New Lower Topanga slideshows w/ music by Doug Lewis and DJ Lyf

Squishy’s First Beach Adventures!

Michael Jackson Held My Hand, Too

I should have come forward with this years ago…it’s been my little secret for too long but now I’m breaking my silence and going public with the fact that Michael Jackson held my hand, too…

The incident took place at Universal Studios during the filming of the music video, Scream, featuring Michael and his sister, Janet.  Not too long before this I had met Michael while working on the stage production and rehearsals for the Dangerous tour.

Both Mark Romanek, the director of Scream, and Tom Foden, the Production Designer, are uncompromising perfectionists. It’s been a real pleasure to work with both of them on numerous projects. In the film business, working with people who maintain a vision is significantly better than working for those who lack the big picture.  On this particular job I was working with the art department headed by Tom Foden.  Other members of the art department included Dana Garman, Richard Berg, Jamie Vickers, Paulie Pietsch, Mark Brooks, to name a few.

The Scream video may be the most expensive music video ever made, I believe the total production/post production budget was somewhere near 8.3 million dollars. And I can tell you the art department budget took a good chunk of that, maybe half.  The sets took up three full sized stages at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, with over a dozen sets placed on these three stages.  Once shooting began, my role was the ‘on-set dresser’, basically the ‘art department representative’ who remains on set at all times as the ‘face’ of the art department.  By the very nature of the position, the on-set dresser has close interaction with the talent while on the set.

This was a crazy big job, no doubt about it.  Three stages, over a dozen sets, twenty shoot days.

On the first day of shooting we had a 7am call, except Michael was detained until mid-afternoon.  Then hair and make-up, get him to the set and it’s 4:30 pm before we roll.  It became clear that we would be shooting nights for the next twenty or so days.  It was also clear that Michael liked it this way…working at night, that is.

Finally, we get down to business.  Michael makes his entrance and is met by Mark who explains the shot. The first footage we shoot with Michael is of him dancing on one of the many white floors seen throughout the video. Michael finds his position, about six feet from camera, does a couple of takes, then mentions how the floor (white vinyl linoleum) was feeling slick.  I move in with my tools, a fine grade steel wool, rag and a spray bottle with the ‘special sauce’ and scruff up the floor a bit with the wool then step back. Mark comes out from behind the camera, looks at my handiwork then calls out for Tom before asking me if we lost the ‘gloss’. I say no, give it a quick spray with the special sauce and it dries to a sparkle.  When I get up from my kneeling position Michael is smiling at me and says, “I remember you from the tour rehearsal”. I say, “That’s right”, and he asks me how my kids are doing, I say, “great, amazing.”  And then everything is back to normal, Michal does his bit and we’re off to a good start.

As predicted, crew call switched from 7am to 4pm, and we worked throughout each night until 4-6am.

In the final hours of the last night of shooting, we had moved to the ‘zen’ set.  This was it, last day, last set, last series of shots.  The art department had prepped the set with final touches before Michael was brought in to take his place on the zen podium in the center of the set.  Michael surveyed the scene and commented on how beautiful the set looked.  He was very relaxed and it was obvious he enjoyed sitting in the middle of this temporary temple.

When Mark called out for a piece of the ceiling to be trimmed, I grabbed a 12-step (ladder), scrambled to the top and began sawing.  In an unfortunate moment the portable saw kicked back and amputated a third of my left ring finger. Without word, I reached in my back pocket for my rag, wrapped my finger with it and stepped down off the ladder and exited the set.  I passed Tom on the way out and showed him what happened.  Tom escorted me to the edge of the stage and I laid down on the concrete.  It wasn’t long before an entire film crew of towering bodies was in a half circle looking down at me.  Union guys chewing gum.  3am.  Right?

Suddenly the crowd parts and Michael appears and stands there for a moment, leaning over me, looking down.  He looks at my left hand held in the air then he looks at me.  Then just like that he is on his knees by my right side and he picks up my right hand and holds it in his.  He looks me straight in the eye and tells me how sorry he was, he kept repeating how sorry he was, and then he had tears in his eyes and he held my hand until the ambulance came and took me away.

That next week, recovering at home, the gifts began arriving from Michael and Janet, tasteful and cool things like great soaps, a bathrobe, incense, a card.  Anyway, that’s my story.  Michael Jackson held my hand, too.  Michael, if you read this, thanks for caring.

Photos by Richard Berg.

