tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43198717681104764572024-03-13T11:12:58.392-07:00THE SHIT by Darren Robbins - presented by Superior Street RehearsalsSuperior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.comBlogger1570125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-27759725484421483682022-01-16T08:06:00.001-08:002022-01-16T08:06:20.557-08:002022 Off To A Punk-Ass Start: Rachel Nagy of Detroit Cobras Dead!<div data-block="true" data-editor="4jmq" data-offset-key="5celq-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5celq-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-30Ln8WiH-BY/YeRCRkP50tI/AAAAAAAAG1Y/2lupM87CKwQhqBKCeT9SEvbbyiDhk3ziACNcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1023" height="255" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-30Ln8WiH-BY/YeRCRkP50tI/AAAAAAAAG1Y/2lupM87CKwQhqBKCeT9SEvbbyiDhk3ziACNcBGAsYHQ/w373-h255/image.png" width="373" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">2022 isn't even a month old and the music world has lost the force of nature that was Rachel Nagy, singer for the Detroit Cobras, whose death was announced by longtime musical collaborator Greg Cartwright.</span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5celq-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">
While no cause of death was given, the Cobras had recently announced the postponement of numerous January shows due to a member of their crew testing positive for COVID-19.
Sadly, less than two weeks after that announcement, Nagy has passed away, bringing to an end one of rock's most-respected underground acts.</div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="4jmq" data-offset-key="fso10-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="fso10-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="fso10-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-SLPE1eVnmA" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe></div>
While Nagy's age has been listed at 37 in numerous articles about her passing, this would mean that Rachel began fronting the Detroit Cobras in 1994 at the age of nine, when, in one interview, Nagy mentioned reforming the band in 1996 at the age of 22 and taking it much more seriously than she and longtime musical partner Mary Ramirez had during the original incarnation of the band, which puts her actual age at 48.
We mention this only because those who claim to be longtime fans of the band, yet continue to publish tributes that read "Rachel Nagy 1984-2021", are proving themselves to be fair-weather fans at best and, at worst, just plain horrible at math when you consider the fact that the band was formed in 1994.
Regardless, at the end of the day, one of Detroit's most unique voices has been silenced at a time when those who shine the light on great lost soul songs of the 50s and 60s are needed more than ever.</span></div></div>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-81385569806196232602022-01-03T16:24:00.003-08:002022-01-04T02:08:36.510-08:00Akai MPC One: Your 21st Century Portastudio on STEROIDS!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ADaRTUcX4lw/YdONwOpJ2-I/AAAAAAAAG1I/Oo4CwAhH8jI9XAE-ii0Zlaz9baCMc5jSQCNcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="3000" height="200" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ADaRTUcX4lw/YdONwOpJ2-I/AAAAAAAAG1I/Oo4CwAhH8jI9XAE-ii0Zlaz9baCMc5jSQCNcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Let's say that you came of age at a time, long before the internet, when the ONLY way to get your song ideas down in some sort of audible format was to grab the nearest portable cassette recorder and hit PLAY/RECORD at the same time and pray the batteries haven't died since you last used it.</p><p>Since we weren't exactly expecting<i> Abbey Road</i> quality results from our cheap, portable cassette recorders, listening back to those first bedroom demos was exhilarating ("Hey, that's me!"). Then, of course, it wasn't. ("Ugh, that's me"), leading most folks to quietly set down the acoustic guitar they got for Christmas and never pick it up again. <br /><br />The driven few who remained immediately began craving higher sound quality and, yes, MORE TRACKS, which was right around the time that multitrack cassette recorders became affordable.<br /> <br />Such units were marketed mostly through the Guitar Center chain, meaning everyone with a guitar and a Peavey amp also had a four-track recorder. </p><p>A decade or so later, supposed technological advances led to PC-based recording, which turned something artful and nuanced into something indistinguishable from the formatting of an Excel spreadsheet. Hell, being a musician these days practically qualifies one to run a large IT department, what with all the troubleshooting, management/installation/coordination of system updates and the like.<br /><br />If that realization doesn't send you screaming in search of a STANDALONE 21st Century Portastudio Equivalent, nothing will. <br /><br />Does such an animal exist in the 21st Century?<br /><br />Thankfully, the answer is YES!<br /></p><p>Warning! There are a lot of samplers, sequencers and grooveboxes out there that claim to be self-contained, all-in-one solutions, but then lure you back to the PC in order to utilize the "full version" of their proprietary software. .<br /><br />After much research (and no payola whatsoever) to find the one box that offered the immediacy of an old school four-track, offering both that classic PortaStudio experience while also making use of the technological advances that have taken place in the four decades since PortaStudios ruled the earth.<br /><br />The one piece of gear that comes closest to capturing the Portastudio experience is...drum roll please...the MPC One from AKAI. <br /><br />Of course, the most "Portastudio" aspect of the MPC One is the fact that you have eight glorious digital audio tracks available to you. <br /><br />That's already four more than your vintage cassette multi-tracker AND they're digital tracks, which means that if and when the time comes to start bouncing down tracks to make room for more overdubs, there will be no loss of sound quality OR tape hiss!</p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mWcNUE3ANfs" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe></div><br /><br />Wait, it gets better: <br /><br />Imagine if, back in the day, your Portastudio had come with on-board sounds (synths, bass, strings, woodwinds, brass, etc.), built-in drum machine with a multitude of genre-specific kits, and, last but not least, a sequencer. <br /><br />What makes this dream box a steal at twice the price (more on that later) is that using these plug-ins, samples, or loops are IN ADDITION TO the eight audio tracks available per pattern. project, song, etc.<br /><br />In other words, you could literally program a full drum kit, bass, some strings, and still have all eight tracks available to you for your lush, multi-layered vocals or flamenco guitar stylings.<p></p><p>"How is that possible?" you ask.<br /><br />Welcome to the 21st Century, my friend, where such things fall into the "midi" realm of the MPC One, while the eight audio tracks are considered "audio" and, therefore, separate to a degree while working together seamlessly to create a single track/project.<br /><br />In other words, you could simply program the drum parts (on the "midi" side) and layer your eight audio tracks on top or simply confine all of your work to the audio tracks by recording your performance live into the MPC One via the stereo mic/line inputs.<br /><br />Questions/Answers:<br /><br />Q: How close to a literal Portastudio experience can I get with the MPC One?<br /><br />A: If you came here looking for rewind and fast-forward buttons, sorry, but you are out of luck. On the other hand, if you've been looking for an over-engineered, digital version of your old four-track, enabling you to stumble home drunk, kiss the dogs, pet the kids, and then lay down eight tracks of full-on Metal-Mania before the buzz wears off.<br /><br />Q: I'm not tech savvy AT ALL. Am I going to run into one wall after another of pointless obstacles?<br /><br />A: If you've ever stuck a USB memory stick or SD card into a computer and opened a document from, or saved a document to said memory stick, then you, my friend, are tech savvy enough to manage the MPC One. <br /><br />Q: How steep is the learning curve?<br /><br />A: Like any new device, there WILL be a learning curve, but not to worry. My humble suggestion is to approach this potential headache in the most zen-like manner. Slip into some comfy sweats, splash some water on your face, slap yourself a few times, grab some smelling salts if you've got them, then settle in for a few hours of pulling whatever hair you have left until your mind is able to wrap itself around the new paradigm. Once you reach that magnificent plateau, if you're anything like me, the immediacy and flexibility of this box will almost feel like cheating.<br /><br />Q: Can you give us ONE FEATURE that makes this box so special?<br /><br />A: Yes, the MPC One enables you to create a pattern of any length. That may sound utterly simple, but you'd be surprised at just how many competing groovebox/sampler hybrids limit you to a maximum of four bars per pattern/sequence. Granted, you can do anything within that four bar framework to equal whatever length you desire (two bars of four = your eight bar verse, for example) BUT one should be able to set the length of their pattern to 32 bars or more, if they choose, and, on the MPC One, you CAN DO JUST THAT!! <br /><br />Q: Any downsides?<br /><br />A: Sure thing. Dig this list of mini-gripes:<br /><br />- No faders (ha ha, a man can dream, can't he?)<br /><br />- Mixing seems like a bit of an afterthought (but can be done)<br /><br />- No XLR jack (solution: use your regular audio interface)<br /><br />- Working with the 7" touch screen takes some patience.</p><p>FINAL CONCLUSION<br /><br />Superficially speaking, straight-forward workflow, plenty of knobs you can twist to get the sound you want, and solid construction, but, INSIDE, the same exact operating system and sound library as a $2,000 MPC X (as well as the MPC Live/Live II), but for a fraction of the price.<br /><br />You see, in addition to grabbing this unit for the eight tracks of immediate, goof-proof audio (for which we'd pay $499 on its own), this box does so many other things that to only use the audio function would be like buying a Swiss army knife and then only using the toothpick. <br /><br />Obviously, the MPC name is most associated with sample-based genres and, while you can sure as hell sample, edit and chop your ass off with the MPC One, for song-based artists, the on-board sounds make doing so completely unnecessary unless, of course, that's your schtick.<br /><br />Remember when you tried relying on built-in sound libraries in the past and found the "believability" of such sounds to be hilariously sub-par? Well, those days appear to be long gone because the richness of the on-board strings, brass and percussion sounds actually takes your breath away sometimes. Mixed properly, such sounds are indistinguishable from the real deal in the final mix and fans will never know you didn't actually hire an orchestra.</p><p>One last thing to consider: AKAI often releases updates to the operating system (the most recent being a few months ago), which often means that significant NEW FEATURES are added to an already formidable spec sheet. Back in the day, if a new feature was added to the PortaStduio, we had to buy A NEW PORTASTUDIO so consider the MPC One the gift that keeps on giving.</p><p>Price: New $899 (price has gone up $200 since the box first debuted in 2020), Used $550</p>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-27611187597067071142021-12-18T16:59:00.002-08:002021-12-18T16:59:32.999-08:00Smells Like Christmas Spirit: The Unlikely UK Label That Originally Released 'Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer'!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMyeusH_Gbl1wtXE5yATz8efMKyDbQzn73FkqbbEVRQVlyhEKI_RcHaYow7_kFFboxj6XCKLFlB-bKk7fhQbPkgCYZUN0_9VCj3WxEKK0RUpkj-Ll2N22bdmMN3PvCUhiuaAMCT3mwaTmRU6Kp2PhHXv-ZU3S5_eC7qOcg6mbeKgJ1xtutdh2fqhcR=s600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMyeusH_Gbl1wtXE5yATz8efMKyDbQzn73FkqbbEVRQVlyhEKI_RcHaYow7_kFFboxj6XCKLFlB-bKk7fhQbPkgCYZUN0_9VCj3WxEKK0RUpkj-Ll2N22bdmMN3PvCUhiuaAMCT3mwaTmRU6Kp2PhHXv-ZU3S5_eC7qOcg6mbeKgJ1xtutdh2fqhcR=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>1979 wasn't just a banner year for rock, with what seemed like an entire decade's worth of pivotal, game-changing albums all coming out within months of one another (<i>Zenyatta Mondatta</i>, <i>Damn The Torpedoes</i>, and Dream Police, to name but a few), it was the holiday music industry that received the greatest gift of all (one that keeps on giving, year after year after year): A song called "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer".</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjICfY_n-TR4rsOZ-UFG_HBtdcLuEkDOMaIjqUhX_B2b_NZfqvk29whwN22_ZLRhuL3wK991c9yqvT4UvfMeBx53cmNGvMM8D9qlN6A0bjxZl-jdrNzCeWi3YK8ceUpmMI0YujaH8ljMqhHEikpvCyv4k8rCayBEA1c0_mxvQYgotTA6lDFmkd396oK=s564" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="551" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjICfY_n-TR4rsOZ-UFG_HBtdcLuEkDOMaIjqUhX_B2b_NZfqvk29whwN22_ZLRhuL3wK991c9yqvT4UvfMeBx53cmNGvMM8D9qlN6A0bjxZl-jdrNzCeWi3YK8ceUpmMI0YujaH8ljMqhHEikpvCyv4k8rCayBEA1c0_mxvQYgotTA6lDFmkd396oK=s320" width="313" /></a></div><p>Prior to pumping new life into an otherwise stagnant holiday music industry, Elmo & Patsy were but a simple country lounge act playing a Lake Tahoe hotel when fledgling songwriter Randy Brooks approached the duo and asked if Elmo would sing on this one particular song that he'd written on a lark.<br /><br />Elmo & Patsy recorded the song and, the next year, were selling copies of the record at their shows.<br /><br />They also sent the single to radio stations and, much to their amazement, a few stations actually played the song, which is where the story usually ends for most stories of this nature.</p><p>What made this story special was that by the time Christmas 1980 came around, the buzz on the song had grown considerably, leading to advance orders in the tens of thousands and that first magical explosion of national airplay. <br /><br />That same year, the song was even licensed to Stiff Records (home to Nick Lowe, Ian Dury, and Elvis Costello) for UK release! <br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Alg0j-mbU00" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Inexplicably, the song did not take off in the UK, but, after being re-recorded in 1982, "Grandma (2.0)" saw national release on Epic Records and has continued to be a perennial holiday favorite to this very day.<br /><br /><br /><br /></div><p></p>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-68965447050526882732021-12-03T11:04:00.006-08:002021-12-03T18:31:06.955-08:00Now It Can Be Told: Who Shot (Down) The Sheriff (Reunion)?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsheUexPn1KkVHUVeiZHnuh8Yn7iKlR_E7jeJreyXYYKxrkOLYSWfrBlR8epuDWXJn5-tr-TpXdbslehp3PG7QyXVa7ZFK1jaBCSyT12JFmBo39DWjBvJ4C-h1gr9h5XUfZBw-KMPsnouiix4rmU5r4Zl5G_3LEyl1Daskjp1J46717sm6yjzjfdQi=s1247" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1237" data-original-width="1247" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsheUexPn1KkVHUVeiZHnuh8Yn7iKlR_E7jeJreyXYYKxrkOLYSWfrBlR8epuDWXJn5-tr-TpXdbslehp3PG7QyXVa7ZFK1jaBCSyT12JFmBo39DWjBvJ4C-h1gr9h5XUfZBw-KMPsnouiix4rmU5r4Zl5G_3LEyl1Daskjp1J46717sm6yjzjfdQi=w359-h356" width="359" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p>Behind every #1 hit single is a story that, if known to the world-at-large, would be just as popular. I'm talking the stuff of movies here, ladies and gentlemen.</p><p>Imagine, if you will, that you're a musician in 1979. Now, I consider myself lucky to have been a teenager in 1979 and, therefore, able to enjoy that period as a wide-eyed fan, but to have been a musician in a band would have been like taking part in perhaps the last great musical gold rush of modern times.</p><p>How crazy was 1979, you ask?