"What else could he do? Join the Monkees?"
Friday, January 30, 2009
Iggy Says Goodbye
In case you haven't seen it, here's the obituary that Iggy Pop wrote for Rolling Stone about his childhood friend Ron Asheton.
"What else could he do? Join the Monkees?"
"What else could he do? Join the Monkees?"
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Poser
Longtime San Francisco Chronicle music hack Joel Selvin has written another error-riddled piece about Bay Area Music history:
The Chronicle's Bay Area musical history tour
A note for the newbies: DO NOT believe everything you read by Mr. Selvin. Yes, he's been covering Bay Area Music since, like, 1906 or something.. but he is not the official Historian of Bay Area Music.
The Chronicle's Bay Area musical history tour
- Ummm... Zeppelin made their final Bay Area appearance with Bonham in OAKLAND, not S.F.... and it wasn't his final show with the band. However, the Oakland show was Bonham's final show in America.
- The Metallica house was NOT at the location Selvin identifies. The actual Metallica Mansion was at 3132 Carlson Avenue in EL CERRITO (not Richmond). Selvin also noted this incorrect address in his 1996 book San Francisco: The Musical History Tour: A Guide to Over 200 of the Bay Area's Most Memorable Music Sites... which means alot of tourists have been visiting the wrong house all these years. Oh well!
A note for the newbies: DO NOT believe everything you read by Mr. Selvin. Yes, he's been covering Bay Area Music since, like, 1906 or something.. but he is not the official Historian of Bay Area Music.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday's Gone
Maybe I shouldn't have selected 'Gimme Back My Bullets' as my theme song for the year.. So now Skynyrd's current lineup is down to 1/7 of the original band.
Rest in Peace Mr. Powell.
Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboardist dies at Florida home
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
(01-28) 10:21 PST Orange Park, Fla. (AP) --
A keyboardist for the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd has died at his northeast Florida home.
Orange Park Police Lt. Mark Cornett says 56-year-old keyboard player Billy Powell called 911 about 12:55 a.m. Wednesday saying he was having trouble breathing. Rescue crews performed CPR, but he was pronounced dead at 1:52 a.m.
Cornett says no foul play is suspected and an autopsy will not be performed.
He says Powell missed a Tuesday appointment with his doctor for a cardiac evaluation. A heart attack is suspected.
Powell was one of two surviving band members who were with the group before a 1977 plane crash that killed three of its members.
Rest in Peace Mr. Powell.
Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboardist dies at Florida home
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
(01-28) 10:21 PST Orange Park, Fla. (AP) --
A keyboardist for the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd has died at his northeast Florida home.
Orange Park Police Lt. Mark Cornett says 56-year-old keyboard player Billy Powell called 911 about 12:55 a.m. Wednesday saying he was having trouble breathing. Rescue crews performed CPR, but he was pronounced dead at 1:52 a.m.
Cornett says no foul play is suspected and an autopsy will not be performed.
He says Powell missed a Tuesday appointment with his doctor for a cardiac evaluation. A heart attack is suspected.
Powell was one of two surviving band members who were with the group before a 1977 plane crash that killed three of its members.
'Freebird' - Oakland Stadium - July 4, 1977
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Orgasmatron
Over at Ebay, Motörhead has contributed a shitload of swag for a charity auction that benefits the Children's Cancer Association. VERY cool, right!? Umlaut is extremely proud two items that he brokered for the band are included in the auction: The bad ass motorcycle helmet and the Lemmy action figure.
You can view the auction and place your bid HERE.
Item number: 320335352577
Motorhead meet Lemmy! tickets, passes, helmet. MUST SEE
2 tickets and backstage passes for a show. Swag pack...
You are bidding on a once in a lifetime bundle of awesome Motorhead gear donated by Motorhead for this auction!! ALL of this stuff was donated by Motorhead for charity to help raise money for the Children's Cancer Association. Highest winning bidder will receive:
2 concert tickets and backstage after show passes to meet Lemmy and the band at any show in the world!!!! That is right, you can choose the show you want to go to! Winner will receive an official Motorhead letterhead from their management via PDF and official printed hard copy with the rest of the prizes won in this auctions. Letterhead has directions on how to obtain tickets and passes along with all official contact and management information. Travel expenses are NOT included. This is valid for one show within the next 3 years! For security reasons, I am not aloud to post the letterhead due to fraud. THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO MEET LEMMY AND THE GANG BACKSTAGE AFTER HE IS DONE ROCKING!!!
You will find this listing on Motorhead's official website http://www.imotorhead.com/ and official myspace page... THIS IS NOT A FRAUD AUCTION! See for yourself!
Bundle pack also includes:
• A special limited edition Motorhead "Rockhard" Motorcycle helmet. This is BRAND NEW and very limited. Also includes Certificate of Authenticity from the manufacturer. Size - Large • Lemmy Kilmister Icon Figure Series, made by Loco Ape. Brand new. Factory sealed. • Inferno, Motorizer and Kiss of Death CD's (Brand new, factory sealed.) • Motorhead Hat – One Size Fits All • Dickies Black Denim Motorhead Crew Jacket – Large • Mikkey Dee signature Vic Firth Drumsticks • (3) Motorhead England T-Shirt – (1) Small, (1) Large and (1) Extra Large • Motorhead Local Road Crew 2007 T-Shirt– Size Extra Large • Motorhead Kiss of Death T-Shirt – Size Extra Large • Motorhead Inferno T-Shirt – Size Large • Various backstage Laminates from previous years – 8 Total (This laminates are void and can no longer be used at a show) • (10) official guitar picks used by Lemmy and Phil! These are what they use on stage! *** Please note that ALL clothing is BRAND NEW and never worn. You can not buy half of this stuff ANYWHERE!!! This auction is priceless, AND TRULY IS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY! Wear all this cool stuff to the show and bring the official Motorhead Motorcycle helmet and figure to the show and have it signed by Lemmy and the boys!!! How cool is that! ** One Pair (2) concert tickets to any ONE Motorhead performance Worldwide commencing 1st January 2009 to 31st December 2012. Tickets are (2) tickets or entry to concert, with after show passes only to be collected at Box Office / Will Call day of performance. No additional transport or accommodations are included in this prize. You must get yourself to the show! No cash alternative is available. Certain restrictions on certain shows may apply when it is not a Motorhead headline performance but we will do our best to accommodate where at all possible.** I am very grateful for Motorhead in donating all this cool stuff. Proceeds of this auction will be donated to the Children's Cancer Association. For more info, please log onto: http://www.childrenscancerassociation.org/ I accept Pay Pal, Cashiers Checks and US Postal Money Order. ABSOLUTELY NO PERSONAL CHECKS!!!! Shipping for these items are $20.00 in the continental United States and $30.00 outside of the US. No refunds, items come securely packed. Please check out my other charity auctions. Terms: All payments must be received no later than 10 days from end of auction or bidder will be reported to e-bay as a non-paying bidder. Happy Bidding and Good Luck!!!
House Of Blues - Anaheim - September 2008:
Lemmy was obviously overwhelmed by emotions after seeing the Motörhead helmet for the first time! Pictured: Umlaut with the helmet's design team, Lemmy's mohawked friend.. and Mr. Kilmister.
You can view the auction and place your bid HERE.
Item number: 320335352577
Motorhead meet Lemmy! tickets, passes, helmet. MUST SEE
2 tickets and backstage passes for a show. Swag pack...
You are bidding on a once in a lifetime bundle of awesome Motorhead gear donated by Motorhead for this auction!! ALL of this stuff was donated by Motorhead for charity to help raise money for the Children's Cancer Association. Highest winning bidder will receive:
2 concert tickets and backstage after show passes to meet Lemmy and the band at any show in the world!!!! That is right, you can choose the show you want to go to! Winner will receive an official Motorhead letterhead from their management via PDF and official printed hard copy with the rest of the prizes won in this auctions. Letterhead has directions on how to obtain tickets and passes along with all official contact and management information. Travel expenses are NOT included. This is valid for one show within the next 3 years! For security reasons, I am not aloud to post the letterhead due to fraud. THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO MEET LEMMY AND THE GANG BACKSTAGE AFTER HE IS DONE ROCKING!!!
You will find this listing on Motorhead's official website http://www.imotorhead.com/ and official myspace page... THIS IS NOT A FRAUD AUCTION! See for yourself!
