded like the Replacements or SNFU, but the walls are
breaking down a lot. There are the pop bands: Pal Joey, Molly's Reach,
Bumpercrop...the hardcore bands: pawn, Perceptual Distortion, NRDK...
the punk bands: choke, nympho, lymphlynch...but I don't think there's
one sound. Another thing is bands like the Imagineers, who don't sound
like anybody and they've been around for years. I think Edmonton is
one of the most diverse places for music on the planet.
Cosmik: I suspect that a lot of people who haven't been to Edmonton, or
even to Canada for that matter, might picture it as a small town...
the simple life and all that. But it's not small geographically.
This is a strange question, I guess, but what does Edmonton feel like
to the people who live there?
Oliver: I guess it's the "small town attitude, big city feeling" thing.
Everybody in bands around here know everybody else in other bands
around here, and everybody is pretty cool. There are lots of really
good friends I've made from this scene and the bands from Edmonton are
a pretty close knit group. kinda like the Bradys or the Partridges...
DEATH VALLEY
Austin, Texas, is the home of one of America's most diverse music scenes.
Death Valley is certainly one of the more unusual bands from that city,
or any other, for that matter. Influenced by equal parts Ventures and
Ennio Morricone (the man responsible for the soundtracks in many Spaghetti
Western flicks such as Fistfull Of Dollars), they play an interesting
brand of instrumental music with a rhythm of horse hooves and twangy melodies.
In these two segments, Joe Emery (guitar) and Pepper Wilson (bass) first
discuss Morricone, then their penchant for unusual stage clothing.
CD: "Que Pasta" is a great album, by the way. Your covers of "For A Few
Dollars More" and "Guns Don't Argue" are a nice tip of the hat to Ennio
Morricone.
Joe: Thanks. Morricone is where it's at. Get a couple of Cervezas in you
and listen to his music really loud and you'll start feeling the bullets
whizzing by your head. No really, there are so many awesome things about his
music. The arrangements, the quality of the recordings, the songs - he
writes some really intense stuff.
Pepper: The best way to listen to it is in a car driving through the desert,
on a moonlit autumn night, with the windows down and the volume up loud.
You really ought to try it.
CD: There are some interesting stories floating around about your shows.
Different ways of dressing for different occasions, things like that.
The show I want to know about is the "Death Valley Dolls" show.
(Note: The band sometimes does shows drag.)
Joe: Let's just say we're not uncomfortable with our masculinity.
CD: Yeah, but I hear the clothes themselves constituted something of a
fashion risk.
Joe: Jealous bitches! All lies and rumors spread by girls that don't
look as cute as us in fishnets!
CD: What other costume-themes have you done?
Joe: One night we all dressed up as Elvis. And at Sperry's suggestion
(Note: Sperry is Mear's girlfriend and "band mom"), instead of Elvis Presley
songs we played Elvis Costello songs. Another night we were dressed in
tutu's and played as Death Ballet.
Pepper: And you can't forget the bandidos. We have done that a couple of
times on Halloween. Its the only one that really fits. There is also the
politician get-up we did on election night '92.
* * * *
WELL! That just about wraps up this look back at the 27 interviews we did
in our first year. It's been a blast, and we look forward to many more
years and many more interviews. The Internet has proven to be an incredible
medium for us, making it possible to do things we never could have done as
a print publication. We close this retrospective with a comment from Greg
Shaw about the power of the Net.
Cosmik: Do you see the Internet as something that can nurture a whole new
underground scene?
GS: In a way. It's a new medium that I think has much in common with the
"DIY" aesthetic of fanzines. But the potential of hypertext has only
begun to be explored and I think that's the real core of it. I can't
predict where it'll go, but already online newsgroups, mailing lists
etc are way more fun and participatory than any printed medium I know of.
=============================================================================
LIFE AFTER Z - Keneally Flies Solo
By Paul Remington
Guitarist Mike Keneally grins from ear to ear as he views Z's latest CD
"Music for Pets" for the first time. "When bass player Bryan and I left the
band, Dweezil stalled the CD's release for a few weeks to change the
artwork." Both Mike and Bryan Beller's likeness on the CD artwork have been
replaced with the heads of Dweezil and Ahmet Zappa's dogs, Bing-Jang and
Arkansas. Due to Keneally and Beller's departure, both dogs have been
accepted as official full-time members of Z. Asked how he feels about this
alteration, Keneally smiles and admits, "I think it's funny."
Since the late 1980s, Keneally has worked closely with the Zappa organization.
He's best known for his work as Frank Zappa's "stunt" guitarist during Zappa's
final tour in 1988. He's appeared on over a half-dozen Zappa releases,
including the Grammy winning Zappa tribute CD and video "Zappa's Universe."
Since the 1988 tour, Keneally has appeared on nearly all of Dweezil's
releases, from his debut solo CD "Confessions," to Z's latest release, "Music
for Pets." He's spent the better part of the last eight years employed by
the Zappa organization, and recording with Dweezil and Ahmet. For a brief
spell he worked in the famous Zappa vault, which has since been willed to
Dweezil following the composer's death in December of 1993.
So, after a long and fruitful employment with the Zappa's, why the departure
from Z? Keneally explains, "I told Gail Zappa I'm booking gigs for Beer for
Dolphins. I'm not going to turn down jobs for my own band. I told her, `I
have to be honest with you and myself. My own music is the most important
thing to me right now. I know there's a new Z recording about to be released,
and I feel a responsibility to help promote it because I'm on it. If you're
willing to accommodate my schedule, I'd be happy to do stuff with Z.' I knew
the moment I said that, I sealed my fate. The last thing the Zappa's were
going to agree to would be booking a promotional tour around my schedule.
That's just not their style."
Dweezil declined comment on Keneally and Beller's departure, only saying,
". . . the band is excited and moving on." There have been no announcements
of who is planned to replace Keneally and Beller. This leaves Z with two dogs
to feed and train for any and all forthcoming performances. So far, no
performance dates have been announced.
For Keneally, this has been anything but a stumbling-block. Keneally has
never been one to sit idle, nor has he been comfortable limiting himself to
one musical path. In the last 10 years, Keneally has appeared on over 40
releases. He's been a sideman, session player, and solo artist. Through his
years with the Zappa organization, he's maintained a consistent development
of solo material. At 34 years of age, Keneally's solo career is finally
establishing itself in a way that could not have occurred had he remained
with Z. As Keneally observes, "Obviously, my primary objective is to be a
solo artist. If I had wanted to remain a sideman, I would still be with Z."
His trio, Beer for Dolphins, is a vehicle to promote and perform his solo
material. Although Keneally sports complex compositional elements in the
studio, he takes a different approach on stage. "Our approach to live
performance is to take my solo material and strip the arrangements way down,
and explode them in terms of structure. A song that might be a three minute
song on the album could be an eight minute song live, by virtue of
improvisation."
Keneally is joined by bass player and former Z crony, Bryan Beller. "Bryan
has become my right hand man, and inseparable partner since we both left the
Zappa's. He's magnificent at being able to strike a balance between playing
the songs right and adding his own flavor improvisationally to take a piece
in new directions." Drums are played either by San Diego native Toss Panos,
or former Z drummer Joe Travers. "Both Toss and Joe are excellent at
achieving what Bryan adds to the band, which makes for an interesting
chemistry."
For Keneally's most recent US tour, drummer Frank Briggs was inducted into
the fold. The results were so positive, he's now considered a regular member
of the band. Suzanne Forrest, owner of Immune Records points out, "Mike often
uses many musicians while recording in the studio. Although Frank Briggs is a
regular member of their live band, that's not to say future studio releases
won't find other drummers, such as Toss and Joe, appearing on tracks."
Born in Long Island, NY, Keneally received his first keyboard at age seven,
and first guitar at age eleven. "My first keyboard was a tiny organ
manufactured by Magnus. It had a bunch of buttons on the left side to play
chords. I started playing `Paint It Black' instantly. A couple of years later
we moved from Long Island to San Diego, CA. For my birthday I received my
first guitar. It was a teeny acoustic jobber. I holed-up in my room with a
cassette recorder and made tapes that sounded remarkably like John
Frusciante's solo album."
This early musical exposure to both instruments proved to be a valuable
influence towards his current approach to live performance. While playing
live, Keneally alternates from guitar to keyboard with remarkable ease. At
times, he plays both instruments simultaneously; hammering chords on the
guitar with his left hand while playing lines on the keyboard with his right.
This capability has enabled him to take on more complex compositions in a
live trio format, such as Frank Zappa's "Inca Roads."
Unlike his studio material, his live material is not communicated solely
through complex compositions. There is also heavy emphasis on improvisation
and musical exploration. "I'm starting to feel really confident as a guitar
player. As long as I'm on stage, I want to have a good time. For me, a good
time is exploring avenues of improvisation and seeing what we can come up
with. At the same time, the structure of the songs we play live is really
stringent. The players have to be incredibly good in order to negotiate their
way through the composed material. But, they need to do it in a way that
feels loose and playful, fun and off-the-cuff. That's what's wonderful about
the guys I'm playing with. They manage to strike the balance between
extremely composed material, and completely free music."
Having recently completed a tour of the East coast, Keneally is already
looking beyond his current live trio format. With his compositions stripped
way down to accommodate a smaller musical unit, Keneally is free to explore
these pieces in different ways than previously approached. He recognized,
prior to his recent tour, this is a transient format. "I've said all along I
want to do at least one tour as a trio because it's just too much fun being
the guy who can play a solo for as long as he wants without having to look
over my shoulder and see if the other guitar player's getting bored. Ideally,
when I finally tire of this format, or feel the audience is tiring of this
format, I would like to get a little closer to the arrangements on the albums
and get another guitar player and a keyboard player. To me, I think a five
piece band is manageable from a traveling and financial standpoint. We can
also do a lot orchestrationally with five pieces. But, right now I'm just
excited with the trio format. I don't want to change it for a while."
Keneally's audience would seem to agree. His recent tour was such a success.
and Suzanne Forrest says he's already planning a second tour. This increase in
audience interest brings with it valuable support from a variety of companies
interested in endorsing his rising solo career. Fender and Taylor have
already been an endorser of Keneally. His 1996 US tour has seen the added
endorsement of Dunlop, EMG, and Rivera.
Currently backed by Immune Records, with the support of Suzanne Forrest,
Keneally plans to release a variety of material during 1996. "Now that I
finally have carte blanche to do whatever I want within the parameters of
Immune's budget, I definitely intend to be productive." A double-CD live
album of Beer for Dolphins is due to be released later this year, and
Keneally plans to enter the studio and begin his next solo album following
his 1996 tour. Also on the docket are three albums Keneally's produced for
other bands that will be released this year. And if that's not enough, Immune
will be offering to his fans a collection of some four, two hour video tapes
featuring live material, studio material, pre and post gig activity, and even
a taste of backstage shenanigans. As Keneally explains, "I don't know if
we're going to trickle the material out or if we're just gonna let it all
come out at once. I do have an idea to release it as the Mike Keneally Video
Club, but we haven't decided this yet. When we put out this two CD live set,
I want to include an insert that will include detailed descriptions of all
the titles. I think people who like what I do already will be very happy to
have these releases."
With this kind of output, Keneally is gaining the kind of momentum previously
seen from such prolific icons as Todd Rundgren and Frank Zappa. He has yet to
reach the summit of his creativity. If he continues producing and releasing a
consistent flow of CD and video releases at this rate, he very well may
accrue a catalog larger than that of Zappa and Rundgren.
Keneally remains remarkably well balanced. Even amongst the increased
attention and mounting opportunities that further his career in music, he
still sees himself no different than his fans. He remains active in the Frank
Zappa Usenet newsgroup on the Internet. When his time is not robbed with
other projects, his late evening relaxation consists of communicating with
other's of similar interest. "I think people have this idea of me descending
from the mountains with all this knowledge about Frank, when actually I'm
just a fan like all the rest of them. I was listening to Zappa long before I
ever played for him."
This humble nature is not due to insecurity, nor does it distort his view of
himself or his talents. His ambition to expand his creative pallet remains
intact. "I would like to get more involved in production, and want to spend
more time getting my ideas out. I've got music bouncing around my head all
the time. If I just kept it up there I'd lose my mind. It's one of those
things I just gotta get out. Like sex, you just can't let that shit back up."
With many productive years ahead, Keneally will continue adding to the music
scene with his own unique musical voice. In the world of music, it's not
unusual to see a band spend months, even close to a year or more creating an
album for release. With Keneally, it's already created in his head and ears.
It's just a matter of getting it on a CD. "I don't understand these bands
that take so much time to create a CD. If it took me that long . . . I think
I'd go crazy!" With this attitude, his fans have everything to gain. They are
assured a periodic flow of material. Speaking with Mike, it's very clear he
has his fans in mind with every step of his career, and intends to take them
all along for the ride.
=============================================================================
M A K I N G A S P L A S H
An interview with Susan Yasinski of Susan and the Surf-Tones
Interviewed by DJ Johnson
There aren't enough women playing surf music. The few who do have certainly
made their marks. Susan Yasinski first came to the attention of musicians
when she was featured in Guitar Player Magazine's column spotlighting rising
stars in 1994. Her ear, her influences and her skill blend together to
create a unique sound, but there's something else there, too. "Where other
women in surf may mimic the stance of their male counterparts," says surf
deejay extraordinaire Phil Dirt, "Susan Yasinski uses her gender to interpret
the waves, and the result is both feminine and powerful." The subtle garage
sound in her rhythm playing is a perfect counterpoint to her lead style and
arrangements, which smack of attention to detail and instro-surf tradition.
"Susan's arrangements are complimentary and very listenable," says Mr. Dirt.
"She doesn't need to pummel you to get your attention." Historian, author
and kick-butt guitarist John Blair (Jon and the Nightriders) agrees. "Susan
is a unique talent," says Blair, "a woman out treading water with a bunch of
guitar-slinging guys. In today's world of pop music where women are more
the norm rather than the exception, it's great to have Susan as part of the
surf guitar family."
This interview takes place at a very exciting time in Susan's career. Her CD,
"Without A Word," has been released on the German label Gee-Dee Records, and
she has just returned from a particularly satisfying series of performances
in Hamburg. Everywhere she played, she gained the respect of her fans and
the surf and guitar communities. The natural angle to pursue in an interview
like this would be the "women in a man's world." As you'll see, she's not
too interested in that old game, showing that she probably has a good fix
on her own value as a player. Instead, she wanted to talk about music. And
that's as it should be.
* * * *
Cosmik: What turned you on to music as a child?
Susan: I saw "Jailhouse Rock" when I was three years old. Elvis Presley
must have triggered something. I started to "play" guitar on an old
tennis racket to Elvis and Everly Brothers records.
Cosmik: Was there any one band or performer that made you say "I HAVE to
play the guitar!?"
Susan: The Beatles, 1964, Ed Sullivan Show, first appearance. John Lennon
made a huge impression on me. I remember he stood a few steps in front of
the rest of the band. He looked like he owned the world.
Cosmik: Who were your most important influences over the years, and how do
you think each has influenced your playing?
Susan: The Ventures, of course. Their influence is obvious to anyone who
listens to my music. The Beatles gave me a sense of melody and song
structure. John Lennon as a guitarist showed me the importance of rhthym.
The American garage bands of the '60's were also important. They showed me
the power and drive of simple chord progressions played as if your life
depended on it.
Cosmik: Is it sometimes hard not to throw that kind of rhythm playing into
something as precise as a surf instro? I mean, do you ever think "hey,
how 'bout The Troggs meet Dick Dale?"
Susan: I think that kind of rhythm playing fits surf instro perfectly. The
drive is the key thing. The garage-style rhythm fits the precision of the
surf instro. In my mind, good rhythm playing is always precise. You may be
playing a I-IV-V but if you're not on the money with an exact rhythm you're
not going to get that driving foundation necessary to both surf and garage.
Cosmik: You started playing guitar at the age of nine, which is quite
young, really. Were you serious about it right off, or did it take
a while to sink in?
Susan: I was serious from the first lesson on.
Cosmik: What kind of music were you interested in playing early on?
Susan: The music I heard on the radio. In the mid-'60's there was so much.
I took it all in. I was not interested in folk as in Peter, Paul & Mary.
I was a rocker from an early age.
Cosmik: Being attracted to garage music, did you have trouble finding a
source for actually hearing it on a regular basis? Not a lot of stations
were playing album cuts from The Balloon Farm.
Susan: As a kid I got to hear only the "mainstream" garage music. You know,
The Castaways' "Liar, Liar," The Shadows of Knight's version of "Gloria"
and so forth. Once I got to college I was able to find the more obscure
stuff like The Seeds and The Sonics. I spent a lot of money on records
while I was in college. I used to tutor freshmen in economics and wash
dishes in my dorm's kitchen to get the cash. I guess I was continuing my
musical education.
Cosmik: Aside from the usual starry-eyed kid stuff, when did you first
realize you were a high caliber player?
Susan: People at the music store where I took lessons noticed me and
commented favorably. The lessons were audible in the store area. Sales
people and customers would tell me that I sounded good.
Cosmik: Were you being taken seriously as a player then?
Susan: My guitar teacher took me seriously. I knew we were doing things in
my lessons that he didn't do with other students. After the "Mel Bay"
portion of the lesson we would play standards like "Stardust, "Moon
River" and "More." I would play the lead and my teacher would play
rhthym.
As far as others go, no, I wasn't taken seriously. People thought it was
"cute" that a little girl could play well but that it was a phase that
would go away as I grew up.
Cosmik: And as you grew up, what did they say? Did they just kind of ignore
it?
Susan: Well, I went to college and I went to law school when I really wanted
to go to CBGB's. I graduated law school and got a job. Everyone thought
music was a "nice hobby." At age 28 I decided I was either going to do
serious music or forget it. I had to do it. My then employer thought
playing in clubs conflicted with my job and told me to choose. CBGB's was
much more attractive to me than my job, so I quit. Everyone thought I was
nuts. Many people still do. Law took a backseat to music from that time on.
Cosmik: You're still a practicing attorney, though, right?
Susan: Yes, I'm self-employed. I do mostly house closings now. Lately I've
been spending most of my time on music. Most of my legal experience has
been in civil litigation. I've got a good background in landlord-tenant
law, real estate and general civil practice. I do avoid divorce work,
however.
Cosmik: When did you first hear surf music?
Susan: I heard "Wipe-Out," "Pipeline," and "Penetration" on the radio.
Cosmik: Do you remember what year it was when you heard them?
Susan: It must have been in '63 and '64, back when the songs were first
released.
Cosmik: What was it that attracted you?
Susan: The clean reverbed lead guitar and the drive of the songs.
Cosmik: Did you decide right away that you wanted to play it?
Susan: Absoultely
Cosmik: What was the process you went through? Did you have a method to
the way you learned to play surf, or did it all just sort of happen?
Susan: Although it really isn't surf, I learned to play "Walk, Don't Run"
at my lessons. This was my introduction to The Ventures. I got one of
those "Play along with The Ventures" records and play along I did. I
learned "Wipe-Out" and "Penetration" on my own. I think out of a fake
book.
Cosmik: How long did it take you to get the speed picking down? 'Cuz you
know, SOME of us NEVER learned how to do that.
Susan: I had no trouble with the speed picking. It seemed to be a very
natural thing for me.
Cosmik: One of the things that sets you apart from a lot of surf players is
that you seem to have a real respect for the original melodies of the
covers you play. Do you have a specific philosophy about that?
Susan: I think that stems from learning to play all those standards and
Beatles songs. I think I developed a good ear for melody. In the July '96
issue of Musician, George Harrison said that the guitar is the extension
of the voice. I agree with that completely.
Cosmik: I remember Robin Trower saying the same thing, something like "if I
could sing as well as I want to, I wouldn't require the guitar." That's
probably the extreme, though. Who do you think exemplifies that kind of
"guitar/voice" philosophy best for you?
Susan: What the "guitar/voice" philosophy means to me is that the guitar
carries the expression and emotion in an instrumental tune that the voice
would otherwise carry. Every song is centered on emotion. I don't mean "I
love you, you love me or you don't love me" emotion. Link Wray material
is some of the most expressive music I ever played. One "Link Wray" chord
has more honest emotion in it than Barry Manilow's entire catalog. The
guitarist has to convey this in his or her playing or else all you have
is notes.
Cosmik: Your first album was nearly all covers, but the few originals that
there were seem to indicate that you're an excellent writer. Were you
a bit shy about putting your originals out there?
Susan: I was in non-surf original bands with vocalists and was the principal
songwriter. My songs were pretty well-received. The comments usually
centered on how strong the lyrics were. So, yes, I was concerned with
how my original instrumentals would go over.
Cosmik: Now that you know people love your originals, do you plan to put
more on the next project?
Susan: There will be at least five on the up-coming CD.
Cosmik: "The Blue Hammer" sounds like it was at least partially influenced
by 60s garage music. Anything to that?
Susan: Yes, definitely. The '60's garage influence did creep out there.
Cosmik: That guitar hook, when the rest of the band pauses, is classic. Did
you write that hook first, or the song?
Susan: The guitar hook came last. I thought that the song needed something
to define it. I think people remember two things about a song. The lyrical
hook or a short instrumental hook. I like short instrumental hooks.
Cosmik: You have a couple of Link Wray tunes on the CD. Big influence?
Susan: Not until recently. When the band became basically a trio I started
looking for material that would work well with only one guitar. Link Wray
tunes are perfect for that. For live shows they are powerful and grab
attention. I've come to appreciate Mr. Wray.
Cosmik: The Beatles tune you covered, "Cry For A Shadow," was kind of a
surprise. Not one of the better known Beatles songs, right?
Susan: Early Beatles' material is my favorite. I bought the Tony Sheridan
with The Beat Brothers record when I was in college so I've been familiar
with the tune for some time. The first bassist for The SurfTones is a
b-i-g Beatles fan so we decided to do it.
Cosmik: A lot of the surf tunes you covered were a bit more obvious--like
"Pipeline" and "Penetration," for example, and "Diamond Head." It almost
feels like it was recorded as a tribute to the form.
Susan: The original intent of the first recording was to have a cassette to
sell at local Rochester, New York gigs. Rochester audiences are very
conservative for the most part and want to hear songs they know.
