Riddle of the Eighties

Sex Pistols: The Week That Was

2008-03-09T12:06:00.000-07:00

31 years ago this week.
March 9, 1977: The Sex Pistols sign with A&M Records. Having played their first official gig just 18 months ago and already terminated from one recording contract with EMI, Malcolm McLaren negotiates a deal with A&M. The EMI deal lasted only 3 months and goes south after a number of public incidents, including the groups famous first television appearance when they curse host Bill Grundy (pictured below) on live TV and cause a drunken disturbance prior to boarding a plane to Amsterdam.
March 10, 1977: To generate press, A&M schedules a press conference in front of Buckingham Palace, announcing the deal. This would be the first public appearance of new bass player Sid Vicious. A reception at a nearby hotel follows where the band members fill up on the free bar and begin insulting the journalists in attendance. The "party" spills out to a nearby recording studio where a fight ensues. Sid Vicious somehow cuts his foot and Paul Cook leaves with a black eye. A&M, for some reason, has the band come to A&M Headquarters for a meeting to discuss the b-side for the labels inaugural single God Save The Queen. McLaren's plan is to have the single released to correspond with the Queen's Silver Jubilee, marking the 25th anniversary of her accession to the throne. Vicious and Steve Jones proceed to destroy the offices and terrorize staff members. The meeting is adjourned.

March 11, 1977: Johnny Rotten appears before the court and is fined £40 for a previous charge on possession of amphetamines.

March 12, 1977: Vicious and cohort Jah Wabble (future bass player for Public Image Ltd.) terrorize BBC Radio 1 and Old Grey Whistle Test host Bob Harris (at right) at a local club. Pressure on A&M begins immediately to drop the Pistols due to their anti-social behavior.

March 16, 1977: Bowing to the pressure, as well as realizing they were never going to control the band, A&M terminates their contract with the Sex Pistols. A settlement is reached, paying the band £75,000 for their trouble. All copies of God Save The Queen are destroyed. The bands goal of having the song released for the queen's jubilee is in doubt.

The Sex Pistols would go on to find another record label willing to deal with them, signing to Virgin Records several months later. Vicious could not attend the much more toned down news conference announcing the deal, he was in the hospital with hepatitis caught from his now burgeoning heroin habit. He would be dead within two years. McLaren (at left, with Vivienne Westwood) and the group did see God Save The Queen released in time for jubilee. A scathing incitement on the Royal Family and the Queen herself, the band attempted to interrupt the celebration at the height of the festivities on June 7th by playing the song from a boat on the River Thames. After a brief scuffle with police they were arrested before they could ever get the boat launched. Despite radio stations being under strict orders not to play the song, enough copies were sold during the week to send it to #2 on the UK charts (the Pistols contended more than enough records were sold but that political pressure kept it from being #1).

Recycled Sounds

2008-03-03T19:43:00.000-08:00

If your looking to restock that iPod, check out some new and recycled sounds that I came across that were just released or made available.

One of the UK's longest running punk bands (formed on December 5, 1976), 999 released, by my count, their 14th studio LP late last year, Death in Soho. But for my money, 999 is first and foremost a live band and can only be truly appreciated outside the studio. Among the numerous live albums the band has issued over the years, emusic (http://www.emusic.com/) just made available their 1987 live LP Lust, Power and Money. The recording has very good sound quality (unlike Live In LA: 1991 or Live at the Nashville 1979 which both sounded like the microphones were hidden in a shirt pocket). Their 1980 release The Best Tour in Sport (which is very hard to find and cost me $20 on the internet) still ranks as their best live LP but you can't go wrong with Lust, Power and Money , and the price is right.

Australia's The Hitmen have reissued both their 1981 debut LP The Hitmen and the 1982 follow-up It Is What It Is . Both reissues are 2 CD sets, coupling the original LP material with numerous studio demo's and assorted live recordings for an amazing 47 and 45 tracks in all, respectively. If you have to choose, I suggest going with their 1981 debut. It includes several great live tracks as well as their "hit" I Don't Mind.

Bahaus released a new studio album for the first time in 25 years this week with Go Away White. Recorded in late 2005 after their second round of live shows in the past 10 years (they first reunited for a tour with Nine Inch Nails in 1998), Go Away White is being reported as the last music the original members will be making together. No tour is planned in support of the release. Peter Murphy is in full Bowie mode on several of the songs and, for me, like most of the original 3 albums the band put out in the early 80's, I found 4 songs I really liked and will have to wait to see if the rest grows on me. If you're just looking to download a song or two I would recommend Too Much 21st Century and Int'l Bullet Proof Talent or Adrenalin.

emusic has also added Dramarama's first two full length LP's, 1985's Cineme Verite and 1987's Box Office Bomb. Forever to be known for their huge hit Anything, Anything (still the most requested song of all time on pioneering LA radio station KROQ), both of the bands LP's are worth adding. Along with the original material, these reissues include extra studio tracks and several live recordings. Box Office Bomb features an early studio demo of the their 1989 hit Last Cigarette.

Gary Numan

2008-02-23T04:03:00.000-08:00

Gary Numan is among the most under appreciated acts to emerge from the late 70's, early 80's punk and new-wave scene. When you hear the name Gary Numan, you probably think "one hit wonder" for his chart topping song and current day advertising staple Cars, which went number one in both the UK and America in 1979 and 1980. Don't get me wrong, I'm as sick of that song as anyone on the planet. But while Cars may define Numan in many eyes, he in fact had many other successful singles and albums throughout the early 80's. His use of the synthesizer inspired legions of artists after him and popularized the instrument as much as anyone. I'll focus on his early work, primarily on the Beggars Banquet label, as it stands as Numan's definitive work and some of the best of the generation.

Numan had several false starts in punk bands in the late 70's until he teamed up with bassist Paul Gardiner in 1978 and formed Tubeway Army. On the strength of several demos the duo was signed to the Beggars Banquet label in 1978. The groups first album, Tubeway Army, didn't generate much interest and Numan sought to take the band a different direction, wanting to distance himself from the perceived negativism and corrosive nature of punk. A synthesizer, abandoned in a studio where the duo were recording, served as the catalyst Numan needed. Using the synthesizer has his base, Numan began to dissect the short stories he had written in honor of his favorite author, science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, to create a new musical style that would come define him.

The album announcing the "new" Tubeway Army would be Replicas, released in 1979. The first single, Down in the Park, was heavy on imagery of some future world, where robots patrolled the earth and humans were both friend and foe. On the strength of that single the follow-up, Are Friends Electric?, went number one on the UK singles chart and, following several television appearances, the album also climbed to number one on the UK album charts.

On the heels of Replicas, and now recording as Gary Numan & Tubeway Army, came the album The Pleasure Principle and the aforementioned smash single Cars, released in late 1979. On the success of Cars, Numan headed out on his first headlining tour, traveling throughout Europe, Japan, Australia and finally landing on US soil at the beginning of 1980. With huge neon light banks, electronic toys and lots of smoke, Numan's stage shows were unlike anything seen by the average concertgoer in 1980. Numan was also a master marketer, taking advantage of his popularity with well organized merchandising efforts via his Tubeway Army fan club. He was one of the first artists to embrace video and made both concerts and individual song video collections available on VHS.

The following year the album Telekon was released and it too went number one on the strength of singles This Wreckage, We Are Glass and I Die: You Die. Also during this time Numan, now financially secure, was able to pursue his life long dream of flight, obtaining his private pilot's license. His love of flying coupled with the success he had achieved to date led Numan to announce his retirement from any future touring in 1981. While Beggars Banquet was cashing in by releasing several live LP's, Numan placed his focus on flying, including a much publicized trip around the world. During his global journey he would be arrested in India and charged with spying, a charge for which he was later acquitted.

By the end of 1981 Numan released the album Dance, which quickly went to the top 5 of the UK charts and just as quickly dropped out of site. The fickle fate of fame had turned, many of Numan's fans were on to other bands. The decision to retire from touring was immediately reversed, as Numan headed to the US playing shows in support of the record. Dance also started a trend by Numan, where he would assume a different persona and focus the sound of the record on some particular style. Dance was a stark, experimental sounding album with a jazz vibe, 1982's I, Assassin had more of a funk flavor, ala Prince, and on 1983's Warriors he would add female backing vocals and assume a Mad-Max type look. Warriors would be his last record for Beggars Banquet. The public never took hold of any of this and the "experimental trilogy", as Numan would refer to the works, signaled the start of Numan's declining popularity.

Gary Numan would continue to release music on and off throughout the remainder of the 80's but his popularity never grew beyond the ever diminishing faithful from his early days. Most all of his work in the 1990's and early 2000 were all dismissible. Numan, as so many did, decided to follow rather than lead, playing a style of music that fit the flavor of the day rather than establishing his own mark. Having been a huge Numan fan in the early 80's and never having the opportunity to see him live I jumped at the chance to see him in 2000 when he as touring in support of Pure. Pure was attempting to capitalize on the funk-hip-hop-metal popularity of the day, which was making multi-millionaires out of bands like Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park and Incubus. I figured it was worth enduring this new garbage for a chance to hear at least a few of my old favorites. So, off to the House of Blues on LA's famed Sunset Strip I went with high expectations, along with 75 or 80 like minded folk, to hear at least a Down in the Park or Are Friends Electric? along with the obligatory Cars. After one and half hours of the loudest, most indistinguishable music I had ever heard I wandered out of the HOB in a daze. Not only had he not played any of the old stuff, he didn't even play Cars. It was awful, Numan didn't say two words during the entire show, choosing to charge around stage, dressed all in black, all the while looking and sounding like some weak Nine Inch Nails cover band. I was pissed. My frustration would reach a new level as I passed the blinking sign I had obviously missed in my hast to get to the show "No Parking - Tow Away Zone". The cabbies lined up along the other side of the street (they'd done this before) gathered me and the other idiots that also failed to see the sign and whisked us off to parts unknown, to pay our $150 tow bill and retrieve our vehicles. Not only did I not get to hear even Cars, I had no car to show for it.

But I still love Gary Numan.

What's in a name?

2008-02-13T19:18:00.000-08:00

Name: [neym] 1. a word or a combination of words by which a person, place, or thing, is designated, called, or known.

Wall of Voodoo (above) - Shortly after Stan Ridgway and Marc Moreland got together and started recording the first music that would become Wall of Voodoo, Ridgway jokingly compared the recordings to the Phil Spector-era "Wall of Sound". A friend commented it sounded more like "Wall of Voodoo" and the name stuck.

Spandau Ballet - Term referred to the spasms of the Nazi war criminals as they "danced at the end of the rope", when they were hanged at Spandau Prison.

fIREHOSE - Taken from a line in a Bob Dylan song, Subterranean Homesick Blues "Better stay away from those that carry around a fire hose".

The Cramps (right)- Liked the name because it is a violent, painful affliction that can be hard to get rid of.

Velvet Underground - Named after a book Lou Reed found in an apartment he had moved into. The book discusses the unusual sexual practices between consenting adults in the early 60's.

Sonic Youth (above)- Named in honor of two of the bands influences, Fred "Sonic" Smith of the MC5 and reggae band Big Youth.

Mekons - They took the band's name from the Mekon, an evil, super-intelligent Venusian featured in the British 1950s-1960s comic Dan Dare.

New York Dolls - Several stories have been used by various band members to recall where they came up with the name. Most common was based on a store that repaired dolls close to where Syl Sylvain lived and the band rehearsed.

Joy Division- The band started out as Warsaw, but there was already another group calling itself Warsaw Pakt, so the band renamed themselves Joy Division, borrowing the name of the prostitution wing of a Nazi concentration camp.

Devo - Short for "Devolution", which is what the band saw happening to the world in the 70's.

Husker Du - Which means "do you remember" in Swedish, also a popular board game in the 50's.

Thin White Rope (above)- Comes from William S. Burroughs' description of human semen.

The Misfits - Named after Marilyn Monroe's final movie.

Operation Ivy - Named after a series of nuclear tests conducted in 1952.

The Jesus and Mary Chain - One of the band members saw an ad on a cereal box offering a free Jesus and Mary chain.

