date:19990413



From the hillbilly list:

From: August Zapadowski [EMAIL PROTECTED]

 Has anyone heard of a book called Workin' Man Blues by Gerald Haslam
 (University of California Press). Pulse! - Tower records' freebie
 magazine - says it covers the history of California's country music and
 its makers - from the Crocketts in the '20s right through to Dwight
 Yoakam and Big Sandy. They also say "Buck and Haggard connoisseurs may
 dislike the breezy prose; Haslam succumbs to keeping those artists'
 myths alive without offering much new insight."
 
 So, what I would like to know, is: has anyone read it (those of you who
 will admit to knowing how to read ;-)), and what are your thoughts and
 feelings about the book?

Since no one on the hillbilly list has responded, I thought I'd see if
anyone here has read it, and if so, how is it?--don

Re: seeking like-minded new yorkers

1999-04-13 Thread BARNARD


Now, besides the New York activities at Mercury Lounge, the Alphabet Opry,
etc. , any New Yorker suffering from The Problem should be aware that the
quickest treatment is to click onto www.twangfest.com and get yourself an
airplane ticket for this year's 3-day Twangfest in St Louis, June 10-12.
Several of the NY P2ers will be there and we can wash your beleaguered
soul clean of the slings and arrows of twanglessness (or something...).

Consult with some of your NY Twangers, such as Barry Mazor, and give it a
whirl.  

--junior

Re: New Rosavelt CD

1999-04-13 Thread Bigniowa


I saw these guys (Rosavelt) in Memphis at the 1998 Crossroads. They sounded 
great and the crowd seemed to dig it. Unfortunately, they came to see us play 
one of our worse gigs to date. OUCH! 

Bob

Clip: Jon Randall leaves Asylum

1999-04-13 Thread jon_erik


No Asylum For Country Singer Jon Randall 
-
---
(4/12/99, 1 a.m. PDT) - With his first single "Cold Coffee Morning"
struggling on the Billboard charts, country singer Jon Randall and his
label Asylum Records parted company last week.
Randall, an aspiring singer-songwriter, is perhaps best known as
singerLorrie Morgan's husband du jour. Morgan and Asylum AR head Susan
Nadler are longtime friends and business associates (Nadler managed the
singer for several years), but label reps say the split with Randall was
amicable, "mutual," and stemmed from differing ideas on the artist's
career.

Randall's first album was to be titled Cold Coffee Morning after the
single--in retrospect, a prophetic title. Randall won't be shopping the
project to other labels, as he apparently opted not to buy back his
masters. However, he is actively looking for a new label deal.

Until last week, "Cold Coffee Morning" was at number 74 on Billboard's
Hot Country Singles chart. Without a label's support, it didn't stay
there long, and has since dropped off the chart for the April 17 issue.

-- Lisa Zhito, Nashville

A Fine Release Out Today (Twangless)



First, a clip from my audities list.

snip

In case you were having any second thoughts about picking up the Tal
Bachman record that comes out on Tuesday...DO NOT HESITATE! This is top
notch pop folks, and it just does not get much better than this. Tal's
record WILL take the place of Jason Falkner's in your cd player.

end snip

I heard this the other day at my local indy store and I heartily concur.
Tal Bachman's self-titled reease is indeed a fine piece of
singer-songwriter based pop.  It's on Columbia and is getting quite a
push.  One of the best things I've heard all year.  Tal is Randy Bachman's
(Guess Who  BTO) child, but don't hold that against him.  You may want to
hold this agaisnt him howeverfrom his website (www.talbachman.com)
natch.

"it starts out with the one/two power pop punch
 of "Darker Side of Blue" and "She's So High" -
  as enthusiastic and catchy as prime Cheap
  Trick or ELO. (Indeed, Bachman remains an
  unabashed ELO fan, proclaiming Jeff Lynne to
  be "better than Mozart - well, at least a lot
  louder," and likes to refer to ELO albums as
  "sacred musical revelations.")

Ahh, pop fans that love Cheap Trick and hate jeff Lynne must be scratching
their heads.  No, don't let that quote dissaude you, it's a fine album.
ANDone I'll be buying this week.

NP: Wondermints - eponymous (Big Deal) - talk about fine pop!

PS: Anyone captivated by the new Jason Faulkner?

Jerry
Jerry Curry - Spectre Booking
Independence, Oregon
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

In the Top 40, half the songs are secret messages to the teen world to
drop out, turn on, and groove with the chemicals and light shows at
discotheques.  -- Art Linkletter

Re: pedal steel player search

1999-04-13 Thread Brad Bechtel


where do i look in the metro Washington DC area for a steel player?  anyone out there 
know anybody? is there a list for steel players? 

Visit the Steel Guitar Forum at http://www.b0b.com/forum and place an advertisement in 
the "Bar Chatter" section (or whatever section appears appropriate).  You have a very 
good chance of finding someone through this site.  Good luck!



___
Brad's Page of Steel:
http://www.well.com/user/wellvis/steel.html
A web site devoted to acoustic and electric lap steel guitars

Clip: Something to Crow about

1999-04-13 Thread Brad Bechtel

Something to Crow about
By Jane Ganahl
OF THE EXAMINER STAFF
Tuesday, April 13, 1999
©1999 San Francisco Examiner

URL:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/hotnews/stories/13/Scrow.dtltype=music

A once lightweight singer digs in and earns some respect

I HAVE to hand it to Sheryl Crow.

After her first mega-hit, "All I Wanna Do (Is Have Some Fun)" hit the airwaves five
years ago to beat us senseless with its utter catchiness, I was ready to dismiss her.
She seemed to have just two things going for her: the ability to write monster hooks,
and sexy-girl-next-door looks. Negatives? A reed-thin, if lovely, voice, a jarringly
schizophrenic variety of styles - and completely silly lyrics that soon became scorned
by too-hip alt-rock DJ's. ("Oh, really, Sheryl? Is "every day a winding road?' That's
so deep!")

My own verdict? LIGHTWEIGHT. I figured she was either destined for a short career or -
perhaps worse - a huge, glossy career that would eventually find her in the diva
dustbin alongside Mariah and Whitney and Celine, cat-fighting for the spotlight on
those awful VH-1 specials, settling for complete musical irrelevance.

But something happened to change that course, sometime while she was recording "The
Globe Sessions" - not a great album (despite its winning a Grammy that said so), but
certainly a vast improvement. Her music got tauter, a bit edgier, and she seems to
have taken singing lessons to make better use of her modest vocal gifts. She cut her
sex-kitten hair in favor of a more serious look; dumped the leather minis and put on
hard jeans; took up causes (she's now on the board of Rock the Vote), and got some
respect.

She was even asked to perform recently at the prestigious benefit for Johnny Cash -
alongside country goddesses Emmylou Harris and Mary Chapin Carpenter - that also
starred Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. Once dismissed, Crow's proving she's got the
chops, the staying power we assumed she lacked.

That doesn't mean her Monday night show at Oakland's Paramount Theater (she plays
again Tuesday) was the equivalent of an arm-wrestling takedown. But it did have some
great moments, and Crow turned in a solid star turn.

Before she even began, it seemed highly possible that Crow's opening act, the
Minneapolis power-pop trio Semisonic, could blow her off the stage. Always engaging to
the point of inciting riots, Semisonic began playing to near-empty house (damn those 8
p.m. start times!) but by the end of their hefty 50-minute set, had the swelling crowd
on its feet.

Frontman Dan Wilson, bass player John Munson and drummer Jacob Slichter - all gifted
musicians - play with the ferocity of a garage band, but with a joy and sense of humor
those groups lack. Their songs are acutely melodic, and loaded with creative metaphors
befitting the brainy Ivy Leaguers they are ("Shaking my mind like an Etch-A-Sketch
erasing").

Especially good were the euphoric "Singing in my Sleep," the sweet/sexy "D.N.D.," and
the screwball rocker "F.N.T." The bespectacled Wilson seems representative of the new
model of the Hot American Male - more brainy than brawny, sexual yet sensitive. The
girlish squeals in the audience every time Wilson moved a hip joint proved this
theory.

It was hard to imagine Crow topping Semisonic's take-no-prisoners set. But she did, at
least by sheer numbers - seven musicians on stage vs. three. And she more than matched
their infectious good mood. Relaxed to the point of being joyful, Crow exhorted the
crowd early on to "get up and shake your asses, because that's what I'll be doing!"

And she rocked. Tamely sometimes, with more abandon at others. Proving her splendid
musicianship, Crow led the large band like a grinning maestro, switching from bass to
acoustic to electric guitars, even strapping on a harmonica. Her voice was mostly
spot-on - potent and mostly staying clear of her annoying, little-girl coo.

During the 90-minute set, "My Favorite Mistake" was classic Crow, an undeniable guitar
hook swathed with funky rhythms, and she dug into it deeply, singing for every
dump-ee: "Did you see me walking by? Did it ever make you cry?" (OK, so her lyrics
haven't improved much, especially - strangely - on her biggest hits.)

"Leaving Las Vegas," from "Tuesday Night Music Club," was moody and good, as was the
sassy "A Change." Crow played pretty much all her hits, in fact - including "All I
Wanna Do," with a charming set of home movies displayed on screens behind her; and "If
It Makes You Happy," which proved she still has vocal limitations, fading out at high
volume in the upper registers.

But the delirious, sell-out crowd didn't notice - she gave them what they came to
hear: hits and glitz. (A pet peeve moment: can we please declare a moratorium on
elaborate, annoying light shows for folk-rock bands?)

