First show - something called the Met Center Rock Festival. The bands were: The Litter, Brownsville Station, either Sweetwater or SRC, The Amboy Dukes, The Stooges, Grand Funk Railroad & Canned Heat. Not bad for $5.00!

First punk show - Ramones at Kelly's Pub in downtown St Paul on their first tour. Joey got out of a cab right in front of me & his sking was the color of glow-in-the-dark plastic. I went out & bought a motorcycle jacket the next day.

Best show - New York Dolls at the Mind Odyssey at the MN State Fair. The building was packed at the start of the show, but people kept leaving & I kept moving forward. I ended up right in front of the stage with Johnny Thunder's stage monitor right next to my ear. I went deaf in my right ear for about a week.

Weird how losing someone like Reg can make you rediscover songs you hadn't thought about in a while.  Sad reason but positive results.  I've been bombarding myself exclusively with Troggs music for the last three days and I don't feel done yet.  They were a hell of a band.

Trash Freak , I got about as far as The Troggs' popularity lasting 18 months , hitting a Forty  year sticky patch. After their two big hits , here , and 2 or 3 lesser hits , The Troggs continued charting in Britain , Germany , France, South Africa , probably many other countries . They were always a popular live act in Europe , and , here , when they capitalized on Their status as Godfathers of The Punk MOVEMENT , because they played every gig like it was their last , with the freshness of it being their first....    You can talk to people who don't even like this kind of music , and they at least know The Troggs , and "Wild Thing".

I AM STEPPING BACK FROM THE ARTICLE , AND WILL READ IT , LATER . IT DOES LOOK LIKE SOME OF IT IS (UNINTENTIONALLY?) FUNNY.
  
Trash Freak said:

I wouldn't normally read The Telegraph, & to be honest its not exactly a celebration of his life, but this article has some interesting & funny bits. Like his descriptions of the little bastards, with their tackle, nosin' around the fields...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/music...

No , it is'nt , mate , but , somehow , it will make more sense , to you , why some of us had to check out of this life when they had so much more great work ahead. Is there a reason or a rhyme ? I doubt it ,bu t, that does'nt mean he's not still here with you , and guiding your life , insipiring you to make it something better. That much , I can assure you , will make itself known.
 
Mark George Harrison said:

Thanks John, he had a great send off, it was a proper celebration of a life. 56 is no age though.

John Battles said:

Yeah, and sadly for us , not for them , Wilko will be joining your friend and Reg , soon , but, remember , they'll be having a better time than we are.

My condolences about your friend.

 

I wouldn't normally read The Telegraph, & to be honest its not exactly a celebration of his life, but this article has some interesting & funny bits. Like his descriptions of the little bastards, with their tackle, nosin' around the fields...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/music...

Thanks John, he had a great send off, it was a proper celebration of a life. 56 is no age though.

John Battles said:

Yeah, and sadly for us , not for them , Wilko will be joining your friend and Reg , soon , but, remember , they'll be having a better time than we are.

My condolences about your friend.

 

The Anthem for 70's Slackers was BTO's hit , "Taking Care of Business" , tho' it's actually about WORKING in an INDUSTRY "The Music Scene" , but , beating the 9 to 5.

The Clash tried to explain that , yes , they're in the BUSINESS , but not above having a beer and playing pool at the pub in "Cheapskates" and "All The Young Punks".

Well, the anthem for slackers and people who don't wanna work was "Longview," by Green Day.

"I sit around and watch the phone, but no one's calling
Call me pathetic, call me what you will
My mother says to get a job
But she don't like the one she's got"...

"16 Tons" Tennessee Ernie Ford. The ultimate working man's ballad. But , the only comeuppance is death.

Off the top of my head, Big Sugar's "Sleep In Late" is one song that comes to mind. It fits my current mindset.

"Take This Job and Shove it"- I prefer David Allan Coe's version , not Johnny Paycheck or The DKs. He did write it , after all.

Sorry . I like "Bang on The Drum All DAY " by Todd Rundgren.

 John Entwistle - "Who In The Hell Do You Think You Are?"

JAMES BROWN- I DON'T WANT NOBODY TO GIVE ME NOTHING  (OPEN UP THE DOOR , I'LL GET IT , MYSELF.") . Brown was , inexplicably, called an "Uncle Tom" and a "Sellout" in his day , because he promoted Black Business , SOMETHING THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE. But slander did'nt affect him.He wanted others to have some of the breaks he had. "I'm not selling us out , I'm selling us IN". The Bad JB.

"'WE WANT TO WORK FOR OURSELVES , NOT FOR SOMEONE ELSE...... I FOR ONE  , AND MY SONS FOR ANOTHER , ARE'NT GONNA TAKE IT .....WHEN MAN HAS BURNED HIS FELLOW MAN. WE HAVE TO BE FAIR IN OUR BUSINESS DEALINGS. WE DON'T BURN ANYONE , AND NOBODY'S GONNA BURN US , SWEETIES."    JIM BAKER (FATHER YOD) YA HO WA.

