New Dawn by Jon Nelson 1970-Portland

Hawaii A Go-Go by Tom Tourville

I saw this preview on Mike Dugo's 60sgaragebands.com site when doing my regular check of the News & Nuggets section. I have not thought a lot regarding Hawaiian records beyond These Trails. It's definitely a book to look forward to this new year.

LP & 45 Roundup

The Aislers Set-How I Learned to Write Backwards
If Last Match was their Mountain High foray into Spectorpop, this is their River Deep departure album that hides in the ambiguous urban shadows of the Shangri-Las while the production looks for the infamous 304 Holloway address of Joe Meek. “Catherine Says” christens the album like a Chris Bell confessional with its “Look Up” sentiments (albeit in the third person). From there, “Emotional Levy” delivers slanted tiers of shifting rhythms and assured handclaps—all leveled off by idiosyncratic lyrics fluctuating between disenchantment and enchantment. This magnetic mix of withdrawn vocals enshrouded in reverb pulls the listener away from everything familiar to where doubt clouds the sunshine like salt in water. “Languor in the Balcony” returns to the guitar-driven pop sound that prefigured this album to deny any land of no return feelings. With its "Paint It Black" inspired intro and the Southwestern-tinged horns evocative of those heard in the Hollies’ “You Need Love,” “Mission Bells” rings in as an ornate sonic treasure with dichotomous lyrics unraveling between tangling guitars and buoyant keys that climbs to a plateauing modulation that never fails to bring a smile. All my epilates are futile in further describing what may be the most stirring single I may hear this year. Rather than presenting just the finest times, “Sara’s Song” scrap paper captures those, “As the bass pours through the baseboards” mundane and repetitive moments surrounding the weary kiln of workaday life. Musically, this seems to come from the ominous “Valley of the Saroos” by Joe Meek's “Blue Men” with only sleigh bells lifting the song up long enough to see hope fade like a contrail from a jet plane in a light polluted night sky. The albums continues with its vacillations of tentative and confident lyrics embedded in the sonically analogous music and sequencing. “Through the Swells” opens things up to third person observations of the sometimes fascinating merging and converging of people as much as it questions what impels people to do it all (i.e., the everyday patterns) again and again. A joyous guitar solo worthy of the Yellow Balloon figures as the brief musical centerpiece of the song. Ultimately, this half-hour album encompasses all the asymmetrical fragmentary moments between aspirations dissipating to what actually happens and transforms it all into something and grander, stronger and more eloquent. Isn’t that what music is supposed to do sometimes?

The Autumn Reign-Demo
Maximum jangle and roll from this UK band enamored of U.S. mid-sixties folk-garage sounds. More inclined to explore (and interpret) the side-street mid-sixties sounds of the states than the typical tourist sonic stops, this is one interesting trip. Their route takes them across the moodiest and minor key sounds weathered by the Rising Storm, over the Midwestern pop hops and folk rocks of the Choir and Blue Things in-route to their final coastal destination—landing on Sunset Strip of the Leaves, the Turtles, Love and those countless bands along the Western edge that never made “it.” On a contemporary plane, this 10 songs/33 minutes demo places them on congruent paths of the Optic Nerve, the folk-rock shades of the Barracudas, “Separations”-era Embrooks, the Loons and the Lears. “Fallen for Her” shines brightest on this silver platter with its glad-all-over Palace Guard-esque “Like Falling Sugar” chorus declaring that a giddy crush is not to be left behind with the five minute bells between school classes. However, the upbeat mood quickly vanishes and a pall is immediately cast with “Can’t Live Without You.” This one has all the hallmarks of one of the slow burning powerful dirges of Lyres. Folk rock clarity moves to a spacey haze with “In the Universe” before swinging back to the earthly concerns of “Smile.” While it may be a cliché couplet to write: “I Need it bad/I Need that smile I never had” they convincingly pull if off to make one nod in universal agreement regarding the pure uplift a mere smile can bring on just “Another Day Going By.” All in all, if you are into minor-key masterpieces like “Never Go Right” by the Gants, you can’t go wrong with the Autumn Reign.


V/A Carnivals, Cotton Candy and You: An Orange Sky Records CompilationAfter his vanguard Vendetta publication was put to rest in the ever-expanding print zine graveyard last year, Ben has quietly shifted his energy to the captain's chair of the pop commonwealth of the Dionysus Records Empire. Orange Sky Records is now the non-stop connection between the West Coast mystique and the swirled sounds of the UK. This essential direct flight, over the Great Lakes and Eastern routes of Rainbow Quartz, has been missing since Poptones grounded some of the jet-setters in their fleet. First, this comp. does what a good comp. should--it directly exposes listeners to new groups and sounds that spurs them to search out their other material. It begins with a leadoff bang and wastes no time in introducing new favorites with "If That's What You Want" by the Sights. This catchy-as-cleats song fast-forwards them 10 years or so (or a half-decade back to their roots) from their recent Grand Funk pounding grounds and pops like a catcher's mitt. The Electromagnetic's "Stargazer" hovers over the Stone Roses going on a "Like A Daydream" Ride that landed me in front of the computer wanting to hear more. Honeyrider appears with their best and brightest moment I have heard from them. Orange-picked from their debut album, "Summer's Almost Gone" captures all the good they are capable of with its high tide of cresting harmonies and good vibrations all over the place. The Witch Hazel Sound then arrive with their highly layered, sweeping, shimmering pop sounds clear coated with High Llamas/Sean O' Hagan-ish impressionist music-referential lyrics. The album concludes on a high with the Terrapin Gun giving the low down on their "Postcards from L.A." While McGuinn and McGuire may no longer be roaming the West Coast, they chronicle today's shaggy haired, between the pearl buttons, desert booted ramblers following their footsteps and also blazing their own trails under orange pacific skies.