The Cheeters – Lies In High Fidelity

Jim Nash Notes and Review – August 23, 2009

 

 WRITING THE SONG

    Songwriting is an anonymous gig. In Nashville, NSAI(Nashville Songwriters Association International)actually honors these people who create in dark and hidden corners. Music publisher Sam Rammage recalled the humble pride that Mary Chapin Carpenter had, after she signed a publishing deal with EMI. She already was a top selling recording artist at Columbia, but being honored as a songwriter was the certification that she needed.

      Few people, even those in the music industry and especially in radio knew who Tim Krekel was. The late Jamie Cohen knew him as a great guitar player when he was in the Sluggers, a band honoring that Louisville baseball bat. But people remembered those songs that he had written that were recorded for Van Morrison, Jimmie Buffett and Jason and the Scorchers among others. One song can make a writer financially solvent for life, as was the case for Gary B. White who wrote Long Long Time (Linda Ronstadt ). Writers like Barry Mann, Cynthia Wiel, Gerry Goffin, Neil Sedaka ,Carol King, and Laura Nyro  among others made their careers as songwriters, rather than as performers.

     John Fogarty, not Dylan, Lennon or McCartney wrote more songs that topped the radio charts then all of the hip writers while a member of Credence Clearwater, a band that was considered unhip in the era of alternative music. Yet CCR was the band that was ultimately credited as the nucleus for Grung. So, who were the great writers? Some are in Nashville, others are in L.A. and New York. Among them is Stephen Stills who wrote For What It’s Worth, about the Sunset Strip riots, when suburban kids fought against the L.A. County Sheriffs.  Another was Marvin Gaye, who penned What’s Going On. an anthem for returning Vietnam era vets who were getting hooked and zonked on Angel Dust (PCP) in South Central. Then there is Men Of Good Fortune, an ode to high school football players on Long Island.

      Some songs display anger, as when Manitoba rocker Brian Cummings wrote American Woman, probably the most anti-American song to ever get massive American airplay. Mississippian Paul Thorn wrote one of the best songs ever composed about blue collar angst in Burn Down The Trailer Park. Austinite Bruce Robison penned Angry All The Time about the personal tragedy of metaphase. Of course, Dolly Parton wrote an honest account of her own poverty and pride in Coat Of Many Colors, about the hand sewn garment that she wore as a child to a rural school. Her mother made the dress, and she was ridiculed by fellow grade schoolers for wearing an outfit made out of rags. Those hillbillies probably spend good money to attend Dollywood, the theme park that is part of her multitude of corporate holdings.

      Roger Alan Wade is considered by many in the know as one of the best tunesmiths to ever grace a Nashville stage. For years, he remained an obscure poet, playing in a Chattanooga bar until his exposure through the cult underground film Jackass. Tom Faulkner is also obscure, but his one released album Last Stop Texico is considered by some as one of the top albums in the world of Americana. His only exposure came in an obscure Sam Shepherd  film, Curse Of The Starving Class. Fellow Fort Worth native Tom Douglas is comfortable raising his family in Nashville, writing songs that occasionally border on rap and hip hop. Both Lee Ann Womack and Tim McGraw have reached the top of the charts covering songs that Tom has written. Patti Griffin remains in relative obscurity living in Austin but she too has found success in Nashville. Fellow Austinite Nancy Griffith had to travel to Nashville, because the folks back home paid little attention to her and critics belittled her music. It has taken Steve Earle to actually cover the Townes Van Zandt catalogue. because there was a myriad of songs beyond Poncho and Lefty and Big Freightliner in the Townes songbook.

       There are thousands of other great writers who have touched the soul and most remain in obscurity. Still, they continue to carry on. James Taylor probably wrote it best when he penned the line “That’s Me On The Jukebox.”. A Providence Rhode Island composer by the name of David Olney still travels the back roads of obscurity, but along with Guy Clark, remains one of the most prolific voices in Nashville. Songwriting is a craft, rather than an art. So is screenwriting, acting and performing. Most of the people who get up on that stage fail to understand that fact, and think that angst and anarchy is the goal. They refuse to study the form. That is why people like John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen continue to remain icons. They learned how to write.

RETRO AUSTIN

   For all of the pontification about Austin being the Live Music Capitol of the World, Austin is a pretty conservative music place. Performers tend to be conservative, or even retro in their performances. Punk and headbanger still prevail in the clubs. Among the more popular acts are The Bellevue Outfit who seem stuck in 1940’s Swing and Asleep At The Wheel, and Alvin Crow and The Pleasant Valley Boys, who celebrate the Western Swing of The Texas Playboys.

