Not much goin' on 'round here this weekend as you will see when you read this particularly even more iffy than me at my iffiest post. Yeah, I did get some new goodies flung my way which I am slowly but surly wading through, but given the incursion of REAL LIFE upon my humble existence not to mention the fact that Don Fellman's been callin' me a whole lot these past few nights during the only time I have to settle down 'n listen to anything well... Not that I mind Don Fellman calling...see, he's the only guy other'n Lou Rone who'll give me a ring anymore (I've alienated just about everyone else!) and the noted phone pal of Edward D. Wood's perhaps the only real entertainment I'm getting these days considerin' what a wealth of knowledge he has regarding everything from En Why tee-vee of the sixties to Bela Lugosi! But let's just say that I sure could use a whole lot more hours in the day between work, household doodies and gabbing on the phone which does take a huge chunk outta not only my ever-dwindling PM Cee-Dee 'n easy chair activities but my own personal self as well!
As you can tell, massive amts. of free time have become a luxury that I have to make the best of, and you can bet that those precious few hours I have to myself each night ain't gonna be wasted with subpar musical sputum or flaccid ROLLING STONE-styled rock "critiquing" that's for sure! But things have been so hectic here that I haven't even had the time to "decompress" as the upwardlies say, which might account for the edgy and snarky tone of this particular entry which might be even gnarlier than the past few months of 'em have been!
Well, at least I did manage to spin a few rather recent acquisitions so all's not lost. But to be honest about it let's just say that this post ain't one for the archives or to refer back to just in case you're having second thoughts about buying a TriPod CD and need something to edge you over to the pro side. In fact, if you really want me to admit it, this 'un's only bein' done for my own personal health, and if you decide to skip over this whilst on the way to the vast asst. of piddling rock blogs that do clutter up this "sphere" of ours I don't blame you a bit, other'n to wince at your obv. lack of good taste.
Here's one of those outta-nowhere acts that seem to be after my own heart. TriPod are a sax/bass guitar/percussion trio from New York City who were discovered playing CBGB's by none other than Genya Raven back '98 way. From there the group headed for relative fame and fortune not to mention a slew of releases and tours that have kept them at least in the minds of people who detail these under-the-cover acts for a variety of publications and websites. They're just what this Doc Rock's looking for, esp. since I have a one-track mind and really like to base my various reasons for getting interested in certain acts with regards to where said act might have come from (figuratively speaking) and just how they honed their entire approach via music/background/image to appeal to my own "blinkered" set of values.
I mean, why else would I care about some of these nth stringers who used to wallow about on the En Why scene unless I'm as much of a screwed up mentally constipated turd as I've revealed myself to you lo these many years! Well, I have made it a life mission to try anything out there that might just suit my listening parameters, and considering just how dudsville most music has become as of late can you blame me for looking for these outta-nowhere acts in some of the most interesting places possible?
For a group that seems to be doing well as they are without the major label push or overall adulation, TriPod sure know how to do so with an uncompromising music that, as us cornballs would say, defies description. The comparisons to free jazz do fit in here as does the refs. to various "Rock In Opposition" aggregates (Etron Fou Leloublan comes to mind) and Captain Beefheart, though oddly enough I was reminded of the early three-piece TV Toy whose demos recorded at Vanguard Studios back '77 way have the same spirit of jazz rock basics as TriPod. At least on this recording (the only TriPod I've lent ears to) there's a good New York basic sound and approach that ain't all glopped up or no wave artsified, with smart references to various seventies accomplishments all reshaped for an audience that undoubtedly remembers the hot past and never did want to let go of the bared underbelly of underground rock even when that became "unfashionable".
Hokay, I will admit that I thought some moments bored a tad, perhaps reminiscent of late-seventies prog slog as opposed to punk expression, but I get the keen feeling that repeated plays'll get me to cozy up to the group's entire approach just like it did with everybody from Roxy Music to Copernicus. As it stands, this TriPod debut was a pretty mighty opus in musical cross-referencing that didn't end up sounding like pretentious twaddle, and (as usual) its things like this that only makes me wonder what else I've missed coming outta CBGB during their last decade when so many groups were playing and you really hadda wade through the wheat to get to that good ol' chaff!
