Vintage Publication Spotlight # 5

Another entry in an ongoing series devoted to ‘zines of the past.

This might be the earliest publication in my collection that I came by naturally. Meaning that I didn’t buy it off eBay several years later. Of course, I picked up lots of magazines, newspapers, and comic books before 1976, when this issue of Stage Pass came out, but somehow they didn’t survive the passage of time.

This July issue celebrated America’s bicentennial with a photo of non-Yank Paul McCartney, taken by Bill Sosin, on the front cover. The publication’s address was a P.O Box in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and the Managing Editor was Mike Freeman. Contributors included Trudi Garber, Paul Natkin, Steve Ekblad, Marianne Lah, and V. Palmisano. In addition to taking the cover shot, Sosin was in charge of graphic arts and photography, and Stage Pass even had a man in London by the name of John Smith. Anita Simeoli was listed as Representative.

A calendar on the inside cover listed upcoming concerts including The Miracles and War at Milwaukee Summerfest; Jefferson Starship and Heart at the Milwaukee Arena; Kiss, Uriah Heep, Ted Nugent, and Bob Seger at Comiskey Park; The Band and Emmmylou Harris at Washington Park; and Crosby & Nash at the Auditorium Theatre. You could also spend An Evening With Rod Stewart at the Uptown Theatre, and catch Elton John at the Chicago Stadium. The News section reported that Cliff Johnson’s new group had changed its name from American Flyer to The Thumbs (later to be d’thumbs).

This issue had feature stories on The Hounds, The Boyzz, Steve Miller, Nazareth, Jefferson Starship, and Eric Andersen. Most of the ads were for local rock clubs. Harlow’s - East India, my favorite hangout when I was a beer-swigging sout’ sider, had a good month lined up with gigs by The Hounds, Pezband, and The Thumbs. Night Gallery in Waukegan had Cheap Trick; BGinnings in Schaumburg had The Association and Shadows Of Knight; Rush West in Glen Ellyn had shows by Mad Fox and Skylady; and Camel’s Hump in Hannover Park had a double bill of Jim Peterik and the Pink Floyd tribute band Rhinestone.

The back cover of the July 1976 Stage Pass was a full page ad for The Fox Stereo 94 WJKL-Elgin, where “progressive music keeps rollin.’”

A Long Dark Road

Will he be performing on March 15th? Photo from Terry Sylvester’s website.

I was able to convince the Illinois Entertainer (the music publication I’ve been writing for since 1987) to let me do a short piece on The Hollies being inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. It appears in the March issue, under the File section.

Finding information as to which Hollies were going to be on hand to accept the honor this March 15th was nearly impossible. I did receive an e-mail from drummer Bobby Elliott, (he and guitarist Tony Hicks are the only original members who still perform with the current Hollies) explaining that the band will not be able to make the ceremony because they’ll be performing in London that night. Elliott said he and Hicks, “are happy for Graham [Nash] to collect the awards on our behalf.” A big thank you to Mr. Elliott for responding to my e-mail query.

Aside from Nash, it gets a bit sketchy as to who else will be showing up. Terry Sylvester, who replaced Nash in 1969 and left in 1981, was recently interviewed on the Strange Dave Internet radio program, and gave the impression that he was joining Nash at the ceremony, along with original lead vocalist Allan Clarke, who retired in 2000. He was kind of vague as to whether any of them would be performing, although his website notes, “Terry and The Hollies - - - will be singing two songs, yet to be decided.”

The Official Hollies website has had virtually nothing to say about the honor, other than to provide a link to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame website. As I mentioned yesterday, The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame site is where you’ll learn that Little Steven Van Zandt will be inducting The Hollies. I’m a long-time Hollies fan, but what this group doesn’t know about self-promotion and marketing could fill the London Palladium. Come on, guys, celebrate a little and maybe even print up a few t shirts.

Note: The line in my Illinois Entertainer piece that says “As bands dilute lineups but continue to tour, admission to the history books becomes a sticky issue” was an editorial addition, and was not written by me.

Slumgullion #5

Picture from The Valley Downs' MySpace page.

Another free, all-you-can-read buffet of entertainment items for a Friday.

