The Confessions of Mon Laferte
There’s little known here in America regarding the Latina Diva…. Mon Laferte . Yet, her confessions are embedded within tormentous love songs. Each tune is like a mini “novella” unraveling with stories of amorous distrust and deceit.
Ms. Laferte was born in 1983 in the quiet village of Viña del Mar, Chile. Her musical tastes ranges from Led Zeppelin to the late Juan Gabriel.. she’s most like the late legendary singers Selena and Amy Winehouse in body and soul. Laferte studied music at a early age and at the age of 13 her parents had stepped up and sent her to a Chilean music conservatory where she developed her songwriting skills.
In 2003 Laferte released her first album in Chile using her given name Monserrat Bustamante.. It was met with great raves but her singing career hit a road block in 2009 when she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. As horrific as this news was she was cured with minimal evasive treatment. Instead, opted for homeopathic recovery and became a strict vegan. Fearing that her career was stagnating she moved to Mexico City and took on the name… Mon Laferte.. She joined up with an all girl heavy metal …Mystica Girls and all looked good for her career but her heart was really into indigenous Tejano sounds that she had grown up listening to.
Overnight her life changed….. the music of Mon Laferte won the hearts of all Latin speaking countries garnering Youtube plays in the 1oo’s millions!…The current single, “Amárrame” is a duet with Colombian rock superstar , Juanes which is viral throughout the world.. and she’s embarking on her first sold out tour of America……
Poptone: Bringing Back The Glory Of Goth
This is war! For years goth was an underground scene born from the ashes of punk as part of the whole ‘post punk’ era. The scenes’ greatest provocateur responsible for goth’s glory is Daniel Ash. His current project, Poptone includes former Bauhaus/Tones on Tail/ Love and Rockets drummer, Kevin Haskins and Ms. Diva Dompe ( Haskin’s daughter) on bass.. It seemed that the trio had real “simpatico” and according to Ash the chemistry was magical. The original game plan was to do a few gigs on the West Coast… and perform renditions of songs by Bauhaus, Tones on Tail and Love & Rockets.. Ash wanted something small, something intimate and avoid “grand fathering” the worst years of goth; when it went mainstream with band like The Cure, Depeche Mode, My Chemical Romance and Marilyn Manson getting heavily airplay on commercial radio…
DANIEL ASH AND POPTONE
Sadly, the idea of Goth seemed AWOL after the dissolution of Love And Rockets. As much as it was, “So Alive” went Top 3 on the Billboard’s Top 100 chart.. while in the U.K it peaked at an anemic #79! Daniel Ash when I interviewed him a few years past claimed the song was written in just one night.
Then the music in the nineties became largely dire, possibly due to the scenes popularity at the end of the eighties by bringing in a lot of “Boujee” people without the punk rock roots. Poptone brings with them their own set of austere histories. Unfortunately, that rebellious streak is not so evident in rock music; today’s generation have all but forgotten what Goth was once like that when what you wear is almost more important that what you think.
POPTONE SETLIST
The L.A. gig was held at the magnificent sound stage. The Swing House which is hidden within the bowels of the quiet suburb of Atwater (Atwater is just east of Dodger Stadium). During the two-hour performance, Ash smiled but eschewed any verbal connection with the audience…IT NEVER GETS NOTICED BY THE PRESS BUT ASH IS A FUCKIN’ AMAZING GUITARIST!
Poptone’s music did enough… As everyone in the crowd I didn’t know what songs would be performed… Die-hard fans were predicting what was going to be performed as if they were awaiting for what Santa Claus brought them on Christmas day. But as expected they were all mistaken… but not sadly.. Oddities like Bauhaus’, “Slice of Life” and Tones on Tail’s, “OK This Is The Pop”s… The evening was made when Poptone reached into the Love and Rockets dossier .. “Mirror People”, “No Big Deal”.. slayed…
But the song that really reached out was, “An American Dream”.. a song about social dystopia and America’s lugubrious politics…the seminal track that can easily capture the hearts and minds of the free world.. Perhaps its divine intervention that came to fruition decades later but is not too late. Much of goth music is challenging: to the ear, to one’s sense of identity, to one’s faith, to one’s sense of what music is. Goth is a lot of things, but like the truth it isn’t always pleasant. Go see Poptone and you will have fulfilled your life’s purpose of bringing back the glory of Goth..
