CJAM FM Pledge Drive 2015 & Show # 584

Every year CJAM FM, a non-profit based campus/community radio station in the Windsor/Detroit area holds an annual pledge drive. One week during the year CJAM asks for support from the communities in which it serves on a daily basis. Over the most recent years due in part to help from the Windsor/Detroit communities, CJAM FM managed to secure a new frequency as 99.1 FM under protected status, something that during its run when it was on 91.5 on the FM dial it never had. Most recently the station increased their wattage from 500 watts to 2, 084 watts, reaching more people and branching out further than it ever has before.

The content that CJAM FM provides is an alternative to the mainstream. Artists local and independent find a voice throughout the station’s variety of programs and content. Musically, local and independent bands get exposure that they otherwise wouldn’t and CJAM’s spoken word programming provides differing points of view to issues amongst the Windsor/Detroit communities that would not get coverage if it were not for campus/community radio stations like CJAM. Weekly, DJs and volunteers put in their time to provide programs and content that is unique, different and provides the listener with something different from what you might find in the mainstream media. On many occasions, artists have been discovered through CJAM first and their DJs, volunteers and staff dig deep to provide valuable content. In a world that has streaming and the Internet at your fingertips, CJAM FM (which was one of the first stations to offer a live stream of its radio feed in 1996 and still does so online) continues to provide content that is relevant regardless of musical genre or background.

If you have ever tuned into the station, whether online or on 99.1 FM in the Windsor/Detroit area and have heard something that interested you or lead you to discovering something new, that is a great reason to show your support to CJAM FM. If you would like to support the station and help CJAM continue to grow, there are many options available and a variety of incentives available as a thank you for your support. This can be done by calling 519-971-3630 (in Windsor) or 1-855-344-2526 (in Detroit/out of town) or by donating online at www.cjam.ca or at https://grouprev.com/cjam-revolution-rock

Since this year's program fell on Halloween, all of the songs in my playlist this week were Halloween themed. You can view the play list below.

Saturday Night Playlist:

1. The Moontrekkers - Night Of The Vampire
2. Deja Voodoo - Skeleton At My Party
3. 3-D Invisibles - Jump Off The Screen
4. Kip Tyler - She's My Witch
5. X-Ray Cat Trio - Wolf Cop
6. Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages - She’s Fallen In Love With A Monster Man
7. The Spooks - Now I'm Gonna Steal Your Soul
8. The Ordinaires - Virgo Intactica
9. The Bambi Molesters - Beach Murder Mystery
10. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Jack The Ripper
11. Indian Wars - Comanche Killer
12. The Brains - Train
13. Pow Wows - Car Cemetery
14. Bob Hafner - Surf Creature
15. The Deadly Ones - It’s Monster Surfing Time
16. The Mummies - The Fly
17. Los Salcos - (Fugitvo De) Alcatraz
18. The Misfits - Return Of The Fly
19. The Cramps - Sunglasses After Dark
20. The Stolen Minks - Black Widow
21. King Khan & BBQ Show - Killing The Wolfman
22. The Sonics - The Witch

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

Mike Krol Turkey & Show # 583

Turkey is the newest release by Mike Krol. A musician that relocated to Los Angeles from Milwaukee, Krol left behind his graphic design career and in 2014 began recording his most focused effort to date, Turkey. This album is his third full-length release (I Hate Jazz and Trust Fund were released on Counter Counter Culture records), but his first release on Merge Records. The sound on the record blends elements of power pop with lo-fi garage and a punk rock edge. The sense of chaotic, shambolic energy from his first two releases are still present on Turkey. Krol dons the album cover for Turkey in a cop uniform, looking kind of like American actor Jason Schwartzman, but Krol showcases a sense of humour and doesn’t take himself too seriously on this album. Songs such as “Cactuses” and “Piano Shit” are examples of this as he blends his lo-fi sounds with elastic pop melodies.

There could be multiple metaphors relating to the album’s title, Turkey. A turkey is when you get three consecutive strikes in a row in bowling, but also turkey could be used in a derogatory fashion. Krol most likely used this title because this is his third album in the bowling game of music that he has been playing since I Hate Jazz was first released in 2011. But, on Turkey, Krol proves that he is no “turkey”. He may not be that well known, but on Turkey, Krol throws his ball towards the pins and gets his third strike in a row.



Saturday Night Playlist:

1. Coke Weed - New Jive
2. Cellos - The New Religion
3. KEN Mode - The Owl...
4. Shellac - Spoke
5. Protomatyr - Uncle Mother's
3. The Dead Weather - Lose The Right
6. Tommy Stinson - Not This Time
7. Deerhunter - Snakeskin
8. Meghan Hamilton - 4am
9. Long Distance Runners - Wolves
10. The Triffids - In The Pines
11. Snake River - I Saw You
12. The Deadly Hearts - Moon Walk
13. Fire Engines - Hungry Beat
14. Mick Futures - You Want It All
15. Titus Andronicus - Dimed Out
16. The Fits - Just Lust
17. The Scenics - Gotta Come Back Here
18. Public Image Limited - Selfish Rubbish
19. Joy Division - Colony (John Peel Session 1979)
20. The Pixies - Motorway To Roswell (John Peel Session 1991)
21. Elvis Costello - Mystery Dance (John Peel Session 1977)
22. The Undertones - Top 20 (John Peel Session 1977)
23. Ty Segall - Mr. Face
24. Link Wray - White Lightning
25. The Zils - Don't Ever Change
26. The Terminals - Do It Today
27. Mike Krol - La La La
28. The Damned - Stab Your Back

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

Bops, Babes, Booze, The Nips & Show # 582

Many bands were formed and dissolved as a result of the UK punk scene of the late 70s. Several bands are well known such as Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned, but there are other bands that featured musicians that would later get recognition, surpassing their punk roots. One such band was The Nipple Erectors. Formed by female artist Shanne Bradley, the band also featured a young vocalist then known as Shane O’Hooligan, whose real name was Shane MacGowan. The initial line-up consisted of Shane MacGowan on vocals, Shanne Bradley on bass, guitarist Rodger Towndrow and Arcane Vendetta on drums. The band mixed the attitude of punk with the influence of rockabilly and 60s garage rock, which set them apart from many other contemporary bands at the time. The band’s first single was “King Of The Bop” backed with the song “Nervous Wreck” released in 1978 on Soho Records. The song merged scratchy garage guitar rhythms with rockabilly and reverb soaked vocals and some feel is the best example of the bands early and intriguing sound. It was coined in the press as punkabilly. The band released one more single under their original band name, “All The Time In The World” backed with “Private Eye” before changing their name to The Nips.

For the remainder for the band’s two singles they went by the name The Nips with an altered band line-up. Band line-up changes were something that occurred throughout the band’s recorded history. The band’s third single “Gabrielle”/”Vengeance” released in 1980 reflected more of a power pop influence, while the band’s 1981 single “Happy Song”/”Nobody To Love” produced by Paul Weller of The Jam, moved more towards a pop direction. While on tour with The Purple Hearts, The Nips recorded a live album that would be released as Only The End Of The Beginning. By the time the band’s last single was released, they were on the outs. Shane MacGowan was composing songs that were more in the vein of traditional Irish music and he would take this sound and form The Pogues. In 1984, Shanne Bradley co-founded the folk-punk oriented group The Men They Couldn't Hang. In 1987, Big Beat compiled many of the band’s recordings along with some outtakes and released the compilation album entitled Bops, Babes, Booze & Bovver under the name Nips ‘N’ Nipple Erectors. If anything, The Nips brief time as a band burned in a bright flash of influences with the attitude and energy of 70s punk rock. The Nips recorded output is yet another example of the range of influences that were brought into music of the late 70s punk scene and how diverse it actually could be sonically despite the traditional punk look and sound.



Saturday Night Playlist:

1. Pangea - Looked In Too
2. Kieran Douglas - Something To Bleed
3. Lime Spiders - Nine Miles High
4. Born Ruffians - Stupid Dreams
5. The Nips - All The Time In The World
6. The Standells - Why Did you Hurt Me
7. The Gruesomes - One Good Reason
8. The Chandelles - El Gato
9. Cold Country - A Letter To My Daughters
10. Holy Ruth & The Grey Jays - What More
11. The Deslondes - The Real Deal
12. The Sadies - Another Year Again
13. Indian Wars - George Ellis
14. Neil Young - It Might Have Been (Live)
15. Shannon & The Clams - Corvette
16. Teenanger - Alone On Acid
17. The Stooges - 1970 (Take 1)
18. The Wipers - Over The Edge
19. Mudhoney - Not Goin’ Down That Road Again
20. What Seas What Shores - The Ibex
21. Chris Crossroads - The Wolf
22. Tay Falco’s Panther Burns - Come On Little Mama
23. Thee Rum Coves - Nasty Evil Sickness
24. The D4 - Running On Empty
25. The Pointed Sticks - Real Thing (Alternate Version)
26. Buzzcocks - Lester Sands (A Drop In The Ocean)

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for October 17. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

La Luz Weirdo Shrine & Show # 581

Recorded in an old surf shop by Ty Segall, La Luz’s second full-length album comes off with more of a hazier mood to it as opposed to this Seattle band’s first album, It’s Alive. In addition to the hazy feeling that glides across all of the tracks on Weirdo Shrine, the lyrical subject matter is also darker. Inspired by the Charles Burns graphic novel Black Hole, many of the themes that were found across its pages seep their way into Weirdo Shrine’s lyrics and overall mood. La Luz’s undeniable 60s surf rock influence from bands such as Dick Dale and The Ventures are still apparent, but the band combines this with their strong vocal harmonies ala The Shangri-Las or The Ronnettes, adding a bit of doo-wop and subtle soul influences in with their love of surf music for a sound that is uniquely their own.