Gore Gore Girls-Up All Night
While there have been more bands than troopers on the interstate highways of Ohio trying this approach, the Gore Gore Girls ultimately surpass the also-rans and wanna-bes because they combine and successful play both factions--rock and roll. "Up All Night" has them going beyond the usual B-movie inspired rock trappings with some primo Grade A rock 'n' roll. Amy's tough and tender voice reveals hints of Chrissie Hynde and Ronnie Spector while Melody provides rigorous "stroker ace" stability on bass as they motor across Supersnazz's "Diode City" while giving only a quick glance back to the Smears in the Garage. As heard on "Standing on Corner," spacious production is the order of the night here and it captures all the outstanding vocals coming from far and wide. Before the night is over, the lost art of fun can be heard on the galloping and hand-clapping doo-wop of "Your Last Chance." John Hentch's organ solo, Amy's Spector-ish lead vocals backed by the street corner harmonies, the past and the present all converge to enthralling results. While you're wide-awake be sure to stick around for the bonus track. You can catch up on sleep some other night. Your only excuse is having to take off early for one of their shows--as they span the wide world of rock 'n' roll!


Ted Leo-Hearts of Oak
While ships are coming in from every direction to embrace his classic, yet fresh sound, Leo’s latest comes off as more angular and a bit more attacking to long time listeners going back to his Chisel years. Newcomers may ask where this all came from and Leo may cite the plate tectonics of life, the nobler aspect of punk, literature, Billy Bragg, Curtis Mayfield, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, Joe Strummer, Emitt Rhodes, Thin Lizzy and even Adam and the Ants, but with his eclectic and extensive zest for sounds, I wouldn’t put it pass him to even be moved by Bread. Cue Bread’s “Down on my Knees” and tell me you don’t hear the resemblance between what Ted Leo is doing now. Set atop these salient and subterranean influences, “Building Skyscrapers in the Basement” dramatically opens the curtain to this album like a battle hymn with a melody sounding like it descended from on high from ol’ Erie. The first single “Where Have all the Rude Boys Gone?” attests to his talents of enlarging personal memories while evoking listeners to some of their own with the lacerating chunky guitar, shuffling percussion and a peculating electric piano bringing the onrush. The albums then hit some choppy waters with a few songs that neglect to check out at noon when they are better suited to a succinct 2 and 3 minutes. (The Pharmacists are some accomplished, intricate and innovative musicians, but I prefer they save most of the stretch-outs for their live shows.) The lyrical aspects here, rather than penetrating on several levels, seem to weigh down songs like “I Am a Ghost” and “The High Party” with unwieldiness. Initially, I questioned the entire “Hearts of Oak” concept. Is he referring to the some nautical nomenclature deftly interwoven as a salute to those who refuse to give-in to the lowest common denominator and the power structures and strictures that sadly keep repeating themselves everyday? I could be weed-whipping in the dark, but I’m going surmise that Leo’s giving a much needed and countervailing voice and song to all squelched out by the tiresome system. Ultimately, it is his sheer conviction that irons things out. Without resorting to sloganeering, Leo offers an open challenge to listeners to keep fighting to make things better on personal, public and political levels. “The Ballad of the Sin Eater” with its blunt and deadpan chorus at first sounded annoying as the ubiquitous rage-rock song blaring from the next car over or the knocking and spewing diesel pickup in the rearview mirror, however I have come around to like this herky-jerky travelogue of the ugly American. It ultimately delivers and resolves at the fastening phrase of “Manifestation of Doubt”-- bringing empowering resolution to the escalating cacophony. The album then really hits its stride with a trinity of songs near the three/fourth point. The poignant “The Anointed One,” the vibrant pop-poetry of "Bridges, Squares" and “Born to Run” jams into “The Eton Rifles/Guns of Brixton/Spanish Bombs” historical socio-political urgency of “Tell Balgeary, Balgury is Dead” all reveal themselves to be the finest in Leo’s canon. Next, the tunneling and clanging guitar of “2nd Ave, 11AM” and the Chisel-like and soulful “First to Finish, Last to Start” finish things on a strong note. While it may have been impossible to surpass the breakthrough of “Tyranny of Distance,” “Hearts of Oak” is a commendable follow-up. This recording borders on brilliance more often than not while it deftly and resoundingly succeeds in the precarious act of mixing an undercurrent of politics with vanguard independent pop.


The Kent 3-Spells

Never fitting in with any sub-strata (with built-in devotees) the Kent 3 have been taking the dark ol' state routes off the Western musical map for the last decade. Their should-be-legendary albums are too musically adventitious to fit in the usual RnR/garage/punk/ slots while too spry, agile and lyrically keen to fit in with their lumbered region predominated by gang grunge. (They could even be considered the eccentric, but lovable older uncle of the impressive Northwest pogo/bubble/new wave punk scene.) While they offer no manifestations of cheap hope, happy endings or pretensions, they do offer some vivid vignettes with coursing lyrics--informed as much by Frederick Exley as they are by that Pickwick poet Lou Reed. This is street poetry for undercover punks not on the streets. These are vigorous yet free-flowing songs for uniting those who will never be united. “Spells” can rouse listeners to the short-cut depths of the contradictory and skewed turn-of-the-century West--that takes place off the I-10 between open dumpsters and closed unidentified warehouses. Its surf-rock drumming, trebly, but tough guitars, and literate Beat-inspired lyrics are splattered on the blacktop and reign-in everything from a low desert midnight mass to a brackish Pacific Northwest mountain pass. While this band only published praises might be found between the smudged ink lines and faded pages of a Fiz zine, attuned ears and a miner's light on the lyrics etched into this compelling and convincing album might finally give this band some long awaited due. Oh yeah...how many bands in 1998 remembered that Bob Seger did not always suck like a Chevy Truck commercial and once put out some "Heavy Music”?