Cosmik: Is the next batch of covers going to be along the same lines?
Susan: There will be a few more obscure covers and a few surprises. The more
familiar tunes will have some twists in the arrangements.
Cosmik: I'm curious about the recording of your CD. You played with two
bassists and three drummers. First off, have you narrowed it down yet?
Is there a set band?
Susan: Yes, there is a set band. Dave Anderson is the bassist. Dave played
bass on a little more than half of the first CD. Judd Williams is the
drummer. Judd's from Boston. These are the guys who went to Germany with
me in April. It worked out well and I think this is the permanent line-up.
Cosmik: The whole thing sounds like it was recorded in the early 60s. Great
reverb space all around, and all that. Almost lo-fi but not quite. Was
that something you set out to do?
Susan: It wasn't intentional. Dave Anderson also owns the studio where we
record, Saxon Recording. Dave co-produced with me. His major influence is
obscure '60's garage music. He also has great vintage equipment in his
studio. I think we just did what we did instinctively and we had the right
equipment to do it with.
Cosmik: Aha! So it wasn't lo-fi, it was an authentic vintage recording!
That makes perfect sense, now that I think about it. Are you planning on
recording there again?
Susan: I will not record anywhere else. Saxon Recording is home and I hope it
stays that way for a long time. Let me clear up one thing. Saxon's format
is ADAT. So my recordings are not analog which probably means they can't
be considered vintage. Saxon has vintage amps, vintage reverb units,
vintage mikes, all in great condition. Dave Anderson knows how to capture
that vintage sound with the ADAT recording equipment.
Cosmik: That's surprising, because the recording has warmth, which is
something that's hard to achieve with ADAT. Were you surprised, at
first, by the sound you got from that studio?
Susan: Well, I had been working with Dave for awhile when the studio was
still analog. I think Saxon was the first studio in Rochester to switch to
ADAT. I have a lot of confidence in Dave and he assured me that things
would be fine with the ADAT format.
Cosmik: It seems like there are a minimum of overdubs. In fact, on songs
like "Perfidia," you're playing the melody and the rhythm at the same
time. How did you develop that style of playing?
Susan: When I was thirteen I saw Jose Feliciano play live. He got the
fullest sound I had ever heard out of one guitar. I went home and
practiced all summer until I got it. It wasn't easy.
Cosmik: A lot of your rhythm playing sounds like it's coming from a garage
or punk attitude.
Susan: That is a correct statement. I like straight-forward rock & roll
played with non-complicated chord patterns. I think some aggression comes
out when I play rhthym. A few broken strings are cheaper than therapy;
more fun, too.
Cosmik: Are there some outside elements that you'd like to bring into surf,
just to see how it works?
Susan: One of the new originals, maybe more, will probably deviate from
traditional surf in a big way. Judd is bringing some new influences to the
band and I think that will surface in the originals. Once we get together
I am sure some outside elements will enter the picture. I'm not sure yet
exactly what these elements will be.
Cosmik: You just did a quickie tour of Germany, right? How was it?
Susan: It was a lot of fun. I finally got to actually meet Gerd Dietrich,
from Gee-Dee Music, and The Looney Tunes, especially Sebastian Hartmann.
We had a great time with them. The gig was very well-promoted and
well-attended. The whole Beatle/Hamburg thing was incredible. The club
where we played, the Grosse Freihiet, was upstairs from the Kaiserkeller.
I hadn't played live in a year and a half and had never played live with
Judd and Dave. We had only three days' rehearsal so we were a bit nervous.
Everything worked out fine.
Cosmik: Did you spend any time checking out the Kaiserkeller and thinking
about the ghosts? That's almost like hallowed ground for us 60s kids.
Susan: Oh, yes. When I first when downstairs to the Kaiserkeller no one else
was there. After a few minutes Judd came down. It was almost like being in
church. It was funny because we were talking in whispers until we realized
what we were doing. Of course we did play "Cry for a Shadow" at the gig.
Playing that song in Hamburg upstairs from the Kaiserkeller was something
I never in my wildest dreams--and I've had some pretty wild ones--thought
I would do.
Cosmik: Was the prevailing attitude about a woman getting up and blowing the
doors off the place similar to what you've found here in the U.S.?
Susan: It was similar to the U.S. Most people are into it. Some macho men
glare at me and say nothing, at least nothing to me.
Cosmik: In general, how much macho bullshit have you had to deal with over
the years? It is a male-dominated field, after all.
Susan: So much that I am used to it. I don't find it to be too prevalent in
surf music. I really do think attitudes toward female musicians are
changing for the better. I am just glad I'm around to enjoy it. As more
women come out into the forefront it will only continue to improve.
Cosmik: Do you get a lot of surprised looks when you start playing and they
discover you're really good?
Susan: Yes
Cosmik: Sue Horwitz, who used to play with The Wives, once told me there was
nothing like seeing their smug looks change to surprise and awe. She
said it was "the best 'fuck-you' of all."
Susan: I agree with her completely.
Cosmik: You're going back to Germany when the new album is done, correct?
Susan: I hope so. Gerd Dietrich wants us along with the Looney Tunes and
maybe another band to tour Northern Germany, the Netherlands and
Switzerland. I would like to go back.
Cosmik: Speaking of Gerd, tell us a little bit about how a New York surf
wiz ended up on a German record label?
Susan: "Without A Word" was initially a cassette self-release. I sent
cassettes to John Blair and Bob Dalley. Responses were very favorable.
Rich Hagensen sent me a copy of Livewire and requested a cassette for
review. In that issue he had a list of world-wide surf music magazines so
I sent a bunch of cassettes out. One went to Sebastian Hartmann at
PointBreak. Sebastian had Gerd listen to it. Gerd faxed me immediately
and six weeks later we had a CD. Sebastian made some suggestions for an
improved mix for the CD.
Cosmik: You were featured in Guitar Player Magazine's "Spotlight On New
Talent" in 1994. What did that do for you? Was there an immediate
reaction?
Susan: It gave me credibilty as a guitarist. Even the biggest macho bullshit
artist can't deny Guitar Player.
Cosmik: How much effect does that kind of lip service have, usually? You've
been raved about by critics like John Blair and Phil Dirt. That's some
big clout in this biz!
Susan: I think reviews are very important. That's where most people first
hear about a band. Critics do help form general opinion about a band.
After all, it is part of their job. I am more than pleased, more than
happy, and more than thrilled that Susan And The SurfTones have been so
well-received by the surf music critics.
Cosmik: How about letting the critic within you out for a while. Here we are,
it's two years after Pulp Fiction and the instro-scene is still thriving
and expanding into several directions. What bands do you find interesting
right now and why?
Susan: I love traditional surf and I am a traditional surf player, but I've
got to say I find the bands that are going a bit outside traditional surf
to be interesting. I'm sure all of us want to see this resurgence in surf
music stay strong and viable for a long time. As Woody Allen said in
"Annie Hall," it's like a shark, it's got to move forward or it dies. Of
course he wasn't talking about surf music but his statement still fits. I
think that is a loose but accurate quote.
Cosmik: Are there any bands you think are doing a disservice to surf?
Susan: I think the disservice being done to surf is the bit of macho bullshit
that still remains. I don't find it in the serious players or the surf
music press but it is still lurking in some of the hard-core audience.
It's not just in regard to women playing the music but in regard to women
in general and how women relate and "fit in" to surf music. It really is
time to drop the "this is male music" attitude. If surf music is going to
sustain its current popularity and continue to grow, women are going to
have to become interested in joining the audience. Guys, women buy a lot
of records too. The macho image of the music and the macho attitude of
some of the male audience turns a lot of women off, and they don't want
to give surf music a chance.
Cosmik: Well said. Do you think it's possible that women might be drawn to
surf when they hear that you are as good or better than the male players?
Are you comfortable with the possibility that you might be seen as their
champion?
Susan: I don't know. The reaction I have had from most women has been a mixed
bag. My friends are happy for me but not really interested in surf. In
general, women are so removed from instrumental surf music they don't have
a clue as to what I am doing. Remember, this is Rochester, New York,
however. Half the men don't know what surf music is. I would be
comfortable with the idea that some women may give surf a listen because
myself, along with other women, are playing the music and getting
recognized for it. I would be really happy if some young girl somewhere
decided to pick up a guitar after hearing my CD.
Cosmik: Okay, let's give those future guitarists a peek at the equipment
list. Give us a rundown of your stuff.
Susan: I have two Mexican Strats. Nothing fancy. The amps used on the
"Without a Word" CD were a Fender Tremolux, 1961 (blonde) with EL84-power
tubes with the original sealed cabinet with the original single 10"
speaker; Fender Princeton Reverb, black, 1969; and a Silvertone
(Danelectro) Model 1472 with a Jensen 12" speaker. A Premier tube reverb
unit was also used. Dave has more amps now so who know what we'll use on
the up-coming CD.
Cosmik: What gauge strings are you using. Oh, and picks, too.
Susan: The strings are D'Addario 11, 14, 18, 28, 38, 49. The pick is a
Fender Delrin .73. I recently switched from the regular Fender mediums.
The delrin seems to aid in speed picking. It could be my imagination, it
probably is.
Cosmik: Where do you want to go from here? What will the next few years
bring, in other words, if all goes according to plan?
Susan: I'd like to do more touring. I really hope to go back to Europe for a
longer stay. I'd also love to get to the West Coast. I really enjoy the
music business and I think that at some point the attorney in me would
like to get into the business aspects of the industry. Hey, a music
attorney who is also a working musician. Maybe I could help repair the
tainted image of the "suits." While in Hamburg I heard a garage band
that I really like, a band called "Sparkling Starwater." It's three women
and two men. The music is interesting and the lead female vocalist is
terrific on-stage. She's got stage presence that I haven't seen in a long
time. I may do some work with them on the next trip to Hamburg. This
would be the first time I worked with a band not my own in a kind of
"development" sense. I guess I'd be like a mentor, general advice-giver
and pain-in-the-ass
=============================================================================
A S U R F E R ' S P A R A D I S E
By Phil Dirt
Three of us had driven down to Redondo Beach that morning of April 28, 1996.
We left Felton, California at 6 AM. Uncle Al (KFJC), my wife Betty, and I
shared the six and a half hours of driving. We arrived at the Strand around 2
PM. I had been looking forward (make that drooling mercilessly) toward this
trip to attend "A Surfers Paradise." It promised to be one of those rare
opportunities to see a blizzard of surf history up close and all at once.
Even if it only half equaled the 1986 South Bay Surf Band Reunion that Paul
Johnson pulled together in Torrence, it would be one hell of an event.
I was also saddened by the cause that brought all this to fruition, the
passing of Don Murray. Don had been the drummer in the Crossfires during
those reverb induced daze of shimmering guitars. They were a unique line-up,
with six members: two guitars, two saxes, bass and drums. They recorded a few
singles, and enough total material for an album. Most of their tapes had
survived under Don's care. Rhino issued an album in the eighties, and
Sundazed reissued that plus some more tracks last year. This was HOT surf,
and some mighty tongue-in-cheek vocals predicting their future evolution into
the Turtles and international stardom. Don never lost his love of surfing and
surf music, playing drums behind Jim Pash's version of the Surfaris in recent
years, and more recently reforming the Crossfires for recording. Don's death
left a void. There was a service for Don on the Beach, and the celebration
of the music he loved at the Strand in Redondo Beach...an event called "A
Surfer's Paradise"
A Surfers Paradise was two events: a family reunion, and a show.
THE FAMILY REUNION / WAKE VIEW
It was wonderful to see the old guard and the new centurions blending, and to
see the joyous "hi, how are you, where have you been?" re-acquaintances, and
the many hugs and comforts, too. At this level, the bands were perfect and
exactly what everyone needed. They were all family. That they allowed the
rest of us to witness their precious time together was nothing less than a
privilege.
Before I get into the nuts and bolts of the review, I want to give a major
compliment to the organizers. It took a lot of coordination to make the event
happen, with Paul Johnson, guitar legend, and Tom Stanton, ex Crossfire and
best friend to Don, doing the grunt work.
Paul worried like a midwife with a breech baby until a couple of hours into
it. Paul always does an incredible job working with folks that view schedules
as some sort of corporate plot. There were 14 line-ups that had to set up,
play, and get off in 45 minute flat. Everyone was able to do that with a full
30 minute set. It was a dream to behold, and a credit to Paul and the spirit
that was evident from every band member and their support people. He was
walking the floor, urging this, adjusting that...what a guy! I knew all was
swell when he dropped by just to say "I guess I can relax now," which he said
after Eddie's "Performance."
Second thanks to Tom Stanton, soft spoken leader of the pack and guiding
light, who was truly flushing out his feelings with immense respect and
accessibility. I was very honored to share the stage with Tom for the Mermen
introduction. Tom's humanity impressed me greatly, always peaceful and
cordial and genuine.
Third nod goes to Jim Dunfrund of "Surf Waves" on KXLU who played the wise
scoutmaster. He organized stage activities perfectly and only to the degree
necessary. His relaxed calm lent confidence to the rest of us who were
overwhelmed with the power of the event. He plugged us into the stage
schedule with simple ease. He and Paul honored me with a few slots on
stage...thanks for the privilege.
Fourth kudos goes to Les Perry of the "Surf Patrol" program on KMAX, who was
accommodating. Being from the moneyed side of the radio dial, he is more
polished than Jim & I. He lent an air of professionalism and regularity to
the stage schedule, but never made us punters feel out of place. He genuinely
supports the music, and was just right in his role.
THE VENUE
The Strand is a very nice facility that usually hosts dinosaur bands on the
nostalgia trail--Steppenwolf, Savoy Brown, etc. Their sound guy didn't seem
to have the slightest clue about surf instros, and was not open to input,
responding to every helpful hint about the mix with "I know what I'm doing"
...yeah, sure you do buddy. Any soundman who says the musicians must play
exactly at the same volume and at exactly the same distance from the mic so
that Mr. Perfect Sound doesn't have to actually slide pots or really run the
board should be flipping burgers at McDonald's and not even doing sound for
Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.
The hall over-charged by a factor of 2 for everything...a couple of beers, a
coke, and some chips and salsa; that'll be $25 please, thanks...what, no tip!?
By 3 PM they were out of most brands of beer even though there wasn't much
drinking going on. Give me a break!
That was topped off by the theft of three purses by some @&*%$#*!$
THE PROGRAM
The line-up seemed out of whack to me. I guess it's all those years of
putting sets together on the radio, but it didn't flow. Too much juxtaposition
of quality and talent. The "openers" should have been on before the
"headliners" progressively through the day...a talent ranking from the Vegas
lounge of the Tornadoes, through the oldies review of the Surfaris and the
Lively Ones, to the real killer deliveries of the Chantays, the Surf Kings,
Davie Allen & the Arrows, and the Mermen.
There is a really big temptation for the spirit of the event and the warmth
of all the folks in the hall, and aura of the performing luminaries to
overcome the objectivity of the review. Old uncle Johnny getting up to pluck
the guitar does not quite equate to Leo Kottke at Carnegie Hall. Some of the
bands were very disappointing...little more than lounge acts playing too many
covers of other people's top forty stuff. Others were VERY good indeed,
driving us punters to Valhalla.
I LOVED EVERY MINUTE in one way or another. Everyone was very personable,
friendly, sharing, open, and there were some GREAT PERFORMANCES! Even the sad
performances were honest and unpretentious in the spirit of the event, just
not up to the legends. So, here goes, band by band, the raves, the tears, and
the dirt.
THE BANDS
Thom Starr & the Galaxies
The show opened at 2:20 PM. Thom Starr & the Galaxies were already playing
as the first expectant fans slithered in to find a seat. Thom had his own
surf band in the sixties called Tom Star & the Galaxies. He had idolized Paul
Johnson, and was able to do Paul almost as well as Paul himself. When it was
time for Thom to leave the Galaxies, it was Paul who stepped in to replace
him. Paul once remarked to me how uncanny it was to step into a band that was
already perfectly tuned to him. Thom's current version of the band is a
contradiction. Thom is still able to play the surf licks with flair and
power, but his band is mostly keyboard and Ambient / New Age or Blues/Fusion
oriented. I found it very hard to pay attention. I actually expected the band
to be better than their CD (how could they be much worse?), which only
contains a couple of reasonable tracks, and a lot of filler, from a surf
music perspective. It didn't help that the house soundman was asleep at the
wheel, mixing the guitar even with the rest of the band at best. Very
disappointing. They played "Journey to the Stars," "Apache," and "Mr. Moto"
that I recall. The good news is that they were already playing when we were
able to walk in and wander around staking out our territory. I'd rather do
that while an opener flakes off than while a really great band mesmerizes me.
Next!
The Surf Kings
The Surf Kings were essentially the reformed Crossfires without Don. They
were incredible! Don idolized The Mermen for the last year and a half, and
Tom picked up a lot of their sound in both his structures and guitar sound.
Even when playing a Crossfires classic like "Fiberglass Jungle," they blew
the house down. As The Crossfires, they were recording when Don became ill.
Tom Stanton plans to continue the progress and get back to the studio for a
CD! They occupy that missing link position between the foundation of
traditional instrumental surf music and the future of surf psychedelicized
by The Mermen. Everyone I talked to was amazed. Several people I've talked to
afterward characterized their sound as "Post-Mermen Surf." The blend of 3
minute hook drenched surf and reverby trance inducing psych was astoundingly
great! It was also personally heartening to see an "old guard" player merging
radical "new centurion" effects and structures into his religious roots. It
sorta poked holes in the whole lo-fi notion that all the vintage guys worship
vinyl and need to be enshrined with a never-growing genre. The Surf Kings
should have been way up on the bill.
The Lively Ones
The Lively Ones were without much redeeming value, though near the top of the
reunion heap. Jim Masoner still has the chops, but their sound was way too
much country, not near enough surf. Dry guitars--Fireballs sounding. Even
when they played "High Tide," my all-time favorite Lively Ones tune, I was
relatively bored. The sound guy made it even more difficult by burying the
lead guitar. They also performed "Surf Rider," "Happy Gremmie," a slightly
psychedelicized "Goofy Foot," "Telstar," and a couple of others. Dick Dodd
played drums for them.
The Belairs / Eddie & the Showmen
The Belairs / Eddie & the Showmen was a highlight I was looking forward to,
having marveled at them back in '86 at the South Bay Surf Band Reunion. The
band on stage was Paul Johnson - rhythm, Eddie Bertrand - lead, Dickie Dodd,
- drums, and Halibut Pete Curry - bass. Knowing how nervous Paul was before
the '86 show about whether Eddie would do it vintage or fly off into fusion,
I was also a bit apprehensive. As it turned out, they were really sad. I felt
embarrassed for Paul and Dickie. Oh, Paul was great as usual, playing with
his usual incredible talent and ease, and Dickie was right on the money, but
Eddie Bertrand...well, Eddie couldn't stop playing guitar hero and succeeded
in proving numerous times his has-been status. Too bad, because when he
wanted to hold it together back in 1986, he was dynamite. Paul and Dickie kept
looking at each other wondering if they could live through another song with
Eddie playing bad notes, wrong chords, and standing with his back to the
audience so the fan would blow his hair just right. If Eddie had been outta
town, it would have been great! Their set included "Mr. Moto," "It was I,"
"Moon Dawg," "Teen Angel," "Mr. Rebel," and "Squad Car." Pete didn't use the
siren he brought. Some folks were curious about Paul's choice of songs, but
these were the staples of the Belairs. Their set frequently included
instrumentalizations of melodic top forty tunes like "It Was I" and
"It's Gonna Work Out Fine." Paul & Eddie were particularly fond of
teen-disaster songs, hence tunes like "Endless Sleep," and "Teen Angel."
The Insect Surfers
The Insect Surfers were fronted by the dueling guitar wizardry of Dave Arnson
and Dan Sullivan. They were very cool as always, but a bit sloppy due in part
to a stand-in bass player and the nerves of playing in front of your idols.
Dave was unable to stand still (surprise). I asked him later if he's ever
made it through a whole song without jumping around. He said he had, then
quickly changed his story when I said "not!" I didn't think you could. The
Lava Lamps were glowing, the bodies were jumping, the guitars were dueling,
and it was an Insect Afternoon. They should have been higher on the bill.
Their set list sported such Insect classics as "Mojave," "Polaris," "Gary
Busey," and "Bouzouki."
The Chantays
The Chantays were a very pleasant surprise. After the Lively Ones, I was
wondering if they'd sound like a band or just a bunch of old buds tuning up
in public. They were incredible. VERY BIG SOUND, lots of power, very tight, a
real sense of ensemble. They were way better than their last CD (which is
quite good), and now I can't wait for the new CD to come. They should have
been higher on the bill. Three original members, Bob Spickard - guitar, Brian
Carman - guitar, and Bob Welch - drums were enhanced by bass & a third guitar.
What stands out with three guitars is the quality of writing and arranging.
You have to have three different things happening or it gets to be a blur.
They arranged tunes like the classic Astronauts did, a savage Dick Dale-esque
lead, a very wet damped and double-picked rhythm a la "Pipeline," and a dry
flowing chord rhythm. The combination, when properly done, is overwhelming,
and they did it right! "Killer Dana" was bigger than on their CD, rendering
"Pipeline" nearly anticlimactic!
The Eliminators
The Eliminators were great as always in their oh-so cool duds, vintage gear,
and perfectly vintage original tunes. They were introduced by their
groupie-fan club president who sported the 60's throwback greaser look over a
90's pot-belly. They are the most perfect of the new practitioners of the
trad sound. In the vein of maybe the Original Surfaris, but with a unity and
power unmatched by almost all combos on the trail today. Rhythm guitarist
Preston Wilson gave insight to their mission in life when he let out that
they wanted to merge the sounds of the Challengers, Jon and the Nightriders,
and the Lively Ones. They are also among the few with "uniforms," trendy
sixties skinny ties & sports coats made of tiki-patterned material, and the
most amazing leopard skin shoes. They are planning/hoping for a Bud-Light
tour this summer. Among the standouts from their set were "Johnny's Noseride"
and "Punta Baja." Bob Dalley sat in for a try at "Point Conception/Curl
Rider," and he was fun to see. Before he went on, he was grumbling he
couldn't remember how to play the songs, but he did ok. John "y los paseros
de la noche" Blair was utterly killer, as he always is. He dropped a note or
two, but his delivery was so huge that no one cared. He is a monster talent.
