Showing posts with label Dean Wareham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dean Wareham. Show all posts

Sunday, March 13, 2011

North Fork Sound Top 20 - March 13th 2011

The White Stripes

1. The White Stripes: Party Of Special Things To Do
2. Sator: Your Up Gets Me Down
3. Villagers: I Saw The Dead
4. Hidden City: Hoot Owl Trek
5. The 5.6.7.8's: Great Balls Of Fire
6. O.V. Wright: A Nickel And A Nail
7. Bill Kirchen: Flip-Flop
8. Dust Junkys: Living In The Pocket Of A Drug Queen (F.L.C. remix)
9. John Tavener: The Storm
10. Big Boy Groves: Bucket O Blood
11. Johnny Cash: Wide Open Road
12. T. Rex: Beltane Walk
13. R.L. Burnside: It's Bad You Know
14. The Who: Baby Don't You Do It
15. Buck Owens: Together Again
16. Luna: Sleeping Pill
18. Jello Biafra & The Guantanamo School Of Medicine: Metamorphosis Exploration On Deviation Street Jam
19. Junior Murvin: Tedious
20. Derek Morgan: Moon Hop

North Fork Sound Alb O' The Week
Hayes Carll: KMAG YOYO & Other American Stories

North Fork Sound Legend Of The Month
Lemmy

Last Week's Listener Favourites
The Band: Don't Do It
Beady Eye: The Morning Son
Beady Eye: Four Letter Word
Beady Eye: Bring The Light
Beady Eye: For Anyone
The Beatles: All I've Got To Do
Billy Bragg: Must I Paint You A Picture?

Billy Fury
Billy Fury: Lowdown Blues
Bob Geldof: Blow
Brinsley Schwarz: Please Don't Ever Change
Burning Spear: Marcus Garvey
Can: Bring Me Coffee Or Tea
Cooder Graw: Llano Estacado
David Bowie: After All
Dean & Britta
Dean & Britta: The Sun Is Still Sunny
East River String Band: Swanee River
Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians: Shadowboxing
Ellen Foley
Ellen Foley: Stupid Girl
The Equals: Babay Come Back
Farren, Colquhoun & Taylor: Baby Pink
Gallon Drunk: To Love Somebody
Gene Vincent: Slow Times Comin'
Jenny Lewis w/the Watson Twins: It Wasn't Me
Led Zeppelin: D'yer Mak'er
Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Adrian Sherwood: Lucky Tarzan
Lemmy w/Wendy O Williams: Stand By Your Man
Lindisfarne: We Can Swing Together
Lou Reed: I Love You Suzanne
Maxine & Jahnet: One Light, Four Wheel
Motörhead: Killed By Death
Neu!
Neu!: Hallogallo
The Real Kids: All Kindsa Girls
Robbie Fulks & Kelly Willis: Parallel Bars
Ronnie Spector: Try Some, Buy Some
Roogalator: Cincinnati Fatback
Siouxsie
Siouxsie: Into A Swan
The Snivelling Shits: I'm Waiting For My Crossroads
The Soundtrack Of Our Lives: Instant Repeater '99
The Sundown Playboys: Saturday Nite Special
Timmy Thomas: Why Can't We Live Together
Alex Lusty - Who Shot Who?
Who Shot Who?: Have You Seen Annette
Yvonne Fair: It Should Have Been Me

don't forget...Friday, April 8th - noon-3pm, PURE w/howard thompson 'live' on WPKN, 89.5fm Bridgeport, CT and streaming & archived at www.wpkn.org

Sunday, August 1, 2010

North Fork Sound Top 20 - August 1st, 2010

Die Antwoord
1. Die Antwoord: Wat Kyk Jy
2. Spiritualized: The Individual
3. The Wolfmen: July 20 (James Young mix)
4. Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby: Living Next Door To Alice
5. Los Lobos: All My Bridges Burning
6. Raul Malo: ‘Til I Gain Control Again
7. Huw Gower: All The King's Horses
8. Marianne Faithfull: Guilt
9. Floyd Jones: Dark Road
10. Ian Hunter: Way With Words
11. Gil Scott-Heron: Me And The Devil

12. Eli "Paperboy" Reed: Come And Get It
13. Marc Cohn w/Kristina Train: Tears Of A Clown
14. Graham Parker: Snowgun
15. Evan Watson: Emma Lee
16. Howlin' Wilf & The Vee-Jays: Hello Stranger
17. LCD Soundsystem: Drunk Girls (Wooden Shjips remix)
18. Heatwave: Boogie Nights
19. Boots Randolph: Danny Boy

20. Susan Cadogan: In The Ghetto

North Fork Sound Alb O' The Week
Dean & Britta: 13 Most Beautiful - Songs For Andy Warhol's Screen Tests

