WWW of Spin Turlock #20: Review: Building Castles Out Of Matchsticks - "Secret Land"

I've been a big fan of Building Castles Out Of Matchsticks (aka BCOOM) since I made my first "comeback" in the pro music writing sweepstakes back in '02. The descriptive words thrown around back then included "chill", "ambient", "minimal", & "electronica".
And while most of those words were true to some extent, they don't do justice to Anne Sulikowski & pals output.

Sulikowski is the primary person driving the BCOOM bus. Typically, she sets the listener up with these whirring, textured electro-acoustic mantras to lull you into a nice warm sonic saline bath, all the while adding subliminal effects to remind you all is not necessarily well in this pretty bathtub. On occasion, she has been known to sing soft-focus mantras with titles that could break your heart. That is, if you had one, Robot..

I think Bob Lanois said it best:

"She could scare Brian Eno"

Secret Place is the latest offering from BCOOM, and it's as good a place as any to start. Best to go direct for this one...

WWW of Spin Turlock #19: Old Friends

I recently received an early birthday present. Two presents, actually: a red Portuguese World Cup soccer t-shirt & a forwarded package from Corwood Industries.
Thanks Kwak!

It reminded me that I have to forward the Corwood Rep. my new snail mail address. In the meantime, if you see him before I do, could you forward the following message? Thanks pal!

Dear Corwood Representative,

Thank you so much for sending the latest Jandek release, Canticle of Castaway I see - and have heard - the three selections:
Don't Go Out, which clocks in at just over 29 minutes (it must be important...)
You Weren't, which falls short of seven minutes, (but is still important)
Boys Like Blue, which breaks the 17-minute barrier, has lines referring to multi-coloured money. and which rhymes with "they always do". And that's important, too.

I like it, but then, chocolate ice cream tends to taste the same both the first and the last time you eat it.
I see Mr Tisue's site hasn't been able to keep with you! I'm really interested in hearing how Toronto Sunday , your latest CD turned out. Call me a sentimental fool, but I was at that event and enjoyed myself immensely, if not Imants-ly. Gary Topp said I could've visited you backstage, but the car was waiting, and it wasn't me driving, honest.

I will send you a postcard with my new address here in Grande Prairie, AB. If you're up this way, drop me a line and we'll have a beer somewhere, k?

Still waiting for the House,I remain,

G-Mole

WWW of Spin Turlock #18: Cowboy Songs/ Summer, 1955

My uncle, "Bruzz" Bethel sent me these pages of a publication called Cowboy Songs,a C&W fan magazine.
Judging by the records and songs quoted, I'm guessing it was published in the late summer/early fall of 1955. You get articles, song lyrics, photo essays & pin-ups. The zine was published on 8.5 X 14" pages...as a result, the scans don't take in the whole page. Surely, though, you'll "get it".
Big thanks to my uncle.





Think of what came in the past year and compare it to this...



Webb Pierce, Pin-Up Star



Sing along with your favourite C&W songs!

WWW of Spin Turlock #17: Welcome to My World

The above photo was taken on a back road, a 25 minute drive from my home & it's the reason why we're here. Oil...to fuel your cars. Oil...to make shrink-wrap. Oil...to finance the purchases of the home entertainment devices I sell for a living.

Alberta is the Texas of Canada. Oil + Beef + extreme climate, but a) it's waaay colder here in the winter and b) Alberta was never, ever an independent Western country (unless you count First Nations entities).

And how far north are we?...

WWW of Spin Turlock #16: Grande Prairie Indie Scene Report

I recently discovered this item at the local Salvation Army. After inspecting the front and the back cover, I knew I had stumbled across, in the words of Jake Avery, a "rare, HARD TO FIND" recording and immediately purchased it for 80 cents.







I'm not sure when this recording was made, as there is no copyright information provided. Aside from the original instrumentals, the most recent cover is a version of the Kendalls "Heaven's Just A Sin Away", which hit the top of the country charts in October of 1977. Judging by the lead guitarist's receding hairline, I'm guessing this album was independently released a few years later, maybe in 1983, '84.
It's hard to tell, though, as the lay-out is primitive, even by 1977 pre-QuarkExpress standards.













