Heaters are back! And on this, their fourth LP in as many years, we find their sound has aged like a fine wine. The evolution of Heaters over those 4 years has been a thrill to hear, from the original sonic maelstrom of three young men to a seasoned 4-piece unit totally finding its groove and its voice the further it ventures on. It’s also true that Heaters have grown exactly 4 years over that time, which is quite substantial when you’re talking about dudes in their twenties. “Suspended Youth” is the first album where Heaters lived in two different places, GrandRapids and Montreal, and couldn’t just come up with songs while hanging together in their GR jam space. This time, ideas were cultivated in separate places and then stitched together when Nolan (Krebs) would fly to Grand Rapids to record in guitarist Ben Taber’s studio. Nolan says it was a longer process, but ultimately just as rewarding.
“Suspended Youth”: is it a full dissolution of youth, or youth put on the back burner till we’re old enough to appreciate it, or is it the actual physical suspension of youth? Youth levitating, if you will. Many of the songs have an overarching theme addressing the march of time and getting older, and valuing peace as much as chaos, the yin and yang that is life; something that comes through in the overall sound, too. You have never heard a Heaters quite as balanced as on “Suspended Youth”; balancing their whirlwind sonic rave-ups with steady motorik lock-ins. For example, marvel at Nolan on bass and Josh (Korf) on drums completely in swingin’ robots mode on the last 3 minutes of ‘Venus,’ a track full of texture and synth vs. guitar compositions from Ben and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Hagan. Never have you heard Heaters vocals as clear as they are here (dig ‘Lysander’ and ‘Monolith’), harmonies so dreamy (hear Nolan and Ben on ‘Highwind’ and ‘Dandelion’), and melodies so beautiful throughout. And Heaters are no strangers to bringing the bizarre vibes, just check out the closing 11 and a half minutes of the album, ‘Nova Prime’ and ‘Lunar Creep.’
At the core of Death Valley Girls, vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Bonnie Bloomgarden and guitarist LarrySchemel channel a modern spin on Fun House’s sonic exorcisms, ZZ Top’s desert-blasted riffage, and Sabbath’s occult menace. On their third album Darkness Rains, Death Valley Girls churn out the hypercharged scuzzy rock every generation yearns for, but there is a more subversive force percolating beneath the surface that imbues the band with an exhilarating cosmic energy.
Death Valley Girls ‘Darkness Rains’ out October 5th, 2018
Beyond-beyond excited to present to you “Disaster (Is What We’re After)” from our new record, DarknessRains, out October 5th on Suicide Squeeze Records. Video starring Iggy Pop and directed by Kansas Bowling,
The Kansas Bowling-directed clip is a direct homage to a scene in Danish filmmaker Jørgen Leth’s 1982 film, 66 Scenes of America, in which Andy Warhol eats a hamburger. Iggy Pop of course puts his own spin on the simple activity, nodding along to Death Valley Girls’ infectious rocker and even taking a healthy, low-carb approach halfway through when he discards one of the buns.
“We’re strong believers in opti-mysticism and connecting with people through rock n’ roll,” Death Valley Girls said of the video. “Having Iggy dig our music was more than amazing for us. When [director] Kansas told us she had a dream about recreating the ‘Andy Warhol Eating a Hamburger’ short film but with Iggy starring for our music video, we were cautiously excited about the possibility. Next thing we know we’re in Miami with Iggy himself, and a rock n’ roll dream became reality!”
Album opener “More Dead” is a rousing wake up call, with a hypnotic guitar riff and an intoxicating blown-out solo underscoring Bloomgarden’s proclamation that you’re “more dead than alive.” The pace builds with “(One Less Thing) Before I Die”, a distillate of Detroit’s proto-punk sound. At track three, Death Valley Girls hit their stride with “Disaster (Is What We’re After)”, a rager that takes the most boisterous moments off Exile On Main Street and injects it with Zeppelin’s devil’s-note blues. Darkness Rains retains its intoxicating convocations across ten tracks, climaxing with the hypnotic guitar drones and cult-like chants of “TV In Jail On Mars”.
On this day (August. 13th) in 1975: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performed the first of five sold-out nights at New York City’s Bottom Line; the Greenwich Village music club had a capacity of only 400/500…The ten-show stand at the Bottom Line early in the (Born to Run) tour remains a rock date to rival James Brown at the Apollo or Dylan at Newport. At the Bottom Line, Springsteen became himself. By adding Stevie Van Zandt as a second guitar player, he was liberated from some of his musical duties, and he became a full-throttle front man, leaping off amps and pianos, frog-hopping from one tabletop to the next.
On August 13th, 1975, it was twelve days before the release of Born To Run, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band began their five night, ten show stand at The Bottom Line. With two shows each night an early and a late set, This was a new E Street Band, with keyboardist Roy Bittan and drummer Max Weinberg replacing David Sancious and Ernest “Boom” Carter, respectively. Steven Van Zandt, who’d played in an earlier band with Springsteen, joined as a second guitarist.
Columbia Records executives were frustrated by Springsteen’s lack of success. They purchased a quarter of the tickets at the 500 seat venue and distributed them to music industry types to get the word out. Even so, not all of the shows were sold out until after WNEW-FM broadcast the fifth show. After that, people were lined up around the block to get in.
There are numerous bootlegs of these shows all over the internet. Listening, you have to remind yourself how little known some of these legendary songs were at the time . In “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out”, during the second show, when Springsteen sings “And the Big Man joined the band”, there is absolutely no reaction from the crowd. A week later and from then on, it would become one of the great applause lines of every show. The shows had their desired effect. Ken Tucker wrote in the Soho Weekly News “I have just come from the best rock and roll performance I’ve ever seen in my long, decadent life”. The Village Voice‘s Paul Nelson responded in the affirmative to his cover story ” Is Springsteen Worth The Hype?”: “On my feet, clapping, never wanting it to end, I ask myself when I’ve ever been so moved by a concert.”
