Thursday, March 31, 2005

gabba gabba hey! (thanx jenny!)

a blast from the past!

god i love the internet!
as i was flipping thru blogs the other day i came across a site that just blew me away.
'punk turns 30' is packed with wonderful photos of punk bands from the 70's, and is run by theresa kereakes. she has a ton of photos of the ramones, blondie, sex pistols . . . and the list goes on . . .
so i saw and naturally had to post something silly, (as i am really good at that), mentioning the pistol post, and something about opening for the ramones. she responded in kind, (altho she complained my site made her browser crash, i have a long history of girls tellin' me that!).
and then i get an e-mail from a jenny stern, who it seems is a good friend of theresa's, and saw my post and wanted to use the pistol post on her site 'jenny lens'. turns out she is also a great rock photog and has some great pics of the 70's punk scene also.
now, if you are like me, you have probably read a bunch of rolling stone, creem and crawdaddy mags from that good old punk era. seems these girls were very busy, and i know i need to dig out my old boxes and see what i can find in those old mags.
at any rate, go check these talented girls out.
then check out these gems . . .

video streams from rhino:
the ramones - 'blitzkrieg bop'
the ramones - 'i wanna be sedated'
video stream from movie vault:
the ramones - 'end of the century trailer' (8 min)
a really silly midi version of 'beat on the brat' for your next punk kareoke party (quicktime)
iggy pop and the stooges - 'wanna be your dog' (mp3)
sex pistols - 'anarchy in the u.k.' (mp3)

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

the metry dukes (circa 78)

once upon a time. . .

guess i need to post . . .
here is a quirky little pop band i was in during the late 70's, the metry dukes, (well, it was just the dukes at the time, but times have changed, and there are not many alive or competent to disagree . . . ).
the band was like this ever living, evolving thing that had many faces and offshoots, (sorta an extended family).
we did some fun and amazing things in new orleans and on the 'chitlin' circuit', or playin anywhere in the south that would give us a shot, (we were lucky to open for the ramones, robert gordon and talking heads and probably some i forget).
i am sure i could prolly be incriminated for most of the stories i could tell, so i won't here. . . maybe later.
but here are some tunes we did that almost got us out of new orleans . . . , the rev. mr a.g. pain wrote the words to'star . . . ', the rest, my lame attempts at songwhining or whatever . . .
the mp3's:
beat girl
smile
like it or not
star of the galaxy*