Bundle pack also includes:
• A special limited edition Motorhead "Rockhard" Motorcycle helmet. This is BRAND NEW and very limited. Also includes Certificate of Authenticity from the manufacturer. Size - Large • Lemmy Kilmister Icon Figure Series, made by Loco Ape. Brand new. Factory sealed. • Inferno, Motorizer and Kiss of Death CD's (Brand new, factory sealed.) • Motorhead Hat – One Size Fits All • Dickies Black Denim Motorhead Crew Jacket – Large • Mikkey Dee signature Vic Firth Drumsticks • (3) Motorhead England T-Shirt – (1) Small, (1) Large and (1) Extra Large • Motorhead Local Road Crew 2007 T-Shirt– Size Extra Large • Motorhead Kiss of Death T-Shirt – Size Extra Large • Motorhead Inferno T-Shirt – Size Large • Various backstage Laminates from previous years – 8 Total (This laminates are void and can no longer be used at a show) • (10) official guitar picks used by Lemmy and Phil! These are what they use on stage! *** Please note that ALL clothing is BRAND NEW and never worn. You can not buy half of this stuff ANYWHERE!!! This auction is priceless, AND TRULY IS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY! Wear all this cool stuff to the show and bring the official Motorhead Motorcycle helmet and figure to the show and have it signed by Lemmy and the boys!!! How cool is that! ** One Pair (2) concert tickets to any ONE Motorhead performance Worldwide commencing 1st January 2009 to 31st December 2012. Tickets are (2) tickets or entry to concert, with after show passes only to be collected at Box Office / Will Call day of performance. No additional transport or accommodations are included in this prize. You must get yourself to the show! No cash alternative is available. Certain restrictions on certain shows may apply when it is not a Motorhead headline performance but we will do our best to accommodate where at all possible.** I am very grateful for Motorhead in donating all this cool stuff. Proceeds of this auction will be donated to the Children's Cancer Association. For more info, please log onto: http://www.childrenscancerassociation.org/ I accept Pay Pal, Cashiers Checks and US Postal Money Order. ABSOLUTELY NO PERSONAL CHECKS!!!! Shipping for these items are $20.00 in the continental United States and $30.00 outside of the US. No refunds, items come securely packed. Please check out my other charity auctions. Terms: All payments must be received no later than 10 days from end of auction or bidder will be reported to e-bay as a non-paying bidder. Happy Bidding and Good Luck!!!
House Of Blues - Anaheim - September 2008:
Lemmy was obviously overwhelmed by emotions after seeing the Motörhead helmet for the first time! Pictured: Umlaut with the helmet's design team, Lemmy's mohawked friend.. and Mr. Kilmister.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Gung Hay Fat Choy
AmebixGreat American Music Hall, San Francisco
January 25, 2009
This day marked the first day of Chinese New Year 2009: The Year Of The Ox. According to superstition, what you do on this day will set the tone for the rest of your year.....
For the newbies, history tells the tale of how Amebix burst out of England with their visionary hybrid of Metal and Punk in the early-80's and how they burned brightly but broke up in 1987. Although they never toured outside of Europe, their influence bled down through the years to become legend and can be heard resonating in the music of bands such as Neurosis, Napalm Death, and Sepultura (among many others) to this very day.
To be honest, Amebix didn't make an impression on me at all back in The Day; in hindsight they were too forward thinking for me back then.. Plus I simply wasn't open minded enough to embrace a band who played "Crust Core"; what the fuck did that even mean anyway? Of course, it's ironic that I did become fanatical about some of the bands who Amebix influenced, especially Neurosis and the original lineup of Sepultura.
When Amebix announced a reunion and their first-ever U.S. Tour late last year it created a buzz that reminded me of when Celtic Frost toured in 2006. Thankfully, S.F. was one of the only 9 shows in 8 U.S. cities and this show sold out well in advance.
As we approached the Great American, there was a mob out front trying to score tickets and the smell of unwashed black denim and unwashed Crusties hit us; it was that palpable... and it was immediately obvious from the demeanor and look of the crowd that S.F. had been invaded by hordes of East Bay Punks and Metalheads... The vibe was different than your usual S.F. show... dirtier... harder... crazier.. and that was a good thing. Of course, the Umlaut Nation was out in force for this historic night, so a shout out to Timo, Lori, Dave, Ray, Rafa, Big Wayne, John, Erik, and Craig.
So, here in the 21st Century and I found myself in a sold out Great American Music Hall waiting for Amebix to hit the stage for the first time ever in San Francisco. Better late than never, right? For both myself and the band... Of course, the $1 Million Question was how good were Amebix going to be after a 22 year hiatus?? Two words: FUCKING AWESOME.
'Axeman'
(Video by Umlaut - Watch with the "HQ" option!)
(Video by Umlaut - Watch with the "HQ" option!)
I'm having trouble expressing just how amazing this show was; I'm gonna sound like an old fart, but I literally felt 15 years younger while watching this performance. The band's playing was so tight I couldn't believe this was only the 5th show of the reunion tour; their rehearsal schedule must have been intense... and the packed crowd was frenzied from the first note. I noticed two young Crusties standing stage right, a boy and a girl, who sang along to every song and the look on their faces said everything. Inspiring shit.
The energy of the room was so old school and perfect, and the crowd action was the most intense that I've seen at the GAMH in years... but there was something else too.. and I couldn't put my finger on what it was at first... Then I realized there was none of that bullshit Jock element in the crowd that is present at most 21st Century Metal shows; Amebix are a band that are off the Jock Metal radar. Tonight it was 600 kindred spirits paying respect to a legendary band, and the band recapturing a fire that originally burned 22 years ago... It was pretty fucking amazing, man.. One of those 600 kindred spirits was Jello Biafra, who sang back up with the band during the encore:
Jello with Amebix during 'Largactyl'
(Video by Umlaut - Watch with "HQ" option!)
(Video by Umlaut - Watch with "HQ" option!)
Best Quote: "People back home don't even know who we are..." - Rob of Amebix in reaction to the frenzied crowd.
After about 90 minutes of purely positive mayhem, Amebix left the stage amidst smoke and the dying final note of their last song... and I was reminded what it felt like to be so inspired by a band that I wanted to follow them and say "Fuck It" to everything else... I wanted to feed off their energy forever... but here in the 21st Century that doesn't pay the mortgage. Umlaut can be very jaded these days, so it was cool beyond words to have that feeling of inspiration and invincibility given to me by a band again.As we left the venue and spilled out onto the packed sidewalk out front, there were no less than 6 SFPD cars parked in front, lights flashing, the cops standing around a dude with a bloody face.. Perfect.
"Arise!! Get off your knees!! Get off your knees!"
It goes without saying that, even at this early date, Amebix will be one of Umlaut's shows of the year... I just wish I could feel this way after every gig I attend: Inspired... energized... happy to be alive. Upon my return to Casa de Umlaut, Skychick commented "It must have been a good show, you never talk about a show this much!"
Buzzov*en shirts = 2. I was too caught up in the moment to do a proper merch audit, but Amebix shirts and CD's were only $12 each... Old School! On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. As I said at the beginning of this rant, according to Chinese superstition, my activities and experiences on the first day of Chinese New Year would set the tone for the rest of my year. Discuss amongst yourselves.
Gung hay fat choy, mofos.
Click HERE for Crow's review of the magical evening! It should be noted that, unlike Umlaut, Crow WAS into Amebix back in The Day.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Search And Destroy
THANKS to Umlaut friend Loren for sharing this trivia with Umlaut:
For the newbies: James Williamson joined The Stooges on guitar in 1973 (when Ron Asheton moved to bass) and it was Williamson who played all of the guitar parts on the Raw Power album, which just might be the greatest album ever recorded IMO.. depending on which day you ask me.
Iggy and Williamson - 1973
After the demise of the Stooges, Williamson also worked with Iggy on several other projects... including the classic Kill City album.
Fast forward to the 21st Century and Mr. Williamson is now a highly respected Silicon Valley executive! The man behind the epic and slutty guitar riffs of songs like 'Search And Destroy', 'Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell', and 'Raw Power' is now a Captain of Industry... Umlaut LOVES that!! Mr. Williamson is proof that you can lead a prosperous and fulfilling life after Rock 'N Roll debauchery..
Click HERE for Mr. Williamson's professional bio. Yes, this post is 100% true.
"Look out honey 'cause we're using technology.. Ain't got time to make no apologies!"
For the newbies: James Williamson joined The Stooges on guitar in 1973 (when Ron Asheton moved to bass) and it was Williamson who played all of the guitar parts on the Raw Power album, which just might be the greatest album ever recorded IMO.. depending on which day you ask me.
Iggy and Williamson - 1973After the demise of the Stooges, Williamson also worked with Iggy on several other projects... including the classic Kill City album.
Fast forward to the 21st Century and Mr. Williamson is now a highly respected Silicon Valley executive! The man behind the epic and slutty guitar riffs of songs like 'Search And Destroy', 'Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell', and 'Raw Power' is now a Captain of Industry... Umlaut LOVES that!! Mr. Williamson is proof that you can lead a prosperous and fulfilling life after Rock 'N Roll debauchery..
Click HERE for Mr. Williamson's professional bio. Yes, this post is 100% true.
"Look out honey 'cause we're using technology.. Ain't got time to make no apologies!"
Friday, January 23, 2009
Real Cool Time
Umlaut friend Dan is hosting a tribute to his late, dear friend Ron Asheton tomorrow (Saturday - January 24th) from 3:00PM to 7:00PM PST on KFJC 89.7..
