Today’s Music Ain’t Got The Same Soul

Longtime readers know how much I like to feature local stories about record stores, here is another. I want to thank http://www.seemagazine.com/ for allowing me the reprint rights.


Today’s Music Ain’t Got The Same Soul

Two ounces of vinyl's Terry Primrose is passionate about preserving rock music's vinyl legacy

by Jeff Holubitsky

Whether the soundtrack of your early life was, like mine, dominated by the oddly respectable coolness of The Beatles, the cynicism of street punks like The Stones, and the drinkin’ music of The Band or The Dead, old vinyl records will always occupy a special place in the heart. Analog records may be outdated, but music just sounds better when you hear it in the medium it was originally designed to be heard.

Terry Primrose, owner of a small company called Two Ounces of Vinyl, is in tune with the lasting appeal of the disc and turntable. They have provided the soundtrack of his own 51 years. When he listens, he sits in a basement room with one chair and, yes, tube stereo. Music is not background noise in his mind. When he travels, he always goes to cities with an abundance of record stores. He doesn’t gamble, but record vendors in Las Vegas know him by name.


Living at 33 Revolutions Per Minute | Vinyl aficionado Terry Primrose shows the correct way to handle a disc


His personal collection holds more than 100,000 albums and he has about 15,000 more on sale for $10 and up at a large stall at the Flea Market on 123 St and 111 Ave, where the married autobody shop man earns the money to finance his serious, serious passion.

Some of his records are from obscure regional artists. Many come from downsizing empty-nesters and estate sales from the days a decade ago, when people just wanted to get rid of junk. Sometimes they’re still wrapped in their original cellophane. Most are rock, but he also sells jazz, blues, country, and even a few of those ripoff Living Strings collections.

SEE caught up with Primrose at the flea market on a recent Friday afternoon as he prepared for another busy weekend.

SEE Magazine: When did you start collecting records?

Terry Primrose: I’ve always bought records, but I got serious about it in 1979. I thought I would collect all of the Hendrix records. I didn’t realize what I was getting into, but one thing leads to another.

SEE: But Jimi Hendrix only put out three studio albums, right?

TP: By the time I quit and went onto something else, I had 100, anyway. There are European versions, all kinds of compilations and bootlegs, particularly when it comes to Hendrix. Electric Ladyland has a different cover in Europe. In England it was released as two separate albums, Part 1 and Part 2, with two different covers. But I tracked them down.

SEE: What are you into now?

TP: Mainly progressive rock. It is a big genre and I have seven or eight thousand of that. There are so many obscure bands. You find that a lot of these prog bands have 15 or 20 albums, but only in Germany or only in France. The European scene for that stuff is much bigger than in North America.

SEE: What about The Beatles? You have a lot of compilations and solo projects here, but none of their actual albums.

TP: There are a lot of copies out there, but most of them are destroyed. What makes an album valuable is condition. People bring them in here but once it’s trashed it is worth zero. It’s hard to find a mint White Album from the ’60s. A mint Beatles album might be $100-$150 for a ’60s pressing. It has to be pristine. But everybody played them to death.

SEE: What is the most rare album here?

TP: I have a Sgt. Pepper’s picture disc and that’s $75, but a lot of the rarer stuff doesn’t make it onto the shelves. I know a lot of guys who collect The Beatles or ’60s rock and I just phone them when one comes in. I search for records for people.

SEE: Do you listen to all these albums?

TP: When I’m grading them, yes.

SEE: Have you always been into vinyl?

TP: Always, but there are a few of us diehards. I don’t know if it is a trend, but a lot of kids are buying records that weren’t born when vinyl was deceased, about 1989 or 1990. Back then, if you wanted to find something you had to be serious, because the record companies tried to kill it. They wanted people to buy CDs or whatever they were pushing.… Now the major labels are realizing there is a pretty big demand.

SEE: What difference is it making in your business?

TP: I hear all of the time about people bringing their turntables out of the basement. Lots of people my age are going back to it. This is my youth and to tell the truth, most people collect what they grew up with and what they knew as teenagers.

SEE: So if someone wants, say, a Fleetwood Mac record before Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, you can tell how old they are?

TP: Frankly, most other people don’t even know that exists.

SEE: What about younger people?

TP: I sell a lot of albums to younger kids 16 to about 22. They are looking mostly for ’70s rock, Ten Years After, Pink Floyd, or whatever.

SEE: Why do you think that era appeals to them?

TP: I think the problem now is that bands put out albums every two days and there is no quality control. It is easy to get stuff out there. I like new stuff too, so I don’t want to sound like I’m 75, but I listen to whatever is out there. The only thing I don’t listen to is the Top 40.

Source: http://www.seemagazine.com/

This Date In Music History-March 7

Birthdays:

Songwriter Townes Van Zandt was born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1944. Artists like Willie Nelson and the Tindersticks have covered his songs.

Peter Wolf- J. Geils Band (1945)

Songwriter Jules Shear was born in 1952. He's written "All Through the Night" for Cyndi Lauper and "If She Knew What She Wants" for the Bangles.

