Singing with Ray Mason

Just weeks after getting a chance to sing with the fabulous Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby at a house party concert in Woods Hole (they asked me to sing some harmony vocals on "Goin' Back" to close the evening's entertainment), I got to sing with another great songwriter & performer, Ray Mason.  My friend Belinda of Bubbles in the Think Tank captured us on video:

If you get a chance to see any of these fabulous performers in concert or buy their albums ... DO IT!

Oh, and please invite me along.

A Record About Records!

I am the Associate Producer (ie "Musician Wrangler") on a new project being put together by my friends Belinda & January Fairy over at Bubbles in the Think Tank.  We have started the below Kickstarter campaign to try and raise the funds for the project.

The Petite Seven Inch Record - it's a record about records, featuring tracks from some of our favorite musicians: Chandler Travis, Paulette, Ray Mason, and David Greenberger, with some additional musicians soon to be announced once we have all the i's crossed and t's dotted.

I sure hope you'll watch the video, read the pitch, and decide to help us finance the project.  We have until the end of January to raise the funds.

Thanks!

Now You

One of my favorite shows of 2010 was a performance by Tin Hat at the Wellfleet Library.

"BLEW. ME. AWAY." was what I wrote about the show. I am sure I am not the only one in the audience who felt that way.

Then, at the Cape Cod Christmas Cavalcade, Tin Hat violinist/vocalist Carla Kihlstedt and her husband Mattias Bossi performed a couple of numbers under the name "Now You". Carla sang and played violin and some crazy norwegian viking boat or something like that, Mattias played percussion and piano, and they both made animal noises. They were charming, funny, weird and wonderful. Again, many of us in the audience were awestruck.

Well I'm happy to be able to help spread the word that Now You will be performing a full show at the Cape Cod Museum of Art on Sunday, February 6, starting at 2:30pm. Tickets are available in advance from the museum and online.

This is bound to be a fantastic show, and it's early enough for you football fans that you should be able to catch both it and the Super Bowl.

You really must go.

LISTS

It's a new year and everyone and their cousin is making a list. Or two. Or more. Do we really need another from me?

Well, my friend Todd Remley tagged me on his "Top 15" list on Facebook, and my friend Belinda, at Bubbles in the Think Tank has her list and talked to me about mine, so I guess there are two people in this world who care.

Todd went with 15, Belinda tried to stick to 10 but I think she had one extra. I'm going to split it into 10 "new" releases and 5 "archival" releases. And then I'm going to have a couple of "gotta mention this one, too" selections at the end, because really, I just want to have the chance to share and recommend some cool stuff, and I don't care exactly how many there are.

So sue me.

NEW RELEASES (alphabetical)

======================

Beat Caravan - On Parade

Japanese power-pop. Some serious hooks and nice harmonies coming from this band. They even cover Cape Cod's Link Montana!

http://facebook.com/beatcaravan

http://myspace.com/thebeatcaravan

http://twitter.com/beatcaravan

Elizabeth Cook - Welder

A great mix of humor, pathos, and party songs, all with a great twang. She sure seems to me to be the real deal. This is the kind of country music I love.

http://www.elizabeth-cook.com/

http://facebook.com/ElizabethCookMusic

http://myspace.com/elizabethcook

John DeVries (Agitpop) - X No

A really wonderful mix of styles, most with some nice, dark lyrics on this release from John DeVries, also a member of the 80's art-punk band Agitpop. I had forgotten this was a 2010 release until near the end of my review process and threw it on just to check it out again and whadaya know, it bumped up into my faves list.

http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=1648715969

http://myspace.com/johndevriesmusic

The Figgs - The Man Who Fights Himself

Power-pop in the spirit of the Replacements, hard-edged guitar-based music with serious hooks. They live in different parts of the US now and have other projects, so they don't get together to tour or record all that much. A new release is always a treat. Definitely see them if they come to your area - they might be even better live than on their releases.

http://thefiggs.net/

http://facebook.com/pages/The-Figgs/89126473046

Jack Grace Band - Drinking Songs For Lovers

Witty honkytonk drinking and truck driving songs and serious musicianship. 'nuf sed.

http://jackgrace.com/

http://www.facebook.com/thejackgraceband

Movin' Jelly - Yay Disc

Japanese rock & roll band influenced greatly by the Incredible Casuals, NRBQ, and Cheap Trick. This album shows off more of the Cheap Trick influence than their first album. My fave cuts are "My Birthday", "Movin' Jelly Twist", "Cell Phone Number Please", and "She Cried". Sadly, this is a posthumous release for one member of the band, guitarist Masaaki "Masa" Gunji.

