"Death Or Glory: Election Year Edition" & Some Thoughts from a Grizzled but Grateful WBNY 91.3 FM Alumnus

    

Your humble host, "Death or Glory" 2015
Photo by Val Dunne/Barkloud Productions

I was again fortunate to take part in the WBNY 91.3 FM Alumni Weekend April 15-17 with my annual “Death or Glory” show; this time “Death or Glory: Election Year Edition,” from the always friendly studios on the Buffalo State College on Elmwood Avenue here on Buffalo’s West Side.

 

     For the past several years, station alumni wishing to take part offer shift bids, with the amounts they bid going to the WBNY Alumni Association to assist the station. I was once again able to get a prime slot, 6-9 PM Saturday, April 16; I have been able to acquire this timeslot for 3 of the past 4 years. I am fortunate because one of the WBNY shows I still listen to religiously, “What You Need” by Robin Connell, runs from 4-7 PM Saturdays, and since we share many musical tastes and dryness of verbal approach, we might share some audience.

Here is my “Death or Glory: Election Year Edition” play list:

 

     6 PM – “Death or Glory,” The Clash; “Heart of the City,” Nick Lowe; “Buena,” Joe King Carrasco and the Crowns; ”God Save the Queen,” the Sex Pistols; “Gloria,” Patti Smith; “Love Comes in Spurts,” Richard Hell and the Voidoids; “See No Evil,” Television; “Little Bit More,” Rosie Flores; “Done Gone Blue,” Los Lobos; “Jack of Diamonds,” the Tarbox Ramblers; “2 AM Tragedy,” Scott Carpenter and the Real McCoys; “Reincarnation,” Nullstadt; “JJ,” Oui73.

     7 PM – “Ether,” Gang of Four; “You Burn Me Up (I’m a Cigarette),” Robert Fripp (with Darryl Hall on vocals); “Poptones,” Public Image Limited; “Soul Love,” David Bowie; “Do the Strand,” Roxy Music; “Intruder,” Peter Gabriel; “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” the Stooges; “Roadrunner,” the Modern Lovers; “Heart Attack and Vine,” Tom Waits; “Baby Doe Rules,” Decay of Western Civilization; “You Make Me Want to Love You,” Pegasonics; “When You Find Out,” the Nerves.

     8 PM – “Showroom Dummies,” Kraftwerk; “From the Air,” Laurie Anderson; “Sex Bomb,” Flipper; “Vol au Vent,” Chris Knox; “12XU,” Wire; “Gigantic,” the Pixies; “Down in the Park,” Gary Numan; “Why,” Steve Wynn; “Order,” the Fems; “Boxcars,” Joe Ely; “Up the Neck,” the Pretenders; “Turn on the News.” Husker Du.

     Some people may wonder why, 32 years after my first DJ shift at WBNY, I (and others) am still so excited and moved by being able to play music mainly from my time at the station and the decade or so after it. It shouldn’t be surprising that music has meant and still means so much to me.

    Yes, I was one of those virtual clichéd kids born in 1960 who got to listen to the Beatles, Supremes, Kinks, Who, Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin and much more music on first AM radio, including sneaking my old boxlike transistor radio under the covers with me until I fell asleep. Then, the 1970s turned into FM, longer, more complicated and darker songs and then, at least for me, the liberation of punk, new wave and affiliated music, groups, radio stations and publications. Along with this liberation, I felt a responsibility to spread the word on this and other styles of music, something I have now done in print, online, etc., for more than 35 years.

     But while I immensely enjoy and cherish the opportunity to comment on music, spark discussions and hopefully open people up to new, “good/great” and often challenging music, there is a certain creativity to being a DJ, whether live or prerecorded on the radio, programming icloud or web casts, parties, dance clubs, etc. Yes, creativity; a good DJ knows and works on creating anything from moods and patterns to emotions, sounds and human experience. It is so many things, from what music you play, how you present and describe the music, not only what artists but what specific songs you play by the artists, how you group songs together, what artists you play and play together, and many other situations. I am an amateur college DJ who fortunately had some very good training and mentors, an educated audience and a love and thirst for knowledge of music.

