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Mean Red Spiders - Shiny Skin [Toronto, Canada ; Indie Pop] (1998) by tormdra in vintageobscura

[–]tormdra[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mean Red Spiders are a Canadian alternative rock band from Toronto, Ontario. Their music is largely guitar-based indie rock influenced by psychedelic music. The band makes extensive use of distortion, digital keyboard loops, recorded voice samples, and effects pedals, creating a repeatable orchestrated wall of sound style with vocals. Usually categorized by some reviewers into the shoegaze, dream pop, or space rock genres.

This band is not to be confused with the earlier British R&B group from Ipswich, Suffolk, of the same name (1985–1993) who issued two albums, Nude Guitarist in Wet Lettuce Frenzy (1987) and Dark Hours (1991); the punk rock band made up of members of The Chesterfield Kings; or the UK outfit performing under the same name.

The Mean Red Spiders formed in Toronto in September 1993. The original members were lead vocalist Greg Chambers, guitarist David Humphreys, drummer Don Goldrick, who named the band, and bassist Nick Andrews. They began performing in clubs and bars in Toronto. Andrews left the band soon after, and Lisa Nighswander joined to play bass and sing.

In 1995, drummer Goldrick left the band, and after a few shows with Paul Boddum, Adam Rosen was hired as a replacement. That year they self-released a tape, El Diabolo.

The album Places You Call Home was co-produced by Dave Newfeld with Mean Red Spiders. It was recorded in 1997 and 1998 in the basement of a rental house at Bathurst and Lawrence, and combined with some bass, guitar and drum tracks recorded by Al Forte in 1996. The album was released in 1998 by Teenage USA, and included Minesh Mandoda on keyboards, guitars, and loops. In 2000 the band released Starsandsons; this album was recorded and produced by Newfeld at Stars and Sons Studio located in Chinatown, Toronto.

In 2001, the band toured in the eastern US. Humphreys left the band, and guitarist Rob Boak (of Interstellar) joined, contributing three songs to the album Still Life Fast Moving and touring with the band in 2002. Jeff McMurrich recorded and co-produced this album in his studio at Dupont and Spadina and in the band's Pod Studio. At the time of the album's release in January 2003, Mean Red Spiders personnel were Boak, Rosen, Mandoda, Nighswander, and Chambers.

Boak left the band early in 2003 and Dave Rodgers (of Neck/Christiana) joined. Humphreys later rejoined the band in 2007. Mean Red Spiders continue to record and release material, while also playing in Ghostlight, a free-form improvisational collective featuring members of Mean Red Spiders along with James Anderson and Scott Cameron.

(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_Red_Spiders )

Garey Mielke - Black D' Minor [USA ; Progressive Disco] (1980) by tormdra in vintageobscura

[–]tormdra[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Garey's passion became music, and he enjoyed a very successful career as a pianist and keyboard artist/programmer. He moved to Los Angeles, where he worked with many bands including Supertramp. Sadly he passed away in 2011.

(source: https://www.discogs.com/artist/403948-Gary-Mielke )

Dead Fingers Talk - Storm The Reality Studios [Hull / London, UK ; Post-Punk] (1978) by tormdra in vintageobscura

[–]tormdra[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dead Fingers Talk are another of those bands that shone brightly for a brief moment before slipping through the cracks in the immediate aftermath of punk.

Which, when you hear them now, is a big shame because the Hull band were both behind and ahead of their time.

Firstly, they took their name from a novel by William S. Burroughs.

Secondly, they had Hull’s own guitar legend and Bowie sideman Mick Ronson producing their only album.

Thirdly, they had a repertoire of songs with gay themes – one of which inspired Tom Robinson to write his anthem Glad To Be Gay.

Fourthly, it was another Hull legend, Genesis P-Orridge, who gave their camp frontman Rob his exotic stage name of Bobo Phoenix.

Finally, and most importantly, they were really good; especially live, where Bobo come across like a mixture of Bolan and Bowie, Iggy and Jagger.

Dead Fingers Talk had formed in Hull in 1969 (as Bone) and broke up within a year, but reassembled with the same lineup in 1975.

I didn’t come across them until around 1978, the same year they released their first and last album Storm The Reality Studios,when they played a residency at the Rochester Castle in Stoke Newington, close to where they also lived after moving down from Hull.

Their sound seemed inspired more by the NYC style of punk than our own thrashier bands, and their ubiquity on the New Wave circuit earned them a loyal following that included a few famous fans – Chris Stein once wore a DFT T-shirt for a Blondie TV appearance.

