dimland

quick observations

2009-11-03T12:38:00.006-06:00

Here's a couple quick ones...

I'm sorry to say that I know who this man is, but it's almost impossible to escape pop culture's ever present grasp. So, I know Jon Gosselin. I'm not going to weigh in on any of the nonsense surrounding the "reality" celebrities. I just want to point out how much I think Gosselin resembles the Gill Man from 'The Creature Walks Among Us'. Gosselin may not be as menacing, but there's something there. Don't you think?

I just saw the long trailer for the much anticipated (not by me, I assure you) film 'Avatar'. I didn't know anything about this film until a couple months ago, when I first heard of it. From what I understand it's based on a video game. Is it? I don't know for sure.

So, I watched the trailer during the football game last Sunday. I thought the CGI characters looked like cartoons. CGI effects have made incredible leaps in fleshing out epic stories without epic costs. However, CGI still has a ways to go with depicting characters believably.

Also, the storyline seems familiar. I think this film will be big with Native Americans. Judging by what I saw in the trailer, the tagline should be... "Avatar, this time the Indians win."

the thing about EVP

2009-10-26T13:53:00.004-05:00

In 1980 the film ‘The Changeling’ was released by MGM. It is a pretty effective ghost/haunted house/mystery movie starring the great George C. Scott. As the film openings we see Scott’s character, John Russell, suffer an incredible tragedy. The story then continues four months later as Russell gets back to living his life.

He moves to Seattle where he takes a job as a college music professor. Russell leases an old historical mansion which is waaay more house than one man needs, but makes for a more haunting setting than a little bungalow. Soon after taking residence, he begins to experience ghostly activity.

Of course, he’s skeptical at first, but before long he enlists the assistance of a psychic. The medium and her husband arrive and set out to see if they can identify who is haunting the house and what it is the ghost wants.

A séance is held.

The psychic goes into a trance and does what I think is called dissociative writing. She asks questions of the ghost as she runs a pencil over a pile of paper. Whenever she receives an answer, which only she can hear, she writes it down and her husband reads it to the others present at the séance.

Thrills and chills ensue.

The séance ended, everyone has gone, leaving John Russell alone in the big, old house. (Unless you count the ghost.) The séance was tape recorded, so he decides to listen to what happened. To his astonishment, he hears the voice of a child answering the medium’s questions! The answers all correspond with what the psychic wrote while in her trance, only no one else had heard the answers.

The voice is as clear as can be. The film leaves no doubt that somehow a reel-to-reel tape recorder can pick up voices from beyond the grave. It is a movie, so anything is possible. However, the real world is something altogether different.

Why this mini movie review? It gives me the opportunity to make a skeptical observation on Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). As I said the real world is different than the movies. The recorded ghost voice in ‘The Changeling’ is what real world paranormal enthusiasts would consider an example of Class A EVP.

From the admittedly small amount of research I’ve done, the vast majority of EVP examples I found are nowhere near as clear as in the movies. More often than not they are in the ear of the beholder. The examples I’ve found all tend to be described as though they were right out of ‘The Changeling’, but they don’t play that way.

(I must say that in my research I did find one EVP example that sounded clear. It sounded as though someone, in this world, spoke in a low voice into the recorder. I guess this is a bit of a catch 22 for the paranormal folks. Skeptics require clear evidence, but, the clearer the photograph or voice, the more likely it will be considered a hoax. I know that’s not fair, but we only have the presenter’s word that no one else was present to make that ghostly voice. And there is the fact that that particular EVP hasn’t made headlines and it remains tucked away on one of the thousands of paranormal websites.)

Last September, I appeared on Scotty Robert’s internet radio program, “Dead Reckoning”. Scotty is a dear friend of mine who can hardly be considered a skeptic. He reads tarot, hunts ghosts, speaks at paranormal events and hosts that internet radio show on politics and the paranormal and whatever else comes to his mind. He has me on periodically to add a skeptical perspective. We do our usual round and round on science, skepticism, and the paranormal.

During my September visit, my friend mentioned EVP he and his team of investigators had recorded. He talked about one in particular of the several he claimed to have captured of a singularly foul-mouthed “spirit”. The “spirit” told Scotty and his fellow investigator, “F--- you both!” when asked to turn on a flashlight. Of course, they didn’t hear the voice until they played back the tape.

During that show, Scotty described the vulgar EVP just the way I described that scene from ‘The Changeling’. Then, 10 minutes later, he played the clip. It was laughable. All one can hear for sure was some low gurgling sound. It was nothing like the profane statement Scotty claimed. My reaction was, “That was so convincing!” I was being sarcastic.

As a skeptic, I require much better evidence then some scratchy static or some low gurgling sounds to convince me of ghosts or angels or demons, etc. These real world EVPs are not like those from Hollywood. They are far too subjective and prone to suggestion to be considered convincing evidence of anything but wishful thinking.

Remember: Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

the new electric company

2009-10-01T15:53:00.009-05:00

How do I say this? How do I express my reaction to PBS’s new version of 'The Electric Company'? How do I state it without sounding like a… bigot?

Well, I’ll just say it. I hate it. Well, not all of it. There’s a 30 second bit with Jimmy Fallon singing the praises of the letter ‘H’ in the style of the Ramones. And there might be one or two other aspects or features of the show of which I don’t have much of a problem.

So, what is it about the show that bothers me?

What I hate about the show is that it’s all (or almost all) Hip Hop. I don’t particularly care for the art form. I do like a few songs, but the art form doesn’t speak to me. I don’t like the fashion. I don’t like the walking style, the hunched shoulders, the arm movements, the hand gestures. I don’t like the low angle camera showing the actors performing down to the audience. I don’t like the graffiti lifestyle that is on display in the show. It’s so urban, so New York City.

Am I sounding like a bigot? Or am I just showing my age and squareness?

The original cast was certainly diverse. They were hip to the fashion of the day. I miss the Marvel Comics connection (remember Spider-Man’s involvement?) and the fact that the cast was mostly made up of adults. This new cast is awfully young, not that that is a big deal. It’s just that the adult cast seemed more like teachers to the kids on the show. Very groovy, cool, hip teachers, ya dig? The adults on the new show seem less consequential.

I went to the YouTube and watched a few clips of the old show. It certainly seems more charming to me, but then again that could just be my age talking. I’m sure today’s kids are plenty entertained by the new show. I know my son is.

One thing about the old show that you absolutely won’t see in the new show, Bill Cosby smoking a cigar! A friend of mine rented a few of the old episodes recently and told me about Bill Cosby smoking on the show. Ah, the 70s, those were the days.

The new show’s “bad” characters are very cartoonish. That may be because of the fact that the show is written for kids. Cartoonish bad guys aren’t as threatening and besides they always get foiled in the end.

There are two characters I am particularly annoyed with: Manny, the very cartoonish and foppish bad boy, and Shock, the human beatbox. Manny is sooo cartoonish and over-the-top that he makes me feel violent. Not only that, but he has the trimmed, shaped eyebrows. I HATE THAT! Men just look foolish with shaped eyebrows. I have nothing against trimming the bushy, horse hairs that appear as men age.(I admit it, I do it.) But the perfectly formed, tapered, angular eyebrows of these metrosexuals are just wrong, wrong, wrong!

And Shock is one of those human beatbox guys. He’s very good at it. I'll give him that, but I just don’t like human beatboxes. He doesn’t seem to be shaping his eyebrows though. That's him on the left beatboxing away next to the always available Whoopi Goldberg. The other fellow is Hector and he's rapping to Shock's beat. I think Whoopi thinks she's in a low budget production of 'Cats'.

In my area, the local PBS station schedules 'The Electric Company' at 5:30pm, right after a kids’ show I really enjoy, 'Fetch with Ruff Ruffman'. The thing is, when I get home there’s usually only a few minutes left of the show I like, then I have to find something to do while my son enjoys 'The Electric Company', the show I hate.

It could be worse. He could be watching 'Dora the Explorer'.

greatest human being ever

2009-09-15T13:20:00.006-05:00

Ok, when you read the title of this installment, what name came to your mind? Plato? Moses? Jesus? Or, perhaps, more recent people, such as…Lincoln? Ghandi? Mother Teresa? Pres. Obama?

Well, any might have been a decent choice. (Except Mother Teresa. She was a sadist taking money from well-intentioned people – including myself! - to build schools to teach others how to enjoy watching poor people suffer and die. But, I digress.) Well, any of them would be the wrong choice. The greatest human being who ever lived has to be Norman Borlaug.

You’ve never heard of him? Neither had I until I watched ‘Penn & Teller: Bullshit!’. In the eleventh episode of their first season, Penn & Teller make the case that Norman Borlaug is the greatest human being of all time, because this Nobel Peace Prize, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Congressional Gold Medal, National Medal of Science recipient is responsible for saving the lives of a billion people. That’s right, a BILLION!

Receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota (Minnesota! Woo hoo!), Dr. Borlaug went on to use his knowledge and scientific acumen to develop food grains that would grow better in harsh conditions and produce more food to feed the impoverished peoples throughout the world. Not only did he genetically engineer the plants to increase production, but he also made it so the plants would produce more nutritious food.

He’s not without detractors, but their criticism is unwarranted. From what I understand, most of the criticism comes from people who think bio-engineering food is evil and dangerous. Their ignorance leads them to believe that we should only eat organic, locally grown food. The fact that these detractors all have full stomachs and, probably, wouldn’t volunteer to being included in the one third of the world’s population that would have to die in order to go totally organic, should be kept in mind whenever you hear them protest “frankenfood”.

Dr. Norman Borlaug, who died this past Saturday, September 12^th, was a giant and we should have a world-wide holiday in his honor.

9/11/09

2009-09-11T09:35:00.011-05:00

Eight years. No attacks on American soil.

Thank you!

nostalgia attack! paul mccartney & wings' 'my love'

2009-09-10T11:08:00.005-05:00

Memory is a funny thing. It’s also very tricky. It’s fluid and malleable. Memories can be implanted or modified. Memory is a funny thing.

