Sylvain Sylvain & Shows # 866 & 867

Sylvain Sylvain was an American guitarist that is perhaps best known as being a member of the proto punk band The New York Dolls. While often overshadowed by guitarist Johnny Thunders, Sylvain’s rhythm helped give the Dolls part of what made them so unique. When they played together it created something special.  In Vintage Guitar Magazine Sylvain said: "I’m trying to hit you with everything, a little bit. Sometimes, I kind of float around, but it’s only a natural thing.” I feel this is a good way to describe the way Sylvain played the guitar and his aesthetic in general.

Originally from Egypt, his family eventually made their way to New York after living in France. Sylvain had a knack for fashion, clothing and music. Prior to being in the New York Dolls he ran a popular clothing company called Truth and Soul with his friend and future band mate Billy Murcia. Across the street from A Different Drummer, a men’s boutique shop that he also worked at in his younger days was a place called The New York Doll Hospital. The name "New York Dolls", struck a chord with Sylvain as something that would make a good band name. Although he played in several bands before the formation of The New York Dolls, Sylvain played in a band in high school called The Pox with Murica and in 1970 played in a band he called The Dolls that featured a young Johnny Thunders on bass. Sylvain wound up teaching Thunders how to play the guitar around this time. Not too long after this, Sylvain began playing in a band called Actress with guitarist Johnny Thunders, bassist Arthur Kane and drummer Billy Murcia. Sylvain Sylvain replaced guitarist Rick Rivets, who was one of the original guitarists in the group. While Johnny Thunders sang and provided lead guitar, he decided that he did not want to front a band and David Johansen entered the band as their vocalist. The New York Dolls were born. 

While on a short tour in England in 1972, drummer Billy Murcia died of an accidental overdose. When the band returned to New York they auditioned several drummers before adding Jerry Nolan to their ranks. The New York Dolls did have a small devout fan base, but they were never largely popular during their initial run, which ran from about 1971-1976. They however did challenge the conventions of rock and roll. Known as a glam rock, proto punk and punk before it was a word people used, The New York Dolls would go on to be vastly influential following their dissolution. Their live shows both shocked audiences with their use of genre bending glam dress and enthralled them with their wild rock sounds. The music that influenced their sound was part Bowie and T.Rex, girl group pop music, the sleazy rock sounds of The Rolling Stones, The Stooges, The MC5 and elements of Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground. 

Although their first two albums 1973’s New York Dolls and 1974’s Too Much Too Soon had bigger name producers attached to them, they just never sold that many copies or hit on the larger scale that they should have. While members of the band and fans have stated that the recordings of these albums were not that great, they still sound as vital now as they did in the 70s. Lenny Kaye had this to say of Sylvain and the Dolls: "Though he tried valiantly to keep the band going, in the end the Dolls’ moral fable overwhelmed them, not before seeding an influence that would engender many rock generations yet to come."

After the Dolls split, Sylvain Sylvain and David Johansen continued to play and write music together. Johansen’s first three solo albums featured songs written with Sylvain and he even played on several of the tracks. Sylvain also did his own thing, while still playing off and on with Johansen and other ex-Dolls at various points in their careers. The Criminals formed around 1977 and released the single The Kids Are Back/The Cops Are Coming in 1978. The band featured a strong power pop influence along with a sleazy rock influence in their sound. Slyvain Sylvain was released in 1979. His first solo album, the album featured songs such as “Teenage News”, one of the last songs he wrote for the New York Dolls before their initial split and other great songs such as “14th Street Beat”, “Emily” and the infectious soul harmonies of “What’s That Got To Do With Rock ‘n’ Roll?” The album was laced with acoustic guitars, harmonies, soul and 50s rock influences. It also showcased Sylvain as a songwriter in his own right. In 1981, he released an album as Syl Sylvain and The Teardrops. They were a three-piece band that took on many of the influences of his 1979 album, but also heavily embraced the sound of the 80s. He and David Johansen reformed The New York Dolls in the mid 2000’s touring and releasing three new albums worth of material. Throughout this time Sylvain Sylvain continued to play music. He even had a band with Cheetah Chrome of The Dead Boys called Batusis who released an EP in 2010. He also played and released much more music than this in his lifetime.  

Sylvain Sylvian passed away in January 2021 at the age of 69 after a long battle with cancer. His influence with the Dolls and many of the bands that he has written or played with runs deep.