On a postive note, the liner notes on the back are helpful. More independent artists should take a cue from the Rebels, and supply biographical information on their releases. Professional reviewers such as myself appreciate such details. I see that the album lives up to its title,as there are a VARIETY of styles covered on this disc, ranging from country to world music ("Caribbean") to surf rock (a cover of "Wipeout"!) Sound unheard, I'm willing to bet this is a four-star recording. These Rebels will not be forgotten!






P.S. I plan to borrow a piece of equipment and digitize these tracks, as I plan to share them with other music lovers around the world.
That's just the way I roll.

WWW of Spin Turlock #15: Acid Mothers OD/Assorted Guh

An update to issue #14: I dutifully listened to the following Acid Mothers Temple releases, all the way through, no skipping:

Tao Chant From the Cosmic Inferno (2005) ...yup, they do chant
Does the Cosmic Shepherd Dream of Electric Tapirs (2004)...nice Las Vegas rock vocal impersonation medley in there.
Acid Motherly Love (2007) a tad jayuzz-ish in places, as you would expect from the Zappa reference
Recurring Dream % Apocalypse of Darkness (2008)...extremely dense, heavy rock sound.

I can't do any more of these releases for a while. While I enjoy this kind of thing - and, no, I don't feel guilty at all - a change of pace is required. I have another 10 or so AMT titles to go through, but...later.

I was born in Brantford , Ontario and I was disappointed to hear that the local city council voted to tear down a stretch of pre-Confederation (i.e pre-1867)buildings on Colbourne Street. Very short-sighted thinking going on there, hope it's not contagious. Hamilton, ON, was guilty of similair cultural gaffes.
Here in Grande Prairie, the history span is somewhat shorter: a few setthttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giflers showed up in 1910, but most of the initial growth didn't happen until after the rail line was put in,a project which was apparently surveyed by my great-uncle before WW1 broke out. There's a couple of buildings pushing the centenary mark, but the majority of this town was built in the last 50 years. Compared to the Hammer, there is a lot of W-I-D-E space use, both for commercial and residential use. My neighbourhood, for instance has green belt alley ways built into it at regular intervals which you don't see that often in say, new developments back east. My work place is located in a big box store conglomerate that spreads over eight regular city blocks.

Something I noticed as well: when you get north of 55 degrees latitude NORTH, the days get longer during the summer. It's not the Land of the Midnight sun, per se, but sunrises at 5:20 p.m., and sunsets at 10:30 p.m. are not to be trifled with.

Oh yeah, and ZZ Top plays tonight in town 06/10/10

WWW of Spin Turlock #14: The Harvey Project cont.

It's 2:45 a.m. and I can't sleep.

Here is Round Two, the main thrust of which took place earlier on Friday evening.

Our main piece was a three-CD compilation of the various offshoots of Acid Mothers Temple. Harv sent me a half dozen titles of these mooks and since I have a psoft pspot for psych-rawk, I dutifully listened.

Lords of the Underground

played sometime on Thursday morning - Mantra two-chord hypno- riffing with enough sideral action to make it somewhat interesting...they have mod, free-jazz chops, but like to zone out on those mantras as well.

And both of those aspects would drive most of my sentient friends batty...but not me!
With the extensive catalogue, though, I have to wonder if they work a regular formula. We'll see. Or rather, hear




Do Whatever You want, Dont Do Whatever you want (2002)

5/28/10 7:55 p.m. 1. PINK LADY LEMONADE (YOU'RE SO SWEET) / Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. *

Well. they did their mantra thing. but then they broke out the pneumatic drills and guitar skree. And you KNOW I'a sucker for that kind of action, right? Exactly. The neighbours are moving around upstairs. Dedicated to Colin @ Creatve Radio.

