Obsession...The Story of The True Lovers & Interview with Dion Lunadon...Show # 311

Following June of 2006, Dion Lunadon, previously from the New Zealand band The D4 headed to Los Angeles. Relocating to New York, he got started on a project with Ben Maitland who was also previously in a New Zealand band called Box Car Guitars. Drawing upon influences such as Funkadelic, Curtis Mayfield, Andre Williams within the Soul genre and other music such as Howlin’ Wolf from the Blues genre, The True Lovers would emerge. Before the band played any shows Dion and Ben Maitland got together and wrote the songs that would appear on the bands first album. A band was put together made up of Dion Lunadon (guitar/vocals), Ben Maitland (guitar/vocals), Evan Pazner (drums), John Schwartz (bass) and Soren Oakes Christensen adding additional guitar and keyboards. After rehearsing for about three months, The True Lovers went into the studio to record an album.

In February 2009 at Mission Sound in Brooklyn, New York, The True Lovers recorded their album, but it was not recorded like your average modern day album would be recorded. The band used vintage recording gear and recorded to analog tape as opposed to recording digitally. The album was engineered by Oliver Strauss and produced by Dion Lunadon and Ben Maitland. The sound of the album is different from what Dion and Ben have done in their past bands, there is a certain grittiness to the recordings. A large majority of the songs featured on the album were recorded live in the studio, there were minimal overdubs done on the record.  After listening to the album it is apparent that there is an undeniable groove to it, the album sweats and breathes along with each track.

The first song on the album, “Death Threat” was actually one of the first songs written for the album. The songs origin began in Los Angeles shortly after Dion moved out there from New Zealand. “Death Threat” along with a lot of songs on The True Lovers album started out as a bassline, even before the rest of the song was completed. A music video for the song was filmed by director Michael McCarthy. The concept for the video was born out of an interest for music videos shot for Guitar Wolf (a Japanese Garage/Punk band). It was shot in Memphis over three days and the church featured in the video was the very same church where Johnny Cash played his first show. “Cougar” another song on the album follows along with a common theme of sleaze that seems to be engrained deep within the songs on this album. Lyrically the song is self explanatory, the music is drowned in feedback, raunchy guitar solos and a soulful, bouncy bassline.

Songs such as “Lady of the Manor” and “Guilty Pleasure # 9” ooze with Blues elements, while vocally, the lyrics are sung in such away that is akin to Iggy Pop on The Stooges album Raw Power. “Bang Bang” is a shot of Garage Rock themed passion, sounding like a classic 60s nugget cut. “Love and Affection” is soaked in Soul, complete with congas, while “Fade Away” bleeds with organ drowned riffs, heavy bass, and guitar slides. “Makes A Fool Out of Me”, a song written and sung by Ben Maitland is an acoustic track with Folk qualities. It is a very different track compared to the others on the album, but still follows suit with the style and groove that is constant throughout the album. The True Lovers is very unique combining elements from many genres, but sounding raw, honest, and real. The lyrics and music are filled with a gritty sleaze, groove and a Rolling Stones swagger.

Following the recording of the album, The True Lovers started playing live gigs. A different version of the band was put together for their later live gigs featuring Mike Welsh on bass and Kevin Stapleton adding additional guitar and keyboards. The band played live gigs on the West Coast in the US, and also played the Big Day Out Festival in New Zealand. The album was released on Altra! Records in March in New Zealand, and in April in the US and elsewhere. There was talk of recording a 7 inch single for a Spanish record label, the songs were said to have had a rawer sound than the ones found on the True Lovers album. True Lovers were also said to have been working on a video for the song “Cougar”, which was supposed to be their next single, but that never happened. Around February of 2010, The True Lovers stopped playing as a band. Currently Dion Lunadon is playing bass with the Brooklyn band A Place To Bury Strangers and is working with them on their third album.

The True Lovers album can be purchased via their official website in digital and vinyl formats.

Links of Interest:

http://www.thetrueloversband.com/
http://www.myspace.com/thetrueloversband
True Lovers Facebook Page

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The following interview was done between myself (David Konstantino host of Revolution Rock) and Dion Lunadon (of The True Lovers).  Dion elaborates on The True Lovers, his past and current bands, and recording. 

RR:  How did the formation of The True Lovers occur?

DL:  Post D4 I moved to LA. I discovered that Ben Maitland (True Lovers guitar player and co song writer) was also moving there and I always loved his playing. The first time I saw him play I was like "I want to play in a band with this guy". Anyway, for one reason or another it was to hard to get things off the ground (find somewhere to live) so he moved to Portland and I moved to NY. About a year after that he came to NY for a month and we wrote about half the record. After that he moved to NY and the rest of the members fell into place pretty organically. We knew what we wanted in our players, a good sense of groove and finesse. Not just standard hard hitting rock people.

RR:  What were some of the musical influences you drew upon when creating music for The True Lovers?

DL:  Mainly Blues and Soul stuff. Howlin' Wolf, Funkadelic, Curtis Mayfield, Andre Williams, CCR, Stones and obscure soul comps from the late 60's early 70's. We wanted it to sound like a real, unprocessed band. I was trying to move away from what I'd done in the past but still retain my strong points as a musician and a performer.

RR:  How did the recording process of the True Lovers album differ from other recordings you have made in the past?

DL:  Not wildly different. I've always been one to record live to tape. There are very few overdubs on the album and some songs are completely live including vocals. Minimal mics on the drums, generally 4 I think. We also tend to play pretty quietly. Because we were recording live I felt the room was important so I went to Mission Sound here in Brooklyn, which allowed us to set up the way we wanted and has a great sounding purpose built live room. Minimal effects on the record too. I distain plug ins so we used the real thing where possible.

RR:  Who did you work with when recording this album (ie: Producers, engineers, etc.)?

DL:  Ben and I produced it ourselves. Too many bands get pushed by labels to hire big name producers who have no idea what the band wants. I engineered quite a few D4 recordings and have recorded myself ever since I started playing so we knew what we wanted and how to get it. Looking back I should have done a few things differently like making it a bit more extreme especially in the mix. Oliver Strauss the owner of Mission engineered it. I was going to but producing, playing and working on gear I'd never worked on may have been too much. Or maybe not...

RR:  You have always got great guitar sounds on your albums. What types of guitars/amps did you use on this album as opposed to 6twenty by The D4?

DL:  We used smaller amps. The D4 recordings I did also have smaller 20 Watt amps. We used Fender Deluxe Reverb, Fender Pro Junior, 50 Watt Fender Bassman and Fender 2 x 15 for bass and a Vox here and there. Guitar wise we mainly used a 72 Fender P Bass, 64 SG Junior and a Fender Bronco.

On 6Twenty we used various amps including the New Zealand 60's amp Jansen 6Twentys. I used a Les Paul Junior and Vaughan used that same P Bass. Think Jimmy used his 72 Tele Deluxe.

RR:  Do you prefer recording on analog or recording digitally and why?

DL:  Analog no doubt. I like having to capture something as a whole and sticking with it. I don't want it to be perfect and move little blocks around a screen. I also like to overload the tape although that's not so evident on The True Lovers record. I tend to use little to no compression so the tape helps with that too. Digital has it's place for sure. It doesn't really matter what you record on as long as the performance and the songs are good. If it sounds good it is. We also mastered it, I feel, a bit more tastefully than they do today. We did not make it as loud as possible and tried to find a balance of what we like and what's out there today.

RR:  What are some of your favourite albums?

Changes with time, but some staples (pretty obvious). The first 3 Stooges records, John Lee Hooker "It Serves You Right To Suffer", The Sonics records, The S/T DMZ record on Sire, Exile On Main St. The list could go on.

RR:  You have played with a variety of bands. What are some of the other bands that you have been involved with and do you still keep in contact with any of the other bands you have played in?

DL:  My first real band was called Nothing At All! and is definitely worth a listen. Early 90's three piece. I played bass. The drummer Paul is still my best friend. Unfortunately the singer Tony passed away from Cancer at the early age of 21. We toured NZ relentlessly and built up a loyal fan base. Our only album came out on Festival records. Then I was in a band called The Snitches playing guitar. Tony was on drums with a boy/girl partnership up front, more of an edgy power pop thing. Then the Rainy Days, quite a unique band. Marty Sauce And The Source, [which was a] Heavy rock band where every song had the word "Rock" in it.