Show 867 Playlist (Originally Aired On January 30th, 2021)(Paul Jacobs, New Fries, Pony, Chad VanGaalen, Jeff Tweedy, The Replacements):

1.  Paul Jacobs - Half Rich Loner
2.  Paul Jacobs - Thanks
3.  Paul Jacobs - If You Cannot Stay
4.  Birds of Paradise - Money Tree
5.  Fireball XL5 - Just A Vacant Boy
6.  The Goldstars - With This Ring
7.  Huttch - Quick Fix
8.  Pony - Couch
9.  Palberta - No Way
10. Lithics - Beat Fall
11. New Fries - L'Express
12. Goat Girl - Badibaba
13. Chad VanGaalen - Samurai Sword
14. TUNS - My Memories
15. The Bats - Warwick
16. Wilco - I'm Always In Love
17. Jeff Tweedy - Natural Disaster
18. Spencer Tweedy - Wind School
19. Bill Jr. Jr. - Blue
20. The Besnard Lakes - Fueds With Guns
21. Falcon Jane - Had Enough
22. Stinkbox - Burn 'Em

23. The Avengers - Car Crash
24. Crime - Terminal Boredom
25. The Screamers - Magazine Love
26. The Ex - Six Of One And Half A Dozen Of The Other
27. Pinch Points - Jelly Brain

28. Amyl & The Sniffers - Cup of Destiny
29. The Replacements - I.O.U. (Demo)
30. The Replacements - Alex Chilton (Rough Mix)
31. Johnny Thunders - Talk About You (Resurrected Remix)

To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the January 30 file to download/stream the episode.

Show 866 Playlist (Originally Aired On January 23rd, 2020) (Sylvain Sylvain Tribute, Viagra Boys, Bill Callahan & Bonnie Prince Billy, Kiwi Jr.):

1.  Viagra Boys - Ain't Nice
2.  Sleaford Mods - Elocution
3.  Shame - Snow Day
4.  Lice - R.D.C.
5.  Sylvain Sylvain - Teenage News
6.  The Criminals - Rockin' Good Time
7.  New York Dolls - Trash
8.  New York Dolls - Puss 'n' Boots
9.  Steve Earle & The Dukes - Maria
10. Bill Callahan, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy & Ty Segall - Miracles
11. White Laces - Hands In Mexico
12. Blush - Lunching Alone
13. Bill Callahan & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy - OD'd In Denver
14. The Kills - The Void
15. Danny Kroha - Poor Howard
16. The Bobby Tenderloin Universe - Sandpaper One Side, Rubber on the Other
17. Tea Leaves - Cicada Song
18. Guided By Voices - Electronic Windows To Nowhere
19. Kiwi Jr. - Undecided Voters
20. Kiwi Jr. - Waiting In Line
21. Bad Hoo - Skim Milk Test
22. Bike Thiefs - Connie's Got A New Phone
23. Necking - Habbo Hotel
24. The Young Canadians - I Hate Music
25. Art Bergmann - Demolished
26. Bella and the Bizarre - Delusions
27. 49th Parallel - You Do Things
28. Northwest Company - Hard To Cry
29. The Ar-Kaics - To Be Free

To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the January 23 file to download/stream the episode.

For those keeping track, show #865 was an encore of a previous episode that originally aired in February 2020 focusing on lesser known songs in Neil Young's Discography. Download that show here and find the playlist here.

Shows # 864 & #863 were encore episodes of our albums of 2020 episodes.  You can download those shows here and here and find the playlist here.  

Looking For Johnny Review & Show # 534

Looking For Johnny: The Legend of Johnny Thunders is a documentary about the dangerous life and times of the New York Dolls and Heartbreakers guitarist. Written and directed by Danny Garcia, this film delves into the human condition as it relates to Johnny Thunders. To further add depth to this analysis there are interviews with a cast of characters who had a part in Thunders life such as Walter Lure, Billy Rath, New York Dolls manager Marty Thau, Sylvain Sylvain, to Lenny Kaye, Bob Gruen and Nina Antonia, among others. Born John Anthony Genzale Jr. in 1952, the film has a quote from Thunders where he describes his upbringing in its early moments which states, “I grew up with just my mother and sister and you know, you had to fight for every inch that you, every notch on your gun I guess you could say.” New York Dolls guitarist Sylvain Sylvain also provides insight after we are informed of Thunders upbringing mentioning that there was always a void that Johnny carried with him. Johnny Thunders fought for every inch of his character and his career, with guns blazing so to speak, despite the excesses throughout his life.

In the early parts of this documentary, we learn of Johnny Thunders musical beginnings with his early bands The Reign, Johnny and The Jaywalkers and Actress, until he got connected with the members that were to become the New York Dolls. We see a young fresh faced, Johnny Thunders rise to popularity with the New York Dolls, but are also presented with the things that boiled beneath the surface of the band, as layers are peeled back we see the details behind the Dolls stage gimmick to how they were as people and how they operated as a band. We learn of the opinions of the band’s first album to their overlooked second album, Too Much Too Soon. The combination of the image presented of the band on their first album cover to the difficulties of the record label marketing the band and their introduction to drugs, all added to their eventual split. We also see how the songs on Too Much Too Soon particularly “Chatterbox” would lead to the sounds explored in Johnny Thunders next group, The Heartbreakers, who took their excesses to new extremes.