Saturday, March 26, 2005

'we shoulda played jackson, mississippi'
sid and johnny Posted by Hello

the kingfish 1-8-78

a friend of mine sent me some pics he found of the sex pistols playing at the kingfish in baton rouge, la on jan. 8, 1978. i just happened to be there that night so i guess he thought i'd like 'em. well, i went and dug out the bootleg of the show that he had taped and remembered how crazy that show was.
we packed a carload and headed to big b.r. listening to the clash, buzzcocks the jam and for some reason i kinda remember pink floyd's 'animals'.
the kingfish was only suppose to hold 600 people, but the limit was exceeded by at least another 300. the sweat and humidity dripped off the walls like a waterfall, even tho it was early january, and the smell of almost a thousand black leather clad punk rockers from all points south was almost gagging. and mixed amongst the punks were cowboy hats and boots, fonzy wanna-bes, disco girls and the usual assortment of freaks and trannys from the quarter.
i pushed and needled my way to the front of stage right, clutching my trusty sony 224 recorder and staked a claim. as i started yakking to my new neighbors in this debachary i found myself next to annie leibovitz and richard aaron, (photogs of rolling stone and time respectivley). well, that got me going, asking annie to take my pic coz it would make her famous and doing an interview w/ her on my 224 . . . taking pics of aaron w/ his own camera, just being silly from the intoxicating moment.
the opening band for the pistols this show was 'rockin dopsie and the twisters', a zydeco band that was as far removed from punk as could be. the big trick of the 'twisters' was when the washboard player stood on his head and did some amazin' washboarding a'la hendrix.
there were no mosh-pits then, everyone just pogo'd into one another. dopsie must have brought their own crowd because i had never seen canjun pogoin' before, but they really pumped up the crowd for the pistols, it was just so surreal. . .
when the pistols hit the stage it was as though a bomb went off. the pistols were covered with talcum powder, (for some un-godly reason), and it hovered around them like smokey halos. sid was shirtless with'gimme a fix' carved in his chest, a huge bandage on his left arm and a lock and chain from a peterbilt around his neck. and amid all this sweltry heat johnny was wearing blue plaid gaberdine suit.
drinks and spit hit the stage, while coins and bottles pelted the backwall, the minute they came out and sid was picking up change and sticking it in his mouth mumbling, 'gimme a hunnerd', into the mic.
when they kicked into 'god save the queen', i thought the building would take off. it was like a 747 of rock and roll, all the hype was out the door. how did these guys get so good? they shouldn't have been. paul cook was unrelenting, he just drove it into the dirt. between him and jones, it held together. johhny and sid were just clowns on the midway. but it was so good.
the lsu stage goons copped my 224 just into the second song and left it running on the side of the stage, that was ok, i knew a.g. was taping in the back . . . i was guranteed a copy of the show at least.
at one point the goon squad went after aaron's camera. he went down fighting but they got the cam and kicked him out screaming and waving his press pass. annie took less pics after that. . . oh well.
when someone threw a pair of those kiddie western sunglasses on the stage, sid put them on, played about a song and a half, until they fell off his face and back into the throng, then he started to whine about his 'fookin' glasses', (which promted another barrage of debris).
so it was, they played their whole cataloge, i guess about 40 mins but what a show!
it was a hurricane of a rock show, the likes of which i had never seen, and prolly never will again.
in a week and a day they broke up.
what a fun, goofy little band that changed music, and me too i guess . . . not for everyone, but neither am i.

a cool sex pistols/madonna video mash-up - 'ray of gob' (quicktime)
pieces of 'nevermind the bollocks, here's the sex pistols'
holidays in the sun
god save the queen
anarchy in the u.k.
bodies
pretty vacant

rockin'dopsie - 'calinda'

oh yeah, if anyone wants a copy of the pistols show from the kingfish e-me, (look up me profile), and maybe we can cut a deal. it ain't for sale, but i am open for offers . . .

Thursday, March 24, 2005

ya'll c'mon down! Posted by Hello

and don't forget the kids!

Poll: New Orleans Is No. 1 Vacation Spot For Families
A new online poll names New Orleans as the No. 1 family vacation spot in the country. Yahoo Travel and National Geographic (news - web sites) Traveler magazine conducted the poll. The New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corp. launched its first family marketing campaign in the summer of 2001. Families now make up almost 16 percent of the city's tourists.
Last year, 10 million people visited New Orleans.

while i have a real deep affection for the big easy, i find this hilarious.
not the bit about #1, the city has a lot of top honors, usually in the negative categories. like dirtiest, most murders, corruption, unemployed, depraved, fattest . . .
but #1 family spot? too funny . . . or maybe not. one thing the easy will never be is a disneyworld or vegas, both of which fight very hard for the family dollar. neither has no soul, and it is sprawling out of control. new orleans can't really sprawl. it is surrounded on all three sides by water, lots of it. and tho things have changed a lot in the rest of the country, new orleans will always be a world to itself. quite unique among other large cities is the trend to hang onto the past. somehow it is still quaint and there are a lot more things to do than stumble up and down 'bourbon street'.
it just feels good to been seen in a good light . . . now show your tits!

dirty dozen brass band - 'mardi gras in new orleans' (mp3)
champion jack dupree - 'hometown new orleans' (mp3)
smiley lewis - 'i hear you knocking' (stream)

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

yaaayyy!!!!!! Posted by Hello

the wrecks got a #1!