The Pogues (at left) - Shortened from "Pogue Mahone", which in Gaelic (pog ma hon) means kiss my ass.

The Replacements (below)- Most common story is the band, still not set on a name, was called in to play for another band that failed to show and when asked, Paul Westerberg responded "we're the replacements".

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

A new documentary is set to be released at the beginning of March chronically the life and times of Jeffery Lee Pierce, leader of the 80's punk blues group Gun Club. "Ghost on the Highway" will follow Pierce from his East LA roots to his untimely death at age 37 in 1996.

Pierce was a fixture in the LA club scene as a teenager and his love of the band Blondie led him to be president of the Blondie Fan Club. Formed in 1979 (initially calling themselves Creeping Ritual), the Gub Club mixed the raw energy of punk with blues and country to make music unlike anything that was being spit out of the LA punk scene in the early 80's. The Gun Club's sound was the blueprint that would spawn the cow-punk/paisley underground scene to follow years later. Both their debut release, 1981's Fire of Love, and follow up, 1982's Miami, are considered classics that established Pierce as one of the priemer songwriters of his generation.

Gun Club had a somewhat revolving cast of characters and contributors and, aside from Pierce, the band lineup changed frequently. Some of the musicians that would either contribute or join the band: Deborah Harry (Blondie), Pat Bag (The Bags), Linda "Texacala" Jones (Tex and the Horseheads), David Alvin (Blasters), Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins) and Kid Congo Powers (at right).

More popular in Europe than his native America, Pierce (above) spent much of the late 80's and early 90's bouncing between LA, Europe, London and Japan. In August of 1995 Pierce (pictured below, shortly before his death)formed a new Gun Club lineup and returned to America, playing several well received shows in the LA area. New Gun Club material was planned and a live LP had just been released when Pierce died of a brain hemmorhage while visting his father in Salt Lake City on March 31, 1996.

The Call

2008-02-10T04:42:00.000-08:00

When Peter Gabriel, Bono, Martin Scorsese , Jim Kerr (Simple Minds), Harry Dean Stanton, Garth Hudson and Robbie Robertson (The Band) all get together for that Friday night poker game, what do you think they listen to? Chances are, it would be something by The Call. Formed in Santa Cruz, CA in 1979, The Call came together after two Oklahoma natives (lead singer Michael Been and drummer Scott Musick) joined forces with two Bay-area musicians (guitarist Tom Ferrier and bassist Greg Freeman). Originally calling themselves Motion Pictures, the foursome played shows around the Bay Area and shopped a demo to various record labels. Ultimately they signed with Mercury Records, a division of Polydor. Hugh Padham, a veteran producer who worked with XTC, The Police and Peter Gabriel, was brought in to produce the bands debut, which was recorded in England. Released in 1982, the self titled debut immediately established The Call as a band that had something to say.

The social conscience of the band was clearly evident in their next studio release, 1983’s “Modern Romans”. This time self-produced, the album was much more of a rock-n-roll record than their debut and the political themes were turned up a notch. It was clear with this record that The Call had found their direction, both musically and lyrically, and it produced their first hit “The Walls Came Down”. Listen to “The Walls Came Down” today and the song could have just as easily been written in 2003 as 1983. Likewise with the song “Turn A Blind Eye”, the hostility Been and the group felt about the social and political world they saw around them was evident:

To the desperate young, turn a blind eye
To the old and lonely, turn a blind eye
To our inhumanity
To our death dealing vanity
To the methods of persuasion, turn a blind eye
To the masters of evasion, turn
To the science of control, turn a blind eye
To a world in chains, turn
To the sellers of illusion, turn a blind eye
To masters of confusion, turn a blind eye
To a hollow culture
To the circling vulture
To lovers of power, turn a blind eye
To the resurrection
To a world in chains, turn
I don't want to get involved
It's not my problem
I'll just ignore it
I don't want to feel this
To the starving children, turn a blind eye
To your own redemption, turn
To the horror of extinction
To a world in chains, turn

“Modern Romans” put the band on the map and they toured behind it for all of 1983 both as a headliner and supporting Peter Gabriel’s “Shock The Monkey” tour.

The relentless touring took its toll on bass player Freeman and, before the group entered the studio in 1984 to record a follow-up, he departed the band. Playing now as a trio proved to be a difficult transition for the remaining members. The result, “Scene Beyond Dreams”, would years later be recalled by Been as his least favorite of the bands early recordings.

The band would waste all of 1985 in a battle to get out of their deal with Polydor, a battle they would ultimately win and by 1986 entered the studio to record their first Electra album “Reconciled”. Also at this time Been would move to bass and keyboard player Jim Goodwin would be added. The year or so the group spent away from playing and recording was evident on “Reconciled”. Gabriel, Jim Kerr and Robbie Robertson would all play or sing on the album. Gone, however, was long time contributor keyboardist Garth Hudson and the effect was a harder, more guitar driven sound. Been’s lyrics would also take a much less confrontational and political direction. Despite having released three full length albums and with the core members of the band playing together for over 6 years to this point, “Reconciled” feels like their debut. The songs have freshness and a sound that had not previously been captured to this point in their career.

Been’s inwardly focused lyrics and the ever evolving sound of the band continued on 1987’s “Into The Woods”. If “Reconciled” felt like a debut, “Into The Woods” was far from a sophomore jinx. The sound of the band became even tighter and if anything Been’s singing and lyrics stand out even more than on any previous record. Been would later call “Into The Woods” his favorite Call recording.

The band stayed away from the studio in 1988. Been, at the suggestion of director and Call fan Martin Scorsese, participated in a screen test for Scorsese’s latest film “The Last Temptation of Christ”, where he was chosen for the role of the Apostle John. Several members of the band, Been included, also spent the summer supporting actor Harry Dean Stanton, who played harmonica and sang cover tunes, on a tour of clubs throughout the US. I actually saw one of Stanton’s shows that summer and like many Call fans am sorry to report that it was too much Stanton and too little Call.

In 1989 The Call returned to the studio to record “Let The Day Begin”. While I like the record and the title song would become the biggest hit of their career, the sound of the band had definitely evolved. It all felt a little safer to me, written and played more with radio in mind. The band was getting older and you could sense their recognition of that fact with “Let The Day Begin”. Likewise with 1990’s “Red Moon”, these were no longer angry young men, but guys with kids and mortgages. Even with acknowledged fan Bono contributing vocals on several tracks, the album sold poorly. While I didn’t much care for “Red Moon” at the time, now that I have a mortgage and two kids of my own, today I appreciate it’s more rootsier sound and introspective lyrics.

Shortly after the release of “Red Moon” and a short tour to support it, The Call took an indefinite hiatus.

In 1992 Michael Been would score and perform the soundtrack for director Paul Schrader’s movie “Light Sleeper”. An off-beat tale of a drug dealer trying to break-free, Been’s music provided the perfect backdrop for the movie. Unfortunately the CD was only released in Europe and is impossible to find.

In 1994 Been released a solo effort entitled “On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakthrough” and the band would reform in 1997, releasing “To Heaven And Back”. Surprisingly, both discs pick up not where "Red Moon" left off but would seem to fit better in the earlier "Reconciled" era. Aside from some slicker production, not much separate these two discs from some of The Call's finest earlier work and are musts for any Call fan.

Michael Been (pictured below, at right) can be found these days touring as a sound engineer in support of his son, Robert Levon Been and his band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

10 Songs by The Call you need to own.

The rules were simple, list 10 call songs everyone must own and chose at least one song from each release. In no particular order, they are:

1. The Walls Came Down - Modern Romans
2. Turn A Blind Eye - Modern Romans
3. The Morning - Reconciled
4. War Weary World - The Call
5. Musta Been OutTa My Mind - To Heaven And Back
6. Let the Day Begin - Let the Day Begin
7. Like You Never Been Loved - Red Moon
8. Tremble - Scene Beyond Dreams
9. Invitation - On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakthrough
10. It Could Have Been Me - Into The Woods

Hüsker Dü

2008-01-29T17:03:00.001-08:00

Album of the Week: Land Speed Record

17 songs clocking in at a little over 26 minutes, Hüsker Dü's 1982 live LP "Land Speed Record" catches the band at their hardcore best. Admittedly, its taken me 20 odd years and several dozens tries to fully appreciate "Land Speed Record". Initially, I came across Hüsker Dü much later in their discography, and those later records when compared to "Land Speed Record" are as different as night and day. But with age comes wisdom, and I now recognize "Land Speed Record" for what it is; the early work of a band trying to find their sound. Hüsker Dü was always about building that sonic wall around each song while still allowing the words to take front and center. "Land Speed Record" is all about the wall, if you catch any of the words good for you.

The bands first full-length record, "Land Speed Record" was recorded live at the 7th Street Entry, a small club in Minneapolis, on August 15, 1981. The first time you listen to the disc you get the feeling that you've stuck your head out of the car window going 75 miles-per-hour. Air blasting you in the face, your skin rippling all while trying to keep you're eyes open so you can see where you're going. Hüsker Dü was first and foremost a hardcore band and "Land Speed Record" confirms it. There are several songs that do foreshadow the bands sound yet to come, notably "Data Control" and "Don't Try To Call". But as for the rest, its all two minutes (or less) and a cloud of dust. The murky and somewhat muffled sound quality gives the disc the appearance of being bootlegged, but in fact was recorded directly from the soundboard.

Once recorded, the band realized they didn't have the money needed to release the tape and sought the help of fellow punk upstarts The Minutemen, who released the record on their own New Alliance label. The association with The Minutemen and fellow West Coast hardcore outfit Black Flag led to Hüsker Dü being signed to their first recording contract by SST Records.

Hüsker Dü was formed in 1979 in Minneapolis when Bob Mould began to frequent a record store where Grant Hart worked. Hart would later bring bassist Greg Norton into the fold and by 1980 the trio was playing gigs in and around Minneapolis. As with "Land Speed Record", throughout the bands career Hart and Mould were the primary songwriters, with each singing the individual songs they had written. "You sing your songs, I'll sing my songs"…foreshadowing for what lay ahead between the two. Mould came from a much darker place lyrically, writing songs with much more emotion and feeling while Hart tended to have the better sense of humor of the two. The band had an impressive level of output during their brief 8 year recording career, releasing 4 studio LP's, 2 double studio LP's, 1 live album and 5 EP's. They were the first 80's underground, alternative band of note to sign to a major label, inking a deal with Warner Bros Records in 1986 that produced their final two LP's, 1986's "Candy Apple Grey" and 1987's double LP "Warehouse: Songs and Stories". But alas, heroin enters the picture, as Hart's escalating use of the drug further intensified his already stormy relationship with Mould and by 1988 the band was history.

Bob Mould has continued on with an impressive career, both solo and fronting his first post-Hüsker band Sugar. Hart formed the band Nova Mob shortly after Hüsker Dü, recording several albums before that band broke up in the early 90's. Greg Norton has been in and out of music while becoming a chef and opening a restaurant in Wisconsin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks to whoever traded in the CD "Survival of the Fittest", a compilation disc issued by Ryko Records in 1990. On a recent trip through my favorite used record store, Half Price Books, I came across the disc. What a find, featuring a host of barely heard and obscure Australian bands (for anyone in the United States) from the mid to late 80's that recorded for the Rattlesnake and Survival record labels. Here's a quick peek at some of my favorites:

The Screaming Tribesmen : "Left In The Dark", "Casualty of Love" and "Mess With You" - The Tribesmen are the best known of the artists on the disk, with their song "I've Got A Feeling" receiving heavy play on MTV's 120 Minutes and KROQ in 1988.

Tall Tales and True: "7 = 7 Is" and "Cyclone Sally" - Tall Tales bring a Cramps-like swamp and bluesy atmosphere to the songs, with definite influences from the Paisley Underground bands like Gun Club and Dream Syndicate.

The Hitmen: "Oh No" and "I Don't Mind" - You can definitely hear the influence of the founding fathers of Aussie Punk, Radio Birdman, in these songs (which is always a good thing).

Ya Ya Choral: "Hit" - Best described as Post-Punk Pop, Aussie style.