Anyway, I was more impressed with Crow's non-hits. Those included "The Difficult Kind"
- one of

Falkner (was RE: A Fine Release Out Today (Twangless))

1999-04-13 Thread Hill, Christopher J


 PS: Anyone captivated by the new Jason Faulkner?
 
 Jerry
 
Listening to this now, after seeing him open for 
Mercury Rev Sunday.  It's still sinking in as an 
album, but "My Lucky Day" and "Eloquence"
are brilliant, brilliant pop gems.  A good follow-on 
from his previous work.  Haven't heard his first solo, 
but it sounds very Jellyfish (w/o the Beatles/Queen 
bombast) and Grays-ish.

Twang-ish:  opinions on Red Star Belgrade?  I love
"Saddest Girl" with its slow, hypnotic guitar and 
male/female vocals, have been stalling on buying
a full-length for a while now, and now it's in "this 
song will repeat on your mental jukebox until you 
buy the cd" mode.

Chris
np:  Falkner out, Kodo's _Sai-so_ in.

RE: Clip: Jon Randall leaves Asylum


 No Asylum For Country Singer Jon Randall

Jeez, there's a guy who just can't win for losing.  "Cold Coffee Morning" is
a good cut, and there are a couple of other fine things on the album.  He
also did a solid job playing the guitar on (birthday boy) Sam Bush's last
album, Howlin' At The Moon...

Jon Weisberger  Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/

Boxcar Willie

1999-04-13 Thread Jane Ehemann


So sad to hear about Willie.  Not only a great performer but a real 
example of courage in his fight.  I know he was a real inspiration to a 
neighbor who is also fighting cancer.  We will miss him. Jane

Re: Falkner (was RE: A Fine Release Out Today (Twangless))




Christopher Hill answered Jerry:

  PS: Anyone captivated by the new Jason Faulkner?


 Listening to this now, after seeing him open for
 Mercury Rev Sunday.  It's still sinking in as an
 album, but "My Lucky Day" and "Eloquence"
 are brilliant, brilliant pop gems.  A good follow-on
 from his previous work.  Haven't heard his first solo,
 but it sounds very Jellyfish (w/o the Beatles/Queen
 bombast) and Grays-ish.

Well, I haven't heard the new Falkner, and wasn't in a hurry to because
his first one did nothing for me. It's not terrible, it's just pretty
thoroughly uncompelling. (He produced the record and most of the noises
on it himself and I think that was a mistake)  Pop-geek roomie (another
audities lister) says he thinks I'd like the new record though, so we'll
see.

Chris, if you like Jellyfish w/o the Queen sound, try their first
record, BELLYBUTTON. It's the second, (sans Falkner-with yesterday's P2
hero Jon Brion) SPILT MILK, that veers that direction. ("Joining A
Fanclub" is great fun, IMO)

b.s.

n.p. The Jam SOUND AFFECTS/ALL MOD CONS

Semisonic (was Re: Clip: Something to Crow about)




Brad Bechtel clipped, then I snipped:

 That doesn't mean her Monday night show at Oakland's Paramount Theater (she plays 
again Tuesday) was the equivalent of an arm-wrestling takedown. But it did have some 
great moments, and Crow turned in a solid star turn.

 Before she even began, it seemed highly possible that Crow's opening act, the 
Minneapolis power-pop trio Semisonic, could blow her off the stage. Always engaging 
to the point of inciting riots, Semisonic began playing to near-empty house (damn 
those 8 p.m. start times!) but by the end of their hefty 50-minute set, had the 
swelling crowd on its feet.

 Frontman Dan Wilson, bass player John Munson and drummer Jacob Slichter - all gifted 
musicians - play with the ferocity of a garage band, but with a joy and sense of 
humor those groups lack. Their songs are acutely melodic, and loaded with creative 
metaphors befitting the brainy Ivy Leaguers they are ("Shaking my mind like an 
Etch-A-Sketch erasing").

 Especially good were the euphoric "Singing in my Sleep," the sweet/sexy "D.N.D.," 
and the screwball rocker "F.N.T." The bespectacled Wilson seems representative of the 
new model of the Hot American Male - more brainy than brawny, sexual yet sensitive. 
The girlish squeals in the audience every time Wilson moved a hip joint proved this 
theory.

Semisonic's one of the best bands around, whatever the genre. *Great* live show and 
very high quality pop music with a brain.
Last year's FEELING STRANGELY FINE is a good record, ubiquitous hit single ("Closing 
Time") notwithstanding. 1996's GREAT DIVIDE is one of the best records of the past few 
years, chock full of great songs, and not a lemon in the bunch.

No more pop from me today, promise. g

b.s.

The Jam == Re: Falkner (was RE: A Fine Release Out Today(Twangless))

1999-04-13 Thread KATIEJOM


In a message dated 4/13/1999 1:27:55 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
 n.p. The Jam SOUND AFFECTS/ALL MOD CONS
  
What a band!  Gotta love the power pop trio (NOT to be confused with Trios 
II)  All Mod Cons is one of my all-time favorites.

Most memorable show still talked about today:
The Jam at the Channel, Boston, MA (circa, '80?)
Paul Weller's dad introduces the boyz as "The best F***ing band in the 
world"...and he was correct!  We couldn't move an inch and everyone was 
soaked from sweating against what seemed like a million people in the place.  
A good night was had by all.

Kate

Re: Clip: Jon Randall leaves Asylum

1999-04-13 Thread Mike Hays


 Until last week, "Cold Coffee Morning" was at number 74 on Billboard's
 Hot Country Singles chart. Without a label's support, it didn't stay
 there long, and has since dropped off the chart for the April 17 issue

That's a shame.  One of the better Nashvegas songs this year.
Mike Hays
http://www.TwangCast.com  TM  RealCountry  24 X 7
Please Visit Then let us know what you think!

Mike Hays www.MikeHays.RealCountry.net
For the best country artist web hosting, www.RealCountry.net

Re: Falkner (was RE: A Fine Release Out Today (Twangless))



Well, I haven't heard the new Falkner, and wasn't in a hurry to because
his first one did nothing for me. It's not terrible, it's just pretty
thoroughly uncompelling. (He produced the record and most of the noises
on it himself and I think that was a mistake)  Pop-geek roomie (another
audities lister) says he thinks I'd like the new record though, so we'll
see.

Yeah, I agree with you Bill...  Decent stuff, but didn't stay with me.
However, I really admire alot of his work.  Had the new one in my hand
earlier today, but passed.  Still on my list to pick up though...

Chris, if you like Jellyfish w/o the Queen sound, try their first
record, BELLYBUTTON. It's the second, (sans Falkner-with yesterday's P2
hero Jon Brion) SPILT MILK, that veers that direction. ("Joining A
Fanclub" is great fun, IMO)

Bellybutton is very good indeed!  Still pull that one off the shelf
occasionally.  Actually quite fond of the Gray's as well.  Saw them in
Boston just after that disc came out and was really taken by the sound.


n.p. The Jam SOUND AFFECTS/ALL MOD CONS

Ah, Mr, Weller in his prime!

morgan

Re: Semisonic (was Re: Clip: Something to Crow about)



Semisonic's one of the best bands around, whatever the genre. *Great* live
show and very high quality pop music with a brain.
Last year's FEELING STRANGELY FINE is a good record, ubiquitous hit single
("Closing Time") notwithstanding. 1996's GREAT DIVIDE is one of the best
records of the past few years, chock full of great songs, and not a lemon
in the bunch.

Right with you again Bill...both are excellent records.  Have not seen them
live, but will in May...

No more pop from me today, promise. g

Nuttin' wrong with a bit o' pop talk...

morgan

Ricky Nelson recommendation?


For a long time I've wanted to pick up a Ricky Nelson recording, but
I've been confused as to where to start, not to mention that his stuff
is only rarely in retail stock.

Music Guide recommendations (I checked the AMG and Music Hound) vary a
bit. Both mention the now out of print LEGENDARY MASTERS on EMI America
as the one to get. As for in print stuff there's a single disc ROCKIN
WITH RICKY on Ace available as an import, though I've read that a the
two records RICKY NELSON VOLUME 1 and 2 are more complete and just 5 or
6 bucks more than that single Ace disc.

Any opinions on where to go for this hole in my collection?

thanks,
b.s.

Web capo museum


No lie, it's at http://w1.865.telia.com/~u86505074/capomuseum/index.htm .

Jon Weisberger  Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/

Re: Weller's Prime


On Tue, 13 Apr 1999 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 Ha, that's funny I had a similar on-going conversation with my eldest brother 
 about the Jam and the Clash, although this debate was over which band was 
 better. I sided with the Jam, although I eventually saw the error of my ways. 

You know, I said this at Nashville Extravaganza to the absolute horror of
Bill Silvers and Chris Knaus.  Also, in an attempt to remove any last
shred of respectibility and credibility, I'll repeat it publically.

The Clash did absolutely nothing for me.  I NEVER understood the critic's
fascination with this group and I absolutely never understood my cohort's
slavish devotion to them either.  They always sounded like a second-rate
bar band to me.  Always liked that they wore their politics on their
sleeve but I found their relative degree of "punkness" to be rather tame.
So, they failed me as a pop band and from the other side, as a punk
band. Not musical enough and too safe  staid, at the same time.
I won't even mention the vocal quality...ugh!

