graypunk

So, I’m sure my wife checked out at Phish. And while I’m not necessarily a fan, this is one band for which I have a tremendous amount of respect for, on many levels. Firstly, it’s hard to take issue with any band that not only can garner a significant following, but manage to retain that fanbase for well over  decade now. It’s compelling. I also love that they seem to truly love music. And lots of it. The semi-regular Halloween tradition of covering an album in its entirety is, in this music fan’s world, a very cool thing, especially in light of their choices – Talking Heads to Rolling Stones to Velvet Underground to this past year’s take on Little Feat’s “Waiting For Columbus”. You just have to give it up for that alone.

I recently stumbled across two original Phish records – “Story Of The Ghost” and “Farmhouse”. Both were sealed, with custom stickers, apparently just sitting in this record store since their original release. Amazing. Sorry, but “Story Of The Ghost” is gone. I would have to say this is a very compelling reason to regularly keep checking my inventory as you just never know what might pop up from week to week. However, “Farmhouse” is still available.

Not only is it the only sealed copy of this record on Musicstack, it’s the ONLY copy of this record on Musicstack. Oh, and you can also find it on Discogs (where it too is the only copy currently listed for sale)
…

http://www.musicstack.com/item/327848784

http://www.discogs.com/Phish-Farmhouse/release/1155010

I spent some time back east over the holidays, primarily catching up with family. It was a good ten days and I had a blast interacting with the mom, the sister, the brother, the nieces and nephews and, to a very small extent, the in-laws. My in-law face time was short, limited to a night spent with my sister-in-law and her husband…and her husband’s friend (from back west!) who was stuck in Atlanta for the night.

So, Jon and his friend are big time jam band fans. I mean, the kind that will travel across the country to see Widespread Panic. Not that there’s anything wrong with that whatsoever, but I just don’t get the jam. At least, not most of it. But when these guys are talking about the jam cruises they have been on, all I can think to myself is how horrible it would be to be trapped on a boat with a bunch of bands that are typically found pigeon-holed in that genre. Again, just not my thing, though there are-as always-exceptions.

One of those “well, that band is okay” bands predates the whole movement. Hell, the Allman Brothers are the godfathers of that scene, are more than okay and likely best the vast majority of those acts on a nightly basis. And as a guy who grew up in Florida, you couldn’t shake an orange tree without a southern rock band dropping to the ground. And in retrospect, yesterday’s “southern rock” bands would now be considered today’s “jam” bands.

However, I can say, with some amount of astonishment, that I have never seen the Allman Brothers. In any incarnation. Now, I have seen an Allman-twice-but it was not during Gregg’s better years. He was living in Florida (Daytona, maybe?) in the late 70’s/early 80’s, and would occasionally venture out to do a local club show here or private gig there. The two times I saw him were on consecutive 4th Of July parties that were held on a large piece of rural farm land outside of Leesburg, FL. Now, there really wasn’t anything going on in Leesburg in the late 70’s, and I highly doubt that has changed today. The area is better known to be down the road apiece from The Villages, a behemoth retirement community that is often advertised on cable television.

However, and somehow, this hippie-leaning husband and wife I came to know due to working at a Bonanza restaurant with the foxy female half of this  couple (hey, it was the 70’s, so I can throw around the word “foxy”) invited me to a July 4th party on their property, telling me Gregg Allman was going to be playing. Word. So I show up and the place is littered with all kindsa central Florida outcasts, including a whole bunch of bikers. I believe I was 16 or 17 and the atmosphere was like nothing I had been around before. It was loose, it was fun, but it also had this underlying hint of danger. Sorry, it’s just hard to relax around bikers.

We waited for what seemed like forever for Gregg to hit the stage, with his own band of outcasts. Sadly, it didn’t take long for him to leave the stage as he was completely out of it. I think Gregg pretty much lived “out of it” during this period. So, it ended up being a short-lived show. But the couple actually got him to come back out the following year, and while he wasn’t sober, he was in good enough shape to actually serve up a full set of music. And ya know, it was pretty great.

This reminds me that I need to grab that new Gregg Allman record, produced by T-Bone Burnett. I love the fact that Gregg was so attached to, and was so respectful of, Tom Dowd, that he couldn’t even think of making a record with someone else. Tom Dowd. Now that’s a whole ‘nuther post that I’d love to get to some day. Anyway, someone hooked Gregg up with T-Bone and he found that there was someone else out there who felt music the same way he did. And that’s what I love about music. Well, it’s one of the things.