“It was our coming-out party,” Springsteen says. “And some sort of transformation occurred over those five nights. We walked out of that place in a different place.”
Robert De Niro, was in New York shooting Taxi Driver, he caught one of the Bottom Line shows. He watched as the crowd yelled “Brruuuuuuce!” and Springsteen responded with “You talkin’ to me?”. De Niro would make that line his own in an improvised scene shot within the next couple of days.
The highlights August 15th 1975 Early Show
In August 1975, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band performed a 5-night stand at Bottom Line in New York City, NY, from 13 to 17 Aug 1975. They played two shows each night, an early one at 8:30 p.m. and a late one at 11:30 p.m. All ten shows were sold-out. The early 15th August 1975 show was broadcast live by New York’s WNEW-FM.
FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER this previously uncirculated treasure is now being shared with Bruce Springsteen fans worldwide! The Bottom Line Shows are legendary and for those wondering if a recording of the August 13th, 1975 show would ever surface, the wait is finally over! For a fan who was there in those early days, Mr Anonymous can tell you what it was like:
“The story of Bruce’s early days has been documented many times, most recently in the current New Yorker magazine. As described therein, Bruce’s five night, ten show stint at The Bottom Line was crucial to launching his third album, “Born to Run”. Many executives at Columbia Records were frustrated with Bruce’s lack of commercial success and Born to Run was likely his last chance with the label. Columbia reportedly bought a quarter of the 500 seats for each show to distribute among music industry people . Even so, tickets did not sell out immediately and a week after going on sale they were available for any of the shows. That all ended when the public heard WNEW’s broadcast of show number 5. The next two nights, fans were lined up around the corner with the hope of getting a standing room spot at the bar to hear the new phenomenen.
This is the first recording of one of the late shows to surface. It is the first night and this tape captures all of the ambiance of this intimate club. You can hear each breath and whisper from Bruce while dishes and glasses are shuffled on the tables. Bruce seems to just appear behind the piano and gets a single reaction from the crowd as he opens solo with “For You”. It is evident how he captures the crowd more and more with each song. By the time he hits the 20 minute versions of “Kitty’s Back” and “New York City Serenade”, he has them in his hands.”
Thanks to Mr. Anonymous who met the taper, ODoc55, thru Dimeadozen
Bruce Springsteen 13th August 1975 The Bottom Line – New York, NY – set list:
For You (Bruce On Piano) (7:09)
Tenth Avenue Freeze Out (4:08)
Spirit In The Night (6:31)
When You Walk In The Room (3:58)
Night – (First Known Performance) (3:39)
Growin’ Up (3:05)
Its Hard To Be A Sain In The City (5:31)
The E Street Shuffle (12:17)
Born To Run (4:12)
She’s The One (5:38)
Thunder Road – (Bruce On Piano) (5:47)
Kitty’S Back (19:56)
New York City Serenade (19:26)
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) (11:38)
Fourth Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) (7:08)
Quarter To Three (6:55)
The first known live performance of “Night” and the earliest known recording of “When You Walk In The Room”. Opener “For You” is played by Bruce alone onstage at the piano. “Thunder Road” is the slow version with Roy on piano and Bruce on harmonica and vocals. Both “Kitty’s Back”, which includes a brief snippet of Carole King’s “Nothing’s Too Good For My Baby”, and “New York City Serenade” are extended 19+ minute renditions. This is the last recorded and confirmed performance of “New York City Serenade” until the 1999/2000 Reunion Tour
This sound source has some crackling, and sound does fade in and out a bit here and there, because this source was recorded off the radio broadcast, but it is sourced from a master tape of the show, not the vinyl record source. So there are a few tape cuts between songs, and a few times the source sound varies, but overall a very, very nice recording.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – “The E Street Shuffle” Live on 8/15/1975 at the Bottom Line in New York City, Recorded during the early show (of two that night) on 15th Aug.-1975.
The Bottom Line club only held 400 people, and it was unique in that it had seating rather than standing room only.This made for a small and intimate atmosphere between the audience and performer. The E-Street band at this time was: Clarence Clemons-sax, Garry Tallent-bass guitar, Roy Bittan-piano, Danny Federici-organ/accordion, Max Weinberg-drums, Steve Van Zandt-guitars, and Bruce.
Max Weinberg and Steve Van Zant, both had only been in the band less than a year, joining in September.-1974 and March-1975 respectively. This was clearly the start of Bruce’s fame, and these shows are legendary.
Rolling Stone magazine listed this run of shows as one of the top-ten defining moments in rock and roll history, right up there in “the top ten” along with: Elvis at Sun Studio 1954, Rolling Stones 1971 Exile on Main St. summer, Dylan going electric in 1965, ect.
The Boss and the band put everything they had into these shows, and it shows…..despite being early Springsteen, the charisma and dynamic intensity is obvious. After these shows, Springsteen and the E Street Band became a mighty force to be reckonned within the rock and roll industry.
They were no longer just the “opening act” but headliners selling out arenas and large concert halls.
After this run at the Bottom Line, gone were the days of playing small clubs like the Student Prince, the Stone Pony, the Main Point.
Now Bruce was going to be headlining such places as the Spectrum, Madison Square Gardens, Hammersmith Odeon, Boston Gardens, LA Forum. If you couple this with his show at the Main Point club on 05th Feb.-1975, this was the beginning of the Springsteen wave of popularity, and the point of no return for Bruce and the band. A month later after this run of shows, Springsteen made the cover of both Time and Newsweek magazines in the same week.
