Attention UK and European readers: One of my favorite artists, as well as favorite new musical discovery of 2011, Mr. Brian Olive, will be making his way across the ocean for some European shows starting in a couple of weeks!
Brian Olive – Strange Attractor
I know you’re out there…go see him!
TVD NYC’s Tim B. counts down his top, er…eleven for 2011.
1. The Vinyl District Record Store Locator app (The Vinyl District/Shoutem)
2. Tom Waits – Bad As Me (Anti)
3. Brian Olive – Two of Everything (Alive)
…and at 45RPM!
Yes, this year saw some pretty nice reissues and boxsets…you have your Smile set from the Beach Boys, your remasters from Pink Floyd, your what-have-you from Rhino, and these are all fine and good. But one real special treat that seems to be flying under the radar are the vinyl reissues of the two Question Mark & The Mysterians LPs.
Unbelievably, neither has been officially available on vinyl since their initial releases 45 years ago!
Pressed on 180 gram vinyl and mastered at 45 RPM, ABKCO and Real Gone Music have teamed up and have done an outstanding job on these.
Laura Kennedy, RIP. Laura wasn’t the only bass player to ever play as part of the Bush Tetras, but she was the one who counted. It was her sly and subtle funk lines that graced the two most well known tunes that the NYC based post punk band wrote and recorded: “Too Many Creeps” and “Can’t Be Funky.”
No collection of post punk would be complete without these recordings. With a HUGE outpouring of condolences today on Facebook, it was obvious how many people’s lives she had touched.
As the obituary in the Minneapolis City Pages, her recent home’s newspaper, said, “Though she hasn’t performed publicly for years, Kennedy’s legacy will always be tied to her time in New York in the late ’70s and ’80s. Bush Tetras were one of the first female punk bands to gain notoreity in that era, and Kennedy’s bass playing can be heard providing a creeping counter melody to Pat Place’s angular guitar riffs in their best-known hit, 1980’s “Too Many Creeps.”
Leave a note for Laura on the Bush Tetras Facebook page.
The good news is that after 32 years, Strider Records is staying in business. The bad news is that, after 32 years, Strider Records will be closing their physical location at 22 Jones Street in the West Village at the end of this month. There have been close calls before, but this time it’s for real. I confirmed this with the owner last night via phone.
Long one of the best sources for oldies, and long out-of-print vinyl, they will remain open online at StriderRecords.com. Now through the end of the month, most of the inventory is discounted. Get yourself down to 22 Jones St or call 212-675-3040 for more information.
I had the opportunity to see the recent documentary about Mott the Hoople this week at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center as part of the New York Film Festival. Already available on DVD in the UK, it will reportedly be available in the US in November.
I highly suggest seeing it if you need to be reminded how incredible a great rock ‘n roll band can be. Apparently, I needed to be reminded. Just fantastic.
Previously published at Stupefaction.
Seems to me there are more so called post punk revivalists running around these days than you can shake a stick at. Few of them, however, seem to contain that magical ingredient that makes them believable, or anything other than sometimes enjoyable pretenders. Birmingham, AL natives, La Resistance, do not fall into this category thankfully.
Their influences are obviously well beyond the usual 1978-1980 focused time frame that most students of the new wave seem to focus on, and their music carries a momentum that will hopefully push them beyond & above the crowd.
I was lucky enough to catch an early screening of an excellent new documentary called The Other F Word last night as part of the Woodstock Film Festival. Based mostly around Pennywise singer, Jim Lindberg, it also includes appearances by Tony Adolescent, Art Alexakis, Joe Escalante, Josh Freese, Fat Mike, Flea, Lars Frederiksen, Jack Grisham, Brett Gurewitz, Tony Hawk, Tim McIlrath, Mark Mothersbaugh, Duane Peters, Ron Reyes, and a few others.
It attempts (and succeeds wildly) in describing the challenges in starting out an anti-authoritarian punk rock musician, and turning into a middle aged parent, and still playing punk rock. In turns it’s touching, thought provoking, inspirational, and very funny. I wholeheartedly suggest looking for a screening near you, and keeping an eye out for it when it’s released on DVD. This will be up there with Dogtown & Z-Boys when it comes to great films originating from the California counter-cultural scene.
Here are a couple of clips to whet your appetite:
The Varga Gallery in Woodstock NY will be hosting a John Lurie paintings and prints show from September 24 through October 31. If you’re in the Catskills pay ’em a visit. It’s an ideal time of the year to visit the area.
In All Our Decadence People Die – An exhibition of fanzines presented to Crass between 1976 and 1984 plus original Crass-era artwork by Gee Vaucher, and a new audio installation by Penny Rimbaud. Curated by Johan Kugelberg.
The Boo-Hooray exhibit space is happy to present an exhibition of fanzines and ephemera collected at Dial House, home to the English anarchist punk band Crass, active from 1977-1984. The public and private political stance of Crass was without peer or compromise. Their influence on the lives of misfits, belongers, winners, losers, straights and visionaries across the globe reverberates to this day.
Vinyl reissue label, Get On Down, quickly building a solid name for themselves, have a very special treat for fans of iconic post punk-era downtown-NY avant dance music.
On October 27 they’ll be reissuing Dinosaur L’s (aka Arthur Russell) one and only classic LP, 24-24 Music, in a deluxe 4xLP package box.
UK post punk legends, The Raincoats, will begin a US tour on Friday to mark the reissue of their second LP, 1981’s Odyshape.
Dates are as follows, starting in Brooklyn:
Praised by NME as “hilarious and incredibly heartwarming,” Sound It Out is a documentary portrait of the very last surviving vinyl record shop in Teesside, North East England. Presented by Factory 25, the charming underdog hit of SXSW, Sidewalk, Silverdocs and Edinburgh makes its NYC theatrical premiere with a week-long run, September 16 – 22 at the reRun Theater in Brooklyn.
Following a triumphant return to the live arena back in July, the surviving original members of Gray (aka Jean Michel Basquiat’s old band) have released a new collection of music entitled Shades of… on their own Plush Safe imprint. Not only is it a new collection, it’s also the band’s debut! It only took them about 30 years.
From the previously mentioned department, it’s that semi-time of year again. Mark Zip puts up the tents, opens the garage, and offers all sorts of wondrous items for your approval. Behold, “The Hell with Hurricane Irene! The Huge! Insane! Labor Day Music Yard Sale is ON!”
Woodstock NY – September 3, 4, 5 – 2011, 10:00AM-6:00PM each day, rain or shine. Click here for map & directions.
Zip’s Ziggurat presents another Huge! Insane! Music Yard Sale – 10,000s of LPs , CDs, 45s +12”s – rock, pop, hip hop, country, dance, world, folk, reggae, soul, alt.rock, jazz, funk, punk, r+b, metal, classical, techno, new wave, house, old-timey, breaks, spoken, 80’s, electro, blues, promos, DVDs (music + features), tons more.
Many at insultingly low prices. As low as $0.50 (hey, some are even “cheaper than free”). Listen before you buy. Free refreshments too!
Osnas Lane – Near Rt 212 + Glasco Turnpike junction (Next to Red Onion Restaurant), Woodstock / West Saugerties NY
