💾 Archived View for clemat.is › saccophore › library › ezines › textfiles › ezines › COSMIKDEBRIS › … captured on 2022-01-08 at 15:24:12.
⬅️ Previous capture (2021-12-03)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
%%%%%%%% %%%%%%% %%%%%%% %% %% %%%%%%%% %% %%
%% % %% %% %% % %%% %%% %% %% %%
%% %% %% %% %% % % %% %% %% %%
%% %% %% %%%% %% % %% %% %%%%%
%% %% %% %%% %% %% %% %% %%
%% % %% %% % %% %% %% %% %% %%
%%%%%%%% %%%%%%% %%%%%% %% %% %%%%%%%% %% %%
%%%%%%%% %%%%%%%% %%%%%%% %%%%%% %%%%%%%% %%%%%%%
%% %% %% %% %% %% %% %% %% %
%% %% %% %% %% %% %% %% %%
%% %% %%%%%% %%% %% %%%%%% %% %%%%
%% %% %% %% %% %% %% %% %%%
%% %% %% %% %% %% %% %% % %%
%%%%%%%% %%%%%%%% %%%%%%% %% %% %%%%%%%% %%%%%%
DECEMBER, 1996 (Issue # 19)
- The Specialists -
DJ Johnson.................Editor
Jim Andrews................HTML
Wayne Burke................HTML
coLeSLaw...................Graphic Artist
Lauren Marshall............Administrative Assistant
Louise Johnson.............Administrative Assistant and
Keeper Of The Debris
- The Cosmik Writers -
Jim Andrews, Ann Arbor, coLeSLAw, Robert Cummings, Shaun Dale, Phil Dirt,
David Fenigsohn, Alex Gedeon, Keith Gillard, DJ Johnson, Steven Leith,
Steve Marshall, The Platterpuss, Paul Remington, and John Sekerka.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
EDITOR'S NOTES: Introducing Ann Arbor, linking to a great new website, and
listing the winners of last months CD drawings.
A BRAND NEW DAY FOR CURTIS MAYFIELD: Six years after a freak accident made
him a quadriplegic, soul legend Curtis Mayfield returns to the forefront
of pop with an album filled with message and emotion. Curtis talks about
the process of making that record, and about the music itself. Interview
by DJ Johnson.
A MODERN COLLABORATION - Vai meets Thome: In part two of our interview,
Steve Vai and Joel Thome share their memories of Frank Zappa, and discuss
his accomplishments, his influence, and what might have been.
COSMIK DEBRIS MEETS DOWN BY LAW: Kicking back with John, Dave and Sam of
Down By Law in a small and loud dressing room with cement-block walls...
just about 20 feet from the stage, where another band was blasting away.
If that isn't the perfect setting for interviewing a great punk band, we
don't know what is. Interview by Shaun Dale (with DJ Johnson).
LOS FANTASTICO, ASOMBROS, Y MUY MUY LOUD HUEVOS RANCHEROS: Brent Cooper,
guitarist for Canada's hotter-than-sparklers trio, Huevos Rancheros,
explains how they get their big sound, fesses up to why they named their
band after an egg dish, and basically explains what the "10" is for on
the volume knob. Interview by DJ Johnson.
MAL SHARPE - THE WEIRDNESS CONTINUES: As half of Coyle and Sharpe, Mal Sharpe
took the "man on the street interview" concept and turned it on its ear
in the early 1960's. Today, he looks back at some of those hilarious
"pranks" they played on unsuspecting pedestrians, and also discusses his
new book, Weird Rooms. Interview by Ann Arbor.
OUR FAVORITE THINGS: The staff of Cosmik Debris takes turns picking their
five favorite recordings of 1996.
THE 2ND ANNUAL COSMIK GUIDE TO HOLIDAY MUSIC: Steve Marshall serves up
another big batch of recommendations (and a few warnings) to help you
pick the right CDs for the holiday season.
TAPE HISS (John Sekerka): This month, John talks to Melora (from Rasputina)
and producer-musician-all around guy Skip Heller, who has a lot to say
about his late friend, Les Baxter.
RECORD REVIEWS: Jazz n punk n rock n roll! And classical, surf, garage,
exotica, African, Brazilian, pop, electronic... All that and more.
BETWEEN ZERO & ONE (Steven Leith): What does it take to win an election?
Steve knows.
PHIL'S GARAGE (Phil Dirt): A non-poem from Mr. Dirt for the holidays.
STUFF I NOTICED (DJ Johnson): Plots, lies, and cowpies. Blend well, serve
tepid.
THE DEBRIS FIELD (Louise Johnson) Louise has gathered up some great debris
this month: movie, book and concert reviews, poems, quotes, cartoons, and
the gross disgusting recipe of the month!
OUR LAST KNOWN WHEREABOUTS: This baby is directly linked to the FBDBS'
(Federal Bureau of Deviant Behavior Studies) mainframe computer. They have
ALL of our e-mail addresses. We saw yours there, too! If you want to
contact us, this is where to look first.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDITOR'S NOTES
By DJ Johnson
Happy holidays, everybody. Welcome to the 19th issue of Cosmik Debris.
We're very excited to introduce our latest writer: Ann Arbor is a disc
jockey at KFJC FM in Los Altos, California (Phil Dirt's station!) Ann
interviewed me on the air a few months back, and we've kept in touch
through e-mail ever since. Be sure to check out her first contribution:
"Mal Sharpe...The Weirdness Continues." It's one of the most entertaining
interviews I've read in years.
We also have some news about one of our FORMER writers. Cai Campbell has
opened his new zine/cultural hangout/cool stuff website to the public.
Among the attractions, you'll find an archive of record reviews (many of
them from Cosmik Debris), and an interactive Desert Island Discs area where
you fill out a form with the ten records, CDs or tapes that you would take to
a desert island. You can see submit a new list every time your mood changes,
and you can also get a look at what music OTHER people just couldn't go on
living without. The website is named after Cai's late lamented BBS system,
The Great Gig In The Sky. He's making it very interactive, so even though
it's just in the beginning phases of construction, he invites you all to
come help shape it. You can submit reviews, articles, top-10 lists, art...
all kinds of things. The aim is to try to create a feeling of interactive
community similar to what we all experienced on his BBS for over a decade,
and if anyone can do it, it's Cai. So drop on by http://www.greatgig.com
and have some fun, make some suggestions, and be sure to take a look at the
review archive! It's going to be quite a resource.
Time to name the winners of the two drawings held on the 30th of November.
The five winners of Storyville's new CD, A Piece Of Your Soul, are Timothy
Hillman (Burnaby, BC, Canada), Ted James (Austin, Texas, USA), Shawn Stackhouse
(Nepean, Ontario, Canada), Darren Browett (Maple Ridge, BC, Canada) and
Nick Rockwell (Carmel, Indiana, USA). So for those keeping track, the final
score there was Canada-3 USA-2.
The five winners of Steve Vai's new CD, Fire Garden, are Simon Buck
(Kingston, Ontario, Canada), Martin Foubert (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada),
Lee Holden (Shelburne, Vermont, USA), David Mendelson (Huntington Woods,
Michigan, USA), and Steve Bogucki (Parkton, Maryland, USA). So the USA
and Canada split the double header and it's a North American sweep.
Considering we had entries from all over the world, that's quite a feat.
We'd like to thank all of you for entering, and we'd also like to thank
Epic Records (Vai) and Code Blue/Atlantic Records (Storyville) for providing
the CDs.
That's about it. Make sure you set aside extra time for digging into Cosmik
this month, because we have seven interviews and over 50 record reviews,
plus articles, columns, and the ever-explanding Debris Field, where you'll
find three different kinds of reviews this month: concert, book, and movie.
Enjoy the show!
DJ Johnson
Editor
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Brand New Day For CURTIS MAYFIELD
Interviewed by DJ Johnson
"Darkness no longer - a child is born - Mother sheds tears of joy as baby
tests his lungs - My daddy's not there where he ought to be - Somewhere
in Georgia skinning and shooting craps on his knees."
With these words, Curtis Mayfield breaks his six year silence following the
tragic accident that left him a quadriplegic. Beloved by millions, Curtis'
voice had for decades been one of hope, peace, empowerment and love. His
effect on listeners transcended the typical fan-star relationship. To those
who listened closely, Curtis was a personal friend: one that cared deeply
and always had words of encouragement. To the poor--both black and
white--he was the voice of hope and self-respect. There were precious few
performers who could generate an outpouring of emotion such as that which
greeted Curtis after the accident. Tribute albums were recorded featuring
artists, outstanding in their own rights, who had been influenced by his
music, his message, and his integrity.
Born in Chicago, Illinois on June 3rd, 1942, Curtis was raised in the
Cabrini-Green projects on Chicago's north side. Surrounded by the
characters and situations that would later populate his lyrics, he was lucky
enough to also be surrounded by music, thanks to his mother, his grandmother,
and three of his cousins who performed in The New Jubilee Gospel Singers.
The quartet also featured Jerry Butler, who would feature quite prominently
in Curtis' life. The New Jubilee Gospel Singers were an important part of
the Traveling Soul Spiritualist Church, which Curtis would attend with his
grandmother. The beautiful gospel music he heard in that church influenced
many of his greatest songs.
Curtis' talent for lyricism was nurtured by his mother, who read poetry to
him from a very early age. This, too, was absorbed by the young man who
would later write such meaningful songs as "Beautiful Brother Of Mine," and
"We People Who Are Darker Than Blue," blending his gospel and poetic
influences with the strong social consciousness that years of exposure to
injustice had instilled in him.
After developing his guitar chops and songwriting skills in a few local bands,
Curtis was invited to join Jerry Butler's group, The Impressions. Originally
a doo wop group called The Roosters, they had gone through a few lineup and
stylistic changes by the time Curtis came aboard. Not long after they began,
Butler jumped ship for a solo career. The Impressions almost didn't get off
the ground, and were in fact dropped from VeeJay Records in 1959. Curtis
went to work as a guitarist in Butler's backing band, and he eventually took
the money he earned there and went to New York, with the other Impressions in
tow, to record one of his newest songs. "Gypsy Woman" not only got the
group a recording contract with ABC Records, it also reached #20 on the pop
charts in 1961. At that time, The Impressions were a quintet. By 1962, they
were a trio, consisting of Samuel Gooden, Fred Cash and Curtis Mayfield.
With this lineup, The Impressions would become one of the premier soul groups
of the 1960's, recording 12 albums and hitting the charts again and again
until 1969.
In 1970, Curtis released his self-titled debut solo album, which reached #19
on the LP charts and produced a devastating single, "(Don't Worry) If There's
A Hell Below We're All Going To Go." The track opened with the voice of a
woman claiming all the answers to the riddles of life are in the Book Of
Revelations. A firestorm of distorted bass and chopping wah-wah guitar
surrounding Curtis' voice as he shouted "Sisters! Niggers! Whiteys! Jews!
Crackers! Don't worry. If there's hell below, we're ALL gonna go!" An
amazing thing happened: Despite the obvious cold shoulder the song received
from radio programmers everywhere, it reached #29 on the pop charts and #3
on the R&B charts. The news was out. Curtis Mayfield didn't need the
support of the establishment. His fans were everywhere.
Over the next three years, Curtis made some of the most popular records
in the business, including his classic 1972 soundtrack, Superfly. The
title track and "Freddie's Dead" both cracked the top ten, and the album
itself became his one and only #1, selling well over a million copies (and
still selling very well today in CD format). FM radio stations, still very
much underground in the early part of the 70's, began picking up on album
tracks like "Pusherman," from Superfly, and "Beautiful Brother Of Mine,"
from the 1971 album, Roots. The dark grooves and powerful bass lines,
along with the strong social commentary, reached out to new fans who began
snapping up his previous albums. Curtis Live became one of the hippest
things to have in your record collection. Times were good.
After the chart-topping success of Superfly, there was nowhere to go but
down--at least as far as quantitative success is concerned--so when Back To
The World came in at #16 on the LP charts, number crunchers predicted the
worst. Indeed, chart success became more and more elusive for Curtis after
Superfly, and though he recorded some of his most beautiful music in the
years that followed that album, the mass-market listener was on to the new
flavor of the day. Curtis continued to record, and to chart sporadically
(though he always remained a familiar presence on the R&B charts). In
the late 70's, he bowed to the pressure and made a disco record that
satisfied no one, including himself. He recorded less often, due to other
pressures of the music business and general bad luck, such as the demise
of his Curtom record label.
Between 1982 and 1990, Curtis released only three albums. In 1990, he
worked on the soundtrack to The Return Of Superfly, contributing five
tracks--including an update of "Superfly," on which he collaborated with
rapper Ice-T. This often overlooked soundtrack contained a new Mayfield
sound and an interesting suggestion of what the 90's might bring. But
on August 14th, 1990, everything changed. Performing on an outdoor stage
in Brooklyn, New York, a gust of wind caused a lighting rig to come loose
and crash to the stage, striking Curtis and breaking his neck, destroying
his diaphragm, and leaving him a quadriplegic.
Six hard years have passed--years that have included many surgeries and
obstacles. Curtis' faith, still strong after all these years, seems to
have served him well. Anything but bitter, he seems interested only in
moving on. In a recent interview with USA Today, Curtis said "I'm not
going to burden myself with 'why me?' Hell, it could happen to anybody.
So how can I be mad? And mad at what?" With this healthy attitude, it
should be no surprise to anyone that Curtis has defied all obstacles to
return to the studio and record once again.
His brand new Warner Brothers release, New World Order, is a triumph of
will and spirit, filled with social consciousness and that old Mayfield
vibe. Unable to sit upright for long periods of time due to painful blood
pressure drops, Curtis recorded his vocal parts in a reclined position,
often needing to sing the songs in short sections. Easily fatigued due
to his injuries, simply finishing the album was triumph enough. But New
World Order stands on its own merits as a beautiful and important album.
Joined by Mavis Staples ("Ms. Martha") and Aretha Franklin ("Back To Living
Again"), Curtis and company have made magic once again.
Interviewing the legendary Curtis Mayfield meant a great deal to me, as he
had been such an important part of my musical upbringing. As a result, I
spent the last few days before the interview working myself into a frenzy
of nerves. It took the genuinely kind and gracious Mr. Mayfield less than
a minute to put me at ease. It's comforting to know that the sweet persona
his music suggests is the real thing. Speaking by phone from his home in
Atlanta, Georgia, he discussed New World Order, the recent Rhino Records
3-CD compilation (People Get Ready), and a few other topics near and dear to
his heart. Our time was limited by his hectic interview schedule, so I
wasn't able to ask the approximately three hundred questions I had always
wanted to ask him. This will do nicely, though. Meet the man who commands
the respect to be called Mr. Mayfield, yet inspires the love and recognition
to be known the world over as, simply, Curtis.
* * *
Cosmik: Let's start with the here and now. New World Order is your first
album in a long while. What did it feel like to you to be able to get
back in the studio?
Curtis: Well, it felt great after I found that the music was going to work
for me. And vocally, once I heard myself in the playback, I had no more
problems.
Cosmik: How was the recording process different from before the accident?
Curtis: Of course, prior to my accident, I had a diaphragm and my lungs were
strong, and I could stand up and belt it and get into the tune. The
difference now is that I DON'T have a diaphragm and my lungs are quite
weak. So I've found a way to lay back and use gravity for my lungs to
help me be stronger in the recording studio.
Cosmik: How long at a stretch are you able to sing like that?
Curtis: Surprisingly, sometimes I'd be in the studio still five to six
hours, so I just felt like once I got started, let's get it on, you
know?
Cosmik: That's fantastic. So you adjusted to the process pretty quickly.
Curtis: Yes sir, we did, and I felt pretty good about it. The songs were
working pretty good for me, and of course the only difference was that
sometimes I would maybe have to punch in at the latter part of the lyric
so I could be just as strong at the end as I was in the beginning part.
And that's nothing unusual when recording. The importance, of course,
was to still continue the sincerity and the honesty throughout the track.
Cosmik: My feeling, listening to the album, is that if I hadn't known the
story of what happened to you, I wouldn't have been able to tell there
was any difference. Your singing is beautiful, the writing's beautiful,
everything seems perfect. Were you surprised, yourself, at how it all
came out?
Curtis: Well, I was certainly pleased with the turn out, and of course, I
had tried to get into the studio before, coming out of the hospital, and
I found that it was hard for me to sit up and perform as I used to. But
the importance was finding and learning my limitations. And after
understanding what I'd have to do, it wasn't as tough as it might seem.
Cosmik: How did not being able to play guitar change your writing process?
What did you have to do to make the writing process work for you?
Curtis: Well, you know, that is very tough--and I still mourn not having my
guitar. However, there are so many of the young producers who have kind
of kept my sound, like Organized Noise... I have used, from time to time,
the guitarists that used to play with me. The only difference was, of
course, in my writing--my own chord structure and my voicings, as I might
hear it in my own head, sometimes may not be there. But many of the new
producers, such as Narada Michael Walden, and all the people that work with
me, they seem to have a pretty good feel for what Curtis might be about.
Cosmik: So much of your music has a great groove. When you have a groove
in your head, do you find that you can relate it to the producers or
musicians you're working with?
Curtis: Well, it's hard, but once we get in the studio, if there's anything
I feel that I need, I find a way to interpret it and get it across.
Cosmik: I want to ask about the songs on New World Order. First of all, was
there really a Ms. Martha?
Curtis: Oh, there's a LOT of Ms. Martha's, I believe. I've known a Ms.
Martha during my young childhood, and I've known a Ms. Martha... I mean,
not the same name, but the LADY that we describe in the song... I've
known this woman probably all my life in many ways and in many towns.
I think there's a Ms. Martha, probably, in many a young folks' life.
Cosmik: A positive role model.
Curtis: I'd like to think so. That lady that don't say too much, but it
seems like when you're playing and when you're around her, you seem
to want to get your act together.
Cosmik: "A Little Bit Of Love" has a classic Curtis Mayfield groove. Did
you come up with that music?
Curtis: This particular song, with the help of Raimundo Thomas...we call him
Ray...He came up with a lot of the feel, and once he came up with the feel,
I helped him, lyrically. When it came to production, I decided I wanted
an upright bass on there...and things of that sort.
Cosmik: Your son did a great rap on that track. How did it feel to record
with Blaise?
Curtis: Oh, it felt great! Actually, I was on the way to the studio and I
just grabbed him up. He didn't even know he was going. This was the
first time in the studio for Blaise.
Cosmik: Does he have the desire to keep going with it?
Curtis: Well, he's always been a heavy rapper, so I thought I'd make use of
it. However, it's kind of hard. He's still a youngster, and it's kind
of hard to say just where he wants to be, as to his own personal career.
Cosmik: He sure sounds like he was born to it. It was an excellent rap.
Curtis: Well, thank you. I'll certainly relate that to him.
Cosmik: Why did you decide to redo "We People Who Are Darker Than Blue?"
Curtis: I felt it was important to continue to say it. We did it twenty
years ago...maybe twenty four years ago... and unfortunately, it's
something that still needs to be said today.
Cosmik: Are you somewhat surprised to see that racial tension has survived
the era of diversity education, affirmative action, and supposed
enlightenment?
Curtis: Well, I suppose I just might be, in ways. However, a lot of the
racial tension is more of a surface thing that has always been played
with the corporations and the people higher on the totem pole, in my
opinion. And it'll probably always be used, here and there, when the
higher-ups want to do something else, and they don't want the poor
blacks--OR the poor whites--to see what they're doing.
Cosmik: So many of your songs were songs of empowerment...songs with a
positive message. Do you think that need is being filled today in
popular music?
Curtis: Well, I'd like to think so. It's my signature, anyway, to always
speak on something, hopefully, that might be inspiring, or in depth as
a love song, or just to lend an ear for food for thought in general.
Cosmik: I want to backtrack just a bit here... I thought the talk box in
"We People Who Are Darker Than Blue" was extremely effective. Are those
all vocal parts, or are there guitar parts mixed in?
Curtis: No, those are all vocals. That's Roger Troutman. He wanted to do
this particular track again, and that's Roger with his many different
voices doing his thing.
Cosmik: Which track was the most satisfying for you?
Curtis: That's hard to say. While I like them all, if I had to favor any
particular one...gosh...I like the Organized Noise..."Here But I'm Gone,"
and of course I like "Ms. Martha." Gosh, like I say, I guess I like them
all. I like "New World Order..."
Cosmik: That's a beautiful track.
Curtis: And "Back To Living Again." Well, I also like the Daryl Simmons.
I suppose if I had to favor one, the way Daryl Simmons put the track
together. We wrote the song together. "You Don't Have To Cry."
Cosmik: Let me ask you about the Rhino box. I'm the proud owner of one of
those. How much input did you have into that project?
Curtis: Oh, gosh, I was pleased with it, too. A lot of those things were
cut down to put 51 tracks in there, but it was well put together, and
they allowed me to put in my two cents here and there to make sure it
was correct. I was very pleased with it, personally.
Cosmik: Was that the first time you had heard some of those songs in a long
time?
Curtis: Well, yes and no. I have all of those old albums, and I have them
on DAT. I owned many of the tracks myself, as Curtom Records, and of
course Warner Brothers has always allowed me to lease many of their tracks
out. And MCA, who owns many of the early era Impressions tracks... they're
pretty close, too, so I hear them quite regularly.
Cosmik: I'm a liner note fanatic, and the Rhino booklet was very interesting.
The listing of musicians in the back didn't seem to have anybody listed
from the Superfly era, though.
Curtis: Oh, didn't they?
Cosmik: Didn't seem to. I've gone over it a couple times to see if I missed
something, but I just don't see it. Superfly's listed as "K," and there
aren't any musicians names with "K" next to them, at least that I can find.
Curtis: Ooooh, we blew it, then.
Cosmik: Who were some of the players that worked with you in that era?
[Curtis asks his assistant to bring him a Superfly CD from the music shelf.]
Curtis: I'll be able to tell you in a few seconds. Of course, I always used
my basic rhythm section, which was...Joseph "Lucky" Scott...but let me
get the liner notes so I can get you the actual people there...
Cosmik: I appreciate that.
[Curtis and his assistant talk for a moment.]
Curtis: Okay, let's see what we have here. Uh...you know what? Even on the
CD, it doesn't show everybody.
[Curtis' assistant brings him an original release LP of Superfly.]
Curtis: Okay, we might have a little more here. Hmmm...You know what? We
do not have all the musicians on this album, I'm sorry to say. But it
was Joseph "Lucky" Scott... I used Phillip Upchurch on many of them.
Of course I played guitar myself, Phillip played guitar, Joseph played
bass... Gosh, we used a lot of strings and horns that I just could never
remember.
Cosmik: Oh yeah, it was a large section!
Curtis: Zob [name may be incorrect--the word was very quiet on the interview
tape - Ed.] was the drummer of some of the tracks, and then I also used
Tyrone McCullen--He also played drums on a few of the tracks. And of
course I used Johnny Pate as the arranger.
Cosmik: Do you remember when you did "Beautiful Brother Of Mine," that
great distorted bass line... Was that something you came up with, or
was it something the bass player came up with?
Curtis. Oh yeah! That was mine.
Cosmik: That was a GREAT sound!
Curtis: Well, thank you so kindly. All of that is in the Rhino 3-CD album.
Cosmik: I saw a news clipping about you recently. It was about The
Impressions receiving a lifetime achievement award from Drew Medical
School.
Curtis: Oh yes! As a matter of fact, I just talked with Mr. Roland, who
put that all together. That was very nice. I got a chance to see
Martin Luther King the 3rd, and a lot of beautiful people were there,
and they were very nice to myself and the Impressions.
Cosmik: What was the award for, exactly?