RR:  When did the True Lovers stop playing together and What are your plans for the future musically?

DL:  We stopped playing around the start of Feb this year. So we were only playing live for 8 months before we disbanded. Iv'e been playing bass in Brooklyn band A Place To Bury Strangers since early March. We just got back from Colombia which was wild and are working on our 3rd record.

This Weeks Play List:

1. The Stooges - Gimme Danger
2. Howlin' Wolf - I Asked For Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)
3. The Orpheans - Turn Out The Lights
4. Painted Ship - Frustration
5. Northwest Company - Get Away From It All
6. The Morlocks - I'm A Man
7. The True Lovers - Cougar
8. The True Lovers - Bang Bang
9. Otis Redding - Cigarettes and Coffee
10. A Place To Bury Strangers - Keep Slipping Away
11. Shapes + Sizes - Tell Your Mum
12. Sunfields - City
13. BBQ - Justify
14. Them - Just A Little Bit
15. Ugly Ducklings - Just In Case You Wonder
16. The D4 - Baby in a Box (John Peel Session)
17. Ultravox! - Young Savage
18. The Mark Inside - Circling the Drain
19. Nothing At All - Busted
20. The Sonics - Keep A Knockin'
21. The Gruesomes - Hip-no-tyzed
22. The True Lovers - Guilty Pleasure # 9
23. The True Lovers - Obsession

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for August 3rd. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Quelle Crise, Baby...The Story of Starshooter... Show # 310

Starshooter originate from Lyon, France. The band consisted of Kent Hutchinson on guitar/vocals, Mickey Snack on bass, Jello on guitar, and Phil Pressing on drums. They started out initially in 1975 when they were known as Scooters. Changing their name to Starshooter, the band released their first single in 1977 when they were signed to EMI records. The single was titled Pin-Up Blonde, it was backed by Quelle Crisis Baby (English translation meaning What Crisis Baby). Starshooter was not like the typical Punk band, they were often a band that seemed not unlike a happy gang of friends. Their music while the lyrics were sung in French and English, had all the aggression and anger of Rock & Roll mixed with Punk music.


The bands next release was released in 1978, it was entitled Get Baque. The song was actually a Punked up version of "Get Back" originally by The Beatles. In this version, the song is sung in both French and English. In the middle of the song, clips of a variety of Beatles songs are played in quick succession, keeping true to the style of the vicious cover. The single was actually pulled from shelves after a week of being available, this in turn added some venom to the bands image, which was previously seen as not the "typical" Punk image. The band then released a single for the song "Betsy Party", this song would be their big break in the French market, causing them to rise to the top of Europe 1, which is a privately owned French radio station that has its own music chart system. Along with fellow French Rock band Telephone, Starshooter were seen as a popular French Punk Rock band in 1978. A full album followed in the same year, it was simply titled Starshooter. The album was well received.

In 1979 a second full length album followed called Mode. This album mixed in more influences ranging from Disco, to New Wave. The albums cover was very bright and flashy, which guitarist Jello thinks hurt the sales a bit. Another album followed in 1980 entitled Chez Les Autres, Among the Other is the English translation. For this album the band mixed Folk based music elements in with Rock. The albums cover was done by famous French graphic artist Kiki Picasso. During 1979 until 1981, Starshooter kept touring in support of their albums, but the touring would stop shortly. In 1981, the band released their final full length album, Pas Fatigue (Not Tired, in English). This album would be released on CBS Records, not EMI. The band left due to the departure of their producer Philippe Constantin. For Not Tired, the bands sound was darker and was recorded in London, England. Following one more tour, which was titled Tora! Tora! Tora! The band broke up. Recordings from this tour were released in 2004 under the title Live! Following the end of Starshooter, Kent Hutchinson went on to have a successful solo career.

More information on the band can be found at:
starshooter.best.free.fr/ (use google translater if you do not understand French)

The Play List:

1. Jaill - Always Wrong
2. The Streets On Fire - Astronaut Love Triangle
3. Blondie - Platinum Blonde
4. Gentlemen of horror - Bank 
5. Deja Voodoo - Red Garlic Shoes
6. Brian James Gang - Method To My Madness
7. Verte Brats - Diamond in the Rough
8. Fang - Employee of the Month
9. Insect Surfers - Into the Action
10. Strangeways - Show Her You Care
11. Blades - Ghost of a Chance
12. Telephone - Regarde Moi
13. Starshooter - Get Baque
14. Starshooter - Week-End
15. Les Mods - What You Waitin' For?
16. The Golden Dogs -Lester
17. Dave Rave - Rain Song
18. The Shakers - My Mustang Ford
19. Bob Dylan & The Band - On A Night Like This
20. Patti Smith - Changing of the Guards
21. The Hammersmith Gorillas - Gatecrasher 
22. Wavves - Post-Acid
23. Leather Uppers - Supercar
24. Gregg Koval - Esther's In Town
25. Young Rival - A Few Things Left

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for July 27th. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Action Time Vision...The Story of Alternative TV...Show # 309

Formed in 1976 by Mark Perry, who was know for creating the Punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue, Alternative TV (or ATV) featured Perry on vocals, Mickey Smith on bass, John Towe (previous drummer for Generation X) on drums, and Alex Fergusson on guitar. Based in England, the band began rehearsing at Throbbing Gristles Hackney Studio. In May of 1977, the band began playing gigs. They would be known for having many line up changes through out their career, the first was when Mickey Smith was replaced by Tyrone Thomas (who was in a previous band with Perry The New Beatles). Towe would quit after six gigs and was replaced by Chris Bennet on drums. Alternative TV's first single was "Love Lies Limp" it was released as a free flexi-disc that came with the August 1977 issue of Sniffin' Glue. The August issue would also be the very last edition of the Sniffin' Glue fanzine.  In December of 1977 ATV released the How Much Longer/You Bastard single. The song "How Much Longer" was a critique of youth based culture at the time.

The band released their debut album The Image Has Cracked in 1978. It was a combination of studio and live recorded material. The band continued to release singles such as "Life After Life" and "Action Time Vision". Most of these recordings featured John Towe on drums. The song "Life After Life" was actually a Dub influenced track. This song can be seen as one of the first examples of the bands future musical direction, which would involve experimentalism. By 1978 guitarist and main collaborator Alex Fergusson was no longer in the band. He would be replaced by Dennis Burns. The bands second album was more experimental, leaning towards a Throbbing Gristle influenced Avant-Garde style sound. Vibing Up The Senile Man (Part One) was released in 1978. By this point Mark Perry was the only original band member left in the band. The album turned many fans against ATV, but Perry decided to tour to support it. In 1979 Alternative TV called it quits.

While the story may seem to end there, it does not. Perry soon emerged with The Good Missionaries, a Avant-Garde based band that continued in the direction that ATV had started on their second album. In 1981, Perry, Burns and Fergusson reformed Alternative TV. The additional members of the band were filled by members of Fergussons band that he was involved with after leaving ATV, Cash Pussies. A Pop based album was released in the very same year entitled Strange Kicks. The band has reformed featuring several different line ups since then. In 1999, they reformed to celebrate the release of his 20th album. The band plays off and on and has made numerous other recordings.

The Play List:

1. Eli Paperboy Reed - Explosion
2. Seven Story Redhead - Shake It Out!
3. These United States - The Great Rivers
4. News - Angie
5. Bare Wires - Nice To Know You
6. REM - Auctioneer (Another Engine)(Demo)
7. The Famines - Got Lies If You Want Them
8. Flipper - Be Good,Child!
9. The Squires - I Wonder
10. Rip Chords - Bible Thump Funk
11. Pluto - Pretty Little Jacket
12. The Secrets - Rock Music
13. RPMS - I Don't Wanna Be Young
14. The Unicorns - I Was Born (A Unicorn)
15. Moderns - Got To Have Pop
16. The Jags - Dumb Blonde
17. Longport Buzz - Fun
18. The Biters - Hang Around
19. The Clocks - Confidentially Renee
20. Alternative TV - You Bastard
21. Alternative TV - Action Time Vision
22. XTC - Paper and Iron (Notes and Coins)
23. Boomtown Rats - She's So Modern
24. The Birthday Cakes - Mastermind
25. Sloan - 400 Metres
26. Pearl Jam - Leavin' Here

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for July 20th. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Talk's Cheap...The Story of The Demics...Show # 308

In 1977, The Demics formed in London, Ontario, Canada. The band consisted of Keith Whittaker on vocals, Rob Brent on guitar, Lain Atkinson-Staines on bass, and J.D. Weatherstone on the drums. Lain and Whittaker were both from the England area (Keith from Manchester, Lain from Cambridge), while the other two members (Brent and Weatherstone) were from London, Ontario. The bands name came from Whittaker, a demic was s slang term in Manchester meaning "dork" or "loser". The band quickly became part of London, Ontario's emerging Punk scene.