     Much of the original music sounds like rewrites of standards.

     Then there is Susan Choffel. She is perhaps the most refreshing young female performer on the national scene. During the 2009 SXSW, Ken Irwin, the head of Rounder Records attended just about every one of her performances.. Her music is a mixture of pop, jazz, rock and soul. Her writing skills are on a par with anybody in Hollywood and Nashville. She is young, has a great voice, and most importantly, she has a great and recordable voice.

     In a place, where performers try to out shock one another with their attire and appearance, she looks like the anonymous person next in line at the checkout counter. For all of the hype, few national acts have emerged from Austin. It has been several years since the last local act, Spoon broke through, and the hundreds of local performers in Austin seem to be in competition for the next frustration award. Somehow, staying conservative and going through the songbook of recent history seems to be the norm on the scene.

    Susan Choffel is not the norm, or the status quo.

 THE SECRET DIVA

  If ever a performer seemed to have an identity crisis, it is Essra Mohawk, the Philadelphian who has lived in almost total obscurity out in Bellevue Tennessee for more than a decade. When she played with The Mothers of Invention, she was Uncle Meat. She put out a hillbilly record under the alter ego of Essie Mae Hawk, and had songs recorded by Cindi Lauper and Lorrie Morgan among others. Even though she lives in suburbia, her lifestyle still borders between Hippie and Beatnik. She has put out records on major and obscure record labels. She has contributed music to children’s projects and is a devout Buddhist.

       Over the past few decades, she has developed a core audience who relish her as this kind of mad musical genius and creative artist. Like so many other performers, she lives in relative obscurity in the Nashville area, rarely playing shows in her own home town. Most people who treasure The Mothers of Invention, do not even know that she still exists, living in that two story Cape Cod style house on a hill, in a suburban sub-division.

     Still, whatever she calls herself, she is a mesmerizing performer who occasionally will irritate even her most loyal supporters with her off hand comments. Most of her recorded output is either in recycling bins, or out of availability. Yet, that loyal band of followers know that she is indeed an icon, no matter what she calls herself.

The CHEETERS – LIES IN HIGH FIDELITY – NEW ALBUM OUT NOW!

The Cheeters, Gunter Vile, Klaus Kertz and Dietrich Von Bone are an art band – their music is an art project.  The Cheeters were not built to last, they were about a go for broke moment – They went deep and deeper still – Buddha was in the back seat and Bacchus was at the wheel.  The Cheeters are an urgent confession, an uncompromising creative explosion marked by intelligence in the tradition of Captain Beefheart, Rage Against the Machine, and Nick Cave. The music is solid, inspired but it is the subtle lyrics, the sophisticated imagery and the complex multi-textured sound mix that is the band’s trademark.  There is humor and passion and the pure joy of invention in this music and the Cheeters always tell the truth and never pull their punches.  This music is made from stories told of lives lived, not fantasies, told by guys that got laid, not guys wishing they got laid.  What strikes one about listening to the Cheeters is how present they are, how in the zeitgeist, giving you the newest news, the latest edition. They embraced randomness and found objects.  What does that mean? I get a call from Gunter, car noise, clanking beer cans, he’s somewhere in Santa Fe, “Hey man, we just met this chick in a 7-11 while stopping for cigarettes and she says she can sing.  We’re headed back to the studio now.” There was no master plan.  They were on a wild ride, totally dedicated to the realm of the magical and committed and it was all holy.  It was dangerous, probably crazy and they were on a grand high, a high stakes transcendent journey reduced to a three box set.  That is how the dust settles on angels with outstretched wings.  Gunter Vile and Dietrich Von Bone had a shared sensibility that went back over twenty five years.  They wrote together and emerged as one voice.  They knew how to tread in darkness, they knew how to mine the madness and they knew the poetry of lust and outrage.  Gunter Vile is a master of the crooked phrase, a knowing wit and a musical sensibility informed by the bands of his psychedelic Marin County youth such as Tower of Power and the Sons of Champlin.  Von Bone was also a consummate wordsmith, steeped in the blues and in the dada-surrealist sensibility.  Listen to the Cheeters and you will hear echoes of absurdist poet, Tristian Tzara, as well as Kurt Weil and Bertolt Brecht.  Weil & Brecht.  Vile & Bone.  If they met they’d share respect. Klaus Kertz (aka Andy Kravitz), a two time Grammy winning producer, mixer, writer, engineer, and drummer was their soul brother, the catalytic third element and the maestro of the secret sauce. The Cheeters are about love, beauty, the ambiguous ephemeral, life, death and sex.  It’s not only rock and roll but you’ll like it.  M.D. Baer, July 4, 2009.

