Monthly Archives: February 2023

VIA PRESS RELEASE | “A compelling documentary…a fascinating, revealing, and sometimes moving portrait of John Lennon.”
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety

Iconic Events will release The Lost Weekend: A Love Story on April 13th as a Special Event, leading into limited theatrical engagements starting on Friday, April 14th. The revealing and compelling documentary, with never-before-seen footage, moved audiences at its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival last June, garnering both critical and audience acclaim. The film is produced and directed by Eve Brandstein, Richard Kaufman, and Stuart Samuels.

Billed as “a weekend that lasted 18 months and a love story that took 50 years to tell,” The Lost Weekend: A Love Story explores the 18-month relationship (1973-1975) that John Lennon spent with May Pang, his Chinese American assistant turned lover (on Yoko Ono’s insistence and which she came to regret).

With May’s help, Lennon reunited with his son Julian and had his most artistically and commercially productive period post-Beatles—with the albums Mind Games, Walls and Bridges, which included his only #1 Hit Single “Whatever Gets You Through the Night,” Rock and Roll and collaboration with rock legends Elton John, David Bowie, Harry Nilsson, Mick Jagger, and Ringo among others. Pang chronicles it all revisiting her younger self, as a naïve 22-year-old experiencing her first unforgettable love.

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Remembering Brian Jones, born on this day in 1942. —Ed.

Few albums have been as vilified or written off as colossal missteps as The Rolling Stones’ Their Satanic Majesties Request. There’s Taylor Swift Sings the Songs of Captain Beefheart, and Arnold Schwarzenegger Sings Barbra Streisand, but neither of these albums can hold a candle to the Stones’ 1967 answer to the Beatles’ acid-influenced Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Their Satanic Majesties Request was quickly dismissed as a shameless attempt to keep up with the psychedelic Jones’s, and the critical blowback was so negative that the Stones promptly hopped to it and followed Satanic Majesties with Beggars Banquet, an LP so down to earth a filthy toilet graces its cover.

Aside from “She’s a Rainbow” and “2000 Light Years from Home” you’re highly unlikely to hear any of Satanic Majesties’ songs anywhere, and the Stones themselves haven’t had much good to say about it over the years. Keith Richards called it “a load of crap,” while Mick Jagger said “there’s a lot of rubbish” on it. But it has its fair share of cultists, whole heaps of them in fact, and they love it to death. And their waxing enthusiastic over the LP finally got the better of me. Just how bad could it be, after all?

Not bad at all is the short answer. Strange, far stranger than Sgt. Pepper for that matter, Their Satanic Majesties Request has more than its fair share of fine moments, along with a few dubious tunes that don’t quite make the grade. Me, I’ll take it over Sgt. Pepper any day, and I think the Stones should be commended for putting out an LP that was even more experimental than its Beatles counterpart. Mick and the boys took real chances on the LP, and if they didn’t always work, at least the Stones tried.

The album’s problems have been variously attributed to there being too many people in the studio, and there being too many hallucinogens in the studio (Mick Jagger once told me, “We were eating whole sheets of acid, just cramming them into our mouths and washing them down with brandy spiked with DMT”). Then there was the desertion of the band’s disgusted producer and manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, which left the band to produce the album themselves. Oldham’s decision to jump ship hurt; Jagger attributed the LP’s shortcomings to the lack of a producer who would say enough is enough, let’s get on with it lads.

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Multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer David Cunningham is most well-known today as the leader of the punk-era pop deconstructionists The Flying Lizards, but his background is appreciably deeper than that. He debuted in 1976 with Grey Scale, a dive into process-based minimalism that’s as appealingly strange as it is rigorously constructed. Originally the inaugural release on Cunningham’s own Piano label, it receives its first time reissue on vinyl and compact disc (with a bonus track) March 3 through Superior Viaduct.

For those whose familiarity with David Cunningham’s work is based solely on The Flying Lizards’ version of Barrett Strong’s “Money (That’s What I Want),” which was an out-of-nowhere international hit in 1979, climbing to #5 in the UK along with hitting nine other national charts including the Billboard Hot 100, where it reached #50 (also #23 on the Billboard Dance Club Play chart), the contents of Grey Scale might be a little (or quite a bit) surprising.