Take, for instance, a memory I hold to this day surrounding Paul McCartney & Wings’ number one hit song, ‘My Love’. The song was written by Paul about his wife Linda (to whom, if she hadn’t died, Paul would still be happily married) and released in March 1973. At the time, I was 9 years-old.

Although the song was commercially successful, from what I gather, it wasn’t highly thought of critically. It is a fairly light and sugary song by Paul and it might have been the negative critical reaction to ‘My Love’ that inspired Paul to write ‘Silly Love Songs’. Well, be that as it may, I still like the song.

But, I started talking about memory, didn’t I. Here’s what I mean. I have a distinct memory from the summer of 1973 or 1974 involving this song.

I come from a family with four kids: an older brother and sister, then me, and a younger brother. And when we were old enough for the responsibility of chores, we got ‘em. We didn’t have a dishwasher (but, according to my dad, we had four of them.). So, each of us kids would get one week each month in which we had to do the dishes.

We were allowed to listen to the radio, as long as it wasn’t too loud, while we did our chore. We all listened to some Top 40 AM radio station in those days. What I remember is doing the dishes one summer evening, listening to the radio, and on came the song ‘My Love’.

That’s it. It’s weird how something so mundane sticks with you, isn’t it? To this day, whenever I hear that song I think of that moment; standing at the kitchen sink, gazing out the window, washing dishes and listening to Paul McCartney & Wings.

Memory is a funny thing.

I’ve included the video clip for the song.

Aaaaahhh, the 70s. Don’t you just dig Paul’s mullet? Maybe ‘My Love’ is a silly love song, but what’s wrong with that?

hey, would you like to buy a monkey?

2009-09-08T13:12:00.004-05:00

In 1965, you could buy a live spider monkey for only $18.95 through the mail. Was that a good idea? I know the ad states that a spider monkey can make "an adorable pet and companion", but a monkey? As always you shouldn't believe everything you see in advertising.

The ad guarantees a live delivery. Along with the monkey you'll get a free cage, a free leather collar and leash, a free monkey toy and monkey care instructions. I have my doubts as to how good those instructions are, because the ad tells us that spider monkeys eat the same food we do, even lollipops! A staple of any primate's diet.

I wonder how many kids scraped up the $18.95 and purchased a "darling live pet monkey" through this ad in the back of a comic book. Without informing Mom and Dad. Must have been a pleasant surprise.

And live seahorses! A buck apiece! What a bargain!

three underappreciated bands from the 80s

2009-08-27T18:45:00.000-05:00

Here I have picked three musical artists from the 80s who I think never really got their due. Sure, the critics loved them and many musical artists have named them as major influences. Most importantly, I like them.

Each of these bands did develop their own following of devoted fans, but they never received the kind of market saturation, big-time money, mega stardom they each deserved. These are quality artists, but they just didn’t catch the mainstream’s ear. They might have had what could be considered a minor, but nothing more than that.

I’ll talk a bit about each of the bands and offer what I think is their best 80s album. I’ll include the album that won the album of the year Grammy that same year that the three albums I’ll list by Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians, The Replacements, and XTC were released. Of course, my picks never won, let alone ever nominated for, a Grammy.

Let’s get started, eh?

Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians: I first heard Robyn when my friend, John, and I went down the Beloit, WI to visit a friend of ours going to college there. He took us around to the college’s radio station. The gal on the air introduced us to The Soft Boys (Robyn’s first band) and their album ‘Underwater Moonlight’. We were intrigued and John, who always had money, bought a few albums of Robyn’s material.

One of the albums he bought was ‘Fegmania!’ And what a great album it is. Some of my favorite tracks include ‘Egyptian Cream’, ‘Goodnight I Say’, ‘My Wife and My Dead Wife’, ‘The Man With the Lightbulb Head’, and ‘Heaven’. ‘Heaven’ might have been a minor hit for them, I’m not sure. The whole album should have been a huge hit, but it wasn’t.

‘Fegmania!’ was released in 1985. That year the Grammy for album of the year award went to Phil Collins ‘No Jacket Required’. Well, Phil’s album isn’t all bad and Robyn’s doesn’t have a track as great as ‘Sussudio’. I guess I can see why it didn’t make it.

The Replacements: Okay, okay. This isn’t a difficult choice. If you know the 80s music scene, you’ve, at least, heard of these guys. The Replacements are the definition of critic’s darlings. They should have been huge, but they didn’t really help their own cause. Jim Walsh’s book ‘The Replacements: All Over but the Shouting’ is an excellent source on the band’s history.

My pick for their best album is probably the obvious choice, ‘Let It Be’. It just holds me more closely than any of their other albums, although I like all their albums. ‘I Will Dare’, ‘Androgynous’, ‘Unsatisfied’, ‘Sixteen Blue’ are just a few of the stand out tracks. How ‘I Will Dare’ wasn’t a hit, is beyond me.

‘Let It Be’ was released in 1984. And that year’s Grammy went to… Lionel Ritchie and his crowd pleasing ‘Can’t Slow Down.’ The Replacements could learn a lot from Lionel.

XTC: This is my favorite pop group of all time, so, of course, I think they are underappreciated. They did manage a minor hit here in the States with ‘Dear God’, but that’s one of the weaker (but still good) songs on their album, ‘Skylarking’. In fact, ‘Dear God’ wasn’t even on the first pressing of the album. It was on the B-side for the single, ‘Grass’. For some reason, American radio stations started playing the song and it became a hit and was then included on later pressings.

‘Skylarking’ is my favorite of their many great albums. It had plenty of hit potentials with ‘Grass’, ‘That’s Really Super, Supergirl’ and ‘Earn Enough for Us’. But the hit was ‘Dear God’.

XTC stop touring in 1982, so their label didn’t promote the band well enough. The labels attitude led to problems with the band and the band going on a seven year strike, before they were released by Virgin and struck out on their own. Unfortunately, they have closed up shop and gone their separate ways.

‘Skylarking’ was released in 1986, the year that Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland’ won the Grammy for the album of the year. ‘Graceland’ is pretty good. XTC had some tough competition.

I do think that each of these artists deserved greater financial success, but, on the other hand, I’m kind of glad they didn’t. This way I can’t feel that I am in on something and that the majority doesn’t know what it’s missing. I also tend to lose interest with bands when they achieve mega-stardom. I liked early U2 and REM, but when they broke through to the major audience I thought they got a little annoying. I still liked them, just not as much.

Now that I think of it, feeling that way pretty much makes everything I just wrote pointless.

Nevermind.

horror inc.

2009-08-24T19:48:00.000-05:00

This was a very local phenomenon.

I got to thinking about the old horror movie showcase programs that local TV stations used to put on. Do you remember them? They would usually be hosted by someone dressed as Dracula or a mad scientist. They would introduce some old horror film, most the time something from the 40s or 50s and not very scary. The shows would usually be on at midnight on Friday or Saturday.

They've pretty much all disappeared. I think Elvira was among the last of them. I also think Mystery Science Theater 3000 put the final nail in the coffin.

It's too bad. I'd love it if some local station would give us back one of those horror showcases, instead of the never ending feed of insipid infomercials.

So, I got to reminiscing about the Twin Cities own horror showcase. It ran in the 70s at midnight on Friday. Maybe it was Saturday. Maybe both. It was a long time ago and I was awfully young. It was called Horror Incorporated. I don't remember there being a host to the show. There may have been a host, but I just remember its creepy opening and closing.

My reminiscing led me to Google. I was able to find both the opening and closing on YouTube. With the help of my wife, I've embedded the clips here. I needed her help, because I'm fairly lost at this kind of thing.

The clips are very simple. Just a coffin with a vampire coming out at the opening (getting back in at the closing), some fog, some eerie lighting, some screams and maniacal laughter, and that great voice over. It's very well done and to a kid of 8 or 9, as I was then, very scary. In fact, the opening was often times more scary then the featured movie.

I miss that show. I wish it would return...

From the grave!

comic books that have changed my life #6

2009-07-21T22:37:00.001-05:00

Returning to the long left idle series on some of my favorite comic books, I will focus on The Avengers #164. This is the second issue of The Avengers' title that I will examine. (The previous one was #171 which I reviewed way back in February 2006.) Issue #164 features guest penciler John Byrne. John Byrne is one of my all time favorite comic book artists. This issue was one of his early efforts for Marvel Comics, but he would soon make a huge splash in the comic world when he became the regular penciler for the X-Men (starting with issue #108 of that series).

I love Byrne's work. For quite some time he was the top artist at Marvel. George Perez was a close second, but Byrne's work just had something that impressed the hell out of me. He continued to produce great work for many years until he began writing titles as well as drawing them. Then he seemed to hurry his drawing.

Anyway, The Avengers #164 was early in his career at Marvel, but he was already showing those signs of greatness. His inker was Pablo Marcos for this three issue story that John would being drawing, giving George Perez, Avengers' regular artist, a break. And I am focusing on the first part of the three issue story, because as I've said previously, the set up issue seems to be more interesting then the conclusion issue of a storyline.

The synopsis of this issue tells of an old Avengers' villain, Count Nefaria, recruiting three other villains: Power Man, Whirlwind, and the Living Laser, to help him defeat the Avengers once and for all. Through the efforts of the team of scientists he employed, Count Nefaria enhances the powers of the three recruited bad guys. But only temporarily. This reunited and boosted Lethal Legion rob a bank, the Avengers try to stop them, but they get away and regroup and counterattack. In their counterattack, the Legion appear to have the upper hand and are about to become victorious when their powers begin to mysteriously disappear. Enter Count Nefaria, crackling with the super powers he'd just stolen from the Lethal Legion. That dastardly double crosser!

Ok, it ain't Tolstoy, but it's good comic book fun.

Now to look at the art...

The cover (see above) was draw by George Perez and it depicts the Lethal Legion putting the beat down on the Avengers. Power Man states that the Avengers are finished, but someone is shouting, "Not all of them!" But who is it? We do see a pair of gloved hands, but the story doesn't let us know who it is. Is it Yellow Jacket? The Wasp? The Scarlet Witch? I guess we aren't supposed to know. It was a common practice in comic books to have cover art that didn't exactly fit the story inside.