Chris White- Zombies (1945)

Little Peggy March (1948)

Ernie Isley- Isley Brothers (1952)

Procol Harum’s Matthew Fisher was born in 1946. His Hammond organ dominates the group’s ’67 international hit, "A Whiter Shade Of Pale.”

Taylor Dayne (1962)


They Are Missed:

Sixties rocker Adam Faith died of a heart attack in 2003 (age 62). In 1965, he scored a Top 40 hit with "It's Alright," and later produced Roger Daltrey's first solo album.

Born on this day in 1945, Arthur Lee, guitar, vocals, Love. Lee died on Aug 3, 2006 in Memphis at the age of 61 following a battle with acute myeloid leukaemia.


History:

The first jazz record was released in the US in 1917. Nick LaRocca's Original Dixieland Jazz Band calls it "The Dixie Jazz Band One Step.”

In 1962, the Beatles cut their first-ever session for the BBC in Manchester, England, performing "Teenager's Turn (Here We Go)," "Hello Little Girl," "Memphis Tennessee," "Dream Baby," and "Please Mr. Postman." It's also their first appearance in their trademark Beno Dorn suits.

The Dave Clark Five bring their Tottenham sound to The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time tonight in 1964, two weeks after the Beatles made their third appearance on the show. The DC5 went on to appear 18 more times on Sullivan's program.

Carl Perkins’ “Blue Suede Shoes” entered the Rhythm & Blues charts in 1955. It’s the first time a Country & Western artist lands on the R & B charts.

The Who’s “Pinball Wizard” was released in the UK in 1969. It’s the first song from the Rock opera “Tommy.”

While working on their next album in 1967, the Beatles recorded additional overdubs for “Lovely Rita,” including harmony vocals, effects, and the percussive sound of a piece of toilet paper being blown through a haircomb.

Foreigner’s self-titled debut was released in 1977. “Feels Like The First Time” and “Cold As Ice” make an immediate impact.

Re-mastered and expanded editions of five mid-'70s Grateful Dead studio albums, "Wake of the Flood," "From the Mars Hotel," "Blues for Allah," "Terrapin Station" and "Shakedown Street" hit stores in 2006. All have added demos, live cuts and studio outtakes. Meanwhile, Cheap Trick's ‘79 "Dream Police" and ‘80 "All Shook Up" re-mastered albums arrive with live cuts and outtakes.

In 1994, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that parodies that poke fun at an original work can be considered "fair use" that does not require permission from the copyright holder.

The Tune Weavers record "Happy Happy Birthday Baby" in 1957.

In 2007, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" topped the National Association of Recording Merchandisers Definitive 200, a list of "great, classic albums." Rock artists with discs landing in the Top 10 include Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, U2, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.

Vinyl: In The News

Record Stores: Gone But Not Forgotten

By Raanan Geberer
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

BROOKLYN — The news that the Virgin Megastore on Union Square will be closing soon is shocking, but not totally unexpected. Just a few years ago, the equally large Tower Records closed all its outlets. And what of the giant record-store chains of yesterday? There is apparently one Sam Goody’s in New York City, a far cry from the chain in its heyday. King Carol doesn’t exist anymore, and neither does the Record Hunter. And let’s not forget that at one time, every major New York City department store had an active record department.

It appears that in the near future, I’ll do all of my CD buying online, except for occasional trips to specialty, used-CD stores such as the Princeton Record Exchange in Princeton, N.J., or Academy Records in Manhattan.

Read the rest of this interesting article here:

brooklyneagle.com

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ABC Nightline Piece

In a segment titled "Vinyl: The Last Track," the ABC News program Nightline took a look this past Wednesday at the recent and, in many ways, unexpected resurgence of vinyl, an analog format in an otherwise digital world. "Those big old discs are back in a big way," says Nightline anchor Terry Moran.

Moran, who reports that LP sales were up 89% last year, wonders why this vinyl revival is taking place and stops by Washington, DC's Crooked Beats record store, where vinyl makes up 70% of store sales, to talk to some vinyl enthusiasts about the format's appeal and to give a few records a spin for himself.

The shop's owner, Bill Daley, shows Moran Wilco's Sky Blue Sky LP as an example of a recent innovation in the field: the inclusion of the complete album on CD, inside the LP sleeve. Wilco was an early pioneer in offering both formats in a single package with the release of that record in May 2007.

You can watch the complete Nightline segment online here:

Vinyl Video

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For some, vinyl records are the best way to listen to the music

By CHRIS JORDAN

There's something happening in the music industry.

"There are people who are stepping back and trying to reconnect (to vinyl records)," said vinyl man Cory Nyberg of Rahway. "Something has been missing in life and it's the old turntable and the way you'd bring a vinyl record home."

Check the numbers. There were 1.9 million new vinyl albums sold last year, a figure up nearly 90 percent over the previous year, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Groups like the Beastie Boys, Coldplay, Radiohead and Metallica are releasing new works and old favorites on vinyl.

Vinyl also is the choice of hip-hop DJs and indie rockers, like New Brunswick's Thursday, who continually release vinyl versions of their albums.

