miss geo "the story"

(www.missgeomusic.com) Should be called Miss Neo, because her music made me enter a Matrix-like world of rich, dreamy guitar pop. And she's as adorable as Keanu.

Black Oak Arkansas (Live, June 24, 2011. Beverly Arts Center, Chicago)

(Guest Review by Gentleman John Battles) I'm shooting from the hip, all you unhip hipster kiddies. Back in the early 70's Black Oak Arkansas' big hits "Jim Dandy (To The Rescue),” and "Hot 'n' Nasty” (which even hit the jukeboxes, years after it's release), were some of the finest slabs of REAL Rock'n'Roll this side of Brownsville Station. Definitely disliked and misunderstood in their day, they still briefly hit the big time with a slew of appearances on In Concert and The Midnight Special. Future President, and fellow Arkansas native, Bill Clinton, was known to attend their early shows, and even said he aspired to be like their frontman, Jim Dandy, and, in retrospect, he was. 

Well, it's 2011. The turnaway crowds are gone (Hell, the VERY intimate Beverly Arts Center was only about half-full, but, that's the power of non-promotion), and while The Dandy no longer has a stallion's mane down to his ass, he still has an impressive, gleaming Charlie Rich-platinum do', easily halfway, or more, down his ass. One friend dared to ask me if he still had the impressive package that is now the "Stuff " of legend. Well, I didn’t look at it too much, but the Brother was packin', OK ? Apart from an understandable paunch (I think he said he's now 63, so, that's really not a big deal. I see guys my age, or less, with major beer guts pulling beautiful, classy looking women all the time. Especially near Wrigley Field), he's actually in pretty decent shape, and, besides, the man still displayed the sexual bravado of yore by letting his shirt unbutton almost completely during the first song. And his voice cried to the heavens, and invoked demons. The non-contradictory melding of sex and spirituality that has always been their stock in trade was always within reach, and used for the good of mankind.

Was it some heavy shit? What the Hell do you think? It was everything Early 70s Hard Rock used to be. From first LP cuts like "Uncle Lijah,” "Lord Have Mercy on My Soul,” "When Electricity Came To Arkansas,” and, of course, "Hot n’ Nasty" (better known today for its break beat) to later nuggets like "Happy Hooker,” and, of course, "Jim Dandy" (Jim Dandy Mangrum  affirmed that Georgie Klein arranged to have Elvis phone him. Elvis reportedly told Jim that he HAD to cover LaVern Baker's hit, "Jim Dandy,” because he was now on Atlantic Records, and besides, the song is really about him, when you think about it. Dandy heeded the King's Call, and their version was a monster smash!). Original Guitarist, Rick Reynolds, and a younger cat who did a LOT of showboating (tho' Dandy still works the stage like a man in the desert with no shoes), even spilling half his beer on the stage while using the bottle as a slide, while holding his axe upside-down. But, one of the real show-stoppers was Dandy's tribute to his fallen friend, Ruby Starr, the only woman to tour as an official member of Black Oak Arkansas, and the combustible screamer on the song, "Jim Dandy." She had sexual chutzpah to match Dandy's, but, of course, the latter spoke more of the spirit world when recalling the former. Dandy let loose with a devastating take on Grand Funk's Downer Rock classic, "Heartbreaker" (which I think my brother's first band Ear Lick, used to do. You're fascinated, right?). Anybody who doesn’t think The Dandy could really sing should have heard this very sincere, call to the angels. If you could imagine, it was like one of Tom Jones' more emotionally wrought moments ("Delilah" or "Without Love,” for starters), but, overall, we were promised a good time, and, that's ALL we got.

