The Fat Angel Sings

The Allman Brothers Band, Fillmore East, February 1970, The band played 27 titanic shows at promoter Bill Graham’s storied Fillmore East in Manhattan between 1969 and 1971, releasing 1971 recordings in July of that year for the classic “At Fillmore East” live LP.

But an earlier, raw and hungry era of the band is heard on the newly released “Bear’s Sonic Journals: Fillmore East, February 1970,” recorded by Grateful Dead soundman Owsley “Bear” Stanley when the Allman Brothers opened for the Grateful Dead on February 11th, 13th and 14th.

Listening back more than 50 years later, it’s easy to hear why Stanley was so passionate about these recordings.

In particular, the February 14th performance of “Mountain Jam” even with a reel-change gap, is a towering, 35-minute testament to the band’s rich, complex interplay, especially dual-drum tactic of Jaimoe and Butch Trucks under the twin-guitar attack of Dickey Betts and Duane Allman, who died the year after these recording were made.

“I would rather have some of it,” Semins said. “I would rather have every last Duane Allman solo, even if it’s cut up, than not have it at all. And that was the approach that we took with this.” There’s a potency to this collection that comes from a combination of the band playing in prime form, Stanley’s crisp and clear recording, and the energy of a New York City audience ready for whatever the Allmans throw at them.

“I think it’s the electricity they felt from the audience who seemed to really appreciate what they were doing,” Holman said. “You’re playing through as good a sound and lights (system) as there was at that point, and (you had) the ability to play multiple nights in the same room where you’d get really used to what the room sounds like – and it was a really good-sounding room from a musician point of view.”

You asked for it, so here it is! The Owsley Stanley Foundation & the Allman Brothers Band are pleased to present Bear’s complete recordings of the Allman Brothers Band at the Fillmore East in February 1970 in CD format. Available at the Big House Museum, this Deluxe Edition, 3-CD set will include the already-released compilation CD along with 2 CDs of the source material from all three nights — the complete set of Bear’s Sonic Journals from each show as played on February 11th, 13th, & 14th, 1970, including all three complete versions of the earliest known live concert recordings of “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.” We also expanded the booklet to include more photos from these historic nights, taken by Bear’s good friend, Amalie Rothschild. The photos include an extremely rare shot of Bear in the soundbooth, up in the balcony overlooking the stage.

Important Note: These recordings were not previously released on CD in their entirety because they contain significant flaws, primarily due to reel changes in the middle of songs. We released them last summer as high resolution downloads, but many of our listeners preferred to have a physical copy. We get it; we’re the same way. Moreover, it was Bear’s wish that these recordings (especially the February 14th show) be released in whole because they are sonically pure and include important, previously unreleased material of the band with Duane in his prime.

“We have Owsley’s emails where he writes about how good they were, and he didn’t know the Allman Brothers,” said Bill “Hawk” Semins, an attorney who serves on the Owsley Stanley Foundation’s board of directors and executive produced the set with Holman.

“That was the first time the Allman Brothers had played with the Grateful Dead, and he (Stanley) has got tremendously good ears and recognizes talent and they immediately captured his fascination,” Semins explained. “There are a lot of opening acts where we don’t have the tapes, there are lots of times where he tapes over them. But he knew these tapes were special and he had written about it to other folks and he had held onto them for 50 years.”

A single-disc set collecting highlights from the three nights was released in 1996. That’s been re-packaged alongside Stanley’s raw recordings, complete with gaps for reel changes and a couple of cuts.

“We’re all completists at the foundation and the idea of releasing the entire set, reel gaps and everything, was what Owsley wanted,” said Semins. 

Produced and recorded by the Dead’s Sound Engineer, Owsley Stanley. The recordings feature the line-up of Duane Allman (Lead & Slide Guitars), Gregg Allman (Vocals, Hammond B-3 Organ), Dickey Betts (Lead Guitar), Berry Oakley (Bass, Vocals), Jaimoe (Drums, Percussion), and Butch Trucks (Drums, Tympani).

• 3 CD Set
• Bear’s complete recordings of the Allman Brothers Band from these historic shows on February 11, 13, & 14, 1970
• Expanded 16-page booklet, including rare band photos and a photo of Bear in the soundbooth
• Complete versions of the three earliest known live concert recordings of “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”

On this day (July 21st) in 1978: The brilliant Edinburgh, Scotland comic-book dayglo band The Rezillos released their debut album ‘Can’t Stand The Rezillos’, one of the most insanely fun records of this or any other period; it included their previous single “I Can’t Stand My Baby” as well as future classics “(My Baby Does) Good Sculptures” & “Top of the Pops”; recorded at the Power Station in New York City, it reached #16 on the UK albums chart.