North Fork Sound Legend Of The Month
Brian Eno

Last Week's Listener Favourites
Alex McMurray: The Woman I Love
BB King: Chains And Things
Betty Davis: Nasty Gal
Bill Kirchen: Time Will Tell The Story
Björk
Reykjavik, Iceland - November 17 '06

photo: ht

Björk: Big Time Sensuality
Bobby Charles: He's Got All The Whiskey
The Chosen Few: Shaft
Chumbawamba: Add Me
The Clash: Safe European Home
Danny Adler: Too Lazy To Work
Danny Gatton: "A" Train
The Doughboys: Early Morning Wake Up
Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band: Cherzez La Femme/Se Si Bon
Dr. Feelgood: All Through The City
Family: In My Own Time
Glenn Tilbrook & The Fluffers: Relentless Persuit
The Godfathers: Birth, School, Work, Death
The Grateful Dead w/Bo Diddley: Bo Diddley
The Hedrons: Couldn't Leave Her Alone
Helen Love: Boots On
Hellvis: Hot Rod Boogie #7
Howard Werth: Caramba
The Inmates: The Walk
Jimmie Vaughan: Just A Little Bit
The Kingstonians: Singer Man
Little Joe Cook (Chris Farlowe) Stormy Monday Blues (Pt. 2)
Luna: Broken Chair
M.I.A: Believer

M.I.A: It Takes A Muscle
The Mothers Of Invention: Dog Breath, In The Year Of The Plague
The Naked Orchestra: Well...Whatever
Nick Lowe: Half A Boy And Half A Man
The Prissteens: Oh Howard!
Ronnie Spector & The E Street Band: Say Goodbye To Hollywood
Shawn Sahm w/Augie Myers: Mendocino
Shpongle: Invisible Man In A Fluorescent Suit

live365 and the internet is just not big enough so we're now on terrestrial radio too! SEND PROMOS - cds or vinyl ONLY
Next show: August 13th, and every second Friday of the month, 12 (noon) - 3pm:-

WPKN 89.5 or www.wpkn.org

Sunday, April 11, 2010

North Fork Sound Top 20 - April 11 '10



Happy, Happy Birthday Baby...

1. Irma Thomas: Anyone Who Knows What Love Is
2. Buddy Holly: Well...All Right
3. Doug Powell: She Walks On Water
4. Alabama 3: Jaqueline
5. The Georgia Satellites: Trouble Comin'
6. Philip Rambow (w/Mick Ronson): Fallen
7. Letta Mbulu: Noma Themba
8. Television: Marquee Moon
9. Pizzicato Five: Sophisticated Catchy

10. Bob Dylan: Lonesome Day Blues

11. Jimmy Witherspoon: Money's Getting Cheaper
12.
Steve Reich/Manhattan Marimba Quartet: Sextet - Mvt. #5
13. The Pink Fairies: Do It
14. The Barracudas: Little Red Book (demo)
15. Prince Jazzbo & The Upsetters: Croaking Lizard

16. Ronnie Dawson: Crazy Shoes

17.
Field Music: Terrapin
18. Phyllis Dillon: Don't Stay Away

19. Harvey Mandel: Just A Hair More

20.
The Sex Pistols: Pretty Vacant
VG, John Lydon, Nora Forster
W. 23rd St, NYC
photo: ht

North Fork Sound Alb O' The Week
Ray Wylie Hubbard: A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment (Hint There Is No C)

North Fork Sound Legend Of The Month
Roky Erickson

Last Week's Listener Favourites
Andre Williams w/The Eldorados: Muther Fuyer
Black Limo: Drugstore Girl
Chuck Berry: Johnny B. Goode
The Detroit Cobras: Hittin' On Nothing
The Dixie Cups: Iko Iko
Eddie Cochran: Jeannie, Jeannie, Jeannie
Gary Glitter: Rock And Roll Pt. 2
The Godfathers: Sun Arise (Andy Kershaw BBC Radio 1 session 10/85)
The Grateful Dead: Sugar Magnolia
The Grease Band: Laugh At The Judge
Humble Pie: Heartbeat
James Hunter: Better Luck Next Time
Jon Cleary: Unnecessarily Mercenary
Joya Landis: Kansas City
Lambchop: The New Cobweb Summer
Larry Adler: Screw's Blues
Lou Reed: I Remember You
Luna: Sideshow By The Seashore
Dean Wareham
the Olympia, Paris, France
June, '93
photo: ht
Mott The Hoople: Too Short Arms (I Don't Care)
Nouvelle Vague feat. Camille: Too Drunk To Fuck
The Pioneers: Papa Was A Rolling Stone
The Pulsars: Das Lifeboat
Ry Cooder & Manuel Galban: Patricia
Sir Douglas Quintet: You're Gonna Miss Me
Steve Almaas: She Thought She Knew Him Well
Swamp Dogg: The Mind Does The Dancing While The Body Pulls The Strings
This Heat: Not Waving
Tony Joe White: Scratch My Back
Tony Joe White
The Village Underground, NYC
photo: ht
Zoot Money's Big Roll Band: Walking The Dog

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

North Fork Sound Top 20 - February 14th '10

Happy Mardi Gras Day!