     A DJ can spend hours preparing for their shows or performances, and make their show sound either prepared in a good way or bad way, or effortless, or even make a lack of planning sound part of the entire experience. My once-a-year WBNY Alumni Weekend shows normally sounds pretty frantic, fresh, and at first ragged, until, as my lovely wife Val Dunne not only points out but convinces me to do, I calm down and get into a rhythm. Of course, this all takes place over three hours, so it feels breathtaking in good and bad ways and a bit frightening.

     But I wouldn’t have it any other way; I absolutely love to present the music I grew up and became an adult with, music that changed my life for the better and still serves as a release, joy and catalyst. I hope over the years I have been able to present some of this excitement, great music and sense of life to my listeners, and I look forward to next year’s WBNY Alumni Weekend and thank the staff of WBNY, WBNY Alumni Association President Andrew Kat, the other alumni who participated and everyone else who took part.

Night Slaves to Perform at Mohawk Place February 5 - David Kane Speaks on Creativity, Collaboration

David Kane and John Toohill:
Happy to be the two parts of Night Slaves

      David Kane is a musician who has no plans to slow down or stop creating new music and ways to present it, live and recorded.

     This shouldn’t be surprising for this Buffalo Music Hall of Fame member who has played and written music with and for Mark Freeland. Electroman, Trek W/Quintronic, Nullstatdt, David Kane’s Them Jazzbeards, Decay of Western Civilization, Celibates, Erectronics and Terry and the Headhunters, among others

     The two-person industrial group in which he provides keyboards and sounds for John Toohill’s vocals, Night Slaves, will perform a cassette-release show (you read that correct) as part of a four-band slate with Cages, VWLS, and Flatsitter Friday, February 5, at Mohawk Place, 47 East Mohawk Street, Buffalo. Admission is $5.

KJH: One very basic/elementary question: Why a cassette release party? Why a cassette?

DK: Why cassette? Because we could not put it out on 8-track. WTF!?! It does include a download.

KJH: Can Night Slaves’ sound/approach be described in a few words? Is Night Slaves a true working duet between you and (vocalist) John Toohill, and is the creativity/labor split between music and lyrics?

DK: Night Slaves Approach/Sound: The NS approach might best be described as a lack of. We never set out to be like or take a certain genre and try to emulate it in any way. We certainly talk about things we like but do not set out to be like that. It seems to be a true collaboration of efforts. I handle the music duties and John the lyrics and vocals. He gets what I am doing and I get what he is. So yes, we seem to have hit on a pure collaboration of two artists where the sum total is way greater than the two parts. Lots of these could exist as instrumentals but when I am working on music for NS I am always thinking, Can't wait to hear what he will do with this one. He manages to meld his lyrics and vocal lines right into the music as if it were another instrument, Some of the best moments are when we listen back and look at each other and say who is doing that part? Our third ghost member I guess. I can't begin to tell you how pleasing that is. I like the duo aspect because it seems to make you work a little harder and it stays so personal. Unlike my other projects I do not have to take other instrumentation into consideration. I love that approach as well, but I already have a couple bands like that. No point in repeating myself or doing more of the same.

I think the NS sound might be the aural equivalent of walking through fog at night where images sort of slowly evolve as you approach them. Sometimes blurry around the edges, sometimes clearer, sometimes almost disappearing but always sort of there in varying degrees of clarity. Sometimes being completely enveloped in the denseness of the fog itself.

KJH: Do you create the soundscape for Night Slaves with an idea in mind for where the lyrics will go, do you receive lyrics to work out a sound or is it more collaborative? Do you ever present a sound live and have the vocals or music go off where they may?

DK: I will call what we are putting together songs, though in most cases they do not follow what might be regarded as traditional song structure. Our material seems to be many layers deep and these layers do not really necessarily move or change with each other. I can appreciate when I play these things for John that he can notice a new element and say I'll call that the chorus where that noise comes in. Our music seems to evolve rather than change. I can be a fairly prolific writer and it pleases me to work with some one equally so. It is a pleasure to get together, put on a new idea see him get happy, take his coat off, get out the pen and notebook and start writing away. In the course of a few hours we have a new one. I appreciate the spontaneity. I work that way as well. Sometimes things that were meant to be actually do happen. We create and have a lot of fun during the process. You might like NS if you like David Lynch and Evan Williams.