Seeing as how I missed posting anything yesterday, and seeing as how I have a pair of Allman Brothers records available, I’ll post ’em both. The first is the 1976 2LP live release of “Wipe The Windows, Check The Oil, Dollar Gas”. Not exactly thought of as a must-have Allmans selection, but this collection, cobbled together from a number of different shows, does have its moments. And I do have it cheap, a mere tenner will do it. Oh, and ignore the mis-spelling to sides (“sids”). Please?

http://www.musicstack.com/item/327848292

Second item is the promo-only 12″ single of “Pegasus”, backed with “Can’t Take It With You” and “Blind Love.” It’s a super nice copy and you can find that here (albeit with another typo. I suck.)…

http://www.musicstack.com/item/327848190

So, I am really behind and therefore gonna make this (relatively) short and sweet (I mean, what or who is sweeter than Jewel?). Actually, I have no idea how sweet (or not) Jewel is. She is about as far off my pop culture radar as an artist could be. But I just read a blurb online about how she’s going to be hosting some upcoming American Idol-ish singing competition on television and is expecting a baby with her rodeo-star husband. He is a rodeo dude, yes? If that’s true, I guess I know more about Jewel than, well, I should.

Anyway, “This Way”-her third release-is ridiculously hard to find on vinyl. It’s almost as ridiculous as paying $100 for a copy should you find one. And I have one. But take this into consideration – it’s a two record set. See, now it’s not that bad. Man, I am a terrible salesman. Okay, if there’s someone out there that actually reads this post and wants this record, it’s yours for $75.

http://www.musicstack.com/item/327848782

And yeah, that’s the second court ruling to do so. Maybe Universal Music Group, who brought the suit against a California-based eBay seller way back in 2007, will finally give up the crusade? I doubt it. The seller is now 2-0 against Universal, the biggest music retailer in the world and, natch, the biggest corporate music bully on the block. And apparently an unwavering believer in the power of litigation over innovation, despite the fact that they continue to lose the war. Come to think of it, they can’t even seem to win a battle.

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2011/01/appeals-court-rules-in-favor-of-selling-promo-cds.html?utm_source=contactology&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Paste_Lifeline%2001-11-11_1_11_111

I moved to North Carolina in the early 80’s. I was a music loving wide-eyed 21-year-old, who to that point had barely left the state of Florida. Just to clarify, at that time Florida was NOT a music mecca (and kinda guessing it still isn’t). It was really hard to see live music, outside of the occasional punk rock show (highlighted by a super great Husker Du/Circle Jerks show at some god-forsaken dive in Ybor City; this was, like, 1980?). Anyhoo, I was moving to Raleigh-Durham, headquarters to Record Bar, a really, really great music chain at the time, with stores primarily located in the south and mid-atlantic. And right down the road apiece, a live music space called The Cat’s Cradle. Oh man.

I have countless fond memories of the Cradle, and saw everybody who was anybody (and nobody). And I saw a whole bunch of Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ shows there. And they were consistently outstanding. Just one of those bands, like Soul Asylum or Redd Kross, that you wouldn’t dare miss live because you may be missing the best show you never saw. My favorite memory of that band and space intersecting was a double bill with Mr. Crowe’s Garden (which later evolved into a little band called the Black Crowes). It was the night that the Guns & Roses “Live At The Roxy” MTV special debuted, sometime in 1986, and I have this distinct imprint in my head of members of both bands and most of the people in the bar huddled around a little tv mounted over the bar in the back of the room watching the show, enraptured by what they were witnessing. And then D&C took the stage and killed it. At least, that’s how I remember it. But it was a boozy night.

“Mystery Road”, the band’s third proper record, isn’t their best. Of course, it is sandwiched between a pair of truly excellent albums, “Whisper Tames A Lion” and “Fly Me Courageous.” But “Mystery Road” does have its moments that make it well worth retaining in your collection – namely the head-bobbin’ southern rock of “Honeysuckle Blue”, the pretty acoustic picking in “With The People”, the powered-up country-honk amble of “Straight To Hell” and closing it out with the one-and-a-half minute punk blur of “Syllables.” Man, I love me some crunchy twang.

Should you find yourself in need of a super sweet, sealed vinyl copy of this record, may I direct you here?…http://www.musicstack.com/item/327848588

I just posted an odd amalgamation of new inventory, including a handful of used Mobile Fidelity 80’s UDCD gold discs. All discs are in VG+ or better condition, with the following three having perfect discs, though housed in some scuffy cases…

Herbie Hancock – Man-Child (UDCD 706; $40)…http://www.musicstack.com/item/329581937

Rob Wasserman – Trios (UDCD 752; $25)…http://www.musicstack.com/item/329581936

Saturday Night Fever (UDCD 716; $85)…http://www.musicstack.com/item/329581935

Also new is the long out-of-print 2002 five-disc Yes CD box set, “In A Word.” Outside of a black marker line through the barcode (signifying this was a promo issue), the 5 3/4″ x 10″ box remains sealed and in mint condition. The inclusion of an extensive long box digibook makes this a pretty hefty package of prog…http://www.musicstack.com/item/329581942

