Hey! The Gruesomes Radio Special & Show # 391

When talking of Garage Rock in the 80s, in Canada it was nearly impossible to avoid the topic of The Gruesomes, a four piece Garage Punk band that would become a big selling underground act. Forming in 1985, the group initially featured John Davis (bass) and Eric Davis (drums) and guitarist/vocalist Bobby Beaton, while in their early stages the band were just learning their instruments, with drummer Eric Davis reportedly using trashcan lids and a snare as his drum set up, when the three met Gerry Alvarez (guitar/occasional vocalist), The Gruesomes were born. Taking influences from early 60s Garage Rock and R&B influenced Garage music from the likes of the Pebbles, Back To The Grave compilations and 70s Punk, the band decided to find a middle ground between the two genres. As a result, The Gruesomes fused together elements of 60s Garage Rock with the sneerful, snotty energy and attitude of 70s Punk. The band also has stated that they were influenced by bad television programs from the 60s/70s, which is rather fitting given the origin of their name. The band took their name from The Flintstones television program, they had some scary neighbours who were known as The Gruesomes. Armed with 60s styled mop top hairdos and vintage 60s suits from second hand shops, The Gruesomes began playing live gigs around Montreal shortly after their formation.

Being very young, all of the band members were between the ages of 17 and 19, the band relied on humour and banter onstage combined with their energy and enthusiasm for their music more so than their musical abilities in their early days. Their first two releases came in the form of EPs, first the Jack The Ripper EP and then the Unchained EP, both released in 1985 on the Primitive Records label. The band quickly built up a fan base, and by 1986 the band had released their first full length album, Tyrants of Teen Trash. Released on Og Records, Tyrants of Teen Trash sold well not only in Canada, but in the US and Europe as well. Combined with their large local following, the group hit the road, touring constantly and recording which resulted in two solid back to back albums, 1987’s Gruesomania, and 1988’s Hey! The bands status grew in popularity, they charted at number one on numerous alternative playlists and in high positions on many music based charts. 

In 1987, The Gruesomes drummer Eric Davis left the group with John Knoll joining The Gruesomes ranks. As a result Knoll brought more of a Soul and R&B backbeat to the group as opposed to Eric, who had more of a 70s Punk vibe. Despite this change up, the group remained enormously popular in the music underground, captivating audiences with their sweaty, energetic live sets.  From the very first Gruesomes release, they not only displayed their primitive Garage Punk stylings, but there was also an underlying Surf Rock influence that is not always brought up when discussing the bands music.  While it is not as prevalent on their first few releases, it pops up in a more dominate form on 1987's Gruesomania on songs such as "Whirlpool" and on 1988's Hey! on songs such as "Hey!" and "El Diablo". Towards the end of their initial releases in the 80s the bands sound leaned more towards an R&B direction, while still keeping a Garage/Punk ethic, partially due to their new drummer most likely. A sign of their ultimate expansion can be heard on the song "I Can Dig It", a song that is one of their longest recordings to date. The song explores a more Psychedelic nature in the vein of The Stooges and other 60s Psych groups. This style would later be explored in further detail with guitarist Gerry Alvarez's next group The Gerry Alvarez Odyssey.  In addition to The Gruesomes underground popularity, The Gruesomes had two music videos that received high rotation on MuchMuch and Musique Plus in Canada in the late 80s, the video’s were for 1987’s “Way Down Below” and 1988’s “Hey!”. Despite being at the height of their popularity, the rigorous effects of constant touring finally took its toll on The Gruesomes and in 1990, they called it quits.

Ten years later The Gruesomes returned with what is often called one of their best album's, 2000's Cave-In!. The album was just as good as their previous releases and even featured several songs that the band had played live in the late 80s, but never made onto an official studio album. The band headed to Europe for touring purposes and also toured in parts of the US and Canada. In 2003, a retrospective compilation of Gruesomes material was released on Sundazed Records entitled Gruesomology 1985-1989. 

Bobby Beaton and John Davis have since formed their R&B group Fuad & The Feztones, whose name Fuad Ramses originates from a pen name that Bobby Beaton used to use when writing Gruesomes linear notes. They released a seven inch EP entitled Valley Of The Kings in 2002 and in 2008 they released their first full length album Beeramid. Gruesomes guitarist Gerry Alvarez formed The Gerry Alvarez Odyssey, whose music takes influence from 60s Psychedelic music. Gerry has released two full length albums as The Gerry Alvarez Odyssey, Candy Prankster in 2006 and Omega Tea Time in 2010. In 2007, Ricochet Sound released Live In Hell a live Gruesomes album from a show they played at the Pub Flamingo in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1989. In 2008, all of The Gruesomes albums were re-issued on CD via Ricochet Sound with bonus tracks, you can even find their 1985 Garbage Pail Kids Demo done by Gerald Van Herk and Tony Dewald of Montreal’s Deja Voodoo on the Hey! Re-issue. In addition to The Gruesomes full length releases, they have been featured on numerous compilation album series including the Og Records series It Came From Canada and the What Wave compilation series. The Gruesomes perform live on occasion.

