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Idelic Keeps On Keeping On | Greetings from Laurel Canyon. . . Memorial Day weekend is here. Does this mean summer or June gloom?
It’s coming up on a year that I’ve started doing radio shows and it only seemed obvious to use this week’s holiday as the inspiration for a playlist. Fact is, every day is Memorial Day on my turntable! It’s all about paying tribute the great artists and songs of the past while celebrating the new. By mix’s end it was really about just “keeping on keeping on!’
I did start my week thinking on a commemorative tip. I noted recent anniversaries of departures and arrivals; Miles Davis, Sonny Boy Williamson, Ian Cutis, Frank Sinatra and Johnny Guitar Watson.
Ultimately, I felt these angels sitting on my shoulder whispering “play us some new cats!” So indeed, this week’s hour is loaded with new releases from Midlake, Dead Weather, First Aid Kit, Luther Russell, School of Seven Bells, LCD Soundsystem, Toro Y Moi, The Cults and Flying Lotus.
A few weeks back Jon Sidel spun Jonneine Zapata's 'Good Looking' on what's become my favorite TVD feature, the brilliant 'Idelic Hour' which broadcasts here each Friday at the close of the week.
For the better part of the weekend I was singing to myself, "I'm good looking/you're good looking/What are we gonna do...?"
Well, it’s a wrap as they used to say in Hollywood. I sure have had a good time jawing with you about all this stuff that has happened to me at one point or another.
I had no idea when I came out to California when I was just 17 years old what would happen—I was scared shitless and I had only 1 phone number of this girl I used to know and 80 bucks in my pocket. I was determined to make something out of myself and I really wanted to be a rock star. Sometimes it seemed so futile and I had no idea how we could break through all the shit it would take to become famous—the industry was so aloof and impossible to reach. The bands and records we saw in record shops seemed to be made by gods not humans and it seemed impossible for us to ever get included in that world.
Well, we kept at it, and the more they said no, we said yes, and with each set back and defeat we got stronger, we refused to give up no matter how bleak and unrealistic it seemed. Even my own parents were dubious as to the success of what we were trying to do. But we loved music, we loved it to its core, it was the only thing that mattered to us, it was our food and our air, without it we would die.
It was hard place—California in the mid 1970’s—no one gave a shit about us, we were totally insignificant to everyone, we were thrown out of every record store and not one single record company would take our call, except for one, Gregg Shaw at Bomp Records….the same company that will now release my 13th studio album!
We are a living testament to what can happen if you don’t give up, if you follow your dreams no matter how ridiculous they may seem to others, no matter how hard it may be to keep going in the face of all opposition, no matter what the powers to be may have to say….my advice to you my friends, is to keep on rocking!
Thank you for listening in to the musings of your pal… —Paul Collins, NYC, May 26, 2010
How can you walk around the streets of Memphis and not write a soul song? It’s almost as if the oxygen there has been permanently bonded to sharp horn stabs floating in the air. As Canastamade our way down I-40 and crossed the Arkansas-Tennessee border, it was as if the ghosts of soul past and present jumped in the car and started humming in our ears.
Our good friend Rachel Hurley (aka Rachelandthecity) had set up an in-studio performance/webcast at Ardent Studios, as well as a show at the Hi-Tone for the evening. We hadn’t played Memphis before, and weren’t sure exactly what to expect. The strong musical history of Memphis was definitely well known by the band, so we were excited to see famous landmarks. But it didn’t truly speak to us till we walked through the hallways of Ardent Studios. Hanging on the walls were gold records by the like of Al Green, Sam and Dave, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. and the MGs , and The Bar-Kays.
The owner and founder of Ardent, John Fry, was soon introduced to us and immediately he made you feel like you were best buds from back in the day. He showed us some the classic equipment used on some of those gold albums, including a vintage vinyl mastering console. For techies, it was like the gold star-backstage pass. We soon found out that it wasn’t just Mr. Fry who made you feel at ease and comfortable, but the people and surroundings of Memphis itself. There’s something to this soul thing.
The next day we were treated to a personal tour of the Stax Museum by John. He had done work on so many of the these artists these great albums, and had the personal insight you couldn’t get from reading biographies. Each exhibits brought together live recordings and videotape from Stax’s top artists. Something about the combination of the mood of the town and people, along with music we were hearing connected everything flawlessly.