A special thanks to Christopher The Minister
https://www.facebook.com/poptonemusic/
Chuck Berry And His Life Of Crime
As one might guess from his aggressive guitar playing and the defiant tone of many of his songs, Chuck Berry had a hard edge. He was a self-proclaimed bad ass mother fucker! Although Berry complained bitterly that he spent his life as a victim of racism, it was difficult to blame all his offences — including armed robbery, tax evasion and secretly filming dozens of women in a restaurant lavatory — on white prejudice. Back in the day black entertainers had to enter clubs and hotels from the back door… Chuck was too good and disregarded the Jim Crow laws. He did the proper thing and entered through the front door.. Berry always demanded to be paid up front in cash by promoters at each gig. An encore would be an additional $3k..thank you very much.
His first significant brush with the law came when he was 17 and still in high school. He and two friends from his racially segregated neighborhood of Missouri decided to drive to California to live the dream of going out west.. Berry took along a broken pistol and the trio began an armed robbery spree in Kansas City. At gunpoint, they held up liquor stores and absconded a replacement automobile until they were caught and arrested by a police officer.
Berry, insisted it was nothing more than adolescence doing “jack-ass” things.., Even though this was his first offence he received the maximum sentence of ten years in prison but served only three years in a reform school.
The defining moment of his life in incarceration came in 1959 when the 33-year-old star was convicted under a law prohibiting the transportation of women or girls (she was 14 years old) across state lines ‘for immoral purposes’. She reported to police that he had kidnapped her and had intercourse… It later came out that she was far from innocent and had already been busted for prostitution.
Because she was a child the he was tried before an all-white male jury and portrayed as a sexual predator, although his initial conviction was thrown out on appeal because the original judge had shown clear evidence of racial bias. The was retried claiming that the jury was prejudice because of associating with white women. His jail time was cut to 20 months. While in jail he wrote some of his most inspiring songs.. “The Promise Land” and “Havana Moon”.
When released Berry was known for his “high- handed petulance” and his attitude towards other musicians… In his contracts, it clearly stated that no artist was allowed to perform after him. This attitude is what provoked Jerry Lee Lewis to light his piano on fire and while walking off stage looked at Berry straight in the eye and said, “Let’s see what you can do after this.. asshole?”
Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis
Astoundingly his greatest admirer and influence, Keith Richards had his run ins with Chuck Berry when he was thrown off the stage for playing too loud at the world-famous Hollywood Palladium and would continually had lit matches flicked down his shirt…
In 1979 Chuck Berry was charged for tax evasion and submitting erroneous deductions. The IRS conducted a five-year investigation and he was in jail for 120 days…. Unfortunately, in spite of these run-ins he had no repentance towards the law and seemed to land in one dramatic mess after the other. In 1987 While performing in NYC he was charged for assault and battery by a “white” woman following his show… The charges were lowered due to hearsay evidence to harassment and paid a $250 fine.
Chuck Berry and Keith Richards..
When Berry was well into his 60s — there was one final scandal. The husband of one of his employees at his St. Louis restaurant accused him of being a ‘peeping tom’ after a hidden video camera was discovered in the ladies’ toilet there. Berry claimed that he thought she was stealing cash from the register so he set up the camera in order to catch her “red” handed. His accuser said the tapes were ‘created for the improper purpose of the gratification’ of his ‘sexual fetishes’.
While his guilt was never established at trial, he paid off 58 women by settling a class action lawsuit. It cost him an estimated $1.2 million as well as substantial legal fees. A subsequent police raid on his home reportedly found guns, drugs and videotapes of women using the lavatory as well as underage girls in sexual poses. Berry escaped from being charged with sex abuse with a minor and admitted to the possession of cannabis. He got off with a six-month suspended sentence and a small fine.
Little Richard, Berry and Bo Diddley…. Eric Clapton, Berry and Keith Richards
Chuck Berry was certainly not the Johnny B. Goode person he sung about… Perhaps Johnny B. “Bad” would’ve been more appropriate.
Twin Temple Reclaims Goth
It’s time to reclaim the name of goth, and make it great again. So let it be said that L.A. Goth band.. Twin Temple have made themselves the new “dark angels” for the movement. There’s a sense of sinister tribalism in their appearance and music that makes them so awesome. It’s high time the scene looks forward and reinvents itself again! The opportunity is here for Twin Temple’s “satanic do-wop” duo of Zachary and Alexandra James to take Goth music to a badly needed charmed fashion that would have George Gershwin, John Coltrane, Sharon Jones and Amy Winehouse frolicking in their graves.