I still hear "Rock the Casbah" in my nightmares.

Oh well, I did like some Big Audio Dynamite material though.
Perhaps, that might help things. Just thought I'd confess up.  Let the
flaming begin. g

This could even get me in more hot water than the Portland
comments.

jerry

Re: Weller's Prime



Ha, that's funny I had a similar on-going conversation with my eldest
brother 
about the Jam and the Clash, although this debate was over which band was 
better. I sided with the Jam, although I eventually saw the error of my ways.

Hey, at least you can now admit to it...g  I once thought that Prefab
Sprout would become an important band...  Wha?  But, I've got to gush
here...  Joe Strummer!!!  Need I say more?

Morgan

Re: Weller's Prime


On Tue, 13 Apr 1999, Morgan Keating wrote:

 Oh you might like this Jerry...  Was just listening to WFNX's Flashback
 Lunch and heard Erasure's "Chains of Love", leading back to the ol'
 Communards thread (can't remember if it was this list though???)...

It was this list..but be quiet, Morgan. Bringing up the 
Communards can get you killed around here.

 NP: Wondermints 
 2nd time around at this point.
 
 Hey, how are they?  Know nothing about 'em 'cept by name?

Very very nice.  Extremely layered and lush pop.  Sometimes extremely
reminiscent of Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys.  Occasionally veering into
Raspberries territory.  Not crunchy at all.  Heavily produced, just as I
like it.

Done for the dayunless my Clash comments get me skewered.

Jerry

Re: Weller's Prime


 My brother and I had the same ongoing debate when we were kids over
Quisp vs. Quake.
   --Jon Johnson
  [EMAIL PROTECTED]
  Wollaston, Massachusetts


Quisp of course...  Second only Pink Panther cereal. 

morgan

Re: [hillbilly] Workin' Man Blues (book) and Western Swing book

1999-04-13 Thread Barry Mazor


I'm interested to hear about  that too; I've not read it--but then, it's
only out a couple of weeks.  I do know that the writer is a professor with
a lot of non-fiction under his belt concerning California, especially lives
of working class Californians, and that he even wrote a story collection
about the Okies

While we're at it, I'd mention that what I AM reading right now,  the book
"The Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing" by Jean A.
Boyd, has become available in paperback at the same mega-onlines and
elsewhere as the California book ...
  This author, as the title suggests, has much to say about how Western
Swing is jazz at its root, underappreciated jazz, and maybe underplays the
country side in saying so...but there are many interviewsm, and much
thought on the topic... She's unrelated to any other Boyd BTW--and  a
musicologist from Baylor.. ..

Barry M.



 Has anyone heard of a book called Workin' Man Blues by Gerald Haslam
 (University of California Press).

Since no one on the hillbilly list has responded, I thought I'd see if
anyone here has read it, and if so, how is it?--don

Re: Ricky Nelson recommendation?

1999-04-13 Thread KATIEJOM


In a message dated 4/13/1999 2:39:14 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:

 A Bear Family one-disc job, or a box set?  The one-discs I do buy and
  enjoy, but obviously the box sets are a bit much for most people

Junior, here's what was in the NYT interview back in March.  I've got the 
whole article, I can send it off list if you'd like. K.

  M R. WEIZE supervises every track that goes onto one of these behemoths: 
"I listen to everything three times, first when I record it, next 
when I 
master it and then about six months after it comes out, when I can 
finally stand to hear it again." He tends to select projects he's 
enthusiastic about himself, patiently waiting for permission to do 
them, 
keeping things on the back burner for years if necessary. 
"I'd love to do Buddy Holly, but that may be just a dream," he said. 
"However, I had been turned down many times on Ricky Nelson, and 
suddenly we were just given permission."

RE: Weller's Prime

1999-04-13 Thread Hill, Christopher J


 --junior
 
 PS.  Cap'n Crunch over Quisp or Quake anyday, baby...
 
Amen.  Worth the shredded mouth for that sugary
taste.  Crunchberries - even better.  A friend mentioned
that she saw an ALL Cap'n Crunchberries cereal - and 
we both thought that took all the fun out of it.

Using all my fluff and somebody else's, too.

Chris
np: The Beta Band, _The Three E.P.'s_

RE: Weller's Prime

1999-04-13 Thread Matt Benz

The Jam would say outragous things just to piss the Clash off...

 -Original Message-
 From: Jon Weisberger [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
 Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 1999 2:49 PM
 To:   passenger side
 Subject:  RE: Weller's Prime

 Joonyah says:

  Weren't there political (or "pop-political" to be more accurate)
  distinctions to be made between the Clash and the Jam back in the
 day?

 Dunno where the Clash fit in - not my cup of tea, you might say - but
 Weller
 was pretty heavily involved with the Labor Party-related Red Wedge, at
 least
 during his Style Council days.  Or so my not-always-reliable memory
 tells
 me, anyhow.

 Jon Weisberger  Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/

Re: Ricky Nelson recommendation?

1999-04-13 Thread William T. Cocke



On Tue, 13 Apr 99 14:40:00 PDT John Kinnamon 
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 I have one I enjoy.  Bright Lights  Country Fever (I think that's it)
 combines two of his albums on  one CD and it's a hell of a good
 listen.  Good enough, in fact, that I'm anxious to hear the responses
 to this inquiry so I can pick up another one.

I have Garden Party on vinyl so I'm kinda partial to that 
'un. It's relatively easy to find in the used bins -- watch 
out for scratchy ones though, it seems to have been quite a 
party album in its day -- and I don't mean garden parties!

BTW -- It's weird how topics on this list echo stuff I've 
been thinking about, like, yesterday. Namely: Did they ever 
determine whether the plane crash was definitely caused by 
free-basing? Or was the cause something unrelated? C'mon, I 
gotta know...

William Cocke
Senior Writer
HSC Development
University of Virginia
(804) 924-8432

RE: Weller's Prime


I still do.  Paddy McAloon and Paul Buchanan (of 
the Blue Nile) are two favorite pop songwriters.
In an alternate universe, the Sprouts are as big as
the Beatles ever were. 

Dear lord!!!  So, I'm not the only only one who loves 'em?  
Without a doubt, damn shame that they had little to no support... 

(And people have cone-shaped
heads - but that's another Point.)

:)

Still perplexed and p.o.'d that _Andromeda Heights_
hasn't come out in the U.S.

Gawd only knows???

morgan

Re: Cereal Wars



Did you know they reissued (if that can be a term used for cereal), Boo
Berry!?  Yes indeedy!  Got a box here in my veal fattening pen.  (ugh,
sorry for the Gen X reference)

Morgan 

At 11:41 AM 4/13/99 -0700, you wrote:

Count Chocula tops FrankenBerry.

JC

Re: Ricky Nelson recommendation?

1999-04-13 Thread Jim_Caligiuri


BTW the All Music Guide lists a "25  Greatest Hits" from Ricky, that was
released on EMI on March 2 of 1999. Anybody seen this?
Jim, smilin'

Re: Curry and the Clash (was Re: Weller's Prime




Don Yates wrote:

 On Tue, 13 Apr 1999, Jerry Curry wrote:

  The Clash did absolutely nothing for me.  I NEVER understood the critic's
  fascination with this group and I absolutely never understood my cohort's
  slavish devotion to them either.

 Ya know, a few years ago I would've given Curry a good thrashing for the
 above remarks, but I have to admit their music has not aged well.  Yeah,
 their politics were generally admirable, but smart politics don't
 necessary equate to good songs -- most of Strummer's lyrics now sound
 unbearably awkward and painfully obvious to these ears, and later Clash
 albums like Sandinista and Combat Rock are unlistenable.

There's good, even great tunes on SANDINISTA, ("Police On My Back", "Somebody
Got Murdered", "Hitsville, U.K.", "Charlie Don't Surf" to start) but you have
to work to find 'em. (Reminds me of BEING THERE that wayg)COMBAT ROCK is two
essentially novelty songs, granted.

  Of all the early British
 punk bands, I think the Pistols have aged the best.--don

Matter of taste, but this seems like in a sense you're penalizing the Clash for
standing for something (and that message aging) while rewarding the Sex Pistols
for basically standing for nothing, nothing but themselves anyway. "The only
band that matters"? Well, maybe not, and the message was articulated better
earlier in their career, but I don't think it aged so badly as that some of it
was awkward to start with. And wasn't the tension between Strummer/message and
Jones/music a contributor to the late bloat and eventual split-up anyhow?

b.s.

n.p. THE SEBADOH (here Friday)

b.s.

RE: Weller's Prime



A precursor to the Blur vs. Oasis battle??? g  That shit made headlines
in the UK no doubt...  Yikes!  OK, got to end this thread now...

morgan

At 03:03 PM 4/13/99 -0400, you wrote:
The Jam would say outragous things just to piss the Clash off...

 -Original Message-
 From:Jon Weisberger [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
 Sent:Tuesday, April 13, 1999 2:49 PM
 To:  passenger side
 Subject: RE: Weller's Prime
 
 Joonyah says:
 
  Weren't there political (or "pop-political" to be more accurate)
  distinctions to be made between the Clash and the Jam back in the
 day?
 
 Dunno where the Clash fit in - not my cup of tea, you might say - but
 Weller
 was pretty heavily involved with the Labor Party-related Red Wedge, at
 least
 during his Style Council days.  Or so my not-always-reliable memory
 tells
 me, anyhow.
 