I have always been a fan of the Memphis horns, but I was blown away by the work ethic and creativity these guys had. They would hang around the studio day and night, and whoever happened to be recording would ultimately need horns at some point. They were the gold stamp on many of the best soul albums from the 70’s. You couldn’t help but be inspired, and the entire band knew when we returned to Chicago, priority 1 was writing a soul song.
Our next song writing session found us working something upbeat. Something that made you feel like summertime and nodding your head to the groove. We eventually came up with the name “Summer Soul Song” that was pretty literal in the mood of the tune. That song went through so many incarnations, but didn’t really capture what we felt.
During one of our retreats we revisited the tune and started experimenting with different variation. A smooth flowing organ and pulsing hammer-on guitar lick soon set the tone for that mood we sought so hard to capture in Memphis. Studio time brought the appearance of our much needed horns, and that gave us “Reading the Map Upside Down”. Listen, and you can’t help but let your head rock back and forth with a sly smile. Thanks Memphis!!
Enter to win Canasta's 'The Fakeout, the Tease and the Breather' on CD by simply leaving a comment, your name, and a contact email address in the comments to this post. We'll choose one winner each Friday for that week's giveaway which ALSO includes the entire Ardent Music catalog. (That's just 2 artists at this point, but who's counting?)
To hear more great Ardent Sessions please visit Ardent Presents.
Here we are in present time! I have just finished my newest record King of Power Pop and it will be released August 24th on Bomp/Alive Records. This record is a unique record for me as it was written over a very short space of time.
When I started my last record, Ribbon of Gold in 2007 I had about 4 months from start to finish and it was the first time in my career that I had a deadline for a record. Usually I would make a record when I had the songs, so there was never too much stress about the material. But Flying High, my comeback record so to speak, released in 2004, had been out for awhile and we had worked all over Europe and the States and my manager; Juancho told me if we didn’t have a new record we would have to stop touring.
By this point I was back making my living with music after a 10 year absence so the last thing I wanted to do was hang up my guitar again! We had met Chips Kiesby famed producer of Hellacopters and The Nomads at the Road to Ruins Festival in Rome and I walked up to him and asked him if he would like to produce my next record and he said yes! A few months later we were in his studio in Gutenberg, Sweden recording.
Time flies when you’re having fun, they say and pretty soon it was time to make a new record. On our last tour of the West Coast we played LA and our good friend Patrick from Alive Records came to the show. He was bringing me copies of The Nerves 'Live' which he had just released for me to sell at the show.
Alive had released The Nerves 'One Way Ticket' compilation and then The Nerves 'Live' and soon after that they released The Breakaways, the band that Peter Case and I had before we each went our separate ways with The Plimsouls and The Beat.
Patrick dug the show and when I told him we were getting ready to make a new record he said, well you should talk to Jim Diamond he would be great for you guys, he knows how to make great records fast! You need to make a record with someone like him he will capture your sound. Well one thing led to another and before you know it we were on our way to Detroit Motor City to make a record with none other then Mr. Jim Diamond himself.
I had pushed back the start time twice because I was worried that I didn’t have enough good songs, then in a moment of inspiration I sat down with my buddy Eric Blakely and we knocked out 11 songs one weekend and I knew I was ready to go….you will be able to hear the results on August 24th!
I was happy because I went back into my song book and took songs from almost every period of my writing, there are songs from The Nerves period, The Beat period and then there are songs written after The Beat in New York and then brand new songs, so it really connects the dots for me as a writer and musician.
“We could not tune our guitars; no one thought we’d go very far, but I got Friday on my mind!” —From “Kings of Power Pop”
"...Customers at Sunday's D.C. Record Fair at the Black Cat were looking for more variety in their playlist. They delved back into music from years gone by and discovered that rare find after thumbing through crates of records.