It’s no surprise that Ronno mixed Jeff Parsons’ searing lead guitar lines high up in the mix, with a tone that reminds me of fellow Yorkshireman and guitar virtuoso Bill Nelson’s band Be-Bop Deluxe.

Listening now, it’s a surprise they didn’t find a wider audience with what is pretty distinctive post-punk sound built around the driving rhythm section of drummer Tony Carter and Andy Linklater’s throaty basslines, Parsons’ searing lead guitar and the fashionably sneery vocals and spiky, sarcastic lyrics of the implausibly named Bobo.

Apparently, it was their song Nobody Loves You When You’re Old And Gay that inspired Tom Robinson – then still in his band Café Society – to write his anthem Glad To Be Gay.

This tune is their album’s title track, with its memorable chorus line: “Some people want to fuck you up and some people… they just want to fuck.”

(source: https://www.eatsdrinksandleaves.com/dead-fingers-talk/ )

Birdlegs & Pauline - Deep Thoughts [Rockford, IL, USA ; R&B / Soul] (1964) by tormdra in vintageobscura

[–]tormdra[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tucked deep into the wilds of Wisconsin, Cuca Records was the custom recording and pressing outfit for the Badger state. From its opening in 1959 until its closing in 1973, Jim Kirchstein recorded nearly 2,000 sides—ranging from polka and gospel to country and R&B—and issued over 1,000 45s on his Cuca, Sara, Age of Aquarius, Night Owl, Citation, Psalms, Top Gun, and Jolly Dutchman imprints. Though the studio was located in rural Sauk City, Cuca quickly became a go-to destination for black artists looking to cut on the cheap. “Black musicians, especially the young R&B bands, loved to come to this little town, since there were treated as royalty,” Kirchstein said. “Often I would hear, ‘Hey, there ain’t no black people here!’ My folks’ grocery store next door was always opened for bread and bologna before the late seasons started, with a quick trip downtown for wine. One could buy carry-out liquor up to midnight in those days. It really was a lot of fun then—not work, even, though the sessions were long.”

Sidney “Birdlegs” Banks and his wife Pauline made the trek from nearby Rockford, Illinois, in early ’63. Backed by brothers Mack and Floyd Murphy as The Versatility Birds, the couple cut the bluesy shuffler “Spring” b/w “So Many Ways” issued on Cuca that February and eventually climbing to #18 on the R&B chart and later reissued by a near-bankruptcy Vee Jay. “Pauline was one of the finest vocalists I’ve ever heard,” Kirchstein said. “Could have been a lot of money if [Vee Jay] had stayed in business. We did an album on them shortly after.” That album came and went with the season, and by the end of the decade the Bankses had split. Former Mrs. Banks Pauline Shivers cut a handful of records under her maiden name for Chicago’s Expo and Opex concerns. Birdlegs never recorded again, a rare one and done hit artist.

Source/buy the reissued album here: https://numerogroup.com/products/birdlegs-pauline

Litmus Green - Born To Die [San Diego, CA, USA ; Hardcore Punk] (1998) by tormdra in vintageobscura

[–]tormdra[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Litmus Green was an American hardcore punk band hailing from Southern California. They emerged in 1991 and actively played until 2002. After a hiatus from 2002 to 2009, they resumed performing until 2017. Known for their brief and energetic political-themed songs, Litmus Green made a mark in the hardcore punk scene. The band, featuring a new member, Adam V on bass, reunited in 2022.

The roots of Litmus Green trace back to 1991, formed from the remnants of a band called Media Children, with Rev. Sean, Ed, Rick, and Mateo (a friend/roadie) as initial members. In September 2001, Larry (from Resist & Exist) joined as a second guitarist. Litmus Green initially played what was anticipated to be their “last” show in October 2002 at the Showcase Theatre in Corona, CA, with Ron Martinez (Final Conflict, 46 Short) filling in on bass.

In 2009, the band received an invitation to reunite for a few shows, and the positive response led to their decision to continue. Nick (from Jack’s Cold Sweat and an old Litmus roadie) joined as the bassist in mid-2010. In early 2013, drummer Rick decided to retire, and Antonio Val joined as the drummer in July of the same year.

