Friday, June 23, 2006

Primitive Sound System - Manual Comics & Kaiju Big Battel - Saturday June 23rd 8-10PM

Hello Y'all,
I draw pictures. I buy records. SO... this gig combines the best of both worlds. I scratched out some lines for the newest edition of Manual Comics "Mauled!" series. This one is called Mauled! #4: 'True Reports of Mechanical Mishaps' - http://manualcomics.com/manual_main.htm and features some machinery acting as stupid as humans and in most cases killing someone. The publishers of Manual Comics are planning to throw down and lay waste to the folks of Kaiju Big Battle who co-host this all out cage match at the R Bar in celebration of the end of the MoCCA Art Festival. By-the-way, MoCCA stands for Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art which I guess is impressive but they have nothing to do with this gig so drink up, watch some H.R. Pufnstuf looking motherfuckers smack each other about the place and don't forget to steal some comic books. I hate to be so simple about it but I am stoking the fires with songs about Super Heroes, Villains and other fine characters of the sequential arts as well as any song I can think of about fighting, action and Space! How many times can I play "Kung Fu Fighting" in two hours? I'm guessing almost forty before they wrestle me away from the tables.

Let's get animal, animal,
I wanna get animal, let's get into animal
Let me hear your body talk,
Your body talk, let me hear your body talk.

- pat.
Primitive Sound System

Manual Comics & Kaiju Big Battel
Co-host the 2007 Dangerous MoCCA Afterparty!
Saturday, June 23 8PM
R Bar
218 Bowery
NYC ...just a quick walk from the Puck Building!

Check out their websites:
Manual Comics
http://manualcomics.com

Kaiju Big Battel
http://www.kaiju.com
The video section is amazing - http://www.kaiju.com/video.htm

R Bar
http://www.rbarnyc.com

45's:
Carl Douglas - "KUNG FU FIGHTING" (20 Century Records cat. TC-2140)
Hopefully this 70's AM radio hit needs no introduction. But if you have never heard it you are in for the most gentle ass kicking ever. Carl Douglas koos us with some ohs that sound more like yodeling than a call to action. To his credit Mr. Douglas is apparently hiding under a table as he is watching the "Funky Chinamen" kick some ass in the name of Mr. Big. The mood is mid paced despite the action being described as fast as lightning the band is in no hurry to change the laid-back pace. "IT WAS A LITTLE BIT FRIGHTENING - HUH!"

The Archies - "Sugar, Sugar" (Calendar (A Division of Kirshner Entertainment Corp.) cat. 63-1008)
The Archies were a Don Kirshner fabricated band to give a sound to the animated version of the Archie's Comics. Talk about getting right on the first try because "Sugar, Sugar" went to number one in 1968. And like the Batman theme many people have tried there hand(s) at it with some pretty great results including Chet Baker, Jimmy McGriff, Big Youth, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Tom Jones, The Germs, and the list goes on and on.

Sea Monkeys - "Everything's Archie" (Vital Music Records cat. VMS-4)
Everything's WHAT? Everything's ARCHIE! The insanely entertaining Dave The Spaz and his manic band of Punk idiots crank through the theme to The Archies. Simple, stupid and hopping mad and out of control. Dave squeals through the last few choruses of ARCHEEEE while Pope John splinters his sticks, busts heads and nothing could be more perfect. I don't remember the year this came out but being very drunk and jumping up and down certainly didn't help me keep focused. Thanks Sea Monkeys, thanks Olympia Beer.

Man... or Astro-Man - World Out Of Mind! ep (Estrus cat. ES-169 ("Is the Phase One of Project Infinity?")
Space Surf Music is like a Maple Bacon Doughnut. At first it sounds impossible, then the attraction is too much but you know it will only hurt you later. Well, grab your board and let's hit the asteroid belt baby. The fabulous Man...or Astro-Man pull off the sling shot to the outer solar system and then cruise effortlessly for light years. Big guitar sounds crash into pounding drums like they are playing a very evenly matched game of tag. Every song has a slightly similar sound and some songs seem to only have different names but hell isn't that what Surf music is all about?! These guys are always amazing. (Maple Bacon doughnut only available at Voodoo Doughnut - http://voodoodoughnut.com)

The Mummies - "You Must Fight To Live On The Planet Of The Apes" (Sympathy For The Record Industry cat. SFTRI 196)
I have the longest list of "Top Ten Songs of All Time" of pretty much everyone... BUT... HOLY CRAP! This song makes me want to go fucking crazy and bust everything in my path. I think the last time my brother and I were in the same room and it was playing I hoisted him over my head and he kicked me in the head with his boot. Damn, that was one hell of a night. No blood, no fun is what I say. I saw The Mummies pretty much every time they made it out this way. They NEVER washed there Mummy wraps and that is pretty much all you need to know about these guys. Most bands doing garage music listen to the Nuggets series or Back From The Grave and spit it out no different than an anarchy t-shirt sold at Macy's. Not The Mummies, these guys live and breath the stomping sounds echoing from the cave. "Get your stinking paws off of me, you damn dirty ape!"

The Dickies - "Banana Splits" (A&M Records cat. AMS 7431)
The Dickies played faster than any band I have seen. Live these guys doubled the already break-neck speeds on their records. If I remember right ( and I probably don't) a song like this or "Nights In White Satin" were over in at about a minute thirty. When I last saw them their version of "Paranoid" was over so fast and ended on a dime the entire audience was caught of beat and practically fell down. Luckily at the time of this recording the world hadn't slipped into it's complacency with mediocrity and these guys were on a major label! Pure Punk recorded as if they were Steely Dan. Their first record is so good only a few discs come close.