James Booker
1. James Booker: Junco Partner
2. Dr. John: Mardi Gras Day
3.
The Wild Tchoupitulas: Hey Dey Come
4.
Alex McMurray: The Day After Mardi Gras Day
5. Louis Armstrong: Where The Blues Were Born In New Orleans
6.
Earl Palmer: Honky Tonk Pt.2
7. The Wild Magnolias: Party
8. Lee Dorsey: Yes We Can Pt.1
9. Elvis Presley: New Orleans
10. Etta James: Born On The Bayou
11.
Illusion Fields: The Mardi Gras Raven
12. Nicholas Payton: Fleur De Lis
13. Amy Allison: Mardi Gras Moon
14. Neil Young: Walking To New Orleans
15. Ed Sanders: Ash Wednesday And Lent
16. Jesse Hill: Ooh Poo Pah Doo Pt.1
17.
Mark Bingham: Louisiana Proverbs
18. Brenda Lee: Jambalaya (On The Bayou)
19. Eddie Bo: Temptation
20. The Neville Brothers: Wild Injuns

North Fork Sound Alb O' The Week:
Vincent Quatroche: In Dreamthink

North Fork Sound Legend Of The Month:
Keith Richards

Last Week's Listener Thumbs-Ups:
Joey Ramone
Coney Island High, NYC
photo: ht

The Ramones: I Don't Wanna Go Down in The Basement
Delbert McClinton: Out Of My Mind
Jimmy Reed: Baby What You Want Me To Do
The Small Faces: Watcha Gonna Do About It
Jimi Hendrix Experience: All Along The Watchtower
Andre Williams: The Spider And The Fly
Genevieve Waite: White Cadillac
Dave Swarbrick, Martin Carthy & Diz Dizley: Spanish Ladies Medley
Jean Claude Vannier: Le Roi Des Mouches Et La Confiture De Roses
Gene Ammons: I Remember You
Les Paul & Mary Ford: How High The Moon
Inez & Charlie Foxx: My Special Prayer
The Fugs: Group Grope
The Pogues: White City
The Pogues: Misty Morning Albert Bridge
The High Dials: The Holy Ground
John & Beverley Martyn: Primrose Hill
Ramsey Lewis Trio: Wade In The Water
Cream: Strange Brew
Doug Powell: A Prayer For Ray Davies
The Dominos: Sixty Minute Man
Daddy Cleanhead: Something's Going On In My Room
Danny & The Fat Boys: Harlem Nocturne
James Brown: It's Too Funky in Here
Frankie Miller: Play Something Sweet
Keith Richards & The X-pensive Winos: Take It So Hard
Johnnie Johnson (feat: Keith Richards): Tanqueray
The Dirty Strangers (feat: Keith Richards): She's A Real Botticelli
Warren Zevon: My Shit's Fucked Up
Richard Lloyd: Torn Shirt
Alex McMurray: Lazy Eye
John Coltrane: Impressions
Jim Backus & Friend: Delicious
The Saints: Know Your Product
Shpongle: No Turn Unstoned
The Maytals: Alidina
The Paragons: The Tide Is High
Little Feat: Dixie Chicken
Bo Diddley: Oh Yeah
Peter C Johnson & Bonnie Raitt: Lower Power
The Grateful Dead: Sugar Magnolia
Bob Dylan: Everything Is Broken
Bonnie & The Treasures: Home Of The Brave
Andy Fairweather Low: Be Bop 'n' Holla
Petty Booka: I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend
Gypsy: Midnight Fighter
Denny Laine: Say You Don't Mind
Boots Brown: Cerveza
The Band: Up On Cripple Creek (alt. take)
The Who: The Song Is Over
The Happy Talk Band: When I Sing About You
Headstone: Searching Light
The Ronettes: I Can Hear Music
Allen Toussaint: Soul Sister
Jocelyn Pook: Take Off Your Veil
Sylvester & The Hot Band: Southern Man
Audience: House On The Hill (original version)
Bobby Charles: See You Later Alligator
Richard Thompson: Willie And The Hand Jive/Not Fade Away
The Replacements: Sadly Beautiful
Robert Schimmel: Richie Valens' Plane/Airport Security
Jane's Addiction: Mountain Song
Heinz: Just Like Eddie
Dean & Britta: White Horses
Dean Wareham, Britta Phillips
photo: ht

Sunday, January 24, 2010

North Fork Sound Top 20 - January 24th '10

Louise Hull

1. Louise Hull: Warning Signs
2. White Hills: Radiate
3. Vince Quatroche: New Suffolk Girls
4.
The Techniques: Queen Majesty
5. Johnny Hiland: Gatton To It
6. Reckless Kelly: Idaho Cowboy
7. Barrington Levy: On The Telephone
8.
The Faces: Around The Plynth
9. Fun Lovin' Criminals: Loco (Latin Quarter version)
10.
Billy Swan: Jailhouse Rock/King Creole
11. The Incredible String Band: Chinese White
12. Waylon Jennings: Waymore's Blues
13. Sam Cooke: Mean Ole World
14. J.J. Cale: I'll Make Love To You Anytime
15. The Doors: Maggie M'Gill
16.
mewithoutYou: Bullet To Binary Pt. 2
17. Marty Robbins: Singing The Blues