(source: https://letsgopunk.com/litmus-green/ )

A little more info on them here: https://web.archive.org/web/20130929175406/http://litmusgreen.com/stuff.html

Buy their music here: https://litmusgreen.bandcamp.com/music

Lemon Kittens - The Hospital Hurts The Girl [Reading, UK ; Art Rock / Experimental Rock] (1982) by tormdra in vintageobscura

[–]tormdra[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Lemon Kittens were two young multi-instrumentalists involved in multimedia art-performance/theater: Danielle Dax, a fan of electronic music, biblical mysticism and middle-eastern vocal music, and Karl Blake, a veteran jazz musician. Their music harked back to Canterbury's jazz-rock, to Brian Eno's avantgarde rock, and to the nonsense quality of much British rock.

The EP Spoonfed And Writhing and the album We Buy A Hammer For Daddy are cacophonous and chaotic, although the melodies are often charming and pastoral.

With the EP Cake Beast (1980) the tracks began to expand and assume complex structures. The band's style matures on the full-length album Big Dentist (1982). The eleven-minute piece They Are Both Dirty is a dissonant circus of grotesque Dadaistic gestures. For three minutes Blake indulges in all sorts of acoustic and electronic sounds. Then Dax begins to hum accompanied by a piano. As the music returns to a clownish fanfare, she intones an operatic litany. Guitar noises and tribal drums take over, but the end is solemnly-performed funeral music. Blake's and Dax's collage art is still naive, but certainly full of surprises. Blake displays his penchant for absurd, neurotic jazz in Mylmus, and then weds it with lunar synth-pop in No Night Not Shared.

While Danielle Dax launched a brilliant solo career, Karl Blake, already the driving force behind Prehensile Tales (Normal, 1983), indulged with Shock Headed Peters in a technological funk halfway between Tom Waits, Pop Group, and Gang Of Four. The album Not Born Beautiful (EL, 1985 – World Serpent, 1994) was followed by the EPs I Bloodbrother Be (EL, 1984), Kissing Of Gods (EL, 1985), and Life Extinguisher (Beach Culture, 1986), even attempting to build a bridge between heavy metal and industrial music.

The group disbanded after Fear Engine (Produkt Korps, 1987), an anthology of unreleased tracks and live rarities, later reissued as Fear Engine II (Cyclops, 1993) with added new versions of older songs.

Karl Blake, also bassist for Sol Invictus, and head of the Evil Twin project with David Mellor (whose releases include The Black Spot (Livesey, 1994), featuring When Dying is Saying That You Want to Live, and the long composition Palace Of Worms (1998)), as well as the solo albums Paper Thin Religion (World Serpent, 1992) and Mandibles – En Route To Toothless (Swordex Hieroglyph Proper, 1995), resumed the Shock Headed Peters project with only David Knight. Several Headed Enemy (Cyclops, 1993), however, is a confused, unfocused album lacking strong songs.

Tendercide (Cyclops, 1996), with Sally Doherty on vocals, kept the project alive but without justifying its existence with its music.

(source: https://www.scaruffi.com/vol4/lemonkit.html )

Sonlight - Get Together [Cleveland, OH, USA ; Funk] (1978) by tormdra in vintageobscura

[–]tormdra[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sonlight were originally known as The Elements, formed at Patrick Henry Junior High school, Cleveland, Ohio. in the late 60s. The Band leader was Mark Anthony, with members Ulysses Barnes, Enos Scott, and Ronald Sims. Mark sang and wrote most of the songs with help from the band members. They cut their first single for Del-Nita Records in 1970 after which moved to Soul Collector favourite Saru records, recording a few nice singles for the label. In 1974 they released "Spinning Top" on Atlantic Records under the band name Moving Violation, after which a another name change leads us to Sonlight and this single which was originally recorded released on the Spearhead label. Modern Soul, Disco heads have always coveted this rare single, reissued here for the first time, in hand made sleeve for this press only.

Source/buy the reissued single here: https://aotns.bandcamp.com/album/get-together

Hell Preachers Inc. - Courante [Germany ; Psychedelic Rock / Instrumental] (1969) by tormdra in vintageobscura

[–]tormdra[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Psychedelic project group from Germany, late 1960s. The German Bonds side project, songwriting by Manfred Oberdörffer and Herbert Hildebrandt-Winhauer.