The album opens with the slow guitar arpeggios and layered vocal harmonies of “Sleep Till They Die”, a track that juxtaposes a feeling of unease lyrically, while “You Disappear” comes in with a more upbeat drum fill surrounded by hazy, humming organ parts mixed with clean guitars. The song also showcases La Luz’s use of guitar fuzz distortion for their solos. It appears in the middle of this song and subtly at the beginning of the album’s opening track. Mostly known for their cleaner guitar sounds, La Luz employ the distortion that they do use in small doses, not overloading songs with it. Lyrically, words such as “Lost in the city/So far from what you knew” and “No one can tell what direction you’ll go/Your eyes don’t show”, seem to come from the mutated characters of Burns’ Black Hole and come alive in the lyrics and in between the music. But the song also takes on several other meanings, such as one of loneliness or of a fleeting relationship. “With Davey” starts with the fuzzy ambient sounds of the surf shop in which this album was recorded in and a bouncy bassline. Amongst the organ, drum fills, clean guitars and reverb soaked vocals, the song’s distortion creeps in as it ends.

Surf noir is a term that could be used to describe the particular brand of surf music influences that La Luz brings forward on this album. “Don’t Wanna Be Anywhere”, was apparently inspired by the passing of a friend of La Luz guitarist Shana Cleveland and emphasizes an otherworldly feeling, one that would fit into the surf noir description. “Hey Papi” provides a short instrumental break in the album before “I Wanna Be Alone (With You)” comes in with its energetic drums, erratic maracas and an up-tempo groove. “I’ll Be True” showcases drummer Marian Li Pino and bassist Lena Simon’s ability to lock into the groove as the rest of the band plays a descending musical pattern that sounds like the song is drifting or floating. “Oohs and ahhs” along with the dominate lyric “I’ll be true to you/Just as long as you want me to” take on a hypnotizing effect throughout the song. “Black Hole, Weirdo Shrine” continues in the more up-tempo fashion of the later parts of this album. Digging in deep musically and lyrically, the song once again touches on themes from Charles Burns’ graphic novel Black Hole but also on themes of obsession. Keyboardist Alice Sandhal recently provided some insight on this song in an interview for Rookie Magazine:

I was thinking about things that people obsess about in life, like love or religion or spirituality. Things people build up with all this personal meaning, which nobody could understand the way they do. A lot of songs end up being love songs or songs about obsession, like you’re making this weird shrine, like it’s not even a person it’s just this idea of someone that you’ve created in your head that nobody could understand in the same way.

Along with the earlier track “You Disappear”, “Oranges” was inspired in part by the Washington poet Richard Brautigan. “Oranges” is the second instrumental track found on Weirdo Shrine and it provides a break, bringing down the tempo just before the album’s closing track, “True Love Knows”. With lyrics such as “True love knows when it’s left alone”, this song evokes a haunting melody by Cleveland and themes of escape seem to buoy their way throughout Weirdo Shrine’s last track.

When thinking of 60s surf rock, the image of being on a beach in the sun as surfers explore the ocean waves are often conjured up. For La Luz, they trade sunlight for dusk, as the band plays on Weirdo Shrine one could imagine the band playing as the sun is going down as opposed to it shining bright. La Luz bounces back and forth between cool nighttime vibes and beams of sunlight tackling and overcoming the sophomore slump that bands sometimes fall into with their second album. On Weirdo Shrine, La Luz builds their own sound and identity. This album takes on a smooth cinematic landscape, providing a layered, hazy, surf- influenced sound with a northwest twist.

Saturday Night Playlist:

1. Babysitter - Exploding Youth
2. Tough Age - Flying Carpet
3. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Living In Paradise
4. The Riptides - 77 Sunset Strip
5. Sunnyboys - Love To Rule
6. Alex G - Kicker
7. Kurt Vile - I'm An Outlaw
8. Tea Leaves - I Want To Live In The Dirt
9. The Hellbound Hepcats - Black Cats
10. X-Ray Cat Trio - Rockero Fantasma
11. Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet - Exit From Vince Lombardi High School
12. U.S Girls - Sed Knife
13. Slim Twig - Live In, Live On Your Era
14. The Boys Next Door - The Night Watchmen
15. The Boys Next Door - The Voice
16. Courtney Barnett - Shivers
17. Mike Krol Cactuses
18. Blind Doctors - You've Got A Drinking Friend
19. Middle Sister Finer Things Cries Of The Wild
20. The 3-D Invisibles - The Blob
21. Ought - The Combo
22. The Famines - Attack Machine Blues
23. The Gories - Hidden Charms
24. The Leftovers - I Only Panic When There’s Nothing To Do
25. The Saints - (I’m) Stranded
26. The Saints - A Minor Aversion
27. La Luz - I Don’t Wanna Be Anywhere
28. La Luz - Black Hole, Weirdo Shrine

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for October 10. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Road Gore: The Band That Drank Too Much, Jerry Jerry & The Sons Of Rhythm Orchestra & Show # 580

Road Gore: The Band That Drank Too Much is the debut album released by Edmonton, Alberta’s Jerry Jerry & The Sons of Rhythm Orchestra. Although the album was released in 1985 on OG Records (and on CD in 1990), the band first got their start in 1982. Their first release was an EP in 1984 entitled Fighting Socialism put out on Rubber Records. Apparently the only release on this label, Rubber Records was an independent label put together by the band’s soundman, Barry Peters. However, it wasn’t until after opening for Deja Voodoo at the Edmonton Ski Club that Jerry Jerry & The Sons Of Rhythm Orchestra were signed to OG. Reportedly the band drank six cases of beer, smoked several packs of cigarettes and played for approximately 45 minutes, but something about the band’s uninhibited sound and energy drew in the members of Deja Voodoo. Road Gore emphasizes that alone in its title, but the music contained on the record is something else entirely. In thirteen tracks, the band blasts through rockabilly, country, surf, gospel, and garage musical styles with a feral energy that some might also call punk rock.

The album opens with a surf song called “Gospel Surf” a short ramshackle song adhering to the elements of the surf music genre, but at the same time adding elements of garage rock and rockabilly music, featuring sound effects and random hollering from lead vocalist Jerry Woods. This song in its reckless abandon is a calling card for what was to come from the band and on the album. “Rhythm Crazy” comes in as song number two on this album with a clean rockabilly tone and tongue-in-cheek lyrics telling the story of a partying dancer with “soul in her big fat feet”. A more upbeat tempo comes in for the third song on this album “Color TV”, a song that touches on the commercialism of TV culture at the time and a character that becomes so transfixed by television she doesn’t notice a burglary that takes place in her house. The choppy rhythms of “Baby’s On Fire” recalls scratchy garage rock burning with lyrics relating to jealousy, “Livin’ On Top” looks at the US culture through a Canadian lens and “Daddy Was A Peacock” is a sloppy R&B take on a story that recalls a fathers glory days.

Side of two of Road Gore starts with the song “Happy Nun” with fuzzy guitar riffs and lyrics that juxtapose a happy nuns demeanor vs. a more raucous lifestyle, “Bad Idea” echoes with sleazy roots rock and country influences with an anti-socialism message, as the ramped up country of “Rancher King” seems to question the traditions of the rancher lifestyle. Songs such as “You Make Me Blue” travels into bluesier pastures before “Judgment Date”, which after several songs dealing with mischievous drinking related activities, brings us to an Armageddon-gospel themed track that builds and burns with as much intensity as the album’s first track. Following two more songs featured on the It Came From Canada compilation albums on OG Records (“Radical Look” and “Yap Yap”), the band relocated to Montreal in 1986 and released their second full-length album, the critically acclaimed follow-up Battle Hymn of the Apartment in 1987.