Curtis: Well, they were honoring myself and the Impressions as to all the
music that we made tribute to over the years, and of course many of my
songs being of inspirational value...songs like "Keep On Pushing" and
"We People Who Are Darker Than Blue." Many of my songs were of that
type of evaluation. A lot of people, back during those years, made use
of those songs and they would sing them when they were trying to move
into areas of equality.
Cosmik: How long had it been since you had seen the other Impressions?
Curtis: Oh, I think the last time I saw them WAS the Drew...
Cosmik: I mean before that.
Curtis: Prior to that, they were working here, and I'd seen them about two
or three weeks prior to the Drew... the honoring of that particular thing
was, I think, October 5th, and I'd seen The Impressions a couple of weeks
prior to that.
Cosmik: So have you remained close with them?
Curtis: Oh, yeah. I try to see them every chance I get, and of course, I
talk to them quite often.
Cosmik: Were the Impressions years some good times for you?
Curtis: Oh, yes, definitely. I mean, I was a kid. I was the youngest of
the fellas. The Impressions, being made up of Fred Cash, Samuel Goodman,
Jerry Butler... we go way back.
Cosmik: All the way back to The Roosters, huh?
Curtis: They were good people. They'll always been in my life.
Cosmik: You know, Rhino just came out with that Doo Wop box...Doo Wop II.
I was hoping to see The Roosters on that.
Curtis: Oh, the Doo Wop box? That takes you back with a lot of the original
doo wop songs. I've always been a quartet fan, you know? I love my
quartets.
Cosmik: Well, now that you've gone back into the studio, are you comfortable
enough with the new process that you might go back in again soon?
Curtis: Well, I'm comfortable enough, and of course at my age and during
these times, it's very interesting just to watch and see what happens.
But it's very important to me. This is still a business, and of course
I'd like to see it earn revenue for all that have invested. That's very
important to me. If it proves that people still want the product, then
I'll be happy to get back in the studio and do more.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A MODERN COLLABORATION: Vai Meets Thome (Part II)
Interviewed by Paul Remington
In part one of our interview with guitarist Steve Vai and conductor Joel
Thome we discussed the art of the orchestra, composition, and their
late-September collaboration with the Kilbourn Orchestra at the Eastman
School of Music in Rochester, NY. A unique blend of orchestral music with
rock ensemble, Vai and Thome are on the forefront of this form of
collaboration, and like Lewis and Clark, are exploring previously uncharted
territory. The result is surprisingly fresh, with Vai's compositional ideas
molded for orchestra with the support of Thome. Their combined experience
composing and working with orchestras provides an educated common ground
for the crossing of two distinctly different musical genres. Their
collaboration is unlike any other collaboration that has utilized this form
of instrumentation.
At the heart of Vai and Thome's musical background is their association with
Frank Zappa. Zappa was a true pioneer of 20th Century composition. He
liberally utilized classical, jazz, rock, and many other musical elements
in a surprisingly unique and natural way. Zappa's influence left an
indelible mark on Vai and Thome. During our conversation, neither could
resist talking about Zappa, and how he changed the way they approach music.
In many respects, Zappa's influence was a major factor behind Vai and
Thome's collaboration.
In part two of our conversation we dive deeper into the subject of Frank
Zappa, the ground-breaking concepts he was exploring prior to his death, as
well as a few humorous and fond memories shared from their friendship with
this 20th Century genius. Zappa is no longer with us, but the influence of
his music and talent continues to have a profound effect on today's music,
as can be seen with the modern collaboration of Vai and Thome. This aspect
of Vai's career may not be making headlines at the moment, but fans of Vai
should take note: he has every intention to continue his collaboration with
Thome, and to perform orchestral concerts internationally.
The logistics of mounting a project like this are immense, and the threat of
financial loss due to lack of interest poses a real concern for those
providing financial backing to execute such a project. Both Vai and Thome
recognize this, and have discovered there is a built-in audience for this
type of music. This is the motivation behind their continued collaboration.
With talk of completing an orchestral score of Zappa's Greggery Peccary
based on Zappa's original transcripts, working together with different
orchestras, and releasing recorded material of their collaboration, we can
only stand to gain from their musical exploration. From a musical standpoint,
they are defining a form of music that is a hybrid cross between classical
and rock. Time will tell if others explore this form of collaboration. Time
will tell.
* * *
Cosmik: I have to give you a hello from Mike Keneally.
Vai: He's in my band!
Cosmik: Of course he is. We keep in contact from time to time. I mentioned I
was going to be interviewing you, and he said to say hello. Now, how did
you settle on Mike? I can see it being a natural selection, but I want to
hear it from you.
Vai: Well, he's really talented, you know, and I needed someone that could
play guitar and keyboards, and play all the right notes. It's hard to
find somebody that can play the guitar and play that stuff properly - and
keyboards at the same time, because I didn't want to bring two extra guys
out. And Mike's a very naturally gifted musician, besides being an
intellectual monster, you know? And I figured I'd give it a try, and I
gave him a call, and at first he was like, "Ummm . . . I don't know."
And then he called me back and said, "Yeah, I'd love to."
Cosmik: I wonder what the "I don't know" was all about?
Vai: What had happened was, he was focusing on his own music, and he had
made commitments to people, and it was hard for him to break those
commitments because he was joining my band.
Cosmik: Have you had any collaboration with Mike prior to asking him to join
your band?
Vai: No.
Cosmik: I assume you had talked previously, but you had never gigged with him,
is that right?
Vai: I never gigged with Mike, but I knew of his stuff. I knew how talented
he was.
Cosmik: Have you ever seen him perform Inca Roads, where he has the right hand
playing lines on the keyboard, and the left comping chords on the guitar?
[Laughs] It's bizarre - It's wild!
Vai: [Laughs] I've got him doing some of that stuff in our band. Yeah.
Thome: I did a setting for orchestra on Inca Roads, and he plays on that.
He's also on our recording of Zappa's Universe. Then we did a tribute to
Frank at Avery Fischer Hall in February of 1993, and it was a tribute to
Varese and Zappa.
Cosmik: The support for Frank seems to be growing, especially his orchestral
music.
Vai: It's not gonna stop.
Cosmik: Yeah, that brings up another issue: It seems to me as though Frank
would have concerns as to whether or not there would be lasting value to
his music. One-hundred years from now would people know who Frank Zappa
was, and would they even care?
Vai: He didn't care.
Cosmik: He didn't.
Vai: Nope. If you ask Frank what would he like to be remembered for after
he's dead, he'd say, "Nothing."
Thome: Yeah, in fact, somebody asked him that. I remember Carol [Sorell,
Vai's publicist] booked him on the Today Show.
Vai: He said wanting to be remembered was for politicians and . . . what did
he say, politicians and somebody else. Rock stars, or something. [Laughs]
Cosmik: Towards the end of Frank's life, when he knew he was dying, he
centered on the music he loved the most. He devoted all his time to the
Synclavier, working with the Ensemble Modern, which produced, in my
opinion, some of his greatest works. Do you think it really may have
crossed his mind, hey - I really want to put something down that is as
masterful as I can create for lasting value. Now, I know he said he
didn't care, but his actions towards the end appeared that he might have.
What do you think?
Vai: I don't know. I just think that he saw himself as a storehouse of
creativity and he just wanted to get as much out as he could.
Thome: Also, you did not hear what he actually planned for the concert in
Germany. Nobody ever heard that. What he was planning was very different.
Cosmik: Oh, is that right?
Thome: Very different.
Cosmik: Can you explain?
Thome: I can tell you calls and discussions we had in the middle of the night
over a period of time. He was talking about the music he was working on
and that he wanted to prepare for that. Some of it included three
dimensional manipulation of acoustical space, and installation ideas that
he had. He was interested in installing the music in a space and letting
it sit there for a while, and also working with the way the music would
reverberate in the acoustical space. That's what he was actually working
on, and it just didn't come to fruition.
Vai: You know how much material he has released, right? It's probably about
4% of what he has. He went through this period that he was doing six
track mixes of his music. And you'd sit in the basement, and you'd have
six speakers - independent. Not this Dolby extracting overtones and out
of phase stuff that movies do, you know. Independent, six track channel
separation. The Yellow Shark - that whole concert was constructed around
that concept. I went to Austria and saw three of the performances.
Cosmik: Oh, you did?
Vai: Yes, I did. And, I've never heard anything like it because you have
this Ensemble Modern on the stage, and the way that he wrote the
music - the dynamics - and the way he had the speakers setup, and the
way that the instruments speak, the dynamics of the instruments would
reach certain areas of the room, when the speakers would kick in. For
instance, I sat in a different place for each concert. It was a
completely different three dimensional audio experience each time. First
of all, concert halls don't setup speakers like that, normally, and he
had this done special. I remember several times where I'd watch, and the
guitar player was picking, and the dynamics were really soft and then
really hard, and it was fast picking, like this. And, as he did this,
the sound went [motions movement from front to back] like this. Because
the pick had a certain dynamic and when it got soft, it was over here
[gesturing behind him], and then when it got hard it was from the stage.
And the same thing with the trombones, and he had some other instruments
that were very sharp, and the way the strings would play, certain ways
the bows would hit the instrument would create sounds from the speakers
rather than the stage. And, you just sit there and you realize that
you're witnessing history, and that it's a secret. [Smiles]
Cosmik: And that never came out on the recording. You can't capture that.
Vai: How many people have six track stereos? How many people could sit in
this acoustically built room with this, you know . . . it wasn't just
where the speakers were placed, Frank placed the musicians! Nobody
realized the depths he was thinking.
Thome: And, also the compositional ideas he was working on were very
different. I don't know all the reasons for their not emerging at that
time, but when he would call me late at night he'd be talking about the
compositional ideas he was working on, and I think probably there just
wasn't the time to get that together, because the compositional ideas
were pretty staggering. They were really exciting.
Cosmik: It was beyond what he did produce?
Thome: It was very different, yeah.
Vai: You can hear it in Civilization Phaze III and the Yellow Shark, and
stuff like that. It is absolutely . . . I mean, you hear that word
"unique" so often in every bio, in every press release. But, the
definition of the word is in his music.
Cosmik: I've never heard anything like Civilization Phaze III. It blew me
away!
Vai: Nobody's doing it.
Cosmik: Nobody can! I firmly believe nobody can do that. Nobody can. It's
pure Zappa. I don't think we'll hear anything quite like that again.
Vai: Uh-huh.
Thome: I was invited to Cuba to conduct the National Symphony of Cuba's
opening for the International Festival of New Music. Composers and a
conductors come from all over the world. I was the first
conductor/composer from the United States to be invited for a long time,
of course. I remember it was at the time when the Russians were leaving,
and Frank and I were working on Zappa's Universe. I said, "I'm going to
Havana, and I want to do Sad Jane." He loved the idea, and said "Well,
do you think I could go too?" I said, "I think you could go. I think it
would be a great idea." He said, "Okay, I want to take the Synclavier."
[Laughs] "Do you think they would get it on the plane for us?" I said,
"Yeah, I think it would be great." In Cuba they have a computer music
studio that runs 24 hours a day. So, there are a lot of composers doing
electronic music there. They were very excited about that. Then his
health began to deteriorate, and it wasn't possible. He was going to get
that Synclavier on that plane no matter what.
Cosmik: He wanted it.
Thome: Yeah.
Vai: He called me, and he had put together a concert with the Ensemble
Modern and a rock band. Actually, it was probably going to be the closest
thing to what we're doing.
Cosmik: When was this?
Vai: This was right before he fell fatally ill. And we talked about it, and
we got it together, and we got together with the . . . uh, Hans? [Looks
towards Thome]
Thome: Yeah.
Vai: The orchestra master. And it was all of Frank's hardest music. He was
giving me the melodies. I mean, like Mo 'N Herb's Vacation, and the Black
Page, the Sinister Footwear movements. It was me, Terry Bozzio, and we
were still discussing who the bass player was going to be. It was going
to be with this 30 or 40 piece orchestra, and Frank was really excited
about that. That was, I think, the last thing he tried to put together,
and then, you know, he had a down-slope. That would have been my dream,
to play that music with that orchestra, or one of them. It's just such
a . . . I wouldn't write that music for myself. It's way too complicated,
you know?
Cosmik: Yeah. The Ensemble Modern seemed to be a perfect choice.
Vai: Yeah.
Cosmik: I went and saw them at Penn State last April. When I walked
backstage and they brought me onstage, they were performing Zappa's
music, and in many respects you're right, Steve. It's such a different
experience when you're really there and you can hear it live rather
than having two speakers in front of you. It takes on a whole different
flavor, a whole different feel.
Vai: Yeah.
Cosmik: There's one thing I wanted to ask you, Joel. It almost seems a
matter of philosophy, regarding amplifying orchestras. What is your take
on that? I mean, the Philadelphia Orchestra had that famous Philadelphia
sound where they would do things like tune down the violins slightly,
and experiment with things to play with their sound. While that form
of manipulation is acceptable, amplifying an orchestra is a taboo thing
to some.
Thome: I have a lot of feelings about that.
Vai: I turn up my amp, boy. [Laughter]
Cosmik: [Laughs] Well, you play an amplified instrument.
Thome: I've had a couple of experiences that I think would help put a little
light on that. One is that the Philadelphia sound happened because of one
person, and that was Leapold Stokowski.
Cosmik: Right, yeah.
Thome: That was the Philadelphia sound.
Cosmik: Well, yeah . . . it was his ideas in sound experiments. He re-placed
people and moved people around.
Thome: He was absolutely brilliant! He moved people around - the whole thing.
That's what I mean. He had the genius to hear that sound and to be that
sound, and the Philadelphia Orchestra became his instrument. But the
sound was within Stokowski. He had the ears, the brilliance, the genius
to make it happen. There's a couple of other things: one is that, today,
even with all of the knowledge of acoustics that we have, it's hard to
find a hall like Eastman Theater, which has incredible acoustics. Now,
because of the acoustical problems in halls around the country, there has
to be some form of acoustic blending electronically, even with acoustic
music. I mean, you find it in so many halls. There's some kind of acoustic
amplification to enhance the acoustics of halls. The third thing is an
experience that Frank and I had when we did the tribute to Edgar Varese.
He decided it should be at the Palladium, and we'd been thinking about
other spaces . . . other acoustical spaces. And he said, "When we do it
at the Palladium, we're going to amplify your orchestra [Thome's
Orchestra of Our Time], and I'm gonna bring my engineer in to do that."
He brought the engineer in, it was Bob Stone, and he amplified the
orchestra. The engineer I was using to make the tape is one of the best
classical engineers in the world. He does Deutsche Grammophone, Nonesuch,
does all this stuff . . . he did the Marlboro series, when Rudy Serkin
was there. So, he did all of those, and he said, "My God, how can you
amplify the instruments!" I said, "You wait, you wait. Frank knows
exactly what's going to happen."
Cosmik: Part of an orchestra's sound is defined by the dynamics of the
musicians themselves.
Thome: Right.
Cosmik: If you place microphones in front of them, doesn't that strip away
their attention to dynamics?
Vai: Not if you have good microphones.
Thome: Right. That's right. If you have good microphones, you don't have to
be concerned about that.
Cosmik: The dynamics are decided by the conductor, isn't that right?
Thome: Yeah.
Cosmik: If you add the mikes, you have a guy behind the board making
decisions on sound levels and dynamics.
Vai: Well, the guy behind the board just makes it overall louder.
Cosmik: Doesn't that alter the natural dynamics you may have without the
amplification itself?
Vai: Yes, absolutely.
Cosmik: So, it does come down to philosophy.
Vai: Well, I mean, there are different ways of thinking about it. If you're
going to sit and watch a concert, like at Eastman, without any
amplification, you'll hear everything, yeah, and it'll be dynamic. But,
if you have proper amplification and proper miking and stereo span, if
the engineer knows what he's doing, you'll get dynamics. If the violin
player is going [sings a soft note], it's going to come through the PA
like this [sings similar soft note]. But if he's going [sings loud and
distorted note], then it's going to come through the PA like that.
Thome: Yeah.
Vai: It's probably more dynamic.
Thome: We have an excellent engineer that's used to working with orchestras.
I mean, he's worked with orchestras all over the world, and he's done a
lot of rock concerts. He was an engineer for Frank at one point. He did
the European tour with Frank. His name is Ron Lorman. He was also Miles'
[Davis] engineer for a long time. He's done everything from small groups
to engineering for Frank, to engineering orchestras all over the world.
So, he's used to coming in and working with orchestras and rock group,
together. So, he's extremely sensitive to that. He's got great ears. He
was a percussionist, which means he's a genius, right? [Laughter - Thome
is a percussionist]
Vai: No, it means he's crazy! [Laughter]
Thome: Crazy genius. No, he's a really wonderful engineer.
Cosmik: Do you have any aspirations to record some of what you're doing now?
Thome: We certainly do.
Cosmik: With Steve?
Thome: Oh yeah.
Vai: We were gonna record this, but it was the first time, and we want to
get all the bugs out of the music. We want to do more performances.
Cosmik: Is this the first time you've played fronting an orchestra?
Vai: No, I've done it with Joel a couple of times.
Cosmik: I know you worked with Joel on Zappa's Universe.
Thome: We've also done performances with the Seattle Symphony.
Cosmik: Oh, is that right? How did that go? Were you pleased with the
results?
Vai: Yeah, it was very simple for me. I played about three Frank songs, and
I knew the melodies.
Cosmik: Yeah, well, you know all those anyway.
Vai: [Laughs] I got up there, and having a singing guitar with the strength
of an orchestra in the back of you is really wonderful.
Cosmik: I think Gil Evans wanted to do that with Jimi Hendrix and a big
band. They actually sat at a table and signed on it, and Jimi died, so
they never did it. But, Gil did release an album of Jimi's work as they
had planned, minus Jimi. I don't know how effective that collaboration
would have been, but the concept was there, and it's similar to the
concept the two of you are kicking around.
Thome: What makes our collaboration different is that sometimes you have
orchestra and performer, and the performer goes around to different
orchestras, and the conductor goes around with different performers, etc.
This is a collaboration between two composer/performers with orchestra,
where you have a phenomenal performer/guitarist who's also an extraordinary
composer, and you have a conductor/composer, and they're doing something
which, together, they take around to orchestras in various locations.
Vai: It's a dynamic duo.
Thome: It's a dynamic duo. You could get into this whole thing, like, "We
have to get this together and take it on the road?" Well, no, it's
vaudeville.
Vai: We only have to take the two of us.
Thome: That's right. [Laughs]
Vai: And the wives, of course.
Thome: I would also like to acknowledge the fact that we have two wonderful
performers with us, Mike Mangini the drummer, and Phil Bynoe the bass
player. And, they're two people who really understand what we're doing.
Phil was also a cellist who comes from a family of string players. His
father is a bass player, his mother was a pianist, he's a cellist, and
it goes on and on through his whole family. So, he understands this kind
of marriage. Mike Mangini, the drummer, is such a terrific performer as
well, and he totally understands this kind of marriage. So, you have
people who understand . . .
Vai: And are very dedicated.
Thome: . . . and are very dedicated to what you are doing.
Cosmik: What do you plan to be doing 20 years from now, Steve? Do you plan
to continue working with orchestras?
Vai: Well, I hope to be exploring different realms. This is scratching the
surface, really, with some of the things I'd like to be contributing to
the music scene. But, my influence with Frank . . . the things that I do
in rock and roll right now, I do because I'm young. I say to myself,
should I do this kind of a record right now, or should I do that kind
of a record, because I'd like to do them both. And I say, do this kind
because you can still go out on tour and do it, and they'll still put
you on the magazines and whatever. So, I do that stuff now. But, you
know, I've got some different things that I'd like to work on in the
future, but we'll see.
Cosmik: I respect your devotion to Frank. It seems people who have worked
with him, universally, have this respect for him that I don't see with
other musicians.
Vai: Frank was walking poetry.
Thome: Yeah.
Vai: And, if you knew how to read it, you really savored it.
Cosmik: One of my favorite solos of yours while with Frank was on Ya Hozna.
That solo blew me away!
Vai: [Smiles widely] Ahhhhh, Ya Hozna! We did that at a soundcheck at Italy.
Cosmik: Is that where that's recorded? I mean, the solo itself?
Vai: Yeah. He pointed at me. See, he would do this thing where he'd point,
and he'd just say, "Go!" And, I just improvised that solo. The original
track for Ya Hozna is different than what's on tape now. I have tapes of
that with the original background.
Cosmik: How did the original version differ from what was released?
Vai: He just re-recorded a rhythm section. He changed the drums and the bass.
It was similar. I don't know why he re-recorded it.
Cosmik: He never released that version.
Vai: No. And, a lot of the backwards singing is [sings], "You're a dirty
little girl, and your mommy and your daddy don't care." He put Moon on
there also. You know what the beginning part of Ya Hozna is in reverse?
It's Sofa.
Cosmik: Yeah, that's right. The Zappa newsgroup FAQ has a reverse transcription
of the song.
Thome: There's an unbelievable story behind Ya Hozna: Mats Oberg could do
that, and that was Frank's idea. Again, we were talking about arranging
stuff for Zappa's Universe. Frank said, "I believe Mats could do Ya Hozna."
[Pause] I said, "What!" He said, "I believe Mats can do it." I called
Mats in Sweden, and over the phone he did Ya Hozna so it sounded exactly
like the backwards vocal tracks with all the inflections, like the tape
recorder was running . . .
Cosmik: Oh my God!
Vai: He did?!
Cosmik: That's unbelievable!
Thome: It's unbelievable.
Vai: This guy, you never hear him talk - he's blind, and he's an incredible
keyboard player.
Cosmik: I could never understand how Frank conceived that piece. I mean,
when you listen to it, towards the end, it almost has a lyrical quality.
Some of the backwards singing slows down and becomes melodic. It's right
before your solo begins.
Vai: Yeah, he took pieces from all over for that.
Cosmik: What blows me away is, how did he know how to piece it together to
create such an effective piece?
Vai: He was a chemist. He was a musical chemist. He'd sit in his little
Utility Muffin Research Kitchen, and he'd sit there and he'd laugh, and
he'd throw this stuff together and he'd call to you, "Oh, come on down
and listen to this." [Laughter]
Cosmik: It's brilliant - it's genius.
Vai: If you were walking by the house, he would drag you in and sit you down
for nine hours and play you stuff [Looks to Thome], right?
Thome: That's right, nine hours at a stretch. You'd just sit there and
listen . . . just sit there and listen.
Cosmik: God damn . . . had he only lived . . . to hear what else he could
have accomplished.
Vai: You know what's really funny - well, not really funny - what's ironic
is that composers of that stature really start hitting their prime when
they're about 50.
Cosmik: Yeah . . .
Thome: Yeah.
Cosmik: . . . that's right.
Vai: From the age of 50 to 70 is when they come out with their most masterful
works. Can you imagine . . . can you just imagine! I mean, think of
Civilization Phaze III, and think of what Frank would have been doing in
20 years from now.
Cosmik: Oh yeah. He only had about 10 years with the Synclavier, really.
Vai: Yeah, well, Frank would have been on that Synclavier, and if something
else came along, he would have thrown it away, and went to something else.
Thome: You know there's also a funny story about Valley Girl - one night
Frank calls up Carol [Sorell, Steve's publicist] and says, "I just did
this thing with Moon called Valley Girl. Could you please take it and see
what you can do with it, you know, get it out there, etc.?"
Vai: Oh, it became a big hit.
Thome: So, he calls back two weeks later and says "I don't know what
happened to this one, but it really took off." [Laughs]
Vai: Oh really, she put it out?