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The following interview was done between myself Dave Konstantino (host of Revolution Rock), Gerry Alvarez of The Gruesomes/The Gerry Alvarez Odyssey and John Davis of The Gruesomes/Fuad & The Feztones. We talk about The Gruesomes early days, Surf Rock, recording and both of Gerry and John's respective current musical groups the Gerry Alvarez Odyssey and Fuad & The Feztones.

RR: Let’s talk about the early days, how exactly did you guys meet and when did you decide to move forward as a band?

Gerry: We got to know each other from mutual friends who were into the same kind of music. I had been playing with different musicians for a while and was looking for a band to play with when I heard John, Bob and Eric got instruments and wanted to jam. That was back in the winter of 1985, we were between the ages of 16 and 19. I showed them three chord tunes such as “Gloria” in John’s basement in NDG. We came up with a name, practiced a bunch of times, till we were moldy enough to play basement parties and have a bunch of friends over to watch us play, including my old buddies Shawn and Stu. Back in those days we had no video games or DVD, so we didn’t do much else than play guitar and listen to vinyl records most of the time.

RR: The Gruesomes were known for having a large local fan base, but what do you remember about your first live gig? Where was it and why do you think your music appeals to your fans?

Gerry & John: Some guys from a local band called Terminal Sunglasses saw us play at a party in The Davis house basement and asked us to open up for them at Le Steppe on Parc Avenue in 1985. I was a bit nervous cause I overheard some guy say we were gonna be the next Rolling Stones. We got popular right away, a Local Paper, the MTL Mirror wrote about us a lot gave us favourable reviews. It seemed that every second weekend we another gig lined up. We played and toured constantly for years after. It all happened quite quickly. I guess it was cause we had a look, style and a different sound than anything going on… a schtick. Plus a lot of teenage energy to spare, you can hear it on those records. We dressed the part and played exactly what we were really into which was 60’s garage rock. We could perform anywhere from the toughest skinhead punk dives and college frat holes to the big venues and still get the crowds rockin’.

RR: Something that isn’t always brought up when talking about The Gruesomes is your Surf Rock influence. You have several straight up Surf Rock songs, was there a plan do Surf styled songs and do you think that Surf Rock and Garage are connected in anyway and why?

Gerry: Yeah, sure they are connected, it’s that guitar sound, the tremolo and the reverb, we loved that. They were simple to play, riffy, few chords and sounded great played loud, sloppy and dirty.

John: There was not really a surf movement back then so anyone who liked sixties tunes tended to also dig surf.

RR: What are some of your favourite all time albums?

Gerry: Amongst my favourites I would say “We Are Paintermen” by The Creation, The Standels “Dirty Water”, The Beatles “Rubber Soul” and “Revolver”, “Tomorrow”, The Seeds”, The Who’s “My Generation”, The Kinks Singles collection, Thee Milkshakes “19th Nervous Breakdown” and “Isolation Drills” from Guided by Voices.

John: The Gruesomes were really into the pebbles and back from the grave comps. That along with releases on the Midnight records label from NYC were our main inspiration.

RR: The Gruesomes recorded some demos with members of Deja Voodoo in 1985 referred to as the Garbage Pail Kids Demos. What do you remember about recording those demos and how did you get Gerard and Tony (of Deja Voodoo) to record them?

Gerry: We taped “For All I Care” in John’s basement with Gerard and Tony which was our first recording. I remember Bobby fiddling with my distortion pedal, while I had the guitar and earphones on, till a happy expression came on my face to signal him that the sound was good. The Voodoo guys had seen us play live and were interested in adding us to their “It Came From Canada” punk compilations on OG records.

John: We recorded a total of 5 songs which we handed out to clubs to get gigs. WE cut out the logo from the Garbage Pail Kids stickers (which were popular at the time) and stuck it to a photocopied photo of the band. It is really primitive!

RR: Gruesomania and Hey! were both released within a year of each other. Were the songs all recorded at the same time? Where and when were those albums recorded and how did the recording process differ from the recording of Tyrants of Teen Trash?