(whatever journalistic integrity I think I might have tells me I should inform you that I am thanked in the credits ... but it really is a fun album)

http://myspace.com/movinjelly

The CD is available in the US from Cape Cod's SonicTrout on their catalog page:

http://sonictrout.com/products/catalogue.php

Edward O'Connell - Our Little Secret

Power-pop from DC-based Edward O'Connell. He wears his influences on his sleeve, but they're great influences (Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, for example), and wears them proud and well. A really lovely album, not a bad song in the bunch.

http://edwardoconnell.com/

The Parkington Sisters - Till Voices Wake Us

Five sisters from Wellfleet, MA on Cape Cod who play various string instruments (guitar, violin, banjo and cello) and piano and sing really really pretty. Lydia, the youngest of the five, has voice that haunts.

http://parkingtonsisters.com/

http://facebook.com/pages/Parkington-Sisters/127612167255868

Stan Ridgway - Neon Mirage

What a wonderful surprise. Stan's put out some good stuff over the years, but this one is really something. And great reed contributions by the great Ralph Carney, too.

http://stanridgway.com/

Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here

The poet returns. The guy's led a hard life, and he doesn't sugarcoat it one bit on his first album in many years. I found this album haunting.

http://gilscottheron.net/

ARCHIVAL RELEASES (alphabetical)

===========================

Bruce Springsteen - The Promise

Bruce certainly doesn't need my help in selling this, a 2 CD collection of outtakes from "Darkness on the Edge of Town", but man-o-man do I love it.

http://brucespringsteen.net/

Sun Ra - College Tour Vol 1: The Complete Nothing Is ...

This is a 2-CD ESP Disk release of the complete 1966 set from which the "Nothing Is ..." album was taken, plus part of the 2nd set the band performed that night and part of the soundcheck for the show. All-in-all 90 additional minutes of material. A fantastic performance and well-recorded. I love the transitions the band makes from song to song, from a big band swing number into cacophonous roar into a space chant and back into swing. It's a wonderful thing.

Oh, and that's Massachusetts' Governor Deval Patrick's father Pat Patrick playing baritone sax.

http://elrarecords.com/

http://espdisk.com/

http://facebook.com/pages/Sun-Ra/63446498680

http://outerspaceways.info/

Travis & Shook - The Essential Travis, Shook & the Club Wow

First CD release of this early-70's LP release (no one seems to know the exact year as it seems there were a LOT of drugs going 'round in those days). In addition to the songwriting and beautiful harmonies of Chandler Travis and Steve Shook, not to mention Steve's unique guitar picking and voicing, this album features guest appearances by members of NRBQ, and songs written by Terry Adams, Sun Ra, and Keith Spring.

http://chandlertravis.com/

http://sonictrout.com/products/catalogue.php

Frank Zappa - Greasy Love Songs

The original 1968 stereo mix of "Cruising with Ruben & the Jets" plus a whole bunch more alternate mixes and unreleased tracks. The title says it all, really.

http://zappa.com/

http://killuglyradio.com/

http://zappateers.com/

Frank Zappa - Hammersmith Odeon

Oh, one of my fave Zappa lineups, maybe because it's the first one I saw live (Poughkeepsie, NY in September or October '77, these shows are from the end of the same tour, January & February '78). THREE discs of live material assembled to feel like a full (extra long) show from that era. Some really tasty guitar solos from both Zappa and Adrian Belew and a gorgeous sounding production.

http://zappa.com/

http://killuglyradio.com/

http://zappateers.com/

I JUST HAVE TO TELL YOU ABOUT

==========================

Terry Adams Rock & Roll Quartet - Facebook/Soundcloud Digital Downloads

Seven live tracks have been made available so far from the formerly notoriously close-to-the-vest Adams - for FREE! Who are you and what have you done with Terry? I'm not arguing, I like the new openness and I sure hope people spread the word just how good this band can be. Reports are that there will be a studio release from the band sometime in 2011. Let's just say I'm pretty excited about that.

http://terryadams.net/

http://nrbq.com/

http://facebook.com/pages/The-Terry-Adams-Rock-Roll-Quartet/130350920355925

http://soundcloud.com/TARRQ

The Baseball Project - Broadside Ballads

Scott McCaughey (Young Fresh Fellows, Minus 5), Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate, Gutterball), Peter Buck (REM, Minus 5), and Linda Pitmon (Zu Zu's Petals, Steve Wynn) wrote 9 downloadable songs over the course of the 2010 baseball season, commenting on various baseball events that struck their fancy (anticipation of the season, the possibility of a triple crown winner, another 30 game winner, too many players spending time on the disabled list, the phenom Stephen Strasburg, a eulogy to former player Jose Lima, ...)