The Out Crowd-Go on, Give a Damn
The chiming opener “Good Morning” from these jolly rogers caught me by surprise with its Subsonics playing Searchers covers—up in the ionosphere aura. This song floats on a jingle-jangle carpet ride out to an apogee of a Holly-esque "Everyday" inspired guitar solo before the drums roll around to bring it all back home again. “Good Morning, deserves to be in the same sky high echelons as “Here Comes Your Man” by the Pixies. They come back to quarterdeck and precede to swashbuckle the shackles with their shaking shards cutting through on guitars submerged in appealing and lavish reverb. Surefire drumming and guitars imbued with echoes of R.E.M., Suede, Cast/the La’s and the Dentists (or the Chills and the Clean to place the comparisons in antipodean terms) are the “X” marks the spots of “Time Enough.” With his voice quivering like Clay Reed of the Subsonics, “The Gospel” according to Matt Hollywood is a palimpsest cranked with fractured detached visions of waiting for the man somewhere between attachment, the gang plank and salvation. So whether you’re on crumbling lands, high seas or in deep space, this is a treasure worth searching for between the current major label wreckage.


Honeyrider-All Systems Go!
Gary Strickland sure knows how to make something out of everything—everything that’s important if we were not all under the workaday burdens of jobs, bills, slogging clocks and black diamond mountain slopes of doubt. He has all his priorities straight with girls, summer and the beach on the top. Brimming with energy and ex-cit-a-tions, the melodic sensibilities offer an instantly familiarity, yet remain distinctively Honeyrider. Originally released on England’s Damage Goods Records, this debut album (which rounded up many of early singles) is now licensed domestically by Orange Sky Records and augmented by some recently recorded live tracks. “Endless Summer” kicks off the album and immediately declares “California’s Where the Action” as its manifesto with citrus colored covers. From there, this “endless weekend” album goes off and running into a tide while Jesus & Mary Chain, Soup Dragons, Daytonas, Helen Love, and Barracudas songs play on the mix tape. “Radio Heatwave” recalls those “Shake Some Action” comps of rare power-pop—namely the Marshals’ song “AM” with the DJ break-in. The swirling Madchester menagerie “Space Girl” and the ultra-poppy “Galaxy Girl” are warmly welcomed reminders of the possible fun to be had when the sun goes down and the stars go up. Suspending his listeners over all that’s is good like those colorful cable cars stretching over King’s Island, he cast the illusion (or maybe the reality) that writing songs like this is an effortless walk along the beach. Hit play and you have a soundtrack that could blast through this winter and spring you right into the sunlit love of next summer.



Visqueen-King Me
Everything runs it course--people and bands break up and web pages disappear out of the blue. After over 20 years, the Fastbacks sadly disbanded while they were making some of the finest music of their storied career. Thankfully life and music go on and Kim’s trademark bass and voice can now be heard in Visqueen. While, Kim’s talents flourish like a rhododendron under the towering evergreen talent of Rachel, this is clearly Rachel Flotard’s day in the rare Seattle sun. Acidic and ambivalent lyrics top off crunching guitars and crushing drumming. At times, the sound recalls Flop struck by the lightening bolt of Red Five and the jolt of Jane Wiedlin’s Frosted. The uber-melodic “My House” puts down the welcome mat to their most Fastback sounding construction. Once inside their sonic hallway, they will turn on “Omaha” which features the cool chorus of: "We're Mutual Like Omaha" that will hit home for anyone who spent some time in the ‘70s. If this were still 1996, the band would be to right next to Weezer on David Geffen’s payroll. Actually, any of these songs could possibly dash up the charts this summer at alt-rock radio stations—still open to colossal hooks and harmonies. However, if Clear Channel’s smudged transom remains tightly shut, the band knows that just detailing the little joys and pains of life and delivering them in catchy king-sized melodies is what really reigns supreme in the end.


The Lost Patrol-Off Like A Prom Dress
While driving through the desert at night on the way to a free Nancy Sinatra show at the casino down on the Ak-Chin Reservation, “Off Like a Prom Dress” went on the car stereo. While the tape rolled and the Firestones spun, the dichotomy of a harsh landscape with the spare beauty became immensely apparent. After a rush through the parking lot and some expected out-of-place metal guitar wankery, the band finally kicked in with a serviceable version of “You Only Live Twice.” However, they failed to capture the glimmer and shimmer of the original opulent Bond theme and I thought of the more evocative version found as an exclusive on the Lost Patrol web site. Despite the noble efforts of Clem Burke (Blondie) on drums, Sinatra’s band sunk into an underwhelming “Blues Hammer-ish” song written by the bass player and my mind drifted back to the dreamy and elegant silver disc from the Lost Patrol. On their latest escapade, the emphasis is really on the vocal numbers. For me, “Off Like a Prom Dress” really embarks near the end--starting with the gliding “Firefly” which recalls Denise James’ Poptones record that unfortunately few heard. “…And Then Goodbye” etches the Shadows at their most florid and is just asking for some lucky film to scoop it up as its theme or soundtrack. “Bon Voyage” floats along on a rockabilly undercurrent while the mandolin-driven folksy “I Am Here” brings things back to land. With the casino glowing in the rearview marrow, I clicked in the Lost Patrol tape as the car pushed forward into the Indian ink dark of the timeless desert and the pinpoint guitars led me home.

The Lottie Collins-Runaway to the Mexico/Pouvatel 45
After seeing this fun bunch come clear across the Pacific to blast things right open for Nardwuar and the Evaporators a couple of years ago, it was exciting to see this domestic 45 in the local record racks with the intriguing title of “Runaway to the Mexico.” (Behind this release is the new Tempe-based I Don’t Feel A Thing label who have also released a snazzy single from Tiger Shovel Nose-one of Momoko Yoshino’s (ex-Sunnychar!) numerous bands.) However, my excitement dove to disappointment (like finding bills and a jury duty notice under a CD package in the mail) when I didn’t hear that Dickies and the Barracudas waterslide sound of their “Electric Surfer Girl” single from 1998. While I have not heard their split 7’’ with the Ewoks on Magic Teeth, that particular single left me convinced they could develop into one of Japan’s finest--which is no easy feat in a land brimming with more great bands per capita than anywhere in the world. Anyway, this pulls the lo-fi, played-out, rote, pedestrian rip-chords with the usual mega-phone-ish vocals that Supercharger bashed out a decade ago. Things improve when they out-smuggle the Smugglers on “Pouvatel.” If they ever get around to making a full-length, I hope they hang 40 near the splash of the Soup Dragons EP rather than towing the piss-take shallow end of the rock ‘n’ roll pool.