According to an interview with Exclaim in 2000, the album’s title was inspired by a road trip to Saskatoon with another band featuring Moe Berg (later of The Pursuit Of Happiness), but it was also around this time that the band made the connection with Deja Voodoo and OG Records and were put on the path towards their sound and ethos. Jerry Woods has often said that when The Sons Of Rhythm Orchestra started he didn’t take them that seriously, but on Road Gore: The Band That Drank Too Much, there are a multitude of different things growing beneath the surface. Whether it is the cow-punk dynamics of the music that also featured elements of garage, surf and blues or the lyrics, on Road Gore: The Band Who Drank Too Much, Jerry Jerry & The Sons Of Rhythm Orchestra started on a road less travelled with something different to say and to spread their own gospel.



Saturday Night Playlist:

1.  Jerry Jerry & The Sons Of Rhythm Orchestra - Gospel Surfer
2.  Jerry Jerry & The Sons Of Rhythm Orchestra -  Rhythm Crazy
3.  The Syndicats - Crawdaddy Simone
4.  The Dirty Pretty Things - Don’t Bring Me Down
5.  Monomyth - Transmission
6.  Telstar Drugs - Pulley
7.  Ought - Celebration
8.  The Buttons - I’ve Been Lookin’
9.  The Colonials - Crawdad
10. The Sadies - The First 5 Minutes
11. The Sadies - Leave This World Behind
12. Johnny Cash - Train Of Love
13. Richard “Rabbit” Brown - James Alley Blues
14. The Space Plan - Tread Lightly
15. The New Dimensions - Chicky Run
16. The Sentinals - Exotic
17. The Libertines - Heart Of The Matter
18. The Intelligence - Refuse To Pay The Dues
19. Shannon & The Clams - It’s Too Late
20. Rock “N’ Roll Monkey & The Robots - Love Is Chemical
21. Neon Boys - High Heeled Wheels
22. Simply Saucer - I Take It (Demo)
23. The Verlaines - You Say You
24. David Kilgour - Living In Space
25. The Slit Plasters - The Dung Fly
26. Fake Tears - Heart Break Loud
27. MC5 - Baby Won’t Ya

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

As a side note and for those keeping count, episode 579 of Revolution Rock was a repeat episode that originally aired back in August 2015. You can download that episode here and find the playlist in this post.

The Sadies & Show # 578

Toronto’s The Sadies have been captivating audiences with their wildly entertaining live shows since they first began in 1994. Since then, The Sadies have taken their sound which mixes elements of country, bluegrass, garage rock, punk, blues and instrumental surf music for a sound that is all their own. Fronted by brothers Dallas and Travis Good, this four-piece band has received critical acclaim for many of their albums including 2002’s The Story’s Often Told, 2004’s Favourite Colours and 2007’s New Seasons, which was also nominated for a Juno award. In addition to their own merits, The Sadies have collaborated with many other artists both live, backing up several artists and on record. They have collaborated with Andre Williams, Gord Downie, Garth Hudson, Neko Case and John Doe to name a few. In 2013, The Sadies released Internal Sounds. The Sadies ramped up their punk and psych-rock influences, while also balancing it with the more subtle nuances in their already established sound. Internal Sounds also marks the first album in which Sadies member Dallas Good took on the producer role.

The Sadies were part of the line-up for this year's Phog Phest in Windsor, Ontario.




Saturday Night Playlist:

1. Pony - Somethin’ About You
2. Ponyshow - Folks
3. Itzjunk - Lip Service
4. Sonic Youth - Death Valley 69
5. Japandroids - To Hell With Good Intentions
6. Built To Spill - The Plan
7. The Clean - Thumbs Off
8. The Fresh & Onlys - Summer Wheels
9. Ariel Pink - Jell-O
10. The Users - Kicks In Style
11. The Twistin' Tarantulas - The Flight Of The Super Bee
12. La Luz - With Davey
13. The Bell Peppers - The Hoofstomp
14. Daniel Romano - I”m Gonna Teach You
15. Destroyer - Midnight Meets The Rain
16. Middle Sister - Tongue of Silver
17. Ray Condo & The Hard Knock Goners - This Is The Night
18. The Sadies - Cheat (Live)
19. The Sadies - The Story's Often Told (Live)
20. Wintersleep - Martyr
21. Ought - The Weather Song
22. Paul Simon - I Know What I Know
23. REM - Radio Free Europe (Live)
24. The Skids - Sweet Suburbia
25. The Black Lips - Drugs
26. The Velvet Underground - Coney Island Steeplechase
27. Television - Fire Engine (Demo)
28. The Castaways - Liar, Liar
29. The Flaming Lips - Strychnine/Peace Love And Understanding
30. Iggy & The Stooges - Wild Love (Detroit Rehearsals 1973)

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for September 19. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Thee Tsunamis & Show # 577

Thee Tsunamis first stormed out of Bloomington, Indiana in 2013 with their now sold out demo tape, A Goodbad Man Is Hard To Find. Released on Magnetic South, a record label and analog recording studio, the demo tape showcased this three-piece girl garage group’s sound. The band blended elements of surf, 60s bubblegum pop, doo-wop, and garage with a punk edge. An EP entitled Delirium And Dark Waters followed in 2014, which featured four monster B-Movie, retro sci-fi inspired songs. 2015 saw the release of Thee Tsunamis first full-length release Saturday Night Sweetheart. The album cover brings to mind B-movie horror posters, art in the spirit of The Cramps, Ramones and 60s female R&B soul groups. The album’s cover also features a simple colour scheme and each member of the band members having what appears to be their eyes cut out. It is minimalist, campy, yet menacing. This twelve-track album mixes elements of 70s punk, 50s rock, doo-wop, 60s garage and bubblegum pop in an infectious fashion. With song titles such as “Female Trouble”, “Kill Kill Kill”, “Teenage Dreams” and “Un Psycho”, It wouldn’t be hard to imagine this band wreaking havoc at a drive-in movie theatre in a long lost low budget B-movie from the late 50s or early 60s. Saturday Night Sweetheart is out on Magnetic South as an LP/CD and Burger Records as a cassette.



Saturday Night Playlist:

1. Young Rival - Interior Light
2. Thee Tsunamis - Drag
3. Fidlar - Why Generation
4. Courtney Barnett - Elevator Operator
5. Tobias Jesso Jr. - Crocodile Tears
6. Magic Christian - Tomorrow Never Comes
7. It’s All Meat - You Don’t Notice The Time You Waste
8. Frog Eyes - Joe With The Jam
9. The Rolling Stones - Ride On, Baby
10. Wolf Parade - You Are A Runner I Am My Fathers Son
11. Shuhari - Takamanohara
12. What Seas What Shores - Gugelhupf
13. Joy Division - Walked In Line
14. The Rage - I’ve Got Your Number
15. The Wayouts - No Time
16. The Nipple Erectors - King Of The Bop
17. Guided By Voices - The Queen Of Cans And Jars
18. Babysitter - Candy
19. Dead Ghosts - Drink It Dry
20. Thee Oh Sees - Wait, Let’s Go
21. David Bowie - I've Been Waiting For You
22. Morrissey - I Don't Mind If You Forget Me
23. The Locusts Have No King - Still Fed
24. Squeeze - Pulling Muscles (From The Shell)
25. Ian Dury - I'm Partial To Your Abracadabra

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for September 12. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Middle Sister Cries Of The Wild & Show # 576

Cries Of The Wild is the new album made by Windsor’s Middle Sister. As each song progresses something different reveals itself within its construct. Their 2014 EP was described as “mid-century folk rock and chamber pop, whose sounds are flush with Canadiana,” Cries Of The Wild isn’t far off from that description. The line-up on this recording consists of singer/guitarist Colin Wysman, Kaitlyn Kelly (piano/mandolin/vocals), James Oltean-Lepp (bass), Stu Kennedy (violin/guitar) and Nate Gelinas on drums. Dave Dubois plays bass in the band’s current line-up. Recorded by Mark Plankce at Sharktank Studios on analog tape, the sounds found here strike a chord with the influences of Bonnie Prince Billy, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Simon & Garfunkel and the sounds of post rock.

“There’s something to be said about the energy that can be captured when you’ve got five musicians playing together in the same room. There was still a considerable amount of time devoted to overdubs, but they were used mostly to add some depth to the record rather than for core instrumentation. We did a lot more preproduction for Cries of the Wild too, with Nate planning out all of the auxiliary percussion that appears on almost every track, Stu working out layered string arrangements and Kaitlyn planning the vocal harmonies for the record.” Says Wysman.

The album opens with “Devil In The Song”, a dramatic opening thick with strong vocal harmonies that builds with intensity preparing listeners for the music that is to come. “I Want To Be The Man” is a mid-tempo number with electric guitars, underlying organ and lyrics that seem to convey a message of determination and accomplishment on your own terms. The album’s title track floats with layered vocals, percussion, guitar, chillingly haunting vocal harmonies and violin in contrast to the warm analog sounds found on this album. It is also an example of the band’s innate chemistry.