The Demics released their first EP, Talk's Cheap in 1979. One of the songs on the EP, "New York City" received airplay recognition on college radio stations, especially at CFNY in Toronto. The song which is of a slower tempo, but still falling within the Punk Rock realm would become the bands signature song. In 1979, the Demics played their final shows in London and Toronto with the original band line up. After the bands final show in London, Ontario several audience members formed bands of their own, following that some of the band relocated to Toronto. Another version of the band would re-emerge with Steve Koch on guitar in 1980. They would record a self titled album in the same year. Many have said that the album was over produced. Despite this, The Demics has good qualities to it. The album incorporated other musical elements into the bands already established Punk sound such as Garage Rock, and Rockabilly. By 1981 with tensions amongst band members rising, they split up.

In 1996, a CD compilation entitled New York City was released. On this compilation all of the bands original recordings were compiled. The song "New York City" still receives airplay and was voted in a reader’s poll as the greatest Canadian song of all time by Chart. In the same year Keith Whittaker passed away to cancer related illness, a compilation of his final recordings were released by Bullseye Records in August of 2007. The twelve song CD was entitled Drink to Me. While The Demics were a short lived Canadian Punk band, they crossed paths with many renowned Punk bands at the time. They opened for the likes of The Viletones, The Dead Boys and Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers in 1979 at The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.

Play List:

1. Modern Lovers - Modern World
2. Fire Engines - Discord (Peel Session 1981)
3. The Only Ones - Trouble in the World
4. Gardez Darkx - Heartbeat
5. The Demics - The Least You Can Do
6. The Demics - New York City
7. Lost Patrol - See Me Now
8. The Manvils - Substation
9. The Kills - Fried My Little Brains
10. The Superfantasics - Van Gogh
11. The Sights - It'd Be Nice (To Have You Around)
12. The Almighty Defenders - She Came Before Me
13. The 5.6.7.8's - Arkansas Twist
14. Wavves - King of the Beach
15. Blue Peter - Same Old Place
16. The Fall - Cowboy George
17. New York Dolls - Private World
18. Laughing Clowns - The Only One That Knows
20. Dave Dubois - Song 3
21. Simply Saucer - Yes I Do (Live)
22. The Dark - John Wayne
23. The Dishrags - Can't Wait
24. The Police - Nothing Achieving
25. The Hentchmen - Ham & Oil
26. The Misfits - TV Casualty
27. Wreckless Eric - The Whole Wide World


To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for July 13th. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Rat Race...The Active Dog and Ross Carpenter Story plus Interview... Show # 307

The UK Punk scene in the late 70s had an impact all over the world, not just in the UK. One of these other places was in Vancouver, BC in Canada. Like the in Britain, music was boring and nothing was exciting, until Punk came along adding excitement and energy to music. The Vancouver scene produced many bands such as DOA, Pointed Sticks, The Modernettes, and several short lived bands. One of those short lived bands was a band called Active Dog. The Vancouver band had its initial beginnings in a four piece psychedelic Rock band called Steel Breeze. The band lasted from 1975 to 1976 and consisted of Terry Bowes and Jerome Wong on guitar, Ross Carpenter on bass and Robert Bruce on drums. After playing for about a year Wong left the group and Steel Breeze continued as a three piece, renaming themselves Active Dog. The band would gain further members through Carpenters association with Art Bergmann (he was recording his band Schmorgs at the time - Bergmann was in the Young Canadians later on). The band added members Buck Cherry (John Armstrong) on guitar/vocals, Dash Ham (Gord Nichol) on keyboards, and Bill Shirt (William Scherk) on vocals. Active Dog began playing with their new line up after a night of drinking and jamming. Acquiring an unused storage space and converting it into a rehearsal/studio space (Majestic Studios) Active Dog began practicing three to four times a week. In October of 1978, the band played their first gig as a six piece.

Around November of 1978, Active Dog were coming up with songs such as “Rat Race”, “Good Filthy Fun”, and “Fucking Idiots and Garlic Sausage, Digital Watches”, all of which were written by bassist Ross Carpenter. There were also other songs such as “Nothing Holding You”, “Teen Chow” and “The Beach” written by Bill Shirt. Active Dog played numerous live shows and associated with many other Vancouver Punk bands such as DOA, Pointed Sticks, Private School, and Subhumans. In February/March of 1979 they were scheduled to go into Sabre Sound studio to make some recordings. A few days before they were to record Gord Nichol and Robert Bruce announced that they were leaving Active Dog to join The Pointed Sticks. Drummer Robert Bruce agreed to drum on the recordings which resulted in the single Rat Race/Good Filthy Fun, which reflected a Punk and Power Pop nature. With a single done, there was no band to promote it. Despite being available in some shops and being well received, Carpenter decided to pull the single after a couple of weeks. Some of the recordings ("Nothing Holding You" and "Fun While it Lasts") can now be found on the Vancouver Complication Compilation.

While Active Dog seemed to be over following their single in 1979, other band members continued on to other music projects. Buck Cherry started a new group that would be called The Modernettes. Along with John Doe and John McAdams (from a band called Rabid), Ross Carpenter joined on bass. Carpenter left the group in June 1979 to focus more on family related issues, Mary Jo (from Wasted Lives) joined the Modernettes on bass. In 1980, Ross Carpenter and Terry Bowes formed a short lived band called Antheads. The band played faster than any band at the time and around 1981, growing tired of their musical direction called it quits. The band Perky Pat would emerge, with Carpenter on drum duties while Tony Balony played guitar, Gus Vassos covered vocals, Sam Salmon on keyboards, and Jon Moore was on bass.

Another band was also formed in 1981, featuring former Active Dog band members. The Melody Pimps consisted of Randall Carpenter on guitar/vocals, Tony "Balony" Walker on guitar/vocals, Nick Jones (from The Pointed Sticks) on guitar/vocals, Tom Upex on keyboards, Mark Branscome on bass, and Ross Carpenter on drums. The Melody Pimps are still currently in talks of recording an album and play live occasionally. Ross Carpenter runs a new studio called Twilight Sleep Studio.

While the band Active Dog was very short lived, they are an example of band that ended just as quickly as they began. From the ashes of Active Dog other bands stemmed and were created adding more depth to the Punk scene in Vancouver at the time. The recordings they have made are now part of the music history of not only Vancouver, but the country of Canada as well.

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I was fortunate to get an exclusive interview with Ross Carpenter, the bass player in Active Dog. This interview was done between myself (Dave Konstantino the host of Revolution Rock) and Ross W. Carpenter enjoy!

RR: You were involved with the formation of the band Active Dog how did the band form and what were some of your musical influences?

RWC: hmmm.. yeah, we started as 'Steel Breeze'. It was me: Bass, Robert: drums and Terry: Guitar ... playing and drinking beer on weekends and just improvising with strange chords and we didn't have a singer because we didn't have a PA system. We did our own songs because it was basically what we were capable of playing.

Terry was a really good guitar player but I was just learning to play bass so we played a sort of Psychedelic Blues with long demented extended guitar ramblings, we had fun. Our influences were British band stuff like Syd Barrett and early Floyd, The Move, Kinks, The Fish's song 'section 43' made a big impression on me, and all the crazy San Francisco bands. One of my oldest friends is Warren Cann the drummer for 'Ultavox. We went to high school as pals, and had a psychedelic liquid light show together in 1967. I was drumming in my high school band at the time, and we were both poor and 'drum less' so on lunch hours, I used to sneak Warren into the practise area under the auditorium and let him bang on my school rental set of drums.