 Jon Weisberger  Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/

RE: seeking like-minded new yorkers

1999-04-13 Thread Nina Melechen


Hi--

   I'm a like-minded New Yorker who lurks in Digest mode 
(thus the late reply).  I have sometimes had to descend 
to treating my friends to twang-type shows just to have 
someone to go hear live music with; usually I give up and 
go alone.  Since I live in the Bronx and have to get 
myself back up there on public transportation after the 
show, this position has its drawbacks.  But sad as it is, 
has its moments; I will always treasure the memory of the 
looks of pure horror on the faces of a group of friends 
when I asked if anyone wanted to go hear Ricky Skaggs.
   Anyway, can I join the gang for Kelly Willis, too?  I 
would love to meet some people who don't always ask 
"who?" when I mention the music I listen to.

Nina Melechen

Clash City Rockers

1999-04-13 Thread Carl Abraham Zimring


I think Don has a point regarding Joe Strummer's clumsy lyrics, but
there's a ton of Clash I still enjoy.  Any band that could make rock as
exhilirating as "Complete Control" and dub as engrossing as "Straight to
Hell" is alright in my book, and I like what they did to reggae a lot
more than what the Police did to reggae.

As for Brit punk bands that aged well, the Damned haven't done badly. 
The Sex Pistols' album remains a fantastic mix of Johnny Rotten's
sneering and Chris Thomas's AOR production.

Carl Z.

Re: Weller's Prime




Morgan Keating teased:

 A precursor to the Blur vs. Oasis battle??? g  That shit made headlines
 in the UK no doubt...  Yikes!  OK, got to end this thread now...

Blur and Oasis combined  (and I own the first Oasis record, and 4 1/2 Blur
records) don't equal the qualitative output of either the Jam or the Clash
separately. As far as that's concerned, Supergrass and Radiohead beat the
much more hyped duo you mention. (Though I'm keeping an eye on Radiohead that
way...) And yeah, I know you were teasing, but I wonder sometimes at the
overheated British press.

Anybody ever hear that 3rd Sleeper record that never got released here...um,
never mind. g

b.s. who can't believe he's confessing to britpop here...g

RE: cereal wars/The Clash



:)

morgan

At 03:07 PM 4/13/99 -0400, you wrote:
I'd take Cap'n Crunch with Crunchberries over the Jam, but the CLash are
better than most cereals, even those with substance, like Bran
Flakes

Re: Cereal Wars


At 02:21 PM 4/13/99 -0500, you wrote:
Is there a vintage cereal market now?  Lord have mercy, what a culture...

--junior

Scary, ain't it?

morgan

I'm Not Always a Contrarian


Mr. Morgan scribes.

 The Ramones will always be relevant in my book...  I still have my Ramones
 pick from...hmm...86?  I almost gave it away for the Twangfest

I have felt, feel, will feel, and will always feel that the Ramones are
one of the most relevant bands of the last quarter of the 20th century.
Let's hope they can hold onto their relevance througout the 21st.

One of the most exciting live acts, I've ever had the fortunate occasion
to catch.  Talk about a symbiotic relationship between band and crowd.

NT (Now Thinking): The ex-Mrs. Harold Ramis (P.J. Soles) in Rock  Roll
High School

Jerry

Re: pedal steel player search

1999-04-13 Thread Mike Hays


Kip,
Call Billy Cooper's Steel Guitar shop in Orange, VA. 90 minutes from DC.
Very few GOOD steel players don't use him for repairs so he knows plenty and
may be a good source.  540 854-5940
Mike Hays
http://www.TwangCast.com  TM  RealCountry  24 X 7
Please Visit Then let us know what you think!

Mike Hays www.MikeHays.RealCountry.net
For the best country artist web hosting, www.RealCountry.net

Re:

1999-04-13 Thread Mike Hays

Damn, didn't check address, thought it was a friend of mine.
Mike From: Mike Hays [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: passenger side [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 1999 4:01 PM
Subject: Re:

 YO! Empty message
 Mike Hays
 http://www.TwangCast.com  TM  RealCountry  24 X 7
 Please Visit Then let us know what you think!

 Mike Hays www.MikeHays.RealCountry.net
 For the best country artist web hosting, www.RealCountry.net
 - Original Message -
 From: john friedman [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 To: passenger side [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 1999 2:04 PM

  ___
  Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com

Re: Cereal Wars



twang content:  what about the Jayhawks for sidemen of the decade??  

Yes!!!  They done good for Mr. Henry, etc...

morgan "Louris and Olson fan to the end"

Re: Weller's Prime



Bill sez:

 And yeah, I know you were teasing, but I wonder sometimes at the
overheated British press.

I reply:

They really do seem to have the KNACK (do I dare???  must resist the era of
skinny ties) for creating some artificially charged situations.  I guess
that goes for anywhere in the world for that matter.  However, I've heard
alot of British artists complain of this problem...

b.s. who can't believe he's confessing to britpop here...g

morgan "don't you feel better though?" g

Re: Weller's Prime


At 03:39 PM 4/13/99 -0400, you wrote:
 n.p. The Jam SOUND AFFECTS/ALL MOD CONS
 
 Ah, Mr, Weller in his prime!

I always liked Setting Sons just a bit better than All Mod Cons, but you
really can't go wrong with any of the first five albums. I respect the
hell out of Weller for pulling the plug on that band when he did, but the
Style Council was a sorry substitute.

My sentiments exactly...  It was such a letdown...  True, it was time for
them to split most likely, but sheesh...

Sophie and I had a major Weller experience in Fletcher's in Baltimore
last week. Seems we wandered in there at noon, shot pool for two hours
and had the place to ourselves so we loaded up the jukebox on Jam songs
and the bartender turned up the volume. "Funeral Pyre" never sounded
cooler than thru a bigass set o' speakers with a Sierra Nevada Porter or
three. :)

Now, that sounds like a splendid way to spend the afternoon!

Morgan "wish I could be like David Watts"

Re: Curry and the Clash (was Re: Weller's Prime



On Tue, 13 Apr 1999, Carl Abraham Zimring wrote:

 Speaking of Murvin, I only know of one of his albums, the 1976 LP which
 "Police  Thieves" came from.  Does he have anything else out, and is it
 any good?

He's released a number of albums, but since I'm not a Murvin expert, I
wouldn't know which one(s) to recommend.--don

RE: Asylum Street Spankers looking for musicians


 Interested musicians must be incredibly badass.  In fact, unless you have
 chops to burn, don't bother.

Gee, and here I thought that feeling would have to be the number one
qualification

Jon Weisberger  Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/

Re: Web capo museum


At 02:18 PM 4/13/99 -0400, you wrot
No lie, it's at http://w1.865.telia.com/~u86505074/capomuseum/index.htm .

Jon Weisberger  Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/

You certainly weren't, were you...  Have to admit, it was pretty darned
interesting.  Partial to the Shubb myself, but our guitarist just picked up
the "Parrot" which has caught my eye.  Kind of a mutant Jimmy Buffet
thing...g

morgan

RE: Delmore Brothers recommendations



On Tue, 13 Apr 1999, Jon Weisberger wrote:

 County Records' two collections, Brown's Ferry Blues and Sand Mountain
 Blues, are pretty widely available (MoM lists them both in their
 catalog, and I just found them in stock at both CD Now and CD World).
 The former covers recordings from the 30s and early 40s, the latter is a
 selection of King recordings made between 1944 and 1949.  There's also a
 British import called Freight Train Boogie that's in the same vein as
 Sand Mountain Blues, but with a few more cuts.  The earlier stuff is
 prettier, the King stuff more rockin'.

In general, perhaps, but the bulk of the songs on Sand Mountain Blues are
more in the vein of the earlier recordings found on Brown's Ferry Blues
(and I believe the estimable Charles Wolfe even sez so in his liner
notes).  They're generally more traditional sounding, with much less
emphasis on the rockin' boogie.  Freight Train Boogie rocks much more than
both of the others.  As for which to recommend, I'd say it's a tossup
between Freight Train Boogie (on Ace Records, and easily found in
roots-savvy US stores) and Brown's Ferry Blues.  Personally, I wouldn't
want to be without any of 'em.--don

Re: Curry and the Clash (was Re: Weller's Prime



On Tue, 13 Apr 1999, BARNARD wrote:

 I'm not so hard on Sandanista as Don (even though, as a rule, I
 do generally do prefer alcohol records to reefer records...g).

I think it had to be something stronger than reefer that convinced
Strummer that he could rap.  He could very well be the least funky white
guy to ever attempt to perform contemporary black music -- he makes Pat
Boone look like Soul Brother Number One in comparison.  I heard one of my
DJs play "The Magnificent Seven" the other day, and I was horrified.  I 
thought I knew that stuff hadn't aged well, but I had no idea.  Not only
were the lyrics awkward as hell, but Strummer's clueless rapping was an
embarassment.  I doubt a more inept rap song was ever perpetrated by
anyone, black or white or whatever.  Listening to that lame shit could
almost make one appreciate Vanilla Ice.g  And sure a number of their
reggae experiments were better, but I don't think they were nearly as good
as some folks will tell you.  Junior Murvin kicked their ass on "Police
and Thieves."