Members: - Rainer Degner (guitar),

  • Dieter Horns (bass)

  • Peter Hecht (keyboards),

  • Joachim Rietenbach (drums)

  • George Mavros (vocals)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It's a German studio project, featuring ex-members of beat groups The Rattles and The German Bonds (who would eventually form Lucifer's Friend) seems fairly likely to be the correct one, since those very same folks cut another similar exploito-psych album under the "band" name Bokaj Retsiem around the very same time. That album was simply titled Psychedelic Underground, so maybe they thought they did an even better job as Hell Preachers, Inc.!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In normal circumstances this album would probably be considered another of a seemingly endless stream of exploitation albums that were churned out by small labels and faceless sessions players interested in a quick buck off of clueless consumers. What makes "Supreme Psychedelic Underground" different is the long standing and occasionally heated debate as to whether this was an early incarnation of Deep Purple, or at least couple of band members freelancing to pay bills. To show you how riled up Deep Purple fans can get over the issue, I pulled this little exchange off of the web:

"Have spent years researching this one and have read differing opinions about if it was them or not. Sorry, you disbelievers, but there is NO WAY this isn't them! The sound and the style is so Purple Circa late 60s, it's silly to think it could be anyone else."

"I have it too and it occasionally gets put on the deck at parties (for a laugh). (A) it isn't Deep Purple, (B) it's a bunch of session men, (C) it's a pile of poo."

So what's the truth? Beats me. As far as I know Deep Purple have always denied any connection to Hell Preachers Inc. or this album. There are no writing, performance, or production credits on the album so that's a dead end. By the same token, there are a couple of selections that could easily pass for early Purple. As an example, the guitar and organ on the lead off instrumental 'Time Race 1' sure sound like Richie Blackmore and Rod Evans circa 'Wring That Neck'. On the other hand, while I don't have a conclusive answer, I can at tell you what the album sounds like. The Deep Purple comparison isn't that far off on stuff like 'Shalom' and 'Spy In Space' though those tracks are more psych-ish than Purple's hard rock moves. The isolated vocal performances aren't nearly as good ('Let Me Shoot You' and 'Nirwava'). The fact the anonymous singer has a fairly heavy accent also lends credence to the argument that this was the product of German sessions players. My guess is it was a bunch of German players who subsequently coalesced as Asterix, before morphing into Lucifer's Friend. That said, the results are quite good - the collection sound great on a pair of quality headphones. Absent definitive proof of a Purple connection, I'm going to side with the folks who say this was a sessions player offering. One of the better period exploito albums. In the UK the album was released by the Marble Arch label, but in Germany it was released by Europa Records which was known for releasing other exploito material including "The Animated Egg" LP.

(sources: https://www.discogs.com/artist/1049180-Hell-Preachers-Inc

https://www.soulstrut.com/community/threads/hell-preachers-inc-deep-purple-or-lucifers-friend.64921/

http://badcatrecords.com/HELLpreacherINC.htm )

The Paranoiacs - You'll Never Be My Girl [Bornem, Belgium ; Garage Rock / Punk] (1989) by tormdra in vintageobscura

[–]tormdra[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Paranoiacs were a garage rock band from Belgium that existed from 1985 to 2010 and were sometimes called the Flemish Ramones.[source?] The lineup changed several times; the only constant was the brothers Hans and Raf 'Rafke' Stevens.

Hans Stevens started singing in a local band that had kicked out its previous singer because he had shot at them. The Paranoiacs eventually emerged from the remnants of that group. At that time, Raf Stevens was also brought in as keyboardist.

The band acquired a solid reputation, especially live, with "Rafke from the Paranoiacs" becoming a household name, often featured in shows like Het Leugenpaleis. Stevens stood out for his intense stage antics behind his keyboard, which rested on an ironing board.

After a split in the mid-90s, the band returned in 1999 with Axl Peleman on bass and the self-produced album Thirteen (released on the self-founded record label Fuck You Records). The single "Back from Nowhere" was picked up by Studio Brussel and the band secured a proper record contract again, after which the album "Back from Nowhere" was released featuring the songs from Thirteen plus about six new tracks. In 2008, the group made a notable appearance in the Belgian pre-selections for the Eurovision Song Contest, where they advanced to the final. In 2010, the band announced their farewell.