THE CHEETERS – LIES IN HIGH FIDELITY, available on iTunes, CD Baby, you know where to go.  Recorded June 8, 2007 to September 11, 2008 in Montauk, Philly, Santa Fe, NM, Venice, CA.  Lies In High Fidelity is the first of a three volume set.  Check out THE CHEETERS at www.thecheeters.com (under construction), and www.myspace.com/thecheeters.  For a review copy please email Cheeters management, Billy Bollocks – billybollocks@mac.com.

Giant Black Marlin on the Great Barrier Reef – Photos by Hans Feurer, Part 2

Another stunning series of photographs by legendary photographer, Hans Feurer, captured aboard The Avalon, Captain Peter Bristow at the helm.  I’m guessing this fish weighs in somewhere around 600-700lbs, more or less.

FRAME 1:  Me and a big fish, eye to eye… 

 

FRAME 2: Reaching for the wire…

 

FRAME 3: Same day but a different fish, smaller, perhaps 400-500lbs, but similar action.  I’ve got the wire…holding steady with my left hand with a couple, three wraps in my right.  The bait fish is visible off the head of the big fish.  As we will see, the hook is firmly in place.

FRAME 4:  The big fish is turning a bit, the bait still visible at its lower jaw.

FRAME 5:  Moments later, the marlin has come around and I’m grabbing wire by the fistfull.

FRAME 6:  What’s left of the baitfish (head only) can be clearly seen, as can the 12/0 hook planted firmly in the lower jaw of the Black Marlin.  In the lower left of frame, the white tag pole is plunging a tag into the big fish.

 

FRAME 7:  A split second later…

FRAME 8:  Up close and personal!

FRAME 9: One last look.  Still hanging on, waiting for the wire to be cut…so much for that!

Giant Black Marlin on the Great Barrier Reef – Photos by Hans Feurer

This rare sequence of photographs by legendary Swiss photographer Hans Feurer captures an unusual moment in the world of big game marlin fishing – breaking wire on a black marlin.  The year is 1979, The action takes places aboard the Avalon, owned and skippered by Peter Bristow.  The location is somewhere on the Australian Great Barrier Reef.  Hans had contacted Captain Peter Bristow indicating his love of the big fish and requesting that he be given permission to ride along and take photographs of the action. Permission was granted and Hans spent two weeks with us documenting the experience of living, diving, fishing, eating, drinking and partying on the GBR.  What a pleasure to have Hans on board!  Good times, for sure!  The ‘wireman’ (me!) wears the blue visor, the 2nd mate, ‘Woodduck’, holds the tag stick used to implant a research tag in the fish before release.

FRAME 1:  An unusually calm day on the reef.  For those unclear about the particulars of this type of fishing, the tackle is 130lb test with a 30′ wire leader attached by swivel to the end of the line.  At the end of the wire is, of course, the hook attached to the bait fish.  In this frame the fish (approx. 300-400lbs) is about as ‘green’ as green gets, and has been brought to the boat quite quickly by the angler, the swivel reeled up to the rod tip and I have already taken some good ‘wraps’ on the wire.  The rod tip is low, as it should be, resting at my shoulder, and I have myself braced against the transom of the Avalon.  Note the red handled wire cutters tucked into Woodduck’s speedos, used to cut the wire after the tag is in place.  Follow the action and you will see that on this particular occasion he will not need them…

 

FRAME 2:  The fish is airborne – much of the wire is still just underneath the surface of the water…but not for long!

 

FRAME 3:  The fish has continued its explosive jump.  Woodduck is signaling Capt. Bristow to halt any forward movement of the boat but it’s too late – the wire has snapped and the fish has broken free.  Breaking wire on a fish is not the ideal situation but it sometimes happens on smaller fish like this one.  

 

FRAME 4:  My expression is one of real pain because the wire has snapped back and nailed me in the face – not fun.  Zoom in and you can see it curled and hanging off my shoulders, trailing off behind me. Another great day of fishing on the GBR!