“… during my time as a grad student in the History MA program at the University of Windsor. My research steered me towards early Canadian folk tales and the romanticization of nature in early 20th century hunting culture. I guess that this kind of fixation and emphasis on Canadiana found its way into the lyrics with a lot of the tunes referencing Canadian history’s folk heroes and figures.” Adds Wysman.

“Rosasharn” another song with organ and mandolin accompaniments was inspired by a live performance of the play The Grapes Of Wrath and the Steinbeck novel of the same name. This song and “One For The Road” sung by Kaitlyn Kelly, fits into a theme of travel and solitude that presents itself at different moments throughout this album. “Tongue Of Silver”, another album highlight, features folk elements combined with prominent violin parts and instrumental breakdowns that convey a Celtic atmosphere. Drums crash in between the violin and the song’s melodies like a wooden ship making its way through a heavy storm, while the lyrics tell the tale of a man weathered by his own actions, but one who is also oblivious to this fact. As Cries Of The Wild ends with an instrumental reprise, it’s the little details that make it unique. Between the louder and subtler moments, Middle Sister delivers ten songs that at times feels like a journey. One told through music and song.

The following interview was done between myself (Dave Konstantino of Revolution Rock) and Colin Wysman of Middle Sister. We talk of recording, the band's influences and formation.

RR: How would you compare Middle Sister’s progression musically from your first EP to your new album Cries Of The Wild?

CW: The first EP was very much a solitary songwriting process. I had this reserve of completed ideas and songs that I had been sitting on for months, some of them years. I tracked them with Nate and Kyle playing drums and bass, and then overdubbed guitars, piano, mandolin and multiple layers of vocals myself. After most of the album was complete, Kaitlyn and Stu joined the process, tracking vocals and violin and eventually joining the band. By contrast, most of the songs on Cries of the Wild were written after the full scope of the group was established and so they have a much stronger collaborative feel. For this album, I would generally bring more loosely arranged songs to the table and we would work collectively on developing the instrumentation and arrangements. As a result, I find the songs on the new album to revolve much more closely around vocals, strings, and percussion, instead of the acoustic guitar, and to be more the product of the diversity of our musical influences.

RR: How did the recording process differ this time around? Do you feel that working in a different environment than when your EP was recorded affected the overall sound of the album?

CW: The main difference with the recording of Cries of the Wild was that the band had a complete lineup and that allowed us to record the bed tracks live. I think the result is that the album has a bit of a tighter feel to it since we were all in the same room recording together. There’s something to be said about the energy that can be captured when you’ve got 5 musicians playing together in the same room. There was still a considerable amount of time devoted to overdubs, but they were used mostly to add some depth to the record rather than for core instrumentation. We did a lot more preproduction for Cries of the Wild too, with Nate planning out all of the auxiliary percussion that appears on almost every track, Stu working out layered string arrangements and Kaitlyn planning the vocal harmonies for the record. Mark has an intense collection of vintage gear and amps and so it was nice to be able to experiment a bit more in the studio. One of the highlights for me was getting to record with his 1954 Hammond organ. It has such a unique sound, and I think brought a lot to the tracks on which we used it. The whole thing was also recorded to analog tape, which gives an amazing warmth to the overall sound. I think these little differences contributed in large ways to the final product.

RR: Lyrically the album is rich with folk-like imagery at times. Where did you draw inspiration from for the songs lyrically and musically?

CW: Most of the songs for the EP and Cries of the Wild were written during my time as a grad student in the History MA program at the University of Windsor. My research at the time had steered me towards early Canadian folk tales and the romanticization of nature in early 20th century hunting culture. I guess that this kind of fixation and emphasis on Canadiana found its way into the lyrics with a lot of the tunes referencing Canadian history’s folk heroes and figures. It was never a conscious effort to keep returning to these themes though; just kind of the things that were on my mind while these songs were taking shape. There are a few songs on the record that don’t reflect this at all. “Rosasharn” for example was written after Kaitlyn and I saw a performance of the play The Grapes of Wrath and inspired me to go back and revisit the Steinbeck novel. That story is almost the complete antithesis of Canadiana, but in a way the themes fit with the other songs that we were writing. “One for the Road” is one of Kaitlyn’s songs that fits the overall themes of travel and solitude that are present on the album, but comes from a very different place.

RR: How and when did Middle Sister form as a band? Middle Sister is different from other musical projects/bands that you have been involved with in the past. Is this band and sound always something you were interested in exploring and if so why?

CW: Middle Sister came about at a time when I was really trying to develop my fingerpicking technique. I had written a bunch of progressions and parts that didn’t really fit with what What Seas What Shores (another band Colin plays with) was doing at the time. I grew up listening to a lot Neil Young, Simon and Garfunkel and CS&N, mainly because that’s what my parents played around the house, so I’ve always had an affinity for folk-rock type music. I spent a bit of time writing lyrics and trying to flesh the ideas out as folk songs and started jamming with Nate and Kyle in the basement of the Mansion. Shortly thereafter Kaitlyn and I started working together on vocal arrangements and I think that’s where the Fleetwood Mac influence on her singing becomes really apparent. After most of the first EP was tracked, Stu joined the group and overdubbed violin on the songs, bringing his own influences and style to the material. He’s a big fan of prog and krautrock, bands like King Crimson and Stereolab, but also grew up on classical music. I should note that in spite of all the artists of the 60s and 70s that I’m citing as influences, I really tried to retain some of the elements of noisiness that I had been using in other projects for so long. To be honest, I don’t see my playing in Middle Sister as a huge departure from my playing in What Seas What Shores. I use a lot of fingerpicking and delay/reverb effects in both bands. I guess it’s a matter of the other people in each group that influences the direction that the songs go. I’ve obviously made an effort to write more folky stuff for Middle Sister, but to me, the style of my playing is similar for both groups.

RR: What’s next for Middle Sister?

CW: We’ve already had a pretty busy spring with a few trips up to Toronto to play CMW and NXNE. We’re hoping to get out of town a little more often once the album is released. Kaitlyn recently moved back home to Windsor after spending the better part of the last year living in New York and Dave started playing bass in the band shortly after Cries of the Wild was completed so it will be nice to continue to work on new material with this current lineup. We’re about two-thirds of the way through writing a new album and it’s already moving in a little bit of a new direction. I expect that it will be a busy and exciting fall and winter trying to solidify the arrangements of the new tunes.



Another version of this article first appeared in The Windsor Independent.

Saturday Night Playlist:

1. X-Ray Cat Trio - Surfin’ Sasquatch
2. B-Girls - Fun At The Beach
3. The Pixies - Cecelia Ann
4. The Twistin' Tarantulas - Ridin' In The Mighty Dodge
5. The Bellfuries - Baltimore
6. Yo La Tengo - I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
7. Hank Williams - Honky Tonkin’
8. Elvis Costello - I'm Not Angry
9. Mac DeMarco - No Other Heart
10. The Pretenders - The Phone Call
11. Martha & The Muffins - Paint By Number Heart
12. Pulp - Babies
13. Destroyer - Dream Lover
14. Middle Sister - Devil In The Song
15. Middle Sister - I Want To Be The Man
16. Leonard Coen - Story Of Isaac
17. Slim Twig - Textiles On Mainstreet
18. The Blasters - I'm Shakin' (Live)
19. The Verbal Teabags - We Could Be Stars
20. Cellos - White Swans
21. The Famines - Hail To The Taxman
22. The Existers - Telex Love
23. Alice Cooper - Long Way To Go
24. Modest Mouse - Sugar Boats
25. Fake Palms - YTMATLDPH
26. Captain Beefheart - Dropout Boogie
27. Captain Beefheart - I'm Glad

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for September 5. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

As a side note and for those keeping count, episode 575 of Revolution Rock was a repeat episode that originally aired back in June 2015. You can download that episode here and find the playlist in this post.

Revolution Rock: Radio Brain Drain & Episode # 574

On August 16th, 1974 Ramones played their first show as a four-piece band at CBGB’s. To celebrate this fact CJAM FM hosted a selection of programs from August 16-22 that focused on punk music of all forms. Revolution Rock hosted two programs celebrating the spirit and influence of the music created by Ramones.

Revolution Rock: Radio Brain Drain Edition

On Saturday August 22nd, Revolution Rock aired a two-hour program featuring a mixed selection of Ramones songs, including live and demo recordings. There was also music from bands that were influenced by and covered Ramones music and some of the bands that influenced the Ramones.