Gerry & John: Tyrants of Teen Trash was recorded on 8 track while Gruesomania and Hey! were recorded on 24 track. Hey! and Guesomania were not recorded at the same time, “Gruesomania” we did in 1987 and “Hey” was in 1988. We were supposed to go on a tour in the summer of ‘87 to promote Tyrants but got into a car accident, coming back from a show in Toronto at Lee’s Palace, wrecked our van, so we did “Gruesomania” instead. That was a good thing coming out of a bad one. They were recorded pretty much the same way.

John: In retrospect, we should have stuck to 8 track recording. We really had no idea what we were doing. “Hey” sounded better but people never dug it as much as “Tyrants”. “Gruesomania” had stronger song writing but terrible recording!

Gerry & John: Our best record is “Cave-In” I would say. We are all very proud of that LP.

RR: The Gerry Alvarez Odyssey differs musically from the music that was created with The Gruesomes, how would you describe your new groups sound?

Gerry: The Odyssey is an evolution of the genre or style, I’ve always been into the same guitar sounds and music, it’s just taking it further. Having my own band allows me to be more experimental and do things that are out of The Gruesomes mold which is a nice change. I don’t want to bend over backwards to recreate a copy of The Gruesomes, it would probably be impossible for me to pull off without the other guys anyway, not really interested in doing that. The Odyssey is who I am now with Flavio Monopoly as drummer and producer, it’s more psychedelic rock and pop with a bit of garage cause that’s were I come from. The Gruesomes were early to mid 60’s purists while the Odyssey is very 60’s influenced but with more of a contemporary sound and feel.

RR: How has the song writing process differed from your days with The Gruesomes as opposed to The Gerry Alvarez Odyssey? Is the process pretty much the same or different and why?

Gerry: The Gruesomes didn’t have computers or fancy demo recording equipment. These days I make demos at home on my Mac. After a while, I learned how to do it all on my own, it’s just a natural progression.

RR: What are your plans for the future musically? Are you working on anything new with any of your current music projects?

Gerry: We just played an Odyssey show in Toronto at The Sister and are planning on more gigs in the Ontario, Quebec area. I’ve been living in Toronto for ten years now. I’m always working on ideas for tunes, we’ll see when the next CD comes, we just released “Omega Tea Time” a year ago so no rush for a new one yet.

RR: Fuad & The Feztones differs musically from the music that was created with The Gruesomes, how would you describe your new groups sound?

John: The Feztones play music from a slightly earlier time-period that the Gruesomes. Bobby has really been into the 1960-64 twist sound for just about forever. The music we play is similar to what one might have heard at a frat house party circa 1962. We throw in this whole middle-east/ Egyptian thing as an excuse to make bad puns in our song writing. We had a real toga party last year that was a total blast.

RR: How has the song writing process differed from your days with The Gruesomes as opposed to Fuad & The Feztones? Is the process pretty much the same or different and why?

John: The process is about the same, only the reference points have changed. In the Feztones we ask ourselves "how would some dumb sixties teenager interpret James Brown?" as opposed to the Gruesomes where we imagined how the same kid would interpret the Stones and the Kinks. We have always loved early sixties R&B only now we get to play it exclusively. Also, we don't have to resist writing goofy contrived words anymore – in fact our wordplay and gag lyrics are so important we even included a lyric sheet with our CD. The Gruesomes never did that!

RR: Raye (from Ricochet Sound) tells me that Tyrants of Teen Trash is getting re-issued on Vinyl, do you prefer to listen to music on vinyl or digitally (CD/ipod) and why?

Gerry: Well, I grew up listening to vinyl and will always enjoy that but now I listen to my ipod for the convenience. Don’t really like mp3, much prefer CD quality, with a good pair of speakers or earphones. I got my computer hooked through the stereo.

RR: Are there any further planned Gruesomes releases in the future?

Gerry: Not really.

John: Not really but who knows.

RR: When was the last time that The Gruesomes played together and do you plan on playing anymore live shows in the future?

Gerry & John: The last time we played was in Montreal for a Garage festival with the likes of ? and the Mysterians, The Cynics and more in 2009. We don’t have anything planned for now, we’re all busy with our new bands,

Gerry: Bob and John have been playing with The Feztones for a while now. It just gets a little more complicated each time to get the old band together for a show once every two years, it’s how it goes. You never know.