He smoked on "Depth Charge," "Latinia."..and was it "Moment Of Truth?"
The Tornados
The (Hollywood) Tornados...oh man! I wanted to cry. Here's a band that once
had the most raw and interesting sound. Ron Wilson of the Surfaris still
raved about them 20 years after last seeing them. So, here I am, all geared
up for "The Gremmie" and "Bustin' Surfboards," and...jeez Louise, I can
hardly say it...schmaltz & lounge & Elvis. It was dreadful! "Bustin'
Surfboards" was weak at best. They actually played "Phantom of the Opera!"
What an embarrassment that was. They offered up a marginal version of Dick
Dale's "Nitro," and uninspired covers of "Out of Limits" and "Vacquero" or
"Bulldog" (I didn't listen that close at that point). Their new original,
"Pier Pleasure," was ok, though the title has been used before. They
'splained how they were called "classic surf" (read old). At least they
didn't do "It Was A Very Good Year." They closed with the most maudlin
interpretation of Elvis doing "Dixie/Battle Hymn of the Republic." They
meant well, and it was a tribute after all, but some things are better left
on memory lane. They were worse than Thom Starr's band. They should have
played before the doors opened.
Paul Johnson and the Packards
Paul Johnson and the Packards were competent. I've always admired Paul's
playing and writing. He was so much more relaxed without Eddie on stage. I
can't help being hypnotized by his shear talent, even when his new songs were
less than interesting, and the old songs were wearing thin. Paul is just
plain talented on the guitar, and nearly any shortcoming is overcome by that.
They were in the middle, and that's just fine. Paul was not on a star trip
(he never is). He's always an honest player, and is just plain comfortable
on stage with a guitar strapped on. Paul and his drummer were also in the
Surfaris. Not a lot of surf here, just really well rounded rock instros. They
delivered the goods with "Beach City Bop," "California Dreaming," "Apache,"
"Andele'," "Sleepwalk," "Green Room," "Scratchy," "Albion Blues," "Mr. Moto"--
all truly classic PJ.
The Halibuts
The Halibuts have only been together for 16 years and already they're GREAT!
They have continuously performed for all that time, and that has to mean they
are the surf band that has continuously played for the longest time. Everyone
was doing their bit, as they always do. Their sense of humor shined brightly,
and their new bass player did just fine. I love the new songs, and am looking
forward to the new CD "Life At The Bottom" from Upstart. At one point, they
were blessed with a stage diver...how quaint! Joey Lyou (sax) walked the
floor during one song spreading the Pepperidge Farm Fish Crackers, a
tradition that goes back over a decade with them. They played lots of great
Ska-influenced and/or quirky but-songs, as is their standard, including a
swingin' "Istanbul," "The Natives are Restless," "It's a Wonderful Halibut,"
"Impact Zone," and "Mr. Mysterioso." John Blair joined them, as he has
several times since "Summer Surf II," to play a rousing "Geronimo."
Davie Allan & the Arrows
Davie Allan & the Arrows are finally back on track. Davie is renowned as
"King Fuzz," even having an Australian bootleg comp titled such. He started
doing surf--his first single was "War Path" c/w "Beyond The Blue,"--but
quickly discovered the fuzz pedal which lead him to single-handedly invent
the biker-fuzz genre. He was screaming into his pickups when Jimi was still
in short pants--almost. I had the privilege of introducing "King Fuzz," a man
that is one of my guitar idols. I hadn't seen him play with the Arrows since
a show at Raji's in Hollywood back in '87, I think. His band is very tight.
He did some old Davie-faves like "Missing Link" (scoured from the
middle part
of "Cycledelic") where he screamed his lungs out into his pickups, creating
the most yowling feedback stuff you ever heard. It was also spiced with a
taste of "These Boots Are Made For Walking" in the middle. Davie also dished
out some of the new tunes from his forthcoming album on Iloki, including the
incredibly raw "Chopper" single he issued a few months back. Davie Allan &
the Arrows were one of the two bands that got encores. Davie slaughtered the
house with "Peter Gunn/Baby Elephant Walk," "Invasion of the Body Surfers,"
"Shapes of Things to Come," "Experiment in Terror," and "A Shot in the Dark."
Davie chose "Blues' Theme" as his audience-pleasing encore, played at 180
miles an hour in what seemed like under a minute! I Loved it BIG TIME!
The Surfaris
The Surfaris were mostly an uninteresting oldies show, the sort of thing that
is usually relegated to the fairgrounds. When I first went up to leader,
saxman and guitarist Jim Pash, he was mad at me. Many years ago, he'd sent me
a tape of "Storm Surf" to see if I could get it released. I hadn't. His
memory was that he'd sent a whole tape of stuff to me, but then when he
recalled it was just the lone track, he lightened up and we were able to talk.
I asked Jim if the new life surf is experiencing would lead him to a new
vision for the band, new sounds, new songs, gigs...it took a while for the
question to set in, then he said he hadn't thought about it. A few years ago,
the Surfaris were really good, much more than a name and a fairground routine,
but somehow, it just wasn't there this time around. I heard someone say they
were better just a few days earlier at the Coach House. Jim is still very
creative, and Paul Johnson is his rhythm player, so the talent is there. The
key players in the band are Jim Pash - guitar, sax, odd trinkets, Jim Fuller
(original lead guitarist) - bass, and Paul Johnson - rhythm. They did "Hawaii
Five-O," "Surfer Joe" (with the full 5 verses), "Similau," "Tequila," "Wipe
Out," "Peter Gunn," "Walk Don't Run," etc. Jim Pash's tribute to Don Murray
was a mid-sixties tribal juju thing delivered lotus style...interesting, but
sorta strange. Jim Pash "officiated" at the Don Murray memorial gathering at
Manhattan Beach Sunday morning, and from all accounts, did a marvelous job.
Benefit Auction
Before the last band, there was a Don Murray tribute/benefit auction run by
Les Perry. They were in the middle of auctioning a surfboard when Cowabungan
Gregg Sutter (Florida) waved to Allen Whitman and almost bought the board by
mistake...careful there bucko! Les Perry set him straight. They raffled lotsa
goodies, CDs, shirts, etc., plus an ample stock of Mr. Zogg's Sex Wax.
The Mermen
The Mermen were magnificent. They rose to the occasion to honor the family
that requested they headline because they were Don's favorite band. They got
the other encore. As the headliner, they were preceded by Tom Stanton's
address to the audience. Tom & I were to share the honor. He and I met for
the first time around 4 in the afternoon. We agreed to get together and work
out what to say. That didn't happen. While things came together on stage with
the Mermen's sound (the fastest ever at under 15 minutes walk-on to ready), I
prepared the uninitiated in the audience for what they were about to
encounter, and related how significant it was that Don Murray had seen the
value and art of what Jim Thomas, Allen Whitman, and Martyn Jones were doing
as a natural step from his own personal surf roots. I realized that was my
tribute to Don, his fearless forward looking musical talent and love, and the
Mermen were the soundtrack. They were ready, and Tom walked up to the mic. He
simply said "The Mermen were Don's favorite band, and we're honored to have
them here." There was nothing more to say except "Please welcome the Mermen."
Martyn deflected the introduction accolades with his usual flippant humor,
announcing "After all this hype, we're going to suck!" They didn't, of
course.
The Mermen played well, skipping the set list they'd worked up (don't they
always?). The songs were big and powerful and beautiful and just what the
doctor ordered. Some of the old guard were put off, but Don's fiance and Tom
were very honored. Jim chose his music well, and they were riding on the vibe
of the honor they felt. They had spent the whole day soaking up the ambiance,
and now they returned it in spades. They got an encore, and it completed a
great event and a beautiful tribute to the man.
The Mermen's set was studded with many of their best works, including their
beautiful rendition of "Quiet Surf," the ravaging "Casbah," their modern San
Francisco surf classic "Ocean Beach," Insect favorite "Soul Surfin'," the
moody melodic "Raglan," and their emerging FM power-hit "Curve."
The Mermen had driven for 24 hours from Tucson or somewhere to be at this
event. That alone says a lot about the honor they felt in being asked to play.
There was to be an "All Star Jam" to close the show. It didn't happen. Al
Nichol and Dale Walton or Tom Stanton were working up the arrangements to
"Silver Bullet" and "Fiberglass Jungle" in the back, but the club dudes were
so quick to close it down that it was shunted before it began. They began
stacking up right in front of the stage within seconds of the Mermen's finale.
Paul Johnson had made arrangements for 16 track ADAT, and said he was talking
with a couple of labels, so there's reason for hope of a CD. The first half
of the Surf Kings was lost due to certain but uncredited failure of the
equipment or operator. Bob Dalley was videotaping, too.
I had a great time and it was very cool meeting some of the virtual people
(Cowabungans) in the flesh. A bunch of folks came from the Bay Area, and then
there was the East Coast contingent...phew! Then there were the various
luminaries and interactors, Uncle Al, Moon Dawg, Pamita Neptuna (Netunas),
Bernard Yin (Brazil 2001), John Zambetti (Malibooz), Gregg Sutter (Category
5), Jeff Hall, Geza X, Monica Rex, Ben "Cyclops," John Blair, Bob Dalley...
Now, I just need to dig these earplugs out of my ears...a mere 10 hours of
sponge in the ear canals leaves them ingrown and a tad moist...
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P O L I T I C A L P L A Y B O O K : W h o ' s O n F i r s t ?
By Shaun Dale
"Political ability is the ability to foretell what is going to happen
tomorrow, next week, next month and next year. And to have the
ability afterward to explain why it didn't happen."
- Winston Churchill
So I was about halfway through my promised piece on how Clinton could
blow this election when Bob "I'm just a regular guy from Kansas now"
Dole resigned from the U.S. Senate.
Not exactly the kind of development you can ignore.
So I was about halfway through my new piece about the implications of
Dole's resignation from the Senate for the Presidential election when the
Whitewater convictions came down. Seems the Arkansan jurors decided to
take out their O.J. frustrations on Bill Clinton's home town buddies,
including the Governor who succeeded him.
Which was one of the big "ifs" I had in mind in the first place.
Dole's move was certainly dramatic. While there had been speculation that
he would give up the Majority Leader's job for the duration of the
campaign, the decision to resign altogether caught the political world by
surprise.
Whether his new wardrobe of pastel blazers and casual slacks will be
enough to disguise decades of service as a consummate D.C. wheeler dealer
is - well, it's just downright silly, isn't it? Nothing reveals the basic
contempt this man has for the intellect of the average voter than this
bit of transparent opportunism and empty symbolism. Right?
Maybe.
You know how dumb the average guy is? Well, half of them are dumber than
that. It all depends on which half shows up to vote come election day.
Meanwhile, Bill Clinton, who continues to hold a considerable lead in the
opinion polls, has to get those ephemeral numbers to the voting booth if
they're to mean anything at all.
With these convictions giving new life not only to the criminal
investigations in Arkansas, but the political investigations in Congress,
Whitewater is certainly one of his problems. While there has been no
evidence presented of the Clinton's direct involvement in anything
indictable, the decision of an Arkansas jury to find for the prosecution
in spite of the President's personal testimony on behalf of the defense
demonstrates how deep the cynicism about politicians in general, and
perhaps this President in particular, runs.
If there is little enthusiasm abroad for Dole, the fact remains that a
significant number of people just don't trust Bill Clinton. They might
agree that his policies are on the whole better than Dole's, that we need
some balance to the Republicans in Congress, that if they had to choose,
they'd choose Clinton. But while they may prefer him politically, they
just don't trust him personally, and they just might sit this one out.
The spectre of chunks of Clinton's electoral coalition staying home is
brought closer as he seems to depend more and more on his old friend,
Republican consultant Dick Morris. How else to explain his recent slap
at gay and lesbian voters with the announcement that he will support laws
to prevent their ability to get the tax and property rights protections
offered by civil marriage? That might have made sense to him in a
Washington, D.C. strategy session, but here in Washington State, where
I'm writing from, one of the immediate results was the resignation from
his campaign steering committee of Tina Podlodowski, the openly lesbian
Microsoft millionaire and Seattle City Councilmember who was serving as
his chief fund-raiser in a state which he carried in 1992 and which figures
prominently in the electoral mathematics of 1996.
Clinton capped that move with his new found faith in a national curfew as
a solution to the problems of disaffected youth. Your President wants you
home by 8:00 PM on school nights, kids, and by 11:00 on the weekend. This
is offered as a solution to social concerns ranging from drug abuse to
teenage pregnancy.
What is he thinking? That kids can't get high at noon? Pregnant at dinner
time? Is this how he plans to lock up the votes of the MTV generation? Is
this the man who was sporting shades and blowing sax on the Arsenio Hall
show four short years ago?
Hell, I've got teenagers of my own, and there are nights when I don't
*want* them home by 8 o'clock.
So how can Clinton, with an unprecedented lead in the early polls, blow
it?
By convincing middle America that the issues he supports just aren't enough
to make up for the man he is (or, in some eyes, isn't).
By alienating core progressive constituencies with his apparent election
year tilt to the right.
By forgetting who brought him to this dance.
But hey, there's a long time left till November, and if I learned
anything this month from what happened last month, it's that I don't have
any idea what will happen next month.
Clinton is, after all, the President of the United States of America,
which is no small thing. And he's been written off before, in worse
circumstances. In fact, the "Comeback Kid" of the 1992 New Hampshire
primary may need the pressure of some self created problems to function
at his best in a campaign.
Or maybe he's decided he doesn't like this job very much after all.
One thing's for sure, it's getting harder to keep score up here in the
cheap seats.
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This month, Cosmik adds another genre to the mix. We welcome Paul
Remington and Robert Cummings to the staff. Robert specializes in
classical music, and Paul covers classical and several other genres.
If there's a genre that you wish we'd cover, send e-mail to our editor,
DJ, at moonbaby@serv.net and let him know about it. Our goal is to be
a zine for people who love good sounds and don't limit themselves to a
particular style. "All-Music" fans. We hope we're succeeding. Enjoy.
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ALL ABOUT CHAD - Down In Front (Big Pop)
Reviewed by The Platterpuss
I don't think I could take a steady diet of AAC's cute 'n' clever,
let's-go-down-to-the-maltshop brand of Pop 'n' Roll, but I gotta admit
that even in my advanced curmudgeonly state, their squeaky clean, wide
eyed innocence can be kinda appealing. Songs like "Embarrassing Moments,"
"Meet Me In The Hallway," "Kristin" and "I Can't Sleep" have a wistful
yet bouncy feel to 'em that definitely gets to the pop lover in me. Think
of The Pooh Sticks with some of the quirkier elements of bands like Squeeze
and you won't be too far off. If you're into that whole Yellow Pills
school of lighter-weight pop, you'll definitely wanna get a hold of this
one. (PO Box 12870, Philadelphia PA 19108)
PAUL BUTTERFIELD BLUES BAND - Strawberry Jam (Winner Producing Company)
Reviewed by Cai Campbell
Paul Butterfield succeeded in electrifying Chicago blues without ignoring its
roots. Listening to the now classic 1966 East-West album, one can not help
but be carried away by the sheer energy present in that band. When people
talk about blues recordings from the sixties, they almost invariably point to
East-West as being the epitome of what it was all about.
Here was a band which included Mike Bloomfield, a guitar god if there ever
was one; Mark Naftalin, whose organ work led the band down paths left
otherwise unexplored by their contemporaries; Elvin Bishop, a great guitarist
in his own right who went on to have a very successful solo career. And then
there was Paul Butterfield himself. That man could play the harp! You would
be hard pressed to find a better harmonica player in all the blues. The
combination of talents was phenomenal.
Sadly, that particular melting pot of talent was short-lived, but thanks to
Mark Naftalin and Winner Records, we are treated once again to the magic of
steam-rolled electric blues which exploded onto the scene in 1966-68.
Strawberry Jam is a collection of live recordings from that period, and
serves well as both a time capsule and representation of how dedicated the
band was to blues.
The quality of the recordings is not the best, as they were recorded on
various portable tape recorders at different nightclubs. The music
overshadows the recording quality in a big way, serving up a sassy, energetic
selection of blues grooves. There are plenty of extended jams, showing the
versatility of the individual players, including a ten minute rendition of
the title cut, "Strawberry Jam," penned by Mark Naftalin himself.
If nothing else, Strawberry Jam is simply a great collection of blues
recordings. But it is so much more than that. It is a piece of history,
one which should not be ignored by true blues aficionados.
CACTUS: Cactology (Rhino Records)
Reviewed by Cai Campbell
The late 60's saw the birth of the "supergroup" in rock music. First there
was Supersession. Although not really a group, they had all the right
elements, including big names like Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills. Plus
they had that "super" in their name, which certainly didn't hurt. Then there
was the ill-fated Blind Faith, with Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood. But
probably one of the greater disasters in supergroup meddling was the decision
Jeff Beck made to team up with Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice from The Vanilla
Fudge. Their only studio album produced nothing more than Jeff Beck hammering
away at his axe--real loud, trying desperately to find some ground that
Bogert and Appice couldn't provide him. It could have been something, but
the chemistry of the group was wrong.
You probably know where Jeff Beck went, but Bogert and Appice, a couple of
New York dudes, went on to hook up with alumni from The Amboy Dukes and Mitch
Rider & The Detroit Wheels, a couple of motor city madmen. Their aim was to
have the hardest rockin', boogie-get down band around. The band was dubbed
Cactus, and they proceeded to produce some of the loudest, swingingest music
of the day. An original song by the band, "Let Me Swim," in true Cactus
fashion tells you they're gonna "shake your blues away."
There was plenty of talent and competent song-writing, but best of all, the
chemistry was right. Cactus recorded four albums, but never quite achieved
the stature of their British contemporaries, like Led Zeppelin and Black
Sabbath. They were most certainly a "sleeper" band from that era, and their
records are highly regarded among collectors. The only real bummer is that
Cactology contains one obligatory "supergroup" drum solo. Thank God it's not
as long as Toad.
Thanks to Rhino for putting together this great collection of Cactus classics.
Cactology is a comprehensive collection, including a 20 page booklet outlining
the history of the band and containing many photos. If you're already a
Cactus fan, there is the "previously unreleased" live version of "Parchman
Farm" as well as a studio out-take titled "Rumblin' Man." They didn't miss a
thing with this one. The music is hard, man, so crank it up! It rocks right
along with all the energy of a steam locomotive barreling down the tracks.
But the control is tight enough so that it only (almost) crashes a couple of
times, and when it happens it feels right. The highlight of the disc, for
me, is their awesome hard rock version of Willie Dixon's "You Can't Judge A
Book By The Cover," which ranks right up there with Zeppelin's version of
"You Shook Me."
This is most certainly "the" Cactus disc to have. Don't let this one slip
you by.
CONSPIRACY A GO-GO: Post Modern Farmer's Almanac (Phantom Creep)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Old-school garage band from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, comes up with a strong set
of simple rockers. Just about all the elements are present: loose structures,
gritty distortion, rowdy vocals and dance-yer-ass-off rhythms. I kept waiting
for the Farfisa organ to kick in, but there ain't one, Jack. It's not that
they NEED one, but it would feel damned good in songs like "Cadillac" and
"Lady In Blue."
There's a nice mix of covers and originals here. Although they are the
twelve-thousandth band to cover Muddy Waters' "Baby, Please Don't Go," they
are forgiven because it's such a raw and powerful performance. Cooler still
is their cover of The Yardbirds' "Ain't Done Wrong," which has some perfectly
sloppy slide guitar work hovering over the slamming rhythm section. Randy
Arnold has one of the best garage voices I've heard in a long while. If Eric
Burdon had been a tenor (who wasn't shy about throwing in a little Holly
Hiccup once in a while), he'd be close.
On a hunch, I popped this CD into the player along with The Brood, The Sonics,
and the two Battle Of The Garages CDs from Bomp/Voxx, and then I hit "shuffle"
and kicked back for a few hours. This method exposes weak bands in a big
hurry. If a band isn't up to snuff, they're out of the player within an hour.
I'm happy to report that Conspiracy A Go-Go passed the test with flying
colors. They're the real thing. (Conspiracy A Go Go: 2111 University BLVD.,
Tuscaloosa, AL, 35401.)
ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS: All This Useless Beauty (Warner)
Reviewed by Keith Gillard.
Contrary to popular opinion, there are a few great pop songwriters alive and
writing today. Paddy MacAloon, Tennant/Lowe, Momus, and Difford/Tilbrook, to
name a few.
But for sheer pop genius, it's really difficult to beat The King. Elvis
Costello has been cranking out a steady stream of beautiful, witty,
melancholy pop songs for close to twenty years now, maintaining a fairly
consistent level of quality and innovation, somehow managing to avoid
duplicating or parodying himself. He respectfully nods to the tradition of
pop melody and convention, acknowledging the importance of the past, but
moving forwards into the future all the while. Every song manages to
surprise, without breaking the rather tight constraints of pop; Elvis pushes
the envelope without bursting the bubble.
All This Useless Beauty is a very good album, but it's not a great one. But
it doesn't have to be; Elvis has had more than his fair share of great albums.
Stylistically all over the map, Beauty touches on power pop, country,
classical, rock'n'roll, vaudeville, blues, and soul. But it only kisses each
briefly, lingering only long enough to for the listener to sip momentarily,
then moving on and maintaining its own shape and sound.
The dynamic range of this record is fantastic. When songs like "Complicated
Shadows" kick, they really kick. There's room for the very loud once the
very soft is made very soft. Unfortunately, many albums in recent years have
felt a need to make every track as loud as possible. Massive compression and
the desire for every song to be FM-radio friendly has all but killed the role
of dynamics in modern pop. It's great to hear a record like this where
whispers are still whispers, subtlety is there for the discerning listener;
if it missed by the casual music consumer, it is unlikely they would have
appreciated it fully anyway. Enough said: Great use of dynamics.
Of course, no Elvis review would be complete without at least mentioning the
lyrics. He writes some of the best in the business. These lyrics seem a
little more stream-of-consciousness than Elvis' typical. Of course, they're
still filled with clever rhymes, double-entendres, and surprising rhythmic
reversals and unusual symmetries, but they also have a slightly surreal,
spur-of-the-moment quality. Which I would expect is the influence of The
Attractions. However, worthy of special attention is: "I want to vanish /
This in my fondest wish / To go where I cannot be captured laid on a
decorated dish / Even in splendour this curious fate / Is more than I care
to surrender / Now it's too late."
