Advantage: Sound

A Night At The Caffè With Ramblin' Jack Elliott

2011-05-23T22:30:00.001-04:00

It's slightly embarrassing for me to admit that, as a music fan and 15-year resident of the Capital District, I never set foot in Caffè Lena before last night. While acoustic folk music is admittedly not my first love (being a drummer, go figure), I do have a great appreciation for the "masters" and Sunday night I got to witness, and even meet, one in the flesh. More about that in a moment.

Courtesy of the folks over at Nippertown.com I was lucky enough to win a ticket to what was to be the Caffè's 51st annual birthday party. There were hors d'oeuvres, good local beer and fine wine. I was told this was a "once a year" kind of a thing and not representative of the regular coffee and dessert fare usually offered. Lena Spencer, the original proprietor, originally only served alcohol on New Year's Eve, according to current Director, Sarah Craig. Although, later there was cake...really good cake. All this was nice, but I was really here for the music.

Lena's is a cozy venue, to say the least, and there were certainly no empty seats this night. I shared a table with 3/4 of the Ramblin' Jug Stompers, two of whom happen to be professional music critics, so although it may be kind of impudent for me to even think about writing a review of a show that's already been reviewed "professionally" in the "print" media, I haven't blogged in quite a while and this was an excellent reason to start back up. Plus it was a great show I'd like to share with those who couldn't be there.

I thought it was cool how he made the letters go behind his hat

Ramblin' Jack Elliott, (emphasis on the ramblin'...there's no "g" in his name, as he informed us) is a living legend whose full story has been told far better elsewhere. Suffice to say that in his over half-century in the music business he has hung out with, influenced, and been influenced by some of the most revered names in folk, rock and country music. Without going into the long biography understand that the man has been connected along the way with Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan and has influenced countless others from Jerry Jeff Walker to the Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead. Put simply, the man is a captivating storyteller who knows some great old cowboy songs.

Taking the stage a few minutes after 7 pm Ramblin' Jack sported a black cowboy hat, dark sunglasses, a rodeo style shirt, jeans and cowboy boots. It took him a moment to get settled but he launched into one of his trademark songs, a cover of Jesse Fuller's "San Francisco Bay Blues" with feeling. Casual music fans might recognize the tune from one of the many recorded versions, probably most recently Eric Clapton's version on his "Unplugged" album, but Jack's seemed just a bit more authentic. This was followed by the cowboy song "Diamond Joe", another staple in the repertoire. Working from a handwritten set list on a stool beside him Jack exclaimed, "Oh, here are even some songs I remember!" and went on to preface the next few tunes with generous helpings of shaggy dog storytelling, including one tale of how his dog took the wheel one night so he could catch up on some sleep as they drove to their next gig. The stories continued to "go to the dogs" in other ways as the set wore on. The tearjerker, "Old Shep" was to be the closing song of the first set.

At one point Jack remarked, "I don't really care for music. I like dogs and cats. It's just that after a while, when (the cat food runs low and) they start getting hungry...well, I've gotta pick up my guitar again" as he humorously implied that his cats would devour him alive if he neglected their dinner. He continued with cowboy stories about characters like Montana Slim and autobiographical accounts of his runaway teenage experiences with the J.E. Ranch Rodeo Show. Displaying his classic flat-picking style the performer pulled out a wide variety tunes including the traditional English folk song "The Cuckoo" and, my personal highlight of the first set, Tim Hardin's "If I Were A Carpenter". The latter was accompanied by a tall tale of how he finagled his way in to Hardin's home studio using paint buckets and a ladder as props...presumably to steal his singing secrets. "I got up on the ladder and started painting the ceiling," said Elliott. "When he sang he held his head way back up high, like Pete Seeger, so I could see straight down his throat. I think I painted that same 4 x 4 section of ceiling five times."

After the first set there was an intermission during which the aforementioned cake was served. Although cameras and recording devices were prohibited during the performance Jack was gracious enough to chat with fans and autograph CDs for those taking advantage of the merchandise table. (See attached graphic for my newest addition to my music library.) Although this coming August 1st will be his 80th birthday the man genuinely seemed to be re-energized by the fans that greeted him. I couldn't NOT shake his hand and express my appreciation. It's not every day one gets to meet a living legend.

After returning to the stage, Ramblin' Jack had a some minor difficulty with a guitar cord and quipped, "Never been too good with electricity...must be my magnetic personality. I'm good with old trucks and young horses." The second set of music showcased another set of classics, most memorably a passionate reading of Woody Guthrie's "Tom Joad" (an adaptation of the Carter family classic "John Hardy", Jack explained) and a rendition of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice (It's Alright)" that included a moment of levity while the singer affectionately mimicked the distinctive mannerisms of his former protégé. According to Jack, once at a coffee house Dylan himself witnessed his performance of the tune and said, "I relinquish this song to you." Later, invoking the name of a well-known beat writer, he described the time in 1951 when Jack Kerouac read aloud to him the original manuscript for his novel "On The Road." It took "three days and three bottles of wine to get through", he said.

After the Dylan song, which was announced as "the last one he had time for", Jack was about to get off the stage when he paused and said, "I know one more song," eliciting some giggles from the intimate crowd. Announcing it as a "California cowboy song" he began the tune (that he once performed in Bob Dylan's obscure film Renaldo and Clara,) "South Coast" by Lillian Bos Ross. Spinning the tale of "a man who won his wife in a poker game" in 3/4 time, the ramblin' man passionately snarled the final lyrics as he reached the song's climax:

My name is Longheno de Castro

My father was a Spanish grandee'

But I won my wife in a card game

To Hell with those lords o'er the sea

R.I.P. Owsley Stanley, January 19, 1935 – March 13, 2011

2011-03-14T08:00:00.003-04:00

While much of the world's attention was focused on Japan's continuing troubles this past weekend there was another event that should be noted by music fans: The passing of Owsley Stanley, a counter culture folk hero whose passion for mind expansion was indirectly responsible for much of the artistic creativity that took place during the late 1960s. He was killed on on Saturday when, driving through a storm in his home country of Australia, his automobile swerved off the road and went down an embankment. More details can be found in the official Reuters story here.

Rest in peace, Bear

While he is probably most well-known (and will be remembered fondly by many) for his forays into chemistry, "The Bear", as he became known, was a major contributor and innovator in the world of live sound engineering and reinforcement. His "sonic journals" of concerts at the Fillmore, Avalon Ballroom, and other legendary venues consist of multitudes of tapes recorded during the heyday of the so-called psychedelic music scene of the late 1960s, many of which have been commercially released. A strong advocate of the "less is more" theory when it came to capturing live audio, Stanley was largely responsible for the "wall of sound" speaker array used by the Grateful Dead in the 1970s, both for its design and funding.

Stanley was also partially responsible, along with Bob Thomas, for the design of the iconic "Steal Your Face" logo, originally stenciled onto the Dead's equipment cases for easy identification purposes. The cartoon bears often seen "dancing" in sticker form on the back of many VW micro buses is another symbol associated with the man.

Although he had become increasingly reclusive during his later years he still maintained a web site where he sold his art work, published his essays on everything from his unique diet (he feared that vegetables were carcinogenic) to his opinions on children's television. Fortunately for music fans he has also chronicled some of his experiences working with the Dead as well as other musicians of psychedelic era within these pages. Truly a fascinating read for those interested in divergent thinking.

I am privileged enough to have had some personal correspondence with the man about a year ago, albeit brief. While originally contacting him to learn more about his recording techniques I gained insight into a man that was truly a creative mind. The following is a series of topics posed to Mr. Stanley in various e-mail exchanges that took place in April 2010, along with his responses. While much more information can (should) be gleaned by reading the essays he himself published on his website, thebear.org, the few exchanges I had with him made me realize what a unique individual I was communicating with.

On the science of audio recording:

"I have never done any 'recording'. I was always just a live sound mixer. My 'tapes' are actually the equivalent of a diary. I do not 'do' the mix- the musicians do it, I simply set the sound field.

You cannot learn sound in any class, in fact most if not all soundmen are trained in studio techniques which are completely useless in a live setting- thus the universally lousy sound at concerts.

When I began there WAS no music PA system in existence. I started the whole bloody thing, but it has been hijacked by studio nerds and their 40+ channel Neves.

A drum kit requires only 2 mics, no more than 4 max.

If a band has more than 20 or so 'voices' it is most unusual, so I rarely need more than 12-16 mic channels.

There's more of course, most of which would likely confuse you and probably be found unacceptable."

On the war on drugs:

"All drugs must be legal, as they were for tens of thousands of years, until 70 years ago.

There is not 'War' on drugs, it is a political nonsense phrase. The drug law was written to replace alcohol prohibition, but done so as to target users rather than suppliers- after all, how could the cops seem to be doing a job and at the same time give the mob the service their 'cut' was paid for?

The escalation done by Nixon and all who followed, for political gain had the result of driving the 'fee' for delivering nearly costless substances (common plants) to the point of driving wars, murders and spreading drug taking from a minority in 1937 to as much as half the population- maybe more today. In fact, you can deal drugs with no age, experience or even starting money, it is the highest paying job on the planet. Is this how to 'reduce' use?

But, since almost all the traditional recreational plants/drugs are safer and less violence invoking that the ONLY LEGAL drug, alcohol, all health and safety arguments are likewise specious in the extreme.

DARE? Didn't/doesn't that stand for Drugs Are Really Exciting? Known to dramatically increase teen use, and almost as effective in this action as 'just say no' ("why? I better find out!").
Many research projects show pot smokers when high to be safer drivers the even straight teetotallers.

Cannabis as few or no health risks. Some people are borderline psychotic, and those should not take anything, even alcohol can send them off- this is less than .00001% of people..."

On the economy:

"The end result its that the black market's trillions/year cash flow has destabilised the world's economy, and bad boy business practices by the multinational corporations (what do you buy with trillions/year? the biggest businesses you can find!) have finished it off. Sub prime? think loan shark- 'just be sure to pay the interest, the principal can be rolled over....'

Hundred million bonus even when no business? Just normal Mafia pay for the Capos.

There can be no recovery so long as drugs remain illegal. Stimulus money buys dope, the fee eats the community no value for money.

The Taliban are now in control of over 90% of the world's opium production, so they actually have more resources at their disposal than all the rest of the world's nations. Like Hydra, each blow ends with them larger and stronger.

This is perhaps the most serious situation in my life, and I simply cannot figure out how to get the RIGHT people to stop and really listen.

Drugs are not and never in all history been a 'moral' issue. They are the natural right of all to grow, trade and take. Social behaviour is a separate issue, everyone must behave no matter what they indulge in."

Trey Anastasio Band @ The Palace Theater - 2/19/11

2011-02-21T16:20:00.001-05:00

This past Saturday night marked the second night of the Trey Anastasio Band's Winter 2011 tour, stopping at the Palace Theater in Trey's "adopted hometown" of Albany. Splitting the concert into two sections a la Hot Tuna or the Grateful Dead, the first set was primarily acoustic (mostly Anastasio on solo acoustic guitar) and the second featured the full band in all their blaring horn-fueled glory.

The die hard fans of his "other" band were obviously pleased by the rarities unearthed within the first few tunes. Songs like "Limb By Limb" and "Guelah Papyrus" may have been truncated from their full band-length jams but took on a new feel in this forum, the latter nearly indistinguishable from its original studio recording until the vocals began. Mr. Anastasio seemed quite relaxed on stage while unleashing some revealing between-song banter that provided clues as to how some of the songs came about. Before diving into "Backwards Down The Number Line" he mentioned how the song was written "just up the road" while he was "living with the Albanians", a subtle reference to the (court-ordered) time he spent in the Saratoga Springs area a couple years ago. More than once the crowd provided appropriate background harmony vocals, filling the Palace with an energy that seemed to keep pushing the guitarist deeper into his vault of goodies. The song "Buffalo Bill" (complete with guitar percussion) is a rarity in itself but acoustic?

Toward the end of the first set Anastasio invited horn players Jen Hartswick and Natalie Cressman onstage to provide harmony vocals for "Wading In The Velvet Sea". According to the band leader they just happened to be "the first to wake up on the tour bus". "Rising" next was keyboardist Ray Paczkowski who joined the others for "Black". The entire band then emerged to close off set one with two more treasures. "Valentine", getting its first performance since May 2005, sounded like something that could have been recorded by the band Chicago around 1970. A "klezmer-ized" version of Charlie Daniels' "Devil Went Down To Georgia" finished the set on a high note with the horns taking over the original fiddle part. The latter two tunes featured drummer Russ Lawton at the front of the stage armed with nothing more than a single snare and a set of brushes.

Horns + Charlie Daniels Band = Fun!

Set two included a handful of covers that took full advantage of the seven-piece lineup. After a run-through of band original "Money, Love And Change", the band busted out the Amos Milburn classic "I Done Done It" (complete with a minor PA dropout at the beginning), an extended horn-punctuated version of Phish's "Ocelot" (first time played by this band), and quite possibly the debut/cover of the night, "Clint Eastwood" by Gorillaz, which featured trumpeter Jen Hartswick impressively spitting the rhymes. A rousing "Night Speaks To A Woman" followed along with another pair of diverse covers: Toots & The Maytals' classic "Sweet & Dandy" and "Ooh Child" by The Five Stairsteps.

Local Saratoga Springs dweller and resident bass-meister Tony Markellis contributed vocals to the reggaefied "Windora Bug" asking the eternally silly question, "Is it a wind or a bug?" only to be answered by the band with the equally silly "It's a windora bug". The song "Birdwatcher" began with a swing riff reminiscent of a Louis Jordan tune, (sounded like "We The Cats Shall Hep Ya" to me) paying homage to an era of big bands that is now long gone. Other highlights of the second set included the deeply funky "Sand", fan-requested "Drifting" and the sensory overload of "Push On Till The Day". The band completed the evening with a final nightcap of "Cayman Review" featuring keyboard work by Paczkowski that found him comping on the clavinet with his left hand while playing an organ solo with his right, truly earning his keep for the night.

Just before the encore Anastasio addressed the crowd one final time proclaiming, "It's good to be home."