More info on The Gruesomes, The Gerry Alvarez Odyssey and Fuad & The Feztones can be found at:

The Gruesomes Myspace Page
Ricochet Sound Facebook Page
The Gerry Alvarez Odyssey Myspace Page
Fuad & The Feztones Myspace Page

Gruesomes Play List:

1. No No No (Cave-In! 2000)
2. I Can Tell (Gruesomania 1987)
3. You Gotta Believe Me (Cave-In! 2000)
4. You're Not The Boss of Me (Cave-In! 2000)
5. Thanks For Nothing (Hey! 1988)
6. Won't You Listen? (Hey! 1988)
7. I Try (1985 Garbage Pail Kids Demo)
8. For All I Care (1985 Garbage Pail Kids Demo)
9. Bikers From Hell (Live In Hell 2007)
10. Jack The Ripper (Part II) (Jack The Ripper EP 1985)
11. No More Lies (Jack The Ripper EP 1985)
12. What's Your Problem? (Tyrants of Teen Trash 1986)
13. Things She Does To Me (Jack The Ripper EP 1985)
14. Fuad & The Feztones - Valley of the Kings (Valley Of The Kings 2002)
15. Gerry Alvarez Odyssey - No Man's Island (Omega Tea Time 2010)
16. What Wave (Mr. Garager’s Neighbourhood Compilation 1989)
17. El Diablo (Hey! 1988)
18. Undecided (Live In Hell 2007)
19. Leave My Kitten Alone (Gruesomania 1987)
20. Unchain My Heart (Unchained EP 1985)
21. Fuad & The Feztones - Welcome To My Castle (Nardwuar The Human Serviette and The Evaporators Present Busy Doing Nothing! 2012)
22. Gerry Alvarez Odyssey - Candy Prankster (Candy Prankster 2006)
23. Cave-In! (Cave-In! 2000)
24. Hip-no-tyzed (Cave-In! 2000)
25. Way Down Below (Gruesomania 1987)
26. I'm Down(Live In Hell 2007)
27. Hey! Live In Hell 2007)

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for February 14. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

The Shadows, The Tornados & Show # 393

John Lennon once said in an interview that “before Cliff and the Shadows, there had been nothing worth listening to in British music”, he was of course referring to the UK Rock and Roll and instrumental Surf group known as Cliff Richard and The Shadows. In the late 50s and early 60s Cliff Richard and The Shadows were very popular in the British music scene, The Shadows are often referred to as one of the most important bands in Rock and Roll history, not to mention a very influential one. The band got their start in the late 50s known as The Drifters, they quickly became the backing band for Cliff Richard and after making some recordings with his backing band were labeled as Cliff Richard and The Drifters. Their first single was the song “Move It” written by guitarist Ian Samwell which was initially intended to be the B-side to the song “Schoolboy Crush”, the song went to number two in the UK singles charts, the single is considered to be one of the first original Rock and Roll songs to be produced outside of the US. At this point the band consisted of Cliff Richard (real name Harry Webb) on guitar/vocals, Terry Smart on drums, and Ian Samwell on guitar. For the recording of “Schoolboy Crush/Move It” this line up also featured two session musicians, although it should be mentioned that the band went through many line up changes in their early days.

Regardless the band became very popular and it wasn’t until the band added guitarists Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch, who were previously in a Skiffle group known as The Chesternuts that not only the bands name would change, but so would their sound. With the addition of these two virtuoso guitarists, Cliff Richard and The Drifters quickly became Cliff Richard and The Shadows (also as a result of a conflict with a US R&B Soul group with the name The Drifters). The band shortly after this line up change altered yet again with Jet Harris moving in on bass and Tony Meehan on drums. For the next four years Cliff Richard and The Shadows dominated the British Rock and Roll scene for the next four years that coincided with a series of number one albums and singles. Cliff Richard and The Shadows are perhaps best known for their 1960 single “Apache”, which was a song written by Jerry Lordan, but was recorded and released by The Shadows in 1960. The song is notable for Hank Marvin’s unique sound and use of the tremolo arm on his Fender Stratocaster, which would later be emulated by Surf bands for decades.

Another influential UK instrumental Surf based group is The Tornados, not to be confused with the other Surf group The Tornadoes who are from the US. The band is best known for the number one US/UK charting single “Telstar” which was produced by UK producer Joe Meek. The band was once considered the rival band to The Shadows, when they released their 1963 single “Globetrotter”. "Globetrotter" went to number five on the UK singles charts, but following bassist Heinz Burt's departure in 1963, the groups status began to decline. By the year 1965, The Tornados no longer had any original members in the group and were often billed as Tornados 65 or The New Tornados when playing live.