Favourites: "Shallow Grave." What can I say about it, though? Two minutes
of hard-hitting pop/blues perfection. "Starting To Come To Me" has elements
of rockabilly, gospel, and '60's cheese icerink organ - but fuses them into
something wholly new and not undisturbing. "It's Time" has a great scratchy
hip-hop loop with a thin, open-square wave pad over top in the opening, then
moves into a soul/gospel chord progression and melody with crunchy guitars
and tasty live drumming.
Miscellaneous good stuff: "Why Can't A Man Stand Alone?" is as beautiful and
poignant as anything from the early days of The Attractions. I really
appreciate hearing the subtle analogue synth work on several tracks, most
noticeably on "Distorted Angel." I'm not sure what the Moonlight Sonata
references in "Poor Fractured Atlas" are supposed to mean (you can bet
they're there for a reason), but I'll gladly listen to this track as many
times as it takes to figure it out!
Anything bad? Very little. The Byrds reference in "You Bowed Down" is a
little thin and gratuitous for my taste; perhaps it'll grow on me. It
probably will. Anything else is too small to be worth mentioning.
While this isn't one of the greatest records ever made (Elvis does have a few
on that list), it is still very difficult to fault it. All This Useless
Beauty is filled with surprises and pop innovations, paying homage to the
past without paying alms (that's what Kojak Variety was all about). A very
good album; I would recommend it to anyone.
Songwriting: 9/10
Production: 8/10
Performance: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
THE COWSLINGERS - That's Truckdrivin' (Sympathy)
Reviewed by The Platterpuss
I don't know how many big rigs any of these guys have ever driven, so,
at first, this collection of truck drivin' standards (I could be wrong but
I'm pretty sure that I've heard almost all of these songs before) seemed
kinda incongruous; but after spinning this thing a couple of times, I
realized that it really didn't matter. 'Cause basically whatcha got here
are 9 super-charged, souped up, country-tinged rockers which is pretty
much what they're known for anyway. If they wanna fantasize about driving
trucks and what not, who am I to care, especially when the results come
out sounding like this. What's important here is that they are having
themselves a ton of fun and, in the process, spreading some of it around.
CRACKER -- The Golden Age (Virgin)
Reviewed by Steve Marshall
Cracker has just released their third (and possibly their best) album to
date, The Golden Age. The band has become known for having a mixed bag of
material on their albums, and this one is no different. Kicking things off
with the anthemic first single, "I Hate My Generation," David Lowery &
company work their way though a variety of musical styles on the new CD.
From the country twang of the title track, to the surf/punk tune "100 Flower
Power Maximum" (with strings, no less!), to the slow dirge of "Dixie
Babylon," you never know what kind of tune to expect next.
There are tinges of psychedelia thrown in on "Bicycle Spaniard." The song has
a 'David Lynch meets The Beatles' feel to it. There are several songs on the
CD that are worthy of becoming singles too. "Nothing to Believe In"
(featuring Joan Osborne on backing vocals) is a really good tune, and "Sweet
Thistle Pie" is a rave-up track that's practically guaranteed to be a hit. If
you're looking for something a little more subdued, check out the acoustic
track, "I Can't Forget You." The Golden Age has something for just about
everyone. Whether you like to rock out, or you like things with more of a
country feel, or you just like to kick back & relax, this CD has all the
bases covered.
THE CURE: Wild Mood Swings (Fiction/Elektra/Warner)
Reviewed by Keith Gillard.
It's been four years since The Cure released their last album, Wish, and
seven since their greatest work, Disintegration. After such a brilliant
album as Disintegration, Wish was bound to disappoint, and it did. I would
say a major part of what made Disintegration brilliant, but Wish was lacking
was keyboardist Roger O'Donnell (whom we call Balky).
I was prepared to accept that I would never again hear The Cure that I loved
so much again. But then, last summer, I saw Judge Dredd, and in the closing
credits, I heard something magic. A new Cure track that really reached me.
And as I studied the credits, I saw why: Balky was back in the band!
And he's here for Wild Mood Swings as well, and oh, am I happy about it! I
do love everything that Robert Smith does, but when he has someone with the
arrangement and timbral ideas of O'Donnell in his team, the work is truly
great. Now, this is no Disintegration, but that's a very tough album to beat
- I honestly can't think of one album by anybody which is clearly a better
album than Disintegration. Wild Mood Swings is outstanding. It has all the
melancholy I love from The Cure, with gorgeous melodies, widely disparate
styles (hence the album title), great performances, and now the keyboard
textures which were so noticeably missing from Wish are back, but fresh and
innovative, owing little to The Cure's past. Several tracks actually made me
say "Wow!" within their first twenty seconds. That doesn't happen very often
any more.
The lead-off single, "The 13th" is not exactly standard radio fare, but it
has serious "grow-on-you" factor. The lines "'If you want I can take you on
another kind of ride...' / 'Believe me I would but...' / Deep inside the
'but' is 'please' / I am yearning for another taste / And my shaking is yes"
are absolutely brilliant.
But if "The 13th" is not standard radio fare, the following track, "Strange
Attraction", is its antithesis. This overly happy-feeling 12/8 ditty pokes
fun at all super-poppy AM radio pap in its arrangement. The song underneath
is still very strong - it's just been arranged in a parodying way. It
actually made me laugh out loud.
"Mint Car" and "Round & Round & Round" have got to be singles. So nice and
catchy, either could be another "Friday I'm in Love". The other single on
here has got to be "Return" - I'm going to be singing this one for a while!
Still, it's not a perfect album, and it does have some problems. For
example: The electric piano in "Gone!" unfortunately makes the track
difficult to listen to. I realize that its cheese value was probably part
of why it was chosen, but I would have preferred to have heard a real Rhodes
or Wurlitzer in place of the DX7 tone (why on earth has this inexpressive FM
tine piano spread itself to so many albums!?!).
Graphically, Wild Mood Swings is very nice, but nothing outstanding. The
colour choices are nice - all primary yellow, red, and blue, and the text
layout is adequate, if pedestrian. Not that The Cure have ever really been
on the cutting edge in their album design, but at least Wish had all those
interesting genitalia images...
Overall, I am very happy to have Wild Mood Swings. It takes chances, but at
the same time has such catchy singles that it should be a commercial success.
Oh, I've really missed The Cure, and Wish just made me miss them more. Now,
they're here again, sounding new, pushing forwards, with great pop songs, and
daring arrangements. I'm gushing and I know it: Wild Mood Swings is worth
gushing about!
Songwriting: 9/10
Production: 8/10
Performance: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
GENO DELAFOSE & FRENCH ROCKIN' BOOGIE: That's What I'm Talkin' About!
(Rounder CD 2141)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
This is why God created the accordion.
Geno Delafose, who started in his father John's band, the Eunice Playboys,
plays Cajun, piano and triple-row accordions on this disc, as well as the
Hammond B-3 organ on one cut. And he plays the hell out of them.
This is barroom zydeco - hard driving music and traditional shuffles for
dancing the night away in bayou nightclubs. Even "Teardrops", the soul ballad
that features Delafose on the Hammond B-3, is a toe tapper.
Mixing French and English vocals freely, the band stays close to the roots of
Creole zydeco. Along with Delafose, French Rockin' Boogie is Bobby Broussard
on guitar, Stanislas Chambers on bass, Steve Nash on rubboard and Jermaine
Jack on drums.
Delafose is an expressive, if not a technically strong, vocalist, but it's
his mastery of the accordion and his commitment to the Cajun and zydeco
traditions that makes this a disc well worth seeking out.
Buy it, call some friends and push the furniture back. Open a jug and roll up
the rugs. As Geno says, "All I have to do is play and sing and they dance."
I bet they do.
THE DRIFTERS - Rockin' & Driftin' - 3CD Box (Rhino)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
The Drifters' recording career spanned twenty-three years and at least three
changes of musical direction. It's fascinating to note that they are
generally cited as Atlantic Records' most important artists of all time,
especially in light of the fact that The Drifters was a revolving door for
great singers who came and went with startling regularity. Over the years
approximately 35 people sang with the group. Menudo was like that, too, but
they didn't leave anything worthwhile behind. The Drifters left a vault full
of important and indispensable music. This month, Rhino Records has released
a 3 CD box set that should serve as the ultimate documentation of this
remarkable group's career.
DISC ONE: Clyde McPhatter was the first lead singer of The Drifters, and he
was one of the best R&B singers of his generation. This worked out well for
the group, since that's what they were singing. R&B tunes like "Money Honey,"
"Lucille," "Gone" and "Ruby Baby" established them as a prime force in the
genre. McPhatter also managed to get in several solo sessions during this
time period, turning out such classics as "A Lover's Question" and "Without
Love (There Is Nothing)." All of those songs are here on disc one, along with
great tunes like "Bip Bam," "Fools Fall In Love," and the only version of
"White Christmas" that can hold a candle to Bing's. Much of the material from
this period was produced by Jerry Wexler, who also contributed quite a few of
his memories to the outstanding liner notes. With Wexler's magic touch in
the studio and the perfect vocal blend of the group, there was no stopping
them. Or so it seemed until their manager, George Treadwell, fired the entire
group in 1958, reportedly because they were getting drunk before shows on a
regular basis. Indeed, alcoholism would ultimately do McPhatter in.
DISC TWO: When Treadwell fired The Drifters, he had one problem on his hands.
He had signed a ten year contract with The Apollo Theater only four years
earlier. It stipulated that The Drifters must appear there once a year for
those ten years. Treadwell owned the name "The Drifters," so he went out and
found another group to assume the identity. He found "The Crowns," an
outstanding unit led by Benjamin Nelson, who would later change his last name
to "King" and record such classics as "Stand By Me," "Spanish Harlem," and
"Young Boy Blues," all of which are included on this 2nd disc. Beginning with
the classic "There Goes My Baby," the new Drifters became doo-wop sensations,
and the public didn't seem to mind the change. Most of the sessions from this
fertile period were produced by Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber, who favored
lush production with string sections and Latin rhythms, as opposed to the
stripped down R&B sound Wexler had favored in the early years. This worked
well with King's smooth and romantic vocals. The hits came fast and furious
during this phase, including "This Magic Moment," "Dance With Me," and the
group's only record to top the pop charts, "Save The Last Dance For Me." All
of these are on disc two. The second half of the disc is composed of material
recorded after Rudy Lewis replaced King. "Please Stay" and "Mexican Divorce"
were excellent tunes that pointed the way to one of the group's finest
moments, 1962's "Up On The Roof." Lewis was smooth as glass, good looking
and talented as hell. Unfortunately, he also had a drug problem.
DISC THREE: This disc begins with the end of the Leiber-Stoller production
era. "I'll Take You Home" made the Top 40, and "On Broadway" actually cracked
the Top 10, but most of the other L&S productions didn't do as well. Enter
Bert Berns. "One Way Love" got to #56, and the cover of "Vaya Con Dios"
reached #43 in the pop charts. The night before they recorded "Under The
Boardwalk," Rudy Lewis was found dead in a hotel room with a needle in his
arm. The song had been written for his vocal range and all the union
musicians showed up for the session. One of The Drifters, Johnny Moore, who
had sung several leads previous to that session, turned in the incredible
performance we all know and love, and the song shot to #4. Moore would
remain the lead vocalist the rest of the way. The closest they would ever
get to the chart success of "Boardwalk" was 1964's "Saturday Night At The
Movies." From then on The Drifters were seen as little more than a nostolgia
act by the American public, but beginning in 1974 they enjoyed a surge of
popularity in England. The songs that charted there finish off disc three
and the set, but this is probably of interest to completists only, since most
of that material was pretty banal.
This is a fantastic document. Three and a half hours of music, much of it
timeless, and outstanding liner notes that offer a great deal of insight.
The sound quality is spotty in places on the first disc, which is to be
expected since that material was recorded as early as 1953. There are a few
dropouts here and there, but overall, it sounds very good. The sound quality
on the second and third discs is another matter. Lush, deep, and clean. It's
wonderful to hear "Up On The Roof" and "Under The Boardwalk" with such clarity
and warmth. Another track that blows me away, sound quality-wise, is "Young
Boy Blues," the Ben E. King song that was later recorded by Robert Plant with
The Honeydrippers. The string section is vibrant and alive. There are plenty
of nice surprises in this box, and a lot of history. For any collector of
historically important music, Rockin' & Driftin' is an absolute necessity.
ROBERT EALEY: Turn Out the Lights (Black Top CD BT-1133)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
Bluesman Robert Ealey is a North Texas blues institution, a product of
the Fort Worth juke joints. "Turn Out the Lights" offers 11 Ealey
originals, ten of them co-written with guitarist Tone Sommer, performed
by Ealey and a variety of lineups featuring a roster of Dallas/Fort
Worth blues players that includes Sommer, Mike Morgan, Sumter Bruton and
CoCo Montoya on guitars, Hash Brown on harp, Johnny Remo and Mark Rybiski
on sax and a similarly excellent variety of bass players, drummers and
percussionists.
This, gentle reader, is the real deal. Ealey pulls lyrics from someplace
inside of himself that not everybody has. One moment he's selling every
word clear and sharp, driving the meaning through the air like a bullet,
and the next he slips into a place where the words lose meaning and he's
just delivering raw emotion that means more than any words he could sing.
The players assembled here work together in the way only veterans of
countless long, late soulful jam sessions can. Particular standouts on
guitar are Montoya, formerly of John Mayall's band, and Morgan, who also
earned arranger's credits on two tracks, but it's difficult to isolate
anyone from the generally high quality of play on every track.
Finally, though, it's Ealey's record. It's the voice, and the soul that
informs that voice, that makes this more than just a collection of great
players having a good time and makes it an instant Texas blues classic.
ELECTRIC FRANKENSTEIN - The Time Is Now (Nitro)
Reviewed by The Platterpuss
These guys remind me somewhat of The Lazy Cowgirls in the way they combine
the best elements of punk and late-60s/early-70s hard rock. Like the Cowgirls
and unlike many other bands who are kinda mining the same territory, their
music has neither the tired cliches of all the Iggy/Mott glam wannabees nor
the pretentious hippy political drivel of countless morons who've listened to
too many MC5 records and totally missed the point. Basically these guys just
wanna blast out some loud and fast Rock & Roll that doesn't try to do
anything more than make you shake your butt and sing along. And who can argue
with that? (C/O Kris Verreth, Tervuursesteenweg 1H, 1820 Perk, BELGIUM)
GOOFUS AND GALLANT: The World's Finest Pacifier (Magnetic Oblivion)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
This one came as a total surprise. Always a sucker for the unusual, Goofus
and Gallant were just what I needed today. Mike Werner and Kelly King have
taken what seems to be a vast array of influences like Pink Floyd, The Who,
Bill Nelson, Brian Eno, and probably several others, and distilled them all
into a dark theatrical exposition that is both highly listenable and, at
times, emotionally charged.
Many of the structures will be more than the casual listener can take, such
as the progressive "Test Case." For those of you who can grasp the elusive
logical groove of King Crimson, Yes, or Gentle Giant, "Test Case" may be the
cream of the album. Complex time signature, counter-point vocals, and some
unnervingly precise backing vocals courtesy of Maureen Lovejoy and Viena
Zeitlin put this one well out of the realm of pop. "Hat Cheese" is
avant-garde, and it is outstanding. Again, it's not for the faint of heart.
There are more accessible tracks here. "Humor Me" is one of these--a tasty
funk number with a curiously commercial chorus that doesn't feel out of
place. "Potshots," the opening track, is another. It sounds like something
that would have fit perfectly on Roger Waters' "Radio Kaos" album.
If you want to get far out, G&G want to be your tour guides. "On The Head
Of A Pin" is a mind trip with a solid synth hook and a manic storyline. My
personal favorite is "The Phoenix Zoo." The mix of story, ambient atmosphere
and tricky vocals seals it for me. This is the track I'm putting on comp
tapes to turn my friends on to Goofus and Gallant. This is not for
everyone--I suggest you Dead Kennedys fans keep a safe distance--but for
those who can picture a mix of Floyd, Who, Fortran 5, Tubes and Be Bop
Deluxe, this is hot shit.
THE IDEA - Picturesque (Raven)
Reviewed by The Platterpuss
Fans of bands like Material Issue or Cheap Trick looking for another sweet
fix of pop that's melodic and catchy yet with enough of an edge to ward off
the wimp factor definitely oughta check out this 13-songer, the second
full-length disc by these Chicago pop rockers. My favorite song is the
leadoff track "Hello, I'm Sorry" which has nice garagey edge to it; but there
are a number of others like "Not True", "Do What I Like", "Plan For Joanne"
and "Mrs Brown (You've Got A Lovely...)" that are also first class pop gems.
Check 'em out. (1920 Atchinson, Whiting IN 46394)
ALEXIS KORNER'S BLUES INCORPORATED: R&B From The Marquee
(Original Master Recording Ultradisc II CD) (Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs)
Reviewed by Cai Campbell
Like John Mayall, Alexis Korner is considered the father of British blues.
Also, like John Mayall, Alexis Korner is better known for the musicians he
has discovered rather than his band's musical performances. The stable of
musicians which Alexis Korner brought to the stage is impressive indeed.
This list includes future Rolling Stone founders Charlie Watts and Mick
Jagger, blues legend Cyril Davies, saxophonist supreme Dick Heckstall-Smith,
and imminent Cream constituents Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce. The list goes
on and on!
It is certainly easy to see how the man's music could get overlooked
considering this spectacular array of talent. But these musicians played
music with Alexis Korner, and the music was every bit as fabulous as the
players themselves. Mobile Fidelity has done a fine job in digging up a
Blues Incorporated gem from 1962. R&B From The Marquee is a fine example of
what the scene was all about. The line-up for the evening includes Long John
Baldry and Cyril Davies sharing the vocal chores while Cyril lays down some
fantastic harmonica lines. Dick Heckstall-Smith provides the soaring sax
while Keith Scott delivers subtle yet fine keyboard playing, and Graham
Burbidge helps keep it all together with some phenomenal stand-up bass
playing. Then, of course, we have Alexis Korner leading on guitar.
The band is tight and swinging. They proceed to deliver fine renditions of
Muddy Waters classics including their staple, "I Got My Mojo Working." There
is also a fine selection of originals penned by Korner, Davies, and Baldry.
The emotion and energy level is set on high at the outset and is sustained
throughout the disc. There is not one stinker on the whole CD. And if that
weren't good enough, Mobile Fidelity has taken it upon themselves to include
a bonus track, a smokin' cover of Willie Dixon's "I'm Built For Comfort."
The quality of the recording is astounding. It is hard to believe that it
was recorded almost thirty-five years ago! It sounds fresh, pure, and
absolutely clean. Without a doubt, a majority of this can be attributed to
Mobile Fidelity's painstakingly loyal mastering process, including their GAIN
technology, which ensures that every subtle nuance of the original recording
is captured on disc. The music is then delivered on a 24 karat gold CD,
which offers greater density and warmth than the CD's aluminum counterpart.
This disc is truly a treat, not just for the quality of the music, but
because of the fact that it has long been unavailable. For true blues fans
and rock historians, this disc is an absolute must. It just doesn't get any
better than this.
THE KWYET KINGS - Cherrypie (Screaming Apple)
Reviewed by The Platterpuss
This is the second full-length album by the Kwyet Kings and it finds them
changing direction somewhat. Their first album and subsequent singles were
in more of a classic, snarly garage style and, while they still maintain
that influence somewhat, their new material is a lot more melodic. Not that
their old fans will be disappointed as there are still a few songs that
definitely maintain that snotty charm of old. Personally, I think I like them
better this way, in much the same way as I've always loved bands like The
Byrds or The Stems. There are a whole bunch of songs on here such as
"Candygirl," "Walk You Home," "Second Thoughts," "Don't Wanna Be In Love"
and "If She Is Gone" that I'm sure I'll still be listening to in a few years'
time. So, if you're already a fan or if you just wanna hear some classic
garage pop, you absolutely need a great big slice of "Cherrypie." (available
thru Get Hip)
LORD HIGH FIXERS - When The Revolution Comes (AuGoGo)
Reviewed by The Platterpuss
If you like your music rawer than a bloody fist and rougher than sandpaper on
a baby's butt, this Texas quintet will give you plenty of what you're after,
and then some. This is as out there and in your face as it gets. That's not
to say that this is all noise, though, as there are actually some really
great songs on here--12 of 'em as a matter of fact. While I don't think I
could listen to this on a regular basis, there are those times when nothing
else will do. (GPO Box 542d, Melbourne, Vic 3001, AUSTRALIA)
AMANDA MARSHALL -- Amanda Marshall (Epic)
Reviewed by Steve Marshall
Currently on the road with Tears For Fears, the debut CD from this
23-year-old Canadian singer has been getting a lot of publicity in the last
few months. Several people are calling her the next Alanis Morissette. My
impression of her is more along the lines of lesser known (yet still very
talented) artists like Kerri Anderson, Tasmin Archer, or maybe Mae Moore.
She has a good, strong voice, only without Morissette's angst.
The first single here in the US, "Birmingham," is easily the best song on
the CD. "Let it Rain" (not the Eric Clapton song) and "Last Exit to Eden"
are good too. The rest of the songs are pretty uneventful, except for
"Beautiful Goodbye," where Marshall sounds like a graduate of 'the Ann &
Nancy Wilson school of oversinging.'
Marshall's debut isn't great, but it isn't bad either. It's a good CD to
wake up to, or to put on around dinner time (sans "Beautiful Goodbye"), or
for those times when you just want to hear something a little more laid
back than say.. the new Soundgarden CD. Providing she gets the necessary
exposure, along with improved songwriting, Amanda Marshall has the
potential for a bright future in the music business.
PERCY MAYFIELD: Live (Winner Producing Company - Original release: 1992)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
All of the Percy Mayfield recordings I've heard over the years sounded very
different from one another, mostly because he was in the hands of different
producers. Some of those were outstanding recordings, but there was one
element missing. See, Percy was beloved by nearly all who knew him. Never
heard a bad word about Percy. "Warm, loving and kind" are words used to
describe him time and time again. So why didn't that warmth come out on
most of the recordings? Well, sometimes it did. Just not nearly as much as
it does on this soul-soothing CD.