Dan will be playing several interviews that he did with Ron on WCBN (Ann Arbor) dating back to 1978, as well as playing lots of his music.
If you're outside of the Bay Area, you can listen to KFJC online HERE.
Dan will be playing several interviews that he did with Ron on WCBN (Ann Arbor) dating back to 1978, as well as playing lots of his music.If you're outside of the Bay Area, you can listen to KFJC online HERE.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Flight 666
Directed by Sam Dunn (Metal: A Headbanger's Journey) and filmed in HI-DEF (!!)... Umlaut is geeking out already.
IRON MAIDEN: FLIGHT 666 - THE MOVIE
Published: January 20, 2009
British heavy rock legends, Iron Maiden, in association with Banger Productions, EMI Records, Universal (USA) and Arts Alliance Media, announce that they will be releasing a feature length documentary film into cinemas worldwide on April 21st 2009.
As you may know from Rod's tour diaries, Iron Maiden have been working on a feature length documentary. Entitled 'IRON MAIDEN: FLIGHT 666', the movie follows the band on the first leg of their Somewhere Back In Time World Tour in February and March of 2008 as they experienced the most ambitious and adventurous tour in rock history, and will be released in April 2009 in association with EMI Records and Universal in the USA.
The Maiden tour plan was something that had never been attempted before on such a grand scale. Circumnavigating the globe, the band flew in a specially customised Boeing 757 airliner with their crew and 12 tons of music and stage equipment on board, playing 23 sold out stadium and arena shows in 13 countries in just 45 days, travelling 70,000km and performing to almost half a million fans.
The band were accompanied everywhere by award-winning documentary makers Banger Productions from Toronto in Canada, who have received international critical acclaim for their previous movies "Metal, A Headbangers Journey" and recently "Global Metal". Filmmakers Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn and their team bring an intimate behind the scenes view of this remarkable journey, with a close look at the logistics involved and following Team Maiden in the cockpit, on the plane and on and offstage, getting to the heart of this global adventure of a band that has very rarely even let cameras backstage before.
Shot in High Definition and with superb 5.1 surround sound, mixed by the bands producer Kevin 'Caveman' Shirley, FLIGHT 666 brings to the screen all the drama, excitement and hysteria that followed the band around the world every time 'Ed Force One' touched down in a new country. The film documents the intensity of the punishing show schedules, the struggle with the time zones, the pressures of ensuring that every performance matched the energy of the many thousands of ecstatic and expectant fans from many cultural backgrounds, unusual angles from the spectacular shows... and of course the fun had on the way!.
Iron Maiden: Flight 666 is an honest and revealing portrait of one of the worlds most successful rock bands and a must-see for all Maiden fans.
IRON MAIDEN: FLIGHT 666 - THE MOVIE
Published: January 20, 2009
British heavy rock legends, Iron Maiden, in association with Banger Productions, EMI Records, Universal (USA) and Arts Alliance Media, announce that they will be releasing a feature length documentary film into cinemas worldwide on April 21st 2009.
As you may know from Rod's tour diaries, Iron Maiden have been working on a feature length documentary. Entitled 'IRON MAIDEN: FLIGHT 666', the movie follows the band on the first leg of their Somewhere Back In Time World Tour in February and March of 2008 as they experienced the most ambitious and adventurous tour in rock history, and will be released in April 2009 in association with EMI Records and Universal in the USA.
The Maiden tour plan was something that had never been attempted before on such a grand scale. Circumnavigating the globe, the band flew in a specially customised Boeing 757 airliner with their crew and 12 tons of music and stage equipment on board, playing 23 sold out stadium and arena shows in 13 countries in just 45 days, travelling 70,000km and performing to almost half a million fans.
The band were accompanied everywhere by award-winning documentary makers Banger Productions from Toronto in Canada, who have received international critical acclaim for their previous movies "Metal, A Headbangers Journey" and recently "Global Metal". Filmmakers Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn and their team bring an intimate behind the scenes view of this remarkable journey, with a close look at the logistics involved and following Team Maiden in the cockpit, on the plane and on and offstage, getting to the heart of this global adventure of a band that has very rarely even let cameras backstage before.
Shot in High Definition and with superb 5.1 surround sound, mixed by the bands producer Kevin 'Caveman' Shirley, FLIGHT 666 brings to the screen all the drama, excitement and hysteria that followed the band around the world every time 'Ed Force One' touched down in a new country. The film documents the intensity of the punishing show schedules, the struggle with the time zones, the pressures of ensuring that every performance matched the energy of the many thousands of ecstatic and expectant fans from many cultural backgrounds, unusual angles from the spectacular shows... and of course the fun had on the way!.
Iron Maiden: Flight 666 is an honest and revealing portrait of one of the worlds most successful rock bands and a must-see for all Maiden fans.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Whiskey River
Willie Nelson
The Fillmore, San Francisco
January 20, 2009
It was appropriate to be seeing Willie on the Inauguration Day of the first President of the United States to publicly declare that he's gotten high. If you missed it, Obama discussed his drug use as a teen in one of his books, and then appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and had the following exchange with Leno:
Leno: "Remember, Senator, you are under oath. Did you inhale?"
Obama: "That was the point."
A new day is dawning in America... and it's 4:20 at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Being from the Bay Area I did not grow up with Old Country music, but I grew to appreciate it some years back when I was obsessed with Alt-Country bands like Uncle Tupelo. A friend once described seeing Willie as "frustrating".. and I tend to agree.. His meandering, jammy onstage style isn't my thing. However, his songwriting legacy is without question and with the passing of so many old heroes recently I got off my ass to see Willie this time around.
It was appropriate that my platonic bro date for the evening was The Drummer, who is a native of the great state of Kentucky. You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy.
At just past 9:00PM the houselights slowly (and I mean SLOWLY) went down and the band entered from the backstage area on stage right... Then Willie sauntered in from Geary Blvd. via the door at stage left; it was a funny entrance. I imagined Willie had been taking a nap on the tour bus and was basically hitting the stage running, as much as a 75-year old man can hit the stage running!
Willie and the band launched straight into 'Whiskey River' and for the next 90 minutes seemingly played all the hits ('Crazy', 'Bloody Mary Morning', 'Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain', 'On The Road Again'...) and even dropped 'Me And Paul' into the middle of the set.
Yes, Willie was in classic meandering, jammy form... sometimes singing off-key as well.. but his charisma and magnetism were still infectious. His nod to Waylon (R.I.P.) with 'Good Hearted Woman' was nice, but my fave of the set was 'City Of New Orleans' because, for some reason, the song had been going through my head all day as I watched The Inauguration.
This was the final night of Willie's sold out 5-night run in S.F. and it was cool to see The Fillmore decked out to celebrate Inauguration Day, with a big American flag behind the main bar and red, white, and blue bunting and balloons decorating the upstairs balconies and stage. Willie acknowledged the historic day by saying "It's time to take back this country.." and then played a song called 'Peaceful Solution' that he co-wrote with his daughter, who also joined him onstage to sing. To top it off, the standard giveaway Fillmore poster for the evening was a special "Inauguration Celebration" one that differed from the poster given out on the previous 4 nights. Nice. Dog Bless America!
I was wondering what kind of crowd Willie would draw on a Tuesday night... The sold out house was mostly enthusiastic and, because it was a school night, not very drunk at all.. However, a noticeable number of attendees were the short attention span types who talked loudly during songs. Why the fuck would you pay to attend a concert and then not pay any attention to the performance?? Idiots..
THANKS to The Man for sorting my +1 for the evening.
Number of Hell's Angels = 2. I wasn't in the mood to do a merch audit, but my educated guess is that if you bought one of every Willie merch item you would have paid around $300. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Here's to the upcoming 8 years of the Obama Administration and, in the spirit of his call for public service, don't bogart the joint, dude!
"Good morning America, how are you?"
The Fillmore, San Francisco
January 20, 2009
It was appropriate to be seeing Willie on the Inauguration Day of the first President of the United States to publicly declare that he's gotten high. If you missed it, Obama discussed his drug use as a teen in one of his books, and then appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and had the following exchange with Leno:
Leno: "Remember, Senator, you are under oath. Did you inhale?"
Obama: "That was the point."
A new day is dawning in America... and it's 4:20 at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Being from the Bay Area I did not grow up with Old Country music, but I grew to appreciate it some years back when I was obsessed with Alt-Country bands like Uncle Tupelo. A friend once described seeing Willie as "frustrating".. and I tend to agree.. His meandering, jammy onstage style isn't my thing. However, his songwriting legacy is without question and with the passing of so many old heroes recently I got off my ass to see Willie this time around.
It was appropriate that my platonic bro date for the evening was The Drummer, who is a native of the great state of Kentucky. You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy.
At just past 9:00PM the houselights slowly (and I mean SLOWLY) went down and the band entered from the backstage area on stage right... Then Willie sauntered in from Geary Blvd. via the door at stage left; it was a funny entrance. I imagined Willie had been taking a nap on the tour bus and was basically hitting the stage running, as much as a 75-year old man can hit the stage running!