The NS sound has been described as:

A collaboration of Depeche Mode and John Carpenter on acid

Provocative, layered, complex, and requires reflective listening as it pulls you into its spell

Cerebral electronic garage

 Dark

 Dark Squared

Bowie, Eno, Low with Iggy

A more layered Suicide

Says the band-"Weird, it makes us really happy"

Where are we headed? Right back to the basement for more. We are well into our third release, which includes an 18-minute soundscape tone poem sort of thing. Sorry, you can't stop us.....

     For more information on Night Slaves, visit www.davidkanek-9.com/night-slaves.

Should I Care or Should I Yawn?

     

     My views of the use of songs by rock and roll bands, particularly from the punk and new wave communities, has evolved over the years, and I have extensively written about the topic here and elsewhere.

We're selling what to who?

     While always recognizing the artist’s right to use, license, etc., his or her work in any way he or she chooses, I used to feel and express serious outrage over some perceived insult when a song was used for some product too trite, from an enormous corporation or that the song was too important or meaningful or other way sacrosanct. My favorite band, or at least one of its main songwriters/creators, has all but put the stake in the heart of my outrage.

     In its recent advertising campaign, Westin Hotels is/are using the Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” to try to entice people to stay at their hotels. The song, the second-most popular US single in the Clash’s history (“Rock the Casbah” obviously number one), is a simple love/love ending song sung by guitarist/vocalist Mick Jones.

Paul Simonon is not a Cadillac fan.

     It is hard for me to get offended by the sale and use of this song (with singer/guitarist and the band’s other songwriter Joe Strummer dying in 2002, Jones and Strummer’s estate apparently made the decision). I mean, it’s not like the band sold one of its most political and meaningful songs, the title song of one of rock and roll’s all-time best albums, to a car company; oh, wait. I mean, it’s bad enough his baby drove off in a brand-new Cadillac, but a Jaguar?

    You really can’t blame musicians and other artists in the end for supporting themselves with their art, although someone selling a song to say, Donald Trump, Bobby Jindal or the GOP national committee would deserve derision in my book. So maybe it’s time I put this topic away after this entry, unless someone shocks the hell out of us all; that becomes harder every day.

Gurf Morlix to Perform at PAUSA May 9

             One of Buffalo and Western New York’s true musical gems (genius would just embarrass him), the Americana/country/rock/folk and blues singer, guitarist and troubadour Gurf Morlix will perform his only Buffalo-area concert this spring at 8 PM Saturday, May 9, at the PAUSA Art House, 19 Wadsworth Street near Allen Street, Buffalo.

            Morlix, originally from Hamburg and legendary for his guitar playing, arranging and producing (possibly best known for his years working with Lucinda Williams) as well as solo work, will perform music from his new CD, “Eatin’ at Me,”  (Rootball Records) as well as old favorites. As he has increasingly developed, Morlix will also spin some interesting and humorous stories, all for $15 admission; doors open at 6 PM.

            Gurf was kind enough to take a few questions while on the road earlier this week and here are a few of his comments:

KJH: Is the new CD, "Eatin' at Me," classic/traditional Gurf Morlix, something new or different, or a blend of sounds?

Morlix: The art of recording is a constantly evolving state, and I think there are changes with every album I make, whether I am producing someone else, or making my own album. The songs do have requirements, of course. If I'm recording a song about some really gritty subject, that calls for some really lowdown sounds. The songs dictate the sounds. It's not a conscious effort to "rock harder on this album", or anything like that.

KJH: You told me you really enjoyed your previous PAUSA Art House show. What made it such a good experience?

Morlix: I love playing in intimate environments. I love PAUSA Art House, cuz it's SO personal. I can see everyone's eyes, and I feed on that energy. I love to be able to talk to everyone who attends, if they want to.

KJH: You really seem to enjoy your storytelling to the point of telling more non-song stories during your shows, and the audience appears to enjoy them. A good sign for storytellers?