</p><p>Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers were considered "new wave". Even Cheap Trick, who were finally enjoying their first big success, were often lumped in with this "new wave" of rock acts that didn't quite fit the Aerosmith/Nugent archetype.</p><p>Therefore, any band that had been unable to gain traction as a butt-rock act could easily re-brand themselves as a new wave act without too much soul-selling and be given a new lease on life.</p><p>Though we Americans like to poke fun at the very idea of "Canadian rock", back in 1979, Toronto had an absolutely raging live music scene that had been quick to adopt "new wave" in the wake of Blondie's chart-topping hit "Heart Of Glass".</p><p>So it was in that climate that the members of Sheriff first got together. </p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mMwBWlCFuY4" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe></div><p>After three years of club gigs, label showcases, and wondering if their efforts would ever pay off, the band was signed to Capitol Records and released their self-titled album in 1982.</p><p>By then "new wave" had its own TV channel. </p><p>In the U.S., MTV was making stars of Duran Duran, Billy Idol and Adam Ant while MuchMusic was doing much the same in Canada.</p><p>In that climate, Sheriff recorded their first album; a collection of songs that would introduce them to the world. From the photo on the cover, one can sense a definite "new wave" angle to the band's clothes and overall appearance, but would this translate to the music?</p><p>In a word, no.</p><p>Considering that, within the first thirty seconds of the first song, you are greeted by a cheesy 70's era guitar solo, one might be led to believe that what you're listening to is a song from a by-gone era, but, in truth, Sheriff were quite ahead of their time in predicting exactly what the future held for the rest of the decade. </p><p>On the cover, they're dead ringers for Night Ranger, who also released their first album that year, but the album also includes a track called "Kept Me Comin'" that could actually be mistaken for early Motley Crue, whose first album, Too Fast For Love, also came out on Elektra Records in 1982.</p><p>Ultimately, Sheriff would lose the sprint to Night Ranger and the Crue, but, seven years later, they'd win the marathon when "When I'm With You" was magically plucked out of thin air by two random mid-market American radio DJ's at a time when power ballads now reigned supreme, giving them their first #1 hit.<br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cC-i3dfLZG0" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe></div><p></p><p>As one can imagine, there was a mad rush to reform Sheriff in order to take advantage of this gift from the Gods, but, quite astoundingly, two of the members declined to participate in a reunion. </p><p>I remember hearing this information at the time the song was climbing the charts and wondering what kind of lunatic, upon learning that the song he'd written seven years prior was zipping up the pop charts in the US, would say no to a reunion?</p><p>Could the bad blood between former band members be that great?</p><p>I mean, what else could it be?</p><p>Obviously, without the interweb, someone with only a passing interest in the subject was unable to connect the dots at the time, but we now know that the band's former keyboardist Arnold Lanni, who had written "When I'm With You", was working on new music with the band's former bass player Wolf Hassel under the name Frozen Ghost.</p><p>Frozen Ghost, of course, had already released their first album on WEA Records in 1987 and were finished with their second effort, Nice Place To Visit, when a song from their musical past came back to derail their momentum.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a50u6lcLsMY" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe></div><p>After all, their single "Should I See" had already garnered its fair share of MTV and radio play and, had it received just a little more exposure, could have gone Top 40 in the States. As a result, there was heightened interest in their next effort even before Sheriff re-entered the conversation.</p><p>Incredibly, Atlantic records was completely unwilling to take advantage of Lanni's success with Sheriff and, as a result, the album sank like a stone and, just like that, Frozen Ghost's upward momentum was gone.</p><p>Of course, the band's sonic similarities to the Fixx may have made it just that much more difficult to be heard at a time when the Fixx, themselves, were finding it difficult to stay relevant.</p><p>As a result one is left to wonder if Lanni truly made the right decision by turning down the invitation to put Sheriff back together.<br /><br />After all, those members of Sheriff who went on to form Alias ultimately proved that they didn't need Lanni's songwriting skills after all by scoring two Top 20 U.S. singles of their own, "Waiting For Love" (#13) and "More Than Words Can Say" (#2).</p>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-82383906521798178552021-09-21T03:42:00.006-07:002021-12-03T18:39:22.992-08:00Albums That Killed The '80s: Songs from The Big Chair Edition!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEggVbrfDhJ7VnO_vEuy3riPaCcGn7DGFrhHy-dKjJr9yuUV9cvs7_bg5yBA4n5V-zvwRtooL9iFnwuV0iSUEeSPtlEHZpLGuRUtBeTd6X_Ow49axAzqKM01yY1c3YMclOEmvuJeVpDxx1g-yGK5M02wyTV10w4nO_aQwi1TvUREKPr_VQU-TSxrxJlh=s889" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="889" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEggVbrfDhJ7VnO_vEuy3riPaCcGn7DGFrhHy-dKjJr9yuUV9cvs7_bg5yBA4n5V-zvwRtooL9iFnwuV0iSUEeSPtlEHZpLGuRUtBeTd6X_Ow49axAzqKM01yY1c3YMclOEmvuJeVpDxx1g-yGK5M02wyTV10w4nO_aQwi1TvUREKPr_VQU-TSxrxJlh=w437-h246" width="437" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">When you consider just how amazingly the '80s had begun (with new wave, post-punk and power pop all exploding at once), I am truly proud to have been alive and raging with hormones. On the other hand, seeing as how the decade would end in the post-apocalyptic hellscape of gangsta rap and Diane Warren power ballads, one is suddenly tempted to hang their head in shame.</span></div><br />How could shit have gone so wrong so fast? Is it possible that society regressed in those ten years, giving birth to the '90s...which was nothing more than a dumbed down version of the '70s, but with Aerosmith played by Nirvana and Pink Floyd played by Pearl Jam? Apparently so.<br /><br />When, you ask, was the turning point; that moment when wild abandon began to second-guess itself? <br /><br />In one very real sense, one could argue that it was the death of B-52's guitarist Ricky Wilson in 1985 that burned through the last of the decade's innocence, but, musically speaking, I have pinpointed it to one precise band and album that, oddly enough, came out that same year:<br /><br />Tears For Fears "Songs From The Big Chair"<br /><br />While it wasn't the album's first single, "Shout" was THE SONG that inexplicably changed everything. <br /><br />In fact, this writer would go so far as to state that the song's influence upon the entire music industry was every bit as pervasive as Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" proved to be in 1991. <br /><br />Sure, "Shout" may have sounded like random kitchen utensils being tossed down a flight of stairs on first listen, but once Roland Orzabal's vocals kicked in, one imagines that even Bono stopped what he was doing. <br /><br />Elsewhere, Mick Jagger probably stopped returning Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts' phone calls for a time until Keith threatened to make him eat one of his own ballet slippers.<br /><br />Thankfully, the song's release as a single in late 1984 began one of the slowest marches to the #1 spot in August 1985; TEN MONTHS after its release. took FOREVER to finally reach #1 in the U.S. much of an anthem as it was, call-to-arms for an entire generation of , . By song's end, the quantum focal point at which the decade officially began taking itself WAAAAAY too seriously.<div><br />Ah, but all those high-tech bells & whistles were so hard to resist after we'd been raised on nothing more than Joe Perry guitar riffs. Little did we know that one of those very riffs would be served up to us all over again the very next year and, in doing so, take hip-hop mainstream, but I digress yet again.<br /><br />By the time "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" began being pushed as a single, it was all over.<br /><br />Bands with perfectly good rhythm sections were suddenly tossing them in trash in favor of the latest fancy drum machine and Roland bass synth. Even at the local level, the days of bands just going into a recording studio to cut some professional demos were over, as my own band found out when we began working with our first "established producer".<br /><br />All we knew about the guy was that he was from Muscle Shoals - a fact he never let anybody forget - and promised to capture the energy of our live shows on 2" recording tape.<br /><br />Before we could even finish setting up, Mr. Muscle Shoals pulled us into the studio's control room and had us all take a seat. Excited as a child on Christmas, this producer fellow proceeded to show us his snazzy new compact disc player, using Tears For Fears "Shout" as a sort of "demonstration record" to show off this new format's sonic detail, which, coming through the studio's expensive and specialized playback speakers, admittedly sounded fucking amazing.<br /><br />It was at this point, that Mr. Muscle Shoals informed us that, much like the track we were listening to, we'd be performing live to a click track in order to integrate electronic percussion and synthesizers. <br /><br /></div><div>"Wait, what?!" we protested.</div><div><br /></div><div>Long story short, the sessions proved to be an absolute disaster as said producer stubbornly tried to fit a size ten foot into a size five shoe and, in doing so, had us trying valiantly to "lock-in with the click" and second-guessing our every move.<br /><br />Had we recorded prior to "Shout" becoming an inescapable part of everyday life, nobody from Muscle Shoals, or anywhere else for that matter, would have said jack-shit about click tracks and synth pads. <br /><br />Sorry, after all these years, I just had to shout, shout, let it all out.<br /><br />Feels good.<br /><br /><br /></div>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-57212503111092105322021-09-17T04:00:00.001-07:002021-09-17T04:00:21.039-07:00Hey Kid, Wanna Get Signed? Do Me A Favor And Read This!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LBdxLqFopRQ/YUR09p6QGAI/AAAAAAAAGxs/9pBkX3EWJPYdCyA2ow80HeOHmpyIpN5AgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/handshake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1237" data-original-width="2048" height="252" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LBdxLqFopRQ/YUR09p6QGAI/AAAAAAAAGxs/9pBkX3EWJPYdCyA2ow80HeOHmpyIpN5AgCLcBGAsYHQ/w418-h252/handshake.jpg" width="418" /></a></div><p>Who the fuck am I, you ask?<br /><br />Nobody, BUT I did negotiate my own record deals in the 1980's, my friends. <br /><br />No manager, no lawyer, just a ridiculous idea that I could get signed AND retain my own masters (which I did). Looking back, having absolutely no guidance from a professional, or even someone in a signed band, I'm amazed at how far I managed to get WITHOUT knowing the tidbit I am about to share with you now.<br /><br />You see, back in the mid-'80s, when I began approaching labels in hopes of getting inked to a record deal, I honestly believed that bands, singer-songwriters and the like got signed based on artistic merit and/or having built an undeniable following of their own, thereby offering prospective labels not only the band, themselves, but their audience as well.<br /><br />Even back then, but especially now, the one universal truth among big regional bands was that once your act had a following in a market of note (say, Chicago), you really had no need for a major label. <br /><br />Thing is, not every great band had a following when they got signed to a record deal. Hell, some had never even been out of the studio when the fat cats began sniffing around. <br /><br />But what if your band has no fat cats sniffing around, no connections, and no street savvy when it comes to networking? I mean, you're a musician and you're ONLY RESPONSIBILITY as a musician is to hone your craft - NOT to become Irving Azoff or John Silva in the process.<br /><br />Well, this is where my little tidbit pays dividends.<br /><br />"SO WHAT'S THE BLEEPING TIDBIT ALREADY?!"<br /><br />Tidbit ahead...are you ready? here goes:<br /><br />Look at ANY record deal and you will find that somebody somewhere did somebody else a favor.<br /><br />When I realized this, the sound of my own hand slapping my forehead could be heard for miles.<br /><br />This universal truth is confirmed numerous times in Miles Copeland III's new autobiography, "Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: My Life In The Music Business", especially when it came to getting The Police signed to a deal before they'd built a following.<br /><br />Copeland didn't go to every record label and pitch the band. No, he merely asked himself who might possibly owe him a favor and then made it impossible for that person to say "No". <br /><br />By doing so, he walked into A&M Records with the demo of a band nobody gave two shits about and walked out with a multi-album recording contract in-hand. No muss, no fuss.<br /><br />So, how do YOU apply this to your own band and label aspirations?<br /><br />Well, let's say you're in a bar and you overhear someone saying that they interned at Geffen Records when they were in college. <br /><br />Now, Geffen Records is no more (swallowed up by UniScope long ago) but chances are that this person actually knows someone from their time at Geffen who is now elsewhere in the music or entertainment business. In fact, they might even be owed a favor or two by people who were just peons back then, but are power titans now.<br /><br />But what if you don't want to play a character in what sounds more and more like a mobster flick?<br /><br />Well, then I would suggest appealing to every single person in the music industry's fear of being washed up and BEG for a favor that is not yet owed but that will be repaid at a future date.<br /><br />I used this strategy to get a record deal in 1997 after dealing for months with an A&R person that was being wishy-washy. <br /><br />One day, tired of the run-around, I put it all on the line, saying "Look, as much as I love our weekly chats, the truth of the matter is that I want to record for your label and, by signing me, you'd be doing ME a huge personal favor that I will not soon forget. Should I EVER become established in the music business, your favor will be repaid in kind should you ever need to call it in."<br /><br />That day, like Miles Copeland III, I walked out with a deal and, twenty years later, was able to return said favor when that A&R person was in need of tour merch support after a previous merch company went out-of-business on the eve of a big tour.<br /><br />Little did they know that the favor I returned actually helped establish my tour merch company as a major contender at the time.<br /><br />Money is great, power is nice, too, from what I hear, but favors are the fucking currency of the music business. Period. Employ them wisely, but often and thank me later, if you know what I mean. :)<br /><br /><br /><br /></p>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-4771562113111730082021-08-09T19:01:00.002-07:002021-08-11T08:58:01.698-07:00Kiss & Tell: My Exes React To Seeing MY Record Collection For The First Time!<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JyPCrhfsnbM/YRHX9hTfUgI/AAAAAAAAGxg/GYRVhR7mRVkIOmmSBLZb2r2AdnsSz6cAQCLcBGAsYHQ/s512/sparks%2Bangst.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="512" height="314" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JyPCrhfsnbM/YRHX9hTfUgI/AAAAAAAAGxg/GYRVhR7mRVkIOmmSBLZb2r2AdnsSz6cAQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/sparks%2Bangst.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"What's a gal supposed to think when <br />she sees THIS on top of a pile of records?!"