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Life on (our) farm

People seem to be amused when I tell tales of my life in Manitoba, so I thought I’d post a more detailed account with photos.

In the early 1980s my parents purchased 80 acres in rural Manitoba, with an ancient log cabin on it, and we moved there.  I think we stayed for most of three years, and then again for a couple more years in the early 1990s.  Today I’ll just talk about the somewhat rustic living conditions I had the pleasure of experiencing.

The cabin was a small three-room affair built of logs and insulated with a mixture of mud, straw and manure, which was common in the pioneer days (judging by what the neighbors told us, this cabin was probably built around 1900, give or take a couple of decades).  The attic was of slightly more modern construction, having wooden shingles, a cut lumber frame and adding a finished wood ceiling to the ground floor.  It hadn’t been lived in for a long time when we arrived; the windows and doors were long gone and birds were nesting inside.

These photos, taken when we were unloading our moving truck, give some idea of what it looked like and the finish on the walls:

eva_farm_unpacking_3x5 eva_farm_birds_house_3x5 house1 eva_soleil_farm_unpacking_3x5

The first thing we (meaning my father) did to make the place habitable was to knock out all the mud insulation

house2 house3

and then fill in the gaps with modern insulation, install doors and enlarged windows, and wrap the outside walls in plywood to deflect the wind.  He also knocked out the interior walls to make it feel more spacious, so there was just one room downstairs and one up.  After all that, the house looked like this:

Here’s what the interior looked like after we moved our stuff in.

There was no electricity here, and we couldn’t afford to get it installed.  On the table to the right you can see a couple of the oil lamps we used for lighting at night.

To brighten things up, we painted the floor and wallpapered the interior with light colored wallpaper and shiny foil.  Later we got a Coleman gas lamp, which was really bright but also made a lot of noise and gave off fumes.

In the above picture you can see the oil drum stove my father made – the wood-burning kitchen stove we bought (shown in the kitchen photos below) was insufficient to heat the place in the winter, though it made great bread.  If you look closely at the photo below, you can see that we also brought in the propane cookstove from our camper – but that was only good for cooking things and not for heating.  We preferred the propane stove for summer cooking because it didn’t produce excess heat and didn’t take time to get going, but the wood stove was essential in winter.

f48n05 wood_stove

There was no water here.  The well that had once been on the property had filled itself in.  No streams, and lake and pond water is dangerous to drink.  We also couldn’t afford to have a new well drilled, so we had to truck it here ourselves in 5-gallon camping jugs, seen under the orange table in the upper photo.  Nearby water sources weren’t reliably clean, so most of the time we got our water from the town of Rossburn, which was about 25 miles away.  In the first kitchen photo above, in the corner you can see an antique washing machine that we used to store washing water, and the big camping thermos on top of it was for drinking water.  The orange pails on the floor were used to take waste water outside.

No water means no plumbing, of course, and without electricity you do not want to have to use an outhouse in the winter here.  Our toilet was a big pail with a seat on it, placed near an upstairs window with a view of the woods, and with a curtain on the indoor side for privacy.  It had to be emptied about twice a week.  Bathing involved standing in a kiddie pool and pouring water on yourself from a bucket using a cup.  Here’s the bathtub set up in the kitchen, as verified by our cat:

In winter we could melt snow for bathing water, so we didn’t have to make water runs quite so often.

The one utility we did get installed was a telephone, which was essential for my father to find work.  It was a party line, shared with our two nearest neighbors (1/2 mile and 1 mile distant, respectively).  Incoming calls signaled the intended household with distinctive rings – short ring for one, long ring for another, and two long rings for the third.  If you wanted to make a call you had to first pick up the handset to verify the line wasn’t already in use.  Occasionally a change in the line noise made us suspect that one or another of the neighbors was eavesdropping on our calls.

We also had a battery-powered radio.  CBC national radio was pretty darn good in those days, and we passed a lot of time listening to Peter Gzowski’s “Morningside” talk radio, Lister Sinclair’s “Ideas” for science news, Arthur Black’s amusing “Basic Black” op/ed show, and Jackie Farr’s weekend comedy hour “The Radio Show”.  I still think of Peter Gzowski as the voice of Canada – there’s no voice that better represents Canadian culture in my mind.

The final major improvement we made was a greenhouse, which my father built using surplus glass from a construction site in Calgary, and old lumber from a derelict barn nearby:

With this and an outdoor garden we were able to grow some of our own food.  I also grew flowers, including some giant sunflowers, one of which eventually reached a height of 14 feet.

Our sleeping area was in the attic – we usually slept in individual sleeping bags, zippered up, to help keep the bugs and mice out of our beds.  (We would occasionally find a garter snake in the house too, but they never came upstairs, thankfully.)

There was a problem with reading at night though – dozens of brown moths would work their way in through the roof shingles and throw themselves at the oil lamps we usually read by.  Not only was it startling and irritating to have moths landing on your head or book while trying to read, it was a bit of a fire hazard because sometimes they would succeed in their attempt at glory, and would fall inside the lampshade and burst info flame – and on rare occasions this heat imbalance would fracture the lampshade too.  I switched to using an electric light powered by a car battery, but that required idling the truck to recharge the battery every other day.

We stapled plastic sheets to the inside of the roof to try and keep the moths out, but it wasn’t enough.  Eventually I put my bed inside a tent in my wing of the attic, so I could read with only my face and arms poking out, and sleep with the screen closed.  Yes, I regularly slept inside a tent inside a house, for practical reasons.

My bedroom, bed-tent on the left. Note the plastic sheeting on the roof, which was not enough to keep the suicidal moths out.

It got a bit chilly here in the winter.  We only spent one full winter here, and thereafter found reasons to be elsewhere during the coldest months.  Waking up with frost crystals where your breath fell was common enough, but that one Christmas morning we woke up to find the temperature -50°C outdoors, and -30°C inside the house.  We spent most of that day either in bed with long underwear and multiple socks on, or in full winter gear with our booted feet in the oven to help warm them up.  I don’t think the interior temperature ever got above freezing that day.  This is my “get off my lawn” story for Vancouverites or foreigners who complain about it being cold even when water is still liquid.  If it had been much colder in Manitoba, we would have had to break off and melt chunks of air to breathe, ya softies!  You haven’t experienced a Canadian winter unless you’ve had to light a fire under your vehicle to thaw out the oil so you can start the engine.

There was no rural mail delivery in Manitoba then, though I gather there is now.  We had to drive 12 miles to the nearest town, Angusville, to pick up our mail and do our banking.  That was a town of about 200 people, and all it had was the post office, bank, a cafe, two mechanics, a small general store and a hotel that wasn’t rebuilt after it burned down.   Most of those services are gone now.

We got most of our supplies from the town of Russell, which was about 30 miles in the opposite direction from Rossburn.  We made a weekly trip to Russell to get groceries, household goods and to do our laundry, and to entertain me – this town was large enough to have a pizza joint with attached arcade, a pool hall with arcade games, an indoor theater and a drive-in theater.  Here’s what the main street looked like back then:

There were two large grocery stores, a clothing store, a  Sears catalog outlet, a hospital, a small library, two hardware stores, a drugstore and a couple of passable restaurants – all the luxuries you could want.  I tried to spend as much time as possible in the arcade because it was the only chance I got to play video games.

Thanks to its proximity to a valley with hills suitable for skiing, Russell has managed to play up tourism enough to avoid the zombification that has claimed most prairie towns.  I returned there recently on my cross-Canada road trip, to see how things had changed.  Since we left, our cabin has suffered a lot of deterioration.  Animals have broken in through the decaying roof, and the interior is now a disaster zone.  I wouldn’t want to go in there without a hazmat suit.  Here’s what it looks like from the outside now:

The green thing on the right is the wooden camper my father built, which you might have noticed him removing from the back of the truck in one of the photos at the top.  We lived in this now-stationary camper while fixing up the house.  The camper is now a giant camper-shaped ant colony.

Overall, despite the rustic conditions, I rather enjoyed my time in Manitoba.  It was certainly character-building, anyway.  Now, as an exercise for the reader, imagine spending your late tweens and early teens in a place where the nearest other kids were 1.5 miles away and you didn’t see them at school because you were homeschooled.  And there was no TV or video games or computers, because no electricity.  Radio, music cassettes, books, comics and Lego were what I had.  Plus the great outdoors, my family and pets, of course.

I haven’t talked at all about why we moved here, what we did while here, what there was to do in the area, who we interacted with, or why we left.  Maybe some other time.

To give you the lay of the land: Map

Vacation photos

As promised, here are links to some of my better photos from my recent Hawaii / San Francisco vacation.

Akaka Falls and Hilo – mostly interesting plants.

Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park – volcanic landscapes.

Miscellaneous Hawaii stuff.

Photos of the transit of Venus.

Miscellaneous San Francisco stuff.

The Golden Gate Bridge.

The Computer History Museum.

San Francisco

After our week in Hawaii, Frink and I spent two days in San Francisco on our way home, to see a few of the major sights and case the place out for a possible return visit later.