I was in my first band with a childhood friend Basil Watson when we were both 12 years old, we were called 'Twilight Surfers'. Heh, we had skateboards.

When Active Dog started we were into the new Brit stuff that was hitting Vancouver at that time Pistols, Clash, and the Ramones, big time. I still drum practice daily to 'Rocket to Russia' on my headphones.

RR: What was the Vancouver scene like at the time of the bands formation?

RWC: Hair bands and disco crap, and faux-American style bands singing about highways and cocaine. Quite dismal, actually...we were into Bonzo Dog band and Mayall, Paul Butterfield band, Jim Kweskin Jug Band, then Robert started bringing over this crazy new stuff from England, and we were energized.

I started writing songs like "meat eating Betty'" and "Garlic Watches" and I made the mistake of leaving my song book at the practice space after writing a tune called "Let's go to fucking Hawaii" and ....well let's just say someone thought it was worth stealing. Art (Bergmann of Young Canadians) and I have come to an 'understanding' recently about the song, but not many people realize that I wrote 'Hawaii', but I did. It was going to be an Active Dog song.

RR: Active Dog has recorded several songs and has been featured on the Vancouver Complication compilation. Do you have any memorable recording moments in the bands history?

RWC: I'm just sorry we didn't get to record more songs, but we showed up right at the very beginning of the punk scene. We weren’t punks or anything really, we just played very loud, solid, funny songs and with the additions of Bill Shirt as front-man, Buck on guitar, Gord on Keys, we had a huge stage presence. With two guitar players trading lead, keyboards swirling, super loud twin 15" SVT bass cabs, and driving drums, we really shook the places we played..

Recording the [Vancouver] 'complication album stuff' was done at 'Sabre Studio' in Chris Cutress' basement bedroom, full of super hero models and flannel cowboy pyjamas. We got everything in first takes and it only took about four hours to do vocal overdubs, and mix the two songs. [They recorded] Bill's songs 'Nothing holding you' and 'Fun while it lasts' both fine songs, but they don't really give a good example of what we sounded like. I decided to record two of my songs, the 'Rat Race'/ 'Good Filthy fun' single was closer sounding to what we were musically about. We recorded the single at Sabre Sound too. It was cheap and I liked the 'Tea in Toyland' atmosphere of the place, so I booked the studio time, but when we were ready to record Gord announced that he'd decided to join the Pointed Sticks and so, we had no keyboards. I asked Buck to play Gords keyboard part on his guitar that was my 'Mooch Flammand' moment of producing [ Mooch Flammand was a pseudonym for Ross Carpenter as a producer]. I still like the single, it's a lot more what we sounded like....

RR: When did Active Dog stop playing as a band?

RWC: I think the last time we played, all of us together.. hmmm it might have been at the 'Helen Pitt' art gallery in Vancouver, but I really can't remember a last gig because we never mentioned we were breaking up. Gord was just gone one day, and he took one of my best friends, Robert, our drummer, with him. So, we just started forming other bands and not getting drunk together.

[I actually had a really big problem with Robert leaving. After all, he had been an original member of the band back when we were still Steel Breeze. I had even taught him how to drum, so he could hang around and make music with Terry and me, I was crazy pissed off, and didn't speak to him for a couple of decades].

Ironically, Robert didn't last long in the Pointed Sticks, they ground him up and spit him out like a bad idea. He went on to play with the 'Scissors' for a while, then he had a few bad personal nightmares and became a recluse. I've recently reunited with Bill Shirt and the others, as friends, and we have good memories of the crazy times we played.

RR: What are some of the other groups that you and some of the other band members have been involved with following Active Dog?

RWC: here's a bit of who / what / went to where

Buck Cherry: Modernettes,Los Popularos, Braineaters, Melody Pimps, Arrogant Derelicts, etc

Bill 'Shirt' Scherke: Los Popularos

Gord 'Dash' Nicholls : Pointed Sticks, Mud Bay Blues band

Terry 'Mister' Bowes: Antheads

Robert 'Boots' Bruce: Pointed Sticks, the Devices, Scissors

Ross Carpenter: Antheads, Perky Pat, Melody pimps, 'Detlef Sping and his Small Doomed Planet'

RR: What have you currently been up to and are you still playing in any bands?

RWC: I'm retired from the rat race of my work as an optical repair technician for Bausch and Lomb, now I paint and I record my 'Detlef Sping' stuff in my basement studio 'Twilight Sleep Studio'. I'm still drumming with the Melody Pimps and practice 2 hours a day on drums, 10:00am to noon. The Pimps currently plan on recording a CD of party faves and demented heavy metal, but with my brother and fellow Pimp, Randall T Carpenter, also in the Mud Bay Blues Band, we have to wait until they finish up with their projects.

RR: Is there anything else you would like to add or say?

RWC: Hmmm, no, not really, but thanks Dave, for your interest in us, and for giving me this opportunity to talk a bit about the old band. I do wish that Active Dog had more to show for our sweaty efforts, but nobody had video cameras in those days and we were too busy playing to really do much recording. Just after Active Dog split up the scene had all sorts of chronicalists and well wishers, but alas we were toast.

Oh well, we were there......thanks Dave...Ross

This Week's Play List:

1. The Saints - Save Me
2. Pierced Arrows - The Doorway
3. Hater - Convicted
4. Radio Birdman - Murder City Nights
5. Queens of the Stone Age - Medication
6. Gun Club - Fire Spirit
7. Pointed Sticks - How Could You?
8. The Modernettes - I Can Only Give You Everything
9. Antheads - Get A Gun....
10. Antheads - Moist and Easy
11. Perky Pat - Pussycat
12. Perky Pat - The Bells
13. Active Dog - Rat Race
14. Active Dog - Nothing Holding You
15. Psycotic Pineapple - Say That You Will
16. Modern Mothers - Crossing The Line
17. The D4 - Feel It Like It
18. The Professionals - Kick Down the Doors
19. The Cramps - Uranium Rock
20. The Boys - First Time
21. The Adverts - Gary Gilmore's Eyes
22. The Germs - Lexicon Devil
23. Lowlands Studio Band - Trash One
24. High Mother - My Creation
25. Magazine - Give Me Everything
26. Ramones - I'm Against It

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for July 6th. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

A Well Respected Man...Show # 306

On June 23rd 2010, Peter Quaife original bassist and co-founder of the UK band The Kinks passed away at 66 years old. He was with the band from their original formation in 1961 until 1969. Although the band became known as The Kinks in 1964, they recorded a single under the band name The Ravens in 1963. Peter has played on some of the bands most renowned recordings such as "You Really Got Me", "Waterloo Sunset", "Sunny Afternoon", "Dedicated Follower of Fashion", and "All Day and All of the Night". Quaife has been quoted saying that The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society is his favourite album by The Kinks, stating that it was one of the only Kinks albums with the most contributions musically from all band members

Following his time with The Kinks, Peter joined another band called Maple Oak who recorded a single titled "Son of a Gun" in April of 1970. Quaife left the band and the music business in 1970, he moved to Denmark and pursued other artistic interests. In 1981, he relocated to Belleville, Ontario where he worked as a graphic artist. He reunited with his fellow Kinks band members two times following his leave from the group, once for an encore at a show in Toronto in 1981 and in 1990 when The Kinks were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1998, he was diagnosed with Renal Failure. He would publish a book of cartoons called The Lighter Side of Dialysis in 2004 and a book about a fictional 1960s Rock group titled Veritas. In 2005, Peter Quaife moved back to Denmark. He was married twice and has one daughter.