Willie and the band launched straight into 'Whiskey River' and for the next 90 minutes seemingly played all the hits ('Crazy', 'Bloody Mary Morning', 'Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain', 'On The Road Again'...) and even dropped 'Me And Paul' into the middle of the set.
Yes, Willie was in classic meandering, jammy form... sometimes singing off-key as well.. but his charisma and magnetism were still infectious. His nod to Waylon (R.I.P.) with 'Good Hearted Woman' was nice, but my fave of the set was 'City Of New Orleans' because, for some reason, the song had been going through my head all day as I watched The Inauguration.
This was the final night of Willie's sold out 5-night run in S.F. and it was cool to see The Fillmore decked out to celebrate Inauguration Day, with a big American flag behind the main bar and red, white, and blue bunting and balloons decorating the upstairs balconies and stage. Willie acknowledged the historic day by saying "It's time to take back this country.." and then played a song called 'Peaceful Solution' that he co-wrote with his daughter, who also joined him onstage to sing. To top it off, the standard giveaway Fillmore poster for the evening was a special "Inauguration Celebration" one that differed from the poster given out on the previous 4 nights. Nice. Dog Bless America!
I was wondering what kind of crowd Willie would draw on a Tuesday night... The sold out house was mostly enthusiastic and, because it was a school night, not very drunk at all.. However, a noticeable number of attendees were the short attention span types who talked loudly during songs. Why the fuck would you pay to attend a concert and then not pay any attention to the performance?? Idiots..
THANKS to The Man for sorting my +1 for the evening.
Number of Hell's Angels = 2. I wasn't in the mood to do a merch audit, but my educated guess is that if you bought one of every Willie merch item you would have paid around $300. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Here's to the upcoming 8 years of the Obama Administration and, in the spirit of his call for public service, don't bogart the joint, dude!
"Good morning America, how are you?"
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Breed
This was one of those moments when a song immediately popped into my head: Last night Umlaut found himself wandering the stacks of Green Apple Books.. At one point I was trying to look at some books when two guys next to me started talking in inappropriately loud fashion (Hey guys? INSIDE voices, 'kay?) and it went something like this:Guy 1: Like, I'm uncomfortable in bookstores... They're, like, so in your face.. you know?
Guy 2: What do you mean?
Guy 1: Like, bookstores just shove all of this information in your face.. I'm never going to be able to know ALL of this information, you know? Like, I'm never going to read ALL of these books!
Guy 2: Yeah.. That's why I like the Internet... If I want to know about something I can just look it up.
Guy 1: Yeah, I know!
I'm pretty sure they were on a date... and as this conversation unfolded next to me, that Nirvana song popped into my head...
"We don't have to breed..."
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Soft Corinthian Leather
Just when Umlaut thought it was safe to be happy again, The Grim Reaper decided to work overtime... I know the economy is bad, and everyone needs extra money.. but COME ON, DUDE! Take a day off!
The Celebrity Stairway To Heaven took another Geek icon with Ricardo Montalban taking the stairs today.. KHHHHHAAAAN!!!!!!
Biography from The Wrath Of Khan opening night program
(From the Umlaut Archives)
Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan
Advance Poster Pamphlet and Opening Night Program
(From the Umlaut Archives)
Khan: "THIS IS CETI ALPHA FIVE! Ceti Alpha Six exploded six months after we were left here. The shock shifted the orbit of this planet and everything was laid waste. 'Admiral' Kirk never bothered to check on our progress. It was only the fact of my genetically-engineered intellect that allowed us to survive. On Earth, two hundred years ago, I was a prince with power over millions... "
Thanks to Big Wayne for the Khan quote.. Rest in peace Mr. Montalban.. I hope your couch in Heaven is made of soft Corinthian leather.. CORDOBA!
This brings the Celebrity Death Count in Umlaut's world over the past week to FOUR.. with Khan coming so soon after Ron Asheton, Bob Wilkins, and Patrick McGoohan. Fuck. FUCK!
However, because Umlaut feels like being a smartass, I'm going to say that the Celebrity Death Count total is actually FIVE as of today... with the 5th one being Metallica with their induction today into the dubious Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame on their first year of eligibility.
It's a shame that Umlaut just proclaimed himself a legitimate Metallica fan again now that the first and second nails have been driven into their coffin.. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame!!? Those fuckers haven't even recognized The Stooges yet!!
On the flip side, I must admit it is kind of a mindfuck to realize that I've followed a band since literally Day 1 of their career from their first demo tape to their induction into the dubious RNR HOF. I guess you could rationalize how this is a cool thing... It's too bad Metallica can't start going backwards now, like in that new Brad Pitt movie I haven't seen.
Congratulations Metallica.. I hope your couch in Heaven is made of soft Corinthian leather too..
Umlaut with Hetfield - 1983
METALLIKHHHHHAAAAN!!!!!!
The Celebrity Stairway To Heaven took another Geek icon with Ricardo Montalban taking the stairs today.. KHHHHHAAAAN!!!!!!
Biography from The Wrath Of Khan opening night program(From the Umlaut Archives)
Star Trek II: The Wrath Of KhanAdvance Poster Pamphlet and Opening Night Program
(From the Umlaut Archives)
Khan: "THIS IS CETI ALPHA FIVE! Ceti Alpha Six exploded six months after we were left here. The shock shifted the orbit of this planet and everything was laid waste. 'Admiral' Kirk never bothered to check on our progress. It was only the fact of my genetically-engineered intellect that allowed us to survive. On Earth, two hundred years ago, I was a prince with power over millions... "
Thanks to Big Wayne for the Khan quote.. Rest in peace Mr. Montalban.. I hope your couch in Heaven is made of soft Corinthian leather.. CORDOBA!
This brings the Celebrity Death Count in Umlaut's world over the past week to FOUR.. with Khan coming so soon after Ron Asheton, Bob Wilkins, and Patrick McGoohan. Fuck. FUCK!
However, because Umlaut feels like being a smartass, I'm going to say that the Celebrity Death Count total is actually FIVE as of today... with the 5th one being Metallica with their induction today into the dubious Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame on their first year of eligibility.
It's a shame that Umlaut just proclaimed himself a legitimate Metallica fan again now that the first and second nails have been driven into their coffin.. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame!!? Those fuckers haven't even recognized The Stooges yet!!
On the flip side, I must admit it is kind of a mindfuck to realize that I've followed a band since literally Day 1 of their career from their first demo tape to their induction into the dubious RNR HOF. I guess you could rationalize how this is a cool thing... It's too bad Metallica can't start going backwards now, like in that new Brad Pitt movie I haven't seen.
Congratulations Metallica.. I hope your couch in Heaven is made of soft Corinthian leather too..
Umlaut with Hetfield - 1983
I Am A Free Man
So here it is.... Celebrity Deaths always come in 3's.. and 2009 has kicked off with an incredible trio: First it was Ron Asheton... Then Bob Wilkins.. and the final member of the most recent trio is.. Patrick McGoohan. To be honest, I can't remember the last time a Celebrity Death Trio was made up of 3 people who all had a profound influence on me during my Salad Days.
Fuck... FUCK!
Another tremendous Geek icon gone.. As with all Sci-Fi Dork types, I was obsessed with The Prisoner as a kid, watching it religiously on the local PBS station. Then, when Iron Maiden released their song 'The Prisoner' it was one of those moments when my teenage mind realized there were others "out there" like me.. who had the same interests.. the same aesthetic... we were into the same things. Cue an epiphany.
In an Iron Maiden documentary there's a great segment where the band and their manager, Rod Smallwood, talk about having to call McGoohan to obtain permission to use an excerpt from The Prisoner as the intro to the song.
At that point in their career, Maiden were already big and were on the cusp of worldwide super stardom, and they were not easily intimidated... but it's fun to hear their manager tell how nervous he was calling McGoohan with the band all sitting around him... When he nervously told McGoohan what they wanted to do, McGoohan's reply was simply "DO IT..."
It must be noted that the band's interview segment was filmed on the actual Village set from The Prisoner and Bruce Dickenson wore a blazer like McGoohan's #6! The Geeks shall inherit The Earth.
Rest in peace Mr. McGoohan.
Fuck... FUCK!
Another tremendous Geek icon gone.. As with all Sci-Fi Dork types, I was obsessed with The Prisoner as a kid, watching it religiously on the local PBS station. Then, when Iron Maiden released their song 'The Prisoner' it was one of those moments when my teenage mind realized there were others "out there" like me.. who had the same interests.. the same aesthetic... we were into the same things. Cue an epiphany.
In an Iron Maiden documentary there's a great segment where the band and their manager, Rod Smallwood, talk about having to call McGoohan to obtain permission to use an excerpt from The Prisoner as the intro to the song.
At that point in their career, Maiden were already big and were on the cusp of worldwide super stardom, and they were not easily intimidated... but it's fun to hear their manager tell how nervous he was calling McGoohan with the band all sitting around him... When he nervously told McGoohan what they wanted to do, McGoohan's reply was simply "DO IT..."