I definitely prefer the early stuff, but even their best albums (the first
one and London Calling) are occasionally marred by Strummer's lyrical
clumsiness.  I think all of their albums have dated to one degree or
another -- the earlier ones less so (since they at least more or less
stuck to music they could convincingly play), but still too much for me to
get much use out of 'em in 1999.--don
 
n.p. King Tubby on KCMU

Rhonda Vincent and the Rage

1999-04-13 Thread Wynn Harris


Hey folks, I just saw Rhonda Vincent and the Rage with Ron Spears, Ron
Stewart, Steve Sutton and I forget the bass player.  They were just awsome.
I love Rhonda's voice and how she sings with Ron is killer!!  History
please?!?  I have two of her CD's, Yesterday and Today and The Sally
Mountain Show, but I would like more of her progressive stuff.Thanks!

Wynn

give 'em enough rope...(was clash vs. jam)

1999-04-13 Thread james mann


don spoke:

 but I have to admit their music has not aged well. 

As someone who has replaced "London Calling" three
times, most recently about a month ago, I have to
disagree up to this album. After that, yeah the rot
set in, but this album particularly is frightening in
it's ability to move me. Maybe because I saw them on
this tour and stepped out of the show into a riot
between skinheads and some sort of wanna-be marxist
group, but The Clash, along with the Pistols (who I
saw as well) are always going to be on my desert disc
changer. 

For those not totally bored by this point, Clash
roadie Johnny Green has a book out on his time with
The Clash called "A Riot of our Own- Night and Day
with the Clash". It's great. Pick it up via Amazon. 

Okay. I've posted my quota for the year. Back to
trolling for writing opp's. 

James

n.p Oswley



_
Do You Yahoo!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

RE: Delmore Brothers recommendations

1999-04-13 Thread James Nelson


The two County CDs Jon mentioned are, of course, also available from County Sales.  I 
haven't actually checked, but they tend to have the best prices in town.  Regarding 
the differences in the two CDs - as Jon points out, "Sand Mountain Blues" is culled 
from the best of the Delmores' King sides.  As to which is prettier, I'd say it's 
about even.  They started doing that hillbilly boogie nearly right from the start.  
There,are great versions of an old-time ballad "The Frozen Girl" on both of these 
albums (recorded about 10 years apart).  I'd challenge anybody to tell me the 
difference.  One thing that is different, though, is that in the late forties, the 
Delmores teamed up with harmonica players Wayne Raney and Lonnie Glosson.  Their work 
is all over a few of the King sides.  About this time, Syd Nathan started to 
occasionally augment the Delmore Brothers' basic sound by adding an electric guitar 
here and another  rhythm guitar, a string bass and drums there, giving some of the 
records a real different sound.  Is that what you meant by "rockin'" Jon?   And, if 
you can find it in a used bin someplace, Bear Family put out an LP featuring about 18 
of these Wayne Raney/Delmore collaborations.  Very nice.  On the other side of the 
coin, the Delmores toured and recorded with Uncle Dave Macon in the mid-1930s.  Some 
of the records made during that time have been reissued by County on an Uncle Dave 
Macon CD called "Travelling Down The Road."   While I'm at it - there are also a 
couple of CDs of material by the Brown's Ferry Four currently available. This group 
was put together by Syd Nathan to record sacred material for King and consisted of 
Alton and Rabon Delmore, Grandpa Jones, and either Merle Travis or Red Foley, 
depending on the session.  Very, very nice quartet singing.

Jim Nelson

 "Jon Weisberger" [EMAIL PROTECTED] 04/13 2:40 PM 

County Records' two collections, Brown's Ferry Blues and Sand Mountain Blues, are 
pretty widely available (MoM lists them both in their catalog, and I just found them 
in stock at both CD Now and CD World).  The former covers recordings from the 30s and 
early 40s, the latter is a selection of King recordings made between 1944 and 1949.  
There's also a British import called Freight Train Boogie that's in the same vein as 
Sand Mountain Blues, but with a few more cuts.  The earlier stuff is prettier, the 
King stuff more rockin'.

RE: Asylum Street Spankers looking for musicians

1999-04-13 Thread JP Riedie


 Interested musicians must be incredibly badass.  In fact, unless you have
 chops to burn, don't bother.

Gee, and here I thought that feeling would have to be the number one
qualification


Would you please go find a life.  I have a band in crisis here and I
certainly don't need every middle-aged mediocrity's  two cents.  Unlike you
and your ilk, these are world-class players and all the "feeling" in the
world is not gonna allow a half-assed player to keep up with this band.

Though you might be more interesting if you spent your time doing something
other than taking swipes at every post that comes down the pike, you're not
nearly as clever as you think you are.

So, please tell me what purpose your post serves.  It certainly doesn't
help me or this great band.  What it does is illustrate your sullen
smugness and beg the question of why you don't have better things to do.

And if you or anyone out there takes issue with my tone, tough.  My post
set out some pretty stringent qualifications.  Unlike Weisberger I don't
have time to waste by qualifying everything I say for the consuption of
lameasses who can't handle a little direct communication.

I'm over here doing things rather than taking shots at people who do things.

RE: [hillbilly] Workin' Man Blues (book) and Western Swing book



 On Tue, 13 Apr 1999, Barry Mazor wrote:

  ...the
  book "The Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing" by
  Jean A. Boydhas much to say about how Western
  Swing is jazz at its root, underappreciated jazz, and maybe underplays
  the country side in saying so...

 And the book was panned for doing just that by some western swing expert
 (Kevin Coffey? Cary Ginell?) in a recent issue of (I think) the Journal Of
 Country Music.

Coffey, in the most recent issue.

Jon Weisberger  Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/

SV: Weller's Prime

1999-04-13 Thread Geir Nyborg







 Hey, at least you can now admit to it...g  I once thought that Prefab
 Sprout would become an important band...  Wha?
 
 Morgan

Chrisopher wrote:

I still do.  Paddy McAloon and Paul Buchanan (of 
the Blue Nile) are two favorite pop songwriters.
In an alternate universe, the Sprouts are as big as
the Beatles ever were.  

(And people have cone-shaped
heads - but that's another Point.)

Still perplexed and p.o.'d that _Andromeda Heights_
hasn't come out in the U.S.


It became a habit for me and a couple of friends to take a couple of yearly 
expeditions to London all through the eightees. To drink mostly and to explore the 
clubs and record stores. As we dived into the nightclubs, all
charachterized by no sign outside, we got the strong feeling thath there was a 
diversions between the Damned/Ramones fans and those who liked the "newer" stuff. They 
all sat on diffrent tables.

What they all said, at no matter what time, was nothing is happening here now. That 
seemed to be the refrain.

I felt more than mildly schizofrenic in all this. Liking them all, the Damned,Jam, 
Pistols and the Clash.
Then there was Style Council (the beer always cost more in the clubs that played them) 
and Prefab Sprout.
I went bananaz about them when "Steve Mcqueen" came out, and oh Blue Nile,. and I 
admit that I was a big the Smiths fan from the beginning. I believe it was the same 
year that Steve Mcqueen came out that Darden Smith gave out his first, Native Soils on 
RediMix, and the same year I spent a week with Timbuk 3 in London, telling me about 
Townes. Okay so it must have been in the mid eightees that I converted. Don't want to 
be any more specific, those days were all to hazy.

Geir
Oslo

np: Townes. LATOQ

Lessons Learned



Midwesterners are smart-asses and Texans are hot-blooded.
No wonder there was a Civil War. g Remember who won though.

Signed,
A FORMER midwesterner..even bigger G!

Jerry

RE: Rhonda Vincent and the Rage


Oh, boy, a chance to talk about one of my favorite girl singers.

 Hey folks, I just saw Rhonda Vincent and the Rage with Ron Spears, Ron
 Stewart, Steve Sutton and I forget the bass player.

That's Randy Barnes, from down around London, KY.  Ronnie Stewart isn't a
regular member of the band, or at least wasn't last time I knew (2 weeks ago
or so); he's been working for Lynn Morris for a while, playing mostly banjo.
Talented guy...

 I love Rhonda's voice and how she sings with Ron is killer!!  History
 please?!?  I have two of her CD's, Yesterday and Today and The Sally
 Mountain Show, but I would like more of her progressive stuff.

The notes to Yesterday and Today give a history of sorts, at least of the
Sally Mountain Show.  I'm assuming the CD reference is to Bound For
Gloryland, their last album for Rebel.  She did 3 solo albums for Rebel
before that: New Dreams And Sunshine, A Dream Come True and Timeless And
True Love.  They're all outstanding, with a mix of pretty straightforward
bluegrass (though nothing quite as hard-driving as what the Rage is doing
these days) and country stuff, with pedal steel, piano, drums, etc.; if I
had to rank them, I'd say New Dreams and Timeless And True are just a hair
ahead of A Dream Come True, but just by a hair.  All of them are well worth
having.

Rhonda also made two contemporary country albums for BNA in 1994 and 1996.
Written In The Stars has some great material and some good pickers, but the
production isn't especially sympathetic, and it drags down the whole thing
(that's not just my opinion, but hers as well).  Trouble Free, the second
one, is a dandy album unless you have a real kneejerk reaction to
"Nashvegas."  The songs are very strong, the picking is great, and the
singing is just awesome, mostly Rhonda and her brother Darrin, who's in
Ricky Skaggs' band.  There's also a real solid duet with Randy Travis, and
Alison Krauss and Dolly Parton both make appearances.  For what it's worth,
Trouble Free barely snuck onto the P2 Best Of 1996 list, coming in at #39
(out of 47).  It may be hard to find, but it's well worth looking for.