 

FRAME 5:  The letter from Hans that was included with the photographs.  

 

Jim Nash – Les Paul, Nashville and Media Recovery

Jim Nash is an gifted writer and we welcome him for what we hope will be a weekly column.  Take it away, Jim!

 

REMEMBERING LES PAUL

   Les Paul, born Lester William Polfus, was the man who created the nucleus for modern recorded music. Along with his wife, Mary Ford, he developed the concept of echo and musical overdub. He also put together the concept of electrifying the hollow body guitar. Think about the importance of his innovations. Chuck Berry, Bo Diddly, Dick Dale, Duane Eddy, Link Wray and thousands of others took Paul’s creativity to the next level. Along with Jim Marshall and Leo Fender, they laid down the bedrock for modern recording and playback through multi-track overdubbing and playback, and the ability to create a world on a six-string instrument.

       For most of his 93 years, he remained an obscure icon. He played in an obscure and unheralded pickup jazz trio at Iridium in mid-Manhattan, and guitar heroes from around the world would come, listen to him and pay homage. Without his initial creativity, one has to wonder what the music would have sounded like.

      John McLaughlin, Wes Montgomery, B.B. King, George Benson, Gabor Szabo, Eric Clapton, Chet Atkins are among the millions in every genre. Overdubbing helped create things like the legendary harmonies of Jan and Dean, The Four Seasons, Delaney and Bonnie. It gave rise to the multi-track studio and remote recording, editing and overdub.

     Rock and roll was the baby that Paul, along with Marshall (and those early cumbersome amps) and Leo Fender brought to commercial music. It helped create the blues on Chicago’s Marshall Street and the country soul in Muscle Shoals Alabama. The wonderful overdubbing that Jim Guercio brought to those early Chicago and Blood, Sweat and Tears sessions in that small Gramercy Park studio in Manhattan.

     There would be no modern rock heroes like Rick Derringer, Jimi Hendryx and Stevie Ray Vaughan, no Phil Spector Wall of Sound, no heavy metal without these early innovators. Rest in peace Les Paul – 1905 2009

 

THE NEXT NASHVILLE INVASION

     In London, New York and Hollywood, everybody seems to be bemoaning the death of commercial pop music. Sub-categories like jazz, gospel, and classical, as well as ethnic music still has a limited market, but pop music and the behemoths (namely corporate record labels) have mostly fallen to the wayside.

      In the era of commercial rock (late 1960’s, early 70’s) the gold record, and then the platinum and multi-platinum record was the measure of success. At Black Rock (Columbia) any group or artist who did not sell 50,000 units was dropped. The major record corporations (Columbia, RCA, MCA and WEA) not only owned the airplay share, but they owned the distribution networks as well. The smaller independent record companies had to scramble for the crumbs.

      Numerous factors played a part in the demise of the commercial record companies. The first came with the introduction of the cassette tape. A consumer could re-record over an existing tape, and with the advent of more sophisticated home equipment, could actually duplicate a commercial recording.

    Around 1990, the record companies began moving into corporate mergers. Columbia bought out Sony, WEA became part of Time Warner. MCA, Capitol and RCA all were submerged into corporate conglomeration. Then, the internet came along and the consumer could download music, legal, and illegal on a home computer.

     Further, rock and pop were becoming boring. Nashville, never a creative center, began releasing music that was watered down folk and rock, and an audience, tired of a mixture of pabulum began buying records that were neither urban grunt or industrial noise. Though never an innovator, Nashville moved from tape and vinyl to compact disc. They also began to incorporate Soundscan, a computer system that could track via barcode.

      The music was watered down, but acts like Brooks and Dunn, Garth Brooks, and Shania Twain could incorporate rock showmanship and Vegas hype into the act. By 1991, there were over twenty major record labels in Nashville, and while the rest of the industry was downsizing, the place was a boomtown. It was the last house on the block.

    Like much of the industry, Nashville faced the ultimate industry downsize; Columbia and RCA merged, while the remnants of Arista, Atlantic, Mercury, Elektra, were gobbled up by the corporate owners. Yet, it might well have been the backwoods, conservative nature of the beast that saved Nashville.

     Unlike the other bastions of commercialism, Nashville’s bread and butter was always publishing. The music pitching business kept the city alive for the better part of a century. It is an industry within an industry. There are few poetic bards on the scene. Just journeymen who get together five days a week and write clichés. Song pluggers pitch these ditties to producers, advertising agencies and television. The writer could barely give a damn about a record deal. Often, they are under contract to create on an assembly line. The writer spends the day jetting from session to session, often in small offices, meeting with others and throwing around ideas. The idea is not a hit single, but a hold on a song.