</td></tr></tbody></table><i><br />Got a few notes from some of my past partners (okay, three) and have woven them into what is meant to read as a single response for clarity and flow. I deleted nothing, but did flesh things out here and there. <br /></i><i><br />Enjoy at my expense. :)<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aVXgpLeAfAY" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe></div></i><p>A-B: First thing I noticed was that your love of the Beatles seems rooted firmly in that post-mop top era, yet nothing after <i>Revolver.</i> But then the whole rest of the B section alienated me. Was I about to be bedded by a jazz-bo? I had no idea.<br /><br />C: What Cheap Trick albums?! <br /><br />Also, every Cars album, bootleg, and radio broadcast EXCEPT <i>Heartbeat City</i>.<br /><br />D: I had misgivings about dating a Devo fan (for much the same reason I refuse to date anyone who even taps their foot to an Oingo Boingo song). Then we bonded over our intense disinterest in anything Danny Elfman does (or, for that matter, Mothersbaugh's scores). Every time we drove past the neon green Mutato building on Sunset and you'd wave wildly and yell "Hello Mark Mothersbaugh!".</p><p>E: Haha, I did notice you had the THE ELVIS BROTHERS records, duh! Also some Eurythmics, which I adored (and later stole from you, thank you very much)...Revenge is still my fave from the moment you played me "Thorn In My Side" at John's <i>(head of the label Darren was signed to back before the internet. Ed.) </i>party. I jog past that place, but the apartment buildings all look alike so I can't tell exactly which one was his place.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/opkzgLMH5MA?controls=0" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe></div><p></p><p><br />F: Based on your hair style, I jokingly called you "A Flock Of Seagulls" when we met and then saw you owned most of their albums. It's odd trying to describe to someone else your like/dislike of the band. </p><p>On the surface, you seem to own all their '80s albums EXCEPT, as you say, "the one with the violins on the cover" yet you absolutely refused to go to any of their shows when it was just Mike and hired guns. That didn't stop you from seeing Mark from the Chameleons or that guy from House of Love.(hope I remember to mention them when we get to H section)<br /><br />G: Go-Go's! We were both still listening to "Talk Show" when we met, which was two years after it came out. <br /><br />H: How many copies of Human League's <i>Dare</i> do you need? <i>(They're all different. Ed.) </i></p><p>I: Chicago boy always dropping the Insiders into any L.A. conversation about great bands from Chitown and killing the conversation in its tracks <i>(Guilty. Ed.)</i>. <br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cdlWLmet3Xs" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe><br /><br /></div>J: The only Joan Jett CD you own is <i>Notorious. (In my defense, everything else is on "vinyls" Ed.)</i><br /><br />K: Do you remember ordering the Kings <i>Are Here</i> when you found out it was available on CD in Canada so you sent away for a copy and then called me at home the morning it came in the mail and asked me to open it up just to make sure it was real? Then I played it, fell in love with "Switchin To Glide", and basically claimed it as my own? If you're wondering if you lost it or I took it with me, yes.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4bl55zQ--yU" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Also, the only Kiss album you own is the Ace Frehley '78 solo record. Who does that? <i>(I do. Ed.)</i><p></p><p>L: Ugh, Lords of the New Church. I fucking do not get your fascination with Stiv. I mean, Iggy I get. Next.<br /><br />M: Ministry. I fucking do not get your fascination with <i>Twitch,</i> I mean, <i>With Sympathy</i> I get. Next.<br /><br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o-NP1sIhNc0?controls=0" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe></div><p></p><p><br />N: Oh God, Naked Raygun. One day I asked you why you don't own anything else that sounds like Naked Raygun and you said: "Nobody sounds like Naked Raygun." and then we both said "That would make a cool t-shirt!" <i>(I was first though. Ed.)</i><br /> <br />O: Off Broadway...They're like the Cubs, if you come from Chicago, you either love them or you hate them, but everybody knows them. You really LOVE them.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kT-K5hQl834?controls=0" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe></div><p>P: Platinum Blonde (who?), Planet P (who?), Passion Puppets (who?)...You can see how a girl can get worried when the collection starts out nice safe <i>Revolver/Rubber Soul</i>-era Beatles and quickly detours into Adrian Sherwood territory. That was the other thing I could never understand about you: Much of your collection leans on the synthy side, yet you make standard bullshit rock music (haha, but you get me right?). Total disconnect.<br /><br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VMnjF1O4eH0" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe></div><p></p><p><br />Q: Two Queen greatest hits albums, Oh, and the "Jazz" album for the <a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQCXulbi7-IvuJKg9KfWEY4z1ij5iHWtlYnjHhvJ1jd5LGY5gvFUhH6GdiHJQ6Y925KBOI&usqp=CAU">poster</a>.<br /><br />R: Your "R" section is larger than most record stores, but the Romantics and the Ramones seemed to be your sweet spot. Then your (fave) drummer joined the Romantics, ha! <br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G3-6E3h--DA?controls=0" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe></div><p></p><p><br />S: Did you see the Sparks documentary in the theatre? Yes? Was there anybody else there? No? (There was one person, but they left once they realized it wasn't what they thought it was. Ed.)<br /><br />T: Tourists (love Annie, but I can see why this band didn't make it), <br /><br />U: Ultravox maybe? That guy that sings really high <i>(Which one? Ed.)</i><br /><br />V: You were the guy who didn't just own "Turning Japanese", you had both of their albums. And your copy of <i>Magnets</i> was a Norwegian import on cassette.<br /><br />W: Wall of Voodoo, but only the albums the band made AFTER "Mexican Radio" with the other singer. I can see why they only lasted two albums. The minute a band resorts to covering the Beach Boys, they are officially toast. <br /><br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ny5CMpmkfWc" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe></div><p></p><p><br />X: No X albums, which I totally understand but most guys adore that band and think Exene is some sort of rock goddess. You did have Billy Zoom work on your amp, though, and I had NO idea why you were being so reverential around him until you told me who he was. So blonde of moi.<br /><br />Y: No Yes albums. Thank you.<br /><br />Z: Zombies. Colin melts me, but I had never known who it was singing those tunes all these years. <br /><br /></p></div>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-59773727528362116532021-07-30T14:25:00.002-07:002021-07-31T05:37:25.186-07:00Kiss & Tell: The Top 20 Albums Owned By Those We Dated In The '80s and '90s!<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tDl3bdE3YQA" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe></div><p><b>1. Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians - Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars</b><br /><br />Shortly after landing my first record store clerk gig in '86, I found myself standing for eight hours at a time and listening to those albums that our managers chose to play "featured artists" over the in-store stereo system. Labels, of course, had paid our chain for the supreme privilege of having their release promoted by the chain. <br /><br />Admittedly, a lot of acts were pushed in this manner that didn't sell jack-shit - Love Tractor, The Lover Speaks, Wild Choir, Debbie Harry's <i>Rockbird</i> album to name but a few. <br /><br />One album that immediately resonated with folks from the first note, though, was <i>Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars</i>, by a band called Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians.<br /><br />Looooong before many of us developed a mental block regarding the song "What I Am", we record store geeks would marvel at how many copies we'd sell anytime we played the album in-store. Some days, we'd sell through entire sleeves of cassettes (24 tapes per sleeve) during a single eight-hour shift. <br /><br />For decades thereafter, just when I think I'd finally blocked those days out of my mind, I'd meet someone at a club in a cute Pretenders t-shirt, tight jeans, and Doc Martens, cruise back to her place and realize that this woman was a total granola cruncher. <br /><br />Mind you, none of them owned a copy of the band's second album.</p><p><b>2. Tori Amos - from Little Earthquakes to Scarlet's Walk</b><br /><br />I was one of the five people who actually listened to the free promo of <i>Y Kant Tori Read</i> that Atlantic Records sent to record stores in 1989. I could make no sense of what I was hearing based on cryptic cassette liner notes, but there was something about what I was hearing that transcended the bombastic presentation. Of course, we never actually received any retail copies....ever...so it joined the box of forgotten promos.<br /><br />Two years later, Tori Amos, still on Atlantic, was now doing the solo thing and, based on media reports, humping her piano stool. Hey, haven't we all at some point?<br /><br />What Amos was doing - both musically and lyrically - was initially regarded as quite striking, but, thankfully, she never allowed herself to be watered down and, as a result, women really came to respect what Tori was about and, as a result, while Tori, herself , is a constant presence in the CD collections of the women in my life, you see albums from all walks of her career, not just her glory days. <br /><br /><b>3. Peter Gabriel - So</b><br /><br />Weird to think that Gabriel had fronted Genesis when they were most repellant to women, only to morph into one of the biggest, most female-friendly concert favorites in modern pop history.</p><p>Last we'd heard from Gabriel prior to <i>So</i>, he was pushing "Shock The Monkey", which was decidedly not a song that struck a chord with the fairer sex so the fact that this album even had a song like the emotionally stirring ballad "In Your Eyes" was a bit of a "shock", but it did bring a much-needed human element to an album full of songs that were dripping with social commentary ("Red Red Rain") and/or non-subtle irony ("Sledgehammer, "Big Time"). </p><p><b>4. The Cure - Greatest Hits<br /></b><br />It says more about me than it does about the ladies in my life that most of them had a Cure hits collection instead of, say, a couple key studio albums (even <i>Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me)</i>. <br /><br />Truth be told, anyone who favored <i>The Head On The Door</i> or<i> Pornography</i> would have seen right through my thin charade before yours truly ever saw their music collection (and no doubt did).</p><p><b>5. Natalie Imbruglia - Left Of The Middle</b><br /><br />For every person like me who started seeing promo copies of this album gathering dust in the discount bins both before and after "Torn" became an eternal Sunny FM radio staple, it seems I have had the misfortune of dating nearly everyone who actually paid full price for this coffee coaster.<br /><br /><b>RANDOM OBSERVATION TIME!</b><br /><br />While it may be a clean 50/50 split today, back in the '80s/'90s, we dudes were WAY more likely to be selling our unwanted CD's down at the local record store. As a result, a trip through a woman's music collection was like them letting you read their diary because you could SEE their mistakes laid out right before you:<br /><br />Take for example, amidst the usual fare, you find a copy of Judas Priest <i>Screaming For Vengeance</i> AND an early OMD album like <i>Organisation</i>.- Since I love both albums, this is always encouraging, BUT also doesn't fit. <br /><br />The only explanation: Previous boyfriends. The metal head was probably one of those backwards-hat-wearing simpletons. The OMD record means she, at one point, probably dated one of the guys in the IT department where she works. <br /><br /><b>6. Sinead O'Connor - I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got</b> <br /><br />Seems like we all wound up owning this album after picking it as one of our free albums when joining Columbia House. Even so, this one's always nice to see in a lover's record collection, but what I wouldn't give to have dated more women who owned Sinead's first record, <i>The Lion & The Cobra. <br /></i><br />Seriously, some of the best times in my life took place on a Chicago dancefloor in the '80s and, mots times, either "Mandinka" or "Lay Your Hands On Me" was playing.<br /><br /><b>7. Sarah McLachlan - Fumbling Toward Ecstasy<br /></b><br />For a moment, Sarah was a sort of "goth Enya", then she switched gears (producers) and became the shining beacon of female empowerment that straight women, lesbians, and, yes, even dudes could agree on in the car when going to lunch with co-workers.</p><p>Then Lilith Fair happened and we dudes were kind of excluded. <br /><br />Even so, EVERYONE owns this record (or did) so it was always interesting to see how fewer copies there were of <i>Surfacing</i>, and even fewer yet of <i>Mirriorball</i>. <br /><br />Quite frankly, if I had seen a copy of <i>Afterglow</i>, which I saw plenty of in the used bins, I'd have probably been too full of questions to do "the move" from "Dirty Dancing", har har.</p><b>8. Paula Cole - This Fire</b><br /><br />For some reason, the only memory that this song conjures up is me sitting in my car at a park in Denver getting ready to go for my nightly run and thinking that the snare sound on "Where have All The Cowboys Gone?" - the song we all thought was gonna be the album's signature tune, for better and worse, until "Dawson's Creek" made the song inescapable.<br /><br /><b>9. Tracy Chapman - first album.</b><br /><br />Yep, the one with "Fast Car". Here's the thing: Not once did anyone actually PLAY their Tracy Chapman record. You'd think over the course of, say, six months of sharing the CD player with them, they'd have played it once. What gives?<br /><br /><b>10. Kate Bush - The Whole Story</b><br /><br />No Kate Bush studio albums, mind you, but this "hits" compilation was as commonplace in the bedrooms of women I loved and lost/left as the same two or three IKEA rugs have been in the 21st century.<p></p><p><b>11. Tears For Fears - Songs from The Big Chair</b><br /><br />An album that both men and women can agree on, if ever there was one. Seeing this one, but no other TFF albums, raises zero flags.</p><p><b>12-14. kd lang / Melissa Etheridge / Phranc</b><br /><br />If you were head over heels for a woman in the late '80s, but wondered if she might be playing for the other team, as they used to say, one sure-fire way to see where her heart lied was to take a quick glance at her record collection.<br /><br />If you saw a kd lang record or two, no worries, Lang was a viable mainstream crooner for much of the decade. Quite frankly, I don't even know how or why she dropped off the radar like she did.<br /><br />If you saw a Melissa Etheridge album, again, no worries. She was one of XRT's favorite artists from the moment her first record came out.<br /><br />If you saw a Phranc record, though, tough loss.<br /><br /><b>15. Tanita Tikaram - Ancient Heart</b><br /><br />There was a teeny-tiny window in 1988 when Tikaram's "Twist In My Sobriety" had its moment of splendor and then, POOF, just like that she was gone; suddenly invisible to the same powers-that-be that had hastened her rise to semi-stardom. <br /><br />One almost wonders who she pissed off at her label to go cold so quickly after having been poised for the long haul, a la Etheridge or Chapman. Romantically speaking, considering Tikaram's brief heyday, why does everybody I've dated since '90 or so own this record? We're all attracted to our own "types", but this is ridiculous. <br /><b><br />16-17. Amy Grant / Michael W. Smith</b></p><p>Man, there is nothing worse than meeting someone AWESOME, they think YOU'RE AWESOME, and the next thing you know, you're back at their place being awesome together. While they're in the kitchen grabbing you another Bartles & Jaymes wine cooler (this was the '80s, after all), you take a gander at their CD's and spot a CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN TITLE.