Our plans got a little upset when the Testicle Squeezing Authority held Frink back at the airport in Hawaii – apparently they had never seen a keyboard in anyone’s luggage before.  As a result he arrived at a ridiculous hour of the morning and in need of sleep, so we got off to a late start on our first day.

We had a list of restaurants we wanted to try, so the first order of business was breakfast at Gott’s Roadside at the Ferry Building downtown.  Their burgers and shakes are pretty darn good but not better than what we can get at home.

After that and a bit of walking around downtown, we headed out to see the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was nice – that’s all I can say about it really.  It’s a big, long bridge with some nice art deco detailing on it, and a plethora of anti-suicide measures.  I guess if you’re in San Francisco and you want to off yourself, it’s pretty obvious where to go.

Unfortunately that was pretty much it for the first day.  By the time we finished at the bridge and got back downtown, it was past 10pm and we couldn’t find any restaurants that were open.  I wasn’t having any luck finding anything with UrbanSpoon or Google Maps on my phone, so we just went back to the hotel.

The next day was a smashing success though.  Our main event for San Francisco was to go to the Computer History Museum down in Mountain View, and that we did.

I love museums, but this was the most enjoyable one ever.  It tweaked all my computer nerd nerve endings with exhibits on early mechanical computing, punched cards and the census, mainframes and minicomputers, memory technologies over the ages, robotics, Lisp machines, exotic I/O devices and of course video games.  We spent five hours in there because that’s all the time we had – I could easily spend five days studying the displays in detail.  Highly recommended.

Apparently we passed within 20 miles of The Woz while there, according to his twitter feed.

Riding the CalTrain to and from the museum, it was a bit surreal to realize just how many famous technology companies and tech-heavy locales are in the area – Menlo Park, Redwood Shores, Cupertino etc.

After the museum we went back downtown to try and score some good eats.  We ended up going to a highly recommended (and deservedly so) Mexican place in the Mission called La Taqueria.  I had a chorizo burrito, and man was it ever delicious.  Then we walked over to Mitchell’s for some ice cream.  The place was packed but the wait was worth it – it instantly became one of my top three ice cream parlours by virtue of its rich creamery goodness.

The next day I had lunch with friends from Vancouver who had moved down here recently, then got on a plane home.

San Francisco is a really nice city – it feels like Vancouver but is much prettier.  I definitely need to go back and see more.

Overall I really enjoyed this vacation.  Everything went really smoothly (for me, at least) and I did everything I wanted to do.  Got some relaxation in, had some great food, saw some good sights, and most importantly got out of my routine and had some new experiences.

Whereas my last vacation (my road trip across Canada last year) was about rehashing my past, this year’s trip was chock full of new experiences and new records for me:

  • Farthest west I’ve ever been: 157° 57′ W.
  • Farthest into the past (GMT-10) I’ve ever been.
  • Farthest south I’ve ever been: 19° 19’N.
  • Doubled the number of states I’ve visited, to four.
  • I realized I actually kind of like flying, so long as I can see out the window and there’s no turbulence.  It’s still cheating as a form of travel, but driving to Hawaii by road is admittedly a little difficult.
  • First swim in 30 years.
  • First swim in the ocean.
  • First time snorkeling.
  • First time in the US and A since 2004.
  • First shaved ice treat.
  • First burrito.
  • First malasada.
  • First visit to an active volcano.
  • Highest altitude I’ve ever been on the ground – 9000 ft.
  • First time in a tropical place.

Overall: A great success!

I just returned from my vacation to Hawaii and San Francisco.  It was a delightful trip.  I’ll be posting photos in a week or so, after I’ve had a chance to go through them and clean them up.

I spent a week in Hawaii, renting a condo for a week at the Vista Waikoloa Beach Resort, which I highly recommend doing – it’s cheaper than a resort hotel, quieter, and the suites are large and comfortable.  I went for this option because my friend Phloem has a place in the same building, so this made coordination easy.

Here’s what the view from my lanai looked like.  It’s adjacent to a golf course, hence the green.  If I remember right, that’s Mauna Loa in the background.

The first day in Hawaii I was a bit jet-lagged and didn’t do much except sleep and go for a swim in the pool (first time I’ve been swimming in about 30 years).  At the end of the day my other friend Frink had arrived from Calgary, and we were ready to rock.

The next day we drove into the city of Kailua-Kona to do some eating and shopping.  We had an excellent burrito at Killer Tacos, a place tourists aren’t likely to find because it’s tucked away in a semi-industrial zone.

On the same block is the largest used bookstore I’ve ever been in, with a stock comparable to the sum of the excellent Fair’s Fair chain in Calgary.  Frink and I spent a couple of hours in here and found a few treasures.

That evening we went for a swim in the ocean at a pretty beach near the resort.

The third day was an all-day trip to see the active volcano of Kilauea, on the other side of the Big Island.  On the way, Phloem took us to Tex Drive-In for malasadas.  If you haven’t had these before, you really should.  They’re like a sugar-coated, creme-filled donut made with sweet bread, and served hot.  You have to eat them immediately – don’t even consider warming them up later.  Amazingly delicious.  Possibly the best pastry ever.

The big island of Hawaii has quite an assortment of biomes, the most notable division being between dry and rainy.

The east side of the island looks like this: old lava that has been colonized by low, hardy drought-resistant plants.

The west side is more like this – tropical rainforest.  The division is so marked that in passing through the town of Waimea you literally drive in from arid scrubland on one side and come out in verdant farmland on the other, and it’s not unusual for half the town to get rained on while the other half is in the sun.

We stopped at Akaka Falls to see the tall waterfall and the lush vegetation, including the first time I’ve seen a free-growing banyan tree – huge!

It’s hard to tell from this photo just how much biomass is in this tree.  Here’s a shot of Phloem posing near some of the buttress roots:

I’ll post more photos of the plant life and the waterfall in a few days.

We stopped for lunch in the city of Hilo, but the intended local dining option was closed on Sunday, so we ended up not eating anything notable.

Then it was on to the volcano.

The volcano was kind of sulking when we were there – the active lava floes were not easily accessible and we couldn’t get a direct view of the open lava in the caldera.  But there were still lots of interesting things to see.

For example, this older crater on the edge of the main one.  The scale of these landscapes is something we’re not used to seeing.  Those walls are 40 stories high and very steep.  As an attempt to show the distance to the floor, here’s a visual aid made from a wide-angle and a telephoto shot of the same scene:

Click to view full size.

We also walked through an old lava tube and saw some lava-devastated and recovering landscape – starkly beautiful.  Again, pictures coming soon.

We hung around until after dark so we could at least see the glow of the lava in the caldera lighting up the smoke column:

After that it was a long after-dark drive home, punctuated with some ono grinds at Ken’s House of Pancakes.  This place has an incredible variety of food – check out the menu on the website.  Pancakes seem to be a thing in this area, coming big, thick and numerous.  They were delicious but I barely finished half my plate.

The next day was my first time snorkeling.  It took me some time to get used to the snorkel – at first it kept setting off my gag reflex.  I also had a really hard time overcoming my panic at submerging my face, but using a flotation device helped a lot.  We saw a middling-sized sea turtle and lots of humuhumunukunukuapua’a (I love that name) among other colorful things.  Afterward I had my first shaved ice treat and we had a pretty decent locally-grown burger at Ultimate Burger.

The fifth day was the main event – the 2012 transit of Venus, which is the event that led us to schedule this trip to this place at this particular time.  It was the last chance to watch Venus pass in front of the sun for the next 105 years, and we wanted to do it from up at the Mauna Kea observatory.  Coincidentally, there was also a partial eclipse of the moon the previous night that I didn’t know about.

We spent the first part of the day making our own solar filters so we could photograph the sun without ruining our cameras or eyes, and we watched the first part of the transit from our home base. Then we drove up the mountain to watch the conclusion and do some after-sunset stargazing.  I ended up not going to the summit – we stopped at the visitors’ center which is at 9,000 feet, and I found it very difficult to breathe there – just walking on level ground was cause for rapid panting.  I probably could have survived a brief visit to the actual observatory at 14,000 feet, but it would not have been very pleasant.

More photos later, but here’s one of my pictures of the transit.  The dark spot at lower right is Venus, and I believe the smaller spots near the center are sunspots. Of course other people got much better photos of the event than I did, but I’m thrilled that I was able to get even this much with a mere 200mm lens and hand-made filters.

The final day in Hawaii we mostly rested and reflected, though Phloem did take us for a walk over to the nearby resort hotel to show us what it was like.

It’s beyond belief – three huge buildings joined by a train, with a private lake and beach, and a pool with dolphins in it that you can pay to swim with.  It’s like a condensed microcosm of Hawaii in a way – pretend you were there without ever leaving the hotel.  I’m glad I didn’t stay here.

Next time I’ll post about the two-day San Francisco leg of our trip.  But I do want to note this:

Staring out the airplane window for hours while flying over the Pacific to and from Hawaii, I noticed that there really is an awful lot of water in the ocean.  I never viscerally grasped its scale before.  The same is true for the atmosphere – cruising at 36,000 feet, looking way down on clouds that seem so impressive from the ground, and not being able to distinguish the large waves on the surface from each other really drives home that even though the atmosphere is relatively thin, there is still a huge amount of space in it for things that fly.