Towards the end of 1977 the band’s energetic live shows were gaining the attention of the music press and several major record labels. The group eventually signed with New York-based Sire Records which at that point was regarded as the major label most sympathetic to the emerging punk and New Wave music scene, having already signed the Ramones and Talking Heads. The band’s second single, “(My Baby Does) Good Sculptures”, which was originally also scheduled to be released on Sensible Records, was released in December on Sire instead.

Sire suggested to the Rezillos that they record the album in New York City, to which the band readily agreed, eager to travel outside the UK. The album was recorded during February 1978 at producer Bongiovi’s studio The Power Station), with Bongiovi and his assistant Lance Quinn originally scheduled to handle production duties. However, due to illness Bongiovi was unable to attend the majority of the recording sessions, and in his absence his engineer Bob Clearmountain ended up overseeing most of the album: the band recognised Clearmountain’s contribution to the record and pressed for his name to be included on the production credits.

A third single, “Top of the Pops” was released to coincide with the album and became the band’s biggest hit. 

In 2003, ‘Mojo’ magazine included the LP among its ‘Top 50 Punk Albums of All Time’…(This photo shows the back cover of the album signed by vocalists Eugene Reynolds & Faye Fife.

Released on Sire Records and including the top twenty UK hit “Top of the Pops”, part of which was used as a jingle on BBC Radio One. Unusually for a punk/new wave band group, the album The album featured several sixties covers, “Glad All Over” (originally a hit for The Dave Clark Five), and “Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight” (originally by Fleetwood Mac) and “I Like It” a Gerry and the Pacemakers hit song. 

The reviews from the UK music press upon the album’s release were very favourable. Rock critic Paul Morley described the album as “13 quick cuts lustily shot through with cheap culture combinations, The group’s inventiveness does things with noise that are a little too clever for hippy-happy exhilaration; there’s no chance of any calculated innocence here … But it’s all very clever: the parodied dissatisfaction of punk; the lashings of beat and controlled chaos; the frenzied passion of the production, and, above all else, lots of cosmic vibes, Melody Maker said, “There’s no need for worried glances: the band have pulled the proverbial cat out of the bag. They have always been about wraparound, cartoon strip enjoyment and that’s exactly what you get. Both sides seethe with great pop bluster which has been captured (as it should have been) in all its rough-edged immediacy.” Sounds magazine stated that the album was “a definitive slice of the Scottish beat combo’s past and present in full unabridged glory… No flabby excesses, the Rezillos stick ‘wisely’ to their ultra confident and rigid style, a format which sweeps through both sides with little hesitation or respite.”

The press enthused over the “hyperactive tempos, raging guitar, abbreviated pop melodies, goofy and slightly off-kilter lyrics that display a fascination with junk culture and ’60s pop… the real key to this album is its simple, good-hearted joie de vivre; funny-punk was rarely executed with the degree of skill, finesse, and pure delirious glee as the Rezillos summoned up on Can’t Stand the Rezillos. It makes me smile more than any U.K. punk album ever made me, and it has the greatest Dave Clark Five cover ever committed to tape – what greater recommendation could you ask for? A triumph

In 1993 the album was reissued on CD in a remastered and expanded version titled Can’t Stand the Rezillos: The (Almost) Complete Rezillos. This 28-track version comprised the original thirteen-track album, the group’s November 1978 single “Destination Venus” and its B-side “Mystery Action”, and the 1979 live album Mission Accomplished… But the Beat Goes On. The final track of Mission Accomplished…, a live version of “Destination Venus”, had to be dropped due to time constraints on the CD.

Jenn Champion and the Oyster Kids are sharing “Push,” a new single from their “Love Nobody” EP available from June 29th, 2021 on all DSPs worldwide from Hardly Art Records.
 
Champion says of the single, ”’Push’ is about the imagined love we have with strangers in dance clubs. It’s a lo-fi new wave song that captures the moment of feeling both so good and so consumed, being crushed out on a dance floor. Where the music is loud and you have immediate sexual eye contact. Like invisible hands pushing you together. A song for that moment of lust and the unknown.”

The three-song Love Nobody EP is packed with as many sexy synth lines and longing looks as an 80s teen movie. The project was born when Champion met Andrew Eapen (Oyster Kids) at a party shortly after she moved to LA. They became fast friends once they realized they shared a passion for sad pop songs. The two started writing music together only a few weeks later, and the song “Love Nobody” materialized in their very first session.

The eponymous lyric video for “Love Nobody” which was released earlier this month, is a lithe and breezy track with Champion’s signature vocal style. She says, “‘Love Nobody’ is about the fear of falling so hard for someone when you know it’s destined to crash and burn. Those crushes where it feels like your heart is cannibalizing your brain. We’ve all been there when you look into someone’s eyes and know they will destroy you, and yet, nothing can pull you away. You are all in. You hate it and have never wanted anything more.”
 