<br /><br />Aw shit.<br /><br />Now, before you panic, take a deep breath and focus. If all they own is Amy's <i>Heart In Motion</i> album, no harm, no foul. That's the one with "Baby Baby" and a bunch of other Top 40 hits. Also, if the Michael W. Smith CD they own is <i>Go West Young Man</i>, again, no reason for concern. This, too, was a huge mainstream album at the same time as <i>Heart In Motion.<br /></i><br />For women, I can imagine seeing a Jars of Clay CD in your new boyfriend's collection might be a source of concern (on musical merits alone, har har) BUT, in their defense, the band's lone Top 40 hit was produced by Adrian Belew, who is just good people.<br /><br />Now, if you see ANY Sandy Patti or Carmen albums, run for your fucking life.<br /><br /><b>THESE LAST FEW ARE MORE RECENT (POST-90's)<br /></b><br /><b>18. Amy Winehouse - Back To Black</b><br /><br />Sometimes, even before I could sneak a glance at their CD's, my date would decide to set the mood by playing Amy's <i>Back To Black </i>while they slipped into something comfortable. Thankfully, this usually worked because that was literally the only album I'd hear on first dates for about five years, until Amy's passing made her music something you couldn't really set the mood with anymore.<br /><br /><b>19. Fiona Apple - Tidal</b><br /><br />Moved to L.A. at a point when <i>Tidal</i> had been out a couple years, but you'd have thought it had just come out by the number of radio stations still playing cuts from the album, so the fact that EVERONE I was dating had a copy wasn't as concerning as, say, seeing even one copy of <i>When The Pawn</i>.<br /><b><br />20. Aimee Mann - I'm With Stupid</b><br /><br />While I've never seen a Til Tuesday record in any of their collections, many a femme near-fatale in my life has had a well-worn copy of Mann's <i>I'm With Stupid</i> by the bedside. <br /><br />This was always a welcome sight during my L.A. days because, though each respective romantic partner may have been a fan of Mann, something told me they weren't the sort to keep up on such things as Mann's constant appearances at Largo (aka "The House That Jon Brion Built") on Fairfax.<br /><br />Soooo, anytime I fucked up REALLY bad, I just happened to nonchalantly take them to dinner at Largo when Mann was appearing. <br /><br />Mind you, these weren't the sort of shows that Sunny FM would promote or Ticketbasterd would sell tickets; no these were dates listed only on the Largo website and, as always, subject to change, but, boom, next thing you know, your date is shitting her pants because Aimee Mann just walked past her with a guitar. <br /><br />Those shows got me out of so much hot water over the years and sold a butt load of CD's for Aimee, as everyone I ever took made sure to buy every Mann CD they didn't own the next day. Yay, I get to once again experience someone experiencing <i>The Forgotten Arm</i> for the first time.</p>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-3009318379644605972021-06-21T10:19:00.003-07:002021-06-21T10:19:39.189-07:00In Celebration of Ray Davies' Birthday: That Time I Got Caught Stealing A Kinks Tape!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EORPe5Re5ds/YNDI7HuWX5I/AAAAAAAAGrA/dDImfG0pgIkw0gUkyjwvzKjyQQCBV14DACLcBGAsYHQ/s1178/kinks%2Btape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1178" data-original-width="728" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EORPe5Re5ds/YNDI7HuWX5I/AAAAAAAAGrA/dDImfG0pgIkw0gUkyjwvzKjyQQCBV14DACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/kinks%2Btape.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>As we celebrate Kinks singer/songwriter Ray Davies' birthday today, I am reminded of the time back in the summer of 1980 when a cash-strapped teenage me shoved a cassette copy of The Kinks' live album <i>One For The Road</i> down their pants in a Meijer's Thrifty Acres. <br /><br />Truth be told, it was all Chrissie Hynde's fault, as the Pretenders had covered the Kinks' "Stop Your Sobbing" the year prior on their amazing debut record, all I was trying to do was connect the stylistic dots as a musical archaeologist of sorts. Lacking money, I chose an alternate method of procurement.<p></p><p>Within seconds, store security jumped out from behind some fake walls and ushered yours truly into a back room, where I was greeted by big, tough-looking security officer AND an entire wall of black-and-white video monitors that seemed to show every square inch of those "thrifty acres" being watched by the big eye in the sky. </p><p>"Fuck me," I muttered, jaw dropping to the floor.<br /><br />Video surveillance may be commonplace now, but such technology was COMPLETELY new and mind-blowing at the time and felt just a wee bit like cheating, if you ask me.<br /><br />My usual strategy, lying my ass off, usually worked wonders, but it had never gone up against "actual video proof" of my transgressions so I told the store cop my dad's name and hunkered down for the coming storm after his name was called out over the store PA.<br /><br />Minutes later, as I sat on a cold metal chair in the security office listening to my dad and the security dude negotiate the terms of my release (ha!), all I could think about was the fact that, if I was going down for this crime (meaning whatever punishment waited for me at home), I was damn sure gonna make sure I got to hear the fucking album.<br /><br />Upon ariving home, my dad informed my mom of my theft then decided to ransack my room for good measure. Finding little that hadn't already been ransacked by me, pops grounded me until the year 2025 (only four more years, baby!). <br /><br />A day later, poking his head into my cell to make sure I was duly miserable, pops found me passing my time in solitary listening to some music...</p><p>Dad: (Noting the familiar red Arista Records cassette tape case in my hand) Is that the tape you STOLE last night?!<br /><br />Me: (Holding tape case in hand) What tape?<br /><br />Dad: (Grabs cassette case, reads J card) You stole a Kinks tape?! The kid who has been BLASTING Adam & The Ants, Athletico Spizz, and Blondie non-stop for months goes out and steals a tape by a band I grew up listening to?! What the hell are you --<br /><br />Me: I've been reading good things...<br /><br />Dad: Did you steal the tape back off the security officer's desk when we weren't looking?<br /><br />Me: Of course not. I stole two copies out on the floor in case I got caught. <br /><br />Dad: (closes door, doesn't speak to me until graduation)<br /><br /><br /></p>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-26129147799108202732021-05-28T16:30:00.005-07:002021-05-28T16:30:59.735-07:00Five '80s Albums We're Only Now Getting Around To Hearing, So Sue Us! <p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_WjDpIv905s" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe></div><p></p><p><b>Pete Townshend - Empty Glass (1980)</b><br /><br />We all love "Let My Love Open The Door" and, for once, it would have been nice to be "disappointed" by a whole album of songs that sound just like it. Instead, we just so happened to catch Townshend at a particularly interesting time in his career. <br /><br />At the time, there wasn't much for a new wave kid to hang their hat upon so this new wave kid opted for the other album producer Chris Thomas had just finished making, The Pretenders self-titled first album.<br /></p><p>On first listen, Townshend's inventive "A Little Is Enough", despite charting higher as a single than the inferior "Rough Boys", shows an artist stifled by the confines of his childhood rock band.</p><p>Like Jagger itching to ditch the Stones since about '73 or so and never finding an off-ramp, it has always been obvious that Townshend would've been happier tinkering the '80s away in the studio rather than undertaking another world tour for the soul purpose of getting "The Ox" out of tax debt.<br /><br />At the time of its creation, Pete found himself writing for both this and the first new Who album since Keith Moon's death and, for the first time in his career, PT was unwilling to let The Who have all the good material. <br /><br />The album is a mixed bag, for sure, but one gets the feeling that the two-record version that never left the studio would have given Pete the same problem that Phil Collins eventually had with Genesis: Am I better off going solo?<br /><br />Instead, he surrendered "You Better You Bet", knowing it would be a big enough hit to sell out every stadium on the Who's stadium tour before anyone had a chance to hear the rest of <i>Face Dances</i>. <br /><br />Guess this is as good a time as any to listen to <i>Face Dances</i> for the first time...</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_N0TcJYEJuo/YLF6CBz3bZI/AAAAAAAAGqs/22YEz7m7o3kSlMXMB2WDnUMYU5gfV0jcACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="306" data-original-width="306" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_N0TcJYEJuo/YLF6CBz3bZI/AAAAAAAAGqs/22YEz7m7o3kSlMXMB2WDnUMYU5gfV0jcACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="240" /></a></div><br /><b>The Who - Face Dances (1981)<br /></b><br />You just knew that Pete walked in with "You Better You Bet" wrapped up with a bow and a card that read "Now go sell some fookin' concert tickets".<br /><br />The filler portion of the album begins with the fourth cut,"The Quiet One", which is an impressively ambitious turd that proves Entwistle should have never been allowed near Side One, but, hey, this is a band that subjected fans to THREE Entwistle songs and then buried the album's only great song ("Who Are You") at the very end of the album for which it was named.<br /><p></p><p>Here, only a few short years after inspiring punk with their bloated jet-setting ways, these immovable rock monarchs have the gall to follow The Ox's eye-rolling vocal turn with a song called "Did You Steal My Money"? The nerve. <br /><br /><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CjjqNh9ommw" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe></p><p><b>Bill Nelson - Chimera (1983)</b></p><p>Due to constant adverts and reviews in Trouser Press at the time, Nelson's persona was vaguely appealing and, thus, he remained one of MANY artists whose music I always meant to explore, but, at the end of the day, Nelson's records never made it to My Private Siberia and the pocket money got spent on albums one could take home.<br /><br />In hindsight, I do feel a tad robbed because the music found on this specially-priced EP checks off a lot of the boxes for me as an avid new wave fan without ever straying into kitschy "Blinded By Science" or "Whip It" territory. <br /><br />The album opens with the jittery "The Real Adventure", which sounds like a less Fripped-out <i>Discipline</i>-era King Crimson. "Acceleration" picks up the Belew thread and weaves it into a Byrned-up Talking Heads groove that drives home a radio-ready chorus.<br /><br />"Everyday Feels Like Another New Drug" confirms that Nelson's voice is so much like that of Adrian Belew's that once you hear it, it tends to become a distraction, unless your point of listening is to attempt to place each new song in its proper space in Belew's varied discography.<br /><br />Sadly, no Bowie-era gems to be found.<br /><br />Would I have dug it back in '83? Probably not enough to dive into his back catalogue at the time, but, hey, now that all music is free, why not? <br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wi_zSbpFJos" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe></div><p></p><p><b>Fools Face - Tell America (1981)</b><br /><br />If you read Trouser Press front to back every month, then Fools Face was a band whose name you knew, but whose music might have eluded you due to the fact that, if you wanted their album, you were gonna have to send away to Missouri for it.<br /><br />Back in the day, it seemed each region in the US had at least one well-funded indie power pop act that seemed to have the "whole package", as the industry suits liked to say, yet somehow never made the jump to a major label. Before deciding whether or not to purchase their album, such bands were immediately subjected to what I like to call "The Producers test".<br /><br />You see, the Producers put out two albums for Portrait Records; the first was a goofy, lightweight and, yes, kitschy collective of pop ditties too clever for their own good ("What's He Got?" and "I Love Lucy", anybody?). <br /><br />The band's second album, <i>You Make The Heat</i>, was lyrically heavy, musically sophisticated, and as different from the first as it could possibly be without some key personnel changes, which happened a little later. Needless to say, <i>Heat</i> remains a personal favorite and is the benchmark against which all regional pop acts are judged.<br /><br />Considering the fact that this album predates the Producers' major label existence, though, Fools Face deserve at least some respect for taking matters into their own hands. Sadly, the band's lack of a focal point (four songwriters and singers) made it hard to put a "face" with the name.</p><p>However, if you dug that first Producers album, this platter will blow your mind. </p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5TPZu_2XmZ8" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe></p><p><b>Tom Verlaine - Flash Light (1987)</b></p><p>Nothing makes me do the dishes faster than the prospect of listening to the fifth solo album by yet another NYC guitarist whose short-lived punk band racked up more NYC-based critical raves than national sales.</p><p>Of course, this one's on IRS Records right before the label started signing hair metal bands.</p><p>While Verlaine's vocals are of the Keith Richards level of quality in the studio, I am frankly amazed at how far he's able to get before running out of gas. </p><p>After the album's first three tunes stunned, "Song" reveals the weaknesses in Verlaine's vocals and is, quite frankly, the sort of song I was expecting an entire album of by this point; especially when, based on interviews, you gather that Verlaine is well aware no album of his will ever see proper promotion or distribution.<br /><br />The rest of the album is a wash of unremarkable studio experiments save for the Celtic-flavored "Annie's Tellin' Me".</p><p>While there is a serious five-song divot in the middle of an otherwise listenable record, the four standout tracks are better than anyone has any right to expect from Verlaine.<br /><br /><br /></p>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-61384681441615042032021-04-27T10:47:00.011-07:002021-05-19T04:23:46.760-07:00The ONE THING I Never Understood About Recording Studios!<p></p><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sNtFYRIfj6I/YIhNshBVfuI/AAAAAAAAGp8/2SFHAm61wV4LjR1JVFkVFaCZeDotbWYXACLcBGAsYHQ/s900/sound%2Bcity.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="900" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sNtFYRIfj6I/YIhNshBVfuI/AAAAAAAAGp8/2SFHAm61wV4LjR1JVFkVFaCZeDotbWYXACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/sound%2Bcity.jpeg" width="320" /></a>
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Long before the interweb and Pro Tools, recording studios were kinda like bigfoot in that you hardly ever saw one up close, but when you did, it was like walking into another world; albeit one that charged by the hour the minute the door closed behind you. <p></p><p>Thanks to albums like Pink Floyd's <i>Dark Side of The Moon,</i> Fleetwood Mac's <i>Tusk</i>, and, of course, that first Boston album, the studio itself was no longer seen as cold and sterile, but, rather, a shag-carpeted paradise filled with beautiful bell-bottomed babes and dudes just dying to share their weed, speed, and chest hair with the world. <br /><br />It was also where musical "Davids" like Lindsey Buckingham and Boston's Tom Scholz became Goliaths who helped transform the image of the recording studio from that of a clinical, isolated environment to one where many now hoped to spend their every waking moment.