Mick Blood & the Pushtwangers: "Hung Up" - Blood, leader of the legendary Aussie band The Lime Spiders, fronts the Swedish band The Pushtwangers here with a screaming rock-a-billy number.

Cosmic Psychos (below): "Lost Cause" - The best song on the disc, featuring the best line... "She's a lost cause, She's only 19, I'm a has-bean".

Damien Lovelock: "Harper's Bazaar" and "Ghostown" - Lovelock, lead singer of legendary Aussie band Celibate Rifles is solo here, with material much different than his work with the Rifles, adding more rootsy, jangle pop sound.

The Nils

2008-01-21T20:17:00.001-08:00

Like any of the "great-band-that-went-no-where" stories of the 70's and 80's punk scene, the story of Montreal's the Nils, unfortunately, may sound familiar. What ultimately separates the band's story from so many other countless groups that folded under poor management, bad record deals, drugs or a combination of all the above, is, of course, the music. Ragged, raw and loose, the Nils had a sound that, while easy to compare, was all their own.

At the age of 16 Carlos Soria, inspired by the music of The Clash and the Sex Pistols, picked up the bass and eventually started playing in various punk bands in and around Montreal in the mid 1970's. Younger brother Alex becomes interested and, after the purchase of an $80 guitar, immediately finds he has music ability inside him that he never realized. From the start, Carlos realizes that writing and playing music was what his younger brother was meant to do. The pair would spend hours together playing songs and writing lyrics in the room they shared. By 1979 Alex, now 13 years old, and the first version of The Nils play gigs around Montreal. Within a few years, on the strength of a self-released cassette entitled "Now", a local

label BYO Records adds their song "Scratches and Needles" to a compilation entitled "Something to Believe In", which featured bands from around the Montreal music scene. While the remaining members of The Nils were ready to abandon the group, Carlos, seeing the strong reaction their song had, kept the group together and joined them on bass.

After recording the song "Call of the Wild" for another locally produced compilation in 1984, the Soria brothers become friends with Ivan Doroschuk. Doroschuk was in the the band Men Without Hats, who were a year or so away from scoring their hit "Safety Dance". Backed by a $3500 loan they received, only after Doroschuk co-signed, the Nils headed into the studio and recorded "Sell Out So Young" in 1985, with Doroschuk producing. Even Doroschuk would admit years later that the Nils were a hard sell. Most labels at the time were looking for music that would sell, no one was willing to take a chance on anyone with a sound like the Nils. But the "Sell Out So Young" EP changed that.

Following up quickly, the group recorded another EP "Paisley" in 1986. On the strength of the two EP's, The Rock Hotel imprint signed the band to a recording deal and their first full length self titled album was released in 1987. The record became an immediate favorite of record reviewers and the press, unfortunately all the people who don't have to buy the record. Despite touring behind the release and appearing on Rolling Stone magazine's college chart (the first Canadian band to do so), a lack of proper management and personal problems within the band sent it into free fall.

Within a year, the Rock Hotel label would go under and while the parent company, Profile, wanted to keep the band on contract the former head of Rock Hotel refused to release them. Forced back into menial day jobs, Alex becomes deeply depressed. Carlos, with no prospects and a offer to play with the band M.I.A., heads to California.

Much of the early 90's were marked with numerous false starts to try and revive the band or start others, as well as both Carlos and Alex's use of drugs, especially heroin (it always leads to this, doesn't it?). The drug would exit and re-enter Alex's life several times over the next decade. Alex would form the band Chino in 1998. In 2000 the group released "Mala Leche", an EP which again met with critical success but poor sales.

Then, in 2004, with another drug relapse in the making and despite plans to enter a treatment facility, Alex Soria took his own life. He was 38.

Mag Wheel Records released an excellent retrospective of the bands work in 1996. "Green Fields in Daylight" compiles the groups work that had been previously released as well as several live recordings and other previously unreleased material.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The Best of the Rest: Other bands from Canada

Payola$ - Song "Eyes of a Stranger" from the Valley Girl soundtrack a hit in 1982.
Martha and the Muffins - Scored an international hit in 1980 with "Echo Beach"
Skinny Puppy - Industrial punks from Vancouver.
Men Without Hats - "Safety Dance", nuff said.
D.O.A. - Hardcore punk band from Vancouver, one of the founding members of the hardcore movement in the early 80's.

Jangle Pop

2008-01-19T13:30:00.000-08:00

In the early to mid 1980's it went by many names: jangle pop, southern rock, cow punk, ect, ect. In Los Angeles they called the movement the Paisley Underground, while adding a bit more of a psychedelic sound. For our purposes, we'll stick with jangle pop. A sound perfectly defined by Donnie and Marie; a little bit country and a little bit rock n roll. Except the country wasn't quite as country as the music coming out of Nashville in the early 1980's and the rock n roll was more punk than rock. In the early 90's we started calling it alt.country and today it's roots or Americana.

The sound found it's origins in the 60's with The Byrds (pictured above), the first band of note to employ the Rickenbacker guitar and produce the folkish-pop music, tinged with country, highlighted by the jangle of the Rickenbacker. Bands like Big Star and The Raspberries carried the torch throughout the 1970's, adding a more powerful sound with a little less jangle (hence power pop). In the early 80's, artist and producer Don Dixon, along with partner Mitch Easter, would bring the sound to new heights when they co-produced R.E.M.'s breakthrough full-length debut "Murmur" in 1983. If you look closely at the genealogy of music, jangle pop (whether it be from the 60's, 70's or 80's) has a direct branch to the alt.country and Americana music of the early 90's through today. Inevitably, when you think of jangle pop, the first thing that comes to mind is the South. The list of bands that hailed from the South was endless (R.E.M., The dB's, Pylon, Let's Active, Drivin 'N Cryin, Dreams So Real, to name a few).

While on the west coast, kids inspired by the psychedelic sound of the 60's, but not willing to give up on the ragged DIY glory of punk, inspired the Paisley Underground scene. While some of the influences may have been similar (Big Star, Byrds), the LA scene was also influenced by Buffalo Springfield, The Beach Boys and The Seeds. The genre was penned by Michael Quercio, leader of the band Three O'clock, for the outfits favored by groups in the scene. Steve Wynn, who formed the band Dream Syndicate, was a key figure in the scene after moving to LA from Davis, California. Other prominent bands from the era include Green on Red, The Bangles, House of Freaks, Blake Babies and True West.

Lets look at some of my favorite jangle pop bands that aren't always on the tip of any body's tongue (but should be) when the great jangle pop debate gets started:

Dumptruck
Origin: New Haven, Conn.
Key Recordings: D is for Dumptruck (1984), Positively Dumptruck (1986) for the country (1987)
If you can only buy one: Haul Of Fame, a best of compilation released in 2006 by Ryko, covering songs from their entire catalog.

United in New Haven, Connecticut Kirk Swan and Seth Tiven were the driving force and chief songwriters for Dumptruck. While they didn't employ a Rickenbacker, the band had the definitive jangle pop sound, drawing heavily from groups like Big Star and the Byrds. Driven by the twin guitar sound of it's two leaders, Dumptruck would also add the occasional pedal steel, mandolin and Hammond organ to give their songs a decidedly "southern" feel. After the groups second release "Positively Dumptruck" in 1986, Kirk Swan left the group under the weight of a grueling tour schedule that only heightened the tension and strain with Tiven. The first post-Swan release, 1987's "for the country", saw the band head in a decidedly roots-ier direction. After some legal wrangling with their label, 3 more albums would follow and by 2000 the group officially broke up.

The Long Ryders
Origin: Los Angeles
Key Recordings: 10-5-60 (1983), Native Sons (1984), State of Our Union (1985), Two-Fisted Tales (1987)
If you can only buy one: Native Sons

Formed in Los Angles in 1982, The Long Ryders epitomized the Paisley Underground scene emerging in LA during the early 80's. The band members had both punk (guitarist Sid Griffin, drummer Greg Sowders) and country (guitarist Stephen McCarthy) backgrounds. In the studio they worked with Henry Levy (Flying Burrito Brothers) to craft possibly the finest record produced by any of the LA bands at the time, 1984's "Native Sons". They were selling records, playing in front of capacity crowds and getting critical praise (NME called Native Sons "a modern American classic"). In 1985, they released "State of Our Union" which shot to the top of college radio behind the single "Looking for Lewis and Clark". It was during this time that they took off in Europe, the result of non-stop touring of the UK and Spain. By 1987 they released "Two-Fisted Tales" and U2 came calling, looking for the band to open for their upcoming Joshua Tree tour. And then it was over. Worn out from the relentless touring of the past 4 years, bassist Tom Stevens left the band to devote more time to his family. Stephen McCarthy would leave a few months later. With one half the group now gone, Griffin and Sowders decided to call it quits.

Guadalcanal Diary
Origin: Marietta, GA
Key Recordings: Watusi Rodeo (1983), Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man (1984), Jamboree (1986), 2x4 (1987), Flip-Flop (1989)
If you can only buy one: Rhino Handmade re-issued Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man and Jamboree one disc in 2003.

Spanning the decade of the 80's, Guadalcanal Diary formed in Marietta, Georgia in 1981 and broke up in 1989 (save 1997 reunion tour). Led by chief songwriter and singer Murray Attaway, the band would become known for songs with wit and humor, sung in Attaway's unmistakable tenor. Their debut EP "Watusi Rodeo" was an immediate hit on college radio in 1983, with several of the songs included on the first full length LP "Walking In The Shadow Of The Big Man" a year later. The band collaborated with producer Don Dixon on all but "Jamboree". Attaway would go on to release one solo album, 1993's "Thrall".

Rain Parade
Origin: Los Angeles
Key Recordings: Emergency Third Rail (1983), Explosions in the Glass Palace (1984), Beyond the Sunset (1985), Crashing Dream (1986)
If you can only buy one: Emergency Third Rail

Formed by brothers David and Steven Roback, Rain Parade provided one of the best albums to come from the scene, 1983's "Emergency Third Rail". With a sound influenced by equal parts Velvet Underground and the Byrds, the album was solid from start to finish. But following the release, David Groback would leave the group and the sound took a heavier, darker tone, with "Explosions in the Glass Palace" an EP released in 1984. The groups final release "Crashing Dream" was just that, as Rain Parade called it quits less than a year later.

Check out some of the bands in this blog on You Tube below.

Books: The Punk Reader

2008-01-11T19:24:00.000-08:00

Get In The Van: On The Road With Black Flag

By Henry Rollins

247 pages. 2.13.61 Publications

ROE Rating:

Lead singer Henry Rollins lets us in the van as he recalls the 6 years he spent fronting the seminal punk band Black Flag from 1981 to their break-up in 1986. Relying on the journal he maintained from 1983 until 1986 as well as recollections from the hundreds of gigs prior to 1983, "Get In The Van" is only for the most hardcore Black Flag or Rollins fans. Literally every journal entry for the 3 year period is included and the reading, while sometimes humorous and interesting , can get a bit tedious. For example:

"12.10.84 Nashville, TN: In the truck with a flashlight. Played okay tonight. Voice giving me trouble. I have a lump in my throat-literally. It's gross. Every time I swallow I can feel it. Makes me feel cancerous. Lots of drunks tonight acting stupid. I hate drunks."

You get the picture. The book details all the fights, bad shows and strange characters the band meets along the way. Rollins, at times a bit too much of a whiner for me, lets us into "The Shed", a tool shed he lived in for several years and where he did much of his writing. Unfortunately, the story of the band coming together along with the trials and tribulations of the road get a bit bogged down in the minutiae. The first forty or so pages are an interesting read as the band comes together and hits the road for the first time together. Beyond that, the highlights are in there, you just gotta get through a lot of muck to enjoy them. Suggest you get this one only if your trying to kick that ambien habit or are looking for a good book to fill out the bookshelf in the bathroom.

The Dark Stuff: Selected Writings on Rock Music 1972-1995
By Nick Kent
343 pages. Da Capo Press

ROE Rating

Regarded as one of the most influential music journalists of the 1970's, Nick Kent takes 19 profiles he had written for music magazines New Musical Express, Spin and The Face, among others, edits and rewrites them to form his first book "The Dark Stuff". Representing a veritable who's who of screwed up, drugged out and self-absorbed musicians throughout the 25-odd year period, "The Dark Stuff" is a fascinating read. Some of Punks elder statesmen are represented, with chapters covering The New York Dolls, The Smiths, The Pogues, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop, among others.