Thome: Yeah, yeah. He wanted her to put it out, but while they were putting
it together the thing just took off on its own. So, he calls me back and
says, "I think I just found a way to send Moon to college."
[Laughter]
Vai: Yeah, well, Frank, he does a lot of things, and then he doesn't. He had
that record out there and he didn't release a single.
Thome: Oh, is that what happened?
Vai: Yeah.
Cosmik: I'm looking forward to hearing the musical output of the G3 tour. Do
you have any plans of recording the tour?
Vai: Yeah, we're planning on recording it.
Cosmik: Is it going to be a double CD?
Vai: I don't know.
Cosmik: Why did you change to a single CD on your current release, Fire
Garden?
Vai: Because it's too expensive for a Steve Vai double CD.
Cosmik: You switched labels, so I though that might have had something to do
with it.
Vai: Well, to get a record company to release a double CD is really hard.
It's expensive. It's more expensive to the fans, so you sell less, so
the record company doesn't like it. It's more expensive for the record
company because there's more music and they have to pay you more. It's
a logistic nightmare. And, for me, I would release a triple CD. I'd love
to.
Cosmik: I'd buy it.
[Laughter]
Vai: [Smiles] Thank you. I have to conform now, I have no choice. Well, I
have a choice. It's either that or don't get my music released.
Cosmik: You changed the name of the CD two or three times.
[Quiet laughter from someone in the room. Vai looks shyly at the person]
Vai: Yes . . . I did.
Cosmik: Why?
Vai: Because, as the music evolved, the concept evolved, and the title I had
just didn't seem to work.
Cosmik: Now, why isn't the concept inside the CD? I mean, when I opened it
up, I never knew there was a concept to it until I heard you mention it
on the radio.
Vai: Well, if you're interested in that kind of stuff, you got to fish for
it.
Cosmik: [Laughs] There you go . . . make us think.
Vai: You got to get on the Web site [http://www.vai.com/], and get a copy
of the script, and you got to click on the little icons, and you got to
read interviews.
Cosmik: Do you have the screenplay up anywhere? Do you plan on doing
anything with it?
Vai: Well, somebody bought it already. They're trying to make it into a film,
but it's very expensive. And, they want me to star in it, and I'm not an
accountable quantity for movie people. But, they're working on it, and
we'll see what happens.
Cosmik: There's more stuff to come.
Vai: That's right.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
JACKING IN TO THE PUNK TRADITION: Cosmik Debris meets Down By Law
Interview By Shaun Dale (with DJ Johnson)
I won't pretend that it was without trepidation that I approached the
doors of RKCNDY, an all ages music club in downtown Seattle. The last
member of my family to attend a show there was fourteen, and I was more
likely to run into her peers than mine at this show. But I was glad for
the chance to see the band whose new disc, "All Scratched Up," had spent
more time in my player than any new punk release in a good many years.
I also had the encouraging company of Cozmik Editor-In-Chief D.J.
Johnson, who is *almost* as old as I am, and at least twice as old as
the typical RKCNDY customer.
Any reservations I had dissolved quickly once we got to the 12x12 room
crowded with ice chests and old couches that was serving as dressing
room for all three bands on the evening's bill (Down By Law played
between Canadian newcomers Pluto and local heroes Gas Huffer). Seated
at the far end of the room were lead guitar player Sam Williams III and
bassman Angry John DiMambro. We settled right into a wide ranging and
generally fascinating conversation that touched on the history of the
band, punk music and the punk audience in the 1990s.
* * * *
John: Hi, I'm John and he's Sam...otherwise known as "Angry John..".
Shaun: So how angry are you?
John: Well man, you should have been there last night.
Shaun: Well, hopefully tonight will turn out better. Both of you have
songwriting credits on the new album, right?
John: I wrote "Far and Away" with Dave.
Sam: I wrote about a third of the album.
John: Is that thing running?
Shaun: Yeah.
John: Cause I want to know whenever I'm on tape.
Shaun: Well, it's on - don't admit to anything...
John: Don't worry, I'm not gonna vote for Mumbly Joe.
Shaun: How bout that - are you gonna vote at all?
John: I'm gonna try. I get home that day, so I'll go in there and flip
a coin between Wingnut and Slick Willy.
Shaun: Wingnut?
John: Yeah. I call Perot "Wingnut" because his ears are so big he looks
like a wingnut on the end of a pencil.
Shaun: So Dole's not a factor?
John: No, he's absolutely not a factor at all except for the comedy value.
The only thing that would be good if he got elected is that all that
hate would be good for about another ten years of punk rock. Cause
Reagan was one of the best things that ever happened to punk music in
America.
DJ: He made the Dead Kennedys' career...
John: Yeah, Jello really couldn't get behind hating Jerry Brown, but
when it came to hating Reagan...
Shaun: So how long have you guys been doing this together?
John: I've been in the band for three years. Sam's been in for four.
The band's existed for five years.
Shaun: Sam, you live in Florida and the rest of the band is in LA. Has
the bi-coastal thing been going on the whole time?
Sam: Yeah. Actually, even more so. We had another drummer who played on
the last album who lived on the east coast, but the drummer we have now,
Danny, he's on the west coast so everyone but me lives in LA.
Shaun: Were you in LA when you got together with these guys?
Sam: No, never. I knew about them and I wrote to them and said I'd try out.
John: He wrote a letter saying he could play "Rock You Like a Hurricane"
like a son of a bitch so they said we have to give this guy a chance. I
had nothing to do with that. I hate him.
Shaun: Well, you're angry. You hate everybody, right?
John: Fuckin A right.
Shaun: Those are basic punk rock credentials - every punk band has to
have an angry somebody...
John: I'm pretty mild most of the time - unless I'm driving.
Shaun: Your sound is kind of a roots punk thing - a lot of classic punk
anthem styles. Who would you want people to think of when they hear
you?
John: It's kind of like all the bands that influenced us are like that -
especially Dave. He listens to, like, Stiff Little Fingers and the
Clash and a lot of English bands. That's where those anthem kind of
tracks come from.
Shaun: Yeah, I thought of the Clash and the Ramones, at least the
Ramones during a certain period when I actually liked them.
John: We did an in-store at Sam Goody in New York this spring and Joey
Ramone was there. It was cool - he liked us and stuff. I didn't think
he was real 'cause I'd never heard him talk before. Even when I saw the
Ramones he never talks, he just sings one song into the other. I talked
to him and he was a standard New York kind of guy.
Shaun: So what's the story behind "True Music" on the new album? Did
you guys really make a show biz video that compromised your principles?
Sam: You'd have to talk to Dave about compromising principles, but we
have made a few videos and the last two have been played on 120 Minutes.
One of them quite regularly - "Radio Ragga."
John: "Independence Day" is like a minute fifteen seconds long. US News
did an article that said the longest and shortest videos ever on MTV
were Michael Jackson's "Bad" for like 16:23 and Down by Law's "Independence
Day" for 1:15.
DJ: What kind of reaction has there been to being on MTV - considering a
lot of people get pissed off if a band gets on MTV...
John: There was one girl who - I don't know if she wrote a letter or
wrote to the Unofficial Down By Law Homepage or what - but she wrote
"I hate you guys, you've changed, burn in Hell, sellouts." Like this
total stupid trash. I think it was off "Independence Day," not even
"Radio Ragga." [Ed. Note: The Unofficial Down By Law Homepage is
located at http://www.undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca/~sstackho/dbl/dbl.htm]
Shaun: Yeah, you're sellouts - you might be able to buy strings next week
off the proceeds.
John: Something like that. Yeah, I'm just rolling in dough right now.
I don't know what to do with it all. I think I'll buy a Kit Kat bar.
Shaun: Well, it shows from the spacious and exotic digs here...
John: Yeah, the belly dancers show up any minute. Where did it say in
the punk handbook that you had to take a vow of poverty like the Jesuits
or be a Communist and sleep under a park bench and eat beans and live
off your parents, you know what I mean? That's my point - where the
hell did that come from? I'm not with that at all.
And the original punk bands, you know, the Clash were on Epic and the
Sex Pistols set out absolutely to rob major labels of as much money as
they could possibly get and did it again this year.
I don't know where that came from. I guess the Berkeley Maximum Rock &
Roll crowd are the ones who wrote that into the manifesto. So that had
nothing to do with punk when I got into it in 1980. Nobody ever thought
about that stuff - they never thought about "Oh, that band wants a drum
riser, they're rock stars." It was never that complicated. Nobody ever
thought about it.
DJ: Do you think they get pissed off when too many people start to like
"their" band - like it's not an exclusive club anymore?
Sam: That's part of it. The guy from Offspring - Dexter or whatever -
made a good point when he said the punk attitude has become really
elitist - even more so. It used to be if you had long hair you weren't
allowed to come to the shows and stuff, but it's even more so now. It's
like the people who listen to this music now seem to hate everybody, but
they don't hate them for the right reasons. They just look down on
everybody like they're less intelligent or something. It's messed up.
Shaun: Well, then, it should be fun for me tonight. I've been listening
to punk for over 20 years, which is at least four or five years longer
than most of these people have been alive. My daughter said it was cool
that I was going to RKCNDY and all, but I should be ready for everybody
to stare at me 'cause I'd be the oldest person in the room. What kind
of audiences do you get at shows?
John: Depends on where we are. We get a lot of the 16-22 year old crowd.
On the east coast we get a lot of straight edge people mixed in with some
punks. We played with Bad Religion at the Palace and that was our crowd
mixed with their crowd and the reaction was about equal. Their crowd was
older - mostly over 21 - so it's mixed across the board.
Shaun: I ask because you have a traditional kind of sound I think would
appeal to people like me who were there for the early days of punk, which
is not true of all the bands out there today.
Sam: You're right, it seems like we would appeal to an older audience
more, but just the fact that we're on Epitaph Records is a factor that
contributes to our audience being so young. We're looked at as an
Epitaph band and lumped in with bands whose crowd is younger, so they
come to our shows too.
Shaun: One of the elements of that "traditional" sound is some social
conscience in the music, which used to be prevelant in punk but isn't so
much any more. And there's a sense of humor in the music that I really
appreciate.
John: You've just named all the elements that I know as punk rock.
When I went to shows in the early eighties hard core and punk was one
and the same thing, and now some of the punk bands are a lot faster than
we are - we tend to be, I hate to use the word pop but what is punk but
fast pop in some ways.
Shaun: Three chords with your foot on the gas...
John: We're a lot more melodic than some of the bands. We do songs that
are slower and like that. I never thought the word traditional would
apply to punk, but we listen to a lot of bands that are more traditional,
from the early eighties and stuff. Now stuff has got this really fast
galloping beat and the image of the people is significantly different
than it was when I was going to shows 16 years ago. The danger element
has been to some extent removed. It used to be, when I went to a gig I
never knew if I'd be coming back home or not. It was, "Well, let's see
what happens tonight. Maybe I'll get home, maybe I won't." It could be
the police or somebody waiting for us outside or whatever.
Shaun: My memory of LA in the early days was that one of the most
adventurous things you could do was go to a Black Flag show - they were
invariably busted - every show was busted.
John: Yeah, until around the period Rollins joined...
DJ: Are there still scenes reminiscient of that anywhere that you've
played? Places where the scene is still more alive than elsewhere?
Sam: Where I live in Tampa the violence is still pretty prevelant. It's
not like today where at a live show you may see people shooting each
other, but it's a lot more like an old punk show 'cause there's always a
fight. No matter who plays, there's a always a big fight. The music
scene isn't as happening, but when a band comes through it seems to me
like it's like it was back then.
John: That's totally true in Florida, and in some other places, but the
one thing we mentioned earlier was humor, and even in the early eighties
when all this crazy stuff was going down, there was still a sense of
humor about it. You know what I mean? Like, I remember one time this
bouncer at the Dead Kennedys beat some kid up and like 20 punks just
surrounded the guy and he started pleading for his life. They pulled
his pants down and stuck his head in the toilet - they didn't even beat
him up, they just totally humiliated him. It seems kind of sick to say
it's funny, but it was funny to me back then.
Shaun: Humor was integral. The way people were looking and acting. If
you couldn't laugh at yourself doing that, you had serious emotional
problems.
John: Exactly. If you're walking down the street with a green mohawk,
you've gotta have a sense of humor.
Shaun: No mohawks in this band...
John: No.
DJ: One of your labelmates, Rancid, has gone far with that...
Sam: Yeah, that's how they went...
John: They're a really good band. I listen to their music and I totally
hear the stuff I listened to before, what I know as punk rock. They
look like that, but they back it up, and they were around before.
Shaun: So the band has an unofficial website - is there an official one?
John: No, not yet.
Shaun: And a fan just put one together?
Sam: Yeah, I have a computer and I e-mail the guy back and forth. His
name is Shawn and he lives in Canada. He did it on his own and I just
stumbled onto it, but I help him out with it some now.
Shaun: So you're into the whole internet thing?
John: If I get into it I'll never get out of it.
Shaun: I understand - I'm a junkie myself and as the editor of a webzine
DJ probably spends 15 hours a day on line.
Sam: I think it's a cool thing. I really dig it, and I'm kind of hooked
on it.
DJ: You guys ever listen to ska? You were talking about Rancid...
John: Yeah, I listen to ska. I like Rancid's stuff, but that's like
rock to me. I like really pure ska, the sixties stuff like Prince
Walker, and Madness, the Specials - that next wave from the early
eighties. I keep going back to the early eighties.
Sam: It seems to me that they've already done pretty much everything that
can be done with that form of music and the bands that come out today
just really bore me. It seems like they just do the same song over and
over, but that's just my opinion. I don't listen to anything that came
out after, like, '84 as far as ska...
Shaun: Of course people say the same thing about punk bands.
Sam: Yeah, that's right. I should cut some slack because people who don't
listen to the music say it all sounds the same to them, so that could be
my problem too. But what really bothers me is the Ska Corps that people
have come up with now. Like, the Bosstones, they're okay, but there are
about 30 bands trying to do the same thing - mix melodic punk and ska
and it's so unoriginal sounding to me.
Shaun: So there have been a lot of personnel changes in the band since
the beginning. How has the sound developed?
Sam: There are different songwriters in the band now. Dave's really the
only guy who's been in the band for the first and last albums and
there's new writers now and Dave's writing has changed. I think it's
definitely more advanced than the first album.
Shaun: Did you write "Gruesome Gary" or is that one of Dave's?
Sam: That's Dave's.
Shaun: Is he a real guy? Would he know himself if he heard that song?
Sam: No, I think Dave made him up as a universal bully.
Shaun: Well, I think I knew that guy...
John: Yeah, I remember when I cut my hair and I went to school the next
day, 'cause the day before I had really long hair and a Led Zeppelin
t-shirt and the next day I had an anarchy shirt and my head was shaved.
All my stoner friends pretended they didn't know me. I had a baseball
cap on when I got there, and a flannel shirt, and flair bottoms over my
boots. I went to the bathroom and threw the cap in the garbage, tucked
in my pants and opened my shirt to show the big circle-A on my t-shirt.
I went into the hallway and it was like "He's a punk!" And the football
team chased me into the middle of the quad and put me in a garbage can.
They poured orange juice over my head and kept punching me and I knew I'd
done the right thing.
Shaun: Heh. The difference between when you and I went to hight school
was that for us the haircut was required to get along with the football
team. It was the stoners they beat up. So you just made the change
over night?
John: Yeah, I didn't have much of a New Wave period. It lasted about an hour.
Shaun: Actually, punk and New Wave were once the same thing - or it was
punk, then New Wave, then punk again.
John: Everything was all punk. Like, Elvis Costello was punk. Television
was punk. Blondie was punk. Devo was punk. And with that, you had the
Buzzcocks, the Pistols, the Clash, Black Flag, the Circle Jerks, the
Adolescents, and it was all together. Because if you listened to any of
those people and had a skinny tie or a mohawk or whatever you'd get into
a party and they'd beat you up if you tried to drink from the keg.
DJ: Did you like the Buzzcocks?
John: Oh, I loved the Buzzcocks.
DJ: Because there's a little bit of song structure influence...
John: Yeah, I love them. They're great. I've seen them three or four times
and they sound like the record when they play and they're perfect and
they're so professional and they sing great and they're fucking punk.
That's punk.
DJ: So, wrapping up, is there anyplace you'd like to say fuck you to? Places
they've treated you shitty or anything?
John: Fuck you Munich, Germany. Boston, get back up to speed and Portland,
you're getting better but you've got a lot of work to do.
Shaun: But Seattle's terrific, right?
John: Oh yeah, Seattle's great.
(A voice from behind says "Wait'll you hear what they say tomorrow night.")
DJ: Sam, got anything?
Sam: There are too many to name, actually. Not all of San Francisco, but
the whole Maximum Rock & Roll scene in 'Frisco, and Gillman. Fuck all
that shit.
John: Yeah, fuck you Gillman and fuck you Bikini Kill. But the PeeChees are
awesome. No fuck you to the PeeChees.
The "voice from behind" turned out to be founding member, chief songwriter
and rythm guitar/lead vocalist, Dave Smalley, who took time to speak with us
while John and Sam caught the tail end of the Pluto set.
Shaun: So I was asking John and Sam if Gruesome Gary was a real guy...
Dave: Gruesome Gary's not his name, but it's based on a real guy. A lot
of people identify with that song.
Shaun: One of the things I like about many of your songs is that anthem
quality...
Dave: Yeah, I like writing songs that people sing to. That's something
I enjoy. There's a lot of good singers and songwriters out there but
it's always nice when the audience can sing along.
Shaun: If there's such a thing as a "traditional" punk band...
Dave: We're it. With a little bit of mod thrown in.
Shaun: Another song I asked about was "True Music." Was making a video
really a devastating compromise of principle?
Dave: I don't know if I'd use the word devastating, but it was hard
because for so long, without even thinking about it, I'd viewed it as a
bad thing because I think that MTV has done a lot of bad things. Kids
grow up and if they don't see it on MTV they don't think of it as viable
or that they'd like it, and of course there are a lot of great bands
that don't get on MTV.
Shaun: But now you've been on MTV, so is it a good thing?
Dave: No, I think it's a mixed thing. I think the main trick is if you're
going to make videos, make sure it's the song you love as the artist and
make sure you do it your way. I know bands that have spent $100 thousand
on their videos and had the record company pick the song. We spend, like,
$10 thousand and we pick our song and we pick the director and we pick
everything about it.
Shaun: How about a video of "True Music"? Think MTV would play it?
Dave: Oh man. I don't know. Probably not. You know, the one who played it
was Matt Enfield from 120 Minutes and he's been very cool to us. He called
me at my house and left a message saying he loved the "Radio Raga" video
and he was really nice. Not to say that's where we want to be with our
music, but it's nice we did it our way and he accepted it. I don't think
we're the kind of band that would ever be in regular rotation on MTV.
Shaun: Regular rotation on public access punk rock shows...
Dave: That's fine with me. Actually, one of the things I like about making
videos is our videos have been in the top 5 in the country on independent
stations and that's great with me.
DJ: Yeah, I think the first time I heard of Down By Law was on a public access
show here called Soundwaves.
Dave: That's great. A video show?
DJ: Yeah. He plays stuff you'd never see anywhere else.
Dave: That's good. That's what public access is all about. It's like
college radio. You'll hear Down By Law, then the Bee Gees, then Nick
Cave, or the Sex Pistols.
Shaun: You're the glue of the band - the guy who was on the first album
and the new album...
Dave: Yeah, it's coalesced a lot since the early days. I'm definitely
the founding member but Sam and John have been in the band for almost
four years now, and Danny has been in the band over a year.
Shaun: So there were a couple albums real quick and then a little hiatus?
Dave: Yeah. I really view starting with "punkrockacademy" as almost a
new band in a way. I love all the albums we've made, but I definitely
felt it was more like a band once these guys got in there.
Shaun: Sam says he's on line a bit. Do you get on the internet at all?
Dave: No, I don't. My wife's a designer and she does a lot of computer
work but I'm one of those freaks that still writes with a pen.
Shaun: I mention it because Cozmik Debris' a webzine and I hope you'll
take a look at it.
Dave: Well, I get online once in a while. I'll look for it.
DJ: You can show the review to people and say "See, even jazz people get
it." Shaun's our jazz reviewer.
Shaun: Yeah, DJ was trying to expand my horizons, or to reduce his workload,
and he put two or three things in [the CD player] and I jumped on this
one. It sounded like the stuff I've liked forever. It had that ironically
traditional punk sound.
Dave: Thanks, that's what we are, for better or worse. The best songwriters
are the older ones, generally. Not always, but I think my songwriting,
compared with when this band started four or five years ago, has come a
long way.
Shaun: The guys said that being on Epitaph gives you a young audience but
there are a lot of people ten or fifteen years older than that young
audience that should listen to this music. It's terrific.
Dave: I'd like to be able to reach more people our age and close to our
age...[Dave Smalley is 32]
Shaun: I've got more than ten years on you.
Dave: Well, that's great. I think an older crowd could appreciate a lot
of the subtleties in our music. I love the younger kids to love us, I
think that's great, but they may not have as much to relate to in terms
of life experiences and things that are going on in the music and the
lyrics.
Shaun: Well, a lot of people who were listening to punk music 20 years ago
find that the music has moved away and it's hard to find bands that have
the same spirit. It's not really the sound, it's the spirit.
Dave: Well, John and I certainly grew up on the Clash and the Jam and
the Who. Those bands are part of our blood. For better or worse, we're
carrying the torch now that those groups are gone. We picked up the
torch where they set it down and hopefully someone will pick it up when
we're done.
Shaun: But you've got a while to go, right?
Dave: I hope so, yeah. I would like to think so. You never can tell, but
apparently things are going well. The label is happy and we're happy.
DJ: Are most of the people who come to see you pretty educated about the
music, like knowing the songs?
Dave: Yeah, our crowds are intelligent and pretty knowledgable about the
music. We don't get a lot of 15 year olds who just heard about it
through the grapevine. Sometimes, but mostly kids come who love the
band. With Down By Law, you either love the band or maybe you don't
give a shit about it, but most the people who come to see us love it.
Shaun: So you could become the Grateful Dead of punk, with a troop of
punks following you around the country...
Dave: Hey, give those guys credit. They achieved a lot. And they stuck
with a thing and had a whole phenomenon build up around it. Of course,
I never would have said that when I was seventeen...
* * * *
We closed with the customary courtesies and Deej and I got into position
for what turned out to be a killer set from the band. Many thanks to
John, Sam and Dave for their time, to the staff at Epitaph Records for
arranging the interview and to the kids in the RKCNDY crowd for letting
an old guy rock the night away with them.
Down By Law is Sam Williams III, lead guitar; Angry John DiMambro, bass;
Dave Smalley, vocals/guitar; and Danny Westman, drums.
WANNA WIN A DOWN BY LAW CD??? All you have to do is send e-mail to
moonbaby@serv.net with your name, address, phone number, and a quick
sentence letting us know that it's Down By Law you're after (we have more
than one contest per month, y'know...) and we'll put your name in the big
hopper for the December 30th drawing. We'll be drawing 5 names! So that
immediately quintupl...quin... gives you FIVE TIMES AS MANY CHANCES TO WIN!
Many thanks to Epitaph Records - one of the coolest labels in the known
universe - for the free CD's. Only one entry per person. All entries that
don't have all the required info will be tossed. WE SWEAR ON A STACK OF
VICTORIA'S SECRET CATALOGS THAT WE'D NEVER IN A ZILLION YEARS SELL YOUR NAME
TO JUNK MAIL COMPANIES! Or anybody else. Thank you, and good night.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOS FANTASTICO, ASOMBROS, Y MUY MUY LOUD HUEVOS RANCHEROS!