These performances are among the best early Springsteen I have ever heard, This show, along with the MainPoint show of 05th Feb.-1975 are incredible considering Springsteen was only 25-years old at the time.
He had come a long way in 3-years since auditioning for John Hammond Sr. in May 1972. As John Hammond Sr. put it: “When Dylan came to me to audition, he was simply Robert Zimmerman. But when Bruce came to me, he was already Bruce Springsteen, he was already a Superstar on his way….he was much further developed….everyone just knew he was going to be huge.” To be sure, there would be the future legendary Darkness On The Edge Of Town tour shows in 1978, but up until that time, there would be no finer Springsteen performances than this run of shows at the Bottom Line.
Between song banter has been edited a bit, but Bruce and the band do have some very funny comments.
Songs are complete, and band performance is top notch. Springsteen and his lawyers went all out to prevent sale of the vinyl record way back in 1976 threatening lawsuits against distribution.
This was because Springsteen had recorded several of the Bottom Line shows for a possible official live album release. So Springsteen decided to release a live album officially, with performances culled from the run of live shows at the Bottom Line club during August 1975.but these are on the source tape, not taken from a vinyl transfer. There is a complete CD set of the entire broadcast that includes complete between song banter, radio DJ comments, ect. is called: “The Punk Meets The Godfather” on Godfather CD’s.
At the early show, “Thunder Road” is performed in the slow version with Roy on piano and Bruce on harmonica and vocals. “Rosalita Come Out Tonight” includes a snippet of “Theme From Shaft” in the midsection. At the late show, “For You” is performed solo piano and “Thunder Road” is performed full band. The setlist would also include the only known 1975 performance of the rhythm and blues standard “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66”.
There are rumors that at least one of the Bottom Line shows was professionally filmed by Bruce, possibly parts of other Bottom Line shows also. Film footage is rumored to be hi-quality color, pro-shot with several cameras, and is a complete performance.
Legend has it that this film footage is considered to be “superb” by the Springsteen band, and was a serious contender for inclusion with the 30th Anniversary release of the Born To Run box set.
Bruce was also known for his opening stories to introduce his songs
15.08.75 New York City, NY, intro to ´The E Street Shuffle´
´´Bam !….It was about, uh….it was about three, four years ago, four years ago now, about this time of the year, it was…it was around August, it was a night like this….and uh…I was working in this bar down on the Shore, right….I worked there for about three or four months, this place called The Student Prince (someone yells) (chuckles) Where you going ?…and uh, I worked there for about, like I said three or four months, it was like, there was me and it was Steve here and me and Steve, was Garry, Garry was in the band then….Southside Johnny, this cat Southside Johnny….do you folks get down to the Shore much ? (cheers)… alright, well, you gotta go see Southside Johnny´s band, he´s, he´s got a band down, yeah, The Jukes.…alright (laughs)…..and anyway, this is about three, four years ago, me and Steve and Garry , we´re working in this bar down there….and, uh….like we was feeling like, it was like, it was, we was feeling like…. real discouraged at the time because nobody would give us a gig or nothing, you know, we went into this bar, like the only way we got this job was this guy had just bought the bar and we went into this bar about, like, at midnight on a Saturday night, you know, when the joint, you know, should be, you know, should be a few folks in there, right, went into this place….the darkest, dampest, dingiest place you ever seen and there was nobody in there, right, so we figure, you know, so we walk up to the cat and we say ´ Listen, we´ll come in, man, we´ll play for the door, we´ll play for, you know, we´ll charge a dollar at the door and we´ll play for that´….so we had a seven-piece band at the time, we had a big band and we brought the band in the first week and, uh, and, uh and we played and we made about like….hell, we must´ve made. (Steve: ´13.75´) yeah, we split 13.75 between us….and, uh, a few guys quit, you know (chuckles)….the next week I was there with a six-piece band….threw some cat out, next week a five-piece band, this went on for a few weeks, right… until we got it down to, to like…. you get down to your boys when you´re starving and it was like ….it was like we was playing this joint and we was always figuring, like, these people was always trying to set us up like ´Man, I got the manager from the Byrds coming down here tonight to check you guys out, right…. so like you dudes better be good, right´….so, so like we would play like, like mad dogs all night and like three in the morning we´d all be sitting at this damn little table saying ´Where is the cat ? You know ? What happened to the joker ? Where is the dude ?´ so….and Steve, Steve was like, uh…. Steve was known then, he was known, he was like, he´d practise his guitar day in day out, night and day, all the time, every time I´d see him he would practise, practise, practise, right …he always had his guitar with him everywhere he went, you know, see him on the boardwalk he´s got his guitar with him like that, you know, practise, practise, practise….so, so one night after the, after the gig, you know, after the gig, we was all feeling like down in the dumps and we was all pissed off and mad, you know, figuring ´Man, we´re better´, you know when you´re sitting there saying ´Man, we´re better than them cats and they got two records out, how come we ain´t got no record out ?´, right…..so you do all that kind of stuff, you know, so me and Steve was feeling really really drug out and we figured we were gonna go home so we figured we´d walk home down, (?) we´d walk north along the boardwalk, you know… so we got out there and it was a nasty damn night, it was raining, it was raining and, and….and the club was flooded ´cause some, like, bikers came along and ripped off the front door, right….really, they just took the sucker off, you know, brought it home or something, I don´t know what they did with it…..they ate that thing, right, so….so we was walking down the boardwalk this time of night, you know, it was late, must´ve been four in the morning…. Steve had his guitar with him….he was practising …..and we was just walking down the boardwalk figuring we wanted to get home, you know….so…. all of a sudden….way down at the other end of the boardwalk ….we see something coming, man, there´s something coming down….I said ´Steve, you see something down there, something coming ?