One of the best chapters follows Kent traveling with the Sex Pistols during their doomed U.S. Tour of 1978. Kent had a long history with the members of the band. A musician himself, Kent played in several bands in the pre-Punk London scene and had played with several of the band members prior to taking the Pistols name. After becoming a journalist Kent was attacked in a London night club by a bike chain wielding Vicious and the future "Jah" Wobble, purportedly at the direction of Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren. This attack would result in Kent being victimized repeatedly throughout the remainder of the 70's as Vicious-worshipping punks sought to imitate their idol. Touring with the band now 2 years later, Kent vividly details Vicious and the circus that surrounded him and the band.

Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess

By Danny Sugarman

407 pages. William Morrow and Company

ROE Rating:

Born of privilege in Beverly Hills, Danny Sugarman found himself, at the age of 12, opening fan mail for The Doors. Striking up an instant friendship with Doors leader Jim Morrision, Sugarman would go on to become the bands manager and, ultimately, another victim of excess and the rock & roll lifestyle. "Wonderland Avenue" tells the story of Sugarman's struggles to break free from his unapproving parents, the unlikely bond he would share with Morrison and his band mates and his struggles to move on after Morrison's untimely death.

The first half of the book reads like any coming of age story, where Sugarman details his time as a youth, suffering from what was most likely ADD and coming to find the Doors music. The second half is like most life-in-the-fast-lane tales as Morrison dies, Sugarman being left to try and gain a foothold in the recording industry and struggles to find his next fix. A long and strange cast of characters come and go, ultimately leading him to manage the career of Iggy Pop when Iggy was at his lowest. While it's a fascinating look at the underbelly of the LA music scene in the 70's, ultimately you can only read about somebody puking or wrecking a car so many times before it becomes a bit redundant.

Sugarman would eventually get straight, marry the former Fawn Hall (she of Iran-Contra fame)and ultimately succumb to lung cancer at the age of 50 in 2005.

The Official Punk Rock Book of Lists

By Amy Wallace and Handsome Dick Manitoba
313 pages. Backbeat Books

ROE Rating:

Following in the long line of "Book of Lists", started by the author's father Irving Wallace, this volume runs the Punk gambit. From people, fashion, sex to religion, "The Punk Rock Book of Lists" is a hilarious look at everything you did and did not want to know about Punk Rock. With the help of Dictators lead singer Handsome Dick Manitoba, Amy Wallace uses various players from the Punk scene to detail it all. Some of my favorites:

10 Things That Made Memphis Punk (from local scenester Eric Friedl)

10 Most Truly Offensive Punk Rock Song's

The 8 Worst Set of Punk Rock Teeth

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda: 5 Punk Rock Almosts That Would Have Changed The World (who knew Johnny Rotten wanted to join Devo?)

ZERO: Martin Hannett

2007-12-28T15:02:00.001-08:00

Martin "Zero" Hannett

Martin "Zero" Hannett was born May 31, 1948 in Manchester, England. An accomplished student, he received a degree in Chemistry from Manchester Polytechnic. While in college he was a member of the campus social committee and was responsible for booking bands that played at the school. After graduation he accepted a job in a laboratory. The lab job was merely a means to an end as he continued to pursue his passion for music by playing bass in several bands and working as a sound man and roadie. Ultimately music won out and he quit his job to run a musicians cooperative, along with friend Tosh Ryan, called Music Force. The cooperative would book shows and rent PA equipment. The cooperative also had a publicity department that would hang flyer's promoting various shows. From the money earned the pair purchased space to achieve their ultimate goal, setting up a recording studio. The pair initially took any recording commissions that came their way, from recording theatres troupes to producing soundtracks for cartoons. By 1976 Hannett and Tosh established, along with others, Rabid Records which they used to promote a local glam rock group called Slaughter and the Dogs who had experienced some local success. Hannett found himself in the right place at the right time. The music scene in Manchester and throughout England was bursting with promise as Punk groups were forming almost daily and each looking for a way to have their music recorded and sold. Hannett's first professional production job, under the name Martin Zero, involved a local Punk group he had booked a few shows for, the Buzzcocks. Lead singer Howard Devoto would later recall that Hannett was chosen for the simple fact that he was the only person they could find that even called themselves a producer. From this effort evolved "Spiral Scratch", a 4-song EP recorded in a dizzying 8 hour period on December 28, 1976. Apart from being one of the first Punk recordings available to the buying public, it established the DIY ethic that exemplified everything that the Punk movement stood for. The highlight of the EP was the song "Boredom", a Buzzcock fan favorite. It also marked the beginning and end for Devoto with the Buzzcocks as he left shortly after the EP's release to form another groundbreaking Punk outfit, Magazine. Four months later Hannett would produce "Cranked Up Really High" by Slaughter and the Dogs on his Rabid label, but the group would break-up shortly thereafter. Hannett now assumed the title of in-house producer for the Rabid label.

Hannett in studio

For the remainder of 1977 into 1978 Hannett would working with an assortment of groups, all meeting with little to no success. In the Spring of 1978 he went into the studio with a Manchester University drama student Graham Fellows who, recording under the name Jilted John, would release a single entitled "Jilted John". The tried and true story of young love come and gone was an instant hit and, shortly after being snatched up by recording giant EMI, went to number 4 on the national charts. The single ultimately sold over a quarter of a million copies and gave Hannett his first true hit and established his name as a producer. Next Hannett found himself in the studio with art-punk John Cooper Clarke (right), the English Punk version of Bob Dylan. Hannett would produce a handful of singles and several albums for Clarke over the next several years that ultimately led to Clarke getting a major label deal with Epic. During this time Hannett would also form, along with keyboardist Steve Hopkins, The Invisible Girls, to act as Clarkes backing band. Hannett would use The Invisible Girls to support a number of artists throughout the remainder of his career, including former Velvet Underground member Nico and ex-Penetration lead singer Pauline Murray.

The use of electronic effects, be it drum machines, digital delay or other non-musical elements were a trademark of any Hannett produced recording. This was no more evident than on his work with Joy Division (right). Hannett, now producing for the Factory record label (which he helped co-found with Tony Wilson), had his first experience with Joy Division in 1979 and the recording of their groundbreaking debut album "Unknown Pleasures". Initially reluctant to use any synthesizers, Hannett convinced the group to include them on the record. The results stand as the seminal Hannett recording, employing the various electronic devices and non-musical noise, such as breaking glass, to augment the bands classic post-punk style. Hannett would go on to produce every studio track recorded by Joy Division. The suicide of Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis hit Hannett hard. While most of the members of Joy Division were indifferent to Hannett's use of electronics to frame the bands sound, Curtis was always a strong ally (Hannett was portrayed by actor Ben Naylor in the Ian Curtis biopic "Control" released this past year).

During this period of his career Hannett's use of drugs, especially heroin, began to escalate. Despite his personal shortcomings, his work with Joy Division still made him a producer of choice. 1979 to 1981 were the high water mark of his creative output. A young Irish band, inspired by his work with Joy Division, sought Hannett out to produce there second single. In May, 1980 Hannett entered a Dublin studio with U2 to begin work on recording and the result, "11 O'Clock Tick Tock", would be his one and only collaboration with the group. Hannett's working relationship with the band was tenuous and the band would eventually utilize Steve Lillywhite for the remainder of the debut album "Boy", which was released toward the end of 1980. The experience was so bad that the group would leave "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" off the album all together. Around the same time the Psychedelic Furs would call Hannett's number, having been inspired by his work with John Cooper Clarke, asking him to produce 4 songs initially slated to be issued on an EP. The EP fell through but two of the songs, "Susan's Strange" and "Soap Commercial" would later be included on the groups self-titled debut album upon it's release in the United States. Hannett would work with the group a year later, steering the song "Pretty in Pink" during the recording of their follow-up effort "Talk Talk Talk" in 1981. Studio sessions with old Buzzcock acquaintance Devoto would follow, producing Magazine's (left) third full length album "The Correct Use of Soap" as well as singles by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark ("Messages"), London based band The Only Ones ("Oh Lucinda"), and Wasted Youth ("Rebecca's Room"). Hannett was as known for his stubbornness and dictatorial production style as he was for the electronic and digital sounds he added to each recording he was associated with.

The years from 1982 to 1988 would come to be known as Hannett's darkest. Becoming more unpredictable, deeply in debt and harboring a profound drug problem, Hannett disappeared from the recording studio. A prolonged law suit with Factory over missing wages cost him another two years and he would not reappear in the studio until the late 1980's. Having kicked heroin, he patched up his differences with Factory and eventually worked with the Happy Mondays in 1988 ("Bummed") and Kitchens of Distinction in 1990 (the single "Quick as Rainbows"). But he his earlier success would elude him, primarily due to his heroin habit having given way to his abuse of alcohol. His heavy dependence on alcohol further deteriorated his mental and physical health, effectively ending his recording career. He died on April 18, 1991 of heart failure.

Links:

Martin Hannett: http://www.martinhannett.co.uk/bio.htm http://www.discogs.com/artist/Martin+Hannett
Factory Records: http://www.factoryrecords.net/ http://www.partypeoplemovie.com/
Buzzcocks: http://www.buzzcocks.com/
Joy Division: http://www.incubation.ch/ http://members.aol.com/lwtua/joydiv.htm http://www.enkiri.com/joy/joy_division.html http://www.controlthemovie.com/
Magazine: http://shotbybothsides.com/
John Cooper Clarke: http://www.johncooperclarke.com/

Arthur "Killer" Kane - A New York Doll

2007-12-28T15:02:00.000-08:00

Like the proverbial Phoenix, Arthur "Killer" Kane rose from the ashes of a mid-life spent in obscurity, held down by years of alcohol addiction and depression, to again take his place as a preeminent figure in the history of Punk music. His rise, fall and brief return, too incredible for words, is masterfully retold in the 2005 documentary "New York Doll".

Arthur Kane was born in New York on February 3rd, 1949. His mother died while Kane was still a teen and his relationship with his father, always troubling, collapsed following his mothers death. Shortly after graduating from high school he played bass in several bands in the area. Ultimately he joined the group Actress with future Dolls drummer Billy Murcia and guitarists Johnny Thunders and Rick Rivets. After the break-up of Actress, Rivets would leave and the remaining pair would add David Johansen as lead singer and Sylvain Sylvain, who replaced Rivets on guitar. The new group adopted the name New York Dolls after a doll repair shop they passed in the city. The bands musical tastes drew heavily from early R&B and the early recordings of the Rolling Stones coupled with the power and raw energy of the MC5 and Stooges. They wrote songs that hearkened back to the wit exhibited by early American girl groups like the Shangri-La's. Early on the group tried to establish a following in an early 70's New York music scene that was devoid of any identity. They played homeless shelters or anywhere else that would offer them a stage. As their over-the-top appearance and stage shows began to get noticed, they received their first break when Rod Stewart, attempting to take advantage of the exploding glam-music scene, invited them to open for him in London. Following this and several other London area appearances the music world began to take note. Tragically, Murcia would die as a result of an overdose. Enter Jerry Nolan, who would take Murcia's place behind the drum kit, having been an old friend of Johansen and several other band members.

New York Dolls (l-r Johansen, Nolan, Sylvain, Kane, Thunders)

On stage the band would be known for attire that had them looking like a cross between drag queens and prostitutes. For all of the energy Johansen and Thunders put into their on-stage antics the reverse was true for Kane. Standing nearly motionless throughout each show, it was said he could not play bass and breath at the same time. Instead he would take in and hold deep breaths while performing each song. While their stage appearance would become the bands signature, it was the music that drew in their small, but ever growing, fan base. The rhythm section of Kane, Thunders and Nolan were as ragged as any in recorded music at the time and finally Mercury Records took notice, signing the band to their first recording contract in 1972. Their first release, New York Dolls, was produced by Todd Rundgren and met with mainly positive reviews from the musical establishment. The buying public, however, stayed away in droves. The average consumer could not get past their appearance and the music was never given it's due (Creem Magazine readers voted the band the best and worst new group in a 1973 readers poll). Subsequent appearances on British television shows like The Old Grey Whistle Test further polarized the masses, people either loved the Dolls or hated them. The television appearance, however, would inspire many of the English youth who witnessed it to form bands with names like The Smiths, Sex Pistols, Generation X and The Damned.