"A lot of the new music nowadays is just crappy. So if you didn't have the old school Chaka Khan, it's still new to you," DJ Adrian Loving of Southwest said of why vinyl records have begun to regain popularity. "You can still buy vinyl for pretty cheap; you can buy an album for, like, a dollar. Also, the idea of being retro and nostalgic comes in waves, and it's like, 'Oh, yeah, let's get vinyl and record players, let's go old school.' " Loving bought five records to add to his 5,000-plus collection, which he said he is hoping to trim to about 2,500 of his absolute loves."
I saw The Reverend Horton Heat a few years back and they were that shit hot I think I'm still trying to get over it. No, really - simply amazing live.
And in the spirit of passing along the badass musical goodness, we're got a pair of tickets to see The Reverend—who are touring in support of their new release "Laughin' & Cryin'"—along with Cracker and Miss Derringer, this Saturday night at the 9:30.
You have to act fast however! We need to close this one out on Friday morning at 10am, so the person who get at us in the comments with their spectacular plea for the tickets (with contact info!) will win the pair. That's it - we're going easy on you this time around.
Authenticity. You either have it or you don’t. And being the recipient of tens upon tens of emails from PR firms and artists inquiring about coverage here each week, I can tell you it’s in short supply.
Which is why I’m delighted to keep banging the drum for The Mynabirds, DC expatriate Laura Burhenn’s latest incarnation with what is quickly becoming my favorite release so far this year.
It’d do the record a disservice to compare it to something contemporary and I mean that as the highest compliment. It’s so otherworldly as to become an immediate classic. It’s eerie how ‘right’ all of this feels—like when I heard Nilsson for the first time—I’ve known these songs forever it seems yet they’re just appearing and making themselves known to me. Transcending perhaps.
And yes, this is high praise but don’t take my word for it. OK – do take my word for it. We’ve got 'What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood' to give away in advance of The Mynabirds’ homecoming appearance at The Black Cat next Wednesday, 6/2.
How do you get your hands on the record you're asking? Give us something authentic in the comments to this post—either about the band, Laura, or its short supply these days. Or where you find it thriving.
We'll choose one winner for the LP on the day The Mynabirds play the Cat—next Wednesday, 6/2. Remember to leave us contact info too!
I did the Merv GriffinShow with my band The Beat. Our record had just come out and this was one of the first promotional spots we had gotten. I was very excited as I had seen Merv’s show a million times before and I was hoping it would be just the thing to catapult us to stardom.
When we got to the TV studio they told us that Merv was sick and that Steve Allen was standing in for Merv. A bit of a let down but I knew who Steve was too and thought that it would be just as good. We did our first number, Rock n Roll Girl and then Steve came onto the set and did a short interview with us.
Steve is a comedian and unfortunately someone had told him we were what you called a “New Wave” act, which was all he needed to have some fun at our expense. Well, I was young and determined and I had already been from hell and back trying to make it in Hollywood and now I had more or less arrived and my manger was the world famous Bill Graham and I was not going to let anyone make fun of me on national television.
So I proceeded to make a real stink, yelling and screaming back stage to the point were everyone in the whole place knew that I was upset, including Mr. Allen. We came back out for a second appearance to do “Don’t Wait up for Me” and afterward Steve came on stage and said, “Well Mr. Collins what did you do before you became a Rock n Roll star?” That seemed much better to me and I told him I was a parking lot attendant. He smiled and said, “Who gave you your worst tip?” I said, “I can’t say but it wasn’t you!”
All the old ladies in the audience laughed and I felt that I had won the day. But the point of this story is that the whole time this was going on Roy Rodgers was standing in the wings waiting to go on stage, as I walked by him he held out his hand and gave me his million dollar smile and said, “Don’t Wait Up, alright!” Now that’s class!
These are things that have stayed with me over the years and I try to remember them so as to keep a perspective on what I am doing. I want to be remembered like I remember those guys, cool, helpful, and secure in what they are doing. You can learn a lot from people if just give them a chance.
New York City 1973, I was just a kid living on my own and all I wanted to do was play in a rock n roll band. I had left my home in New Jersey at age 17 and moved into the big city in search of stardom and a rock band.
I was living up on 103rd Street & Broadway, working at Tech HiFi a retail stereo outlet chain and I was selling stereos. A great job for an aspiring musician as all we did was listen to rock n roll music all day long. The big records at the time where Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” and Lou Reed’s “Take a Walk on the Wild Side.” Those two records where the ones we loved to use to try and sell some young college girl her first stereo.