But Cunningham also produced Neue Deutsche Welle act Palais Schaumburg’s self-titled debut album in 1981, plus UK post-punk art-rock titans This Heat’s self-titled debut (’79), their EP (’80) and the Deceit album (’81). Furthermore, Cunningham issued This Heat and “Health and Efficiency” on his Piano label (Deceit was released by Rough Trade).

Now, folks who’ve soaked up The Flying Lizard’s two LPs for Virgin, the eponymous first album (’79) and follow-up Fourth Wall (’81) are more likely to get the connection between Grey Scale and Cunningham’s early electro-punk makeovers of oldies chestnuts (Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues” was also covered by the Lizards) and the dub excursions that dominate both records.

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Jackson, MS | Mississippi record store enlists student influencers to help business: Consumer spending surged in January to its biggest increase in over two years, aided by wage gains. January is traditionally a slow month for Phillip Rollins, the owner of Offbeat, a record and comic book store in Jackson, Mississippi. But in February, Rollins has seen sales rise as customers searched for “that record” for Valentine’s Day gifts. Rollins is focusing on a new strategy for his business: attracting more college students to the shop by offering a place for them to hang out and be part of a community. “There’s a big disconnect between college students and businesses,” Rollins said, “and a lot of college students really think there’s nothing to do or the city has nothing to offer, which isn’t true at all.” So Rollins has turned to college students for help. He’s enlisted a group of students to act as influencers for the shop. They bring their friends around and advertise events via social media.

Bristol, UK | Rise in vinyl sales sees Bristol record store busier than ever: We asked Wanted Records why music fans are reverting back to records as vinyl sales hit the highest point since the 1990s. “I can’t do anything apart from records and music,” admitted John Stapleton when I visited his record store on High Street in Bristol city centre. Those who still listen to music on a turntable will be well acquainted with Wanted Records, and since its expansion from a tiny unit in St Nicks Market to a shop a mere few feet away, it’s become even more popular. But relocating to a street with high footfall is not the sole reason John and his team are busier than ever. Change is afoot in the industry where music streaming giants like Spotify have dominated for years – in 2022, the UK saw its largest volume of vinyl sales since 1990 with 5.5 million units sold. This helped to give a previously struggling HMV its highest profits in years. Granted, this figure is solely new releases—which make up less than five per cent of Wanted Records’ stock.

SG | This Singaporean vinyl collector has over 8,000 records – here’s how he shares his passion with family and friends: Music is how Singaporean vinyl enthusiast CK Teo bonds with his loved ones – the old-school way. or audiophiles, there is little else that can compare with the rich sound quality of vinyl discs when it comes to enjoying music recordings. Even though there are now newer forms of digital music, there is still a demand for analogue sounds. “I don’t think vinyl is dead – it has never been. There are still people who love the magic behind the analogue sound,” said entrepreneur CK Teo, who has amassed a collection of over 8,000 vinyl records over the past decade. “I feel vinyls give a wider dynamic range typically. The warm sound that the vinyl creates is something that is very special. You can get more punch.” His lifelong passion for music began at a young age when he first began listening to music on his father’s cassette tapes as a child.

New Haven, CT | Author Writes A Record Store Epic: Cult band Buttery Cake Ass are playing what might be their final show, and it might be their best. There aren’t many people in the audience, but what they’re hearing is blowing their minds. The saddest songs make them all cry. The songs filled with rage seem like they could set the hall on fire. The band members are engaged in the kind of musical alchemy that maybe only happens a few times in every musician’s life. Somewhere on the soundboard, a tape is rolling. What will it sound like when they take it home? The mysteries of music, the weird family that is a band, and the obsessiveness of record collectors to find the treasures they drop captured on vinyl are all explored in The Ballad of Buttery Cake Ass, a ripping new novel by writer, musician, and comic Aug Stone. But the seeds for that novel were planted decades ago in the aisles of Cutler’s on Broadway, when two friends decided to ask for an album that doesn’t exist.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Karin Jones (born and raised in Philadelphia) took her first musical steps singing in church. She was gifted with an extremely talented ear and an accomplished pianist, percussionist, and drummer, mostly developed without formal training.

In her preteens Karin and her two older sisters formed a soul group called The Jonesettes that was managed by their father. They released a single titled “Once I Had Love” / “Stop, Look & listen” on Cougar Records in 1971 and participated on the gospel classic “After While” by Rev. Arvetra Jones And The Jonesettes released on HSE Records in 1975.