Set I (acoustic):
Free
The Wedge
Prince Caspian
Backwards Down The Number Line
Limb By Limb
Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan
Guelah Papyrus
Buffalo Bill
Joy
Halley's Comet
Wading In The Velvet Sea (with Jen Hartswick and Natalie Cressman on harmony vocals)
Black (with above two and Ray Paczkowski on keyboards)
Valentine (with entire band, last time played 5/05)
Devil Went Down To Georgia (with entire band)

Set II (electric):
Money, Love & Change
I Done Done It (Amos Milburn cover, last time played 5/05)
Ocelot (Phish song, TAB debut)
Clint Eastwood (Gorillaz cover, first time played - Jen Hartswick on rap)
Night Speaks To A Woman
Sweet & Dandy (Toots & The Maytals cover)
Ooh Child (Five Stairsteps cover)
Windora Bug (featuring Tony Markellis on vocals)
Birdwatcher
Sand
Drifting
The Way I Feel
Push On Till The Day

Encore:
Cayman Review

7" Vinyl Renaissance: The Picture Sleeves: "F"

2011-02-07T00:00:00.016-05:00

This month's project is to scan in a bunch of my old 45 RPM picture sleeves from all those 7" singles I spent my paper route money on way back in the late 70s and early 80s. Yes, these are my own original scans of my personal collection. Perhaps browsing these images will bring back some positive memories for those who were alive then and/or listened to the music of the time. For those of you who weren't there, this may be a bit of an education. Enjoy!

Continuing in alphabetic order, today we'll do the letter "F".

[1983] The Fixx- "One Thing Leads To Another" b/w "Opinions"

Based on this photo it looks like they reached the beach.

Originally known as The Portraits the band "fixxed" their name in 1982.

From the top 10 album "Reach The Beach" came the biggest hit for The Fixx, marking their transition from a moderately successful UK new wave group to a Top 40 hit maker in the USA and Canada. With the help of their MTV portfolio they racked up a total of five top 40 hits during their career, three of them from this album, making it their greatest commercial triumph (so far). Apparently they're still active and are promising to release a tenth studio album this year sometime. I actually saw this band open for the Moody Blues in Syracuse, NY in 1986 and they weren't bad. By that time they had released "Are We Ourselves" (great opening bass line) and "Deeper And Deeper" from the soundtrack to the film Streets Of Fire making their set a tight 45 minutes of hits. I have to say they were somewhat less lame than Ray Thomas from the Moody Blues who kept throwing "souvenir" tambourines to members of the crowd (during the songs where there was no flute and he needed something to do). I could actually see an

off-stage assistant unwrapping fresh tambourines from their packaging and handing to him to toss away. (I bet my friend Chris will back me up on this.) It was just silly.

[1984] Frankie Goes To Hollywood - "Two Tribes" b/w "One February Friday"

Frankie Say: World leaders fighting in a ring makes good video.

Controversy came naturally to Frankie, fabricated or otherwise.

More than just a blip on the radar in 1984, Frankie Goes To Hollywood became massively popular first for their controversial (and famously banned) single for the song "Relax," which spent several weeks at the number one spot in the UK. Produced by synthmeister Trevor Horn, Frankie's brand of dance-able pop carried a punk rock attitude and irreverence perhaps exhibited best on their cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Born To Run". Branding and packaging were also essential to their success, including a band logo that looked like a figure raising a flag of victory, and unquestionably THE pop fashion craze of 1984 in the form of the over-sized white t-shirts with giant slogans like "Frankie Say Relax" and "Frankie Say War! Hide yourself!" The B-sides of their singles also featured "band interviews" that furthered their irreverent reputation. It was second release, "Two Tribes" that carried the heavier message and memorable video of actors made to look like Ronald Reagan and Konstantin Chernenko slugging it out in a ring. The end result? I won't spoil it for you if you haven't seen it but let's just say it is a cautionary tale of the possible outcome of nuclear war ...something that seemed much more possible in the cold war 80s.

7" Vinyl Renaissance: The Picture Sleeves: "E"

2011-02-05T00:00:00.001-05:00

Continuing in alphabetic order, today we'll do the letter "E".

[1978] The Eagles - "Please Come Home For Christmas" b/w "Funky New Year"

The "Christmas" side

The "New Year's" side

In the winter of 1978 The Eagles released this holiday single to give their fans something to listen to (buy) in-between the release of the Hotel California and The Long Run albums. Originally recorded by Charles Brown in 1961 (no, not the cartoon character) the tune was already considered a perennial holiday classic. More recently it has been re-recorded by a number of country artists including Josh Gracin (2006), Willie Nelson (2004), Gary Allan (1997), Lee Roy Parnell (1997) and Bon Jovi (1995). Yeah, that's right. Bon Jovi is now a country artist.

[1984] Eurythmics - "Here Comes The Rain Again" b/w "Paint A Rumour"

Before they were Eurythmics they were The Tourists, releasing three albums in two years.

Michael Kamen's string arrangement provides a more organic feel for Eurythmics' "Here Comes The Rain Again" than some of their previous synth-heavy work contains. It is one of the few singles that is actually longer in running time than the album version, slightly unusual because singles were typically shortened for radio airplay. The flip side, album cut "Paint A Rumour," clocked in at full eight minutes, truly pushing the physical limitations of the 7" 45 RPM format. The closer together the grooves were, the more likely your needle was to hit a speck of dust and go flying to another part of the song. (In fact, early in my mobile DJ career when we still spun mostly vinyl I had to carry two copies of songs like "American Pie" and "Shout" because they were so long they had to be split into "part 1" and "part 2", one on each side of the single.) A memorable video of this was tune was released in December of 1983, a full month before the album Touch came out. It featured Annie Lennox running around in a nightgown while being stalked with a video camera by a creepy-looking overcoat-wearing Dave Stewart, sometimes while standing in a boat (a recurring theme in their videos). If you didn't know they were in the band together the whole thing is more than slightly disturbing but hey, that was the artistic 80s!

7" Vinyl Renaissance: The Picture Sleeves: "D"

2011-02-04T00:00:00.004-05:00

Continuing in alphabetic order, today we'll do the letter "D".

[1983] Dexy's Midnight Runners - "Come On Eileen" b/w "Let's Make This Precious"

Named after the drug Dexedrine, the band hit number 1 with this song.

My sister bought this 45 when she was 11 years old because it was all over the radio and MTV. She may have even liked the song, but Dexy's Midnight Runners were destined to be a one hit wonder in the US, even if it WAS a big hit. Their blue denim overalls as a fashion statement idea didn't really fly either. The tune was later covered by Save Ferris, among others.

[1983] Duran Duran - "New Moon On Monday" b/w "Tiger Tiger"

Sexy videos and more hair product than you can shake a stick at.

If there's one band that benefited most from the video revolution it was Duran Duran. I remember staying up really late to catch the uncut "long form" video of "Girls On Film" because it was too racy to play during the hours when most people were watching. (Even now you have to sign in to a valid YouTube account and verify that you're over 18 to be able to view it.) Topless women mud-wrestling has become cliché by now but at the time my 14 year-old brain was entranced by the jiggling...and the ice cube. The sleep deprivation was totally worth it.

7" Vinyl Renaissance: The Picture Sleeves: "C"

2011-02-03T00:00:00.001-05:00

Continuing in alphabetic order, today we'll do the letter "C".

[1977] Shaun Cassidy - "That's Rock 'N' Roll" b/w "I Wanna Be With You"

Oh that dreamy "feathered" look.

Shaun Cassidy was a teen idol in the 70s. He played "Joe" on the television show The Hardy Boys. He had really nice poofy hair. He was the closest thing to Justin Bieber that 1977 had to offer. Hitting a respectable number 3 on the Billboard charts, this tune was his first and biggest hit. What can I say? This one seems to have worked its way into my collection when I wasn't looking. The sleeve is a bit more worn than some of the others, possibly due to extensive play, but after all this was the first concert I ever attended as a kid. I was only nine and believe me it was not my choice. It's a long story I'll have to tell someday. Today is not that day.

[1978] Chic- "Le Freak" b/w "Savior Faire"

Dressed to impress, Chic was the closest thing to a "good" disco band.

The first of two consecutive number one hits (on multiple Billboard charts, no less) for Chic, the giant hit "Le Freak" was the biggest selling single in the history of Atlantic records. The title, itself, is actually a euphemism. As the famous story goes, certain band members were trying to get into the legendary "cocaine consumption cafeteria", Studio 54, one night and were denied access to the exclusive club. So they wrote a song about it, but the original title was more of an epithet than a call to party. Since there was no way they could release a commercially successful song with a chorus containing the chant "fuck off" in 1978 they changed it to "freak out" and sold, like, four million copies. Sort of like the "cleansing" of Cee-Lo Green's viral hit of last year that became the radio-friendly "Forget You". (Too bad for Cee-Lo nobody really buys records anymore.) A year later Chic would release "Good Times", their second number one, and a song which has gone down in history as having one of the most imitated bass lines in rock ("Another One Bites The Dust") and rap ("Rapper's Delight"). Also see "The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel".

7" Vinyl Renaissance: The Picture Sleeves: "B"

2011-02-02T00:00:00.008-05:00

Continuing in alphabetic order, today we'll do the letter "B".

[1964/1984] The Beatles - "I Want To Hold Your Hand" b/w "I Saw Her Standing There"

Looks like an original from the 60s but actually a reissue
...still way cooler than iTunes.

The Beatles have enjoyed several catalog reissues over the years and the 80s were no exception. This 1984 single had a black and white picture sleeve that was a replica of the original, even down to the old school Capitol "swirl" label on the vinyl itself.

Darn it, where's my little round yellow plastic adapter thingy?

A couple years later the classic John Hughes film "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" re-popularized "Twist And Shout" with the famous "parade" scene. So that means Matthew Broderick is (at least partially) responsible for the success of karaoke in this country because he made every American teenager think lip-syncing to The Beatles while standing on a float going through the middle of downtown Chicago was cool. Somewhere I have a bubblegum pink vinyl copy of the 45 but no picture sleeve.

[1982] Bow Wow Wow- "I Want Candy" b/w "Elimination Dancing"

This is the "clean American version". No nudity here. So THAT'S why the import always costs more!

Originally a sixties nugget recorded by The Strangeloves in 1965, this early MTV staple featured the "tribal drumming" sound of Bow Wow Wow. Finding new life on a multitude of movie soundtracks and 80s compilation albums this tune is highly evocative of the early days of music television. The head-shaven jail-bait singer Annabella Lwin was only 16 at the time this tune was originally issued and apparently had no shame in displaying her assets. The provocative cover photo on the band's EP "Last Of The Mohicans" revealed that she apparently disliked wearing clothing at picnics.

Although Bow Wow Wow is no more Annabella was in the media last year commenting upon the passing of her former manager, Malcolm McClaren. There's a nice mention of it here, along with the cover shot of the "naughty European version" of sleeve for this single (which reminds me of the Land O'Lakes butter squaw, but I digress.) I still like to play this one around Halloween, or any time I want to be taken back to the "faux Bo Diddley beat" of a bunch of former members of Adam & The Ants and the summer of 1982.

7" Vinyl Renaissance: The Picture Sleeves: "A"

2011-02-01T00:00:00.004-05:00

Seriously groovy space belts, ladies. But isn't it kind of dangerous to hold a light saber like that?

Sweden's largest export in the 70s, Abba, was responsible for "Mamma Mia" and "Dancing Queen" along with dozens of other hits. This 1979 single is one of the only Abba songs to feature lead vocals by Björn Ulvaeus, (the guy in the white satin shirt) and NOT Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (although they do show up on the chorus). Benny Andersson (tux and beard) probably just hung out playing keyboards and admiring Björn's shirt. Fun fact: This song hit number 1 in Belgium but only made it to number 19 on the US Billboard chart. I also used to have the 8-track of this album before I gave all my old tapes to my friend Kevin last year.

[1983] Asia - "Don't Cry" b/w "Daylight"

The best thing about this single may have been the Roger Dean cover art.

The band Asia may have been the textbook definition of "80s supergroup", comprised of ex-members of 70s progressive rock groups King Crimson, Yes, ELP, and The Buggles (!). Their bombastic instrumental passages were tempered by lightweight pop hooks. This 1983 single hit the Billboard Top 10 and featured a B-side, "Daylight", that did not appear on the album (Alpha) that the single was taken from. The video for this song aired extensively on MTV (that's Music TeleVision for the youngsters) and featured a kitschy take on "Raiders Of The Lost Ark", apparently designed to capitalize on the success of the blockbuster movie. Fun fact: The Buggles are most famous for being the first band to air a video on the Music Television network on August 1, 1981. For a complete list of the videos that aired that day click here.

Nippertown Rocks!

2011-01-31T09:40:00.003-05:00

Can I just say that I love Nippertown?

And I'm not just talking about the place with the moniker inspired by the iconic RCA dog statue atop the Arnoff Moving Co. warehouse. Sure, Albany can be fun... after all it IS the capital of New York State and has many culturally enlightening activities one can indulge in, from music and sports to art and theater. But how does one go about figuring out what to DO in the capital city? Read on, gentle blog reader.

Add your favorite slogan here

What I'm referring to is the web site, www.nippertown.com, hands-down the first and best place to go on the web for information on "what's happening" in the Capital Region and surrounding parts. Maintained primarily by Greg Haymes and Sara Ayers (with a supporting cast of many) Nippertown is one of the best kept secrets that seems to be finally getting the respect that it deserves. Our local daily newspaper, the Albany Times Union, regularly references N'town reviews on its website and Twitter feed on a regular basis.

I've been reading Greg's concert reviews since he was a regular staff writer at the TU but I believe the web format is a much better forum for a someone of his talents. Besides having greater editorial freedom, he's able to post stuff pretty much any time he wants, adding to the plethora of interesting tidbits that populate the web site. The way he and Sara distill the many area happenings into a fun, readable (and searchable) format that steers the reader toward the "cream" and away from the "crap" (most of the time) is to be commended. On Friday afternoons they post cute dog pictures.

I'd be amiss if I neglected to mention the excellent work of lens man Andrzej Pilarczyk ("Andre" to most). His photography and concert reviews are both engaging and accessible. I was fortunate enough to meet Greg and Andre at a Rhythm Devils show at Northern Lights in Clifton Park last fall. The cool (coveted) Nippertown T-shirts they were sporting at the time are now available to the general public.

So if you're in the Albany/Troy/Schenectady area and just can't figure out what to do, where to go, who to see/hear/experience, my suggestion would be to start at Nippertown.

Simply The Best...IMHO

2010-12-08T16:20:00.101-05:00

The annual tradition of the year end "best of" list has returned. In terms of music in general, 2010 was a great year. The problem is that there was so much music released, much of it by major artists, that did not get the exposure it deserved. A crumbling music industry with reduced record company promotional budgets could be one culprit. Homogenized corporate radio and its shrinking play lists could be another. Here are some of the things that found their way to my ears in 2010...personal favorites in bold text...and a few that I intentionally avoided. You'll see why...

