Well I needs to know... hear it here: Wild Wild Sound #6

My zine http://lowcut.dk had a radioshow most of this year on Christianshavns Kanal 98,9fm (reaching Copenhagen and Malmo - around 1,2 potential million listeners). Airs every sunday between 19.30 and 20.30 - although next sunday Little Steven's Underground Garage is hosting Lowcut Radio. We'll be back January 6th. Bands/Labels who send music for review to Lowcut magazine will most likely also be played on our radio, if the stuff's any good of course. Yesterday's playlist and Dec 9th, that should give you an idea of what Lowcut Radio (and the online zine) is about: Dec 9th: Functional Blackouts : Finger On You The Daily Void : (Surprise Surprise) Masonics : When You Cry At Night Modulo 1000 : Turpe Est Sine Crine Caput Forbidden Tigers : Son Of A Carnivore Dead Hookers : Technical Mortal Graham Day & The Gaolers : Get Off My Track Lightning Bolt : 13 Monsters Cynics : Here We Are Pyroman : Antisexy Satelliters : Hide Your Time Hell On Heels : Dogs, Records & Wine The Unheard : One Day Alan Vega : Viet Vet Dec 16th: Nathaniel Mayer : Doin' It Wild Billy Childish & The Musicians Of The British Empire : A Poundland Christmas Peter Pan Speedrock : You Do It Or You Don't Knugen Faller : Jeg Vill Inte Vara Med The Butcher Shop : Youth Culture Sucker Human Eye : Human Eye Monster Magnet : 2000 Lightyears From Home Resonars : Games Of Fear Om : Pilgrimage Black Lips : Bad Kids The Only Ones : Lovers Of Today Flipper : Sex Bomb Haunted George : She Told Me Her Name Was Lisa The Urges : You're Gonna Find Out

I just did a gig where the soundman could not leave the PA alone once he got me up and running. The PA kep squeeking and ringing throughout my performance (and the following band) He came up to me expecting praise at the end of the show and I was Honest (but polite) when I said, "It was a bit bright and that distracted me from my performance and the performance of the band following me that I wanted to watch" (translation: Stop Fucking with the Gawdamn PA and unless there is a problem quite bugging folks on stage while they are playing!) I soldiered through my solo set, but I never quite got into my stride. It wasn't the worst set I have done and the guy was nice enough so I didn't say what I was thinking to him. I hoped my honest coments of "if it ain't broke don't fix it in the mix" meant something to him. Probably not, but at least I tried to be constructive.

the next night thing were better with my band. I am so used to balancing my band's stage volume I almost never need to put them through the PA. I just had vocals that night. It went well and my ears aren't ringing too hard today (LOL). I hope this helps you all out in your quest for good stage sound.

I'd say the performance comes from the bands mood and the vibe they get from the crowd.If the crowds up for it, the band usually are.So i believe sound checks have a purpose in that hopefully the sound guy can give you a decent sound out front,for the crowd to get off on.
Lets be honest how many times have we been able to hear our own instrument(apart from the drums) at a gig.I ain't heard my guitar for 20 years.
Time for tiffin!

Thank for the advise. I should have it next week sometime. I am going to mess around with it for a while. Hopefully it will make it to practice.

Mort

I have one, it's old and beat to hell but I get great sounds out of it. Needs constant tuning and tweaking (invest in a set of screwdrivers! Not as versatile with sounds as the Vox Continental but does the job. The tremelo is great if and when it works (mine doesn't anymore...) Good luck with it!

Yeah, I can understand that. There are plenty of combos that have that problem. For general combo organ problems, try the Combo Organ Heaven Spares & Repairs page. For things that aren't there, join the ComboOrgan YahooGroup. The quickest way to do that is probably by using the link for the Discussion Group at Combo Organ Heaven.

I guess I should have clarified "better" they are better on the Jaguar because they were functional... the Farfisa bass keys never worked right...so I actually don't have much to compare it to.