18. The Fugs: Wide, Wide River
19. Prince: We March
20. White Rabbits: Rudie Fails

North Fork Sound Alb O' The Week:
The Pirates: Shakin' At The Beeb - BBC Sessions 1976 - 1978

North Fork Sound Legend Of The Month:
Nick Lowe

Last Week's Listener Thumbs-Ups:
Dean Wareham, Angel Corpus Christi, Alan Vega
W. 23rd St, NYC
photo: ht

Angel Corpus Christi: Big Black Cloud
Nebula: The Dagger
Burning Spear: Black Wa-Da-Da
Alex McMurray: I Am In Hell
Marvin Gaye: Anna's Song
Big Joe Turner: Low Down Dog
Kevin Ayers: Stranger In Blue Suede Shoes
John Mayall: Streamline
The Four Horsemen: Drunk Again
Bo Diddley: Mona
Luna: Crazy People
Barrington Levy: Rob And Gone
Brenda Lee: Sweet Nothin's
The Crickets: My Little Girl
David Bowie: Suffragette City
Marianne Faithfull: Down From Dover
Bobby 'Blue' Bland: I Wouldn't Treat A Dog (The Way You Treated Me)
Jerry Lee Lewis w/Jimmy Page: Rock And Roll
Elvis Presley: I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water
Billy Bragg: Sexuality
The Isley Brothers: That Lady
Lou Reed & John Cale: Nobody But You
T. Valentine: Hello Lucille, Are You A Lesbian?
Nick Lowe: I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass
The Crusaders: Put It Where You Want It
Genya Ravan: What Kind Of Man Are You
The Divinyls: Pleasure And Pain
Todd Rundgren: Bang The Drum All Day
Man: Bananas
Shelby Lynne: Johnny Met June
Twinkle: Terry
Link Wray: Rumble
Brinsley Schwarz: (What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love And Understanding
Delbert McClinton: The Jealous Kind
The Sex Pistols: EMI
Elliot Easton: (Wearing Down) Like A Wheel
Christine Ohlman & Rebel Montez: Born To Be Together
Johnny Kidd & The Pirates: A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues
The Pirates: Castin My Spell
Nina Hagen: New York, New York
Nina Hagen, ht
Paradise Garage, NYC - 1984
photo: Gail Bruesewitz

Sunday, May 3, 2009

North Fork Sound Top 20 May 3rd ‘09

1. Ike Turner: Jesus Loves Me
2. The Cramps: People Ain’t No Good
3. Dean Wareham: Anesthesia
4. Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers: Pablo Picasso
5. John Mooney: Drink A Little Poison (4 U Die)
6. Kris Kristofferson: The Show Goes On
7. Detroit (feat: Mitch Ryder): Long Neck Goose
8. Billy Bragg: Seven And Seven Is
9. Beverly Jones & The Prestons: Hear You Talking
10. Doug Powell: The Uninvisible Man
11. John Doe & The Sadies: Til I Get It Right
12. Ornament: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
13. Allen Toussaint: Singin’ The Blues
14. Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson: Motor Head Baby
15. Johnny Dynell & New York 88: Jam Hot (Rhumba Rock)
16. The Divinyls: Elsie
17. True Believers: Nobody’s Home
18. Pink Floyd: Interstellar Overdrive (‘Tonight Let’s All Make Love In London’ version)
19. LCD Soundsystem: Yeah (Pretentious Version)
20. Clive Chin & Lloyd Parks: Extraordinary Version

NoFoSo Alb o’ The Week:
Various Artists: Cries From The Midnight Circus/Ladbroke Grove 1967-1978 (featuring The Pretty Things, Quintessence, Mick Farren, Junior’s Eyes, Robert Calvert, Mighty Baby, The Action and more)