´ (Steve : ´Uh, huh´), he says ´Yeah´…. I said ´I don´t know what that is´ but we don´t want to take no chances like, you know, we just wanted to get home, we don´t wanna fool around so….so we ducked into this doorway, you know and, and he says ´Man´, he told me to peek out and I peeked out, you know….and whatever it was, man, it was coming , it was, like, it was raining, the wind was blowing, it was in this, it was in this big mist and it was dressed all in white, with a walking stick, walking like there ain´t no rain, no wind, I said ´Steve! Are you, am I crazy or is that dude carrying a saxophone ?´ (cheers)(chuckles)….so….we figured any cat at four in the morning, dressed in white, walking like there´s no rain with a saxophone was not to be messed with ! was let to walk on by, right….so we, we huddled in the doorway and we were sort of scared, you know, like we were….we were a little scared (?) we didn´t want to get messed around or nothing, I said ´That´s all I need, come home with 3.50 and a messed-up face tonight´, so….so we heard his, we heard his his footsteps coming closer…. and they came closer and closer…..they came even a little closer than that…..ok….and, and, and we figured now, we figured this was no time to look like you´re scared, right, we figured this guy is gonna come along, we better like, you know, better act like at least like we´re bad, so here the cat´s coming and we´re starting to get ready for (?)… and, right, we´re getting ready and, and it´s like….and this cat came up and he turned and he faced off right in front of us in the doorway and we just jumped back like this…. and, and the first we did was we threw all our money down, right….threw all the damn money down, right and then, you know, like I, I didn´t know where the cat was at, he didn´t move and did nothing, right, he stood there (?) held, it was a saxophone, I took off my sneakers, I wasn´t going to take no chances, I threw that down, I figured he might want me to do that….but all he did was put out his hand….so me and Steve, man, we leaned back and ….we got…. just a little closer…. and then when we touched it was like …”
15.08.75 New York City, NY, intro to ´Kitty´s Back´
´´Funny thing happened the other day, I had a few days off, you know, and uh….before I played here, I had a couple of days off and I was staying at home, you know, like, staying down by the beach and uh….one day we figured, you know (?)…me and Steve and Clarence, we went down…we was walking down the boardwalk and uh, you know, (?) and we see this new cat, you know, a new man outside the fortuneteller joint, right, this cat´s got a turban, you know, it was a, it was green, it was like light green kind of color (?) and he had one of those red rubies, you know, red rubies in his head and like, he says ´Come on in, man´, you know, ´you wanna find out what´s happening tomorrow, today´ so….we figured we´d, you know, I don´t usually go into them joints, I don´t like them joints too much, they scare me, right...Clarence, for some reason, Clarence was into finding out what was happening tomorrow….today, right, so we figured 50 cents, we´d go in and catch 50 cents´ worth of tomorrow so….we go in and we´re sitting there, we´re sitting there, we´re sitting there for like and watching the clock and 45 minutes go by, right, and we were wondering what´s with the gypsy, man, you know, (?) somebody in there´s got a whole lot of tomorrow (chuckles), anyway, the curtains finally part, out comes this skinny girl, right….her dress all twisted and she had, her knees are shaking and she looks like, and she drops and falls right in front of us and she passes out….so like …. we figured….too much tomorrow, right….not enough, not enough today (chuckles) …. so ….so the cat with the turban drug her out, outside, drug her out onto the boardwalk and they´re, you know, they´re waking her, you know, she ran off screaming down towards (?)….but anyway, so finally we go in, you know, we go in there and we´re sitting there and she says ´Ok´, you know, she´s rubbing her hands, she´s looking at us, she´s like, she says ´Ok, uh, which one of you guys wants to find out what´s gonna happen first ?´, you know….so like….so we flipped a coin, you know, and Stevie said he didn´t wanna and all of a sudden Clarence didn´t wanna either….so they put it on the Boss, right…. being the Boss, you see, being the Boss, you got to like, you got to have this leadership, you know, you got to, you can´t let it show that you´re scared and nervous, you know, like (?)…. so I figured ´Ok, you know, I´ll find out´ so I gave her my 50 cents, right, she looked at me a few times and (?) on the table she had this crystal ball, you know, and (?) the ball, says ´Ok, son, I´m gonna look into that crystal ball, I´m going to know what´s happening´, so I said ´Alright´ and she starts checking the thing out and, and….the thing starts smoking up ….you know how they do that, it´s smoking up, it was getting all smoky and stuff and she was checking it closer and closer and she just looked in so close she had her face right up on that thing, you know….and then all of a sudden she started shrieking and screaming and yelling and doing all things, she slipped off chair, she fell down on the floor and became unconscious in front of us….so we said ´Gypsy lady !´, you know, ´Gypsy lady, what´s, what´s happening ?´ (chuckles)…´What´d you see in there ?´ – nothing, nothing, she was comped out (?), so we figured we was gonna be in some trouble, we were gonna beat it out of the joint, for like mugging the gypsy lady or something….and like I don´t know what for but for something so, so anyway I said ´Wait a minute´, these guys are pulling me out now, they´re pulling me to run out, I´m going ´Wait a minute, wait,I paid my 50 cents, I wanna see what´s happening tomorrow´, right, so (?)…and I looked in to see what upset her so much, you know, I figured am I gonna die, am I gonna, you know, be hit by a train or what´s gonna happen, I don´t know, so I looked in…(somebody: ´What you see ?´) what did I see ? (?) I seen (?) I seen this nasty weather (?) this rainy (?) and down in the end of the alley, I seen something coming and it didn´t have no sax on so I knew it wasn´t you….she got so upset because….Kitty´s back !…..”
