tonite:

a world premiere

an opera in Three Acts:

8-Tracks & Schwag Weed

–a custom-van odyssey-

to be broadcast on 89.5 FM WPKN Bridgeport and online at WPKN.org

8PM-11PM EST Wed Jan 13

‘do-not-miss’

1. Fluff “The Only Reason You Never Did It Before…” from their S/T LP SR3011 1972

2. The Shocking Blue “Send Me A Postcard” from their S/T LP CS-1000 1970

3. Joe McDonald “Playing with Fire” from ‘Hold On Its Coming’ VSD 79314 1970 

4. Tommy James And The Shondells “Moses and Me” from ‘Travellin’’ SR42044 1970

5. Blue Cheer “Peace of mind” from ’New! Improved!’ PHS 600-305 1969

6. Frijid Pink “I’m Moving” from ‘Defrosted’ PAS 71041 1970

7. Elephants Memory “She’s Just Naturally Bad” from ‘Take it to the Streets’ MD1035 1970 

8. MC5 “Looking At You” from ‘Back In The USA’ K50346 1970

9. The Easybeats “Come In You’ll Get Pneumonia” from ‘Vigil’ UAS 9026 1968

10. Thin Lizzy “The Rocker” from ‘Vagabonds of the Western World” XPS 636

11. Mars Bonfire “Born To Be Wild” from ‘Faster Than The speed of Life” CS9834 1969

12. Quicksilver Messenger Service “Cobra” from ‘Just for Love’ SMAS-498 1970 

13. The Chris Moon Group “Give It To Me” from his S/T LP Z30228 1970

14. Hearts and Flowers “Secondhand Sundown Queen” from ‘Of Horses-Kids-and Forgotten Women’ ST2868 1968

15. The Blues Magoos “Yellow Rose” from ‘Basic Blues Magoos’ SR 61167 1968 

16. Shanti “We Want To Be Free” from their S/T LP SD8302 1971 

17. The Peanut Butter Conspiracy “The Market Place” from ‘…Is Spreading’ CL 2654 1967

18. J.C. “You Can’t Tell A Man By The Song He Sings” from ‘Life’ PLP-1 1970

19. The Rationals “Handbags and Gladrags” from their S/T LP CR-1334 

20. Everyday People “Girls” from their S/T LP Paramount 9233-1002 1970

21. Kevin John Agosti “The Reason” from his S/T LP GMS1067 1978

22. Mecki Mark Men “Being Is More than Life” from ‘Running in the Summer Night’ LS 86068 1969

23. Spirit “Life Has Just Begun” from ‘Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus’ E 30267 1969

24. Traffic “Dear Mr Fantasy” from the LP of that title UAS 6651 1968

25. The Electric Prunes “So Many People To Tell ” from ‘Just good old rock and roll” RS6342 1969

26. Fat Mattress “Naturally” from ‘Fat Matress II’ SD 33-347 1970

27. Terry Reid “Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace” from his S/T LP BN26477 1969

28. JJ Cale “Cherry” from ‘Troubador’ SRL-52002 1976

29. Pelican “Golden Promises” from ‘Uppteknir’ AA018A 1974

30. The Raspberries “I Can Hardly Believe You’re Mine” from ‘Starting Over’ ST-11329 1974 

31. The Small Faces “Afterglow” from ‘Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake’ Z12 52 008 1968

32. Black Pearl “Endless Journey” from their S/T LP SD8220 1969

33. JK and Co “Nobody” from ‘Suddenly One Summer” BR126 (RI) orig rel 1968

34. Tommy Brown “I didn’t have the time to say goodbye” from his S/T LP Pathe C066-13045 1975

35. Captain Beefheart “Observatory Crest” from ‘Bluejeans and Moonbeams’ SRM 1-1018 1974

36. Linn County “Suspended” from ‘Fever Shot’ SR61218 1967

37. Crystal Mansion “Let Me Get Straight Again” from their S/T LP R540L 1972

38. Country Joe and The Fish “Who am I” from ‘I-feel-like-I’m-fixin-to-die’ VSD-79266 1967

39. John Roman Jackson “Sometime” from his S/T LP OR-2001 1971

40. Jethro Tull “Cats Squirrel” from ‘This Was’ CHR 10411968

41. Stealers Wheel “Everything Will Turn Out Fine” from ‘Ferguslie Park ’SP-4419 1973

42. Man “O, child, in time” from their S/T LP CS9803 1968

production notes: assembled entirely from the original 33RPM vinyl LPs, transcription via Technics 1200, Shure 44-7, Teac PA-4 preamplifier

Now available: the EP ‘BETTER IS GOLD’ from Enid Ze. 