Backing up a bit

I actually started (and, in a sense, finished) this road trip back in June, when I took a short vacation at Long Beach.  Living in Vancouver doesn’t put me on the west coast proper, so I thought it would be more correct to film my timelapse movie starting and ending at Tofino.  It also served as a road test for my new timelapse recording technique.

But more importantly, Long Beach is where I began.  In 1971, my parents were living with a small group of hippies in Schooner Cove, which is just south of Tofino.  My parents had built themselves a tree house out of driftwood, and that’s where I was conceived.  I went back to try and find my spawn point.

Schooner Cove is still somewhat isloated.  There is no road and no established trail going there anymore; you have to walk on the beach, and high tide cuts off access so you have to be careful about timing.

There is no sign of former habitation; the houses that were there were removed, and everything else is overgrown.  I believe I did locate the old trail head that led to my parents’ treehouse though – the house would have been a short walk in here, just to the left of the stream:

And here is the view of Schooner Cove looking south from this point:

Beautiful.  No sign of life.  Just the sound of the wind and the waves.  I could totally see camping out here.

See that rock just left of center?  My father crashed his Morris Minor there.  He was driving home across the beach when a wave swamped the car, and he wasn’t able to extricate it.  He had to abandon it, and the waves tore it apart.  When I was young (12, I think) my mother brought me back here and there was still a lump of rust there that would have been the engine block.  No sign of it this visit though – if anything remains, it was under five feet of sand.

I love Long Beach, but my memories of it are recent – a few from that visit when I was 12, and most from visits in the last few years.  My parents left the area before I was born – living on a boat north of Sechelt for a while, then around the time of my birth living in Vancouver.  I was born at St. Paul’s hospital downtown Vancouver, where by a sad coincidence my friend Erik Torstensson was treated just before he passed away a couple of years ago.

Coming back toward Vancouver, I passed through Coombs, home of the unjustifiably world-famous “place with the goats on the roof”.  It’s just a tourist gift shop with that one gimmick, but I lived there for a while.  I think it was related to the Long Beach visit when I was 12.  A friend of the family had offered my mother a job staffing a booth at the tourist mall going up next to the goat place.  Here’s what it looks like now:

It wasn’t as well developed back then though – still early days, with just wood boardwalks on mud.  Anyway, we lived in a camping trailer next to the goat place while this business tried to take flight, and I was bored out of my mind.  Thankfully there was an arcade here at the time, and I spent much time playing Trojan (still have the first-level music memorized), but money was extremely tight and I really had to beg for that occasional quarter.  I was really glad I had brought a few of my favorite comics with me.

After a month, things didn’t seem to be picking up and no money was coming in, so we bailed out.  It kind of soured our relationship with that family for a while, but before we left we stayed with them for a a few days and I got to play with their Coleco Adam (only time I ever got my paws on one) and that was also the first time I got to play the excellent Pitfall II on the Atari VCS – spent many hours on that game.

And here’s the result of a little program I cooked up to correlate my GPS track with my iTunes recently played list, and mark up my travel maps with the music I was listening to at the time:

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Become a strong warrior and gain enough experience by fighting a bunch of skilled fighters. Unleash your true strength and prove that you are worthy to be called as the arena champion.
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Archive for the ‘CBS’ Category

Wilbert Harrison One Man Band / Prince La La / Derek Martin

Monday, December 30th, 2013

THE SUE SOUL BROTHERS / Various Artists:

Listen: Let’s Work Together (Parts 1 & 2) / Wilbert Harrison One Man Band

Side 2:

Listen: She Put The Hurt On Me / Prince La La

Listen: Daddy Rollin’ Stone / Derek Martin

Just check my previous two posts. Not hard to guess, I’ve been picking through the various artists section of my wall shelf.

Weirdly enough, this is usually a head scratching process. I don’t do it often, but every time seems to unearth a multi-artist record, usually an EP, that I’d never really noticed before, suddenly falling into the ‘where on earth did I get this from’ category. And honestly, it happens every single time. One source, the UK weeklies, who for a few years there during the late 80′s/early 90′s were including free EP’s, whether it be NME, Music Week or Melody Maker, with each issue. I religiously grabbed every one and stuck them in that VA section for a rainy day. The entire chunk now being a treasure trove of both obscure and focus tracks.

When the Ensign label got all hot and bothered about the Sue Records catalog, which I’m guessing they could suddenly access via their 1983 Island distribution deal, they issued a series of four song EP’s religiously honoring the labels iconic history. Some were single artist compilation EP’s by Ike & Tina Turner or Inez & Charlie Foxx. Others were theme centric: SUE INSTRUMENTALS, THE SUE SOUL SISTERS and this, the latter’s partner, THE SUE SOUL BROTHERS. I played all three in the past few hours and basically did a blindfold drill to choose today’s 31 Days Of December – All EP’s post.

THE SUE SOUL BROTHERS, most likely by design, builds around much covered songs from Sue’s UK catalog. And there were many songs to choose from here, not forgetting, the Sue UK label issued the American Sue releases along with various blues and RnB singles from small and indie US labels. Initially, Juggy Murray, who owned Sue in the US was reportedly furious with Chris Blackwell and Guy Stevens, the day to day guy at Island/Sue in London. Apparently, neither had cleared the idea of picking up product from other US companies and slapping a Sue label on it for the UK.

As a result, other than the bothersome bad blood, Sue’s British catalog and discography rivaled the majors like Decca’s, who bolstered their output and image by repping Atlantic, Monument, Tribe, RCA, Coral and others in Britain. Island became the little indie that could, even harder in the 60′s, when swimming against the tide of Decca, CBS, EMI and Pye was near impossible.

And so, the team at Ensign picked some solid originals here that went on to become widely popular as covers. Loads of bands, including The Who and John’s Children released Derek Martin’s ‘Daddy Rollin’ Stone’ during the Mod era.

Canned Heat, blues experts themselves, took Wilbert Harrison’s ‘Let’s Work Together’ Top 40 in 1970, delaying their version to give the original a chance to sell and reach #32 on BILLBOARD. In a loose full circle chain of events, John Mayall chose to record Wilbert Harrison’s ‘Let’s Work Together’ for his fantastic, and I do mean fantastic, Island album, A SENSE OF PLACE from 1990.

Georgie Fame & Alan Price

Monday, May 21st, 2012

Listen: Rosetta / Fame & Price, Price & Fame Together

By the time these two guys teamed up, they’d outgrown their hardcore, grimy beginnings, especially having to play the late, late, late night white blues and soul clubs that typified 60′s Mod. Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames and The Alan Price Set respectively had done their time in the all-nighter trenches of London’s Flamingo, and other even nastier spots around the UK. Miraculously, even though they were having mainstream hit singles, their labels allowed both to record what each clearly preferred, jazz funk and RnB.

But I guess hits meant tasting success and some money, so by the early 70′s, both Georgie Fame and Alan Price were involved with televsion, films and soundtracks. Somewhere in that mix, a suggested musical partnering reflecting their apparent camaraderie actually took way.

Great plan. Their voices sounded superb together, and the first single released as Fame And Price, Price And Fame Together landed them a #11 UK hit in ’71.

Fuck was I pissed ‘Rosetta’ never got airplay in America. Initially, the single was included in a pile gotten off Harry Fagenbaum, the Syracuse University college radio rep for Warner Brothers. Despite Harry being another Anglophile, he hardly mentioned it. Supposedly, this record was just too adult and schmaltz for him. He wrongly assumed I would agree.

Can recall vividly returning home that Sunday evening, having spent the day trolling the SU campus record shops, then hanging out at Harry’s dorm, listening to The Pretty Things GET THE PICTURE album. Seriously, we played it at least twice, as I still hadn’t scored my copy. That was a damn hard one to get even in ’71. Imports were starting to become more common, but not older titles. So I’d always run straight for it in his wall shelf.

I remember him trying to edge in Ron Nagle’s BAD RICE album, and Deep Purple’s ‘Strange Kind Of Woman’ 7″, both of which he’d just given me. My logic was to promise I’d listen once home, but in the meantime, let’s hear The Pretty Things. And I did check those out that night, as well John & Beverly Martyn’s ‘Primrose Hill’, yet it was ‘Rosetta’ that hands down stole the thunder.

Acid Gallery / The Outer Limits / Roy Wood

Friday, April 6th, 2012

Dance Round The Maypole / Acid Gallery

Listen: Dance Round The Maypole / Acid Gallery

It was December 2000, and I was stranded in England for a few days of Sony meetings. Actually, I was jamming to get home on the Friday, when early that morning I got a call from Will Botwin, then president at Columbia, asking very nicely if I could stay through Monday night for an Emiliana Torrini showcase. Will was always the greatest guy, awesome boss. How do you say no? I mean, he could have just told me I needed to do it. Period. But it was never his way.

So I suddenly found myself with three full days/nights on my hands. Reading the latest MOJO on the flight over, I was annoyed to be missing The Roy Wood Christmas Extravaganza Tour. I should have juggled the trip to take it in but by then it was too late. Now that I was there for a few days extra, I rechecked his schedule.