The first frame I'm including is the beginning of the second battle between the Avengers and the Lethal Legion. The three bad guys decide to use the old attention getter of throwing a car through the window of the second story conference room of the Avengers' mansion. How the Legion knew our heroes were gathered there I don't know. Still it is a dramatic shot with the great sound effect "KA-SMA-A-ASH!" Marvel always did pride themselves with their uncannily descriptive sound effect words.

Next is a two frame sequence in which we get to see just how much more powerful Power Man has become. At the expense of the Beast, unfortunately. Poor Beast, that looks like it hurt.

Then I have the last page of the issue. Here is where Count Nefaria makes his dramatic entrance. He tears up the street under the Avengers' feet, sending them all down to the ground, stunned. A shocked Capt. America recognizes the villain and can't believe Nefaria is capable of such a display of power.

And doesn't the Scarlet Witch have quite the nice behind?

I'm also including another two frame segment that always bugged me. It shows the Whizzer (yep, that's his name) speeding through his apartment. He's heading off to get into the action, but he really shouldn't because he's an older fellow and he's got heart trouble. Anyway, he's using his power of traveling at super speed when his daughter, the Scarlet Witch, (she wasn't really his daughter. It's complicated, so just take my word for it.) gets in his way.

He grabs a trellis rod and spins himself backward into the wall to keep from colliding with his daughter. I always thought the drawings were confusing. Why would he go backward? Looking at it now, I think I understand what happened. The Whizzer (Yes! That is his name!) must have reached to the left side of the frame to the "off camera" trellis rod and that's why he's flung backward into the wall. I guess Byrne had difficulty fitting the trellis into the frame.

Yes! He was called The Whizzer!

I'll do more writing on the comic books soon. I hope.

craig ferguson doesn't have a band... that's awsome

2009-07-13T15:44:00.000-05:00

When did the bands on the late night talk shows become so domineering? I’m old enough to remember Johnny Carson and I remember that he had a great band, but the band did not dominate the show the way today’s late show bands tend to do. Johnny’s band played the intro, the cuts to commercial, the guest entrances and the end of the show. Yes, they had a bit more involvement than that. “Is Doc here?” “Doc’s not here.” Johnny would poke fun at whatever Doc Severinsen was wearing or how dull Tommy Newsom could be. There was the ‘stump the band’ bit and the occasional rim shots, but the band fit right in its place.

For some time now,however, the bands have been becoming bigger and bigger and more intrusive. I don’t know exactly where to put the blame. Was it Letterman’s or Leno’s fault?

When David Letterman started NBC’s ‘Late Night’, he had the very talented and funny Paul Shaffer and what would later become ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Band’. At first, as I recall, Paul and the band had about the same involvement as Johnny Carson’s band. Soon, it was discovered the Paul Shaffer was funny and worked well with Dave and the band took on a little more significance. Still the band did not take over the show. It was a very good four piece band that entertained the audience during the breaks and Paul would get some laughs.

Then, Jay Leno took over the ‘Tonight Show’ and things started to change. Johnny’s band was pretty sizable and so was Jay’s. Leno’s first bandleader was Branford Marsalis. Marsalis left after two or three years because he didn’t have much of a sense of humor (that’s just a guess on my part) and Kevin Eubanks took over. Kevin is good, but not nearly as funny as Paul Shaffer. (None of the late night bandleaders are.)

Letterman left NBC and started up the ‘Late Show’. That’s when Dave’s band got much bigger to match the ‘Tonight Show’. Leno had a gal who started singing during the breaks, so Letterman got one, too. The bands started getting louder and more showy.

Conan O’Brien now helmed ‘Late Night’ and he had the Max Weinberg 7. Another good band, but Max Weinberg was really no Paul Shaffer. Max just isn’t funny. I do like the ‘In the year 2000’ bits, which utilize one of the band members. The main problem with O’Brien’s band is the brashy loudness of it. Just listen to how they play on Conan’s entrances now that he has the ‘Tonight Show’. The squealing trumpet is enough to give me a headache. Squeeeeeal! Squeeeeeal! Squeeeeeal! Isn’t it exciting?! No! It’s just loud.

Now Jimmy Fallon is hosting ‘Late Night’. And his band is an already established band from Philadelphia called The Roots. They’re also a good band and Fallon really uses them a lot. He is new to the format so they’re working on it. But every night Jimmy yells for me to “give it up for The Roots!” Well, I don’t want give it up for The Roots and why are you yelling so much, Jimmy. Seriously, every time he introduces a guest it’s as if he’s giving the “Live, from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” yell.

Jimmy Kimmel has a late night talk show. The show has a band, but I never watch much of the show so I really can’t say anything. So, I won’t.

Maybe I’m just being a traditionalist crank here, but I liked the way Johnny’s and Dave’s bands used to be. There’s just something annoying about the shows coming back from commercial break and seeing one of the band members singing. It just bugs me.

On the other hand, CBS’s the ‘Late, Late Show’ with Craig Ferguson doesn’t have a band. It doesn’t need one. Craig frequently complains about not having a band, but I disagree. He is probably the only late night talk show host today who can do an hour long show without a band or a sidekick. He could almost do the show without guests.

I hope Craig Ferguson never does get a band. It would diminish the show. As my wife said when I remarked that Craig doesn’t have a band, “That’s awesome.” It is awesome. Please, CBS, no band for Craig.

my first girl is gone

2009-06-25T14:30:00.000-05:00

Farrah Fawcett lost her long battle with cancer today. She was just 62. She left the world far too soon.

When Farrah burst on the scene in 1976 on 'Charlie's Angels', I was about 12 years-old. I had had a crush or two on girls my age, but...WHAM! There was Farrah. I was captivated. I was smitten. That hair, that smile, those two protrusions in the red bathing suit (see above)...

Farrah was the first woman that I fell in love with. She became my girl. I was obsessed. I collected her posters and magazines featuring articles about her. I cut photos of her out of newspapers. Collecting images of Farrah became my passion. My corner of the bedroom I shared with my younger brother, in those days, became a virtual shrine to a woman I would never meet. I still have most of that collection packed away.

I remember an uncle of mine telling my mother that, at the very least, my Farrah obsession confirmed I wasn't gay. Why that mattered to my uncle, I was never quite sure. How questionable was my behavior toward the opposite sex that my uncle would be relieved by my love for Farrah? I was only 12. Come on!

My obsession with Farrah lasted well into high school. I had drawn several portraits of her, read one of her unofficial biographies, I even wrote a biographical paper on her for a high school writing class during my senior year. For a time, I took to adding a little "FF" to my signature on my drawings. The "FF" stood for "Farrah Freak", which is what fellow classmates took to calling me.

(Incidentally, the paper I wrote about Farrah was to be given three grades: one for research, one for composition, and one for grammar. I received three As on the paper. My teacher spotted me in the cafeteria on the day the graded papers were to be returned, and told me she could tell I really liked my subject. I wish I had held onto that paper. It would be nice to read it now.)

The years and my obsession passed. I became more interested in women I actually knew. (Although I wasn't any luckier with them then I would have been with Farrah. Oh, woe is me.) I didn't go to her movies, but I did watch her triumphant performance in 'The Burning Bed' and her not so triumphant performance in 'Cannonball Run'. I had long since dropped the "FF" from my signature. I moved on.

Occasionally, I would note some of her doings with mild interest. Such as her very short-lived sit-com with Ryan O'Neal, 'Good Sports'; her appearance on Arsenio Hall's show and thinking her legs looked damn good; her less than flattering appearance on David Letterman's show; her two nude photo layouts in Playboy (Ok, the Playboy stuff was a bit more than mildly interesting.), but the feeling wasn't the same. The crush was gone.

Then came the cancer. She seemed to handle it well. She was going to fight it with everything she had. And she fought hard. In the end, as will happen to us all, death claimed her.

Now, I feel just a little bit older, a little bit emptier, a little bit lonlier. A big part of my youth is gone. I will miss Farrah Fawcett, she was my first girl.

FF

something soon

2009-06-23T10:03:00.001-05:00

I just realized I haven't written anything this month. I'm having some difficulty with coming up with ideas for topics. I'll work on it and post something soon.

I hope.

Is this what they call writer's block?

what world does curious george live in?

2009-05-29T20:50:00.001-05:00

I have a 5 year-old son and, because I do, I end up watching plenty of children’s programming. Programming I would otherwise be very unlikely to ever watch. Now, I know it’s for kids. And I know anything is possible in cartoonland, but some of this stuff really drives me crazy.

My wife and I have our son watch the kids’ programming that can be found on PBS and a few of the shows are pretty good. I like ‘Fetch’, ‘Arthur’, and, especially, ‘Word Girl’. ‘Word Girl’ is particularly good because the producers realize that adults may be watching so why not entertain them too?

There is one program, however, that consistently gets under my skin. It’s ‘Curious George’. What world does this monkey live in? Believe me, I try to suspend my disbelief, but it gets so difficult when George causes so much damage. He floods the apartment building he lives in, he steals the other tenants’ recyclable goods before the items have been used, he splashes paint all over an empty apartment. He never gets in trouble! The Man in the Yellow Hat must be worth millions or have quite the insurance policy to cover all the damage this monkey does.

In George’s world, people don’t realize he’s a monkey. Well, they do, but they treat him as though he’s human. In one rather excruciating episode, George finds himself in a department store that has a candy counter run by an incredibly stupid woman. Naturally, she and George hit it off.

By the way, Mr. Yellow Hat is constantly leaving George on his own, even though he should know that any time George is left alone, mayhem ensues.

The candy counter lady realizes that she’s running low on supplies so she leaves George (a monkey!) in charge and traipses off, in the middle of the day, to get supplies. Supplies she should have realized she needed earlier. Doesn’t she ever do inventory? Can’t she temporarily close the candy counter? Can’t she have the supplies delivered?

Nope, she leaves the monkey in charge.