Recorded during several live performances between 1981 and 1983, this is the
essential Mayfield, filled with warmth, wit, and beyond-top-notch performances
by his backing band. Mark Naftalin is best known outside the Bay Area as the
keyboardist with The Paul Butterfield Blues Band during that outfit's most
important era--the mid 60s. In San Francisco, however, Naftalin is a
champion of the blues scene, organizing festivals, playing shows, and at one
time hosting "Mark Naftalin's Blue Monday Party" on KTIM-FM. These
performances were recorded for those radio shows. Naftalin's "house band"
featured (at various times) great players like Pee Wee Crayton (guitar), Gary
Silva (drums), Ted Wysinger (bass), Julien Vaught (sax), Dr. Wild Willie
Moore (Sax), Ron Thompson (guitar), Bobby Murray (guitar), and Naftalin
himself on piano.
Trying to pick a favorite track from the 11 on this CD is a silly idea, so
I'll skip that in favor of picking some incredible "moments." Bobby Murray's
glassy guitar intro to "My Jug and I;" the ray-ban slow groove of "Don't
Start Lyin' To Me;" Mayfield's playful piano intro to "The Bottle Is My
Companion;" and Naftalin's applause-inducing piano solos throughout the disc.
Finally, there was Percy Mayfield the singer. His delivery of these mostly
confessional songs was warm and personal, as if you were his dear friend and
he really wanted you to understand him. The interplay between Maygfield and
Naftalin was something special, as well, a testament to their close
friendship. (Percy often referred to Naftalin as "My son, Mark Mayfield
Naftalin.")
Because Winner is a small label, there are many blues fanatics out there that
have no idea this one exists. Hopefully some of those people are reading this.
I honestly don't think there's a blues recording collection out there that
doesn't need this CD. (Winner Producing Company - PO Box 151095, San Rafael,
CA, 94915. Or send e-mail to wpc@netcom.com)
MERIDIAN ARTS ENSEMBLE "Prime Meridian" (Channel Crossings CCS 8195)
Reviewed by Paul Remington
"Prime Meridian: The longitude from which all other longitudes
are reckoned either east or west. A line which does not itself
belong to east or west, but which carries in itself the
possibility of all directions. Endless capacity for expansion
in any direction. Limitless possibilities for exploration."
These words grace the liner notes of the Meridian Arts Ensemble's (MAE)
latest release, Prime Meridian, and can quite easily be thought of as the
ensemble's mission statement. Prime Meridian features a daring and diverse
collection of compositions by various 20th Century composers.
With most ensembles exploring the vast landscape of mainstream composers,
there are many compositions that are rarely ever played, let alone recorded.
Whatever the reason, there is no denying that an ensemble performing and
recording material from such eclectic and diverse backgrounds should be
applauded. It demonstrates an appreciation for the compositions, and a
respect for the composers who wrote them.
Prime Meridian features music by the following composers:
- Igor Stravinsky
- Frank Zappa
- Kenny Wheeler
- Captain Beefheart
- Milton Babbitt
- Jon Nelson
- Rich Shemaria
- Herbie Hancock
- Frank London
Works by Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, Herbie Hancock, and Frank London
received custom arrangements by members of the MAE. Jon Nelson (trumpet),
Daniel Grabois (horns, alto saxaphone, percussion), Benjamin Herrington
(trombone), and Raymond Stewart (tuba) each contribute arrangements.
The disk opens with Igor Stravinsky's (1881-1971) 42 second, 12-tone
composition for two trumpets, entitled "Fanfare for a New Theater." Composed
in 1964 for the opening of the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center, it
offers a perfect lead-in to a block of Frank Zappa (1940-1993) compositions
arranged by the MAE's Jon Nelson. Jon contributes arrangements for "Peaches
en Regalia," "Let's Make the Water Turn Black," "Oh No," "Igor's Boogie,"
"Eat That Question," and "Echidna's Arf."
Masterfully performed, the MAE breathes energy and feeling into each piece.
From the driving backbeat of "Let's Make the Water Turn Black" and tight
interplay of melodic lines between two trumpets in "Peaches en Regalia," to
the sensitive solo trumpet introduction to "Eat That Question," it's evident
members of the MAE harbor a familiarity and respect for Zappa's work. And
in the tradition of Frank Zappa, all tunes segue.
Kenny Wheeler's (b.1930) "Song for Someone" is a wonderfully sensitive
composition arranged specifically for the MAE in 1992. Originally written
for big band, the Canadian born Kenny Wheeler, who now lives in England,
arranged this composition for two flugelhorns, french horn, trombone, and
tuba. The instrumentation provides a soft timbre that complements the
composition's harmonic and melodic content.
Both Daniel Grabois and Jon Nelson contribute their arranging talents to six
Captain Beefheart (b.1941) compositions: "Ice Rose," "A Carrot is as Close as
a Rabbit Gets to a Diamond," "When I see Mommy I Feel Like a Mummy,"
"Apes-Ma," "Dropout Boogie," and "Suction Prints." Daniel Grabois plays alto
sax and provides the vocals for these pieces, an intriguing set of pieces
that demonstrate the MAE's wide range of ability. The vocals follow
Beefheart's vocal style, and were recorded through a PA system, live, during
the performance. The performance is representative of how the ensemble might
sound during a live concert.
In 1993, composer and Princeton educator Milton Babbitt (b.1916) composed a
piece for the MAE entitled "Fanfare for All." The MAE premiered this work at
the 25th anniversary celebration for Princeton University's Summer Chamber
Concert, and includes the composition on Prime Meridian.
Milton Babbitt's compositional style reduced the composing process to a
designated order of notes, rhythms, and intervals. He challenged
Schoenberg's use of serialism by adding to his compositions more components
than Webern would ever have considered. Babbitt's works have been touted
as having been responsible for stimulating a second 20th century musical
revolution. The MAE's recording of "Fanfare for All" is a worthy inclusion
of historic importance.
The MAE's Jon Nelson (b.1966) composed and arranged two works that are
included on Prime Meridian: "Song for a Dead King," and "Paterson 2:35."
Like Zappa's humorous account of a factual event in "Illinois Enema Bandit,"
Nelson's "Song for a Dead King" humorously pokes fun at people who believe
Elvis is still alive, and that he was "...working at the supermarket every
day last week." "Paterson 2:35" was inspired by Nelson's impressions of
playing the Latin club circuit of New York. "Paterson 2:35" proves to be an
eloquent close to Prime Meridian.
Rich Shemaria (b.1955) contributes "Pandora's Magic Castle" to the MAE's
repertoire. A blend of Cuban and Spanish rhythms compliment splendid brass
arranging, rich with harmonic and melodic content. The rhythm is
periodically enhanced by syncopation of the horns, which serve to bridge
the gap between melody, harmony, and rhythm. Further into the piece, rich
inner voicings and a swing tempo provide a jazz feel, and demonstrate
Shemaria's experience at composing and arranging for big band.
A very adept blend of North American jazz and Cuban/Spanish rhythms,
"Pandora's Magic Castle" is compositionally reminiscent of Stan Getz'
collaboration with Joa Gilberto, which resulted in the mating of North
American jazz with the South American samba, producing the bossanova.
"Pandora's Magic Castle" futher demonstrates how facile the MAE is with
decidedly different forms of music.
Herbie Hancock's (b.1940) "Jessica" is a lilting and delicate composition,
sensitively arranged by the MAE's Benjamin Herrington. With the melody line
and chordal harmonies carried by trumpets and flugelhorn, the tuba supplies
a consistent harmonic voice. Solos are taken by french horn (Daniel Grabois)
and trombone (Benjamin Herrington). Jessica maintains the feel of a jazz
quartet while incorporating mature, lush horn arrangements that are soft,
delicate, and beautiful.
A true blend of musical influences, Frank London's (b.1958) "Shvitz Suite"
was composed as thematic material for Jonathan Berman's film, "The Shvitz."
Melody lines are inspired from east European Jewish musical influences. The
addition of electric guitar adds color to portions of the work, while the
piece moves through various musical ideas and feels, maintaining its Jewish
lyricism. "Shvitz Suite" blends many musical styles ranging from rock to
jazz, all of which the MAE perform with conviction.
With an endless quantity of material yet to be explored, the MAE have
recorded a bold selection of works. The performance is first rate, the
recording is ambient, and the material is eclectic. At 70 minutes, Prime
Meridian proves to be a fine addition to any collector interested in 20th
Century composition.
Who are the MAE Anyway?
------------------------
For those not familiar with the Meridian Arts Ensemble, the MAE is a six
piece chamber ensemble consisting of:
Jon Nelson - trumpet, vocals
Kevin Cobb - trumpet, electric guitar, vocals
Daniel Grabois - horn, alto saxophone, percussion, vocals
Benjamin Herrington - trombone, vocals
Raymond Stewart - tuba, vocals
John Ferrari - drums, percussion, vocals
The MAE is not just another ensemble. They have gained acceptance as one of
America's finest chamber ensembles, and have rightfully earned this title.
In 1990 the MAE received first place at the Concert Artists' Guild New York
Competition, and in 1994 they received first place in the ASCAP/Chamber Music
America for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music. They have toured
the United States, Europe, and Japan, and recently played Bogota, Columbia,
South America. Wherever the MAE perform, they receive praise, and rightly so.
The MAE have recorded three other releases, in addition to the recent release
of Prime Meridian:
2/91 - "Brass Quintet"
Label: Channel Classics CCS 2191 (Winning Artist series)
Compositions by Lutoslawski, Taxin, Hindemith, and more.
3/93 - "Smart Went Crazy"
Label: Channel Crossings CCS 4196
Compositions by Zappa, Hendrix, Nurock, Halle, Johnston,
Strayhorn, and Yamada.
11/94 - "Visions of the Renaissance"
Label: Channel Classics CCS 6594
Compositions by Bach, Gesualdo, Scarlatti, Coprario,
Albinoni, Schein, and Gibbons.
With a seemingly endless list of performance credits, and having played many
of the finest halls in the United States and around the world, the MAE
continues to tour and perform. The MAE's recognition by the Concert Artist
Guild has helped them expand their talents, record their works, and ensure
many years of continued success; success they've earned.
When the MAE arrives at your town, be sure to attend the concert, and I'll
see you at the show!
THE METEORS - Mental Instrumentals (Sonovabitch)
Reviewed by The Platterpuss
As the title suggests, this is a collection of instrumental tracks culled
from The Meteors' many albums, 45s and compilations. Not being a big fan of
all-instrumental albums myself, I have to say that while there are a good
half-dozen super stand-out tracks, on the whole it just doesn't hold up all
that well. For me, what I always loved about The Meteors was Paul Fenech's
demented vocals and their tongue-in-cheek lyrics that went along with them.
Not to take away anything from their musicianly talents--they can strum and
drum with the best of 'em--but by themselves they just ain't all that
interesting. For Meteors completists only. (PO Box 2738, 3000 CS Rotterdam,
THE NETHERLANDS)
MOMUS: Timelord (1993) (Creation/Pinnacle)
Reviewed by Keith Gillard.
Some of Momus' albums have had an instant appeal for me; some have really
required multiple "hard listens" before they grew on me. Timelord is
definitely one of the latter.
1993 was an interesting period in Momus' life. Anyone interested can find
out more about it can find out everything publicly available on his website;
it's not my place to talk about his private life, public knowledge or not.
The end result of this is an intensely personal album which is a bit opaque
compared to his past of narrative storyline songs. However, that trend ended
with Voyager; unfortunately this Timelord was less accessible than Voyager,
and a little too much ahead of its time. Sales records reflected this, and,
sadly, this was the last record Momus made for Creation.
The theme of the album is time travel, all relating to personal events in
Momus' life at the time. I don't have enough room (or time) here to fully
explore the over-riding theme enough to do it justice. Perhaps the best way
for me to deal with it would be to walk through it song by song, listing the
good and the bad.
"Platinum" really sounds an awful lot like "Hairstyle of the Devil" in its
chord progression and melody. I do like the stop/start rhythms and
electronic textures and noises, though. And of course, I love the subject
matter: " Hey DJ you've got it all wrong / No more golden greats, no more
platinum songs / Put these frozen moments in the fridge where they belong /
Nothing's going to save us now".
"Enlightenment" is about sex in the world of AIDS, possible consequences,
fear of abandonment, all set against a very nice trip-hop rhythm and CP-70
electric piano. It makes me think of Derek Jarman's Blue (which Momus
performed on, also in 1993). Great lyrics: " Well I'm sick to death of
optimism / Sick to death of the shit it drops us in / Will they find a cure
for hope? No-one can say / But tell me you'll be there / When I'm knocked out
flat / With a drip feed in my arm / And tell me you'll be there / When the
swansong starts to fade / And when a life support machine / Supports me in a
coma you'll be there / And when I'm just a cabbage / Save me from the spade".
"You've Changed" has echoes of "Hotel Marquis de Sade" in its theme of
phantom partners. However, it suffers from a not-quite-up-to-par vocal
performance on the harmonized chorus, as well as an overly dull and
muted
drum track. My least favourite track.
Great unique feel to "Landrover". One which wouldn't be approximated in the
charts until a year and half later with bands like Portishead, Massive Attack,
Tricky, et al. One of my favourites.
"Rhetoric" has some lyrical elements going back to early Momus. In this
track, he professes his love, listing various unusual metaphors for its
longevity. " I'll love you till the razorblades are held against my neck /
I'll love you till the sea glows purple and the sky goes black / I'll love
you till Mount Everest falls down into the sea / I'll love you till the tiny
worms go burrowing in me". Again the theme of time, eternity in the moment.
"Suicide Pact" has lush textures like Voyager but without the trance / house
rhythms. However, the melody makes me expect to hear "'The Rules of
Attraction' by Bret Easton Ellis" (from "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous")
instead of " At the bend in the river / Remember the herons and cranes". I
suppose it is only natural to sound like one's own self, but...
"Christmas on Earth" is a "Major Tom" type track, focusing on the effects of
time dilation at the relativistic speeds of space travel. Momus takes this
as a backdrop for the melancholy lament of a lone astronaut for friends who
will be long dead by the time he returns to Earth, having only spent what
seemed a few years to him. This is perhaps overly academic stuff, but
poignantly dealt with. I like this track very much.
The final track is "Breathless", a ballad made purposely cheesy with cliches
and bad M1 fingersnaps. It's as if Momus is uncomfortable with the very
intimate lyrics and so downplays their power with such a one-man-lounge-act
arrangement. However, the saxophone section is very nice. I do like the
song; I would like to hear it in a more sensitive arrangement.
Overall, this is a good album. But it certainly isn't one of Momus' best.
There is brilliance here, but little of the genius of Tender Pervert or
Voyager. Still, it is a worthwhile listen, and a good addition to any record
collection. However, if you're looking for one record to introduce you to
Momus, this isn't it. Try Slender Sherbet or Voyager instead. Then you'll
be ready to really enjoy Timelord.
Songwriting: 8/10
Production: 7/10
Performance: 7/10
Overall: 7/10
MIKE MORGAN & THE CRAWL: Looky Here! (Black Top CD BT-1132)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
This is a hard one. Every time I put it on I get distracted as I reach for
the paper to find a bargain fare for Dallas so I can listen to these tunes
live in their natural environment. I wanna drink too much beer, smoke too
many cigarettes and dance till I drop in a Texas blues club while Mike
Morgan's guitar cuts through the air straight to my heart, Chris Whynaugt's
sax makes my head shake, John L. Brady's bass makes my butt jump off a
barstool and onto the dance floor and Marc Wilson's drums keep my boots in
motion.
Did I mention that these guys are pretty good?
Not just fine players, this is a working band that works. Joined here by the
Why Nots, three horns and an organ that fill out the sound wonderfully (but
not essentially - there's nothing about the four piece band that doesn't
stand on it's own), this is more than the guitar heroics that many think of
when they think of Texas blues.
Morgan has the writing credits on eleven of the thirteen cuts here, and there
are more than a few acts out there that would do well to drop whatever
they're doing and cover some of these songs. Just when you think everything
that can be done with the blues format has been done, along comes a writer
like Mike Morgan to prove you wrong. He rocks, shuffles, and digs down deep
in the soul bag to provide a collection of songs that have lyrical strength
and plenty of room for instrumental stretch.
Black Top Records' slogan is "Paving the way to your soul..." and Mike Morgan
& the Crawl are driving an 18 wheeler down that highway straight at the part
of you that wants to party. They ran right over me and I'm glad they did.
WILLIAM ORBIT -- The Best of Strange Cargos (IRS)
Reviewed by Steve Marshall
In 1987, I.R.S. founder Miles Copeland started a new label called No Speak.
The artists on the No Speak label were mainly musicians who had been in
classic rock bands, no longer at the height of their success. Each performer
was allowed to create an album of new music. There were only two stipulations
for the label - the songs had to be instrumental, and no 'new-age' music was
allowed. Copeland wanted the music on his new label to be something to grab
your attention, not the kind of music you'd put on as a cure for insomnia.
Multi-instrumentalist/producer/remix wizard, William Orbit, was one of the
first artists signed to the No Speak label. Orbit has worked with several
major artists over the years (Sting, Madonna, Peter Gabriel, etc.), but never
achieved the same success on his own. Since the start of the label (which is
no longer in existence), Orbit released three Strange Cargo albums and an EP.
The Best of Strange Cargos is a sampling of tracks from the three CDs and the
EP.
This compilation covers a wide spectrum of musical styles. From acoustic
tracks, such as "Via Caliente," to rockers like "Fire and Mercy," to the
electronic (almost techno) sound of "Ruby Heart," there is something for
everyone on this CD. If you want to hear something a bit more ethereal,
check out "Love My Way." If you like your music more on the 'trippy' side,
listen to "Gringatcho Demento." The song evokes images of being in the
tropics on hallucinogens. If your musical tastes lean more toward dance or
hip-hop, check out "Atom Dream," or "The Story of Light" (one of the few
tracks on the CD with vocals).
The Best of Strange Cargos showcases eight years in the solo career of one
of the most interesting (albeit relatively unknown) musicians around today
- William Orbit.
OWN - Demo tape (self produced)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
From deep left field comes this month's demo tape. The band is called Own,
and they are anything but typical. The music is heavy and deep and very
very unusual, because the instrumentation is electric violin, electric cello,
and drums. You would expect a classical leaning, but the influences are
probably more like Jean Luc Ponty, Led Zeppelin, and perhaps even early Grand
Funk (before they started doing songs written in the Brill Building). To be
fair, the Grand Funk guess is based only on the incredible rumbling distorted
power-bass tone Michael Severens gets out of his cello. Severens has a Masters
from California Institute of Arts, and he SOUNDS like it! With David Lewis'
complex drumming, the combination is dynamite. Flying above this powder keg
is the amazing sound of Jane Anfinson's electric violin, which is at times
lilting and dreamlike, and at other times explosive and angry. Anfinson's
vocals fit the music to a tee.
There are only four songs on this tape, and all of them are winners, but
"Agenda Item One" is so good it demands LOUD repeat listenings in the
headphones. The aural atmosphere they create in that song is going to
please progressive and psychedelia fans alike. It's a safe bet that you'll
be hearing from these three virtuosos soon. They're too good to be kept
secret for long. (Send e-mail to Elfindrum@aol.com for more information.)
THE PENETRATORS: Have Reverb, Will Travel (Southern Surf Syndicate)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Rip Thrillby, Spanky Twangler, Trace Luger and Sticks Stechkin! Now THOSE
are what I call great Surf 'n Roll names. And as The Penetrators, they have
the attitudes to match. These Alabama wild men mix trad instro surf with
more than a hint of super-spy danger on tracks like "Last of the V-8
Interceptors," "Forty Miles To Vengeance" and "Carl's Bad." Well chosen and
performed covers of "The Jester," "Penetration," and "Baja" (plus a few
others) add an even greater sense of authenticity without sounding at all
commonplace. This stuff is shaken, not stirred.
What I like best about The Penetrators is the way they use the reverb space
and wide open arrangements to create a wall of sound. Of course, it doesn't
hurt that the guys are all excellent players. They're versatile, too. Check
out the spaghetti western sounds in their "High Plains Surfer Trilogy!" Rip
Thrillby, by the way, kicks wet surfy ass! Most definitely a surf axeman to
be reckoned with. (For further information send e-mail to reverb@dbtech.net
or visit their WWW site at http://www.dbtech.net/penetrators)
OSCAR PETERSON TRIO WITH MILT JACKSON: Very Tall (Mobile Fidelity UDCD 655)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
This disc, originally issued by Verve in 1962, captures a historic moment
from the fall of 1961. The Oscar Peterson Trio (Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray
Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums) hooked up with vibes great Milt Jackson and
produced six tracks of masterful cool jazz.
Very cool.
Fingerpopping cool.
Chicks in black leotards and cats in berets and shades cool.
Adapting an incredible range of tunes, from Nat Adderly's "Work Song" and
Rodger's and Hammerstein's "A Wonderful Guy" to the amazing arrangement of
"The Battle Hymn of the Republic" (listed here as "John Brown's Body"), the
mood is set in the first few notes of the opening track, "Green Dolphin
Street."
And a fine mood it is. According to Nat Hentoff's original 1962 liner notes,
each track was produced in just one or two tracks. That's easy to believe
because there's nothing forced here - just four men in a groove. Solos seem
to develop naturally and each player knows just when to lay back or stretch
out.
The second cut, "Heartstrings", is one of two Jackson compositions on the
disc. Lush and seductive, it's a classic romantic ballad.
The tempo picks up on "Work Song" (recognizable to some as "Got a Groovy
Thing Goin'"). While the group continues to work brilliantly as an ensemble,
Ray Brown's bass line on this cut is particularly strong.
My first listening to "John Brown's Body" knocked me out. Peterson's intro
sets the tone and quickly informs you that everything you think you know
about this chestnut is wrong. Just a wonderful cut, it swings in every sense
of the word.
In the same vein, the band takes "A Wonderful Guy" away from it's showtune
origins and plays it as though it was conceived as a jazz classic. By this
time it becomes very clear that these four men were meant to play together,
and are having a wonderful time doing so.