Interviewed by DJ Johnson
Inside the cover of Huevos Rancheros' latest release, Get Outta Dodge, there
is a photo of the band vamping for the camera and having a good time of it.
Under the photo, these simple words: "How's Our Driving?"
"Driving" is a good word to describe the music of this trio from Calgary,
Alberta, Canada. "Intense," "full," and "explosive" would also do nicely.
Guitarist Brent Cooper's thick power chords blend perfectly with the high-energy
attack of Richie Ranchero (drums) and the new kid in the band, bassist
Cantankerous Tom. When they want to, they can slow it down and crank the
reverb; but don't call them a surf band, lest you wind up with a guitar
broken over your skull.
With each new record, Huevos Rancheros' sound becomes tighter and more
powerful. With that process comes confidence. Cooper has recently tried
out his producing wings with fellow Canadians Chixdiggit, helping them
create one of the most energetic and solid albums of the year (their
self-titled album on Sub-Pop Records, which was reviewed in the August issue
of Cosmik Debris). Recording for Mint Records -- an indie label that puts
out some of the coolest records in the biz -- the Rancheros boys continue to
do what they love to do: play good ol' rock and roll. Loud. Brent took
some time out between road jaunts to answer a few questions for us.
* * * *
Cosmik: How did you happen to choose to play the type of music you play?
Brent: We didn't exactly choose it... we needed something to do and instro
seemed like the fastest way to become some sort of productive band, even
if productive meant getting paid a case of beer to open for the local U2
cover band.
Cosmik: It's not like everyone was doing it...
Brent: I knew about the Shadowy Men... and Evan Johns and the H-bombs and
the TailGators seemed like good starting points. Richie had never even
heard the Shadowy Men until we actually played with them.
Cosmik: And then there's the question on everyone's minds: What made you
name your band after an egg dish?
Brent: Dumb band - Dumb name.
Cosmik: Ah hah. A simple formula! When you first started out, did you have
trouble getting gigs?
Brent: I had been in a few successful (on a local level) bands, as had Richie
and Graham, so everybody knew who we were and we had enough contacts to
score gigs right away. We would play anywhere for anyone for basically
beer and a few bucks at the drop of the hat, so clubs would literally
call us the night of a show saying "the blahblahs couldn't make it, can
you be on stage in 20 minutes?"
Cosmik: How long did it take till you started to develop a following?
Brent: We sort of forced ourselves on everybody in every part of the music
scene, from hardcore punk to rockabilly, ska, blues and whatever. We must
have picked up a few fans at each show 'cause soon we were playing our own
shows.
Cosmik: Most of your stuff isn't surf, but you get lumped in with the surf
bands in conversations and even record bins. Does that bother you at all?
Brent: Yeah, 'cause we ain't no stinkin' surf band! I suppose for the average
Joe, any band without a singer is a surf band. We can try and try to
describe our style, but as soon as we mention "instrumental" or "no vocals,"
it's like "Oh! the Ventures?" It's just the most obvious reference point.
Cosmik: Categorization is such a weird thing in the first place, but I'm
surprised you don't get pegged as a rockabilly band more often, especially
when you kick out great songs like "Rockin' In The Henhouse." Was
rockabilly a big influence on you all as players?
Brent: Rockabilly players usually had great guitars and cool sounds, so
that's an easy place to look for inspiration. Country music in general
is really big in Calgary, so any of that stuff can leak into our music.
Rockabilly is generally pretty cool, but remember the great rockabilly
revival? I figure the same thing will happen to the surf thing that is
going on right now. The crappy bands will get weeded out and the really
good ones will survive. The best ones are always the ones who mutate or
change or add to the formula - not sticking with nostalgia.
Cosmik: Have you always played in three piece bands? You seem real
comfortable in that format.
Brent: Tom [the new bass guy] and I played in a band or two with another
guitar player. One in particular, The Gravity Thugs -- good name, good
band -- was great 'cause more guitars meant more volume. In general,
though, I prefer to be the only guitar player. There is less confusion
on stage and I can get away with more because there isn't another guitar
to trip over or compete with.
Cosmik: You guys have a huge sound without overdubs. It's an overall thing,
but it seems like your tone almost always makes a solid wall, even though
the tone itself is vastly different from song to song. Most players only
have a few different sounds. How did your catalog of tones develop?
Brent: Actually, we do overdub some stuff when we record. On "Dodge," all
the guitars were recorded in stereo: two mics, two amps. Sometimes I
would use a third amp and blend it in and out during mixing. Live, I
almost always use two amps in series -- not in stereo. As for different
tones, they mostly come from my hands and the guitar. Live, I hate to
change guitars, but I can get a few different sounds from the way that I
pick or the volume control on the guitar. In the studio, I use two or
three different guitars for different sounds and I'll overdub rhythm or
lead parts, as well as Richie overdubbing maracas or tambourine, or like
on "Night of the Iguana," the vibraslap.
Cosmik: What's the Huevos Rancheros writing process like?
Brent: We usually write as a group. For this record Richie and I jammed as
a two piece, coming up with basic ideas for songs. When Tom stepped in,
we were able to pull it all together. Only once in a while will one of
us come up with a whole song. In fact, I don't think it has ever happened.
Tom wrote most of "Railroad," but it wasn't until Richie and I Huevosized
it that it became a real Huevos song.
Cosmik: Once the songs are solid, how do you record them? Do you do a lot
of takes, or do you go for quick and spontaneous?
Brent: When we record, we try to get a solid live take that can then be worked
with. I make the most mistakes, so if Tom and Richie can get a good
feeling bed, I'll finish it from there. Songs like "Bar-B-Cutie" are
totally live, while "The Lonely Bull" is a real production number where I
played two guitar parts AND baritone guitar. The key is getting a good
feel to the basic track. If that's all the song needs, then we'll leave
it at that.
Cosmik: All three of you are credited as producers in the liner notes of
your albums. Who does what?
Brent: It's up to the band as a whole to decide if something is good or bad
or sounds good, etc. Because I worry about the guitars and the "big
picture" of a song, I'll usually spend the most time getting the music
finished, as well as the mixing. I recently got to be a real producer
when I worked with Chixdiggit for their SUBPOP album.
Cosmik: Oh yeah! I reviewed that album. One of the most powerful sounds I
ever heard. So that wall of sound on Chixdiggit's production is kind of
similar to the Huevos sound. How much of the Huevos sound is
post-production, and how much is straight off the board?
Brent: Our basic sound is straight off the board. If you get the microphones
right 90% of the job is done.
Cosmik: You have a definite sound. Does that sound come out no matter what
you play now, or do you have to work at getting it just right in the
studio?
Brent: Yeah, we pretty much sound like Huevos no matter what. We work with
our engineer to translate the sounds we have and what we wanna get. If
you have to work too hard, something's wrong. Maybe drum tuning or mic
placement or the type of mic, even. But remember: garbage in - garbage
out.
Cosmik: Tom Bagley, who does your cover art, has given you an identifiable
visual style. The cartoon characters are so distinctive, I think I'd
know it was a Huevos Rancheros album even if there was no writing on it.
Tell us a little bit about Tom.
Brent: Tom is also known as Jackson Phibes or Aliester Hexx or even Riff
Wakeman, but he is the mastermind behind The Forbidden Dimension, a great
band with ghoulish visuals and a heavy B-movie/Biker/comic book thing.
Cosmik: I loved his cover for Get Out Of Dodge.
Brent: The cover of Dodge is a great painting! We originally thought of a
western scene like the ones inside, but Tom came up with the snake oil
salesman "gettin outta dodge."
Cosmik: Speaking of Get Out Of Dodge, I really loved what you did with the
intro to Sin City on the title track. What made you think to do that?
Brent: We all love AC\DC! We had played "Sin City" as our opening song on
our last tour and wanted to include it on the record.
Cosmik: Are you aware that you guys could pass for AC/DC as long as you only
did intros and never did vocals? There might be some money in that, since
AC/DC can't pass for AC/DC anymore.
Brent: Whattaya mean!!? AC/DC rules. Angus rocks and Malcolm rules. They
have the best guitar sounds - not too clean, not too dirty: just right.
And they're LOUD.
Cosmik: Yeah, I'll go along with that. Get Out Of Dodge seems, to me anyway,
to be a bit harder edged than a lot of your previous stuff. Do you agree?
Brent: Yes, I agree. We've tightened up the rhythm and bottom end with Tom.
He plays a more solid bass style than Graham did, so it makes the whole
thing seem heavier. Also, there is none of the lighter sounding stuff on
DODGE as there has been on the last two albums. Because the record is
short there's no time for filler.
Cosmik: The title track is my favorite thing I've ever heard you do. It
just rips. Is that song in your live show?
Brent: We've being playing that song for a long time now. We recorded a
version for the John Peel show when we were in England. Again, the Tom
thing helps too.
Cosmik: Does it get a lot of response? It seems like it could make dead
men mosh.
Brent: At all ages shows the kids get into the 2-step\punk rock power chord
thing. We get a big mosh pit going, the circle thing and all that.
Personally, we would rather see people actually dance or at least pogo
than mosh. So far, no dead men.
Cosmik: "What A Way To Run A Railroad" is another song that smokes. Gotta
ask...how did you come up with that title?
Brent: "Railroad" is great song to play live. The title is from Daffy Duck,
I think -- just like "Please Pass the Ketchup" is from Daffy Duck.
Cosmik: Cool! I guess this is the first time I've thought of Daffy as a
solid rock and roll influence. "Smart Bomb" is straight forward, but you
managed to get just a hint of surfy white noise in there.
Brent: We had to write a song for the Mai Tai records SPY theme compilation.
We originally recorded it live in Richie's garage and then added a friend
playing organ to the 4-track. When we recorded it for DODGE, I added a
second guitar track doing mostly feedback. If you listen closely you can
hear one amp with tremolo on one side, and for the second track, it's on
the other side doing the other guitar, so you get a wacky stereo effect.
Cosmik: I thought it was a great touch closing the set with "The Lonely Bull."
That's got to be one of the most beautiful melodies ever. What made you
think of covering that one? Is it something you've always played?
Brent: We played it a few times just for laughs but couldn't -- and can't --
get it right. So in the studio we had a go of it. The melody is beautiful
so we tried to stick it way out front. We left out the happy chords and
built up a sloppy but big sounding production number. Sort of a Crazy
Horse meets Jack Nitzsche thing.
Cosmik: It's just another style among many for you, huh? How about "Rockin'
Lafayette," from your Dig In album? That country-swing sounded totally
authentic. Were you exposed to much of that style in Calgary?
Brent: Sure, there's lots of country in Calgary, but we first heard that
song on a rockabilly compilation played by Dave Alvin.
Cosmik: What kind of music did you really grow up with? What were the main
inspirations?
Brent: I grew up with lots of heavy rock -- Alice Cooper, Led Zep, The Who,
and like all Canadian teens, Rush. When I was in elementary school, I
would listen to the Ventures and Black Sabbath back to back while playing
ball hockey. The three of us were all turned on by early punk, especially
The Ramones, who are possibly the best band of all time. Tom likes Devo
and The Descendants while Richie digs George Jones and Johnny Cash.
Cosmik: That makes total sense now that you say it, but I never would have
put those influences together in my head and thought of the Huevos sound
as a result. Very cool. Calgary has such an interesting music scene,
which I've only been learning about for the past year or so. What elements
of your sound do you think can be attributed to being from Calgary?
Brent: Almost all the Calgary bands are guitar bands, at least the ones we
like. Calgary is a bit isolated so we see each others' bands way too
much. It's hard not to be influenced by your peers when you see them all
the time. We have been around Calgary so long it's like we're no longer a
local band. We're a Canadian band now, not just Calgary.
Cosmik: Are there any styles of playing you haven't tried yet that you want
to try?
Brent: We could be really bluesy or really noisy like Sonic Youth. I think
we are going to record a single with loud Hammond organ and a 6/8 time
signature. Maybe like a Rocket From the Crypt thing. We always figure
we can get away with anything as long as it has one foot in rock n roll.
Cosmik: What are some of the bands in Calgary these days that you think we
should keep an ear out for?
Brent: Chixdiggit are tops. Also Forbidden Dimension and Straight, the Von
Zippers have a great thing going. We especially like The Curse Of
Horseflesh and anything on the RotoFlex label. There are lots and lots
of bands.
Cosmik: And now, the part of our show where the musicians get to take lots
of notes. Equipment time. Give us a rundown of your gear.
Brent: Ah! Gear! Tom uses a Fender Precision Bass and an ANCIENT Peavey
head with giant silver knobs. It's called "The Power Module." It runs
into an old Acoustic 4x12 and sometimes a Marshall 15 incher. Richie
uses a set of red sparkle Ludwig drums from the sixties. I usually play
through a blackface Vibrolux reverb amp and a blackface Pro Reverb amp
with Gretsch or Gibson guitars.
Cosmik: How about effects?
Brent: I use an Ibanez Tube Screamer and Tom uses a 20-foot cable.
Cosmik: Are there any additional effects you use in the studio that you can't
use live? Or just don't use live?
Brent: We use compression and sometimes cool sounding reverbs on everything
in the studio. Sometimes I'll use a little Magnatone amplifier, and I
have an old Fender Spring reverb that I used to use exclusively. I retired
it in favor of the pair of amps I use now.
Cosmik: What gauge strings do you use?
Brent: Usually 10 to 54 or 10 to 56. I still have to change them every
second or third set.
Cosmik: Anything you'd like to say to your fellow musicians out there?
Brent: If it isn't loud, it isn't on!
Cosmik: Back to Get Out Of Dodge for a minute here... It's an EP, about 18
minutes long, and it's hot as hell. When can we expect the next full
length release?
Brent: We have to hide out and write a bunch of songs before we commit to
another full length. We would like to put out a few singles, maybe, to hone
our writing skills and get new material together.
Cosmik: What all is going on in your lives right now? Any big deals cookin?
Brent: N0 big deals -- yet, we're just pounding along like the millions of
other independent bands in the world. We've been pretty lucky just to be
able to put out records and tour like we do. People have been good to
us, and even without a big deal, we'll keep doing it.
Cosmik: You used to say you started this band to get free beer. Did it work?
Brent: Oh yeah. Now we'll even pay for the beer if the gig's good enough.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MAL SHARPE - The Weirdness Continues...
Interviewed by Ann Arbor interviews.
In the early '60s (prior to Candid Camera), Mal Sharpe and his partner James
P. Coyle roamed the streets of San Francisco, and later Los Angeles,
encountering people and making outrageous proposals to them. These "street
encounters" were done with a visible or invisible tape recorder and turned
into material for their nightly radio show on KGO. Although well known to
San Francisco radio audiences, others in the U.S. had never heard of Coyle
and Sharpe. They released two records on the Warner label in the '60s. In
1995 Mal's daughter Jennifer and Henry Rollins released a CD "Coyle & Sharpe
On the Loose" on Henry's 213CD label which stimulated new interest in the
work of Coyle and Sharpe.
I had never heard of Coyle and Sharpe when I was asked to review the "On the
Loose" CD by the music director of KFJC radio. I listened to the CD and
laughed for an entire week. Mal and I were both nominated for the Tom
Donahue awards last year. At the awards ceremony I introduced myself to him
and told him that I wanted to do a special on the work of Coyle and Sharpe
the next May for KFJC's annual "Month of Mayhem." Preparing for the special
involved listening to countless hours of Coyle and Sharpe. At this point Mal
acknowledges that I know the work of Coyle and Sharpe better than he does.
Our special aired on May 4, 1996; Mal was in the studio with me for all 4
hours. At the end he said that he was convinced that the spirit of James P.
Coyle was there too, laughing along with us. This Fall, Mal and his wife
Sandra, along with photographer Alex Vertikoff, published a book called "Weird
Rooms." When Cosmik Debris invited me to interview Mal, I decided to talk to
him about the people whose rooms are shown in the book interleaved with
similar topics from his early work with Coyle. At the end, Mal concludes that
he had never made the connections from Weird Rooms to his earlier work.
* * *
WEREWOLF (track 10 on the CD: Coyle & Sharpe On the Loose)
Mal Sharpe: This is another in our series "Meet the Celebrity." Every day I
bring a famous celebrity on to the streets of San Francisco and introduce
him to a passerby. Today I have stopped a young man. May I have your name
please?
Passerby: Michael Huffman.
Sharpe: Michael, I'd like you to meet James P. Coyle. Mr. Coyle is a werewolf.
Coyle: Glad to meet you. Can I ask you this question? Have you, yourself,
ever had any transformational experiences?
Huffman: You'll have to explain that just a little bit better.
Coyle: Well insofar as I know, I of course can't view this objectively, I
apparently get a certain actual physical change. The physical change is
pretty much limited to my face and arms. Where I get an increased burliness
and I snarl and I become unmanageable at times.
Sharpe: Now you, sir, would you be willing to take this gentleman Mr. Coyle,
into your home and contend with this sort of a beast in the evening?
Huffman: If I were a citizen here and if I were a civilian, I believe I
would do it because I've the experience with these type of people before.
Coyle: I have animal capacities, I am actually part wolf.
Sharpe: I have seen him go through this transformation. I have seen his
face become wolflike. I have seen hair grow out on the front of his face
and I have seen large fangs appear and I will swear to this in court.
Coyle: I am part wolf-like and I'm not ashamed of it. I am not totally a
human being. Maybe you're totally human, but I'm part animal.
Huffman: No one is totally human, they've all got animal instincts in them.
Sharpe: Could we go through a transformation right now and have Mr. Coyle
become a werewolf for you on the street just to prove that he is a werewolf?
And we can do it now. Can we do this?
Huffman: I don't particularly care to see something like that.
Sharpe: Can we go ahead?
Huffman: I don't know. I certainly don't have any particular desire to see
this. I don't know if it's going to prove anything by becoming a werewolf
on the streets or anything.
Coyle: I have showed it to the people at the radio station, I'll show it to
you.
Huffman: I guess it's all right with me.
Coyle: May I go through a pre-wolf intensity (***?)
Huffman: All right go ahead.
Sharpe: I make a wolf sound which brings this out in him and Mr. Coyle will
start turning into a werewolf. Are you ready? gr-r-r-r-r-r-r-r (he
growls). Now there are some sounds coming from Mr. Coyle, the transformation
is beginning!
Coyle: (fierce sounding growls)
Huffman: That's enough.
Sharpe: He is becoming a werewolf isn't he?
Huffman: yeah
Sharpe: Would you describe his face?
Huffman: He's got a very animalistic look.
Sharpe: And what else?
Huffman: Certainly does. He looks like a wolf.
Sharpe: And what would you say about his eyes and his teeth?
Huffman: Very animalistic.
Sharpe: Do you believe now that he is becoming a werewolf?
Huffman: Certainly.
Sharpe: You do.
Huffman: yeah.
Sharpe: Mr. Coyle do you have anything final to say in your wolf state?
Coyle: (Growls and starts laughing. Both Coyle and Sharpe lose it laughing.)
Sharpe: This is a joke. (laughing) Honestly it is. What did you think?
Huffman: It's pretty weird, I'll say that much. It is pretty weird. I
thought he was going to attack me.
* * *
Cosmik: Good morning Mal!
Sharpe: Yeah, there we were on the streets of San Francisco in 1963. Those
were real people out on Market Street. It's fun to hear my old partner,
Jim Coyle, who has now passed away, terrifying this guy out on the street
- he really terrified this guy.
Cosmik: Was this at Halloween?
Sharpe: I can't remember, but everyday was Halloween for Coyle and Sharpe.
We were always into bizarre stuff. We had done all this put on stuff, we
had done hundreds of things with hidden microphones and we were really into
the ethic of never cracking up, never smiling and never letting on that we
were putting anybody on. But in this particular sequence, this guy got
so terrified you could see it in his eyes. Coyle had a way of making faces
that were so realistic and so convincing that he was totally crazy and
frightening. That was one of the few times when Coyle and I couldn't help
ourselves from starting to laugh at the end of that.
Cosmik: We're here to talk about your work with Coyle and also about a new
book you've written.
Sharpe: The work with Coyle dates back to 1963-64, and some of it can be
heard on a CD called "Coyle & Sharpe On the Loose." Just recently my wife
Sandra and I, and a photographer named Alex Vertikoff, have done a book
called Weird Rooms. We went out and found all these weird people - I think
I've been dealing with weird people all my life - who have weird rooms in
their homes. A lot of them are right here in the Bay Area. At least all
of them are in California. They're just people where you go into their
house and you say, "Whoa that's a weird room!" This one guy, Ken Irwin,
has this spaceship with thousands of TV sets in his little apartment. He
has walls made out of duct tape and fish tanks with piranhas, and thousands
of rubber gloves hanging from the ceiling with colonies of algae that he
calls "command posts."
Cosmik: I'd love to read this piece of the book Did you just take his words
and turn them into the text that we see in the book?
Sharpe: Yeah. We edited Ken. We would go and look at their room and the
photographer, Alex Vertikoff, would photograph it. Then Sandra and I
would interview them. The interviews went on longer than what you see
in the book, but we condensed the essence of each story.
* * *
KEN'S SPACESHIP (from Weird Rooms):
When I first walked into this apartment, it was just a one-bedroom,
1950s-style place. I had a vision of this space before I moved in. I've had
twenty-two other visions that I've built - they've all looked like
spaceships.
Everything you see in here I built. The walls and cabinets are made out of
duct tape - four thousand rolls of gray duct tape. I used thousands of pounds
of tin foil. I have sixty-one television sets and twenty-three computers in
here. Wiring runs all through the ceiling. I don't drive, so I carried
everything over here from a store.
One room I call my secondary command center. It has hundreds of plastic
gloves filled with water hanging from the ceiling. This creates microsystems
of bacteria. You can see the algae growing inside. Each glove is a space
colony. I have six robots to protect me from invaders.
My kitchen is a laboratory for the glazes I use on ceramic pottery. I have
bottles filled with rotten eggs; the bacteria in the eggs starts to expand,
and at a certain point the eggs explode like grenades. They stink like hell.
I dry out the eggs and grind them into the powders I use in glazes. The
glazes are violet and wine colored.
My bedroom is a loft. Two secret rooms are underneath the bed. One has a
full-sized piano. There's a deeper room that only I know about. In my fish
bowls I have piranhas; they won't eat goldfish, but they will eat turkey,
duck, and beef. You can see the bones. I have flowers on the ceiling; some
are real, some are not.
I want the worlds of nature and technology to exist together. If you look out
the window from here, all you see are buildings and cars -- very few natural
areas where I can go to escape. This is my oasis in the brutal, hostile city.
* * *
Cosmik: So where did you find this guy?
Sharpe: We found him because a lawyer friend of ours was representing Ken.
The landlord was trying to throw him out and our friend Jim, the lawyer,
was trying to help this guy out, help him stay in the house. Jim is a
friend of artists and Ken is an art student and a pretty out there guy.
Cosmik: This guy is trying to bring the worlds of technology and nature
together. And that kind of reminds me of the "Pescahumanists."
Sharpe: In a weird way, this guy reminds me of my old partner Jim Coyle.
Here we are 30 years before this still dealing with weird little worlds
out on the street.
* * *
THE PESCAHUMANISTS (Coyle & Sharpe, from the early '60s):
Sharpe: Could we have your name sir?
Passerby: Mel Dilley.
Coyle: A group of people who call themselves "Pescahumanists" that is to say
fishpeople have actually given up their humanism and are living as fish
off the California coast. Would it be your feeling that they should be
prevented from living as fish? Or would you favor interfering in their
fish existence?
Dilley: Well I don't know. If they're not breaking any laws or doing any
harm to anybody. I don't think that people should really put them away
or anything like that.