The Terrorists-FORCES 1979-1982 CD (ROIR)
Here's another bottom of the stacker that I put off playing because well...it ain't like reggae's one of my favorite forms o' moozikal expression 'r anything! Oh, I do understand its value and worthiness, and if I were one of those guys who used to book hotcha New York underground clubs inna mid/late-seventies reggae acts would have been making it to the stage of said club as often as those groups of the punk variety. But given that I bought this thing it wasn't like I could just let it languish in the collection so... Well, it's pretty tantalizing esp. for a white reggae act , and they were definitely helped on by the special guests such as Lee "Scratch" Perry and Roland Alphonso whose sax playing gives some of the more ska-ish tracks that perfect early-sixties instrumental rock flavor I luv so well. And considering some of the zilch white reggae acts there were floating around in the late-seventies at least these guys went for the down-home authentic sound and approach which didn't make 'em sound like the latest bar band to discover the more hippified side of the Trenchtown beat!
David Aaron's Short Memory-CYNICAL RAT BASTARD CD (http://www.shortmemory.org/, also available via CD Baby)
Nice session from one of those groups that used to play the Dee Pop-curated "Freestyle" series at the CBGB Lounge back in the early-to-mid-oh oh's. Nothing that's gonna get your mind all in a jumble, but still a good modern approximation of the late-bop scene bordering on early avant concerns. Toned down, but driving enough to make you wanna put down your old issue of LOLLITOTS to pay attention to Aaron's tenor prowess which, while still "growing", has the right tension that I've admired in the playing of a whole slew of similar-minded jazzers of many a strata. Classic rehashing of the background jazz mumble will be found on "Soy Sauce Chicken on Rice".
AND NOW, JUST WHAT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR...A FREE PLUG OF UGLY THINGS #33! (you know where to get a copy awlready...see link up on the left!)-Great issue as always, and it's sure nice seeing that the mag has settled into its own special niche which has been refined over their past thirtysome years of existence. New 'un's got a whole lotta obligatory reading in it (guaranteed to keep you glued to the toilet for hours on end) including some mind-expanding interviews with Johnny Echols of Love, Ed Sanders of the Fugs (hokay, that 'un wasn't quite as probing!), John Morton of the Electric Eels, and Barrance Whitfield of BS and the Savages, not forgetting pieces on Group 1850, the Craig and Wimple Winch along with a whole slew of six-oh-related articles on groups near and dear to editor Mike Stax's heart. Even Greg Prevost writes up and down the page about such seventies glam/glitter faves as Jobriath which is something I never thought I'd live to see even if I made it to 110! And I'm not even tellin' ya about the other surprises like the new Cyril Jordan column where he rattles off about the time the Flamin' Groovies met Brian Wilson (who performed "Johnny B. Goode" in his own special arrangement for 'em!) which is just as strange as the time when Wilson corralled Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop to sing harmony with him on a version of "Short'nin' Bread"!
Sure the $9.95 price tag is a whopper, but given that there ain't that much else goin' in in the flesh 'n pulp print world when it comes to high energy rock 'n roll you certainly couldn't do any better...or worse. Mainly because there isn't anything else out there to compare this to especially in these gulcherally depraved times. You can sniff and moan about the death of the fanzine idiom which kept you afloat for many a year, or you can act like a man and buy this brand spanking new mag---which will it be, pod'ner?
As you can tell, massive amts. of free time have become a luxury that I have to make the best of, and you can bet that those precious few hours I have to myself each night ain't gonna be wasted with subpar musical sputum or flaccid ROLLING STONE-styled rock "critiquing" that's for sure! But things have been so hectic here that I haven't even had the time to "decompress" as the upwardlies say, which might account for the edgy and snarky tone of this particular entry which might be even gnarlier than the past few months of 'em have been!