http://thebaseballproject.bandcamp.com/album/broadside-ballads

http://yeproc.com/artist_info.php?artistId=12539

Tim Carroll - All Kinds of Pain

This is a 2009 release I just found out about at the end of 2010. It would most definitely have been on my favorites list. I've been a fan of Tim Carroll's for many years, since I first heard the singles he wrote and recorded with the Blue Chieftains, a New York City country band that recorded for the Diesel Only label. Oh, and he's married to Elizabeth Cook (see my 2010 faves above).

http://myspace.com/timcarrollmusic

FAVORITE SHOWS

==============

Clare & the Reasons / Van Dyke Parks - Iron Horse, Northampton, MA

Man, I was in a foul mood that day. Getting sick, feeling general miserable. But I had tickets for the show and we were playing an after-show gig across the street (a Chandler Travis Trio gig that ended up having 7 band members), so I rode up to Northampton with Chandler & Rikki. Clare & the Reasons had already started (adding to my foul mood - I hate missing part of a show), but I swear as soon as I walked into that room I started to feel better, their sound was so calming, the volume at a perfect level where you really had to stay quiet to hear everything (and for the most part, the audience did). By the end of the night, thanks to both the music, Van Dyke Parks' between-song patter, and a few vodka tonics, I was transformed - joyous, I'd call my mood. What a wonderful night. Clare & the Reasons' "Live in Amsterdam", which just missed my fave 10 (partially because I knew I could mention it here), offers a very good representation of what we heard that night.

Incredible Casuals - Valentine's, Albany, NY

OK, I work for the band, I'm a total sycophant. I've seen them practically every Sunday between Memorial Day and Labor Day for 12 years. And I'm a relative new-comer to the band, compared to some of their fans. Their home turf these days is the Wellfleet Beachcomber and there's always something different about those shows compared to their shows in other venues, particulary off-cape venues, I think (with the exception of the Japan tour in 2006 ... that was CRAZY!) Anyway, the show at Valentines was the closest thing to a mid-summer Beachcomber feel that I've gotten from them at any off-cape gig since, well, probably Japan in 2006. There was this great give & take between the audience and the band, and things rose to a fever pitch by the end of the night. I was really proud of the boys that night, hanging out at my merch table, and I was thrilled to be there.

KK & the Meds / The Catbirds / Treat Her Right - Lizard Lounge, Cambridge, MA

A CD release party for Kimon Kirk, the Boston debut of the Catbirds (Rikki Bates, Dinty Child, Steve Wood, and Chandler Travis), and reunion of Treat Her Right alumni, all in the friendly confines of the Lizard Lounge. Kimon was wonderful and can really sing a ballad beautifully. The Catbirds played a nice, tight set of their stronger material and the sonic interplay of Steve and Dinty was great. Treat Her Right played a fun set, the memory of Mark Sandman definitely there. Also notable for me as being the last night I saw Billy Ruane.

Parkington Sisters / Tin Hat - Wellfleet Library, Wellfleet, MA

BLEW. MY. MIND. After a very nice opening set by locals the Parkington Sisters (I think their CD release party at the Wellfleet Congregational Church a couple of months earlier was a better show, but there was nothing to sneeze at with this opening set), Tin Hat performed an amazing set of acoustic music that defied classification. Jazz? Classical? Who cares what you call it, it was stunnng. The group features sparse instrumentation (guitar/dobro, piano/accordion, clarinet/contra-alto clarinet, violin, voice) and what seemed to be arranged pieces with room for improvisation, though I suppose it could all be arranged, I forgot to ask them. The group was on the cape to rehearse for a new tour. Apparently, Carla, their violinist/vocalist has moved to the cape with her husband and new born, so hopefully we'll get occasional shows here in future.

Ticks / Greenheads / Earth Jr ('Coma opening night '10) - Wellfleet Beachcomber, Wellfleet, MA

Always a great night, always a favorite of mine. It's the beginning of Summer, a night to reconnect with folks we hardly ever see during the off-season. For the last several years it has featured these three bands. For the last couple of years I've had the chance to sing backup with the Greenheads on a handful of songs. Opening night 2010 is particularly memorable for one thing: The Ticks playing "Crazy Train". Yeah, that kicked off the season just grand.

Jody

Sorry not to have written much in the last few months. I'll admit it, I've kind of become addicted to Facebook and have been enjoying meeting up with old friends, playing the scrabble-like game "lexulous", and trying to come up with pithy status messages.