</p><p>What wasn't to love?
<br /><br />To this day, my heart still quickens at the sight of acres and acres of outboard gear, the acoustically-treated rooms vocal booths, those ginormous consoles with flying faders, and, last but not least, those KICK-ASS SPEAKERS!!
<br /><br />Sorry, STUDIO MONITORS!!
<br /><br />Having said that, you have not lived until you've saved up for months to finally go into the studio and, when you do, the engineer you've been saddled with starts doing shit that takes all the fun out of performing. <br /><br />For starters, every microphone in the entire tri-state area is now pointed directly at your drum kit and, crikey, there are even foam doo-hickeys and what normal folks call "shop rags" draped across your tom toms, fer crying out loud! <br /><br />After 2-3 hours of playing each drum on its own while the engineer EQ's, compresses, and pans the shit out of drums you'd never even tuned until today, you're finally ready to record.
<br /><br />When you and the band finally do start playing together...separately, that is...what you hear in your "cans" (studio slang for headphones) is either a toxic musical sludge or the greatest that you as a drummer have ever heard yourself and, no, you do not want any lead vocals in your mix, thank you very much. <br /><br /><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Xf-ln7_Q45o/YIhR0Zd_6II/AAAAAAAAGqE/G8gutA5YINgfK7ZMAGcWnKmTqLrCB6NuQCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1440" height="180" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Xf-ln7_Q45o/YIhR0Zd_6II/AAAAAAAAGqE/G8gutA5YINgfK7ZMAGcWnKmTqLrCB6NuQCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"The U.S.S. Enterprise? Nope, that's a recording console, Billy!"</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Instead of trying to capture a full band performance, you and your pals suddenly learn that standard operating procedure in the recording studio is for every instrument to either be recorded separately so that it can then be mixed back together...TO SOUND LIKE A PERFORMANCE.
<br /><br />Tell me again how this yields better results and wasn't just a ploy to suck more money out of young bands. I mean, not every fucking album is <i>Abbey Road</i>, motherfuckers.<div><br />(That accounting career is starting to sound better and better, isn't it? But wait, you'll miss the best part if you quit now.)<br /><br />Presuming your band is reasonably productive, you'll soon be ushered into the control room, where your songs will now be mixed on speakers that no normal person could afford IN THE HOPE that the final mix will sound good in the average person's car. </div><div><br />Now, I've actually been impressed by the stock speakers found in recent (2000 and newer) Fords, but BACK IN THE DAY, the speakers your average jalopy came with left much to be desired and, yet, for some folks, these were the best stereo speakers they'd ever owned, which brings us to...THE SHIT I NEVER UNDERSTOOD: <br /><br />Why the silly expense to create the most pristine acoustically-treated environment possible in which to hear the most accurate representation of the stereo spectrum on studio monitors no regular person could afford when the only way to know for sure if you had a good mix was to then pile into the drummer's car and play it back on shitty car speakers?
<br /><br />Doesn't it make more sense to mix in a setting that mimics the ambient noise of real life on speakers that humans actually use?
<br /><br />The fact that recording studios went the way of the dinosaur makes total sense. <br /><br />They were asking for it.<p></p></div>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-90659240333715492532021-04-23T07:57:00.005-07:002021-04-23T07:57:53.723-07:00What Peter Buck -n- Slash Taught Us About Being Rock Stars!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nQPXBb_imzg/YILfy1II7GI/AAAAAAAAGps/GNsPxAffo08ZZl8thTuFWfD7Jh1Ka9gogCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nQPXBb_imzg/YILfy1II7GI/AAAAAAAAGps/GNsPxAffo08ZZl8thTuFWfD7Jh1Ka9gogCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />The general consensus among music fans is that most rock stars enjoy nothing more than talking about themselves. This may be true for some, sure, but anyone who has ever interviewed rock stars for a living knows that, sometimes, the best way to get them talking is to go in the opposite direction altogether.<br /><br />As proof we offer up two examples; the first being R.E.M.'s Rickenbacker-rockin' Peter Buck, whose influence as a guitarist weighs large, but pales in comparison to his influence as "taste-maker to a generation", which Buck accomplished by giving some of the absolute best interviews of the period.<br /><br />Up until that point, I'd never seen a rock star of that magnitude go out of his way to share the spotlight so selflessly, which Buck did on many occasions by turning the interview into a virtual tip-sheet for obscure musical oddities and up & coming bands alike.<br /><br />What made Buck so special as an interview subject was that he didn't care whether you were from Time, Rolling Stone or a high school fanzine that didn't officially exist (yet); as long as you were asking questions and rolling tape, Buck was going to deliver a master-class on humility, confidence, and, yes, rock & roll.<br /><br />Now, we've all known a chatty Cathy or two in our days, but what set Buck apart from, say, David Lee Roth, was that he hardly ever talked about himself, choosing instead to give the most rapid-fire factual dissertations on why Velvet Underground and Wire had changed his life or how great a demo tape given to him by a fan had been and then you'd read a few months later that said band now had their own deal.<br /><br />Whereas a Rick Nielsen may have mentioned that he dug Roy Wood and the Move on numerous occasions, in a single interview, Buck could make you feel something for a band you'd never heard and, in doing so, probably helped sell more Velvet Underground albums than anyone else, all things considered.<br /><br />Buck's eagerness to talk about other bands beyond just his own taught this interviewer a trick that has served me well on more than one occasion; such as the time I interviewed Slash after a concert.<p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HFV9FeV0AdI/YILgJ8Wa0oI/AAAAAAAAGp0/CwZ-YdKCsOAICJv_9fmuZ2JJOWVvDoy5wCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="750" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HFV9FeV0AdI/YILgJ8Wa0oI/AAAAAAAAGp0/CwZ-YdKCsOAICJv_9fmuZ2JJOWVvDoy5wCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="258" /></a></div><br /><br />Since, I was already at this particular concert to take photos for a music magazine, I reached out to his management and wound up interviewing Slash after a show. Problem was, I hadn't cobbled together any questions AND a drop-dead beautiful woman just happened to be shamelessly throwing herself at the legendary GNR guitarist, making conversation difficult at best.<br /><br />Feeling like a head of cattle in the photo pit, after the show, a few journos were wrangled into a "quiet" room and granted ten minutes to pepper Slash with questions about the tour (Snakepit) and, of course, GNR (no comment). <br /><br />Three questions in and the interview was dying on the table. <br /> <br />Rather than ask the next question, which mentions Axl by name, yours truly calls an audible. <br /><br />"I'm a kid with a guitar sitting in a bedroom in Iowa," I says to Slash, I says. "What 5 albums do I need to hear?" <br /><br />Slash immediately ushered the woman out of the room, pulled up a drum throne, and looked me square in the eyes. <br /><br />"Do you know how long I've been waiting for someone to ask me that question?" <br /><br />The next hour flew by like Christmas, interrupted only by his PR person valiantly trying to keep Slash on-schedule (to no avail), but, eventually, we both had to get back to our respective lives or else we'd still be talking, I imagine. <br /><br />As if that weren't bad-ass enough, Slash emailed his manager further clarifications to his Top 5 the next day, which the manager then emailed to me. <br /><br />That, my friends, is how you do an interview.<p></p>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-28086358502680549212021-04-22T12:12:00.006-07:002021-07-01T15:45:15.067-07:00My Life In The Dream Kill Factory: Running Into Relics of A By-Gone Era!<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KZazEM8cgt0" title="YouTube video player" width="520"></iframe></div><br />The stereotype of the bald(ing), cigar-chomping, polyester suit-wearing record executive of the '60s and '70s was 100% correct, although, by the time my band started booking our own shows, these fat cats were already going the way of the dinosaur.<br /><br />Most of these guys, while smarmy, had ears and took their share of chances (hell, how do you think Cheap Trick got signed?), but, by the time the '80s arrived, they took one look at a young, gap-toothed Elvis Costello and got the hell outta Dodge.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2qgR0VK4zyg/YIHFJtpb5PI/AAAAAAAAGpc/UjCw-ZsQwVU_bfEjGj961tfhllAu_fpnACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="650" height="197" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2qgR0VK4zyg/YIHFJtpb5PI/AAAAAAAAGpc/UjCw-ZsQwVU_bfEjGj961tfhllAu_fpnACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />Those that remained were the bull-shitters who were still looking for their golden cow.<br /><br />The cigar chomping relic of a by-gone era that my band had the good fortune to encounter in its natural habitat (a dive bar) was the new booking agent for Shula's 31 Bowling Alley, a once-proud Midwestern live music mecca with, you guessed it, 31 glorious lanes for your bowling pleasure located in Niles, Michigan. <br /><br />The bowling alley's proximity to the interstate made it a regular tour stop for Tommy James, Chicago, Styx and even Tommy Shaw's pre-Styx band MS Funk, but was now just a bowling alley with a history nobody in the joint knew or cared about.<br /><br />This was evident the minute we entered the venue and met the man the owners had hired to run the nightclub in hopes of bringing it back to past glories. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LlIk2TOj1IA/YIHKIc41brI/AAAAAAAAGpk/DTBolc8kT5w02UFiFPjQE4ZhnLhhAAF8gCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="852" data-original-width="1136" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LlIk2TOj1IA/YIHKIc41brI/AAAAAAAAGpk/DTBolc8kT5w02UFiFPjQE4ZhnLhhAAF8gCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Bobby Cannavale perfectly captures the smarmy essence<br /> of '70s record execs in HBO's "Vinyl".</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The pinky rings, neck jewelry and shirt unbuttoned to expose the maximum amount of chest hair were just part of the uniform, but the glass of bourbon and yellow-brown finger tips at 11 in the morning denoted a certain dedication to the lifestyle.<br /><br />Ten bucks says this guy lives in a trailer.<br /><br />Eager to impress a bunch of nobodies who'd literally just stumbled in, "Gary" soon informed us that, not only did he now book the joint, but he was also an artist manager, at which point he slid a roster of his acts across the desk. <br /><br />I took a gander...<br /><br />"Dilly Pardon"<br /><br />"Waylon Gentry"<br /><br />Yep, totally legit.<br /><br />While my band mates tried and failed to keep straight faces, talk suddenly turned to a month-long tour of rural Canadian beer halls that sounded like a good way for three pretty boys like us to wind up co-starring in some low-budget Canadian version of "Deliverance" that even Ned Beatty would politely decline. <br /><br />Looooong story short, while he was still dazzling us with bullshit, we literally split in the middle of a sentence and got the fuck outta there. <br /><br />Weeks later, we're telling our demo producer about the experience only to discover that another band he produced - an all-girl band, in fact - had taken "Gary" up on his offer and were, at that very moment, playing remote logging bars in Canada. <br /><br />The next word we heard was that only two of the band members ever came back, although that could mean any number of things, right? Right?<br /><br />Upon moving to Chitown in '86, I open up a copy of IE (local-speak for "Illinois Entertainer") and see that the singer has resurfaced in the Chicago suburbs, doing goth-metal, where she remains to this day.<br /><br />Due to a bet made with a friend back in 1988, I lose fifty cents every time this person's name DOESN'T appear in the suburban club listings in the back of the Illinois Entertainer that have made it the most consistently entertaining publication since Mad Magazine for well over thirty years.<br /><br />When her name DOES appear, I WIN fifty cents.<br /><br />Over the years, this single bet has outperformed most of my stock picks.<br /><br /><p></p>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-2913886891471022322021-04-11T00:02:00.003-07:002021-04-11T00:02:57.658-07:00You are.. The WEAKEST LINK!!<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="2f8aa-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="2f8aa-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="2f8aa-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mmCNn2aIshc/YHKeSLtbaUI/AAAAAAAAGpE/VoF8A3zez7cf8OUNOL-uBN98A12O4nF3gCLcBGAsYHQ/s550/PeterTork.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="550" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mmCNn2aIshc/YHKeSLtbaUI/AAAAAAAAGpE/VoF8A3zez7cf8OUNOL-uBN98A12O4nF3gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/PeterTork.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Who was the weakest link in each of the following bands?</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="a5ams-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a5ams-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="a5ams-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="4e03t-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4e03t-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="4e03t-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">The Monkees - Peter (yet he's my favorite)</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="a006-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a006-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="a006-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="4tiig-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4tiig-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="4tiig-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">The Who - John (but only because the other three were absolute monsters)</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="3km5c-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3km5c-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="3km5c-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="pclv-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="pclv-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="pclv-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">CSNY - Bing (just kidding)</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="3lhn4-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3lhn4-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="3lhn4-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="5101m-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5101m-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="5101m-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">The Band - The wrong answer here could bring down the Steve Hoffman forum.