You can hear it via the platform of your choice at this link.

Enid Ze is a musical vision conceived and directed by Zimbabwean-born singer/songwriter Nyasha Chiundiza, produced and mixed by yours truly, with invaluable aid+participation from so many of my most dear musical collaborators.  It is not lightly that I tell you: Nyasha is a visionary and an iconoclast.  Here’s some words about the project from the man himself, but please don’t take his (or my) words for it.  Check out the tracks.  This is something else, and something wonderful. From NC:

enid ze is a continuation  and reimagining of the Southern African tradition of Zamrock—W.I.T.C.H. Keith Mlevhu, Wells Fargo—where global pop and rock come to cohere in specific existential experiences of living many worlds at once. Listen to the panting on the title track “Better is Gold” and remember Letta Mbulu. When you hear “Marechera” recall modernist African writer Dambudzo Marechera’s poem, Punkpoem:

In the song

Are waterfruits;

In the plush and flow

Firestars eternally fixed.

Guitar strings lash

My back, draw blood –

The out of control voice

Skids shrieking across

Tarmac audiences.

When you hear “Shuwa” hear the word “sure” but also the  waves on the beaches of Maputo, Mozambique. Or the beer gardens of downtown Harare.  Also listen to how far home and how close it is, how unrest and rest lie together like a lion and lamb.

“Better is Gold” is about the condition of seeking more than you see—not in the future but in the things that you find along the way. “Better” is better than gold.

Download my new track “Derniers Préparatifs” here:

Eight days ago I found an ancient Italian polysynth at a local pawn shop. Called the Crumar Orchestrator, it’s an odd combination of string synth, ‘electronic piano,’ and monosynth all in one rather heavy package. The sound is effortlessly evocative of circa 1980 Euro cinema, and this track came to me instantly. You can see pics of the Crumar, hear my original live performance of the piece, and even see the drumkit mic’ing for this track at my Instagram page.

As with the rest of my Camerro project, this track was recorded entirely on a four-track cassette recorder: in this case, a Tascam 134. Here’s how it went down:

Track 1: Ace Tone ‘Rhythm Ace’ drum machine w/heavy Yamaha E1010 16th note echo; Track 2: Crumar orchestrator (this is the bulk of what you’re hearing). Track 3: Bass guitar. Track 4: add elec guitar while submixing with tracks 1, 2, 3.

After the bounce, I added live drumkit to track one (overwriting drum machine), and add two passes of Roland Alpha Juno synth + Hohner Pianet electric piano to tracks 2+3 (overwriting bass+ Crumar). The kit was recorded with two mics, submixed thru a basic mic preamp and heavily compressed to tape.

SONG TO WELCOME THE SPRING /// the first track I’m releasing from my solo recording project CAMERRO. 

‘control-click’ on the player below to download the MP3.

This song is inspired by my trip last yr visiting ancient pagan churches in Estonia.  Everything you hear is played live by me and the track was entirely recorded on a cassette 4-track.  For me this music is as raw and personal as it gets.  The 4-track cassette process requires that everything be performed carefully and with great intent as ‘fixes’ are not possible. For yall techy-types here’s how it went down:

Tascam 134 4-track cassette deck with Maxell XLII-S tape. Click to track three, elec gtr (finger picked rh+melody) to track one, drums to track two, bass to track four;

Submix gtr, drums, bass while playing congas all to track two (erasing click);

add electric organ on track two (overwriting drums), add sitar and cello (in sections) to track one (overwriting gtr), add percussion to track to 4 (overwriting bass). Two microphones were used: Bang&Olufsen ribbon for drums and perc, Neumann TLM170 for congas and cello, gtr bass sitar organ were direct. FX are Yamaha PROR3 reverb and Yamaha E1010 delay.