Saturday Night Radio Brain Drain Playlist (Show 574):

1. Ramones - Judy Is A Punk (Live At The Roxy 1976)
2. Ramones - Cretin Hop
3. Ramones - Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
4. The Seeds - Try To Understand
5. Shangri-Las - Hate To Say I Told You So
6. Ronettes - Why Don’t They Let Us Fall In Love
7. The Beach Boys - 409 (Original Mono Long Version)
8. Frank Black - I Heard Ramona Sing
9. Ramones - I Don't Wanna Grow Up
10. Tom Waits - The Return Of Jackie & Judy
11. Tom Waits - Danny Says
12. Teenage Head With Marky Ramone - Let's Shake
13. Teenage Head With Marky Ramone - Some Kinda Fun
14. Ramones - Everytime I Eat Vegetables I Think Of You
15. Ramones - I Need Your Love
16. The Strokes - Life’s A Gas
17. Sonic Youth - Beat On The Brat
18. The Who - I'm A Boy
19. New York Dolls - Trash
20. Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers - Born To Lose
21. Ramones - Chinese Rock
22. Ramones - I Can’t Get You Outta My Mind
23. The Undertones - Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue (Live At The Casbah 1977)
24. The Dishrags - I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You
25. The Action - TV's On The Blink
26. Lowlife - Thinking Naturally
27. Stark Naked & The Fleshtones - I Broke Her Heart, She Broke My Arm
28. The Real Mackenzies - Dropping Like Flies
29. Sleater-Kinney - I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone
30. Ramonetures - I Wanna Be Well
31. Elvis Presley - Trying To Get To You
32. Ramones - Slug (Demo)
33. Ramones - Chainsaw
34. Ramones - Teenage Lobotomy

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

As a side note and for those keeping count, episode 573 of Revolution Rock was a repeat episode that originally aired back in April 2015. You can download that episode here and find the playlist in this post.

Revolution Rock: The Last Pogo Jumps Again Edition

In December 2014, I interviewed Colin Brunton who along with Kire Paputts directed The Last Pogo Jumps Again. This is a documentary chronicling the early Toronto punk/new wave music scenes form 1976-1978. I re-aired this interview with a selection of bands from the early Toronto punk/new wave music scenes for this special episode of Revolution Rock that aired on Tuesday 18.

Here is an excerpt from a review I did of the film:

From what began at a theatre that used to show B-movies entitled the 99 Cent Roxy in conjunction with the Ramones playing a series of shows at a venue called The New Yorker, a chord was struck with aspiring musicians and artists alike. Both of these venues were run by who are referred to as the two Gary’s (Gary Topp and Gary Cormier), who both supported the scene and booked acts and many of the venues that they would run throughout the early parts of this scene. The Last Pogo Jumps Again leaps into coverage of several of the heavyweights in this early music scene such as The Diodes, who took their power pop influenced punk sounds to CBS Records Canada, becoming the first Canadian punk band signed to a major label and The Viletones. They took punk to new extremes, both literally and musically.

Read the full review here.

Check out the interview I did with Colin Brunton:



LPJA Playlist (Show 573):

1. The Diodes - Shapes Of Things To Come
2. The Secrets - Rock Music
3. The Poles - Prime Time
4. The Dishes - Summer Reaction (Crash & Burn)
5. The Curse - I Accuse You (Demo)
6. The Fits - Bored of Education

COLIN BRUNTON: THE LAST POGO JUMPS AGAIN INTERVIEW

7. The Government - Flat Tire
8. The Scenics - I'm Hurt
9. Cardboard Brains - Babies Run My World (Live)
10. The Mods - Step Out Tonight (Live)
11. The Viletones - Possibilites

Download this episode here.

Spiritual Nap Machine & Show # 572

Poster by The Ugly Vision

Windsor’s What Seas What Shores are getting ready to release their second full-length album Spiritual Nap Machine. The album was recorded at Sound Foundry Studios in Kingsville, Ontario and captures the band in a live off the floor fashion. Videos have appeared for two of the songs from this upcoming release that were filmed live at Mackenzie Hall and showcase the band’s ambient, post rock inspired sound. In April 2015, What Seas What Shores embarked on a Pacific tour where they played a series of shows in Taiwan and Japan. They are currently on a short tour with Shuhari from Tokyo in Ontario. Spiritual Nap Machine is set to be released this fall.

Find out more about Spiritual Nap Machine What Seas What Shores at their bandcamp page.



Saturday Night Playlist:

1. The Dirt Merchants - I Found Another Girl
2. Checkerlads - Baby Send For Me
3. Quid - Crazy Things
4. La Luz - What Good Am I?
5. The Challengers - Skinned Shins
6. The Mel-Tones - The Last Papaya
7. The Stones - Surf’s Up
8. Chad Vangaalen - Cosmic Destroyer
9. Middle Sister - Cries Of The Wild
10. What Seas What Shores - Czar Bomba
11. Talking Heads - Seen Not Seen
12. The Clash - Red Angel Dragnet
13. Dee Dee King - Brooklyn Babe
14. Nolan Strong & The Diablos - Try Me One More Time
15. Bruce Springsteen - Ain’t Good Enough For You
16. King Khan & BBQ Show - Never Felt Like This
17. Sam Coffey & The Iron Lungs - All To Myself
18. The Modern Lovers - I Wanna Sleep In Your Arms
19. Lou Reed - Wait
20. Thee Rum Coves - Cosmo
21. The Routes - Day And Night
22. The Hives - Insane
23. No Exit - No Excuse
24. The Lurkers - Go-Go-Go
25. Ricked Wicky - Too Strong For No One To See You
26. The Velvet Underground - Train Round The Bend
27. Crystal Eyes - The Unknown
28. 63 Monroe - She's Electric
29. Mick Futures - Cold Emotions
30. Mick Futures - Two Heads

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

Daniel Romano, When It Comes To You & Show # 571

Daniel Romano - If I've Only One Time Askin'

Daniel Romano’s latest release If I’ve One Time Askin’ is the follow-up to 2013’s Come Cry With Me. Sung in his own deep voice, Romano brings us eleven songs telling tales in a way only he can. Authentic is a word that can be used to describe Romano’s sound.  His country influences are apparent, but the sounds of Americana also seep into Romano’s song's on If I’ve Only One Time Askin’. Horn sections appear on some tracks and there is also an indie rock element found here as well. Romano is commonly referred to for his retro country twang in reviews, but this album references different influences by asking the right kind of questions without expecting any answers.



Dead Ghosts - Self-titled

Vancouver’s Dead Ghosts first released their self-titled album back in 2010. The album brought us thirteen songs of garage rock in addition to adding elements of country into the bands dirty sound. Recently re-issued by Burger Records, the album’s cover drawn by Cassie Ramone (of Vivian Girls) depicts a variety of symbols and a desert-looking landscape. The primitive imagery perfectly exemplifies the primitive lo-fi garage stylings of the band’s sound. Throughout the album’s thirteen tracks, Dead Ghosts take us through a gritty landscape of primitive proportions complete with subtle turns and strong hooks.



Saturday Night Playlist:

1. The Mach V - If I Could
2. The Savages - The World Ain’t Round It’s Square
3. The Bell Peppers - Soda Pop
4. Roxy Music - Editions Of You
5. Night Terrors - All Right Now
6. Leonard Coen - I’m Your Man
7. Jim O'Rouke - Half Life Crisis
8. The Bellfuries - Bad Seed Sown
9. Allison Brown - All Our Emergencies
10. Daniel Romano - The One That Got Away (Came Back Today)
11. Violent Femmes - Telephone Book
12. The Who - The Punk And the Godfather
13. The Who - Bell Boy
14. Titus Andronicus - No Future Part IV, No Future Triumphant
15. Neil Young - Sedan Delivery
16. Dead Ghosts - I Want Your Love
17. Nap Eyes - Oh My Friends
18. She Serpent - In Slow Motion
19. Doug And The Slugs - Day By Day
20. Flesh Rag - Is This Real? (Demo)
21. Charlie Pickett & The Eggs - If This Is Love Can I Get My Money Back
22. The Cure - Accuracy
23. Ty Segall - Circles
24. Ty Segall - I Am With You

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

Revolution Rock (Revisited) Pow Wows Broken Curses & Show # 570

Episode number 570 of Revolution Rock was a repeat of an episode that aired on CJAM FM back in March 2015. I interviewed Ryan of the Toronto garage-based band Pow Wows about their newest album Broken Curses. You can hear the interview and read an excerpt from my review of the album below. To check out the full review, check out this link.

Pow Wows highly anticipated second full-length Broken Curses was released in February 2015 on Get Hip Recordings. This album follows the 2011 release Nightmare Soda, where Pow Wows first displayed their garage punk psych and R&B twang in a greased lightning fashion, and a series of recent singles in 2012/2013. Recorded and mixed by Steve Major in Toronto at Verge Music Lab and mastered by Jim Diamond at Ghetto Recorders in Detroit, this ten-track release contains the same intensity that was first displayed back in 2011. The press release for this album states that the songs are “tales of dystopia with a back beat. Party rock for end times” and that couldn’t be more accurate.