Nyberg and business partner Mitch Ross of Bridgewater will host their quarterly Greater New Jersey Record & CD Show show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 8, at the Holiday Inn in Springfield.

A big part of the vinyl resurgence has to do with sound quality. Proponents of vinyl say the medium's warmer tones produce a better sound when compared with that of CDs and MP3s. That may be, as each vinyl record has a continual groove carved into it that replicates the original sound. It's called analog. Digital recordings, such as CDs and MP3s, capture soundwaves in parts, not continually. It's a difference that matters to music enthusiasts.

Also, vinyl lovers prefer the packaging of a vinyl album.

"People are using albums as displays," Nyberg said. "I've had teachers come in and they're working on a school project and they buy 30 to 50 copies of records to make displays for dances. Then there are people buying records to decorate dens and gamerooms in their homes."

The Greater New Jersey Record Shows in the Springfield Holiday Inn dates back to 1989, when the late David Lenz of Linden, aka Izzy to area music fans, started holding them there. Nyberg and Ross took over the business when Lenz died in the early 2000s.

The shows attract more then 70 dealers with all kinds of music.

"From classical to speed metal to death metal, every genre of music," said Nyberg, who has about 500,000 records in his collection. "Even Enya and Celine Dion."

SOURCE: http://www.mycentraljersey.com

Classic Rock Videos

The Beatles - 'You got to hide your love away'

Album Cover Art

CHASTAIN THE 7TH OF NEVER

The 7th Of Never was the third album for the group CHASTAIN.

Critically acclaimed world-wide for their powerful brand of music, the band is comprised of lead guitarist DAVID T. CHASTAIN, vocalist LEATHER, drummer KEN MARY, and bassist MIKE SKIMMERHORN.

David T. spurs his band mates on, and undertakes the responsibility of traveling from coast to coast to record the albums. Rarely is one man totally involved and dedicated to every aspect of his craft. The members of CHASTAIN originally came together under the aegis of heavy metal guitar expert and record executive Mike Varney, who had been receiving demo tapes form the guitarist for several months. It was Varney who encouraged Chastain to form a recording unit, and offered to release an album on his Shrapnel Records label.

Michael Fremer Review

I am very proud to continue our new feature (look for this every Friday), music reviews that are written by the senior contributing editor of Stereophile magazine- Michael Fremer. It has been a pleasure to speak with Michael and learn more about audio sound and equipment. In fact, his new DVD, "It's A Vinyl World, After All" has hit the shelves and is selling out very quickly. This is a must have for anybody who loves vinyl, it is a true masterpiece.


Additionally, make sure to stop by his site, www.musicangle.com and bookmark it for further exploration. I certainly want to thank Michael for the exclusive rights to reprint his fantastic material.
music8 sound8



Simon and Garfunkel (reissue)
Parsely, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
Columbia/Sundazed LP 5232 LP

Produced by: Bob Johnston
Engineered by: Roy Halee
Mixed by: Bob Irwin
Mastered by: Bob Irwin (LP cut by "WP/NRG")


Review by: Michael Fremer
2009-03-01





Note: After this the posting of this review, Sundazed's Bob Irwin sent a correction. I've chose to leave the original review intact, prefaced by Irwin's comment:

"Yes - some of Parsley, Sage... was remixed for the boxset Old Friends that I did for Sony (and Legacy's i>Parsley, Sage... "expanded edition" CD)— but our LP was sourced from the original 2-track stereo masters, which I unearthed a few years ago (by accident) in Sony's vault. Amazing, as they were marked as being "scrapped" in the system. The reels were marked "do not use"—as many original masters were, once they were safety'd either to an analog copy or to digital. The stereo masters sounded great, not at all used up— and that was what prompted our LP edition!!!"

When Sundazed’s Bob Irwin produced Sony/Legacy’s Simon and Garfunkel recordings for CD, he found the master tapes of the first two albums in such poor condition they were unusable.

What to do? Fortunately, the original unmixed 4-track work tapes were in excellent condition, making a remix possible. Irwin literally rebuilt the original mixing suite using vintage gear procured for the project and mixed down to ¼” analog tape.

Now, years later, Sundazed gets to make use of those labors to reissue this classic Simon and Garfunkel album, which is arguably their best and their first coherent work after a confused and fitful start.

Columbia issued the folky first album,Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. in the fall of 1964. It included an acoustic version of “The Sounds of Silence” that Simon had written to express what he saw as the increasing isolation and lack of communication among people.

Imagine what he might have written had he traveled to the future instead of splitting for the U.K. before the album's release.

Garfunkel’s liner notes consist of an affected letter to Paul and equally affected song commentary. While Garfunkel was correct, his writing “The Sounds of Silence is a major work” probably should have been left to others.

The album stiffed while Simon, in the U.K., played clubs, wrote songs and recorded The Paul Simon Songbook (orange label CBS 62579). The album has a publisher’s demo-like feel about it, but it makes for fascinating listening. It will set you back at least $50 last time Iooked.