Best of 2009

01. Jonathan Richman - ¿A qué venimos sino a caer? (Munster)
02. Chuck Perrin-Down2Bone (Webster's Last Word)
03. Outrageous Cherry - Universal Malcontents (Alive)
04. The Higher State-Darker by the Day (13 O' Clock)
05. The Mantles-s/t (Siltbreeze) meandering forward with that Bucketfull of Brains sound.
06. Marked Men-Ghosts (Dirtnap)
07. The Barbwires-Searider (Wild)
08. The Woggles-Throwing a Tempo Tantrum (Wicked Cool)
09. The Dex Romweber Duo-Ruins of Berlin (Yep Roc)
10. The Resonars-That Evil Drone (Burger)
11. The Riverdales-Invasion U.S.A. (Asian Man)
12. Mark & the Spies-Give Me a Look (Screaming Apple)

Top 5 Reissues/Archival/Comps/Out-of-print rips

01. Where The Action Is: L.A. Nuggets 1965-1968 (Rhino)
02. Jonny Chan & the New Dynasty Six-I Hate You Baby (Sound Camera) 2-CD set includes the second unreleased album, outtakes, and live cuts
03. Up From The Grave: North Valley(Sacramento area) Garage 1965-1968-(Frantic Records)
04. 2131 South Michigan Avenue: 60s Garage & Psychedelia from USA and Destination Records (Sundazed)
05. The Folklords-Release the Sunshine
http://redtelephone66.blogspot.com/2009/06/folklords-release-sunshine-1969-allied.html

Favorite music related blogs I came across in 2009:
South Bend Power Nineties: http://southbendpower90s.blogspot.com/
Busybuddy (mousepad travel with Peter Zaremba of the Fleshtones)http://thebusybuddy.blogspot.com/

Down2Bone-Emotional States of Matter

While the front cover might mislead some to think this is a country album from the 90’s and the name of the album/group/concept reflects hip-hop, rap-rock or even Prince from the same decade, this album actually comes from a long linage stretching back to mid-sixties Midwestern folk and garage rock. Over the years, listeners spanning from Sweden, France, England to Japan have found their way to the American music of Chuck Perrin and his Webster’s Last Word label which has been independently spinning since 1968. The close of this decade brings the world Perrin’s most varied, yet simultaneous most unified effort with the thread continuity being a confrontation of the conditions and a questioning of the directions we find ourselves here in the Pacific Southwest 2007-?.

The heartland rocker “Find A Way” aptly opens the album with seemingly over-simple, yet true sentiments. Perrin passes down his father’s words: “Put one foot in front of the other & do your best each day/You’ll find a way.” It’s also analogous to the writing process by replacing foot for word while recalling John Cougar Mellencamp’s Scarecrow & Lonesome Jublilee-era harvester rock (then at his peak of corralling of musical hooks with social consciousness under Don Gehman production.) “Too Much to Ask” spurs us to further examination and re-examine not the way the powerful run the Divided States, but the way we run ourselves during our momentary interactions, actions and reactions—frequently surrounded by incessant & shrill phones, our own crying children, grinding leaf blowers and diesel exhaust.

The protagonist of “Where the Wild Winds Blow” is fully aware of Henry Ford’s opinion that “Beaten men take beaten paths” but like a River Rouge lineman, a Nogales maquiladora assembler and the broken circles of Latino men waiting and wanting for work everyday of the year, there is little opportunity to change their plight. Dexterous guitar and Chuck Almond’s percussion offer solace against this backdrop rut before drifting out to Calexico or Friends of Dean Martinez-like ending that evokes the layered and sloping sand dunes framed by Interstate 8. Unfolding and unencumbered, “Chain of Choices,” navigates the listener through the labyrinthine structures about playing our cards with dharmic purpose, even when life frequently has countless trick cards up its sleeve. “Down to Bone” is an invocation by way of William Faulkner’s famous proto-emo statement, “Given the choice between the experience of pain and nothing, I would choose pain.” This is a jarring proclamation of wanting to work through the aforementioned constructs and entanglements while questioning what constitutes the core with the desire to return to the rudiments of life itself.

With its catchy chorus, jaunty rhythm and reassuring lyrics of gratitude “Tennessee” is the accessible and possible pop hit on this CD/download/website. This standout, moving between downtown and the down home, could be on the hot country charts or countrypolitan radio--if touched up by a big glossy production riding over minor steel guitar accents and major guitar pyrotechnics. Better yet, it could be interpreted by Johnny Cash, Buck Owens in their heydays or even the 1968 country-tinged Byrds (think “Goin’ Back). I like it just the why it plays as it is comfortable as broken-in border town boots.

“Trustville” arises cracked and fragile like an atmospheric Sufjan Stevens song before widening out to swaying bossa-nova with its evocative percussion floating over an ocean of clouds. Veering into Don Henley territory, “Bring it Here,” highlights Perrin’s smoky & grizzled vocals that are world weary on the edges, but ultimately optimistic at the core. A flaring sax exchanges the jagged unease with the healthy desire to expose what’s currently behind the curtains. The guitar sounds on “Tell Me You’ll Be Mine” appear exhumed off Columbia House "12 for a penny" Mountain, Foghat, Nazareth albums (stacked and overpriced in a Yuma antiques store) while the over-the-top bravado lyrics give solo Diamond David Lee Roth a run for his money. A Little Stevie Wonder harmonica riff tags the end of this diddy, but the setting is not of a bleacher stompin' & sweaty 1963 high school gym, but the open doorways of a salty Ventura Harbor blues bar.