What had been a slow day at the candy counter suddenly becomes very busy, now that the human has left. Do any of the customers find it unusual that there is a monkey waiting on them? Do any of them consider that the monkey, being a monkey, may have difficulty comprehending their orders? Of course not!

George makes a huge mess of the candy counter and ends up giving away almost all the candy. Somehow the moronic humans thought he was giving away free samples. But what was George to do? He’s a monkey!!

The numbskull gal finally returns. She sees her station in shambles and realizes that George (the monkey!) had given away so many free samples that, even if she sells all that is left, she won’t be able to afford new inventory. She’ll have to go out of business.

George is sorry and says something in monkey language. I think it translates to something like, “What did you expect, dumbass? You left your business in the care of a monkey!”

This is PBS cartoonland after all, so nothing really bad happens. Somehow, despite her certainty of bankruptcy, she gets so many customers because of George’s samples give away, she stays in business. I don’t know how she managed that. Talk about voodoo economics.

Seriously, one of the biggest problems with the PBS kids’ shows is the fact that no one ever really gets in trouble. With the exception of ‘Arthur’ on which the kids get grounded or some other consequence for carelessness or bad behavior, PBS cartoon characters are always just forgiven when they say they’re sorry. “Oh, that’s ok. It was an accident.”

My wife has said that she thinks PBS is more concerned that kids understand they should apologize for mistakes or bad behavior. I agree that is important, but it’s also important that kids learn that careless or bad behavior may result in loss of privileges or trust. Why adjust your behavior if all you have to do is say, “Sorry” and all is forgiven?

But, in Curious George’s case, what can you do? He’s a monkey.

my awesome 80s mix tapes

2009-05-15T07:57:00.000-05:00

Remember mix tapes? Sure you do, cassette tape technology isn’t completely dead yet. Like so many of those who grew up through the 70s and 80s, I made quite a few mix tapes.

I started making mix tapes (I usually refer to them as compilation tapes) while in my second year of art school, 1984/85. A fellow student, Tim, then in his first year, introduced me to the concept of making a cassette tape filled with your favorite music. Since then I’ve made more than a hundred tapes with some way cool music.

At first, I would simply number them, but later I’d come up with titles for the tapes. Titles such as: “Uganda, what?”; “Much Too Much Eric Clapton” (featuring not a single song by Clapton); “Public Highway, Baby”; and, my favorite title, “A Constant Bombardment of Frenzied, Heathen Discord”. I took that title for a pamphlet I found somewhere. The pamphlet was put out by a couple Evangelist Christian brothers warning of the dangers of rock ‘n’ roll.

Sometime in 1994, while watching some late night TV, I saw a commercial advertising a CD series called “Awesome 80s”. The ad featured a couple of dudes all 80s’d out, speaking of the virtues of all the awesome 80s music. Awesome?

The collection these two dorks were hawking was as mainstream as anything could be. While in art school, I discovered truly awesome music. I was into the indie scene. Punk, post-punk, ska, new wave, etc. The TV collection consisted of Journey, Lisa Lisa & the whatever the hell they were called, Kim Carnes, Air Supply, Foreigner, blah, blah, blah, yuck!

“How lame!” I thought to myself. (The picture above pretty much demonstrates how lousy it was, although I'm not sure it is the actual CD that I saw offered.) So, I got right to work putting together my own “Awesome 80s” compilation tape series. Initially, I did two 110 minute long cassettes back in 1994, then, just this year; I did two more 90 minutes cassettes worth of music.

I had rules that I followed in choosing what artists and which of their songs to include. The first rule is obvious – all songs had to have been released in the 80s. Second, only one song per artist could be included. However, if a performer was part of a band and also released solo material in the 80s, one song could be included from each (e.g. Peter Murphy & Bauhaus). Or if one band became another band and both released music in the 80s (e.g. XTC & The Dukes of Stratosphear). The third rule was – all songs must be cool. A couple songs may be considered mainstream, but they are still good enough to be included.

If you are the kind of person who thinks the TV version of “Awesome 80s” sounds good, you probably won’t know most of the songs I put in my four volume set.

I will list each volume’s songlist without further comment. Rest assured, though, each song is great and worthy of a listen. Worthy of a thousand listens!!

Volume I

‘Eighties’ - Killing Joke
‘I Will Dare’ - The Replacements
‘To Hell with Poverty’ - Gang of Four
‘Death of a European’ – The Three Johns
‘In Between Days’ – The Cure
‘Spinning Round’ – Red Lorry Yellow Lorry
‘Apeman Hop’ – Ramones
‘This Damn Nation’ – The Godfathers
‘She’s In Parties’ – Bauhaus
‘Alice’s House’ – The Psychedelic Furs
‘Rise’ – Public Image Ltd.
‘One Day in Your Life’ – 54-40
‘Give Me Back My Man’ – The B-52’s
‘Uncertain Smile’ – The The
‘Come To Milton Keyes’ – The Style Council
‘Into My Hands’ – The Church
‘So. Central Rain’ – REM
‘Smooth Operator’ – Sade
‘Respectable Street’ – XTC
‘Like Wow, Wipe Out’ – Hoodoo Gurus
‘How Soon Is Now’ – The Smiths
‘Cities in Dust’ – Siouxsie & the Banshees
‘Ahead’ – Wire
‘Through Being Cool’ – Devo
‘Vamos’ – Pixies
‘Newest Industry’ – Husker Du
‘Jordan, MN’ – Big Black
‘Envoye’ – The Young Gods
‘Those Who Move’ – Naked Raygun
‘No Time to Cry’ – Sisters of Mercy

Volume II

‘Once in a Lifetime’ – Talking Heads
‘Telephone Operator’ – Pete Shelley
‘Driving the Dynamite Truck’ – Breaking Circus
‘The High Road’ – The Feelies
‘Rescue’ – Echo & the Bunnymen
‘Mandinka’ – Sinead O’Connor
‘Swamp Thing’ – The Chameleons UK
‘Ceremony’ – New Order
‘Never Before, Never Again’ – The dB’s
‘Wild Blue Yonder’ – The Screaming Blue Messiahs
‘Message of Love’ – The Pretenders
‘Precious’ – The Jam
‘Cruiser’s Creek’ – The Fall
‘Marlene on the Wall’ – Suzanne Vega
‘Ivo’ – Cocteau Twins
‘Another Bubble’ – Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians
‘A Song from Under the Floorboards’ – Magazine
‘Big Decision’ – That Petrol Emotion
‘Marimba’ – Red Guitars
‘A Pagan Place’ – The Waterboys
‘Say Goodbye’ – Hunters & Collectors
‘Love is the Law’ – The Suburbs
‘Snake Dance’ – The March Violets
‘Emmarita’ – The Whole Lotta Loves
‘Let’s Get Married’ – The Celibate Rifles
‘Here Comes the Rain’ – The Cult
‘Independence Day’ – Urban Guerrillas

Volume III

‘Final Solution’ – Peter Murphy
‘Canary in a Coalmine’ – The Police
‘24’ – Game Theory
‘Scorpio Rising’ – 10,000 Maniacs
‘Free Yourself’ – The Untouchables
‘True Men Don’t Kill Coyotes’ – Red Hot Chili Peppers
‘Garbageman’ – The Cramps
‘Let’s See the Sun’ – The Fleshtones
‘We’re So Cool’ – Au Pairs
‘Nothing Means Nothing Anymore’ – The Alley Cats
‘Games without Frontiers’ – Peter Gabriel
‘E = mc² ’ – Big Audio Dynamite
‘What Do You Know?’ – Buzzcocks
‘Here Comes the Rain Again’ – Eurythmics
‘Gone Daddy Gone’ – The Violent Femmes
‘Units’ – Man-Sized Action
‘Beatle Boots’ – Love Tractor
‘Above It Now’ – Figures
‘Motorcrash’ – The Sugarcubes
‘Go!’ – Tones on Tail
‘Everything Counts’ – Depeche Mode
‘Sour Grapes’ – The Descendents
‘Police on My Back’ – The Clash
‘Shut Out the Light’ – Steve Diggle
‘Insanely Jealous’ – The Soft Boys
‘Cloudbusting’ – Kate Bush

Volume IV

‘Well, Well, Well’ – The Woodentops
‘The Metro’ – Berlin
’Jean’s Not Happening’ – The Pale Fountains
‘Carpathia Girl’ – Laughing Stock
‘Party at Ground Zero’ – Fishbone
‘Sensoria’ – Cabaret Voltaire
‘Ball of Confusion’ – Love & Rockets
‘Let My Love Open the Door’ – Pete Townshend
‘Love Kills’ – Joe Strummer
‘Levitation’ – The Mighty Mofos
‘Certain Things are Likely’ – KTP
‘Poplife’ – Prince & the Revolution
‘Ashes to Ashes’ – David Bowie
‘World Destruction’ – Time Zone
‘Nemesis’ – Shreikback
‘(Kind of) True’ – Golden Palominos
‘Date with a Vampyre’ – The Screaming Tribesmen
‘Some Candy Talking’ – The Jesus & Mary Chain
‘Just for the Moment’ – Get Smart
‘TV Party!’ – Black Flag

That’s more than one hundred kick ass, crazy good songs. Certainly better than most of the stuff you could get in that TV offer. A lot of these songs can be found on iTunes. Look for them. Enjoy!

world's coolest toys pt. 1: ghost of capt. kidd

2009-04-27T18:36:00.000-05:00

I collect old toys. I should say I used to collect old toys. I no longer have the disposable income I once did. To tell the truth, I never really had the disposable income and yet I would collect old toys.

Not just any old toys, I collected the toys that I or a friend or relative had when I was a child. I used to say that I was buying back my childhood. One toy at a time.

There is one toy, however, foolishly given up in my youth, that has eluded my ability to buy back. It's an action figure that was put out by Matchbox Toys. It was part of their "Fighting Furies" pirate series and he was called the Ghost of Capt. Kidd.