Sharpe: What do you mean "put them away?"
Dilley: Well, do anything to really prevent them. They're not breaking any
laws or anything like that.
Coyle: A number of them, even though they have indicated that they are fish,
have claimed Social Security benefits. Do you think Social Security
benefits should be paid to fishpeople?
Dilley: Uh no.
Coyle: Why is that? Be honest.
Dilley: I just don't see why, because, uh like you say, they're not
contributing anything to mankind. They're just going off on their own.
Coyle: Who isn't?
Dilley: These fishpeople. If they're not contributing anything to mankind,
I don't see why they should be drawing Social security I don't think they
rate it.
Sharpe: Well a lot of them worked for many years here on land and now that
they're in the water they're claiming unemployment. A vessel is going out
about once every month with unemployment checks dropping it into the water
to these fishpeople. Do you think that this practice should be stopped?
Dilley: Yeah I think it should, I really do.
Coyle: No unemployment checks for pescahumanists. Would you favor joining a
group of people who intend to go out on a fishing party, in vessels, in
small boats, and are actually going to cast lines into the water with
human bait. Would you favor actually fishing for these pescahumanists?
And would you join such a fishing party?
Dilley: First of all, I wouldn't ever join anything like that. As far as
going out and throwing lines over, I say "no" because I don't want to
have anything to do with it.
Sharpe: What would you see on the boat? What would they be pulling in with
these fishing lines?
Dilley: These people, I guess. So I say "no" I don't want anything to do
with that. I'd never join anything like that.
Coyle: You'd never join the fishing party? Or you'd never become a
Pescahumanist?
Dilley: I'd never become a Pescahumanist. Whatever it is. But I'd never
join the fishing party either. I don't really want anything to do with it.
Coyle: You wouldn't go out with these people and have human bait on the hooks?
Dilley: No I wouldn't.
Coyle: Can we tell you something? We're glad to hear that, and I hope you
won't be impatient with us. But we ourselves ascribe to a lot of the
beliefs of the fish people, and we're out on the street today trying to
recruit others. Would you ever consider going back to an aquatic
existence, to an existence in which you'd be surrounded by water?
Dilley: No I wouldn't. Just uh, this is the way I live, like I live right
now and that's the way I like to live. I don't see any reason why I'd
want it any other way.
Sharpe: You're in the U.S. Navy aren't you?
Dilley: I am.
Sharpe: And that means that you like the water doesn't it?
Dilley: Not that much, no.
Sharpe: Wouldn't you want to go underwater for a while?
Dilley: No. I can say this: I never even want to consider being one of those
fishpeople or anything like that. I just want to be like I am.
Sharpe: Don't we look like we are? Aren't we normal looking?
Dilley: You sure are. But I still, you know...
Coyle: You know that we have this belief.
Dilley: I wouldn't consider... I wouldn't want to consider it even.
Coyle: Do you know what we consider ourselves to be?
Dilley: You mean you? You guys consider yourselves to be fish, so you say.
Sharpe: And you could be a fish too!
Dilley: But I wouldn't want to, you know I mean...
Coyle: Would you give it a chance? Would you come with us just for a brief
immersion in our colony?
Dilley: Nah. I mean I'm not scared or anything like that, naturally uh it
just doesn't interest me.
Coyle: What are we asking you to do?
Dilley: You're asking me to come down there and act like a fish for a while.
Coyle: With others.
Dilley: Yeah with others, naturally...
Coyle: Who are living as fish. Would you give it a chance?
Dilley: No I wouldn't because... I just wouldn't.
Coyle: We have with us today another person who felt as you did. Who was
opposed to the idea of becoming a fish person. We took him as we did you,
we met him on the street, we brought him to our colony and now he has lived
as a fish person.
Dilley: Yeah well uh, everybody's different. You know, I mean people could
change their minds, but knowing myself I'd say I never would.
Coyle: We'd like you to meet him.
Sharpe: This is Mr. Adams who is one of the leading Pescahumanists in the
United States today. Mr. Adams, .... Your name sir?
Dilley: Mel Dilley.
Sharpe: You are shaking hands now.
Adams: Glad to meet you. No, I was very doubtful of this and there are a
lot of benefits. Actually I used to be tired all the time You wouldn't
believe it, but I'm almost 48 years old! It's made me younger and
everything. So, I don't blame you for having your doubts, but a lot of
changes have occurred here. We aren't able to smoke there though, I see
you've lit a cigarette. But we have other things, we chew kelp and things
like that. It's a lot more fun.
Sharpe: Where have you traveled as a Pescahumanist? To what parts of the
world underwater?
Adams: Well, I made my first trip over to Hawaii, and boy I had some doubts
at first. But gee, after a while, you listen to the dolphins and...
Coyle: Have you found your breathing processes to be difficult under the
water?
Adams: Actually I have trouble breathing here, now, because I'm used to the
other, yes...
Coyle: Would you come on a voluntary basis as a fish person?
Dilley: No, not even.
Coyle: A one month training course, actually five weeks.
Dilley: I couldn't do that either because I've got my obligation to the
Navy, so you see...
Adams: The Navy has helped us with this, actually it's been experimental
with them, so they could do away with their submarines and so on like
that... strap things to the men's backs and use them for bombs, kind of
like a "kamikaze of the sea."
Dilley: It's all right, but it don't interest me a bit.
Sharpe: You could carry TNT this afternoon.
Dilley: Not even.
Cosmik: You wouldn't do that for your country?
Dilley: I do enough for my country as it is right now.
* * *
Cosmik: So tell us a bit about the Pescahumanists.
Sharpe: Coyle and I used to do so many things like this: Pescahumanists,
underground rituals with animals and people and wolverines and bats.
Cosmik: Tell us a bit about the mentality in the '60s that caused you to
think about some of these things.
Sharpe: Well you know this stuff was recorded here in San Francisco in the
early '60s. This was before Kennedy was assassinated and the moonshot
and all these sorts of things. Pseudoscience had everyone in its sway,
it still does, but even then.... Today you can picture someone being half
human and half fish. It's kinda getting there in a way, where we're using
animal parts like pigs' heart valves... But back then it was purely
fantasy to us, it was beyond any kind of reality and that's what appealed
to us. Before we went out in the morning we would sit in a coffee shop
and come up with concepts to talk about on the street that day. Often it
was just things we'd see, fish on the menu and we'd say "fishpeople" and
Coyle, who had a great vocabulary, would say "Pescahumanists." We'd go
out on the street, stop someone and start to talk about "Pescahumanists."
That's how those things happened. Sometimes we would do the same sequence
several times over the course of months, you know, we wouldn't get a good
victim. So we would begin to develop a kind of plot or a world, the
"Pescahumanist" world, things like this in our minds. Then we would just
look for a "victim."
Cosmik: Was there any way that you associated a particular concept with a
particular person? Or was it just whoever you happened to meet that morning?
Sharpe: It was whoever we met. Market Street was kind of fun back then. The
big cruise ships still came in that were traveling around the world and
often they pulled down around the Ferry Building. Often you would get
English tourists. Everybody was pretty gullible and we looked pretty
straight. All we needed was someone who was willing to talk with us and
we were off. People weren't as willing, really, to talk then. Now,
everybody is used to microphones and TV cameras. So if you got somebody
on the street that wanted to stop and talk to you, usually we could get
them involved in something.
Cosmik: It seems as though there are some themes that seem to crop up in the
book "Weird Rooms" and in your early vignettes. For example, "The Room
of Burning Souls."
Sharpe: I've never thought about that, Ann. I've just sort of liked this
stuff all my life. Here's this guy Billy Shire - he owns a store in Los
Angeles that sells a lot of weird artifacts. He's collected all these
"animas" which are like the souls burning in hell, they're religious
figures. A lot of them come from Mexico. Coyle and I had a sequence
called "Living Hell" where we had this pit where you could go down and
work in it, there were bats and snakes around your feet and flames. This
was a job offer that we did on the streets of San Francisco.
Cosmik: Absolutely, we're right in sync. That's exactly what I had planned
to play next.
Sharpe: That's weird, I'm looking at this picture of the room of burning souls
and sure enough there is a Haitian piece of fabric with a snake on it and
all these skulls and flames licking around the bottoms of these statues.
That's very weird that you point this out. You're weirder than I am, Ann.
* * *
A LIVING HELL:
Sharpe: This is Mal Sharpe with another in the series "Job Opportunities."
Every day I bring an employer out on to the street and have him offer a
San Franciscan an interesting and novel job. Now I have James P. Coyle
with me, our employer of the day, and I've just stopped a young man who
we're going to offer a job to.
Coyle: I am James P. Coyle and I'm very glad to meet you.
Passerby: Same here.
Coyle: The nature of the job is, it's a little unusual, just like anything
else there are certain risks entailed in it. You would be working down
in a pit, in which I have created, through scientific endeavor, I have
created intense flame. People throw objects into the flaming pit, you go
through, you pick them up, they name the objects and you pick them up and
I charge them admission.
Passerby: Yeah I think I'd be interested. It's something new and exciting,
and I like exciting.
Coyle: The reason I ask, I had an employee before, and I will tell you this
directly and honestly, he was a little careless, incautious. I gave him
specific instructions and he perished. Now I want you to understand this
before we get any further. He did perish.
Passerby: I understand. Mistakes can happen sometimes.
Sharpe: Now as I understand it the death index on this job, they give us a
death index, is about 98%. In other words, if you took this job the chance
of your actual perishing would be 98% in favor of your perishing.
Passerby: That's the chance. I like to take chances.
Coyle: What we're trying to do, really, is to create a living hell. Have
people pay admission, they look down in the pit, they see you down there,
the flames are all around you. There will be 4 maniacs with you and you've
got to control them.
Passerby: Now wait a minute, I don't understand that, you say 4 maniacs?
Coyle: Yes.
Passerby: Yeah, you mean I got to tell them what to do, try to keep them
together or something like that?
Coyle: Yes, exactly - control them and see that they don't interfere with you,
because they will. That's what they're going to try to do. They're fully
costumed, they're fully protected and they're going to be attacking you
and this is part of the attraction.
Passerby: Oh I see. It sounds very interesting.
Sharpe: Have you worked with maniacs before?
Passerby: No, no.
Coyle: Have you worked with flame before?
Passerby: No, not necessarily.
Sharpe: One other aspect, large bats fly through the air. You've seen bats
haven't you?
Passerby: Yes.
Sharpe: These are very large bats with extremely large teeth, from the photo
I saw. They'll be swooping down over your head. Would the bats at all
deter you from doing your job?
Passerby: No I don't think so. If I had a job to do I'd try to do it regardless
of the bats or anybody else.
Coyle: Now I am... I'll explain the situation to start with, I want to be
sure that you can handle the job, I am paying $46 a week, initially. Is
this agreeable?
Passerby: Sounds okay.
Coyle: And I am offering not only the $46, but during the 12 hours that you
will be down in the pit every day I will provide nourishment to you. In
other words, I will provide one meal during that 12 hour period. Will that
be satisfactory?
Passerby: Sounds okay.
Sharpe: Have you ever consumed bats?
Passerby: No I haven't.
Coyle: Would you look forward to the idea of actually consuming a bat?
Passerby: Eating one?
Coyle: Yes.
Passerby: I guess so.
Sharpe: In other words, your lunch, you go down and open up your little brown
paper bag that Mr. Coyle had prepared and inside there would be a bat.
You would just prepare it down in the flames.
Passerby: Oh I would have to cook it myself?
Sharpe: Yeah.
Passerby: Ohhohoho no!
Coyle: Why?
Passerby: Well, if you could cook it for me I wouldn't mind eating it.
Coyle: Cook what?
Passerby: A bat. As long as I didn't see it cooking, I think I could devour it.
Sharpe: Have you ever had any experience with snakes, large snakes?
Passerby: No.
Sharpe: See the bats actually they're foes down in this pit. The reason why
the bats are there is because there are snakes in the pit. The bats attack
the snakes and the snakes will be curling around your feet as you're trying
to handle the maniacs...
Passerby: I'm not scared of snakes though.
Sharpe: What?
Passerby: I'm not scared of snakes.
Coyle: Are you at all, be honest, are you at all afraid of the maniacs?
Passerby: No, not really.
Coyle: What're you going to do with them if they start attacking you?
Passerby: Fight them off.
Coyle: And this is what the people pay for. The people who are looking down
into the pit pay to see you surrounded by flames, picking up objects that
they throw down to you. You'll be attacked by the maniacs and the bats,
the snakes will be crawling at your feet. You understand, this is what
the people pay for.
Passerby: Yes. Well, if they pay to see it, give them their money's worth.
Coyle: What I'd like to know is do you fully understand the job? Can you in
your own way recapitulate what I've told you about the job, so that we
know that you do have an understanding of it.
Passerby: Yeah, it seems to me that you want me to work in some kind of a pit.
As you say, you're trying to develop a living hell, and in this pit, I wear
some sort of a uniform, there be a lot of flames. I have to work with
maniacs and watch out for bats flying around, and I'll get one meal a day,
I'll be in there for 12 hours and I'll have to eat a bat.
Sharpe: And you will take the position.
Passerby: Yeah, I'd like to try it!
* * *
Cosmik: So this guy was willing to take the job where he had to be in a pit
eating bats, having snakes and maniacs and the whole business?
Sharpe: I know, he was willing to do it. We would just push people. We
thought we would throw these obstacles in front of people and hope that
finally they would say "No!" and start arguing with us, which a lot of
people did. We just kept making things worse and worse. This guy never
balked. What's weird, I'm looking at this photo in the Weird Rooms book,
literally if you were doing an album cover and you were using "A Living
Hell" as the title cut on the album, this photo of the room of burning
souls, taken 35 years later, would be perfect for it!
Cosmik: It would. Another one I enjoyed was "The Cowboy Room."
Sharpe: The Cowboy Room, that's an interesting story.
* * *
TORU'S COWBOY ROOM (From Weird Rooms)
About twenty-two years ago I got this idea: I would create a cowboy room
where I could watch TV and be a slob. When I was growing up my mother would
never let us put our feet on the coffee table, but now I can eat an apple and
throw the core across the room, toss peanut shells on the floor, and leave
beer bottles where I finish them. This room represents America - the Lone
Ranger - but there's another reason for it.
I was born in Japantown. When I was four, I was sent to San Francisco General
Hospital with an ear problem. I was there for a month, and because I couldn't
speak English, I was very lonely. One day my father came to pick me up with
two Caucasian men who, I realized years later, were FBI agents. While I was
hospitalized, all the Japanese Americans had been moved into relocation
camps. I never returned to my home again. I joined my family in San Bruno,
California, where they were living in a stable at a race track. I'm not
glorifying this, but kids can make anything fun. Since them I have always
loved the smell of hay, manure, and alfalfa. It brings back memories of
playing in the stables.
So when I started this cowboy room, the first thing I did was buy six bales
of hay. The night I bought them I slept on them, but they were as hard as
bricks and gave me a headache. I've tried to make this room as authentic a
bunkhouse as possible, but I'm against guns so I don't have any. A lot of
friends come over and want to help me clean up this place, but that would
ruin it. This room has gone twenty-two years without being cleaned. Its whole
purpose is to let me be a slob. The notion that cowboys have girlfriends can't
be true. What woman would live under these circumstances? (Toru Saito)
* * *
Sharpe: Toru is a guy I've known for years, he lives in the East Bay. When
we started doing this book a friend of mine, Chris said "You know Toru
has this weird room in his house." All these are rooms that people live
in. These aren't things that they've just decorated. These are parts of
their homes. You go over to this very ordinary house, just another house
on the street. Downstairs is a livingroom, everything is normal. You walk
up into this one room, Toru's Cowboy Room, and it's a total other world
that he's created for himself up there.
Cosmik: But he has other parts to his house?
Sharpe: Yeah, they're totally normal. This is like his little refuge. This
is where he goes, as he says he throws cigarette butts on the floor, you
can see that the place is littered with beer cans, and bales of hay and
saddles, cowboy boots. He just sits there on his bunk bed watching TV,
a happy man.
Cosmik: Kinda like "Refuse Estates?"
Sharpe: I don't even remember what "Refuse Estates" is.
Cosmik: It was a "commercial" you and Coyle did.
* * *
REFUSE ESTATES ('60s era pseudo-commercial by Coyle & Sharpe)
Sharpe: The next portion of Coyle and Sharpe is brought to you by "Refuse
Estates!"
[music]
Sharpe: A community of modern homes constructed entirely of refuse items.
Coyle: You've probably thought of getting a home for yourself, but as with
the rest of us, the costs are pretty high. You couldn't quite make it,
even with convenient payments. Well, Refuse Estates has come up with a
plan whereby all peoples can be homeowners. Why pay inflationary costs
for standard construction materials that go into the building of the
average home? No need to anymore. Refuse will build you a home, using for
construction materials only such things as: fabrics, cardboard, bedsprings,
orange peels, expired cattle, and occasionally brick and steel pieces.
Sharpe: Pile your family into the car and drive out to Refuse Estates this
Sunday. Visit our model home. If you then find that you're interested in
a home out at Refuse Estates, the next step is simple. All we've got out
at Refuse Estates now, aside from the one model home we have constructed,
is a huge pile of debris. You'll merely walk through the debris picking
and sorting items out that you'd like to have in your dwelling unit. Days
later, your glorious new home will be ready for you, constructed and
completely landscaped, with scrap.
Coyle: That's right if you'd like to live in a home of contemporary style,
constructed entirely of 20th century junk pieces, come on out to Refuse
Estates! Take highway 666L and make the turnoff at Aragosis Pass, then 2
lefts and you're at Refuse.
Sharpe: Shopping centers conveniently located within minutes of Refuse Estates.
Coyle: So come on out, spend the rest of your years in a smart community,
surrounded by garbage. Come on out and take a look! Remember, Refuse is a
good place for family living!
Sharpe: If you're interested in our free pamphlet, "Home of Your Heart,"
write to Refuse Estates, c/o Coyle and Sharpe, KGO Radio, or contact your
local scavenger.
Coyle: Convenient financing available for all.
* * *
Cosmik: It sounded like a real commercial.
Sharpe: But you know there are probably some people out there driving around
the Peninsula. A friend of mine was looking for a house down there and
they're so hard to get. There could be some people down there today just
tuning in and saying, "I'm going to look for this place." There's an example
though, you know we were totally fantasizing this back in '63. And now we're
finding out that all these projects were built on dumps. They've become
waste sites, like Love Canal - all these places that were built on trash
heaps, there's much more reality to it, now.
Cosmik: Toxic trash heaps.
Sharpe: People are living on garbage dumps all over America today, to us it
was unthinkable, back then.
Cosmik: And then you see people who turn their homes into garbage dumps, or
parts of their homes.
Sharpe: Yeah. When we were researching this book people would give us tips.
You might say, "we know this person..." We visited several houses, we
started to call these houses "clutter houses." They're houses that people,
they're kinda collectors who just can't stop, and their houses are filled
with stuff. Some of them are photographable and they're kinda nice and
others, after you're in there a while, you just want to get away from these
people. Some people are creative with it and some people are just obsessive
about filling their house with stuff. "Come on over here," and in the
corner they've got 14 stuffed alligator legs, and then they open up a drawer
and they've got coasters from every bar in Petaluma, California, and over
the sink they've got something else. It kind of interesting for a few
minutes. Sandra and I would be sitting there just thinking "Let's get in
the car and get away from these people."
Cosmik: Well like Diz's Place.
Sharpe: Yes, one of the rooms in the book is this woman Diz McNally, she
lives in Hollywood.
* * *
DIZ'S PLACE (from Weird Rooms):
The good thing about my bedroom is that it's really dark in here. I have gels
covering the windows -- red, pink, blue. They come from movie sets I've
worked on. I never know what time it is or whether it's rainy or sunny. It's
a Hollywood showbiz thing that Norma Desmond would have done, or Norma
Dizmond, as I call her.
I have thousands of pictures stapled to the walls. It started with one photo
of Robert De Niro; then it spread. One wall is a celebrity wall, and another
is a fashion wall. I subscribe to nine magazines, like Bambino, W, and
Cosmopolitan, and each month I cut out hundreds of new pictures and staple
them to the ceiling. I have more than three thousand pictures of clothes I
want to wear some day. I want to be a high-fashion model. I also have a
Marilyn shrine, A Wizard of Oz shrine, and a family shrine.
By the way, my father, back in Massachusetts, is a sheriff, and his office
walls are covered with photos of famous cops, Mafia guys, and people who have
gone to prison. My mother, a hairdresser, has her walls covered with us kids,
the Kennedy kids, and the Brady Bunch. We've never had white walls. God
forbid!
In my bathroom, or The Can, as I call it the theme is How to Get Ready. In
the kitchen I have two hundred bottles of nail polish in the refrigerator. I
don't cook, so I've been able to cover the stove with hundreds of magnets and
fill the kitchen drawers with Kewpie dolls and pixies. All my furniture is
teeny plastic stuff you can get for ninety-nine cents. The only real thing is
a desk. Friends who come to visit from out of town either shake their heads
in disbelief or say, "Wow. This is better than Grauman's Chinese Theater."
[Diz McNally]
* * *
Sharpe: Diz is really creative and I love the picture of her kitchen. She
has magnets all over the stove of fruit and things like this. But these
little kewpie dolls that are just poking their heads out of all these
drawers, it's really bizarre. She is really out there.
Cosmik: You couldn't cook in her kitchen if you wanted to.
Sharpe: No. The strange thing is, I've been thinking of the connection to
the CD (On the Loose). The guy who worked in the mailroom at the 213CD
record company suggested Diz McNally. There's more of a connection between
this stuff than I ever thought. It's very inspiring. When you look at these
rooms, it makes you want to decorate your room a little bit more. I don't
know about you, Ann, I've never seen your house but do you have any
inclination to do this sort of thing?
Cosmik: I like clutter. Life without clutter is too sterile. Recently I did
a major excavation. I probably uncovered 6 geologic strata in my house,
and it's just not the same. It's clean, it looks gorgeous, but it's not
the same.
Sharpe: So you're sort of one of these weird room people?
Cosmik: Well I don't know that I would go that far, but I suppose that some
people who've been to my house would say that it verges on "weird"
sometimes.
Sharpe: Well me too, my office here has a lot of stuff in it. You know I
read in a book that a lot of creative people get a lot of energy from
having these objects and things around them. Often when you see pictures
of authors and writers, you see their studios and their homes. They'll
have a lot of memorabilia, a lot of artifacts on their desk. I think there's
something in the creative process about having this material around that's
stimulating to people who are into creativity.
Cosmik: Absolutely. So when you and Coyle were in the coffee shop preparing
for your day's adventures, just things that you saw around you stimulated
you?
Sharpe: Yeah, you know that we did a radio show on KGO and a lot of this
material on the CD is from that radio show. Our show was on from 7 to 10
each night on KGO in San Francisco We needed about 15 pieces every single
night. The format of the show was that there was an announcer who would
announce our segments and then play music, and talk. You have to be 22
or 23 years old to do something like that - this was a ton of work.
Every day we would have to be out in downtown San Francisco from 9 in the
morning 'til 3:30 in the afternoon when the fog rolled in, recording stuff.
So we needed a huge number of ideas. It was great training for me. I'm
sitting here looking out the window of my house in Berkeley and there's a
tree, so Coyle and I would write down "human tree." Then we would stop
someone on the street and say "A man has developed a process where leaves
can grow from the human head. If you could have attractive leaves growing
from your head, would you like that?" That would be a sequence. Now I'm
looking at cars. "Can we borrow your car?" We did this sequence where
we stopped someone on the street as they were getting into their car and
ask if we could borrow it for the weekend and take it over to Tiburon to
go to brunch. And of course people didn't want to lend us their cars.