The Tornados were put together by Joe Meek, a visionary UK independent music producer who invented recording techniques that are still used to this day. The original line up of the group was made up of Alan Caddy, George Bellamy on guitars, Heinz Burt on bass, Roger LaVern on organ and Clem Cattini on drums. Their first single, “Love and Fury” did not chart when released in 1962. It wasn’t until producer Joe Meek came up with the idea for “Telstar” that the group began to receive attention. “Telstar” was named after the AT&T communications satellite of the same name, and featured several “space age” sounding effects and production techniques employing elements of echo and its use of the clavioline. The result of this high charting single sold roughly five million worldwide and it should have made Joe Meek a millionaire and the band very successful financially, but due to a French copyright infringement, the royalties were tied up for the next six years. The band were also prevented from touring internationally in the US in support of “Telestar” because of a contract they signed backing up UK musician Billy Fury from 1962 to 1963, they also recorded with him during this time as well.

Regardless of the outcomes, both bands Cliff Richard and The Shadows and The Tornados were detrimental to the history of Rock and Surf music being not only successful in their own rights, but also influential and still regarded as important bands in Rock music history.

Revolution Surf Play List:

1. Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet – Customized
2. The Shadows – 36-24-36
3. Progressives – Hot Cinders
4. Space Plan - Tread Lightly
5. Los Straitjackets – Tarantula
6. The Dakotas – The Cruel Sea
7. The Boardwalkers – Bikini Drag
8. The Trashmen – Bad News
9. The Panasonics - Panther
10. The Ventures – Telstar
11. The Tornados – Life on Venus
12. The Incredible Mr. Smith – Heroes
13. The Marketts – Twilight City
14. James Eddie Campell – Comet Toast
15. Chiyo & The Crescents – Devil Surf
16. The Houstons – Solar Light
17. The Reverb Syndicate – Guadalupe’s Lab
18. Davie Allan & The Arrows – Outer Surf
19. Rockets – Apache
20. Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet - Popcorn
21. The Shadows – Midnight
22. The Sadies – The Double Wide
23. The Challengers – Volcanic Action
24. The Gruesomes - Axe-Handle Cove
25. The Gruesomes - Whirlpool
26. The Robots - Ride The Surf
27. Link Wray – Drag Race
28. The Burnin' Sands - Typhoon
29. The Tornados – Hot Pot


To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for February 28. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy & Show # 392

Following the large commercial and critical success of Neil Young’s 1972 release Harvest, which charted at number one across the country, not only in Canada, but the US, the UK and other places, Neil Young’s music went into a transitional period. While the success of Harvest and the song “Heart of Gold” in particular did very well and brought Young success, there were a few other factors that would add to his personal situation, changing his outlook on music and the world.

While preparing for a tour in support of Harvest, Crazy Horse guitarist (of Neil Young’s backing band) Danny Whitten was fired from the band due to his inability to function properly in band rehearsals due to his drug use, shortly after he was found dead of a drug overdose. The vicious combination of success and loss changed something in Neil and it subsequently resulted in a series of three albums that at the time were not commercially or critically successful, often referred to as “The Ditch Trilogy”. The situation at the time can be best described by Neil Young himself as written in the linear notes to his 1977 compilation album Decade when discussing the song “Heart of Gold”:

“This song put me in the middle of the road. Travelling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch. A rougher ride but I saw more interesting people there."

It was also from this quote in which Neil’s next three albums (Time Fades Away, On The Beach, and Tonight’s The Night) were given the title of The Ditch Trilogy. In addition to this a few months after the death of Danny Whitten friend and roadie Bruce Berry passed away in a similar fashion. Young’s next release was the live album Time Fades Away that was released in 1973. This album was not like other live albums in many ways for one, it was a live album composed of previously unreleased material, which was unheard of at the time. Time Fades Away was recorded directly from the soundboard onto a 16 track Quad 8 CompuMix, which was the first digital mixing soundboard. This was done at the request of Young, producer David Briggs was strongly against this method. As a result of this unorthodox recording approach (a proper master tape was never made) the album features a muddy sounding mix. Time Fades Away was released on Vinyl, Cassette and 8 Track tape in October of 1973. Neil Young has been very outspoken as his dissatisfaction with this album. He has stated that it is his “worst release”, as a result Time Fades Away has never been released on CD. In 1995 a CD release was planned and test pressings were even made, but it was shelved and not released. Recently, it has been stated that it will be released on Neil Young’s second volume of his Archives Box Set along with Time Fades Away II. Young has been quoted from Guitar World in 2009 as saying about Time Fades Away II “It's a completely different thing, with completely different songs”