"New albums that bear repeated listening"

Alkaline Trio - This Addiction

Antony And The Johnsons - Swanlights
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs - Critics LOVED this album. See The National (below).
Band Of Horses - Infinite Arms
Belle And Sebastian - Write About Love
Broken Bells - Broken Bells
Sheryl Crow - 100 Miles From Memphis
Duffy - Endlessly
Jakob Dylan - Women And Country - Bob's kid keeps cranking 'em out.
Eels - End Times
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach - Got Bobby Womack back on the radio (and in clubs) with "Stylo".
David Gray - Foundling
Cee Lo Green - The Lady Killer - Best single of the year you'll never hear on the radio.
Guster - Easy Wonderful - Played a great "invite only" show at Jillian's in Albany this past Fall.
Interpol - Interpol
Jack Johnson - To The Sea - "Aw baby those are such great shoes" is a great lyric because it doesn't even rhyme with the rest of the song.
Jamiroquai - Rock Dust Light Star
Sharon Jones And The Dap Kings - I Learned The Hard Way - Please don't tell these guys it's not 1968.
Kings Of Leon - Come Around Sundown
LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening - In a category of their/his own.
John Legend And The Roots - Wake Up - The best R&B throwback album white people heard this year.
Lissie - Catching A Tiger - With an unmistakable Stevie Nicks vibe on the lead single "In Sleep" I'm expecting great things from this new artist.
Maroon 5 - Hands All Over - As slick as they come, but also good.
Massive Attack - Heligoland
Sarah McLachlan - Laws Of Illusion
Natalie Merchant - Leave Your Sleep
MGMT - Congratulations - A band that has managed to avoid the sophomore slump.
Nas And Damian Marley - Distant Relatives - Brilliant collaboration that was supported by a tour.
Stephen Page - Page One - The singer from Barenaked Ladies starts over.
Phantogram - Eyelid Movies - They're local. They're trip hop. They're good.
Grace Potter And The Nocturnals - Grace Potter And The Nocturnals - Despite the title, NOT their first album. Hopefully not the last.
The Orb featuring David Gilmour - Metallic Spheres - Where did THIS come from? No don't tell me, just thank you.
Corinne Bailey Rae - The Sea
Carrie Rodriguez - Love And Circumstance
Scissor Sisters - Night Work - Quite possibly the gayest thing I've ever heard. And I mean that in a completely good way.
Seal - Commitment
Soundgarden - Telephantasm
Spoon - Transference - Sons of Austin that sound like they're from someplace completely different.
Sufjan Stevens - The Age Of Adz
Stone Temple Pilots - Stone Temple Pilots - Again, despite the title, NOT their first album.
The Black Keys - Brothers - I'm having a hard time finding something I like better than this.
The Chemical Brothers - Further
The Dead Weather - Sea Of Cowards - More than just a Jack White side project, this rocks.
The Heavy - The House That Dirt Built - Yes, featuring the song from the sock monkey commercial. Somewhere out there is a remix featuring the Dap Kings.
The National - High Violet - Critics LOVED this album. See Arcade Fire (above).
The New Pornographers - Together - The band was "Disinvited" to Calvin College in Michigan due to their name. Guess BNL won't be playing there either!
The Roots - How I Got Over
KT Tunstall - Tiger Suit - She's just awesome. Her cover of "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5 is also worth seeking out.
Vampire Weekend - Contra - "Holiday" is not about Santa or Jesus, but vegetarianism inspired by war.
Weezer - Death To False Metal - Some outtakes from a band that continues to entertain.
Weezer - Hurley - Simultaneous contender for best AND worst cover of the year.

"Classic artists who are still making good music"

Eric Clapton - Clapton
Elvis Costello - National Ransom
Devo - Something For Everybody
Bryan Ferry - Olympia
Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back
Gil-Scott Heron - I'm New Here
John Hiatt - The Open Road
Elton John And Leon Russell - The Union
Los Lobos - Tin Can Trust
John Mellencamp - No Better Than This
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Mojo
Robert Plant - Band Of Joy
Prince - 20Ten
Sade - Soldier Of Love
Bruce Springsteen - The Promise
Richard Thompson - Dream Attic
Neil Young - Le Noise

"Major artists that were all but ignored this year, some for good reason"

Barenaked Ladies - All In Good Time
Bryan Adams - Bare Bones
Paul Carrack - A Different Hat
Joe Cocker - Hard Knocks
Phil Collins - Going Back
Crowded House - Intriguer
Doobie Brothers - World Gone Crazy
Filter - Trouble With Angels
Gin Blossoms - No Chocolate Cake
Goo Goo Dolls - Something For The Rest Of Us
Macy Gray - The Sellout
Hanson - Shout It Out
Sister Hazel - Heartland Highway
Jewel - Sweet And Wild
Jimmy Eat World - Invented
Tom Jones - Praise And Blame
Cyndi Lauper - Memphis Blues
Steve Miller Band - Bingo
Santana - Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics Of All Time
Tonic - Tonic

"Came out last year but we listened to this year"

Florence & The Machine - Lungs - Modern wedding music.
Norah Jones - The Fall - Maturing as an artist, Norah gets more complex with each new album.
Mumford And Sons - Sigh No More - Banjos are back, baby.
The Drums - The Drums - Surf pop for the new millennium with the catchiest hooks ever.
The XX - The XX - Atmospheric indie debut that gets it right.

"Intentionally Avoided"

Kid Rock - Born Free - No explanation necesary.
Rod Stewart - The Great American Songbook, Volume 5 - Despite my Aunt JoAnn's preference for "Rod lite" I will stick to my old Faces records.
UB40 - Labour Of Love IV - I mean, really?
Ozzy Osbourne - Scream - This man should just retire and count his money.
Slash - Slash - Hearing that he does a duet with Fergie was enough to prevent me from even giving this a chance.
Meat Loaf - Hang Cool Teddy Bear - People named after food should stick to acting in cult films.
Anything that has the word "Glee" attached to it.

"Honorable mention (reissue)"

The Figgs - Sucking In Stereo (remastered vinyl)

Thanks to Nippertown.com for tipping me off to the deluxe pre-release mail order deal!

The Beatles on iTunes: So What?

2010-11-16T12:52:00.000-05:00

You'd have to be a pretty lazy Beatles fan to patronize iTunes to get their music.

First, it's been around for quite a while in a variety of formats, bootleg mp3s notwithstanding. If you wanted the Beatles' music on your iPod you probably already have it there.

Second, the "lossy" (compressed) audio format offered by Apple (computers) is inferior to the sound quality of the other media that are available. The ONLY advantage is convenience.

Finally, the Singles vs. Albums format debate is kind of a moot point since even in the early days of the group the running order of the US and UK releases of the albums was usually different. Some of the most popular collections like the "blue" and "red" albums are simply playlists of singles already. "Hey Jude" was only a single in England, but an album in the US. And so on.

The technology now exists that allows you to listen to the songs alphabetically, chronologically, in mono or stereo, grouped from shortest to longest, or any other combination you can imagine. The point is, people have been enjoying the music of the Beatles for some time now and this new delivery mechanism will not open the door to waves of new fans. It's for lazy people.

Screw The Pilgrims! -or- Xmas On The Radio

2010-11-02T14:44:00.000-04:00

There is no officially written rule as to when radio stations are allowed to begin broadcasting holiday-themed music. In Albany the rule seems to be "the day after Halloween". That's right, everybody, it's time to bring in your pumpkins and put up the blinky lights. We're apparently avoiding the unpleasant month of November altogether this year... skipping the Thanksgiving turkey and going straight for the Christmas goose.

Today is Election Day. Yesterday I had at least half a dozen people tell me that they were shocked, amazed and/or stupefied that they were hearing what they were hearing..."holiday" or "seasonal" music was already invading our local airwaves. As early as 7:30 AM not one, but TWO Christmas-y songs were heard back to back, according to one report. Ummm, is this really necessary?

Now I'm not one to poop in anybody's stocking, and I will not go so low as to point my mitten-covered finger at the offending stations (you know who you are)... but I'd just like to take an informal poll to see who else had already heard Burl Ives singing about his jollies.

Have you already come across Rudolph or his buddies? When is an appropriate time to begin the force feeding of holiday-themed tunes?

One theory of mine is that our economy is in such a sad state, so many are unemployed or under-employed, that we all need a reminder to start shopping NOW. The longer we have to prepare the more we'll buy, right? The more stuff we buy, the faster the economy will shape up, perhaps? The longer those lights are up and burning the better the utility companies will do, for sure.

Don't get me wrong--I've got nothing against the tinseled tunes tinkling through the mall...if you shop there you deserve what you get. In fact, I think that all malls should adopt the policy that Latham Circle Mall had when I worked there several years ago. Play one, one-hour block of holiday music (which MUST include Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas" AND "Santa Claus Is Back In Town") on a continuously repeating loop for six weeks prior to, and one week following December 25. No matter what.

But the annual celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ is still over 50 days away. Isn't it possible that one be slightly overwhelmed, if not offended, by this overabundance of Yuletide cheer? What about the non-Christians or non-religious folks that must endure this? Even my devout Christian friends seem to think things are a little out of whack, not to mention those in the music business who are encouraged/forced to actually perform many of these ditties year after year.

Maybe this is why many have tuned out commercial radio altogether. When broadcasters use the airwaves in this manner and make things sound like one long advertisement it drives people away from commercial radio. Let's just hope the "cool" stations in the middle of the dial (you know who YOU are) avoid this practice at least until December.

On December 25th I'd like nothing more than to hear a full day of some good ol' Steve and Eydie tearing up "Let It Snow..." or Doris Day's "Silver Bells" or Ray Charles and Betty Carter on "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (side note: now we know where Frank Oz got the voice of Miss Piggy from). Until then, Albany radio, could you at least stick to the horrible crap you play the rest of the year?

Maybe I'll pick up a tree on the way home from voting tonight so I can beat the rush.

Tombstone Bullies Hit The East Coast

2010-10-07T00:00:00.003-04:00

After a couple of warm-up sessions at the Albany area Emack & Bolio's ice cream shops last weekend the Austin, Texas-based Tombstone Bullies hit New York City...twice.

Currently on a short East Coast tour promoting the release of their new CD "Seasons Of Mary" the bluesy guitar-slinging duo, consisting of Michael Notarthomas (lead vocals and guitar) and Gabriel Sikosi (slide guitar and vocals) was joined by Albany area musicians Eric Gleason (bass) and Andy Maroney (drums) for what became dubbed the "ice cream sessions".

The next day the group (minus Eric) made a Sunday afternoon trek to a 231st Street rehearsal studio for a first time run through of their set with New York bassist, Mike Berman. Then it was on to Arlene's Grocery, a hip bar on the lower East Side, to make their "Big City Debut".

Click HERE for a sample from Sunday night's show.

Tuesday afternoon the trio of Michael, Gabriel and Andy headed to Brooklyn (along with Mike B.) for a performance that night at The Trash Bar, another hipster club in Williamsburg. HOW hipster, you ask? Let's just say that the cans of PBR were moving the fastest.

Besides a the inspired performances the week was one of reunions: Michael and Andy attended school together back in Syracuse, lived a block away from one another, but had not spoken face-to-face in over 20 years prior to Friday night, about an hour before their first gig together. In Brooklyn they met up with three other friends from school that had been similarly out of touch but have lived in New York for years.

Tombstone Bullies will make a final appearance on their East Cost Fall mini tour this Friday night in Syracuse. It's a homecoming party and CD release party all in one at The Beginning II in East Syracuse, NY.

Kiss This

2010-08-17T18:10:00.000-04:00

The following was written as a response to the Albany Times-Union article asking to share memories of the band KISS, who are playing at Saratoga Performing Arts Center tonight.

When I was a kid I fell for the whole marketing package: The comic book hero/villain artwork on the album cover of "Destroyer" is the first image of KISS burned into my brain. Yeah, you know the one!

At age 8 my friend Michael had the LP of that album and we were allowed to play it on a small one-speaker record player in his bedroom...quietly. I brought over my cassette recorder and held it up to the speaker so I could "dub" (or these days, "rip") a copy for myself since I had already spent my allowance money on Matchbox cars and roll caps. Yes, you had to hold the "play" and "record" buttons at the same time to record something. Yes, it was MONO.

Using a cable from Radio Shack I plugged that tape deck into my larger stereo at home so I could treat my parents and grandparents to a "concert" featuring me, face painted like Ace Frehley. I had wanted to do Gene's "demon" design but it was too complicated for my Mom to draw on my small face so we went with the "spaceman". The "performance" featured ME, mimicking playing guitar with a ukulele that I painted silver with Testors model paint while my sister stood at the top of the stairs with a flashlight for my "spot". I also recall performing the cool drum fills on a "kit" made of cardboard boxes using my Mom's wooden kitchen spoons. Sadly, the photo slides my Dad took of this event have been lost to the ages. Pity.

After witnessing the vigorous performance--and much to my parents' chagrin--a relative gifted me an 8-track player with a set of four KISS tapes: "KISS" (first album), "Love Gun" and the double tape of "KISS Alive II". I had already purchased "KISS Alive" on vinyl with some birthday money...which my parents confiscated for a short while while they scrutinized the titles to decide whether songs such as "Hotter Than Hell" were appropriate for their young son. Luckily the lyrics were not printed on the album jacket or I'm sure I would never have gotten it back!

Since I was far too young to have seen them live in their prime I jumped at the opportunity to catch them on the 1996 reunion tour at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, NY. It was everything I imagined a KISS show should be. The flame breathing, blood spewing, light-up "space" guitar, flying over the crowd, etc. was perfect! It gave me hope that after the reunion tour was over maybe they'd go out on a high note. Unfortunately this was not to be the case. "Psycho Circus" happened.

Fourteen years later (and a decade after their "farewell" tour) they're back for another round. With different members filling the original drum and lead guitar positions it's bad enough. The fact that they are wearing Peter and Ace's original makeup is just a sin beyond sins to a die hard original KISS fan. If you've never seen them (or your kids have never seen them) by all means GO. It's a spectacle like none other...but it was probably a lot bigger and better in 1978 when they ruled the world.

Anyhow, thanks for the original inspiration guys. I don't think I'd be as interested in playing drums had it not been for those spoons and boxes and rapid fills in "Detroit Rock City" (not to mention the long solo in the live version of "100,000 Years"!). But get real. Gentlemen, without Ace and Peter there to give you at least a shred of integrity I believe it is time to call it a day. Gene, please return to your reality TV show that I will never watch. Paul, get back on Broadway where you belong. You other guys, whoever you are, I'm sure there are plenty of KISS tribute bands around needing players. The rest of us can go back to E-bay and continue searching for that complete mint set of KISS "action figures".

Andy finally gave away his KISS 8-tracks this year. They went to a good home.

Happy Birthday Ringo!

2010-07-07T23:36:00.000-04:00

Ringo Starr, famous drummer for The Beatles, celebrated his 70th birthday in New York tonight. "Cheers" Mr. Starkey! Here's to seventy more...