Zachary and Alexandra James…Twin Temple
The first things people ask, sadly often followed by, ‘Do you like…’ and the name of a random psyche band or a Marilyn Manson “wannabe”, to which I answer ‘No’. It unfortunately seems to do nothing but puts me on the offense and I’m forced to say that I like The Cure as some kind of meeting point between the underground culture I love and the media led music industry of days gone by. But I wouldn’t have it any other way, I like being a part of something small, something almost intimate.For me the worst years of goth was when it went mainstream, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
I can date my earliest interest in the scene from the only time I saw Bauhaus perform “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” …This was 1979, the year when things started to change for me and this new movement started to take shape. There are arguments that will undoubtedly rage for years as to when goth began, but for me this will always be where I chart its beginnings. Bauhaus mastermind, Daniel Ash kept me in the loop through his exploits of “The Bubblemen”, Tones On Tail and Love and Rockets. These days that rebellious streak is not so evident. Today’s generation have all but forgotten what we were once like; when today its what you wear is more important than what you think.
The press has written kindly of Twin Temple by their asymmetric cheeky reviews exclaiming the band’s devotion to the “dark side”; but the truth be told that the loving couple of Mr. and Mrs. James beckons with greatness with their sensuous music foreplay. The best part of Twin Temple is their live performance.. Ms. Alexandra is commanding and beautiful.. while guitar maestro, Mr. Zachary conducts a ghoulish bunch of outstanding musicians.. If there were a convention for grave diggers.. Twin Temple would be their “headlining” band. Their debut single, “Girl Trouble” is about betrayal and plays as if Satan went soft and actually had a angelic streak.
Sadly over the years the purveyors of goth seemed lost. The music in the nineties was largely dire, possibly due to the scenes popularity at the end of the eighties bringing in a lot of people without those punk roots, who brought with them their own set of influences which largely diluted the music.
Mondo Cozmo.. Shine and Devine Intervention
Mondo Cozmo’s ( aka Joshua Ostrander) track, “Shine” is a song festooned with human subjectivity and a phenomenon for the inner soul. There aren’t many songs where divine intervention strikes; but in a world that is taken by language, technology, politics and mass media there can be wisdom gleamed out of madness. Instead of projecting its ire outwards, “Shine” gazes’ inwards. It mixes house, classic soul and gospel in a way that simplicity reins over a world of unseeded complication. He is convincing and sounds more than able to unleash the raw power necessary to make music crackle. In a world where “songs” matter M.C. boasts of religious communion and the need for cannabis. “Shine” as a song never let’s go and the experience hits a maniacal galloping stride when it hits its bridge. If you are into connecting “musical dots” his antecedents are Brit-Pop 90’s bands.. Primal Scream, Soup Dragons, The Stone Roses and Brian Jones era Rolling Stones.
..Mondo Cozmo….. The Grave of Brian Jones
We had a chance to do an interview with Mondo Cozmo ( Mondo is from the 1969 John Water’s dark comedy, “Mondo Trash” and Cozmo is the name of Joshua’s dog) and ask about moving to L.A. from Philadelphia, musical influences/comparisons, the arduous task while working on his debut album.
Rock Bands of L.A.com:
You come to L.A. via Philadelphia….. was your ambition always to be a musician? What music did you listen to as you were growing up? I definitely hear a lot of Brit pop ono the 90’s in “Shine”.. Primal Scream,, Soup Dragons and Brian Jones era Rolling Stones. Did your family have any effect on your musical tastes? Do you feel comfortable with the Dylan and Beck comparisons? Personally, I find it rather “shallow”.
Mondo Cozmo:
Oh I dont care. I’m a causal Dylan fan, I don’t completely get the comparison, I thinks it cause I have a drawl when I sing. I don’t get upset when people compare me to somebody. I’m pretty easy. My older brother introduced me The Stone Roses, Primal Scream, Soup Dragons and such at a pretty early age and that was when I started playing guitar, so it must have stuck with me. I think it’s the groove of the bass that makes everyone bring up the Brit pop stuff.
Rock Bands of L.A. com:
This is a tough question and I thought long and hard whether I should ask it… So what the fuck? In the lyrics to “Shine” you make reference to Jesus… are you in fact a religious man? How much does faith matter in your music?
M.C.:
I get asked this a lot, I’m not totally sure how to answer it cause the song seems to be resonating with a lot of people, but for me it’s a song of hope.
Mondo Cozmo….. Icon Film Director John Waters
Rock Bands of L.A. com:
What can we expect from your video of “Shine”??? What are your plans about making a full album? Do you feel the pressure of making a full album? “Shine” is really amazing!