Time Fades Away was a sign of things to come musically for Neil Young, while Time Fades Away ventured into different music territory, his following two releases would continue the trend of being recorded live, but in the studio. Neil Young recorded the album Tonight’s The Night next in 1973. The album was inspired by the deaths of Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten and Young friend/roadie Bruce Berry. For the album Neil Young put together a new backing group known as The Santa Monica Flyers, which was a band featuring the rhythm section of Crazy Horse and Nils Lofgren on guitar. The albums title track “Tonight’s The Night” mentions Bruce Berry by name and the track “Come On Baby Let’s Go Downtown” features vocals and guitar from Danny Whitten (the song was a live recording from 1970). The album is known for featuring darker subject matter and for its raw, often crude production style. The album was recorded live with no overdubs and was meant to capture the band in the moment, with or without mistakes. Neil had this to say of the production values in Shakey: A Neil Young Biography:

"I’ve made records where you analyze everything you do 3,000 times and it’s perfect. I’m sick of it. I want to make a record that’s totally stark naked. Raw. I don’t wanna fix any of it. I don’t care if it’s totally out of tune, man, let’s play. Fuck it…. I like the idea of capturing something. Record something that happened. I’m a musician. I don’t wanna sit there and build a record. I built a couple of records. Big deal. Tonight’s the Night doesn’t care. And that makes you feel good about it. There’s no pretense."

Despite being recorded in 1973, Tonight’s The Night’s released was delayed Young’s record label, it would be two years (1975) before it finally saw its release. In the meantime during the delay of this release Neil Young recorded what would be his 1974 release On The Beach.

As opposed to the two previous recordings made in the trilogy, On The Beach was a more upbeat and melodic album. The album was recorded in a similar method as Tonight’s The Night and lyrically addressed more universal themes such as the collapse of the 60s Folk values and counter culture as well as addressing the underbelly of seedy California lifestyles. While The Ditch Trilogy is known for addressing darker and at time haunting themes lyrically and musically, the song “Walk On” which opens the On The Beach album is perhaps one of the most positive, yet cynical outlooks on life. The song can be seen as a sense of closure for this period stressing the need to move on and keep living. On The Beach was released in July of 1974, and despite being the third album recorded in The Ditch Trilogy, it was released second with Tonight’s The Night following in 1975.

The initial releases of the three aforementioned albums in The Ditch Trilogy are known for their haunting brilliance. At the time of their release they were for the most part negatively received commercially and critically, but are now seen as very important recordings in the career of Neil Young. In addition to this, these albums are seen as the key to understanding Neil Young’s body of work as an artist and can be seen as an ultimate artistic expression. The Ditch Trilogy shows an artist amidst overwhelming success and loss, expanding creatively, musically and lyrically, finding a voice.

Ditch Trilogy Play List:

1. Tonight’s The Night (Tonight's The Night 1975)
2. Time Fades Away (Time Fades Away 1973)
3. Walk On (On The Beach 1974)
4. World On A String (Tonight's The Night 1975)
5. The Bridge (Time Fades Away 1973)
6. For The Turnstiles (On The Beach 1974)
7. Yonder Stands The Sinner (Time Fades Away 1973)
8. Last Trip To Tulsa (Live) (Time Fades Away B-Side 1973)
9. Don’t Be Denied (Time Fades Away 1973)
10. Last Dance (Time Fades Away 1973)
11. Lookout Joe (Tonight's The Night 1975)
12. Mellow My Mind (Tonight's The Night 1975)
13. Revolution Blues (On The Beach 1974)
14. Vampire Blues (On The Beach 1974)
15. Ambulance Blues (On the Beach 1974)
16. Come On Baby Let’s Go Downtown (Tonight's The Night 1975)
17. Tonight’s The Night Part II (Tonight's The Night 1975)

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for February 21. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Otis Redding ... The Soul Album & Show # 390

Otis Redding released The Soul Album in 1966. This eleven track album followed his 1965 release Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul, which was considered one of his best. Being the prolific song writer that he was The Soul Album was recorded in the months of November of 1965 to August 1966. It was released on Volt/Stax Records in April of 1966.

The Soul Album featured a variety of different styles being juxtaposed within Redding’s song writing capabilities bringing together a collection of cover songs and originals, that he makes completely his own. The backing band on this album featured members of Booker T. & The MGs, who were the house band and featured on a large majority of Otis Redding recordings, a Memphis horn section and Isaac Hayes, who also produced the record. With a solid backing band and atmosphere, Otis Redding proves why he is considered a Soul legend, often referred to as “The King of Soul” with his passionate vocal performances and clever song arrangements. While the only single released from this album was “Just One More Day”, the album is notable for its re-workings of the Sam Cooke song “Chain Gang”, “It’s Growing” an upbeat version of a song originally by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, “Everybody Makes A Mistake” by Eddie Floyd, Roy Head’s “Treat Her Right”, and Wilson Pickett’s “634-5789”. A lost gem found on this collection is the song co-authored by Eddie Thomas and Jerry Butler “Cigarettes And Coffee”. The originals on this album while there may be few (“Just One More Day”, “Good To Me”, “Any Ole Way”) combined with the other material found here create a Southern Soulful mixture of originality and a sign of an artist coming into his own, which he would do more of on his next release Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul. That release would also be his last full length release before his untimely death on December 10th, 1967.