15.08.75 New York City, NY, (late show), middle of ´Twist and Shout´
´´I don´t think I can go on, Clarence. It´s the cholesterol on my heart. My doctor told me if I sang this song once more, he wouldn´t be responsible. But I gotta do it, Clarence, I gotta.´´
14.08.75 New York City, NY, intro to ‘The E Street Shuffle’
´´Dancing with the lights down…..lower than that…..lower than….lower than that…. (?)…. wait a minute, wait a minute, gimme a break with that, let me see….. (?)…this guy (?)…. you do that there, bam…..this girl (?)…..Walter, what’s he gonna say, big bucks…..yeah (?) big bucks here…..Clarence…..you can see better (?)(chuckles)…..it’s nights like this…..bring in the bass…..it’s nights like this….yeah…..play a little bit, Steve…..bam !…..(?) gonna talk to you tonight….. it was a nice like this, very similar to this, the same month, it was August…..it was about three years ago or four (?)…..I was walking down a street in Asbury Park…..(?) …. on the other end of the street (?)…..”
14.08.75 New York City, NY, intro to ‘Night’
´´This is something that’ll be on the new album, should be out pretty soon…..called ´The Night’….´´
14.08.75 New York City, NY, intro to ‘Thunder Road’
”Yeah, yeah…..do you come here every night ?…..’cause some guy yells that all night every night…..(someone : ”Bruce, you played it at Max’s, you can do it here !”) ….. Give me a break…..give the Boss a break…..(someone : ”Cousin Brucie!”) Don’t say that….it’s like…..that happens all the time, it’s like your name is Bruce, everybody….. you hear ‘Cousin Brucie, what’s happening ?’ (chuckles)….that happens all the time, don’t do that (laughter)…..this is a song about this guy from California and this girl from ….Indiana…..and how they met in the same place (?)….’
14.08.75 New York City, NY, intro to ‘Kitty’s Back’
”I used to live in this house…..down in this place called Freehold, New Jersey (cheers) ….anybody from Freehold here tonight ?….No?….how about Asbury Park ? (cheers)….. yeah ?….you got the Casino shirt on….sounds like….I used to live in this house that was….that was across the street from this field , like…..it was on this regular street but…..but there was just this big field, it was a tomato patch….for a long time, it was across the street, we used to go and have tomato fights…..and like you’d sit there at night and see all the lightning bugs…..(?) go see lightning bugs, good, maybe they don’t (?)(laughter)….really, ever since I moved to the beach, I don’t see any lightning bugs….any of you folks from the country ?….you get lightning bugs out there ?….. you’ll all (?) better tonight (chuckles)…..anyway this field….one night I was sitting on my porch , you know….and and I seen this….Clarence…..Clarence was sitting there with me (laughter)….I was about ten and he was older than me, we were sitting on the porch and….we seen this thing coming down from the clouds, didn’t we ? (laughter)…. we didn’t know what it was (laughter)….it came down from way up there and looked like some…..looked, it was shaped like a hot dog, right, and we thought it was a flying saucer right away…..shaped (giggles)….it was shaped like this hot dog (laughs)…. it was shaped like this hot dog and this thing came down and it landed right on this field right across the street from my house…..and so me and Clarence, we figured we’d better check it out and see what was invading the neighbourhood, you know….. we went across the street and this man came out, right and he had…..he was like….he was purple (laughter)…..this is a true story, this is a true story (laughter)….people laugh at the truth , they (?)….as….he was purple, was he purple ? (?)…..it was like….he had two noses, right, and he lands in Central Jersey…..good thing he didn’t land in North Jersey, he would’ve died on the spot (laughter)…..the industrial growth would’ve been too much for him (laughter)…..he had two noses, he was purple, he had eyes….. eye on his teeth….and he like….the first thing he did, he came out, he was being all cool….. he was walking, you know, like uh…..what’s that guy on Bono ?….Not Bono….what the hell’s his name ?…..no, no….Tobor or (?)….Michael Renny….he was walking like Michael Renny (cheers) …..he was walking like that, he was trying to be cool and stuff……but he got out three steps and those things started (?) and he fell down on the field, right…..so me and Clarence go over and we check the guy out and he´s purple and he’s laying there on the ground…..and we go ‘Spaceman, what’s the matter ?’ (laughter)…..he didn’t say nothing, all he did was he opened his mouth and he said these words, he spoke in these foreign tongues…..yeah…..noises like…..so me and Clarence happen to have a tape recorder with us , we ran, we ran back to the house….. and we put it on backwards and you know what that joker said…..He said ‘Kitty’s Back’..…
(…..) Steven, when she comes back, I’m gonna…..ask her ‘Where you been ?’ and …..(?) you hear I got a new car ? I got this new car (?) and….I’m gonna….take her for a ride….because (singing:) Nothing’s too good for my baby…..Nothing’s too good for my girl….Nothing’s too good for my baby, nothing’s too good, do it boys….Nothing’s too good for my baby…..nothing’s too good for my girl….nothing’s too good for my baby….nothing’s too good for my girl….here she comes….here she comes….(talking:) I don’t really recognise her no more…..she dyed her hair….some crazy color…..(?) Stevie, Stevie.…the new man, the new man (?)….the new man…..little transgression on Bosses’ (?)…..that’s bad news…..you can lose your hat (laughter)….lose your hat in this band….you’re nothing…..that’s alright, that’s alright….oh, yeah….anyway….here she comes….”
14.08.75 New York City, NY, middle of ‘Rosalita’
”On the piano, the man with all the answers to all your questions…..Professor Roy Bittan (cheers)….take a bow, Roy…..on the bass guitar….man comes from a long line of talents, his mother was a talent, his father was a talent, his great grandfather was a great, great talent…..he’s a little shy so (?)…..Garry W.Tallent (cheers)….on the drums, representing all you folks from North Jersey….Mighty Max (cheers)….on the organ, Dan Federici (cheers)….we’re gonna do this part for Mickey and all my friends at the Holiday Inn pool…..Clarence Clemons, the duke, on the saxophone (cheers)…..”