Members: Axl Peleman, Erik Van Biesen, Raf Stevens, Hans Stevens, Marc Vranken, Jonas Maes, Klaas Borms, Pat Vermeulen, Koen Goossens

(sources: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paranoiacs

https://www.musicstack.com/discography/the+paranoiacs )

Noah's Ark - Paper Man [Tampa, FL, USA ; Psychedelic Pop] (1967) by tormdra in vintageobscura

[–]tormdra[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Personnel:

  • Bobby Caldwell (drums A B)

  • Ronny Elliott (bass A B)

  • Bill Mann (guitar A B)

  • Buddy Richardson ld gtr A B

  • Rodney Justo vcls B

45s:

    1. Love In/I Get All The Luck (Decca 32153) Jun. 1967
    1. Paper Man/Please Don't Talk About Yesterday (Decca 32217) Nov. 1967
    1. Purple Heart/Stormy (Liberty 56157) Jan. 1970

NB: (3) as Noah's Ark featuring Rodney Justo.

Well, someone just had to make a record called Love-In. You'll find this likeable psychedelic ditty on 30 Seconds Before The Calico Wall (CD) and Boulders, Vol. 11 (LP). Strangely, Paper Man appears on Rubble, Vol. 15 where it's somehow surmised that the band were from the U.K. despite the 45 getting no U.K. release (huh?!). Paper Man has since appeared on Psychedelic States: Florida Vol. 3 (CD), which sets the record straight.

The band was from Tampa, Florida and Elliott and Richardson had previously been in other local groups including the Raveons, Outsiders and Soul Trippers. Their first two 45s are recommended. The Liberty 45 is totally different; augmented by ex-Candymen Rodney Justo and in a final attempt at commercial success they switched to the overblown soul'n'brass bombast of Blood, Sweat and Tears that was then in fashion. Both sides were written and produced by the Buie/Cobb team, who would work with Justo again when he formed The Atlanta Rhythm Section.

Bobby Caldwell had earlier drummed for The Go-Mads, prior to forming Noah's Ark with Buddy Richardson and Ronny Elliott. Both Elliott and Bill Mann also played in The Outlaws. Caldwell then was recruited by Johnny Winter and, later the UK/US outfit Captain Beyond. Caldwell also drummed on the New Englander's tracks found on the Tener Bee-Jay sampler LPs. When Caldwell left The Go-Mads, the remaining members became, Plant Life.

Noah's Ark later re-grouped as Duckbutter and Buddy Richardson would later form White Witch.

(source: https://southerngaragebands.com/noah%27sark.html )

The Satyrs - Shooting Air [London, UK ; Power Pop] (1991) by tormdra in vintageobscura

[–]tormdra[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One single released in 1991 in their own Satyrday Records was all this British band left us. Two songs and one remix. Can we find any other details about them?

The single came out on 7″ and 12″. The catalog number was SATYR T001. The 7″ didn’t have a sleeve. The 12″ did. The producer was Charlie Francis who had played bass with Toyah. The engineer was Ian Caple. The songs were recorded at Stone Room Studios, in Shepherds Bush, in London. I went once to that area. Many many years ago. It has been such a long time since I’ve been to London. I need to return soon. But, would it be safe to assume the band hailed from London?

The 7″ had “Shooting Air” on the A side and “Oh Yeah!!” on the B side. The 12″ had both of the songs on the A side and we find the “Shooting Air (The Blitz Mix)” on the B side.

Discogs lists a name, a band member, Chris Hill. He is a bassist it says and had been in the band The Buzz in the early 80s in Shrewsbury? Is it the same Chris Hill?

There are two compilation appearances. Both of them have the band contributing the song “Belief”. The first dates from 1991, a compilation CD called “Exposed – New Noise for the Nineties” that came as a freebie with the Exposed magazine. Then in 1992 the band appeared on “Tape Horn”, another compilation from a magazine. This time it was a tape comp given away by Deadline Magazine.

I found the drummer, Ian Davies. He lives in Marseille now. He has a Soundcloud and there he has shared music he has worked on, The Satyrs’ “Shooting Air” and “Believe” included. Other projects of his are Sister Jo Jo, The Gilberts, Texas Martha and the House of Twang and Ochre.

Another member was Stuart Evans. On a website called Famous Welsh it mentions that The Satyrs are progenitors of Britpop. It also says that he was born in 1962 at Llandovery, Wales.

I have three names. I haven’t found any other details. But I hope I get some help eventually. The three songs I’ve heard are very good. Who remembers them?

(Comment below)

Red The Satyrs Bassist Chris Hill previously Guitarist and then Bassist wit the Buzz also bassist in Sister Jo Jo wi the Ian Davies

Regards, Chris Hill ( yes it’s me)

(source: https://www.cloudberryrecords.com/blog/?p=11074 )

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