While The Soul Album is not often referred to as the best album in Otis’ catalogue, it is an eleven track collection of unstoppable Soul that surges with Otis’ talents as a songwriter and performer providing the listener with a sample of lesser known Otis Redding songs. It transitions between an interesting point in his career, juxtaposing Soul ballads with straight up Soul stompers and musical styles, proving to any listener of his status as “The King of Soul”.

This week's play list:

1. The Miracles – Baby Don’t You Go
2. The Vonns – So Many Days
3. James Crawford – I Don’t Care, I Don’t Care, I Don’t Care
4. Willie C. Echols – Shimmy Shelly Shake
5. The JB's – Wine Spot
6. Muddy Waters – I Be’s Troubled
7. Sonny Boy Williamson – Fattening Frogs For Snakes
8. Etta James – I’d Rather Go Blind
9. The Autographs – Do The Duck
10. Ketty Lester – West Coast
11. Danny White – The Twitch
12. Albert Collins – I Don’t Know
13. McKinley Mitchell – You’re Not Gonna Break My Heart
14. The Equators – Baby Come Back
15. Tapper Zukie – MPLA
16. Lee Scratch Perry & The Upsetters – Curly Dub
17. Grant Green – The Final Comedown
18. Miles Davis – So What
19. Otis Redding – It’s Growing
20. Otis Redding - Cigarettes And Coffee
21. Screamin’ Jay Hawkins – Little Demon
22. Little Richard – Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!
23. The Action 13 - More Bread To The People
24. Chuck Berry – Beautiful Delilah

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for February 7. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Coming Up On Revolution Rock In February 2012!

Last February Revolution Rock hosted a series of special programming, and this year will be no different. Starting on February 7th Revolution Rock will celebrate Black History Month by playing a mix of Soul, R&B, Jazz, Funk and Blues. The remaining weeks will also feature a different type of program each week until February 28th, where I will coincide the month’s worth of programming with my annual Surf Rock show.

 Revolution Rock Celebrates Black History Month

February 7th, 2012

10:30 AM – Noon

CJAM 99.1 FM (cjam.ca)

To celebrate Black History Month, Revolution Rock will feature a variety of obscure Soul and R&B cuts as well as some Jazz, Funk, Reggae and Blues tracks.

Hey! The Gruesomes Radio Feature

February 14th, 2012

10:30 AM – Noon

CJAM 99.1 FM (cjam.ca)

This Valentines Day Revolution Rock will have an entire show focusing on the 80s Montreal Canadian Garage Rock group The Gruesomes. Expect to hear music from the bands catalogue, solo projects, live recordings and more!

Neil Young’s Ditch Trilogy Radio Feature

February 21st, 2012

10:30 AM – Noon

CJAM 99.1 FM (cjam.ca)

On February 21st, Revolution Rock will host a program focusing on Neil Young’s Ditch Trilogy. Often seen by fans of Neil’s being albums of haunting brilliance, expect to hear music from the albums Time Fades Away (1973), On The Beach (1974) and Tonight’s The Night (1975), which constitute the Ditch Trilogy.

6th Annual Revolution Surf

February 28th, 2012

10:30 AM – Noon

CJAM 99.1 FM (cjam.ca)

This February 28th will mark my 6th annual Surf program on CJAM 99.1 FM. Shows in the past have focused on new and old Surf bands and focus on one particular artist within the Surf genre, this year will be no different. This year's program will feature several recordings from a variety of influential UK instrumental Surf groups. The program will also feature a special segment with Derk Brigante formerly of CJAM’s Surfphony of Derstruction.

Raised By Weeds & Show # 389

Raised By Weeds is a Garage band based out of Windsor, Ontario. Taking influence from 60’s styled music and from bands such as King Khan & BBQ Show and The Black Lips, Raised By Weeds had it’s beginnings as Paul Jacobs, who was at the time the only member. Despite having a drumming background being a drummer in a Hardcore Punk band called Get Bent, he was unable to find other like minded musicians to join the band and style of music he had in mind. Teaching himself guitar, Paul became a one man band, playing foot drums, guitar and covering vocal duties.

