I picked up a 45RPM record on my way home from work. Never really heard of them ’til last night. The group is called Ohio Express. It looked old and was on Buddah Records. So, I tested it out at the listening station. The one side was really 1960’s poppishness, but the flip-side track Zig Zag was awesome! It had reversed drums and organ throughout. So, I got it for a buck. I went on iTunes today to further research The Ohio Express, and didn’t really find too much of their really old stuff. Mostly newer recordings. The few older tracks that were available were mostly listed under “Bubble Gum” pop. But that one track Zig Zag really sounds psychedelic! Not sure about the rest of their body of work, but definitely check out that particular tune if you like tripped out late sixties music!
Monthly Archive for January, 2009
I was trying to see how fast I could spin in my office chair on the hardwood floors.
They already played the audio on the air in Pittsburgh on 102.5 WDVE! Now it’s time to check out the video I made for it out of photos pulled off the internet (I didn’t take these photos, just google searched them- gotta give credit where credits do- haha- Thanks Mr. Interenet and all the people whose pictures I borrowed for the better of the Steelers Nation)!
Super Bowl Commercial for Victory “DEAD BIRDS” Steelers Fight Song
Two nights ago, I played an acoustic set with Matt and Jon on a podcast radio show to be aired next friday on iTunes (details coming soon). On my way home I stopped at Amoeba Records in Hollywood to try my luck. I picked up a Raconteurs 45RPM single recorded live at Bonnaroo for my girlfriend (I mailed it to her yesterday; I hope she doesn’t read my post until the mail arrives or it’ll ruin the surprise). I also picked up a Rockabilly Record from 1978, but it didn’t sound as cool as the cover looked, so I’m gonna exchange it for something else. You can’t always strike gold, but I did strike a tiny speckle later that night. After buying a can of Squirt and a bag of M&M’s at the market, I stopped at Counterpoint Records and Books and picked up James Brown Prisoner of Love on King Records (black lable) from 1963, and a Keef Hartley record called Halfbreed on Deram London from 1969. I got a chance to listen to them, and they are both keepers!
They race and roam about
They bark and piss and shout
No one cuts them with plastic
But their eyes are torn and drastic
Loosen the collar
Hear the whistles holler
Fresh blood
Pesky mud
Four leafs per clover
Don’t worry it’ll scab over
Mean Mister Mustard is one of my bands, and we play around LA every week. In this 4 piece band Matt Einsten sings, Andy Alt plucks bass, Jon Wouters bangs the drummies, and “GUITAR ZACK” plays clavichord… sike… Guitar, of course! This band does half covers/half originals. It started out as all Beatles music (hence the name), but we expanded it to all late 60’s early 70’s music and some blues. Check us out on the Sunset Strip Feb 7th…
download this flyer and pass it along to yer friends
I was invited to perform at this thing called the “Guitar Geek Festival” by its host Deke Dickerson a few months ago. Of course hearing the title alone peaked my interest, so I quickly agreed to play.
I must say this past Saturday was definitely one of the neatest festivals I’ve ever attended. And it was certainly an honor to be asked to perform as well. I would still have loved to be there even if I wasn’t on the bill. They set up a ton of rare, vintage museum-quality guitars and gear all along the walls of the Anaheim Plaza Hotel’s Ballroom walls. There were old Rickenbackers from the 1930’s, a slew of extremely rare amplifiers from Sho-buds to Standells to Magnatones, several Mosrite guitars (one of which even had the original shipping box), a heap of Ecco-phonic tape echo machines, awesome double-neck guitars with their respective artists holding the actual guitars pictured on album covers, and so much more. But one of my personal favorites was seeing what is believed to be the late great Link Wray’s actual Danelectro Longhorn guitar! It was so much to take in at once, so I came back to it after our set to really get a chance to read the placards and take a few pictures.
I brought my three-piece band out which ended up being Andy Alt on the bass and Jon Wouters on the drums. I had a great time playing for people who are all genuinely excited about guitars and guitar players! The overall vibe is more geared toward the vintage guitar sounds of the 1950’s instrumental country picking and 1960’s reverbed-out surf! So, our set was mostly instrumental originals with lots of reverb, and the two covers we did were “Red House” and “Caravan”. Some awesome performances throughout the day included Dave Wronski’s “Slacktone” band, the original Crickets who backed up Buddy Holly over 50 years ago, a guest appearance by Larry Collins (who played on the last double neck Mosrite that Mr. Mosrite ever built before he passed away), and the man of the hour and host of the event Deke Dickerson ripped it up throughout the day with several of the groups. Also, the guy who built the Batmobile and the Munster Coach was there, and they gave him a shout. I hope to play it next year, but even if I don’t, I’ll probably still go, cause it’s an awesome time!
I also got to meet John Bryant, son of the late Jimmy Bryant. He’s such a nice guy and is so interested to hear any stories about his dad. Here’s a link to the website where you can join a forum discussing Jimmy Bryant: Click Here.
And I wanna give a special thanks to Bruce Zinky for providing us with 2 hand-wired tubed Supro amps to add an extra sparkle of tone to the show! I played through my Fender “Bassman 50″ with its two 15inch cab along with the Supro 15inch combo amp! I was pushing 45 inches of air (but probably more if i did some math). Check out Supro Amps.
So if you enjoy old guitars, good old-fashioned live music, and reverb and tape-echos check out the 7th Annual “Guitar Geek Festival” next year! And here’s Deke Dickerson’s site to follow the man behind this event at Deke’s Site.