The Play List:

1. The Black Lips - Before You Judge Me
2. The Phantom - Love Me
3. Little Joy - The Next Time Around
4. Creepies Invade - Nightmare (of Love)
5. Young Veins - Change
6. Gramercy Riffs - The Freezedown
7. Collapsing Opposites - You Can't Escape From Time
8. A Million Years - Holy Ghost Town
9. Wavves - Post-Acid
10. Public Image Limited - Chant (Peel Session)
11. Boxer The Horse - Sketch Me A Glove
12. Elbow Beach Surf Club - Surf Theme
13. The Treblemakers - Exploding Bikers From Hochelaga
14. Man Your Horse - Aptitude Sickness
15. Bored Games - Joe 90
16. The Alternators - The Kid Don't Know
17. Deadboys - Sonic Reducer
18. Generation X - No No No (Alternate Version)
19. X - Painting the Town Blue
20. Joe Strummer - Dum Dum Club
21. The Locusts Have No King - Nightmare Away
21. The Kinks - Days
22. The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset (BBC Session)
23. The Kinks - Everybody's Gonna Be Happy

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for June 29th. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Planet of Sound...Show # 305

The Pixies album Trompe Le Monde was originally released in 1991. The albums title translates into "Fool The World" in English, this would also be the last full length album before the bands split. The album was well received on UK and US charts. Trompe Le Monde featured many notable tracks, drawing on science fiction based themes involving aliens ("Planet of Sound", "Motorway To Roswell"), and other songs such as "Alec Eiffel", "U-Mass", and "Trompe Le Mode". The songs contained elements of the bands past influences and a new direction involving Pop elements. Many people feel that the album is essentially the first Black Francis solo album, due to the fact that he wrote all of the songs except for one. "Head On" which is also featured on the album is a cover of a song originally done by Jesus & The Mary Chain. The Pixies reunited in 2004.  

The Play List:

1. The Wipers - Up Front
2. Mudhoney - The Straight Life
3. THe Pixies - Head On
4. Hysteric Narcotics - Anna
5. Nightstalkers - Too Many Images
6. Hellbound Hepcats - Only Man
7. Christian D & the Hangovers - Hillbilly Heroin
8. Bloodshot Bill - Leave Me Alone
9. Ron Leary - Miles
10. Harlem - Witchgreens
11. The Express - Wastin' My Time
12. The Iguanas - Again & Again
13. Expelaires - To See You
14. The Skids - Masquerade
15. 20-20s - Heart On A string
16. The Drums - Skippin' Town
17. Devo - Fresh
18. Tokyo Police Club - Not Sick
19. The Stranglers - Outside Tokyo
20. Television - Venus
21. Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Crack of Dawn
22. The Libertines - Up the Bracket
23. Thee Manipulators - Paper In My Pocket
24. Young Rival - Workin'
25. The Gaslight Anthem - Stay Lucky
26. Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers - Do You Love Me?

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for June 22nd. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

A Million Miles Away...The Story of The Plimsouls...Show # 304

Peter Case began playing with a three piece that would be known as The Plimsouls in 1978. The band consisted of Case on guitar/vocals, David Pahoa on bass and Lou Ramirez on drums. The band began recording an EP that would be titled Zero Hour, it was released in 1980. During the recording of this EP another guitarist joined the group, Eddie Munoz. The EP was produced by Danny Holloway, who was also the group’s manager. The EP contained five songs all of which reflected a Power Pop based music ethic. The title track "Zero Hour" received heavy rotation on the LA radio station KROQ, along with their live shows this helped The Plimsouls to become a band to see in the LA club scene. The bands sound was a mix of Power Pop, New Wave, 60's Soul, Garage Rock and more. They are sometimes referred to as a Soul Punk band.

In 1981 The Plimsouls released their first album, which was simply titled The Plimsouls. The album featured the songs that were on the Zero Hour EP along with others which reflected elements of Power Pop, New Wave, Punk, and Roots Rock and Roll. Several critics agree that The Plimsouls has many classic Power Pop anthems and is one of their best releases. The band got more notoriety in 1983 when a self-financed single of theirs was put in a movie called Valley Girl. The song was known as "A Million Miles Away" and is seen as a great document of the bands Power Pop abilities, it became a minor hit for them. The band also appeared in the movie as themselves, performing "A Million Miles Away" along with two other songs. The bands second album, Everywhere At Once was released in 1983 on Geffen. The album featured a re-recorded version "A Million Miles Away", but the band would not last long, they split up following the release of this album. The band has been referred to as one of the greatest live bands in LA during this time period.  Their second album was more of a production based album, it was produced by Jeffery Rich. While the band did split up after Everywhere At Once, a live album was released in 1988 titled One Night in America. The band has reformed several times and in 1998 recorded another album titled Kool Trash that featured an appearance by Blondie drummer Clem Burke. Recently a live album was released titled Live! Beg, Borrow & Steal.

Peter Case continued on with a solo career and is an acclaimed song writer by many. He has released several solo albums expanding his song writing abilities into other genres such as Folk, Blues, Psychedelic and other Rock subgenres. Recently he released an album that was recorded using all analog equipment titled Wig! on Yep Rock records.

The Play List:

1. The Checks - Bagheera
2. Greenhornes - Pattern Skies 
3. Surf City - See How The Sun
4. Grand Prix - Always Beginning
5. The Bats - Steppin' Out
6. Mystery Jets - Dreaming of Another World
7. Young Veins - Maybe I Will, Maybe I Won't
8. The Beat - Rankin' Full Stop
9. The Beatdown - Hooligans
10. Leisure Units - Champagne and Money To Burn
11. The Disappeared - Welcome Back
12. The Diodes - Weekend 
13. Pointed Sticks -What Do You Want Me To Do?
14. The Sinners - No Brains Required 
15. 222s - Hold Up
16. The Rage - I've Got Your Number
17. The Nerves - When You Find Out
18. The Breakaways - Walking Out On Love
19. Plimsouls - Zero Hour
20. Peter Case -Ain't Got No Dough
21. Jack Lee & Band - It's Hot Outside
22. Marble Index - Anytime 
23. Modernettes - Static 
24. Black Keys - Tighten Up
25. Dead Weather - The Difference Between Us

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for June 15th. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Thunder Express...Show # 303

In March 1972, The MC5 recorded a live in studio session, it was also broadcast on TV. They recorded six songs at Herouville Castle in France, one of them being a new song and another being a cover of a Rolling Stones song ("Empty Heart"). The songs are available on a bootleg titled Thunder Express, but a remastered version of the song "Thunder Express" can be found on a greatest hits CD released by Rhino Records in 2000 titled Big Bang: The Best of The MC5. The song "Thunder Express" is itself one of the last original MC5 songs before their split. The song uses a standard blues pattern, but comes off with an original Rock and Roll intensity that matches songs such as "Sister Anne". The sessions feature English bassist Steve Moorhouse and was one of the last recording sessions the band did. This song along with three more songs that were recorded for the Gold soundtrack serve as the last original compositions by the band. The MC5 split in 1972/1973 following a live New Year's Eve show at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit.

More information about MC5 can be found in the following posts:

A True Testimonial: The Story of The MC5
MC5 Cover Artist Article

This Week's Play List:

1. 101ers - Surf City
2. 4/4 - Systematic
3. The Blitzz - So Free
4. The Fans - You Don't Live Here Anymore
5. The Victims - I Understand
6. The Perks - McPig
7. Silent Mercenaries - I Wanna Be An Accountant
8. Venus Envy - Hole in My Heart
9. Spiral Scratch - Nightcrawler
10. Dream Dates - Mess You're In
11. Regulators - What's in the City
12. Hot Hot Heat - Zero Results
13. Gemma Ray - Looking the World Over
14. Teenage Fanclub - The Fall
15. Dr.Dog - The Unicorn
16. The Saints - A Minor Aversion
17. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - At The Border, Guy
18. Albert Hammond Jr. - In Transit
19. Burnt Ones - Alright (Sha-La-La)
20. Simply Saucer - Dance the Mutation
21. Buzzcocks - I've Had Enough
22. MC5 - Thunder Express

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for June 8th. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Message in a Bottle Single 1979....Show # 302

In September of 1979, The Police released their second single from their second album Regetta De Blanc. The single was "Message in a Bottle", a song that would be the bands first number one single in the UK. While the song itself is a great example of song writing within the Rock music genre (containing elements of Reggae, Punk/New Wave, and Pop), the B-side to the single was much different. "Landlord" was a fast Punk paced song which reflects a sound of The Police's early days as a band. This Punk song is a song simply about a Landlord in Sting's life at the time. The single as a whole can be seen as an example of the bands past and future on one 7". While "Landlord" catered to the bands beginnings with a Punk influence, "Message in a Bottle" exemplified where the band would go in the coming years, to the top of the charts. They would become a huge success up until their split following three concerts for Amnesty International in 1986. It should also be noted that The Police reunited for two world reunion tours in 2007/2008. The cover created for this single features a green bottle that is shattered over a picture of the band. "Landlord" can be found on the Message in a Box Set that was released in 1993.