Nice steady low hz hum...like, your speaker isn't grounded anymore, Derwood HAHAHAHAHA

8:03 There! There's that two chord mantra thing...it reappeared

8:37
disc-2

1. SHIZUKU NO YOUNI / Floating Flower
2. SO FAR AWAY / Maquiladora
3. Bésamé La Mucho / Zoffy
4. DISCO, SPACE, BABY / Kido Natsuki
5. MON LION / Fursaxa
6. GANDAKI WARI G.P. / Gopal with Tsuyama Atsushi
7. GALACTIC BOMBER (ROLL OVER CAPTAIN ULTRA!) / Cosmic Riders*
8. PARDON MONSIEUR (smash hits mix) /Pardons**
9. LE LAPIN / Frédérick
10. HELLO BABY / The Wild Riders*
11. LOVE POTION 26 / Magic Aum Gigi*
12. NO MORE RED NIGHTMARE / Tsuyama Atsushi*¡¡
13. BLUES FOR MRS. TRIPLE H / Alien Social Dance Party*
14. WHITE ROOM / Zoffy
15. VALLEY OF THE WIND / Nipponianippon
16. BRAHMAGNPATIRANA (early mix) / Seikazoku*
17. UNTITLED (vanishing version) / Father Moo & The Black Sheep*
18. CAMBOUS / Ueh*

After a short pause Vol. 2...the various spin-offs: forged psych-ethnicity vis a vis the Indian subcontinent, then the POP version of the group.

8:45 More forged ethnicity. Faux Eurasian steppe, I'm guessing. Nice

8:48 Cue Ping Romany on synth Triangle! Is that Keith Emerson from the Nice on church organ? Maybe I just dreamed it

Ach! I hear Krautrock references. [Editor's note: This makes sense in light of this

8:51 interpreting the mid riff of Led Zeppelin's, Whole Lotta Love??!!

8:57 In which Sebadoh performs your favourite Traditional Japanese folk melodies! Just for you

8:59 The real folk blues! Keyboardist Cotton Casino: good handle. I'd buy titles on the name alone..

9:02 Creepy voices and these people must know of Imants Krumins
http://www.acidmothers.com/Cgi-bin/album/nihilist/nihilist_abba/index.html

disc-3

1. CONCURRENCE / Kawabata Makoto & Miyamoto Naoaki*
2. WHITE FLOWERS ON THE HILLTOP / Shogo-nari with Kawabata Makoto*
3. PLANET OF SOMNOLENCE / Space Machine with Kawabata Makoto*
4. UCHU (comet comforter mix)/ Uchu**
5. DOHKOKU / Tsurubami*
6. THIRD EYE OF THE WHOLE WORLD (long version) / Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O.
7. I WANT YOU TO KISS ME AGAIN / Kawabata Makoto*

At this point, my notes drift off into delirious rantings..basically, these are more rock/improv combos/projects. White Flowers is a folk idiom based thing.




The remainder of the evening was spent wallowing in the early releases of Klaus Schulze, specifically 1974's Blackdance and it's follow-up 1975's Picture Music. Totally electronic , these things anticipated techno, but with more developed arrangements ...and without the duh-hey click tracks that drive me batty. Actually , it reminds me of Hypnotech 3 before they adopted those batty click-tracks> ..what the kids call "chill-out" music. More information on Schulze can be found here.

WWW of Spin Turlock #13: Bachelor Weekend: Now's the Time for the Listening Party!

Here's the deal:

My significant other heads down to Edmonton (capital of Alberta)this weekend. I can't make it due to day job scheduling, but - as it stands - I have the rest of the weekend off.

At the same time, I am in the process of sifting through some 200 or so CDR burns of various Japanese & German titles sent me via former pro wrestler and lead vocalist of the Hated Uncles, John Harvey. Since there's only so much domestic clean-up to be done, and since most of this material isn't exactly what you'd call "social listening", I figure this is an opportune time window to indulge in extreme aesthetics.

The sound system to be used for this task is an old RCA Home Theatre (5 speakers)w/a DVd player tracking the CDRs. You can play DVDs, CDs, CDRs, and MP3 comps on it & it has served me well.

For contrast, I will interject doses of the on-line radio show, "Bus of Real Country" which is about as far removed from this recorded material as one can get. Both of these exercises are "classic" affairs, but all comparisons end there, Herr, Frau und Fraulein listener.

As Harvey himself cryptically wrote in the note that came in the box: "Have fun"!

Round One:

Kluster - 1969 -1972 (ltd edition 6 LP Box set)



Not be confused with Cluster, Kluster was Conrad Schnitzler's baby. Yes, Schnitzler worked with Messrs Roedelius & Moebius, but this is a different fish altogether.