The two also included a paired down version of “Love Nobody” – a down-tempo piano version to play when your crush leaves the party with someone else. Because isn’t that just the way?

“Love Nobody” from Jenn Champion & OYSTER KIDS’ ‘Love Nobody EP’ (Release date: June 29, 2021)

The follow-up to “I Wanna Be a Dog” a song that’s about exactly what the title says — “It’s Nice to Be Nice” is the new single from Colleen Green’s forthcoming album “Cool” … and a song that’s about exactly what the title says. She adds, “This song is my ‘You Get What You Give’ by New Radicals except without the incongruous aggressive sentiment about kicking other rock stars’ asses. The title, though, the title’s sentiment is right on. “Cool” Green’s first album since 2015, is out September 10th on Hardly Art Records.

Watch Colleen Green’s official video for “It’s Nice to Be Nice,” a new single from “Cool” her forthcoming new album out on September 10th, 2021 worldwide from Hardly Art.  The visual was directed by Renee Lusano and shot on a boat off the coast of Los Angeles. Green calls it “A nice video for a nice song.”

“It’s Nice to Be Nice” by Colleen Green from her album “Cool” (Out September 10, 2021)

L.A. Exes bring on the girl-gang envy, uniting four music veterans: Sam Barbera (vocals, bass), Jenny Owen Youngs (vocals, guitar), Rachel White (lead guitar) and Steph Barker (drums). While they were a unit pre-pandemic, the global mess had the band hitting pause on announcing their glory for nearly a year. Now, having released singles “Temporary Goodbye,” “Skinny Dipping” and, “Baby Lets Pretend”

L.A. Exes have announced their debut album, “Get Some,” will be out August 20th via Black Rainbow Records.

Although Barbera and Owen Youngs originally first met at a party, it was mutual friend and Grammy-winning producer Jake Sinclair (Panic! At the Disco, Weezer) that brought the queer quartet together. Barbera is best known for her electro pop group, “Beginners” whose singles like “Who Knows” and “Gimme Some” have proven great commercial syncs. Owen Youngs’ song writing has landed collaborations with Panic! At the Disco, Pitbull, Ingrid Michaelson and Brett Dennon, as well as syncs for “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Bojack Horseman,” “Weeds” and more. White’s multiple talents include producing, writing and even audio engineering for 5SOS, Weezer and Panic! At the Disco. Barker, whose solo project Baby Bulldog is reminiscent of Best Coast, is an award-winning jazz drummer with an international tour resumé including Kate Nash, Coast Modern and Love Fame Tragedy.

It’s all sun’s-out/buns-out with their playful, retro power-pop. The latest summer bop, “Baby Let’s Pretend,” has a classic shuffle with a charm that warrants plays on repeat. Juxtaposing cheeky lyrics with up-tempo melodies, Owen Youngs reveals that “this song deals with the sticky situation of being kept a secret. Not everybody’s been there, but anyone who has knows it doesn’t feel great. But just because something sucks doesn’t mean you can’t still have fun doing it.”

Get ready, because you’re about to feel. That’s what Tim Heidecker warns on Fear of Death’s opening track, “Prelude to Feeling.” And he means it. This is a Serious Album about Serious Topics – a doomed future, abandoning life in the city, and, you guessed it, the inevitability of death – and without a warning, those feelings might just sneak up on you.

Fear of Death is the follow-up to 2019’s What the Brokenhearted Do…, which chronicles a fictional divorce from his wife and the accompanying depression. Just like that one with its morose theme of a contentious breakup, the new album puts Heidecker squarely in the tradition of comedians and actors like Steve Martin, Hugh Laurie, and Donald Glover, eschewing his funny side in his music and leaving the jokes for the screen.

“I didn’t know that Fear of Death was going to be so focused on death when I was writing it,” Heidecker says. “It took a minute for me to stand back and look at what I was talking about to realize that, yes, I am now a middle-aged man and my subconscious is screaming at me: ‘You are getting old, dude! You are not going to live forever! Put down that cheeseburger!’”

We first saw Heidecker and Weyes Blood’s Natalie Mering performing together in the summer of 2019 when a video of the pair singing “Let it Be” backstage at a charity event went viral. But their story began earlier that year when Heidecker, having just become familiar with the singer, hosted her as a guest on his Office Hours Live podcast. Months later at a Weyes Blood record release show, Mering’s friend and keyboardist Drew Erickson (Jonathan Wilson, Dawes) proposed that the three of them go into the studio together. “This was a Thursday night,” recalls Heidecker. “We were recording on Monday. The rest of the story is on the record.”