Hmm...You guys like the bass keys on the Jag better than the Farfisa, huh? I could see that if it was the FAST 3 or 4 or 5, but I always liked them on the Deluxe. (By the way, remember that a Vox *Continental* does not have bass keys.) Another nice thing about both a Farfisa Combo Compact Deluxe and a Vox Jaguar is that there are separate outputs for bass and treble, meaning you can run the bass sounds over to a separate amp if you want. This is *not* true on all combo organs. (And evidently some people blew out some amps back in the 60s as a result.)

Personally, I like the bass on the Farfisa Combo Compact Deluxe 'cuz you can throw on the percussion (drums and/or cymbals), as well. The regular drums gives a bit more oomph to the bass sounds.

Another thought, of course, is to pick up a key bass. I use a Hohner Bass 3 on top of my Yamaha YC-20. (Yeah, the YC-20 has bass keys, but the volume's not loud enough and there's no separate bass jack, although one *can* evidently be installed by someone w/the know-how.)

If you're someone who likes electric piano sounds, you might also consider throwing a Hohner Pianet up top (or putting the Farfisa above a Wurlitzer - or Rhodes, I guess - electric piano. Sometimes it's fun to use the lower keys of the electric piano for your bass sounds. Plus, a Pianet can sound very cool through a distortion pedal.

You might also consider joining the ComboOrgan YahooGroup.

We have one, and as of now, it is our primary keyboard. Mike likes his Farfisa better (which recently shit the bed), I think they sound is pretty similar, but the Jaguar has better bass keys (when they work.) While they are very cool they are REAL touchy...you have to be extremely gentle with them... We've had to have it shopped 2 times. Once to change the power and the second time because it just crapped out. The contacts like to go out of wack and if you open it up you'll get the hang of how to jimmy them back into place. I'd say take it, and if after a while you don't end up liking or using it, sell it on ebay...they are going for lots right now. Also, be sure to get some cords or something to tie around the keyboard and the case...the handle is not connected to the side with the keyboard and the latches usually suck...you WILL drop it and it will probably be when your drunk and you'll want to cry (ahem, not that this happened to us.)

The Jag is cool for what it is. It's kinda limited, however, as far as the sounds it can achieve. On the other hand, the sounds it *can* get you are pretty damn good. But most agree that if you've gotta have a Vox organ, then the Continental is the way to go. That said, a Jaguar comes way cheaper than a Continental. And hell, even the Jag's are expensive these days. You can read about cool combo organs at Combo Organ Heaven. I've actually got both a Jag and a Continental...As well as tons of others. My favorites right now remain my Yamaha YC-20 and my Yamaha YC-30, although the Continental and the Farfisa Combo Compact Deluxe come right after that. Oh...Another good thing about the Jags: They're light!

I'm getting a Vox Jaguar as partial payment for building him a bar in his house. I have sort of been researching them online. It has mixed reviews.
Can anyone give more input?

Mort Dammit

Great news! I saw him a couple of years ago here in Curitiba, fucking great!! HALLELLUJAH!!

can hardly wait!

It'd be cool to see it podcasted, for sure. I like your idea of doing both, though. Each has its advantages:
1) Podcasting - as Kopper says, you can take it with you.
2) Streaming audio - Some people are near their computers at work all day long, so they don't have to worry about taking it with them. As such, something that offers a huge playlist and that will mix up the order can be great.

You might also consider putting together some geographical podcasts of this stuff. I did a couple "Highs in the Mid-80s" podcasts: One for NYC and another for Long Island. Both are available on the GaragePunk Podcast.

I reckon both (podcasting and streamng audio) are complementary. For instance you can plug your computer into your stereo and listen to, say, beyondthebeatgeneration at high volume for all the neighbours' enjoyment!

So I'll think about podcasting but I could do both. I'd like to start an online station because I could just feed new songs in continuously.