thanks to everyone who made 'south rampart bounce' #1 on the new orleans bands.com charts!
it was a struggle, but due to the hard work of the little folk we moved past the heavy weight bands like 'motive 8', 'the way out' and 'discarded toys', whose domination of the big easy charts has been almost stalin-like.
it seems the infectious, jaunty, new orleans feel is too infectious, and jaunty for new orleans.
and on soundclick the song is doing just as good, #5 in acid jazz, #26 in jazz, (a much bigger market). oh, and helskel's song is riding in at #74 in acoustic vocal, well done helskel!
guess it's time for the wrecks to celebrate!
ahh, i hear the sound of tinkling glasses... or the sound of a busted toilet . . . gotta run!
. . . don't forget, check the wrecks!
and thanks!

Monday, March 21, 2005

Sunday, March 20, 2005

gimme some truth!

i am breaking a self-made rule here. i said no politics, (or religion), but . . .
i am really sick of all the things our government is doing these days, (especially the last few). i mean, even more so than the usual fed-up-with-the-whole-thing feeling that has been on-going since 2000. and all the media is just feeding into all this crap. is there really only two or three people that matter in this world?
did i say i was really sick? . . .
pardon me while i crawl to the bathroom, wretchin' and growlin' this song . . .

gimme some truth (from imagine)

I'm sick and tired of hearing things
From uptight, shortsighted, narrow-minded hypocrites.
All I want is the truth,
Just gimme some truth!

I've had enough of reading things
By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians.
All I want is the truth,
Just gimme some truth!

No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son-of-tricky dickey
Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me
With just a pocket full of soap.
Money for dope.
Money for rope.

I'm sick to death of seeing things
From tight-lipped, condescending mama's little chauvinists.
All I want is the truth,
Just gimme some truth!

I've had enough of watching scenes
Of schizophrenic, egocentric, paranoic primadonnas.
All I want is the truth,
Just gimme some truth!
© john lennon 1971

(i'd look for something cool to post, but i just don't feel like it, dig it out and play it yerself, or just turn on the t.v.!
. . . um, shucks, i still don't feel any better, maybe once more but LOUDER!)
satchmo and the dukes Posted by Hello

got the jazzin' wreckroom blues

jeesh, i love cd box sets!
we went out to best buy friday nite to blow some of our refund moola. sharon heads for the music dvds, and i stumble over to the box set section . i was lucky to find a copy of ken burns' 'jazz'.
it is great! i watched the series when it was on pbs, but never got around to the set. there was always something else i wanted first, like martin scorsese's 'the blues', or sun records 8 cd set, '50 golden years', that we got at sun studios in memphis for only 60 bucks, (which is now almost impossible to find for less than $150!).
so we have been jukin' and jivin' and singing the blues all weekend, with the occasional dvd foray, (we plowed thru the u2 'elevation' dvd, next up is the 'crossroads guitar festival' show w/ eric clapton et al and i really can't belive sharon sat thru the whole 'end of the century - the story of the ramones', had to be the wine).
well, time to put another dime in the jukebox . . .

and here are few gems that have had the wreckroom jumpin'!
louis armstrong and the dukes of dixieland - bourbon street parade (stream)
duke ellington - st. louis blues
carl perkins - blue suede shoes
r.l. burnside - darker blues
louis prima and his new orleans gang - caldonia

Friday, March 18, 2005

in reno? nin in reno

no nails this time . . .

well, as you can see nine inch nails is coming to reno. we won't be there tho, it was a toss between the nails or u2 in san jose on april 9, with the 'kings of leon' opening. and u2 just won out for a number of reasons, one of which is, well, they are U2! i worked with nin while setting up trent's studio in new orleans, ran monitors for a few 'nothing' shows, so i've kinda been-there-done-that.
but i am looking forward to the new nin cd 'with teeth'. it has a release date of may 3rd, but i found a bootleg copy of the 1st single 'the hand that feeds'. not bad, it is classic nin, and not as ingrating as 'perfect drug'.
it's been almost 6 years since 'the fragile' was released, and so much has changed in the music world. it'll be interesting to see if nin can grab back some rock momentum from the masses that have been amerikan idled.