Phish I've Caught Over The Years

2010-06-20T12:08:00.001-04:00

Here's a list of the shows I've personally been to...in chronological order...at least those that I can find the stubs for. The setlists and notes are from Phish.net [with some of my own comments added in brackets].

Friday, 07/10/1992 Empire Court, Syracuse, NY
Set 1: Bouncing Around the Room, Llama, Reba, Sparkle, Maze, Golgi Apparatus, The Lizards, Cavern > Vacuum Solo > Cavern, Run Like an Antelope
Encore: My Sweet One
Notes: This show was part of the H.O.R.D.E. tour that also featured Aquarium Rescue Unit, Blues Traveler, The Spin Doctors and Widespread Panic. [The tickets to this show were $10!!!]

Thursday, 07/15/1993 Cayuga County Fairgrounds, Weedsport, NY
Set 1: Rift, Sample in a Jar, The Divided Sky, Mound, Stash, Foam, I Didn't Know, My Mind's Got a Mind of its Own, Leprechaun > Runaway Jim
Set 2: David Bowie, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Sparkle, It's Ice, Lifeboy, Possum, Faht, The Lizards, Walk Away, Daniel Saw the Stone
Encore: Chalk Dust Torture, Free Bird
Notes: This show marked the debut of Leprechaun, the Phish debut of Daniel Saw the Stone, and the debut of the a cappella Free Bird (the last “traditional” Free Bird was March 6, 1987, or 718 shows previous). Stash included a Little Drummer Boy jam.
[During the set break my sister and I met Mike Gordon in the crowd and he signed our ticket stubs. We gave him a "ham" sticker that came off a roll that was acquired from a Burger King, which he ironically stuck on his shirt. At the show we also distributed "bacon" and "sausage" stickers to various phans.]

Monday, 10/31/1994 Glens Falls Civic Center, Glens Falls, NY
Set 1: Frankenstein, Sparkle, Simple, The Divided Sky, Harpua -> The Vibration of Life -> Harpua, Julius, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Reba, Golgi Apparatus
Set 2: Back in the U.S.S.R., Dear Prudence, Glass Onion, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, Wild Honey Pie, The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Happiness Is a Warm Gun, Martha My Dear, I'm So Tired, Blackbird, Piggies, Rocky Raccoon, Don't Pass Me By, Why Don't We Do It in the Road?, I Will, Julia, Birthday, Yer Blues, Mother Nature's Son, Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey, Sexy Sadie, Helter Skelter, Long Long Long, Revolution 1, Honey Pie, Savoy Truffle, Cry Baby Cry, Revolution 9
Set 3: David Bowie, Bouncing Around the Room, Slave to the Traffic Light, Rift, Sleeping Monkey, Poor Heart, Run Like an Antelope
Encore: Amazing Grace, Costume Contest, The Squirming Coil
Notes: Harpua included the Vibrations of Life and Death. Jimmy decided to put on his favorite album Barney's Greatest Hits, but turned his turntable on the wrong way and started playing it backwards. Fishman then proceeded to sing a verse of War Pigs. Trey subsequently teased I Love You before Harpua resumed. Poster was swallowed up into the earth by the Vibration of Death. "The Vibration of Death is gone" replaced the usual "The storm is gone." A Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon tease (the heartbeats from Speak to Me) was pumped through the P.A. at the beginning of the second set. The second set "musical costume" was The Beatles' The Beatles (also known as The White Album). All of the White Album songs, other than Piggies, were Phish debuts, although Ob La Di, Ob La Da had been jammed or teased on many occasions. Piggies was played for the first time since 11/14/85 (876 shows). Birthday wasn’t sung; Page and Mike noodled a bit while Fishman presented a birthday cake to Brad Sands, who accepted it while wearing a Fishman dress. The background tape playing along with Revolution 9 was Mike’s composition He Ent to the Bog from Phish’s White Tape. The song ended with Fishman stark naked and running around while the band blew bubbles and waved. Good Night was taped from the album and closed the second set. The third set began with a Custard Pie tease, while Antelope's intro contained a Stash tease from Trey. This show was officially released as Live Phish 13.
[My sister wore a mermaid outfit specially tailored by my mom. I dressed as "Uncle Ebenezer". We handed out "Hi. My Name Is..." stickers that had illustrations of fish on them.]

Friday, 11/04/1994 Onondaga War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse, NY
Set 1: Sample in a Jar > It's Ice > Bouncing Around the Room, David Bowie, Colonel Forbin's Ascent -> The Vibration of Life -> Colonel Forbin's Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird, Scent of a Mule, Suzy Greenberg > Chalk Dust Torture
Set 2: The Curtain, Mike's Song -> Simple -> Mike's Song > Tela > Weekapaug Groove, Ya Mar > Golgi Apparatus, Slave to the Traffic Light
Encore: Loving Cup, Rocky Top
Notes: The Forbin’s narration was based around The Vibration of Life and a green light that transported fans to a Gamehendge revival. Weekapaug closed with a strong Can’t You Hear Me Knocking jam.
[After the show I went to see Homel-Alaniz Band (a legendary Syracuse Dead tribute band) at a bar on Wescott Street. During their set break we were hanging out with the band "in the back" when all of a sudden tubs of beer on ice started appearing out of nowhere. Trays of food were brought out...we weren't sure why. A couple minutes later Jon Fishman walked in the back door, which I happened to be standing next to at the time, and asked if I had a light. Being a smoker at the time I obliged and for a good five minutes we had a conversation about drums, growing up in Upstate NY, and the Glens Falls Halloween show I had just witnessed a few days before, which I complimented him on profusely.]

Thursday, 06/22/1995 Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center, Canandaigua, NY
Set 1: Sample in a Jar, Scent of a Mule, Ha Ha Ha > The Divided Sky, Guelah Papyrus, It's Ice, Strange Design, Maze, Cavern, Sweet Adeline
Set 2: Theme From the Bottom -> Jam -> Tweezer -> Tweezer Reprise
Encore: Acoustic Army, While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Notes: This 40-minute Tweezer, which is known as “The Fleezer,” contained a My Generation jam and, at one point, a Fishman vacuum accompaniment. Maze included a brief Dave’s Energy Guide tease.

Thursday, 08/14/1997 Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Darien Center, NY
Soundcheck: Buffalo Bill, The Old Home Place, Funky Bitch, Crosseyed and Painless
Set 1: Ya Mar, Funky Bitch, Fluffhead, Limb By Limb, Free, Cars Trucks Buses, Tela, Train Song, Billy Breathes, Run Like an Antelope
Set 2: Chalk Dust Torture, Love Me, Sparkle, Harry Hood -> Jam > Colonel Forbin's Ascent -> Merry Pranksters Jam -> Camel Walk, Taste
Encore: Bouncing Around the Room, Rocky Top
Notes: The second set featured a remarkable jam after Harry Hood ended and before Forbin’s began, as well as an appearance by Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters. Listen for several teases during the Pranksters Jam, including If I Only Had a Brain and Frankenstein teases from Phish and Maze and Somewhere Over the Rainbow teases from Trey.

Friday, 12/12/1997 Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY
Set 1: Funky Bitch -> Also Sprach Zarathustra > Camel Walk, Taste > Bouncing Around the Room, Tweezer > Train Song, Character Zero
Set 2: Saw It Again -> Piper > Swept Away > Steep > Prince Caspian -> Izabella > Tweezer Reprise
Encore: Guyute, Run Like an Antelope
Notes: The jam out of Caspian bore a similarity to Llama. Piper included a distinct Birds of a Feather tease, several months before the song actually debuted.

Saturday, 12/13/1997 Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY
Set 1: Ya Mar > Axilla > Theme From the Bottom, Ginseng Sullivan, Strange Design, Sample in a Jar, Vultures, Tube, Good Times Bad Times
Set 2: NICU, Punch You In the Eye, Ghost, Mike's Song -> Llama, When the Circus Comes, Weekapaug Groove -> Catapult -> Weekapaug Groove, Harry Hood
Encore: My Soul, The Squirming Coil
Notes: Ya Mar was unfinished. Mike’s Song included a Funky Town tease, Foxy Lady quotes from Fishman, and some memorable vocal interplay from the band that included a chant to “Bring in the Dude.” During Hood, Trey asked Chris Kuroda to turn off the lights for a Blackout Jam and the audience responded with a shower of green glowsticks. The opening act was J. Willis Pratt & We're Bionic.

Wednesday, 08/12/1998 Vernon Downs, Vernon, NY
Set 1: La Grange, Makisupa Policeman, Funky Bitch, Possum, Roggae, Character Zero, Ramble On > Slave to the Traffic Light
Set 2: Mike's Song -> Simple > Rift, Loving Cup, Sleeping Monkey > Weekapaug Groove, The Squirming Coil
Encore: Burning Down the House, You Enjoy Myself
Notes: Possum was dedicated to its author, Jeff Holdsworth, and Fishman’s band in high school, Frodo. Ramble On was played in honor of Fishman seeing a Led Zeppelin concert at age eleven; Slave subsequently included Ramble On teases. This show marked the Phish debut of Burning Down the House. YEM included HYHU and Mission: Impossible teases.

Sunday, 10/10/1999 Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY
Set 1: Farmhouse, Gotta Jibboo, Heavy Things, First Tube, Dirt, Vultures, Stash
Set 2: Jam > You Enjoy Myself > Prince Caspian > Train Song, Bathtub Gin, Character Zero
Encore: Contact, Misty Mountain Hop
Notes: At the end of the second set, Trey thanked the band’s families, as well as the crew and the fans. This version of YEM did not contain a vocal jam.

Saturday, 07/17/1999 Oswego County Airport, Volney, NY
Soundcheck: Mr. Sausage, Beauty of My Dreams, Carini (slower)
Set 1: Tube > Boogie On Reggae Woman, Birds of a Feather, Guelah Papyrus, My Sweet One, Roggae, Tweezer -> Have Mercy -> Taste, Character Zero
Set 2: Funky Bitch, On My Knees, Jam, Down with Disease, Wolfman's Brother -> Sneakin' Sally through the Alley > Timber (Jerry), You Enjoy Myself
Encore: The Squirming Coil, Tweezer Reprise
Notes: This was the first show of the Camp Oswego festival. Have Mercy was played for the first time since November 12, 1994 (334 shows). Son Seals sat in on guitar and vocals for his own composition, Funky Bitch, as well as the Phish debut of On My Knees. Afterwards, a brief blues jam was played as Son left the stage.

Sunday, 07/18/1999 Oswego County Airport, Volney, NY
Set 1: Punch You In the Eye, Farmhouse, Water in the Sky, Bathtub Gin, Back on the Train, If You Need a Fool, I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome, Beauty of My Dreams, The Moma Dance, Reba, Chalk Dust Torture
Set 2: Runaway Jim -> Free, Meatstick, Guyute, Axilla, Llama
Set 3: My Soul, Piper -> Prince Caspian > Wilson > Catapult -> Smoke on the Water Jam -> Icculus, Quinn the Eskimo, Fluffhead
Encore: Harry Hood
Notes: This was the second show of the Camp Oswego festival. Back on the Train through Beauty of My Dreams featured a guest appearance by the Del McCoury Band, who had played on the venue’s side stage. During I’m Blue I’m Lonesome, Del McCoury broke a string, and a bluegrass breakdown ensued while the string was changed. During Meatstick, the crowd tried to break the world record for most people dancing at one time. Trey explained the record that the band was trying to break while Sofi Dillof danced on stage and the Guinness staff videotaped the crowd. Part of the Piper intro was used on the studio Piper released on Farmhouse. Caspian was unfinished. Some musical chaos ensued between Catapult and Icculus (first since October 31, 1995, or 261 shows), where Trey rambled about the negative aspects of television and the positive aspects of books. The ensuing Smoke on the Water Jam included Cat Scratch Fever teases. Subsequently, Icculus was followed by more narration and a tease of Miss You. The show closed with fireworks during Hood.

Saturday, 10/09/1999 Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY
Set 1: Punch You In the Eye > Wilson, Guyute, Ghost -> My Left Toe -> Free, Sparkle > Possum
Set 2: Limb By Limb > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Down with Disease > Wading in the Velvet Sea, Simple, Loving Cup
Encore: Slave to the Traffic Light
Notes: Part of the 2001 jam featured Trey on keys.

Sunday, 10/10/1999 Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY
Set 1: Farmhouse, Gotta Jibboo, Heavy Things, First Tube, Dirt, Vultures, Stash
Set 2: Jam > You Enjoy Myself > Prince Caspian > Train Song, Bathtub Gin, Character Zero
Encore: Contact, Misty Mountain Hop
Notes: At the end of the second set, Trey thanked the band’s families, as well as the crew and the fans. This version of YEM did not contain a vocal jam.

Friday, 09/08/2000 Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY
Set 1: Mellow Mood, Limb By Limb, Ghost, Bouncing Around the Room, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Saw It Again, NICU, Glide, Axilla, Taste, Golgi Apparatus
Set 2: Birds of a Feather, Windora Bug, David Bowie, Back at the Chicken Shack, Bathtub Gin > Jam > Character Zero
Encore: Fire
Notes: The jam out of the end of Gin featured Fishman on vacuum and Trey on drums. This show featured the Phish debuts of Mellow Mood and Windora Bug.

Tuesday, 02/25/2003 First Union Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
Set 1: Julius, Talk, 46 Days, Taste, Frankie Says, Slave to the Traffic Light, Water in the Sky, Walls of the Cave
Set 2: AC/DC Bag, Cities, Theme From the Bottom > Runaway Jim, Thunderhead, Sparkle, Pebbles and Marbles
Encore: The Squirming Coil, Character Zero
Notes: Talk was played for the first time since August 6, 1998 (167 shows). Theme was unfinished.

Monday, 12/01/2003 Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY
Set 1: Chalk Dust Torture, Stash, Guyute, Thunderhead, Sparkle, Wolfman's Brother > Good Times Bad Times
Set 2: Tweezer -> Also Sprach Zarathustra > You Enjoy Myself, Camel Walk, Possum, Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress, Run Like an Antelope
Encore: Fire
Notes: Tweezer was preceded by a Dixie tease. Camel Walk through Fire featured Jeff Holdsworth on guitar. This was Jeff’s first known performance with his former Phish brethren since May 17, 1986. Camel Walk, Possum and Long Cool Woman (first since October 30, 1998, or 180 shows) also featured Jeff on lead vocals. Antelope featured Tom Marshall on vocals.

Saturday, 06/19/2004 Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
Set 1: Reba, Runaway Jim, NICU > Scents and Subtle Sounds, Wolfman's Brother, Walls of the Cave -> David Bowie
Set 2: A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing > Piper -> Gotta Jibboo, Limb By Limb, Cavern
Encore: Wading in the Velvet Sea
Notes: Piper featured a substantial Tweezer Reprise jam and, near the end, a Harpua tease. Jibboo was unfinished. Trey forgot an entire verse of Cavern. Cavern contained a Purple Haze tease.