Also worth searching out, in my opinion (though not that of most P2ers who
know the album, I think), is Harley Allen's Another River (Mercury, 1997).
It's another case of bad production sabotaging good material and good
singing, but even more so than with Written In The Stars; nevertheless,
Rhonda sings harmony on just about the whole thing, and she and Harley sound
awfully good together.

Rhonda's got a web page at http://www.nemr.net/~rhondav/ , which she's
pretty good about keeping updated, and Julie Yocum has a page on Rhonda at
http://www.vicon.net/~juliay/Rhonda.html .

Finally, there'll be an article on Rhonda appearing in Bluegrass Unlimited
sometime this summer; I'm turning it in by the end of this month, so look
for it in July or August.

Oh, almost forgot: Ron Spears is a good songwriter from up in Utah who has a
solo album due out any day now on the Copper Creek label; it's pretty good,
and has some great fiddling from Jimmy Van Cleve, who worked briefly with
Rambler's Choice (he's on their debut Rounder CD) and Doyle Lawson before
landing with Mountain Heart.  Other guests include Dan Tyminski, Lou Reid
and a bunch more I can't remember at the moment.

Jon Weisberger  Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/

Re: Asylum Street Spankers looking for musicians

1999-04-13 Thread cwilson


Someone's gonna have to say it, and better not-Jon than Jon:

JP, you completely misconstrued Weisberger's meaning here - it was an 
inside-joking reference to Jon's long, untiring **defence** of the importance of
chops in country (and other) music. In other words, he agrees with you 
completely. He was kidding, and he wasn't taking a shot at you but at various of
his P2 sparring partners (Roy Kasten, call home).

Fair enough you didn't get the context (request the P2 archive containing the 
Freakwater Chronicles for clarification), and by the sounds of it you're under 
stress right now. But it's boorish, to say the least, to refer to "you and your 
ilk" when clearly you don't know the first thing about what Jon's ilk might be.

I'm always amused when people declare themselves to be above basic social 
decency. The Superiority Fairy works in mysterious ways.

carl w.

Reidle:
 Interested musicians must be incredibly badass.  In fact, unless you have 
 chops to burn, don't bother.

Weisberger:
Gee, and here I thought that feeling would have to be the number one 
qualification


Reidle:
 Would you please go find a life.  I have a band in crisis here and I 
 certainly don't need every middle-aged mediocrity's  two cents.  
 Unlike you and your ilk, these are world-class players and all the 
 "feeling" in the world is not gonna allow a half-assed player to keep 
 up with this band... (blah blah blah ad nauseum).

RE: [hillbilly] Workin' Man Blues (book) and Western Swing book

1999-04-13 Thread Barry Mazor


I only want to add that the effort has some value anyway--mainly by way of
all those interviews lurking behind the "Oral History" part of the title.
The tendency to avoid calling the country aspect of Western Swing country
strikes me, in reading this, more on the lines of "I've gotta have an
"original" thesis point, and this is mind, and bygard I'm gonna stick with
it" than some serious preeejudice against country music...On the other
hand. Ms. Boyd seems WAY more at home and familiar with naming, say, jazz
violinists who may have influenced Wills or Bruner than country fiddlers;
she just doesn't seem to have heard enough of those--or want to bring them
up here.  A worthwhile addition to the general, undercovered picture
though, I think, if from a skewed point of view easily taken into account.

Barry M.
(Better include the M I guess; I've noticed some other Barrys around again!)



 "The Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing" by
  Jean A. Boydhas much to say about how Western
  Swing is jazz at its root, underappreciated jazz, and maybe underplays
  the country side in saying so...

 And the book was panned for doing just that by some western swing expert
 (Kevin Coffey? Cary Ginell?) in a recent issue of (I think) the Journal Of
 Country Music.

Coffey, in the most recent issue.

Jon Weisberger  Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/

Re: Rhonda Vincent and the Rage




Jon Weisberger wrote:

 Oh, boy, a chance to talk about one of my favorite girl singers.

  I love Rhonda's voice and how she sings with Ron is killer!!  History
  please?!?  I have two of her CD's, Yesterday and Today and The Sally
  Mountain Show, but I would like more of her progressive stuff.

 The notes to Yesterday and Today give a history of sorts, at least of the
 Sally Mountain Show.  I'm assuming the CD reference is to Bound For
 Gloryland, their last album for Rebel.  She did 3 solo albums for Rebel
 before that: New Dreams And Sunshine, A Dream Come True and Timeless And
 True Love.  They're all outstanding, with a mix of pretty straightforward
 bluegrass (though nothing quite as hard-driving as what the Rage is doing
 these days) and country stuff, with pedal steel, piano, drums, etc.; if I
 had to rank them, I'd say New Dreams and Timeless And True are just a hair
 ahead of A Dream Come True, but just by a hair.  All of them are well worth
 having.

I've got A DREAM COME TRUE, like it real well, and now I'll think harder about
looking for these others.

 Rhonda also made two contemporary country albums for BNA in 1994 and 1996.
 Written In The Stars has some great material and some good pickers, but the
 production isn't especially sympathetic, and it drags down the whole thing
 (that's not just my opinion, but hers as well).  Trouble Free, the second
 one, is a dandy album unless you have a real kneejerk reaction to
 "Nashvegas."  The songs are very strong, the picking is great, and the
 singing is just awesome, mostly Rhonda and her brother Darrin, who's in
 Ricky Skaggs' band.  There's also a real solid duet with Randy Travis, and
 Alison Krauss and Dolly Parton both make appearances.  For what it's worth,
 Trouble Free barely snuck onto the P2 Best Of 1996 list, coming in at #39
 (out of 47).  It may be hard to find, but it's well worth looking for.

And I'd wondered about the more recent stuff. Dunno...g

 Rhonda's got a web page at http://www.nemr.net/~rhondav/ , which she's
 pretty good about keeping updated, and Julie Yocum has a page on Rhonda at
 http://www.vicon.net/~juliay/Rhonda.html .

And that page talks about her working on a new bluegrass project on Rounder.
I'll keep the site and the release in mind. Thanks Jon.

b.s.

Re: Asylum Street Spankers looking for musicians




On Tue, 13 Apr 1999 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 JP, you completely misconstrued Weisberger's meaning here 

He sure did, and managed to insert a pretty big foot in his mouth in the
process.  I love ya, ya hot-headed cajun, but jesus christ, you might 
wanna think twice before levelling a stream of personal insults at someone
over something that you obviously misunderstood.  And speaking to the
group in general now, please try to be civil when posting to P2 and
refrain from hurling insults at your fellow P2ers.  It usually only makes
*you* look bad, and not your intended target.--don

Re: SOTD


At 01:39 PM 4/12/99 EDT, you wrote:
Linda McCartney.

The thread *isn't* the sideperson kept on the payroll because he/she is
sleeping with the boss.

Geez

Jeff

Re: Cereal Wars

1999-04-13 Thread LindaRay64


have you tried the all berry Captain Crunch?

yum!

Linda, wondering if y'all are pulling my leg about there being a fluff list

Big Star


Hey there,

Given...
*5/6:  BIG STAR AT METRO!

I _think_ this is close to the original line up. Any thoughts on whether
this will be an amazing chance to see a reunited band or a pathetic wank
or somewhere in between? I saw Alex Chilton a few years back and it was
pretty damn cool. Thanks.

Later...
CK
Just because nobody understands you doesn't mean you're an artist.

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Re: Chicago Cultural Center


Hey there,

Bob confesses...
Can I confess something? A few months ago there was a show at Record
Roundup that was supposed to feature some Bob Wills soundies along 
with a set by the fine Ms Kessler. Tracy and I got there and it turned
out
that McAdams was showing home movies that she had bought at yard 
sales. Ever since that night, I have a tough time rationalizing the idea
of
taking a chance on anything that mentions her. Has her, if you'll
pardon the phrase, record improved?

Well, I did see the Heather McAdams Country Calendar Come to Life thing
at The Hideout and it was fantastic. I'd check to see who is actually
playing music and for how long before heading over to the show.

Later...
CK
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Re: Weller's Prime


At 02:33 PM 4/13/99 -0400, you wrote:

Ha, that's funny I had a similar on-going conversation with my eldest
brother 
about the Jam and the Clash, although this debate was over which band was 
better. I sided with the Jam, although I eventually saw the error of my
ways.

Hey, at least you can now admit to it...g  I once thought that Prefab
Sprout would become an important band...  Wha?  But, I've got to gush
here...  Joe Strummer!!!  Need I say more?

I'll grudgingly admit a warm affection for Prefab Sprout. The guy who
managed the record store I worked at -- same guy who proclaimed that Roddy
Frame had written more great songs than Lennon and McCartney after the
first Aztec Camera album came out -- popped on Steve Mc I was taken by the
hooks and the warmth of Paddy McLoon's voice. He also turned me on to
Scritti Politti and the Blueberries (?) who did Cath.

Jeff


Miles of Music mail order
http://www.milesofmusic.com
FREE printed Catalog: (818) 883-9975 fax: (818) 992-8302, [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Alt-Country, rockabilly, bluegrass, folk, power pop and tons more.

Re: Big Star




CK wrote:

 Hey there,

 Given...
 *5/6:  BIG STAR AT METRO!

 I _think_ this is close to the original line up.

Jody Stephens and Alex Chilton anyway. Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of the
late Posies fill out the band. They did a live record (for a show they did
at MU in 1993) that's pretty good, and I'd certainly see them if *I* had the
chance. (sniff)

 Any thoughts on whether
 this will be an amazing chance to see a reunited band or a pathetic wank
 or somewhere in between? I saw Alex Chilton a few years back and it was
 pretty damn cool. Thanks.

