Hello Y'all,
I have gotten some really great records recently but the best ones were a couple that I received from friends of mine. Many, many years ago I sold my Adrenalin O.D. LP The Wacky Hi-Jinks Of.... I regretted it almost immediately but at the time Jazz, Soul and Funk were far more important to me. Over the past few years I have been thinking about the records I sold and considering which ones are worth re-buying. Wacky Hi-Kinks was definitely at the top of my list. Oddly enough, about a month ago, a friend was telling me about an amazing collection he had the opportunity to look at and purchase. He listed all the rare and very hard to find records in the collection. It was impressive to say the least. Then he mentioned there were several copies of AOD records. I explained to him if there were extra copies of Wacky Hi-Jinks I was interested in purchasing one from him. He said he needed to go through the collection and decide what he was and wasn't going to sell. I heard nothing more about the collection. Well, the other day at the Jersey City Record Riot he walked in and handed me a copy of Wacky Hi-Jinks. FREE! Damn that is a nice gift. It is in perfect shape and is as good as I remember it. Thanks Justin! Later that day we had friends and family over for Allison's devastatingly good fried chicken. One friend has been giving me records as long as I can remember and every single one of them go right to the top of the, "MY FAVORITE RECORDS OF ALL TIME!" list. This year was certainly no exception. Matt had told me this incredible story about uncovering an as of now unknown Funk 45. Ironically the song was on the B-side of a somewhat known Guitar Instrumental. It is very obvious that the bands on the two sides of the record are completely unrelated but each side is as close to perfection in their respective genres as you can get. There are two completely different catalog numbers on each side and the recordings sound as if they were recorded years apart. When I pulled the record from the mailer my first reaction was that this was the most un-assuming record I have ever seen. I had only heard about the record but never actually heard it. Needless to say it was better than I could have ever imagined. Come on by and enjoy some music, something to drink and, if you are lucky, a completely outrageous conversation you can only get from a drunk in a bar.
- pat.
Primitive Sound System
VINYL RULES!
"Audio Visual Triumphs and Disasters" - http://primitivesoundsystem.blogspot.com
Bronco Billy Dolan and Primitive Sound System
Bill takes the 9 - 11:30PM and Pat. takes over until people fall asleep at the bar.
Thursday, March 3rd - 9PM to Closing
D.C.'s Tavern
505 8th Street
Between Jefferson and Madison
BACK IN BACK
Hoboken, New Jersey
PH: 201-792-5550
http://www.dcstavern.com
http://myspace.com/dcstavern
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hoboken-NJ/DCs-Tavern/89733686005 <- Facebook Page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dcs-Tavern/111745052195139 <- Facebook Local Business Listing
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=27386563721 <- Facebook Group
http://foursquare.com/venue/34395 <- On Foursquare
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SANATON:
One other event I need to mention happens at the end of March. Mark Maloof and I have decided to step out of the rehearsal studio and play in front of living, breathing human beings. I think the walls and the other bands' equipment are getting pretty bored with us so it is probably about time. Mark and I have spent the past seven years just playing for our own enjoyment. If you ever saw Hippopotamus you may have thought then that we were only playing for our own enjoyment and that is not too far from the truth. Hey, if we wanted to sound like the music we like to listen to, we'd just stay home and listen to those bands' records. Or, as is now the case, steal the MP3's and tell everyone how much we love and support our favorite bands. Currently we have no MP3's for you to steal but we assure you if you like things left of center and sometimes discordant than you'll love us. If we do record before the show we will post them somewhere. Hope to see you there.