Drummer, Johnny Bolin (Tommy Bolin's younger Brother) let loose with a battery comparable to (more or less) original member (and sole Yankee of the group, but, who cares?), Tommy Aldridge, but with his own personal kind of attack. The Bass player stayed in the underappreciated funky - by way of Stax -  Southern Rock groove that is more or less the sole province of BOA, and set them apart from most of their peers. He also had on the same damn customized western shirt that I was wearing!  At some point, a Boston Terrier pup made her way to the stage, and was running all over the place, though, never tripping on guitar chords or being in anyone’s way, so they let her stay. People soon cheered for the dog as much as the band. She WAS cute with a capital "K" (turns out, she belonged to one of Bolin's friends, but talk about surreal!). While Jim Dandy rambled at a rapid clip (all good stuff) between songs, Black Oak Arkansas laid down a thick and heavy sound, the kind that never goes out of style. Now, my good friend, Jeffrey Evans (whom Jack White and Jon Spencer should probably be sending checks to), told me he once at a Blues jam in Memphis he saw Dandy perform a spectacular version of "All Along The Watchtower” which made him forget all other versions he'd heard in the past. On this occasion he did it again. But, Jim Dandy does it all. THE BEAT! THE BEAT! THE BEAT! After the show, most of the band came out, signed stuff, hung out with the fans, and told great stories. There was no division between the artists and their followers, and that's the way it was meant to be. If you're STILL too cool for Black Oak Arkansas, especially if you lean toward Southern Culture on The Skids, Nashville Pussy, Reverend Horton Heat, or even Antiseen, you're missing the whole point. This is music that's way too fun, played by professionals, who like to have as good a time as their audience. And, that, too, is where the whole thing's at. Want to see a really good Rock n’' Roll show? Go see BOA at a dive near you (or in this case, a truly beautiful venue).

Himalayan Bear "Hard Times"

(Absolutely Kosher) This Bear sounds like a Morrissey who could change the oil on his car.

mala in se

(phratryrecords.com) Feels like someone is using your head as a battering ram to break through a wall of sound constructed of recordings of jackhammers, rejected AmRep demos, and the screams of the damned.

The Soulphonics "The Dynamic Sounds of..."

(Scratched) This sounds like an awesome high school dance band...playing their class' 40th Anniversary reunion dance! It's got bouncy, jangly hooks and dynamic energy while managing to be notably un-youthful (though not at all stodgy or stiff). SoulFUNic!

The Sovereign

(www.Thesovnews.com) Billed as "The World's Only Truth Newspaper!" this publication considers everything else anyone has ever said to be a lie, including Al Queda's involvement in 9/11 ("destruction exhibited all the characteristics of destruction by explosives"), the killing of Bin Laden (who "has almost certainly been dead since December 2001"), Kurt Cobain's suicide (""CIA mind control experiment"), and the undeserved bad reputation of pirates ("unlike the Obama Navy of today, pirate ships often elected their captain"). I'm not sure if contrarianism and dissidence are the same thing, but they both are definitely things. And if I was to tell you this so-called periodical, which uses heavy metal imagery, cheesecake girlie illustrations, and fantasy visuals to allegedly attack Obama was in fact published by operatives of the President to weaken the resistance by associating them with juvenilia would you believe me? Of course not, that's just some crazy conspiracy shit! BTW: The fact that this paper is still using a picture of Will Oldham as a columnists print avatar is still AWESOME!

"Derailroaded: Inside The Mind of Larry 'Wild Man' Fischer" DVD

(MVD/Derailroaded) (Guest review by Gary Pig Gold)

HIS NAME WAS LARRY

  

IRWIN CHUSID (author, “Songs In The Key Of Z”):

Outsider music is a slippery genre. It’s musicians who tend to be self-taught, untrained, working certainly way outside the channels of mainstream music. There are very important qualifications:  They are sincere about it. They mean it. They’re not doing it to be funny. They’re not doing it to be outrageous. This is a sincere musical expression. Wild Man Fischer in many ways is a poster child for outsider music.

MARK MOTHERSBAUGH (Devo):

At his best, he’s mainlined right into this creative kind of subconscious. It’s coming from a pure place.