Well, at least I did manage to spin a few rather recent acquisitions so all's not lost. But to be honest about it let's just say that this post ain't one for the archives or to refer back to just in case you're having second thoughts about buying a TriPod CD and need something to edge you over to the pro side. In fact, if you really want me to admit it, this 'un's only bein' done for my own personal health, and if you decide to skip over this whilst on the way to the vast asst. of piddling rock blogs that do clutter up this "sphere" of ours I don't blame you a bit, other'n to wince at your obv. lack of good taste.
TSU-FALLEN ON DEAF EARS CD (available via CD Baby)
I wrote this jazz-rock trio from Philadelphia up quite a long time ago and figured hey, why not give 'em the royal BLOG TO COMM treatment once again! TSU sure could use the additional plugaroonie, especially when you consider that this group sure ain't gonna get any publicity because they don't sound like any of those big names in the jazz industry who've been hogging the fusion spotlight for a good fortysome years. TSU come off more like the halfway point between the John Scofield Trio and MX-80 Sound which is cool enough for me even if they ain't as noisy or as angular as you'd probably like it.
There are periods of atonality that do suit me fine, kinda reminding me of what John McLaughlin woulda done had he never went near that Sri Chinmoy fake and kept on doing heroin like any self-respecting jazz musician should. Whaddeva, this is a release that has enough drive and energy along with tasty playing that doesn't sound jagoff, and waddaya know but it just might please not only you but maybe even that irksome annoying bow-tied jazz club patron in your life. (I sincerely doubt it, but it might be worth givin' it a try.)
TriPod CD (Moonjune) I wrote this jazz-rock trio from Philadelphia up quite a long time ago and figured hey, why not give 'em the royal BLOG TO COMM treatment once again! TSU sure could use the additional plugaroonie, especially when you consider that this group sure ain't gonna get any publicity because they don't sound like any of those big names in the jazz industry who've been hogging the fusion spotlight for a good fortysome years. TSU come off more like the halfway point between the John Scofield Trio and MX-80 Sound which is cool enough for me even if they ain't as noisy or as angular as you'd probably like it.
There are periods of atonality that do suit me fine, kinda reminding me of what John McLaughlin woulda done had he never went near that Sri Chinmoy fake and kept on doing heroin like any self-respecting jazz musician should. Whaddeva, this is a release that has enough drive and energy along with tasty playing that doesn't sound jagoff, and waddaya know but it just might please not only you but maybe even that irksome annoying bow-tied jazz club patron in your life. (I sincerely doubt it, but it might be worth givin' it a try.)
***
Here's one of those outta-nowhere acts that seem to be after my own heart. TriPod are a sax/bass guitar/percussion trio from New York City who were discovered playing CBGB's by none other than Genya Raven back '98 way. From there the group headed for relative fame and fortune not to mention a slew of releases and tours that have kept them at least in the minds of people who detail these under-the-cover acts for a variety of publications and websites. They're just what this Doc Rock's looking for, esp. since I have a one-track mind and really like to base my various reasons for getting interested in certain acts with regards to where said act might have come from (figuratively speaking) and just how they honed their entire approach via music/background/image to appeal to my own "blinkered" set of values.
I mean, why else would I care about some of these nth stringers who used to wallow about on the En Why scene unless I'm as much of a screwed up mentally constipated turd as I've revealed myself to you lo these many years! Well, I have made it a life mission to try anything out there that might just suit my listening parameters, and considering just how dudsville most music has become as of late can you blame me for looking for these outta-nowhere acts in some of the most interesting places possible?
For a group that seems to be doing well as they are without the major label push or overall adulation, TriPod sure know how to do so with an uncompromising music that, as us cornballs would say, defies description. The comparisons to free jazz do fit in here as does the refs. to various "Rock In Opposition" aggregates (Etron Fou Leloublan comes to mind) and Captain Beefheart, though oddly enough I was reminded of the early three-piece TV Toy whose demos recorded at Vanguard Studios back '77 way have the same spirit of jazz rock basics as TriPod. At least on this recording (the only TriPod I've lent ears to) there's a good New York basic sound and approach that ain't all glopped up or no wave artsified, with smart references to various seventies accomplishments all reshaped for an audience that undoubtedly remembers the hot past and never did want to let go of the bared underbelly of underground rock even when that became "unfashionable".