mp3 of nine inch nails - the hand that feeds (radio bootleg)
video of U2 - 'until the end of the world' (from 2005 rock hall inductions)

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

it feels like wednesday Posted by Hello

'it's wednesday'

there i was, boppin' thru the blogs and i stumble upon a wonderful poem on 'the rubber wall' called 'it's wednesday'. well i am not one to let a good poem sit all static, so i asked helskel if i could 'goof on it'. he told me, 'yeah, goof away'. then i got brave and told him i would have it done over the weekend, wednesday the latest. . . (i got a big mouth!)
i struggled with it a few days, it had a whole different feel going all weekend, and then yesterday morning i saw it another way, and it just kinda wrote itself.
it was recorded on my walkman recorder, (needed that demo feel), then ripped to mp3, and dumped to soundclick. all done in about 9 hrs. not a bad days work, but the money sucks.
still, the satisfaction is beyond any monetary rewards. he says it is for a girl, so if it get's him some lovin' it was worth it. . .
enjoy!
'it's wednesday' (stream from soundclick.com)
mp3
the words

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

the real chairman . . . Posted by Hello

ol' rocky fortune is back

frank sinatra as that footloose and frequently un-employed man-about-town, rocky fortune, in 'the oyster shucker' . . .
i was reading a post on the 'nostra' blog about nostalgia, and it got me thinking about my past a bit.
my mom is the biggest bobby-soxer i've ever known and she still gets all gooey just talking about 'frankie'. she was the singer in my dad's jazz band and kinda quit to raise the youngins. but she made sure she wasn't left behind. she dragged my 6mos-old-diapered-ass across country, and did the same when my sis came into it. we did 'one nite stands' for 6-8mos out of the yr til i was 10.
there was hardly an interstate then, it was almost all two lane backtop, especially out west. it made for long boring drives in the middle of nowhere.
my job was that of radio operator. i remember rainy late nights searching the dial for any radio show, and finding these wonderful worlds of texas rangers, star troopers, cool detectives and scary monsters. that was my job, keep dad awake.
years later my friends and i would sit at the lakefront at night, drink strawberry hill and at midnight listen to 'bleaker theater' on 'KAAY' out of little rock, (it's now a gospel station). they would play the really cool sci-fi stuff from 'x-minus one' and '2000 plus'. but the only way to get my grimy fingers on them was in the bargain bin from old armed forces recordings, if you were lucky.
things have changed tho, and while building my archive from all the otr mp3s on the net, i ran into frank sinatra as 'rocky fortune'.
rocky ran for two seasons in the late '40s. he is a chronically un-employed smart-ass, that knows all the cops on a first name basis, happens to be in the right place and solves the weekly crime. it is so hokey it is great, (it was written by the two guys responsible for 'x minus one' a few yrs later).
when i found this i was thrown back in time. i could imagine my parents watching that huge radio like it was alive, and hanging onto every word, waiting for the next excitingly silly episode of 'rocky fortune'. at least i know mom did . . .
ok, i think i'm finished here for now . . .
except,
the words to nearly every frankie song
frankie sings 'the way you look tonight'
radio lovers is a good place to start if ya like old time radio (otr).

Sunday, March 13, 2005

can you feel the light? Posted by Hello

'hullabaloo'

been kinda busy fixin up the house for sale, but had time to drop a song on soundclick. . .
'hullabaloo' is the first tune from the wrecked folklore project.
basically, it is the story of a boy and his shirt.
the first episode, he is awoken by a glorious light and a delicious sound pouring in thru his bedroom window. the furniture starts jitter-bugging 'round the room, the sound to turns light and kitty-corners into sound. the light sounds white and sound feels bright, and if he had ever done acid, he would say it was the best trip he ever had.
when it stops he tries to convince his brother to go with him and find the source. the lil' brother declines.
so, the boy, in a fit of wanting to know, crawls out the window, with his knapsack, dressed in his tattered white t-shirt, and trucks off to find the light. . .
(at least that's the way i pitched it to fox)
mp3
hi-fi
lo-fi
lyrics

Saturday, March 12, 2005

heavy metal randy Posted by Hello

let's drop the big one

i saw something on 'are we there yet?', and i couldn't resist . . . from one of the greatest composers, ever.