An album was self recorded in November 2011, entitled Paul Jacobs in the attic of a friend’s house (from the band Get Bent) in about eight hours on a laptop using Garage Band and made available to stream online, he also provided the artwork. The album featured songs such as “Come September”, “The Telephone”and “Money For The Grave” all of which reflect catchy crunchy Garage sounds, there are also songs with a slow Garage groove such as “Trip To The Ocean” and “My Word”. Live shows have been played around the Windsor area where the band was just a one piece, but recently Chris Garant was added as a drummer and the band became a two piece, which also resulted in the name change. Raised By Weeds plans to add a bassist and become a three piece soon, work on more material and make some recordings. Paul also plans to continue to record and release solo material. You can hear some of Paul’s recordings via his soundcloud page and find them on facebook.  Raised By Weeds will play on February 3rd at the FM Lounge in Windsor.



This week's play list:

1. Novels – Record In Hand
2. Surfer Blood – Take It Easy
3. The Jags – Last Picture Show
4. The Spooky But Nice – Everytime
5. Woodpigeon – For Paolo
6. The Make-Up – Here Comes The Judge
7. Two Star Tabernacle – Sixteen Ton (Live)(Merle Travis Cover)
8. The Ex-Girlfriends Club – The Witch
9. The Polymorphines – Let Love Fly
10. Neon Boys – That’s All I Know (Right Now)
11. The Pretty Things – Come See Me
12. Raised By Weeds – Wait A Minute (CJAM Session)
13. Raised By Weeds – Come September (CJAM Session)
14. Raised By Weeds – The Telephone (CJAM Session)
15. Section 8 – Can’t Let Go
16. Orange Juice – Blue Boy
17. Blam Blam Blam – There Is No Depression In New Zealand
18. Crocodiles – I Wanna Kill
19. What Seas What Shores - Pave The Oceans
20. The Bureaucrats – Now And Then
21. Nick Lowe – Shake And Pop
22. Ty Segall - Caesar
23. Generation X – Friday’s Angels

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for January 31. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Long Weekends ... Don't Reach Out & Show # 388

Long Weekends are a Garage/Pop band based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. This three piece group first released a four song EP that was recorded at Echo Chamber studios in Halifax entitled Warmer Weather in March of 2011 and before they even played a show they begin to receive publicity and appear on bands to watch lists. The bands sound is simple to describe, it’s Garage, Punk, Pop and it’s catchy as hell. The band is made up of Noel Macdonald on guitar/vocals, Devin Peck on bass and Adam Hartling on drums. Prior to forming Long Weekends, Devin Peck and Noel Macdonald were in a Punk band, which after putting together some songs folded. Macdonald and Peck did some work on the songs, citing influences such as The Chameleons, The Smiths and 80s Post-Punk groups as their main inspiration behind the songs reworking, and after finding Hartling Long Weekends were born.

“Shame On You” was the second release was made available for free via their bandcamp page in October of 2011. In January 2012 the band has released their first physical release the Don’t Reach Out seven inch, all of their releases prior to Don’t’ Reach Out have been available in digital form only and currently the seven inch is only available through the Noye Records website. It should also be noted that all of the bands artwork for the two major releases (Warmer Weather and Don’t Reach Out) was done by Yorodeo a prominent screen/print designer in Canada. The bands philosophy is simple, they love to write and make music and hopefully they continue to do so for some time.

Check out Long Weekends bandcamp to hear some more of their music.

This week's play list:

1. The Long Weekends – Don’t Reach Out
2. Brazilian Money – Give Up That Dog
3. Hands & Teeth – Sound of Hamilton
4. Heavy Chains – Commo Wire
5. Exxotone – Big Shot
6. Neverever – Mexicoco
7. NoBunny – Blow Dumb
8. Telepathe - Destroyer
9. Tumours – Twilight Zone
10. Vendetta – I Wanna Be A Star
11. The Tranzmitors – Teenage Filmstar
12. The Embers – I Walked All Night
13. Cake – Moustache Man (Wasted)
14. The Phantom Chords – Swamp Thing
15. The Damned – Politics
16. The Howlies – Zombie Girl
17. Link Wray – Deuces Wild
18. Harlem – LSD Saves
19. Seven Story Redhead - Don't Wanna Know
20. The Saints – Run Down
21. The Velvet Underground – One of These Days
22. Nervus Rex - There She Goes
23. Magazine - Boredom (BBC Session)
24. Bob Dylan – Positively 4th Street (Live April 13th, Sydney, Australia 1966)

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for January 24. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.