New York Dolls, 1974

Believing Rundgren had exhibited too heavy a hand in the mastering of their first recording, the Dolls hired producer George Morton for their second studio effort, the aptly titled "Too Much Too Soon" in 1974. Despite a sound that was more stripped down, the song writing was not as sharp as on their first release. Heavy on covers and older songs written by the group, the release again sold poorly, despite containing several songs that would be revered as punk classics in the years to come (notably "Chatterbox and "Babylon"). Poor sales and indifference again greeted the band as they toured in support of the release. Mercury abandoned the group shortly thereafter. A failed attempt at having a pre-Sex Pistols Malcolm McLaren manage the band coupled with Thunders and Nolan's escalating use of heroin finally saw the band implode during a tour in 1975. Despite soldering on for two more years with replacements for the now-departed Thunders and Nolan (who, along with Richard Hell, would form The Heartbreakers) the Dolls officially called it quits in 1977. After four odd-years and a cloud of dust, having inspired fellow New York bands like the Ramones, Television, Blondie and Talking Heads plus countless overseas, the New York Dolls were now but a footnote in the history of Punk.

After the Dolls breakup Kane attempted to form other bands, notably with Nolan in The Idols and Rivets in The Corpse Grinders, but all failed miserably. He spent several years in the early 80's backing Thunders on his solo tours. But by the middle of the 80's Kane was essentially out of options, the band he loved was long gone and everything else he tried turned to shit. He retreated to Los Angeles in hopes the change of scenery would jump start his career. Instead, Los Angeles met him with a cold indifference. He would watch a new wave of groups, obviously inspired by the music and style of the Dolls, explode all around him. Bands like Hanoi Rocks, Motley Crue, Ratt and Twisted Sister reigned on the sales charts and were in constant rotation on MTV. While his own failures ate at him, so too did the success that he saw from bands the Dolls had inspired. About this same time David Johansen reinvented himself, becoming lounge lizard Buster Poindexter (right) and releasing a top ten single "Hot, Hot, Hot". This only fueled Kane's drinking and erratic behavior. He finally hit rock bottom when, in short succession, his marriage failed, he was severely injured after falling from a second story window and he was attacked by a homeless person in West Hollywood. The attack left him in a coma for several days.

Reading a magazine one day in 1989, Kane came across an advertisement for The Church Of Latter-day Saints that offered a free copy of the book of Mormon. After responding to the ad, two Mormon missionaries appeared at Kane's door several days later and he, after listening to their testament, became a Mormon. While working at the library of the Mormon temple in Los Angeles (at right, with co-workers), Kane became acquainted with Greg Whitely, a film student and fellow Mormon. Whitley would later recount that in the 4 years he knew Kane there wasn't a conversation that went by without Kane describing the longing he had to again work with his fellow band mates and reunite the Dolls. After hearing the numerous stories Kane had about his days as a Doll and his strong desire to reform the group, Whitely decided to film a documentary about Kane and his life. In 2003 Kane heard, through several people that maintained New York Doll fan websites, that there was rumor that the Dolls were being reformed. Unbeknown to Kane, Morrissey was responsible to procure the band lineup for the 2004 version of the Meltdown Festival, a yearly music festival held at Royal Albert Hall that employed various British musical celebrities to act as organizers. Morrissey, a lifelong Dolls fan and one-time president of their UK fan club, immediately sought to reform the Dolls for that year's festival. Kane called Morrissey and the wheels were set in motion to reform the band for a one time show. Amazingly, Johansen, for years dismissing any notion of a reunion, was immediately on board with the plan. But before Kane could become a Doll again he had to retrieve his bass, which he had long since pawned. With the financial aid of his fellow church members, Kane bought back his bass from the pawn shop.

The Reunion Show, 2004

Sylvain, Kane and Johansen (along with several handpicked studio musicians) met in London shortly thereafter to begin rehearsals for their show at the Meltdown Festival. On June 16, 2004 the New York Dolls performed again for the first time in over 30 years. The performance was so well received talks of a new album and a tour started immediately. 22 days after the performance Kane complained of flu-like symptoms and was checked into a Los Angeles area hospital. He was diagnosed with leukemia and, within two hours of being admitted to the hospital, died. He was 55 years old.

Related Links:

New York Doll Movie Site: http://www.onepotatoproductions.com/NewYorkDoll/
New York Dolls Site: http://www.nydolls.org/ http://www.nyrock.com/misc/nydolls.htm http://www.punk77.co.uk/punkhistory/newyorkdolls.htm
Meltdown Festival: http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/meltdown/
David Johansen Fansite: http://www.geocities.com/davidjohansenonline/
Morrissey Site: http://www.morrisseymusic.com/

Joe Strummer and D. Boon

2007-12-21T14:06:00.000-08:00

December 22nd is a dark day in the world of Punk music. On this day, 17 years apart, two it's most unique voices passed from this earth.

Dennes Dale Boon died in a car accident enroute to Arizona on December 22nd, 1985. Known to his friends as simply D, Boon had just recorded "3 Way Tie (For Last)" with his seminal Punk group The Minutemen. For Boon and the Minutemen, recording and touring were not activities taken lightly or entered into halfway. In a span of 6 short years The Minutemen spent nearly all of their time either on the road or in the studio. The group released no less than 11 full length studio LP's and Ep's during this time, starting in 1980 with the EP "Paranoid Time". A Minutemen tour was not a lavish affair. Usually consisting of Boon and fellow band mates, bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley, loading up the Econoline Van and hitting the road with a dizzying schedule laid out in front of them. Their touring schedule saw the group perform hundreds of shows each year (and thus coining the band mantra of "Jamming Econo", which would be the title of the 2005 documentary dedicated to the rise of the group and Boons tragic passing).

The Minutemen

Boon had been interested in music throughout his young life and, with the encouragement of his mother, pursued his musical vision in an assortment of bands formed with schoolmates and friends. It wasn't until he met and befriended a kindred spirit in Watt that his musical vision took flight. Initially the pair formed a group entitled The Reactionaries but at Boon's insistence the group broke up to become a trio. After being signed by SST records the original drummer, tired of the Punk scene, abruptly quit. Reenter Hurley, who after leaving The Reactionaries was playing with another LA band at the time. The Punk scene in the LA/So Cal area at the time was exploding with bands like Black Flag and Descendants generating a strong local following. But the Minutemen stood out from their contemporaries not only lyrically but also musically. Boon and Watt wrote songs that had a much more political bent. And with each successive release, the group tinged their sound with everything from folk to jazz, even polka. On stage, Boon was an imposing figure. Big and burly, Boon was known for constant motion on stage while playing guitar and singing the songs he, Watt and Hurley had penned.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

John Mellor was born on August 21st, 1952 in Ankara, Turkey while his father was working there for the British Foreign Office. Moves, associated with his fathers occupation, followed to such outposts as Cyprus, Cairo, Mexico and West Germany. In his teens, Mellor's musical tastes were influenced by the current wave of British rock 'n roll acts, especially Captain Beefheart (his confessed idol). Having moved to Wales, and after a failed stint in art school and jobs that ranged from gravedigger to farmhand, Mellor takes up music full time. After a short lived stint in a local band called The Vultures and, tired of the meaningless odd jobs he had employed to get by, Mellor (having now assumed the first name "Woody", as in Guthrie) decided to move back to London. Making ends meet by busking at various London mass transit stations, Mellor started his next group, The 101'ers, with fellow squatters from London's Maida's Hill community. With the new band came a new title, Joe Strummer (at left, circa 1973), based on his guitar style. Strummer and the 101'ers meet with middling success, scoring regular gigs around town and releasing two singles. The first single, inspired by Strummer's then girlfriend Paloma Romano (later to be known as Pomolive of the all girl band The Slits), was entitled Keys to Your Heart.

As the 101'ers searched for a following and record label interest in London, the Punk movement was exploding in the Bowery of New York. Having been spotted by Mick Jones a few months prior during a 101'ers gig, Strummer joins Jones as the 101'ers dissolve around the same time Jones' group London SS never gets off the ground. Along with Paul Simonon and Terry Chimes, The Clash was officially born. Chimes lasted only until 1977 when Topper Headon took over behind the drum kit.

The Clash (Mick Jones, Strummer, Topper Headon, Paul Simonon)

After The Clash officially called it quits in 1983, Strummer takes to acting and penning movie soundtracks as well as briefly reuniting with Jones in 1986 to c0-produce and co-write Big Audio Dynamites No. 10 Upping Street. In 1989 Strummer releases a solo record "Earthquake Weather" that meets with lackluster sales and reviews. After a brief stint with The Pogues in 1991, Strummer spends the remainder of the decade a drift, feuding with The Clash's old label Epic and hosting a BBC radio show.

Joe and the Mescaleros

By the end of the 90's Strummer hooks up with the band The Mescalero's after working with several of the members on a movie soundtrack. Strummer would later add violinist Tymon Dogg, an old busking mate, and the group would release "Rock Art and the X-Ray Style" in 1999. In 2001 the group released "Global A Go-Go" and while touring to support the album the group includes several Clash favorites in each nights set. In one of Strummers final live appearances, in November of 2002 at a benefit concert for striking firefighters, he was joined on stage by Mick Jones, who was attending the event. The unplanned reunion features the two performing Clash classics "Bankrobber", "White Riot" and "London's Burning". Strummer would be dead a month later from an undiagnosed heart condition. The posthumous "Streetcore" was released a year later.

Carbon/Silicon: Mick Jones Rides Again

2007-12-15T15:33:00.000-08:00

London SS - Mick Jones and Tony James (right)

The Clash, Generation X, The Damned, Chelsea, Sigue Sigue Sputnik and the Rich Kids. If you play six degrees of separation with all of these bands they all have one common denominator: London SS. Founded by Mick Jones (The Clash, Big Audio Dynamite) and Tony James (Generation X, Sigue Sigue Sputnik), London SS never really was a band but more a Punk version of American Idol. With Jones and James playing the part of Simon and Randy, they conducted audition after audition looking for more musicians to round out their vision of what London SS would be; some would make the cut and move on, others would not and drop into obscurity. After 10 months and having already rejected the likes of Paul Simonon (Clash bassist), Tony Chimes (Clash drummer), Topper Headon (Clash drummer after Chimes), Steve New (Rich Kids guitarist) and Rat Scabies (Damned drummer), Jones and James decided to call it quits. James first moved on to play bass with Chelsea which splintered into Generation X. When Billy Idol left Generation X, James started up Sigue Sigue Sputnik (right). Jones, famously, would join up with Chimes, Simonon, Keith Levene and Joe Strummer to form the Clash.

The Clash

Throughout the years, bands and projects the two would participate in, Jones and James remained close friends. Sometime in 2002 the two started making regular trips to a recording studio together in West London. By Spring of 2003 the pair, under the name Carbon/Silicon (http://www.carbonsiliconinc.com/default.aspx ), began to release the results of their collaboration free of charge as downloads on their website. By 2007 the pair (at right) had released a total of 7 downloadable EP and full length albums for free. In November they released “The Last Post”, their first “official” CD and began to play gigs in the U.S. this month to promote it. They will tour Britain next year. The sampled, electronic sound Jones broke ground with in B.A.D. is still present, but Carbon/Silicon is much more a garage-based band than B.A.D . One area that still remains from The Clash days is the overtly political theme to much of the lyrics and themes. Song titles like “Why Do Men Fight”, “The Whole Truth” and “National Anthem” would fit nicely on the back of any Clash album.