Political Science

No one likes us-I don't know why
We may not be perfect, but heaven knows we try
But all around, even our old friends put us down
Let's drop the big one and see what happens

We give them money-but are they grateful?
No, they're spiteful and they're hateful
They don't respect us-so let's surprise them
We'll drop the big one and pulverize them

Asia's crowded and Europe's too old
Africa is far too hot
And Canada's too cold
And South America stole our name
Let's drop the big one
There'll be no one left to blame us

We'll save Australia
Don't wanna hurt no kangaroo
We'll build an All American amusement park there
They got surfin', too

Boom goes London and boom Paree
More room for you and more room for me
And every city the whole world round
Will just be another American town
Oh, how peaceful it will be
We'll set everybody free
You'll wear a Japanese kimono
And there'll be Italian shoes for me

They all hate us anyhow
So let's drop the big one now!
Let's drop the big one now!

Randy Newman Sail Away 1972
(and the good ol' boy is from the big easy!)

go listen to a piece of 'gone dead train' from the performance sndtrk
or go watch 'i love l.a.!' (from vh1)
p.s. i'd post 'mr. president', but you need to find it on yer own . . .

Friday, March 11, 2005

where'd ya'll go? Posted by Hello

i'm the chairman of the bored

i was oh-so-bored today. . . well, somewhat.
we had our fix-up guy doing up the bathroom, i started a new tune for helskel called'it's wednesday', i rocked out in the studio and i fixed up 'the sample song booth', to load my old lyrics on.
other than that, boring!
i do belive i need a life . . .

Thursday, March 10, 2005

regnad kcin Posted by Hello

how can you be in two places at once, when you're not anywhere at all?

here are four or five guys who made some of the most irreverent comedy of the late sixties thru today, the firesign theatre.
they helped me get thru high school, and now my vocabulary is littered with all their ascerbic wit. these guys used any and all references while throwing in the kitchen sink. kinda like the marx bros meet the beatles at a mushroom party, and nothing is spared!
it is so cult-like that if a line from any of the records is spoken in public, an easy smile is exchanged, followed by the next line, and then it is the running dialog from 'nick danger, third eye', or 'highschool madness'.
i have been updating the catalog on cd and i am only missing a few now, (the records long since being played out many times over).
if you heard of them ya know, if not seek out 'how can you be in two places at once. . . ',
'i think we're all bozos on this bus' or 'dont crush that dwarf, hand me the pliers'.
they have quite a few very good movies and shorts but are kinda hard to find, (tho 'j-men forever' is still out and about).
it may take a few listens, but it all makes sense after awhile, (a few? i am still picking up stuff, especially now that the cds are out, ahhh, clarity, and no scratches! and now i think 'everything you know is wrong' is the best)
the new stuff is a bit dry, but still classic comedy . . .
pass the lord and praise the ammuntion!

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

ladies and gentlemen . . . Posted by Hello

yeah! yeah! yeah!

well, george finally made it. . .
i got john, paul and ringo for x-mas, but it took a bunch of hrs on ebay to get george. i really love these macfarlane toys. also scattered around the wreckroom is both of the yellow submarine sets , the elvis comeback special and jimi @ woodstock , (with the whole stage!).
sorry, just felt like showing it off . . .
and, i found this really cool site with videos of the replacements, quite arguably the most quintessential drunken bar band of the eighties. i was lucky enuff to catch them in the big easy late '83, not long before the release of 'let it be' their 4th and best record. how they even stood up at all was amazing, but did they rock! what a clusterfuck of a band, it was the best show i had seen since the pistols in '78, controlled chaos most delicious.
i hear they were even wilder around the time this viddy was shot.
done in sept of '81 at some bar in minneapolis, it is really a bunch of clips that make up the whole show. (i don't know if the viddy exists, but it says that they opened for husker du,
who was another great band of the day . . . jeesh, minnie was a hot town in the mid-80's)
so, i ripped 'em and put it all together using vegas video and 'walla', it is awesome, if ya like that kinda thing. . . .
toodle-oo, gotta go put the cat down . . .