The Guilty Pleasure
:
Abba: Does Your Mother Know

Last Week’s Listener Thumbs-Ups:
John Martyn: Certain Surprise
Jeff Onore: Twenty Years
Johnny Rivers: Rockin’ Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu
Jona Lewie: The Baby She’s On The Street
Sarah Gillespie: Stalkin’ Juliet
The Psychedelic Furs: The Ghost In You
New York Dolls w/Bo Diddley: Seventeen
Larry Lurex (Freddie Mercury): I Can Hear Music
The Pretty Things: Havana Bound
Lita Ford: Kiss Me Deadly
Robert Medici: She Said Drive
Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band: Sure ‘nuff ‘n’ Yes I Do
Bo Diddley: Road Runner
Joy Division: Love Will Tear Us Apart
Howlin’ Wolf: Little Red Rooster
Bruce Anderson: Lebanon
The Band: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (alt mix)
Joe Gibbs & The Professionals: Fashion One
John Campbell: Angel Of Sorrow
The Rolling Stones: We Love You
Johnny Thunders: You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory
TG Sheppard & Delbert McClinton
: 15 Rounds With Jose Cuervo
Spike Priggen: In The Inside
Philip Glass Ensemble w/Bernard Fowler: Changing Opinion
Paul Carrack: Lesson In Love
Mick Jagger: Evening Gown
Kevin Ayres: May I
Marc V: Let Them Stare
Lo-Fidelity Allstars: Feel What I Feel
Karen Verros: You Just Gotta Know My Mind
Ernie Isley: High Wire
Grateful Dead: Till The Morning Comes
Led Zeppelin: Ramble On
Sam Cooke: Little Red Rooster
Detroit (feat: Mitch Ryder): It Ain’t Easy
Mary Gauthier: Drag Queens In Limousines
Adam & The Ants: Dog Eat Dog
Billy Bragg: There Is Power In A Union
Brinsley Schwarz: Nervous On The Road (But Can’t Stay At Home)
Jill Sobule: Nothing To Prove
Keith Gemmell: Whoo-Hoo
The High Dials: The Holy Ground
The Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs: Little Tokyo
John Doe & Kathleen Edwards: A Little More Time
Eddie & The Hot Rods: It Came Out Of The Sky (live)
Family: In My Own Time
Finn’s Motel: Concord Village Optimist Club
Gene Vincent: Ain’t She Sweet
Mara Carlyle: Saw Song
Roky Erickson & The Aliens: Don’t Shake Me Lucifer
Savoy Brown: Train To Nowhere

Ike Turner: Jesus Loves Me
We like Ike. As pianist/leader of The Kings Of Rhythm, he cut what is probably the first ever rock & roll single, ‘Rocket 88’. Produced by Sam Phillips, the single was credited to Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats and released on the Chess label, reaching #1 on the R&B charts in 1951. With Anna Mae Bullock (Tina Turner) and Phil Spector, he made the greatest single of all time, ‘River Deep, Mountain High’ and continued to make great music up until his death on Dec 12, 2007. 'Jesus Loves Me' is from his last album 'Risin' With The Blues
'.

Ivy Rorschach, Lux Interior
N. Edgemont St, Los Angeles
photo: ht
The Cramps: People Ain't No Good
If there was any justice, The Cramps would be number 2 - at least - on all charts (including ‘classical’) every week.


Terry Tolkin, Dean Wareham 23rd St, NYC
photo: ht
scanned from a lenticular 3-D print

Dean Wareham: Anesthesia
Ornament: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
Dean Wareham is just one of the artists that helped make no. 6 Records a respected
indy label at college radio throughout the 90’s and now there’s a (double) cd of all its 7" 45s, ‘Speed Dating: The no. 6 Records Compendium. Founded in 1989 by Terry Tolkin, no. 6 managed to put out about 50 records during its 10 year existence and was an early champion of artists like Unrest, The Afghan Whigs, Luna, Tindersticks and Nada Surf. The label’s first album release (in 1989) was 'The Bridge - A Tribute To Neil Young' benefiting the Youngs' Bridge School cause and it featured Soul Asylum, Victoria Williams, Nick Cave, Sonic Youth, the Pixies and more. A couple of years later, alt darlings Thurston Moore, Wayne Coyne, J. Mascis, Paul Leary, Kim Gordon, Nikki Sudden, Steve Albini and 19 other 6-string slashers contributed to Terry’s ‘Guitarrorists’ compilation. I brought Terry to Elektra’s a&r department where he gave us Luna, Stereolab and the Afghan Whigs and, for a while, things were looking good. But when one of the artists he signed stole his wife and the building in which he lived on 17th St. collapsed destroying all his vinyl, a very valuable movie poster collection and all the no. 6 masters and artwork, it began a streak of bad luck and gruelling times for Terry. Luckily, he's managed to fight through it and now lives on a farm in Oklahoma with a dog and a Glock.
Ornament were Marcy Mays (from Scrawl) and Greg Dulli (from the Afghan Whigs)
more pics of Terry