Howdy!

I know a ton of you are already familiar with his work, but I found out about him only a few months ago, and I can't get enough. He's the total package when it comes to illustration and graphic design, and I hope to attain at least a tenth of his awesomeness in my own career.

All of this stuff he came up with for the Wachina Wachina Festival is outstanding!
http://mikbaroblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/wachina-wachina-festival-vol2-2013.html

I agree with Bunt agreeing with Shaun. I do think though, that some songs are written in the key they were meant to be played in. But like Shaun mentioned. You'll know if it works or not just by listening as you play.
The other important thing about covers is to play them as you remember them and not necessarily as they actually were recorded.

I agree with Shaun. Make it your own song.

Do what ever you want with a song.  Why limit yourself to a preconceived notion of what the song is supposed to sound like.  The key of a song is generally written where the previous singer was most comfortable or to accommodate bad horn players.  Sometimes a song won't sound good if the key is changed but that is rare and you will be able to tell.

Hello friends,

Do you change the key of your covers or do you think if you cannot sing it in the original key, the song must not be covered ?

Just wondering,
AL.

We got our drums for $75 at a garage sale up the road - then bought good $$ cymbals and kick pedal. Our drummer has never played drums before and none of us know how to tune it properly. The kit is a 70's mass produced cheapy.

That said -- we're really happy with how it sounds and after gigs we get real proper drummers complimenting our drummer on her drum tone. Maybe we got lucky ... maybe setting up the kit trusting our ears was the way to go ... ?? ...

90 min. cassettes are good but 60 min cassettes are the best quality.  Tape stretches with each use.  The longer the length the thinning the tape.  Avoid 120 mins.

Chrome or high is a good bias.  Normal bias has a lot of ‘white noise’.  The best bias is METAL but it is not compatible with all player/recorders.

thanks, thats a really great site

Dusty Mush said:

Hey,

You should take a look at this website:
https://tapeline.info/v2/
And they also do custom cassettes tapes:
https://tapeline.info/v2/custom-wound-blank-cassettes.html

Cheers!

There's  stuff out there , I can't think of all  the titles ,  tho'. Of course , England had The Electric Sugar Cube Flashbacks and Rubble. Australia had Ugly Things ,New Zealand has the highly recommended Wild Things . Japan has the great "G.S. , I LoveYou" , and the earlier "Teen Trash From Tokyo". If you don't have "Nuggets 2" already , it WILL open your ears and your mind to all kinds of international Psych and Freakbeat. Mexico has some cool comps , too. I found one that covers Garage , Psych and early Hard Rock. The "Love Peace and Poetry " series covers many cOuntries , tho , as I take it , it's the more mellowed out stuff. mAYBE NOT ALL OF IT..................

Those are some good lists, thanks a lot! Detroit & Texas sure seem to be heaviest on regional comps (for obvious reasons, I suppose). I'll definitely look up those Canadian albums, there's always so much good unknown stuff coming out of Canada.

Anybody know of older material (or re-issues of older material) from 60s or 70s? I've trolled all the usual avenues (like the catalogs of Norton, Crypt) for what they may have, but I know that many of these records were only sold within the regions they represented, so private presses and small runs on tiny record labels are where the good stuff is at. 

Also really interested in comps, old or new, from countries other than the US. Specific countries of interest are: Spain, France, UK, Italy, Japan, and Brazil. They've all had incredible underground music scenes at one time or another, and there's bound to be some comps floating around - any international folks have some hints?

 I think it's an easy choice , too. Even if you're lucky enough to have seen The Sonics and The Sloths in L.A.

come on man, easy choice. without a doubt Debauch-A-Reno.

Hello

My name is Lindsey and I am uncategorically a geekburger. I love my music but I could care less about original press mumbo-jumbo. I prefer me a good ol' cassette to anyother musical format. Though I greatly enjoy the ruckus of a good punk show, I am more likely to stay at home and biff about mi casa. I have a knack for locating peripheral chakras. . .like the elbow chakra, which is clearly responsible for the brass brilliance of one J.J. Johnson. I am also keen on buffaloes, cinnamon toothpicks, and bad haircuts. Just thinkin this may be a fun site to listen to casts, hunt for new tunes, and make friends of the same ilk (or not). Ifins you like the cut of me jib, then gimme a chat!

i WAS BURNING A FRIEND SOME CDs , COS HE'S BURNED ME SOME RARE BUDGIE STUFF....SO I BURNED HIM SOME CDS OF HARD STUFF , ARMAGEDDON , CAPTAIN BEYOND (LIVE @ UTA TEXAS HALL , WHERE I LATER SAW UFO , A YOUNG JUDAS PRIEST ,  TRIUMPH (YIKES) , CHUCK MANGIONE (!!!) ,  HARLAN ELLISON (A REAL TOOL.) , AND BEST OF ALL , ST. VINCENT PRICE .), THAT SORTA THING. PROTO - STONER , I'D SAY , ANYWAY.