DENNIS P. EICHHORN (tour manager; Real Stuff Comics creator):

I’ve seen him really work a crowd and have every single one of them responding to him positively. When he’s performing and when he’s got the pep, he’s one of the greatest entertainers you’d ever see in your life.

IRWIN CHUSID:  The appeal of Larry’s music is that it’s real. You’re hearing something that is the musical vision of one singular human being that really comes from the heart and soul of an individual.

SOLOMON BURKE (King of Rock & Soul and Larry’s initial mentor):

A very, extremely talented young man.

LARRY:  I just think I’m the best rock singer in the world.

DAVID FISCHER (Larry’s older brother):

I still don’t think he’s a good singer. I might be wrong.

* * * * * * * * * *

LARRY:  You know what happened to my career? Nothing. I have nothing, you know? Once in a while I go out and sing, but that’s very rare. I’m too scared of the music business. And I’m too scared of all the people in it. Is that sad or what?

“DERAILROADED”:

I have been derailroaded / Derailroaded by everybody / I have been sent off the track / To wander like a fool / They are liars, and they are thieves / And they left me to stand around / Like a derailroaded fool

LARRY:  That’s what the show-business people are like. They love to torture their entertainers. Those fuckers in show business, you know? They turned me into the psycho I’ve become.

BILLY MUMY (producer, Pronounced Normal, Nothing Scary):

It’s unfortunate that Larry has not had more commercial success with his music. But Larry is a manic-depressive paranoid schizophrenic. And that is an interesting mixture of energy.

DR. LOUIS SASS (Professor of Clinical Psychology, Rutgers University):

A person with schizophrenia is characterized by delusions. Hallucinations. Usually auditory hallucinations. A lot of it has to do with a feeling of conspiracies being directed at you. Everyone’s out to get you.

LARRY:  I’m scared. There’s people after me. I don’t know who’s involved. I just don’t know who’s involved. It’s been a nightmare. All kinds of things have happened to me. Things that you would not believe.

“THE WILD MAN FISCHER STORY”:

In the year of 1962 / I got thrown out of school / In the year of 1963 / I was committed to a mental institution / In the year of 1964 / I was released from the mental institution / In the year of 1966 / I was committed to the mental institution again 

LARRY:  Well, my life has not been all that pleasant. My father died when I was young and my mother didn’t love me, or didn’t care about me. She used to make me eat on the sink. They made me stand up and eat on the sink. My mother didn’t love me.

GAIL ZAPPA:

The thing about Los Angeles – there are a lot of freaks here. Freaks are people that have figured out a way to, in spite of society, express themselves. And so Larry is just another one of the freaks.

“WHY I AM NORMAL”:

I would say I’m a normal, everyday person, you know? I like girls. I like to eat at restaurants. I like sports cars. I like motorcycles. I’d like to get married one day, have kids. You know, raise a normal family. My mother always used to, you know, wonder about me. She wondered what I was gonna do when I got older. I said Mother, don’t worry about me. I’ll get a job! I’ll go straight!

LARRY:  The first audition I went on was for Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. And I got it.

DAN ROWAN (Laugh-In episode # 16, 1968):

Now that he’s been exposed on national TV, don’t you think he’ll fly to stardom?

FRANK ZAPPA (producer, An Evening with Wild Man Fischer):

I thought that from the very first day that I met him, somebody should make an album about Wild Man Fischer.

LARRY:  Frank Zappa told me that he could make me a rock star. And if Frank Zappa told you that, wouldn’t you think you might be able to become a rock star?

FRANK ZAPPA:  But when you’re working with someone like Wild Man Fischer, the problems that arise become too much to bear.

“DO THE WILDMAN”:

There’s a new dance goin’ round the land / Come on everybody, do the Wild Man / Throw your arms up, pretend you’re a child / That’s it now, you’re getting wild

FRANK ZAPPA:  One thing that you must remember about Wild Man Fischer is that he actually is a wild person. And, uh, Larry is dangerous.