Morlix: Storytelling is quite an art. I never really appreciated it until I started to try to do it. Now I am fairly well fascinated by listening to master storytellers. I used to not say anything between songs, preferring to let the listener decide what the evening is about, but once I started telling stories, I found that everyone responded on a whole other level.

KJH: You've been working on some more autobiographical and Buffalo/WNY oriented songs. Are there more on the way? (“Eatin’ at Me” includes the songs “Dirty Old Buffalo” and “Born in Lackawanna.”)

Morlix: I never know where the songs will come from. I don't know why all these Buffalo related songs showed up recently, but I am glad they did. I hope there are more. I'm sure there's enough material in my WNY experience to mine for the rest of my life. IF the ideas are willing to float somewhere nearby, where I can reach them.

More of Dad's Vinyl Treasures (Record Geek Warning)

    

     I have frequently written about my late father Edward’s record collection, which I basically inherited after my mother Sheila moved from her house of 52 years in 2012 (Dad died in 2004).

     I have tried for years to compile his hundreds, if not thousands, of pieces of vinyl, but through my penchant for starting too many things and not finishing them all, and other activities, I have yet to do so. About a month ago, the job became a little larger, happily, due to me finding a new group of vinyl recordings covered by some old clothes in a packing box.

     The 12 78-RPM records are in one of those old record book binders; the binding spine itself is missing, but the back cover is still attached and the front cover is with it; the covers are dark brown with a black faux (I think) leather fastening tape of sorts near the ends that were attached to the binding.

     As I opened it, I was surprised to find the inside cover full of my immediately recognizable father’s handwriting, listing what were at one time the contents of this record binder. While some of the 78s are still in it, unfortunately, the copies of “Tampico,” “Do Nothin’ ‘Till You Hear from Me” and ”Artistry in Rhythm” are not here, although I did find a copy of Stan Kenton’s “Artistry in Rhythm,” an all-time favorite of my father, in another record binder. My father was more anal than I was in arranging his records, so I hope I come across some of these as I finish compiling his collection.

     As for the actual contents, I have to start off by saying I found this gem: “In the Mood,” b/w “Sunrise Serenade,” by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, RCA Victor 20-1753. I remember hearing my father play this record on Sundays, our main adult record listening day (outside of football season), and it has always been one of my favorite big band jazz songs.

     The other records in this binder are: “Harlem Nocturne,” b/w “A Night at the Deuces,” Randy Brooks and His Orchestra, Decca 23935; “Star Dust,” b/w “Back Bay Shuffle,” Artie Shaw and His Orchestra, RCA Victor 27547; “I’ve Heard That Song Before,
 b/w “Moonlight Becomes You,” Harry James and His Orchestra, Columbia 36668; “The Legend of Tiabi,” b/w “Cool Water,” Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra,” RCA Victor 20-2923; “Rainbow Mood,” b/w “Dardanella,” the Herbie Fields Quintet, RCA Victor 20-2274; “China Night,” b/w “Apple Song,” Columbia Tokyo Orchestra, Columbia  10093 (M 212286/M 212287); “Sophisticated Swing,” b/w “Blue Danube,” Les Brown and His Orchestra, Columbia 38250; “Put That Ring on My Finger,” b/w “Bijou,” Woody Herman and His Orchestra, Columbia 36861;”Let’s Say Goodnight with a Dance,” b/w “I Don’t Want to Walk Without You,” Tommy Tucker Time, Okeh 6554; “Night Special,” b/w “Back Beat Boogie,” Harry James and His Orchestra, Columbia 35456; “Falling Leaves,” b/w “Star Dust,” Tex Beneke with the Miller Orchestra, RCA Victor 20-2016.

Linda McRae & the Ragged Hearts - Sportsmen's Tavern

     The Sportsmen’s Tavern in Buffalo was the host to a fine show of an old favorite and new to town band June 7, when Linda McRae and the Ragged Hearts returned to play and were joined by Cactus Blossoms for the first time in Buffalo.