First off, Schnitzler does not - and never did - consider himself a "musician" per se. This is music made by musicians and non-musicians alike, which will p.o. any musicos reading this right off the get-go. As other writhers have remarked, this group - which had three "proper" studio releases in its lifetime - was the missing link between serious electronic/20th centrury composition (think Stockhausen) and the so-called Krautrock of the 70's. Lesser lights would make "industrial" music out of the same sound forms, but Kluster came first.
Violins are sawed and hit percussively, guitars are made to squawk, drums roll in and out ominously.There is no steady pulse, no mama heartbeat, no melody or harmony to fall back on Clearly, monsters or aliens are nearby. On their studio releases, Kluster used their vinyl space as a soapbox for social commentary - all recited in German - but there's Nunuvthat here! What you get here is 4 hours of well-heeled clink and clank. And that's not meant as as a put-down, either. All of it unreleased prior to 2005.
Read this brief manifesto by Schnitzler. It will help you understand, and then, finally, we may have world peace.

Rating (1-10 on the Shirley scale):
Seven Shirleys


Social Observation:

In Hamilton,Ontario there is a Tim Horton's coffee & doughnut joint every 500 yards or so. In Grande Prairie, Alberta, replace "Horton's" with "liquor store" in that last sentence's equation.

Now's the Time for the Fun, Fun, Fun:

For the benefit of both of my Toronto, Ontario readers: Edgar Breau, he of Simply Saucer infamy, plays Mitzi's Sister this Saturday, May 9th. Cover charge is a mere $5.



Left to right: Kevin Christoff,Peter A. Lacey, Edgar Breau, Jeff Bakalar (cruelly chopped off by Blogger)

Edgar is working on finally - FINALLY - finishing his second solo CD, "Patches Of Blue",this year. It will be issued and/or licenced out by Flying Inn Music. The two one hour sets will be comprised of solo and Saucer material (with original Saucer bass player Kevin Christoff for added verisimilitude).

Recently, Edgar & K.C. recounted their memoirs in the pages of Toronto writer Liz Worth's book, "Treat me Like Dirt" , the title of which is derived from the lyric tag line of "Bullet Proof Nothing". It's a history of the Southern Ontario punk scene of 77-78, and Saucer WAS there, playing to all of 30 or 40 people at David's & the Horseshoe Tavern. Steve Leckie of the Viletones remarked at the time that Saucer was "good, but not punk", and the band heartily concurs with this assessment. Having already blown the doors off - and been subsequently brushed off - 2 or 3 years earlier, they had already "been there, done that". They are the only people in the book who dissociate themselves from the whole punk shebang. They are also just about the only people in the book who weren't burned by Other People'a Music.

And, yes, there still is a Simply Saucer . Available for mod weddings and swinging bachelor parties! Write them for details at their Myspace...they WILL return your calls!

More to follow late Friday night...

WWW of Spin Turlock #12: Groovie Times (no apology to Clash fans)

Haven't really felt like blogging per se in a while, but here's whats new:

Kicksville features Kicks fanzine editrix, Flamin' Groovies uberfan, A-Bones drummist, and Canuck ex-pat, Miriam Linna reminiscing about her tenure with The Cramps.

This comes as a bit of a head-turner, because Miriam has been always reticent about talking about that period in her life (1976 - 1977). Given the nature of her sacking, you couldn't really blame her, so this comes as a pleasant surprise. Her and partner Billy Miller would go on to become Rushmore -like figures in promoting American rock n'roll music through the fanzine, Kicks and the recording label, Norton.

Linna and Miller could be considered the ultimate fans in that they actually became their own heroes by backing the two prime movers of the Groovies, Roy Loney & Cyril Jordan concert. Erg-ho, they BECAME de facto Groovies for two nights in July of last year (2009)

Did I ever mention that I was the MC for 2/3 rds of the Groovies only-est Canadian tour in March of '82? Promoters Stewart Pollock and the late Randy Steele (best known as a CH TV news reporter in Hamilton,ON.) lost a pile of dough doing those shows, but I have my memories. I interviewed Cyril & George for McMaster Radio back then and remember watching them walk across campus in their vintage Brit Invasion suits, clutching Canadian-only , 1963 vintage Beatle LP pressings (the "Twist And Shout" LP) Our vinyl librarian, Al "Fish" Lewis laughed at them...