M.C.:
The label wants a ‘big” video, so I assume the Shine video will be a “big” video. We are keeping with the female lead as we did with the Hold on to Me video. My buddy Drea De Matteo will star in the Shine video and we have another video starring Paz De La Huerta coming up too. I loved the idea of having female leads in all the videos. The full length is pretty much done, just needs to be mixed by Spike. I’m gonna take January and see if another song or two shows up. I write pretty quick and record everything in my bedroom so it’s not a massive undertaking to get stuff done.
Rock Bands of L.A.com: We are going to see you at The Hotel Café… and we can’t wait…. Do you prefer performing than recording?
M.C:I can’t believe I’ve never been asked this question. Last year I would have said recording, but the Mondo live shows are so powerful it has kind of renewed my love of playing. I am really excited to take the show on the road next year.
There’s not much more greatness that can be said when a debut song could be the anthem that propels..liberal political consciousness, personal empowerment, ecology and humanist values…His live show at the world famous Hotel Café was sold out with L.A’s music taste-makers in attendance. What we liked most was there was a great diversity in M.C.’s songs… It wasn’t full of neophyte contradictions that most artist are inflicted with in their early stages.The song, “Plastic Soul” with its jaunty acoustic guitar licks reveals his ability to craft a clever hummable pop mantra in a quasi “Baja-Marimba”music sample.
We would like to thank Taylor Vaughn and Mondo Cozmo for their help and contributions.
Hey Now… Jeff Beck.. Loud Hailer
Jeff Beck shows at 72 years old he can still give rock and roll quite a wallop! When his contemporaries are befuddled with geriatric issues of still having babies, illness and law suits Beck has once again created an album, his 11th titled Loud Hailer of ingested musical Viagra. Jack White and Frank Black are surely in disbelief that some old “geezer” has made an album that goes way beyond anything they’ve ever conjured up and had to succumb to clichés. If so, the pinheads at alternative radio should lap it up like a hungry hound dog in heat.! If master Beck were to call Loud Hailer his “pièce de résistance” of his legacy it doesn’t come a moment too soon.You see Jeff’s (since we have the same first name I think I’m awarded the luxury of referring to him as Jeff too) not happy with the state of the world and instead of teething on the issues he does what he does best… plays the fuckin guitar. No one bends or curls the strings any better at the guitar than the axe wielding Godzilla,Jeff.
Jeff Beck
It’s no old person trying to be hip but it ought to win an armada of new fans. Moreover, then being a rock and roll album it should be heard as an alternative/indie and then perhaps social network junkies would have something more genuine to write about.
Nearly five decades ago, a blazing comet crashed into London’s burgeoning music scene and exploded in a cloud of psychedelic haze. Arriving from an entirely different artistic universe, that comet, better known as Jeff Beck, highhandedly changed the face of ‘60s pop culture.. musically and fashion. Everything about this axe-wielding apparition was different: his good looks, his playing style, his ability to create. Even the name of his band, The Jeff Beck Group foretold the sensory journey he was to lead. He was light-years ahead of his time, and quite possibly too good for his own good; as his visits proved to be constantly jaw dropping. What Jeff has done in his career was to raise the bar of creativity to impossible heights, while cementing a legacy as an innovator, visionary, and a stealth Icon.
The album’s creative zenith, however, is reached with the second track,”Live In The Dark” where singer Rosie Bones reveals the issues of coming of age and the unfortunates of bullying and sexual misconduct. The crowning achievement of the album is its closing track, “Shrine” which is a solemn but a crowning effort.
For me Loud Hailer is far more than just an album. Over time, it will become an invigorating life force; one that courses through my veins with regularity. It represents hope and purpose and inspiration.Its a bittersweet reminder of that brilliant flashing comet known as Jeff Beck.
Jeff’s extravaganza is now touring America with Buddy Guy which includes a date at the world famous Hollywood Bowl.
Andy Clockwise—- Dystopia In The Good Book
Prophecy doesn’t happen very often especially when it comes to music. Australian born Andy Kelly…aka.. Andy Clockwise proves that in between genius and madness there is divination! His recent E.P. release party of “The Good Book” held at the world famous Satellite proved that musical evangelism can cause an unsuspecting audience of heretics to the brink of uncontrolled frenzy. This is where “The Good Book” eclipses the atonal EDM world of loops, traps and dubsteps with songs that will have pagans “fist pumping” to each beat.