Sunday, 06/20/2004 Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
Set 1: Rift, Julius, Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home?, Waves, Gumbo, Water in the Sky, Horn, Poor Heart, Drowned
Set 2: Seven Below > Ghost > Twist, You Enjoy Myself
Encore: Good Times Bad Times
Notes: During Julius, Trey broke a string on stage for the first known time since November 29, 1996. This Father’s Day version of Bill Bailey – the first since July 3, 1999 (165 shows) – featured Page’s dad, Dr. Jack McConnell, on vocals and tap shoes.

Friday, 06/05/2009 Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NY
Set 1: Wilson, Buried Alive, Kill Devil Falls, AC/DC Bag, I Didn't Know, My Friend, My Friend, Ya Mar, Theme From the Bottom, Boogie On Reggae Woman, Split Open and Melt
Set 2: Down with Disease -> Twist > Piper > Backwards Down the Number Line, Free, Twenty Years Later > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Slave to the Traffic Light
Encore: A Day in the Life
Notes: During I Didn’t Know, Trey introduced Fish as “Little Junior Moses Brown Heaps DeWitt” and commented that he was going to “suck all of the moisture out of the air.” During Ya Mar, Page teased It’s Raining, It’s Pouring. Boogie On Reggae Woman contained a Ghostbusters tease. Trey teased Flat Fee prior to DWD. Twist featured an Oye Como Va jam. This show marked the debut of Twenty Years Later.

Saturday, 06/06/2009 Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA
Set 1: Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan, Nothing, Back on the Train, Golgi Apparatus, Sparkle > Gotta Jibboo, Lawn Boy, Let Me Lie, Taste, Makisupa Policeman, Prince Caspian
Set 2: Seven Below, Fluffhead, Scent of a Mule, Heavy Things, Harry Hood > Possum, Bug
Encore: Contact > Julius
Notes: Let Me Lie made its Phish debut at this show. The first post-break-up Makisupa Policeman notably did not contain a “keyword.”

Friday, 08/14/2009 The Comcast Theatre, Hartford, CT
Soundcheck: "Lamp Post Song"
Set 1: Punch You In the Eye, AC/DC Bag > NICU, Colonel Forbin's Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird, Birds of a Feather, Lawn Boy, Stash, I Didn't Know, Middle of the Road, Character Zero
Set 2: Down with Disease > Wilson > Slave to the Traffic Light, Piper > Water in the Sky, Ghost -> Psycho Killer -> Catapult -> Icculus > You Enjoy Myself
Encore: While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Notes: This show featured the first versions of Forbin’s and Mockingbird since September 30, 2000 (96 shows), which were performed without narration. During I Didn’t Know, Trey introduced Fish as “Recent Julliard Master’s Vacuum Program graduate, the one and only, Jon Moses Quagmire DeWitt Hampton.” DWD contained a Reba jam. Piper included a Spill the Wine tease from Page. This show featured the first Psycho Killer since December 7, 1997 (282 shows). Psycho Killer was unfinished and disintegrated into a self-described, electronic “Pong” jam. During the post-Psycho Killer “Pong” jam, Trey initiated a dance contest saying that whoever could best dance to that music would “win something.” After Catapult (while continuing the “Pong” jam), Trey asked, “Does everybody else love this song as much as I do?” and said that he was “waiting for the day when they play stuff like this on the radio.” Icculus was last performed on July 18, 1999 (193 shows). The Icculus narration centered on the fact that “you crazy kids” just don’t read anymore. The “Pong” jam reappeared during the YEM jam. The soundcheck included a jam with lyrics that were made up on the fly with Trey on bass (so that Mike could check on bass sounds from the audience) and Fish on drums.

Sunday, 11/22/2009 War Memorial at Oncenter, Syracuse, NY
Set 1: David Bowie, Julius, Sparkle, Kill Devil Falls, Lawn Boy, Heavy Things, Funky Bitch, Sample in a Jar, Boogie On Reggae Woman, Let Me Lie, Beauty of a Broken Heart, Stash
Set 2: Drowned > Twist > Piper > Big Black Furry Creature from Mars, Tube, Theme From the Bottom > Maze, The Horse > Silent in the Morning > Character Zero > First Tube
Encore: Good Times Bad Times
Notes: BBFCFM included several references to Syracuse native Jon Fishman (including shout-outs to his alma mater, his father and his father's dental patients).

Friday, 11/27/2009 Times Union Center, Albany, NY
Set 1: AC/DC Bag > Maze, Driver, My Mind's Got a Mind of its Own, Gumbo, Bouncing Around the Room > It's Ice, Two Versions of Me, Timber (Jerry) > Limb By Limb, Cavern > Light
Set 2: My Friend, My Friend > Golden Age, On Your Way Down, Fluffhead > Piper -> Tomorrow's Song, Prince Caspian > Harry Hood > Suzy Greenberg > The Squirming Coil, I Been Around
Encore: Fire
Notes: This show marked the Phish debut of Golden Age and the debut of Tomorrow's Song. During Page's solo in Coil, the rest of the band left the stage. Upon returning, Trey said that they had left for the encore and asked Page where he had been, leading into I Been Around. The Fire encore continued the tradition of Phish playing a Hendrix cover on the guitarist's birthday (11/27/92 and 11/27/96 being the other occasions).

Sunday, 06/20/2010 Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY

Soundcheck: Funky Bitch [Unconfirmed and Possibly Incomplete]

Set 1: Brother, AC/DC Bag > Back on the Train, Undermind, Cities, Gotta Jibboo, Roggae, Sleep Again, Lawn Boy, Run Like an Antelope

Set 2: Carini > The Mango Song, Wilson > Drowned > Swept Away > Steep, Makisupa Policeman, Piper > Also Sprach Zarathustra > You Enjoy Myself

Encore: Frankenstein

Notes: In what is becoming a Father's Day tradition (see 6/21/09), the show-opening Brother featured the band members' children jumping into a bathtub on stage, followed by Trey introducing each of them and wishing everyone a Happy Father's Day. Gotta Jibboo featured Tony Markellis on bass and Mike on a second guitar. The end of Wilson contained a Dixie tease from Trey. In place of a traditional Makisupa keyword, Trey improvised lines that set up solos for Mike, then Fish, then Page. The subsequent Piper intro included repeated phrases from the Makisupa ("Mike," "Policeman" "SPAC" and "House" among others).

UPCOMING SUMMER 2011 SHOWS YOU MAY FIND ME AT:

Saturday, 05/28/2011 Bethel Woods Performing Arts Center, Bethel, NY

Sunday, 05/29/2011 Bethel Woods Performing Arts Center, Bethel, NY

Friday, 07/01/2011 Superball IX, Watkins Glen, NY

Saturday, 07/02/2011 Superball IX, Watkins Glen, NY

Sunday, 07/03/2011 Superball IX, Watkins Glen, NY

Goodbye Cruel World

2010-05-25T11:00:00.001-04:00

What's it been, a coupla months since I posted a blog entry here? Dang. Time does fly. Let's catch up.

It's been kind of a depressing Spring in several ways. Musically, we've lost notables such as Lena Horne, Hank Jones and Ronnie James Dio, to name a few greats. Yeah I know about the Slipknot bass player too...never really got into those guys though. The fact that Allmusic.com uses terms like "post-Korn", "Marilyn Manson-esque", and "rap-metal" in the first sentence of their biography of the band are probably three very good reasons. Oh, and the creepy masks...yeesh.

Personally I've experienced a bit of loss in dealing with the passing of a long-lost high school friend. You don't realize how surreal Facebook can get until you see a status message that consists of "R.I.P. [friend's name] , [birthyear] - [deathyear]" on one of your other friends' pages. It's especially unnerving when you can't find out how it happened...for days...as others continue to post follow up messages frantically asking what had happened.

I guess details of that sort are not usually something one would post on a social networking site for all to see. It's all too real and not something you can just "comment" upon, "like" or "remove". Lack of information leads to speculation, though, and of course I imagined something really awful had happened. Even though I had not spoken to this individual in almost 20 years I knew that he was married and had a couple or three kids. My wife's chat session with the friend who originally posted the R.I.P. notice revealed my suspiscions were correct: it was self-inflicted.

The weirdest thing is, his Facebook profile will continue to exist forever. People can still freely post messages on his wall. Always a big Pink Floyd fan, his remaining profile photo is an image taken from Roger Waters' new production of "The Wall" (that will be touring North America this Fall). I can't help but wonder if the last song he heard was the one at the end of disc one, or what would have been side two of the vinyl LP, "Goodbye Cruel World".

Goodbye cruel world

I'm leaving you today

Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.

Goodbye all you people

There's nothing you can say

To make me change my mind

Goodbye.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

1-800-273-TALK

Pretty Harsh On Harry

2010-03-19T22:07:00.000-04:00

OK. I will admit it. I watched the show "Will And Grace" with my wife. It was pretty funny most of the time. Then Harry Connick, Jr. somehow appeared and just kind of killed the vibe. On the show he came off as kind of a tool. I never saw the movies he was in but I did a bit of digging and must say, gained a new respect for him when I found he contributed voice work to "Action League Now!"

I never really liked his music though.You know, the jazzy, dreamy stuff that they play at weddings during dinner. He wanted to be the next Sinatra or something...blah blah blah. I knew he had a genuine New Orleans pedigree but most of his stuff was just boring.

Then in 1994 my sister played me a copy of his "She" album. It was completely different than anything he had previously put out. It was FUNKY. Damn, the credits include Ziggy Modileste, George Porter, Jr. among other N'awlins session players. Apparently there was also a radio hit "I Could Only Whisper Your Name" but it only made it to number 67 on the Billboard singles chart.

I guess what I'm saying is that the album is not that bad and deserves better than the one-and-a-half star rating given to it by Allmusic. Now I usually love that website and often refer to it for my fact-checking. But whoever submitted that rating was too chicken to even post an actual review. What's the deal? I think it deserves another chance.

If you bought CDs in the 90s (or worked at a record store like my sis) you might even have this disc in your collection. If so, pull it out and give it a spin sometime. I say it deserves another listen.

Shooting Star

2010-03-18T12:00:00.001-04:00

By now you've probably heard about the untimely death of singer/songwriter/producer Alex Chilton. It even made the "front page" of the electronic version of the New York Times. It is too bad that only in death could he garner such headlines. This is not a meant to be an extensive music history lesson but simply an appreciation for one of the most critically acclaimed yet (commercially) less successful artists of the past 40 years. Whether you knew him as a 60's pop singer, 70's songwriter or latter day punk/cult figure he was an influential voice who inspired hundreds, if not thousands of other great musicians.

You can read about Chilton's early days as the singer for the Box Tops on any number of websites. As the story goes, he was barely old enough to have a driver's license when "The Letter" was delivered to AM radio in the summer of 1967. If he had never recorded another note this song would have secured his place in rock history, being one of the most perfect one-minute-and-fifty-three-second moments in all of pop music. Even though he didn't write the song Alex's 16-year old vocals sounded years beyond his age and propelled the group to success on both the "pop" stations as well as the "race" charts...now known as R&B. In fact, it ended up being Billboard magazine's top single of the year, setting the bar for the rest of the group's short career extremely high.

Of course Chilton went on to become known as one of the driving creative forces behind the group that would become the critics' darling, Big Star. Although many positive reviews were inked by music critics about their recordings the band was unable to fulfill the promise of its moniker due to problems with distribution by their record label, Ardent Records, a subsidiary of Stax. The number of other artists that were later inspired by those three seminal albums is innumerable. The influence on bands such as R.E.M., who he later produced, and The Replacements, who wrote a song about him entitled "Alex Chilton", cannot be underestimated. It was he who was responsible for bringing The Cramps onto the scene through his production of their first sessions which led to their first record deal.

Over the course of his career Chilton also issued a dozen or so albums under his own name and continued to tour regularly throughout the US and Europe. Yes, he's also known as the author of the song that eventually became the theme to That 70's Show on Fox, Cheap Trick's recording of the Big Star classic "In The Street". Rolling Stone magazine did a nice interview with him a decade ago that provides insight to his feelings about this and how his royalties for the use of the song amounted to exactly $70 per episode, prompting him to jokingly refer to it as "That $70 Show". Read the complete interview here to discover the original, and quite funny title to his covers album that was changed for release in the US.

Alex Chilton was scheduled to play at the South By Southwest music festival in Austin this coming Saturday night. After hearing of his passing Brent Grulke, the festival's Creative Director, issued the following statement on the SXSW website:

"Alex Chilton always messed with your head, charming and amazing you while doing so. His gift for melody was second to none, yet he frequently seemed in disdain of that gift. He seemed as troubled by neglect as he did by fame. He wrote the most accessible pop songs that turned into something quite sour on closer reflection. It was impossible to know what he was thinking. But it was always worth pondering, because that's what a truly great artist makes us do. And make no mistake: Alex Chilton was an artist of the very highest caliber. It's too early to do much but cry about our loss right now, but he'll be missed, and missed more as the ages pass and his myth continues to expand - that music isn't going anywhere. R.I.P. and thank you, friend."

One would hope that the up-and-coming artists that are participating in this year's festival can learn from the legacy left by this true individual, even if they don't know enough about him to "cry like a baby" in his absence. With the current state of the music industry they'll be lucky if they achieve even a sliver of his limited commercial success. The brightest stars at this year's festival will be the ones who realize that the music always comes first.

What I Saw Was What I Got

2010-03-10T12:30:00.000-05:00

As much as I'm trying not to let this blog turn into just an obituary page I feel it's important to note the passing of another great, but less-well-known soul singer. Ron Banks, the distinctive falsetto voice of Detroit soul sextet The Dramatics passed away last week at the age of 58. The band was originally formed in 1962 as The Dynamics, changing their name five years later, but it wasn't until 1971 that their big commercial breakout happened with the psychedelic-tinged single "In The Rain". In later years the group became notable for their association with rapper Snoop Dogg after he paid tribute to them on his Doggystyle album. Mr. Banks continued to perform on and off with various incarnations of the group until their last Detroit appearance with him in November of last year. He is the third original member of the band to die of a heart attack and the fourth member to pass away before the age of 60. And I thought Badfinger was the unluckiest band ever because two of their principal members committed suicide.

The first album The Dramatics released on Stax records was truly worth the wait. Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get is an early seventies soul masterpiece featuring no less than three charting hits; two of them, "In The Rain" and the title track, made it to the Billboard top ten pop and R&B charts. The third track, "Get Up And Get Down" is another funky classic, featured prominently in the soundtrack for the film Dead Presidents.