International Pop Overthrow, the traveling showcase of power pop music, returns to Chicago on April 22nd with a seven band line-up at The Abbey Pub. It continues through May 1st with more showcases at The Abbey, as well as The Spot, Bird’s Nest, and Red Line Tap. I won’t go into too much detail here, but I’ll be doing reviews of various performances at the time of fest. The entire schedule can be seen on the International Pop Overthrow - Chicago page on Facebook, and hopefully soon at the official IPO website. There are still some TBA slots, but so far, a few of my favorites, like The Lackloves, The Goldstars, and The Handcuffs are MIA. Just a few quick recommendations: Ellis Clark & Epicycle at The Abbey on April 23rd; a 92 Degrees daytime gig at The Abbey on April 24th; an afternoon show by Hollus at The Abbey on April 25th; back-to-back sets by The Valley Downs and The Webstirs at Bird’s Nest on April 30th; and The Cliff Johnson Band at The Abbey on May 1st.

This should come as no surprise to listeners of Underground Garage, but the syndicated radio show’s wicked cool host Little Steven Van Zandt will be the person who inducts The Hollies at The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony on March 15th. Van Zandt has been a champion of the band for some time, and I can’t wait to hear his introduction. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame website also lists the presenters for the other inductees, including Barry and Robin Gibb for ABBA; Trey Anastasio for Genesis; Wyclef Jean for Jimmy Cliff; and Billie Joe Armstrong for The Stooges. The ceremony can be seen live online at http://www.fuse.tv on March 15th at 8:30 EST.

Moving on to a different Hall Of Fame, The Buckinghams, one of Chicago’s most successful bands of the 1960s, were among the 64 inductees for the 2009 Hit Parade Hall Of Fame. (Inductees from the past year are announced in January.) Formed in 2006, the Hit Parade Hall Of Fame honors recording artists who had two or more hit singles in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The nominating committee is comprised of several veteran radio personalities, including Larry Lujack and Wink Martindale. This news comes courtesy of former Buckinghams lead vocalist Dennis Tufano’s blog, which also notes that he will be performing a 4th of July concert in Arlington Heights, along with The Cryan Shames and former Shadows Of Knight lead singer Jimmy Sohns.

Vocalist-guitarist Jimmy Herter of the 1960s tribute band The New Invaders is going the solo route for a show on March 13th at the Prime Time Restaurant in Hickory Hills, Illinois. Herter is one of the six talented singers and musicians who enable The New Invaders to cover a wide selection of material, including pop, garage rock, and soul. It should be interesting to see what he comes up with for his own gig. He’ll be back with The New Invaders for a show on March 27th at the new Ballydoyle’s at the Stratford Square Mall in Bloomington.

I’ve been following Todd Wright’s quest to raise funds to fight Juvenile Diabetes through his 40x40 project in the Elevated Observations column of this blog, but the singer-songwriter has other things going on as well. He’ll be performing with a full band at Jammin’ Java in Vienna, Virginia on March 10th, and will be at The Belmont in Texas on March 17th as part of the Manic Fest Destiny. Meanwhile, Wright has reached week 23 of 40x40 by making the song “Anything At All” available to download for free at www.orangepopsongs.com That’s also the site where you can get details on how to help find a cure to Juvenile Diabetes.

45 RPM Melodies #2

A semi-regular feature about some of my favorite singles from the past.

I recently joined a new Facebook group called The Art Of The 45 RPM Label that looks like it should be a lot of fun. The home page describes its mission as, “Sharing pics and memories of the nearly lost format of the 45 rpm single.”

I’m not sure how many Trekkies are aware of the 1979 single “Where’s Captain Kirk?” but the London based band Spizzenergi definitely set its phasers on fun with this clever sci-fi punk song. Similar to the way The Timelords would later mess with fans of Doctor Who on the 1988 song “Doctorin’ The Tardis,” “Where’s Captain Kirk?” features samples of the Star Trek theme mixed into a high-speed adventure of a punter who suddenly finds himself beamed aboard the Starship Enterprise. “I looked around and wondered can this be/Or this the start of my insanity?”

He meets all of the crew except for the ship’s captain, and survives “the storm of the vortex” because “Spock pulled me through.” By the end of this strange trip, the visitor has been transformed into Kirk. “The time warp in space made a change in me/For I was the captain and the captain was me.”

The B-Side is another offbeat punk song, called “Amnesia.” Done in the style of The Buzzcocks, it’s a cautionary tale of mind control in the future. “This is all a part of the Brave New World,” lead vocalist Spizz explains, and later declares, “If you don’t agree with us, you’ll be blown away.”

Spizzenergi is currently celebrating its 30th Anniversary on its website by offering commemorative coffee mugs with the band’s logo as well as one with the cover art from “Where’s Captain Kirk?”