For more, check out these links:

London SS - http://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/london_ss.htm

Sigue Sigue Sputnik - http://www.sputnikworld.com/

Generation X - http://www.billyidol.com/v1/genx.html

The Clash - http://www.theclashonline.com/

Big Audio Dynamite - http://www.esmark.net/bad/bad.htm

<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Radio, Radio

In telecom-speak, the capture effect describes how a radio determines, when given two different signals on the same frequency, which signal it will broadcast. When presented with multiple signals, FM receivers will only broadcast the strongest signal. The capture effect can also be used to describe the current state of “terrestrial” radio. When given the option of turning on your radio today, most people choose to talk on their cell phone, play a cd or listen to the ranting of some right-(or left) wing talk show host on AM radio while making their daily commute or driving to the store. The options for diverse radio programming have not been this bleak since Marconi sent himself the first radio transmission in 1895. The state of today’s terrestrial radio is in sad shape. Why else are millions of people signing up and paying for the subscription services offered by such companies as XM or SIRIUS? I, for one, will never pay for radio. I already pay for bottled water, toll roads and 100 channels of cable TV (of which I may watch 6 channels during any given month). Radio, like this shit, is supposed to be free. Scan the dial the next time you get in your car. Wait, I’ll save you the agony, because all you will find are 4 hip-hop stations, 3 Spanish language stations, 2 oldies top 40 channels and a partridge in a pear tree. Eventually, internet radio will get its act together and then your radio options will be limitless, and hopefully still free.

When scanning the airwaves for 70’s and 80’s punk or new wave, the real estate effect is invoked: location, location, location. If you are lucky enough to live in an area with either a college station or a community supported station you have a chance to hear much more diverse programming and have a shot at someone still rolling out the punk and new wave music from an era when it, to, was largely ignored by ad-based radio. Let’s look at a few of the better radio programs that are still exposing the masses to some real variety, most 30 years after it was recorded:

Lest We Forget – Sundays from 9pm to midnite EST
90.9 FM WVVS-FM (www.valdosta.edu/wvvs)
Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GA

One of the longer running programs dedicated to punk and new wave, Lest We Forget (http://www.myspace.com/skipv91) will still occasionally throw in some newer music that is also ignored on ad based radio. Show founder and host Skip will enlighten the Fishbone, Iggy and XTC crowd with the occasional song from Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers (right) and She Wants Revenge. Skip hosted shows on the station while attending VS in the 80’s, then left and now is back working for the university. Lest We Forget also updates it’s listeners on newer releases from some of the 70’s and 80’s stalwarts such as New York Dolls and Patti Smith. Unfortunately the broadcast area is small (approximately 25 miles) and the station does not stream over the internet or maintain pod casts. The next time you’re rolling through Valdosta, GA check it out.

Patti Smith

80’s Underground – Wednesday from 9am to 11am PST
103.3 FM KSCU ( http://www.kscu.org/ )
University of Santa Clara, Santa Clara, CA

A college station dj’ed by mostly non-students, KSCU has been around as a radio station in one form or another for over 50 years. Jeff Shelton brings an eclectic mix of 70’s and 80’s new wave and punk to the South Bay airwaves every Wednesday from 9 am till 11. 80’s Underground ( http://www.myspace.com/80sunderground ) specializes in reviving the lost gems and forgotten acts from the era (Screaming Meemee’s, The Neats, The Nils - left) while still maintaining a link to the bands that ruled college radio back in the day (X, Guadalcanal Diary, The Replacements). KSCU has a broadcast area of 30 miles and is available on the internet. Jeff maintains a pod cast of all his shows at ( http://www.midwestusergroup.org/KSCU_Podcasts.htm ).
And if you want to hear some great new music with one foot planted firmly in the new wave era check out Jeff’s side project, The Well Wishers ( http://www.myspace.com/thewellwishers ).

Guadalcanal Diary

The Modern World – Friday from 6am to 8am CST
89.9 FM WEVL ( http://wevl.org/ )
Listener Supported, Memphis, TN

Running continuously since 2000, The Modern World is straight ahead Punk and New Wave and rarely strays beyond 1990. For every song you hear that you recognize, you’ll hear two you don’t…and you’ll be better for it. The former host maintained an excellent site that documented every song played from every show (http://www.dtradio.com/) and is still a great place to go if you’re trying to remember the name of that Vitamin Z song that you liked (it was Burning Flame, by the way). The current host Scott maintains playlists of all his shows (http://www.myspace.com/letthedaybeginonwevl ) as well. The station is listener supported and has a broadcast range of 60 miles around the Memphis area. The station streams on the internet but does not maintain pod casts. Get up early on Friday-it’s worth it.

Urgh! A Music War

2007-12-05T21:19:00.000-08:00

When you think of certain musical eras, most can be summed up in a movie or documentary made at the time: All that was right with the 60’s can be summed up in Woodstock, all that was wrong in Gimme Shelter. The 70’s have Saturday Night Fever and The Last Waltz. But when you look to the New Wave and Punk scenes of the late 70’s and early 80’s, most films about the time were made or released much later, only after the impact the era had on future artists and music was fully realized. One movie that can be looked at now as ahead of it’s time in documenting “real time” the punk and new wave era was Urgh! A Music War.

Filmed in 1980 and released in 1981, Urgh! defined the emerging punk and new wave music scenes like no movie had or will (Don Letts superb 1977 home movie ‘The Punk Rock Movie” (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0207685/) a lone exception). A concert movies movie, there was no dialog, no interviews and definitely no script. A series of performances by some 30 different groups, the film was shot over the period of several months at ten different venues throughout the world. From a festival at the Frejus Amphitheatre in Paris (http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/Maecenas/France/Frejus/ac741520.html) to the California Theatre in San Diego, the performances, while all unrelated, move seamlessly in the film from one to the next. Regardless of the locale, the feeling and look of each performance and setting was much the same: sweaty, cramped and urgent. While the Police (http://www.thepolice.com/) were, in retrospect, the star attraction, they in no way carried the film. Gary Numan (http://www.numan.co.uk/), motoring around a stage in at the Hammersmith Odeon in London during a performance of “Down in the Park” to the weird broadway-esque performance of “Total Eclipse” by Klaus Nomi (www.psychotica.net/evb/nomi) at The Ritz in New York, the movie captured concert performances unlike anything seen on film to that point (or since).

Many of the performers, while relatively unknown at the time, would come be known to a wider audience later in the decade:

A perky Belinda Carlisle, leading the Go Go’s (http://www.gogos.com/) through an early version of “We Got the Beat” at The Whiskey (http://www.whiskyagogo.com/) in LA, a full year before Beauty and the Beat was released. Devo (http://www.clubdevo.com/), showing they were at their best not on MTV but rather live in concert, with a smoking performance of “Uncontrollable Urge” at the California Theatre in San Diego. Joan Jett (http://www.joanjett.com/), just a year removed from the split of The Runaways, with the Blackhearts captured at The Ritz in New York performing “Bad Reputation”. Danny Elfman (http://elfman.filmmusic.com/), the go-to movie sound man of the 90’s, leading Oingo Boingo (http://www.oingoboingo.com/) through “Ain’t This The Life” at The Whiskey.

X (l-r Billy Zoom, Exene, DJ Bonebrake, John Doe)

Some of my favorite performances:

X (http://www.xtheband.com/), the best live band of their generation, at the Santa Monica Civic Center tearing through “Beyond and Back”. Ian McCullough and his Echo & the Bunneymen (http://www.bunnymen.com/) mates gave a solid performance of “The Puppet” at The Lyceum Ballroom in London. A pre-stage fright Andy Partridge and his XTC (http://www.xtcidearecords.co.uk/) band mates performing the as yet released song “Respectable Street” at the Frejus Festival in Paris. Within 2 years Partridge would withdraw from all live performing. The Au Pairs post-punk gem “Come Again” at The Lyceum Ballroom. 999(at left)(http://www.nineninenine.cjb.net/), a band that should only be heard live, looking a little worse for wear but not disappointing with “Homicide”. The Alley Cats with “Nothing Means Nothing Anymore” at the Whiskey. The Fleshtones (http://www.myspace.com/fleshtones), who’s performance had the most controlled “video” look of all, give an incredible version of “Shadowline” at CBGB’s. Probably the highlight for me was Gang of Four’s (http://www.gangoffour.us/) version of “He’d Send the Army” at The Rainbow Theatre in London. The song, not yet released at the time, features Jon King providing percussion by wacking on something with a stick of wood throughout the song. Andy Gill (at right) and company provide the most cohesive performance of the film. And one that has taken me some 20 odd years to appreciate, Pere Ubu’s (http://www.ubuprojex.net/) “Birdies”. Having initially purchased the Urgh! double album when it was released, I couldn’t stand the song. The film only confirmed my disdain, as the geeky singer Dave Thomas looks like he needs his meds. But now, I get it and have come to love all of Pere Ubu’s stuff.

Dave Thomas of Pere Ubu

The film also included reggae acts, drawing the connections that reggae shared with punk, or as Don Letts was once quoted as saying, “it's the same fuckin' thing. Just the black version and the white version. The kids are singing about the change, they wanna do away with the establishment”. The stage during the Steel Pulse (www.steel-pulse.com) performance of "Ku Klux Klan" looks like a cross between a P-Funk concert and a Klan rally. The white reggae of The Members “Off Shore Banking Business” is only tolerable.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there is some strange, forgettable shit here as well. But as forgettable as some of the songs might be, the performances draw you in like the car wreck you can’t take your eyes off of:

The Cramps (www.thecramps.com) are rolling along fine through a version of “Tear It Up” until singer Lux Interior sticks the mike halfway down his throat and starts grunting and groaning for the remainder of the song. The piano lounge shtick of Jools Holland wears out quickly in “Foolish I Know”. After watching Skafish (http://www.skafish.com/) perform “Sign of the Cross” you’ll feel the need to take a shower. A band I don’t think anyone had ever heard of before (and certainly not after), Invisible Sex performs in haz mat suits and throws pills out into the audience after finishing the song “Valium”.

The Cramps

The double album did not include all the songs shown in the movie. Some years after purchasing the album I found the double cassette at a used record store. Some 20 years later, I still have those tapes and listen to them frequently (yes, I still have a car with a tape deck).

The story behind the movie and cd re-issue rights is another story altogether. Owned by Miles Copeland (of IRS Record (http://www.onamrecords.com/IRS_Records.html) fame and brother of the Police drummer) the rights were sold and the paperwork documenting the details of the transaction subsequently lost. No one has taken up the cause due to the possibility that the documents could resurface (and the resulting legal implications). Not to mention the astronomical legal costs involved in dealing with the number of bands and personalities involved if someone tried to re-release either the film or the music on cd (or both). Gary Numan, for example, has the rights to his performances in the movie and has forbid it from being shown (come-on Numo, you need the publicity!). Rumor has it that at least 3 songs from each group was taped during the making of the film for editing purposes. Supposedly somewhere underneath Miles Copeland's mattress sits a possible 100-song, multi-dvd reissue just waiting to happen. Periodically a VHS copy of the movie pops up on ebay or Amazon and is usually priced well over $100. VH1 played the movie last year as part of a special "Movies That Rock" or some such shit. I was amazingly flipping channels one night and tuned in just in time to see the Police closing the movie with "So Lonely". Needless to say, I was pissed.

A web site claiming to have DVD's and CD's of the movie available (gotta be either illegal or bullshit) for $50 and $30, respectively. I have included the link (http://www.urgh-dvd.com/) but be warned, no telling what you'll get if you send them your money. But Christmas is coming, so I may have to amend my letter to Santa, because after all, it's worth 80 bucks just to find out.

A Good Noise: Half Japanese

2007-11-25T17:52:00.000-08:00

Half Japanese

The birthplace of Punk? CBGB's (http://www.cbgb.com/)? A clothing/fetish shop in London? Depending on who you ask, the birthplace of Punk will be identified as one of any number of locations. Some say the single greatest influence on the masses to start bands that would come to be defined as Punk and New Wave was a performance by the Sex Pistols (http://www.sex-pistols.net/). Held at the Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall ( http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2002/02/21619.html) on June 4, 1976. Most, if not all, of the 40 or 50 souls in attendance that night went on to start bands...with names like Joy Division (http://www.joydiv.org/), The Smiths (http://www.askmeaskmeaskme.com/) and The Fall (www.visi.com/fall).