“Life is a Stream” floats us back inland and is a minor key remodel of a wistful song Chuck and his sister Mary first started performing in 1968. I still prefer the sepia-toned and seamless original version and instrumental found on their 1971 seminal album of the same title. The clangorous guitars return with “The Glass Off” and finishes off the album with vengeance. Aptly, the album concludes without melodic resolution, but with the ship sinking, the floor coming out and things burning to ground. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, note to note, word to word and only time will tell where we are headed next in century 21. As for now Perrin has made his definite statement on this crossroads decade as we make the necessary stops, continuations and starts towards a better one. In his Down2Bone website introduction, Perrin simply states it best, “There is no going back.”

Audio and visuals (from photographer Dennis Reiter) found here:

http://down2bone.com/

If Walker Evans ever saw aspects of current times of bordered-up businesses, broken homes, crushed dreams and undercurrent of hope in the 2009/2010 Southwest...

Jonny Chan & the New Dynasty Six: Circumstances Beyond Their Control?

After a decade of delays, the second Jonny Chan & The New Dynasty Six album has finally lifted off the runway. It could be said that “I Hate You Baby” was a decade in the making or a decade overdue. Whatever your perspective, Sound Camera Records has ventured over the coiled barbwire and rescued this previously unreleased treasure from the dust yards of no availability. The reconditioned album, lovingly renovated by Sound Camera Records as a bonus tracks galore 2-disc edition, is ready to land under the glow and into the stereos of the sixties garage world.

Some may recall Jonny Chan & the New Dynasty Six made a major dent in 1998 with their debut album “So You Want Action” featuring “Little Black Egg” lyrically rendered in Mandarin Chinese. Others might remember their extensive interview atop an ambulance in Flipside Magazine. Still others might think back to their live shows and festival appearances (e.g., Fuzzfest ’97 in Atlanta and L.A.’s Dionysus Demolition Derby) where they opened up the sense of anything could happen and many times frequently did. In fact, during their "It's All About Me" finale, an amusement park character walked into Detroit’s Magic Stick (a venue loft above a bowling alley). It was a surreal and perfect jolt for a stripped-down garage festival called Gutterfest held during Indian Summer ‘98. So what happened in these intervening 11 years besides the usual compounding conflictions of work, school life, egos and musical differences? I will refer you to the CD booklet for both sordid details and brushes with fame. The music will be the main focus here.

You may be thinking, “This sounds like any garage band that managed to play a live set on WFMU, shake some NYC action at Manitoba's Bar and release a record on Dionysus or SFTRI.” Yes, the band was guilty of crash landing at any moment, being comprised of shifting and incongruent lineups while sending out infrequent communiqués over intermittent cut-rate websites. In this turbulence, lies the genius of Jonny Chan & the New Dynasty Six. They could sound so sharply focused and other times spinning out of control--and out of their heads. In the end, Jonny Chan is kind of like art or life itself—sometimes there’s understanding or momentum, but most other times something entirely else it transpiring. This is the soundtrack to both the clarity and chaos.

The instrumental “Hook, Line & Sinker” sets the album off in true go-go motion before setting stage for the downbeat and folked-up “I Say Yeah” featuring a soaring Rickenbacker solo that recalls the Optic Nerve and the Nightcrawlers at their finest. On "It's All About Me,” the band reaches its summit with the song’s perfect arrangement, shifting dynamics and musical execution. The first time I heard the flowery strums of the intro at the aforementioned Gutterfest show, I thought they were going to cover The Monkees’ “The Day We Fell in Love” which would not only be heretical, but truly dangerous to play in rough & tumble 1998 Detroit. Everything comes together for them in this instantly connecting and signature song touched by the divine spark. Next, “See My Way” surges things forward and displays their Kinksian side. (JC & ND6 belted out a charged up cover of the Kinks' "I'm Not Like Everybody Else." at the same Gutterfest show.) The song is also a perfect vehicle for Chan’s rush hour vocals conveying a native Detroit gunk accent clashing and converging with a transplanted snotty New York one. Chan’s vocals end up veering somewhere between John Felice of the Real Kids and the garage-pop sensibilities of Robert Wojz (of the Insomniacs). While this might not sound appealing under monitor glass, the voice is captivating, distinctive and a perfect fit for either a heartfelt ballad or a fast fuzz-filled ride.

The overflow reservoir department brims with an alternate and superior take of “This is the Place” overlaid with the more congruent vocals by Jonny vs. Wayne’s huskier straining lead vocals heard on the proper album. As every good architect has a trail of bad projects behind them there are a few throwaway pedestrian numbers (e.g. “Fatty Fatty Two by Four”) which were understandably sent to the impound. The real revelation is the pristine folk-rocker “I Want What I Can’t Have” which rates up with “Time Has Gone” from their debut album. One can only surmise sounding too much like Manfred Mann’s “Pretty Flamingo” layered with a veneer of “Norwegian Wood” disqualified this minor-key magnificence. While it may seem surprising this discerning Mr. Chan, who knows his Knaves from his Saturday Children, would have a Manfred Man blind spot, the head honcho of Sound Camera Records testified in Oakland County Circuit Court of no chicanery and Mr. Chan was truly unfamiliar with # 1UK hit from 1966. Flagrant rip off or not, this song is immaculate folk ‘n’ roll with an undercurrent of raga echoing in the distance. JC & ND6 always seemed attuned and aligned to regal feel and look of the Chicago ‘60s bands—from the Dunwich label in particular. This is testified in their glorious cover of “A Girl as Sweet at You” from their debut and the acoustic version of the Knaves’ “Your Stuff” which rounds out disc one. It’s not every decade that you hear a band covering the Knaves. Disc two features the Mosier Safe Sessions with its very apt echo making these rehearsals a Mondo Mid-sixties blow out. Also included on disc two, is a solid and satisfying WFMU set (15.5 songs from Joe Belock's Three Chord Monte program) from the dawn of this decade.