Ida been more worried about Chilton solo than the above band CK. But who
knows.

b.s.



 Later...
 CK
 Just because nobody understands you doesn't mean you're an artist.

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Re: Weller's Prime


On Tue, 13 Apr 1999, Jeff Weiss wrote:

 I'll grudgingly admit a warm affection for Prefab Sprout. The guy who
 managed the record store I worked at -- same guy who proclaimed that Roddy
 Frame had written more great songs than Lennon and McCartney after the
 first Aztec Camera album came out -- popped on Steve Mc I was taken by the
 hooks and the warmth of Paddy McLoon's voice. He also turned me on to
 Scritti Politti and the Blueberries (?) who did Cath.

This paragraph Weissexclusively prohibits you from 
EVER making fun of my music tastes.  Scritti Politti, indeed.

Barely stifling a snicker.g

Jerry

Re: Curry and the Clash (was Re: Weller's Prime


At 01:44 PM 4/13/99 -0700, you wrote:

On Tue, 13 Apr 1999, BARNARD wrote:

 I'm not so hard on Sandanista as Don (even though, as a rule, I
 do generally do prefer alcohol records to reefer records...g).

I think it had to be something stronger than reefer that convinced
Strummer that he could rap.  He could very well be the least funky white
guy to ever attempt to perform contemporary black music -- he makes Pat

Let me offer Randy Newman as an example of a guy who shouldn't ever attempt
to rap again. Lou Reed's Original Wrapper is admirable but really not very
good.

Jeff


Miles of Music mail order
http://www.milesofmusic.com
FREE printed Catalog: (818) 883-9975 fax: (818) 992-8302, [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Alt-Country, rockabilly, bluegrass, folk, power pop and tons more.

Re: Web capo museum


At 04:48 PM 4/13/99 -0400, you wrote:
At 02:18 PM 4/13/99 -0400, you wrot
No lie, it's at http://w1.865.telia.com/~u86505074/capomuseum/index.htm .

Jon Weisberger  Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/

You certainly weren't, were you...  Have to admit, it was pretty darned
interesting.  Partial to the Shubb myself, but our guitarist just picked up
the "Parrot" which has caught my eye.  Kind of a mutant Jimmy Buffet
thing...g

It's a capo, as in guitar thingee? Damn, I was hoping it was about the Mob.

Jeff


Miles of Music mail order
http://www.milesofmusic.com
FREE printed Catalog: (818) 883-9975 fax: (818) 992-8302, [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Alt-Country, rockabilly, bluegrass, folk, power pop and tons more.

Re: Big Star

1999-04-13 Thread Debnumbers


In a message dated 4/13/99 8:25:36 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:

 *5/6:  BIG STAR AT METRO!
 
  I _think_ this is close to the original line up.
 
 Jody Stephens and Alex Chilton anyway. Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of the
 late Posies fill out the band. They did a live record (for a show they did
 at MU in 1993) that's pretty good, and I'd certainly see them if *I* had the
 chance. (sniff) 

Isn't Stringfellow still touring with R.E.M.?

Deb

Ralph Stanley on TNN

1999-04-13 Thread Danlee2


  This actually just happened, one of those "Life and Times" deals, and 
I'm sorry I didn't check the dang Rockontv.com site and memo P2 on it (i 
missed the first 15 minutes of it myself).   As is typical with those damn 
pseudo-documentaries, there was far too much damned talking and far too 
little actual showing of just why these folks are so special (that is, the 
narration was nonstop, even over Ralph and Co. singing short but stellar 
accapella gospel numbers-ack!).

  Anyway, quick question; at one point in the show Marty Stuart said 
something about neither of the Stanley Bros being in the Country Music Hall 
of Fame (or the Songwriters Hall of Fame)?  True?

Hope not.  If so, Weisberger, you got work to dog

Dan Stanley, the no-good, no-talent Clinch Mountain Boy..

p.s.  oh, and check out this killer quote from the show g;

  "To be honest with you...Dad didn't even really know who he was." 
(Ralph Stanley II, re his dad's duet with Bob Dylan)

Re: Big Star

1999-04-13 Thread Robin Hall


 Reply to:   Re: Big Star
I forgot about Tommy Hoehn. Back in the late 70's I was managing a Sam Goody's in New 
York City, and two guys from another Memphis pop band, the Scruffs, were working 
there. They turned me onto Hoehn and a record he put out at the time, which I remember 
as being pretty good. As I recall, it was done at Ardent, home of Big Star (and Jim 
Dickson, producer extraordinaire). NancyApple wrote:
Jody and Alex along with a couple Posies. Chris was killed years ago in a car crash 
after band practice one night with a side band he was in with Tommy Hoehn. Tommy 
was on my radio show this week (which I have not gotten around to posting playlist 
etc.) and we talked about this. Tommy has a new record out with Van Duren (who 
auditioned with Big Star years ago).

Re: MIKE NESS

1999-04-13 Thread Danlee2


   Haven't heard this yet myself, but last night on MTV120 Nessie did a 
song called "Don't Think Twice It's Alright".  This is a cover-ain't it?  If 
anyone can fill me as to who it's by that'd be great.

dan, pretty sure he's exposing once again a huge amount of ignorance.

Re: Weller's Prime

1999-04-13 Thread Jon E. Johnson


Don Yates writes:

Listening to that lame shit could almost make one appreciate 
Vanilla Ice.g  

 Who reportedly sold out the Middle East in Cambridge the other
evening (no small task) with his new Rage Against the Machine ripoff
schtick.  It takes a lot to make me question my faith in God, but this
just about does it.
 Oh yeah.  I gave "London Calling" a listen a few weeks back for the
first time in probably four or five years.  Still works for me, except
for a couple of tracks like "Lovers Rock."  But it's hard to be objective
about that record, which, like Elvis Costello's "Armed Forces" and Cheap
Trick's "Heaven Tonight," is kind of an aural scrapbook of my life during
that period.  As infrequently as I listen to some of those records, every
time I put one of them on I remember little things about that period that
I'd never have otherwise thought of.  There aren't many records that do
that to me.
--Jon Johnson
   [EMAIL PROTECTED]
   Wollaston, Massachusetts

Re: Ralph Stanley on TNN

1999-04-13 Thread Stick


   This actually just happened, one of those "Life and Times" deals, and
 I'm sorry I didn't check the dang Rockontv.com site and memo P2 on it (i
 missed the first 15 minutes of it myself).

It might be broadcast again between midnight and 2 am again
EST.  Actually might be midnight.

I sorta liked the show myself.  Of course anything bluegrass gets
my attention.

Stick

Re: No Hits All The Time - WFMU, The Glow At The End Of The Dial

1999-04-13 Thread RoCogs




Laura Cantrell, who's show "Radio Thriftshop" on WFMU is totally happening, 
is very twang friendly and quite a fine twanger herself. 

Elena Skye

Re: MIKE NESS

1999-04-13 Thread Danlee2


answering my own post, I write;
   Haven't heard this yet myself, but last night on MTV120 Nessie did a 
  song called "Don't Think Twice It's Alright".  This is a cover-ain't it? 

  Yeah, it sure is, you idiot.   Dylan, off of "Freewheelin'".  Hey, Ralph 
didn't know who he was eitherG

just ignore me,
dan bentele

Tom Petty on Letterman Tonight!

1999-04-13 Thread KATIEJOM


Hi all,

With all this talk about The Clash and The Jam, I thought it only fair to 
remind everyone that Petty and the boyz will be on Letterman tonight.

Caught his SNL appearance and everyone looked older than heck, but still 
sounded great!  Should be a good 'un!

Kate.

Re: Tom Petty's new one

1999-04-13 Thread NancyApple


I cannot remove the new Tom Petty album from my CD player. If this keeps up, 
I may need an intervention. Is there a Betty Ford program for this?
Nancy

RE: seeking like-minded new yorkers


Lurker Nina writes:

   I'm a like-minded New Yorker who lurks in Digest mode
(thus the late reply).  I have sometimes had to descend
to treating my friends to twang-type shows just to have
someone to go hear live music with; usually I give up and
go alone.  Since I live in the Bronx and have to get
myself back up there on public transportation after the
show, this position has its drawbacks.  But sad as it is,
has its moments; I will always treasure the memory of the
looks of pure horror on the faces of a group of friends
when I asked if anyone wanted to go hear Ricky Skaggs.
   Anyway, can I join the gang for Kelly Willis, too?  I
would love to meet some people who don't always ask
"who?" when I mention the music I listen to.

Well, NYC folks, it's starting to sound like we might just have a quorum
for the Saturday night Kelly Willis show. Should we plan a pre-show drink
in the Mercury Lounge bar? I'll be husband-less that evening, I think, and
I'd love to have the company of some like-minded female New Yorkers as well
as the always-reliable male P2 contingent.

--Amy

RE: Weller's Prime


Jon says:

Dunno where the Clash fit in - not my cup of tea, you might say - but Weller
was pretty heavily involved with the Labor Party-related Red Wedge, at least
during his Style Council days.  Or so my not-always-reliable memory tells
me, anyhow.