     McRae who has been interviewed and reviewed here and elsewhere by your humble author, performed with her Buffalo backing band of Doug Yeomans on guitar, Jim Whitford on bass and vocals and Randy Bolam on drums. Whitford has recorded and toured with McRae, first well known for her time as bassist and vocalist with Spirit of the West.

Linda McRae belts out a song aided by Jim Whitford.
Photo by Val Dunne/Barkloud Productions

     McRae plays banjo and guitar along with her singing in her band and solo act, and while she started rather talented, her musicianship and storytelling continue to improve, including on the set’s opening song, “This Winding Road.” She sings of the country and folk musicians who traveled the highways of Canada and the U.S., and of the places they played, including some her family operated; the band fell into a strong country groove, and Yeomans supplied strong bluesy country guitar work. McRae followed this with “Living in the Past With You,” a lovely soft country waltz with some cool yodeling. She next sang one of several songs she has written with her husband, poet, writer and rumored roadie extraordinaire James Whitmire, “Doing Life Without Parole.” Many of their collaborations are clever, occasionally funny stories of relationships and why they work as much as don’t work. She dedicated the next song, “Three Midnights,” about a person fighting for their sobriety, sanity and life, to Whitmire, who will soon celebrate his 27^th year of sobriety. The song contains a great line first pointed out to me by my lovely wife Val, “Darker than three midnights in a jar.”

Linda McRae singing, yodeling and banjo picking; sweet.
Photo by Val Dunne/Barkloud Productions

     McRae has taken to performing some wonderful Hank Williams covers, and included two this night, the first “Rambling Man,” with some more yodeling and fine guitar solos by Yeomans and banjo by Linda. She later sang, with some yodeling, a cover of “Long Gone Lonesome Blues,” and slipped in a portion of J.J. Cale’s “Call Me the Breeze” in the middle of it. McRae did not play a bad song that night, and among the more interesting tunes were “Flowers of Appalachia,” a lovely tune she wrote music for lyrics written by Ken Blackburn, an inmate she collaborated with in a program she and Whitmire are working with in several prisons, in particular here New Folsom Prison. She sings of missing the beauty of nature in Appalachia from a cell, accompanied by only her banjo. A clever tribute song of sorts is “Bad Boy Bad Girl,” a tune about people in trouble with the law she said was inspired by an episode of “Cops” and sounded very much like a nod to the Rolling Stones “Faraway Eyes.” Other excellent song were “The L&M Doesn’t Stop Here Any More” and a new song, “Jesus or Jail,” sometimes the only choices for some people in rural areas, and not only the South.

     Opening the show were the Cactus Blossoms, from Minneapolis, made up of Jack Torrey on lead guitar and vocals and Page Burkum on guitar and vocals. The band has been gathering a serious buzz, including a performance on Prairie Home Companion, and for good reason, The duet’s vocals were excellent as leads and amazingly beautiful in harmony with each other; the sounded like a slightly more countrified/bluegrass Everly Brothers, playing both a fine selection of covers and some original material.

Page Burkum, left, and Jack Torrey, the Cactus Blossoms.
Photo by Val Dunne/Barkloud Productions

     The Cactus Blossoms opened with Ray Price’s “Crazy Arms,” and their covers included songs by Lefty Frizzell, Hank Williams (Your Cheatin’ Heart”) and the Beatles (“This Boy”), as well as, naturally, the Everly Brothers, while their originals included songs such as the humorously dark “Slow Poison” and “Change Your Ways or Die (The Buffalo Song).” Along with the great singing, Torrey’s guitar playing blended jazz, blues, country, folk and early rock and roll that never turned flashy despite his obvious talent. Torrey and Burkum quickly warmed up to the audience and told some road stories, including spending time with Dale Watson on his tour bus in NYC before heading to Buffalo, the whole time flashing modesty between some jokes. The band can be contacted at thecactusblossoms.com.

     Also on the bill was John and Mary and the Valkyries, normally led by John Lombardo and Mary Ramsey of 10,000 Maniacs and John & Mary fame, but Ramsey, as well as the band’s regular drummer, Rob Lynch, were not present. We had to leave early in the set, but the band did get the crowd going with a cover of “Brand New Cadillac.”