While coulda, woulda, shoulda surround the legend of Jonny Chan and the New Dynasty 6, these are only shadows contrasting with the moments of brilliance. With the perspective of time, Chan has come to terms with the missed opportunities, “It was 2000, Garage was hotter than it had ever been and we did everything wrong, we blew it big time. Nobody was willing to do what was needed to be done including myself.” Even if the band was able to ride the momentum, make an appearance on the Sopranos, play at the Randall's Island Donut Festival and release a glossy record on Wicked Cool, this path would have belied the unraveling energy of band lead by the unorthodox and unbounded spirit of Jonny Chan. Conversely, if the band was able to sidestep the fallows and minefields, they maybe could have achieved a string of releases and international festival appearances placing them in the upper echelons of the garage world. Nevertheless, this recovered bounty of previously unreleased recordings emanates with Chan’s considerable talents and vast capacities in commanding musical order while simultaneously dishing out the chaos. Furthermore, the story and sound are far from over as anything can happen when you enter the indomitable world of Jonny Chan and New Dynasty Six.

Ken Koshio-2009 Matsuri Festival in Phoenix, AZ

Buk Drumming Sedona Korean-American Assn.

Best of 2008

01. The Explorers Club-Freedom Wind

02. Jonathan Richman-Because Her Beauty is Raw and Wild

03. Various-Sing Me a Rainbow: A Trident Anthology 1965-1967

04. Chris Sprague-Diesel Made for Two

05. Brian Wilson-That Lucky Old Sun w/Believe in Yourself single

06. Dear Nora-Three States: Rarities-'97-'07

07. The Fleshtones-Take Another Look & Stocking Stuffer

08. The Autumn Leaves-Long Lost Friend

09. The Surfites-Escapades in Space

10. Fleet Foxes-s/t

Californiana

One of the good things about living in California (after years living elsewhere) is chance meetings with those whose inventions made a small impact on your life or they themselves actually become embodiments of the California myth.

On one sunny Sunday September morning, my wife and I were visiting the Gamble House in Pasadena. As we were approaching this wonderful remnant of old California and Craftsman heritage, a frail, yet sharp and welcoming lady approached us on the sidewalk. We exchanged feelings on what was truly a beautiful unfolding morning and the stunning work of rustic architecture in the midst of verdant landscaping. Being that the home is operated by USC and she and my wife were alumnae, we talked a little about USC trying to balance being a "football school" with their rapidly improving academics. As she walked away into the lush neighborhood she turned around to say, "Remember, I'm the little old lady from Pasadena."

One Sunday in 2007, I was working my usual overtime at the Westlake Village library. An older man approached the reference desk and requested some assistance on finding some information about the correlation between an irregular heartbeat and being an athlete. I found some studies for him and printed them up after finding out the good natured man was not a "computer guy." We got to talking about distance running and the longtime publication Track & Field News. He then proceeded to tell me that he helped designed the shell toe for the Adidas Superstar shoe. While I'm a trusting person, I still had my doubts due to a huckster who told me he was once an accountant for Capitol Records in the '60s and proceeded to narrate a visual image of the opening sequence in the Timothy Leary movie that was never made. Anyway, I told my assistant about the "Adidas guy" and we proceeded to Google him when it was slow at the library. We found out via a blog that he was indeed into sporting goods-actually involved with the invention of the shell toe and was also the source for cricket equipment and information on the West Coast. Recently, reading the book Sneaker Wars by Barbara Smit, I came across a mention of him again. Smit's research did confirm that the man (Chris Severn) and his brothers helped distribute the first (German imported) Adidas shoes on West Coast from their North Hollywood garage in the late '50s. The outstanding book also states that Chris Severn invented the shell toe for the all-leather upper Superstar in 1969. The book proceeds to trace how the Superstar superseded the canvas Converse All-Star on basketball courts with the champion Boston Celtics wearing them along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Interestingly, I recall Magic Johnson and Larry Bird wearing leather Converse from the "Choose your Weapon" ad campaign of early '80s pre-Air Jordan era.

Best of 2002

1.Kent 3-"Spells"
2.Ben Weasel- "Fidatevi"
3.KO and the Knockouts-"S/T"
4.Palomar-"II"
5.The Possibilities-"Way Out"
6.Autumn Leaves-"The Twilight Hours of"
7.The Cynics-"Living is the Best Revenge"
8.The Beards-"Funtown"
9.Mama Guitar-"In Mama Guitar Style"
10.The Resonars-"Lunar Kit"
11.The Queers-"Pleasant Screams"

Best of 2000

Best "New Releases"
1. Embrooks-Separations...
2. Outrageous Cherry-Out There in the Dark
3. Embrooks-Our New Day
4. Berkeley Squires-Listen...
5. Beachwood Sparks
6. Woggles-Fractured
7. Aislers Set-The Last Match
8. The Mooney Suzuki-People Get Ready
9. High Llamas-Buzzle Bee
10.Teenage Fanclub-Howdy

Best Reissue Collections (heard late '99 through 2000)
1. Searchers-The Pye Anthology (63-67)
2. Gants-Road Runner! The Best of the Gants
3. The Boys Next Door
4. Ides of March-Ideology
5. Phil and the Frantics

Mike in Taiwan

A significant world event may have happened earlier this month with the legendary Mike C. alleged visit to Taiwan on the way back from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. However, this one giant leap for Mike-kind cannot be verified because no photos (as usual & characteristic) were taken. The provenance of the above postcard is questionable.

