Ephemera Archives - Page 2 of 2

Arts, related and otherwise....

Hellfire: The Jerry Lee Lewis Story, (Tosches, Nick)

February 3, 2015 by Bill Hart

There is a great endorsement that appears on the back cover of one of Ben McIntyre’s books about WWII; it reads, simply, “The best book ever written.” This book, by Nick Tosches, may actually come close. Written in a schizophrenic style which alternates between a straight narrative and the hellfire and brimstone voice of religious guilt and condemnation, Jerry Lee Lewis is reconstructed in this book as one of the first great rock and roll stars- screaming drunk, waving a handgun, at the front gates of Graceland, yelling for Elvis to come out; one-upping Chuck Berry, who... Read More

The Turning Point (Piermont, New York)

February 2, 2015 by Bill Hart

This place is a throwback in time and musical history. Located about 30 miles north of Manhattan, in the quaint and quirky village of Piermont, the club has been a draw for musicians old and new, for decades. Hubert Sumlin played here, as did Junior Wells (with Buddy Guy), along with Dave Mason, Janis Ian and Arlo Guthrie. The list of serious players that have graced the stage in just the last couple years includes David Lindley, Jim Messina, Terry Reid, Johnny Winter and James Hunter. I’ve discovered talent here that was new to me: Alexis P. Sutter, an unbelievable gospel... Read More

A Phono Bargain or Three

A Phono Bargain or Three The ever-resourceful Steve Leung (VAS) built me a Franken-Denon 103, repotted in a wooden body with a micro-ridge stylus. In my estimation, it's a phono bargain, given its performance. Wonderful tone and an advanced stylus shape. I have zero experience with stock Denon 103 cartridges, a perennial favorite among budgeteers and tweakers. This Franken-cartridge took advantage of various tweaks that have been performed by DIY'ers and retipping shops over the years-- rebodying the cartridge, using elastomers to 'pot' the cartridge motor assembly into a new body and retipping the old school conical stylus with a more modern profile. Steve did it all in one swoop for me. I didn't even have to supply the stock Denon- he sourced it and did his thing. Set up on a Kuzma 4 Point 9, which is currently mounted on my vintage Technics SP-10, I’ve now got the vintage Quad ESL … [Read More...]

A Running Experiment on Stylus Wear

A Running Experiment on Stylus Wear The Finish Line article by Mike Bodell has generated a fair amount of attention on various audio chat boards, including the Hoffman forum where I posted the article. One outgrowth of that thread was Ray Parkhurst’s decision to do a bit of informal testing, using a fresh stylus and examining wear at different time intervals. (Ray, as you may remember, helped Mike with the macrophotography in his piece). Here’s where that part of the discussion and Ray’s reports begin: https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/the-finish-line-for-your-phono-cartridge-stylus-wear-by-mike-bodell.842572/page-17#post-21738520 For the purposes of Ray’s experiment, he’s using the following set up: Empire 480LT Cartridge 0.2mil x 0.7mil Elliptical Stylus Tracking force 1.25g Technics SL-10 Turntable Obviously, there are a number of factors at play. Tracking force is pretty … [Read More...]

Change is Good- From Proto-Metal to Spiritual Jazz

Change is Good- From Proto-Metal to Spiritual Jazz Spiritual jazz is something I started to focus on in just the last couple years. More recently, I’ve been writing pieces about obscure private or small label offbeat jazz- the material fits under various genre headings, including soul jazz, free jazz and other categories that aren't always fully descriptive of the music. This isn’t as much an editorial choice as it is a reflection of my recent listening interests: the level of musicianship is high, and the production quality is often good, in part because the performances depend on non-electrified instruments and more straightforward recording techniques. This is also about the process of discovery—I had largely abandoned listening to jazz records until a few years ago when Ken Golden prompted me to start exploring ‘spiritual jazz’- a journey that took me from the Strata-East catalog … [Read More...]

Stylus Wear – Mike Bodell’s “The Finish Line for Your Phonograph Stylus”

Stylus Wear in Vinyl LP Playback- Mike Bodell’s “The Finish Line for Your Phonograph Stylus” One thing all of us who play vinyl LPs share, no matter how basic or esoteric the turntable/tonearm and phono stage, is our reliance on the phono cartridge. These intriguing little devices not only make a significant contribution to the sound quality we experience, but are the first interface with the record, functioning as a transducer to convert tiny inscriptions in the groove into an electrical signal that eventually gets equalized, amplified and re-transduced from an electrical signal to a mechanical one at the loudspeaker. The stylus is the point of contact most likely to wear due to friction and its lifespan may be far shorter than most believe. We benefit from far more information and more sophisticated tools for set-up today than in the heyday of the LP. … [Read More...]

The Biggest Record Show in Texas (and the United States)- The Austin Record Convention 2019

The Biggest Record Show in Texas (and the United States)- The Austin Record Convention 2019 Yep, stuff is big here- trucks, some people (fit, not fat), buildings, hair, BBQ, hell the entire state is big. And the Austin Record Convention, which has been operating since 1981, was pretty great this year. Lots of dealers (over 300, according to the website) occupying 40,000 sq feet of clean, well air-conditioned modern space. The show takes place in South Austin, just a stone’s throw from the river in the middle of downtown Austin. It claims to be the biggest record show in the United States. I arrived before the show opened, for the early admission. Dealers were still loading in, but I was hardly the first person through the door when it opened. I made a targeted run at one dealer’s table for a specific “free jazz” album that’s recently been on my radar and … [Read More...]