Frank Gutch Jr: Between Assignments? A Look at a Few Bands Which Weren’t, Really… Or Were They? Plus Them Nefarious Notes

I was looking through the Book of Face pages the other day and ran across a post about The Sidewalk Scene.  I remember them, friend Ray Brandes having been a frontman for them how long ago?  Two years so?  Three years?  The post linked to a page which showcased four studio-produced tracks, all jangly and sixties-oriented.  Music, in fact, that I remember fondly.

Frank Gutch Jr: Not Rolling Stone’s Top 100

I just took another stroll through Rolling Stone’s list of 100 Greatest Guitarists.  I do so occasionally just to remind me of what a fools errand such lists are.  I realize that it sells “magazines” (are they a magazine these days?), people being suckers for Top of’s of 50 Best’s if for no other reason to compare choices with theirs.  Jimi Hendrix?  Sure.  #1.  Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck?  Automatic Top Ten.  James Burton and Buddy Holly?  You have no choice but to throw in the originators on occasion.  John Fahey?  Can’t leave out the cool artist who never really sold in terms of the numbers necessary to chart.

Frank Gutch Jr_ Gott In Himmel!!! Is It Christmas Already? (A Collection of Reasons I Have To Be Grateful); Drew Gibson’s Shot Across the Bow; Clips From the SF Underground; and just a bit more…..

I got a message!  Yep, I got a message from someone who was not trying to steal my identity or sell me penis enhancement medication!  I mean, this does not happen as much as you would think, even with my superior intellect and excellent writing skills.  I am sure most of you picture me at a desk overflowing with fan mail— buried in it, in fact.

Frank Gutch Jr: Quicksilver’s Gary Duncan: A Look Back; Hymn For Her: Video Premiere via Guitar World; Tom Mank & Sera Smolen: Swimming In the Dark

Back in 2007, Pop Culture Press magazine asked me to conduct interviews for their Summer of Love Issue which featured the forty years which had passed since.  I interviewed Bob Segarini (The Family Tree), Peter Albin (Big Brother), Tracy Nelson (Mother Earth), Dehner Patten (KAK).  I also interviewed Gary Duncan, legendary guitarist for Quicksilver Messenger Service).  It was a dream come true.  Quicksilver had been my favorite of the San Francisco bands, the epitome of what I thought psychedelia was all about.  Gary was very gracious and forthcoming when we talked and the result was one of my personal favorite experiences in all of my writing.  So pour a cup of coffee or pop a cold one.  If you’re not among the biggest Quicksilver fans there are, you are about to learn more about Gary Duncan than you thought you would ever know.

Frank Gutch Jr: You’ve Got Your Heads On Backwards, Babies; Indie Labels You Should Pay More Attention To; Rich McCulley and Dan Miraldi— Bookends of the Pop Spectrum; and Whatever Else Comes To Mind…..

But first, a word from our sponsor.  Well, not sponsor, exactly.  In fact, just the opposite.  Well, not exactly opposite.  A few weeks ago, you might remember that I posted a few words about Sheldon Gomberg, the man behind Sweet Relief III: Pennies From Heaven, an album recorded for charity (all proceeds will go to Sweet Relief, an organization committed to helping musicians in need), and before that, I devoted a column to that organization through an interview with Sweet Relief‘s Rob Max.