Best Sounds of 2005

1.Outrageous Cherry- Our Love Will Change The World
2. The Quarter After-s/t
3. Ugly Beats-Bring on the Beats
"Bring on the Beats" is the most impressive contemporary
beat-folk 'n' roll-garage long player I have heard
since "The Wigged Out Sounds Of Freddy and the Four Gone
Conclusions." It plays like one vital single after another!
4. High School Sweethearts-Heels N’ Wheels
5. Clicks-Magic of White
6. Tralala-s/t
7. Chocomates-s/t
8. Volebeats-Like Her
9. Portugal Japan-s/t
10. Barbary Coasters-Honey for Sale
11. Killer’s Kiss-s/t
12. DMBQ-The Essential Sounds from the Far East

Best of 2004

01. Ted Leo/Pharmacists-Shake The Sheets
02. Jonathan Richman-Not So Much To Be Loved as toLove
03. The Divine Comedy-Absent Friends
04. Denise James-It's Not Enough to Love
05. Dear Nora-Mountain Rock
06. The Thermals-Fuckin’ A
07. Brian Wilson-Smile
08. The Heavy Blinkers-The Night and I are Still Young (tie)
08. The Hellbenders-Today We Kill…Tomorrow We Die (tie)
09. The Marked Men-On the Outside
10. Lolas-Something You Oughta Know
11. Embrooks-Yellow Glass Perspections
12. The Indikation-In Terms Of
13. Saturday Looks Good to Me-Every Night
14. Chris Stamey-Travels in the South
15. The Thrills-Let's Bottle Bohemia
16. Mystic Chords of Memory-S/T
17. Knockout Pills - 1+1 = Ate
18. Visqueen-Sunset On Dateland
19. The Sadies - Favourite Colours
20. Palomar- III The Revenge of Palomar

Reissues and Collections
(Rev-ola):Chuck & Mary Perrin-The Last Word
Bergen White-For Women Only
Hard Times-Blew Mind
The Everpresent Fullness-Fine And Dandy: The Complete Recordings
Various Collections:
Sigh Cry Die-29 Garage Rock Tales of Woe and Despair from the Sixties (Arf! Arf!)
A Soldier's Sad Story: Vietnam Through the Eyes of Black America 1966-73
Best Label Sampler: Hey, It's a Teenacide Pajama Party!
Best round-up of b-sides and unreleased tracks: Fastbacks - Truth, Corrosion And Sour Bisquits

Best of 2003

1.Saturday Looks Good to Me-All Your Summer Songs (and they were…the soundtrack of summer 03)
2.High Llamas-Beet, Maize & Corn (Warm welcome back after drifting off course with a couple of albums of vapor pop. Sounds like the missing link recording between the bucolic “Hawaii” and “Cold & Bouncy.”)
3.Aislers Set-How I Learned to Write Backwards-(short,slanting, sweet and sad)
4.Fleshtones-Do You Swing? (Instant party fun factor and “Are you Ready for the Mountain?” shoots this one near the top. The vanguard ‘80s garage revival bands(i.e., Fleshtones, Cynics and Chesterfield Kings) have come back with a vengeance in the last couple of years. Are the Swingin’ Neckbreakers ready to step tothe plate for the ‘90s bands?)
5.Thanes-Downbeat and Folked Up (sounds like Lenny Helsing has been listening to some Freddy Fortune records! Their Sandy Coast cover of “I’m a Fool”gives me the chills, it’s that good and jangly.)
6.Singles-Better Than Before (I have read Sire-era Flamin’ Groovies comparisons, but they sound morebetween a less indie Chisel, a less psych Resonars and less punk Hi-Fives).
7. FM Knives-Useless & Modern
8. Outrageous Cherry-Supernatural Equinox (“If You Want Me” Song of the Year? Yes!)
9.Riverdales-Phase Three (“I Believe in You and Me” is stripped-down, look-up brilliance.)
10.The Apricots-Swingin’! Smilin’!
11.Ted Leo & the Pharmacists-Hearts of Oak (This TL is frequently compared to Thin Lizzy, but notice the similarities in the travelogues of “The Ballad of aSin Eater” and Frank Black’s “Calistan.”)
12.Woggles-Ragged but Right ("Collector Of Broken Hearts," could be the best in their canon.)
13.Fondas-Coming Now (Sounding somewhere between theDetroit Cobras, Ko and the Knockouts, Gore Gore Girls and the early Pretenders.)
14.All Girl Summer Fun Band-2
15.Thermals-More Parts Per Million (Play loud)
16.Cuts-2 over Ten (It’s all so wrong with those Cars-esque vocals, but somehow it sounds almost right)
17.Hidden Cameras-Smell of Our Own (If they cut down on their lengthy lengths of their songs, they could be the new Chills.)
18.Chargers Street Gang-Through the Windshield (Not the breakthrough of their debut, but still a palimpsest of guys trying to make it through the bleak Midwestern muck.)
19.Thrills-So Much for the City (If only they didn’t parrot chunks of songs by the Carpenters and Nancy Sinatra.)
20.Visqueen-King Me

Best reissues and reissue collections:
1.The Sonic Adventures of Zekley & Grady (Retro ZG)
2.The Last-L.A. Explosion (Bomp)
3.V/A-Byrds Won’t Fly Today (Misty Lane)
4.The Spectors-Cockfights & Cakefights 92-96 (Get Hip)
5.Lolas-Silver and Gold (Snap Records-Espana)
6.Deep Six-s/t (Revola)-They could have competed with the We Five if the female vocals of Dean Cannon had a place of their own instead of sharing space with all those guys.
7.Five Americans-The Best of the Five Americans (Sundazed)