In 1975, when I was ten years-old, I was looking through the Sears Christmas catalog, something every kid must have done in those days, when I spotted him. There he was, the Ghost of Capt. Kidd. He was pictured with two or three other pirate figures, but I didn't care about them. I wanted the ghost.

I saved up my allowance money and, when I had enough, my mom ordered it for me. I don't remember how long I waited, but I'm sure it felt like weeks and weeks.

When the fairly plain and unassuming package arrived, I was beside myself with excitement. It was worth the wait, because it was such a great toy. It had a button on its side that you could push to simulate sword fighting. And though it was a bit smaller than my Johnny West and GI Joe, it had a feature that they didn't. It could glow in the dark!

To this day, kids dig just about anything if it glows in the dark. Matchbox had the brilliant idea of painting, in pale white, a skull and skeleton on the figure. So, he didn't just glow, he glowed so you could see his ghostly skeletal structure. It was a very cool and eerie effect.

Glowing in the dark! How cool is that?!

The Captain quickly became one of my favorite toys. I would frequently bring it over to my friend Todd's house, along with my other action figures, and Todd and I would play with his GI Joe action set and his actions figures for hours.

Once I left the Captain at Todd's at the end of one of our adventures. I had to go home. I think Todd may have asked me to leave the Captain, so he could play with it some more. Todd was very good to his toys, so I wasn't too worried about him having one of mine for a while longer. The only thing is is his family then went on vacation. They would be gone for at least a week and I'd be damned if I would be without such a favored toy for so long.

I hatched a plan.

Todd's house had an attached garage which led to their basement. I knew that his family never locked the garage door (those were the days). My plan was simple: I would head over to his house, open the garage door just enough for me to crawl under, go in, and get my toy.

I'm certain the statute of limitations has long since past, so I can tell you now. My plan worked like a charm. I retrieved my toy and no one was the wiser. I don't think Todd ever knew I'd broken into his house. And I was single-minded. There was no taking of any of his toys or comic books, no stealing money, no going through his older sister's underwear drawer (Come on! I was only ten!). I was there for the Captain and that's all I took.

The Shroud of Turin?

As with so many of the other toys of my youth, the Ghost of Capt. Kidd went away. No doubt, sold at a garage sale. How I have grown to regret giving him up.

I've never been able to get him back. I've seen him on eBay a couple of times and once came close to getting him, but, at the last moment, someone swiped him away from me. Now my money is needed for more mundane things. You know, food, clothing, mortgage. Nothing so exciting as the Ghost of Capt. Kidd.

I just called Mattel and asked if they'd consider reissuing the Fighting Furies, especially the Captain. Toy companies have been known to reissue toys from time to time.

They might. Pirates are so hot right now... in Somalia.

the 80s' top ten saddest songs by the replacements

2009-04-11T21:35:00.000-05:00

You may not be aware of it, but there is a pretty entertaining podcast and blog called Stuck in the 80s. As the title suggests, they pretty much cover everything in the 1980s. Well, except television and politics. The hosts are Steve Spears and Sean Daly and they are very fun. There have been other co-hosts with them over the years, but Steve and Sean are the main duo.

Sometime back, Stuck in the 80s treated us to Sean Daly’s top ten saddest songs of our favorite decade. At least, that’s what I remember the list as being.

I won’t go into my assessment of Sean’s list, but I will say that almost half of the list consisted of songs by or featuring Phil Collins. (Seriously, sometimes it seems these guys think that Phil Collins was the only musical artist of that decade. Well, him and Asia.) Sean’s list inspired me to do a list of my own. My list will feature very emotionally charged songs by just one artist; 80s critics’ darlings, The Replacements.

And you thought I was going to say The Smiths.

The Replacements were lead by one of the 80s’ (and all time, for that matter) finest songwriters, Paul Westerberg. Paul’s lyrics could funny, irreverent, and gut-wrenching. He certainly wore his heart on his sleeve. A fact he acknowledges on his first official solo album, 14 Songs, in the song ‘First Glimmer’.

Maybe these songs aren’t all sad, per se, but they are powerful, poignant works of musical art.

And none of them feature Phil Collins.

10) Johnny’s Gonna Die (Sorry, Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash)

A song about knowing your hero is a flawed human being destined for disaster. In this case, it’s about Paul’s hero, Johnny Thunders. Johnny died of a drug overdose in 1991.

“Johnny wants something what he ain’t got”

9) Answering Machine (Let It Be)

This is a song of the frustrations of attempting to achieve true connections to another person.

“How do I say ‘I’m lonely’ to/ An answering machine?”

8) Sixteen Blue (Let It Be)

I think every high school age boy should thank Paul for understanding and getting it right. This song can be considered the boys’ version of Janis Ian’s ‘At Seventeen’.

“I don’t understand/ Tell my friends I’m doin’ fine”

7) The Ledge (Pleased to Meet Me)

I love the sound of the guitars on this song. A song about a young man, standing on the ledge of a tall building, finally getting the attention he’s craved all his life only when he’s decided to kill himself. And, at the end of the song… he jumps.

“I’m the boy they can’t ignore/ For the first time in my life, I’m sure”

6) Skyway (Pleased to Meet Me)

A song about a love that seems as though it will never be fulfilled, fate keeps him away from the object of his desire.

“There wasn't a damn thing I could do or say/ Up in the skyway”

5) Sadly Beautiful (All Shook Down)

Technically, this isn’t a 80s song (All Shook Down was released in 1990) and All Shook Down could be considered Westerberg’s unofficial first solo album, had the label not insisted on releasing it as a Replacements’ album. The song is just too damn good to leave off the list, so I’m grandfathering it in.

For me, the song voices the deeply felt regret that life goes by so fast and the joy of having lived at all. In every way, this song lives up to its title.

“Had no chance at all to let you know/ You left me sadly, beautiful”

4) Within Your Reach (Hootenanny)

The line I site says it better than anything I could write here.

“Live without your touch/ If I die within your reach”

3) Achin’ To Be (Don’t Tell a Soul)

Here we have the frustration of wanting to be loved and truly understood, and trying so hard, but still failing.

“If no one’s on your canvas/ Well, I’m achin’ to be”

2) Here Comes A Regular (Tim)

Anyone who has spent an appreciable amount of time drowning their sorrows at the local watering hole will feel a chord struck with this song.

“All I know is I’m sick of everything that my money can buy/ A fool will waste his life, God rest his guts”

1) Unsatisfied (Let It Be)

This is an anthem for anyone who has ever been mad as hell, and I guess that would be everyone.

“Look me in the eye/ Then tell me/ That I’m satisfied/ Are you satisfied?”

You can check out the Stuck in the 80s blog and find out how to download their podcast at http://blogs.tampabay.com/80s You may find a comment or two from me, I go by Dr. Dim.

concert memoirs pt. 46 - urban guerrillas

2009-03-26T20:11:00.000-05:00

Urban Guerrillas (Minneapolis band)

This is it. The last installment of my concert memoirs. I'm ending it with the band I had seen the most of any band I've ever seen, the Urban Guerrillas.

The Urban Guerrillas are among the most local of all the local bands I've seen. I mean that they didn't get much national attention. I know they toured around the States, but I think they were more of a Twin Cities phenomenon. But that doesn't mean they weren't any good. (I have a memory of them being named Best New Band in the City Pages' Best of the Twin Cities at some point in the 80s, but I can't confirm it.)

The band photo (above) comes from the cover of their second album, 'The Attack of the Pink Heat Seeking Moisture Missiles'. (The title was lifted from a Robin Williams' bit.) I had to scan the album cover, because I just can't find any images of the band anywhere online. So, I scanned the cover and put this image together. I made sure to include the picture of Pres. Reagan. I came to think of him as sort of an honorary member of the band. Him and his running mate... Ronald McDonald!

This is the custom art card that came with the cassette of one of the band's live shows at First Avenue. The cassette is titled 'Armenian Heat Wave Dance Party' and it was a very limited release.

Playing a fun mixture of punk, reggae, ska, blues, and I don't know what else (it's so hard to categorize these guys), their shows were always entertaining. They had a core of fans that would show up for most shows and have the best time. It was at the Urban Guerrilla shows that John and I learned how to properly slam dance.

Larry Sahagian was the focal point of the band and he was a good front man. He really enjoyed playing and partying. He would often invite audience members to the after parties, wherever they were. John and I never went to any.

Their songs were often times political and sexual. Not always at the same time. Once they were booked to play a dance at a local high school and they stirred a bit of controversy. Their lyrics could be very graphic and when Larry started singing about four-lettering his mother the school principal pulled the plug. The whole incident got a quite a bit of local news attention. Those naughty boys!

There was also an occurrence common to many of the Urban Guerrillas' shows. Sahagian was never too worried about presenting the bisexual side of his nature during the shows. (I don't know if Larry is gay, bi or straight and I don't care. His stage persona suggested he was bi.) He wasn't on the make for the girls and boys at the shows, he just had that personality. This personality would sometimes make an audience member or two a little uncomfortable. Sometimes Larry would be called "fag" or some such. Larry would usually turn it around on these guys. He'd say, "Does that mean you want to sleep with me?"

As I said, I've seen them many times in many places. Here are a few highlights...

1) Music Island, St. Paul

In St. Paul there used to be a nightclub called Music Island. It was a pretty lame club and it is no more. It became a Best Buy or something.

One night they had the Guerrillas play. I don't think the Guerrillas were the sort of band they normally booked, because they seemed completely unprepared for the slam dancing that took place at the show. So, when the punkish fans began slam dancing, the bouncers thought it was a fight and they went in to break it up. Larry tried to explain that the fans weren't fighting, they were dancing. I remember fans yelling at the bouncers about the same thing. But I think the bouncers won, I can't remember for sure.

2) Duffy's (?), Minneapolis

I don't remember if it was Duffy's, but I'm sure it was the club that became Norma Jean's. This show was the last concert at the club before it was to shut down and then reopened as Norma Jean's, that's what I remember.

John and I headed down there and met up with some of my art school buddies to take in this last show at the club. The Guerrillas were entertaining as always. However, I think the turnout was pretty small.