Sure enough, that evening Roy Wood was a couple hours away, in Wolverhampton. Jackie Hyde in the touring/artist relations department at Sony got me tickets and passes God love her. And I was on the 6 pm train heading north I think, alone. No one was interested in joining me. Grass is always greener.

I get there around 8, and decided to try speaking with Roy Wood. The band/crew etc are all around and tell me Roy has gone down the road to the pub. Ok. I wander off down the wet, deserted streets and find said establishment. Walk in, there propped up against the bar is a lone Roy Wood, nursing a pint. I proceed over, and no problem, he’s as friendly as I’d hoped. All talk about the past welcomed. Really fun guy.

I was always curious about the Acid Gallery single. He wrote and produced it, but it sure did sound like The Move to me. Was it? He confirmed his participation but no, it wasn’t The Move. Instead it was “some guys who were on Deram back then, name escapes me”.

Well was it The Syn, or The Eyes Of Blue, um, Tintern Abbey?

“No, these guys had a hit a few years later with ‘Yellow River’ “.

Bingo: The Outer Limits.

“That’s them” he confirms.

Just One More Chance / The Outer Limits

Listen: Just One More Chance / The Outer Limits

Actually The Outer Limits changed their name to Christie and had that smash with ‘Yellow River’. Main writer in both bands was Jeff Christie and he’d originally written ‘Yellow River’ for The Tremeloes but decided to record it himself after they dragged their feet. The rest is history, I guess. I loved that Outer Limits single, ‘Just One More Chance’ at the time, summer ’67.

Great Train Robbery / The Outer Limits

Listen: Great Train Robbery / The Outer Limits

But the follow up, ‘Great Train Robbery’, holy whatever, talk about British sounding. And on Immediate’s subsidiary imprint, Instant. Even better. Now why Immediate needed another in house label is pretty funny actually. Still very nice label and stock sleeve from Andrew Loog Oldham.

The Roy Wood Christmas Extravaganza was a total treat that night. Twelve piece, all female band. Sounding full scale, Phil Spector live. Reproducing all those Wizzard hits flawlessly. Roy dressed in black teddy boy jacket, purple lapels, purple streaks in the infamous hair and a lavender Strat. Once a star, always a star.

The finales, ‘Blackberry Way’ and ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday’ being sung along loudly by a full theater audience with fake snow falling on the stage, well it doesn’t get much better.

One last closing bit to the Roy Wood pub conversation:

Will you fill out my juke box tab?

“Sure. No problem”.

The Move Blackberry Way Jukebox Tab

Above: Jukebox Tab signed by Roy Wood

Adam Ant

Friday, March 9th, 2012

Listen: Puss’n Boots / Adam Ant

True story. After playing this twice earlier, not to mention regularly for the past twenty eight or so years, I suddenly, for the first time, thought how much ‘Puss’n Boots’ reminded me of Phil Collins’ ‘In The Air Tonight’. Never before had the similarity occurred to me. Turns out he produced it. Man, did I feel like a dunce.

Nice one there Phil Collins. Despite those massive drum sounds spinning their dated wheels in the early 80′s, they sure do work perfectly for ‘Puss’n Boots’. This song is just full of hooks, as in both traditional songwriting hooks and production tricks.

Plus I do love all the sneaky metaphors that lyrically weave in and out behind the prominent lead vocal parts. Listen closely next time, you’ll see what I mean.

Although a #5 in Britain, I guess ‘Puss’n Boots’ was thematically too English for US programmers. They used to run so hot and cold that bunch. Now their power base has been zapped from under their stubborn musical policies and no one cares, but at the time, I recall being mortified by it’s lack of attention here, despite his overall success streak.

The Love Affair

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

LoveAffairSheSmilesSweetlyUKA, The Love Affair, Steve Ellis, Mike Smith, Mike Vernon, Date, Decca, CBS, Philip Goodhand-Tait

Listen: She Smiled Sweetly / The Love Affair

It’s happened hundreds of times through the years. Label takes chance on an act, issues a single or two with no results, then moves on. Same act gets another deal, sometimes only months later and blows up. Around this period, David Bowie bounced from label to label, Marc Bolan too, The Herd, a bunch of them. On the quick path were The Love Affair. Probably signed by Decca in-house blues expert Mike Vernon or assigned to him for production, a good cover choice (Jagger/Richards ‘She Smiled Sweetly’) was released almost simultaneously with The Rolling Stones’ own rendition from BETWEEN THE BUTTONS on February 10, 1967. By the end of the year, the band had moved on to CBS and that label’s debut ‘Everlasting Love’ entered the UK charts in the first few days of January ’68, ending up at #1. Someone had egg on their face, including me.

I was so excited to see a copy in a local department store, and without a penny in my pocket, I decided to shoplift it. Got caught, almost arrested. Threatened to call my folks, which they didn’t, but it did cure me of that one.

LoveAffairRainbowUKPSFront, The Love Affair, Steve Ellis, CBS, Date

LoveAffairRainbowPS, The Love Affair, Steve Ellis, CBS, Date

Listen: Rainbow Valley / The Love Affair

‘Everlasting Love’, like all their singles, was a cover, this one originally released by Robert Knight. Even U2 have taken a stab at it, but no one has one upped that version by The Love Affair.

The followup, ‘Rainbow Valley’, was just as powerful. In particular, it continued to make obvious the strength of lead vocalist Steve Ellis. I’m sure I’ve read many times that this patch of singles, all Top 10 in the UK, were indeed Steve Ellis with studio musicians, a persistant trend in the 60′s. Probably to great frustration, the calculated pop made the band member cringe but who can say.

LoveAffairDayWithoutUKA, The Love Affair, Steve Ellis, Mike Smith, Mike Vernon, Date, Decca, CBS, Philip Goodhand-Tait

LoveAffairDayWithoutUS, The Love Affair, Steve Ellis, Mike Smith, Mike Vernon, Date, Decca, CBS, Philip Goodhand-Tait

Listen: A Day Without Love / The Love Affair

New producer Mike Smith had a simple formula down, which with ‘A Day Without Love’, now included recording the songs of non-member, singer/writer Philip Goodhand-Tait.

LoveAffairBringingUSA, The Love Affair, Steve Ellis, Mike Smith, Mike Vernon, Date, Decca, CBS, Philip Goodhand-Tait

Listen: Bringing On Back The Good Times / The Love Affair

What seemed to rub the more hip, progressive rock fan of the day wrong is exactly what attracted me to The Love Affair. Big, over the top productions, with loud brass and orchestration, almost Motown-esque, and a perfect showcase for that great Steve Ellis voice.

Nina Hagen

Saturday, October 29th, 2011

Listen: Zarah / Nina Hagen

She never sat in my office at Columbia. Nina Hagen was before my time, but during Howard’s. I don’t recall his memories being flattering. Not unlike her records, she was apparently rather primal.

Her vocal styled in that walking dead voice always took the prize for best dynamic moment on any track, although I’d have to say Mike Thorne was best at dragging that out of her on NUNSEXMONKROCK from ’82, one album and one year prior to ‘Zarah’. In fact, my all time favorite Nina Hagen track from said album, ‘Born In Xixax’, never graced a 7″. Luckily, ‘Zarah’ came in a close second.

Good call on someone’s part paring her with Giorgio Moroder, and, the 80′s version of today’s Mark Ronson fifteen minutes of fame producer, Keith Forsey. The track is superb, soldiering along proudly in the shadow of Sparks ‘Beat The Clock’, another Giorgio Moroder production from three years earlier.

Man, remember when records began to sound really expensive? Looking back, ‘Zarah’ was totally in that fast lane.

Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express

Saturday, May 28th, 2011

Straight Ahead / Brian Auger's Oblivion Express

Listen: Straight Ahead / Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express
Straight Ahead / Brian Auger's Oblivion Express

Always the ultimate player, Brian Auger seems like he was a pro in the cradle. Go back to his earliest recordings, prior to the big success he had with ‘This Wheel’s On Fire’, billed as Julie Driscoll/Brian Auger & The Trinity. You’ll see his virtuosity was fully formed.

In the early 70′s, after Julie Driscoll went her solo route, he toured the world, initially as Brian Auger & The Trinity, quickly morphing into Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express, gaining US momentum the whole while. Sharing bills with every type of band (Bruce Springsteen, The Allman Brothers Band., Roland Kirk, Santana, Chick Corea, Led Zeppelin, Earth Wind & Fire, Kiss, Herbie Hancock), they provided just the right amount of high brow musicianship to ecstatically turn both jazz and rock audiences on.

Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, their many records fell pretty short on US airplay, but sold well nonetheless.

Fast forward to the present, Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express is still playing, dare I say better than ever. I sat smack dab in front of him a few years back, when he shared a bill with an equally stunning Savoy Brown at B.B. King’s in New York, and you could hardly see anything but a blur from those hands.

They just don’t make ‘em like Brian Auger anymore. Sorry.

Al Kooper

Sunday, January 9th, 2011

Listen: The Monkey Time / Al Kooper
The Monkey Time / Al Kooper

It’s safe to say Al Kooper is a soul fan from way back. Look into his early history of obscure singles. They’re as vital as the well known triumphs, most of which wouldn’t exist without him.