Billy Bragg
photo: ht


Billy Bragg: Seven And Seven Is
Apart from the odd glimpse of a wandering, fully electric Billy Bragg (with loud-speakers on antenna-like stalks growing from his shoulders) accosting people with his songs in the corridors of a New Music Seminar hotel,
the first time I saw him properly was when his manager, Peter Jenner, asked if I could come and see him open for The Smiths at NYC's Beacon Theater. I didn't know Peter well, but he's been involved in so many great things I jumped at the chance. As one half of Blackhill Enterprises, he and partner Andrew King had managed Pink Floyd, Marc Bolan, The Edgar Broughton Band, Roy Harper, The Clash, Ian Dury and had organized the free concerts in Hyde Park in the 60s and 70s. Peter had also run EMI's 'underground' label, Harvest, run the a&r dept. at Charisma Records before it was bought out by Virgin and I soon got to know an immensely interesting and entertaining fellow, whose out-of-the-box thinking, sense of fair play and advocacy for artists’ rights puts him right at the top of the good guys column (managers division). Up until then, I’d only heard a couple of Billy’s singles and they hadn’t made much of an impression. I’ve always found, however, that it’s the ‘live’ experience that sorts out the real from the fake and at this show, I finally got it. I was thinking his coarse, un-trained, yet distinctive voice might have a certain commercial appeal when, out of the blue, I found tears running down my cheeks as Billy delivered ‘There Is Power In A Union’ on behalf of the thousands of striking British miners whose jobs were about to disappear courtesy Margaret Thatcher. I looked around...he had the audience in his hands and they had him in their hearts.

Billy Bragg 'Old Clash Fan Fight Song'
Grand Ballroom, Manhattan Center, NYC
October 25th 2008



Billy Bragg 'N.W.P.A.'
Grand Ballroom, Manhattan Center, NYC
October 25th 2008


Everybody was entranced. It didn’t hurt either that Billy is a natural speaker who infuses his message with humour and passion. 'Til then, I’d never been very interested in politics, but the Elektra label had quite a history in that department (Phil Ochs, Judy Collins, MC5) and at the time, with people like (10,000 Maniacs’) Natalie Merchant, Rubén Blades and Jackson Browne doing their bit, it was a natural fit. Billy recorded 'Seven And Seven Is' for Elektra's 40th anniversary album, 'Rubaiyat'. Why they left it off Billy's career retrospective multi cd box sets 'Volume 1' and 'Volume 2' is anybody's guess.
more Billy Bragg photos here

John Doe
on a bus, somewhere in Germany
photo: ht

John Doe & The Sadies: Til I Get It Right
John Doe is not a slacker. As an actor, he’s appeared in 47 films and 28 tv episodes (including 'Carnivale' and 'Roswell'). As a founder member of revered Los Angeles punk band “X”, he’s released 10 albums, 2 greatest hits compilations and appeared in 5 films. As a solo artist, he’s just released his 8th album, a collaboration with The Sadies, ‘Country Club’ (YepRoc Records). As always, he delivers.

Robert Buck, John Doe
Elektra Records Grammy party, Los Angeles, CA

photo: ht
more John Doe pics here
Christina Amphlett/The Divinyls
The Ritz, NYC

photo: Eric Maché
The Divinyls: Elsie
I saw the Divinyls open for the Psychedelic Furs one afternoon at an open air gig one afternoon at Syracuse University
. If you're looking for a female Iggy, Christina Amphlett's your gal. She wore a white blouse with a tartan schoolgirl’s tunic and during their epic ‘Elsie’ late in the set, she took out a lipstick and started scrawling all over her face and arms with it. She lurched around the stage in some kind of psychotic fog, grunting, practically dragging her knuckles along the floor. Then she proceeded to upend a large bucket of water over her head while growling “Open the door, Wally”. She had a feral, primitive appeal. She was beautiful. Ya had to see it, but here's a close approximation, cleaned up a bit for tv.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Luna