It must be noted that the band's interview segment was filmed on the actual Village set from The Prisoner and Bruce Dickenson wore a blazer like McGoohan's #6! The Geeks shall inherit The Earth.
Rest in peace Mr. McGoohan.
"I am not a number, I am a free man!"
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Numbers
Umlaut isn't a numbers person... but I understand that numbers don't lie. Here are some recent stats for visitors to this site:
Does "DSL" stand for "Devil Satan Lucifer"? Me thinks so..
To quote Mercyful Fate: "Something you can't relate... six hundred and sixty-six."
Does "DSL" stand for "Devil Satan Lucifer"? Me thinks so..
To quote Mercyful Fate: "Something you can't relate... six hundred and sixty-six."
Monday, January 12, 2009
Swap
Here in the 21st Century, it's hard to remember how much work and toil it required to be a Music Geek before you could find everything you wanted on the Information Superhighway... Remember driving or taking public transit for hours simply to visit a record store? Me too. Remember going through all of the dealer ads in every issue of Goldmine in hopes of finding that elusive import-only promo 7" single? Me too. Remember calling the dealers in those ads to make sure they still had that elusive import-only promo 7" single? Me too. Remember having to visit a post office to get a postal money order to pay for that elusive import-only promo 7" single?? Me too. Remember attending local collector shows and record swaps and spending all day going through dozens of bins and boxes at dozens of dealer tables? Me too. How old are you really?
For Umlaut, the big Music Geek events back in The Day were the college radio records swaps at the University of San Francisco (KUSF) and Foothill College (KFJC), and the huge collectors show that happened twice a year at the San Mateo Fairgrounds. Sadly the KFJC now happens infrequently (if at all?) and the San Mateo event is long gone. However, it's nice to know that the KUSF Rock 'n' Swap is still held 4x a year.
I hadn't been to the KUSF swap in years and years... and upon entering I was struck by a slight wave of nostalgia seeing all of the dealer tables. Despite the amazing weather outside, the swap seemed well attended by both dealers and Music Geeks alike.
The Rock 'n' Swap is good mainly for those folks looking for vintage vinyl and dodgy concert bootlegs; some of the dealers have probably been lugging their crates of records around for decades. It's Old School and not the best place to go if you're looking for anything released after, like, 1993.
It's always fun rifling through bins of albums and 7" singles, and it's weird how second nature it is for me to pull a record out of its sleeve, hold it with my fingertips and flip it over, all the while holding it at an angle in the light to check how clean the record looks. If only this skill could be used for a practical career here in the 21st Century.
On the flip side (pun intended), some aspects of an Old School event like this wears thin for Umlaut here in the 21st Century... Such as $30 for an "original pressing" of Slayer's debut album? Really?? 30 bucks? No non-CD tracks... No special packaging (gatefold sleeve, bonus 7" single, insert poster, etc..)... No special vinyl coloring... 30 bucks? Really??
Anyway, I spent 6 bucks on two items:
My purchases seemed even more old fart boring after Umlaut friend Ray scored a copy of 7 Seconds - Praise on vinyl (never reissued on CD). Nicely done, my brother.
Umlaut saw a couple of old friends / familiar faces... and it was cool to see a good number of young Music Geeks amongst all the old timers... I smiled when a youngster standing next to me at a dealer table pulled out an album and excitedly said to the dealer "I've NEVER seen this Blue Öyster Cult album before!!!"
Unfortunately, the kid was excited about the shite Club Ninja album... but at least he was trying. An "A" for effort kid, just keep studying and you'll be alright.
Umlaut tends to be dogmatic in his opinion that the Old School ways are über alles... but then the Information Superhighway gives him things with just a couple of mouse clicks... like 'Fuck The Mummies', the unreleased album The Mummies recorded for Crypt Records back in 1991 that I illegally downloaded this morning.
I guess, with that reality check in mind, Umlaut is simply thankful that he can travel in both the Old School world and the New World here in the 21st Century.
Hope I die before I get old.
For Umlaut, the big Music Geek events back in The Day were the college radio records swaps at the University of San Francisco (KUSF) and Foothill College (KFJC), and the huge collectors show that happened twice a year at the San Mateo Fairgrounds. Sadly the KFJC now happens infrequently (if at all?) and the San Mateo event is long gone. However, it's nice to know that the KUSF Rock 'n' Swap is still held 4x a year.
I hadn't been to the KUSF swap in years and years... and upon entering I was struck by a slight wave of nostalgia seeing all of the dealer tables. Despite the amazing weather outside, the swap seemed well attended by both dealers and Music Geeks alike.The Rock 'n' Swap is good mainly for those folks looking for vintage vinyl and dodgy concert bootlegs; some of the dealers have probably been lugging their crates of records around for decades. It's Old School and not the best place to go if you're looking for anything released after, like, 1993.
It's always fun rifling through bins of albums and 7" singles, and it's weird how second nature it is for me to pull a record out of its sleeve, hold it with my fingertips and flip it over, all the while holding it at an angle in the light to check how clean the record looks. If only this skill could be used for a practical career here in the 21st Century.
On the flip side (pun intended), some aspects of an Old School event like this wears thin for Umlaut here in the 21st Century... Such as $30 for an "original pressing" of Slayer's debut album? Really?? 30 bucks? No non-CD tracks... No special packaging (gatefold sleeve, bonus 7" single, insert poster, etc..)... No special vinyl coloring... 30 bucks? Really??
Anyway, I spent 6 bucks on two items:
- The Clash - 'English Civil War' b/w 'Pressure Drop 7" single (CBS 7082 - 1978) for 2 bucks...
- Iron Maiden - 'Aces High' b/w 'King Of Twilight' and 'The Number Of The Beast' (Live Version) 12" single (EMI - 1984) for 4 bucks.
My purchases seemed even more old fart boring after Umlaut friend Ray scored a copy of 7 Seconds - Praise on vinyl (never reissued on CD). Nicely done, my brother.
Umlaut saw a couple of old friends / familiar faces... and it was cool to see a good number of young Music Geeks amongst all the old timers... I smiled when a youngster standing next to me at a dealer table pulled out an album and excitedly said to the dealer "I've NEVER seen this Blue Öyster Cult album before!!!"
Unfortunately, the kid was excited about the shite Club Ninja album... but at least he was trying. An "A" for effort kid, just keep studying and you'll be alright.
Umlaut tends to be dogmatic in his opinion that the Old School ways are über alles... but then the Information Superhighway gives him things with just a couple of mouse clicks... like 'Fuck The Mummies', the unreleased album The Mummies recorded for Crypt Records back in 1991 that I illegally downloaded this morning.I guess, with that reality check in mind, Umlaut is simply thankful that he can travel in both the Old School world and the New World here in the 21st Century.
Hope I die before I get old.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Here Comes The Sun
Man, after all the bad news that's kicked off this year, it's about time there was some GOOD news to give Umlaut hope for the rest of the year.After all the rumors and hushed, "off the record" chit chat at Umlaut social gatherings, it's finally been publicly announced: Shrinebuilder is a reality!
Dude, "supergroup" is an understatement.. The band's lineup features members of some now-legendary bands who were basically the decibel-fueled soundtrack for the original xeroxed Umlaut 'zine back in the hazy, crazy early-90's:
Wino (Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, The Hidden Hand)- vocals
Scott Kelly (Neurosis) - guitar
Al Cisneros (Sleep, Om)- bass
Dale Crover (Melvins) - drums
HOLY SHIT! My ears are already ringing..
The band is currently working on pre-production for an album scheduled for release on Neurot Recordings this Summer. You can follow the project's progress via Scott's blog or via the Shrinebuilder MySpace page.
There is Hope through Volume.. Let this be the first of many blessings in 2009... and I dedicate this post to all the hipster kids who have no appreciation of the magnitude of this collaboration. To quote 'I Bleed Black' by Saint Vitus:
"I can tell by their eyes they're just a bunch of fucking unaware squares..."
In other related shit: Umlaut may drive a Prius, but part of him wishes he drove a Scion.. or could at least meet Scion's Marketing Dept.. because Scion is seriously METAL.. No joke.
(Trivia: Scion is a division of Toyota)
Scion not only sponsored a FREE High On Fire show in L.A. at the end of last year, but they're also hosting the FREE Scion Rock Fest in Atlanta on February 28th. The bill is BEYOND mindblowing:
The bill reads like Umlaut's CD collection... especially with Mastodon, Neurosis, High On Fire, Boris, 1349, Torche, Wolves In The Throne Room, Harvey Milk, Kylesa, Skeletonwitch, and Warbringer.. Plus it's in a small 1,500 capacity venue.. WTF!? This.... bill... is... BEYOND... mindblowing.
Whoever is running the show at Scion is some kind of Metalhead... and, with forward thinking Satanic Marketing like this, U.S. car makers don't have a fucking chance despite the recent government bailout... 'cause Satan and METAL trumps God and New Country Music every time. "Built Ford Tough" is for pussies.