The Banana Splits - "Doin' The Banana Split" (Kellogg's Presents a Hanna-Barbera Production cat. Extended Play #34579)
The two eps and LP by The Banana Splits are must haves. The sounds range from heavy Soul to Garage and they do all of it with equal passion. "Doin' The Banana Spits" is penned by Barry White so I can only assume Gene Page is involved in some way as well. From the first time I heard this I was blown away. It was so not the children's tune of the Tra La La Song but a blistering burst of Pounding Soulful Dance that could make the most uptight parent bop around with a smile while telling the kids to behave.

Rhythm 'N' Blues Classical Funk Band - "Monster Walk Part 2" (Mankind cat. 12001)
Screams from one of the Horror Sounds I have lead off this slamming awkward instrumental. A brief fight breaks out and ends with the maniacal laugh jof what we could only guess is the victor and a really bad man. A heavy organ riff sets the pace but is immediately interrupted by the sounds of traffic and sirens. The band fights its way to the top and plays without disruption for about a minute and a half. And what a minute and a half it is. This ranks pretty high with my favorites and I wonder if there is an unaffected version as well. SUPERBLY CREEPY!

Hoctor - "Uncle Fester's Blues" (Hoctor Records cat. H-2783)
Several times over the 14 years I stood behind the counter at Finyl Vinyl the Adam's Family album hung on the wall. I would take it down and give it a listen and then return it to its place. There was always something just slightly off or missing from the sound to not make me take it home in lew of a days pay. My home phone rings one day and next thing I know I am digging through thousands of records at a Dance Studio in Warwick New jersey. As we started through each record with a title even slightly interesting we kept coming up with one winner after another. Then we started on the cover versions. "Cissy Strut," "Moving World," "Black Belt Jones" and suddenly The Adam's Family. We flipped it over and the Go-Go moves spewed out of each groove. There is an obvious "Night Train" sound to it all but with a Batman icing. Even better is there is a flute solo, frantic drums and a sharp organ that seems ready to launch at any second but holds back as if it has something better to do.

Nervous Norvous - "Transfusion" (Dot cat. 45-15470)
I guess this is a "Novelty Record" but I gotta tell ya this aint no Weird Al or "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer." Nervous Norvous packs car crash after car crash into this Countrified Car-tune about Gas, Speeding, a disregard for the Rules of The Road and empty promises. Seems like every-time he says "I'm never never gonna speed again," he plows head first into something. Throughout he begs and pleads for more petroleum and believe my grade does not matter. He is hooked and not only is he a speed junkie but he needs the juice as well.

H.R. Pufnstuf - "H.R. Pufnstuf" (Kellogg's presents Creative Products / Capitol Records cat. CP-57)
Josie & The Pussycats - "Josie" (Kellogg's presents Creative Products / Capitol Records cat. CP-59)
The Gaylads - "Popeye - The Sailor Man" (Audan Records cat. A-120)
Gate Wesley & Band - "(Zap! Pow!) Do The Batman" (Atlantic cat. 45-2319)

and many, many more

LP's:
Tee Vee Toons Presents Television's Greatest Hits 65 TV Themes! From the 50's and 60's (Tee Vee Toons Inc. cat. TVT 1100)
Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (Paramount Records cat. PAS 6012)
The Pointer Sisters - "Pinball Number Count" (Ninja Tune cat. ZEN 12143)
The Electric Company - "The Electric Company Theme" (Children's Television Workshop / Sesame Street cat. CTW 22052)
Henry Mancini - The Party (RCA Victor cat. LSP-3997)
The Globe Trotters - "The Globe Trotters Theme," "House Party" (Kirshner cat. KES-108)
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids starring in Creativity (Kid Stuff cat. KS021)
Bill Cosby - "Get Out My Life Woman" (Warner Bros. Records cat. 1728)
Ramones - "Pinhead" (Sire cat. SA 7528)

Louie Ramirez en el Corazon de Harlem Espanol - "The Boogie Man" (Mecury Records cat. MG 21121)
Martino-Brighetti - "Dracula Cha-Cha" from the film Tempi Duri Per i Vampiri (RCA Victor International cat. FOC-4)
Frankie Stein and his Ghouls - "Monster Motion" (Monster Sounds and Dance Music by...) (Power Records cat. 340)

The Big Boss (TAM Musical Industries cat. YX - 7303)
Dennis Coffey and Luchi De Jesus - Black Belt Jones (Warner Brothers cat. 7771)
Lalo Schifrin - Sudden Impact and the Best of Dirty Harry! - "Scorpio" from the movie Dirty Harry (Viva Records cat. 23990-1)
Lalo Schifrin - Enter The Dragon (Warner Bros. Records Inc. cat. BS 2727)
The Cramps - "The Crusher" (I.R.S. cat. PFSX 1008)
Roy Ayers - "Coffy" (Polydor cat. PD 5048)
The Rezillos - "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight" - Can't Stand The... (Sire cat. SRK6057)
Sammy Davis Jr - "John Shaft" (MGM Records cat. SE-4832)

Repo Man (San Andreas Records cat. SAR 39019)
Perrey - Kingsley (Electronic Pop Music of the Future created by...) - The In Sound From The Way Out! (Vanguard cat. VRS-9222)
NRBQ - "Rocket Number 9" (Columbia cat. 9858)
Milton & Anne Delugg - "Rise Robots, Rise" - Gulliver's Travels Beyond The Moon (Mainstream cat. mono 54001)
Robert Hazard with Link Wray - "Flyin' Saucers Rock & Roll" (Private Stock Records Ltd. cat. PS 2030)

The Kinks - "Powerman" (Warner Bros. Records cat. 6423)
Jimi Hendrix - "Astro Man" (Warner Bros. Records cat. MS 2034)
Black Sabbath - "Iron Man" (Warner Bros. Records cat. 1887)