     Over the past two decades, thousands of dreamers have moved to Nashville, not as concerned with the record deal, as a publishing one. Demo studios flourish to knock out writer publishing tapes. Because of the conservative nature of the audience, product coming out of Nashville is less likely to be swapped or downloaded on the Internet. There are still record companies in this Tennessee city. The most successful are the Christian and Gospel ones. Archival records from a catalogue can be sold to an audience that remembers. Nashville sells product through discounters like Target and Wal-Mart. They sell those trite songs to any buyer for commercials, film or television.

      Lately, there has been a pilgrimage to Nashville. Dissatisfied punk rockers from everywhere, boring angst composers, illiterate songwriters all see Nashville as the last frontier. There are still record labels in this place. There are actually booking agencies and music publishers. Yes, while the music industry has become a has-been in other places, the place that they call Music City is thriving.

     But the reality is that for all of the hype going on, there are problems. These newcomers might not be willing to face the demands that Nashville imposes. Songwriting is not an art, but rather a craft. Are these people willing to spend sixty hours a week sitting in close quarters, writing with others? The reality is that Nashville songwriters create for markets, not for art. The record labels in Nashville are not looking for artistes. They have a specific audience. Nashville is into image, not creativity. The same holds true for the booking agencies.

     Still, the hopefuls are flocking to Music City. What they discover beyond the veneer of hipness on Demonbrian Street, Five Points and Hillsboro Village is a conservative money orientated music industry. The performers are dancing puppets, created for markets. The tourist spots like Lower Broadway demand human performing jukeboxes who play for the crowds. That is the reason that Nashville has survived. It plays to the market and resists trends, and fads. So, the pilgrims go to the new Mecca, but they better leave their creativity back home.

 

 MEDIA RECOVERY

      There is this character on Fox News Channel by the name of Glenn Beck. He is a righteous character, who always seems on the verge of having a stroke. He is also a divorced member of the Church of Jesus Christ, Latter Day Saints (Mormons), and a recovering alcoholic. There is also a recovering drug addict on syndicated radio who seems to have daily cardiac arrest while on the air. He seems as paranoid as Beck. His name is Rush Limbaugh. He loves his paranoia. Thousands of loyal listeners share this fear of the world, and his conspiracy theories. . What Rush fears most is the reality of why he was fired as a disc jockey on KSHE radio in Saint Louis two decades ago. Like Beck, he has secrets in the closet. A third addict in recovery is Alex Jones, the man behind the Inside Job paranoia in regard to 911. Jones insists that Bush and Cheney were somehow involved in the bombings.

     All three believe in the conspiracy theories. All three are in drug recovery. These three have a massive army of true believers. A basic tenet of 12 Step recovery is admitting guilt. So, millions of listeners share their paranoia about Big Brother. They all fuel this fear of a militia style government that will take away the freedoms that they never had. Jones, Limbaugh and Beck are crazies who have become the new truth dispensers. This is on air tabloid journalism. The reality is that these three men have a massive army of followers. A further reality is that they spread paranoia and innuendo to others who elaborate this madness. They exist, because their rights are protected by the constitution and their freedom to speak. They have gained a public trust. They have become the talking heads of the underground.

Insects vs. Robots (7-25-09)

Insects vs. Robots

7/25/2009 8:00 PM at Time Warp Music w/ CD6 and The Shrine!!
12257 Venice Blvd., Venice, California 90291
Cost: 5 moneys
awesome rockinroll freakout business!

The New White Trash

New music from the NWT coming soon…

 

Big Fish Blue Water

These incredible images are from my pal John Harding and were taken off the Great Barrie Reef, Australia in 1975 aboard The Avalon with Captain Peter Bristow.  The footage of the Black Marlin was shot on 16mm film for use in the film Islands In The Stream, based on a Hemmingway novel.  Check it out:

 

 

 

Cause for Concern

While the fashion in rock for most of the 1990s was hard-edged and macho, Cause for Concern, a band that “just happens” to be all-female, produced music that is melodic, poignant, sweet, and at the same time, high-energy. Their music is a direct result of admiring female artists such as Joan Jett, Chrissy Hynde and Heart. CFC’s style is described as a combination of modern pop with a lot of rock-n-roll energy.