</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="6bguj-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6bguj-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="6bguj-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="3s41u-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3s41u-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="3s41u-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Fleetwood Mac (Tusk era) - Oof, tough one, its a tie between the two dudes the band is named after. YET they deserve gold medals for being humble enough to give Buckingham/Nicks the freedom (and the drugs) to do their thing. Anyone who says Christine better back it up with FACTS.</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="cgrr4-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="cgrr4-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="cgrr4-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="a0ff5-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a0ff5-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="a0ff5-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Original Stones - The magic is that the weakest link always changed from album to album...Starting out, I might even say Keith was the weakest link, but then it became Brian, then Bill...and so on.</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="ekbso-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ekbso-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="ekbso-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="a2nk8-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a2nk8-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="a2nk8-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">The Cars - Easy to say Greg Hawkes, but take him out of the mix and these guys are just another power pop band from Boston. Plus, he gave short, geeky guys hope of being rock stars themselves one day.</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="6qs16-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6qs16-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="6qs16-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="9uqpl-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9uqpl-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="9uqpl-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">R.E.M. (original four) - Every possible answer will get you shit.</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="87coa-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="87coa-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="87coa-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="23pcv-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="23pcv-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="23pcv-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Ramones (original four) - Tommy (but he was producing, so he gets a pass) </span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="chqv1-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="chqv1-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="chqv1-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="r811-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="r811-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="r811-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Ramones V2.0 w/ Marky - Dee Dee most of the time.</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="4h78b-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4h78b-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="4h78b-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="fpt6e-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="fpt6e-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="fpt6e-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Smashing Pumpkins (original four) - Three-way tie, but perfect for the situation. We singer-songwriters who never found our "forever accomplices" should all be so lucky.</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="5aegm-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5aegm-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="5aegm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="8geol-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="8geol-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="8geol-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Kiss (original four) - Peter, but, then again, no REAL drummer would have gone along with the make-up thing at the time... AND, even though the band has had "better" drummers since, their feel on those Criss-era cuts has always been so heavy-handed that you don't mind Criss's playing so much. Even so, one dreams of what Destroyer/Love Gun (the best era) would have sounded like with a dude who swings like Steven Adler.</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="drtc-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="drtc-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="drtc-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="7eb9-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="7eb9-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="7eb9-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Which brings us to</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="epiag-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="epiag-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="epiag-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="erih6-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="erih6-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="erih6-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">GNR (appetite line-up) - WOW...think I hear my mom calling...</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="197of-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="197of-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="197of-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="eit6l-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="eit6l-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="eit6l-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Aerosmith (classic line-up) - probably whichever guy you can't name off the top of your head...in my case, bassist Tom Hamilton.</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="f48ne-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="f48ne-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="f48ne-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="f7ve8" data-offset-key="ctcp7-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ctcp7-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="ctcp7-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Point being, as demonstrated by MOST of the above musicians, the weakest link in a great band is usually still a bad-ass. </span></div></div>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-22201818223760071342021-04-01T11:04:00.003-07:002021-07-14T12:16:16.690-07:00Columbia Records Drops New "Paul & Oates" Covers Collection 'Crossroads'! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cWni9sjRfAg/YGYLJj8bXxI/AAAAAAAAGo0/9zgOYVHL7mATgMlQA_rcGhRJwU91NNALACLcBGAsYHQ/s600/paul%2Band%2Boates.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cWni9sjRfAg/YGYLJj8bXxI/AAAAAAAAGo0/9zgOYVHL7mATgMlQA_rcGhRJwU91NNALACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/paul%2Band%2Boates.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><i>(This was originally posted to the site on April 1st, 2021...April Fool's Day)<br /></i><br />Many strange and unexpected new partnerships came together during the pandemic; none more unexpected than the collaboration between Paul Simon and John Oates that began after the pair were both prevented from riding a beloved rollercoaster due to height restrictions.<br /><br />"We obviously bonded over the fact that neither of us was tall enough to ride this coaster," says Oates from his home in upstate New York. "Out of that shared experience came the inspiration for recording one of our favorite Randy Newman songs ("Short People") and, after that turned out so well, we just looked at each other and said, 'Let's do another one!'"<br /><br />"It was one of the best recording experiences I've ever had," exclaims Paul Simon from his Upper East Side apartment before poking fun at his former partner by jokingly adding, "Art who?!"<br /><br />The resulting album, <i>Crossroads</i>, will be released April 14th on vinyl, cassette and 8-track tape, with a North American tour slated for next summer, pandemic willing.<br /><br />"It'll be great to get back out there and play for people again," remarks Simon, who hints at some special surprises in the set list. "There are some Paul & Art songs I haven't played for ages because Artie wouldn't go near them, but that John really loves singing on, so...buckle up!"</p>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-25302382949861739012021-03-22T14:29:00.002-07:002021-03-22T15:08:06.356-07:00Why I Should Never Be Allowed To Meet My Heroes, Sigh: Carole King & Russell Mael Edition!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-c7XllVEcc0U/YFj8NWxzd5I/AAAAAAAAGoU/brp7eo5C8Mw1va0xl1-vngwUcR2oHHO9ACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="180" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-c7XllVEcc0U/YFj8NWxzd5I/AAAAAAAAGoU/brp7eo5C8Mw1va0xl1-vngwUcR2oHHO9ACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>CAROLE KING</b><br /><br />In 2002, I was attending some Grammy-week music industry shindig with an open bar (why else do you think anyone was there?). where they hand you a goofy name-tag at the sign-in desk that you reluctantly stick to yourself once they tell you that you can't get any free drinks without it. <p></p><p>After a couple complimentary Harvey Wallbangers, I turned to my left and, BOOM, there was Carole King smiling at me. My heart rate went from a resting, booze-filled 75 bpm to well over a thousand and then the dream got even weirder when she said, "I loved your version of 'I'm Into Something Good'!"<br /><br />But how did she know who I was? Oh, right, the name tag.<br /><br />In my head, I was screaming "I can die now!" just before the imaginary, but oh-so-believable voice of my dad interjected, "Tell her who did most of the work."<br /><br />And so I did.</p><p>"You know, I've gotta give all the credit to Rob Newhouse on that one," I replied to the living legend standing before me. "He played all the instruments AND sang all of the amazing backing vocals."<br /><br />"OK..." Ms. King replied..."'Thank you' would have worked, too."<br /><br />And, yes, the whole room winced just like you did just now.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QcxarkOjiCw/YFkL3RbE8dI/AAAAAAAAGoc/CJ3aZ36Mv_oCXjp61bgD9yazrNFqdY7_ACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QcxarkOjiCw/YFkL3RbE8dI/AAAAAAAAGoc/CJ3aZ36Mv_oCXjp61bgD9yazrNFqdY7_ACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>RUSSELL MAEL (SPARKS)</b><br /><br />So there I was doing my usual late, late, LATE night grocery shopping at the Studio City, CA "Ralphs" supermarket when I kept noticing this attractive redhead in an ornate mini dress woman with an oddly alluring tiki-wood purse walking around with a noticeably older dude in a vertical striped shirt the type new wave musicians wear.<br /><br />We crossed paths numerous times as we made our way through the aisles and I never once paid any attention to the dude.<br /><br />As luck would have it, my girlfriend and I wound up in the checkout line behind this couple, at which point I could overhear them talking about music industry bullshit. That's what was so unusual about the whole thing; you could be in line with one of the top Disney brass and never know it because they never talked shop in line at a grocery store.<br /><br />Suddenly, like a fucking shot, it dawns on me that I was in the 10 Items Or Less lane with fookin' Russell Mael from Sparks, easily my second-favorite vocalist of all-time. Can you say "adrenaline spike"?<br /><br />What happened next was, well...typical.<br /><br />Imagine, if you will, a grocery checkout lane at 3AM...disinterested checkout lady scanning items without even looking at them, THE SINGER FROM SPARKS and his girlfriend are talking quietly about who-knows-what when I catch a snippet of them talking about some new UK buzz band or something, which makes me take my first real look at the dude.<br /><br />"HOLY SHIT! ARE YOU RUSSELL MAEL FROM SPARKS?!" <br /><br />Oh no, I quickly realize, I am now saying exactly what I am thinking without any delay or buffer whatsoever.<br /><br />"Why, yes I am," replies Mael, extending his hand, at which point, I squeeze past my girlfriend to shake his hand and I tell him what a huge fan of his music I have been. Then I just clam up. Total silence. <br /><br />It isn't that I can't think of anything else to say, but, rather, I have said all I ever needed to, yet the silence is unbearable as Russell and his lady finish their transaction and then just stand there, expectantly, before Russell asks, honest to God..."Is that it?"<br /><br />My reply: "Yep."<br /><br />It is a scene I have replayed in my mind a million times. We weren't at a gig surrounded by other adoring fans, but at a completely empty grocery store, neither couple in any hurry to get anywhere. Plus, I also had a stash of Sparks CD's in my glove box. I could have peppered him with all those nagging questions I had been accumulating since 1979. but, like a fucking idiot...<br /><br />"Yep."<br /><br /><br /><p></p>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-78029041889174300242021-03-19T18:56:00.003-07:002021-03-19T18:56:47.307-07:00Overthinking Adam & The Ants!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-J9IxKGCqJ5c/YELZ0RVcBLI/AAAAAAAAGnk/d0w2kPjxQZEPNADrkqSFVNeO856TZ16GgCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="809" data-original-width="615" height="340" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-J9IxKGCqJ5c/YELZ0RVcBLI/AAAAAAAAGnk/d0w2kPjxQZEPNADrkqSFVNeO856TZ16GgCLcBGAsYHQ/w255-h340/image.png" width="255" /></a></div><br />For all that he accomplished during the '80s as a member of MTV's first wave of music video mega-stars, Adam Ant was perhaps the most prolific of them all, both musically and visually'.<p></p><p>Who else, in five years, Ant gave us just as many albums and, with each one, a stark visual transformation; from bondage den pin-up to Native American chic to swashbuckling rake and so on, until the only role left to play was ...(checks notes)..."space cowboy"? <br /><br />By the time Bob Geldof's mammoth concert endeavor Live-Aid took place in the summer of 1985, Ant's star was still perched high atop pop's Mt. Rushmore, yet the man was permitted only enough stage time to perform one song. <br /><br />(As an aside, the Hooters <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCnR2DAp0s0" target="_blank">got more songs than that</a> despite Geldof' openly wondering how the Philly band even got on the Philly bill in the first place.)<br /><br />Adam Ant couldn't very well tweet his displeasure, now, could he? No, he had to swallow his pride and gladly accept this opportunity to reach one BILLION people, <br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ryopKs_0EFU" width="520"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>We've all seen our fair share of exhausted musicians, but Ant was the first performer to ever look so desperate in that moment that, if he'd had the chance to pull the string on the bus, this writer is 100% sure Ant would have gotten off his Rock & Roll Rocket Ride at the very next stop.