The atmosphere was loose as it most always is at a Urban Guerrillas concert. That's just the way the band liked it. Larry wanted to get high, so he asked if anyone had some pot. Of course, someone did. They brought it up to him, but Larry didn't want to get the club in trouble so he went outside to smoke it.

There was an outdoor access near the stage, so he took the joint and his microphone outside. The band continued to play while Larry toked away. He would give us the play-by-play and, in his languid manner, would say, "I'm getting high now."

Larry was quite the showman.

3) The Cabooze, Minneapolis

John and I had seen these guys many, many times at the Cabooze. This night, however, would be a little out of the ordinary. Something would go wrong.

I don't recall how it started, but an argument broke out between Larry Sagahian and the drummer, John Hewitt, that brought the show to a halt. John was not happy. Words were exchanged and he got up from behind the drums and walked out of the club. I can still picture him walking away angrily.

Now drummerless, the band tried to carry on with the rest of the show, but the air had been sucked out of the room. The argument was pretty entertaining, though.

4) First Avenue, Minneapolis

A little background on me is needed for this part. I was never much of a ladies' man. They just seemed to only want to be friends. I didn't ever really try either, so I was mostly to blame.

I would get a little morose from time to time, lamenting on my loneliness. And one particular night in my art school years, I went out to First Avenue with several of my friends from school. It wasn't a concert night, so I wasn't expecting a show.

While hanging out with my art school friends that night, I noticed that I was the only single of the group. I was the fifth wheel, again! This sent me into a bit of a pity party and I began to mope around a bit. I withdrew from my friends and began to wander around the club.

Then the unexpected happened. The screen over the stage began to lift and there they were, the Urban Guerrillas! I had no idea they'd be there. I was thrilled and immediately took to the dance floor.

I danced and danced and I didn't feel so alone anymore. I even joined in when Larry had everyone lay on the floor. It was one of only two or three times I'd actually laid on the floor at First Avenue.

It turned into a good night.

5) Brian's Warehouse Loft, St. Paul

Finally, my favorite concert memory of the Urban Guerrillas. It took place at a private party in a warehouse in St. Paul.

Brian was a fellow art student and he had some really good parties at his place. He usually managed to get a big role of butcher paper for the party goers to doodle on. That was always fun to do and it was great when Brian would bring the results to school. We were a clever bunch of doodlers.

For one party, Brian booked the Guerrillas. It was a blast. Dancing right there with the band. They played well into the night and we all had a great time. Well, I did, at least.

"Four o'clock! Stop the bus! Get out in the street and jam!!"

There you have it. The series has now come to an end. I started it nearly a year ago and it has been good to walk through my memories. I wish I had kept a concert journal, but I'm glad for what I can remember.

A short list of bands I've seen, but didn't cover in the series. I just don't have enough memory of the shows:

The Phones
Idiot Savant
TVBC
The Screaming Tribesmen
Man-Sized Action
The Whole Lotta Loves

There have been others, I just can't remember them.

I hope you've enjoyed this series and that it may have sparked a memory or two for you.

concert memoirs pt. 45 - cold side bands

2009-03-19T21:16:00.000-05:00

I have mentioned a few times through this series that I used to work at Cold Side Silkscreening ( www.coldside.com ). Cold Side has been printing t-shirts in the warehouse district of Minneapolis since 1976. It's been seriously struggling over the last few years and is in danger of going under.

It's a pity because the two men who own it are decent fellows who try to do well by their employees. They've never been the best businessmen, but they've tried. I'll do a separate blog on Cold Side soon.

Over the years, Cold Side employed many people who were in bands. I'm not sure why, but Cold Side just seemed to attract the musically inclined. A partial list of the local bands with members who have worked at Cold Side: The Yoleus, TV Sound, All the Pretty Horses, Guzzard, Charlie Don't Surf, Dander, Grand 80, Sic Bay, and The Murderers. There are more, but you get the idea.

It's possible that you might have heard of one or two of them, but probably not most of them. I will elaborate on those bands which I have actually seen play...

Three-Way Grady

This band featured former Cold Sider Dave Erb (pictured above with his current band The Yoleus). Dave worked in the office when I first started in the art department. Dave was such a mild-mannered person that it took me by surprise to learn he was in a band. He just didn't seem the type. However, he is an excellent guitarist. He's even on my list of my all-time favorites.

Dave's band mates were Bill and Moira Beeman. Bill had previously been in the band Vertigo, which was on the Amphetamine Reptile label. Bill may have worked at Cold Side, but I'm not sure. Bill's brother Tom did work at Cold Side and he was in the band Guzzard, also on the Am. Rep. label.

The name Three-Way Grady came from another former Cold Sider. The band members asked him if he could come up with a name for the band. He presented them with a list of possibles and they picked Three-Way Grady.

So, I ventured out to First Avenue to see the band play the Entry. I was quite surprised when quiet, unassuming, mild-mannered Dave began shouting out the lyrics to the first rocker of their set. Bill did most of the vocals, but Dave kicked off the night singing the first song.

Three-Way Grady produced a few DIY singles and tapes, played a few gigs and then broke up. Dave went on to another band called Sic Bay. They were a more experimental rock band that got voted Best New Band in the City Pages' annual Best of the Twin Cities edition in 2004 or 2005 or 2006, I forget. Shortly after receiving that accolade, Sic Bay broke up.

Dave is now performing with an instrumental band called The Yoleus and in another sort of band called Crawdad Creek. Crawdad Creek is the "band" that I play lousy rhythm guitar for and I will talk more about them in a later blog.

Check out The Yoleus at http://www.myspace.com/theyoleus

Grand 80

This was former Cold Sider Mark Howard's band. It was a two piece band when Amy and I saw them. Mark was guitar, keyboards and vocals with his friend playing bass. They played with a tape filling the rest of their sound.

They played a kind of space age Gothic electronica thing with a little 80's new wave pop thrown in. They wore spacesuits (sort of) and makeup to give an otherworldly effect. Mark also used the special effect of putting a firework in a gap behind the strings on his guitar. It was similar to a firecracker, but, instead of exploding, it would flash and smoke. So, at the proper moment, Mark would light the fuse and wow the crowd with the cheap effect. Cheesy but cool.

Mark had previously been in a couple other local bands of note: Charlie Don't Surf and Manplanet. He is now performing and recording as Mach FoX. (The photo is of Mach FoX and the fellows are wearing shirts I designed for them.)

Check out Mach FoX at http://www.myspace.com/machfox

Dander

Dander might just be my favorite of the Cold Side bands. They have a strong Pixies influence and are very entertaining in concert. Amy and I have seen them three or four times. Most at the Terminal Bar in Minneapolis or at the Uptown Bar, also in Minneapolis.

Shane the Pain (his stage name) used to work at Cold Side as a lowly shirt folder/counter. He was liked by everyone in the shop and the guys just took to calling him Dander, but he was such a tweaker in those days that had great difficulty doing the easiest task in the shop. He didn't last long.

Check out Dander at http://www.myspace.com/dander

All The Pretty Horses

This is another band that Amy and I saw at more then one location. We've seen them at the Terminal Bar, at some art warehouse party event and other places. We were even both in attendance at Ryan's Corner in St. Paul to watch the band in the days before Amy and I ever met.

All The Pretty Horses could best be described as a loud, theatrical, gender-bending, Glam/Goth rock band. Venus, the leader of the band, is especially intriguing in his/her bending of gender norms. He was born male and still has the plumbing, but he also has a nice pair of A cup breasts. Lee Ann MacDougall, who was the Cold Side connection to the band, would never disclose how he/she got them.

Lee Ann played bass and did some backing vocals. She is the woman with the dreadlocks on the right in the above photo. She left the band in less than pleasant circumstances that I won't discuss here.

Lee Ann was also involved in bands such as Firebrand, Metro Division, and Jehovah's Shitlist (I love that name.). I don't think she's involved in any bands at the moment, but she is still slaving away at Cold Side.

You can check out All The Pretty Horses at http://www.myspace.com/atph

The Murderers

The Murderers were originally from Indiana and, from what I recall, they were pretty big in the Gary, Indiana punk scene. They migrated to Minneapolis and, at one point, three of its members worked at Cold Side. They are pictured above. From the left they are Blake Conway, Dennis Degenerate (That was his band name. I tried to convince him to drop Degenerate and go with his real name, Burns. I thought that was punk enough and didn't seem silly. He didn't listen to me.), and, the incomparable, Bob Murderer. The other two fellows did not work at Cold Side, so screw 'em.

Dennis and Blake were printers and Bob was Cold Side's resident drunken shirt folder/counter. Bob was pretty hopeless as a shirt folder/counter, but Dennis and Blake were good printers, especially Blake. None are working for Cold Side at present. Blake was just recently laid off.

The band was a blast from 1977 with their British-style punk rock. Fast and furious. They were pretty fun and the young punks slammed their hearts out to them.

Bob handled most of the lead vocals. I have a picture of him playing bass that should pretty much give you the idea of his punk cred. He's from New Hampshire, but he sounds like he's from no place on Earth. His accent is so thick at times it is virtually impossible to understand him. Think of Brad Pitt's character in 'Snatch', that's pretty close. Bob is also deaf as a post and drunk nearly all the time.

Bob Murderer

The Murderers are no more. Punk is dead.

concert memoirs pt. 44 - gang of four & wire

2009-03-16T21:22:00.000-05:00

Gang of Four with John and David at First Avenue.

John and I had discovered Gang of Four when we watched the concert movie 'Urgh! A Music War'. It is a great film with a lot of great bands, including The Police, The Fleshtones, The Cramps, Oingo Boingo, Wall of Voodoo, XTC and many others. It was released in 1982 and I have it on video, but from what I can tell it isn't available anymore. That's a damn shame.

One of the really stand out acts was Gang of Four. They had such a strong stage presence. The way Andy Gill played guitar was mesmerizing. After watching the film, John and I agreed Gang of Four was worth checking out. John soon picked up their first two albums and we were astounded.