They'd say "You're strangers, we don't know you." We'd say "That's the
purpose of it - to develop trust in other human beings, we're going to
bring the car back and this is going to bond us and make us closer."
That's it. We would look out the window and look at objects. There's a
gardener working across the street here. Maybe we would have a thing where
we had trained a wolverine to be a gardener so you would have this watch
animal in front of your house which would also plant your gladiolas.
Cosmik: In some of the newer stuff that you're doing now are you still using
that process?
Sharpe: Yeah, I do it all the time. I call it "premisizing." It's just really
a way of thinking about things - it's one way of problem solving. Let's
say that I have to do some humorous commercials for AT&T - about telephones.
Sometimes I just open the Yellow Pages and look at different things. I'll
say Telephone chiropractors, and then something will just spark in my head
like AT&T has come up with a new phone, you can plug your phone into a corn
on your foot...
Cosmik: Highly portable, better than a pager.
Sharpe: Yeah, right. Now the corn on your foot can be a pager with these
little chips that they develop in Silicon Valley. Put a chip in your corn
and you don't have to carry around a little beeper.
Cosmik: Or you can put an RJ-11 on your index finger and plug yourself in
anywhere you go.
Sharpe: That's right. You can put your finger in your cigarette lighter and
be on the Internet.
Cosmik: Oooh, I'd like that!
Sharpe: Just creative ways of thinking, putting illogical things together.
I read the paper, or the Yellow Pages, or look out the window and hook
things up which become premises for things I'm doing.
Cosmik: Now speaking of Yellow Pages, you're not the person who does the
Yellow Pages commercial. Is that correct?
Sharpe: Here in the San Francisco area there's a bunch of commercials running
for the Yellow Pages on television, which are similar to my style, but it's
not me. I don't have a patent on any of this stuff. I think over the years
other people have started to do similar things to what I do. Commercials
have always mirrored things that are happening in other aspects of life.
Cosmik: You told me about a very funny one that you did in Seattle - with a
clam.
Sharpe: I've just done a radio campaign for Triple A - they wanted to do a
thing about how you can use the Triple A card to get discounts at various
hotels. It's kind of dull to go out on the street and talk about that.
So we went out and got one of these hideous clams that they have up there
called geoducks. They're huge clams that have this huge thing that comes
out of the front of the clam that is not unlike male genitalia. Anyhow, I
had this clammy, hideous thing in a shopping bag and I would stop people
on the street and ask them how they felt about discounts at hotels. And
then if they took this into a hotel do they think they could get a
discount, and then I open up the bag. People would just look at it and
scream, and then we're off talking about discounts and Triple A.
Cosmik: So while they're screaming you're telling them about discounts?
Sharpe: They scream "That's a hideous thing, it's gruesome." I say "Yeah,
you wouldn't get a discount with this, but what if you showed your Triple
A card at a Hilton Hotel?" They say "Oh well, yeah with a Triple A card."
So you end up on the street lugging around geoduks, your car is always
stinking, with these props...
Cosmik: There you have it, the life of Mal Sharpe in the '90s - and the
weirdness continues... I'd like to talk about another room from the book,
the Rolls-Royce Room.
* * *
THE ROLLS-ROYCE ROOM (from Weird Rooms):
Just call me Schultz, no first name. Everyone in my German family was named
Robert. My mother got sick of it and simplified it to The Schultz. When I
turned eighteen, I dropped the "The." While I was growing up on a farm in
Nebraska, my stern father didn't allow me to have things like teddy bears;
that was "poppycock!" "When you're older, you can have those things." Well,
now that I'm older, I have them.
I've lived on a half acre of land here on the Oakland estuary for more than a
decade, but the room you're looking at was just finished about a year ago. As
a matter of fact, last New Year's Eve this room had only a dirt floor; weeds
were growing up all around my 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II. The walls, the
paintings, the chandeliers, and the ceiling all were here, but there was no
floor -- just dirt. In fact, on New Year's Eve a friend and I built a big,
roaring bonfire, right in the middle of this room.
The room was constructed with salvaged material from old waterfront
structures. When they'd tear things down, I'd sneak out in the middle of the
night and get the timbers. The trusses in the ceiling came from the Sohio Oil
company. I acquired them when the company finished building portable
structures for the Alaska pipeline. The corrugated roof came from the naval
supply depot. I told the guy I needed a few pieces. He said, "Schultz, for a
fifth of brandy you can have the whole thing." The walls were designed for a
walk-in cooler. All the decor is other people's garbage, stuff I found at
flea markets. There's a painting here of the famous Japanese woodcarver Ito.
He would carve lifelike human heads and then used his subjects' real hair for
the eyebrows.
So, as you can see, my childhood dreams have come true. I've got the teddy
bears, the model airplanes, and the toy cars. But guess what? Having done all
this, I've gone into a new psychological mode. Everything you see here --
everything I've envied -- can now be yours. I'm selling it. I want other
people to experience the happiness I had when I found it. The world is a
hostile place. I'm keeping this room open for others to share.
* * *
Sharpe: That really surprised us. He's got so many incredible objects in
this room over in the Oakland Estuary. Now he's just selling it. The
people we interviewed for the Weird Rooms book were quite interesting,
quite creative and quite open, even though they were quite isolated they
were quite open to sharing their lives and their worlds with other people.
Cosmik: They didn't mind you photographing? Were there people whose rooms
you wanted to include who didn't want to have their stuff photographed?
Sharpe: No. Everybody made these things and they were really proud of them.
These were really creative objects, and to think that someone else would
be interested in them was very exciting. We've given the book to a number
of the people included in it, and they're thrilled that their creation is
getting this exposure. It's really something that they do for themselves
and maybe for their friends. But they just are so attached to it. These
are rooms and things a museum generally wouldn't be interested in. These
people aren't well known, they're not big names or celebrities.
Cosmik: They have all kinds of things. There's an Elvis Room, and there's a
Kennedy Room and there's a Smiley Face Room - all kinds of stuff. What
about the guy from Italy who painted those murals, those are pretty amazing.
Sharpe: Now this is Carlos Marchioni. His work is on the cover of the book.
He is an amazing artist. The cover of the book is a cat looking out at the
reader. This is Carlos' guest room, and what he did was to paint a huge
cat on the wall. It's like you're inside a birdcage and you're looking out.
If you're the guest sleeping in the bed, you're the bird and the huge cat
is staring at you through the chickenwire. Everyone looking at the cover
of the book thinks the chickenwire is real, but Carlos is such an amazing
artist that it's all trompe l'oeil -- the chickenwire and the cat behind
it and the shrubbery. This guy is a creative genius and he lives up in
Calistoga. He does murals for the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. His house
is really amazing.
Cosmik: So the chickenwire isn't real.
Sharpe: No. Did you think the chickenwire was real?
Cosmik: Actually, I did think the chickenwire was real. I think the idea of
staying in a birdcage which is somebody's guestroom would not sit well
with me.
Sharpe: Well that was his idea: if you have a guest room and you only want
guests to stay for 3 days, you make them a little uncomfortable and have
this cat look at them like he's going to eat them.
Cosmik: I'd like to close up playing "Living in Walls;" as long as we're
talking about "Weird Rooms" we should also talk about living in walls.
Sharpe: I want to thank you, Ann. You've actually pulled together, out of
such weird materials - you've actually made a show out of this that has
some continuity. I appreciate it.
Cosmik: And you're surprised about that?
Sharpe: I didn't see some of these connections. Thanks a lot!
* * *
LIVING IN WALLS (Coyle & Sharpe):
Sharpe: Can we have your name please.
Passerby: Rosemary Farnell.
Coyle: Rosemary, as you know, a great number of social observers have made
the claim that currently one of our problems is overpopulation. Have you
heard this claim?
Rosemary: Yes I have.
Coyle: It has been further pointed out that there isn't a sufficient amount
of housing for all of the human beings that we're going to have to house.
Do you think you would go along with a plan that would advocate a more
efficient use of an apartment building in a large city, in terms of allowing
the apartment building to house more people than it generally would.
Rosemary: No.
Coyle: Why is that?
Rosemary: Well apartment buildings now seem to be overcrowded and dangerous
to the people that live in them now.
Sharpe: No this would mean no overcrowding for the people living in the
apartments themselves.
Coyle: This would be a fuller utilization of the building itself. It wouldn't
necessarily be a fuller utilization of the apartments. The idea now, which
sounds at first we could even used the term 'unorthodox,' is to use the
wall areas in the apartments. In other words, let's assume that you were
living in an apartment in one of these experimental buildings, in the walls
adjacent to your apartment would be living other people. Would you feel
comfortable if you knew others were living in the walls of the building
that you lived in?
Rosemary: No.
Sharpe: Why is that, Rosemary?
Rosemary: I'd feel very uncomfortable. It wouldn't be private to ...
Coyle: They wouldn't be in your apartment, you realize.
Rosemary: Yes, I know that, I understand that.
Coyle: Have you ever had the experience of living in an apartment building
and hearing a noise in the wall?
Rosemary: Yes.
Coyle: And what did you think when you heard it?
Rosemary: It's very annoying.
Coyle: Did you think that it might be a person?
Rosemary: Oh yes, yes I know it's persons - uh people.
Coyle: Never rodents?
Rosemary: No.
Coyle: Would you be willing to be one of the first people to approach this
on a pioneering basis? Would you be willing to move into a wall in an
apartment building? Behind the wall of somebody else's apartment?
Rosemary: I couldn't say "yes" and I couldn't say "no" until I knew more
about it.
Sharpe: Oh you would have your complete facilities there, living facilities.
You would have normal quarters set up. Certain areas of the wall would be
designated as your livingroom, your bedroom, your kitchen. You'd just have
to squeeze from one area to another. They wouldn't be the normal width,
but it would be the same sort of room setup.
Rosemary: It's more or less like a trailer. A trailer's long.
Coyle: Do you understand what you would be doing?
Rosemary: Yes!
Coyle: Can you tell us in your own words?
Rosemary: Well I'd be living in smaller quarters...
Sharpe: Where?
Rosemary: confined quarters...
Sharpe: Where?
Rosemary: In walls.
Coyle: Yeah.
Rosemary: No windows.
Coyle: No windows. No.
Rosemary: No windows.
Coyle: No.
Rosemary: No, I could say "no" right now.
Sharpe: What if you actually had your relatives living in the apartment
adjacent to your wall? That would be a very nice situation. In other words
you would just have to come out of, let's say you made a door where the
ventilator normally is, and you could visit with them. In other words your
whole family could live in the confines of probably one normal apartment
house unit. Isn't that true?
Rosemary: Yes it is. I wouldn't want to live that close to them anyway, to
my relatives...
Coyle: Would you prefer that they live in the wall area and you live in the
apartment? Be honest.
Rosemary: Yes, yes.
Coyle: And you would prefer what?
Rosemary: Living in the apartment and they have the wall facilities.
Coyle: In other words you would favor creating a situation where your
relatives would live behind the walls of your apartment.
Rosemary: That's right.
Sharpe: And if people came to visit you and you were living in the apartment,
and suddenly some noise came from behind the wall - you were a little
embarrassed there was this tremendous clunking sound and the guest said to
you "What was that terrible noise?" What would you say?
Rosemary: I'd tell them that my relatives were living behind the walls.
Confined quarters, uncomfortable...
Coyle: With rodents.
Rosemary: With rodents.
Coyle: And would you ask them to step in and visit your relatives?
Rosemary: Well my friends, I think, would understand, and I'd ask them to
step in and visit my relatives.
[CD: Coyle & Sharpe On the Loose 213 CD 1-800-992-1361
Weird Rooms by Mal and Sandra Sharpe and Alexander Vertikoff published by
Pomegranate Artbooks ]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
OUR FAVORITE THINGS: The Staff Picks Their Top Fives
By the Cosmik Debris staff
As the new year approacheth, it's time to take a look back on the great
releases of the past year. The entire staff of Cosmik Debris was invited
to take part, and most did. A few had pressing matters to attend to. The
object was for each writer to choose their five favorite releases of the
year. A simple task, you might think. Of course, you'd be wrong. Since
we all practically live for music, trying to narrow it all down to five
CDs, records or tapes is at first frustrating and eventually simply annoying.
But it can be done, and it was.
The only set-in-stone rule was that selections must have been released between
November 1st 1995, and October 31st 1996. This is because we wanted to have
a full year of material to choose from. You'll notice a bit of anarchy in
this collection. Some of us wrote intros, some wrote outros, some wrote
fairly long descriptions of each selection, and some didn't write ANY
descriptions. We've left each writers text pretty much the way they wrote
it, so there's quite a diversity of style here. Well, if that ain't typical
Cosmik Debris, what is? Here are the results of this little experiment.
* * *
ANN ARBOR:
TRANCE MISSION: Headlight (City of Tribes)
Beth Custer (clarinets, trumpet, chistu, voice, ocarina, bells, sticks),
Stephen Kent (didgeridoos, cello-sintir, ngoma, shakers, bowed cymbal,
click-sticks, log drums, clapping), John Loose (frame drums, tars, bendirs,
dumbeks, kanjira, log drums, tablas, spirit chaser, illimba, shakers, samples
& loops) and Kenneth Newby (suling, p'iri, clapping, log drums, samples and
max objects: solar winds, bamboo gamelan, prepared siter, klunting - clay
pot) are Trance Mission, a global melange of people, instruments and musical
styles. What is intriguing about Trance Mission is its very distinct sound
which stems from the rudiments of various musical traditions: Australian
aboriginal, African drumming and trance, Asian percussion, and others. The
two previous albums "Trance Mission" and "Meanwhile" established Trance
Mission as superb musicians "ethno-techno with heart, soul and brains."
Kent's dijeridoo playing and Loose's multi-continental percussion were the
central forces in the first 2 CDs. "Headlight" like its predecessors, is a
thing of beauty: rich, deep, smoky, penetrating tracks featuring clever
instrumental blendings. It sounds more West African, reminiscent of Les
Gnawa du Maroc. When I interviewed him, Kent said that a major difference in
this CD is that he's playing the cello strapped on and strummed like a guitar
and not as much didgeridoo. Call this the musical equivalent of continental
drift.
SPACETIME CONTINUUM: Emit Ecaps (Astralwerks)
Scottish ex-pat Jonah Sharpe is the mastermind behind Reflective Records and
Spacetime Continuum, a San Francisco electronic outfit. Emit Ecaps
(Spacetime backwards) is the third Spacetime Continuum album, it is less of
the chilly ambient on the first two. It is reminiscent of Black Dog and yet
has its own distinct almost underwater sound with sideward beats, angled
melodies, and intelligent jungle breaks. It's as if you are listening to
this CD through water. 10 tracks of aural watery distortion with brilliant
syncopations throughout. Listen for what sound like watery Asian strings
which subsequently mutate into syncopated forks & knives (Kairo), a
soundtrack to a suspenseful outer space/underwater fantasy (Simm City), funky
underwater organ (Funkyar), Mr. Rogers' underwater xylophones (Swing
Fantasy), upbeat warped syncopations (Vertigo), bells, bees and hollow claps
(Twister). The Continuum extends into new realms.
DOCTOR ROCKIT: The Music of Sound (Clear)
Matthew Herbert a/k/a Doctor Rockit has actually surpassed last year's "Ready
to Rockit." The Music of Sound is a gentle, rollicking, rhythmic romp and
dance playing with many kinds of sound. Especially captivating is "Granny
Delicious"(track 6) in which the key element is someone eating an apple.
Another beauty is Cafe Beograd (track 2) gypsy accordio-technosity. Many
people have made music out of found sound, the fresh, playful, originalness
of Herbert's approach distinguishes him from the others. Sow's ears turned
into silk purses.
UP BUSTLE and OUT: One Color Just Reflects another (NinjaTune)
A wonderful mix of South American scenes and Bristol (U.K.) style Acid
Jazz/Trip Hop. Up, Bustle and Out combines beats, South American ambience
(traffic, street vendors, bicycles) and instruments, saxophone, keyboards,
and occasional vocals. Recorded in Bolivia, Peru, Turkey, The Forest of Dean
and Bristol - Up Bustle and Out have staged the scene, developed the scenario
and challenge the listener to feel the music and feel their experiences
through it. Each track has its own distinct persona - like a collection of
chivalrous tales. This is ethno trip hop with the spirit of Cervantes.
U. UTAH PHILLIPS & ANI DIFRANCO: The Past Didn't Go Anywhere
(Righteous Babe Music)
The inimitable storytelling, ranting and reciting of U. Utah Phillips set to
music by Ani DiFranco. Ani condensed hundreds of hours of taped concerts
over a 20 year time span into 12 tracks and added a superb soundtrack: music
and vocal loops, rhythmic riffs, guitar tweekage, Rev. Jesse Jackson pleading
"please forgive me," train sounds, even General Douglas MacArthur as an intro
to the story about Korea (3).
Who is U. Utah Phillips? He's a folksinger a la Woody Guthrie, or Pete
Seeger - best known for "Moose Turd Pie." He rode the rails with the hobos
and tramps in the 1950s (track 6). He was a political activist working for
Civil Rights in Mississippi in the '60s, and later ran for the Senate from
Utah on the Peace and Freedom ticket. He talks about Anarchy (4)- he's an
"anarchist pacifist," running for president (5) "our best Presidents were the
do nothing ones." Utah's son wonders in less eloquent terms (track 3): "How
is it that you are fundamentally alienated from the entire institutional
structure of society?"
Utah, describes himself in my favorite track (2) as "part proprietor of a new
age bookstore in Nevada City, CA." At 61, he has traded his earlier life for
a new age men's drumming group who "swing from the trees, steal sheep,
caterwaul, and drag their scrotums through the underbrush." Call these
post-industrial campfire stories.
REVERB CENTRAL (KFJC)
My colleague and good friend Phil Dirt dug deep into his archives and emerged
with 16 tracks of live surf band recordings dating from 1966 to 1996. Known
as Reverb Central, this CD was distributed as a fundraiser thank you gift by
KFJC Radio. Dirt is one of the world's authorities on surf music, knows all
the bands on a first name basis, produces live surf concerts several times
each year, but probably more than anything, loves recording live bands.
Reverb Central is a veritable Who's Who of first rate surf bands. Each track
is a beauty. It starts off with the Mermen's "My Black Bag," followed by the
Penetrators' "The Wind Beneath My Kilt." Other favorites include Brazil
2001's "Cactus" which features Bernard Yin whistling, and The Reventlos'
"Planet Reventlo." Call this one: From Dirt with Love.
* * *
CAI CAMPBELL:
Another year come and gone. Time, like music, is a fluid concept,
the flow of which imbues the mind with treasured memories,
bittersweet romances, and tinges of regret. But music is timeless,
and in my eyes, the best music of 1996 was not actually created in
1996.
1. The Beatles - Anthology 2
The entire Anthology series burst wide open the previously hidden
world of The Beatles as they honed their craft on stage and in the
studio. Until now, only the lucky few with access to illegal
recordings had the opportunity to peer into this forbidden world.
This exciting look into the creative process of the finest band in
the world is enough for me to rank this series as the best of 1996,
but the second Anthology stands out, as it deftly illustrates the
progression and maturity of the Beatles as world-class musicians.
2. Nirvana - Nevermind
A mere five years after its initial release, Nevermind is seen as a
true classic. The sonic energy and angst-ridden beauty of this
recording comes to full fruition with Mobile Fidelity's stunning
1996 reissue on their Original Master Recording series of quality
vinyl LP's and gold compact discs. Listening to this exceptional
recording on either of these newly issued formats literally allows
you to experience this powerful music for the very first time.
3. Cream - Fresh Cream
Thirty years after its initial release, the music on this remastered
LP produced by DCC Compact Classics proves the worth of Cream as
innovators and psychedelic pioneers. The music transcends those
labels and does indeed sound very "fresh." DCC have outdone
themselves on this 1996 reissue and the sonic clarity and depth push
the power of this music into territory previously unheard of.
4. Frank Zappa - Civilization Phaze III
The Zappa Universe is far and wide-ranging. It also envelopes
repeating elements which tie the craziness together in some depraved
and invigorating way. The ripples of this cosmic strangeness will
surely be felt for years to come. With this double-disc set, the
concept is brought to bear by combining a bizarre 1966 studio
experiment (where Frank directed people to say strange things into a
piano) with modern day avant-garde Synclavier compositions. The
experiment pays off as both a concept enriching the Zappa Universe
and an awesome display of Frank's seemingly endless wealth of
talent.
5. Dead Can Dance - Spiritchaser
Dead Can Dance have been weaving their spell of intoxicating middle
eastern and American Indian rhythms mixed with English folk
sensibilities for years. The 1996 release of Spiritchaser captures
the team of Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard in top form as they
captivate the listener with their musical spells and carry them to
worlds hitherto unknown.
So there we have it. For me, the best music of 1996 spans
generations, worlds, and consciousness itself. "Turn off your mind,
relax, and float downstream. It is not dying."
* * *
coLeSLAw:
In an industry known for spewing out immeasurable one-hit wonders devoid of
life and true passion for sound, coming up with five releases worthy of being
called "the years best" can be a lot like looking for a needle in a haystack
in a barn on a hay-farming colony on a planet somewhere deep in a solar
system full of hay-farming colonies in the cloudy Horsehead nebula. The album
must be able to stand the test of time; to draw you to it rather than relying
on music industry marketing brainwashers to convince you that you are
enjoying it.
Guess what? Mr. Picky found some (in no particular order)...
SUPER SONIC SOUL PIMPS: Super Sonic Soul Pimps (self-released)
Butt-funky and sporting alien DNA, the Soul Pimps have a knack for ripping
off everyone from Led Zeppelin, Parliament and Edgar Winter Group and
ending up sounding like.....themselves. The self-incriminating humor of songs
like "The Day I Became Cool", "Otto E. Roticize" and "Singles Ad" confirm
that the boys will never take themselves seriously while continuing to sound
like the best musicians alive today.
http:\\www.eskimo.com\~sssp
sssp@eskimo.com
TORTOISE: Millions Now Living Will Never Die (Thrill Jockey Records)
Defying classification of any kind, this five piece flows between ambient
dub, instrumental lounge ballads and rockabilly spy jazz with a seemingly
straight-faced calmness balanced equally with playful noodling. Add to that
the impressive 20+ minute epic "Djed," which serves as the album opener and
contestant for High Duke to the King that is Floyd's "Echoes." One of the
most truly original releases in the last decade.
Thrill Jockey Records PO Box 476794 Chicago, Il. 60647-6794
Tortoise PO Box 477689 Chicago, Il. 60647-7689
ROBERT RICH: A Troubled Resting Place (Fathom Records)
Whether ye be synthesist or not, no one can put out as much sound as Robert
Rich. His rich (no pun intended) tones fill voids within your inner soul
while managing to create brand new ones. Both beautiful and haunting, this
collection of previously released tracks fuses with synergy into a
perfect brain-bending album. With Rich's help, the human race will soon
rediscover its primordial musical roots.
www.fathomusic.com
Robert Rich homepage: www.amoeba.com/rrich/rr.html
HALCYON DAYS: Halcyon Days (Fathom Records)
The magic behind this music equates to visualizing the sonic transformation
of a dead and silent desert into one lush and verdant through means unknown
to mortals. Bringing with them an already impressive history individually,
Steve Roach, Stephen Kent and Kenneth Newby together create sounds as old
and mystical as desert elves, and as powerful as ancient dances of healing.
