Surfin' in the Garage...Show # 135

This week I did an entirely different show, one that was all surf rock and garage rock instead of good old punk rock. Why? for some variety, also because I've been collecting and listening to surf rock and garage rock for quite some time. I had so much of it I figured I'd play some it on CJAM for some variety. I'd also like to point out that this show was just a mix of bands I thought sounded surfish or garageish. I played The Who and The Kinks. These guys are kind of garagey at times, they influenced early punk in my opinion. Sex Pistols loved The Who and they used to cover "Substitute" in concert. The Clash also loved both these bands. They opened for The Who in the 80's and have stated that they practiced Kinks songs when first starting out. In fact the song "Dead End Street" eerily sounds like The Clash's "London Calling". 

I will talk briefly of two bands this week one surf and one garage. First the surf band, The Ventures. The Ventures formed in 1959 in Tacoma, Washington. They were a popular instrumental band. They would have many hits and charted singles/albums, but their larger fan base would be in Japan. Originally stemming from the group The Impacts, Bob Wilson and Don Wilson formed a group. After getting a bass player Nokie Edwards and a drummer Howie Johnston The Ventures were in place. The band would cover many different types of music for example, garage rock, psychedelic, and of course surf (which is what they started out doing). The band would also do TV Themes, one of the most notable being the theme song for the TV show Hawaii Five-O; it would reach #4 on the charts in 1969. After this around the early 70s, the band would focus more on the Japan music market. The band would continue to play, members came and went and played through out the 80's and even in 1996.

Now for the garage band. The Sonics are a band from Tacoma Washington as well. The band was a unique and raw sounding band. They are defined as garage rock, but they are just a early rock and roll group. The band was Gerry Rosalie (vocals, piano/organ),Bob Bennett (drums), Andy Parypa (guitar), Larry Parypa (Bass) originally. The band was influenced by bands such as The Kinks and early blues from the 50s. The bands recordings are rough, raw and gritty. They were a big local attraction and influenced many bands, but never made it out of the Washington area. The band would not last long at all, they would break up in the late 60s (they formed in the mid-60s). Many bands have been influenced by them today too.  Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder is a Sonics fan, also the Pointed Sticks a Canadian band played on my show have covered "The Witch" which The Sonics have done.

A variety of bands were played this week from obscure Canadian bands like The Ugly Ducklings to Atomic 7, to more familiar bands such as The Beach Boys and The Who. Most of the bands that were played this week and are classified as garage rock, were influential or were a prelude to what was going to become punk rock in the late 70s. The Who definitely had a larger impact on early punk, The Count Five were also influential on Sex Pistols. Next Week I will return to my original format of punk and punk inspired rock, it will be loud, angry, and awesome so tune in next week to CJAM 91.5 FM Wednesday at 9pm (or stream it at www.cjam.ca).

Here's what was played:

1. Dick Dale & His Deltones – miserlou
2. The Chantays – pipeline
3. The Challengers – one man flight
4. The Charms – so romantic
5. The Vipers – cheated and lied
6. Ugly Ducklings – nothin’
7. Great Scots – ball and chain
8. Jury – who dat
9. Atomic 7 – she’s got haggar party slacks
10. Atomic 7 – seven stranded castanets
11. Surf Trio – crash
12. The Torpedoes – torpedoes
13. Aqua Velvets – subterranean
14. Secrets – cryin’ over her
15. One Way Street – I see the light
16. The Stems – she’s a monster
17. Dick Dale & His Deltones – surf beat
18. The Ventures – dick tracy
19. The Ventures – Hawaii five-o
20. The Trashmen – surfin’ bird
21. The Missing Links – some kind of fun
22. The Kinks – till the end of the day
23. The Who – Out in the Street
24. The Fun Things – lipstick
25. The Tornadoes – bustin’ surfboards
26. The Sonics – it’s all right
27. Thundermug – Africa
28. Metalunas – blast off!
29. Phono Comb – pummeled
30. The Count Five – pretty big mouth
31. The Beach Boys –surfin’ safari
32. The Beach Boys – shutdown

White and Red Blood Cells ... Show # 134

This post used to feature information on The White Stripes and The Raconteurs.  For more information on The White Stripe please visit the following links:

The White Stripes De Stijl: An Article About De Stijl

The White Stripe Elephant: An Article About The 10th Anniversary of Elephant

Also I played "Myxomatosis" by Radiohead. The song is from their 2003 album Hail To The Thief and is about a disease introduced to the Britain rabbit population to help control it. Last year singer Thom Yorke released a solo album and now Radiohead have no record label, but Radiohead still show interest in playing and recording music. Next week I will be doing a show devoted entirely to garage rock and surf music. Bands such as The Ventures, Dick Dale, The Missing Links, The Vipers and many more obscure, but great bands. Be sure to check this show out next week because it will definitely be a different one.