For instance, had he not helped Bob Dylan over his difficulty with ‘Like A Rolling Stone’, well who knows what might have happened, or more likely not.

The effortless version goes to prove the occasional unsung plaudits don’t come his way often enough. I can’t imagine it’s easy, or more accurately, possible to fake this one.

For the record, it’s basically Blue Mink’s rhythm section here, and both Claudia Lennear and Linda Lewis doing those female bv’s.

Saturday, January 1st, 2011

Listen: Strong Me Strong / Yellowman
Strong Me Strong / Yellowman

By the 80′s, reggae seemed to race forward technologically a little too fast, like Jamaica suddenly discovered electricity or something. The deep analog records from the mid 70′s got very syndrum and synth heavy by the end of the decade. Just about every followup to classic albums by Max Romeo, Justin Hines, Aswad or anything involving Sly & Robbie reeked with a shimmer that now is horribly dated.

‘Strong Me Strong’ was indeed so strong, those occasional sonic trappings couldn’t begin to destroy it’s greatness. A pretty brave record for 1984, given that slamming reggae wasn’t exactly in the pocket, or maybe it’s just what was needed. Good signing Howard.

Yellowman’s one off with CBS/Columbia meant white, alternative kids could take notice and rub shoulders with roots music all over again, like in ’77. Yellowman toured the US, playing the exact same venues as the college radio hot indie bands. Not a jaw was left shut once he finished mopping those stages.

Listen: Dub Me Strong / Yellowman
Dub Me Strong / Yellowman

This dub version B side is lightweight but fun, a difficult one to find anywhere but on the original vinyl (I think). Bill Laswell and Material do many things well, but obviously not dubbing. Worth having as a period snapshot though, and still pretty great loud.

Paul Young & The Family

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

Listen: Love Of The Common People / Paul Young & The Family PaulYoungCommon.mp3

Howard posted this off with a batch of new releases back in ’82. He worked at Columbia then, having transferred from CBS London to New York. Old habits die hard: he still looked after the UK roster Stateside. I think this was one of the British acts he picked up via an inter-company option, thereby releasing Paul Young & The Family in the US.

As in their homeland, this first version of ‘Love Of The Common People’ didn’t make much noise, and remained a non-chart single. It was of some interest due to Rico finding a seemingly new home as the group’s trombonist. Anything Rico touches just works perfectly. His first solo album, ’76′s MAN FROM WAREIKA is a must have.

Questionable pictures can be harmful. Despite the contemporary ska image of the band, Paul Young’s shirt on the single sleeve really put me off. He looked like a bad stylist’s mistake. I did like the record, but felt a little unhip admitting so.

Listen: Love Of The Common People / Paul Young PaulYoungCommonRemix.mp3

Bottom line is a great voice and equally great song are hard to keep down, despite all the sonic tricks of the moment being applied. That’s how I’d describe the remix, which revived the original single and thankfully kicked it into the charts. Well deserved.

Sounding a bit too glossy in hindsight, it’s down to The Belle Stars African background vocal style and ever dependable Rico saving the day. And of course, Paul Young’s (now sans The Family in typical major label Columbia Records ruthless style) voice.

The Tremeloes

Sunday, October 17th, 2010

Listen: (Call Me) Number One / The Tremeloes TremeloesCallMe.mp3

Never liked Liverpool bands. No, that’s wrong. Never liked Merseybeat. I may be mixing up adjectives here though. Sorry Liverpool. Most of The Swinging Blues Jeans singles are good, particularly ‘Don’t Make Me Over’ and ‘Rumours, Gossip, Words Untrue’. They were Merseybeat, I guess. And if The Applejacks or The Cryin’ Shames fall into Merseybeat, then they shouldn’t.

A band that did get that Merseybeat tag were Brian Poole & The Tremeloes. Never followed them, yet once The Tremeloes lost Brian Poole, things got way more updated in keeping with the times. They co-existed alongside the formula pop The Love Affair and The Marmalade, which was fine by me.

It was surprising to hear their first few singles all over the US airwaves and see them in the charts. As time went by (’68 – ’70), the quality of releases stayed high, but the US airplay didn’t. Without reason or logic, The Tremeloes were forced into my ‘I’m pissed off these bands don’t get radio play’ column.

I could name a few of their singles that could have been, should have been. And I’m surprised Epic didn’t use their muscle to turn the momentum from downward to upward. But they didn’t.

‘(Call Me) Number One’ should have been just that. Great Mike Smith production and when the song delivered one more hook than most other songs can muster, another freaking one swings round at you. Try counting them yourself.

The Marmalade

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

Listen: Baby Make It Soon / The Marmalade MarmaladeBabyMake.mp3

Apparently, The Marmalade’s ‘I See The Rain’ was one of Jimi Hendrix’s favorite records. Their most collectable release, considered a psych classic, on and on.

All good, a deserved single. Having released a few musically revered but consumer ignored 7′s, UK CBS decided they’d had enough. Onto their pop assembly line The Marmalade went.

Perfect. The more manufactured or schlock, as one friend arrogantly puts it, the singles became, the more I liked them. Indeed, pop/schlock 60′s and 70′s UK singles in general – especially non-hits by nobodies get me excited every time.

‘Baby Make It Soon’ was probably a song the band hated and most likely didn’t even play on. Who cares….it’s a period classic, and many a person’s guilty pleasure. That, I would bet my life on.

Definitely a keeper.

Thelonious Monk

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

Thelonious, Thelonious Monk, CBS

Listen: Hackensack / Thelonious Monk TheloniousHackensack.mp3

Phil and I spent the night trolling through boxes of 7′s looking for fun stuff to play this Sunday during Lord Warddd’s Happy Sundays at Brooklyn Bowl residency. As always, even if a record clearly won’t work for a particular dj event, sometimes you still need to listen. A Thelonious Monk UK single from ’62 being the perfect example. We agreed, given that neither of us are jazz fans and probably don’t know good from great, there are occasionally pleasant ones to listen to every so often. And we also agreed this was just that.

An edited version from some album, it makes for a very pleasant 2:58 on the ears, and doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. Like all jazz singles, one of the great things about them – is that they’re pressed up as singles at all.

Mott The Hoople

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

Honaloochie Boogie / Mott The Hoople

Honaloochie Boogie / Mott The Hoople

Listen: Honaloochie Boogie / Mott The Hoople MottHonaloochieBoogie.mp3

‘Honaloochie Boogie’ was the first record I heard upon arriving in London, June ’73. My Aunt Tess collected me at Heathrow, we went back to hers, where she prepared me a traditional English fry-up, and then went to meet Uncle Mick at the pub. It was playing when we walked in. I was more excited about racing toward the jukebox than catching up with my relatives. Very wrong.

I knew of the single, it was one of many I planned to hear/acquire while there. Things were off to a great start.

Prior, I had really tried to love Mott The Hoople. Those four albums on Atlantic (Island in the UK) were a bit of a struggle for me – they just felt a little prog rock bloated. My roomates loved BRAIN CAPERS, and so did I. Well liked, not loved, that is. Suddenly the stars lined up for Mott and they were working with David Bowie. New sound and new label (CBS). They segued onto the glam bandwagon pretty seamlessly, no easy feat considering they weren’t young or thin or androgynous. Overend Watts, like Chris Squire from Yes, always looked pathetic in crotch high silver platforms and pastel colors. Plus ‘All The Young Dudes’ was, let’s face it, all about Bowie. Most importantly, they were now making singles.

The initial one from the second album, first post Bowie, was this. And it ignited a run of strong, quite fantastic records to follow: ‘Roll Away The Stone’, ‘The Golden Age Of Rock ‘n Roll’, ‘All The Way To Memphis’ to be exact. I guess ‘Honaloochie Boogie’ is the least heard and appreciated. Maybe it was the moment for me – not sure. I can tell you this, along with Wizzard ‘See My Baby Jive’, Thin Lizzy ‘Whiskey In The Jar’ and at least one Slade single, it was on every jukebox in every pub in London that summer.

I had finally arrived in my natural habitat.

David Essex

Friday, January 1st, 2010

DavidEssexUK, David Essex, CBS, Columbia, Jeff Wayne

DavidEssexRockOnPS, David Essex, CBS, Columbia, Jeff Wayne

Listen: Rock On (Single Version) / David Essex DavidEssexRockOn.mp3

‘A record to cleanse the palate’ I believe was the Melody Maker review in a sentence. Very true. This one sat around for a while prior to picking up any notice in the States, but Columbia clearly smelled a hit from the get go. You could always tell when a picture sleeve was involved prior to 1977. I have a feeling a lot of people might remember the first time they heard it. The immediate response was ‘play it again’, a handy reaction when that initial listen is from your radio.

Forest Hills native Jeff Wayne’s fantastic production (he went on the score WAR OF THE WORLDS) could easily double as incidental music to a James Bond film. You simply don’t hear records this unique very often.

The local oldies station was having a 70′s weekend recently, replaying old Casey Kasem chart countdowns and this came on. Sounded more modern than anything on the modern rock station.