It’s just Simon playing acoustic guitar doing “I Am an Island,” “Leaves That Are Green,” “April Come She Will,” “Patterns” and many other familiar songs that even now sound remarkably mature and seemingly beyond the grasp of a 22 year old. In the liner notes Simon says he’s included some tunes he “..wouldn’t write today…” because they present evidence of his “transition.”

Among them is a lame PPM-like protest song called “A Church is Burning,” on which Paul Simon retroactively “jumps the shark.” The album also contains a solo acoustic version of “The Sounds of Silence,” the duo’s version of which had been added by spring 1965 to some AM Top 40 playlists.

With Dylan plugging in and folk rock taking hold, Simon and Garfunkel’s producer Tom Wilson (who also produced The Mothers of Invention) took the vocal track to the acoustic version of “The Sounds of Silence,” added a rock drum, bass and guitar trio backing to it and, unbeknownst to either Simon or his ex-partner Garfunkel, released it as a single. It went on to be an unlikely number one Top 40 hit.

That meant going back in the studio quickly (with Bob Johnston producing) for a follow up album that included the electrified “The Sounds of Silence” and equally electrified versions of many of the songs originally recorded for the Paul Simon Songbook, including “Leaves That Are Green,” “Kathy’s Song,” “A Most Peculiar Man,” “April Come She Will,” and “I am a rock.” Wisely not included: “A Church is Burning.” But there is a nice version of the late Davy Graham’s “Angie.”

Many great songs but a merely good album, not a great one. That had to wait for Parsely, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme also produced by Johnston, with the great Roy Halee engineering. Yes, there’s the embarrassing “7 O’clock News/ Silent Night” at the end and a few other moments of maximum pretense but precious, poetic and perhaps pedantic is where these guys were pushing. There’s no denying the classic power of “Homeward Bound,” “Cloudy,” “The 59th Street Bridge Song” (the epitome of precious) and “The Dangling Conversation,” among others and even the filler like The Everly Brothers-like “The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine” and the aforementioned “7 O’Clock News/Silent Night” fit where they were placed, like interlocking pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

So how does this Sundazed reissue hold up next to an original 1A Columbia pressing that I bought new when it originally was released (it still has the Sam Goody “C” Valley Stream sticker on it, with the $2.49 markdown written in pen)? Well, for one thing, when people say records wear out, I don’t know what they are talking about! Since it was first released more than forty years ago, I’ve played this record a hundred times at least, in Ithaca in my fraternity house, in Boston, in Los Angeles, in Hackensack and now and it still sounds fantastic. It’s quiet, it’s detailed, it’s three-dimensional and it still has extended, clean high frequencies.

No reissue could possibly touch an original 1A pressing of just about any Columbia title and that goes for this reissue, which is very good, but not as open, spacious, wideband, transparent and “tubey” as the original. While the reissue lacks the original’s spaciousness, extension and transparency, and is somewhat darker and less expansive overall, it offers outstanding image solidity and overall, features excellent tonal balance.

The heavyweight pressing quality is decent but not up to RTI quality (then again, Sundazed doesn’t charge $30 a record), with a bit of audible non-fill at the beginning of side one. The record definitely benefits from a good cleaning and demagnetizing. I haven’t been perusing the used record bins lately so I don’t know how scarce used Simon and Garfunkel originals are these days. If you can find a clean, reasonably priced used original 1A pressing, it’s definitely going to sound better, but if you can’t, this reissue sounds very good and you’ll not know what you’re missing.

By the way, in case you're interested in the accuracy of the remixes, they are remarkably so. For instance at the fade out of the original "Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine," the electric bass suddenly comes up in level and moves from the left channel to the center. It's identical on the remix.

SOURCE: http://www.musicangle.com Reprinted By Permission


Pick up Michael's DVD's Here:

Music News & Notes

Michael Jackson Says London Concerts To Be 'Final Curtain Call'

Michael Jackson has confirmed that his July concerts London's O2 arena could be his last, describing it as the "final curtain call."

Hundreds of screaming fans and not screaming media turned up for the announcement, after promoters AEG Live posted a message on the 23,000-capacity venue's Web site inviting people to attend.

"Thank you all... this is it," said the weird gloved one. "I just wanted to say, these will be my final show performances in London. When I say this is it, it really means this is it. I'll be performing the songs my fans want to hear. This is it, this is really it, this is the final curtain call."

Good, I say, good.

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Phish Plans

It's reported in the New York Times that seminal jam-band Phish have recorded demo versions of 20 new songs for their next record. However since they are no longer signed to a major label, the band is mulling an independent release for the to-be-recorded album.

Phish is likely to perform one of the tunes, "Backwards Down the Number Line," at its first reunion concerts this weekend in at the Hampton Coliseum in Vermont.

The band plans to make high quality recordings of all three of this weekend's shows available as free MP3 downloads from its livephish.com website.

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Who's Not A Band Anymore


With half of his bandmates dead, Pete Townshend has said in a recent interview that the rock band is no longer an entity. Here are some of the remarks from The New Zealand Listener:

“I used to be in a band called the Who. It does not exist today except in your dreams. I am a songwriter and guitarist who – if I create the right setting – can walk on to a stage with my old buddy Roger Daltrey and evoke the old magic of the Who in the dreams of the audience.”