17.08.75 New York City, NY, intro to ´´Kitty’s Back”
‘‘Before I came in tonight, there was, uh, somebody sent me a note, (?) this box (?)…. I opened it up, you know, and …. (?) this long box and I opened it up and in there was this, was this knife, remember that, boys?….see, they saw it, they saw it….there was this knife, it was covered with blood….there was a little letter…..explaining that this was an approximation of….of how my blood would look on that knife….if I wasn’t good tonight ….because….Kitty’s back!”
The Shows were:
1975-08-13 – BOTTOM LINE, NEW YORK CITY, NY (early)
1975-08-13 – BOTTOM LINE, NEW YORK CITY, NY (late)
1975-08-14 – BOTTOM LINE, NEW YORK CITY, NY (early)
1975-08-14 – BOTTOM LINE, NEW YORK CITY, NY (late)
1975-08-15 – BOTTOM LINE, NEW YORK CITY, NY (early)
1975-08-15 – BOTTOM LINE, NEW YORK CITY, NY (late)
1975-08-16 – BOTTOM LINE, NEW YORK CITY, NY (early)
1975-08-16 – BOTTOM LINE, NEW YORK CITY, NY (late)
1975-08-17 – BOTTOM LINE, NEW YORK CITY, NY (early)
1975-08-17 – BOTTOM LINE, NEW YORK CITY, NY (late)
Katie Ellen’s debut album, 2017’s Cowgirl Blues, saw frontwoman Anika Pyle kicking against the traditions and norms that come with adulthood—namely, love, major life changes, cohabitation, and domesticity. She penned the anti-marriage anthem with “Sad Girls Club,” a standout track that featured the defiant heartbreaker of a chorus: “Sad girls don’t make good wives.” On the Philly band’s new, five-song EP, Still Life, Pyle is still trying to wrap her head around these things.
On opener “Lighthouse,” Pyle reckons with warring thoughts—wanting to be brave enough to swim into life’s uncharted deep end, but feeling tied down by the anchor of fear and anxiety. Later, on the EP’s title track, she surrenders to the idea that love is more powerful and wild than our capacity to tame it: “You can’t make love stay / Do your best to hold it in place.”
Musically, Pyle flexes a few new tricks she’s trying out, like on “Still Life,” where her voice spirals into borderline operatic delivery, a far jump from the quick and dirty style she cut her teeth on in her former pop punk project Chumped.
Toronto Canadian band Great Lake Swimmers have established their alluring sound through a combination of low-lit ambiance and celestial soundscapes, essential ingredients that have helped lend an atmospheric element to their wholly mellow musings. For their latest opus, titled The Waves, The Wake, these Juno Prize contenders operating under the leadership of chief helmsman Tony Dekker opted to take things down even further in terms of their unobtrusive settings.
The object was to record the album absent one of a key instrument: acoustic guitar. Presumably that means someone was on furlough, but as evidenced by the results, that timbre was barely missed at all. The band still manage to ply their lovely, if elusive, melodies, and if specific tracks—“The Talking Wind,”“In a Certain Light” and “Falling Apart”in particular
“The Talking Wind,” seems especially hushed, it’s merely an outgrowth of their usual unassuming approach. When asked about the new song, Dekker replied, “’Alone But Not Alone’ is a straighter shooter than some of the other tracks on the new album, with a little more of a familiar 12-string jangle, and it’s sort of a bridge back across our fifteen-year, seven-album catalogue. We set out to make a breezy, 1960’s AM radio inspired kind of thing, with a few twists and turns, because it seemed to be what the song was asking for, in the midst of experimenting with sounds for some of the other new songs. As for the lyrics, sometimes it can be easy to find yourself in a crowded place but still feel utterly alone. This song is a reflection on that sense of suffocating connectedness while still feeling disconnected at the same time. In the end it’s a pretty lonely place, but there’s a resolve to keep an open heart and mind.”
The shimmer that illuminate such songs as “Mouth of Flames” and “The Open Sea” are contrasted, albeit briefly, in the upbeat tick of “Alone But Not Alone” and the quiet insistence of “Side Effects,” but it’s the acapella “Visions of a Distant World” that best defines the effort overall. The album was recorded in the 145 year-old Bishop Cronyn Memorial Church in London, Ontario, and given the environs, it gives some indication as to the sedate, worshipful nature of the songs.
While some may tend to interpret those twilight tones as a slumber fest, the overall beauty of The Waves further illuminates its charms. The delicate pluck of strings that resonates throughout “Holding Nothing Back” and “Unmaking the Bed” simulates the sound of a lullaby while underscoring melodies that are both elusive and surreal. Granted, it’s hardly the kind of thing one would play for guests at a wild party or as the prelude to a night out, but it resonates all the same. The Waves, The Wake is simply an extension of Great Lake Swimmers’ ongoing instincts, and in that regard, it finds them following through to until they realize those very last strokes.
Amber Arcades brand new single ‘Where Do You Go’ is out today, accompanied by the final part of the ‘European Heartbreak’ Trilogy.
A beautiful film written & directed by Eliott Arndt.
Annelotte says the following about the third single ‘Where Did You Go’:
“This song is about the irrational nature of love. You need to keep telling yourself you believe in it in order for it to exist at all. On the other hand, maybe it’s a cool thing because of that. If it were more “real” it would just be another “thing” you can choose, like a brand of peanut butter. And I’m not so sure about whether always being able to choose all the things makes us better or happier in the end.