You can use a program like GarageBand (on a Mac) or Audacity (Mac or PC). Audacity is free, too. Just google it. It's software that lets you mix things together, including MP3s. Garageband is great because it works with iTunes, so whatever you have in your iTunes music library shows up right there in the program and all you have to do is drag and drop the song files where you want them, record externally (via a USB cable connected to a turntable/mixer or mic), do whatever you want. Then you put it all together with that program. It even has built-in sound effects. You don't necessarily need a mixing console, but it doesn't hurt (and you can get some pretty cheap ones that will work just fine). Check eBay.

Besides, streaming audio sucks. Who wants to be strapped down to their computer listening to music? Wouldn't you rather take it with you? That's the (huge) advantage that podcasting offers. Seriously, man, read up on it. Do some research. There are lots of sites out there that will store your show files for free, too (like Blip.tv, which we use here).

I highly recommend "Showdown! 1981-1993" of the Nomads!! http://music.yahoo.com/release/36266 They're a best Swedish garage band!

I found thet someone sells the 45 on Ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/Ultra-Rare-PETER-AND-MARY-SAVINGGRACE-45-rpm-stereo_W0QQitemZ200173083735QQihZ010QQcategoryZ306QQcmdZViewItem Sounds like the info is hard to find.

Just for the hell of it, I went & loaded a 45 by these guys onto my personal page. Does anybody here know the band? They did one farily well-known 45 in 1980, but this one's a couple years earlier -- I stumbled across a copy a couple of weeks ago, and no-one I've talked to so far even knew about this record, people like Justin from collectorscum and Chuck from Hyped2Death... Sounds a lot like Chrome to me, makes me curious as to what connection could have existed between the two bands. I am rooting around HEAVILY trying to track down information about the band or contact info for any members who might still be around -- if anybody knows anything, please spill, here or in offlist. Thanks -- Hugo M. pmadreenter@yahoo.com http://pocamadreenterprises.bravehost.com

#32 is up today. Let me know if you heard it. http://www.onecupofcoffee.garagepunk.com

Excellent! I have not listened to that podcast, but now I must. I don't know if r&b and northern soul and such go together, but I was just listing some off the top of my head. I haven't heard much northern soul, but how can you not like Gloria Jones' "Tainted Love"? Great song. And what genre does Johnny Thunders' "I'm Alive" belong to? What ever it is, it's awesome.

Yeah, see? Kopper thinks so too.

H.

Jamie, have you ever listened to Rob Baker's podcast, Hot Slop? Any fan of old '60s soul (greasy R&B, too) needs to check it out. I'm sure you can find a few new favorites from within his grooves. Just a tip!

Just like 60's garage-rock, the R&B/soul scene is so full of one-hit-wonders & no-hitters that a question like this can turn into a pissing-match over amazing obscurities. An excellent place to start is the HOT SLOP podcasts available here on this very network. Me personally, I'm not a fan of the Northern sound, weak and poppy to my ears, and I'm not really crazy about funk; what I like tends to be R&B with a connection to 50's rock or deep soul with heavy-duty wailing vocals. Some fairly common, fairly prolific artists you could pick up on 45.s without busting your trust fund as follows: WILLIE MABON - sort of a 50's rocker, but more on the black-music tip. Made a bunch of good records. COASTERS - THEE classic rockin-uptempo-doowop band, can't forget them. OLYMPICS - Runners-up in the uptempo-doowop category, lotta fun, goofy sorta like the Rivingtons. ROUZAN SISTERS - Girl-group with a real crude, made-in-the-basement sound, nice rough edged vocals. They only made 4 or 5 records, but when you can find them they're usually pretty cheap and mm-mm-good. LITTLE JOHNNY TAYLOR - there's two Johnny Taylors, but only the little one interests me. He made a bunch of great 45.s on Galaxy label, real powerful, emotional vocalist. While you're exploring, don't turn your nose up at church music -- 50's/60's gospel can rock as hard as secular music, you can find some really wild stuff if you look. Hope this helps -- Hugo M. pmadreenter@yahoo.com http://pocamadreenterprises.bravehost.com NP: blessed silence.