My personal experience with this album goes back to the summer of 1994 when I met Ms. Christine Belcher while thumbing through racks of CDs in a record store in Syracuse, NY...might have been "Nobody Beats The Wiz" or a similar big box store of the time. I believe I was in the Parliament section holding the CD of Mothership Connection when Ms. Belcher, standing near me looking over the Ohio Players bin, remarked out loud how much she loved that album. I then related some of my recent experiences seeing George Clinton and P-Funk live and we struck up a conversation about old school funk. It seemed amusing to her, a 40-something woman of color, that a 20-something white boy from the suburbs was interested in "her" music.

Honestly I had been bitten by the funk bug a while before that, listening to as much James Brown, Sly Stone and Earth, Wind & Fire as the average Caucasian college student could feasibly lay his hands on at the time: I had the "Greatest Hits" CDs but was ready to dig deeper. Growing up during the height of disco caused me to be exposed to just a small taste of the raw grit that was soul music. I was never really properly introduced to "the good stuff" because of my limited background. Little did I know that my chance encounter with Ms. Belcher would lead to a whole education in some of the best black music of the early to mid-1970s.

During the course of our conversation it was revealed to me, an avid vinyl collector, that Christine had a "basement full of old records" that she was trying to get rid of. She had planned on giving them to her son, but he had not shown any interest. They were sitting there in her basement, just waiting. Bells started going off in my head as I tried to imagine what treasures could potentially await. Then again, I had perused other attics and basements full of LPs that had ended up being mostly junk, which is usually the case when someone says they want things "taken off their hands". The word "basement" also made me worry a bit. Depending upon the storage conditions in her house I might just be looking at a moldy mess that was not worth my time. Was I crazy even thinking of going to the house of this woman who I had never met, all for the sake of a few old albums? Absolutely...but it ended up being completely worth it.

Sure enough, I followed her back to her place in one of the not-so-nice sections of the city. Feeling somewhat apprehensive as I entered her home, not to mention getting a few wide-eyed glares from her kids as I passed through the living room, I started thinking that this was not the best idea I'd ever had. My fears were laid to rest, though, as soon as I descended the stairs to her basement and saw The Stacks. There were at least 300 albums, in varying stages of decay, sitting on the floor in a corner in several disheveled piles.

The first couple that caught my eye were some James Brown albums on King records, some of his earliest and most highly-prized by collectors. Unfortunately many of the best ones were mostly destroyed by years of playback, then later, years of neglect. There was actual mold growing on some of the jackets but with a bit of cleanup work the vinyl contents looked like they might be salvageable. After all, these albums were (and some still are) out of print and I had no chance of hearing them except in their original form. Records by Curtis Mayfield, The O'Jays, The Temptations and Aretha Franklin also caught my eye. I had known about and loved these artists from hearing them on the radio and via various compilation CDs but these were the originals. These contained the original full-length versions of the songs, 12 x 12 artwork, and sometimes even gatefold covers that opened up to reveal lyrics or photos. The Isaac Hayes and Donna Summer double live albums had interesting die-cut graphics on the jackets...something you didn't see on the tiny inserts that went inside of CD jewel boxes. I had no idea how many of the vinyl LP versions of some of my favorite cuts were much longer than the radio or Greatest Hits versions. Songs like The O'Jays' "For The Love Of Money" or The Temptations' "Masterpiece" were extended on the albums, sometimes resulting in side-long suites (as in the aforementioned Isaac Hayes' Hot Buttered Soul album). I also saw lots of things by groups I had not yet heard of like The New Birth, B.T. Express, and Con Funk Shun. This was a dream come true.

After a cursory look at the piles I decided that even though some of them were trashed it had been worth the visit. With Ms. Belcher's assistance I found a few large cardboard boxes, gathered together the stacks of wax, and filled the trunk of my car. After thanking her again and again for the bounty that I had received she still refused to take any money for them, saying something like she was "glad they had found a good home" and that she was just glad to be rid of them. I even offered to copy some of her favorites onto cassettes for her but she said it wasn't necessary: She had already gone through the piles and pulled out the ones that were most near and dear to her...mostly Teddy Pendergrass and Barry White. She also said she was mostly into newer music, evidenced by the CD copy of TLC's CrazySexyCool on her stereo cabinet. On my final trip out to the car I paused for a minute, then went back to her front step and slid a $20 bill into her mailbox with the word "thanks" written on the bottom.

When I got everything home I had to go through the painful process of weeding out what was usable from what was completely trashed. About 25% of what I pulled from my trunk had to go straight to the garbage because it was in such bad shape. The remaining 75% was either playable or at least cleanable to the point where it could be played without taping a penny to the turntable tonearm. I immediately began sifting through, sampling cuts from various albums, and making a series of my own mix tapes from the collection. Compact Discs had been around for a few years and vinyl records were almost solely a novelty by then so I made sure to leave the "needle drop" sound at the beginning of the tape to add to the authenticity.

Among the discoveries I made that day was an intact, gatefold sleeve, original pressing of The Dramatics' What You See Is What You Get album. From time to time I'll look through my vinyl collection and come across one of the LPs I acquired that day. Many still have the name "Christine Belcher" written in Bic pen in the corner, or on some of her favorites (I'm guessing) like The Crusaders first album, a green plastic Dymo label with the name spelled out in block letters. Thank you again, Ms. Belcher, wherever you may be now. My musical diversity increased exponentially that day as I devoured every note of those truly "funky" albums.

Ain't Got No T-Bone

2010-03-02T09:41:00.001-05:00

Yesterday news came of another one of pop music's greatest passing away far too young. Thomas "T-Bone" Wolk had a heart attack at age 58 and has played his final bass line. Since 1981 he was recognizable as "the guy in the hat" during his long tenure as a sideman, and eventually, musical director for Daryl Hall & John Oates. He had reportedly been working in the studio with Daryl on a new solo album Sunday night and had been scheduled to appear with Hall & Oates on The Jimmy Fallon Show on Monday. What many don't realize is how extensive his accomplishments as an arranger and musician really are.

T-Bone made history as one of the funkiest ~~Caucasian~~ bass players ever on Kurtis Blow's 1980 recording of "The Breaks" (one of the earliest hip hop songs that mattered). On the Allmusic web site listing for the album he's billed as "Tommy Wouk," so his meaty moniker must have emerged sometime around the time he met up with G.E. Smith and joined the Hall & Oates band. After playing with them for several years, inventing great bass lines such as the opening for the classic "Maneater," the opportunity presented itself to work as a member of the house band at Saturday Night Live, where he and G.E. remained permanent fixtures for several years in the 1980s. Wolk also either produced, arranged or performed on albums by notables such as Carly Simon, Elvis Costello, Bette Midler, Marc Anthony, Laurie Anderson, Kenny G, Billy Joel and a list that goes on and on which is far too long to post here. But check out his "credits" page on Allmusic and you will begin to see how much music that you may have heard that he has touched. R.I.P. T-Bone!..you will be missed by many.

Happy Birthday George!

2010-02-25T07:54:00.000-05:00

Today would have been George Harrison's 67th birthday had he not left us nine years ago. In honor of the "quiet" Beatle I'll be listening to his solo masterpiece, All Things Must Pass, today (yes, including the Clapton jams on sides five and six...they're part of the album!) For those who may not remember 1970, this was the album that contained the hit single "My Sweet Lord," which eventually caused him to be taken to court by the Chiffons and sued for plagiarism over the similarities to "He's So Fine"...And today we have Kid Rock.

When I was a kid the Syracuse City Library acquired a new boxed copy of the triple LP and I had the honor of being the first one to check it out. I took the virgin discs home, carefully checked the peak levels on my Denon 3-head cassette deck, and recorded them onto two Maxell XLII-S cassettes (which are still playable to this day). Today I'll probably bust out the 30th anniversary remastered edition simply because the sound quality is far superior to my old cassettes.

Just for fun I've slightly modified the lyrics of the "novelty" track from that album, "It's Johnny's Birthday" in memory of George:

It's George's birthday
It's George's birthday
And we would like to wish him all the very best
It's George's birthday
It's George's birthday
And it's so nice to have you back to be our guest

At George's birthday
At George's birthday
We'd like to wish you all what you would wish yourself
On George's birthday
It's George's birthday
And it's so good to have you back from off the shelf
And it's so good to have...
You back from off the shelf...

Sharona and Suzie Q

2010-02-20T09:30:00.002-05:00

The composers of two of the most memorable rock songs ever named after women passed away last week. On Saturday rockabilly pioneer Dale Hawkins, author of the rock staple "Susie-Q", died at the age of 73 from colon cancer. Doug Fieger, songwriter and guitarist known mostly for his work with The Knack, died of lung cancer at age 57 on Sunday. Both were unceremonious endings for two people who embodied the spirit of rock and roll. Did I mention that cancer really sucks?

My first experience with the song "Susie-Q" (AKA "Suzie-Q" / "Suzy Q" / etc.) was via my dad's copy of Creedence Gold, an early compilation of hits by Creedence Clearwater Revival, one of the best and most successful bands to emerge from San Francisco. It was only eight songs long but the album was notable for two reasons: 1) The really cool record jacket with layered die-cut silhouettes of all the band members that flipped over to reveal their photos. 2) The fact that it contained the full-length versions of two pivotal cover songs, the eleven minute Norman Whitfield-Barrett Strong classic "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and the eight-and-a-half minute "Susie-Q". This is probably one of the first 10 albums I ever devoured from start to finish. Dale Hawkins most likely never imagined the swampy psychedelia of the Creedence version when he first composed the song. His original version (featuring the guitar work of James Burton) is a classic unto itself. It's blues. It's rockabilly. It's about a girl with a first name of Susie and a last name that starts with "Q". It prominently features a cowbell. What else do you need to know? For more on Mr. Hawkins please see the NY Daily News obituary here or his biography at one of my all-time favorite websites, Allmusic.com.

Now about Sharona... The year was 1979 and I was all of ten years old. Disco still reigned the airwaves but there was one song that was able to kick Chic's roller skating anthem "Good Times" off the top of the charts. "My Sharona" was that song. For many it was just another annoyingly ubiquitous pop rock song. For "Weird Al" Yankovic it was the inspiration for one of his very first parody songs (remember "My Bologna"?) For me it was a kind of rock revelation. The driving beat...the naughty lyrics...the wicked guitar solo. All of these elements came together to create a new energy and new sound that would be both loved by the (record buying) general public and hated by music critics.

Sure, there was a backlash by critics because The Knack was one of several bands that were touted as being "the new Beatles" and, to be sure, they had fun milking it in some subtle ways. The black and white cover portrait on Get The Knack, the matching suits, etc. were all ways of emulating the success of the Fab 4. But Lennon and McCartney weren't quite this naughty. Keep in mind, this was in the days before the complete lyrics to a song were instantly available with a few mouse clicks so lyrics that were difficult to decipher were often misinterpreted. Thank goodness for Chu-Bops, the miniature album jacket reproductions that held a record-shaped piece of bubble gum. These would often contain statistics and trivia about the musical artist, much like baseball trading cards. The Chu-Bops issue of Get The Knack contained the lyrics to "My Sharona".

At the green age of ten it did not occur to me that this song of devotion to a seventeen year-old girl could be perceived as "promiscuous" or "inappropriate" because I don't think I even had any interest in women yet. I also did not know that Mr. Fieger was several years older than his subject, Sharona Alperin, who was also photographed for the picture sleeve of the original 45 rpm single. In retrospect, I doubt that a photo like this would be used these days without some activist group complaining about child pornography! Fortunately, Ms. Alperin was NOT scarred for life by the song, nor was I by the picture sleeve. As irritating as it must have been to answer "Yes, I am THAT Sharona" for so long she is now a successful Realtor in Los Angeles. Read more about her story in this article from The Mirror (UK). [Editor's note: I do find it interesting that in that article it appears as if someone had photo-shopped the "nipular activity" out of the graphic containing the single sleeve (original pictured here).]

Besides the Big Hit Single, the rest of the album, Get The Knack, was also pretty solid. The follow-up single, "Good Girls Don't" was even raunchier, lyrically, so much so that the single was released with edited words so that it was radio friendly enough. The last part of the bridge where they sing "An in-between age madness that you just can't erase, 'til she's sitting on your face" was changed to "until she puts you in your place" which pretty much completely changed the context of the song. But nobody really listens to the words anyway, right? It's amusing that the "dirty" version is the one heard on the radio today (but not nearly often enough) and found on all the compilations. If the PMRC had been around when the record was released I'm sure it would have been candidate for a "parental advisory" sticker. But I digress...

Get The Knack is an important album in the rock canon. With the exception of one fairly obscure Buddy Holly tune, "Heartbeat", all of the songs are original compositions credited to Doug Fieger and smokin' guitarist Berton Averre. Personally I can overlook the silly sophomoric lyrics on songs like "Siamese Twins (The Monkey And Me)" simply because the rest of the album rocks. Both the opener "Let Me Out" and the closer "Frustrated" were some of the best upbeat originals to be laid on wax at the time. The pure guitar tone and pop hook of "Oh Tara" is a lost classic. Yes, Doug liked to write about girls but apparently Sharona was hotter than Tara. At the age of ten I didn't own lots of music and most of what I did have was handed down by my parents or by artists who had been around for a while. This was one of the first albums I owned that was from a "new" and "current" band and still stands as one of my favorite examples of seventies power pop.

Shameless Plug Of The Week: "Exit 97" - WEXT 97.7

2010-02-10T17:00:00.002-05:00

Most everybody complains about the music on the radio. Gone are the days of the creative disc jockeys who were able to program their own shows and "break" new artists in a region. You can slide up and down the dial in just about any middle-to-large size market and you won't be able to tell one city from the next...the consultants have seen to that. The most interesting sounds on FM radio have traditionally been found at the "left end of the dial" on college stations. They don't have to follow the strict format rules that apply to commercial stations because they don't rely on the dollars of advertisers to stay afloat. But even most college stations aren't what they used to be.

In the Albany metro area we have been privileged for the past couple of years to have been graced with "The Exit", otherwise known as WEXT 97.7, a public radio station that "clears the air". By featuring music and artists that would likely not be heard otherwise, including a healthy dose of (gasp) locally produced original music, WEXT actually fulfills the claim made by Siena College's station, The Saint. It seems like they actually WILL play ANYTHING...within reason. You want to hear the newest up-and-coming indie bands? Check. Wanna participate in the station and DJ your own hour of music? They'll let you do that! Interested in cool specialty shows that expose you to new genres of music you wouldn't ordinarily stumble across? They've got those too. This is one of the few stations that can be listened to for an extended duration because they've got the formula right:

Lots of good music + very little talk + NO commercials = Great listening experience!