LARRY:  He loved it. He said that if he ever had a son, he wanted his son to be just like me. I swear to God he said that.

FRANK ZAPPA:  I spent three months working on the Wild Man Fischer album. And at the end of that time not only was I accused of robbing Wild Man Fischer and cheating Wild Man Fischer and abusing him – most of this from Wild Man Fischer himself – but the album itself did not sell a large amount of copies.

“THE WILD MAN FISCHER STORY”:

In the year of 1968 / Have I made a mistake? / Will I end up a bum? / Will I end up a crumb? / Will I end up in hell? / Will I end up in jail? / Will I end up in Jesus? / Will I end up in trees? / Will I end up rich, rich, rich, rich? / Wild Man Fischer / Wild Man Fischer / Merry-go, Merry-go, Merry-go-round / boop boop boop…

LARRY:  Well, I never became a rock star. Frank Zappa fired me. That’s it.

“FRANK”:

Frank’s got money in the bank / Frank’s got women he can spank / Frank owns my publishing rights / You could say he’s on my mind / Think about him all the time…

LARRY:  You got to have three things:  You got to have talent. You got to have luck. And you got to have persistence.

GAIL ZAPPA:  I never thought that he would have a real career. And I see him now, and he looks like a very, very exhausted version of that person that I knew then. He’s almost identical.

* * * * * * * * * *

LARRY:  Want to hear how I started a multimillion-dollar empire? “Go To Rhino Records” – you ever heard that song before?

“GO TO RHINO RECORDS”:

Go to Rhino Records / On Westwood Boulevard / Go to Rhino Records / On Westwood Boulevard / You can get Herb Alpert / And Jackie Lomax / For 40 cents / Da-doo, Da-doo

LARRY:  That’s the first song that was ever done for Rhino Records. I started a multimillion-dollar company! I became Rhino Records’ mascot! Think about it.

“THE BOUILLABAISSE”:

Don’t ever forget the money / Don’t ever forget the money…

DAVID FISCHER:  Larry never seemed to have any money, no matter how many albums the guy was doing. It was beyond me. If they do an album on somebody and if it’s not successful, why are you doing another? And what was he supposed to get out of it? I mean, he certainly was very upset and bitter about it.

“IT’S A MONEY WORLD”:

It’s a money world / It’s a money world…

LARRY:  Show business is really hard. You really can’t trust that very many people. Rhino Records, and most people, have taken advantage of me. Here’s a song I wrote about the music business:

“DERAILROADED”:

Money occupies your mind / Money can buy your songs / Money is all you buy / It’s a money world / I wish there was no such thing as money

AGREEMENT DATED 12/1/83:

“This is to prove that Larry Fischer received $750.00, (seven hundred & fifty dollars), as an advance for his album called Nothing Scary. (signed) Larry Fischer.”

“DON’T BE A SINGER”:

All you’ll ever meet are cheaters and liars / Liars and thieves / And robbers and swindlers / That’s all you’ll ever meet, that’s all you’ll ever see / Don’t be a singer

LARRY:  I don’t want to be a rock singer no more. It’s a horrifying experience. It’s a nightmare. It’s not as good as you think it is. People use singers.

LARRY (letter to Dennis Eichhorn):

“Dear Denny, I like you. You are a nice guy. You know, I quit show business. I hate show business. It’s full of crooks. And you’re one of them. A nice crook. Your friend, Larry.”

MARK MOTHERSBAUGH:  He’d call me up and go “Mark, I’m quitting show biz. Do you blame me?” I’d go “No, I don’t blame you. It’s an awful business.” He would quit show business about two or three times a week.