The rider, (a materials list supplement to the band's performance fee which can include food, beverage, and certain technical items), for these concerts had a specific provision for the band receiving RED towels after the show. This was kind of like the infamous "no brown M&Ms clause" in the Van Halen riders: the band didn't care one way or another but it was a way for the road manager to check up on the promoter's honesty via a simple visual scan of the dressing room. the road manager, by the way, for this tour was a rodent-like fellow by the name of Mouse (not the famous San Fran artist,Stanley Mouse...I don't think so??)A young guitarist by the name of Colin Linden reconnected with Groovies & Charlatans guitarist, Mike Wilhelm.
The set list for the three nights was mainly Beatles and Stones covers, but they did "Shake some Action" and "Don't Put Me On", the latter featuring the best - and ONLY - use of the word poltroons in a rock song.

Alas, that interview tape got bulk erased....and when Cyril Jordan was up here last year with Magic Christian, he remembered very little of it.

WWW of Spin Turlock #11: "I've Grown Accustomed to Disgrace."..

"like breathing out and breathing in.."

Not really. I am comfortable with a number of things that would make my friends back east wince...

(Note to new readers: click on the highlighted links, it helps to explain what or who I'm talking about...Really!)


The Past Comes Back to Haunt Me Pt One: Here is a clip of yours truly doing a rendition of Gordie Lightfoots "Beautiful" on my kid sisters wedding in May 1990. Ten years ago, I would've been mortified about going public, but now, in my August-ine years, I'm comfortable with the Canuck-cum-indie rock quality of said crooning. Dedicated to noted Lightfoot fan, the late, great Gordon Spaeth...



The Past Comes back to Haunt Me, Part Deux: Here is an old 1988 interview with Jeff "Mono Man" Connolly from FFanzeen
Surprisingly, it reads well, in a demented car-wreck kind of way..Jeff's band, The Lyres were one of the few garage=rock bands of the era who walked it like they talked it. One of the best live acts then or now.


Alex Chilton...I don't know what happened to the 1988 interview I did with Alex backstage at Ontario Place Forum,when he was mock Bach's Tahp-ping. Doesn't matter, it read like all the other interviews of the time: the Big Star stuff is played down, the roots angle is played up. But what did you expect? Eno plays down his solo 70s output,too: none of that stuff,however much we may love it, sold for them, and that's that. I have one burning memory of Alex in concert at the El Mocambo in Toronto on a September Gurl night in 1987 doing a ripping version of Charlie Mingus' Theme For Lester Young. That, and a copy of Sister Lovers. should suffice for memories. First Jim Dickinson, now this. The south may rise again, but I'm not staying up nights.

WWW of Spin Turlock #10: Life in Grande Prairie, Part Deux

Some notes on this mockumentary: since it was filmed, The York Hotel has been put up for sale, and the City of Grande Prairie has put in a bid for the old place.


Simply Saucer/Crawlin Kingsnake guitarist and occasional sound guy for HECFI Stephen Foster correctly identified Duke's (where Shirley & I saw Shane Chisholm - see G-Mole #9) as the venue where the Killjoys played in 1998. Every touring Hamilton musician apparently has a story about Grande Prairie...

I should also point out that we live many blocks away from the 2-blocks max urban core of GP, whew!

WWW of Spin Turlock #9: Stuff I like...

Editorial dsiclaimer: G-Mole does not endorse using Bud Lite as a mixer, or "straight up", for that matter

These things, in the words of the hardly-lamented Chester, "make my life /a little bit brighter"

Greydyn Gatti hosts the 1919RadioZone program, which was (is?) originally broadcast at an ungodly hour on CKLN-FM in Toranna, ON. Hep time travellers can opt for the downloadable podcast version, now in its lucky 7th edition. There's lots of groovy six-tease garage, pop, and psych sides to be found here, but the hosts have the innate good sense to mix it up with 70s disco, kraut, noise & punk/early hardcore sides. His sometime-sidekick Toranna artist, Chrystal Snowden contributes materially to this show. (We shared oxygen once, but have never actually met, per se). Recommended.

Most of you knew I hosted a golden-age C&W radio show before I permanently put the accent on the "w" & relocated myself here. If you miss that kinda action, why don't you point your browser here...Janice has the goods. Really.