Play List:

1. The Police - Landlord
2. The Boys - Living in the City (Live at The Roxy)
3. UK Subs - CID (Live at the Roxy)
4. Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Sweet Gene Vincent
5. The Shakers - In Time
6. Teenage Head - Top Down
7. The Organ - Oh What A Feeling
8. Thee Headcoats - You Got Your Head On Backwards
9. Young Fresh Fellows - High Time
10. The Caesars - It's Not the Fall That Hurts
11. Fjord Rowboat - We Are On Time
12. Mode Moderne - Les Neuf Soeurs
13. Link Wray - The Sweeper
14. The New Waves - Nocturnal
15. Panasonics - Pancake
16. The Surf Trio - Down 1-5
17. Hot Nasties - This is Unlove
18. John Lennon - Crippled Inside
19. Cheap Trick - Big Eyes
20. Fire Engines - New Things in Cartons
21. Talking Heads - Pulled Up
22. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Moods For Moderns
23. Outrageous Cherry - Self-Made Monster
24. Medications - We Could Be Others
25. The Hives - A Thousand Answers (Live)
26. Rich Kids - Empty Words

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for June 1st. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Show 301...The Easybeats, Iggy Pop and The Black Keys

Play List:

1. The Action - Waiting For the Man
2. Joy Division - Sister Ray
3. Smashing Pumpkins - Venus in Furs
4. The Velvet Underground - Pale Blue Eyes
5. Locust Have No King - Song 6
6. Prehistoric Cave Strokers - Stereotypical Blues Tune
7. Thee Manipulators - (It's Gonna Be) alright
8. Starlites - I Can See You
9. Canadian VIPs - I Know
10. Ex-Girl Friends Club - Your Prescription
11. Harlem - Faces
12. The Gruesomes - You Were Not Using Your Head
13. The Easybeats - She's So fine
14. Okmoniks - What I Want
15. Mint Chicks - Screens
16. The Futureheads - Struck Dumb
17. The Vores - Heartbeat
18. Radio Birdman - Zeno Beach
19. Iggy Pop - Five Foot One
20. Wire - Sand in My Joints
21. New Strychnines - Shot Down
22. Generation X - Cathy Comes Home
23. Black Keys - Howlin' For You
24. Undertones - Here Comes the Summer

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for May 25. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Velvet Underground Special...Show # 300!

This week Revolution Rock aired for its 300th time on the CJAM airwaves.  To celebrate this event this weeks show focused on the music of the highly influential Velvet Underground. This week I will discuss the song Sister Ray.

Sister Ray (from White Light/White Heat 1968)

This is an avant-garde song that is featured on the bands 1968 album White Light/White Heat and is over 17 minutes long. The music is credited to the entire band and was apparently written by Sterling Morrison, John Cale, and Maureen Tucker during the bands Exploding Plastic Inevitable tour with Andy Warhol while Lou Reed was in the hospital with hepatitis. The song itself was recorded in a single take in September of 1967 at Scepter Studios in New York City. During the recording of the song the bands engineer at the time has been rumoured to have started the recording and then apparently told the band to come get him when they were done. On the recording Lou Reed covers vocals and guitar, Maureen Tucker is on drums, Sterling Morrison is on guitar and John Cale plays an organ that was amplified through a distorted guitar amplifier, there is no bass. Morrison’s guitar was also switched to the bridge pick up for the recording to give according to him `"extra oomph". The song comes off displaying elements of Garage and Psychedelic Rock music in a fashion that is not unlike The Stooges at times. This song was also a live favourite and when played it usually lasted for half and hour or more, it would end their sets.  Lyrics to the song can be described by a quote from Lou Reed himself in The Stranger in which he said:

"'Sister Ray' was done as a joke--no, not as a joke, but it has eight characters in it and this guy gets killed and nobody does anything. The situation is a bunch of drag queens taking some sailors home with them, shooting up on smack and having this orgy when the police appear. The jam came about right there in the studio. We didn't use any splices or anything. When we did 'Sister Ray,' we turned up to 10 flat-out, leakage all over the place. [The producers] asked us when it would end. We didn't know. We were doing the whole heavy-metal trip back then. If 'Sister Ray' isn't an example of heavy metal, I don't know what is."

More information on The Velvet Underground can be found in a previous post I did on the band, What Went On: The Story of The Velvet Underground

VU Play List:

1. Sunday Morning
2. Femme Fatale
3. Stephanie Says
4. Temptation Inside Your Heart
5. We're Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together
6. Coney Island Steeplechase
7. Who Loves the Sun
8. Beginning to See the Light
9. New Age
10. Heroin
11. What Goes On (Closet Mix)
12. White Light/White Heat
13. Guess I'm Falling in Love (Live)
14. Satellite of Love
15. I'm Waiting For the Man (Different Take)
16. After Hours
17. I Can't Stand It
18. Sister Ray

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for May 18. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Awesome Color and Memories...Show 299

Next week's show will feature the songs of The Velvet Underground. This week enjoy some youtube videos from some of the bands played on this weeks show.

The Play List:

1. The Cramps - Save It
2. Awesome Color - Transparent
3. Billy and The Kids - Say You Love Me
4. Beatpack - My Baby Left Me
5. The Haunted - 1-2-5 (Original Version)
6. Mark Sultan - Status
7. Lost Patrol - Kinda Sorta Miss Home
8. Johnny Thunders - You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory
9. The Sadies - Another Year Again
10. Rolling Stones - Dear Doctor (Outtake)
11. Locusts Have No King - Last Night in My Favourite Bar
12. Sloan - G Turns to D (Live at the Palais Royale)
13. The Motors - Dancing The Night Away
14. The Fall - Hot Cake
15. Birthday Boys - Hiss
16. LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls
17. Ultravox! - Satday Night In the City of the Dead
18. The Adverts - Television's Over
19. Jaill - Everyone's Hip
20. The Smugglers - 5-4-3-2-1
21. The Pagans - What's This Shit Called Love?
22. The Damned - You Take My Money
23. The Kinks - Get Back in the Line
24. Black Lips - Slime and Oxygen
25. The Libertines - I Get Along

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for May 11. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Pumping On Your Stereo... The Story of Supergrass...Show 298

Supergrass formed in 1993 following the end of the band The Jennifers in Oxford, England. The band only ever released one single Just Got Back Today in 1992.  They started out very young at the ages of 16. Supergrass consists of Gaz Coombes (guitar/vocals), Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass), and Danny Goffey on drums. Taking their influences from bands such as Buzzcocks, The Jam, The Who, Small Faces, The Kinks, and other Britpop acts, Supergrass released their first single Caught By The Fuzz in October of 1994. Released on Parlophone Records, Caught By The Fuzz is lyrically based on a true life incident involving lead singer Gaz Coombes. Musically the song reflects a Buzzcockian ethic and teenage angst, the single reached number 43 on the UK singles charts. In August 1994, the very same song was released on a different label called Backbeat Records, a limited number of copies were pressed. "Mansize Rooster" and "Lenny" were released next as singles and charted on the UK album charts as well. The bands debut album followed in May of 1995, it was titled I Should Coco.  The album was recorded quickly in order to capture the energy and excitement of the songs according to the booklet to Supergrass is 10. I Should Coco was recorded and produced in Cornwall by Sam Williams. The album reflects musical influences such as The Kinks, Buzzcocks, The Jam, and The Madness. Mixing in elements of Britpop and other 60s influences, I Should Coco reached number one on the UK album charts and remained there for three weeks. Other stand out tracks on the album included the keyboard Britpop driven song "Alright", and "Time". The title of I Should Coco is based on Cockney rhyming slang. The album was released in the US three months later.

After touring heavily and playing many festivals, Supergrass released the single Going Out in 1996. The song would be taken from their forth coming album which would be titled In It For The Money. Recorded in 1996 at Sawmill Studio, the album was produced by Supergrass and John Cornfield. Prior to the recording of this album, only two songs were completed. The songs on this album reflected a darker sound and included songs such as "Richard III", "Sun Hits The Sky", and "Late In The Day" all of which did well on the UK single charts.