There is Hope through Volume, my friends.. There is hope.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Celebration Day
It's ironic that while one of Umlaut's Guitar Gods passed away earlier this week, another of his Guitar Gods celebrates his birthday today... Zoso is 65 years old!? Wow..However, soon after I started typing about Zoso's birthday, I found out that Bob Wilkins had passed away.
Fuck... FUCK.
Bob Wilkins is a legend to all Geeks who grew up in The Bay Area during the 70's. He hosted the iconic Saturday night show Creature Features on Channel 2 from 1971-79. On Creature Features, Wilkins presented Horror and Science Fiction movies (both good and bad ones... usually the latter..) while puffing on his trademark cigar. I specifically remember The Day Of The Triffids scaring the shit out of me as a young lad; imagine watching Horror and Sci-Fi movies by yourself in a darkened family room while your family slept upstairs. Life defining stuff, man.
During commercial breaks Wilkins would impart Sci-Fi and Horror trivia with his droll sense of humor and announce any local Sci-Fi or Horror events. He also interviewed guests such as Ray Harryhausen, Christopher Lee, William Shatner, Boris Karloff, and Leonard Nimoy on the show. Staying up late.. watching scary and exciting movies.. seeing some of your Sci-Fi / Horror heroes when they visited The Bay Area. Life defining stuff, man.
For a couple of years in the late-70's, Wilkins also hosted an afternoon Science Fiction kids show as his alter ego Captain Cosmic with his sidekick Robot 2T2 (Well, this was at the height of Star Wars Mania!). As Captain Cosmic, Wilkins introduced us to classic cheesy Sci-Fi such as Ultraman, Starblazers, and Umlaut's favorite: Johnny Sokko & His Flying Robot! Umlaut would rush home or over to a friend's house after school to watch Captain Cosmic. Life defining stuff, man.
It's interesting to note that at about the same time Wilkins left Creature Features and Captain Cosmic behind, Umlaut was starting to fully embrace his Music Geek ways... Cause and effect? Perhaps..
Anyway, I had a certain Zoso song in mind while typing about his birthday... but I suppose it fits Mr. Wilkins' passing as well. So, with that song playing in my head, I say Happy Birthday Zoso.. and Rest In Peace Mr. Wilkins and THANK YOU.
"We're gonna dance and sing in celebration, we're in the promised land.."
Bob Wilkins - 1932-2009It was cool that Mr. Wilkins' old Bay Area station KTVU covered his passing, both online and during their news broadcast. Click HERE for their obituary.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
R.I.P. Ron Asheton
Holy shit... Fuck... FUCK. To be honest I can't properly articulate anything about this. Asheton was one of my Rock Heroes... Guitar God... The heart of one of my all-time favorite bands..
FUCK.
Iggy's Statement.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Summer Reading
Heads up for your Summer reading list: Scheduled for publication in June is a biography of Cliff Burton by noted music journalist Joel McIver.
Those who know Umlaut are aware of my history with Metallica.. Long story short, Joel interviewed Umlaut as well as other key people from back in The Day in researching this book. Those times and Cliff's memory are sacred to me and I don't think I would have spoken to anyone else besides Joel on the subject.
Given his past work and his personal knowledge of the bands he writes about, I know Joel's book will be the definitive and accurate account of Cliff's life. Joel is a journalist... AND he's Old Metal.
Click HERE to pre-order the book via Amazon.com in the U.K.. Information about the U.S. release to follow.
Updated on 2/9/09: Metal Hammer has published the first excerpt from Joel's book:
Those who know Umlaut are aware of my history with Metallica.. Long story short, Joel interviewed Umlaut as well as other key people from back in The Day in researching this book. Those times and Cliff's memory are sacred to me and I don't think I would have spoken to anyone else besides Joel on the subject.
Given his past work and his personal knowledge of the bands he writes about, I know Joel's book will be the definitive and accurate account of Cliff's life. Joel is a journalist... AND he's Old Metal.
Click HERE to pre-order the book via Amazon.com in the U.K.. Information about the U.S. release to follow.
Cliff Bass Solos - 1983-86
Updated on 2/9/09: Metal Hammer has published the first excerpt from Joel's book:
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Castle Keeper
Not long ago, Umlaut was going through his old albums (Note for the kids: I'm referring to VINYL... not CDs... and I wasn't scrolling through my iTunes playlist..) and in the course of my vinyl flipping, I came across an album I'd forgotten about:
Castle Donnington - Monsters Of Rock
Various Artists
Polydor Records (PD 1-6311 - 1980)
To use that Music Geek cliché: This album changed my life.
In 1981 I was just becoming aware of a whole world of Hard Rock bands that were not being played on the local FM Rock radio stations. The majority of these bands were from Europe and I had started reading about them in imported music magazines that the local Tower Records would get from England. One afternoon I rode my bike to the local Record Factory for my weekly visit.
(Note for the kids: In those pre-Internet days you had to physically visit what were called "record stores" to see what new "albums" had been released.. Yes, it required a lot of work to be a Music Geek in those ancient times.)
On that fateful day, the Castle Donnington album caught my eye in the racks; it featured recordings from a huge August 1980 outdoor concert in England. A couple of the bands featured were ones I'd either read about or who I'd recently heard for the first time. The track listing of the album ran like this:
Side 1:
Stargazer - Rainbow
Loving You Sunday Morning - Scorpions
Another Piece Of Meat - Scorpions
Backs To The Wall - Saxon
Side 2:
All Night Long - Rainbow
I Like To Rock - April Wine
Don't Ya Know What Love Is? - Touch
Road Racin' - Riot
Saxon was one of those bands that I'd read about in the English magazines.. Rainbow and the Scorpions had some radio airplay, but this was still a good year or more before the Scorps broke big in the U.S... and I had seen April Wine at the San Jose Civic on The Nature Of The Beast Tour ('Sign Of The Gypsy Queen'..). I would soon become acquainted with Riot from listening to their track (which was followed by the release in '81 of their classic album Fire Down Under..)... and I had no clue who Touch were and I still don't! Once I got the album home, I played air guitar quite heavily to it over the next several weeks, especially to the Scorpions and Saxon tracks.
However, I was more intrigued by the album cover than the music... I couldn't stop staring at the aerial shots of the concert site on the album's cover. Holy shit!! Look at the size of that crowd! Where the hell is that place?!
At that time I'd been to around 5 or 6 concerts in my short life (Blue Öyster Cult, Cheap Trick, The Who, Van Halen..) but the concert on the cover looked like nothing I'd experienced. I had been to a couple of Day On The Green festivals within the confines of Oakland Stadium, but the concert on the album looked like it was in the middle of nowhere! It looked like Woodstock, but it wasn't a fucking Hippie concert!
The album's cover got my imagination spinning: What had it been like to BE in that huge, sprawling crowd? How did people GET to that concert?? What was ENGLAND like?? Will I ever VISIT England?? THAT many people KNOW about these bands?? The picture on the back cover showing a British Bobby directing concert traffic on a English country road only added to the foreign intrigue of the album for me.
The Castle Donnington album changed my life because it helped me realize there was a whole other world of bands and other fans far away from my bedroom in the S.F. Bay Area suburbs... It made me want to find out and explore this other world of loud music... to hear those loud foreign bands... to visit those foreign lands... to meet those foreign people who also liked loud music.. and eventually I did all of those things. It set into motion my attitude about music in general; while this space tends to rant about Hard Rock / Metal, you might be surprised by the reality of Umlaut's music collection here in the 21st Century. For those who give a shit, I'm listening to that last CD by The Kills as I type this...
Anyway, I later learned that Judas Priest had also played that 1980 Castle Donington concert but had not been included on the album; BUMMER. A year or so after buying the Donnington album, a penpal in England traded me his copy of the concert's program (I think I sent him a Van Halen tour program in return), so I was able to experience the event vicariously via the merchandise. Better late than never!
As far as I know the Castle Donnington album hasn't been reissued on CD... but I could be wrong. However, Saxon's complete performance from that day was issued on CD in 1997.
Click HERE for some eyewitness accounts of Castle Donington 1980... and if I'd seen this footage back in 1980 my teenage brain might have exploded along with Ritchie Blackmore's amp...
After all these years, I JUST noticed that they misspelled Castle Donington on the album cover! Funny...
Castle Donnington - Monsters Of Rock
Various Artists
Polydor Records (PD 1-6311 - 1980)
To use that Music Geek cliché: This album changed my life.
In 1981 I was just becoming aware of a whole world of Hard Rock bands that were not being played on the local FM Rock radio stations. The majority of these bands were from Europe and I had started reading about them in imported music magazines that the local Tower Records would get from England. One afternoon I rode my bike to the local Record Factory for my weekly visit.
(Note for the kids: In those pre-Internet days you had to physically visit what were called "record stores" to see what new "albums" had been released.. Yes, it required a lot of work to be a Music Geek in those ancient times.)