Catching Up on WBNY Alumni Weekend 2014

      Now that it has been a month since it happened, I guess it’s time to print my article/play list on my air shift on the WBNY 91.3 FM Alumni Weekend Shift Bidathon, which raised funds for the WBNY Alumni Association, which, in turn, is used to help the station.

       I was privileged to open the Alumni Weekend, from 9 AM-Noon Friday, April 25, with the fourth edition of “Death Or Glory,” this year subtitled “One More Time in the Ghetto.” For those of you who haven’t read my previous writing on this, briefly, I was an on-air staffer at WBNY 91.3 FM at Buffalo State College in 1984-1985; the station started in 1982, after existing as WSCB. Along with serving as a news anchor and reporter, talk show host and producer and executive producer of All Talk Monday, I was a DJ there, with my first regular shift from 2-6 AM Sunday mornings, and then I moved up to 6-10 AM Wednesdays, hosting the “Loudest Morning Show in Buffalo.” We were proud to be a radio station that actually broadcast into the community and wasn’t just available in the Student Union/on campus; indeed, we happily shocked some people when we began showing up in Arbitron books.

Once again, my WBNY show was brought to you in part by...

      Anyway, I enjoyed the opportunity to present some music rarely heard elsewhere in Buffalo/Western New York, and made some great friends who are still close friends today. The music geek bug bit hard during that time, and still has a hold of me today.

     My Alumni Weekend shows have featured much of the same music I played when a student, namely punk, new wave, hardcore and the start of cow punk and Americana, as well as original similar Buffalo music and other guitar-oriented music that had nowhere else to be heard. I used to feature more recent music, but the music I love and listen to most falls into the 1975-2000 period.

     You can tell this from my play list from April 25, which follows:

     9 AM – “Death or Glory,” the Clash; “Start,” the Jam; “Holidays in the Sun,” the Sex Pistols; “Wartime,” Nullstadt; “Disconnected,” the Enemies; “Put It Out,” Tension; “South of the City,” the Jumpers; “Earth Died Screaming,” Tom Waits; “Broken English,” Marianne Faithfull; “Midnight and Lonesome,” Buddy Miller; “Something About What Happens When We Talk,” Lucinda Williams; “Damaged Goods,” Gang of Four; “12 XU,” Wire; “Poptones,” Public Image Limited.

     10 AM – “Girl Power,” Electroman; “I Can Walk Away,” Pauline and the Perils; “Rumble Down,” the Rain; “Indy 500,” girlpope; “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker,” the Ramones; “Cool Metro,” David Johansen; “Gloria (In Excelsis Deo),” the Patti Smith Group; “Hangin’ on the Telephone,” Blondie; “No Action,” Elvis Costello and the Attractions; “Antmusic,” Adam and the Ants; “Do the Strand,” Roxy Music; “Another Nail in My Heart,” Squeeze; “Good Luck, Money and Gasoline,” the Pine Dogs; “Crash All Night,” Jim Whitford.

     11 AM – “John the Revelator,” Imperial Golden Crown Harmonizers; “Love Comes in Spurts,” Richard Hell and the Voidoids; “Tell That Girl to Shut Up,” Holly and the Italians; “Teenage Riot,” Sonic Youth; “See No Evil,” Television; “Tattooed Love Boys,” the Pretenders; “Heart of the City,” Nick Lowe; “Click Click,” the English Beat; “One More Time,” the Clash; “JJ,” Oui73; “Words in Red,” Peter Case; “When You Find Out,” the Nerves; “Bang Bang Bang,” Gurf Morlix; “Give It to Me Yesterday,” Pegasonics; “Turn on the News,” Husker Du.

     While I got to lots of bands and songs I intended, even with three hours, I was unable to get to and/or locate the vinyl or CDs in my collection for such bands as the New York Dolls, the Heartbreakers, the Replacements, Black Flag, Jason and the Scorchers, the Pixies, the Dream Syndicate or the SplatCats, among others, but I suppose some variety from year to year is needed. As always, I look forward to next year’s WBNY Alumni Weekend, and thank the station’s staff, management, alumni (especially Andrew Kat) and the listeners who made and continue to make WBNY what it is today.