After a break, the band returned in 1999 with the song "Pumping On Your Stereo". The song, which came about during a rehearsal is a simple three chord song that is extremely catchy. Apparently handclaps were added to the recording of the song because the drummer was not hitting the snare drum loud enough, it came out with a David Bowie feel as a result. In addition to this, the music video for the song shows the band as Muppet like characters. The song generated much publicity for the band, it was followed by their third full length album titled Supergrass. Recorded at Sawmill and Ridge Farm Studios, Supergrass went to number 3 on the UK album charts and produced several charting singles ("Moving" and "Mary"). The band then took a hiatus until 2002 when they returned with the album Life On Other Planets. For this album the band brought in producer Tony Hoffer, it was also said to be inspired by a variety of topics such as Carl Sagan documentaries on the cosmos, and by a telescope that was brought into the studio by Rob Coombes to see other planets during the recording process. It should also be noted that this was the first album to list Rob Coombes (keyboards) as an official member of Supergrass. The album came off with a different sound than the bands previous releases, but contained a lot of energy. This is apparent on songs such as "Rush Hour Soul", and "Never Done Nothing Like That Before". The album peaked at number 9 on the UK album charts, this was followed by a hiatus of three years.

In 2004, Supergrass is 10 was released. This was a greatest hits compilation celebrating the bands ten year anniversary, featuring two new compositions. Early editions of the album featured two DVD's containing music videos of the bands singles and a documentary about the band. It went to number 4 on the UK album charts. In 2005, Supergrass returned with Road To Rouen. It was recorded in a barn that was converted into a recording studio in Rouen, Normandy. The music was mellower and reflected a more orchestral dimensionality. It has been said to have been a difficult album for the band due to personal issues involving Danny Goffey and the tabloids and the passing of the Coombes brother’s mother. Despite this fact, the album was well received by fans and cracked the top ten in the UK. It was followed by and extensive international tour from August 2005 to September 2006.

In 2007 the band began working on their seventh studio album Diamond Hoo Ha. It was recorded in Berlin at Hansa Tonstudio, the very same place where David Bowie recorded many albums. The band also worked with producer Nick Launay who has worked with bands such as Gang of Four, Public Image Limited, and Nick Cave. The songs on this album reflected a more Rock based ethic from Supergrass and three singles were released from the album ("Diamond Ho Ha Man", "Bad Blood", and "The Rebel in You"). During the bands 2007 Summer tour, Charly Coombes was added as an additional guitarist, percussionist, and to supply backing vocals. In 2008 following a US tour, the bands contract ended and as a result the song "The Rebel In You" was released independently through a new label the band formed called Supergrass Records.

In 2009, the band signed to Cooking Vinyl and announced that they had begun work a new album that was to be released in January 2011 titled Release The Drones. The music on the album is said to have been influenced by Drone music and bands such as Can and other Krautrock bands.  Apparently the band members switched instruments for several of the tracks that were recorded for the album.  Although the album was said to have been nearly completed, in April 2010 Supergrass announced that following a series of concerts that are to end with a show in Paris on June 11th, 2010 that they would be breaking up.  It is not known if Release The Drones will be released.  The members of Supergrass have been involved in numerous side projects Gaz Coombes and Danny Goffey are currently involved in a project titled The Hotrats. The band recorded an album of cover songs with producer Nigel Godrich titled Turn Ons, it was released in January 2010.

Play List:

1. Standells - Mr.Nobody
2. Scott Morgan - Fallin' For Ya
3. Quadron - Pressure
4. Jury - Please Forget Her
5. Great Scots - The Light Hurts My Eyes
6. Prehistoric Cavestrokers - Hatfield's Corner
7. Ugly Ducklings - Just In Case You Wonder
8. Whitsundays - Oh Madeline
9. The Blue Violets - You Said
10. The Robots - Tiny Paws
11. Neil Young - World On A String
12. Blue Peter - Same Old Place
13. Modern Mothers - Allison
14. Two Door Cinema Club - This is the Life
15. The Carnivores - Heart of Copper
16. Radiohead - Electioneering
17. Motorhead - I'll Be Your Sister
18. Luger Boa - Please Please
19. Roxy Music - Street Life
20. David Bowie - Rosalyn
21. Lou Reed - I'm So Free
22. The Clash - City of the Dead
23. The Hives - Die, All Right!
24. Supergrass - Seen the Light
25. Supergrass - Alright

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for May 4. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Supergrass Videos:

Caught By The Fuzz
Alright
Pumping On Your Stereo
Mary
Going Out
Rush Hour Soul
Diamond Hoo Ha Man
Bad Blood

Sex Pistols, Revolvers and Harlem....Show # 297

This week marked the 267th episode of Revolution Rock on the CJAM airwaves. In celebration of my 300th episode which is two weeks away, I will be playing the music of The Velvet Underground. Feel free to leave any requests via the comment button on this post. In the meantime, enjoy some youtube videos:








The Play List:

1. The Specials - Too Much Too Young
2. The Slackers - Mr.Tragedy
3. Spacecraft 7 - Jed's Trilogy Part 1
4. The Disappeared - Karen Silkwood
5. DID - Ask U2
6. The Horrors - Little Victories
7. Tyranna - Johnny
8. Rock and Roll Bitches - Broad Daylight
9. Sturgeons - Punk Rock Virgins
10. Magic Hall of Mirrors - Coke MTN
11. The Make Up - They Live By Night
12. Secrets - Teenage Rampage
13. Speaking Tongues - Looking in your Window
14. Revolvers - Rock y Roll
15. Television - Torn Curtain
16. Harlem - Pissed
17. 5.6.7.8's - Cat Fight Run
18. The Zeros - Beat Your Heart Out
19. Buzzcocks - Everybody's Happy Nowadays
20. Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Liars Beware
21. The Stooges - TV Eye
22. Blur - Fools Day
23. Sex Pistols - EMI
24. Nirvana - Stay Away

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for April 27. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Authenic...Young Rival Release Self Titled Debut...Show # 296

On April 13th, 2010 (in the US on June 8th) Young Rival released their first full length album under that band name. Signing to legendary Hamilton label Sonic Unyon, Young Rival is now alongside other Hamilton, Ontario greats such as Teenage Head and Simply Saucer. Recorded during June of 2009 with Polaris Prize winning Jon Drew, Young Rival's self titled debut has all the energy, excitement and depth of Rock and Roll. Compared to previous releases by the band this album reflects a more "rough around the edges" sound. There are also two tracks dating back to the bands recording sessions with Emery Dobyns from 2007 for the bands EP.  The band takes on a new dynamic with this album.  It Picks up where the bands six song EP left off, containing high energy rockers and songs more melodic in nature. Lyrically the album contains upbeat lyrics, juxtaposed alongside darker and tongue-in-cheek lyrics.  Within the new sonic dynamics that are being displayed here, Young Rival will now operate a three piece. In December of 2009, rhythm guitarist Kyle Kuchmey left the group to pursue other interests, but he is featured on all of the recordings found on this album.

If you have seen Young Rival live in the past year or so, many of these songs here have been road tested and work well.  The album keeps true to their live sound.  Songs such as "The Ocean", "Authentic", "T-Shirt and Shorts", "Workin", "Ghost in the Park", and "Just Can't Stay Here" all capture the essence of the band.  Other songs on the album such as "At the Break of Dawn" which is an acoustic track similar to 60s Psychedelic Rock with Surf Guitar elements, and "A Few Things Left" which is a Blues and Garage Rock track, add to the songs featured on Young Rival.  Drenched in elements of 60's Garage, Surf, Pop and strong vocal harmonies, Young Rival is an eleven track album that you will want for your collection.  It will be released on vinyl in June. 

Young Rival will perform at Phog Lounge in Windsor, Ontario on Saturday April, 24th.