The disc closes with "Reunion Blues", another Jackson original. Again, Ray
Brown plays as though he was conducting a master class in jazz bass. Thigpen
playing is so right throughout the album that it's almost too easy to
overlook. He accents each piece with a steady beat, brilliant fills and
expressive use of brushes, rim shots and cymbals that make the drums fit into
the music almost organically.
Mobile Fidelity pulled out all the stops in producing this Original Master
Recording in their Ultradisc II format. It's a format this recording deserves
because this is a keeper. You should own it. You *must* hear it.
PROKOFIEV: Symphony No. 5 in B Flat, Op. 100; The Year 1941, Op. 90.
National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine conducted by Theodore Kuchar.
NAXOS 8.553056 [DDD] (57:07)
Reviewed by Robert Cummings
War, horrible though it surely is, has had the peculiarly positive side
effect of inspiring the world's artists to produce some of their finest
creations. Such was the case during World War II with the Soviet Union's
leading composer, Sergei Prokofiev, in the two works featured on this disc.
The Fifth Symphony, composed in the summer of 1944 as a "hymn to the human
spirit," is one of Prokofiev's most popular compositions, but "The Year 1941,"
written to depict the German invasion of Russia and to express the composer's
subsequent hopes for peace, is virtually unknown, this being, as far as I
can determine, its first recording. Yet when you hear this fifteen-minute
three movement piece you'll be at a loss to explain its neglect. Granted,
it isn't on the same artistic level as the epic Fifth, but it does have its
share of compelling music: the colorfully scored, militaristic opening of the
first section, In The Struggle; the disarming, lyrical simplicity of the
flute theme of In The Night; and the unforgettable closing theme of the
Finale, For The Brotherhood of Man. You could become musically drunk on
this ending, in fact, so positively euphoric are its effects on the spirit
in its ecstatically beautiful melody and sanguine orchestration.
Theodore Kuchar has rapidly emerged as one of the top Prokofiev conductors
on the scene today. In fact, on the basis of his two-disc compilation of
several of the composer's ballet suites (also on Naxos) and his on-going
symphony cycle, of which this disc is the third release, I would rank him
with Jarvi and Rozhdestvensky, ahead of such stalwarts as Ozawa and Previn.
Kuchar makes you re-think the Prokofiev Fifth. His is a muscular approach
that, while pointing up the acid and wit in the Scherzo and Finale, never
skirts the tender elements in the first half of the third movement or the
optimism and hushed anxiety in the alternate theme of the first. The depth
he finds in the epic defiance of the opening movement and in the third's
starkly tragic middle section allow you to see the kaleidoscopic nature and
emotional range of this work. From the tuba underpinnings in the first
movement coda to the colorfully hectoring reeds in the Scherzo to the
machine-like instrumental effects in the Finale's close, Kuchar captures the
full measure of the score, imparting an urgency to his epic vision rarely
heard in other recordings. And his Kiev-based orchestra respond to his baton
with total commitment, if not with the last ounce of precision, their brass
playing with such relish as to convincingly surpass their highly touted
Berlin counterparts in the so-so Karajan/DG effort. Surely this rendition of
the Fifth is one of the finest ever recorded, at least equaling those of the
quite different previous standard-bearers: Levi/Telarc, Weller/London,
Dutoit/London and Bernstein/Sony (I & II). And I'll surmise that if a
half-dozen recordings of 1941 suddenly appear, Kuchar's spirited reading,
with its glistening colors and all-conquering denouement, would still be top
drawer amidst the competition.
This recording's only negative aspect--and it's a minor one--is the
occasionally shrill sonics, most noticeable in loud flute passages. The
sound is otherwise quite fine, however. So, do yourself a favor and plunk
down the paltry six or seven dollars asking price and abscond with this CD
in the knowledge you've just gotten a steal, not merely a deal.
QUEEN: A Day At The Races - Original Master Recording
Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
After the enormous success of A Night At The Opera, it would have taken a
miracle for Queen to have produced an acceptable follow-up. Instead, they
came up with a sequel. It's hard not to notice that both of those album
titles were also titles of classic Marx Brothers flicks. (We Queen fans were
always waiting for them to release Duck Soup, but except for a bootleg of
poor quality, it never happened.) Day At The Races may have been the sequel,
but it wasn't the equal. It couldn't possibly be, because Night At The Opera
was an era-defining landmark. In 1976, it was impossible to judge Day At The
Races on its own merits. Thanks to MOFI, it now receives the change of venue
it deserves. Through incredible sound enhancement, we hear it as new.
The AM radio crowd who came of age in the mid 70s will remember "Somebody
To Love," and the rockers (who had the leather jackets and the Freddie
Mercury haircuts) will remember "Tie Your Mother Down," but this album had
so much more. Mercury's heart-wrenching "You Take My Breath Away" ranks
among the band's most beautiful songs, and it was a concert favorite for many
years. Their Vaudeville-style (which they reinvented more than resurrected)
was in fine form with "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy," a nice follow-up to
"Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon" from Night At The Opera. One of the most
impressive tracks is "The Millionaire Waltz," a recording that Brian May
should put into a time capsule. His wall-of-harmony guitar orchestration
still stuns. That track was also one of bassist John Deacon's greatest
recorded performances. Deacon is one of the most underrated bassists in the
biz. "White Man," which reprises a riff from "March Of The White Queen" on
their second album, was powerful enough in 1976, but here in its gold disc
format it has new depth and power, particularly in the clarity of Roger
Taylor's drum track and Deacon's fluid bass work.
To say that the sound is clean would be a major understatement. I'm not an
audiophile, so I don't have clue one as to what Mobile Fidelity does to make
an old recording come to life like this, and I don't really care just so long
as they don't stop doing it. What I do know is that the hiss is almost
non-existant, the already-excellent recording (engineered by Mike Stone) takes
on a whole new dimension, and I'm hearing things I didn't know were there
before (like the wood blocks in "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy," for example).
I wish Freddie could have heard this, because it's probably very close to
what he originally heard in the studio headphones.
Queen had a lot of fans, but they had many detractors as well. Most of the
bitching I've heard over the years revolved around the band's penchant for
writing and recording songs that simply weren't rock and roll. Day At The
Races ends with one of those. "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" is
folksy, dramatic and anthemy, and anything but rock. While the anti-Queen
folks were bashing songs like this, the rest of us were getting goosebumps.
In the hands of any other band, songs like these would be muzak. Queen was
a true one-and-only. Day At The Races can now take its rightful place as a
great entry in Queen's catalog.
THE ROOKS - Chimes (Not Lame)
Reviewed by The Platterpuss
I have to say that when I saw a new Rooks disc in my mailbox I was really
happy and excited over the prospect of hearing some new music from this fine
band. Their debut disc of a few years ago and their split CD with Twenty
Cent Crush from last year were both masterpieces of modern pop. They seemed
to find a perfect balance of sprightly bouncy hooks and melancholy lyrics
that infused their songs with a sense of strength, hope and conviction -
quite a powerful listening experience to say the least. Their latest 5-song
mini-disc seems to have only half the ingredients, mainly the sad and dark
lyrics but without the upbeat tunes to offset them, and the results are
rather depressing. While I like them much too much to take any pleasure in
putting them down, this is not what I want when I listen to music. I
sincerely hope that they get themselves back on track. (PO Box 9756, Denver
CO 80209)
THE SEARCHERS: It's The Searchers/Take Me For What I'm Worth
(Original Master Recording Ultradisc II CD) (Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs)
Reviewed by Cai Campbell
Throughout the course of music history, there has existed a phenomenon where
a new form of music has risen from the teeming influences which abound in a
particular geographic location. Obvious examples include Chicago blues, San
Francisco psychedelia, and, more recently, Seattle grunge. In each of these
instances, a particular form of music became undeniably connected with a
city, and many musical groups within their respective communities were
regarded as being at the top of the heap.
A similar phenomenon took place in Liverpool, England in the late 1950's and
early 1960's. A new sound erupted from this working man's port town, where
merchant seamen were bringing home blues and rockabilly records from the
United States. Skiffle music soon became the rage, and before long, this
mixture of influences gave birth to a new form of music dubbed "the Mersey
beat."
The biggest pop combo of all time--The Beatles--grew from this fertile
community of talent. With their spectacular success, it is easy to forget
the other fantastic groups who were also right up there at the "top of the
heap," including Gerry and The Pacemakers, The Merseybeats, and, of course,
The Searchers.
Listening to The Searchers, one can gain a greater appreciation for the
community of music known as the Mersey beat. Comparisons to the early
Beatles cannot be ignored. There is the mutual admiration both groups had
for Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers, evident in both group's work. The
rockabilly influenced guitar and rhythm is there. The irresistible charm and
melody of both groups are practically matched. Simply put, The Searchers
were every bit as good as The Beatles.
We can thank Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs for bringing back the fabulous sound
of The Searchers with the release of this very special CD. Anyone who is
familiar with Mobile Fidelity's work knows that they are committed to
releasing high quality recordings of classic record albums. With this
release, they combined TWO fantastic Searchers records onto one CD. "It's
The Searchers" and "Take Me For What I'm Worth", recorded in 1964 and 1965,
capture the band at their best.
The quality of the recording is on par with the music, and Mobile Fidelity
has made every effort to present the music in all it's natural glory. By
utilizing their GAIN system and delivering the music on a 24 karat gold
compact disc, the recording captures the warmth and depth of the original
performance, virtually eliminating the limitations of the digital medium.
Now is the perfect opportunity to experience this wonderful blast from the
past. If you are a Beatles fan and are not familiar with The Searchers, you
will be in for a special treat if you purchase this disc. You simply can't
go wrong!
SEVEN RED SEVEN: Bass State Coma (Magnetic Records)
Reviewed by Keith Gillard.
Seven Red Seven have really got something here; this is one of the most
exciting independent releases I've heard in some time. Its careful attention
to sound design and nice mixing of the vocal track into the music give this
record a high production score. Voodoo Productions (I think this is probably
just 7R7 themselves) are to be complemented on a very nicely mixed disc!
So how can I describe their sound? Influences must include Nine Inch Nails
(this sounds more like Pretty Hate Machine than later work), Information
Society, Kraftwerk, Underworld, The Shamen, and a host of industrial synthpop
crossover artists. There are also trance elements, and Vince Clarkesque
analogue timbres, with perhaps some musical influence from the intelligent
techno scene led by bands such as 808 State and Orbital. Nevertheless, 7R7
still has their own sound, and it works nicely.
Normally in my reviews, I outline which tracks I did or did not like on an
album and explain why. This is difficult to do on Bass State Coma, as I
liked most of every track, but I also had some difficulty with each track.
Still, though flawed, this is a great and consistent track.
My favourites: 7R7's cover of Stevie Wonder's classic "Superstition" is
fantastic - the groove, the synths, the guitars, just kicks. The title track
has a fantastic feel, quite original, with tasteful guitar and tastier
analogue synthwerk. Unfortunately, on both tracks, the vocals disappoint
after such amazing instrumental set-ups. Not so on "Listen to the Ground"
which is truly fine all-around. Great production, kick-ass groove, crunchy
guitars, and a pleasantly aggressive vocal sound. This is the kind of thing
dance radio should be playing!
The opening track, "Liquid", is quite tasteful, but suffers from a lack of
build or growth throughout the piece. "Burn" has a great vocal sound, but
the overly heavy 808 kick makes this track difficult to listen to. "Edge of
Existence" is quite sweet, but even at the time, the TB303 was beginning to
sound a little dated - fortunately it's used sparingly. "Electrique" is
beautiful - haunting, flowing pads, nice EQ on the vocals.
Only one track on the album really bugged me: "Subterranean". It has an
excellent bass sound - but the use of "Funky Drummer" is absolutely
inexcusable! This is the most overused drum loop of all time. How could
anyone after 1992 use this in good conscience in anything without camp or
parody value? Too bad - it spoiled an otherwise nice track for me.
I would be remiss if I did not comment on some fantastic graphic design on
this album. Beautiful sleeve and back and informative artistic text layout.
Perhaps I should start a new category of rating in my reviews for graphic
design. We do live in a multi-media world now, after all! If I did have
such a category in my rating system, Bass State Coma would score high marks.
Overall, I think Bass State Coma is a fantastic album, particularly for an
independent release. Although I had problems with almost every track, each
and every track also impressed me in some way as well. I look at this as
promise for the future: I am really looking forward to 7R7's next album.
I wish more dance music like this was released, or would at least get played
on commercial radio!
Songwriting: 7/10
Production: 8/10
Performance: 7/10
Overall: 7/10
KENNY WAYNE SHEPPARD -- Ledbetter Heights (Giant)
Reviewed by Steve Marshall
Eric Clapton had this to say about the late Stevie Ray Vaughan: "It's going
to be a long time before anyone that brilliant will come along again."
Well, with any luck at all, that "anyone" has arrived. Kenny Wayne Sheppard
burst onto the blues scene last year, and people are standing up & taking
notice. The thing that sparked his passion for the blues was watching SRV
play. Kenny remembers, "When I was about seven, we went to hear Stevie. He
lifted me up on his amp case on the side of the stage, and I sat there the
whole time, watching him play." From that point on, Kenny was hooked.
By the time he was thirteen, his musical gift was evident. On a family trip
to New Orleans, he met up with local guitar legend, Bryan Lee. After a lot
of convincing, Lee was persuaded to let "the kid" sit in with the band. The
crowd was blown away. Kenny began sitting in with other artists & formed
his own band. The buzz started to get around blues circles about "the kid
from Shreveport." Kenny soon got the chance to meet and play with several
of his personal heroes. He was asked to add licks to posthumous releases
from Willie Dixon and Albert King, and received critical acclaim for both.
Irving Azoff (who signed Kenny to Giant Records) said this after seeing him
open for the Eagles: "He is truly a phenomenon. He plays like someone who's
lived a lot longer than he has."
Most of the tracks on the 18-year-old guitarist's debut have a very
definite SRV feel to them. His fluid guitar licks shine throughout, and his
band is top-notch. The vocals are a bit lacking at times, but the guitar
work is enough to carry most of the songs. Out of the CD's 12 songs, only
two ("Everybody Gets the Blues" and "I've Had Enough") are less than
spectacular. Tracks like "Born With a Broken Heart," "Deja Voodoo," and the
cover of Chester Burnett's "I'm Leaving You (Commit a Crime)" are all
excellent. Not content to stick within one basic blues style on his CD,
Sheppard included two outstanding acoustic based songs, "Aberdeen" and
"Riverside" (featuring Sheppard on lead vocals), as well as a couple
instrumental tracks.
With the current resurgence of the blues, there've been a number of new
players all trying to make a name for themselves. One thing is for certain
though - the future of the blues is here. His name is Kenny Wayne Sheppard.
SKAVOOVIE AND THE EPITONES: Fat Footin' (Moon Ska)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Upper crust ska music played from the big-band approach. The arrangements
are tight and the performances are nearly flawless, so much so that at times
I wished someone would screw up a horn part just to give it some character.
But that's my own quirk. They're doing exactly what they set out to do.
This ain't no ska-core. This is a disciplined unit.
"Cat Juice" is a great opening track--all instrumental, full of chops and
melody--with a great bit of solo-trading between Jesse Farber (trumpet), Ben
Jaffe (sax), Jon Natchez (sax) and Stiles Jalbert. This is one of the better
horn sections in the biz today. "Subway Joe" is a memorable tune with a cool
piano part, and it moves along nicely until the end, which feels a little
like "hey, we need an ending." That's the only track that suffers, though,
since these guys appear to be top-drawer arrangers. Check out "Nut Monkey"
and see if you don't think it would have been a smash in the Glenn Miller
era.
Other tracks that stick out include "Old Man of the Mountain," which is a
cover of a Cab Calloway tune in which Western Kevin Micka's guitar chops just
kill; "Hi-Ball," one of their more Latin-influenced tunes, in which there are
a few beautiful solos from the guys in the horn section; and "Parakeet," with
a guest appearance by Adam Rothschild on piano. Eugene Cho is a great ska
keyboardist, and he shines throughout this CD, but Adam came in for this
track and played straight forward boogie, kicking ass in every measure.
Gotta love it. Skavoovie has built up quite a following, and deservedly so.
This release shows why.
SPRING HEELED JACK: Static World View (Moon Ska)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
POW! Ska on the end of a mallet! I like that. Spring Heeled Jack is much
closer to funk than most of the bands playing ska these days. "Rufus
Shakeedoo" almost sounds like "Tower Of Power goes to Jamaica," and believe
me, I say that with respect and admiration for both. They keep the sound
loose through open high-hats and distorted guitars, but it doesn't take a
music major to figure out that they are actually tight as hell. Check out
"Pay Some Dues" or "Running Man" if you want to experience precision at high
speed.
The band consists of six guys, which is relatively small for a ska outfit,
and all six of them are real players. Tyler Jones, in fact, may be one of
the best trumpet men on the circuit; and Rick Omonte (bass) and Dave Karcich
(drums) get my vote for Most Solid Battery in the Biz. Ron Ragona and Mike
Pellegrino share guitar and vocal duties, and I'm not sure which one's which,
but all the guitar and vocal tracks here are of the ass-kicking variety, so
I suppose it doesn't matter. Chris Rhodes rounds out the band with some
killer trombone playing that keeps everything sliding along nicely. On top
of that, Rhodes writes some brilliant music. His masterpiece on this CD is
"Peg Leg Bates." It kicks off fast and powerful, then about one minute in,
they throw in a tempo change AND a fidelity change! For this 40-second
section, the song becomes a lofty jazz bit that sounds like it's coming from
a Victrola. Then it slams back into hi-fi and changes tempo a few more times
before its burlesque ending. And it does all this without losing focus or
your interest.
I love ska, and I'm quite fond of several of the newer bands, but I often
find myself wishing they'd cut loose and try something with a tempo above
the standard 110 bpm. This is it in spades! Spring Heeled Jack knows what
the ska chant "pick it up now!" really means.
SUPER DELUXE - Famous (Tim Kerr)
Reviewed by The Platterpuss
Fans of classic Cheap Trick/Raspberries/Shoes/dBs pop will truly find a lot
to love on this nifty little 10-songer. While not every song is a winner
(they ought to stick to the more upbeat stuff and leave the ballads alone)
when they're on, they are ON in a big way. Songs like "Lizadrin," "She Came
On," "Flustered" and (especially) "Holly's Dream Vacation" have everything a
perfect pop tune needs: catchy choruses, hummable melodies, bright, airy
harmonies and vulnerable-yet-not-wimpy lead vocals not to mention way above
average songwriting. If this sounds like the kind of thing you're into,
you're not going to find many people doing it better than these guys. (PO Box
42423, Portland OR 97214)
SUSAN AND THE SURF-TONES: Without A Word (Gee Dee)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Susan Yasinski is a surf guitarist who cut her teeth on The Beatles, The
Ventures and the American garage music of the 60s. As you'd expect, she
ended up with a great sense of melody and a strong desire to put it on
top of garagy-fuzzy-murky rhythm parts. Add to this combination the fact
that she played these songs through vintage equipment but recorded it all
on a digital machine and you get at least an idea of what "Without A Word"
is all about.
The cover tunes on this CD are pretty obvious. How many bands have recorded
"Pipeline," "Rumble," "Perfidia" or "Penetration" now? But wait a minute,
these are interesting versions of Susan's penchant for being a strict
traditionalist EXCEPT for the rhythm tone, which is decidedly garage. The
originals (only three of them, unfortunately) indicate that Susan is capable
of writing outstanding surf tunes, something she reportedly plans to do more
of on the next release. "The Blue Hammer" is interesting in the context of
this CD because it's so heavily garage influenced with little or no surf feel
to it. It has a killer little guitar hook that sticks with you. In fact,
it stuck with me so well that it became my favorite track on the CD--kind of
ironic since I'm such a surf fan. On the other hand, "Spanish Wave" is very
much a surf tune, and it should endear Susan to the heavy-duty surf crowd.
My only bitch about "Without A Word" is that the band is sometimes just a bit
out of sync, but this isn't surprising since there were two bass players and
three drummers on the project. Susan has since found two permanent Surf-Tones
to play with, so that problem should be solved after a few gigs together.
I think this CD will appeal most to surf traditionalists. Garage fans might
just get something from it, too. Distortion and 'verb. Always a great
combination.
PETER TOSH: The Toughest (Heartbeat)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
These are recordings made in the early-to-mid 60s, when The Wailers were a
fledgling outfit and Bob Marley hadn't really learned his chops yet. Marley,
Bunny Livingston and Peter Tosh did quite a few sessions together for the
immortal Coxsone Dodd and the almost-as-immortal Lee "Scratch" Perry. The
music is less soul-based than much of the reggae and ska from the period,
approaching rock and roll at times. Tosh's voice had a lot to do with that.
Not a "pretty" voice, but one of strength, character and attitude. With
Marley and Livingston singing harmony, Tosh recorded some fantastic rockers
like "Shame & Scandal," "Can't You See" and "Hoot Nanny Hoot," all of which
are included on The Toughest.
The "Scratch" Perry sessions produced some clear signs of things to come,
including the classic protest song "400 Years" and early versions of "Brand
New Secondhand" and "Downpresser Man," both of which would become signature
Tosh tunes in the 70s. ("Downpresser Man" actually has two early versions
on this disc, the first being "Sinner Man" from the Coxsone Dodd recordings.)
There is also an early version of "Sympathy" that, in my opinion, is vastly
superior to the later version in that it is darker and has more bite.
WARNING: While this is fantastic stuff, it could also cause some confusion.
Capitol Records has a Tosh album by the same name. That album contains his
excellent cover of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode." This is a different CD.
Historians and Tosh-completists will require this CD for their collections.
It's a fascinating document for several reasons. It obviously documents
Tosh's early career; it documents the formative period of The Wailers; it
documents Marley when he was actually learning his craft from Tosh; it
serves as a document of one more facet of Coxsone Dodd, producer
extraordinare; and it documents "Scratch" Perry's heavy contribution to the
direction Tosh (and much of the reggae industry) would later take. That
makes this a pretty special CD.
VARIOUS ARTISTS: Hellbound Hot Rods (Del-Fi)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
As the liner notes explain, surf music can't appeal to everyone since there
is only so much surfable coastline. The marketing solution? Turn up the
twang, turn down the reverb, overdub some race track noise and call it "Hot
Rod Music." There are other differences, but the spirit was similar enough.