Luna: "Pup Tent"
Amoeba Records, San Francisco, CA
April 2nd, 2000

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Lou Reed, Rubén Blades

Lou Reed
Long Beach, Long Island

I met Lou Reed at Trident Studios in 1972 when he was recording 'Transformer'. David Bowie produced, Ken Scott engineered and Mick Ronson supplied the beautiful arrangements. By then, I’d progressed from “tea-boy” to “tape-copier” but I was still able to stick my head into the studio occasionally if a session looked interesting. Lou seemed pretty distant much of the time – valium, according to Ken – and occasionally I'd hang out at receptionist Dennis Richardson's desk and we'd watch him (unsteadily) negotiate the stairs between the studio and the control room in his platform shoes, wondering if he’d make the journey without falling over. He generally ignored us lesser Trident staffers and never said a word to me during any of the sessions.
On July 8th 1972, I went to see David play a Save the Whales benefit at the Royal Festival Hall with my friend Liz Arnold, who worked at Liberty/UA Records, a copy-room client. I copied copious Slim Whitman production masters so UA could release them in places like Belgium and Holland. Sometimes, she would slip me an LP or two from the record cabinet. Her boss was U/A's head of a&r, Andrew Lauder and it didn’t take long to figure out I wanted a job exactly like the one he had. Hey, I could read the music papers during by day and see bands at night! I was introduced to the music of Brinsley Schwarz, Man, Help Yourself, The Flaming Groovies, Nektar, Dave Edmunds, Neu!, Amon Düül, Cochise, Johnny Rivers and Eddie Cochran's album work thanks to Andrew and Liz and I’m forever grateful to the both for all the records/cds sent my way throughout the years. I still have them all, except the Cochise album which somebody ‘borrowed’ and never returned.
I’d blagged the Bowie tickets from either Don Hunter or Diana Graham at his management company, which is how we found ourselves sitting next to David’s mum. Most of the show featured songs from Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust (which had just been released) but for the first encore, David brought out Lou (in his first UK ‘live’ appearance) to join him on 'White Light/White Heat', 'Waiting For The Man' and 'Sweet Jane'. During on of these, David's Mum tapped me on the arm, leaned over and asked “who’s that weird fellow with all the make-up on?” I had to stifle a laugh, since both of them were caked in the stuff. In October, I went to see Lou at Kingston Poly where he played with his band, The Tots. At this show, I finally ‘got’ Lou and from then on, would try to see him at every opportunity.
Whilst at Elektra, I remember hustling an advance of the ‘New York’ album from Seymour Stein, whose Sire Records office was a couple of floors above mine. I rushed back downstairs with a sense of great anticipation and was about to press ‘play’ when there was a knock on the door and Rubén Blades stepped in. Now, in case you don’t know, Rubén is a remarkable man. While getting his international law degree at Harvard, he made 'Crossover Dreams', which started a distinguished film career acting opposite people like Jack Nicholson, Christopher Walken, Mickey Rourke, Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Joe Pesci, Gary Busey, Elliott Gould – our kind of actors! – and along the way, after starting in the Fania Records mail room, becoming one of the biggest, Grammy-laden stars in the world music world and running for President of Panama on his own Papa Egoro party ticket. He’s a killer performer and I loved working on 5 albums with him. He asked what I was up to and I told him I’d just got the new Lou Reed album – would he like to hear it? “Of course”, he said, so we grabbed a beer from the fridge, put our feet up and played the whole album through without saying a word. At the end, both of us were pretty speechless and thought it was Lou’s best solo album to date.
The year before, Rubén had written and co-produced 2 songs with Lou for his (first, and only) English language album, '
Nothing But The Truth'. While he prepared for its recording - always the multi-tasker - he took a lead role in 'The Milagro Beanfield War' and invited me to Arizona for a couple of days. It was my first time on a film set and Rubén introduced me to Robert Redford and Sonia Braga. Back in his rented apartment he picked up an acoustic guitar and played me a dark and very beautiful version of the Beatles' 'Baby's In Black'. I wish he'd recorded it for the album, but a somewhat changed arrangement showed up later on his 'Amor y Control' album. During rehearsals for the album, I cycled from my apartment on 23rd St. to SIR Studios on the west-side at 25th and as I dismounted, I rang the studio bell. 4 white guys approached and said "give us the bike". I said, "what for" and two of them grabbed it and set off down the street. I ran after them and grabbed the saddle. I don't know why I did that. What was I expecting? That they would apologize and hand it back? Anyway, shortly after, I picked myself up from the middle of the street with a throbbing in the back of my head. There was no one in sight. I went back to the SIR, was let in and went into the studio where the band were. There may have been a little blood on my head and the band stopped mid song and asked if I was ok. When I told them I'd just experienced my first mugging right outside, Rubén and the guys rushed outside to see if they could mete out a little street justice. When I get my cassettes digitized, I’ll playlist the unreleased, up-tempo version of ‘Hopes On Hold’ that Lou produced. I’ll probably not play the voicemail an apoplectic Lou left when I left a message telling him I thought the test pressing sounded dodgy. In the end, my experience as a mastering engineer at Trident paid off and Lou came around after I was able to articulate my problems with the sound of the pressing. A change was made and everybody lived happily ever after. I think he saw I was a record company person who knew what I was talking about - sonically, at least - and all encounters since have been respectful and, often, very friendly. Last time I saw Lou, I was surprised to receive a hug so big right in the middle of Greene Street that, if he hadn’t called me by name, I would have sworn he was mistaking me for someone else. The version of ‘Hopes On Hold’ that did appear on NBTT was a Tommy LiPuma-produced, synth-driven, rather disappointing and now dated, MOR ballad and unfortunately, someone else picked it as the first single. I went out to Long Beach on Long Island to watch the video get made. I never liked music videos much, but I always relished any opportunity to hang out with Rubén. Lou had a small cameo in it and must have been in a great mood because later, he showed a side of his personality I had no idea existed. During the ride back to Manhattan, after the shoot had wrapped, he did about an hour of what could be described as a contemporary ‘Borscht belt-style’ comedy routine that had Rubén, his actress wife, Lisa, Lou’s wife, Sylvia and I howling with laughter all the way home. I have some candid snaps of it – here - but this was one performance I wish I had taped. When he wants to be, Lou’s a hysterically funny guy. Who knew?