Another picture that Garcia paints throughout this film is the connection with people from Thunders past that pop up at various points throughout his career such as with drummer Jerry Nolan. The two had a musical connection that some might call familial and also Walter Lure, who would play sporadic live shows with Johnny in the 80s. But, with all this presented, Looking For Johnny is not all one sided. It does not just add to the myth that was Johnny Thunders of drugs and rock and roll, it probes deeper than that bringing to light the conflicted battles he had to deal with personally and as a musician. There is a great deal of coverage of Thunders post-Heartbreakers work such as his album In Cold Blood recorded with Rolling Stones producer Jimmy Miller, his life while living in Paris and Sweden, which also involved parts in several films to his time in Detroit as part of the group Gang War.

Bassist Adam Pearson of the English rock band Sisters Of Mercy provides a quote near the end of the film for more insight into Thunders character traits, “At the same time Johnny wanted significance, there was also this self-destructive pattern that would kick in when things were going too well.” Whether it be the early influence and popularity of the New York Dolls on what was to become punk rock, the conflicted mix on The Heartbreakers full-length album L.A.M.F. which caused drummer Jerry Nolan to quit the band, to his diverse solo career, this quote could be tied back to the beginnings of the film in conjunction with the later part of it. When we learn of the obstacles that Thunders dealt with prior to his death, we are presented with the facts and are not forced into one opinion. This method allows the viewer to contemplate and make up their own mind about Thunders controversial and tragic death.

Danny Garcia digs deep looking behind the haze of drugs that dominates the popular public opinion of who Johnny Thunders actually was. He looks behind the drugs to reveal the musician beneath, a prolific songwriter and at times a mystery. All sides are presented, the good, the bad in parts that make up the human condition in an unbiased way. Looking For Johnny helps to define the allure, but also adds to the influence of the career and life of Johnny Thunders.

Saturday Night Play List:

1. The Flaming Lips - Good Morning, Good Morning
2. The 13th Floor Elevators - Don’t Fall Down
3. Ariel Pink - White Freckles
4. Wampire - Bad Attitude
5. Drums Along The Gardiner - Fish
6. Huevos Rancheros - Raunchy
7. Cellos - Pilgrimage
8. The Francs - Situation
9. The Demics - Blueboy
10. Ex-Hex - How You Got That Girl
11. Neil Young - Payola Blues
12. Neil Young - Wonderin’
13. Bob Dylan & the Band - This Wheel's On Fire
14. The Band - Katie's Gone
15. Marianne Faithful - True Lies
16. Frankie & Jimmy - Let It Rock
17. Indian Wars - Wastin’ Time
18. Pow Wows - I Can See But You Don’t Know
19. The Prime Movers - I’m A Man
20. Hookworms - The Impasse
21. Johnny Thunders - Just Another Girl (Live August 6, 1982, Cambridge)
22. Johnny Thunders - In Cold Blood
23. Johnny Thunders - Sad Vacation
24. New York Dolls - Stranded In The Jungle
25. Wire - Lowdown

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

Jerry Nolan Take A Chance With Me & Show # 422

 

Jerry Nolan is perhaps best known as being the drummer in The New York Dolls and Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers, he however has been involved in numerous groups and in 1982 he released a one off single. The single was titled Take A Chance With Me, but the song dates back to the mid 70s. After leaving the New York Dolls due to a number of factors, one being the bands lack of direction Jerry Nolan along with Johnny Thunders left the New York Dolls to form a new group, Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers. When forming this group in 1975, then known as The Heartbreakers, the band initially featured Richard Hell on bass, eventually Hell left the group and Walter Lure was added as second guitarist and Billy Rath on bass. With this line up The Heartbreakers became Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers. While in The Heartbreakers, Nolan wrote the song “Take A Chance With Me” among others and usually worked with Walter Lure as a song writing partner, before bringing the song to The rest of The Heartbreakers.