Prepare to be changed.
www.fathomusic.com
SIXTEEN HORSEPOWER: Sixteen Horsepower (A&M Records)
I have never liked country. I think most country music is poo-doo. So why in
the hell should I like these guys? Because regardless of what style of music
they are playing, they seem to be among the most inspired musicians recording
today. All the themes addressed in the 13 tracks scream 'country,' but with a
poetry lacking from all else and with a dark twisted sense never imagined for
the genre. I've been humbled. Hand me those shit-kickers, let's swing.
A&M Records, Inc. PO Box 118 Hollywood, Ca. 90078
* * *
ROBERT CUMMINGS:
Smile, then brace yourself for these picks. Before you bludgeon me with
sledge-hammered e-mail salvos for overlooking your favorite, dear Cosmik
readers, I kindly remind you that a mere mortal can't hear or purchase
everything new, nor can he compose a list of five (or even twenty-five)
recordings of the year in classical music without egregious omissions. But
let me assure you the five I've listed (with absolutely no prejudice, of
course) are outstanding, and each heads a category of sorts.
PROKOFIEV: The Fiery Angel, op. 37. Galina Gorchakova, Sergei Leiferkus, et.
al.Kirov Chorus and Orchestra, St. Petersburg, conducted by Valery Gergiev.
(PHILIPS 446 078-2)
This weird opera thrillingly rouses the senses under Gergiev's scorching
baton. The singers are first rate in this Prokofiev masterpiece.
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet No. 13 in B Flat Major, Op. 130; Grosse Fuge,
Op. 133. Brandis Quartet (NIMBUS NI 5465)
My chamber selection of the year. A magnificent work in a magnificent
performance!
CHOPIN: Twelve Etudes, Op. 10; Twelve Etudes, Op. 25; Three New Etudes,
Op. Posth. Yukio Yokoyama, Piano. (SONY SK 62605)
Perhaps the most obvious choice. This is pianism of the highest order!
SIBILIUS: Symphony No. 3 in C, Op. 52; The Swan of Tuonela, Op.22, No. 3;
Karelia Suite, Op. 11; Valse triste, Op. 44, No. 1; Finlandia, Op. 26.
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lorin Maazel. (SONY SK 61963)
A sparkling performance of the symphony and unique readings of the shorter
works. Vintage Maazel.
PROKOFIEV: Symphony No. 5 in B Flat, Op. 100; The Year 1941, Op. 90.
National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine conducted by Theodore Kuchar.
(NAXOS 8.553056)
Among budget releases, this has to be one of the bargains of the year.
* * *
SHAUN DALE:
AAARGH! "Best of"!?! Only five!?!
Jeez, I hate doing "Best of"'s, and five picks is almost impossible.
I've heard a lot of great music this year - a quick list of 50 or so
would be more reasonable, but hey, I'm a professional. I can rise to
the challenge. Just don't try this at home, kids...
Herewith, in no particular order:
THE MILES DAVIS QUINTET: Workin' (DCC Jazz)
This has been a stellar year for jazz reissues. If there is one single
reason to love CD's it must be the reissue of so much classic music in the
new format. This could just as easily have been any of the other Miles
Davis Quintet releases I've reviewed this year (including "Relaxin',"
"Cookin'" and "Steamin'." Any band consisting of Miles, Coltrane, Red
Garland, Paul Chambers and "Philly" Joe Jones is going to produce music of
reasonably consistent excellence. This disc gets the nod over the others
because of my partiality to the dominance of blues oriented cuts.
THE OSCAR PETERSON TRIO WITH MILT JACKSON: Very Tall (Verve)
My pick for the "cool jazz" release of the year - this year and most any
year since it was originally issued in 1962. Jackson enhances everything I
love about Oscar Peterson and tones down some of his occasional excesses.
The band absolutely cooks, and the swing arrangement of "John Brown's Body"
belongs on everyone's music shelf.
STORYVILLE: A Piece Of Your Soul (Atlantic/Code Blue)
The Austin, Texas equivalent of a super group, bringing together veterans of
Stevie Ray Vaughn's Double Trouble, the Joe Ely Band, John Mellencamp's band
and more together behind the best new soul voice of the decade in Malford
Milligan. Great original sounds, expert musicianship - totally satisfying.
COCOA TEA: Israel's King (VP):
The one reggae album I've turned to over and over this year. Cocoa Tea's
soulful voice, wonderfully conscious songs and an all star band led by Sly
Dunbar keep pushing this one to the top of my stack.
DOWN BY LAW: All Scratched Up (Epitaph)
Just the best damn punk album I've heard in years. Punk anthems, punk love
songs, punk thrashes to fill your heart with punk joy. Down By Law may be
the only band in the country that could get me to spend a Saturday night in
an all ages club with people younger than my kids. This album provided the
reason to do just that.
(Honorable mentions would include LA rocker Beth Hart, the South African
techno marvels Qkumba Zoo and damn near anything DCC Jazz has put on disc
this year, but I'm outta here before the editor notices I'm cheating...)
* * *
PHIL DIRT:
The Fathoms "Fathomless" (AVI)
Various Artists "Cowabunga the Surf Box" (Rhino)
Brazil 2001 "Fist Full Of Sand" (B2K1)
Jon & the Nightriders "Fiberglass Rocket"
GT Stringer "Gasser" (Tremolo 10)
Brightest new hopes for '97
The California SurfKings (Tom Stanton)
The Berzerkers
The Ten Penny Heroes
Vibrasonic
The Cadillac Angels
* * *
KEITH GILLARD:
I spend my days making music, writing songs, producing other people's
material, mixing, remixing, programming, arranging... you name it. This
has had the unfortunate side effect of making me extremely picky about
music. I hate 90% of everything that's released in every genre. But the
few percent that I like - well, I'm passionate about them! Here are five
that stood above the rest:
1) PET SHOP BOYS: Bilingual (London / Atlantic)
I fully expected to love this album, and the Pet Shop Boys did not
disappoint. The Latin and Scottish percussion which pervade half the
album always get my feet tapping, and I have always been partial to
showtune-style songwriting. Of particular note is the ballad, "It always
comes as a surprise", with its fantastic melody, chord structure, and
subtle sampling of Astrud Gilberto.
2) VARIOUS ARTISTS: Red Hot + Rio (???)
Speaking of Astrud Gilberto, she appeared on this brilliant tribute to
Antonio Carlos Jobim, an AIDS benefit disc in the ongoing Red Hot series.
All styles, from Brazilian traditional and jazz ballad, to breakbeat and
dub are represented here, with contributions from such people as Everything
But The Girl, Sting, Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne, George Michael, and
Tom Jobim himself. I can't get enough of this incredible disc.
3) ELECTRONIC: Raise the Pressure (London)
What do you get when you make a group out of members of New Order, the
Smiths, and Kraftwerk? Brilliant synth-pop with fantastic guitar hooks,
strong structured melodies and fantastic sounds. It sounds more like a
New Order record than previous Electronic material, but has that wonderful
Johnny Marr bittersweet guitar edge.
4) 808 STATE: Don Solaris (ZZT)
With four years between albums, 808 State had built up expectations way
past the point of reason. But somehow they managed to produce an album
which surpassed all expectations, projecting their style further into the
future. Elements of jazz, world beat, and pop merge with techno elements
of every genre (house, acid, drum'n'bass, trance, hardcore, you name it),
combining for a transcendent musical experience.
5) MOMUS: Slender Sherbet (Cherry Red)
Slender Sherbet re-visits some of Momus' best material from the 1980's,
treating them surprisingly tenderly. If you want to hear some brilliant
songwriting about off-centre subject matter, Slender Sherbet should be at
the top of your shopping list. Momus has actually released another album
in 1996, but it falls outside of the dates for this "best-of".
In addition to my top 5, I'd like to tip my hat to 1996 in general for a
couple of musical breakthroughs: 1) The return of lounge and exotica as
acceptable musical forms. 2) Synthesizer doesn't seem to be a dirty word
any more.
* * *
DJ JOHNSON:
Due to my reviewing schedule, I usually stop listening to an album as soon
as I've reviewed it -- even very very good albums! Have to. Not enough
time, too many more to review. So any album that I'm still listening to
on a regular basis long after I've reviewed it has to be better than very
very good. Here, in no particular order, are the five that I can't get
enough of.
TEISCO DEL REY: Music For Lovers (Upstart)
I received this CD of fantastic instrumentals in December of '95, a month
before its official release, and I'm still playing it quite often a year later.
Flawless musicianship, great guest performances, and savvy song selection make
this an unforgettable album. Teisco is one of the most talented guitarists
I've ever heard, and this album manages to showcase all of that talent.
THE DESCENDENTS: Everything Sucks (Epitaph)
One of the greatest melodic punk bands around, The Descendents turned in
this collection of highly personal songs only a few months ago, but it's
so good that I'm sure it'll survive the test of time and remain a fave
forever. I was able to relate to nearly every song -- something I don't
think I can say about any other album. Power + intelligence + hooks = classic.
CULTURE: One Stone (Ras)
Easily the most exquisite reggae album of the year. Joseph Hill continues
to observe and report the injustice and hardship in Jamaica with the
sensitivity and wisdom of a true sage. If you're still unclear as to what
"conscious" means in reggae music, here is your textbook.
THE BASEMENT BRATS: The Bratbeat (That's Entertainment)
Those of you who have been reading my reviews for the past few years won't
be surprised to see this one in here. Simply put, my favorite rock and roll
band in the world. Why? Are they better than anyone else? Naw, not in a
technical sense... but there's an energy and spirit factor that's way off
the gauge. This release isn't quite as hot as Curse Of The Brats, but that
one didn't get released until this month, so it wasn't in the running. It's
a personal thing, I admit, but I'd put the Brats' weakest recording on this
list above anyone elses strongest.
JAC ZINDER: Chairs I Have Known (Catasonic)
This is the CD that brought me back around to exotica, and while I like a
lot of what's been rereleased from that era, I still prefer the off-center
sounds of the late Jac Zinder. He recorded this stuff when it was totally
socially unacceptable (in the 80's and 90's) and he never achieved true
fame, but after his death in a car accident, his friends gathered his
homemade tapes and made this dream come true.
I'd list some honorable mentions, but it would be too tempting to just keep
writing! There was some great music this year, that's for sure.
* * *
STEVE MARSHALL:
PATTI SMITH: Gone Again (Arista)
Smith's latest CD, Gone Again, is a vital and compelling new collection of
songs from one of rock's most important artists, and her first in eight
years. The title track--which was also the last song written with her late
husband, Fred "Sonic" Smith--is a forceful rocker and one of the many
highlights on the disc. "About a Boy" (dedicated to Kurt Cobain) and Smith's
cover of Dylan's "Wicked Messenger" are excellent as well.
DADA: El Subliminoso (I.R.S.)
The first time I heard this CD, I thought it was great. When you listen to
El Subliminoso, you'll hear influences from a host of artists--sometimes
several within a single cut. They rock out, they play acoustic tracks, they
harmonize well together, and all three band members are excellent musicians.
This California trio is truly at their peak right now. The more you hear
this CD, the better it gets.
ERIC JOHNSON: Venus Isle (Capitol)
Venus Isle contains eleven new songs in a wide variety of musical styles.
It had been six years since his last release, but it was well worth the
wait. Johnson's multi-textured guitar work on the CD is stunning. While his
playing can seem a bit self-indulgent at times, Venus Isle is a brilliant
new album that you don't want to miss.
LOVE IN REVERSE: I Was Here (Reprise)
Love in Reverse gets my personal vote for Best New Artist of 1996. I Was
Here is a unique combination of acoustic songs, guitar rock, atmospheric
electronics, industrial grunge and dark, brooding lyrical imagery. The songs
on the CD are filled with great hooks, yet unexpected turns abound. This
band may still be relatively unknown, but their superior songwriting and
musicianship make them a band to watch in the future.
PHISH: Billy Breathes (Elektra)
Phish's latest studio effort is their most cohesive and focused album to
date. For a band known for its long improvisational jams in concert, this
CD is over much too quickly. By the time you get to the end, all you want
to do is hit the play button again. The tunes on Billy Breathes cover a lot
of musical ground, yet manage to retain a keen sense of musical accessibility.
Forget all the comparisons, this is a band that has clearly come into its
own.
* * *
PAUL REMINGTONK
MERIDIAN ARTS ENSEMBLE: Five (Channel Classics Records CCS 9496)
A magnificent collection of compositions by five modern composers: Ira
Taxin, Stephen Barber, Jan Radzynski, David Sampson, and Peter Robles. The
Meridian Arts Ensemble's performance is prodigious, and the works are
timeless. The liner notes provide detailed information about each composer,
and a historical background of each work. Adventurous and imperative - if
you're a lover of compositions for brass quintet, "Five" scores a 10!
FRANK ZAPPA: The Lost Episodes (Ryko RCD 40573)
One of Zappa's last projects before his death in 1993, The Lost Episodes
contains quintessential works spanning his entire career. The disk walks us
through his personal music history through unreleased tracks, orchestral
interludes, the Synclavier, and even a visit by the police to Zappa's studio.
All tracks segue in the natural and unique style Zappa perfected. These lost
episodes certainly have been found, and are an essential purchase for the
Zappa fan and the Zappa neophyte.
LYLE WORKMAN: Purple Passages (Immune Records 1006)
Former Rundgren guitarist Lyle Workman released this solo work in a near-solo
fashion. Workman takes complete command of his compositional skills by
producing eight stunning pieces firmly forged in a high level of musicianship.
Workman's guitar playing explores all areas: complex chordal and harmonic
playing, beautiful and sensitive melodies, and cutting solos. Purple Passages
is an exquisite release for any fan of solid and mature rock guitar.
GIOCHINO ROSSINI: La Cenerentola (The Cinderella)
(Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Conductor: Riccardo Chailly
London Records: CD: London 436 902-2 - Video: London 440 071 544-3)
Rossini's comic opera comes to life in this release featured on both CD and
Video. Mezzo sopranist Cecilia Bartoli is joined by a superb supporting cast
that includes Enzo Dara, William Mautteuzzi, Alessandro Corbelli, and Michele
Pertusi. Bartoli's interpretation and performance is unparalleled, and her
vocal abilities scale Rossini's most difficult passages with astounding
accuracy and controlled relaxation. As young as Bartoli is, she has established
herself as one of the great mezzo sopranists of our time. On audio or video,
this production of La Cenerentola is the best of 1996.
GUSTAV MAHLER: Symphony #10 - Harold Farberman conducts the Philharmonia
Hungarica (Golden String Records GSCD024A)
Gustav Mahler died before completing the score of his 10th symphony. With
orchestration complete for almost half the work, the door was open for others
to take a stab at completing Mahler's symphony. In April of 1983, composer
Clinton Carpenter's version of Mahler's 10th was premiered, but remained
unreleased. Golden String has released the premier of Carpenter's version
of Mahler's 10th with a performance that is excellent, the sound is very
good, and the historical value of this disk makes it a must buy for any
collector of Gustav Mahler's music.
* * *
JOHN SEKERKA:
CRACKER: The Golden Age (Virgin)
Cracker shun recent back to basics trends and dish out an over the top mega
rock opus. From the opening screech of the anti anthem 'I Hate My Generation,'
to the gin soaked drawl of 'Big Dipper,' Cracker give us a greatest hits
package that pinballs all over the place yet never fails to keep my attention.
The addition of House of Freaks skin-pounder Johnny Hott completes the
jigsaw puzzle we all knew could be this good.
JONNY POLONSKY: Hi My Name Is Jonny
Jonny Polonski is this year's can't miss whiz kid. He's brash, he's young and
he just might be the real thing. Ten solid pop tracks clocking in at under
half an hour: Jonny doesn't like to waste time. He's all business, doling
out hooks like he's the fishin' magician: each different from the last to
keep ya biting. This DIY boy sure can play, and he's an engaging singer as
well. He might be unstoppable. Be the first on yer block to own Jonny's
record - and you can brag about it later at the old folks home.
BLACK BOOT TRIO: Blood (Hassan's Rumpuss Room - po box 147 st. B,
ottawa, ontario, canada, K1K 6C3, [sfai@ccs.carleton.ca])
As true Canadians know, blood comes with sweat and tears. Black Boot Trio
offer nine blood/sweat/tear/gin (take yer pick) soaked gems of the devilishly
blue cow punk variety. If'n ya like yer geetar big 'n' beefy, yer drums plain
'n' simple, and a snarl in the vocal, then take an illicit weekend with this
record. Nick Cave meets Johnny Cash, Steven Fai calms his delivery from past
efforts, but ya can hear the blood boiling in his veins as the lyrics ooze
out 'tween his clenched teeth. And the best part 'bout the Trio is the dark
stories. I leave these to you.
BUTTHOLE SURFERS: Electriclarryland (Capitol)
The new Southern fried rock, whether those cruising in Dukes of Hazard cars
with Lynyrd Skynyrd bumper stickers know it or not. BS continue to mutate
into something resembling a pop band. Y'know: chorus, verse, chorus, the
odd unlistenable guitar bash and a lovely French amour spoken mood piece
(the utterly irresistible 'Let's Talk About Cars'). The now familiar power
drill guitars and megaphone vocals still manage to tickle my fancy after
all these burnt-out brain cells. The masters of the big riff off, the
Surfers maul The Nails ('88 Lines About 44 Women') and Jim Carrol ('People
Who Died') in the massive commercial hit 'Pepper.' Stare intently at the
back cover graphic of a three-eyed velvet poodle during 'Jingle of a Dog's
Collar'; a scrumptious hooky masterpiece that would make The Zombies puce
with envy. Yet in true BS form, ya can't leave this puppy on for the
duration or a coupla tracks'll drive ya to kill. Raise the Confederate flag
and ROCK-mighty-ON!
NICK CAVE: Murder Ballads (Reprise)
Ol' Nicky boy spirals deeper into the recesses of what's left of his charred
little heart. True to the title, Cave delivers ten gruesome ditties in his
unmistakable perverse charm. Like a coy Satan seating you at the table of
hell, Cave offers a pleasant smile, yet his eyes give him away as he romps
through this reservoir dog. This is his sinister urge; one he's bent on
dissecting like a meticulous autopsy. No one has a better way with words
from the gutter and few can hold a musical match to his work.
others worth mentioning, that on another day, I might have slipped into the
top five:
Chris Knox: Songs Of You and Me (Caroline)
Joe Henry: Trampoline (Mammoth)
Reverend Horton Heat: It's Martini Time (Interscope)
Richard Buckler: Bloomed (DejaDisc)
Dub Narcotic Sound System: Boot Party (K)
Nil Lara: s/t (Metro Blue)
Ben Harper: Fight For Your Mind (Virgin)
16 Horsepower: Sackcloth 'n' Ashes (A&M)
Cassandra Wilson: New Moon Daughter (Blue Note)
Squirrel Nut Zippers: Hot (Mammoth)
* * *
That wraps it up. We'll see y'all in '97!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE 2nd ANNUAL COSMIK GUIDE TO CHRISTMAS CDs
By Steve Marshall
Well, the midst of the holiday season is upon us once again. Time to pull
out the Christmas music. Before long, you're dreading the thought of having
to hear those songs over and over again, right? Don't worry, there are a lot
of excellent new titles available this year in a wide range of musical
styles: rock, blues, jazz, pop, and lounge, just to name a few. I'll tell
you about the best of this year's new releases in each of those categories
and a whole lot more in the 2nd Annual Cosmik Guide to Holiday Music.
First up is O Come All Ye Faithful (Columbia), the new Rock For Choice benefit
CD. With artists ranging from Henry Rollins to Deep Forest and Wes Modiko, the
lineup is interesting, to say the least. Sponge does a good REM impression
on "Christmas Day" and Bush gives us a great new live track entitled "Good
King Somethingorother," interpolating "Hey Joe" with new lyrics - 'hey
Santa, where you going with those presents in your hand.' In an unusual move
for them, Luscious Jackson's track, "Queen of Bliss" sounds almost ambient.
Another excellent new collection is New Wave Christmas (Rhino). It's the
seasonal companion to the label's massive 15-CD series of 'new wave' hits,
Just Can't Get Enough. Some of the best tracks here include the Bowie &
Bing classic "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy," and a personal favorite of
mine, Wall of Voodoo's excellent "Shouldn't Have Given Him a Gun for
Christmas." There are a few rare indie singles here too. Be sure to check
out "Xmas at K-Mart" by Root Boy Slim and the Sex Change Band.
One of the more disappointing holiday releases this year is Just Say Noel
(Geffen). This CD also boasts an all-star lineup of current 'alternative'
artists (Beck, Sonic Youth, Aimee Mann with Michael Penn, and several
others), but most of the songs just don't cut it. The only thing that doesn't
fall flat is the Southern Culture on the Skids cover of "Merry Christmas
Baby." There are a few original cuts on Just Say Noel, but nothing you'll
want to hear more than once.
If your musical tastes lean more toward soul or R&B, pick up a copy of The
Original Soul Christmas (Rhino). Clarence Carter's classic "Back Door Santa"
gets things off to a great start, and the three cuts from the Booker T & the
MG's Christmas album are good as well. The highlight on Soul Christmas is
King Curtis' version of "The Christmas Song," featuring the late Duane
Allman on guitar. To date, this remains one of the classiest Christmas
performances around.
For those who like a bit of the blues mixed in with their holiday music,
there are some excellent titles available. Bullseye Blues Christmas (Bullseye
Blues) is a great contemporary blues collection. Little Jimmy King's "Happy
Christmas Tears" features some superb guitar work. Accompanied only by
himself on the Hammond B3, Charles Brown contributes a new medley of his
holiday standards, "Merry Christmas Baby" and "Please Come Home for Christmas."
Be sure to check out my personal favorite on the disc, "Five Pound Box of
Money" by Michelle 'Evil Gal' Willson.
If a traditional blues sound is more your style, look no farther than Blue
Yule (Rhino). This superb 18-track collection contains songs by the likes of
Sonny Boy Williamson, Lightnin' Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, and many others.
Blue Yule contains several rare singles and B-sides, such as The Insight's
1965 version of "Please Come Home for Christmas" (featuring 'newcomers'
Johnny and Edgar Winter) and Jimmy McCracklin's "Christmas Time - Part One."
Other highlights include Eddie C. Campbell's "Santa's Messin' With the Kid"
and the instrumental "Jingle Bell Boogie" by guitarist Big Jack Johnson.
Verve's new CD, Jazz for Joy, is an excellent new disc for the jazz purists
on your list. This collection of 13 new recordings features an impressive
lineup of musicians -- both veterans and relative newcomers alike. About half
the tracks are instrumentals. Shirley Horn turns in a masterful performance
on "The Christmas Song" and Abbey Lincoln is delightful on "Christmas Cheer."
Betty Carter contributes a fabulous rendition of the yuletide standard, "Let
It Snow." All three vocalists are backed up by the 'Verve All Stars.'
If you're looking for something with a more contemporary jazz sound, one of
the best holiday CDs released this year is Boney's Funky Christmas (Warner
Brothers) from Boney James. For those who may not know the tenor saxophonist's
musical styles, James plays a soothing blend of pop, jazz, soul, and R&B.
Most of the tracks here are instrumental. This CD dips into the adult
contemporary motif, but it won't put you to sleep. It's the perfect disc for
those mornings during the holiday season when you want to hear some music
but don't necessarily want it blasting in your ear.
Motown's jazz subsidiary, MoJazz, released A MoJazz Christmas Vol. 2 this
year. This one's a mixed bag. Trumpeter Pharez Whitted turns in a funky
version of "Winter Wonderland." Daryle Chinn's "Give Love on Christmas Day"
is hopelessly MOR, and the Carol Riddick track will have you scrambling to
find the No-Doz. The best tracks on this CD are Ronee Martin's updated take
on the Eartha Kitt classic "Santa Baby" and guitarist Norman Brown's cool
version of "Charlie Brown Christmas." Brown plays all the instruments on
the track. There's a medley of three carols by the 'MoJazz All Stars' rounding
out the CD, but the track is basically a throwaway.