<br /><br />After all, this was a man, who, in five short years, had already delivered a career's worth of music, lavish outfits (for not just himself, but the entire band), music videos, and extravagant live shows. <br /><br />Duran Duran were in much the same boat, with the added bonus of being sick of the sight of each other after a grueling five-year schedule of their own, but, for Ant, things had all begun so innocently: <br /><br />1979: Bondage-obsessed punk band cutting tracks for a no-name indie label only to have Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren steal your whole band. What will become of young Adam Ant now?<br /><br />1980: Lone copies of <i>Kings of The Wild Frontier </i>begin<i> </i>popping up in Kmart and Montgomery Ward record bins right next to AC/DC's <i>Back In Black</i>, yet somehow finding their way into the hot little hands of savvy suburban teenagers looking for fresh kicks.<p>What we savvy kids in the sticks heard was obviously punk-adjacent, but with a lyrical and rhythmic slant that no other band had gong on at the time. On that basis alone, <i>Kings of The Wild Frontier</i> proved be, for many, the perfect gateway to the wonderful world of punk rock, whereby dozens of other bands, both past and present, benefitted greatly from the association.<br /><br />Let's be honest, why else would anyone own a Monochrome Set record?</p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/APnkESsekPs" width="520"></iframe></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Simply by re-tracing the many branches of<a href="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1031/1666/1600/Scan%20Friday,%20December%2002,%202005.jpg" target="_blank"> Adam's musical "Family Tree"</a> (info gathered and hand-written by the legendary Pete Frame), anyone could quickly find their way from Adam's Ants to Siouxsie's Banshees, Billy's Gen X, those dastardly devils in Bow Wow Wow, and ultimately to the Sex Pistols themselves.</div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Kings Of The Wild Frontier</i> not only provided the gateway to punk that we rust belt rebels were seeking, but also introduced an entire generation of new wave kids to African Burundi drum rhythms - pretty heady stuff to be conversant about in eight-grade Algebra, if we do say so ourselves.</p><p style="text-align: left;">You see, beneath the period-specific Native American garb stood a preening, attention-grabbing singer/songwriter/bandleader with ambitions of absolute chart domination, but also a preconceived desire to attain such rare heights "<i>his</i> way" and with a flair for the unexpected.</p><div style="text-align: left;">Little did we know that, while we were devouring our first serving of "Ant Music for Ant People", Adam had already moved on to an entirely different musical phase first introduced via the music video for the UK-only single "Stand And Deliver", which was suddenly popping up daily on the brand-new MTV cable network.<br /><br />While <i>Kings</i> had been just the album for the times - a mix of lo-fi angst and kink-based lyrics for the punk crowd and bubblegum hooks for the pop kids, nobody could have expected that the band's follow-up would be such an absolute work of art.<br /><br />Revisiting <i>Prince Charming</i> all these years later only heightens the impact of the material, which marches to nobody's drum but its own from start to finish. Thankfully, the band's drummer was a crack producer as well, but, when forced to choose between the Ants and his burgeoning production career, Hughes (Merrick) found himself producing Tears for Fears' <i>The Hurting</i> and <i>Songs From The Big Chair</i>, among others.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4IP-2Ck-wak" width="520"></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Fortunately for us, the <i>Prince Charming</i> sessions occurred just as all involved were hitting their stride and, with the eyes and the expectations of the world upon them, actually surpassed all expectations. <br /><br />Whereas the band could only reference Clint Eastwood on <i>Kings</i>, on <i>Prince Charming</i>, they were giving Herb Alpert a run for his money on the album opener "Scorpios" and, moments later, adding Ennio Morricone to the mix on the album's title cut and a song this writer suspects Wall of Voodoo wishes they'd written: "5 Guns West".<br /><br />If there was any misstep on the album, one would have to argue that it was Ants' foray into rap on the aptly named "Ant Rap", which inexplicably became a Top 5 hit in the UK.<br /><br />What such songs reveal now is just how driven Ant was to jump on any bandwagon that wasn't already crowded with poseurs and, in 1981, rap was still very much underground. While it remains the album's least essential track, its existence proves just how willing Ant was to experiment rather than deliver exactly what the fans or label execs wanted from him.<br /><br />In that sense, there are very few superstar albums of the time as brave as <i>Prince Charming</i>. Even braver was Ant's decision to break up the Ants while at the top of their game.<br /><br />Looking back, Ant's solo career was little more than a Cliff Notes version of the Ants for the millions of new fans whose full attention he had as MTV infiltrated more and more living rooms across America.<br /><br /><i>Friend Or Foe</i>'s cover art even sought to imitate the "captured video still" aesthetic of <i>Kings </i>while songs like "Goody Two Shoes" and "Desperate But Serious" seemed oddly familiar on first listen to Ant fans. In a way, it was almost as if Ant was trying to break the news of the break up to fans as gently as he could by proving that their absence would be almost undetectable.<br /><br />This was made easier by Ants guitarist Marco Pirroni continuing to write, play, and co-produce while drummer Merrick would co-produce "Goody Two Shoes" before leaving the Ant family to produce the first two Tears for Fears albums (and co-writing "Everybody Wants To Rule The World").</div></div></div><p></p>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-33516899054928431472021-03-12T11:35:00.002-08:002021-03-12T11:35:23.842-08:00Always The Opening Act, Never The Bride!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v312waHTI9I/YEvCa2kga4I/AAAAAAAAGoA/O9XopfQnwB0-gl65fzN7kCUAX8d18nM2wCLcBGAsYHQ/s713/monkees%2Bjimi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="713" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v312waHTI9I/YEvCa2kga4I/AAAAAAAAGoA/O9XopfQnwB0-gl65fzN7kCUAX8d18nM2wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/monkees%2Bjimi.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><br />As a veteran musician, knowing what you know now, what ONE musical myth would you bust for your younger self in hopes of making the road easier for them?<br /><br />Stay away from heroin. Sure, that one's probably number one with a bullet.<br /><br />My friends in the studio engineering/production side of things would no doubt love to have back all that time spent rewinding and fast-forwarding, but, more importantly, all the actual human hours of mic'ing various amps and drum kits in various rooms over the years that can now all been boiled down to a few affordable plug-ins.<br /><br />For me, it changes day to day, but today I find myself wishing I had never placed so much importance on opening for big name acts, as if doing so gave legitimacy to my little dog and pony show. <br /><br />Back in the day, so many motherfuckers thought it all boiled down to who you'd opened for or how many names you could drop in a single paragraph, but, at the end of the day, all we did was mow down an innocent forest and keep Kinko's in business another ten years past their natural sell-by date. <br /><br />In my own defense, you can actually book an entire national club tour, and drum up a little press too, without sending out a single promo pack, like I did back in 2008.<br /><br />Back in the 80's/90s, doing so would have required spending endless hours trying to get the right person on the phone to deliver your sales pitch, but, with the advent of email, this grunt work was made SOOO much easier.<br /><br />By 2000 or so, with the right email address and the ability to cut and paste a single paragraph of bullshit, you could get actual paying gigs. I found that club bookers are a lot like drummers. They want it simple.<br /><br />In other words, "We've opened for The Fixx, Men at Work and Fastball" (stop laughing) was just an easier way of saying "We're a tad more savvy than nine out of ten other bands that want a gig at your joint" while still being ambiguous about your actual ability to draw a crowd. <br /><br />If you brought the motherfucking goods musically, most clubs didn't care if your following was only ten people, they'd book you again. I have seen bands play the same venue three or four times to nobody, but by the fifth time, they've all busted through and are able to draw a decent crowd on their own.<br /> <br />In other words, if the Metro doesn't want you back because you didn't give away enough free "Rock Against Depression" tickets with your band's name circled on them, then tell Joe Shanahan that he still owes you four more gigs.<br /><br />It might work.<br /><br />Also in my defense, once you learn how to weasel your way into a respectable opening slot, you realize just how fucking meaningless such slots are to venue booking agents because, at the end of the day, any club booker worth their salt could fill every decent opening slot vacancy with just those bands they know personally (and, trust me, club bookers know a lotta bands, whether they want to or not) so the fact that your podunk parade band got a gig opening for Los Lobos or the Replacements is a story well worth plastering all over your press kit. <br /><br />Everybody else who got to open for Grand Funk at Sumerset Junction County Fair back in 1985 because their uncle was on the entertainment committee, shut it.<br /><br />The other bad thing about opening for big name acts at the large club and small theatre level is that you can get addicted to the lifestyle of the headliner life without actually being a headliner. You still get the dressing room, the comped booze, the VIP passes, soundcheck, and, yes, groupies with the added bonus of only having to play for forty-five minutes.<br /><br />Yep, the perfect job. <br /><br />Just think, if Jimi Hendrix had been happy just to open for the Monkees, maybe he'd still be alive.</p>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-79721285977141429132021-03-07T18:26:00.004-08:002021-03-07T18:45:08.839-08:00Keep It Short & Beat Spotify At Its Own Game!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IdsrX1xL1gE/YEWLEiAaziI/AAAAAAAAGn4/vvN6kVZ02oMoV2e1r3RJRwfgyZlKrJa-wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1024/funny%2B80s%2Bguy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="891" data-original-width="1024" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IdsrX1xL1gE/YEWLEiAaziI/AAAAAAAAGn4/vvN6kVZ02oMoV2e1r3RJRwfgyZlKrJa-wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/funny%2B80s%2Bguy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>In one of those weird things that happens in the digital realm, when CD Baby sent my music out to Spotify et al, the moment of silence that had been inserted between my CD's last track and the ever-present "hidden track" (sorry, it was the '90s) was uploaded as its own digital track for streaming.</p><p>Unfortunately, it got flip-flopped with one of my actual songs so one of the tracks from that album is actually just a minute of silence.</p><p>Naturally, I was a tad upset when I realized that this had occurred, but then I realized that this was the perfect opportunity to test a theory.</p><p>That theory: Short songs are the future of digital music</p><p>To test this theory, I streamed one of my actual songs, running three minutes in length, for a full hour. In that hour, the song streamed twenty times.</p><p>I then streamed the one minute of silence on repeat for one hour, during which time it streamed sixty times.</p><p>Yes, just as I had suspected, the minute of silence had streamed more times per hour than my three-minute pop song.</p><p>Amazing!</p><p>All kidding aside, what motivation is there for me as an artist to knock myself out writing three minute compositions when I can get paid three times as much for a song (or silence) that is only one-third the length?</p><p>In other words, playing by THEIR rules, the only logical path forward is to deliver one-minute (or shorter) pop songs with the intent of delivering everything the listener should need for a full song experience: One intro, one verse, one chorus, and maybe bridge (or saxophone solo) if you're feeing ambitious.</p><p><br />If the listener wants a second or third verse, they can simply stream the track again, seamlessly, and, in doing so, you, the artist, have had your track streamed multiple times instead of just once.</p><p>Those who've glanced at their analytics also know that very few listeners ever listen o an entire track ALL THE WAY THROUGH, so why not use such listening habits to your advantage?</p><p>Hilariously, this little moment of silence has become mre profitable than anything I actually wrote and that's without having to bug anybody to even listen to it. </p><p>The Math:</p><p>One minute track x 60 minutes = 60 streams per hour.</p><p>60 streams x 24 hours in a day = 1,440 streams per day per device.</p><p>2 devices = 2,880 streams per day or 86,400 streams per month.</p><p>Naturally, you can double all of those numbers with a thirty-second track.</p><p>Now, if you're like me, you're starting to re-think you're whole approach to Spotify, Youtube, etc. and, with the popularity of playlists, a new landscape is beginning to form.</p><p>Instead of uploading one full song, one could realistically upload three separate files (Verse/Chrous 1, Verse Chorus 2, Bridge/Chorus 3, etc) that, when streamed back-to-back in a playlist, make for one seamless song.</p><p>OR you could start releasing shorter versions of full length songs to those sites that pay by the stream with the goal of driving people to your label or Bandcamp page, where the full versions can be found/purchased.</p><p>The Morality:</p><p>Is it gaming the system? Sure, but, when you really get down to brass tacks, every musician should be streaming their music from every available device 24/7 as it stands. Why? Why not? Any money is better than no money and, by doing so, you also drive up your numbers, giving your music a sense of legitimacy to those who place importance on such things. </p><p>You see, some people can never realize greatness unless they first recognize that a million others recognized it first. We artists need to pay close attention to these people, for they may constitute a majority of listeners.</p><p>Also, when a booking agent whose club you wish to play asks why they should book a band with only six Twitter followers, you can direct them to your impressive Spotify numbers. Congratulations, the gig is yours!</p>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-8005830051349083542021-01-27T16:12:00.001-08:002021-01-27T16:12:35.077-08:00Quick Blurb: Three Things I Learned From The New Gordon Lightfoot Documentary (Now on Prime)!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vxCrDcfs5Oo/YA37sqq-A4I/AAAAAAAAGm0/4ckgXh_ilQE6nYvpx2nsHSPZfqZAAlDmgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/lightfoot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1038" data-original-width="1600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vxCrDcfs5Oo/YA37sqq-A4I/AAAAAAAAGm0/4ckgXh_ilQE6nYvpx2nsHSPZfqZAAlDmgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/lightfoot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">What did I NOT know about Gordon Lightfoot before I watched this documentary, "If You Could Read My Mind" (streaming now on Amazon Prime)?
