Pat Blythe – The greatest bass player in the world…..and (his) music

I never seem to know what I’m going to write about from one week to the next. Sometimes I plan things out, gather the photos, etc. and then BAM! Something else falls in my lap and I’m heading down a totally different path. I love these journeys. This is one such trip.

I have been introduced, quite accidently, into the world of bassist Jaco Pastorius after discovering a video of Joni Mitchell with Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays performing with her. I forwarded it to a friend who loves all three of the artists I mentioned. The name my friend “picks out of the crowd” however, is the bassist Jaco Pastorius. Me, wouldn’t know him if I tripped over him. That changed pretty fast! Next thing I know I’m getting schooled in all things Jaco and we’re watching the 2014 documentary about his life.

TIME MACHINE TUESDAY NUMBER 1

The first of what will hopefully be many memories from a life of both rock and roll, not to mention radio, television, drinking, and debauchery. Shall we begin?

Segarini: Kim Fowley Part Two – The King of Hollyweird

Part One “A Hick in Hollywood” Can be found here.

America has always had a place in its fickle little heart for novelty songs.

Songs like (I’m) Henry the Eighth (I am) , Who Let the Dogs Out, and Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer are just a few you may be aware of, However, novelty songs go back a lot further than those three.

Cameron Carpenter: Rock and Roll Rewind – I’m a Dude, Dad!

Dateline Tuesday September 19, 1979. Ryerson Theatre, Toronto, Canada.

I was three months out of my teens. I can’t remember if I was working for Quality Records for the first time, or, if I had recently been fired, for the first time.  I may have just returned from a cross-Canada tour as the road manager for Edmonton-based band The Models. I do know from my faded press clippings that I was writing for The New Music Magazine and was listed, along with FYI’s David Farrell, as part of the “Toronto Bureau” for Music Express Magazine (interesting to note that famed political spin doctor – and punk rocker – Warren Kinsella – was at the Calgary Bureau, and long-time entertainment writer Graham Hicks shared the Edmonton Bureau with Chocolate Bunnies From Hell front-man P.J. Burton).

Darrell Vickers: Make Gloves Not War

I’ll get to the music part of this blog in a few seconds, but first….

I checked my Radio Vickers spam folder the other day (by the way, you can be added to my Radio Vickers mailing list by just writing me at radiovickers1@gmail.com  – no obligation, nothing to buy and it never it needs batteries.  Just a suggestion.) and discovered this sincere entreaty from a gentleman named Zhaobing Zhang. (I’m not sure but his name sounds foreign.)

Frank Gutch Jr: Up-and-Comers for 2013, Why All the Covers, Mental Tracks, and Notes…..

Remember when I said 2012 was the best year ever in music?  2013 is even at this early date biting  2012 on the ass.  Artists are lining up with what I am sure is going to be a run and a half of outstanding and, in some cases, mindblowing offerings.  Rather than wait and write about them pretty much after the fact, let us dig in now in a sort of anticipatory way, shall we?

Cameron Carpenter: The ABC’S Of Rock’n’Roll – Love You Live

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Toronto may be the greatest city in the world to see live music. For those of us of a certain age there is a plethora of shows coming up in the next few months that will bring back “those old emotions”.

On November 30^th The Spoons will celebrate the 30^th anniversary of their ground breaking album “Arias & Symphonies” with a live performance at Revival. Joining still-active Spoons  Gordon Deppe and Sandy Horne that evening will be keyboardist Rob Preuss who has been living in New York  for many a year. Hopefully Arias drummer Derrick Ross can be convinced to hit the stage as well.  Also on the bill that evening is Images In Vogue. As of this writing there were a few tickets left but I would move quickly if you plan to attend.

Cam Carpenter: The ABC’s Of Rock’n’Roll – Covers

I got an email yesterday from Paper Bag Records offering up a free download of “Paper Bag Records Vs The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars”. They have taken bands from their roster (Elliott Brood, Born Ruffians, Cuff The Duke, The Acorn and seven others) and covered the classic “Ziggy Stardust” album and even included the bonus track “John, I’m Only Dancing”. It got me thinking about cover songs, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Segarini: The Weekend Roundup – People City, Queen, CITY TV, and Xprime

It’s no secret that I love Toronto. After growing up on the Left Coast, (San Francisco, Stockton, Los Angeles, and Eureka) and spending five years in Montreal, I found myself living in The Big Smoke. Reluctantly at first, Toronto grew on me until I realized it was my one true home, and though I pine for the Stockton of the ‘50s, the San Francisco and the L.A of the ‘60s, and the Eureka and Montreal of the ‘70s, There is no place on Earth I would rather be in the here and now, than here; Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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Cameron Carpenter: The ABC’s Of Rock – I

“I, I, I, I”
(Pretend you are listening to “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne.
“I, Shithead – A Life In Punk
Joey “Shithead” Keithley is a Canadian punk rock legend, social activist, poet, political animal, hockey player, Dad and all-around good guy. In this 2003 book Joey recalls his roots and the still ongoing history of DOA. Formed in the late seventies the band defined the west coast punk rock scene and are the source of the term “hardcore”. If it wasn’t for them constantly travelling to California in the late seventies, that whole scene would not have developed the way that it did.