Sadly, something has come along that makes me want to write a longer piece.

This past Monday, a good friend of mine, a spiritual brother, Joseph "Jody" Duncan, died at the far-too-young age of 41. His friends & family are saying goodbye to him today in ceremonies in Henderson, KY; there's another group of his friends who won't be able to make it, because we're far-flung all over the country. Most of us met Jody because of our mutual love for and obsession with the band NRBQ.

Jody was the guy who always knew the name and original artist of any obscure cover that NRBQ played. Or at least he had the music library at hand to figure it out. I would send him mp3's of cuts I didn't know, and he usually could get back to me with the right name & artist. Usually fairly quickly.

The first time I really spent any significant time with Jody was around Labor Day, 1999, when my then-wife, Maia, and I flew out to Louisville, KY to catch 4 Q shows in 4 days. The first of those shows was in Evansville, IN, which happened to be Jody's hometown. I remember ahead of time he recommended a hotel to stay in (cheap, but not too shabby, and in a decent neighborhood, if I remember). He met us at the club, introduced us to all his hometown crazies, and we were fast friends. The next night was in Louisville, KY, and it was more of the same. He showed us such wonderful hospitality. Later that year, we made a trip to see NRBQ in Chicago (OK, really Berwyn, IL) and Champaign/Urbana, and, of course, Jody was at both shows.

A few years later, a special NRBQ fan weekend was put together by Stacey Q. Naturally, it was called "Wild Weekend", and was held in Hartford, CT. Jody made the trip, along with a I don't know how many other Q-balls, and now, everyone knew each other for real, not just online. The Chandler Travis Philharmonic was one of the opening acts for the shows, and I still remember Jody's smile when Chandler sang "Surf's Up".

Here's one story that to me is pure Jody. The NRBQ 35th Anniversary shows, which featured almost all living members of the band, past & present, were held in Northampton, MA. Jody made the trip but wasn't sure if he could until practically the last minute. As I was filing out of the Calvin Theatre the 2nd night, the place was almost empty, except there was Jody, still sitting in his seat (the last seat in the far right corner of the last row of the balcony), with tears in his eyes.

Jody's graveside service starts around 2pm CDT today. I plan on playing something joyous by NRBQ (maybe "Me & the Boys") and raising a glass of Kentucky bourbon to Jody. I'm sure more than a few tears will be shed, too.

photo: Jeff Wilson

Until we meet again while travelling the spaceways ... I love you, Jody.

It seemed somehow fitting ...

One of the best radio stations out there, WFMU, is having their big fundraiser marathon right now, and there's a special online-only promotion. In addition to other cool swag, if you make a paid pledge of $180 or more by March 8th (using a credit card or PayPal, they'll give you naming rights to an item or person at WFMU Headquarters for one year.

I present to you, The Chandler Travis Intestinal Fortitude Scale Model:

It, along with other named (and yet-to-be-named) items/people can be seen on Flickr as part of WFMU's 2009 Adoption Gallery

I highly encourage any of you who dig free form radio to help out this great station if at all possible. They have great swag and other cool promotions, too. For example, next Friday (March 13) from 8-11 pm is the annual Yo La Tengo plays cover song requests for your pledges event - pretty freakin' cool.

Speaking of being 'bout stinkin' time ...

Yet another way over-due appreciation of one of the greats is the announcement that Wanda Jackson has been elected to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I got to see Wanda play 12 or so years ago on a tour she did with Rosie Flores for Rosie's album "Rockabilly Flores". Wanda is still singing these days, belting out her old hits.

















Wanda's one of the true great voices of real Rock & Roll - it's great to see her finally recognized for it by the Hall of Fame. It's a semi-dubious recognition, given that their definition of "Rock & Roll" has turned into "post-Elvis dance pop" ... it includes heavy metal, funk, disco, etc ... this year's other inductees are Jeff Beck, Chic, Little Anthony & the Imperials, Metalicca, Run-DMC, The Stooges, War, and Bobby Womack. All of which had their impact on the music scene, certainly, but I sure wouldn't call some of 'em "rock & roll". That argument aside, every once in a while they do the right thing and give props to someone who truly deserves it and isn't so well known by modern music fans.

Let's Have a Party!

'bout stinkin' time!

Just heard that Jim Rice was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his last year of eligibility. I'm so glad he finally got in.


There are a few baseball games I remember fairly clearly, here's an example of one that sticks in my memory purely because of Jim Rice.