Chicory Tip

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

ChicoryWineUKA, Chicory Tip, CBS, Epic, Giorgio Morodor

ChicoryWineUSA, Chicory Tip, Giorgio Morodor, Epic, CBS

Listen: Cigarettes, Women And Wine / Chicory Tip ChicoryWinesomanyrecordssolittletime.mp3

Having scooped a UK release of ‘Son Of Your Father’ off Giorgio Moroder’s own German version, Chicory Tip ended up at #1 as a result. Not so in the US. Giorgio’s reached #48, while Chicory (as their name was shortened to for that one US single) peaked at #91. Despite the UK coup, Moroder wrote it, thereby still earning off every sale without having to schlep about in glam trousers and platforms, as the band did. In fact, Chicory Tip apparently hated their new found teen success, thus live, would deliver heavy blues rock instead. Bad career move.

Back in the studio, the Chicory Tip camp was smart enough to keep a winning formula going for a few more replicas of that lone #1, right down to having the band cover Moroder songs exclusively as A sides. A few charted, but despite heavy airplay from the influential Radio Luxembourg, BBC’s Radio 1 wouldn’t touch ‘Cigarettes, Women And Wine’, supposedly due to the cigarettes mention. Big cheat. They were a perfect mix of Glam and synth rock, and had they continued mixing the two elements, the result may have been much closer to what Manfred Mann’s Earth Band achieved, especially with Giorgio Moroder as producer.

Their sound certainly pointed to a whole musical revolution that wasn’t too many years away.

The Slits

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

SlitsTypicalUKA, The Slits, Island, Antilles, Dennis Bovell, CBS, Howard Thompson

SlitsTypicalUS,  The Slits, Island, Antilles, Dennis Bovell, CBS, Howard Thompson

SlitsTypicalPS, The Slits, Island, Antilles, Dennis Bovell, CBS, Howard Thompson

Listen: Typical Girls / The Slits SlitsTypical.mp3

Did testing one’s musical tolerance begin in the 60′s via prog rock, or was it an on going process starting with jazz in the 50′s? It certainly hit full swing by the late 70′s. When art met punk, the first requirement seemed to be an inability to play. But the resulting cringe factor was admittedly addicting. There were a bunch of labels that bent over backwards to like the unlikeable, and then it started to spill to the majors.

I ended up being sucked into The Slits despite my intensions otherwise. A strong image, great sense of reggae/dub, spot-on producer choice (Dennis Bovell) and top packaging helped launch their Island period (about a year in length) during ’79. After all, they were the new GTO’s in my book, but to others, it all hid behind No Wave or some such genre.

Most of the plays I give ‘Typical Girls’ still result in a second spin, or lead me on to a couple of other tracks.

SlitsManNextPS, The Slits, Y, John Holt

Listen: Man Next Door / The Slits SlitsManNextDoor.mp3

How does anyone resist a cover of John Holt’s classic ‘Man Next Door’. I love the original. I love Massive Attack’s and I love this.

SlitsEarthbeatUKA,  The Slits, Island, Antilles, Dennis Bovell, CBS, Howard Thompson

Listen: Earthbeat / The Slits SlitsEarthbeat.mp3

Then there’s always ‘Earthbeat’, their fourth single. Have to say, I basically preferred this one. By now they’d absorbed the studio tricks Dennis Bovell had passed along, and working with Nick Launay and Dick O’Dell as producers, seemed to have replicated themselves successfully. It was a time when they were almost mainstream, and could’ve had a hit. After all, John Peel favorites like Killing Joke and The Fall were finding their way into the UK singles charts. Howard Thompson signed this to CBS, if corporate proof is needed of that possibility.

SlitsEarthbeatPS,  The Slits, Island, Antilles, Dennis Bovell, CBS, Howard Thompson

Listen: Earthdub / The Slits SlitsEarthdub.mp3

Definitely search out the 12″, as the B side, dub version, ‘Earthdub’, is worth owning.

Earth, Wind & Fire / Ramsey Lewis

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

EWFMightyUKA, Earth Wind & Fire, Columbia, CBS, Warner Brothers

EWFMightyPS, Earth Wind & Fire

Listen: Mighty Mighty / Earth Wind & Fire EWFMighty.mp3

During the summer of ’74 – summer ’75, I worked at Discount Records, then a northeastern chain, owned by CBS, and heavily stocked in catalog. Most record shops in those days carried lots of….records. This was a time when all the excitement happened right there in the store as opposed any of the other shops competing for the youth dollar.

Today it’s known as an Apple Store. Both had genius bars, well no, that’s a lie. Record shops had counters populated by genius record experts. Same difference.

There were a couple of co-workers who relentlessly hogged the turntable, seemingly for the sole purpose of playing Earth Wind & Fire’s newest album, OPEN OUR EYES. I cringed at it’s polish having preferred their previous two Warner Brothers albums. They were way less refined and more street dirty. After all, leader Maurice White had started his professional career in ’69 as a session drummer at Chess, eventually joining The Ramsey Lewis Trio. Then something happened, literally in mid song, I realized I absolutely loved ‘Mighty Mighty’. It was the last track on one of the sides as I recall, and had just been released as a single. How perfect. It’s been a staple ever since.

EWFDrumSongUKB, Earth Wind & Fire

Listen: Drum Song / Earth Wind & Fire EWFDrum.mp3

So once my guard was down, I started noticing a bunch of things in there, like LA’s latin sound, which War had coined a year or two prior, sentimentally grabbing my attention via a first visit in ’73. Plus new to me, African beats. Miriam Makeba’s ‘Pata Pata’, shockingly a pop hit several years earlier, was my only exposure at that point. B side of ‘Mighty Mighty’ and album track, ‘Drum Song’ became a favorite even. I was officially a fan.

Listen: Kalimba Story / Earth Wind & Fire EWFKalimba.mp3

Was I happy when ‘Kalimba Story’ was released as a 7″. It was almost too good to be true, being my other favorite from the album. I’ve noticed kalimba on every record they’ve ever made, at least all the ones I know.

RamseyUSA, Earth Wind & Fire, Ramsey Lewis, Columbia

Listen: Sun Goddess / Ramsey Lewis And Earth Wind & Fire EWFSunGoddess.mp3

Full circle to ’75, when Maurice White reunites with Ramsey Lewis to record what would become a #1 Urban classic. These guys had really hit their stride.

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

sunnydoctors, Sunny, Sue & Sunny, The Brotherhood Of Man, Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway, Geoff Stephens, CBS

Listen: Doctor’s Orders / Sunny SunnyDoctors.mp3

Basically Sunny has loads of history. Solo artist, one half of Sue & Sunny (both of whom were also members of The Brotherhood Of Man) and background voice on many, many, many hit singles (Dusty Springfield, Elton John, The Love Affair, Lulu, Mott The Hoople, T. Rex, Tom Jones, and Joe Cocker to name but a few bigger ones). She’s probably on more records than even she can remember – let alone you or me.

Often associated with the Cook & Greenaway writer/producer team, it was their song ‘Doctor’s Order’ (co-written with Geoff Stephens, himself claim to a long list of song credits: The Applejacks, Manfred Mann, Scott Walker, Dave Berry, Frank Sinatra, The Carpenters) that became a favorite for literally months in ’74. As into rock and soul as I was in ’74, the occasional pop track would bite me hard. I was never comfortable that Sunny’s version didn’t become the US hit version, it was better and smoother than Carol Douglas’. Rest of world though, the crown went to the awesome Sunny. I want to meet her someday.

The Only Ones

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

Out There In The Night / The Only Ones

Listen: Out There In The Night / The Only Ones OnlyOnesOutThereInTheNight.mp3

Trouble In The World / The Only Ones

Listen: Trouble In The World / The Only Ones OnlyOnesTrouble.mp3

I’m a sucker for an atonal vocalist. So The Only Ones’ Peter Perrett is right up my alley. These two singles are by far my favorites from the boys. Never did get to see them, some arrest nonsense cut their US tour short, the one whereby they were playing my town. Hence not much to say about them, except I still love these records. Oh, hold on, the sleeve pictured for ‘Trouble In The World’ was sent along, at the time, by Howard Thompson. He A&R’d the band, by assignment as opposed to choice. He doesn’t reflect fondly on it all. Whether by coincidence or design, ‘Trouble In The World’ echoes Mott The Hoople, with it’s Sue & Sunny background female vocals. Seems like an HT influence to me.

For reasons unknown, the sleeve was scrapped allowing or forcing the record to be issued in a stock CBS bag. The label was quite good at making pitiful judgement calls when it came to picture sleeves. Unlike in the US, picture sleeves were quite uncommon in England until punk. So what did CBS do? They released a bunch of punk singles without them. Although the corporate waste exponentially accelerated by the time I was employed by Columbia in 1995, it seems seeds were planted decades before. Hey, let’s actually manufacture the sleeves then destroy them, why cancel it in the pre-production phase? Kill another tree. No problem.