But if you ask the parents of Jad (http://jadfair.org/) and David Fair, Punk can be traced directly to the bedroom of their two sons, located in the 200 year old house they owned in Uniontown, Md. Somewhere between 1975 and 1976 the Fair brothers, despite little to no musical ability, decided they wanted to form a band. Self taught, neither Fair brother had the ability to play guitar beyond the one or two notes they would repeat over and over. The remaining members, Mark Lickling and brothers Ricky and John Dreyfuss , formed the rhythmic core of the group. Somewhere in 1977 the group, under the name Half Japanese, made their first home recordings, copying the cassettes and adding forming their own imprint, the 50 Skidillion Watts label. Entitled "Calling All Girls", the tapes were handed out or mailed to friends and acquaintances as well as any record label the pair could locate an address for. The lone response they received was from Warner Bros. who stated in a written response that they defintely would NOT be releasing it. Each cassette was decorated by hand and in some cases the recipients were addressed by name on their individual cassette. The cassettes were shared and copied throughout the underground resulting in a recording deal with a small British label Armageddon.

David and Jad Fair

In 1980 Half Japanese issued a 3 record box set entitled "1/2 Gentlemen/Not Beasts". A collection of early home recordings as well as covers (Dylan, the Temptations and Buddy Holly) and various guitar/electronic feedback noise, the release marked the first known multi-record box set ever issued. The fact that "1/2 Gentlemen/No Beasts" included music that was such a drastic (not to mention strange) departure from anything that had been released to date made the box-set an instant cult phenomenon. It's limited supply only fueled the buzz. Throughout the early 80's Half Japanese would issue an odd assortment of recordings. A combination of distorted feedback and minimalist ranting, both "Loud" (their second Armagedeon release in 1981) and "The Horrible" Ep (released under the Press label in 1983) only cemented their cult appeal. David Fair would later describe a Half Japanese song as either "a love song or a scary song". Their fascination with both the opposite sex and horror movies permeated virtually all of their early work. Jad's unique voice left each song, regardless of the topic or subject, with an innocence and a vulnerability that was not heard by any artist of the day. Throughout this period the group would maintain a mailing list of 50 or so fans that they would send artwork and cassette tape recordings to, free of charge.

Recording for the Iridescence label, the 1984 releases of "Our Solar System" and "Sing No Evil" marked a rather dramatic leap forward for the group. Where Solar System branched out, carrying a more jazzy feel, Sing No Evil was the groups most accessible, listener friendly effort to date. Most fans and followers agree that Sing No Evil was the best work of their careers. The assortment of backing musicians provided a much cleaner pallet for Jad's improved songwriting to be heard. By the mid 80's David Fair began to withdraw from the group to turn his attention toward raising his family.

Jad Fair

Jad carried on the Half Japanese name with a varying group of musicians as well as starting projects as a solo act. Finding himself without a label following the demise of Iridescence, Jad sought to revive his homegrown 50 Skidillion Watts label, but lacked funding. Enter longtime admirer and magician Penn Jillette (http://www.pennfans.net/). As detailed in the excellent 1993 documentary "The Band That Would Be King", this was a time of great monetary success in Jillette's career. But the monetary success came in direct conflict with his own artistic standards. A reoccurring character on "Miami Vice" (http://www.miami-vice.org/) allowed him to make some good money. The fact he was receiving the money for this "work" on the almost cartoonish 80's crime drama made it a bitter pill to swallow. After hearing of Jad's plight, he decided that the spoils of the Miami Vice gig could, after all, be used for a greater good. Using that money, Jillette helped Jad revive the 50 Skidillion Watts label and secure the master recordings to Half Japanese's latest recordings, which were being held ransom by the owner of the failed Iridescent. On the shelf for over four years and now rescued from Iridescent, "Charmed Life" was released in 1988. A review in Spin Magazine (http://www.spin.com/) at the time ranked the recording with "Exile on Main Street" and "Sgt. Peppers" as one of the most influential recordings ever released.

The groups releases ending the 80's became more experimental in nature and were not as well received as their earlier work. But in 1993 one of the groups fans, Nirvana's (http://www.nirvana-music.com/) Kurt Cobain, asked Half Japanese to be the opening act on the eastern leg of their 1993 "In Utero" tour, exposing Half Japanese to an entire new audience. Velvet Underground drummer Moe Tucker (http://www.spearedpeanut.com/tajmoehal/) would also become a strong advocate of the group, not only playing on the 1993 release "Fire In The Sky" but also utilizing the group to act as backing band on her own tours and include Jad as a guest on her own solo releases. By the mid 90's Jad turned his attention to the visual arts (http://jadfair.org/art/), exhibiting his paintings throughout Europe. Following a string of live and greatest hits packages, Jad reformed Half Japanese after a four year lay off and released "Hello" in 2001 on Alternative Tentacles (http://www.alternativetentacles.com/).

<<<<<< >>>>>>

on bass, watt:

We have all had those momentary brushes with a "celebrity". Everyone's idea of a celebrity will vary, but one of my more memorable close encounters came with Mike Watt (http://www.hootpage.com/). It was probably sometime in 1990, although the exact date cannot be determined by me, my wife or best friend as to when exactly we traveled to Lawrence, KS to see fIREHOSE (http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=firehose&tr=y) at The Bottleneck (http://www.thebottlenecklive.com/). We got there early, took our position at the front of the stage and waited with the 10 or so other people that were there for the show to start. Opening up that night was Sebadoh (http://www.sebadoh.com/), a band we knew of but knew little about. Nonetheless, not wanting to give up our prime position, we stood at the base of the stage throughout their set. All I remember was it was loud and it was fast, perfect for an opener. Somewhere in the middle of their set we suddenly found that we were no longer alone and that Mike Watt had come out to take in the set as well. Wearing his usual flannel shirt and thick, black rimmed glasses, Watt bounced along to Lou Barlow (http://www.loobiecore.com/) and company along with us. Immediately seizing the opportunity, my buddy handed him an empty mug and we poured him a beer. Now, I'd had a few beers in my time up until this point of my life. But I'd never, ever seen anyone drink a beer with such voracity or with a singular purpose as Mike Watt did that night. He went after it with gusto, like a sailor who'd been away from port way to long. We poured him 3 or 4 in all, each sucked down in 2 or 3 gulps with more than a few drops ending up on the front of his shirt. As Sebadoh was wrapping up their set we looked around and he was gone.

Dick Watt, Mike's Dad, was a Navy man and it required him to move the family all over the country. While in San Pedro, CA. (http://www.sanpedro.com/) and faced with yet another move, his parents divorced when he was 12 years old. Watt soon took up with Dennes Boon (http://sidemouse.com/boon.htm), who lived in the same area of Pedro as Watt. The two had a shared interest in music, listening to Credence Clearwater Revival (http://www.creedence-online.net/) and Blue Oyster Cult (http://www.blueoystercult.com/), among others. After a few false starts they formed The Reactionaries (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Reactionaries_%28band%29) along with schoolmates Martin Tamburovich (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Tamburovich) and George Hurley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Hurley). After Tamburovich moved on, Watt, along with Boon and Hurley, formed The Minutemen (http://www.theminutemen.com/) in 1980. Boon's untimely death at age 27 started a lifelong journey for Watt, as he has searched to fill the void left by his friend and collaborator. Starting with the all bass duo dos (www.myspace.com/dosasintwo), through leading fIREHOSE, his solo efforts, leading more bands and playing bass for Iggy and the Stooges (www.iggypop.com) and Porno for Pyros, Watt has seen and lived more through his music than most, if not all, survivors of the early days of punk. Always on the cutting edge, Watt maintains a great website (http://www.hootpage.com/) devoted to his various musical directions, both past and present.

Mike Watt

I recently sent Watt an email to his myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/wattfrompedro) and, much to my surprise, he responded (at least I think it was him). Had I known he would actually reply I would have taken more time to think up some better questions...maybe next time. Thanks Mike.

roe: What was your first musical memory?

watt: a toy piano on the deck at someone's house my ma and pop took me to... it would reoccur in many dreams later.

roe: What would you have done had you not been a musician?

watt: probably something in electronics maybe?

roe: Greatest concert/live performance you ever witnessed (not performed with, just as an audience member)?

watt: man, this one is really hard... I wouldn't feel too honest about being for sure certain which was the "greatest" ever, know what I mean? sorry.

roe: Why did you choose the bass?

watt: d. boon's ma picked it for me.

roe: Who you are currently listening to?

watt: much much roky erickson. and john coltrane.

If you cant find Mike Watt, you're not trying very hard. He is currently playing live dates with his latest trio, Mike Watt + the Missingmen, lending his bass lines to Iggy and the Stooges as they continue to tour the globe, channeling John Coltrane and Iggy with former members of Porno for Pyros in Hellride and playing with friends in his jazz influenced project Banyan.

<<<<<< >>>>>>

The Stranglers and Film

2007-11-14T13:00:00.000-08:00

The Meninblack: The Stranglers

My first exposure to The Stranglers (http://www.stranglers.net/) came in the form of “Nuclear Device”, the 1979 single that was included on the compilation cassette “Life in the European Theatre”. I was a collector of compilations. Compilations were “shuffle” before the ipod was but a twinkle in Steve Jobs (http://www.apple.com/pr/bios/jobs.html) eye. Compilations could always be counted on for two things: songs that sucked and great songs that would turn you on to a new group or artist you might never had come in contact with otherwise. Especially for suburban kids who were into punk or new-wave in the late 70’s. The only way to learn about new bands was from friends or taking a chance on new music. And the compilation allowed you to try 10 new bands for the price of one. I always looked at the name of the bands first. If I recognized any of the groups, then it was a bonus. If I didn't know the group, then was the name intriguing enough to make be buy? I bought the first Psychedelic Furs album on name alone. "The Psychedelic Furs, I thought...with a name like that, it’s gotta be good". Same with fIREHOSE. But I digress. Life in the European Theatre was an anti-nuke compilation that featured artists as diverse as The Doors (Peace Frog) (http://www.thedoors.com/), Au Pairs (Diet) (see below), The Clash (London Calling) (http://www.theclashonline.com/) and XTC (Living Through Another Cuba) (http://www.xtcidearecords.co.uk/) among others. It met my compilation criteria…The Clash, XTC? Now’em, love’em. The Stranglers? Don’t know’em but sound interesting. So, going in you knew it was worth the $5. The Clash and XTC, they had you covered. And Nuclear Device was no let down. I listened to that song and that compilation over an over. The entire cassette (see track listing below) is a true hidden gem that was never released on CD and only sparingly available on LP if you catch ebay or Amazon just right. My original cassette is probably sitting between the seat cushions of my rusted out '71 Mustang in some junk yard somewhere right now. But a funny thing happened on the way to the record store. I never bought any more Stranglers releases. Not one. Over the years I forgot about The Stranglers, including another long forgotten compilation discovery, the 1978 single “Nice and Sleazy”. Twenty-six years would go by before The Stranglers and I had our long over due reunion. While researching music for my radio show I came across the song Nuclear Device. It all came back to me. I immediately located everything the Internet had to offer from The Stranglers discography and, with a few mouse clicks, the sins of my past were erased.