In this album, ALL I WANT, their songs range from introspective ballads to let-loose rock. Singer Suzanne Graham (who lives at the VAC compound) has been compared to Melissa Etheridge. With songs evoking loneliness, failed relationships, and hopes of finding love, her vocals radiate an undeniable rawness.

Charles Blass and NYC Radio

My good friend Charles Blass is Executive Director of  Lovevolv, dedicated to healing through arts and education.  Lovevolv services artists and educators with production and programming; research, restoration, archiving, marketing and consulting. For 25 years Charles has programmed Jazz, World and Experimental music at WKCR in New York at Columbia University, inviting artists to perform live on-air.  Charles serves as host and producer as well as mix and recording engineer.  He has produced and programmed dozens of marathon radio festivals in tribute to Jazz artists, including among others Sun Ra, Marshall Allen, Sonny Sharrock, Pharoah Sanders, Ronald Shannon Jackson, David Amram, Frank Zappa, Gunter Hampel, Thomas Chapin, Gene Perla, and Jimi Hendrix.  Charles has interviewed hundreds of musicians and maintains a huge recorded archives of interviews and performances.

Some of his live radio concerts include:  regular Sunday evening “Live Constructions” programs; Alice Coltrane Tribute; James Brown Tribute; multiple Jimi Hendrix birthday tributes; Vernon Reid; Debashish Bhattacharya; Samir Chatterjee; Ramesh Misra; Snehasish Mozumder; Gunter Hampel; Kali Z. Fasteau; Jef Lee Johnson; Brisa Roche; Forro in the Dark; Howling Makams; Robert Dick; Tom Chess; On Ka’a Davis; Nick Gianni; Sean Noonan’s Brewed By Noon; Haale; Morley; Monika H Band; M. Nahadr; Kenny Wolleson’s Himalayas; Tribo; Harriet Tubman; numerous Sun Ra ‘SunRadio’ Marathons; Live Remote from Sun Ra House, Philadelphia; Sun Ra Arkestra Live Remote from Brooklyn Sugar, Brooklyn, NY; Live Remote from Drom, NYC featuring Burnt Sugar, Pheeroan akLaff and Warren Smith.  In 2006, Charles collaborated with Colin Faber to form LiveWired Music, a music production network.  See http://LiveWiredMusic.org.

Some pics from Charle’s world…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Phil De Void, aka Andy Kravitz, of The New White Trash with Robby Krieger, Arthur Barrow and others

Phil De Void with Robby Krieger of The Doors at Arthur Barrow’s Lotek Studio:

 

With Norwood Fisher of Fishbone and Kristen Vigard:

 

With the amazing and masterful Arthur Barrow at Lotek studios:

Phil De Void with Norwood Fisher and camera crew

Phil De Void

And again…

Mayumi Nishimura

Mayumi Nishimura is one of my favorite people.  I met Mayumi in Becket, MA in 1985 when she was living and teaching at the Michio Kushi Macrobiotic Institute in Becket, located in the beautiful Berkshire Mountains of Western Mass. Mayumi taught me how to cook delicious, wholesome and healing food.  More recently, for the past several years (maybe 6-7) Mayumi has been the private and exclusive chef for Madonna and her family.  Very recently, Mayumi has decided to move on and persue teaching and writing.  The first pic is of Mayumi and her young family at Becket in 1985.  Mayumi sent the other pics just the other day from Japan.  Mayumi is a healer, big time, and one of the really beautiful people on this planet.

 

Becket, MA 1985

 

Mayumi today:

 

 

 

From The Moon To The Earth

Tomorrow, July 20th, marks the 40th anniversary of the first human moon landing.  This pic is the lunar module making its way back to the mothership.  The moon below, earth in the background.

 

Beowülf

Beowülf is a crossover thrash metal band formed in Venice, California in 1981 by Michael Alvarado, Dale Henderson, Mike Jensen and Paul Yamada. The group never gained a large mainstream success, but is considered one of the first bands that defined the “Venice Scene” in the 1980s, along with Suicidal Tendencies, Neighborhood Watch, No Mercy, Excel and Uncle Slam, who all played a mix of skate punk, hardcore, heavy metal and thrash. So far, Beowülf has released five studio albums. They split up in 1995, but reformed in 2000.

Next show: August 19, 8:00 p.m. @ The Blue Monkey in Hollywood.