But the records speak for themselves. Great stuff. And although spelled differently, you have to admit Peter Perrett was pretty hip to choose, for his surname, that of the great US label, Parrot, which included Them, The Zombies, Los Bravos, Lulu & The Luvvers and Pinkerton’s Assorted Colours amongst it’s roster.


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Duke Robillard

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I Got It Bad

Hello Friends,

This week we are finishing up "I Got It Bad" with a lesson on the solo section. The solo consists of two A sections after the vocal chorus and then Sunny comes back in on the bridge. I composed a little solo that is a good example of what fits nicely in this tune. I suggest you learn it, then once you have it down try building your own solo or improvising one. Its good homework to learn my composed solo then see what you can come up with yourself.

Topics and/or subjects covered in this lesson:
Swing Guitar

Backing Track

Print Print Chords & Tab

Loop 1:10 Run-Through of I've Got It Bad Solo

Download the Sheet Music PDF

Loop 1:10 Breakdown of Solo

Loop 22:23 Closing Thoughts

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Bruce Dumes
Bruce Dumes Jul 04, 2017

Hey Duke! Continuing to work on this one, feeling more and more comfortable all the time. I can't believe it's only been a month since I submitted the last one. It feels like many months ago. Anyway -- here it is! New and Improved: I Got It Bad. Would love to hear what you think. Thanks! Bruce

Duke Robillard
Duke Robillard Jul 08, 2017

Hi Bruce, You are sounding very comfortable with it now. Good job! Duke

Bruce Dumes
Bruce Dumes Jul 09, 2017

Thanks Duke!

Steve Lauder
Steve Lauder Jun 16, 2017

Hi Duke

As you can probably notice this is a work in progress. I am more relaxed. However, I am uncertain as to where excactly the solo starts. I try counting and altho i hate counting it has to be done - until i am more confortable with it. And i will likely never be completely comfortable counting. Anyway it is a great song so i persevere.

Duke Robillard
Duke Robillard Jul 08, 2017

That's great Steve! You started the solo at exactly the right place. You got a little ahead of the chords for a second but made a great recovery and got back in the groove quickly. Your playing sounds great through. Really good job! Duke

Peter Wolf
Peter Wolf Jun 11, 2017

Hi Duke, before we go on to the next song, I wanted to record a solo.

First half is yours, then I just went with the flow :-)

Thanks for the song

Duke Robillard
Duke Robillard Jun 15, 2017

You sound great Peter, that's really good progress. Nice tone also! Duke

Peter Wolf
Peter Wolf Jun 16, 2017

Cool!  Thank you so much Duke!

Here's a request that would definitely help me, and probably others.  When you teach a melody or solo, it would be really helpful to hear it with the chords/changes.  The metronome gives the timing, but not the reason for the note.  The solo only makes sense to me when I hear it in context.  Then I go "ohhhh!" :-D

Bruce Dumes
Bruce Dumes Jun 04, 2017

Hey Duke! So, here's another shot at "I Got It Bad". Hope you like it! Best, Bruce

Bruce Dumes
Bruce Dumes Jun 02, 2017

Hey Duke! Man, I just love hearing you play. So, since I've given you a few I Got It Bad's already, I was hoping you wouldn't mind listening to a tune I just started working on yesterday. There are a few sub-optimal notes in the solo, but I like where it's going. For some reason, I hear it played with a very tight vibrato, which I know is not a Jazzy thing to do, but that's how I hear it. Anyway -- if you don't mind, and it's not breaking any Sonic Junction protocols :-), I'd love to know what you think about my version of Dave Brubeck's "In Your Own Sweet Way". Best of luck with your gigs in NY this weekend! Take care, Bruce

Duke Robillard
Duke Robillard Jun 15, 2017

Very nice Bruce, I've heard of that tune but never heard it. Who is it by?Nice melody.  Duke

Bruce Dumes
Bruce Dumes Jun 15, 2017

Thanks Duke! Dave Brubeck wrote it and played it. Miles did a classic cover of it.

and I didn't know until just now that Wes Montgomery did a beautiful verision of it.

Thanks again, Duke!

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Steady on, in the Navy implied continuing to move forward.
'Steady on' in the Navy implied continuing to move forward no matter what challenges your particular “sea” presented. The integrity that lies in our Constitution can in fact keep us steady. Photos: -Creative Commons CC0 - composite by Ceylan Crow

Steady On...

Dec 29, 2019
by Zoë Tummillo, Communications Concepts

An old Navy friend used that term, and I have found myself thinking it frequently in the last three years, oftener in recent months.    Steady on, he said, implied continuing to move forward, no matter what, while also grappling with whatever challenges your particular “sea” presents.

We have quite a new year looming!  Whatever our persuasions may be, political or otherwise, 2020 promises to test us greatly.  My intentions will be to try to meet it fairly and squarely, albeit with difficulty, while I try to remember to Steady on...

I do not recall a political climate as damaging to associations, individuals, friendships and even family relations as the one launched by our current administration.  Supporter or adversary, the passions have reached an intensity that seems unique to me.  In the “Big Picture” (if one can force oneself to pause long enough to consider it) I see a huge need to consider the philosophy of Steady on, and a huge need to measure one’s choices against reckless acceleration or action.

Leadership on both sides of the political battlefields seems to be damned if they do and damned if they don’t either hurry up or slow down!  Steady on doesn’t advocate either.  Rather, I take it to simply suggest self-grounding, a try for an open mind, a rejection of recklessness ... and the like.

Happy New Year?   Gosh; I hope so.  I am speculating on what it will look like.  In my mid 80’s, of course, the first thing that would make it happy for me would be to maintain my health and, well, still be around!  Along with wanting everything good and safe and happy for those I love, I worry about what those I love will have of Country and Environment twenty and thirty years from now when I am long gone!

So, how can any of us best steer that Steady On thing?  How can each of us best manage it for those future twenty and thirty years looming?  I know several cynics (a few worse than me!) whose futuristic philosophies amount to: It doesn’t matter. It never has.  None of this matters.  It never will.   That’s where it begins and ends for many.  My cynicism just isn’t that all encompassing!

Aside from the splash and boom of Times Square at midnight (and its clones all over our nation, as time zone after time zone follows), ushering in the new year gets to all of us in one way or another.  (Even the deniers – who prove my point by denying!)  We all kind of look at January 1 as another chance to start over, with a clean slate; well, maybe just a new slate!

I was talking a few days ago with a fellow political junkie who was wondering if he could put aside his anxiety, anger, disappointment, etc., and actually try to start off 2020 with an open mind and a more positive attitude.  He said it would involve trust, and he finds it almost impossible to trust our leaders anymore.   (I didn’t offer anything.  I have my own challenges!)

I think my friend’s dilemma is all around us; I do not think he is alone.  Usually, the cock-eyed optimist in me manages to push through and past the cynic in me.  I dig deep into the integrity that I know lies in our Constitution and I cheer myself up by trusting that.

I guess that’s my New Year wish to you:  Try for trust, and Steady on...

Senior Momentum by Zoe Tummillo

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Design and integration of radio links for Ericsson customers

Within the portfolio of global telecommunications services, Sortis will develop the tasks of planning and integration of radio links in transport network.

Some of the tasks to be carried out will be: radio links and route design, request for visa frequencies, route configuration and radio link integration in network management systems, end-to-end connectivity and documentation.

Sortis will use its team of experts in the iQLink XG, Comsearch  network planning tool, on which it provides manufacturer support for Spanish and European users.

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Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Garden Cork Bugs

A few weeks ago, I picked up a huge lot of wine corks at a yard sale for $10.  I might have been squealing like a little girl during the opening of a new American Girl store.  Of course, I was squealing on the inside, I didn't want to make a spectacle of myself.  So I have this overstock of corks.  I had to start a new Pinterest board for all the ideas I was collecting.  One of the pins I found led me to this blog and I loved the idea so much, I invited all the kids over for a craft day.

  • wine corks
  • wooden skewers
  • paint
  • paint brushes
  • pipe cleaners in assorted colors (mine were provided by CraftProjectIdeas.com)
  • googly eyes
  • hot glue gun
  • hot glue

I made the example bugs the night before and should have twisted and prepared all the pipe cleaners ahead of time, but since I waited until the last minute to make the examples, I was too tired to twist them all.

**Tip:  I cut the spider legs into eight pieces and then glued them on each side.  That was dumb.  I should have just cut four longer pieces and twisted them together and glued them under the cork.  Be smarter than me.  Do it the "right" way.

I had the kids pick out their corks and set them loose on painting.  I used wooden skewers as their "stands" so the kids could paint but not paint their hands.

Dex supervised.

As the kids finished painting their corks, I had them stick them in the garden to dry.  While they dried, the kids ran around playing.  I also worked on twisting the wings and legs.

This was a very simple craft that the kids really enjoyed.  The kids that stayed a little longer ended up painting more bugs since they were having so much fun.  I didn't mind because, well, I still have a HUGE box of wine corks left.

I wonder what we should make next...

Don't forget to follow the Kids Summer Craft Camp along on the KSCC Pinterest board where I will be pinning all of the posts.  Also, I encourage you to take pictures of your own creations and use the hashtag #KidsSummerCraftCamp on Instagram or on Twitter!  I'd love to see what you are up to!