CD Review:The King Of Rocksprings - The Milkman Vs. The Postman Problem

Note: This review originally appeared in the Illinois Entertainer.

The King Of Rocksprings is actually vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Scott Sosebee, a veteran of indie rock bands like Japancakes and Little Red Rocket. He recorded the five-song EP The Milkman Vs. The Postman Problem with help from a variety of back-up singers and musicians. Subtitled “A Comedy In 5 Parts,” it’s not laugh out loud funny, but it’s also completely free of the weird little voices and awkward phrasing that too often passes for musical comedy these days. Sosebee mines a more subtle sense of humor with his clever portraits of the joys and frustrations of gay relationships in the big city.

On the ballad, “Kicking Dogs/Throwing Phones,” Sosebee learns his high-maintenance ex is back in town, and reflects that he doesn’t miss, “The way you disrespect me and just expect me to be okay.” Still, the trauma of seeing the guy hanging out in a club makes him physically ill. On the fast-paced “The Perfect Guy,” Sosebee envisions a utopian romance but laments, “It doesn’t bring me any joy to know you’re just a fictional boy.” The funniest, and best track on The Milkman Vs. The Postman Problem is the catchy rock song “How To Be A Stalker,” in which Sosebee shadows the object of his obsession every day, all the while knowing he’ll never work up the nerve to approach him.

Under The Influence - Part Two

Dominique Durand says she’s The Fox.

More tracks from the various artists tribute album that illustrated The Hollies’ impact on bands that followed after them.

Back in 1995, the Vancouver-based three woman band Cub was well known on the indie rock scene for its spare arrangements, catchy melodies, and adventurous vocals. On Sing Hollies In Reverse, Cub covered “You Know He Did,” a vintage gem from the days when Graham Nash, Allan Clarke, and Tony Hicks wrote under the collective pseudonym L. Ransford. Since the original was already pretty raw, it was a perfect match for the trio. Lead vocalist-bassist Lisa Marr and guitarist-vocalist Robynn Iwata had fun with the harmonies while drummer Lisa G. kept the beat, and guest musicians David Carswell and John Collins added some spice on recorder and trombone, respectively.

The cleverly named The Jigsaw Seen has proven to be a solid power pop band in its own right on CDs like Zenith, but also loves covering acts from the 1960s. They contributed tracks to Bee Gees, Left Banke, and Henry Mancini tribute CDs, and released their own full CD of covers called Songs Mama Used To Sing. Their take on The Hollies’ “On A Carousel” starts off with some carnival sound effects and dreamy vocals before kicking into a more energetic arrangement. With singer-guitarist Dennis Davison as the only vocalist, you don’t get the three part harmonies, but The Jigsaw Seen still crafts an inventive version of the Top 40 hit.

Back in the mid-1960s, The Hollies hooked up with the brilliantly funny Peter Sellers to create the catchy theme for his comedy caper, After The Fox. As far as I know, the song was never a hit single, but it is a welcome addition to Hollies compilations and rarities collections. Losers Lounge does a sexy interpretation on Sing Hollies In Reverse, with Dominique Durand of the cosmopolitan pop band Ivy moonlighting on lead vocals. Durand, singing in English and French, creates a sultry counterpart to the comedic thief originated by Sellers, engaging her back-up singers in clever dialogue while the band breezes through a peppy lounge arrangement. Speaking of Durand, we’re long overdue for a new CD from Ivy.

CD Review: Ivan & Alyosha - The Verse, The Chorus

Note: This review originally appeared in the Illinois Entertainer.

Ivan & Alyosha are actually a couple of guys from Seattle named Tim Wilson and Ryan Carbary who specialize in ornate pop songs that exhibit a definite Brit pop influence. Wilson’s gorgeously layered vocals go a long way toward making the mostly slow-moving material on The Verse, The Chorus interesting. This impressive seven-song debut EP also showcases the duo’s ability to craft irresistible melodies.

Wilson has one of those voices that’s frequently reminiscent of some well-known singer, and on the stately “Some Friend You Are,” he effectively channels Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra. “Easy To Love,” a celebration of a couple staying together through good and bad times, features a simple acoustic guitar and drum arrangement, as well as the CD’s most straightforward lyrics. The highly melodic “Once And Future” is more cryptic, with its religious and political imagery, while “Beautiful Lie” deals with a troubled relationship. Carbary’s somber piano playing, as well as some touching lyrics, help make the melancholy “You’re On To Something” one of the most intriguing tracks on The Verse, The Chorus.