And finally, a couple of pretty scarce pieces of vinyl…

Swedish pop band Cinnamon’s 1999 seven-track ep, “The Many Moods Of Cinnamon”, on March Records (MAR 044), featuring three tracks from the group’s then upcoming “Vertigo” album alongside some unreleased eight-track demos…http://www.musicstack.com/item/329581929

And a 1979 two-lp collection from Doris Hays (still performing/composing under the name Sorrel Hays, at least up to a couple of years ago) on Finnadar/Atlantic (SR 2-720), featuring the 20th Century composer and pianist playing her own work alongside pieces from Morton Feldman, Henry Cowell, Russell Peck and Leo Ornstein. Jacket has some light wear, but the vinyl is absolutely beautiful…http://www.musicstack.com/item/329581931

So…I am having one of those stupid Monday mornings where every little thing is irritating the living hell out of me – remote mouse not playing nice, missing a dozen or so new entries in excel I typed up yesterday while watching football, one our african grays screaming from the other room (that part is no different from any other Monday…or Tuesday…or Saturday). Nothing big, but a series of annoyances that wasn’t portending well for the start of the week.

What can possibly turn my Monday frown upside down, I ask myself? Of course, a Kix album. Duh. Man, I loved this band. Still do. It’s an admittedly lazy comparison, but they really did come off as an americanized version of AC/DC, evidenced by their ability to effortlessly knock off super catchy under-four minute fist-pounding hard rock anthems and the fact that, well, they weren’t really pretty. And in the 80’s, prettiness mattered. (Just ask Poison, a band that supposedly nicked a fair share of their stage moves-and likely hooks-from Kix).

Anyway, this is the band’s fourth album, produced by the legendary Tom Werman. It was also the biggest album the band had released to date, primarily due to the up-to-then lack of what was the 80’s hard rock meal ticket – the power ballad. I can’t say that “Don’t Close Your Eyes” is one of my favorite slow-jams from that decade (and I must say there’s a bunch I do like), but again, the rest of the album is just loaded with great mascara-laden power pop – “Cold Blood”, “No Ring Around Rosie”, “Get It While It’s Hot” (with it’s opening intro seemingly lifted from Duran Duran’s “Rio”?!). Good mind-numbing stuff.

I cannot let an entry about Kix go by without paying respect to one of my favorite exponents of music criticism – Chuck Eddy. In His 1981 book “Stairway To Hell: The 500 Best Heavy Metal Albums In The Universe”, he placed the first four Kix albums in his top 100. Two of ’em in the top eleven! “Blow My Fuse” is #11, the band’s self-titled debut comes in at five, only trailing Zeppelin, Guns & Roses, Aerosmith & Alice Cooper. Of course, he has  Teena Marie record at nine and Jimmy Castor Bunch at ten, which is why I love the guy.

Wow..it worked. I’m much better now. The african gray stopped screaming, the mouse-for the most part-seems to be functioning properly, and hey, I found those missing Excel entries (which really weren’t missing, I’m just a dope). This mood elevator brought to you by rock and roll. And Kix. Thanks, Kix!

This remembrance of a band you would otherwise not remember, brought to you by graypunk records, in business since, ummm, last Friday. So, if you need an original vinyl pressing of this classic slice of 80’s hard rock, you can find a pretty much perfect sealed copy of this record, excepting a tiny saw-cut, for a mere $15 by driving over here…http://www.musicstack.com/item/327848771.

Thanks a bunch, kevin

Following countless hours of amassing, listening, typing and scanning, Graypunk Records is now up and running. For those who do not know, which would be anybody and everybody outside of my wife and about three other folks, Graypunk Records is a seller of quality archival music media, ranging from old-school analog (vinyl, cassettes, the occasional eight-track or reel-to-reel) to new-fangled digital stuff (cd’s, dvd’s). There will also be infrequent appearances by magazines, books, promo tchotchke’s and ephemera (not that I know what ephemera is, but I just love that word).

So, Graypunk-the blog-will be more or less an extension of Graypunk Records-the for-profit retailer. (At least, I certainly hope there is profit involved.) That said, it is not my intention to harshly beat you over the head with sales pitches. However, it is my intention to *subtly* beat you over the head with sales pitches. You see, it’s all about nuance.

The plan is to feature one piece of for-sale music each day, with a scan or two of each item along with some verbiage delineating what makes said item worth talking about (as well a link to the Musicstack sales page for that item). Of course, there will be examples of records that probably really aren’t worth talking about. In those cases, I’ll make up something. At the end of the day, I just like talking about music. And selling it.

Just to clarify, none of what preceded this sentence means I’ll only be talking about stuff I’m attempting to monetize. However, primary focus will indeed be on music and, to some extent, pop culture. Beyond that, I have no idea. I already have some reservations about joining the, ahem, blogosphere, at a time where such a venture is already considered an archaic communication vehicle. But hey, I’m wordy. I need more characters than Twitter allows.

Until tomorrow…kevin