It took many years, but we finally got the chance to see the band live. It was late 1995 or early 1996 at First Avenue. And for cheap! I think I paid $4.00 at the door. If I would have remembered to bring along a Club 241 comp. ticket, I would have gotten in for free. Club 241 was what Club Degenerate had degenerated into. Most often just dance nights with the occasional concert.

At the time, I was working nights doing janitorial work (I went to art school for three years to become a janitor, oh well.). I was cleaning the service area of a St. Paul car dealership that night and I was hauling ass to get done.

I finished up and high tailed it the disco for the show. David and John were there when I arrived. They remembered their comp. tickets and got in for free. Jerks!

This was a really excellent show. The three of us were right down front to witness Jon King and Andy Gill up close. They put on quite a show. Andy Gill is one of my all-time favorite guitarist and it was a gas to watch him play.

They played a good mix of their stuff, old and new. I had purchased their latest album, 'Shrinkwrapped', so I was familiar with those songs, which were very good. 'Shrinkwrapped' is a much better album then their previous release, 'Mall'. 'Mall' had a couple of good tunes, but overall I thought it a weak effort from an otherwise great band.

The band sounded great and I was pogoing like a crazy person. And when they played 'Anthrax' off their first album, the brilliant 'Entertainment', I was overwhelmed by the wall of feedback that Andy produced. At one point of the song, Andy dropped his guitar to the stage and kicked it sliding across the stage to Jon King. Jon then kicked it back. The noise was beautiful, man, beautiful!

Wire w/Peaches & Gonzales at First Avenue with Amy, John, Dave & Rosemary.

This is probably the last concert I've seen at First Avenue (maybe anywhere). If it was then it is also the last time I've been to my old haunt. John has continued to visit the club, but I had gotten married in 2001 and a child would arrive in August 2003, so I dropped out of the concert thing. Now, I don't want to sound like I'm blaming my wife and kid for this, because I had long since begun losing my interest in going to concerts.

Amy and I met John there. We hung out at the bar straight back from the stage and chatted while the awful Peaches & Gonzales stunk up the stage. They were doing some arty sex songs that just didn't do anything for us. I got the impression that they thought what they were doing was art.

Well, their art sucked.

I realize Wire can be considered an arty farty band. Hell, I never knew what they're singing about, but that never bothered me. Their songs are so cool. Have you ever heard 'Ahead' off their great album 'The Ideal Copy'? It just may be the coolest song ever.

John realized that Amy and I weren't interested in getting down front to see the band. We had had our fill with dealing with the audiences at these shows. John excused himself and went off to find a spot close to the stage. Amy and I stayed right where we were.

We were soon joined by our friends, Dave and Rosemary. They are friends from our Cold Side days. I met Dave when I started working at Cold Side. He was in the office and I was in the art department. Dave soon found a better job and left Cold Side, but we kept in touch.

While Dave was still at Cold Side, I learned that he was quite a guitarist. He's damn good. He and Richard (another Cold Sider) convinced me to get together with them to play "music". I play a rather lousy rhythm guitar, but I consented and the three of us have been getting together somewhat regularly ever since. It's been ten years now and I still play lousy.

Anyway, he and his wife, Rosemary, joined us and we stayed at the back of the bar. We chatted a little and watched the band play.

Wire's new material at the time was angrier then we had heard from them in a long while. In fact, John remarked on that after the show. He said he preferred their less angry stuff from their 'Ideal Copy' and 'A Bell is a Cup...' days. I tend to agree, but it was cool to watch the old punkers tear it up.

concert memoirs pt. 43 - the guess who & don williams

2009-03-16T20:59:00.000-05:00

The Guess Who at the Cabooze with John, some other high school friends and lots of beer.

How embarrassing this night was. It's the only concert at which I've ever been so drunk. After this night, John took to referring to The Guess Who as my favorite band. It isn't, but I sure acted that night as if it was.

It was sometime during the summer after my first year of art school. I had adopted some of the "arty punk" fashion and style (whatever they were) and John and I had started getting into the indie music scene. This show was more for the guys we went with. They were more "normal" and into the mainstream scene. They thought John and I had gotten a little weird, but we were still cool.

The Cabooze was hosting these Canadian has beens. (Just look at that picture. The picture is more recent, but that's pretty much what they were like when we saw them.) It was two-for-one night and, for some reason, the guys kept giving me their extra beer. And I was soaking them up. By the time the band played, I was pretty lit.

I'm not sure how many were original members, but it appears that Burton Cummings was not involved. They played their hits and I rocked out like this was the greatest band ever. I had learned to appreciate the fun to be had while slam dancing, but, because of my state of inebriation, I had forgotten that The Guess Who didn't play the kind of music that lended itself to slam dancing. Nor would the audience appreciate my choice of dance.

Not that I was in full skank or anything. I wasn't flinging myself around, but I wasn't very careful about bumping into the people next to me. I wasn't being very violent, but I was a getting a little out of hand.

At one point, two fellows standing behind me pulled me aside and told me to settle down. Actually, they were pretty cool about it and I immediately complied. John also told me to knock it off. He didn't feel like getting beat because his friend was being a moron.

I settled down and watched the rest of the show when something interesting happened. The band was closing their set with their song 'Share The Land'. The song contains the lyric, "Shake your hand/Share the land". As they get toward the end of the song, they sing that part a cappella and reach out to the crowd to shake hands. Press the flesh. Give the audience a thrill.

Guess who (no pun intended) came climbing over our backs, clambering through the crowd to get their chance to shake the band's hands. Uh huh. It was the same two fellows who dressed me down for my inconsiderate behavior. "Do as we say! Not as we do!"

At least, we didn't get beat up that night.

Don Williams (country music legend)

My wife, Amy, indulged me on this one. I don't think she's much of a country music fan, but I think Don Williams is great. Especially his earlier material. In the 1970s, he was big, but when Amy and I saw him in 2002 he was playing smaller clubs and casinos. He retired from touring in 2006.

Despite losing his audience to the crap country of Garth Brooks and Toby Keith, Don still could put on a terrific show. He played his crowd pleasers and mixed in a new song or two. His band played well and he still had the pipes.

Amy and I sat at a table at the back of the room, but we still had a good view of the stage. Don was so smooth. He sat and sang his best tunes and the audience loved him.

He had this easy manner to his stage presence. And he kept thanking the crowd for being so kind. His deep voice would smoothly roll out, "Oooh, you're sooo nice. You are sooo kind. Aren't you folks just something?"

He was being sincere. He really enjoyed playing for an audience.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Don's songs of romance had me looking at Amy and being so thankful and in love, there was some sort of salty discharge coming from my eye.

Hmmm, what was that salty discharge?

concert memoirs pt. 42 - babes in toyland & johnny thunders

2009-03-06T21:16:00.000-06:00

Babes In Toyland (Minneapolis band)

At first, I wasn't sure of my memories of this band, but I was able to get a hold of John and he confirmed what I remember. When we saw them, Babes In Toyland had four members. They had a lead singer. Kat Bjelland played guitar and did backing vocals.

While John and I were hanging out at First Avenue every Tuesday for the Club Degenerate dance nights, we got to know a woman named Cindy Russell. Cindy was also a regular of Club Degenerate. She would be out on the dance floor before the night really got going, dancing to whatever Kevin Cole was playing. She was very theatrical in her dancing as she made use of the nearly empty dance floor. She twirled and jumped and threw her scarves in the air for dramatic effect. She even did a couple on stage dance cameos for Club Degenerate.

This is Cindy Russell. She gave me this picture way back in the late 80s.

John and I became familiar faces to her and she began to come over to talk to us. She'd bum a cigarette from John and, soon, John and I became her ride home. Not every Tuesday, but many of them, John would see her move from group to group, looking for a ride. She'd end up with us.

One night, she told us that she was in a band. She introduced us to the bass player. I'm not absolutely sure, but I think it was Michelle Leon. And I think I bummed a cigarette from her.

Cindy told us that her band would be doing a cameo during an upcoming Club Degenerate. So, John and I were right up front to check them out. They were introduced as Babes In Toyland and Cindy was their lead singer.

They were pretty rough and Cindy didn't have the best voice. One song was called 'X Means Danger', I think. Another song dealt with a father molesting his daughter. Pretty cheery stuff, eh?

Cindy's involvement in the band didn't last long. The Babes as a quartet had produced a demo tape that they sent on to Steve Albini. Albini was in the bands Big Black and, later, Shellac. He also produced records, most notably Pixies' 'Surfer Rosa' and Nirvana's 'In Utero'. So, he was kind of a big deal.

Cindy told us that he listened to the demo and advised them to get rid of the singer. He said her voice was "too husky". So it was goodbye to Cindy. She got the boot.

Babes In Toyland soon became big stars as a three piece band. I guess Albini was right.

There you have it. Babes In Toyland was once, however briefly, a four piece band. And you won't find this info anywhere else.

Johnny Thunders (Glam/punk rock legend)

This was probably one of those special Club Degenerate concert nights. But, since I don't have a ticket stub, I can't be certain.

I didn't know much about Johnny Thunders at the time. I think I knew about his involvement with the New York Dolls and his big solo tune 'Chinese Rock'. I did know he was pretty important to the punk scene.

He wore what looked like silk pajamas, as he playfully engaged in insulting the audience. He'd make some disparaging comment about the audience. We would give him the finger or yell, "F@$k you!" It was so punk rock.

John and I also had the honor of standing next to one very big Johnny Thunders fan. It was Paul Westerberg (of The Replacements, as if you didn't know). It was Paul who wrote the prophetic song 'Johnny's Gonna Die' about Thunders. It wasn't long after this show when Johnny did, in fact, die.

concert memoirs pt. 41 - fuckin' shit biscuits & the suburbs

2009-03-05T20:53:00.000-06:00

Fuckin' Shit Biscuits (Minneapolis band)

With a name like Fuckin' Shit Biscuits these guys must be good, right? Well, it depends on what you mean by "good". Were they great musicians? No. Did they have great lyrics? I couldn't tell you. Were they fun to watch? Absolutely!