Monday, March 07, 2005

one reason i am the way i am . . .  Posted by Hello

"it's so nice to be stoned"

well, i was perusing the amazon.com music downloads when i ran across this little gem by that satanic southern rock band of the 70's, 'white witch'.
these guys were on the old capricorn record label, (home of classic sothern rockers, like the allmans, wet willie, livingston taylor and, er, martin mull). their style was kinda-like glitter/occult/prog-rock. very strange, yet appealing.
anyways, 'it's so nice to be stoned' is a bit not like the rest of the 1st lp. it's a honky-tonk, british bar-hall sing-a-long, (think george formby on pot doing 'rainy day women'!)
ahhh, brings back fond memories of my jaded youth. and besides, i haven't gotten stoned in too long, so this eases the pain a little . . . all of a sudden i need a hit.

i got a head code

well, i went back to my old template, the comment thingy fixed for now. i'll try to do it manually later . . . right now i am just too coded out!
oh well, life goes on and the sky is blue and i am too, (not really tho, life is great!)
it could be worse, i could be listenin to journey!
cue the music. . . . . arrrgh!

Sunday, March 06, 2005

the beatle stack (of 10,000) Posted by Hello

i love vinyl!

i have over 10,000 lps, (as of last count), and still run over to 'recycled records' here in reno to get my monthy vinyl fix, (sharon is really worse than me!).
anyhow, i know this has been all over the net but it is still funny and i keep going back to laff, becoz, well, it is so damn funny,
'the worst album covers of all time'.
p.s. i am glad 'cracked ice and fireworks' isn't in there, ha
!

Friday, March 04, 2005

the wreck station Posted by Hello

is it just me?

another day, another span of the blog-sphere . . . some of this shit is too funny!
i perused and found some interesting stuff . . .
for example,
there seems to be a growing number of blogs that contain lil pop-ups that make ya work too hard to see what they don't have to say, like "misunderstood" here, or the kids that kant evn speel, like "paradise gurl".
ok, there is some ass-funny shit out there too. . . like 'beautiful lingeries', where i learnt how to tune my rick 360-12 while lounging around in frilly panties.
but then again, ya got some really helpful stuff, like 'easy webbers', that actually shows ya how to hack blog shite.
i could go on and on about great sites to get stuff like mp3s, but most of those are in the links. . .
anyways, just some of this weird shit i found today . . .
p.s. no offence to any. . . . it may generate much needed traffic!

Thursday, March 03, 2005

studio reno '05 Posted by Hello

studio reno back is in biz!

i thought i'd post something, since it has been a few weeks of no input in here . . .
lots of action and no action in the old wreckroom.
it all started when sharon and kimmy were gonna move kimmy's shit back home, (because of the wrecked wedding). her dad was suppose to help, but as usual he was a no show. i went to the rescue, and as usual, really over did it and compeletly wrecked my back! (the doc warned me about such activity, my wrong) i was laid up on the futon all week, (thank god for my marx bros and buster keaton collection!)
sharon felt so bad for me i got a new Creative 5.1 speaker sys and sound card for HAL, (which aleviated alot of his meaness), and then on saturday sharon took me and kim out for lunch and a brand new Washburn ES-10 dobro. i am really happy about the latter!
so, here is a tune i did on the old dobro before it got wrecked,
'crawlin' backporch blues' . . .
well, the sun is out again and i am stumblin' around the wreckroom honkin the harp and slidin the strings . . . (i even bashed around on the drums today, things are surely lookin up!)