While the song was played with Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers the song never made it onto their LAMF studio album, it did however appear on the Live At Max’s Kansas City release. Following the release of LAMF in 1977, Jerry Nolan who was disappointed with the result of the mixes, left the group. He would continue to play off and on with Johnny Thunders as a solo artist and also for Heartbreakers reunions in 1979 and 1984. After relocating to Sweden with his wife in 1982, Jerry recorded the Take A Chance With Me single at Decibel Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. The single featured Jerry on vocals and drums, his backing band was the Teneriffa Cowboys, which featured Michael Thimren on guitar/vocals, Bonne Lofman on guitar/vocals, Sylo Eliason on bass. The recording of Take A Chance With Me also features ex-New York Doll Sylvain Sylvain on keyboards. The b-side to this track was a new track at the time penned by Jerry Nolan called “Pretty Baby”. Both tracks exuded elements of his Proto-Punk, and Heartbreakers sound while also featuring what some say are underlying hints of Power Pop. The single was not only produced by Jerry, but also mixed by him. When released in Sweden it sold poorly, it is now a collectable and greatly sought after. Through out this 1982-1983 period Jerry Nolan also recorded two additional tracks with this line up, the Chuck Berry cover “Havana Moon” which was featured on the Sword – The Best In Scandinavian Rock compilation in 1984, and “Countdown Love” which was released posthumously on a split single with Johnny Thunders in 1997, Jerry Passed away in 1992 shortly after his long time friend Johnny Thunders passed in 1991.

The Take A Chance With Me single represents a short period of time in Jerry Nolan’s music career which initially started in the late 60s. Jerry Nolan is often accredited to the bands he had played with The New York Dolls, Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers as a great drummer, whenever he played and whoever he played with he was always in the pocket, holding the rhythm section down, but he was also a great musician. This single is evidence of this, Jerry had the ability to keep the beat in the background, but when he came to the forefront he could also deliver. Another element of Jerry’s career and those of the Dolls and Heartbreakers was the role of drugs that played in the music. In an interview for Swedish television’s Studio B in 1982, Jerry had this to say on the connection between drugs and music:

"It kinda varies I guess, you know? Some people might look at it as a romantic type of thing where they say wow I guess they’re that good because they’re on drugs. But that is definitely not so, I think that a musician just sticks to his art and spends more time on that then he does on drugs or anything else."

And that’s exactly what he did in his music career, he stuck to his art regardless of all the other factors surrounding the music. Take A Chance With Me represents exactly that statement. It is a short single backed with “Pretty Baby” that serves as an underrated moment in Nolan’s career, where he stuck to his art.

This Week's Play List:

1. Cold Warps – Endless Bummer
2. Thee Oh Sees – Wax Face
3. The Mark Inside – Lime Green Monkeys
4. Eric's Trip - Unnoticed
6. The Vapids - Mikey Was A Punk
7. The Shades – New Clientelle
8. Active Dog – Fun While It Lasts
9. No Fun – Mindless Agreesion
10. New York Dolls - Jet Boy
11. New York Dolls - There Is Gonna Be A Showdown
12. Ry Cooder – Kool-Aid
13. The Black Angels – Black Grease
14. Richard Hell & The Voidoids – The Kid With The Replaceable Head
15. Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers - Take A Chance With Me (Demo)
16. The Pack AD - Lights
17. The Idols – You
18. Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers – I Wanna Be Loved
19. Destroyer - The Sublimation Hour
20. Little Girls - Youth Tunes
21. Wire - It's So Obvious
22. Jerry Nolan – Take A Chance With Me
23. Jerry Nolan – Pretty Baby

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

Too Much Too Soon...Show # 165

This post used to contain information on The New York Dolls.  For other New York Dolls related information please visit:

Looking For Johnny: A Review Of The Danny Garcia Johnny Thunders Documentary

Take A Chance With Me: An Article About Jerry Nolan's 1982 Single

Next week, my show will be pre-empted by extended election coverage from CJAM News. I will return the following Wednesday (October 17th). I will still update this site next week though.

The Play List:

1. New York Dolls – trash
2. Jerry Nolan – take a chance with me
3. Blam Blam Blam – motivation
4. Gruesomes – leave my kitten alone
5. The Jam – to be someone
6. Lime Spiders – 1 2 5
7. Metros – mission
8. The Vapids – dead letter department
9. Neighbourhood Noise – face in the crowd
10. Young Rival – authentic child (demo)
11. Wire - 12 X U
12. Television – venus de milo (74 demo)
13. The Fall – bingo master
14. Gang of Four – guns before butter (alternate version)
15. Dead 60s – bolt of steel
16. Marble Index – all that I know
17. Odds – say you mean it
18. Sloan – ready for you
19. The Checks – what you heard
20. Air Traffic Control - heart attack
21. Subways – I wanna hear what you got to say
22. Arctic Monkeys – temptation greets you like your naughty friend
23. Fire Engines - hungry beat
24. Devo – freedom of choice
25. The Hives – try it again (xfm session)

NY Dolls Vids:

Personality Crisis
Lookin' For a Kiss
Jet Boy (Old Grey Whistle Test 1973)
Chatterbox