Links:
The Story of Young Rival and an Interview
http://www.youngrival.com/

This week's play list:

1. Polymorphines - Dirty Cop
2. Blam Blam Blam - Talkback King
3. Modern Lovers - Pablo Picasso
4. The Demics - The News
5. Brian James - I Can Make You Cry
6. Barracudas - Rendez-Vous
7. Link Wray - The Fuzz
8. The Gamblers - Moon Dawg!
9. Astronuts - Montezuma
10. The Locust Have No King - On My Way
11. James O-L and the Vilains - Last Lemmings Over the Cliff
12. Dr. Dog - Jackie Wants A Black Eye
13. Talking Heads - Psycho Killer (Take 1)
14. Marching Girls - True Love
15. The Organ Beats - Time To Go
16. Carbon/Silicon - Don't Taser Me Bro
17. Pretty Things - Gonna Find Me A Substitute
18.The Pack AD - Math, The Stars
19. The D4 - Little Baby
20. Gun Club - Sex Beat
21. The Kinks - Susannah's Still Alive
22. Young Rival - T-Shirt and Shorts
23. Young Rival - Just Can't Stay Here
24. Bob Dylan - From A Buick 6

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for April 20. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Ten of Hearts...The Mark Sultan Story....Show # 295

Coming from Montreal, Quebec, Canadian musician Mark Sultan has been in numerous bands. He started out playing drums with a band called Powersquat, they were known for their live shows which often turned violent. By 1995, Sultan helped form the band The Spaceshits where he would become lead vocalist. The Punk/Garage band would become known for their live shows as well, which were sometimes violent and would not last more than 10 to 15 minutes. They were often over the top featuring fireworks and flood lights. As a result, the band was banned from many clubs and in 1996 they released their first EP tilted I'm Dead. Winter Dance Party, The Spaceshits first full length album was released in 1997 on the Sympathy for the Record Industry label. After a European tour and being banned from numerous venues in Montreal, The Spaceshits split up by 1999.

Sultan's next band was Les Sexereenos. The band took their name from a pulp novel by Ron Haydock. Mark Sultan was not only the lead singer in this group, he was also the drummer at the same time. The bands sound drifted more towards Garage Rock and featured organ. They released two albums Live! In the Bed (2000) and 14 Frenzied Shakers in 2001. The bands albums were released on the Sympathy for the Record Industry label and in 2005, 28 Party Dancers from Montreal's Finest a compilation of the bands seven inch releases was released. The band has played several live shows with bands such as the Detroit Cobras, the Von Bondies, and the Deadly Snakes. By 2002, Les Sexereenos were pretty much over and Mark Sultan began recording under the name BBQ. In BBQ, Sultan drummed, sang and played guitar simultaniously. a self titled debut was released by BBQ in 2003 on Alien Snatch Records and it adopted more of a Garage Rock sound. In 2005, BBQ's second full length album Tie Your Noose was released on Bomp! Records. In the very same year, Sultan recorded a single with a new band called The Mind Controls (covering guitar and vocals), who adopted more of a Punk sound. Growing dissatisfied with being a one man band, Sultan teamed up with formed Spaceshits bassist King Khan to become the band The King Khan & BBQ Show. 

In 2005 The King Khan & BBQ Show released their first self titled album, and toured America, South America, Austraila and Europe.  The band mixed elements of Garage Rock, Doo Wop and Punk. What's for Dinner? their second album was released in 2006 on In the Red Records and in 2009 The King Khan & BBQ Show released their third full length album Invisible Girl. Mark Sultan released his frantic debut album The Sultanic Verses in 2007. In 2010 Mark Sultan released his newest album titled $. The album was released on Sultan Records, an independent record label owned by Mark Sultan that features many Garage Rock bands. Mark Sultan has played under numerous names and in 2009 recorded an album under the band name The Almighty Defenders with members of The Black Lips and King Khan. The Ding Dongs, a project featuring Mark Sultan and Bloodshot Bill will be releasing an album in 2010 on Norton Records.

This is the last day to vote for the CJAM awards.  So if you are a visitor of this blog and or listener of my radio show, your vote would be greatly appreacted for Revolution Rock.  Vote Now!

The Play List:
1. The Wipers - Return of the Rat
2. Stone Temple Pilots - Tumble in the Rough
3. Pluto - Locked and Loaded
4. Burnt Ones - Gonna Listen To T-Rex (All Night Long)
5. The Dishrags - Vicious (Live)
6. The Evaporators - Crispy Space Bacon
7. Mark Sultan - Go Beserk
8. Mark Sultan - I Get Nothin from My Girl
9. The Cinch - Mystery Train
10. The Spades - Tear It Apart
11. Eddie & The Hotrods - 96 Tears
12. New York Dolls - Private World
13. The Ugly - To Have Some Fun
14. The Vapors - News At Ten (Single Version)
15. T.Rex - Jeepster
16. The Who - Heatwave
17. Awesome Color - Zombies
18. The Misfits - Hollywood Babylon
19. Magazine - My Mind Ain't So Open
20. Codine Velvet Club - Hollywood
21. Blondie - I Know But I Don't Know
22. TV Smith's Explorers - Walk Away
23. XTC - Life Begins at the Hop
24. Devo - Gut Feeling

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for April 13. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Dimensions...The Story of The Box Tops.....Show 294

Coming from Memphis, Tennessee The Box Tops originally started out in 1963 as The Devilles. The line up changed by 1967 and included Alex Chilton (vocals/guitar), Danny Smythe (drums and founder of the band), John Evans (guitar/keyboards), Bill Cunningham (bass), and Gary Talley (lead guitar). The bands sound mixed elements of Soul music and Pop, and sometimes came off with a Garage Rock sound.

Signing to Bell Records the band cut their first single "The Letter" in 1967. The song was written by Wayne Carson Thompson and produced by Dan Penn. Fronted by teenage Alex Chilton with his angry soulful voice, the single quickly went to # 1 on the Billboard singles charts. It remained at number one for four weeks and even made it into Billboard Magazines number one single of the year. The bands next single "Neon Rainbow" was also written by Thompson and produced by Penn. Session musicians began to be brought in to record a lot of the singles for The Box Tops, this frustrated guitarist John Evans and Drummer Danny Smythe. As a result, they left the group and returned to school in early 1968. It should be noted that while session musicians did play on the majority of the recordings, the original line up of The Box Tops perform on the song "The Letter" and performed live. Symthe and Evans were replaced by Tom Boggs and Rick Allen.

The band continued to have hit singles and within nine months the band recorded three full length albums. The Letter/Neon Rainbow was released in November 1967, Cry Like A Baby in April 1968, and Non-Stop in July 1968. While the band had several hits, Alex Chilton was getting upset over the inconsistency of material that The Box Tops were recording. He would push to have some of his original compositions recorded. Every song on the bands first three albums were written by someone else, but Chilton got some original compositions recorded for The Box Tops next album Dimensions. Released in 1969, Dimensions was not produced by Penn and featured several Chilton originals "I Must Be the Devil", "Together", and "The Happy Song". The band also had their last minor hit with the song "Soul Deep" which is also featured on Dimensions, it was also written by Wayne Carson Thompson. Following this Bill Cunningham left the group to go back to school.

The bands contract ended in 1970 and they were essentially over after that. More material was released from 1972-1974. In 1972, studio musicians were put together to record new material under the Box Tops name, three singles were recorded this way. The last Box Tops single recorded was "Wilobee and Dale", none of these singles charted. Alex Chilton returned to Memphis and would form the Power Pop cult band Big Star. The Box Tops reunited several times between 1989-2009. On March 17, 2010 Alex Chilton passed away due to a heart attack.

More information on The Box Tops can be found at:
http://www.boxtops.com/

The Play List:

1. The Saints - Messin' With the Kid
2. Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - Get Yo Shit
3. Box Tops - Everything I Am
4. Big Star - Oh My Soul
5. James OL & The Villains - Train Wreck of Thought
6. Locust Have No King - Come One, Come All
7. Teenage Head - Infected
8. Drink Up Buttercup - Seasickness Pills
9. The Whigs - Hundred/Million
10. Radio Birdman - 455 SD
11. The Spys - Welcome to the Cruel World
12. Ramblin' Ambassadors - Rat Creek
13. Bambi Molesters - Wrong Turn
14. Lovers Love Haters - Poison
15. Perky Pat - The Bells
16. The Police - On Any Other Day
17. Ramones - Let's Dance
18. Buzzcocks - Lipstick
19. The Stooges - Shake Appeal
20. MC5 - Sister Anne

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for April 6. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.


Box Tops Videos:



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