February is theme month once again for Revolution Rock. I will be doing a different themed program for each of the four weeks in February 2019. This year’s programming will begin with a program devoted to the music of James Brown. Each program will air on a Saturday from 7-9 PM and can be streamed/listened to online via www.cjam.ca or on the FM dial at 99.1 FM in the Windsor/Detroit area.
Revolution Funk: The Music of James Brown
Saturday February, 2nd
7-9 PM
CJAM 99.1 FM (www.cjam.ca)
James Brown’s “Funky Drummer” was originally recorded at a jam session in 1969. The song was released as a two-part single via King Records in 1970 and eventually released on the compilation album
In The Jungle Groove in 1986. The song however, is one of the most sampled songs in hip hop and popular music. The break in the song around the five minute twenty second mark features a drum break played by Clyde Stubblefield has been sampled over one thousand times and is weaved among so many songs its often hard to keep track. This is just one of the songs that has been sampled by music created by James Brown. It is also an example of the vast influence he has had on music. James Brown, often known as “The Godfather of Soul” helped to secularize gospel music and in turn had a role in the creation of soul music. He would combine these elements of soul and R&B music to lay the foundations and to help create funk music. With his emphasis on the first note of every measure (known as “the one”), Brown and his band developed the downbeat, which created a groove that would become his signature.
In addition to this this, Brown addressed many social and political issues through his music with songs such as “Don’t Be A Dropout”, “Say It Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud)”, “Funky President (People It’s Bad)”, and “Talkin’ Loud and Sayin’ Nothing” to name a few. By the early 70’s James Brown and his band, The J.B.’s established a funk sound that can be heard on songs such as “Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine”, “Soul Power”, “Hot Pants”, “Make It Funky”, and “The Payback”. James Brown became a major figure in music in the 20th century and also provided captivating live shows that often involved his unique dance moves. With dance moves such as the mashed potato, the funky chicken, the robot and his tour de force move, the split, Brown had a combination of factors that made him influential in numerous ways. All of this earned him the nick name “The Godfather of Soul”. Revolution Rock celebrates Black History Month by playing music from James Brown’s catalogue, along with deep cuts, live recordings and a variety of other selections. Also joining the program will be guest host Graeme Sylvio of CJAM’s Sylvio & Soul radio program.
Love Bites: The Music of Pete Shelley
Saturday February, 9th
7-9 PM
CJAM 99.1 FM (www.cjam.ca)
Pete Shelley formed the early punk band Buzzcocks in the UK with Howard Devoto in 1976 after seeing a Sex Pistols gig in Manchester in 1975. Along with Steve Diggle and John Maher, Buzzcocks recorded and released their
Spiral Scratch EP in 1977 on their independent label, New Hormones. It was one of the first independent releases during the UK punk era of the late 70s, put out without the help of major record labels. Adhering to the DIY punk ethos, the success of this release inspired other bands to DIY labels to put out music on their own. Shortly after this release, Howard Devoto left the group, with Shelley taking the lead vocal/lead guitar role in the group. Steve Diggle switched to rhythm guitar from bass and bassist Steve Garvey would eventually join the group that when combined with drummer John Maher, formed the classic Buzzcocks band lineup.
Signing to United Artists, Buzzcocks mastered the art of the short pop song. The song “Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve), was inspired by a line from the movie
Guys and Dolls and has been called a pop masterpiece by many. The music he created often combined elements of punk, pop and power pop, to create catchy, memorable songs, often dealing with love gone wrong. Lyrically, his songs were often witty and open to interpretation and challenged the conventions of song writing. In addition to playing in Buzzcocks, Shelley’s also had a solo career, beginning with 1980’s
Sky Yen. This album ventured into electronic and drone music. 1981’s
Homosapien explored electronic pop and synthesizer based music, in its early pioneering days. For this episode, Revolution Rock will devote an entire program to music that has been created by Pete Shelley, featuring music from Buzzcocks, his solo career and other projects that he has been a part of.
The King Khan & BBQ Show Radio Special
Saturday February, 16th
7-9 PM
CJAM 99.1 FM (www.cjam.ca)
The King Khan & BBQ Show are a Canadian garage duo from Montreal. The band is comprised of King Khan and BBQ (which is an alias for Mark Sultan). The duo formed in 2002 after a series of bands that both Khan and Sultan were playing with disbanded. Prior to this, Sultan and Khan collaborated in an earlier band called The Spaceshits, who disbanded in 1999. When King Khan, then going by the name Blacksnake, decided to live in Berlin, that group ended. He would go on to form King Khan & The Shrines following this. Around this time Mark Sultan formed the garage rock band Les Sexereenos. In 2002, Sultan began performing and recording as a one-man band under the name BBQ. It was not too long after this that Khan and Sultan began collaborating and recording together. The first self-titled
King Khan & BBQ Show was released in 2005 on Goner Records in the US and on Hazelwood Records in Europe.
With Mark Sultan (aka BBQ) on drums (bass and snare drum), guitar, vocals and King Khan on vocals and lead guitar, the band mixed elements of punk rock and doo wop, combined with their garage rock mentality to create a sound all their own. Following the release of the band’s first album, they embarked on a world tour playing in the US, Europe and South America. The band gained a reputation for their wild, energetic and controversial live shows. More albums followed with 2008’s
What’s For Dinner? and 2009’s
Invisible Girl. During the tour for
Invisible Girl, Leo Chip (of the band Deadly Snakes), joined The King Khan & BBQ Show for some live dates as a drummer/organist. However, in 2010 the band split. In 2015, The King Khan & BBQ Show returned with the album
Bad News Boys. They have continued to tour off and on since 2011/2012. Throughout this band, after their initial split and even currently, King Khan and Mark Sultan have continually collaborated and recorded with other musicians and recorded music. Most recently Mark Sultan has released a full-length album called
Let Me Out and King Khan released his solo album
Murderburgers in 2017. This episode of Revolution Rock will feature selections from The King Khan & BBQ Show catalogue, along with a selection of other songs that both King Khan and Mark Sultan have recorded solo or with other groups.
Revolution Surf: The 13th Edition: Horror Themed Surf Rock
Saturday February, 23rd
7-9 PM
CJAM 99.1 FM (www.cjam.ca)
On Saturday February 23rd, the 13th annual edition of Revolution Surf will air on CJAM FM. To commemorate this episode, the program will be made up entirely of horror themed tracks. Horror themed surf songs have been something that has been present in surf music for quite some time. Many horror-based themes have surfaced in surf/instrumental rock songs going back to the beginnings of surf music. Most likely due to the influx of the many monster movies of the time period, this type of surf music has been combined with film and TV on countless occasions adding a different mood and dimension to whatever it is associated with. Horror themed surf music is often creepy and spooky sounding, although some of it has often been seen as kitschy or cheesy. This type of surf music has operated parallel to the sunnier themed surf songs that have been created in the genre. On this episode expect to hear spooky tracks from artists such as The Deadly Ones, The Ghastly Ones, Messer Chups and many others. This year’s Revolution Surf program will once again feature a guest segment from Surf Rock Radio’s Derk Brigante and more surprises!
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