“The fact of the matter is that the Who as a band stopped working when I quit in 1982. However, the brand would not die. That was partly a record company hanging on to a catalogue asset, but also partly Roger’s passion for what he believed we had achieved, and could one day do again. I let go, and I think John Entwistle did too, but Roger never gave up trying to bring the band back to harmony with the brand. I might seem to be talking about the name, and just the name. But the brand had been identified very strongly with the technique we stumbled on – which was providing music for people, mainly young men, to use as a kind of therapy. They put themselves into our songs, and sometimes even into us, and we found ourselves acting as alter-egos, or myth figures. We felt quite passive in this role, and focused on our performances most of all."

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This from Rolling Stone:

According to a new study conducted by medical researchers, thirty-three percent of popular songs contain explicit content and forty-two percent of songs hint at substance abuse. Rap was the most frequent offender, with seventy-seven percent of songs making reference to drugs or sex, with country music a surprising silver medalist with a thirty-six percent explicit content rate.

The study also proves the old war cry “sex, drugs and rock n’ roll” to be factually incorrect, as only fourteen percent of rock songs contain offending lyrics. So how did the medical researchers come to their conclusion? They analyzed the lyrics of a total of 287 songs from 2005 that encompassed all musical genres. This reminds us of that Russian study that proved heavy metal’s subject matter is heavy. To further cement how useless this new study actually is, the researchers failed to draw any conclusions on how hearing all these drug references affects young listeners.

My Take: Now, I wonder if they were to back up in time to the 60's, or even the 50's and do the same research. I have a feeling the numbers would be quite similar, or even above what they have reported here.

Vintage vinyl: LPs live on locally

Another great story about vinyl, I want to thank Sharon and The Reporter for allowing me to reprint this material:

By Sharon Roznik • The Reporter

To never know the feel of an album cover, the smell of a new vinyl record placed gingerly on the turntable, or the face of Barry Manilow — larger than life — staring back at you …

While iPod owners download digital tunes en masse, record aficionados expound on the higher quality of original sound, called analog recording.


City residents | Dale and Pat Luther have had a long time love affair | with record albums. Their collection of vinyl, numbering in the hundreds, in cludes several very rare editions. More than half of the | collection has been sold off because, Dale says, “You just can’t take it with you.” (The Reporter photo by Justin Connaher)

According to www.sickoftalk.com, a digital recording takes snapshots of the analog signal at a certain rate and does not do a very good job of replicating the original signal. This means that, by definition, a digital recording is not capturing the complete sound wave.

"With the horrible quality of digital music online, many of us have adopted the passions of our parents," said 24-year-old Nick Ciontea of Fond du Lac, who has a growing collection of vinyl albums. "It's considered by some to be the only music medium that will continue on."

A vinyl record has a groove carved into it that mirrors the original sound's waveform. No information is lost and the sound is fed directly into an amplifier with no conversion.

City residents Dale and Patty Luther have a stash of 500 recordings, including 45s, that contains some hard-to-find gems produced by local garage bands that once played venues around the Fox Valley.

"Some were one-hit wonders, recorded only one song, and never made it big," Dale said.

He mentions the obscure Appleton band, the Lord Beverly Moss and the Moss Men, with their 1968 single "The Kids are Alright," and the well-known Brownsville wildlife artist Don Kloetzke who was a member of the band White Ducks, along with other locals. The group worked as the backup band for Jimmy Buffet.

Signed album covers by Judy Collins and John Kaye of Steppenwolf decorate the walls of the Luther home.

"In many cases, the album (sleeves) were more important than the album," Dale said. "It was a way to connect with the band, find out what they looked like and who they were."

The Mad Hatteur Music on South Main Street has used albums for sale from the collection of store owner Charlie Rhodes. The $9.99 purchase comes complete with the original rice paper sleeve and no scratches. A new vinyl release runs around $25, he pointed out.

"I cut my teeth on vinyl growing up, so it holds a special place in my heart," he said.

His favorite album covers include "Stand Up" by Jethro Tull, which included a pop-up character, and an album by Oblivion that opened from the center with two wings.

A disc jockey for decades, Stance Bergelin of Fond du Lac said he owns about 500 records, each one filled with memories that cover "just about my whole life," he said.

"I play them every day. The Four Aces, Four Lads, the Ames brothers. I like those (harmonic) singing groups from back in the day," he said.

Like many youth of his generation, Bergelin, now 69, said he grew up with a transistor radio attached to his ear. Later, neighborhood kids hung out at the music store and tried out the latest records in little listening rooms that held a person or two.

"For many of us growing up poor, music became our friend," he said.


Source: http://www.fdlreporter.com
Reprinted By Permission

Classic Rock Videos

the beatles norwegian wood

Album Cover Art

The Freeze "Land of the Lost" 1984



The Freeze are a hardcore punk rock band from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The Freeze formed in late 1978. At the time all members were in high school. The Freeze are generally considered to be a Boston hardcore band, but they never truly fit into the typical Boston mould. Like most hardcore groups, the band was started by enthusiastic teenagers. Indeed, despite the popularity of their first record, the band's ability to capitalize on their local fame was limited only by their age at the time. Most members weren't old enough to drive to Boston, the local mecca of hardcore.