“IT’S A HARD BUSINESS” (recorded with Rosemary Clooney):

Rosemary, I’m thinking of quitting this impossible business / Oh really, Larry? I hope not / It’s just too hard / It’s a hard business / Please tell me that you agree / It’s a hard business / It’s hard for you and hard for me / It’s a hard business / Reaching way down in your soul / It’s a hard business / Singing jazz or rock ‘n’ roll

* * * * * * * * * *

LARRY:  The main reason I got into the music business was to impress my family, earn a living, complete my dream. But I knew I would never be able to tour. I’m too paranoid.

RUDY RAY MOORE (The Avenging Disco Godfather):

This is the way I would interpretate [sic] that particular phrase of “derailroaded”:  The railroad carries a train, and the train has come off of the tracks and fell over. And where am I going from here? Sounds like a sad story.

“ONE OF A KIND MIND”:

My mind is one of a kind / And if you ever come across a mind like mine / Make sure you dig it, and dig it for gold / Because my mind is one of a kind / Right?

DR. LOUIS SASS:  I think there are a lot of different reasons why people are drawn to Larry’s music. One of them is a little bit like the reason why people a century or two ago would go sometimes to the asylums to look at the patients. It’s a kind of voyeurism to stare at this person who seems so weird and so uninhibited. But a second reason, of course, is that we’re really moved by what he says and the story that he tells of his life and of his sufferings.

MARK MOTHERSBAUGH:  He’s a force of nature. He’s like a poet. He’s a bard in the best of ways, I think. If he grew up in Mongolia, he might have been considered a shaman. And everything that he is and does would be tolerated. 

LARRY:  I guess I’m getting older now. I can’t be a musician/singer anymore. I’m too old. I want to be a musician/singer. I want to make everybody happy.

“DO YOU EVER HAVE A GOAL IN LIFE”:

My goal in life was to become a singer / But it didn’t come true / I think / I don’t know / Who cares? / Bye-bye

* * * * * * * * * *

All of the above dialogue and lyric are taken from Josh Rubin’s stellar documentary Derailroaded: Inside The Mind of Larry “Wild Man” Fischer, newly available on DVD from MVD Visual.

Larry Wayne Fischer passed away on June 16.

Mongrel zine #10

(www.mongrelzine.ca)I think this is my favorite garage/punk zine in the world because they interview/review/promote/fuel contemporary garage maniacs/70s punks/60s pioneers/underground illustrators/noise rock outsiders/people who only give interviews in French/witches/inventors/zine making creatures/etc. with a Canadian sensibility that combines polite discourse, whimsical enthusiasm, a Royal Canadian Mountie's sense of duty, and the wicked energy of a hockey riot mob. Latest issue features great interview with Quintron and AMAZING interview with minicomix artist Colin Upton. And a CD.

Mongrel zine #10

(www.mongrelzine.ca)I think this is my favorite garage/punk zine in the world because they interview/review/promote/fuel contemporaru garage manics/70s punks/60s pioneers/underground illustrators/noise rock outsiders/people who only give interviews in French/witches/inventors/zine making creatures/etc. with a Canadian sensibility that combines polite discourse, whimsical enthusiasm, a ROyal Canadian Mountie's sense of duty, and the wicked energy of a hockey riot mob. Latest issue features great interview with Quintron and AMAZING interview with minicomix artist Colin Upton. And a CD.

Carol Kleyn "Love Has Made Me Stronger"

(Drag City) This reissue of an obscure 70s album of California ethereal-enchantment music mixes a bunch of myth metaphors. She's playing harp like an angel, but her voice and songwriting isn't exactly heavenly. She's hypnotizing like a sea siren, but she doesn't seem to be menacing or dangerous. She's in touch with nature and earth like a nymph, but she has human frailty. She seems to be a hippie and a singer-songwriter BUT SHE'S HAULING HARP! Did I mention this is primarily a harp album? This is basically more flower-powered and cloud-dwelling than any of her contemporaries because she has committed herself to this medieval music making machine without a hint of Renaissance Faire aesthetic. Oh...I could have said earlier that her music is harp-y, but she's too pretty to be a harpy.