This is not to say that the station is perfect. Yes, reception can be spotty in certain areas. Sure, they go to a syndicated show each night to cover the overnight shift. If you listen enough you will probably hear patterns in the programming and may even get tired of selected songs in the rotation. Some of the artists they play are indeed polarizing and not for everyone. That's what makes things interesting though. As I write this and look at their playlist for the last fifteen minutes I see tracks by indie group Blitzen Trapper, French electro-pop duo Air and songstress Joni Mitchell. I really think I just like the station because I'm pretty sure it's the only place I've ever heard Tom Waits on the air in Albany.

Because they are publicly funded though, the station is prone to the ever-annoying fund drives begging for donations. The main voices of WEXT, Dave Michaels and Chris Wienk are really nice guys I'm sure, but I don't care who you are or how much you listen...hearing someone ask for money is always a dial-changing moment. Because of this, I'm encouraging those who can to donate what they can to keep this station on its feet. This Saturday, February 13, 2010, WEXT is hosting "Exit Dome Three", a fund-raising concert headlined by none other than the legendary Albany band Blotto. It is the 30th anniversary of the release of their debut EP "Hello. My Name Is Blotto. What's Yours?" (Why, yes I DO own the original vinyl.)

Even if you don't make it to the show on Saturday night, PLEASE support this station by telling everyone you know who cares about music. Learn more about the fund raising efforts of WEXT and how to get tickets here.

"Leave regular radio behind"

An Ending, A New Beginning, And Blotto

2010-02-03T12:59:00.007-05:00

Last Sunday was a sad day for the local music scene and yet another indicator of the state of the economy and music biz in general. The Saratoga Springs branch of the Last Vestige Music Shop closed its doors at 437 Broadway. As a long-time patron of that location I will admit I was somewhat disappointed to see the place close. After having a blowout inventory reduction sale over the weekend (which I was fortunately able to take advantage of...see below) the remaining inventory will be relocated to the "mother" store in Albany. The original Quail Street location, presided over by longtime owner Jim Furlong, still stands and continues to be an unending source of pleasure for vinyl collectors and indie music fans in Albany. But what about us folks farther North?

Never fear, Saratoga area music freaks, because the void that has been left by the exit of LV will be replaced by a new music store, DiVinyl Revolution, as reported in the Albany Times Union back in December. Former Vestige employee Brittany Nasser plans on re-opening under the new name as early as this Friday, February 5. She told me on Sunday that she's putting every dime she's got into the new venture because music is a passion for her. Brittany hopes to retain much of the regular customer base that has frequented the location while attracting a new wave of clients by focusing on new releases and special orders with an added emphasis on hip hop and reggae. Vinyl fetishists like myself will be happy to hear that she plans to carry a full line of vinyl, as the name implies, eventually including audiophile 180-gram pressings and hard-to-find indie releases. It's sounding more and more like it will resemble the record store managed by Rob Gordon, John Cusack's character in the film "High Fidelity". That's a good thing.

Here's hoping Brittany has nothing but success in a truly noble endeavor: saving the musical soul of Saratoga. After all, where else are you going to even find a hydrocarbon analog disc anywhere in Saratoga County, much less something to play them on? Many of the "experts" agree that the warmth and presence derived from analog music sources just sounds better.

Personally I'll take a clean vinyl LP played on a good set of headphones or speakers any day over the convenience and significantly decreased sound quality of a 'Pod. Call me crazy. Call me a music snob. Fine. I have gotten through the first half of my life without needing to have 150,000 songs in my pocket though. This is coming from a guy who didn't even want the convenience of "auto-reverse" on his cassette deck because it screwed up the azimuth alignment of the tape heads leading to poor sound quality. If you understood that last sentence then you're probably in agreement with me about the vinyl. After all, I was that guy who would record an album onto a premium quality chromium dioxide tape the very first time I played it so that the original vinyl would be preserved. I painstakingly hand-lettered the labels on all my home made tapes for years. Yes, reel-to-reel as well as cassette. I even "invented" my own crude form of half-speed mastering (popularized in the 1980s by Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs) by recording a 33 1/3 RPM LP at 7 1/2 IPS (inches per second) on my Dad's old Akai machine while playing at 16 RPM on a Dual automatic turntable then playing back at 15 IPS. I found that this added headroom to the recording and resulted in a much better sounding playback, or so it seemed. The point is, the sound quality of digital is way overrated...especially when we're talking about the "lossy" MP3 format. I'll leave the technical discussion about sampling rates, etc. for another time but suffice to say I will always love my vinyl.

Speaking of which, some may be curious to know what "finds" I picked up on the final day of the big sale... Let's just say I relieved Mr. Furlong of a couple Zappa first-pressings at a nice price. The original black label Verve pressing of Lumpy Gravy is a particular favorite. I was also able to locate a piece of Albany area music history in the form of the first (and only, as far as I know) LP by the Star-Spangled Washboard Band on Flying Fish records. Why does that name ring a bell, you ask? Those familiar with local music history will recognize that band as the genesis of what would evolve into legendary early MTV-era favorite Blotto.

Besides reigning as the most well-known act to emerge from this area, Blotto were pioneers of the rock video age, taking full advantage of the boost given by the airing of their videos during the earliest days of music television. Their biggest hit, "I Wanna Be A Lifeguard" is famous for being played on the first broadcast day of MTV's operation. In fact, according to one source it was only the 34th video ever played on the channel. (I'm not suggesting that this might have been at least partially due to the network's lack of video content but does anybody remember EBN-OZN ? They ended up being placed in pretty heavy rotation too.) Somehow the magical combination of being in the right place at the right time, and having a silly (but catchy) song with hilarious visual accompaniment worked. The band went on to further notoriety with the Dr. Demento parody favorite "Metal Head", also notable for its hilarious video. Yes, they are both on YouTube.

"Music Television" may no longer exist on the MTV network, but Blotto carries on. They'll be making their semi-yearly return to the area on Saturday, February 13, in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the release of their debut vinyl EP, Hello! My Name Is Blotto. What's Yours? (which I'm not ashamed to admit is also in my personal collection, in a poly bag). It's all part of a fund raiser for publicly funded radio station WEXT, 97.7 FM ( A.K.A. "Exit 97"), the best thing to happen to area radio in a very long time. Learn more about the event and help support the effort to bring local music back to the airwaves at the Exit 97.7 website by clicking here.

P.S. - As I was researching the Star-Spangled Washboard Band I came across the following link that made me chuckle: http://www.ticketmaster.com/StarSpangled-Washboard-Band-tickets/artist/731969

Shameless Plug Of The Week: The Ruddys

2010-01-22T12:37:00.007-05:00

The third band I'm currently active with is The Ruddys. It's only "third" chronologically because it is the last band that I joined but it is probably "first" activity-level wise--they'll play just about anywhere--especially this coming Spring when the Bandaoke contest starts back up again. But more about that later...

The Ruddys are truly a family band, featuring Scott "Scooter" Ruddy on acoustic guitar, harmonica and vocals and his daughter Jessica on bass, harmonica and vocals. They can be heard performing regularly as an acoustic duo at area locations such as Nottingham's Chop House on Wolf Road in Albany and Lanie's Cafe in Loudonville, NY.

The real fun begins, though, when Scott cranks up the volume a bit and the band becomes a "power trio to be reckoned with". He elicits sounds from a six-string Taylor that were never meant to be played on acoustic guitar. Jess is simply one of the most animated and energetic bass players I've worked with...period. They bring a level of joy and enthusiasm to the material that is truly contagious. After a brief revolving door of drummers over the past year they have settled on yours truly for the moment, but you might see guys named Larry or Mark filling in occasionally when other obligations keep me on the road (read: day job). The Philly Bar in Latham, Pinhead Susan's in Schenectady and especially Savannah's/Dublin Underground in downtown Albany have all been regular haunts of the band over the past couple of years.

Over several weeks during the summer and fall of 2009 The Ruddys served as the house band for two separate rounds of the Bandaoke (ban-dee-oh-kee) competition sponsored by Fly 92.3 FM and Savannah's/Dublin Underground. "What in the heck is Bandaoke?" you ask? Take Karaoke, (not the most elegant form of entertainment but still quite popular in many cultures) then take a pretty good live Band that has a repertoire of hundreds of songs, mix them together, offer cash prizes for the best singers and you have Bandaoke. It's great fun for participants and band members alike, due to both the "live" environment of being on a stage AND the fact that we're able adjust the music to the singers' particular key or style. Both of these are key factors to making things a lot more interesting than your average "canned" bar sing-a-long. Add Marissa from the afternoon shift at Fly 92 as our MC (and sometimes comic relief) and a wad of prize money and you can't go wrong. Last season the weekly finalists each took home a Benjamin and the winner of the final round took home a Cleveland. And we're not talking the animated cartoon character from the Fox network either.

The most surprising thing for me during the last season was how many really good singers there are in the area. You don't even have to be that talented to win, just bring lots of friends because winners are determined by audience applause. Beware...sometimes the worst singers have lots of friends who clap and cheer the loudest!

Even at non-competition gigs we'll bring "the book" (that has the lyrics to the nearly 500 tunes that we can play) to most regular gigs as well in case people are feeling like they want to participate...although not necessarily always for cash prizes. A band's gotta get paid, after all!

The next official Bandaoke contest will be starting at Savannah's/Dublin Underground again in March. The Ruddys can be heard in person TONIGHT at Pinhead Susan's on Broadway in Schenectady, NY.

Needed: Runners That ROCK To Benefit LLS

2010-01-21T12:00:00.003-05:00

The following is from a press release I received yesterday from LLS:
Recruitment Event for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training

January 19, 2010 – If you’re looking for a way to get fit and accomplish a personal goal while also doing something to help others in need, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training® (TNT) may be the answer.

TNT, the world’s first, biggest and best sports training program, provides four to five months of certified coaching, a supportive group of teammates and clinics on nutrition, gear and injury prevention, to help you complete the Rock’n’Roll Marathon (San Diego) or Half Marathon. TNT has prepared more than 420,000 participants, from novices to accomplished endurance racers, since its inception in 1988. In that time, TNT participants have raised more than one billion dollars to support LLS’s blood cancer research and patient services initiatives.

LLS’s Upstate New York/Vermont Chapter is currently recruiting TNT participants for this year's Rock n’ Roll Marathon (San Diego) and Half Marathon. Learn more this Monday, January 25, during the Rock’n’Recruitment Party featuring Bandaoke (live band karaoke) with The Ruddys at Savannah's/The Dublin Underground (1 S. Pearl St, Albany). The event kicks off at 6:00 pm and is open to anyone interested.

“Team In Training® gives you everything you need to reach your fitness goals while helping make a difference in the lives of thousands of people battling cancer,” said Robyn Haberman, Campaign Director.

For additional TNT information, call the Upstate New York/Vermont Chapter at 866-255-3583; or visit www.teamintraining.org/unyvt.

Bad Week For Good Music

2010-01-19T16:55:00.012-05:00

Over the past seven days we've seen obituaries for several notable musical voices from several genres. Yes, everybody has heard about soul singer Teddy Pendergrass, who passed away last Wednesday after having been paralyzed since 1982, but at least four other acclaimed musicians from several genres have also left us within the last week.

Also on Wednesday came the report of the untimely death of Jimmy Lee Lindsey, Jr. AKA Jay Reatard, a seminal garage rocker who was probably more critically acclaimed than well known. A true example of the punk DIY ethic he was extremely prolific in the past couple of years churning out mostly 7" vinyl singles, completely flying in the face of modern "iTechnology". His last release, entitled Watch Me Fall garnered the following praise from Allmusic.com: "Reatard is a pop craftsman who is fully capable of making excellent albums for years to come." Unfortunately, we now know that will not happen.

Bobby Charles, a Louisiana singer and songwriter who became more famous for his compositions than his own recordings, passed away on Thursday, January 14. Born Robert Charles Guidry his songwriting credits include the rock and roll classics, "See You Later Alligator," made famous by Bill Haley & His Comets, Fats Domino's "Walking To New Orleans," and "(I Don't Know Why I Love You) But I Do," the Clarence "Frogman" Henry classic. After a series of failed attempts to launch a solo career himself in the sixties, Charles returned to recording in 1972 for what would become his first full-length and, arguably, best album. Flanked by musicians such as Dr. John, David Sanborn and The Band the album "Bobby Charles" remains the best representation of his solo work. Seek it out if you enjoy subtly-performed but well-crafted roots rock.

Known by many as "Mr. Country" Carl Smith was a sensation on the honky tonk scene beginning in the year that many believe rock and roll was born: 1955. Despite his success with softer ballads on the charts, Smith was one of the first classic country artists to regularly incorporate (gasp!) drums into his music, making for a harder edged sound that was criticized by the purists but called innovative by those who knew better. The early criticism didn't stop him, though, and Smith continued to have great success in the country music biz up until he officially retired from music in the early 1980s. In all he racked up almost 100 country hits, several roles in Western movies and his own country music television shows in both the US and Canada.

Today, Tuesday the 19th, it was reported that folk singer and songwriter Kate McGarrigle has left us. Along with her sister and singing partner Anna she was a popular Canadian artist who recorded from 1975 until 2005, when The McGarrigle Christmas Hour was released. Also known as Rufus and Martha Wainwright's mom (and ex-wife of Loudon Wainwright III) Kate had a fine reputation for the emotive quality of her music. The sisters' debut release in 1975 remains on many critics' "best of" lists to this day. As performers, the sisters eschewed the stardom and lifestyle that was stereotypical of the era in favor of spending more time at home with the family. Rufus and Martha are probably better off for it.

Shameless Plug Of The Week: Rudeke (Roo-deek)

2010-01-15T08:04:00.005-05:00

My "other" other band, Rudeke, will be making an appearance in downtown Albany tonight at Savannah's/The Dublin Underground. It's Mike's birthday (actually it was yesterday) and we'll be celebrating with a couple sets of tasty jams. Guest appearances from members of The Ruddys (his dad and sister) are expected as well.

For those unfamiliar with our swinging combo Rudeke is named after the two principal founding members, Mike Ruddy (lead guitar) and Matt DeCavallas (acoustic rhythm). Take the "Rud-" from Ruddy and the "DeC-" from DeCavallas and combine them with the rock steady attitude of the "rude boys" and you have "Rudeke". And yes, there are only two syllables. Roo-Deek. Mike and Matt still play acoustic sets from time to time, but the full electric version of the band is rounded out by Rob Booker (bass), Kevin Lysogorski (percussion) and yours truly.

What do we play? What DON'T we play is a better question. Allmans, Marley, Sublime, Doors, Guster, Dead, Stones, Phish and moe. are all staples. Lately we've been mixing in tunes from OutKast, Matisyahu, Biggie, O.A.R. and O.D.B. (yes, that one). Jess might come up and do a Deee-Lite or Joss Stone tune with us and Scooter is bound to pick up a harp and jam along on just about anything. Whatever the case, it's always a soul shakedown party with Rudeke!