These Films by Amber Arcades – Part 1 of 3 Music – Goodnight Europe Director – Elliott Arndt “A lot of the themes Annelotte de Graaf has written about for her record struck very close to home. What I found especially poignant in her lyrics is how it’s mostly through a study of herself and a nonchalant look outside her window that Annelotte makes us get a sense of the political turmoil that’s affecting her. In that respect, I was interested in trying to represent this sense of “banality” in a young adult couple in 2018, who are not only the fruit of a vibrant European Union, but also perhaps the ones most directly affected by its dismantling. I wanted to depict a static, homesick, glitchy romance. And here it is, trying all it can to grow against, amongst and beyond the constricting geographical barriers surrounding it.”
Music video by Amber Arcades performing Simple Song. Heavenly Recordings
Though he’s been and continues to be the subject of numerous reissues and releases, Gene Clark still remains somewhat of an enigma. The founding member of The Byrds (1944-1991) only released six solo studio albums within his too-short lifetime, bolstering a discography also containing group and collaborative efforts. But he left behind what seems like scores of unreleased tracks, much of which has been mined in the years since his death. In 2013, the Omnivore label issued his demos for the A&M album White Light, and now the label has tackled the holy grail of Clark’s demos – a 1967 acetate entitled Gene Clark Sings for You. An expanded edition of the original acetate has been joined on CD by A Trip Through the Garden from The Rose Garden, a group which enjoyed Clark’s support and patronage.
The eight recordings on the original Gene Clark Sings for You were recorded near the end of 1967 at West Hollywood’s Larrabee Studios and the venerable Gold Star Studios. Clark, accompanying himself on guitar, was joined by simple instrumentation including calliope, Chamberlin strings (a keyboard device similar to the mellotron) and electric piano. Alex del Zoppo of Sweetwater played the piano, though the other musicians’ identities remain a mystery. One track boasts strings, leading to speculation that it may have come from an earlier session led by Leon Russell as arranger-conductor. All of the songs reveal a young, talented singer-songwriter at the crossroads, with plenty of talent and ambition but perhaps lacking a clear vision as to how to best deploy those gifts. The result is a set of original songs in the best sense of the word, even if they may not have been commercial enough to attract an interested label. It’s also worth noting that Clark never released any of these songs, a testament to his prolific nature as a songwriter.
The Dylan influence so evident in The Byrds’ recordings is also clear on “Past Tense,” though Clark’s own evocative poetic sensibility comes into its own with “Past My Door.” Eschewing the expected, Clark also employed a tempo shift midway through. Violins – perhaps arranged by Leon Russell – appear on “That’s Alright by Me,” adding a note of elegance to the folk-rock track.
Clark conjured San Francisco on many of these demos including “On Her Own,” about a beguiling girl he found there, and the mournful “Down on the Pier” (featuring atmospheric, ironic calliope). The similarly doleful “Yesterday, Am I Right” (previously recorded for Hugh Masekela’s Chisa label but unissued) features Clark’s drawl at its most vulnerable. Clark’s well-documented country leanings come to the fore on one track alone: the twangy, laconic “7:30 Mode,” on which he adds harmonica and is accompanied by an unknown guitarist.
This first-time commercial release of Gene Clark Sings for You is bolstered with an additional six tracks intended for The Rose Garden – a five-song acetate and one more demo. The troubadour first encountered the band at the Ash Grove, joining them onstage for a set of Byrds tunes. The awestruck band were thrilled to work with, and receive songs from, their hero. The acoustic tracks on the acetate (which has never been heard outside of band circles) include the Dylan-ish “On Tenth Street,” the upbeat love song “Understand Me Too,” and the moving “A Long Time,” which The Rose Garden opted to cover on the band’s sole album. Two full-band performances were also presented to The Rose Garden: the blues-rocking “Big City Girl” (complete with wailing harmonica) and “Doctor, Doctor,” the most produced and Byrds-esque track on the acetate with double-tracked vocals and harmonies. “Till Today,” also recorded by The Rose Garden, is included here in a Clark demo.
The Rose Garden is the subject of A Trip Through the Garden, the first-ever anthology dedicated to the band. And what an anthology it is, appending 16 tracks (14 previously unreleased) to the group’s lone 1968 album. The band is, of course, best remembered today for the opening track of that LP, “Next Plane to London.” The top 20 hit still gets airplay today, and earned The Rose Garden the “one-hit wonder” tag. But as with most artists given that moniker, there was more to the group than just that one tune.
The Los Angeles-area band (John Noreen, Jim Groshong, BruceBowdin, and Bill Fleming) was enamored with The Byrds, which made it all the more fortuitous when Clark dropped into their set the Ash Grove. (They went by The Blokes at that time.) With the addition of singer Diana De Rose, The Blokes gained a gal and rechristened themselves The Rose Garden (a play on their newest addition’s surname.) A showcase at hot spot Gazzarri’s on the Sunset Strip landed the still-underage band a deal with Buffalo Springfield managers Charles Greene and Brian Stone. They got The Rose Garden signed with the Springfield’s label, Atco, and set about producing their first album.
The Rose Garden is an amiable folk-rock effort with heavy pop leanings and a solid dose of Byrds-esque chime (courtesy of Noreen’s Rickenbacker) and sparkling harmonies. Notably, while emphasizing vocals over instrumentation in Greene and Stone’s production, the band played on the record as a self-contained unit, without any intervention from the Wrecking Crew or other studio aces. The liner notes reveal that the album’s repertoire was selected from songs picked by Greene and Stone as well as the band members. (Only one track is credited to the band: “Flower Town,” a flower-power adaptation of the folk ballad “Portland Town.”)