Listen to the interview I did with Pow Wows bassist/vocalist Ryan Rothwell here:



The Playlist:

1. The Honeycombs - Can’t Get Through To You
2. The Angels - Get Away From Me
3. Demolition Doll Rods - Lil Darlin
4. Pearls Mahone - Blow Your Top
5. The Delmonas - I Did Him Wrong
6. The Z-Rays - Number Nine
7. The Cramps - Domino
8. Pow Wows - Fire Song
9. Pow Wows - Car Cemetery

Pow Wows Ryan Rothwell Interview

10. Pow Wows - Rebel Stomp
11. BA Johnston - You Can Love Someone And Hate The Things They Love
12. Dum Dum Girls - Yours Alone
13. X Ray Spex - Obsessed With You
14. Diamond Rugs - Voodoo Doll
15. Brat Kings - Good Drugs (Pinball Session)
16. Paul Jacobs - Pop Can Ashtray
17. The Curse - No More Ice Cream (Live)
18. The Dishrags - Can’t Wait
19. Colleen Green - I Want To Grow Up
20. Sleater-Kinney - A New Wave
21. A Place To Bury Strangers - Straight
22. Ricked Wicky - Guts
23. Alex Chilton - Just To See You
24. JD McMpherson - It Shook Me Up
25. Ty Segall Band - Slaughterhouse (Live In San Francisco)
26. Ty Segall Band - Skin (Live In San Francisco)
27. Ty Segall Band - Standing At The Station (Live In San Francisco)
28. The Replacements - Seen Your Video

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

Sticky Fingers & Show # 569

1971’s Sticky Fingers represented a lot of things for both The Rolling Stones and the culture in which they were interwoven at the time. Although the album was recorded through a series of sessions that began in March of 1970, Sticky Fingers captures the band in their raunchy, sleazy, ragged glory in a way that some feel hasn’t been replicated in such capacity since. The album’s opening cut, the now classic “Brown Sugar” attacks with a primal groove and an intro emphasizing Keith Richards riff-style, but also at the same time displays a loss of innocence. This can be said in part with the songs lyrical content, but also in The Rolling Stones universe in 1970/1971. This album marked the first release in which The Stones were no longer associated with their manager and Decca records and it was also the first album in which Mick Taylor was a full force as a member of The Rolling Stones. Previously Taylor appeared on 1969’s Let It Bleed, but only the tracks "Country Honk" and "Live With Me". Also at the same time, the culture was breaking out of the 60’s mindset and Sticky Fingers addresses things in certain ways, while at the same time seeming to pay homage to the band’s earlier roots and influences that were dominate on their early recordings.

“Sway” comes in as the second of ten tracks on Sticky Fingers. This song swoons with a feeling as Jagger sings of abandonment emphasizing a sense of debauchery, but one that oozes with sentiment. The lyrics “Its just that demon that life has got me in its sway” all add to the soundscape created on this track. Although this song contains the elements that people identify with as The Rolling Stones sound, Keith Richards does not actually play guitar on this track, Mick Jagger provides the rhythm guitar as Mick Taylor plays lead. Keith does however add backing vocals, along with a few other guests. “Wild Horses” is a country ballad with folk elements. The song features 12-string guitar combined with Nashville tuning and once again tapped into the Jagger/Richards songwriting formula as well as a feeling that Richards stated in 1993 as “not wanting to be on the road, being a million miles from where you want to be”. “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” slides in with crunchy guitar as Charlie Watts provides a rhythmic swing on the drums in conjunction with Bill Wyman on bass. Lyrics, compared to the music featured here, seem secondary, but they do however take the listener into a seemingly seedy underworld. Musically the song features a long instrumental outro, which delves into elements of jazz, funk and blues with Latin sounding rhythms. This was apparently not planned, the band kept playing after approximately the 2:30 mark. The result was one of the longest songs in the band’s catalog and one that featured equal parts raunchiness and experimentation.

With “You Gotta Move” The Stones take on a traditional song done by Fred McDowell that features bass drum, filthy acoustic guitars and sizzling guitar lines from Mick Taylor that swelter along with the lyrics sung by Jagger and Richards that convey a sense of desolation. “Bitch” is another up-tempo number similar to “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” or Brown Sugar”. This song makes excellent use of swanky horn sections, while at the same time draws a similarity to a song by The Temptations and conveys a message of love in general being a “bitch”. “I Got The Blues” makes use of horn sections once again, but this time The Stones display their soul influences up front, an Otis Redding influence also appears to surround this track, while “Sister Morphine” addresses the gritty realities of drug addition. Originally recorded for 1969’s Let It Bleed, this song was saved for this album’s inclusion and features slide guitar from Ry Cooder”.

“Dead Flowers” brings The Stones foray into country back into the spotlight at track nine on this album. The band’s country influence began due to the friendship struck up by Keith Richards and country-rock musician Gram Parsons and can be heard on songs such as “Dead Flowers”, “Far Away Eyes” and “Sweet Virginia” for example. On “Dead Flowers”, The Rolling Stones provide cool and breezy country sounds contrasted with lyrics that tell the story of broken hearts, upper class socialites and drug addiction. The song’s title takes on several meanings as the chorus hits portraying both a reflection of a broken relationship and heroin addiction, but also features many elements that can take on universal meaning. “Moonlight Mile” ends Sticky Fingers. The song is a ballad that is illuminated with lyrics and music that portray the paradoxes and loneliness of being on the road. The song features a string arrangement by Paul Buckmaster, perhaps best known for working with Elton John and piano by Jim Price, not Ian Stewart. His absence from this track is said to be due to his dislike of songs with minor chords. As Sticky Fingers fades out, the album exudes a feeling that is difficult to pinpoint. The balance between the bands sleazy swagger and atmosphere created on Sticky Fingers sweats with anticipation. The Rolling Stones would take their sound further into the 70s next with the eighteen-song album Exile On Main St., but with Sticky Fingers The Rolling Stones drift away from the decade that was the 60s and onward to their own exile.

Saturday Night Playlist:

1. The Rolling Stones - Can't You Hear Me Knocking (Alternate Version)
2. The Rolling Stones - Sway
3. The Routes - At The Bottom
4. The Black Angels - Twisted Light
5. Breakker - Faze Game
6. Super Visas - What I Can
7. Pere Ubu - Humor Me (Live)
8. Richard Hell & The Voidoids - I Been Sleeping On It
9. The Beatles - I Saw Her Standing There (Live At The Star-Club, Hamburg, Germany 1962)
10. Thirsty Souls - Don’t Know What I Don’t Know (Yeah!)
11. Buddy Selfish - It’s Only Make Believe
12. Bloodshot Bill - Don’t Bug Me Baby
13. Bloodshot Bill - Come Back To Me
14. The Rolling Stones - You Gotta Move
15. The Rolling Stones - Dead Flowers (Alternate Version)
16. Wilco - Random Name Generator
17. Shotgun Jimmie - Summer Sound
18. Mick Futures - Tentative Issue
19. Grounders - Bloor Street And Pressure
20. Meat Puppets - Leaves
21. Martha Wainwright - When The Day Is Short
22. The Mighty Swells - Runaway
23. New York Dolls - Don’t Mess With Cupid (Demo)
24. Television - Friction
25. Cowboy Junkies - Dead Flowers (Live)
26. Shotgun Jummie - Impossible Popcycle
27. The Rolling Stones - Moonlight Mile

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

Station To Station, Cold Hot Plumbs & Show # 568

David Bowie - Station To Station

Originally released in 1976, David Bowie’s Station To Station is a transitional album for many reasons. The album was released during what is often called David Bowie’s Thin White Duke Period (he is even referenced in this album’s title track). This was yet another persona created ala Ziggy Stardust that was developed while Bowie played with The Spiders From Mars. In contrast to his more glamorous styles as Ziggy Stardust, The Thin White Duke dressed more like a fugitive and had darker elements to his persona that were reflected in the music. The album is also an extension from Bowie’s plastic soul musical style that he emphasized on 1975’s Young Americans. In addition to the soul and rock influences present here, Bowie ventures into avant-garde territory experimenting with synthesizers and a variety of styles such as funk and krautrock on Station To Station. The album’s title track is perhaps one of the best influences of this. The ten-minute track is an epic piece that serves as an introduction to the Thin White Duke character and the album as it addresses many different things lyrically and musically in a different fashion.



Damaged Bug - Cold Hot Plumbs

The latest release by Damaged Bug, the synth-rock driven project by Thee Oh Sees frontman John Dwyer was released in June 2015. Cold Hot Plumbs seems to venture into a cloudy territory, as does the Thunderbirds-looking pilot in the video for the album’s first single/video “Jet In Jungle”. His glassy eyes float between trees in dark territory much like the synthesizers and lyrical content found on Cold Hot Plumbs. As Dwyer ups the synthesizers swapping in favour of guitar at times, Cold Hot Plumbs is effective in its mission and takes flight expanding upon the sounds of 2014’s Hubba Bubba traveling and exploring in the world of primal synth pop.