Tonight Thursday June 18 at 9PM: “Bully. Coward.Victim.” will air for the first time on HBO. Nathan Halpern and I scored this outstanding documentary for director Ivy Meeropol, our second collaboration following her award-winning 2015 doc “Indian Point.”

Cohn was an infamous and complicated figure, and Meeropol’s film paints a detailed and nuanced portrait. The incredible, horrible closeness that Meeropol has to Cohn gives her a unique vantage point from which to tell this story.

This was a wonderful project to work on; I got to create music in a variety of styles that I don’t often get a chance to play with in a film context.

Learn more about and view the trailer at HBO dot com.

This month’s Preservation Sound Radio show has aired. This program is a mix of 1950s+60s ‘Academic’ and ‘new music’ combined with spiritual jazz, New Age, and ambient, assembled and broadcast from the original LPs. In case you caught the show when it aired on June 10, here’s the tracklist.

1. Magical Power Mako ‘Tundra” from ‘Super Record’ MR5055 1975
2. Roger Powell “Lumia” from ‘Cosmic Furnace’ Atlantic LP SD7251 1973
3. George Duke “North Beach” from ‘Faces in Reflection’ BASF LP MC22018 1974
4. Pascal Laguirand “Abalii” from ‘De Harmonia Universalia’ Minos LP 1002 1980
5. David Bowie “Subterranean” from ‘Low’ RCA LP CPL1-2030 1977
6. Robert Ashley ‘she was a visitor’ from “extended voices” Odyssey LP 32 16 0156 1967
7. Lonnie Liston Smith “Let us go into the house of the Lord” from ‘Astral Travelling’ FD 10163 1973
8. Alice Coltrane “Hare Krishna” from ‘Universal Consiousness’ Impulse LP AS-9210 1971
9. Beaver/Krause “By Your Grace” from ‘Gandharrva’ WS 1909 1971
10. Keith Jarrett “First” from ‘Invocations’ ECM LP ECM D 1201 1981
11. Reinhard Lakomy “Das geheime Leben” from the LP of the same title, Amiga 8 55 893 1982
12. Gigi Masin “Celebration of Eleven/The Sea of Sand” from ‘Wind’ BAR003/15 1986 (2015 repress)
13. Henry Cowell “Aeolian Harp” from ‘Sounds of New Music,’ Folkways FX6160 1957
14. Alexi Lubimov “Fur Alina” from the LP ‘Arvo Part’ MRP 115 2017
15. Vladimir Ussachevsky “Sonic Contours” from ‘Sounds of New Music,’ Folkways FX6160 1957
16. Roger Eno “A Paler Sky’ from the LP ‘Voices’ EGED 42 1985
17. Raul Lovisoni / Francesco Messina “Prati bagnati del monte Analogo” from the LP of the same title, 1979, 2018 pressing on SV130
18. Harold Budd “Sandtreader” from ‘Lovely Thunder’ EGED46 1986
19. Wendy Carlos (as Walter Carlos) “Summer” from ‘Sonic Seasonings’ Columbia LP KG31234 1972
20. Morton Feldman ‘Chorus and Instruments II’ from “extended voices” Odyssey LP 32 16 0156 1967
21. Emerson Meyers & Assoc. “Moonflight Sound Pictures” from ‘Provocative Electronics’ WGS-8129 1970
22. Roberts Owen “homage to max Ernst” from ‘Immature Oocytes” Mortsleam Records 1982
23. Francois De Roubaix “Mort d’un Guide” from ‘Volume’ 3’ Barclay LP 80291 1979
24. Arnold Walter, Harvey Olnick, Myron Schaeffer “Summer Idyl” from ‘Electronic Music’ folkways LP FM33436 recorded 1959 rel 1967
25. Terry Riley “Poppy Nogood and the phantom band” from ‘A Rainbow in curved Air” Columbia MS7315 1969
26. Eduard Artimiev track A1 from the OST to ‘Stalker’ rec 1979, rel SV109 2014
27. Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind “Rocky Mountains” from the OST to ‘The Shining’ HS3449 1980
28. Johann Johannsson “Mandy Love Theme” from the OST to ‘Mandy’ Lakeshore Records 2018
29. Steven Halpern “moonrise over orion” from ‘Zodiac Suite’ HS771 1977
30. Freddie Hubbard “Monodrama” from ‘sing me a song of songmy’ Atlantic SD 1576 1971
31. Steve douglas “Time Capsule” from his LP ‘The Music Of Cheops” CH-1 1976
32. Sven Grunberg ‘Hingus’ from OM, Melodiya C60 27019 002 1988
33. Bo Hansson “Time and Space” from ‘Attic thoughts” SIRE LP sasd 7525 1976
34. Dominique Guiot “Ballet Amoureux Des Dauphins” from ‘L’ Univers De La Mer’ AV4160 1979
35.  James Newtown Howard “Rose ’68 ’69” from ‘From Inside’ BVHAAST LP 019 1978