In addition to Kenny O’Dell’s obviously catchy “Next Plane to London,” featuring Diana’s enjoyably burnished vocals, The Rose Garden offered a trio of songs by future Redbone founder Pat Vegas: the slow “I’m Only Second” (which somewhat recalls “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”), the bright Byrds-meets-Mamas-and-the-Papas confection “February Sunshine,” and the jangly “Coins of Fun” with strong duet vocals from Diana and Jim. (The latter isn’t as trippy as its title would indicate, though.) The group’s lustrous harmonies were also in evidence on the folk adaptation “Rider.” An attractive cover of the Bob Dylan ballad “She Belongs to Me” led by Groshong joined Clark’s “Till Today” (slightly evoking The Fortunes’ “You’ve Got Your Troubles” in the band arrangement) and “Long Time,” which gained a Motown-style bassline. Bob Johnston and Wes Farrell penned the exquisite, soft ballad “Look What You’ve Done.”
Omnivore’s expanded edition now has a running time of nearly 80 minutes, with an impressive array of bonus tracks. Kenny O’Dell’s gorgeous “If My World Falls Through” was backed with the uptempo “Here’s Today,” co-written by John Noreen for a follow-up, non-LP single. The B-side is a surprisingly commercial track that could have held its own as a A-side. These are heard in both mono and stereo versions. They’re joined by tracks for a proposed second album that was never completed, including a take of Neil Young’s “Down to the Wire” performed by Young, Stephen Stills, and Mac (Dr. John) Rebennack. The crunchy backing track was presented to the band by Greene and Stone due to their Buffalo Springfield connection. The illustrious triumvirate of Bob Crewe, Al Kooper, and Irwin Levine supplied “The World Is a Great Big Playground,” which is charming but falls short of the team’s other accomplishments.
Of interest to Gene Clark fans will be two additional appearances of “Till Today”: a rehearsal with Clark himself, and an acetate alternate. Five live songs captured onstage at West Hills, California’s Chaminade High School round out the set: “Next Plane to London” and an array of covers not recorded in the studio by The Rose Garden including The Byrds’ “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” and Clark-penned “She Don’t Care About Time,” Sonny and Cher’s “It’s the Little Things,” and Bo Diddley’s “You Don’t Love Me,” also by way of Sonny and Cher. The sound is better on these tracks than might be expected, and they offer a taste of what the band’s strong live sound.
John Einarson, author of Mr. Tambourine Man: The Life and Legacy of The Byrds’ Gene Clark, has penned the erudite liner notes for both releases, with the story of The Rose Garden proving particularly fascinating. Gene Clark Sings for You and A Trip Through the Garden are essential snapshots of the unparalleled creativity of the L.A. music scene in the late 1960s.
Both titles are available now:
Gene Clark, Sings for You
The Rose Garden, A Trip Through the Garden: The Rose Garden Collection
Untitled (LA) is the second taste from Swearin’s upcoming full length Fall into the Sun, is their first for five years.
It is another cracking track. Opening on the back of a great riff, the song sets off in a hurry and doesn’t look back – melodic, garage punk at its best.
From the album Fall into the Sun, out October 5th, 2018 on Merge Records.
The third single from Paul McCartney’s forthcoming album, Egypt Station (due out September. 7th on CapitolRecords), is here. It’s called—ahem—“Fuh You,” and it appears the 76-year-old legend is no less spry today than he was in 1969 when The Beatles recorded “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” which echoes a similar lyrical sentiment. The song’s sonic elements, however, couldn’t be more different from an Abbey Road track’s—poppy keys, a chorus of back-up voices and an autotune playback suggest plenty of modern influences. The snappy, feel-good track arrives with an equally pleasing lyric video, which you can watch below.
McCartney explained the idea behind this cheeky new single:
With this one I was in the studio with Ryan Tedder whereas the rest of the album has been made with GregKurstin … We were just thinking of ideas and little pieces of melody and chords and the song just came together bit by bit. And then I would try and make some kind of sense of the story. So it was like “Come on baby now. Talk about yourself. Tell the truth, let me get to know you,” and basically I wanna know how you feel, you make me wanna go out and steal. I just want it for you. So that was the basic idea and it developed from there … sort of a love song, but a raunchy love song. There you go—fuh you.
The Egypt Station album announcement arrived in June, along with the first two singles: the suggestive, upbeat rock track “Come On To Me” and the more mellow piano ballad “I Don’t Know.”
Earlier this summer, McCartney joined James Corden for a memorable episode of Carpool Karaoke, during which the two Brits toured the former Beatle’s childhood home in Liverpool. The response to the segment was so far-reaching that the folks behind Corden’sThe Late Late Show are extending it into an hour-long special. Carpool Karaoke: When Corden Met McCartney Live From Liverpool airs August. 20th on CBS.
Last month, Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, teased the release of her 10th album with 80 seconds of scenic views and husky, hymn-like vocals. The visual featured a snippet of the album’s title track: Wanderer, out this fall via Domino Recordings, The release will break the artist’s six-year hiatus following the release of Sun.
Marshall has now shared the first single from Wanderer: “Woman,” featuring supporting vocals from her former tour-mate Lana Del Rey. It’s a pulsing Americana track, with thick vocals from Marshall intermingling with Del Rey’s whispery tones. The track is bolstered by a solid guitar riff that reflects hazy late nights and Marshall’s southern roots. The singers repeat “woman” over and over until it becomes an icy affirmation against the backdrop of a vast landscape. “I’m a woman of my word / Now you have heard / My word’s the only thing I truly need”—a testament to feminine power.
The song also comes with a video directed by Greg Hunt. It’s a simple visual, switching between shots of Marshall and her band on a rooftop at sunset, and in a studio with deeply saturated blues and pinks.
Wanderer was written, recorded and produced by Marshall herself, and it reflects the themes of rootlessness that come with being a touring musician. The album comes out on October. 5th, but you can watch the video for “Woman” below.
“Woman (feat. Lana Del Rey)” features on ‘Wanderer’, the new album from Cat Power, out 5th October on Domino Record Co.