On that fateful day, the Castle Donnington album caught my eye in the racks; it featured recordings from a huge August 1980 outdoor concert in England. A couple of the bands featured were ones I'd either read about or who I'd recently heard for the first time. The track listing of the album ran like this:
Side 1:
Stargazer - Rainbow
Loving You Sunday Morning - Scorpions
Another Piece Of Meat - Scorpions
Backs To The Wall - Saxon
Side 2:
All Night Long - Rainbow
I Like To Rock - April Wine
Don't Ya Know What Love Is? - Touch
Road Racin' - Riot
Saxon was one of those bands that I'd read about in the English magazines.. Rainbow and the Scorpions had some radio airplay, but this was still a good year or more before the Scorps broke big in the U.S... and I had seen April Wine at the San Jose Civic on The Nature Of The Beast Tour ('Sign Of The Gypsy Queen'..). I would soon become acquainted with Riot from listening to their track (which was followed by the release in '81 of their classic album Fire Down Under..)... and I had no clue who Touch were and I still don't! Once I got the album home, I played air guitar quite heavily to it over the next several weeks, especially to the Scorpions and Saxon tracks.
However, I was more intrigued by the album cover than the music... I couldn't stop staring at the aerial shots of the concert site on the album's cover. Holy shit!! Look at the size of that crowd! Where the hell is that place?!
At that time I'd been to around 5 or 6 concerts in my short life (Blue Öyster Cult, Cheap Trick, The Who, Van Halen..) but the concert on the cover looked like nothing I'd experienced. I had been to a couple of Day On The Green festivals within the confines of Oakland Stadium, but the concert on the album looked like it was in the middle of nowhere! It looked like Woodstock, but it wasn't a fucking Hippie concert!
The album's cover got my imagination spinning: What had it been like to BE in that huge, sprawling crowd? How did people GET to that concert?? What was ENGLAND like?? Will I ever VISIT England?? THAT many people KNOW about these bands?? The picture on the back cover showing a British Bobby directing concert traffic on a English country road only added to the foreign intrigue of the album for me.
The Castle Donnington album changed my life because it helped me realize there was a whole other world of bands and other fans far away from my bedroom in the S.F. Bay Area suburbs... It made me want to find out and explore this other world of loud music... to hear those loud foreign bands... to visit those foreign lands... to meet those foreign people who also liked loud music.. and eventually I did all of those things. It set into motion my attitude about music in general; while this space tends to rant about Hard Rock / Metal, you might be surprised by the reality of Umlaut's music collection here in the 21st Century. For those who give a shit, I'm listening to that last CD by The Kills as I type this...
Anyway, I later learned that Judas Priest had also played that 1980 Castle Donington concert but had not been included on the album; BUMMER. A year or so after buying the Donnington album, a penpal in England traded me his copy of the concert's program (I think I sent him a Van Halen tour program in return), so I was able to experience the event vicariously via the merchandise. Better late than never!
As far as I know the Castle Donnington album hasn't been reissued on CD... but I could be wrong. However, Saxon's complete performance from that day was issued on CD in 1997.
Click HERE for some eyewitness accounts of Castle Donington 1980... and if I'd seen this footage back in 1980 my teenage brain might have exploded along with Ritchie Blackmore's amp...
Rainbow > Ritchie Blackmore > Smashed Strat > Exploding Amp > Fireworks
Castle Donington 1980
Castle Donington 1980
After all these years, I JUST noticed that they misspelled Castle Donington on the album cover! Funny...
Friday, January 02, 2009
Gimme Back My Bullets
For Immediate Release
Casa de Umlaut - January 2, 2009
It was announced today that Umlaut has chosen 'Gimme Back My Bullets' by Lynyrd Skynyrd as his official theme song for 2009. This is effective immediately.
In a brief statement Umlaut said "I'm so ready to kill it this year.."
Life is so strange when it's changin', yes indeed
Well I've seen the hard times and the pressures been on me
But I keep on workin' like the workin' man do
And I've got my act together, gonna walk all over you
Gimme back my bullets
Put 'em back where they belong
Ain't foolin' around 'cause I done had my fun
Ain't gonna see no more damage done
Gimme back my bullets
Sweet talkin' people done ran me out of town
And I drank enough whiskey to float a battleship around
But I'm leavin' this game one step ahead of you
And you will not hear me cry 'cause I do not sing the blues
Gimme back my bullets
Put 'em back where they belong
Ain't foolin' around 'cause I done had my fun
Ain't gonna see no more damage done
Gimme back, gimme back my bullets
Oh, put em back... where they belong
Been up and down since I turned seventeen
Well I've been on top, and then it seems I lost my dream
But I got it back, I'm feelin' better everyday
Tell all those pencil pushers, better get out of my way
Gimme back my bullets
Put 'em back where they belong
Ain't foolin' around, 'cause I done had my fun
Ain't gonna see no more damage done
Gimme back, gimme back my bullets
Oh put 'em back where they belong
Gimme back my bullets
Winterland, San Francisco - 1976
Note: In order to prevent some of Umlaut's PC readers from believing that he's taking a pro-gun, NRA stance for 2009, I suppose I must explain the song... The "bullets" in the song refer to the term Billboard used in the 70's for hot selling records (i.e. "Number 1 with a bullet.."). To quote from the book Freebirds: The Lynyrd Skynyrd Story (Billboard Books - 2002) by Marley Brant:
"Gimme Back My Bullets had meant to express the band's desire to return to the top, but many of their fans misinterpreted exactly what Ronnie was singing about. The song turned out to be popular on the radio, and when the fans heard it in concert, they pelted the stage with a variety of types of real and live bullets. It started to get dangerous up onstage. Although Ronnie explained what they meant by "bullets" in radio interviews in an effort to clear up the misinterpretation, the band had to stop performing the song in concert lest someone got seriously hurt."
So now you know... Put 'em back where they belong.
Casa de Umlaut - January 2, 2009
It was announced today that Umlaut has chosen 'Gimme Back My Bullets' by Lynyrd Skynyrd as his official theme song for 2009. This is effective immediately.
In a brief statement Umlaut said "I'm so ready to kill it this year.."
Life is so strange when it's changin', yes indeedWell I've seen the hard times and the pressures been on me
But I keep on workin' like the workin' man do
And I've got my act together, gonna walk all over you
Gimme back my bullets
Put 'em back where they belong
Ain't foolin' around 'cause I done had my fun
Ain't gonna see no more damage done
Gimme back my bullets
Sweet talkin' people done ran me out of town
And I drank enough whiskey to float a battleship around
But I'm leavin' this game one step ahead of you
And you will not hear me cry 'cause I do not sing the blues
Gimme back my bullets
Put 'em back where they belong
Ain't foolin' around 'cause I done had my fun
Ain't gonna see no more damage done
Gimme back, gimme back my bullets
Oh, put em back... where they belong
Been up and down since I turned seventeen
Well I've been on top, and then it seems I lost my dream
But I got it back, I'm feelin' better everyday
Tell all those pencil pushers, better get out of my way
Gimme back my bullets
Put 'em back where they belong
Ain't foolin' around, 'cause I done had my fun
Ain't gonna see no more damage done
Gimme back, gimme back my bullets
Oh put 'em back where they belong
Gimme back my bullets
Winterland, San Francisco - 1976
Note: In order to prevent some of Umlaut's PC readers from believing that he's taking a pro-gun, NRA stance for 2009, I suppose I must explain the song... The "bullets" in the song refer to the term Billboard used in the 70's for hot selling records (i.e. "Number 1 with a bullet.."). To quote from the book Freebirds: The Lynyrd Skynyrd Story (Billboard Books - 2002) by Marley Brant:
"Gimme Back My Bullets had meant to express the band's desire to return to the top, but many of their fans misinterpreted exactly what Ronnie was singing about. The song turned out to be popular on the radio, and when the fans heard it in concert, they pelted the stage with a variety of types of real and live bullets. It started to get dangerous up onstage. Although Ronnie explained what they meant by "bullets" in radio interviews in an effort to clear up the misinterpretation, the band had to stop performing the song in concert lest someone got seriously hurt."
So now you know... Put 'em back where they belong.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Another One Down
The past year was another weird one for Umlaut... While the foundation within remained solid, outside the walls of Casa de Umlaut it was another cycle of chaos and change. However, Umlaut will continue to fight the hordes, sing and cry, and we will see what the next 8,760 hours bring. As always, THANKS to Skychick, Fredo, Dixie, Eddie, and Buggers for keeping the plane at cruising altitude despite any turbulance or bullshit that comes our way.
In the meantime, I will quote that British band: "Let The Music be your Master, will you heed The Master's call?"... and with those words, here's my 2008 scorecard:
My favorite gig moments would be a tie between being introduced to Steve Harris by Rod Smallwood backstage at Maiden in Concord and having a casual business meeting with Lemmy in his Anaheim dressing room.. DOH x2.. If you had told me when I was 16-years old that I would be meeting my heroes under those conditions I would not have believed you.