Saturday Night Playlist:

1. David Bowie - Station To Station
2. Yukon Blonde - Confused
3. Catholic Girls - Berlin
4. Braineaters - Rock Rock
5. The Secrets - New Blood
6. Maggie’s Marshmallows - Come Along
7. The Gruesomes - Time’s Gonna Come
8. The Sonics - Shot Down
9. Nap Eyes - Make Something
10. Monomyth - Vision
11. Aron D’Alesio - A Long Time
12. Neil Jarvis - Help
13. Genki Genki Panic - HPV Lovecraft
14. Deja Voodoo - 16 Tons
15. Benny The Jet Rodriguez - Alley Cat
16. The Victims - Open Your Eyes
17. Dik Van Dykes - Adult Gumby
18. The Strokes - What Ever Happened?
19. The Replacements - Love Lines
20. Nervebreakers - My Girlfriend Is A Rock
21. Death - Politicians In My Eyes
22. Ramones - Glad To See You Go
23. Devo - Patterns
24. Damaged Bug - Frog
25. The Stranglers - Toiler On The Sea
26. Tough Age - I Get The Feeling Central
27. The Teardrops - Seeing Double
28. Generation X - Wild Dub

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

Mick Futures Banned From The Future & Show # 567

Banned From The Future is the debut full-length album by Sudbury’s Mick Futures, a pseudonym for Strange Attractor drummer and Statues bassist/vocalist Mitch Houle. At fifteen tracks, there is a lot of content, although most of the songs found on Banned From The Future are relatively short, some barely over one and a half minutes. The music pulls from the ubiquitous synth-driven sounds of the 80s, but specifically the sounds of artists such as early Brian Eno, Gary Numan, Devo and Kraftwerk. Futures also dons other subtler influences such as The Wipers, Buzzcocks and Wire.

The album opens with “My Machine Gun”. A song in which Mick Futures projects a Mark Mothersbaugh howl amongst fuzzy, static sounding guitar riffs. The chorus attacks with what sounds like either watery guitar effects or keyboards while throughout the song Futures sings with a verbal arsenal making a social commentary on the unease of the modern world and personal safety. The song also ties in with references of the frights of a past cold war hysteria. “Tentative Issue” floats with a Gary Numan influence. Paranoid expansive guitar lines glide with cold sounding drums and spaceship sounding synthesizers. It echoes the sounds of 80s, while at the same time offering something new to say, ending with the words “You can’t be everything to everyone”. These tracks are then followed by two shorter tracks. “A Few Pieces” melds together the different puzzle pieces of Devo, Kraftwerk and The Wipers constructing and infectious groove with handclaps and guitar lines, while “What Do You Say Now?” appears to be a comment on the creative process.

“Living On Dark Street” features acoustic guitar in the mix of a song that seems to bring forth a sci-fi element (one that is present throughout this album), but this song seems to be all about different personal perceptions. “In Case We Learn” chugs along with fuzzy guitar and a message that seems to portray a burning determination for success. “Whatever You Want” is part Canadian punk, part UK punk and part new wave. Futures sings in a voice similar to Diodes singer Paul Robinson, while the guitars echo with a the semblance of Buzzcocks guitarist Steve Diggle and the siren call guitar lines of Mick Jones on The Clash’s rendition of “Police On My Back”. This song is all about a call for action. It is not one with anything specific in mind, but just one that promotes going out and getting what you want. This also song struts with an underlying optimism.

Other confident moments on the album include, “Mini Mag” which seems to portray a feeling of the viewpoints in the mainstream media amongst icy Gang Of Four meets Canadian art rock band The Government song dynamics. “Cold Emotions” blurs the lines with its darker sci-fi dystopian imagery as “Two Hands” cascades with cleaner guitars and synthesizers. “Walk The Prism” sounds as if it were lifted from an old sci-fi soundtrack. The song also bears a resemblance to the instrumental songs found on Music Madness From The Kinetic Kid by Klark Kent. While Music Madness From The Kinetic Kid was the brainchild of Police drummer Stewart Copeland, Mick Futures takes his madness to different levels singing of “wishing his mind away” and “stitching the bonds of time to focus on something better” in his own illuminating patterns. The songs that make up Banned From The Future can at times have a bleak view, but there is also a silver lining of hopeful optimism. Banned From The Future takes the cold icy dystopian views of the past and applies it to the present.



Saturday Night Playlist:

1. Robert Gordon - Rock Billy Boogie
2. Cheater Slicks - Crying
3. Deerhunter - Memory Boy
4. Women - Shaking Hand
5. Slim Twig - Still The Same
6. Flamin’ Groovies - Shake Some Action
7. Luau Or Die - On The Fly
8. Pow Wows - Shock Corridor
9. Metric On The Sky
10. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - We Call Upon The Author
11. Paul Jacobs - Under Water
12. Guided By Voices - Echos Myron
13. Liz Phair - Girls! Girls! Girls!
14. Thee Oh Sees - Palace Doctor
15. Crosss - Mind
16. Jawbox - Jackpot Plus
17. Iceage - Simony
18. Test Tone Channel - Clown In The Dark
19. White Fence - Arrow Man
20. The Weirdies - Bad Connection
21. The Boys - I Don’t Care
22. The Wipers - Window Shop For Love
23. X-Ray Spex - I Can’t Do Anything
24. REM - (Don't Go Back To) Rockville
25. The Vee Eights - Trick Fueler
26. The Frenetics - Shortest String
27. Mick Futures - In Case We Learn
28. Mick Futures - Mini Mag

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

Thee Rum Coves Interview & Show # 566

Describing themselves as “Rock n soul played by punks”, New Zealand’s Thee Rum Coves bring a bounty of guitar riffs made up of part 60s garage rock, soul and 70s punk on their newest self-titled release. The current line-up is made up of Jake Harding on vocals/guitar, Jono Goss (drums), Tomas Marin (guitar), Jimmy Christmas (bass), and Kendall Elise (keys/vocals). Ryan Alderton also plays bass on several of the songs on the band’s full-length. Having roots in the UK and New Zealand, Jake Harding has a long musical history. He has played in several bands such as The Milk Monitors, The Revs and is a founding member of The D4, a New Zealand garage rock group from 2000’s in which he played bass. Jimmy Christmas, who plays bass in Thee Rum Coves was also a founding member and guitarist/vocalist in The D4. Thee Rum Coves opens with “A Simple Little Lie”, a song made up of part 60s garage riffs ala The Yardbirds and part Buzzcocks guitar riffs. Lyrically the song blurs the line between reality and fiction of a rendezvous with words that bounce back and forth between the barrage of drums, guitar and bass. “Baby Please” showcases Harding and Elise’s vocal interplay amongst R&B rave up garage sounds. “Dirty Thief,” foretells “a tale of broken hearts, unrequited hearts and revenge” (as described on the Thee Rum Coves bandcamp page) while echoing the influences of The Sonics, attacking with grittiness similar to “A Simple Little Lie”.

“Time & Time Again” and “Two Strong Arms” convey messages of change, while they revolve with a garage punk sound, leaning heavier on the 60’s side. “Cosmo” stretches out during its almost four-minute length, displaying elements of both a psychedelic nature, watery splashes of surf, R&B bass grooves and a sprawling guitar solos. The song also emphasizes the live nature of the band captured throughout this album, feeling like a mid-set number before “She Waits For Me”. Musically, the song features ethereal guitar, drums and basslines, while vocally this song once again brings forth the dual vocal interplay between Harding and Elise. The lyrics portray darker elements in contrast to vocal harmonies on this album’s seventh track.

The album then picks up again in a voluminous fashion up to the album’s closing track “Nasty Evil Sickness”. This song reverberates with the loose riffs of The Stooges and psychedelic sounds of Love’s “7 and 7 Is”. Whereas Arthur Lee once sung of the growing up and desire for change “sitting in a bottle and pretending that he was in a can”, Harding sings of a different kind of entrapment, a possessive state of mind that may not change. As a bonus track, Thee Rum Coves ends with “GCSB” a song with jagged guitar riffs, smooth bass and splintering lyrics that offer a catch-22 message of be careful what you say. A rum cove is defined as a clever rogue in the 1811 Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue. For their debut full-length release, Thee Rum Coves wrangle up an album’s worth of songs from their alcove of retro inspired sounds. The songs on Thee Rum Coves will sneak up on you and hit you over the head with their mischievous spirit.

Check out the interview that I did with Jake Harding of Thee Rum Coves:



For more Rum Cove sounds visit Thee Rum Coves bandcamp page.