"Jazz to the World" (Blue Note) contains 16 songs by the likes of Fourplay,
Cassandra Wilson, Holly Cole, Chick Corea and a host of others. The CD starts
off with the first of two renditions of "Winter Wonderland." Herb Alpert and
Jeff Lorber contribute a cool, funk version of the song. Later in the CD, Dave
Koz serves up a surprisingly good version as well. Cassandra Wilson's version
of "The Little Drummer Boy" is a prime example of the interesting new
arrangements by the artists on this CD.
World Christmas (Metro Blue) includes 13 tracks by an assortment of renowned
jazz/world music artists such as Gipsy Kings, Deep Forest, and Papa Wemba.
The CD doesn't hold up as well as Jazz to the World, but there are still a
few tracks worth checking out. John Scofield & the Wild Magnolias turn in a
rendition of the traditional "Go Tell it on the Mountain" unlike any you've
heard before. Mino Cinelu and Dianne Reeves' sparse arrangement of "The
Twelve Days of Christmas" is interesting, too. Proceeds of World Christmas
and Jazz to the World benefit the Special Olympics.
What if new age is more your style? Windham Hill has some new holiday titles out
this year. The Carols of Christmas is a fine collection of interesting and
enjoyable new performances by George Winston, Will Ackerman, Liz Story, Michael
Hedges and a host of others. Another excellent disc to check out is Kiho'alu
Christmas, a collection of mostly instrumental traditional and Hawaiian seasonal
classics performed on slack key guitar. Slack key playing is best described as
the combination of a variety of tunings and the traditional Hawaiian style of
finger-picking on the acoustic guitar. If you like acoustic music, you'll enjoy
both of these discs.
There are several new holiday CDs in the pop genre this year. The best is the
new one from Vanessa Williams, Star Bright (Mercury). Williams' voice suits
these classic carols perfectly. I've never been a big fan of Williams in the
past, but she does a superb job with the twelve tracks included here. Her
tasteful, gospel-tinged arrangements leave plenty of room for the lush,
jazzy instrumentation, yet still allow her vocals to shine through. On "I
Wonder as I Wander," the vocal similarities to Barbra Streisand are uncanny.
Even if you're not a fan, this one is highly recommended.
Virgin released an excellent pop holiday disc this year too, entitled The Best
Christmas Ever. This CD features 17 mostly traditional songs by artists like
Dean Martin, Harry Belafonte, Doris Day, Nat King Cole, and Lena Horne. The
liner notes are a bit skimpy, but the songs sound great - especially when
you consider the age of some of them. The Best Christmas Ever also has a few
non-traditional tracks to keep things interesting, like Louis Armstrong's
"Baby, It's Cold Outside" and B.B. King's "Christmas Celebration."
Guitarist/crooner John Pizzarelli released his first holiday CD this year
entitled Let's Share Christmas (RCA). Aside from his instrumental version
of "Sleigh Ride" (which features some nice guitar work), the rest of the CD
is nothing more than a cure for insomnia. Also new this year from RCA is a
compilation of easy listening chestnuts called RCA Christmas Dinner with
tracks by the likes of Guy Lombardo, Jose Feliciano, Chet Atkins and Henry
Mancini. This is a great disc to play when the grandparents come over, and
it comes complete with holiday recipes.
One of the best holiday CDs available this year is also one of the shortest.
Billboard's Family Christmas Classics (Kid Rhino) has all the songs from
movies and television that you remember from your childhood. Who can forget
Jimmy Durante's version of "Frosty the Snowman?" Or Burl Ives' classic "Holly
Jolly Christmas?" Not to mention "Christmas Time is Here" from A Charlie Brown
Christmas. In case the songs themselves aren't enough, the liner notes are
excellent, too. You get full details on every track. Family Christmas Classics
is the perfect holiday CD for the kid in all of us.
There are some good holiday compilations for the country fans out there, too.
Billboard's Country Christmas Hits (Rhino) features 10 tracks from the more
traditional country artists, like Buck Owens, Ernest Tubb and Tex Ritter. Tubb's
classic rendition of "Blue Christmas" is included here, along with Johnny Cash's
version of "The Little Drummer Boy." (Reviewer's note: Almost 40 years after he
recorded that song, 'the man in black' is covering Soundgarden and Beck songs on
his new CD, Unchained.) Country Christmas (also on Rhino) has a better mix of
old and new artists than the Billboard CD, but two of the songs are duplicated
between the discs.
One musical style that's recently been making a strong comeback is Lounge. A
lot of it is cheesy, but there's plenty that's good too. Capitol's new Ultra
Lounge series hit the streets in 1996 to rave reviews, and they've just
released a great new holiday collection entitled Christmas Cocktails. Grab
your smoking jacket, mix up a batch of martinis, and sit back as Christmas
Cocktails serves up 18 of your favorite holiday tunes, lounge-style. You
haven't heard The Nutcracker Suite until you've heard it performed by Les
Brown and His Band of Renown. This disc also includes three very cool bonus
tracks. The first is from The Continental. Some of you may remember a
recurring skit on Saturday Night Live by the same name. This is the original.
The second is a mix of three commercials for the Marine Reserve and Toys For
Tots with cameos by Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole and Nancy Wilson. The last is
an old holiday promo for Capitol by Johnny Mercer that was sent to record
stores and distributors.
Another excellent new lounge title is Arthur Lyman's In a Christmas Vibe
(Rykodisc). Out of print for years, the disc puts a tropical twist on all
the old holiday favorites with spectacular results. "Rudolph the Red Nosed
Reindeer" and "Winter Wonderland" are both very cool, as is the interesting
arrangement of "We Three Kings." With his trademark use of exotic
instrumentation, Lyman serves up an aural mai-tai sure to evoke images of
surfing Santas and ornament-strewn palm trees. There are two unlisted bonus
tracks on this CD too: one at the beginning of the disc and a version of
Auld Lang Syne (complete with fireworks and crowd noise) at the end.
When it comes to holiday lounge music, this year's best is Juan Garcia
Esquivel's excellent Merry Xmas From the Space-Age Bachelor Pad (Bar None).
Esquivel is widely known as the master of lounge music, and this CD is the
perfect example of why. It's hard to explain his musical style to someone
who has never heard it before, but suffice it to say that if you're only
going to buy one holiday CD this year, this is the one to get. You can't
help being in a good mood when you listen to it. Don't pass this one up.
There aren't really a whole lot of blatantly awful Christmas CDs out there,
but one of the worst is Christmas in the Stars (Rhino). Originally recorded
in 1980, this was to be the first in a series of Star Wars Christmas albums.
Fortunately, that idea fizzled out quickly. Star Wars collectors have been
searching for vinyl copies of this since it made its race to the cutout bins.
The big selling point now is that it features lead vocals by then 18-year-old
John Bongiovi (before he forgot how to spell his name). If that's not enough
to dissuade you from buying this, think about the inane beeping of R2D2 on
every track. Frisbee anyone?
As anyone who has already perused the Christmas section in your local record
store can tell you, there's an enormous amount of holiday music out there.
I've only skimmed the surface. If you want to find out about other titles
deserving of your hard-earned cash, click here. You'll be whisked away to
last year's buyer's guide where you can read about several other titles in
an assortment of musical genres -- none of which are mentioned in this year's
guide. Classical, punk, comedy, and hard to find collectors' items are all
included, plus more pop, rock and jazz titles too.
Happy Holidays to all and Feliz Navidad, baby!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
TAPE HISS
By John Sekerka
[The following interviews are transcribed from John Sekerka's radio show,
Tape Hiss, which runs on CHUO FM in Ottawa, Canada. Each month, Cosmik
Debris will present a pair of Tape Hiss interviews. This month, we're proud
to present interviews with Rasputina and Skip Heller.]
* * *
RASPUTINA
Rasputina is three ladies with cellos. One American, one Canadian, and one
Polish, they wear form fitting corsets when performing, and they've just
released a delicious debut album on Columbia called Thanks for the Ether
which is like nothing you've ever heard before. Group founder Melora talks
about music, underwear, fairies, sex education, playing with Nirvana and
American history.
John: Rasputina really fuels the imagination. What does the name mean?
Melora: It's just a feminization of Rasputin, who was very extreme and wacky.
It's absurd to feminize it since in those times it was impossible for a
woman to accomplish all the evil things that he did.
John: Are you a history buff?
Melora: Yes I read a lot. The dryer the better. It's usually my lyrical
inspiration. My parents have the Time-Life Old West series and I always read
one when I'm home. Fiction doesn't always appeal to me. With history, I can
fill in the personal and emotional side of the facts.
John: Did you spend a lot of time with encyclopedias as a kid?
Melora: Yes, I set myself a task: you must read the entire set, you must
read the dictionary. I failed, but I tried.
John: More specifically, what is 'My Little Shirtwaist Fire?' [a song on
the new record]
Melora: That was in Soho, New York City, back when young girls were locked
in rooms making clothes for slave wages. There was a fire and they all
perished and it changed a lot of labour laws. To me it's an analogy to
womens' little problems of today.
John: Your bio states that on 'Mr. E. Leon Rauis' an Edison cylinder
phonograph* [a precursor to flat vinyl records] was brought into the studio.
I didn't know these things still existed.
Melora: Thomas Edison's factories and labs were located in New Jersey, so
there's a lot of people out there who take care of his stuff. A man with
one of these recording machines happened to be in the studio when we were
working, to get his cylinders recorded since they do deteriorate. He was
kind enough to let us work with it.
John: From what I understand the cylinders had better sound quality than the
flat discs, but they never caught on. It was like Beta vs. VHS - a
marketing thing.
Melora: Yeah, Edison had other episodes like this. He put a lot of his money
into talking dolls that used these waxed cylinders. But the sound was
unintelligible, the dolls didn't sell and it was a flop. Though years later
talking dolls became the norm.
John: In your facts and figures it states that your waist is 21" and your
brain is 66". Don't you fall over, Melora?
Melora: My closest friend is a hat designer and I've found that everybody
thinks they have a big head. It's a common belief. Those measurements are
sadly inaccurate though.
John: Getting back to the 21", is it true that all members of Rasputina favour
these waist constricting devices of a by-gone era?
Melora: Yes, at this point it's like a uniform. It's costume to us. We have a
large collection of undergarments through the ages and that's what we wear
when performing. It's very binding and constricting and we like to highlight
our uptightness.
John: Your music's not really retro, but your look is way retro. Aren't you
afraid that too much attention will be paid to the look and not enough to
the music?
Melora: Anybody commenting on our look makes me a little uncomfortable. I
know we're doing this, but we've done it for so long that it's a 'putting
on a waitress uniform' feeling. Any aspects of sexuality shocks us. We
feel we are very prim about what we're doing. If they hear the word
underwear, people go crazy.
John: Three cellos is an odd combination for a rock and roll band. How did
that all come about?
Melora: We were all trained classically since we were kids, and we've all
played in rock bands where the cello is but a decoration. There's an
emotional and personal response people have to the cello. It's what we know
and what we love.
John: Are all the members in Rasputina nannies?
Melora: We all attended the same nanny school, but we only met through
newspaper ads much later on. In putting the group together I thought if I
can get someone trained on cello who wanted to do different music, then we
might have similar backgrounds, which turned out to be quite true.
John: Perusing your website, there's a bit under 'The Ladies Cello Society'
which states: 'possess a background which includes ballet, needlework and a
limited number of suitable sports: fencing, ice skating and cage ball.' Now
Melora, where exactly are you from?
Melora: Kansas.
John: Ice skating ... does Kansas have ice ponds?
Melora: Uh, I have to admit that this is a fantasy list of sports I wish I had
been more involved in. I fenced for a while and that I loved very much.
John: What is cage ball?
Melora: That's something I did in elementary school. It's a game played with
an enormous ball. I was small but it seemed to be at least six feet wide.
There's a very vague game of trying to get it past a line, but basically
it's small children screaming with a huge ball flying around the
gymnasium.
John: Is it true that you were conceived without, uh, conception? Were you
an immaculate conception or a test tube baby?
Melora: That is true. We like to mix fact and fiction, but that is a true
story. I don't know if my mother would appreciate me telling the graphic
details but ... it's a long story ... there was no penetration, she was
impregnated, my father would not believe that I was his child and I was
given up for adoption. He returned later to retrieve me but I had
already gone.
John: Wow! My head's spinning here, Melora. I've seen films in health class,
how can that happen without penetration?
Melora: They tell young girls in health class that if someone were to
ejaculate on your leg it's possible for this to happen. No one believes it,
but my biological mother is here to say, 'yes girls, it can happen.'
John: The horror stories are true! Watch out for toilet seats! Um, let's talk
more about the music. I can't believe finding Melanie's 'Brand New Key' on
your record.
Melora: I didn't think you were old enough to remember it.
John: Thank you. I know it dates me. Most listeners probably think it's a new
song.
Melora: I'm thirty and people younger than me don't know it. I think it was
number one in 1971.
John: I first heard it on the Sonny and Cher television show. It was a
cartoon and Cher did the vocal. I loved that song.
Melora: I heard it so much when I was five that it's in my head. The lyrics
are actually kind of aggressive and paranoid, but it's a chirpy happy
melody, and that contrast appealed to me.
John: Melora, please don't roll your eyes, but I have to inquire: I'd like
some Nirvana dirt from the last tour.
Melora: Awwww, what can I say? They were wonderful people. It was so sad what
happened. And from that experience I have strong feelings about coddling
that money can buy you. If that element wasn't there I don't think things
would go so badly for some people.
John: What was it like being on stage, playing to huge audiences who were
just going crazy?
Melora: The music was really incredible and to be on stage at that volume
level - there's just nothing like that. It's like an airplane taking off
through our power. The stadiums were so big that I felt like a tiny speck
walking onto a huge expanse.
John: It almost sounds like a dream. Do you ever pinch yourself and say,
'hey I was on the Nirvana tour?'
Melora: Yeah, because it was so short and it ended so tragically.
John: One last question: do you believe in fairies?
Melora: I love fairies. There was a British fairy scandal in the twenties.
Two little girls took some photographs of small fairies on their fingers.
Eventually, when they were about eighty, they felt guilty enough to admit
the truth: that they constructed them with cardboard and pieces of wire.
..tape hiss
[* the Edison cylinder recording technique can also be heard on the latest
They Might Be Giants record, and is probably going to be the latest rock and
roll fad - following the theramin]
* * *
SKIP HELLER
A man for all musical seasons, Skip Heller is a guitarist, a historian, and
a writer. He also spent some time with lounge master Les Baxter, prior to
Baxter's death on January 22nd. Baxter introduced the world to space age
bachelor pad music back in 1950 with Music Out of the Moon, which featured
the eerie sounds of the theremin. He discovered Peruvian vocalist Yma Sumac,
producing her first album. Baxter also started the percussion craze with his
Skins! Bongo Party with Les Baxter record. Working with Mel Torme (singing),
Bob Hope (arranging), Abbott and Costello (musical direction), Miton Berle
(writing), Frank Sinatra (conducting), Roger Corman (soundtracks), and Eddie
Cochran (acting), Les Baxter was truly a man for all entertainment seasons.
Here's the scoop.
JOHN: Besides writing the liner notes, what connection do you have with Les
Baxter's Lost Episode (Dionysus Records)?
SKIP: I found it in Les' linen closet. I used to stay about a week at a time
at his house in Palm Springs. I was actually hanging up some shirts cuz
there wasn't much closet space in the spare room and I found this big
reel of tape. Les said it would make a nice record, so we chopped it down
to about twenty minutes of music.
JOHN: Was this an actual television show?
SKIP: Yes, it was a television special called 'Music of the Sixties' which
aired locally on KTTV here in Los Angeles. Now KTTV is the best place to
watch Cal Worthington's used car commercials. He used to buy four hour
blocks and show "Cal's Corral" which was country music television filled
with used car commercials.
JOHN: You seem to be a man for all seasons, for all things. When asked what
you do, how do you respond?
SKIP: That if I didn't do any one of these things, I would starve. I don't
know how to put this without sounding like I'm tooting my own horn, but
there's very little that I don't have some acquaintance with in the
wonderful world of music. I don't say no to any kind of work, and what
I don't know how to do, I ask somebody.
JOHN: When we spoke earlier you said that you were frantically trying to
learn legendary vocalist Yma Sumac's music.
SKIP: That's right, I'm playing guitar on Yma's upcoming live gig. I always
dreamed about playing in the Blasters or NRBQ, and here I am playing with
Yma Sumac.
JOHN: How old is Yma now?
SKIP: She's in her early seventies. She's really sweet. She always refers to
herself in the third person: 'Yma Sumac wants a drink of water'. She has
these great hand gestures that are right up there with Bela Lugosi.
JOHN: How many octaves can she hit these days?
SKIP: She can hit four and a half on a regular night; five and a half on a
good night. She's still in pretty good shape.
JOHN: Is there more interest in her since this lounge revival has taken off?
SKIP: I've noticed that every few years there's a resurgence of interest in
Yma, usually because somebody else cops Yma's style. A few years ago her
name came up because of Diamanda Galas. Before that it was Lene Lovitch.
JOHN: Speaking of lounge revivals, what was your involvement in The Wonderful
World of Joey.
SKIP: A very brief one. I conducted and arranged 'Days of Wine and Roses' on
the Henry Mancini tribute album Shots in the Dark (Del-Fi Records).
JOHN: There's a lot of interesting labels putting out exotica related material:
Del-Fi, Dionysus, Scamp...
SKIP: Scamp have just released Les Baxter's last album, Que Mango!, which
was originally released in '71. Les Baxter conducts 101 strings, and it's
amazing.
JOHN: Looking over Baxter's discography, it seems that Capitol owns most of
his releases. There have only been a couple of re-issues; are they going
to cash in on the vast catalogue?
SKIP: Cashing is a good way to put it. Les died last January, and basically,
he died in debt. They're foreclosing on his house, and his daughter Leslie
is really behind the financial eight ball. Capitol records are using Les'
name and likeness to promote the new two disc set, but have not done
anything to help his family. These contracts that were signed in the
forties are antiquated by today's standards and the artists are not being
treated right. Capitol asked Leslie for background help for the new
releases which is quite ironic since they're not paying her for the use
of her father's name. They own the music outright, so all they will pay
her is publishing for the tunes he wrote. I'm not very thrilled with the
situation. When Asphodel released Incredibly Strange Music , they asked
who should get paid directly. They didn't want any red tape. It's funny,
the smaller labels, who don't have wheel barrows of money to throw around,
are the ones who pay on time. For Lost Episode, Dionysus paid for a month
of Les' in-home nursing. I hate to be on a soapbox, but frankly if it was
Johnny Cash, there'd be twenty people doing benefits in Nashville right
now - as it should be. Yet somebody like Les or Korla Pandit are not
afforded the same treatment.
JOHN: How did you get involved with Les anyway?
SKIP: I wrote him a letter. I couldn't find out anything about his music. I
looked in every possible source. So I wrote him to get info about his
life and his art. Then we talked on the phone, back in August of '94,
and after fifteen minutes he asked me to come out there. I thought oh
God, I have to see how this guy lives. The music is so wild; what is this
guy's living room gonna look like? And we got to be very close in a short
amount of time. I was living in Philadelphia at the time and I'd go to
Palm Springs for a week and hang out with Les and drink coffee and listen
to music. You should've heard him scream when I played The Replacements
on his stereo. He had an indoor/outdoor speaker system: 200 watts of raw
power. I thought what is Please to Meet Me gonna sound like on this
system, and Les comes out, 'how can you play this garbage?' Everyone
wants to know what was Les Baxter's reaction to The Replacements and I'm
here to tell you that it was not pretty.
JOHN: So other than the sound system, what was his house like?
SKIP: Quite tasteful actually. I was thinking, 'c'mon, where's the weirdness
here, cuz of his music... there's gotta be some sense of almost...
violence, or contrariness. But it only really existed in his music. He
had an ordered life, but a really crazy imagination. Same thing with
Robert Drasnin*. He's almost like a germ: just reproducing all this
creativity. All these guys look like Presbyterian tire salesmen.
JOHN: When did you first hear Les' music?
SKIP: I used to collect singles on Liberty records back in the eighties. I
figured any label that had The Chipmunks, Julie London and Eddie Cochran,
had to be a cool label. So I found this Martin Denny single of 'Quiet
Village', and I went 'hey, now this is my kind of music!' So I started
picking up Martin Denny's albums and of course there's Les Baxter's tunes
all over those. The next thing you know I'm writing Les Baxter a letter.
By the way Juan Esquivel has invited me to his house in Mexico City - man,
I gotta go.
JOHN: Didn't he used to get mobbed down there, like he was The Beatles?
SKIP: Yeah. Y'know I met a couple from Mexico recently and when they found
out I knew Esquivel it was like telling somebody that I knew Ringo. They
couldn't believe it. Esquivel is a very sweet gentleman - it's like
having a 78 year old pen pal in Mexico City. He's writing new music now.
The plan is to have Brother Cleave, who is the touring keyboardist for
Combustible Edison, put together a group of lounge all-stars and record
the music in Mexico.
JOHN: How is Esquivel?
SKIP: He had just spent a year and a half in bed with a spine injury. Then
he broke his wrist. Knowing Esquivel, he was probably trying to grab a
nurse. But now he's healthy.
JOHN: He must be delighted with all this new found attention from the lounge
revival.
SKIP: All of these people are. Nobody wants to be forgotten. I know that
when Les Baxter read that Jello Biafra cited him as an influence on the
Dead Kennedys [in Incredibly Strange Music], he was pleased as punch.
They're all pleased, but I think they're all quite mystified as well.
Right Stuff reissued five Yma Sumac records at once. And though she says
"of course, I am Yma Sumac," I think in the back of her mind she's saying
"what the hell is going here?"
JOHN: How do you account for the revival?
SKIP: I think everyone is sick of guitar distortion with people yelling over
top of it. I can't tell Weezer from Superwhatever it is this week. My
rock'n'roll tastes seemed to have been cut off with The Pogues and The
Replacements. I had to find something else to get curious about, and
doo-wop records are just too expensive.
JOHN: Do you scour garage sales for that long lost, elusive album?
SKIP: I do, but the weird thing is that I am Mr. New Wave, and I'm looking
for that Martha & the Muffins album. I just did a record with the drummer
from X. I'm talking with Stan Ridgeway from Wall of Voodoo about doing an
album. Dave Alvin from The Blasters is my neighbour and my oldest friend
in L.A. And just to put a cherry on top of it, my girlfriend is Pearl
from Pearl Harbour & the Explosions. I'm always looking for skinny tie
pop records. Like The Sinceros or 20/20, cuz they always had two great
songs on 'em. Quite frankly, I spend too much money on music, and to make
things worse, I'm now collecting 78s.
JOHN: I had the great pleasure of hearing some great vintage Mickey Katz on
78.
SKIP: Wow. I just finished the Mickey Katz biography. I had to do it because
it's a Jewish music thing, and I'm Jewish, and my life is music.
JOHN: Sounds like a Woody Allen bit.
SKIP: Almost. I wanted to discover what does it mean to be a Jewish musician
in America?
JOHN: What's next, Skip?
SKIP: The New Wave "where are they now" book. Though Pearl is not pleased
that she'd wind up in a "where are they now" book. From interviewing
Martin Denny, Esquivel, and hanging out with Korla Pandit and now Yma, I
have a lot of written material that might wind up being a book as well.
...tape hiss