Musically, my favorite gig moments were Plant & Krauss launching into 'The Battle Of Evermore' in New York City, Maiden hitting the stage with 'Churchill's Speech Intro' > 'Aces High' > '2 Minutes To Midnight' in L.A. and Concord, but especially Tony Iommi's guitar TONE during Heaven And Hell's set in August. Holy fuck... The TONE. Unreal... The TONE seduced me when I was a kid and inspired me to go left instead of right on The Road of Life.. The TONE!
My biggest concert regrets for 2008: Missing Testament at The Independent ('cause I was at the lame Y&T show at The Fillmore... Sorry Dalia.. Sometimes my expectations for nostalgia bite me in the ass..) and Dethklok at The Fillmore ('cause I had to fly to NYC for work..).
However, my biggest Music Geek moment of 2008 BY FAR was being thanked in the liner notes of the new Motörhead album... If you had told me when I was 16-years old that would happen I would not have believed you. Lemmy has been one of my heroes for so long, man.. ANYTHING for Lemmy!
Also, it was kinda cool on a personal level that I became a legitimate fan of Metallica again in 2008.. Those who know me are aware of my history with the band, but I've been following them on autopilot and simply out of habit for, like, the past 15 years or so; nothing they've done in that time has engaged me the way their earlier stuff did... No, Death Magnetic isn't as good as their pre-1992 stuff, but I do think Death Magnetic is their best work in a LONG time in a riff-tastic way. My generation of fans can nitpick and debate the band's post-Cliff Burton merits forever, but it's pointless here in the 21st Century... IMO it's simply cool to still have Metallica around in this age of Guitar Hero and Rock Band wannabes... Better Metallica than Nickelback, dyaknowhatimean? Welcome Home, Sanitarium.
1992: Metallica will never do anything crappier than 'Nothing Else Matters', right?
(Pic by Meals)
Anyway, I'm gobsmacked by how many people actually read the crap that I post here... THANKS y'all! The support is MUCH appreciated, especially since 2009 will mark the 5th (FIFTH!) Anniversary of this so-called "blog". Five years!? To quote Bowie "We've got five years, my brain hurts alot..."
As I'm typing this, the first music playing on my stereo here in 2009 is good 'ol Roky Erickson... Perfect. I would like to state for the record that I'm listening to my STEREO and NOT iTunes (Marantz receiver > JVC CD player > Bose speakers); keep it Old Skool, goddamit..
Anyway, as far as the year ahead is concerned: Into battle I ride... See you on the other side!
In the meantime, I will quote that British band: "Let The Music be your Master, will you heed The Master's call?"... and with those words, here's my 2008 scorecard:
01/04/08 - Social Distortion - The Fillmore- 01/10/08 - The Head Cat [Lemmy and Slim Jim Phantom] - The Independent
- 01/18/08 - High On Fire - The Blank Club [San Jose]
- 01/24/08 - Gallows - Slim's
- 02/19/08 - Iron Maiden - The Forum [Los Angeles]
- 03/29/08 - Y&T - The Fillmore
- 04/12/08 - Taste Of Chaos Tour with Avenged Sevenfold / Atreyu / Bullet For My Valentine / MUCC - San Jose State Event Center [San Jose]
- 04/19/08 - The Sword / Slough Feg - Slim's
- 04/24/08 - Black Cobra / Saros / Mendozza - Annie's Social Club
- 05/25/08 - Death Angel / God Forbid - Slim's
- 05/28/08 - Iron Maiden / Lauren Harris - Concord Pavilion
- 05/29/08 - Arch Enemy / Dark Tranquility - Slim's
- 06/11/08 - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden [New York]
- 06/16/08 - Biafra 5-0 Show with Jello Biafra / Melvins / Drunk Injuns / Los Olvidados - Great American Music Hall
- 06/21/08 - Vans Warped Tour - Pier 30/31
- 06/27/08 - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Greek Theatre [Berkeley]
- 07/06/08 - Tidal Wave 11 - McLaren Park
- 07/12/08 - Mayhem Tour with Slipknot / Disturbed / Dragonforce / Mastodon / Machine Head / Airbourne / Black Tide, etc. - Shoreline Amphitheatre [Mt. View]
- 07/26/08 - Flipper / The Avengers / The Mutants - The Fillmore
- 08/12/08 - Wolves In The Throne Room / Ludicra - Slim's
- 08/15/08 - Vans Warped Tour - Shoreline Amphitheatre [Mt. View]
- 08/23/08 - Raven / Stone Vengeance - Rock-It Room
- 08/31/08 - Metal Masters Tour with Judas Priest / Heaven And Hell / Motörhead / Testament - Shoreline Amphitheatre [Mt. View]
- 09/02/08 - Motörhead / Valient Thorr - House Of Blues [Anaheim]
- 09/09/08 - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (electric set) - Great American Music Hall
- 09/19/08 - Carcass - The Grand
- 09/19/08 - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds / Red Sparowes - Warfield Theatre
- 09/20/08 - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds / Red Sparowes - Warfield Theatre
- 09/24/08 - Uli John Roth / Blind Illusion / Sentinal Beast - Annie's Social Club
- 09/25/08 - Bullet For My Valentine / Bleeding Through / Black Tide - Warfield Theatre
- 10/06/08 - Opeth / High On Fire - The Grand
- 10/10/08 - The Sword / Black Cobra / Bison b.c. - Slim's
- 10/12/08 - Wolves In The Throne Room / Saros / Embers - DNA Lounge
- 10/17/08 - Metallica - Death Magnetic Tour Rehearsal - Cow Palace
- 10/26/08 - AC/DShe - Dirtbag Challenge
- 11/11/08 - Skeletonwitch / Saros / Conifer - The Knockout
- 11/21/08 - In Flames / All That Remains / Gojira / 36 Crazyfists - Warfield Theatre
- 11/30/08 - Dir En Grey - The Grand
- 12/02/08 - AC/DC - Oracle Arena [Oakland]
- 12/03/08 - Oasis / Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Oracle Arena [Oakland]
- 12/18/08 - High On Fire / Drunk Horse - Great American Music Hall
- 12/20/08 - Metallica / Lamb Of God / The Sword - Oracle Arena [Oakland]
- 12/31/08 - Butthole Surfers / Negativland - The Fillmore
My favorite gig moments would be a tie between being introduced to Steve Harris by Rod Smallwood backstage at Maiden in Concord and having a casual business meeting with Lemmy in his Anaheim dressing room.. DOH x2.. If you had told me when I was 16-years old that I would be meeting my heroes under those conditions I would not have believed you.
Musically, my favorite gig moments were Plant & Krauss launching into 'The Battle Of Evermore' in New York City, Maiden hitting the stage with 'Churchill's Speech Intro' > 'Aces High' > '2 Minutes To Midnight' in L.A. and Concord, but especially Tony Iommi's guitar TONE during Heaven And Hell's set in August. Holy fuck... The TONE. Unreal... The TONE seduced me when I was a kid and inspired me to go left instead of right on The Road of Life.. The TONE!
My biggest concert regrets for 2008: Missing Testament at The Independent ('cause I was at the lame Y&T show at The Fillmore... Sorry Dalia.. Sometimes my expectations for nostalgia bite me in the ass..) and Dethklok at The Fillmore ('cause I had to fly to NYC for work..).
However, my biggest Music Geek moment of 2008 BY FAR was being thanked in the liner notes of the new Motörhead album... If you had told me when I was 16-years old that would happen I would not have believed you. Lemmy has been one of my heroes for so long, man.. ANYTHING for Lemmy!
Also, it was kinda cool on a personal level that I became a legitimate fan of Metallica again in 2008.. Those who know me are aware of my history with the band, but I've been following them on autopilot and simply out of habit for, like, the past 15 years or so; nothing they've done in that time has engaged me the way their earlier stuff did... No, Death Magnetic isn't as good as their pre-1992 stuff, but I do think Death Magnetic is their best work in a LONG time in a riff-tastic way. My generation of fans can nitpick and debate the band's post-Cliff Burton merits forever, but it's pointless here in the 21st Century... IMO it's simply cool to still have Metallica around in this age of Guitar Hero and Rock Band wannabes... Better Metallica than Nickelback, dyaknowhatimean? Welcome Home, Sanitarium.
1992: Metallica will never do anything crappier than 'Nothing Else Matters', right?(Pic by Meals)
Anyway, I'm gobsmacked by how many people actually read the crap that I post here... THANKS y'all! The support is MUCH appreciated, especially since 2009 will mark the 5th (FIFTH!) Anniversary of this so-called "blog". Five years!? To quote Bowie "We've got five years, my brain hurts alot..."
As I'm typing this, the first music playing on my stereo here in 2009 is good 'ol Roky Erickson... Perfect. I would like to state for the record that I'm listening to my STEREO and NOT iTunes (Marantz receiver > JVC CD player > Bose speakers); keep it Old Skool, goddamit..
Anyway, as far as the year ahead is concerned: Into battle I ride... See you on the other side!
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