Just a lil more life thru my eyes

Wade De Void and The New White Trash

Look out for the upcoming CD realease from NWT, a VAC Production.  This band means business.  Here is Wade De Void:

 

 

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Venice, Abbot Kinney, early-mid 90’s

These are a slice of life from the Milwood/Electric Ave. neighborhood:

 

Party at Jamie Cohen’s house on Electric Ave. (between Palms and Milwood).

From left:  Mr. Dougie, Bailey, Jane and Malia Lewis, Jamie Cohen with hat on, Maria Obrien in black dress…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jamie Cohen, Ramsey Midwood and friend…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nina Sussman!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kids birthday party in the backyard of 615 Milwood…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Cecilia!!  At Jamie Cohen’s…

 

 

Jamie Cohen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Larry Gilbert at right…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jamie Cohen, Maria O’Brien and friend…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cecilia Weiss, Jamie Cohen, Mark Brooks…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jamie Cohen and Mr. Dougie, 615 MIlwood…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bailey and Mr. D.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Malia Lewis…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Malia…waiting for cake…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bailey, Mika and Maila…

 

 

 

 

 

Cecilia…Birthday Girl…with Bailey looking on…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jamie…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…and again…

 

 

Stan Behrens with Andy Kravitz @ VAC

Stan “The Man” Behrens on the left with mega-producer Phil De Void, aka, Klaus Kertz, aka Andy Kravitz making music in the VAC studio.   Also a  founding member of THE CHEETERS  Phil De Void  and his clan Wade, Cross, Skip, Ova, Liberty and Cherry De Void have been recording their art funk and roll band, THE NEW WHITE TRASH.  More on the NWT soon…

Parrot Talk

My friend Arthur Robbins sent me this funny story from Newton, MA:

 

Here in the suburbs of Newton I’m used to gigantic wild turkeys, all sorts of local birds, rabbits, raccoons, hedgehogs, white tailed deer in winter, and the occasional shy coyote, newt or garter snake. But walking up to the front door this morning, I didn’t notice a quiet green parrot perched on the handrail until I was reaching for my keys to open the door. Startled me! He was calm but seemed tired, haggard — demoralized. I fed him a chocolate chip cookie that was serendipitously forced on me at Whole Foods. He ate it with growing enthusiasm, and I gave him a big drink of water. He revived a bit, then fell asleep. I petted him, talked to him. He made as if to bite my, by then gloved hand, but didn’t. Started waking up my arm. Sweet, friendly bird. What to do? 

Was just about to start calling the town to see if anybody had reported a missing psittaciforme, when Steve, the UPS guy showed up and knew who his owners were. His name is Jimmy. Lives about a half mile away. Seems he’d gotten out of his cage and had been missing for a week or so. It’s been raining here for quite some time. Poor guy! I got him in a box, took him home, and as nobody was there, put him in his large outdoor cage and said goodbye. Snapped a few photos of our visit with my iPhone:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jamie Cohen

Another fond look back at Jamie Cohen…

 

 

 

Jamie Cohen and Thomas ‘T-Bird’ Wingate III

 

Cairns, Australia and The Great Barrier Reef, Part 2

A giant Black Marlin lit-up and in full flight.  This fish is approx. 800 pounds.  It was tagged and released.  The fishing line is visible cutting through the water at lower right.  Not a spectacular photo in terms of acrobatics, but it shows the prowess of a big fish.

 

This is life on the GBR in a nutshell.  Clients fly in via seaplane, landing in the relative calm of the waters immediately inside one of the long ribbons of the barrier reef.  The larger of the vessels is the ‘mothership’, behind that is the game boat followed by the ‘painter’, or dingy.  Typically ,clients spend four days to two weeks living on the reef.  Captain and crew live on the mothership for the entire fishing season.

 

Chasing down a Black Marlin.  The long white stick is used to insert a research tag in the fish before release.  Yours truly to the right of frame.  Angler is Rupert Murdoch. Photo by Peter Bristow.

 

Rupert Murdoch!

Having spent many a day and night hanging out with Rupert on the sea and sun drenched GBR, I can say he is possessed with a keen mind and a quick wit.  Always the gentleman, an overall great guy and a determined fisherman!  Photo by Doug Lewis

 

The author as a young fisherman…

 

Late afternoon cruising the outer edge of the reef.  Lizard Island in the background.

 

Me and Captain Bristow…

 

A lighter moment on the GBR…

Peter with daughter on board.