Jon is correct (and I'm amazed that Jon has even heard of Style
Council--pretty impressive for a guy who pays so little attention to rock
that he's never heard "Stairway to Heaven") that Weller made the leftist
politics of the Jam's records more overt by doing the Red Wedge tours with
Style Council. But what Junior is remembering is an earlier (mis)perception
on the part of many in the punk orthodoxy that the Jam were conservatives.
This stemmed almost entirely from one Melody Maker interview in which
Weller hinted that he was thinking of voting Tory in the next election (the
one that put Maggie Thatcher in power) because he was so fed up with the
Labor party's inability to do anything about unemployment, etc. He didn't
vote Tory, probably couldn't have voted Tory unless forced to at gunpoint,
but it tarnished his reputation for a while among the punk and press
orthodoxy in the UK. He had to get fairly explicit in his leftism to fully
live down the comment, I think, and that happened mainly in the last days
of the Jam and then during the Style Council years. Before that, he was
often accused by the British press of fence-sitting and being too
noncommital politically, because his songs tended to be sort of slices of
working class life rather than sloganeering polemics (like, say, the
Clash's later work). And the perception of Weller as a conservative wasn't
helped by his Mod infatuation and the tendency of the British press to
sometimes cast the Clash and the Pistols in the role of the original Mods'
arch enemies, the Rockers; in their pre-revival form, Mods were generally
viewed as lower middle class and establishmentarian, while the rockers were
viewed as working class laborites. (As Iain Noble, I think, has explained,
the reality was that both groups were generally working class, but that
wasn't the stereotype.)

I'm not sure that the idea of the Jam as center-rightists got entirely lost
in the US translation, at least at first; in NYC there were even some punk
fans who wouldn't bother to go see the Jam on their first tour, dismissing
them as poseurs. If the whole debate never gained much widespread attention
here, it's more because the Jam themselves never got much attention here
either; they were simply too parochially British to capture the attention
of a lot of US fans (though the small following they had was certainly
fanatical), and most US critics didn't like them much either.

The Clash were the band that changed everything for me, but they lost me
after London Calling. I was a huge Jam fan and remained one long after I'd
given up on the Clash, and though I love to delve back into the Clash's
pre-Sandinista stuff, in general I find that the Jam have worn much better
than the Clash. I'll agree with Junior that Stiff Little Fingers have aged
well, but I won't grant Don the Pistols; though the first record still
sounds great, it's a much less fresh, more nostalgic listening experience
than either the Jam or the Clash, IMHO.

And if all this doesn't flush Gary Wilson out of hiding, he must have
unsubscribed.

--Amy

Re: [hillbilly] Workin' Man Blues (book) and Western Swing book


Hey there,

Barry reads...
 While we're at it, I'd mention that what I AM reading right now, the
book "The Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing" by
Jean A. Boyd, 

And the book was panned for doing just that by some western swing expert
(Kevin Coffey? Cary Ginell?) in a recent issue of (I think) the Journal
Of
Country Music.--don

Yup. And was also slammed to pieces for getting facts wrong, belittling
country, etc. etc. Slammed hard, in fact.

Later...
CK

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Re: Asylum Street Spankers looking for musicians


Hey there,

Carl to JP
JP, you completely misconstrued Weisberger's meaning here - it was an 
inside-joking reference to Jon's long, untiring **defence** of the 
importance of chops in country (and other) music.

Well, Weisberger's post looked like an insult to me too. 

Perhaps Jon W should be sure to add g's and in-jokes going on two years
old deserve a bit of explanation, ya think?

Later...
CK who's been around over two years
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Re: Weller's Prime


Hey there,

Mr. Curry...
You know, I said this at Nashville Extravaganza to the absolute horror
of Bill Silvers and Chris Knaus.  Also, in an attempt to remove any last
shred of respectibility and credibility, I'll repeat it publically. The
Clash did absolutely nothing for me.  

I believe my reaction at the time was to scream at the top of my lungs.
At this point, however, I'll be a little more controlled. Sandinista is
about one LP too long, and Combat Rock gets jokey, and I even bought Are
You Red-y *shudder* -- but London Calling is frigging incredible and
holds up as album length punk rock (which is mighty rare) and their two
CD greatest hits that came out about 10 yrs ago is mighty solid. Picking
the gems from some thinner albums (see Sandinista). And one of my
favorite quotes, 

"The Sex Pistols were a more political band. The Clash was mostly about
hair cuts." Joe Strummer

Later...
CK whose parents wouldnt let him go see The Clash at SUNY Binghamton for
the Combat Rock tour.
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Tommy Hoehn and Van Duren (was Big Star)

1999-04-13 Thread NancyApple


With all this Big Star talk, I thought I would post this article that we ran 
in this issue of Dateline, Memphis
Tommy and Van both have a connection with Big Star, so enjoy

Tommy Hoehn and Van Duren,
Working Against All Odds

by John Gaskill

When Tommy Hoehn and Van Duren began writing the songs for their recently 
released CD Hailstone Holiday, they werent even sure that the project would 
get off the ground.
Duren was a little skeptical when Hoehn and Frankenstein Records founder 
Mary-Shelley Jack approached him in 1997 about collaborating on an album. At 
that point, he said, I didnt trust anybody in the music business. But what 
else did I have to do? He continued, So I said, Sure, thinking, well 
see what happens.
But the very fact that the project was not a sure thing appears to have 
made it a success, at least in the eyes of the two artists.
Part of what made it easy was the fact that neither one of us believed 
that it would actually happen, Hoehn said.
Both Hoehn and Duren are native Memphians and both have numerous musical 
influences, most notably the Anglo-pop of British Invasion bands like the 
Beatles and the Hollies. Although the two have known each other for years, 
their career paths have run parallel to one another, not really crossing 
until recently.
In the early seventies, Hoehn worked with both Alex Chilton and Chris 
Bell, both of the legendary Memphis band Big Star. His first album, 
Spacebreak, released in 1977 by the local label Powerplay Records was picked 
up by London records the next year titled as Losing You To Sleep. Featured 
were some songs co-written with Chilton.
His second album, I Do Love the Light, also on Powerplay, featured songs 
written with Bell, whom Hoehn considered a dear friend. Before the album was 
released, Bell was killed in an auto accident.
We were actually rehearsing and he left my house and had his wreck, 
Hoehn sadly recalled. That was a bad thing.
A year and a half later, Hoehn recorded Im So Afraid of Girls at Sam 
Phillips Recording. He describes the album, which was released by the local 
Race Records label, as kind of a lame record.
In recent years, Hoehn has released Of Moons and Fools (1996) and The 
Turning Dance (1997), both on the Frankenstein label.
Durens story includes some similar names but goes in a different 
direction. He and Big Star drummer Jody Stephens were friends and played 
together with Chris Bell (who had left Big Star after the second album) in a 
band called The Baker Street Regulars in the first half of 1976.
During the recording of Big Stars 3rd in 1977, the band was looking for 
another guitar player and Stephens got Duren an audition.
It went horrible, Duren said. I was nervous. He didnt get the gig, 
but it didnt matter since Big Stars days were numbered at that point.
Shortly afterward Duren sold all his gear and bought a one-way ticket to 
New York City. He lived briefly with friends in Greenwich Village and then 
moved to nearby New Haven, Conneticut, where he recorded his first album. Are 
You Serious was released by New York-based Big Sound Records in 1978 and it 
received good reviews and airplay nationwide. A second album was made but 
never released because of financial troubles at Big Sound.
After four years, Duren found himself playing clubs on the same circuit 
and things just ran out of steam. I could be doing that down here where my 
family was.
He returned to Memphis in 1981 and helped found the group Good Question 
in 1982. The group released Thin Disguise, their only album, in 1986 and had 
some regional success with the single Jane. Since then Duren has continued 
to perform with Good Question, all the while pursuing various outside 
projects.
Duren lost track of Hoehn from the time he left for the Northeast until 
1995. Hoehn was organizing the Beatle Bash, a benefit for Make A Wish, to be 
held at Newbys that year.
Van was the logical person for me to talk to, Hoehn said.
Duren agreed to participate and after playing with him on the benefit, 
Hoehn knew he wanted to work with him. But it wasnt until the summer of 1997 
that Frankenstein Records was in a position to make it possible for the two 
to make a record.
The two started trying to write together in early 1998 and Duren, who had 
never had much success co-writing, was pleasantly surprised. We came up with 
a couple of songs that were actually not too bad, he said.
They worked up four-track demos of those two songs with Brady Howle and 
Rob Crockett, bass player and drummer for the current Good Question lineup. 
The demos were good enough for Ardent to offer a reduced rate, Duren said.
The lack of pressure made for an unusually smooth studio experience as 
well. The basic tracks for the first eight songs were completed in two and a 
half nights of recording, with two or three takes at the most on 
everything,

Re: MIKE NESS


Steve says:

One other comment on it--I'm not sure Mike's vaguely Richard Butler-esque
snarl really works in a rootsier context. It gets tiring a little sooner
when he's out of the slam/bang Social D setting.

I've always been afraid to confess this amid the Social D lovers around
here, but I've never been able to listen to the band because I just can't
stand his voice. It gets tiring for me with Social D in about .002 seconds,
so I probably couldn't even take the shrink wrap off the solo CD without
getting annoyed.

If we're talking SoCal punk, I always liked the Minutemen about 1000
times better than Social D. (and if you listen very carefully you can
hear the sound of Purcell's head exploding right about now...:)),

Amen to that. (Er, the Minutemen thing, that is, not my little bro's head
exploding.)

--Amy

Re: Weller's Prime