“Drew was the perfect co-conspirator,” Heidecker says. “He knew all the right people to come play with us, and he had impeccable musical chops and taste! And Natalie, I believe, is a generational singer/songwriter, a major talent who glided into this project with so much grace and a good attitude. I think she could harmonize with a doorstop and make it sound dreamy.”

The all-star band on Fear of Death includes The Lemon Twigs’ Brian & Michael D’Addario, frequent collaborator Jonathan Rado, and string arrangements by Spacebomb’s Trey Pollard (Foxygen, Bedouine, The Waterboys, Natalie Prass). Weyes Blood sings principal on “Oh How We Drift Away,” and contributes backing vocals on the album. The resulting record is Heidecker’s biggest sounding and fleshed out album yet, featuring winding guitar, slow-building percussion, gentle keys, and a 14-piece string ensemble.

The album’s lead single, “Fear of Death,” is “about as ‘Dead’ as I get,” says Heidecker. Over an intricate guitar line, Heidecker’s voice intertwines with Mering’s elevative vocals as he swears off partying and risky decisions: “I don’t see the value in having fun // I think I’m done growing // fear of death is keeping me alive.” And while “Fear of Death” is an upbeat take on avoiding potentially fatal choices and avoiding death, “Nothing” comes to terms with it. “Nothing, that’s what it amounts to, they say // A black void waiting down the road for us one day,” Heidecker sings from a recording session that he calls “one of the more spiritual and emotional moments of my creative life.”

The band nods to J.J. Cale in the bluesy and smoky “Say Yes To Me” and The Faces in the uptempo ode to country living, “Come Away With Me.” The album’s haunting and sad closer “Oh How We Drift Away” began as a Bernie Taupin/Elton John-style writing experiment, with Heidecker supplying the words and Mering setting them to music. “I was very interested in trying to do something big in scope and otherworldly,” Heidecker says. “I hope it leaves you thinking.”

While this is serious music about serious topics, it’s not all doom and gloom. Heidecker says, “I hope my observations and meditations on death, the afterlife, the future, while at times a little dark and grim, offer a little comfort and catharsis for some people, as I don’t think I’m the only one who occasionally thinks about this stuff.”

“This record is a dream come true for me,” he continues. “I got to work with some of the best, and nicest, musicians in town who helped me take some shabby, simple tunes and turn them into something I’m really proud of.” Occasionally, an idea with the shabbiest, simplest beginnings will grow into something more special than ever intended. With Fear of Death, Heidecker and his band of friends have achieved just that. 

Released September 25, 2020

Tim Heidecker – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass

Josh Adams – drums, percussion
Eliana Athayde – bass
Mike Bloom – guitar
Brian D’addario – bass, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals, mellotron
Michael D’addario – drums, electric guitar, vocals
Zach Dawes – bass
Drew Erickson – piano, organ,drums, celeste, wurlitzer, mellotron, string synthesizer
Connor ‘Catfish’ Gallaher – pedal steel
Jordan Katz – horns
Benji Lysaght – electric guitar
Natalie Mering – vocals
Stella Mozgawa – drums, percussion
Jonathan Rado – bass, acoustic guitar, mellotron, piano, percussion, EMS Synthi
David Ralicke – horns

Strings arranged and conducted by Trey Pollard
Violins – Ellen Riccio, Adrian Pintea, Alison Hall, Jeannette Jang, Naima Burrs, Stacy Matthews, Treesa Gold, Meredith Riley
Violas – Molly Sharp, Kim Ryan, Johanna Beaver
Cellos – Schuyler Slack, Peter Greydanus, Stephanie Barrett

Their ear for melodic pop hooks remains intact but the indie jangle of their earlier work has given way to a more dramatic heavier sound. And their latest single “anyway” adroitly demonstrates how the band has developed and embraced that more expansive, widescreen sound. It’s a song of soaring emotion fuelled by grunge-fuzzed guitars and more hooks than a pre-Brexit Scottish fishing trawler.

It’s also a song that addresses the issue of trying to talk candidly about mental health as singer Alice Johnson explains:  To maintain a healthy mental state, we are advised to talk to others about how we feel, but that can be easier said than done as certain people might not feel confident in opening up. For the lyrics in “anyway” I wanted to highlight how it may be difficult for people to simply open up to others.

It’s challenging to try to explain an unexplainable feeling to someone and expect them to understand what they are going through when they don’t even understand it themselves. The chaos of imagery in the first 4 lines of the chorus that is then followed up by the lyrics “you never notice it anyway” expresses that even though they are trying to explain what they are going through; they feel like the person listening doesn’t care nor notices. As mental illness is an invisible illness, it is easy to feel that others don’t care about your mental state when the case may be, they haven’t even noticed.”

Swim School’s debut EP – ‘Making Sense of It All’ Releases Friday 13th August.