Saturday Night Playlist:

1. La De Das - How Is The Air Up There?
2. The Small Faces - Whatcha Gonna Do About It (French EP Version)
3. The Clean - Sad Eyed Lady
4. Nap Eyes - The First Night Of The Show
5. Black Mountain - Druganaut
6. Tough Age - The Gutter Lemon
7. The Milk Monitors - Don’t Lean On Me
8. The Revs - Julie Got A Raise
9. The D4 - What U Want
10.Thee Rum Coves - Simple Little Lie

JAKE HARDING OF THEE RUM COVES INTERVIEW

11. Thee Rum Coves - Dirty Thief
12. The MC5 - The Human Being Lawnmower
13. The Gories - Detroit Breakdown
14. Dead Ghosts - That Old Feeling
15. The Northwest Company - Hard To Cry
16. The Kinks - Party Line
17. The Who - Disguises
18. Aron D’Alesio - Diamond Ring
19. The Mighty Swells - Ginchy
20. The Angels - Buckshot
21. The Pointed Sticks - It’s O.K.
22. Devo - Strange Pursuit
23. Damaged Bug - The Mirror
24. The Scavengers - Mysterex (Version 2)
25. The Stooges - Money (That’s What I Want) (Olympic Studio Tapes 1972)
26. Teenanger - Think About It

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

Chris Crossroads, Holly Ruth & Show # 565

Armed with a banjo Chris Crossroads entered CJAM FM on Saturday June 20th. He last visited in November of 2014, which was during the station’s pledge drive. Formerly a resident of Windsor, Ontario, Crossroads originates from Winnipeg, Manitoba and currently resides in Winnipeg. Fresh from an impromptu show with Holly Ruth and The Bindle Band (also from Winnipeg) in Windsor the previous night and an appearance in London, Ontario prior to that, Crossroads appeared in good spirits with Holly Ruth, who also brought her acoustic guitar. Holly played two tracks on acoustic, with Crossroads on banjo accompaniment. She played a rootsy original titled “Little One" and an acoustic rendition of the Jazz standard “Autumn Leaves”. In between a mixed selection of country, garage and surf songs, Crossroads also provided two originals and a greased up version of Johnny Cash’s “One Piece At A Time”. Chris Crossroads will appear at Phog Lounge on Friday June 26th, in a live performance said to have a toxic waste theme. Holly Ruth will appear at Phog Lounge on Tuesday June 30th. To hear the live tracks they performed on the show you can download the program below (link is underneath the playlist).






Saturday Night Playlist:

1. The Missing Links - Wild About You
2. Wild Racoon - Next Summer
3. Light Bulb Alley - Wanna Be Loved
4. Pony - Don’t Go
5. Crystal Eyes - The Future
6. Will Currie & The County French - Beuchemin
7. Holly Ruth - Little One (CJAM Session)
8. Holly Ruth - Autumn Leaves (CJAM Session)
9. Warren Zevon - Porcelain Monkey
10. The Carter Family - John Hardy Was A Desperate Little Man
11. Chris Crossroads - Lost In The 13th Dimension (CJAM Session)
12. Chris Crossroads - All In The Family (CJAM Session)
13. Daniel Romano - Hard On You
14. Carl Barat & The Jackals - Summer In The Trenches
15. The Avengers VI - Heartbeat
16. Kathy Lynn & The Playboys - Rock City
17. Chris Crossroads - One Piece At A Time (CJAM Session)
18. Gun Club - Carry Home
19. Talking Heads - Love Goes To A Building On Fire (1975 CBS Studio Demo)
20. Thee Rum Coves - She Waits For Me
21. UJ3RKS - The Locator
22. No Fun - Snog
23. Mick Futures - A Few Pieces
24. The Radiators - Not Too Late
25. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Long Shadow
26. Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard - Missing Ol' Johnny Cash
27. Subway Sect - Double Negative
28. The Only Ones - The Beast
29. The Stems - Running Around
30. The Black Lips - The Lie

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

Thee Oh Sees Mutilator Defeated At Last & Show # 564

In May 2015, Thee Oh Sees emerged with Mutilator Defeated At Last. Adding another release to their ever-expanding discography, this album differs in many ways from 2014’s album Drop. While many reviewers and critics now claim Drop as a misstep in the band’s discography, Mutilator Defeated At Last incorporates several of the elements that were explored on Drop, while at the same time revealing something familiar, yet new sounding. As one of the main vehicles for front man John Dwyer’s rock n’ roll madness, this album features a new band line-up. Tim Hellman joined on bass and Nick Murray on drums in 2014 to support Dwyer for Thee Oh Sees tour behind Drop, they also appear here. In addition to this three piece, Brigid Dawson returns for this album complimenting Dwyer’s vocals with her backing/vocal harmonies as well as Chris Woodhouse, who adds synthesizer, mellotron and percussion. He also continues his working relationship with John Dwyer by recording and mixing this album.

“Web” opens Mutilator Defeated At Last with slow, thunderous bass grooves and guitars that echo with effects and riffs. The song picks up with twisted guitar lines as the bass and drums lock into the groove while John Dwyer sings in hushed whispered tones. As the song comes to a close, guitar riffs sprawl out in combination with synthesizer, introducing listeners to a blend of their heavier and subtle side. “Withered Hand” creeps in with lethargic bass, atmospheric wind sounds and pulsating synthesizer sounds before launching into a fuzzy, scuzz driven onslaught. Lyrics convey a struggle with words such as “Rolling slowly/Face down in the mud/Rolling slowly/With an outstretched withered hand”, that help to add to the band’s medieval imagery that crosses with what seems like elements from a long lost science fiction movie on this album. “Poor Queen” is a more mid-tempo track which tells the tale of a teenage queen who claims to be sick, but one that seems to be looking for acceptance, While “Turned Out Light” brings in lumberous guitar riffs that collide with 60s garage nugget-styled sounds. Brigid Dawson takes lead vocals on this track singing of what seems to be a yearning to break out from monotony and boredom.

“Lupine Ossuary” attacks with the frenetic groove of 2011’s Carrion Crawler/The Dream as ramshackle guitars rumble in-between bass, drums and guitar leads that branch out into territories once explored by Jimmy Page and Jimmi Hendrix. With added Oh Sees intensity, this song also compliments the psychedelic freak out “Lupine Dominus” from 2012’s Putrifiers II. “Sticky Hulks” ventures into places unknown with gravitating basslines, floating synthesizers and shattering guitar shards in this album’s longest track. Along with this track, “Holy Smoke” helps to switch up Mutilator Defeated At Last’s pacing. This track is an acoustic instrumental track, with swelling synthesizers, recalling elements of Dwyer’s early solo acoustic beginnings. In contrast to Thee Oh Sees heavier, thrashier sound exhibited on Mutilator Defeated At Last, “Holy Smoke”, along with “Sticky Hulks” add depth to the album, beyond the grooves of the music.

“Rogue Planet” explores Thee Oh Sees ramped up garage/punk dynamics, recalling elements from Floating Coffin in 2013, while “Planet Doctor” burns with a slow intensity, simmering with psychedelic and prog influences in addition to infectious harmonies by John Dwyer and Brigid Dawson. The lyrics produce a story of a mysterious person or creature that knocks on the door of the doctor that lives at a great palace. Throughout Mutilator Defeated At Last’s nine tracks, Thee Oh Sees dig into a groove so deep that it will burn holes in your speakers. John Dwyer arrives energized with his new incarnation of Thee Oh Sees, who despite having mostly new members still sound like Thee Oh Sees. There is an undeniable sound to Thee Oh Sees, perhaps it is similar to the mysteriously creepy feeling expressed by the sneaky creature knocking on the palace door in the album’s closing track. With Mutilator Defeated At Last, John Dwyer and Thee Oh Sees knock on another door, yielding different results that at times draws a similar effect to the sounds explored on 2013’s Floating Coffin. Regardless of which door the band chooses to venture to, Thee Oh Sees are once again victorious.

Saturday Night Playlist:

1. The Sound Reasons - Till The End Of Time
2. The Haunted - 1-2-5
3. Thee Tsunamis - Trash Talk
4. David Bowie - Let's Spend The Night Together
5. Steely Dan - Monkey In Your Soul
6. Sunset Rubdown - Idiot Heart
7. Dark Glasses - Strange
8. Suicide - Ghostrider
9. The Vaccines - Handsome
10. The Psychedelic Furs - All Of This & Nothing
11. Dot Dash - Rainclouds
12. Tim Ray & A.V. - All Sane
13. Klark Kent - Guerrilla
14. Love - A House Is Not A Motel
15. Middle Sister - Rosasharn
16. The Locusts Have No King - Trench Song
17. Patti Smith - Pumping My Heart
18. Television - The Fire
19. Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet - You Spin Me Round ’86
20. Les Marinellis - Tarot II
21. X - Devil Doll
22. Motorhead - Live To Win
23. Superchunk - What Do I
24. METZ - Nervous System
25. The Shades - New Clientele
26. The Young Canadians - I Hate Music
27. Wire - Two People In A Room
28. Thee Oh Sees - Rogue Planet
29. Thee Oh Sees - Withered Hand

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