Ok, what else? Oh yeah, I got thrown out of a Velvet Underground show. For my birthday in 1993, I treated myself to a (reformed) VU concert at the Olympia, in Paris. Because this show was being filmed, Luna (who were supporting them on the European leg) was asked to sit this one out because their equipment would have gotten in the way of the cameras. Lead loon-er, Dean Wareham and I were given tickets to watch the show from a seat in the balcony, close to the stage. Both of us were feeling pretty, uh, ecstatic and the show was everything I had hoped it would be. At the end of the set, while the band were lined up, arms around each other’s shoulders, bowing and accepting the audience’s love, I took 2 photos with my 3-D camera. Apparently the flashes were enough to attract attention and it wasn’t long before someone grabbed me and marched me backstage, where my film - and the cassette upon which I had recorded the show - were confiscated by their tour manager, who had been kind enough to sort out my ticket in the first place. Talk about humiliating. I was very embarrassed and hoped Lou and John Cale, who played squash at the same Tribeca club where I played racquetball, wouldn’t notice me getting admonished when they came offstage after the encore. I don’t think they did, although I wouldn’t be surprised if they heard about it later. Hey, we all make mistakes. I had a habit of recording shows by people I liked, purely for my own enjoyment, of course. Later that evening, Dean and I found ourselves drinking in a mildly sleazy boîte called La Lily Tigresse, which was the inspiration for his song ‘Tiger Lily’.
The last time I saw Lou was on 9/11. My friend, singer Amanda Thorpe, had recently undergone knee surgery and one of her legs was in a brace necessitating the use of crutches to get around. She lived on Beach Street, way downtown, and that morning the phone rang and she asked if I could turn on the news and tell her what was going on, as she had heard this enormous crash and her tv just gave out static. I switched mine on to see that the world trade center had a huge, smoking hole in it and CNN was reporting that a ‘small’ plane was the cause. As I was telling her this, a second plane hit. Whoa! She asked if she could continue her recuperation for a few days at my apartment and could I come downtown to help her evacuate. “Sure”, so I threw some clothes on and made off for 7th Avenue where I was going to grab a cab, picking up some cigs at the Greek Deli near the corner. In the deli, a television was now reporting that the Pentagon had been hit by something, so it was clear (as if a second plane flying into the WTC wasn’t enough) the US was under attack. There were no cabs to be had, but Amanda’s apartment was close to Franklin Street, just 6 stops below 23rd, so I decided I’d take a train if they were still running and be there in minutes. Didn’t take long for a train to show up so I boarded and looked around. People were reading the paper as they would on any normal day. From conversations I overheard, it seemed like two or three people had heard something but they seemed unconcerned or oblivious to what really was going on as we sped towards the Manhattan's southern tip. When we shot past the Franklin St. stop, I thought I’d ended up on an express train by mistake and when we passed Chambers St, too, I thought something was definitely wrong. Then the train stopped, and stayed still for about 10-15 minutes during which the carriage I was in (towards the back of the train) started to fill with acrid fumes, a smell similar to what you’d get from an electrical fire. A light, blue-ish, thin cloud of smoke seeped through the car. There was nothing anyone could do except hope for the best. The train then spent the next 20 minutes or so shuddering forward, a yard or two at a time, with long breaks between each shudder. The smell of burning slowly dissipated (or we just got used to it) and after about 40 minutes, the train eventually pulled into Fulton St, stopping right at the beginning of the platform. We were instructed to walk through the carriages and exit the train at the front. There was no panic. Everybody, though somewhat weirded out by the whole deal, showed remarkable New York attitude/cool and we filed forward, disembarked, and climbed the stairs to the street. It had been a gorgeous day on 23rd St...sunny, warm, clear, the sky a rich, bright blue, but once we got outside, everything was completely covered in a fine, sandy coloured dust and bits of paper flew around like it was a kind of fucked up ticker-tape parade. Fulton St is approximately 6 or 7 blocks away from where the towers stood and by that time the south tower must have collapsed. People were running in all directions covered in dust, some bleeding, many carrying briefcases over their heads, wearing what was once their smart, work apparel. Everyone on the street looked like the zombies in 'Night Of The Living Dead'. Cops herded us away from the disaster site and soon I was at the South Street Seaport watching crowds crossing the Brooklyn Bridge on foot. I tried calling Amanda but the payphones weren’t working, so I set off on foot, in the direction of her apartment. I worked my way north and then west and had to convince 'security' that I had to get back to my apartment on Beach and after an hour, I got there. Amanda had her suitcase, a backpack and her guitar ready and we slowly walked/hobbled up Greenwich St, stopping into a bar on the way to watch, on tv, what was occurring just a few blocks to the south. Continuing up Washington St, we turned right onto Little West 12th and, just before we got to Pastis there, sitting at a table in the sunshine, nonchalantly drinking coffee with a companion was 'Mr. New York' himself, Lou Reed. An introduction, an exchange of pleasantries and a desire to not intrude made this chance meeting brief, but as we moved on we felt it was a brilliant moment in a ghastly day.
This week, the station’s playing Lou’s 'Endless Cycle', Rubén’s 'The Calm Before The Storm', Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham's 'Ginger Snaps' and Amanda’s 'Burn This House Down' from her brand new album, 'Union Square'.