My first game at Fenway Park was in the fall of 1980. I went with some MIT fraternity and a group of freshman during MIT's "rush week". We sat way in the back of the bleachers section, on honest-to-goodness real bleachers, if I remember correctly (I think that was the last year of real bleachers in the bleachers section at Fenway). I think we were just underneath the front of the centerfield video scoreboard (back then it was still black & white, and if you were looking straight up at it, it was basically unwatchable). The Red Sox were playing the Billy Martin-managed Oakland A's (this was the height of "Billyball"). The Sox were down in the 9th inning and Jim Rice hit a home run to start a game-tying rally, then another home run in the 10th to win the game.

Here's a box score of the game.

That second home run was one of the longest I've ever seen hit at Fenway. The back of the centerfield bleachers is FAR away from home plate, and I swear it landed just a few rows in front of where I was sitting.

Congrats, Jim-Ed! You deserve it.

Oh, and congrats to Rickey "Hot Dog" Henderson, too - no doubt he deserves it, too. Hell, I half expect him to come out of retirement and play in the majors again after being elected to the Hall of Fame.

Life imitates Art (comic absurdity)

Up until now, my favorite example of life imitating art was the increasing # of blades in multiple-blade razors, which was parodied in a Saturday Night Live commercial in the first ever episode of the show, in 1975 (at the time, there were only 2 blades in multiple-blade razors, and they proposed the then-absurd premise of a THIRD blade!)

But now ... well, just check out this 1993 Onion "fake news" headline!

Unrelated, I'm sad to hear that Studs Terkel died today - not surprising, since he was 90 or so, but he is another great one who is now gone - fortunately, he leaves an amazing legacy in his writing and recorded interviews.

that'll do, pig

Earlier today, I emailed the following to a couple of baseball buddies of mine:

I think the Sox bats are awake now, and tonight they'll get more than the two runs they got off of Shields in game 1. If Beckett can pitch well (admittedly, that's a big if in this post season), I think the Sox take tonight's game. I bet Beckett is on a short leash tonight - maybe they go to Wake if things get tough? His knuckleball can be pretty magical inside a dome.

I like their chances with Lester on the mound for game 7.

Final score tonight, Red Sox 4, Tampa Bay 2. I thought the Sox would score a few more runs than that, but they did just fine, and it was great to see Veritek contribute to the cause, since he's been in a mostly year-long slump. Beckett allowed 2 runs on 4 hits (2 solo homers), a walk, and 3 strikeouts over 5 innings - not dominating, but damn good enough to get the job done tonight.

Oh, and check out this blog post about Game 5 by one of the all-time masters in writing, Roger Angell. As my buddy Joe commented, "Damn-- who else actively writing these days can mention something that happened in 1929 and then say, in all seriousness, that he remembers it well? I guess we should treasure Angell while we have him." Really, folks - read all the Roger Angell you can - there's an amazing collection of his baseball writing that came out maybe 7 or 8 years ago, called "Once More Around the Park: A Baseball Reader" ... Joe-Bob says check it out.

And yes, I still like the Sox' chances with Lester going on the mound for game 7.

So long, George

Through my gig as valet to Chandler Travis, King of the World, I had the honor and pleasure to meet George Carlin. Chandler was kind enough to invite me along when he & Dinty opened for George several times over the last 4 or 5 years.

The first time I got to meet George, we were doing two shows in one night at the Cape Cod Melody Tent - we were introduced before we went on for the first show. I was heading out after our opening set for the second show and before he went on stage, George shook my hand, said "nice to meet you, Fred". Damn - he remembered my name. Also at that first gig, when we were eating a quick dinner between shows, George said something alliterative and then repeated it to himself, mulling over the way the words ran together - I imagine that if he liked the way it sounded, he would write it in his notebook or something, saving it for a later day. It was cool to see that his mind was always working, always looking for potential new material.

The last time we opened for George, at the end of the night, he hugged Chandler goodbye, hugged Dinty goodbye, then shook my hand and said something along the lines of "you're still kind of new - but next time, you get a hug"

Here's a video clip of George talking about death - this is fairly recent, and I remember seeing him do this stretch of material at some of the gigs where we opened for him.

update: Chandler wrote a piece about George for local Cape Cod weekly newspaper The Cape Codder. It's a remembrance of George unlike most others you're going to find on the good ol' world wide interweb. We have it up on the SonicTrout site in the Kelp on Kape section. Here's a direct link to the piece.

update zwei: Bill O'Neill, Lifestyles Editor and Music Reviewer for the Cape Cod Times, has a little online remembrance of George which includes a great quote from Chandler, circa 1999: "Here's a simplification of what I appreciate about George C: how much he produces, how little he panders, and what a fine friend he has been."