John and I loved it when these guys what make an occasional cameo appearance on Club Degenerate nights at First Avenue. Their music was a bunch of noisy crap, but their attitude was fantastic. They were a punk "jam" band (at least that how they were described online in the only listing I could find about them) that wasn't as concerned with making music as with making noise.

I know I have said that John and I don't do audience participation, but the Biscuits were different. Their idea of audience participation consisted mainly of having the audience throw beer at them. They would have the front of the stage lined up with plastic cups filled with beer as they began to play. The lead "shouter" would announce, "Free beer! Free beer!" The crowd would advance and grab a cup, drink a gulp or two, then throw the remainder at the band. Halfway through their first number, the band would be soaked with beer.

John claims he was the first audience member to throw a beer, thus setting off the tradition. He might have been first, but it was so long ago I can't remember.

We'd seen them several times at First Avenue. Always threw beer, sometimes paper airplanes and, once, raw fish. The raw fish was brought out by the band themselves. They threw it out to the crowd, so we threw it right back at them.

During one of their cameos, they gave out cassettes of their live performance and John managed to nab one. Another time they threw out guitar picks. I snagged one and discovered it had the words "Shit Biscuit" printed on it. I still have it.

They made a horrendous noise, but put on a good show.

A couple notes about the band photograph.

First is the circled audience member. That is very likely my friend, John. John and I both remember being at that particular show and it sure does look like him.

Second, John pointed out something interesting about the photograph. There appears to be no women in the audience. I can't spot any, can you?. It's all men. John said of this, "Seems strange having a bunch of dudes watching dudes in loin cloths."

Strange indeed.

The Suburbs (Minneapolis band)

I had intended to see the 'Burbs at First Avenue in July or August of 1984, but the event was sold out. So, my first time seeing the band and my first time entering the legendary Minneapolis nightclub would have to wait.

My inaugural visit to First Avenue would happen a month or two later (The Replacements, 9/5/84). I would see The Suburbs a year or two later at the Cabooze. This would be the only time I would see this band.

The Cabooze is an odd sort of club. It's located right next door to a biker bar called Whiskey Junction, and the two bars share an outdoor patio area. The layout of the Cabooze is long and narrow, with a back section that has two levels of pool tables and a bar.

The stage area is pretty cramped. The ceiling is somewhat low and from the stage the metal rafters are easily accessible. A fact I will refer to later. The stage itself is pretty small, but they managed to get the five member band on it.

It was a packed house for the band. They were already long established local legends and were starting to get real national attention. They were about to sign to a major label, when John and I saw them play.

Tight and highly energetic, they kept the joint jumping. And Beej took advantage of the metal rafters to swing himself around. I seem to recall him swinging over to stand on the bar and play there for a while.

It's a shame the band broke up just before they had a chance to break the national scene.

Incidentally, in 1996 I interviewed for the job of production artist at the failing Minneapolis t-shirt printing shop, Cold Side Silkscreening. (Seriously, they're in desperate need of business. If you need t-shirts printed get in contact with them. www.coldside.com ) During the process, it came down to two candidates; me and Bruce Allen, former guitarist for The Suburbs.

Bruce was quite the talented graphic artist, but, at the time anyway, he was also bursting with nervous energy. Bruce's edginess was a concern for the nearly comatose art directer who would be working closely with whichever of the two candidates they picked.

Apparently, I was the calmer of the two. I also possessed considerable graphic arts talents, so I was hired.

Sorry, Bruce.

concert memoirs pt. 40 - trip shakespeare, big black & the three johns

2009-02-23T20:56:00.000-06:00

Trip Shakespeare (Minneapolis band)

I mentioned this in my blog about Breaking Circus, but I want to go into a little more detail on First Avenue's New Band nights. Back when John and I were going to Club Degenerate, First Avenue's weekly dance night featuring punk, post-punk, industrial, indie, etc. music, on each Tuesday night, we could cross-over to the 7th St. Entry to catch New Band Night. It was free and a good opportunity to possibly see the next big thing from Minnesota.

It was during these New Band Nights that we first saw Breaking Circus and numerous other bands that I've forgotten since. But, I haven't forgotten Trip Shakespeare. Since it was New Band Night, it must have been Trip Shakespeare's first time playing at First Avenue, albeit in the Entry.

They were a three piece band then. Matt Wilson's brother, Dan, had not yet joined the band. As I recall, they were all dressed in matching grey business suits. I don't remember if they wore ties. Maybe. I do remember liking their catchy tunes right away. I also recall that the gal playing the drums, Elaine Harris, was standing at them. I don't think I'd ever seen drums played that way until then.

Matt Wilson had an usual stance and moves while playing. He would sort of lean back and squat slightly, then sway side to side while stomping his feet in time to the music. At least, that's how I picture it.

I bought their first LP, 'Applehead Man', when it came out. For some reason, I got rid of it. I wish I hadn't.

Big Black at First Avenue 1986 or 87 with John.

This was a very loud show. They started off the show with what I think was customary for them, lighting off a brick of firecrackers. I don't know if they amplified the fireworks at all, but it was damn loud! And it must have taken a minute or two before the last firecracker exploded. The smoke and smell of gun powder hung thickly in the club for the rest of the show. I'm not sure the fire marshal would have been pleased.

So, Big Black was a three piece band using a drum machine. They were loud and very, very angry. The sounds they made were incredible. I still think the opening guitar riff of their song 'Kerosene' is one of the all-time greatest moments in guitar rock history. And Steve Albini pulled it off brilliantly live.

I especially liked Albini's use of his guitar strap as a belt. Cool visual. As if the guitar was attached directly to his pelvis.

The Three Johns w/Lesley Woods in the 7th St. Entry with John.

This was an interesting (and fun) night in the Entry. It started with Lesley Woods, fomerly of the great UK band Au Pairs. It was just her, a microphone, and a boom box. John and I stayed at the back wall and watched her tell a story or two, perform some Au Pairs tunes and some of her solo work from there.

I thought it was pretty gutsy to get up there like that, solo with just a backing tape playing on a boombox. But, then it's pretty gutsy to do anything in front of a group of strangers.

Then came The Three Johns. Boy, were they fun. They were another three piece band using a drum machine. Playing some really good guitar driven post-punk dance music was their thing. They released some really good singles. Such as, '(He's a) Brain Box' and the brilliant' Death of a European'. Their albums were ok, but it was their singles that made them special.

During their set, it was their between song banter that stole the show. They were very funny and they took special enjoyment out of razzing some of the gals in the audience.

"Oh, look! It's Madonna!"

"And there's Madonna, too!"

"And another one!"

concert memoirs pt. 39 - the mighty mofos & breaking circus

2009-02-22T10:59:00.000-06:00

Now that I have run out of ticket stubs, I'll turn my memory machine to the shows for which I have no ticket stub and, therefore, I do not know the dates. It's most likely that I never received a ticket stub for these shows, because I was pretty good about hanging onto them. Several of these shows were at the Cabooze, a Minneapolis club that didn't hand back ticket stubs for their shows.

I'll relate stories about acts such as The Mighty Mofos, Big Black, The Three Johns and others. One band, the Urban Guerrillas will have several shows to talk about because I had see them the most of any band I've seen play. I will even tell you about the show at which I most embarrassed myself. It was The Guess Who at the Cabooze. I know, The Guess Who, pretty sad, huh?

This section won't be nearly as long as the ticket memories. So, let's get started...

The Mighty Mofos (Minneapolis band)

John and I had seen this band a few times. It seems as though they opened for every band we saw at the Cabooze. Of course, they didn't. It just seems that way.

Formerly know as The Hypstrz, The Mighty Mofos were a pretty straight forward rock 'n' roll bar band. Very high energy with some excellent guitar work by Ernie Batson. Ernie's brother, Bill, handled the lead vocals and had that commanding stage presence that most bands would want in their lead singers.

Bill also worked at First Avenue setting up the stage in the 7th St. Entry and running sound. Because of Bill's working there and John and I frequently hanging out at the disco, we got to the point where we would be recognized by Bill. He'd see us and give us the up nod. Pretty cool.

So, there was one show at the Cabooze with The Mofos playing and John and I were right up front. Kind of leaning against the stage, trying to look hip. Bill was rockin' and he was trying to get a little audience participation going. He was trying to get the crowd to clap along with the beat. (The Mofos must have been opening, because most people don't do much for the opening act. They tend to stand back and wait for the headliner.) Bill wasn't having much luck and it didn't improve when he approached us.

He saw us and gave us the up nod, but then he came over doing some rhythmic hand clapping. He was giving us a little "come on, fellas!" look, but we just stood there. Sorry, Bill. We don't do audience participation.

We were just too cool.

Breaking Circus (Minneapolis band via Chicago)

Breaking Circus started out in Chicago, but Steve Bjorklund, the guitarist and singer, moved to Minneapolis in 1986. As best I can remember, the first time John and I saw them they were using a drum machine, but later the bassist and drummer from another local band, Rifle Sport, were added to the line-up. I believe those two pulled double duty and continued playing in Rifle Sport.

Breaking Circus was a very cool, very angry band. Their sound was very aggressive and Bjorklund was a great front man. Not only that, the band produced one of the all-time coolest songs, 'Driving The Dynamite Truck'. I love that song!

My favorite Breaking Circus moment occurred in the 7th St. Entry on New Year's Eve 1986. (I'm fairly certain it was 1986.) It was the custom at First Avenue that every New Year's Eve they would feature the best of the bands from the new band nights of that year. They would have the bands play in the Entry while the revelers whooped it up in the main room.

John and I were pretty impressed with the band when we saw them earlier in the year on a new band night in the Entry, so we ditched the main room scene to watch Breaking Circus rock in the New Year. And they were great.

The high point came just after midnight. The New Year had arrived while the band was still playing, but, once the song was finished, Bjorklund had a treat for us. He threw out to the crowd several small vials of some white, powdery substance. He said, "Here's your New Year's cocaine! Come and get your cocaine!"

John actually nabbed one. It was powdered sugar.