Another blog I religiously follow - and so should you - is the Hound Blog. Put together by long-time WFMU-FM host and Kicks magazine contributor, James Marshall, it will teach you important things about music, life, and how to cuss.

There's not a whole lot of live music to be heard in GP...not in the above-radar range venues anyway.. but when there is, Shirley & I try and show up. We enjoyed, for example, Shane Chisholm's recent show at Duke's

Shane plays a doghouse bass fashioned out of a 1970 vintage gas tank (shades of Washboard Hank, with whom Shane worked with!)and tours the C&W cover circuit, but manages to work his own material in. Judging by Hitchhiking Buddha, his latest release, it's pretty engaging. Not just another pretty hat, Buddha goes nationwide in Canada through Fontana North on March 23, 2010..

Lately, I've been stoked on what they used to call "red eyes": i.e. beer topped off with Clamato. It helps make budget beers last longer and go down smoother.

And how are YOU? bf.mowat@gmail.com

WWW of Spin Turlock #8: "This is only a test..."

This issue is NOT AVAILABLE

WWW of Spin Turlock #7: Laissez-faire le Bon Temps Roulet..

In light of Scott Brown's recent election to the U.S. Senate, here's a couple of reminders to our American readers why you can't laissez-faire no mo'.

1) You can't use over-mortgaged properties as equity
&

2) You can't expect Wall Street to police itself

Well, that's my political commentary for the day. Cosmo poster boy beats out Camelot. That's show biz, er, U.S politics, for ya. I just hope the saucy pic boosts G-Mole's daytime female readership. In the words of Cadillac Bill: "Ratings"

And speaking of show-biz & popular music, here's a good encapsulation of What Went Fown in the Aughts. You didn't miss much, apparently. Thanks to Robert "Robot" Hull for this one.

If you haven't already seen it, here's a 1988 vintage interview with Dave "Rave" Desroches, the former singer/guitarist for the Shakers & Teenage Head . Originally printed in the analogue pages of FFanzeen, I had forgotten ahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifbout this piece, which 20+ years later, makes a good companion piece to Liz Worth's Treat Me Like Dirt book.

More recently, FFanzeen editor Robert Barry Francos has been musing on life in his newly-adopted home of Saskatoon

And speaking of New York State of Minds, two last things:

1)NY Doll David Johansen appears on the "New York Outer Boroughs" (originally aired September 7, 2009) episode of Anthony Bourdain\s: No Reservations TV program, extolling the virtues of a Staten Island Tiki Bar.

1) I saw the Sam Mendes film Away We Go. It was funny in spots: a 30-something couple, expecting there first child, travel over North America to find a "home". En route, they meet "people with peculiar tastes" in Madison, Arizona,Miami and Montreal.
The latter city's adventure features a pole dancing sequence involving The Velvet Underground's "Oh Sweet Nothing" , one of my all-time fave music pieces on the planet.

The ending is kinda pat: hey, I wish I could come "home" to a ready-to-occupy mansion. One thing I noticed, though : put a beard & glasses on John Krasinski & he looks a LOT like former Tell The Divers bass guy, D Croz. I think that's about it...

Picture; John Krasinski, cleverly disguised as D Croz

WWW of Spin Turlock #6: "Too Many Cooks.."

Those glam n' giddy overachievers, The Kewpies are at it again! This time, they offer up a tribute to Frances Hannah Kerr & Teenage Head
with their version of Picture My Face, featuring the vocal stylin's of Fox Fiesta! Can a full length LP from the lads be far behind?

Some people I have found on the tube and on the net:


Anthony Bourdain provides a welcome contrast to the sometimes hoop n' pony aspects of the Food Network. Plus, he's had cool peeps like Nick Tosches on his show, although you could see Nicky visibly wince when the topic of Sinatra came up.

Speaking of food giants, why doesn't Peter Zaremba have his own show? That cunning sommelier's Busybuddy blog is a winsome blend of rock n' grub tour diary.

I am really happy that ex-Bonzo Dog Band, Monty Python & oh, ok, Rutle guy Neil Innes is touring again. I've said this before, but the young Innes is a perfect doppelganger for CFMU-FM Program Director James Tennant

Look,see for your yourselves! Both of 'em do the facial stubble thing...

Bonzo dog doodah band - urban spaceman
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