One day this guy comes in and he looks a helluva a lot like a Pimp, with a big hat on and flashy clothes and a cute looking girl on his arm. He says, “I want to buy a stereo, and I want a good one!” The manger just so happened to be in the store so he says, “I’ll handle this.”
Well, they proceed to get down and boogie with all the fine speakers and receivers we have in the A room and all the while the guy is saying, “Yeah man, that sounds bad!” Then after about an hour he turns to my manager and says, “Hey Man, don’t you have anything good!” We all laughed our asses off but my manager did manage to sell him a stereo for $2000 which he paid for with 1 dollar bills and then returned it the next day!
Those where the days, and we were playing all vinyl! Unfortunately I had no luck whatsoever in trying to find a rock n roll band. I went to one audition after another but all I could find was hippy type jam bands or jazz fusion groups, the most memorable of which was Cornel Dak. The all wore silver space suits and played music from outer space!
One of the great things about playing music is you get to meet all kinds of great people. I was lucky in the fact that I had come to seek my fortune in Hollywood, California, home to all the stars. I met my fair share of them and it was really neat.
When we were making our first album we were recording at United Western Studios where the Beach Boys had done some of their records. One day while were tracking someone told us that Benny Goodman was rehearsing with his band for a show he was doing at The Hollywood Bowl. We were delighted and some one took us over to meet him. I knew who he was but at the same time I was pretty well caught up in what I was doing, but when we walked into the room where he was rehearsing, he stopped what he was doing and came over to talk with us.
I was impressed with his openness and how he really wanted to speak with us and that he listened to what we had to say. He was genuinely interested in us and he looked us right in the eye when he spoke to us. He was a big star and he didn’t know us from Adam but he treated us like we were all brothers in arms…playing music for the folks…that was our bond and he respected it.
I will never forget that moment with Benny Goodman and I refer to a lot nowadays, especially if I am talking to some young musician who is just starting out in his or her career. It is a great opportunity we all have being entertainers and it’s nice to share that with other entertainers, it is after all a kind of brotherhood.
Courtesy of Paul Collins himself and our friends over at Alive Records, we've pulled two gems from the vaults to offer you guys this week while we have Paul blogging with us.
We'll have two winners for this giveaway who will win both of the following:
The Nerves - Live At The Pirate's Cove, Cleveland OH, May 26th 1977
Remastered from an analog tape recently discovered by Jack Lee in an unmarked box, this 1977 previously unreleased performance showcases the trio live in Cleveland during their infamous Magic Blistering Tour.
Comes with inner sleeve featuring a collage with Nerves memorabilia, rare photos, notes by Jack Lee, and Paul Collins original tour diary entry related to the show.
All the classics are here, "Hanging On The Telephone," "Walking Out On Love," "When You Find Out," "Stand Up And Take A Good Look," etc, all delivered with blistering energy in front of a small audience of enlightened scensters that included Dave Thomas of Pere Ubu, and with Devo as the opening band.
This is a VINYL ONLY release on YELLOW VINYL, LIMITED to 500 copies.
Breakaways - Walking Out On Love/The Lost Sessions
After spending nearly 30 years gathering dust in a closet The Breakaways makes its worldwide debut!
Born in 1978 after the demise of The Nerves, this short lived combo was formed by Paul Collins and Peter Case, just prior to the formation of The Plimsouls and The Beat. "Walking Out On Love - The Lost Sessions" compiles all the band's known material, including studio recordings, demos, and acoustic rehearsals.
"This is the sound of pop on the streets of Los Angeles circa 1978." —Paul Collins
"I'd forgotten these tapes even existed. We were definitely homing in on something." —Peter Case
Enter to win the pair of unearthed vinyl gems by simply leaving a comment to this post and let us know why you deserve to win these classics. The two most convincing pleas who leave us some contact info (which for some reason is typically the hurdle) will be awarded the vinyl.
You've got until next Tuesday (6/1) so make 'em good!
Washington, DC’s creative community is uniting in force over the innovative arts initiative, the ‘Twelve Days Project.’The ‘Twelve Days Project’ is a unique twelve month long campaign which focuses on artistic collaborations, charitable partnerships and media exclusives surrounding the monthly release of tracks from DC folk-rockers The Dreamscapes Project.