Poster for the show: http://www.gigposters.com/poster/138720_Sanaton.html
Sanaton - 10PM
Metal Mountains - 8PM
Sunday, March 20th, 2011
Admission is $5 - (There are special admission rates for students and children)
The Stone - Corner of Ave C and 2nd Street
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CRACK:
Red Garrison and the Zodiacs - "Big R" b/w Renaissance of Rhythm - "There Is No Time" (RMP (Radio Music Prod. cat. SJB - 1016 b/w DP-212)
Opening with an obvious nod to Heartbreak Hotel the guitar and horns run through a little call and response before introducing their own parts to the already familiar tune. Each time through the band seems to get a bit more loose. The song is repetitive but the sax solos and guitar runs change in intensity with each pass. I imagine this was a regular on Lux Interior's turntable. It is simple, it is mindless, it is raw and it clocks in well under 3 minutes. That's vinyl gold if there ever was. This is just the warm up to what lays waiting on the other side. As the sounds scratch their way out of the speakers they hit the ear with familiarity but without a doubt this is not a "version" of anything you know. The song jumps in on the very first groove as if we walked into a party already in progress. The vocalist opens with a few screams, grunts, groans and soon enough the drummer and percussionist are channelling Jimmy Castor's "Ham Hocks Espanol." They do this about every ten seconds but this is no straight up tribute to Mr. Castor. These guys take what was already a fine piece of Boogaloo breakdown and run it through a meat grinder. Renaissance of Rhythm has no intentions on slicking this up. So as raw as, "Big R" is on the Utter-side, "There is No Time" is equally as raw and bent on making this a party. HAVE YOU GOT THE FEELING!? THEN SHOW IT TO ME!"
The Spencer Davis Group - "I'm A Man" (United Artists cat. UA 50144)
Common and iconic. I think that would be the best way to describe Spencer Davis Group now. You have been beat up with Classic Rock and now, unfortunately, bands like this are relegated for the Oldies Stations. Occasionally showing a spark of creativity, New Music stations like RXP will allow songs like this to be dropped into their precious rotation. Matt Pinfield knows a lot about music but his station is boring and repetitive. Don't get me wrong, repetition is a great way for my seven year old to learn what he likes but in 2011 you have a lot of music to choose from. Occasionally The Stooges will make an appearance and I have even heard the New York Dolls in a mix. Good for them, I guess. Spencer Davis Group's "I'm A Man" is one of the most modern sounding records out there. In a world where The Black Keys and The White Stripes are lauded for their appreciation for the past this song encompasses everything they worship and despite being the real deal (recorded in 1967) it sounds at home in a set with either of those bands. The song is rooted in the Blues, it grooves deeper than most Soul songs and it is so fucking hard you couldn't beat it in a street fight if you tried. The organ screams and the drums never let up. The guitar stabs you relentlessly offset from the hand claps and showing no compassion while the bass pummels you into an unrecognizable puddle of sweat. The song raises to an out and out frenzy by the end guaranteeing you will not be getting up when they are done with you . "I'm A Man," has been covered numerous times and its current value is proven by a great and very faithful version by Los Lonely Boys a few years back. But even their version lacks the groove of the original drumming. All Hail The Spencer Davis Group!
Soul Dukes - "Soul-69" b/w "Jelly Fish" (Hi-Way Records (Tramp Records re-issue cat. 208)
I've always loved a good re-issue and this one is mind blowing. Soul Dukes are out of East Orange, New Jersey and sound like they gave Kool & The Gang a run for their money back in the early days of Jersey City's Funky residents. "Soul-69" sounds like it was recorded yesterday and avoids any of the trappings some Funk Instrumentals fall into. The song opens with an actually intro that sets you up for the pace and feel of the music to follow. There is a nice repetitive horn part that eventually curls back to the intro. The sax is the really lead and after each return or statement of the theme the sax takes a couple aggressive solos but always in the pocket. After a third time round there is a break but similar to the sax parts the other musicians pull back rather than drop out. The band plays clean and tight. The groove is measured but not uptight, these guys are swinging. Damn I wish I would have stumbled onto one of these over the years. Oh well, that is why there are reissues. "Jelly Fish" doubles the time of "Soul-69" but despite the fast pace comes off far more Jazzy than the other side. First up is a soloing trumpet which emphasizes the Jazz feel and there is something very cool (progressive) bubling under the surface on with the organ. It is at times spooky or haunting and at other times down, dirty and full of grit. Whoever these guys were they knew how to play. It is a shame they didn't continue and go on to become a household name like Kool & The Gang. Luckily we have this amazing artifact. Thanks Tramp Records!
The Back Pack is filled with Hardcore records to keep A.O.D. company.
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