Frank Gutch Jr: Musicians on a Mission: Dan Phelps, Julian Taylor, Wes Swing, and Jimmy Lee (formerly Lee’s Company)… Plus a lugubrious panorama of Notes

Meet Dan Phelps, if you have not already done so.  I first ran across him over a decade ago when he was working with both Bill Pillmore and his daughter Jess Pillmore on their respective albums, Look In Look Out and Reveal.  Bill was an original member of Cowboy and I had heard through Scott Boyer, another original member of that venerable band, that he was recording for the first time, to my knowledge, since Cowboy‘s excellent 1971 release, 5’ll Getcha Ten.  When I contacted him, he was in full recording mode, working with Phelps, whom he had chosen to produce.  To my amazement, Phelps did more than just produce.  He was a sideman and a damn good one, a creator of good licks and solid musical ideas.  It was a first look at a musician I would follow from that point on.

Frank Gutch Jr: Amy van Keeken & Timeloop Touring Western Canada; Spotify: The Boil On the Ass of the Music Industry; Plus Notes

Lots of good stuff happening out there and it’s time we plugged in to some of it if only to counter the “real” musical happenings being covered by all of the sites who think that Kanye West canceling (or postponing) a show is news.  I get it.  No fun finding out your wife is being held at gunpoint.  Just not headline news in my part of the world.

Frank Gutch Jr: Loose Ends, Even Looser Ends, Paige Anderson & The Fearless Kin, Green Monkey Christmas, and Those Pesky Notes (to which you should really pay more attention)…..

It’s 3:30 in the morning and I can’t sleep and part of it has to do with Spotify.  Not Spotify specifically, but all of the music subscription services that have come along since digitization:  Mog and Pandora and Rhapsody and Sony and others.  What set me off was a musician who posted on Facebook that maybe you should log on to Spotify and check out a certain artist.  Why would that set me off, you ask?  Because I have just recently turned my back to such “services”.  Because if they are a better way to find music and artists, they are also cutting off the hands that feed them.  The hands of musicians and the hands of songwriters ans indeed the hands of all involved in the musical process, for it is a process.

Frank Gutch Jr: Ray Brandes, Gary Heffern, Jim Call and Javier Escovedo: The Denizens of San Diego, The Big Research Turtles Giveaway, (and pssst! There Are Notes)…..

I know a go-go girl.  Not one of those Studio 54-types who more than likely considered it a job or a chance to take her dancing to a higher level, but an honest-to-God go-go girl who danced because it was (and still is, thankfully) in her blood.  Her name is Elaine McAfee Bender.  I will be writing about her go-go life soon.  I know a girl who sings about go-go girls.  Well, about go-go girls in the modern world.  Her last album, in fact, is titled A Go-Go Girl In a Modern World.  Her name is Laurie Biagini.  I will be writing (more) about her soon, too.

Frank Gutch Jr: Spotify Re-revisited, Research Turtles, Upcoming and New Releases, and Notes….

Before we dive in to that 800 pound gorilla, Spotify, I want to point out that Toronto has two more chances to catch one of the most impressive bands to live within Canada’s borders.  I caught Picture The Ocean‘s set in Portland a week or two ago and I couldn’t have been more impressed.  Impressed enough to keep the new album on heavy rotation, listening-wise.  Impressed enough to relive many of the outstanding moments of the band that night.  Impressed enough to trumpet the band to any and all who will listen.  This band is the real deal, my friends, and they are holding down a “residency” (whatever the hell that is) at The Cameron House the next two Tuesdays and will be playing from 6-8 PM.  Now, I don’t jump up and down for that many artists and/or bands (okay, I do, but it’s only because the bands I love are bands you need to hear), so take my word for it.  If I’m wrong, I’ll give you ten free whacks at the whipping post.  I’m telling you, these guys are good!  An antidote to the musical blahs.  An argument against there being no good music anymore.  You can thank me later.  And now…

Frank Gutch Jr: Kickin’ Thru the Ashes (Old Albums Rediscovered)….

It all started when Laurie Biagini posted a link to a video (Lydia Purple) by The Collectors, a legendary Pac NW band out of British Columbia back in the sixties (and, yes, B.C. is in the Pac NW).  My buddy Howie Wahlen followed that up by taking pictures and posting both sides of The Collectors‘ first album jacket and the die was cast.

Frank Gutch Jr: Randy Cates Talks About Gypsy (and Rico) and Even More Notes (Pop Quiz at Eleven)…..

I was sitting here in front of the computer this past week and wondering about the plethora of deaths amongst musicians, because it seems like musicians are taking a larger hit than normal lately, and Gypsy popped into my head. Gypsy Queen— Part One, to be specific. “Warning… warning…” to be even more specific. Goddamn but I love the beginning of that song and the rest of the song, to boot, and I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell is going on. I can’t turn on the computer anymore without hearing of another musician’s passing and, truth be told, it is starting to get me down.