Top 10 albums of 2006

1.Jim Noir-Tower of Love-(A great overall disc of melodic wholeness for Beach Boys listeners.)
2.Saturday Looks Good to Me-Sound on Sound-(A singles comp, but I’m gonna count it!)
3. Denise James-Promises-(Another consistently strong folk & roll album from Denise and produced with lavish reverb by Matthew Smith of Outrageous Cherry, the Volebeats)
4.The Now People-The Last Great 20th Century Love Affair-(is finally here!)
5.The Marked Men-Fix My Brain-(An apt punk-pop album for driving through the middle of the city in the middle of summer at midday during the midweek.)
6. Outrageous Cherry-Stay Happy-(Two great “singles," but some filler and a tad bit too much glam seeping in keep this out of the top 5.)
7.The Higher State-‘Round Here-(They accuately state on their website, “We play authentic garage/psych with touches of folk rock - the sound is a blend of west coast byrdsy jangle and harder edged texas punk!!”)
8. Dear Nora-There is No Home-(Disappointing final album, but it still has its moments and it’s still unmistakably Dear Nora.)
9.The Hidden Cameras-Awoo-(This is the year they finally shortened their Chills-like songs—like I wished they did a few years ago.)
10. The Cuts-From Here on Out-(produced by Matthew Smith)

Top Ten of 2007

Now that 2008 is more than half-way over, it's time for best sounds released in 2007. I based my list on just a rough-estimate of rotations.
1. Glenn Mercer-Wheels in Motion
2. The Surfites-Big Pounder
3. Sean O' Hagan/Tim Gane-
La Vie d'Artiste Soundtrack
4. Lloyd & Michael-Just as God Made Us
5. The Griefs-Throwing A Tempo Tantrum
6. The Ugly Beats-Take A Stand With
7. The Resonars-Nonetheless Blue
8. The Queers-Munki Brain
9. The Milkees (Japan)-Lover Soul
10. The Choir Practice-s/t

Honorable Mentions (aka their previous albums were better):
Ted Leo-Living With The Living
Jens Lekman-Night Falls Over Kortedala

The Return to Cypress, CA

Last weekend, our family was in Anaheim for the American Library Association Annual Conference. It was good to feel the ocean breezes once again and return to the first place (Cypress) that I lived in California (back in early 1999). On Saturday night, we it made to an outstanding Korean Tofu restaurant called Kaju. It's located along the thoroughfare of Valley View in Buena Park on the edge of La Palma. Oh yeah, they serve purple rice!

Another highlight was hearing Bich Mihn Nguyen read from her book Stealing Buddha's Dinner. In the words of the Fastbacks, I was able to "meet the author" and receive a signed copy of her book courtesy of Penguin. I mentioned to her that I have not thought about the Purple Cow at Meijer Thrifty Acres since about 1982, until I saw it mentioned in her 2007 memoir of growing up as a Vietnamese-American in GR=Grand Rapids, MI.

The Riots-Love After (Sound Camera Records)

One: Aftermath

In this current age besieged by so-called garage bands that lean more in the ponderous era of pre-punk 1975 than seminal 1965, the Riots have broken out to properly realign the currently misplaced garage banner back to the spark of its mid-sixties heyday. They do this by offering a musical authenticity and soulful sincerity not provided by the current bastion of bands prancing over stagnant landfills of burnt-out boogie under the misleading guise of garage. In addition, the Riots radiate a vitality and verve that marks them as true rogues in these current times inundated by sauntering bands who are essentially missing the beat and ignoring the roll inherent in the most striking garage music.

Two: The Sounds of Yesterday & Today
In the Riots sound, the spirit and spunk of such unheralded Michigan forebears as the Unrelated Segments and the Underdogs looms large--along with the repercussions of the Animals, ? and the Mysterians, the Chocolate Watchband, the Yardbirds, the Small Faces and Barry & the Remains. On a contemporary trans-world level, the Riots share some of the same magnificent mentors and buzzing transformers as the Chesterfield Kings, the Greenhornes, the Embrooks and the Hentchmen.

Three: The Sound of Love After
While so many flavor-of-the-week “garage” records have fallen through the bleachers on their own weight after the initial promo push, the Riots have unleashed an album that pulls elusive immediacy together with lasting presence. Freddy Fortune’s distinctive production radiates their reckless ambition while losing none of the band’s musical dimensions. Fortune, working in Grandpa Munster-like fashion down in the all- analogue galore of Sound Camera Studios, achieves this by compounding their essential elements, energy and essences into a formula of unified stereo action. The resulting mid-fi mix is a sonic blast constituted of gashing guitars, rollercoasting keyboards, pow-wow drums and hold-the-fort-down bass--all acting & reacting within corner turning arrangements.

The opening song "Hold on Me" storms out of the speakers like Paul Revere & the Raiders signaling a Union Jack Freakbeat attack. Throwing off spunk, sparks and combo organ dips, the relentless "Stop Knocking" belts it outs between staircases and steaming sewers with command and an indirect nod over to the Shadows of Knight. In the next 2:50 sonic adventure, "Broken Man" climbs to 99th floor of the emotions before reaching a rickety bridge suspended by handclaps and crossed with derailed determination. Once across, the Broken Man screams out a declaration of dependence before continuing into the end-of-wick confusion and the rip of the firecracker drumming.

Next, stuttering guitars, torn out of Love’s "My Little Red Book," introduce and reinforce, "Cold Hearted Woman" before expanding out in all directions and dimensions on the soulful psychedelicized chorus. "Tell Me Tonight" is a musical funny car in which a saxophone props up the frame to expose a pivotal Wurlitzer organ solo before charging down the musical strip still marked by the Royal Pendletons. Swirling sitars, bongo beats and buoyant organ notes (echoing the lost ‘60s band Afterglow) surround "Tomorrow" and take this recording out to new realms before reaching the final destination of this dynamic and vivid debut. Overall, the percolating flourishes of a vintage Rheem Mark VII organ (yeah, the same company known for their hot water heaters) and the impassioned lead vocals topped off by captivating co-ed backing responses conspire to make this album and band stand out in the current congestion of the garage.

Four: Tomorrow
Far removed from the recurring patterns of bands essentially playing seventies arena rock under the protective and now trendy roof of garage, the Riots reclaim and reflect the inextricable link between the mid-sixties and most vital and vibrant garage music. This is only the beginning of more essential and enduring things to come from Sound Camera Records and their unceasing quest to provide, “The Sound of Yesterday, for Today's Tomorrow.”