Bandaoke On Night Cam Featuring The Ruddys

2010-01-14T23:43:00.000-05:00

Here's a video clip from the Albany Times Union website that features (a brief glimpse of) local cover band The Ruddys (whom I play with) at Savannah's/The Dublin Underground on December 17, 2009. This was the evening of the finals for "Bandaoke" Fall Season 2009 with all the previous weeks' winners competing for the grand prize of $1000.

Bandaoke will resume in March, every Thursday starting at 8:00 pm at 1 South Pearl Street in downtown Albany. You, too, will have your chance to sing on a stage in a club with a real live band. How cool is that? In case you have trouble remembering the words we have somewhere around 450 songs listed alphabetically, with lyrics that you can refer to. Not sure what key suits your voice best? Scott ("Papa Ruddy") and Jess will help you figure it out and adjust as needed. It's fun for the crowd to watch, and it's actually great fun for the band because we're never really sure what we're going to be playing next! Each week the singer with the greatest audience response can win a hundred bucks, with the grand prize winner at the end of the contest taking home a cool grand. No entry fee, either. Again, pretty cool all around. Thanks Fly 92.1 and Savannah's/TDU!!!

Semisesquicentennial

2010-01-08T12:36:00.011-05:00

Today would have been Elvis Presley's 75th birthday, had he survived the Fame Monster (or more specifically, the scads of prescription medicine he consumed in the 1970s). His first full-length album, Elvis Presley (1956) for RCA records was one of the first LPs to completely grab me from start to finish. It was passed down to me by my mom, who had experienced the original wave of Elvis-mania first hand after witnessing his hip-shaking debut television performances with the rest of the world.

The biggest hits like "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Don't Be Cruel" were released on 45 rpm singles and not included on the original album but it does contain a couple of other fairly well known tunes. Elvis' rendition of Carl Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes" and the ultra-subdued rendition of "Blue Moon" that obviously inspired the career of Chris Isaak are both standouts. Digging deeper though, my favorites are usually the lesser-known cuts. I heard his version of "I Got A Woman" way before I ever discovered the Ray Charles original. (I will bitch-slap anyone who refers to it as a "John Mayer tune") The often-overlooked "Tryin' To Get To You" is one of the most plaintive declarations of longing ever committed to vinyl. "Money Honey" was dripping with soul and attitude.

Although he did not compose a single one of the dozen cuts in the collection, Mr. Presley's interpretative gifts make this one of the most definitive and essential slabs of vinyl in the history of all music. The King is gone...long live the King!

Shameless Plug Of The Week: The Juice Junkees

2010-01-08T10:56:00.003-05:00

This is a copy of a Craigslist posting from the Albany musicians board today. (Full disclosure: I play drums in this band and wrote the post)

TONIGHT IN DOWNTOWN ALBANY: ACTUAL ORIGINAL LOCAL MUSIC THAT DOESN'T COMPLETELY SUCK

If you've been wondering what the "next big thing" on the Albany "scene" is keep looking...

But if you want to hear some pretty decent original alt rock tunes that won't give you tinnitus after the first song, we humbly recommend ourselves, the Juice Junkees. We're playing tonight at 9:00 at The Dublin Underground on South Pearl (AKA Savannah's), opening for Albany favorite Psychobilly. Yes, we also do some tasty cover tunes here and there but tonight's focus will be primarily on our own compositions.

Those who have seen us know what we do. They'll at least tell you that we don't completely suck. Not that there haven't been "moments of suck" at certain times in the past...but we do what we can to prevent those moments. Nobody's perfect.

If you do a search on Facebook or MySpace or YouTube you'll find some samples, for those so inclined. Please keep in mind most of what you'll come across was recorded/videotaped with band members from our "old" lineup but many of the songs are still in our set list. Those guys didn't necessarily suck, they just moved on. We are confident that the newest lineup doesn't suck that bad, either. Come decide for yourself tonight.

Support local live music!

Eat your vegetables.

Be nice to stupid people.

http://www.reverbnation.com/juicejunkees

Location: Savannah's/Dublin Underground
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

"Five Firsts" or "Won't you take me to Nipper Town?"

2010-01-07T20:00:00.001-05:00

If you really want know a little bit more about why I am the WAY I am, musically and otherwise, check out my "Five Firsts" over on the Nippertown website.

From the site:
NAME: Andy Maroney
BAND AFFILIATION: The Juice Junkees, The Ruddys, Rudeke
(Yes, I play in three bands. Got a problem with that? Wanna fight about it?)
INSTRUMENT: Drums and percussion…especially cowbell
1. THE FIRST ALBUM I EVER BOUGHT WAS … KISS – ALIVE! (1975). This was also the first album I had (temporarily) taken away from me so that my parents could analyze the song titles and decide whether the contents would permanently warp me forever.
2. THE FIRST CONCERT THAT I EVER SAW WAS… CHARLIE DANIELS BAND (1980). My parents had previously taken me to a “performance” by Shaun Cassidy a year or two before that, but I certainly couldn’t call it a real concert. The CDB show was probably the first time I ever SMELLED a concert.
3. THE FIRST MUSICAL INSTRUMENT I EVER OWNED OR PLAYED WAS … I owned a small four-string ukulele but had no idea how to play it. It ended up getting painted silver with Testors model paint so I could pretend I was Ace Frehley. Eventually my inner Pete Townshend took over and it went to ukulele heaven.
4. THE FIRST SONG THAT I EVER PERFORMED IN PUBLIC WAS … The first popular song that I can remember “performing” is “Octopus’ Garden” in 5th or 6th grade choir. I didn’t really sing much…probably just mouthed the words because I was too self-conscious of my voice. Evidently the choir was a pre-requisite to being in the band, where I could play drums, make noise and impress girls…so I thought.
5. THE FIRST BAND I WAS EVER IN WAS … The VERY first was the Pleasant Valley Elementary School Concert Band (4th grade). The first “professional” band I played in was a trio called Second Hand Blues.

Thanks, N-town, for plugging my upcoming gigs with the Juice Junkees this weekend! For more info about the bands I'm currently involved with you can go the "Likable Links" section on the right-hand side of this blog.

P.S. - for the super-curious, that's Scott Malcolm in the blur, probably taken at the Black Cat sometime in 2008.

He's Got A Bike, You Can Ride It If You Like...

2010-01-06T10:42:00.000-05:00

Today marks what would have been Syd Barrett's 64th birthday. One of the founding members, and what many consider to be the psychedelic soul of Pink Floyd, Syd became the inspiration for the song "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". In honor of Syd I'm going to try really hard to get all the way through at least one of his solo albums. Both The Madcap Laughs and Barrett, both released in 1970 by Capitol records, demonstrate and even simulate what schizophrenia feels like...drug-induced or not. Although his brilliance shines most brightly on Floyd's debut, The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, these two solo efforts are highly recommended listening for those who want to take a step a little closer to The Edge of sanity. Sure it's a little more dangerous out there, but much more interesting and far less contrived than "Learning To Fly", that late 80s offering from David Gilmour and the reconstituted cash cow that Pink Floyd eventually became.

R.I.P. - Willie Mitchell - Creator of the "Hi" Soul Sound of the Seventies

2010-01-05T20:00:00.000-05:00

Today my "album of the day" is Al Green Explores Your Mind, a vivid example of the Hi Records "sound" crafted by producer Willie Mitchell, who passed away earlier today in Memphis. Anyone my age or younger probably heard "Take Me To The River" first by Talking Heads. This LP contains the REAL version that makes all others quake in their boots.

Truly an original architect of the classic Memphis soul sound Mr. Mitchell was also a trumpeter and band leader during the earlier part of his career. The dry-as-a-bone drums and swelling Hammond B-3 sounds prominent in his productions became trademarks of Al Green's style. Just listen to the opening notes of "Tired Of Being Alone" or "Let's Stay Together", two of his more well-known tracks, and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Willie had a career resurgence in the last decade as producer and arranger on Al's "comeback" records I Can't Stop (2003) and Everything's OK (2005) which both featured a return to the distinctive smooth soul sound.

A Movie For Your Ears: "Hot Rats" 40 Years Later

2009-12-21T13:57:00.000-05:00

Today marks what would have been Frank Zappa's 69th birthday. In commemoration of this event I have decided to treat myself to some of his 1969 output, specifically the Hot Rats album. Since this album came out the same year I did it holds a special place in my heart and is quite unique--even in the vast Zappa catalog--for a number of reasons. For starters, it was really Frank's first exploration of a specific musical genre...jazz-rock fusion...and was groundbreaking on many levels.

1969 was a pivotal year for music to begin with. By the time Hot Rats was released in October of that year the Woodstock nation seemed ready and willing to embrace something new, as long as it was weird and experimental. The "weirdest" thing about this album is probably the cover photo (featuring a pink day-glo photo of Miss Christine of the girl group The GTOs emerging from an empty swimming pool with crazy teased-out hair) that truly must be seen on a full-size LP to appreciate. The tiny cover art on a CD (or iPod!) is not nearly as disturbing and/or enticing.

Musically it seemed like Frank was less concerned with promoting the biting satire and social commentary of his previous works with the Mothers Of Invention and was ready to focus more on jamming and musicality. The humor is still there but it's more abstract and interpretive because most of the tunes contain no lyrics. The sole Captain Beefheart vocal on "Willie The Pimp" is representative of the wordplay that Zappa fans had become used to and remained a staple in live shows for years. Still, the music retains a playfulness that at face value might seem lighthearted and almost silly ("Peaches En Regalia") but when listened to with an analytical musical ear is revealed to be laden with his signature complex percussion runs.

This album is also a technical landmark for Zappa as it is his first serious venture into multi-track recording and overdubbing. Others had done this before him but were usually limited to 4 or 8 tracks of sound. Using a custom made 16-track machine Frank could "close mike" the drums, using a separate microphone for each piece of the drum kit, which resulted in a much more defined drum sound in the stereo spectrum because of the ability to pan sounds left and right. Through a variety of half-speed tape effects and multiple studio overdubs, the extra tracks on the tape allowed for a level of creativity and an extremely unique sound, many elements of which can be heard elsewhere in his later works.

Due to its limited availability on vinyl during my formative years I was aware of the album but did not get to actually hear it in person until the Rykodisc Zappa catalog reissue renaissance of the late 1980s. There have been several released versions...of course the Zappa "purists" will insist upon the original vinyl mix...but for detailed notes on the differences between the various releases please see the Hot Rats Wikipedia page. If that's not enough geek detail for you, try this page, comparing the vinyl and CD releases. Apparently one of my favorite and most "jam-worthy" tracks, "The Gumbo Variations" was originally edited for LP release but was then restored to its full 17-minute length for the 1987 CD release. Since I have decided not to plunk down "collectors' price" for the original vinyl I will continue to enjoy my CD version (but wouldn't mind hearing the LP someday).

Overall, Hot Rats continues to be one of the catalog items I'd recommend as a representation of some of Frank Zappa's finest studio work, possibly even a starting point for many. It is widely considered to be some of his most accessible (read: "easy to listen to") music and is admired by jazz and rock fans alike.

My First 'blog # 429382688726

2009-12-15T22:48:00.000-05:00

This is my 'blog. What's it all about? In a word, MUSIC... my first love and the thing that drives me every day in one way or another. I've been a record collector for over three decades, a professional mobile disc jockey for almost two, and a life-long drummer and music aficionado. (Yes I did have to use spell-check on the last word of the previous sentence.)

I have to credit my Mom, Elizabeth, with getting me started collecting music, handing down her selection of 45s from Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson and The Big Bopper to the LPs "Meet The Beatles", "Cat Stevens' Greatest Hits" as well as Elvis' first full-length album on RCA records. Thanks, Mom, and thanks to Carolyn, my wife, for putting up with my roomfuls of music. :-)

Since 1999 I've owned my own mobile disc jockey business and sound production company, Advantage Sound, after which this 'blog was named. From time to time you'll probably hear me plug my spinning skills but I'll try to stay humble. I'm not aspiring to be DJ Tiësto or anything. Part of the reason I love to spin tunes, though, is that I hate to dance. I don't need to see myself dancing to know how bad I look. (Yes....quite Caucasian, to say the least.) I'd rather pick the tunes that pack the dance floor. With the modern hardware and software tools I can use to bend, chop, slice and dice sounds and mix tunes back and forth with one another it has never been more fun to spin. The role of modern DJ continues to evolve as many are gaining notoriety and respect as artists unto themselves.

One of my favorite things in the world is to get behind a drum kit and lay down some beats with a funky band. I currently play in three working bands in and around the Albany, NY area. Some call it "Capitaland"...some call it "Smallbany"...I call it a hell of a lot warmer than Syracuse, where I used to live. There's a much more culturally active scene here as well. We DO have The Egg, after all, one of the cooler looking performing arts centers out there and a really nice sounding theater to boot. I'll probably throw in plugs for my various band events when they come around... I usually have some kind of related posting on my Facebook page as well, if you're into that sort of thing. I'm also now "tweeting" from time to time as well. "Follow" me here. I got into MySpace a couple years ago when I started promoting one of my bands but grew tired of the amount of advertising and overall clutter. Does anyone besides Twilight fans use MySpace anymore?

Now, just to clarify: Some of you (nitpickers) may have noted that although it's absolutely unnecessary, I have added an apostrophe before the word blog in the title of this 'blog. There, see? I did it again. It's just the Editor in me noting that the word is just an abbreviation of weblog. I guess "weblo" wasn't as catchy and sounded too much like a cub scouts group. I actually was co-editor of my high school newspaper (The Knightly News - our mascot was the Black Knight) for a couple years back in the days before spell checkers so if you do catch any grammatical boo boos here please feel free to call me on them.

The significance of the number in the title? Nothing. It's just a random sequence of digits I typed in, figuring there must already be at least 429,382,688,726 blogs out there already.

I've been told I can write but haven't taken it seriously in a long time. Hopefully this will be good exercise. One of the reasons I'm finally getting around to it is because of a request made by a friend from distant high school past, Chris Poggiali, who also wrote for the same rag mentioned above. He's always had a passion for, um...shall we say, "alternative" films and has been writing and publishing movie reviews since his teens. Check out his stuff over at http://templeofschlock.blogspot.com/

So now I'm a blogger *.... When I'll find the time to post new stuff (content) I'm not completely sure. No promises for daily, or even weekly updates from this end but I'll do my best to keep it at least somewhat interesting if not particularly groundbreaking or revelatory. It's just a bunch of my opinions and observations about music that I think people may care about. Oh, and plugs.

* - as I typed that phrase the song "Now I'm A Farmer" by The Who suddenly popped into my head. Who geeks will know what I'm talking about. Where my Anglophiles be at?