</span></b><p></p><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">- One of the great loves of his life was the same woman who, for lack of a better description, killed John Belushi.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">- If he and Dylan were at the same party, which they were on more than one occasion, there would be some words between the two and then the guitars would come out.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">- The breadth of artists who've covered his material over the years is stunning. I'm guessing that when Elvis does one of your songs, well, there might be a check or two coming your way. If Lightfoot still owns his songwriting share of the publishing (there was no mention to the contrary in the film), he should have more money than Jeff Bezos.</div></div>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-77703812160238136612020-12-22T07:48:00.001-08:002020-12-22T20:53:03.955-08:00The Only Thing My Dad & I Ever Agreed On: Rick Nielsen And Cheap Trick!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VK4viGqjXlQ/X-IUl5QY51I/AAAAAAAAGl4/tnhQE3MqJC0JEFpQE_kugHG_mUHC0VvOgCLcBGAsYHQ/s500/rick%2Bby%2Bchris%2Bwalter.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="339" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VK4viGqjXlQ/X-IUl5QY51I/AAAAAAAAGl4/tnhQE3MqJC0JEFpQE_kugHG_mUHC0VvOgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/rick%2Bby%2Bchris%2Bwalter.jpg" /></a></div><p>As Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen turns 72 today, I am once again given opportunity to praise Mr. Nielsen for his contributions to popular music, yes, but also to world peace. You see, growing up in the Robbins household, I found myself at constant loggerheads with my dad.<br /><br />In many ways we were much the same (we both played drums and dug garage rock), but on the few key issues where it really mattered to my pops (pitching in with chores, getting decent grades, arriving home before curfew), I just could not make it happen for him and that was a great source of strain in our relationship.<br /><br />In hindsight, I could and should have paid more attention to such things, but, then again, that would have just made me <i>him</i> and not me...as I would later go on to become the guy who released an album called <i>Rules Get Broken</i>.<br /><br />I could never get it through his thick head that I wasn't showing disrespect for <i>his</i> authority, I was shirking ALL authority. Trust me, as curfew time approached, I asked myself "Do I stay here on this boat in the middle of this lake with my girlfriend and get in big trouble ORRRRRRRRRRR do I go home now and avoid all confrontation?" and, wouldn't you know it, willingly locking myself in a box always lost.<br /><br />Thankfully, through those combatant times, there was one thing that brought peace between warring factions: The music of Cheap Trick, but, more importantly, the musical and visual aesthetic of one Rick Nielsen. <br /><br />You see, my dad's workshop was right outside my bedroom in the family basement, so, if the man wanted to work on his black powder pistols, he was going to have to listen to my music. I knew this, of course, but, unbeknownst to him, I would make a point to try to play something that fell somewhere close to his rock & roll comfort zone.<br /><br />The only way I could tell what bands of my era dad liked was if he wandered over, knocked on my door, and asked, "Who is that?"<br /><br />With Cheap Trick, though, it was something different. He actually let my younger brother and I play their music IN THE CAR, ON HIS STEREO SYSTEM, which was normally reserved for driving we kids absolutely crazy in the back seat with all of that old school blues (John Lee Hooker), new school blues (Canned Heat), Janis Joplin and Joe Cocker.<br /><br />I happen to love all of those artists NOW, but, as a kid, it was literally MY JOB to hate everything from my parents' era and there was no one more repulsive to my mid-80's sense of cool than sweaty Joe Cocker...and that was before I had ever seen the man perform.<br /><br />Yet, somehow, here we were slowly rocking down the back roads of Michiana in our wood panel station wagon on the way to one of two shopping malls LISTENING TO CHEAP TRICK.</p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0iziv9znHFY" width="520"></iframe></div><p></p><p><br />Not only that, you see, my dad had actually requested that we bring the 8-track tape upon which my brother and I had recorded a radio broadcast of a Cheap Trick show from Providence, Rhode Island in 1980 and, believe it or not, that tape never left the car.<br /><br />In fact, "somebody" accidently forgot to remove it from the tape player when we sold the "Wood Panel Monstrosity" later on, at which point my dad and I both got in the NEW family monstrosity and hauled ass to the buyer's house to retrieve it.<br /><br />At one point we got pulled over by a state trooper for doing 125 mph the wrong way down a one way street - in a school zone, no less - but, when we calmly explained the situation to the officer, he gave us a warning AND a police escort.<br /><br />Small towns, huh?<br /><br />When my brother and I, along with an entire car-full of our friends, wanted to go see Cheap Trick on their 1982 One On One tour, who gladly chaperoned us?<br /><br />And when the tour came back through the area six months later, who came with us to the show?<br /><br />In fact, over the years, my dad was responsible for making sure we got to see Cheap Trick anytime the band came within three hours of our address and, for that, I will remain forever thankful.<br /><br />When my dad began struggling with serious health issues right around the same age that I am now (mid-fifties), there were many times during my days in L.A. that I would come home to a tearful phone message from dear ol' mom informing me that dad had been hospitalized once again and that "it didn't look good".<br /><br />On one such occasion, shortly before his passing, I called home to discover that dad was neither at home nor in the hospital. Instead, he'd checked himself out of INTENSIVE CARE and gone to see Cheap Trick.<br /><br />That's right, the man literally got up and out of his death bed, snuck past the nurses, and went to see Rick Nielsen and the boys bring the noise at a local club when most of us would have been flat on our backs and pressing that button for more pain meds.<br /><br />In Cheap Trick and, more importantly, in Rick Nielsen, my dad found a kindred spirit with the same love for the Stones, the Blues and the damn Bowery Boys, which he just wasn't going to find anywhere else in my record collection, to be honest.<br /><br />With my dad gone almost twenty years now, those memories of losing my shit at a Trick show only to turn and see him standing a few seats down with a shit-eating grin on his face are some of the best memories of him that I have and for that I will always have Rick Nielsen and Cheap Trick to thank.<br /></p>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-54555393409573684522020-12-21T13:56:00.007-08:002020-12-21T14:06:46.750-08:00All I Want For Christmas Is An Eco-Friendly Physical Format!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1214" data-original-width="1191" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cybK3iNXLRA/X-EX1TJU0mI/AAAAAAAAGlw/9-wk2aHazvcAfRbxNy6R8mVgRzhu-T9bQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/archies.jpg" /></div><p>If you're one of the few, but many, who go about the experience of listening to vinyl albums in much the same way Steve Carell's "40 Year-Old Virgin" went about preparing to dig into the ginormous "box o' porn" he'd been gifted, then you've probably also wondered why, with the planet teetering on the very brink of no return, there is not yet an eco-friendly alternative to all current physical music formats, which rely upon fossil fuels, to varying degrees, for their production.<br /><br />Like you, I presume, my love affair with vinyl records is downright Pavlovian: The crackle of the needle touching down alone can make the hairs on the back of my arse stand right on end. There is no greater joy than hearing those speakers coming to life as you grab the album cover and immerse yourself in the visual representation of the musical journey you are about to take. <br /><br />Sit back, relax, but don't get too comfortable, though, because you'll need to flip the album over in about fifteen minutes or so. <br /><br />Also, is there any other product where the exterior packaging was retained after opening and considered a vital part of the overall experience? I ask only because, when it came to CD long boxes later on, we couldn't wait to chuck those things in the trash. </p><p>Yet there are many who cannot truly enjoy Pink Floyd's <i>The Wall,</i> Bruce Springsteen's <i>Born To Run</i>, or, for that matter, Starz's <i>Attention Shoppers</i>, without holding the album cover and assorted contents in our hot little hands.<br /></p><p>Hell, half the reason I find myself cheering on the continuing comebacks of vinyl is so that I can READ THE FUCKING LINER NOTES.<br /><br />So why, some fifty years after we first put a man on the damn moon <i>and</i> The Archies' "Sugar Sugar" on the back of a cereal box, are we not up to our naughty bits in eco-friendly physical music formats? <br /><br />That would be at least some small consolation for the compete absence of flying cars in the 21st Century, which we were also promised!<br /><br />While I applaud those traditional pressing plants that are now "attempting to make their process as eco-friendly as possible", he/she who finds a sustainable physical format will determine the course of modern music.<br /><br /><br /></p>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-65444256794336074842020-12-16T03:25:00.005-08:002020-12-16T03:27:48.962-08:00Derp Thoughts: Are Most Bands Only As Big As Their Influences?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nos_LxsLgVU/X9nsXZNMKCI/AAAAAAAAGlg/V93-H3U-fnAgU6xuPS594WY0XlZwuQZQgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/rem%2B1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nos_LxsLgVU/X9nsXZNMKCI/AAAAAAAAGlg/V93-H3U-fnAgU6xuPS594WY0XlZwuQZQgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/rem%2B1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 24px; white-space: pre-wrap;">"You're only ever gonna become as big as your influences."</span><p></p><div data-block="true" data-editor="fj0og" data-offset-key="a2hv4-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a2hv4-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="a2hv4-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">It was 1985 and my dad had just said something that I knew would stick with me after I had just pleaded my case for taking a semester off from college just to see how far the band could get with everyone making it their sole focus.
To him, being in a moderately popular local band was one thing, but even aspiring to be one of the bands played on MTV was a whole other enchilada.
To prove his point, he pointed to the nearest stack of records:
"Near as I can tell, your influences are Platinum Blonde, The Jam, Angel City and Off Broadway so you might have a tough go of it if you're expecting to be the next Beatles."
Hey, I'm not greedy, I thought at the time, just the one or two Top 40 hits will do. In and out, bada-boom, bada-bing, then just stick to playing street fairs and rib fests every summer.
But, for the most part, my dad was absolutely right: If your biggest influence is Clan of Xymox, you should probably not be disappointed if your band didn't get any bigger than Clan of Xymox.
A band like R.E.M. is a rare exception, though, comprised of four individuals all coming from completely different directions, musically, with the two guiding forces (Stipe and Buck) being heavily influenced by... Big Star and Velvet Underground? Excuse me while I still remain completely surprised that R.E.M. was able to become one of the biggest bands in the world on their own terms while everybody else was out buying synthesizers and skinny ties.
Obviously, R.E.M. was that rare exception where the band's odd nature and obscure cultural and literary references were a big part of who they were as a band. As great as Chronic Town may have been, nobody who heard it could have possibly foreseen the band's gradual rise to the fourth most popular band in the world (or was it third?) just a few short years later.
<br /></span></div></div>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-9962159843408463952020-12-15T10:10:00.003-08:002020-12-16T02:35:27.359-08:00Beatle Battle: 'Help!' Vs. 'A Hard Day's Night' (And Why 'Help!' is The Better Movie)!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p53DhSgqHUU/X9niHE8A_BI/AAAAAAAAGlU/5LNZKkpdwqMpyRiSc_eHypJUxtLbaE4uwCLcBGAsYHQ/s450/john%2Bcoke%2Bbottle%2Bahdn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="450" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p53DhSgqHUU/X9niHE8A_BI/AAAAAAAAGlU/5LNZKkpdwqMpyRiSc_eHypJUxtLbaE4uwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/john%2Bcoke%2Bbottle%2Bahdn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i>Enter any music forum, ask "Which movie is better, 'Help!' or 'A Hard Day's Night'?" and you will inevitably be flooded with responses declaring the latter to be the better film. Those people are WRONG!</i></span></div><p>Once and for all, why "Help!" is the better movie:<br /><br />- Just like the truly magical part of "The Wizard of Oz", it's in COLOR! </p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4Nq-GyLrtHc" width="520"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;">- The old man (Paul's grandfather, played by 52-year-old character actor Wilfrid Brambell) ruins "A Hard Day's Night" because he's either a) brilliant and, thus, upstages the fabs, or b) he's an annoyingly obvious comedic prop that hints at the fact that the filmmakers did not have faith in the fabs to be able to act or be funny. They were dead wrong on both counts</div></div><p style="text-align: center;">- <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Yx_7xjpySK0" width="520"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: left;">- As far as shear innovation goes, how can you not be transfixed by THE BED IN THE FLOOR (my sole inspiration for becoming a musician at the age of 5) much less a functioning recording studio ON A BATTLEFIELD?</p><p style="text-align: left;">- Two words: Better songs. Singles "Help!", "Yesterday", and the movie debuts of "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" and "Ticket To Ride" show a new level of artistry and musicianship without sacrificing any of the immediacy of their early hits.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AuWp77cmbbg" width="520"></iframe></div><p style="text-align: left;">- Mo' betta quotes! "Go to the window" has been a "go-to quote in any band I've ever been in...what does ADHN have? "He's very clean"? Again, the crusty old man ruins it.</p><p style="text-align: left;">- The fabs in The Bahamas. On Bikes!</p><p style="text-align: left;">- Did I mention that it's in COLOR??</p><p style="text-align: left;">- Last but not least, miniature Macca!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://img.wattpad.com/be044b5931a10e0ae1c4c7b0776146717b833adb/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f43476d4f323075633233504a61773d3d2d35362e313466373265623730666431306363363531363631393338303532362e676966?s=fit&w=720&h=720" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="146" data-original-width="245" src="https://img.wattpad.com/be044b5931a10e0ae1c4c7b0776146717b833adb/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f43476d4f323075633233504a61773d3d2d35362e313466373265623730666431306363363531363631393338303532362e676966?s=fit&w=720&h=720" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4319871768110476457.post-81333316037248248712020-11-24T10:57:00.003-08:002020-11-24T11:21:10.264-08:00How Famous Did You Want To Be?: Live From The Ramada Inn Lounge!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BuC4FcwxFgc/X71UYT9IERI/AAAAAAAAGk0/uAKdTCn6RW8-iiTVpGk-J-RrXhmEPKPJACLcBGAsYHQ/s500/ramada%2Binn%2Blounge%2B2.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="500" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BuC4FcwxFgc/X71UYT9IERI/AAAAAAAAGk0/uAKdTCn6RW8-iiTVpGk-J-RrXhmEPKPJACLcBGAsYHQ/w329-h213/ramada%2Binn%2Blounge%2B2.webp" width="329" /></a></div><br /><div>When my first serious band began to go in search gigs in our little corner of the American rust belt, circa 1985, the thought of spending even one evening in a Ramada Inn lounge scared us straight and convinced us that the only way to avoid such a fate was by writing and performing our own material. </div><br />A few short years later, there I was as a solo artist playing "TBA" opening slots for any number of major label acts on the hockey rink circuit. <br /><br />Glamorous? Sure, but once the stage lights go down, all any high riding rock star who happens to find themselves spending the night in Boise, Idaho can do is head back to the local Ramada Inn, stop off in your room for a bit, and, you guessed it, wander down to the fucking lounge until closing time.<br /><br />I recognized the irony immediately and fell into a momentary pit of despair as it dawned on me that my highly ambitious and costly quest for fame and fortune beyond my wildest dreams had led me back to the one place I was trying to avoid most of all.<br /><br />It was in many a dark lounge, however, that I enjoyed numerous heart-to-heart conversations with rock stars both big and small, asking as many as I could the question that I always found most interesting:<br /><br />"How famous did you want to be?"<br /><br />On one occasion, there was a guitarist for a band that I very much liked as a kid whose hard exterior had made connecting with him after shows near-impossible. One night, though, with everyone sloshed and feeling no pain, I hit him with the question and he didn't stop talking until sun up.<br /><br />It is the one question that no musician seems fully prepared to answer without first having to swirl it around in their minds for a little while.<br /><br />The obvious reply is to state that you simply wanted nothing more than to be bigger than the Beatles as a kid, but as you commit more and more of yourself to this crazy dream, some of us revise our answers while others never seem to revisit the subject ever again, yet, in hindsight, there is no greater question a musician can ask themselves first thing every morning.<br /><br />Especially if waking up to a fistful of phone numbers scrawled on Ramada Inn drink napkins.<br /><br />So, how famous did I want to be?<br /><br />As hilarious as it sounds, I was always shooting for a level of fame no higher than, say, the Hooters or the Outfield. You know, a couple nice radio hits to keep the royalty checks rolling in long after that first blast of MTV fame recedes. <div><br /></div><div>Truth be told, all I ever wanted was just a taste of the rare air and, lets face it, when was the last time Rob Hyman had to worry about being accosted by fans everywhere he went? <br /><br />Meanwhile, two decades after her last big hit, Madonna still needs a security team to run out and grab a gallon of milk at the corner store.</div>Superior St. Rehearsal Facilityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18076361637522051413noreply@blogger.com0