This month’s Preservation Sound Radio show has already aired, but you can stream the entire program from the WPKN FM archives for the next few weeks. Click here to stream the show. RITES OF MAY is a three-hour psych-folk celebration of Spring. As usual all of the audio is taken directly from my vinyl LP stacks. This show was transferred with a Technics 1200 w/ Shure 44-7 cartridge and Ramko SP8-E preamp. Bonus announcements via period recordings of Louise Huebner and Dr Edward Teller. Here’s the track list.

1. Catherine Ribiero +2 Bis “Un Sourire, Un Rire, Des Esclats” FLDX 487
2. Vangelis O. Papathanassiou “Ritual” from the LP ‘Earth’ Vertigo 6499 693
3. Simon Finn “Laughing til Tomorrow” Cherry Red Records 1970
4. Jean-Bernard Raiteux “Kathleen Writhes” from the OST to ‘Les Demons’
5. Eigo Kawashima and homo sapiens “bye bye bye” 1975 Elektra Japan L-6101E
6. The Beau Brummels “The Wolf Of Velvet Fortune” from their LP ‘Triangle’ Warner WS 1692
7. Glass Harp “Southbound” Decca DL 75261
8. Karen Beth “Something To Believe in” from ‘the joys of life,’ Decca DL 75148
9. Osamu Kitajima “Immortality” PSI 004-2
10. Black Sabbath “Lord Of This World” from the LP ‘Master of Reality,’ warner brothers BS 2562 1971
11. Nico “Secret Side” from the 1971 BBC Session, Gearbox LP GB1533
12. Marcus “Grains Of Sand’ from his Kineic/Columbia LP Z 30207
13. David Crosby “Traction in the rain” from the LP ‘If I Could Only Remember My Name’ Atlantic LP SD 7023
14. Higelin & Areski “Remember” Saravah France LP SH 10005, 1969
15. Folk Music of the world ‘Grand Nord’ “Järnefelt” CV1117
16. Magical Power Mako ‘Sound Mother Earth’ from SUPERRECORD Polydor Japan MR 5055
17. Orpheus “the dream” MGM SE-4524
18. Bonnie Koloc “My aunt Edna” from her s/t LP Ovation # OVQD 1429
19. Cem Karaca “Foam on the sea”
20. Elyse Weinberg “Here In My Heart” from the LP ‘Elyse’ Tetragammon LP T-117
21. Don Cooper “Sad Eyed Queen of the Mountain” from ‘Bless the Children’ Roulette SR-42046
22. Tim Buckley “Had A Talk With My Woman” from ‘Lorca’, Elektra EKS-74074 1970
23. Yuri Morozov “Blue Star Wanderer” BUTR14LP
24. Cro Magnon “First World Of Bronze” from their S/T ESP Disk LP #2001 1969
25. Alexander Gradsky “You and me” circa 1972 Melodiya LP C60 2447 004
26. Sandy Bull “Electric Blend” from ‘The Essential Sandy Bull’ Vanguard VSD 59/60
27. Buffy St Marie “God is alive, Magic is afoot” from her LP ‘Illuminations’ Vanguard  VSD 79300
28. Brigitte Fontaine and Areski “Ragilia” from the LP ‘L’Incendie’ BYG Records N. 529026  
29. Total Issue “Dis Mais Dis” from their S/T LP UAS France 29 174
30. Sopwith Camel “Dancin Wizard” from their LP “The Miraculous Hump Returns From The Moon” Reprise LP MS 2108 1973
31. US69 “Im On My Way” from their Buddah LP BDS 5035
32. Tyrannosaurus Rex “By The Light of The Magical Moon” from their Blue Thumb LP ‘A Beard of Stars’ BTS 8818
33. Pearls Before Swine “The Old Man” from the LP ‘The Use Of Ashes’ Reprise 6405 1970
34. Pugh “Signe” from his S/T LP Metronome MLP-15.336
35. The Seeds “Six Dreams” from their GNP LP “Future” GNP 2038
36. Jake Holmes “too long” from ‘The Above Ground Sound Of Jake Holmes” Tower LP ST 5079 
37. Jonathan & Leigh “Summer Sorrow” from their Vanguard LP ‘Third and Main’ VRS-9257 1967
38. The Incredible String Band “Footsteps of the Heron’ from their s/t LP Elektra EKS-7322
39. Exuma “Baal” from ‘Exuma II” Mercury SR 61314
40. Victoria “A Famous Myth” from her LP ‘Secret of the Bloom’ San Francisco LP SD201 1969
41. Georgia Kelly “The Sound Of Spirit” from her LP of the same name, HERU-104 1981