Hokay, I will admit that I thought some moments bored a tad, perhaps reminiscent of late-seventies prog slog as opposed to punk expression, but I get the keen feeling that repeated plays'll get me to cozy up to the group's entire approach just like it did with everybody from Roxy Music to Copernicus. As it stands, this TriPod debut was a pretty mighty opus in musical cross-referencing that didn't end up sounding like pretentious twaddle, and (as usual) its things like this that only makes me wonder what else I've missed coming outta CBGB during their last decade when so many groups were playing and you really hadda wade through the wheat to get to that good ol' chaff!
***
Here's another bottom of the stacker that I put off playing because well...it ain't like reggae's one of my favorite forms o' moozikal expression 'r anything! Oh, I do understand its value and worthiness, and if I were one of those guys who used to book hotcha New York underground clubs inna mid/late-seventies reggae acts would have been making it to the stage of said club as often as those groups of the punk variety. But given that I bought this thing it wasn't like I could just let it languish in the collection so... Well, it's pretty tantalizing esp. for a white reggae act , and they were definitely helped on by the special guests such as Lee "Scratch" Perry and Roland Alphonso whose sax playing gives some of the more ska-ish tracks that perfect early-sixties instrumental rock flavor I luv so well. And considering some of the zilch white reggae acts there were floating around in the late-seventies at least these guys went for the down-home authentic sound and approach which didn't make 'em sound like the latest bar band to discover the more hippified side of the Trenchtown beat!
***
Nice session from one of those groups that used to play the Dee Pop-curated "Freestyle" series at the CBGB Lounge back in the early-to-mid-oh oh's. Nothing that's gonna get your mind all in a jumble, but still a good modern approximation of the late-bop scene bordering on early avant concerns. Toned down, but driving enough to make you wanna put down your old issue of LOLLITOTS to pay attention to Aaron's tenor prowess which, while still "growing", has the right tension that I've admired in the playing of a whole slew of similar-minded jazzers of many a strata. Classic rehashing of the background jazz mumble will be found on "Soy Sauce Chicken on Rice".
***
AND NOW, JUST WHAT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR...A FREE PLUG OF UGLY THINGS #33! (you know where to get a copy awlready...see link up on the left!)-Great issue as always, and it's sure nice seeing that the mag has settled into its own special niche which has been refined over their past thirtysome years of existence. New 'un's got a whole lotta obligatory reading in it (guaranteed to keep you glued to the toilet for hours on end) including some mind-expanding interviews with Johnny Echols of Love, Ed Sanders of the Fugs (hokay, that 'un wasn't quite as probing!), John Morton of the Electric Eels, and Barrance Whitfield of BS and the Savages, not forgetting pieces on Group 1850, the Craig and Wimple Winch along with a whole slew of six-oh-related articles on groups near and dear to editor Mike Stax's heart. Even Greg Prevost writes up and down the page about such seventies glam/glitter faves as Jobriath which is something I never thought I'd live to see even if I made it to 110! And I'm not even tellin' ya about the other surprises like the new Cyril Jordan column where he rattles off about the time the Flamin' Groovies met Brian Wilson (who performed "Johnny B. Goode" in his own special arrangement for 'em!) which is just as strange as the time when Wilson corralled Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop to sing harmony with him on a version of "Short'nin' Bread"!Sure the $9.95 price tag is a whopper, but given that there ain't that much else goin' in in the flesh 'n pulp print world when it comes to high energy rock 'n roll you certainly couldn't do any better...or worse. Mainly because there isn't anything else out there to compare this to especially in these gulcherally depraved times. You can sniff and moan about the death of the fanzine idiom which kept you afloat for many a year, or you can act like a man and buy this brand spanking new mag---which will it be, pod'ner?
1 comment:
Chris, I'm the guy behind that Barrence Whitfield interview which is the piece of lettice in that Dagwood sandwich that's the latest issue of UT. Hope you enjoyed reading it.
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