AIR-AIR Revisited: Comparison of Be With Records Vinyl Reissue to Original Embryo Pressing; Interview with Tom Coppola Tom Coppola, Googie Coppola and Dave Johnson (photo by Fred Ahlert, courtesy Tom Coppola) When I reviewed the … [Read More...]
KEN GOLDEN: TOP PICKS FOR 2018- A LIST
KEN GOLDEN: TOP PICKS FOR 2018- A LIST [Ed. Note]: Ken Golden, who contributed a piece on “Prog Rock Obscurities” here in 2016, has been a tireless guide to the less well known, the obscure rock, jazz and hard to “genre-fy” music that has become a … [Read More...]
Black Cat Bones-Barbed Wire Sandwich
Black Cat Bones-Barbed Wire Sandwich An important album by a short-lived band known for the association of various members with a number of other early heavy rock and blues rock bands, among … [Read More...]
SPIN CYCLE-Rare, Overlooked and Worthwhile Records to Explore
SPIN CYCLE- Rare, Overlooked and Worthwhile Records to Explore I cycle through a lot of records here—some are rare or obscure and many are deserving of further attention, but most don’t get … [Read More...]
Air-Air
Air-Air This is a stunning record. Composed and performed by a band with a long working relationship with Herbie Mann (who produced the album), its vocal parts shine with soulful beauty thanks … [Read More...]
The Talking Blues-Doug MacLeod’s Break the Chain
The Talking Blues-Doug MacLeod’s Break the Chain I’ve always liked the blues. In some ways the simplest, yet often the most difficult music to play: the changes are easy, and while … [Read More...]
Randy Holden- Guitar God (Interview)
Randy Holden- Guitar God For those of you with an appreciation for hard, heavy guitar-centric rock from the period, it doesn’t get any better than Randy Holden. His solo album, Population II, is … [Read More...]
Atomic Rooster- Death Walks Behind You– Two Pressings
Atomic Rooster- Death Walks Behind You Two pressings: US and UK An interesting heavy rock record by an oft-overlooked band, this album—which was probably their best and most commercially … [Read More...]
The National Reserve- Motel La Grange
The National Reserve- Motel La Grange You can listen to Sean Walsh and The National Reserve’s Motel La Grange and be reminded of so many different strands of music from the past without … [Read More...]
Comus: First Utterance + Interview with Members of Comus
Comus: First Utterance The folk music revival of the ‘60s not only revitalized interest in traditional music but also sparked the creation of more contemporary sounds that were … [Read More...]
Mark Weber on the West Coast Experimental Jazz Scene and the Shape of Things to Come
Mark Weber on the West Coast Experimental Jazz Scene and the Shape of Things to Come Sun Ra Arkestra – April 2, 1981 Los Angeles – photo by Mark Weber I first got onto Mark Weber when I was researching Horace Tapscott and landed on Mark’s webpage, which included a photo essay of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra. Mark spent the first 32 years of his life in LA, and was the CODA jazz magazine LA columnist for the better part of a decade, spending a total of 18 years reporting for CODA from Cleveland, New Orleans, San Francisco, New York, Detroit and Salt Lake City. His archive of photos and essays from the period 1970 through 2005 is now lodged in the UCLA Special Collections. Mark moved to Albuquerque, NM in 1991 and hosts a jazz radio show on KUNM. I thought it would be fascinating to tap into Mark’s considerable knowledge and experience during what was a vital era of experimental jazz that set the stage for the shape of jazz after the ‘60s. TVP: You are quoted on the UCLA Collections page: It would be a major disservice to a great art form to contain it within a defined orthodoxy. Without a definition it radiates outward. Nor would I care to venture a speculation as to what jazz is. I'm not too locked in on the word "jazz" anyway. If a cat (or kitty) can play, then he can play. Jazz is not a type of music, it is not a specific form or category. Jazz is a manner in which music is played. Jazz is the way you play the music, not the music that is played. Jazz is the original Free Form. It continues to evolve. That’s a pretty astute observation. But the “way the music is played” is riddled with conventions isn’t it? And the music and the players you gravitated toward seemed to defy those conventions, didn’t they? Mark Weber (MW): There was something about the Sixties that made us all want something new --- like Ezra Pound always said “make it new” ---- So, yes, I came into the music … [Read More...]
The Curious Case Of Record Cleaning In The Quest For Sonic Perfection
The Curious Case Of Record Cleaning In The Quest For Sonic Perfection Michael Bodell, September 1, 2018 “If there exists a more effective, easy, reliable, and utterly transformative way of cleaning LPs, I have yet to hear it.” Art Dudley, Stereophile March 2015 In 1952, Bendix Corporation of Davenport, Iowa took ultrasonic cleaning from the laboratory and into production for the first time. The company experimented with ultrasonic applications through the 1950s to find tank cleaning in a fluid an optimal use, especially in industrial applications. Ultrasonic cleaning, Bendix discovered, proved highly effective in dislodging and removing surface contamination and dirt through shock waves and fluid acceleration that accompanied the collapse of acoustic cavitation bubbles. Since ultrasonic sound waves at frequencies above 20kHz penetrate deep into crevices and cavities on both small and large objects its adoption for cleaning was swift in manufacturing for medical equipment, electronics, aerospace and automobiles. Time Magazine published an article, ‘Ultrasonics: Unheard Progress' in its March 16, 1959 issue. The article highlighted ultrasonic research and applications by Bendix. The article also featured the work of select fast growing companies building ultrasonic tanks to clean anything from engine parts to electric shavers to ball-point pens to entire cash registers. One firm, Detrex Chemical Industries of Detroit, was the largest U.S. manufacturer of dry-cleaning equipment. Their Chief Engineer T.J. Kearny was quoted: “Someday we’ll be cleaning clothes with ultrasonic equipment.” The possibilities then seemed endless driving experimentation for an ever-widening set of new applications. Seven years later in November 1966 just as pop and rock ’n’ rock record sales were exploding among Baby Boomers, Richard W. Henes, a Michigan Tech schooled mechanical engineer, applied for a U.S. patent for … [Read More...]