While marketing was the name of the game, some eminently enjoyable rock and
roll came of it. Hellbound Hot Rods repackages parts of three Hot Rod records
that Del-Fi released during the early 60s.
There are 23 tracks by 6 "bands." I qualify "bands" because they were really
studio musicians brought in by Del-Fi boss Bob Keane. Luckily, they were all
hip enough to kick out some jumpin' tunes. The Deuce Coupes, represented here
with six tracks, had a pair of guitar players by the names of Pat and Lolly
Vasquez, already known to surf fans as The Avantis (of "Gypsy Surfer" fame).
Here's one I didn't know--they later resurfaced, as it were, with Redbone.
The only Deuce Coupes tracks that might have given away their identities were
"Dawn Patrol" and "Nite Surfer," both of which had that little hint of the
mysterious they projected so well with The Avantis. Their other four tracks
are not bad at all, but they definitely feel like what they were: calculated.
The next six tracks are by The De-Fenders, fronted by studio god Tommy
Tedesco. If you look up "Studio Guitarist" in the dictionary, there are ten
or twelve photos of Tommy. His brittle twang worked to perfection in this
material. He could do it all: contrast these performances with his nylon
stringed solos in The Monkees' "Valerie" sometime! The liner notes don't say
who the sax player was on the De-Fenders' session, but hats off to
whoever-the-hell! Great growling sax lights up "Drag Beat" and lifts it from
the pedestrian into the realm of the classic. The Farfisa organ solo in
"Rum Runner" is right up there as well.
Tracks 13-18 are by The Darts, and the studio hero in that "band" was Glen
Campbell--years before The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, of course. Campbell's
talents as a surf guitarist are well known amongst other guitarists, but many
people will be shaking their heads and trying to reconcile the fact that these
tasty licks are coming from the guy who sang "Gentle On My Mind." It's true,
get over it. Some of his best work on this session was destroyed--or at
least somewhat camoflaged--by the harsh distorted sound quality. According
to the liner notes, Keane used a Grampion Cutting Head to cut the records,
and that apparatus was famous for making very harsh and very loud cuts. I
wonder what Campbell's playing in "Top Eliminator" would have sounded like
without the brittle distortion. Alas.
The disc is filled out with two tracks by The Roadsters, two by The Venturas,
and one by Opus I. "Mag Rims," by The Roadsters, is hot as hell, powered by
some of the fastest and cleanest drumming this side of The Surfaris. No info
in the liner notes about these last three bands, I'm afraid. By the way, if
you can program your CD player to skip track 22, "High Noon Rumble" by The
Venturas, do so. It is the one pure example of elevator music on the disc,
with an orchestra pissing all over what sounds like it MAY have been a nice
little surf ditty. Can't be sure. It's buried deeper than Atlantis.
Okay, this was highly calculated music. So was just about everything by The
Monkees, though, and that didn't stop us from buying their stuff. Once you
tell the purist within you to shut the hell up and dance, there's only one
thing left to know about this music: it's a lot of fun.
VARIOUS ARTISTS: Outer Space Communications v.3.01-T1
(Minus Habens/Disturbance)
Reviewed by coLeSLAw
One thing that is becoming painfully clear to me with each new listen to
this, the newest collection from Disturbance Records, is that there is a
rather alarming lack of availability here in the United States for works
such as these. Sure, we have our comparable artists, but the quality (and
consistency in that quality) of the music that keeps coming straight from
Italy to the center of my brain is making me woozy.
Outer Space Communications features some tried and true favorites of mine
such as iT and Monomorph, and has also added a few names into my "Must Buy"
list, such as Le Forbici Di Manitu and Xyrex, whose track "Laudanum" felt
like a musical trip through Coleridge's "The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner"
and a rather nasty shock of 20,000 volts straight to the brain. Beautiful
stuff, that.
Although much of this album reaches somewhat of a frenetic dance-driven
frenzy at times, there is, with most of the artists, an underlying serenity
in the choice of tone and the movement of the songs. There is a
trance-inducing quality to it, particularly with the last track of the album,
"Johnny Constantine" by Urbanitribu, who have redefined dissonance in a way
I never thought I could enjoy. It sounds as if you are listening to about four
different versions of the same song on different machines and someone keeps
messing with the speed of each of them. And if that synth bass-line were a
language, what in the hell would it be saying, anyhow?
As is to be expected with most any album you buy, there are a few tracks on
here that, well...aren't as strong as they could have been. But such is life,
and those few minor flaws should not detract from an otherwise strangely
beautiful and well-compiled collection.
VARIOUS ARTISTS: Pebbles Vol. 8 - Southern California 1 (Archive
International)
Reviewed by The Platterpuss
If you're a fan of 60s garage bands you certainly need no introduction
to the legendary Pebbles series. While some of the original albums had some
pretty lousy sound quality (though nowhere near as bad as the dreaed Moxie
comps) the CD reissues have all sounded terrfic, especially considering
that they are all recorded from old 45s. Quite simply put, this is an
absolute must-add to anyone's collection. Of the 25 tracks included here
there are none that are anything less than first rate. Most will be familiar
to fans of the genre, though sounding better than they ever have before.
Some of my personal faves include "I Don't Care" by The Dirty Shames, "She
Needs Me" by The Grains of Sand, The Beckett Quintet's "No Correspondence,"
The Gigolos' "She's My Baby" and the moody classics "Knock Knock" by The
Humane Society and The Starfires' "I Never Loved Her." Too fucking much!!
VARIOUS ARTISTS: Reggae's Greatest Hits Vol.10 (Heartbeat)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Daylight come an' me wanna be stoned. During a year in which Heartbeat has
released a stack of classic roots reggae, all of which has been more than
welcome, it's kind of nice to see them kick back now and then and offer up
some trippy ganja-aide. Floatin' tracks by Black Uhuru, Dennis Brown &
Prince Mohammed, Kojak And Liza, Sylford Walker, Prince Far-I, Dhaima, and
others make this 68-minute CD a pleasure cruise. In addition to those
tracks, there are several that are closer to the roots, so if that's your
bag, this is still a CD of interest. In fact, there's even one for the
reggae-rap fans--Shorty The President's "Natty Pass Him GCE."
There are many highlights. For instance, Glen Washington's "Rockers," which
is a nice simple rootsy track that might not be THAT interesting on its own,
but the track that follows is "Rockers Dub," credited to Joe Gibbs & the
Professionals. Same song remixed in the dub tradition. It's fun to hear
them back-to-back. In Jamaica during the initial dub craze, that's the way
45's were done, with the complete tune on the a-side and the dub version on
the flip.
I'm hoping that Heartbeat will mine some more of that float-away 70s reggae
soon. Meanwhile, this CD will suffice. Although there are three sub-genres
of reggae represented here, the selections all have a bit of a "floatiness"
to them, making the flow of the CD fairly seemless. It'll be interesting to
see what Volume 11 brings.
VARIOUS ARTISTS: Very Special People (Black Hole Records)
Reviewed by Cai Campbell
You know what's as good as a hot Philly cheesesteak sandwich? A good dose of
Philly punk, that's what! And that's exactly what you get with the
high-powered Philly punk compilation from Black Hole records titled "Very
Special People."
Very Special People is just that. It's chock full of fine Philly phucked up
madness. You'll hear from the likes of Limecell, Strychnine & The Rat Traps,
and The Wretched Ones.
Very Special People also allows you the pleasure of hearing from Lovegutter,
Thorazine, Hot Rod Nebula, and G-spot Run.
Very Special People succeeds in not ignoring the likes of Stuntmen, Violent
Society, Newbyles, Mae Pang, and Rear Admiral.
Very Special People would most certainly not be complete if it were not for
Hairy Phlegmball.
Thank you.
DOC & MERLE WATSON: Watson Country (Flying Fish FF 651)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
This disc features 18 cuts by Doc Watson and his son Merle recorded for
Flying Fish between 1980 and 1984. They range from the western swing of
"Smoke, Smoke, Smoke" and the blue yodel of Jimmie Rodger's "California
Blues" to old timey traditional tunes like "Devil's Dream" and back
again to Tom Paxton's folk revival ballad "Leaving London."
Along the way we get a glimpse of the full range of these masters of
flat picking, finger picking and slide guitar styles. If there's a
down side to any of this disc, it's the constant reminder of just how
much the guitar world misses Merle Watson.
All the cuts feature T. Michael Coleman on bass and most have Ron Tutt
on drums, but various cuts include some of the other finest sidemen
around. Mark O'Connor on fiddle and mandolin, Byron Berline on fiddle,
Tom Scott on clarinet, Al Perkins on pedal steel and Sam Bush on fiddle
and mandolin all make impressive appearances.
There's simply not a bad cut on here. If you have even a passing
interest in country music, or just love great musicianship in any genre,
look this one up.
GILLIAN WELCH: Revival (Almo Records)
Reviewed by David Fenigsohn
It's difficult to fathom that Gillian Welch's gorgeous new album "Revival"
was actually recorded in Los Angeles. "Revival" is genuine bluegrass music,
complete with spirituals, poignant songs of poverty and some gritty blues all
sung in an unaffected, stirring voice. If Welch is truly authentic or merely
an amazing facsimile of an Appalachian Angel is beside the point -- her
haunting songs and exquisite vocals make her a worthy companion to the
Carter family and other institutions of the genre.
Part of the credit here must be shared with producer T-Bone Burnett, who
creates a warm sound, blending such instrument as the weissenborn and the
dobro to create an ideal accompaniment to Welch's voice.
Whether accompanied just by her partner David Rawlings on guitar, or fronting
a group of accomplished sidemen, Welch's songs succeed based on their
simplistic beauty. If anything, Welch is too much of a traditionalist -- her
lyrics read like a book of country music's cliche's, as she sings of "Barroom
Girls" and "twenty acres and one Gimmy mule." And when she deviates from her
more acoustic material, on the rockabilly "Pass You By," louder guitars only
serve to obscure Welch's talents.
But her melodies are beautiful, full of soft verses dissolving into
oft-repeated choruses, punctuated by Welch's expressive phrasing, whispering
and harmonizing with Rawlings. Though she has a dramatic vocal range, she
never overwhelms the straightforward nature of her material, possessing a
sense of timing and restraint just as impressive as her singing.
Her strongest material is, not surprisingly, her most melancholy. The leadoff
track "Orphan Girl," which has been covered by Emmylou Harris, is Welch's
best, a simple but memorable song structure serving as the perfect vehicle for
her emotive delivery. Another standout is "By The Mark," a duet with Rawlings,
a significant talent in his own right.
"Revival" is not groundbreaking, does little to stretch the boundaries of the
genre, and is not likely to return bluegrass to the mainstream. Instead, it
is an accomplished debut of a significant new talent, a purist who proves
there is as much more life in bluegrass as in any style of music today.
=============================================================================
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BETWEEN ZERO & ONE: Colonialism Lives On
By Steven Leith
They taught us in school that the age of colonialism is over, brought to a
bloody conclusion by the peoples of Asia, Africa and South America. Far be
it for me to dispute the educational system, but colonialism is alive and
well.
Post modern colonialism does not wear the same face as the Imperial Yankee or
scarlet coated Brit. It now wears the nondescript grey suit and dark tie of
the board room. I refer to Corporate Colonialism.
Colonialism is an economic system whereby the colony (client) provides labor,
raw materials and market for the goods and services of a distant nation s
tate. As the nation state recedes to a mere historic footnote,
Multi-National Corporations have jumped up to fill the economic niche of
colonial powers.
I am stating the obvious here. We all know how "Rape the Earth Corp", will
strip mine in the Congo or sell faulty products to the peasant of the
Yucatan, but we of the first world are also falling under the dominion of
these neo-colonial powers.
For colonialism to work you need what Jane Jacobs calls "Transactions of
Decline." These are transactions that suck capital out of an economic
system. She goes on to explain in her excellent work Cities and the Wealth
of Nations that cities are the economic engine that drives the world's
economy. The energetic action of business within a city enables the economy
of the city to grow.
A large corporation (it doesn't even need to be a multi-national only located
outside the region) moves into an area and sets up shop. Lets say they are a
major retailer like Wal-mart.
They use the raw material of open space, and cheap labor to create what
syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman calls "Sprawl-marts", driving local
retailers out of business. Profits leave the region to some distant
corporate headquarters where the high paid suits spend their money in their
own local economy. Classical transaction of decline. Capital flows from
the client region to the colonial power.
What about the jobs the "sprawl-mart" creates? Well, you might as well ask
the Aztecs if the conquest wasn't great since they now had full employment
working on Spanish farms.
Transaction of decline does not "create" wealth it "moves" wealth. A small
economy grows real employment by having local investment capital to start
local businesses. The corporation will not be banking in Podunk U.S.A. They
will be banking in the Grand Caimans. Money in the Grand Caimans bank will
be available to other Corporations, but not to Joe at the local hardware
store.
What about the Taxes the corporations pay the local government? Two problems
here. First, the stress a major development causes on the infrastructure of
an area is seldom off set by the taxes generated. In effect the locals end
up paying the tax bill for the higher services required by major corporate
development. If that was not true why would corporations hunger for small
out of the way areas to exploit?
The second aspect is that all too often governments try to out bid each other
in tax cuts to lure corporations. The sadness is that if the same money was
lavished on local businesses more real jobs would be created.
Corporations do not employee the bulk of the labor force. Small business
shoulders the responsibility of keeping unemployment below revolutionary
levels. David C. Korten writes in his book When Corporations Rule the World,
"The world's 500 largest industrial corporations, which employ only 0.05 of 1
percent of the world's population, control 25 percent of the world's economic
output.
The wealth corporations accumulate from transactions of decline is centralized
in proportionately few hands. This makes it easier to use said wealth to
manipulate governments and people. Corporations dominate the world economy
not because everyone works for one, but because they can marshal more
resources to apply pressure on any given person or place.
Great Britain did not have more people than the rest of the world and yet they
were able to rule a huge empire. They could do this by the application of
concentrated resources, resources gained through the colonial economic system.
AT&T, Exxon, Wal-Mart, and their brothers are the modern empire builders and
they use the same tools to achieve their aims. They have no loyalty to a
city or even a nation. They suck capital from one region just like a
colonial power of years gone by. They use their wealth to buy special
privileges and laws which in turn speeds their growth and increases
transactions of decline.
Economic life becomes a zero sum game when played by corporations. They must
win at the expense of the economic life of other businesses and localities.
So, the next time you buy a burger at McDonalds or shop at a Wal-Mart
remember that they see you as little more than an aborigine who will trade
your economic future for a few shiny beads.
=============================================================================
IN THE DRIVE
By Jim Andrews
THIS MONTH: Fractal Dabbler 2.0
WinJammer Professional 5.0
Ok, kids of all ages, get ready to get (virtually) messy. You haven't
had this much fun since finger-painting in kindergarten. I just tried a
piece of software called Fractal Dabbler 2.0 and I'm a convert.
The premise of the program is simple enough: It's a Natural Media paint
program. This means that you get to choose from tools like Oil Paint,
Chalk, Pencil, Ball Point Pen, etc, etc... The list goes on and on.
The thing is, ya see, that these tools actually FEEL like what they're
supposed to represent. Right down to little scritchy sound effects when
you start whipping the chalk around real fast. Now, on top of the actual
PAINT media, you also get to choose what you want to paint ON! There are
dozens, nay, SCORES of different surfaces to choose from...bunches of
different kinds of paper, rock, oddball surfaces that probably don't
exist in real life. The results are anything but digital. You can
actually get swept away in this program to the point that you forget that
you're using a computer.
Ya know, it's actually tempting to just make the rest of the review a big
link to Fractal Design's Home Page at http://www.fractal.com, where you can
download a fully functioning demo (apart from the ability to save files, and
it's missing a lot of the texture goodies and things like that which come
with the CD), but alas, that's not what Cosmik pays me the big bucks for.
But I really must iterate that whatever I say about this product couldn't
even come close to describing how much fun it is to use. So, read the rest
of the review if you feel like reading, or download the demo if you feel like
having good, old-fashioned, messy fun with paint.
Ok, so those of you who are still with me didn't take me seriously! Fine.
I'll tell you more then.
The Stencil feature works very much like a Mask in Photoshop, or Paint Shop
Pro, or Corel Photopaint, if you've used those programs before. If you
haven't, the premise is that you define an area of the image to work in, and
no other area of the screen will be affected by whatever you do. What sets
the Stencil feature apart from your standard masking capabilities is the
extreme volume of stencils they include on the CD. Boxes, mushrooms, street
signs, birds, trees...the list goes on and on. This essentially gives you
the advantages of clipart (or any 2D vector-based graphics) with the added
capabilities of making it look like YOU want it to. Just choose your stencil,
drag it out on the screen to whatever size you're happy with, then scribble
all around in it, and it never goes outside the lines. If you, like me, are
not a painter, then this feature comes in very handy.
The package also comes with its own animation creation software (and format)
called Flipbook Animation, which, coupled with the paint tools, can lead to
some really nifty cartoon-type animations. You can use "tracing paper" on
top of your last frame, which helps you keep everything in perspective as you
create the next Beavis and Butthead.
There are a number of import and export filters included, so that you can
work with your favorite image types for manipulation and/or creation.
Well, I really do think you should go to the Fractal Home Page and download
this thing. Whether you're an accomplished artist, or, like me, a
self-admitted visual dumb-dumb, you can't help but have a helluva good time
playing with this software. Don't take my word for it, you know where to
find the demo, go get it. LEAVE ALREADY!!! (Then come back and read the
rest of this issue. It's a good one.)
Once you've played with the Demo, I'm sure that you'll find the (Street)
price of about fifty bucks more than reasonable for the incredible package
you get and you'll run down to your local Money Hole (read: software
retailer) and shell out for it. And, once you've seen that, come back next
month and read my review of Fractal Design Painter 4.0. I can't imagine a
more full-featured painting program than Dabbler, but it seems that those
folks down at Fractal Design have managed one. Stay tuned!
INTERMISSION!
PART TWO!
Software Package: WinJammer Professional 5.0
Software Type: MIDI Sequencing Software
Manufacturer: Dan McKee of WinJammer Software, Ltd.
Price: ?
Review machine: Pentium 133mhz/64mb RAM/Windows 95
MIDI Card used: Turtle Beach Tropez Plus
I recall trying a shareware version of this program about a year ago or so,
and thinking that it could use some improvements. It got 'em. Updated to
a distinctly Windows 95-esque look and feel, and as feature-laden as some of
the big-name sequencing packages I've used, this program has gotten quite a
facelift over the months.
Installation was eventless (just the way I like 'em)--with one small
complaint: If you're like me (and let's just hope that's not the case), you
don't always read the friendly messages that flash by during an installation,
you wouldn't notice that you have to go into a menu labeled "MIDI" and
choose "configure" to set up which MIDI devices you'd like to use. A more
elegant way to do this would be to have that menu option come up
automatically at the end of the installation, or the first time the program
is run. Like I said, just a small complaint.
The program itself is straightforward if you've ever used sequencing software
before (explaining the basics of sequencing is beyond the scope of this
review), it's got a Piano Roll editor, a Drum Track editor, an Event List
editor, a Controller editor, and one little extra that I liked; you click on
a little grand piano, and a Mouse Player pops up, so you can audition the
sounds currently assigned to all 16 of your MIDI channels. This is quite
handy for space-cramped musicians who have to navigate around 3 amps and a
beer bottle to get to their computer, change patches, then go all the way
back to their keyboard to try the sound, only to find out it's the wrong one.
Nice touch.
There are all the necessary clock options, as well: Internal, External MIDI,
and SMPTE sync options should get you connected to whatever your primary lock
source is. I tried the External MIDI lock, and it behaved just like a good
little pooch.
Just one more (small) complaint: When in the Drum editor or the Piano Roll
editor, you can't edit while the song is playing. This locks me out from one
of my favorite ways to work, which is to make a basic drum loop, with kick
and snare, then add in embellishments while it runs. A small complaint, but
fairly significant (to me, anyway) so I hope that functionality gets added
in future releases.
Recording is as simple as pressing the record button (although, of course,
you must tell it which track to record on). Once you've got it in there,
there are a number of things you can do to it. The requisite Quantize is
there, of course, and there are a couple of other nice bits of math you can
apply to your track; Humanize and Swing. Humanize adds "mistakes" to your
track, in the form of slipping notes JUST a hair off the beat either way (You
can control the percentage of the effect). It works to fairly good effect.
Swing changes a track to a swing beat, and it works just like it sounds like
it would. I was able to do some fairly comical things to some of the New Age
demos laying around on my hard drive (but of course, it also works well when
you actually NEED a swing beat on something.)
One thing that will come in fairly handy for those of you without Wavetable
cards (i.e., cards without the ability to actually record and play samples
as opposed to playing the standard FM Synthesized MIDI sounds found in cards
like the Soundblaster 16) is that you can insert .WAV files to be triggered
at a certain point in the song. Great way to insert sound effects, etc.,
into what can otherwise be bland FM Synth sounds. These sounds will, of
course, only play back on systems that have the proper equipment (i.e., a
sound card that will play back .WAV files of the same resolution and
bit-depth as the .WAV file you're inserting into the song) but it would
certainly add flare to recorded tapes of your masterpiece.
In summary, those of you who know sequencing software will be right at home
in this package, and its low price tag makes it a sure bet for poor musicians
(as if there were any other kind). The interface, while improved, could still
use an overall boost in the intuition department (ala Cubase). Overall,
however, this program will do everything you need it to, the documentation is
complete and informative, and at a price that will leave you enough money to
get your weekly supply of Townhouse Maccaroni and Cheese and Ketchup.
=============================================================================
PHIL'S GARAGE: Is LOUD better than soft?
By Phil Dirt
The answer to this question depends on where you stand. Until the
mid
sixties, recording engineers were in charge in the studios--unless a producer
was brought in--and then the engineer still had the last word about what was
"ok" to "allow" on a record.
A story I heard around 1966 illustrates this. It's the tale of the US
mastering session for the Who's "My Generation" album. Decca had received the
safety copy to master the album from. During mastering, the engineer
heard guitar feedback. Stunned and disgusted by the obvious flaw in the
recording, he declared the tape defective and rejected it back to the UK.