The Freeze were neither straight edge nor heavy metal-influenced like their Boston contemporaries DYS and SSD. The Freeze have a more melodic sound which hints more to punk rock than hardcore.

No vinyl, no more

Found this sad story online- we have to help the independent record stores- Buy Your Vinyl Locally!


No Radio Records fails to attract niche market in a changing industry

By Matt Biddle Staff Writer | March 5th, 2009


On a cold, blustery Monday afternoon, trees near The Commons sway in the wind while the action inside No Radio Records is considerably more static. Bob Proehl, the store’s owner, sits at the check-out counter, immersed in his computer, while records and CDs sit on the shelves, waiting for an eager customer to snatch them up.

No Radio Records will close permanently because of low sales and other financial reasons on March 13. Located just off The Commons on East State Street, the shop has been a piece of downtown Ithaca for more than two years. Proehl said he originally envisioned the shop as a lively, performance-heavy venue like the record stores he visited as a college student.

“I wanted it to be a community space,” he said. “You have this idea of it sort of being full of people all the time.”

Proehl said changes in the music industry, however, have made it hard for independent stores to compete with online services like iTunes and Limewire.

“We came along at a really difficult time for this industry,” he said. “Unfortunately, the industry has made a number of decisions over the past few years that have really hurt and, in some cases, seemed designed to hurt independent shops.”

Some artists release exclusively to places like Best Buy or Starbucks, while other bands lower the price of a digital copy of their latest music. However, Proehl said small stores would still find an audience.

“It’s a niche market,” he said. “There’s always going to be a small, dedicated group of people who want the physical object, who want a CD or want vinyl and need to have it in their hands.”

Proehl said it was a difficult but necessary decision to close the store. He incurred significant medical bills last year after developing skin cancer and, as the sole owner, he said running the store has become too expensive.

“I have a full-time job that doesn’t pay me,” he said. “It doesn’t give me insurance. Every now and then, it gives me a record or two — which is nice, but very few hospitals will allow you to DJ away your medical bills.”

Proehl said, while it’s difficult abandoning something he worked for, he’s happy that the business hasn’t clouded his love for music.

“There’s something very different about standing in line at midnight to get the new Radiohead album, like I did when I was in graduate school,” he said. “Given the choice, I’d very much prefer the former way of thinking about music.”

No Radio Records will host its farewell show at 8 p.m. closing day, featuring Dufus, a local band, and Jeffrey Lewis, a New York-based anti-folk singer. Seth Faergolzia, Dufus founder, said the performance will be bittersweet because the band played the store’s opening as well.

“It definitely makes me sad that it’s closing,” he said. “I had some really fun nights there, and I think it has been a stronghold for underground bands that want to hit Ithaca.”

Sophomore Cathleen Hannah, who has attended several shows at No Radio Records, said she’ll miss the store’s music selection most of all.

“It’s cool having stores like No Radio that have records from bands you normally couldn’t find,” she said. “I’d miss having that in Ithaca because it’s something we have that not a lot of other places have.”

Ithaca Underground, a local concert-planning organization, arranges shows for the venue. Bubba Crumine, in charge of booking and promotions for the group, said No Radio Records was the perfect location for shows.

“Kids would go to a show at No Radio just because there was a show at No Radio,” Crumine said. “There’s a different scene around No Radio.”

Performances will continue at this location when The Shop, a café and music venue, takes its place in April. Phoebe Aceto, the new owner, said she plans to sell music and merchandise from local bands, as well as maintain the store’s community sense.
“It’s pretty much going to replace that casual hangout spot so anyone can feel welcome,” she said. “[We want] live music as often as possible in the evenings.”

Proehl said The Shop will be a positive replacement for the independent music shop.
“Using it as a community and performance space was definitely a crucial part of [my original model], and I’m really happy that aspect of it is going to continue, albeit in a different form,” he said.

SOURCE: http://theithacan.org

In Hamtramck, vinyl records keep on spinning

By Terry Parris, Jr.
Citizen Staffwriter

If Jeff Garbus doesn’t have it, Mike Smith does. And if Smith doesn’t have it, Garbus does. That’s pretty much been the modus operandi of Hamtramck’s two vinyl record dealers.

Garbus, who owns and operates Record Graveyard, specializes in more soul albums (though he has more then 100,000 records to choose from) whereas Smith, who does the same with Detroit Threads, tends to stock a lot of local rock and techno albums. Smith also sells a lot of vintage clothing (really vintage everything) and Detroit-influenced ware at his shop. But, still, he has a lot of records.

“I think we’re the two best record shops in southeast Michigan,” Smith said, who actually grew up with Garbus in Westland. “We bring people from all over Michigan, and all over the world. We’re destination spots for the city of Hamtramck.”

Garbus has been operating in Hamtramck since 2001. His record selling business started with metro Detroit’s Desirable Discs music stores, which also sold CDs. But now it’s just the vinyl for Garbus.