(l-r) Hugh Cornwell, Dave Greenfield, Jet Black & JJ Burnel

The Stranglers were formed as a result of an early mid-life crisis. It was 1973 and Jet Black (real name Brian Duffy or Jethro Whitehorne, depending who you ask)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_Black), despite making a comfortable living off various business ventures, grew tired of his routine existence. He wanted to regain the glory of his youth when he played drums in various jazz and pop bands in his teens and early 20’s. As he approached his mid-thirties, he knew if we was going to pursue his dreams, the time was now. As fate would have it, an ad placed by a North London band in search a new drummer would introduce Jet to Hugh Cornwell ( http://www.hughcornwell.com/ ) and, after several line-up adjustments, form the nucleus of what would eventually become The Stranglers for the next 16 years. By 1974, the line-up now including JJ Burnel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Burnel ) on bass, Black finally severed all ties with his former existence by selling all his remaining business assets to fund the band. Everything except one ice-cream truck, which became the de facto touring vehicle for the next several years. By 1975 keyboard player Dave Greenfield (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Greenfield) was added and the single biggest obstacle to regular paying gigs was The Stranglers musical style, a style that defied categorization. Burnel, Cornwell and Black formed a solid rhythm section, but Greenfield added a completely different element to the group. An accomplished keyboardist, Greenfield was a lifelong musician who had logged more time in bands than the other three combined. The psychedelic aspect of Greenfield's playing added a sound that separated The Stranglers from anyone playing the London pub circuit at the time. But then the calendar turned to 1976 and The Stranglers were in the right place at the right time. Well known in the burgeoning London music community from endless touring of pubs throughout England, The Stranglers had a name that fit squarely in the ideal of what the scene was to become, regardless of their more refined sound. The Damned (http://www.officialdamned.com/) became the first of the bands to sign with a label, hooking up with Stiff Records (http://www.stiff-records.com/) in September of 1976. The Sex Pistols (http://www.sex-pistols.net/) followed shortly thereafter, signing with EMI (http://www.emirecords.co.uk/) in October and releasing “Anarchy in the UK” at the end of November. That single and a memorable appearance on British TV, which ended with the Pistols cursing the interviewer, broke everything wide open. The scene finally had a name, and the name was Punk. All the demo’s, letters sent to labels and endless touring mattered little now, The Stranglers were a Punk band with a Punk name and Punk was a music phenomenon. By the end of December The Stranglers were signed by United Artists (http://www.unitedartists.com/). A week after the signing, the ice cream truck engine finally shot craps...the end of one era and the start of another.

The Stranglers Discography: http://www.stranglers.org.uk/

"Life In The European Theatre" released January, 1982

Track listing:

1. The Clash - London Calling
2. The Jam - Little Boy Soldiers
3. The Beat - I Am Your Flag
4. The Specials - Man At C&A
5. XTC - Living Through Another Cuba
6. Peter Gabriel - I Don't Remember
7. Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 3
8. Madness - Grey Day
9. Bad Manners - Psychedelic Eric
10. The Stranglers - Nuclear Device
11. The Undertones - It's Going To Happen
12. Echo & The Bunnymen - All That Jazz
13. The Au Pairs - Diet

Just What the Doc Ordered: Film

Looking for that special something for that special someone this Christmas. Here's a few documentaries worth giving:

"Punk: Attitude"
Released in 2005, this documentary from Don Letts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Letts)follows the rise of Punk from the garage rock of the late 60's through the hardcore scene of present day. Don't trust me? Read the Rolling Stone review then(http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/dvd/8878414/review/8897876/punk_attitude).

"We Jam Econo"
Amazing 2006 doc by friends and Minutemen fans Tim Irwin and Keith Schieron, We Jam Econo (http://www.theminutemen.com/) traces the band from it's San Pedro, CA roots to singer d. boon's (http://sidemouse.com/boon.htm)(http://www.hootpage.com/hoot_gallery-dboon.html) untimely death from an automobile accident at age 27. Special extras, including 62 songs from 3 separate Minutemen live performances. A Must.

(l-r) d boon, Mike Watt & George Hurley

"End of the Century: The Ramones"
Saga of the brothers Ramone (http://www.officialramones.com/) , from their CBGB's start to the bitter feuds and conflicts that led to their demise.

"Heartworn Highways"
This 1975 doc is what the punk movement would have looked and sounded like had everyone chosen work-shirts over safety-pins and moved to Nashville instead of London or New York. Okay, it is country but the scene with everyone sitting around Guy Clark's dinner table is about as Punk as you can get. Read more (http://www.puremusic.com/heartworn.html)

2007-11-08T15:13:00.000-08:00

Who, What, When, Where and Why: Au Pairs

Political unrest, sexual politics, emotional instability and women’s rights: rarely has one band been influenced by a wider variety of personal and societal factors than the Au Pairs (http://www.myspace.com/aupairs). Formed in Birmingham in 1979, the Au Pairs (http://www.comnet.ca/~rina/aupairs.html) burned bright for a mere four years, from 1979 to 1982, but left a lasting impression on a number of music scenes over the years. Influencing the style of the alternative era Pixies (http://www.pixiesmusic.com/), heard in riot grrl groups like Sleater-Kinney (http://www.sleater-kinney.com/) and singled out by current day punk revivalists Chicks on Speed (http://www.chicksonspeed.com/) and The Rapture (http://www.therapturemusic.com/), the Au Pairs had an impact.

Lesley Woods (vocals and guitars), Jane Munro (bass), Paul Foad (guitar and vocals) and Pete Hammond (drums) formed the nucleus of the band. But it was Woods who gave the group their distinct voice. A well read feminist and unabashed lesbian (at a time when few women in the punk scene were officially “out”) Woods singing had range that clearly conveyed the emotional roller coaster found in each song. While Woods may have been the driving force behind the Au Pairs, both musically and emotionally, it was the songwriting (a chore shared by all members) that set them apart. Songs like “Come Again” (http://www.houseoflyrics.com/lyrics/au_pairs/come_again.html), “Diet” (a women’s place in the world) and “It’s Obvious” (gender relations) placed sex and the battle between the sexes clearly in the forefront. But the message didn’t just stop with sex. Songs such as “Armagh” dealing with the fire brand topic of the political and religious tensions in Northern Ireland and “America” which attacked the Reagan government’s use of military power, set the band apart from many of their contemporaries in the second wave of punk rock. This was songwriting using both the big and little head.

And then, it was over. After touring continuously behind their second full length release “Sense and Sensuality”, the band disintegrated. First Munro left, citing Woods increasing emotional instability. Preparing to head into the studio to record their third album the group, now including Graham Hamilton (trumpet), Nick O’Connor (bass) and Carla Tivey (keyboards/vocals), officially broke up when Woods failed to appear for a show in France. The third album, slated to be produced by U2 (http://www.u2.com/) collaborator Steve Lillywhite (http://www.answers.com/topic/steve-lillywhite), never saw the light of day.

Discography:
Playing With a Different Sex, Human Records, released May 1981
Sense and Sexuality, Kamera Records, released August 1982
THE VERY BEST OF THE AU PAIRS, Cherry Red Records (http://www.cherryred.co.uk/), released 1999

The band also was one of the featured artists in the seminal concert movie of the time "URGH! A Music War" (http://www.urgh-dvd.com/index.html).

The Ten:
My periodic list of songs you can't live without. Call it my "deserted island" list, but remember, when we're all stuck on that island, don't blame me if you don't have them (and no, I won't let you borrow my ipod).

1. Come Again - Au Pairs
2. Take This Town - XTC
3. Silver Rocket - Sonic Youth
4. Leaders of Men - Joy Division
5. Rev It Up - Jerry Harrison
6. Love To Hate Love - Eleventh Dream Day (right)
7. Borstal Breakout - Sham 69
8. Waterfront - Simple Minds
9. Pulse - Psychedelic Furs
10. Cameras In Paris - The Fixx

Where are they now?

2007-11-03T14:57:00.000-07:00

The Alarm, The Psychedelic Furs and The Fixx joined forces this past summer for the ROCKIN THE COLONIES TOUR, hitting selected cities throughout the US.

Nothing will stop The Alarm (http://www.thealarm.com/777/) frontman Mike Peters. Band break-ups, a less than successful solo career, cancer, leukemia-you name it, he has seen it all, in spades. After pursuing a solo career in the '90s, Mike regrouped The Alarm with a different lineup in 2004 and releaseed the single "45 RPM" under the band name The Poppy Fields. Unbeknown to the recording industry, radio programmers or the listeners, the lead singer of The Poppy Fields was none other than Mr. Peters, having recorded and released the song without his name associated to it (they even went so far as to pay another UK band to lip sync the video). After the single went top 30 in the UK, Mike let everyone in on the secret (The Poppy Fields was actually the name of The Alarm album being recorded at the time. After being diagnosed with leukemia in December of 2005 ( Mike had successfully fought lymph cancer in 1995), Mike took it easy in 2006 by taking chemo treatments, becoming a father again, founding the "Love Hope Strength" Foundation (dedicated to cancer research http://www.lovehopestrength.com/ ) and starting work on the groups latest effort, "Under Attack". Released in June of 2006, "Under Attack" featured the single "Supperchannel", which went to #23 on the UK singles chart. Earlier this year Mike, along with Slim Jim Phantom (Stray Cats), Cy Curnin and Jamie West (The Fixx), and Glen Tillbrook and Nick Harper (Squeeze) climbed to 18,000ft on Mount Everest to perform in Everest Rocks, the highest concert on land ever held. The concert was designed to raise funds and awareness for cancer research.

Mike Peters, 2006

Cy Curnin, on Mount Everest

Despite not having released any new material since 2003's "Want That Life" (save Cy Curnin's solo release "Mayfly" in 2005 http://www.cycurnin.com/index.html ) the Fixx (http://www.thefixx.com/news.shtml) have continued touring the US for much of the last two decades. Oddly enough, The Fixx were never much of a draw in their native Britain, experiencing much more success in the US and Canada. Despite talk of recording and a possible new album, no release dates have ever been announced. Cy Curnin is releasing another solo album this month entitled "The Returning Sun".

The world hasn't seen any new Psychedelic Furs ( http://www.burneddowndays.com/) music since 1991's "World Outside". When last we heard from Furs founders Richard and Tim Butler, they had broken away from the remaining group members to form Love Spit Love (http://www.lovespitlove.co.uk/) in the early 90's. In 2000 the brothers Butler reunited with former Furs mate John Ashton and "Beautiful Chaos: Greatest Hits Live" was released shortly thereafter. The greatest hits package included one new studio recording as well as three previously unreleased songs. In 2006 Richard Butler (http://www.myspace.com/richardbutlermusic) released a self titled solo album.

Volume 1

2007-10-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

Wear'n Out...
Here's what I currently can't get enough of:

The Mice - "For Almost Ever Scooter" (Reissued on Scat Records): Seemingly lost power-pop/punk from the Cleveland brothers Bill and Tommy Fox. Scat reissued two Mice albums as one, the 1985 EP "For Almost Ever" along with the '86 LP "Scooter". Ragged edges with just enough pop to keep it interesting. Not to be missed. www.scatrecords.com/mice.htm

The Embarrassment - "Heyday 1979-1983" (Bar None):

The greatest band you've never heard? That's what they said about a lot of bands, and most of them blew. But for once, who ever said it got it right. Blowing off the plains of Kansas, The "Embo's", as their few but faithful followers called them, had it all. The DIY sound that punk offered, clever lyrics and song tempo's that ranged from two-minute burners to 5 minute epics. Once you start listening, you'll never stop. http://www.embarrassment.org/

The Gun Club - "Miami" (I.R.S. 1982) : The blues? In the 80's? I didn't know I liked the blues in 1982, yet here is the Gun Club layering minimalist early 80's punk with, yes, the blues...and a little country when you aren't looking. What every late 90's alt.country bad wished they were. http://www.thegunclub.net/

Who Knew...
It's a good time to be an old song. More and more record labels are coming to the realization that the CD is in fact dead and it's time to make recordings long since abandoned in underground vaults and storage rooms available on the web. Wow, what an idea. As mentioned with The Mice, long out of print recordings are making their way to emusic, itunes, audiolunchbox and the like. Lou Reed's (http://www.loureed.org/) 1978 classic and out-of-print jewel "Street Hassle" was recently made available online along with his '72 solo debut and "Sally Can't Dance" from 1974. Stay tuned.

The Ten ...
My periodic list of songs you can't live without. Call it my "desert island" list, but remember, when we're all stuck on that island, don't blame me if you don't have them (and no, I won't let you borrow my ipod).

1. 4,3,2,1 - The Adicts

2. Jo The Waiter - Gary Numan

3. That's When I Reach for My Revolver - Mission of Burma

4. Romantic Me - Polyrock

5. Strange Day, Stranger Nights - The Celibate Rifles

6. Give It Back - The Dickies

7. Cattle Prod - Guadalcanal Diary

8. In The City - The Jam

9. The Light Pours Out of Me - Magazine

10. We Can Get Together - Icehouse