This caused a delay in the release schedule. Of course, feedback was fast
becoming an artistic tool, and the techies would have none of it.
Another example is from the early sessions the Syndicate of Sound did with
Leo de gar Kulka for their Bell singles. They were a rawkus band, but studio
standards in 1966 were "you play quietly in here, and it comes out loud
there." This is evident on nearly every recording made until 1967 or so.
Drum kits sounded like they were played with brushes, and the guitars have
none of the bite created at the upper end of the power curve. So the Syndicate
of Sound were very unhappy with the sound, but they did get a big hit with
"Little Girl" from these sessions.
The root of the problem lies in the evolution of the art of recording. It
began with technical types. Microphones were crude for decades; then even
when the technology got better, a top of the line Telefunken could cost
$1200. The very name microphone means "small hear," so it even suggests that
quiet sounds would be made loud. The technique of recording was essentially
ambient then - one or two expensive ribbon mics placed in front of or
suspended above an orchestra. Each studio produced different sounding sessions
because of the room and the ability of the engineer to "place" the mic. There
were even "experts" who were brought in to place the mic for important
sessions, much like independent producers today. It's easy to see where it
was not unreasonable for the techniques to be where they were in '66.
In England, sound engineers were like lab technicians, literally men in ties
and white lab coats who were "expert" at committing sound to tape in "their"
room. In the US, it was a bit less sterile, but still it was a field dominated
by technical types. One of the reasons that names like Joe Meek, Ed Cobb,
Paul Buff, Norman Petty, and Richie Podolar come up again and again is that
they were artists with their equipment as well as great technicians. Joe Meek
used overdubs and compression in ways that got him fired from numerous major
studios. Nearly everything Ed Cobb ever recorded has a signature sound
dominated by a very clear and unusual kick drum, usually buried in other
recordings. Tony Valentino of the Standells told me that Ed's secret was a
wooden mallet he'd use on a kick drum on a final overdub. Paul Buff was a
formula guy, using the same room at PAL to great effect in the same way every
time, much like Norman Petty at his Clovis, NM studio with the Fireballs and
Buddy Holly, and Richie Podolar, well Richie was an early pioneer of
panoramic balance. His early stereo wizardry in imaging on the First
Steppenwolf or Three Dog Night album are light years ahead of the trend du
jour.
So, what happened to change it? Somewhere in a small studio, some engineer
said "turn it down," which prompted a "flake off" response, followed by a
refusal to turn down. They both lived through it, and got interesting new
results. Early failures are evident in tracks like the Gentrys' "Wild," but
great successes are also there. One of the earliest producers to figure out
how to do it was Leo de gar Kulka at Golden State Recorders in San Francisco.
He pioneered letting the band play as loud as they wanted with the Other
Half's album on Acta. Another name doing the same thing was producer Abe
"Voco" Kesh with his cutting edge work with San Francisco's Blue Cheer.
After these two albums, everything changed. It was only a few years before
that 4 track had replaced 3 track, and then 8 track came along around 1967.
New tools were met with new ideas that challenged all the old limits.
What's interesting to me, as a recording engineer, is the techniques I've
developed for capturing live performances played at maximum decibel levels
direct to 2 track DAT in such a way that the sound is pristine, and all of
the energy of the band is captured. In essence, it's a complete reversal...
from quiet performance = loud records, to loud performance = totally clean
recording. My reward is the smile on a performer's face during playback,
hearing everything perfectly and properly effected just like in the studio
while capturing all the live edge and excitement usually missing in studio
sessions.
My approach is simple. My job as session producer/engineer is to accurately
document the event with the highest possible sound quality. I want an
accurate historical document, not a bland studio recital or an over-produced
unrepresentative record, and not an ambient sound with induced distortion.
Energy and clean cohabitate in my work.
From this perspective, I often question lo-fi because it simply does not need
to sound so bad. A lo-fi band is not the same as a lo-fi recording. Lo-fi as
it applies to a band is about minimal or marginal equipment pushed to it's
limits. Lo-fi as it applies to recording is either cheap and sloppy work, or
artificially induced poor reproduction of the original signal. There is at
least one single I'm aware of that was intentionally mastered out of phase
left to right to make it sound as bad as possible. I don't get it.
Even a really edgy full-tilt genre like hard-core punk can be recorded well
without losing its authenticity and edge. Major label sludge need not be the
result of high quality recording.
Anyway, just thought I'd expose why I go off on lo-fi some times, and maybe
provoke some thinking too.
=============================================================================
THE AUDIO FILE
by Cai Campbell
This Months Topic: Turntable Tune-Up
You probably don't need me to tell you that vinyl records, when properly
cared for, sound much better than compact discs. By the same token, you
probably don't need me to tell you that compact discs are many times easier
to care for than vinyl records. On top of that, a compact disc player
requires virtually no maintenance while the care and feeding of your
turntable can be something of a chore.
With that said, I can see you sitting there, enjoying your compact discs,
while your once proud vinyl record collection has been relegated to the
closet, or worse, the basement. Your fine turntable, after years of loyal
use, has been relegated to an unceremonious corner of the garage, underneath
that slot car set you never use anymore.
Well, it's time to get off your butt, dust off that turntable, and put it
back where it belongs: in a prominent position atop your music system. With
a minimal amount of fine-tuning, your turntable will be ready to start
spinning your old favorites. You've probably replaced them on CD already,
but after you slap that hunk of vinyl on the platter and star 'er up, you'll
wonder why you ever put your record player out to pasture in the first place.
Now, I'm making the dangerous assumption that your record collection has been
well cared for, because all the tweaking in the world is not going to reverse
record damage. Luckily, though, many times poor sounding records just need a
good cleaning. And despite the proliferation of CD's, there are many record
companies who are mending their ways and releasing records on vinyl again;
both new issues and classic cuts.
First things first! Your old turntable, at the very least, will probably
need a new stylus. More likely than not, you should pick up a new cartridge
as well. Unless you know that your cartridge has not been through many hours
of use in the past, it is a good idea to buy a new cartridge so that you can
be assured that you are going to give your records--and ears--the quality of
attention they deserve.
An in-depth discussion on phono cartridges is beyond the scope of this months
topic, however, you should look for one as recommended by your turntable's
manufacturer. If you no longer have the documentation for your turntable,
call up your local hi-fi dealer. They should be happy in assisting you in
choosing a quality, compatible cartridge for your turntable. If you are like
me and are on a budget, fear not, because your local Radio Shack should still
stock reasonably priced cartridges which yield high performance. The number
one thing to look for when choosing a cartridge is a wide frequency response.
I recently purchased a Shure RXP3, which is a universal mount cartridge that
will adapt to almost any turntable and offers a very wide frequency response
of 15Hz to 27kHz. It is available from Radio Shack for about thirty dollars.
A bargain price when you consider that high quality cartridges can cost
upwards of 1,500 dollars!
Now that you've cleaned up the turntable and verified that you have a clean
and responsive stylus/cartridge pair, you're ready to start spinning those
records, right? Wrong! There are two important steps which many people
overlook when setting up their turntables: cartridge alignment and balancing.
If you still have the documentation for your turntable, you might find some
tips on performing these tasks. Even if this is the case, most likely you
now have a cartridge different from the one provided by the manufacturer, so
any adjustments you might perform will not jive with the new cartridge. I am
going to talk about a couple of indispensable tools which you can employ to
easily perform these two crucial tasks.
The first task you will want to achieve is proper cartridge alignment.
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab makes a product called a Geo-Disc. It is an
indispensable tool in not only achieving proper cartridge alignment, but in
achieving proper offset, tracking angle, and overhang as well. The Geo-Disc
is an ingeniously designed tool that walks you through seven ridiculously
simple steps to achieve these goals. The difference that Geo-Disc will make
in the trueness of sound reproduction of your turntable cannot be stressed
enough. The Geo-Disc is deceptively simple in design so that the benefits it
has to offer are that much more astounding. Quite literally, it is the
single most effective piece of equipment you can buy to enhance the sound
reproduction characteristics of ANY turntable. It offers such a ridiculously
low cost/benefit ratio that it could be considered a crime not to take
advantage of this elegant solution. The Geo-Disc retails for about thirty
dollars.
After attaining proper cartridge alignment, the next step is to set the
stylus force, otherwise known as balancing the tone arm. The idea is to set
the amount of pressure that the stylus exerts on the surface of the record.
If there is too much pressure, record wear is increased. If there is too
little force, the record may skip and sound reproduction will be minimized.
Please refer to your turntable documentation or the package your
stylus/cartridge came in to find the recommended stylus force.
Once you have determined what the stylus force for your set-up should be, you
need a way to achieve this. Most certainly your tone arm is equipped with a
counterweight which you can adjust. Most tone arm counterweights have force
markings on them so that you need only rotate it to the proper setting.
However, this assumes that you are using a cartridge which meets the
specifications of the original cartridge which shipped with your turntable.
If this is not the case, you need an alternate method to verify proper stylus
force. Simply guessing is not adequate. You need a stylus force gauge.
Shure produces a simple yet accurate stylus force gauge called the SFG-2.
It has become an invaluable tool of mine for setting stylus force. It
retails for about fifteen dollars. Even if you feel comfortable using your
turntable manufacturers method for achieving proper tone arm balance, it is
still nice to have a secondary method to verify this very important setting.
Okay, now you're ready to go, right? Well, almost. Sure, your turntable is
now all primed and ready to go, but all this will have been for naught if you
intend on playing damaged or dirty records. There is not much we can do
about damaged records, but simply cleaning those records will make a world of
difference! There are many methods which can be employed to clean your
records, and many pundits argue the various merits of each, but I have always
used the Discwasher D4 cleaning system. The D4 system consists of a cleaning
pad and special D4 record cleaning solution. At the very least, you should
clean your records with a clean, soft, slightly moist cotton cloth, using
distilled water. NEVER use tap water on your records, and NEVER us any
fabric other than cotton to clean them. You may do irreversible damage to
your records, otherwise. You can also make an effective cleaning solution by
adding one part rubbing alcohol (the purer, the better) to ten parts
distilled water. In any event, CLEAN YOUR RECORDS!
All right, NOW you are ready to begin playing those records! Slap those
puppies on an crank up the volume, because you are most certainly in for a
treat. Take the time and compare the sound quality of your CD's to that of
your records. You may decide to toss your CD player out in the garage along
with your old slot car set!
In all fairness, there are other important elements involved in proper
turntable maintenance, including infrequent lubrication, adjusting for
anti-skating, and proper turntable placement to minimize vibration. The goal
here, though, is employ a small set of tools and procedures which will allow
you to maximize vinyl record sound reproduction with a minimal investment of
time and money. Sure, CD's are easier, but resurrect that turntable and let
your ears be the judge. My bet is that they will say it was time well spent.
=============================================================================
STUFF I NOTICED
By DJ Johnson
SO HOW COME SO MANY OF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT DMX IS?
It's about one in the afternoon, and I'm kicking back. I've got my feet up
and my shades on. All is right with the universe. The music that surrounds
me is perfect for my mood. It's "Editation," by Benny Carter. Cool jazz for
a sunny afternoon. But I get bored easily. I feel like a little reggae at
this point, so I grab the remote and flip from channel 5 (classic jazz) to
channel 18 (reggae). Christafari's "Spirit Cry" fills my ears with that
hesitant beat I love so much. Twenty minutes later, I switch to the heavy
metal station (channel 26), and I am pummeled by The Deftones' "Bored." In
a few minutes, I'll probably hit the chamber music channel (2). For a
multi-genre guy like myself, this is truly paradise.
DMX, or Digital Music eXpress, has been around since 1986. Cable TV
customers in most areas can rent a special cable box (it's 10 bucks per month
in Seattle) that attaches to your stereo system. It brings 30 channels of
digital music into your home. Each channel is a different genre of music,
and each channel runs 24 hours per day with no deejay's talking at all. If
you want to know what you're hearing, you simply aim the remote control at
the box and press the "view" button. A little data window then displays the
artist, title, writer, album, DMX's identification number, and the record
label's catalog number. Unbelievable! Let's change channels here for a sec.
Channel 2, chamber music. Edvard Grieg's Sonata No. 3 in C, Op. 43 performed
by Belnick/Ruiz. Well, that's one small problem. They tend to shorten
things a bit to make them less cumbersome for the remote-reader. Sometimes I
want a little more info. Small gripe.
Want a good reason to buy a satellite dish? Here's one. If you have one of
those puppies, you can get 120 channels of DMX. I can't afford a satellite
dish, dammit, but if I could, I would be able to listen to the Beach Party
channel, which plays surf music 24 hours per day. Or the polka channel.
Well, okay, I'd probably avoid the polka channel, but it would be nice to
know it was there in case I suddenly acquired the taste. Or the Greek music
channel, or the Hebrew hits channel, or the kids music channel . . .none of
which are available to me, the cable subscriber. It's not my cable company's
fault. It's the technology. As I understand it, we just can't have more
than 30 channels. Speaking of channels, let's flip the switch here and get
to channel 29, home of uncensored rap music. "One 4 Da Money," by Shyheim.
Pretty cool tune, actually, but my capacity for rap is limited, so before the
song is over I've switched to channel 8, the 50s channel. Bill Haley and the
Comets! And not the obvious tunes, either. Instead of "Rock Around The
Clock," we get "Stay With Me." Good call!
How about sound quality, Deej? Oh yeah. Let's put it this way: I make tapes
of channel 17 (dance/house/techno). I listen to those tapes when I drive.
Our car cassette deck sucks ugly stanky green bong water. The DMX tapes
sound great in that car. Go figure. The arguments against digital music are
all quite compelling, and I agree that clean vinyl sounds warmer, but there
is something to be said for pop 'n' scratch-free sharp clear digital music.
If you agree, you'll love DMX. Let's check the show tunes channel (28).
Aha, it's "I Hate Men" from Kiss Me Kate. God, I hate this. FLIP. Oooo!
The alternative channel (27) is playing one of my current faves, "Heroin
Girl" by Everclear. 30 options may not be as exciting as 120, but it sure
beats Seattle radio's range of classic rock and modern country.
A visit to their WWW site at http://dmx.music.com is recommended. Not only
do they have some great music links, they also have trivia contests, charts,
and various other bells and whistles. I found a list of the channels I can't
get there. Made my %&@$ing day.
Enough crying about what I can't have. Here's what cable can provide.
Symphonic classical, chamber classical, contemporary Christian, contemporary
jazz, classic jazz, big band, 70s rock, 50s rock, adult contemporary, folk
rock, modern country, classic country, ranchera/tejana, salsa, urban adult
contemporary, one channel that I can't for the life of me classify,
dance/house/techno, reggae, 60s rock, love songs, great singers, elevator
music (they call it "beautiful instrumentals," but how dumb do they think we
are?), new age (music for the people riding crystal elevators), current pop
hits, album oriented rock, heavy metal, alternative, show tunes, rap, and
blues. That's a pretty diverse selection, don't you think?
DMX has a lot going for it. They are broadcasting to over a million people
that they know of, with the potential for an audience of 20,000,000 through
satellite services. They are doing all the music for the Olympic Games,
including 200 national anthems for the medal ceremonies. The music piped
into the Olympic Village, the hotels and the dorms will be DMX. Think about
it. I wonder what uncensored gangsta-rap song will be the OFFICIAL uncensored
gansta-rap song of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games? The mind boggles.
Okay, I don't have the satellite dish, and I won't have it in the foreseeable
future. And I won't be at the Summer Games, or I'd probably kick back in my
hotel room for two weeks listening to the surf station. No, I've got to
count my blessings as they are. As I say this, I flip to the folk-rock
station (10) and Van Morrison's "Into The Mystic" has just begun. As much as
I love the latest Nomads release, I'm fairly certain there aren't any purer
musical moments than what one feels listening to "Into The Mystic." Yeah, 30
channels will do me just fine. Nice idea, whoever thought of it. Thanks.
============================================================================
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June's random gathering of things, items & stuff!
My image is a statement of the symbols of the harsh, impersonal products and
brash materialistic objects on which America is built today. It is a
projection of everything that can be bought and sold, the practical but
impermanent symbols that sustain us.
- Andy Warhol
UNIBOMBER HAIKU
Manifesto. Oops.
What a giveaway. Next time
No windy essays
To judge from the notions expounded by theologians, one must conclude that
God created most men simply with a view to crowding hell.
- Marquis de Sade
an ode to daffodil
cruelly misunderstood daffodil
so gentle so fragile so special
the delicate delicate daffodil
has no fuckin' sense of humor
H. New Mexico
1996-02-10/11
Songwriting is about getting the demon out of me. It's like being possessed.
You try to go to sleep, but the song won't let you. So you have to get up and
make it into something, and then you're allowed to sleep. It's always in the
middle of the bloody night, or when you're half-awake or tired, when your
critical faculties are switched off. So letting go is what the whole game is.
Every time you try to put your finger on it, it slips away. You turn on the
lights and the cockroaches run away. You can never grasp them.
- John Lennon
BOOK/CD: Internet.Underground.Guide (Minus Habens)
Review by coLeSLAw
It makes perfect sense that a label such as Minus Habens, whose artists skate
at blinding speeds through the fore-front of musical technology even to the
point of playing live shows on the internet, would put out a book such as
this. Or a CD such as this. It is both. They are two entirely separate
entities living a symbiotic relationship with each other forming a package
that should be a REQUIRED manual for people who either own a computer
(meaning you), who explore the Internet (meaning you), and who like music
(which, assuming now that you are reading this on purpose, means you).
So what is it? Well, simply put it is a guide. More specifically, it is a
very good guide. Even more specifically, it rocks. It starts with "What Is
The Internet?", gives definitions, data, a glossary of terms, facts, history,
instructions on usage, lists of service providers (world-wide), lists of
references, etc etc etc...
It goes on to give lists of sites for art, books, comics, conspiracy,
environment, games, music, occult, raves, science fiction, sex, UFOs, video,
and on and on. It also includes a full catalog of Minus Habens and
Disturbance releases...and...the CD.
So what is the CD? Well, everything. I mean it, everything. Early in 1995,
Minus Habens sent out a request on certain music news groups for "uuencoded"
sounds. People from all over the world replied, and the CD was realized. It
is a collection of music, samples, noises, screams, bleeps, anything and
everything. It is the world communicating free-form, with no barriers or
boundaries (other than the obvious time constraint put on each sample sent.
Finally, to round it all off, there is a track by one of Minus Habens' own
artists, Klange, which is a concert that was performed in real time live from
Italy over an ISDN connection.
I don't know how much this thing sells for, but I'm sure it is worth every
penny, peso, franc, ruble, or whatever. Connect.
UNIBOMBER HAIKU
Bad Unabomber!
Blowing people all to hell.
Do you take requests?
No one has been barred on account of his race from fighting or dying for
America-there are no "white" or "colored" signs on the foxholes or graveyards
of battle.
- John F. Kennedy
Playing "bop" is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing.
- Duke Ellington
(And now for a little Rastafarian poetry!)
REPATRIATION AN UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Repatriation not migration
Set the people free
It is known to every nation
Each vine to his fig tree
Repatriation not migration
A difference you will see
One stands for all the people's freedom
The other not for me.
Repatriation not migration
Then shall captives free
From savage and oppressive rule
To justice and equality
Repatriation not migration
It is for us to see
Three hundred years of hard oppression
Was read in history
Repatriation not migration
Our homes we long to see
Now comes the end of tribulations
As told in prophecy
Repatriation not migration
United we must stand
To claim our promised portion
With true determination
Repatriation not migration
All aliens now must flee
We know the truth of revelation
What is to be must be.
REPATRIATION: YES!
MIGRATION: NO!
- Author Unknown
Money couldn't buy friends, but you got a better class of enemy.
- Spike Milligan
It is better to make a piece of music than to perform one, better to perform
one than to listen to one, better to listen to one than to misuse it as a
means of distraction, entertainment, or acquisitiuon of "culture."
- John Cage
UNIBOMBER HAIKU
"Open your present..."
"No, you open your present..."
Kaczinski Christmas
=============================================================================
E-MAIL ADDRESSES FOR CONTACTING COSMIK DEBRIS' WRITERS
DJ Johnson (Editor)......moonbaby@serv.net
James Andrews............jimndrws@serv.net
Cai Campbell.............vex@serv.net
coLeSLAw.................coleslaw@greatgig.com
Robert Cummings..........rcummings@csrlink.net
Shaun Dale...............stdale@well.com
Phil Dirt................Luft.F@diversey.geis.com
David Fenigsohn..........a-davef@microsoft.com
Alex Gedeon..............abraxas@primenet.com
Keith Gillard............liquid@uniserve.com
Louise Johnson...........aquaria@serv.net
Steven Leith.............leith@serv.net
Lauren Marshall..........MHND71B@prodigy.com
Steve Marshall...........MHND71F@prodigy.com
The Platterpuss..........Plattrpuss@aol.com
Paul Remington...........premington@rochgte.fidonet.org
Cosmik Debris' WWW site..http://www.greatgig.com/cosmikdebris
Subscription requests....moonbaby@serv.net
Jim Andrews' "JimbOnline" web site (contains tons of Windows 95
(tm) shareware) is at http://www.serv.net/~jimndrws
Cai Campbell's BBS (Great Gig In The Sky)...206-935-8486
Phil Dirt's Surf Site is at http://www.cygnus.com/kfjc/surf
Keith Gillard's "Liquid Records WWW site is located
at http://haven.uniserve.com/~liquid
Steven Leith's web site is at http://www.serv.net/~leith
DEBRIS FIELD POET'S: Only one this month.
"ode to a daffodil" by Wlod (everest@netcom.com)
And a VERY special thanks to Gabe Martin for letting us use
his cool cartoons in The Debris Field. Gabe's outrageous WWW
site is at http://www.cts.com/~borderln/todays.html and there
are hundreds of his cartoons to check out there. (Cartoon ran
in WWW version only, of course.)
All articles, reviews, and columns in this publication are the
exclusive property of Cosmik Debris E-Zine. If you wish to use
any of the material found in this publication, you must first
request permission from the publisher/editor, DJ Johnson.
Requests may be sent to moonbaby@serv.net.
(C) 1996 - Cosmik Debris