UTC’s “CG” ‘commercial grade’ line of transformers were high-quality sealed units made in the 50s and 60s and possibly later. The later ‘red paint’ iterations often have pinout data printed on the cases, but the earlier ‘metal-badge’ versions sometimes do not. Despite the wealth of vintage UTC transformer data already available online, I could not find this particular document on the internet so I have scanned it for y’all. This particular document has a March 1956 date code so i assume that it covers the line at-that-point.

CNTRL-CLICK TO DOWNLOAD 4PP PDF:

Units covered include output transformers CG-2L6, 4L6, 15, 16, 19, 710; power transformers CG-422, 428, 429, 431; bias units CG-315, 316; low-level audio units CG-131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 1347, 140, 141, 233, 235, 333, 433; and power transformers CG33, CG120, CG122, CH124, CG125, CG126, CG300, CG301, CG302, CG303, CG34.

I wanted to see how compact I could make a high-voltage, point-to-point wired Tweed Champ. Here’s the result. Leo Fender’s 5F1 circuit, but with a solid-state rectifier, built into a tiny vintage NOS Bud hammertone chassis. Front panel is gain (standby switch at zero), pilot lamp, input; rear panel is fuse, power switch, IEC and speaker jack. See my Instagram page for sound sample.

Hey yall… this month’s Preservation Sound Radio show has already aired, but you can catch in the WPKN archive thru April 26 2020 at this link. This episode is a deep deep trip into v obscure 1968-1976 moody light rock and psych. As usual, the entire show is assembled directly from the original LPs. An alternate pop past that never was. Here’s what you’ll hear:

1. tranquility “can i see you”
2. kevin john agosti “enchanted lady” (no link avail)
3. danny cox “dear prudence”
4. love “dream”
5. the illusion “angel” (set break)
6. elephants memory “wind ridge” (no link avail)
7. grin “if i were a song”
8. the flamin groovies “golden clouds”
9. burton and cunico “run for your life”
10. silver metre “superstar” (set break)
11. keith “trixon’s election”
12. edison electric band “over the hill”
13. stephen and the farm band “come on back” (no link avail)
14. zephyr “keep me”
15. dinsmore payne “evinrood” (set break)
16. blues project “plain and fancy”
17. john ussery “through the fire”
18. moby grape “about time”
19. anthem “ibis”
20. the buoys “tell me heaven is here”(set break)
21. the troggs “a different me”
22. parrish and gurvitz “why”
23. gabriel bondage “in the daylight”
24. sweet pain “start off with you”
25. tin tin “benny the wonder dog” (set break)
26. autosalvage “100 days”
27. sweet thursday “dealer”
28. michael nesmith “rainmaker”
29. dennis linde “DR31” (whole album link)
30. west “funeral on the beach” (set break)
31. odetta “no expectations”
32. bonnie koloc “hold on to me”
33. the cornbread “across the frozen ground”
34. john kay “two of a kind”
35. luther grosvenor “love the way” (set break)
36. velvet night “the weight” (whole album link)
37. the american dream “storm”
38. the wizards from kansas “misty mountainside”
39. michael stanley “denver rain”
40. stealers wheel “over my head” (set break)
41. saint steven “grey skies”
42. joey stec “i wish it would rain”
43. leigh stephens “chunk of funk”