“I’ve always had an affection for them, personally. More than CDs,” Garbus said. “It’s what I love.”

Garbus just recently moved from his Jos. Campau location, which was located on the Belmont corner, to the old Piast Institute spot on Caniff.

“I did it for economical reasons and the other spot needed some repairs,” he said. “It feels like home here, home sweet home.”

The two record stores used to be a block apart on Jos. Campau before Garbus left for around the corner. But now Smith is the only vinyl dealer along that strip, located closer to Trowbridge St.

Smith and Detroit Threads have been in town for 11 years and at the current location for three.

Some people might ask why vinyl? What about CDs? What about iTunes and downloading?

“People just like records,” Garbus said plainly.

As for sales, both have said they’re doing quite fine, despite Michigan and Hamtramck’s economic hardships.

“There was a bit of a drop in recent years but record collecting has really picked up again,” Smith said.

“Of course, it’ll be a little harder but I’m hanging in there quite well,” Garbus said. “Records are entertaining and people always want to be entertained.”

For Detroit Threads, Smith said, he has other options if the records don’t sell.

“If one thing isn’t selling, something else is. I have the vintage clothes and people always buy up the Detroit stuff,” he says.

For both Record Graveyard and Detroit Threads, the upcoming “Hamtramck Blowout” weekend should bring in some buyers. Both places will participate in the festivities. Detroit Threads will be open all three nights with DJs, including Smith himself, while Record Graveyard will have bands on Saturday night. Additionally, Garbus said anyone with a Blowout wristband would get 20 percent off in his store.

SOURCE: http://www.hamtramckcitizen.com/

Music News & Notes

Eminem Confirms Two 2009 Albums: “Relapse” Due May 19th

Eminem’s “Crack a Bottle” has become a hit on the singles chart, and now the album it likely comes from — his long-awaited comeback LP "Relapse" — finally has a release date. Interscope announced that Relapse is scheduled to go on sale May 19th, and a second album, titled "Relapse 2" will later in the year.

“A lot of people were expecting Relapse to drop last year. I was one of them,” Eminem stated in a press release. “Then Dre and I went back in the studio in September for a few days, and that turned into six months. We were on such a roll; we wound up with a ton of new music produced by Dre. Putting out Relapse 2 will let everyone get all of the best stuff.”

Eminem hasn’t released a studio album since 2004’s "Encore;" a greatest-hits compilation called "Curtain Call" was released the following year. In October 2008 he put out an autobiography called "The Way I Am," in which he confirmed a new LP was on the horizon:

“I’ve been recording the new album mainly in the crib. Makes it very easy for me. It’s like the old days, only there’s a lot more than a rusty four-track in my basement.” In December, he told Billboard, “Me and Dre are back in the lab like the old days, man. Just him banging away on tracks and me getting that little spark that makes me write to it.”

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Mustane Turns Down Invite

Dave Mustane has turned down an invitation from former Metallica bandmates Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield to join them at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Mustane wrote on his website:

"Metallica, as you know, has been selected to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So, it is with much respect that I say congratulations! I also had the nice surprise of hearing that they called to invite me to the pre-ceremony party the night before, and then to the actual ceremony. Unfortunately, as you all know, I will be winding down our European tour with Judas Priest, so I will be unable to attend. However, I'd like to say to Lars and James, I am so very proud of all you have accomplished.

"Thank you for the invitation and thinking of me."

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Sir Paul & Ringo

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are scheduled to play at least one song together on April 4 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The show is a benefit for the David Lynch Foundation which supports transcendental meditation in schools. Also on the bill are Sheryl Crow, Donovan, Eddie Vedder, Ben Harper, Moby, Paul Horn, Betye LaVette and Jim James.

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Jane's Addiction to release massive box set

It includes 30 unreleased tracks

Jane's Addiction have announced that they will release a massive box set this spring.

'A Cabinet Of Curiosities' is due out in the US on April 21 via Rhino records, and features several rare recordings, demos and live tracks. The three CD, one DVD box set kicks off with five songs recorded in 1986 in Venice, CA including a previously unreleased version of 'Jane Says'.

It also includes rare demos of their classic tracks 'Three Days,' 'Ocean Size,' 'Classic Girl,' 'Summertime Rolls,' and 'Stop!' The second disc contains more unreleased demos along with a recording of the band rehearsing 'My Time' and a 12-inch remix of 'Been Caught Stealing'.

The set also includes Jane's Addiction covering Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love' and The Stooges' '1970'.

The DVD contains several videos including the one for 'Mountain Song' that was banned by MTV and candid home movies of the band. It also features 1990 performances taped in Milan for MTV Italy.

The box set comes packaged in a limited-edition wooden "curio cabinet" that features recreations of the band's early concert fliers, tickets stubs and other memorabilia. The set will also be available digitally.

Rhino has announced that it will release 180-gram vinyl versions of Jane's Addiction's landmark albums 1988's 'Nothing's Shocking' and 1990's 'Ritual De Lo Habitual' to celebrate Record Store Day on April 18.