This month the band will be releasing their new single “Hymn” via The Vinyl District for twelve days. Artistic “re-imaginations” will be provided by visual artist Kayti Welsh, producer and remixer Blake9 and creative writer Janice Kephart. A single release show will take place on June 3rd at the Light Horse Tavern, with all proceeds going to local charity Dance4Peace.
Since its launch in January 2010, The Dreamscapes Project have raised nearly $3,000 for local charities including N Street Village, Food and Friends, Pink Jams and Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Each month the band have released a new track via local DC media sources such as metromusicscene.com, TGRIonline, K Street Kate and revolution magazine. Artistic interpretations of the tracks have been converted into short films, creative writing pieces, re-mixes and visual artwork created by a variety of local DC artists, including school children from H-B Woodlawn school in Arlington.
This month’s single ‘Hymn’ will be exclusively available for twelve days on The Vinyl District from May 24th 2010. Artistic interpretations of this track, provided by local DC artists, will be showcased via the Twelve Days Project as one collective virtual installation piece.
A single release show will be taking place on June 3rd at the Light Horse Tavern, in partnership with Socialize Better. Socialize Better is a nonprofit organization that raises awareness and inspires service by providing social opportunities for young adults in Washington, D.C. The organization specifically aims to support the efforts of philanthropic causes that have limited resources to fundraise for themselves. The ‘Socialize Better’ chosen charity of the month is Dance4Peace, an organization which implements programs in Washington, DC public schools and community centers, encouraging social responsibility and understanding through dance.
Hello Folks, Paul Collinshere! I am happy to have been asked to do a 5 part blog series for The Vinyl District. I want to start with a bit of a recap of my career in music for those of you who may not know me.
I knew from a very early age that I wanted to be a musician, even before I knew how to play an instrument. When I heard "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Frankie Valli and "Lightning Strikes" by Lou Christie when I was just a tike in Saigon, Vietnam of all places I was hooked! Later on I fine-tuned my musical tastes by listening to WABC Radio in Long Island, NY every night as I went to sleep.
When I was 17 I left home and went to California to seek my fortune and that is where I met Jack Lee and Peter Case and we formed The Nerves and I was on my way! I never looked back and I have been making music ever since. It has been a blast and I have had the good fortune to be apart of some fantastic bands, The Nerves, one of the founders of the DIY movement in America and then the short lived transitional band with Pete Case, The Breakaways and then onto The Beat one of power pop's most enduring groups!
I love playing music and as I started as a fan I never thought I would have the opportunity to tour and make records so for me it has really been a dream come true. Nowadays I am very busy recording, writing and touring after a long absence from America (I lived in Madrid, Spain for almost 8 years.)
I have a new record I just recorded with Jim Diamond at his studio Ghetto Recorders in Detroit, which will come out on Bomp/Alive Records in August. All in all it has been a fantastic trip, from rehearsing in burnt out basements to performing on world famous stages with world famous bands like The Jam, Eddie Money, Joe Jackson, The Cure, Devo, The Police, South Side Johnny all the way up to new bands like Gentlemen Jesse and Reigning Sound!
The one thing that has remained a constant for me is that I love music and I am a fan! I hope to see some of you out there when I tour the US this summer...if I do please come up and introduce yourself as that is why we do this...for the fans!
Typically this is where I do my Record Fair sales pitch, but for this go-around I thought I'd let the Washington City Paper handle the duties seeing as the Fair took a 'Best of DC Award'last March.
(And is it me or did they just make up a category for us?)
(Click to enlarge!)
The Washington, DC Record Fair| Sunday, May 23rd | The Black Cat (1811 14th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009) | Mainfloor & Mainstage area (Upstairs) | 12pm-6pm | $2 entry fee per person | 32+ Record Dealers (coming to you from FL, NC, PA, VA, MD, NY as well as DC) | Full Bar upstairs and downstairs! | Food (available in the downstairs cafe)
Confirmed DJ Set Times: Noon to 1: Alec MacKaye 1-2: Cobruhhh (Windian) 2-3: Emily/Susan from Exit Clov 3-4: DJ Dredd 4-5: Fort Knox Five 5-6: John Foster (BYT)
“Who’s Afraid of the Dark?” | The death of Ronnie James Dio feels like a dark and strange muse for this week’s Idelic Hour playlist but upon hearing the sad Dio news, a few things came to mind.