Here's the play list:

1. The Clash – radio one
2. The Police – shadows in the rain
3. Pointed Sticks – true love
4. Gruesomes – hey!
5. Buzzcocks – sixteen again (BBC Session)
6. Pointed Sticks - 1-2
7. Ramones – Chinese rocks
8. Terrorways – never been to Borstal
9. The Saints – (I’m) stranded
10. Undertones – emergency cases
11. Dishrags – I don’t love you
12. Actionauts – party dog
13. Iggy Pop – loco mosquito
14. Talking Heads – found a job
15. Blondie – call me
16. Pretenders – Thumbelina
17. Fratellis - flathead
18. The Ride Theory – on fire
19. White Stripes - hypnotize
20. The D4 - rocknrule
21. Albert Hammond Jr. – postal blowfish
22. Sloan – suppose they close the door
23. Radiohead – myxomatosis
24. Richard Hell & The Voidoids - love comes in spurts

This is not it... & Show 133

This post used to feature information about The Strokes. You can find more information on The Strokes in these two posts:

The Strokes Angled: An Article About Angles

50/50: An Article About Comedown Machine

Also, The Police played at the 2007 Grammy Awards on Sunday February 11th. I played "Roxanne" from that performance. The video can be seen here. The Police are set to have a full scale reunion tour this summer, I am and you should be very excited. I also played a very long version of the song "I Need Somebody" by The Stooges. This was taken from the Heavy Liquid box set. The song is basically a jam that is about 18 minutes. It features Iggy Pop discussing how to work out/change the song and him trying different lyrics. The box set also contains various live shows, rehearsal recordings, and studio recordings. For Example, there are multiple takes of the song "I Got A Right".

Here's what was played:

1. The Police – Roxanne (live @ 2007 grammys)
2. Sex Pistols – whatcha gonna do about it
3. The Gruesomes – I’m down
4. The Stooges – I need somebody/sweet child/ I like the way you walk
5. The Clash – police on my back
6. Ramones – all the way (demo)
7. Buzzcocks – lipstick (BBC)
8. Buzzcocks – everybody’s happy nowadays (BBC)
9. Generation X – one hundred punks
10. Smugglers – luau!(live)
11. Modernettes – Barbra
12. The Features – city scenes
13. The Saints – no time
14. Gang of Four – ether (BBC)
15. Talking Heads – a clean break (live)
16. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – no action
17. Public Image Limited – low life
18. XTC – wake up
19. Tricky Woo – let us sing
20. The Strokes – razorblade
21. Albert Hammond Jr. – holiday
22. Sloan – stand by me, yeah

Monkey Puzzle..Show # 132

I played some more obscure stuff this week. First off the song "Simple Love" is a song by The Saints, but not the normal Saints I usually play on my show. This song was taken from their 1981 album Monkey Puzzle. This album is NOT like the other Saints albums.  Chris Bailey (the lead singer) took the band in a different direction, but all the other band members were also different on this release. Ed Keupper (original guitar player) left to pursue a career in Laughing Clowns, a band that fused jazz with punk rock (I also played a song by them on my show). Monkey Puzzle is an average album, it is rock but very, very different; It also features a cover of the song "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" originally by Larry Williams.  The song has also been covered by bands such as The Beatles. The song I played by the Laughing Clowns was "Winter's Way". The song starts off with a pretty good rock riff, but then adds a crazed jazz horn section.  I found this song and played it from the 2005 release Cruel, But Fair which is a 3 CD box set containing all of the Laughing Clowns material.  It is definitely something very different to hear.

I also played a song by Lou Reed titled "Nowhere At All". It is a bonus track from the 2006 remaster of Coney Island Baby. This was the album that Lou Reed made after Metal Machine Music, an album of odd noises and feedback. This was a back to rock basics album for Lou, and it sounds a lot like Velvet Underground. It was originally released in 1976. "Kingdom of Doom" is a song from the band The Good, The Bad & The Queen which I played on the show as well. The album of the same title, is a band put together with Damon Albarn (Blur), Simon Tong (The Verve), Paul Simonon (The Clash), and Tony Allen (Africa 70). The band sounds nothing like the Clash, Blur or even Damon's other side band, Gorillaz. It is melodic rock and an interesting listen. If you liked what you heard you can go buy their album or visit their myspace page to hear more tracks.

Here's the play list:

1. The Jam – a bomb in wardour street
2. Undertones – Jimmy, jimmy
3. Generation X – trying for kicks
4. Teenage Head – picture my face
5. Diodes – Blonde fever
6. Buzzcocks – promises (bbc session)
7. Ramones – danny says
8. Ramones – high risk insurance
9. The Saints – simple love
10. Laughing Clowns – winter’s way
11. Young Canadians – Hawaii
12. The Gruesomes – leave my kitten alone
13. The Police – bombs away
14. The Clash – magnificent dance
15. Big Audio Dynamite – I turned out a punk
16. Magazine – a song from under the floorboards
17. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – radio, radio
18. Lou Reed – nowhere at all
19. Tricky Woo – fly the orient
20. The Ride Theory – parking ticket
21. Sloan – seems so heavy
22. The Good, The Bad & The Queen – kingdom of doom
23. Futureheads – help us out
24. The D4 – savage
25. Albert Hammond Jr. – everyone gets a star
26. The Love Me Nots – mine
27. The Hives – missing link