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Mastodon Tour


Grammy-nominated hard rock juggernaut Mastodon have confirmed dates for their Spring U.S. tour in support of their second album for Reprise Records, CRACK THE SKYE. This first tour behind the groundbreaking new album will sweep across the U.S. and Canada playing to smaller theaters and clubs to insure a maximum and up close intimate environment in which to be exposed to brand new songs and old favorites for Mastodon fans.

Yet another highly collectable Mastodon item will become available for sale in the coming weeks. This time, a special Limited Edition 12" vinyl Paul Romano album artwork picture disc of Divinations, backed with the instrumental Score version of the track. This disc will go on sale beginning Tuesday, Mar 10, at select Hot Topic retail store locations and at Hottopic.com.

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Tork Ill

It's being reported that the Monkees’ Peter Tork has been diagnosed with a rare form of tongue cancer.

According to Popeater, Tork has Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma, but luckily doctors discovered the tumor before it spread.

“I am extraordinarily grateful, amazed and humbled by the encouragement, affection and support I’ve received so far,” Tork said, adding he’ll be able to perform again in a matter of months.

Record company defies conventional labels

Silver Spring's Cuneiform Records survives for 25 years by signing avant-garde artists

by Jason Tomassini | Staff Writer

When Steve Feigenbaum started Cuneiform Records out of his parents' Wheaton home in 1984, he wasn't discouraged when it lost money its first year. Or the year after that. Or the next 11 years.

"I had miserable experiences of people taking advantage of me and ripping me off," Feigenbaum said last week from Cuneiform's small office in downtown Silver Spring. "It was difficult and slow, but because I was young I just kept doing it."

Twenty-five years later, despite massive change in the record industry and massive changes in Silver Spring, Feigenbaum doesn't seemed surprised his small label of experimental music now makes him an honest living.

The first record Cuneiform released was from New Jersey songwriter R. Stevie Moore, after Feigenbaum listened to more than 100 of Moore's songs to release a "best of" compilation.

"I asked his manager, ‘Is Stevie going to care which songs are on the album?'" recalled Feigenbaum, a hyper-engery 51-year-old. The manager responded, "‘No, he thinks they are all wonderful.'

Read the rest of the article here:

Record Label

This Date In Music History-March 5

Birthdays:

Alan Clark- Dire Straits (1952)

Reggae star Eddy Grant (1948)

Craig and Charlie Reid- The Proclaimers (1962)

Teena Marie- (1956)

John Frusciante- Red Hot Chili Peppers (1970)

Murray Head ("Superstar") is 63.


They Are Missed:

Michael "Smitty" Smith, drummer for Paul Revere & the Raiders ("Kicks"), is found dead from natural causes in 2001.

The late Tommy Tucker ("Hi-Heel Sneakers") was born in 1939.

Singer and Solid Gold host Andy Gibb ("Shadow Dancing") was born in Manchester, England in 1958. Gibb died on March 10th 1988.

Syd Nathan, boss of R&B label King Records, died in 1968 (age 63). His short temper brought him the nickname "Little Caesar," but King released records by legends like Little Willie John and James Brown.


Country singer Patsy Cline was killed in a plane crash at Dyersburg, Virginia in 1963, along with The Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins. They were traveling to Nashville to appear at a benefit concert for DJ 'Cactus' Jack Call, who'd died in a car crash. Cline was the first country singer to cross over as a pop artist.

Actor and singer John Belushi died from an overdose of cocaine and heroin in 1982. Belushi was one of the original cast members on US TV's Saturday Night Live, played Joliet 'Jake' Blues in The Blues Brothers.


History:

Ike Turner recorded "Rocket 88," in 1951, a song many consider the first Rock n’ Roll record. Three months later it topped the R&B chart.

In 1970, John Lennon and Yoko Ono checked into the London Clinic. Later in the month the couple began a primal-scream course led by therapist Dr. Arthur Janov. Lennon started writing songs - such as "Mother" and "Isolation" - that will appear on Plastic Ono Band.

Led Zeppelin performed the epic anthem, "Stairway to Heaven," in concert for the first time in 1971 at the Ulster Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Pink Floyd guitarist Dave Gilmour releases his second solo album, "About Face" in 1984. He later realizes his solo material sells more when recorded under the name Pink Floyd.

Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass went to #1 on the US album chart in 1966 with “Going Places.”

Today in 1966, the song "The Ballad of the Green Berets" by Sgt Barry Sadler topped the charts and stayed there for 5 weeks.

Barbra Streisand started a three week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1977 with “Love Theme From A Star Is Born,” her second US #1.

R.E.M. cleaned up in The Rolling Stone Music Awards in 1992 winning Album of the year, for “Out Of Time,” Artist of the year, Best single for “Losing My Religion,” Best video for “Losing My Religion'”and Best band, Best guitarist and Best songwriter awards. I guess they were the Best.

Madonna went to #1 on the UK singles chart in 2000 with her version of the Don McLean 1972 hit “American Pie.”

Elvis Presley was discharged from the U.S. Army in 1960.

Elvis Presley made his first TV appearance in 1955, on the "Louisiana Hayride" program.

Bobby Darin recorded "Dream Lover" in 1959.