In 1976 a friend of Stevie Wonder told her that Marvin Gaye was looking for backing singers for his new record and subsequent tour. Karin auditioned for Marvin and was instantly hired. They recorded the “Got To Give It Up” EP and she hit the road for Marvin Gaye’s London Palladium tour (later released as a double live album on Motown in 1977).

Soon after Karin Jones started doing session work for the renowned label Jobete Records where Teddy Pendergrass became impressed with her unique musical style. She signed with him for management in 1979, but with Teddy’s own frantic schedule, the arrangement dissolved a year later.

At a convention of the Black Music Association in Philadelphia, Karin met with Jim Tyrrell, who at the time was establishing his own label, T-Electric. Karin signed with T-Electric Records and recorded an album in 1980. However, the album was shelved because the label run out of money.

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Thank you for reading or watching or listening to our 100th episode of Radar! At the risk of sounding like an awards acceptee while the band begins to signal my necessary move from the stage, I’d like to thank all of the wonderful guests who have given generously of their time to share their insights about projects that they are involved in.

Thank you as well to the publicists behind the scenes who serve as liaisons and ensure that these interviews actually happen! And of course, thanks to The Vinyl District for providing a weekly platform to share my chats with you, dear readers and listeners. Of course, thank you—too—to WFDU, 89.1 FM for giving me the opportunity to transmit these interviews over the FM airwaves throughout the greater New York City metropolitan area. We hope you’ll stick around for the next 100 episodes. If you enjoy this podcast, please make sure to tell your friends about it.

This week, our guest is Robin Taylor Zander, better known as RTZ. As you might have guessed by his unique moniker, RTZ is the son of Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander. Not only is Zander a fabulous musician who has filled in for each member of Cheap Trick at some point prompting Rolling Stone to refer to RTZ as, “Cheap Trick’s secret weapon.” However, he’s also a talented writer and producer who will be releasing his first album in April titled, The Distance. The album was also mixed by the rock and roll dream duo of Jack Douglas (John Lennon, Aerosmith) and Jay Messina (Aerosmith, Kiss, Lou Reed) who have worked together for 40 years—that is another story all unto itself.

RTZ joins me—ezt—this week as we discuss his excellent new release, the production and composition which went into it, how he navigates inhabiting Cheap Trick’s world, and where he’s going next.

Evan Toth is a songwriter, professional musician, educator, radio host, avid record collector, and hi-fi aficionado. Toth hosts and produces The Evan Toth Show and TVD Radar on WFDU, 89.1 FM. Follow him at the usual social media places and visit his website.

Wanna know what I like best about this cheapo best-of compilation with the impossibly unwieldy title? It’s a big fat example of pocket-lining chicanery. Instead of giving us the best of Joe Walsh’s solo career, the unscrupulous folks at MCA Records padded 2000’s 20th Century Masters The Millennium Collection: Best of Joe Walsh with cuts from Joe Walsh’s days with both the James Gang and its successor Barnstorm. Cheaters never prosper, or so it’s said, but in the case of this compilation we do.

Before we go on I should add that the compilation excludes Joe’s signature song, 1978’s “Life’s Been Good,” as well as “In the City” (from the soundtrack of 1979 film The Warriors) and 1980’s “A Life of Illusion,” the tunes your average listener knows him best for. This is due to the fact that 20th Century Masters The Millennium Collection: Best of Joe Walsh truncates Walsh’s career after his 1976 LP You Can’t Argue with a Sick Mind, leading the more conspiracy-minded to think he was immediately thereafter plucked up by an alien spacecraft for some healthy anal probing.

As for the compilation itself, it’s a hopeless muddle. In addition to the inclusion of the James Gang and Barnstorm material, you’re left to come to grips with the fact that three—count them three—of its songs (“Rocky Mountain Way,” “Turn to Stone,” and “Meadows”) appear on albums by both Barnstorm and the solo Joe Walsh. And get this—1973’s The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get is, depending on your source, variously attributed to either Barnstorm or Walsh.

And it doesn’t help that it’s Walsh’s name that appears on the album cover. Due to all the confusion you’re left with a compilation that features either 1) three songs by the James Gang, five from Barnstorm, and two by Walsh the solo artist, or 2) three songs by the James Gang, two by Barnstorm, and five by Walsh. It’s enough to drive a person nuts.

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