This post linked up with:

  1. Those are just too cute. What a fun project!

    I also have a fun one posted on my site using soda bottles. Stop by to take a look if you get a chance.

  2. Adorable!!!!! My sister in law made the neatest wine cork deer ornaments for Christmas! You can find the instructions online! Good luck !!!

  3. These are just too cute. What a fun project for the kids.
    Have a wonderful week,
    @ Eclectic Red Barn

  4. These garden cork bugs are so adorable and are a perfect way to keep little ones entertained! I'd be thrilled if you'd come on over to Pink Recipe Box and link up at Creative Wednesdays: http://pinkrecipebox.com/creative-wednesdays-with-pink-recipe-box-6/

  5. Fun. Fun. Fun. I'm so glad you sowder about at my party What do do Weekends. :) Your friend, Linda

Leave me some love! I read them all and it always makes me feel warm and fuzzy when people comment!


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R Tune Garage’s 3.4L Carbon Fiber Datsun Z

If you haven’t taken a look at my shop tour of Malaysia’s R Tune Garage yet, go and do that before continuing here.

OK, are we good now? Great!

It’s always great to find someone who is into the same things as you are, and when we’re talking about Speedhunters that would happen to be cars. But it’s a whole different thing to find someone who is truly passionate about cars. Someone who goes to sleep thinking about cars and wakes up doing the same (and sometimes anime, but that’s for a different story).

Ever since he was little, the S30 was that car for Dwayne Ho. It was the rich heritage and styling that won him over, and he knew that when the time was right he would own one.

That day came when he found this S30 in stock form. Of course, it had a few rust spots here and there but for a year, Dwayne was content – he had his dream car after all.

Eventually, the urge to fix those rust spots took over. Dwayne stripped the car back in preparation to do a little body work, but things quickly got out of control. For the next six years the Z was under the knife.

When Creativity Goes On A Rampage

One of the first things Dwayne did was replace every bolt-on steel panel with carbon fiber.

The purpose behind the excessive use of carbon – besides the weight reduction, overall strength when compared to regular FRP, and simply looking badass – was to prevent future rust from occurring.

With the exterior mostly taken care of, next on the list was the S30’s suspension. The billet lower control arms were sourced from Arizona Z Cars, and everything else was done in house at RTG. To achieve the best possible handling Dwayne replaced all the bushings, too.

15-inch AME mesh wheels fit perfectly with the carbon-clad exterior and pull the overall look together well.

All In The Details

It’s one thing to change the exterior and make something look incredibly menacing as Dwayne has with his S30, but often times the engine is left stock. Fortunately for us, it’s not the case here. Dwayne has taken the time to create a work of art underneath the carbon fiber hood.

What are some of the first things that you see once the hood is removed? Is it the colorful trumpets attached to the 45DCOE Weber carburetors? Or maybe it’s the MSD ignition system making sure the engine doesn’t skip a beat in delivering the correct spark?

Maybe you’d notice the custom RTG brackets, or the ‘Z’ dipstick?

I think you get the point – virtually everything under the hood has been customized or changed. Although the valve cover says 2400, that’a more of an homage to the engine that originally powered this S30. Dwayne took the original 2.4L engine out and put in its larger 2.8L brother. He then proceeded to stroke it to 3.4L.

Along with forged pistons, rods and a stroker crank, the engine features a performance cam and oversized valves – and the list goes on. The exact power figure is still unknown, but Dwayne estimates it’s somewhere around the 300 mark.

Spent gases are dumped out of custom headers into a stainless steel exhaust system, again, all done in house at RTG.

The power and torque currently finds its way to the ground through the S30’s stock transmission, though Dwayne he says that will change soon.

As it was for the exterior and the engine, the interior is also a work of art and testament to RTG’s abilities. It’s nothing too over-the-top though; minimalism is key (in regards to the interior at any rate)

The trunk, however, is a different story. Stainless steel fuel lines snake to pumps, and the custom RTG stainless steel fuel cell has been wrapped in leather.

The goal behind the leather was two part: Firstly, Dwayne wanted the tank to look like it belonged there, thus the dark leather helps it blend in with the rest of the interior. The second part was to get rid of the horrid glare that reflects off the stainless steel when driving.

Having spent the day at RTG and with Dwayne, it’s easy to tell that this S30 is a true representation of his work ethic. He’s put in hours upon hours of effort, energy, stress building his dream car.

This level of passion is something I hope we all can see in our own personal builds, or whatever it is we are doing.

Ron Celestine
Instagram: celestinephotography

Cutting Room Floor

Comments are closed.

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"What are some of the first things that you see once the hood is removed?"
I first noticed the painted-over hood latch
Then, my eyes were drawn to the faux anodized fittings for fuel to the carbs
And, as you radly pointed out, "the ‘Z’ dipstick" draws attention to yet another fake anodized fitting. This time for cooling. At least turn the screw head away from the viewers?!

Daniel P Huneault

I always have the screw head where I can see it - I hate getting my hands/fingers cut on those stupid things - I will even spend a bit more money on the fuel injection hose clamps to avoid this

yep, they were the things you first looked at.... you're a scmuck.

A. Why is painting over a vestigial latch bad when the hood is now held on by four toggle-clips/snaps?

B. How do you know the anodized finish on the fuel fittings and the dipstick are fake?

C. Where are your positive comments?

D. Why do you bother visiting this site if all you come here to do is whine about other people's cars?

Well, because that's actually the pure definition of RICE. Not hating, just pointing out that emulating the looks of Milspec AN [Airforce Navy] crush fittings to what's purely for looks (so non-crush-fit) is Rice.

Not sure why I have to post "positive" comments. I merely answered a question the author had posed. Like I said above, I see/appreciate S30s on a daily basis. FWIW, I'm not talking about anodized finishes. I'm pointing out the use of a hose clamp that emulates a real AN fitting. Like ChristanC mentioned, it is a fancy hose clamp. Not exactly what I'd put on my own S30 or a customer's. That's my 2 cents.

A: is irrelevant as Rotary points out.

B. Yes they’re worm drive type clips that have screw lock style covers, given that he made up proper heavy duty lines in many other places it does seem a little odd but at the same time it will function just the same as a regular rubber hose with clamp would so it’s fine.

C. See B. Also you put the screw heads where you can see them because you actually need access to them to tighten them up.

Yup, it was very odd to me as well. Hey, more power to you if the dress-up look is what is desired. Star Road uses fake AN hose clamps exclusively on their S30 builds, so it must be "in"!

This z is sweet! Definitely the coolest example I've ever seen. Thanks for the great article.

I really hate the "look at me" built old Nissan cars.

Fine example. Tastefully done. Would love to own something similar

Daniel P Huneault

you sir have built one fine looking Z! I'm loving the old school paint job, not sure why more people don't do this nowadays...


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  • Medium: hardcover (caribou hide inside a slipcase)
  • Size: 12.5 × 14.5 × 3.25 inches, 454 pages (book)
    Size: 11.5 × 13 inches (engraving)
  • Edition: 193/275
  • Reference Code: G130401

By Jean Blodgett. Printed by The Mintmark Press, Audited Editions in the Fine Arts.

Limited edition book is bound in caribou hide inside a hard case with exclusive limited edition hand coloured engraving titled “Myself & I” (1981).

“Every copy is numbered in edition and signed by artist and author. In the tradition of fine book publishing great care was taken by highly skilled craftsmen in the printing, colour separation and binding of this book. All the text is illustrated with numerous contemporary and archival photographs printed in a duotone process and the archival material in a sepia tone. Every effort was made to capture the quality of the inking on the original prints. The luxurious binding utilizes genuine caribou skin that has been hand bleached, which involved many stages of repeated scraping, soaking and drying. Each book has the individuality of the marking and variations of colour of the caribou skin. Every book was finished by hand with careful attention to detailing with hand sewn and bone head and tail bands.”

Kenojuak Ashevak

Kenojuak Ashevak

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Kenojuak Ashevak was born October 3, 1927. Her early years were spent living a traditional hunting lifestyle on the land at Ikirasaq on the southern coast of Baffin Island, residing in igloos and skin tents.


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Spring Procurement was founded by Klemens Figlhuber, Georg Haas and Jacob Homan in 2007 with the goal to support midsized and large enterprises in the field of strategic procurement optimization. Our expertise is based on longtime experience in numerous national and international sourcing projects. Our clients esteem the implementation- and success-oriented approach that leads to sustainable and instantly visible results. A critical success factor in the generation of savings is the operational procurement know-how within different industries and branches. Our clients value that – exceptionless – one of the partners is fully responsible for the project operations instead of delegating it to young, inexperienced university graduates.

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In order to make optimization projects as riskless as possible for our clients, we get measured on our results. This means that we do not charge fix fees but only a percentage of the actually realized savings. Therefore, an efficient and effective project flow is guaranteed.

The achievements of Spring Procurement have already been rewarded several times. In 2009 Spring Procurement won the Golden Arrow Award at the international Consulting Congress com.sult in the category of Management Consulting. In 2010 Spring Procurement was elected as one of the WU Alumni entrepreneurs of the year.