First was that both my parents have outlived the singer of Rainbow. I guess we all will eventually make the journey up “the silver mountain” but “Dio dead at 67” was a reminder of just how temporal we all are. Well at least in a mystical, magic, 70’s heavy metal kinda' way.
Funny, I have more of sentimental connection to Rainbow than many albums in my collection. It’s ironic that Blackmore decided to name his band Rainbow too. I don’t recall seeing any color other than black at a Blackmore show. Save of course his white boots and Strat, everyone wore black (crowd and band!) Maybe Ronnie and Richie never realized their audience was comprised of petty thieves, drugstore cowboys, and juvenile delinquents.
What’s so scary about the “dark?” When I was young “darkness” seemed so cool. Now older, the colors of the Rainbow brighten up my day and warm the soul. With this in mind I set out to create a spirited playlist inspired by thoughts of life and death, darkness, and the color black.
Songs of note: new Black Keys and The Hundred In The Hands on Warp Records as well as revisiting a couple of cool releases from 2009—Telekinesis and Magic Wands.
A last batch of mystery DC Record Fair tracks is posted below, this time from this past February's post-blizzard event which saw close to 1,500 snow-weary vinyl fanatics leaving their frosty confines and thawing out together at The Black Cat.(That's the poster art up there rendered by our pal ElJefe.)
We're back at The Black Cat on Sunday and while we were thrilled with the turn-out and the enthusiasm shown the event last time, we did receive a few complaints:
The lighting: Right, it was dark. But leave your spelunking helmets home this time, we're doing our best Sunday morning to remedy the lighting issue and bringing in additional light sources.
The crowd size: While we can't control the number of folks who show up, last time the downstairs Red Room was closed and not an option for decompressing with or without a pint. This time we're opening it up and making it available throughout the afternoon to hang and enjoy a frosty beverage.
All the vinyl vendors will still be upstairs in the main stage area but we're hoping by providing an option downstairs, we can lessen the crowd size a bit to make it easier to move around and get where you need to go.
There's been a little tinkering with the DJ's set times, but this is the final schedule:
Noon to 1: Alec MacKaye | 1-2: Cobruhhh (Windian) | 2-3: Emily/Susan from Exit Clov | 3-4: DJ Dredd | 4-5: Fort Knox Five | 5-6: John Foster (BYT)
Lastly, have fun and happy hunting. Let us know how we're doing and what you scored on Monday. If you've taken photos, we'd love to see 'em and share them right here.
Our experience with the Ardent Sessions was just awful. (Completely joking!)
We had an amazing time. The tour through Stax was incredible. The history behind the place is magical and I felt like some of the good vibes wore off on us for the performance. I know that I personally felt like there was a positive energy to the place.
However, I will say that Tom was sick as a dog that day. Sick with a flu that we all caught just before our next tour. Thanks Tom. The people couldn't have been more hospitable and professional toward us. They gave the run down of how the session was to go down and we felt comfortable with what they were asking of us. I had the privilege of playing on their grand piano, something that rarely happens for me when playing live. I think I can actually count on my hands how many times it's happened.
When we got the recordings back from the show and sent them to some friends we heard a lot of the same comments: you should release this as a live album. We're not really at that stage in the game and have a lot of other material to release, but the quality of the recordings is that good and I would be proud to put that out on the market. I am thankful to their great staff, the wonderful coffee and the wizard store across the street. Thank you for an experience that I will never forget. —Josh Foster, Parachute Musical
You can purchase Parachute Musical's latest album Everything is Working Out Fine in Some Town for just $8.99.
Enter to win a Parachute Musical T-shirt by simply leaving a comment, your name, and a contact email address in the comments to this post. We'll choose one winner each Friday for that week's giveaway which ALSO includes the entire Ardent Music catalog. (That's just 2 artists at this point, but who's counting?)
To hear more great Ardent Sessions please visit Ardent Presents.