The Good Book… Andy Clockwise
The common press has referred to Clockwise as a disciple of Nick Cave and LCD Soundsystem. I get it but the likeness is cheap! Its more palpable comparing Clockwise to Giorgio Moroder meets Ultravox meets Kraftwerk from the 70’s when electronica was fresh, invigorating and haunting. The genre proved to be the template for disco, progressive and alternative music… Sometimes you have to take a step back in order to make that great leap forward. That’s why A.C. is so fucking awesome..
Giorgio Moroder .. Ultravox . .Kraftwerk
The show opened with the title track, “I’ve Arrived (The Good Book Pt. 1)” which sounds more like a psalm from bible study than a song. It’s the true testament of the emancipative mood created by Clockwise and his eclectic bandmates. The song concludes with the oracular passage, “You taught me to lose and you taught me to win”. Isn’t that what life is.??
The crowd was nodding for more… and more is what they got! Clockwise brought out John “J.T.” Thomas (L.A.’s hottest studio bass player whose credits include Captain Beefheart and Sparks) and they went into the funkified “Open Relationship”;which is about the trials and tribulations of triangular relationships as exposed by 70’s T.V. psycho- evangelist-frauds. Among the hysteria, audience members were chosen to dance on the stage (me included) with A.C. to purge our souls of sectarianism and dance ourselves clean while the band played on.
Clockwise’s victory lap is the song that depicts the decadence of the 70’s, “Cocaine and Champagne” with its pounding beats and loops. The 70’s decade was all about Cocaine, Quaaludes and “Poppers”(slang for amyl nitrate which is an inhalant that would create a rush while clubbing and before sex) which were the rage. This scene was the envy of anyone who wanted to be on the inside of the “velvet rope”. Personality dysfunction and debauchery were rampant in the club scene…
If this wasn’t enough the E.P. ends with the help of Ms. Holly Valance on vocals with the Clockwise’s greatest attempt to garner the perfect pop song, “Hopeless”. This is where Andy will have his mass breakthrough and will be played all over the radio airwaves.. As I listened I realized that Clockwise is a musical genius and it won’t be long before his songs will become immortal!
We love Andy Clockwise with all his deity towards pop culture from decades back and masterminds a most engaging music I’ve. Its is as if Clockwise got “punked” by God who placed him four decades late.. and for this we are lucky to be part of music’s future. Stay Legendary
Mike Edel…. Blue Above The Green
If there was a person whose music could be described as counter culture of current days it could very well be Canadian born singer, Mike Edel. No, Mike Edel is not some hippy throw back freak by any means but his thoughts may resemble those of ecological righteousness and allegiance to his native Canada. He does have an unsuspecting sense of humor and a confident swagger. During his recent appearance at the World Famous Hotel Café in Hollywood he talked about his father in an adoring novel way and stories of the road. His world is piqued with topographic vision by his music and lyrics. Often an album this well-crafted can perhaps fall between the cracks; but to the best of my ability I won’t let that happen on my watch! Back in the 70’s Edel’s album could have been the soundtrack for those who looked upon music as a moral compass. He has something to sing about. He doesn’t try to proselytize or pontificate but he will make you take notice. His song “Hell Exists” chimes about one’s bout with faith. A relationship that has gone awry from a place that is dark and uncomfortable; yet chooses a path that will appear right but this is the unknown.
Mike Edel and band outside the world famous Hotel Cafe
His perception of his homeland always has a bond with his self and it’s confidently reflected in the track, “When the Good Goes Wrong”. Fellow Canadian, Neil Young should have written songs this great for his lackluster album, “Prairie Wind”.. .years back if he wasn’t festooned with crankiness and distrust. Fortunately we have Mike Edel who monopolizes his music by passing “Go” and collects $200 ! Most singer songwriters write songs that are paint by numbers; but Edel paints with broad strokes one masterpiece after another. His current radio airplay hit, ”Blue Above The Green” is up tempo and you identify when romance was young and special–
“We hiked up the mountain in the woods
I thought maybe we could make out
You looked up through the branches in the sky
And we named the constellations”
Today, most music is disposable and you can trust that it will be forgotten and not endure the test of time. Consumer purchase trend has legions who download one track at a time; however in the case of Mr. Edel that would be an impossible task and not tell the whole story. India-Seattle is inspired by his upbringing in a small town in the plains of Alberta Canada. His family is simple folks that are farmers and their morning highlight is to have coffee at the local coffee diner with neighbors and chat about the local crops’ value and how well the Toronto Blue Jays have been playing (The track “The Closer” is all about baseball). This being said India-Seattle is an album that seems like a travel manifest intertwined with cinematic splendor.
I would like to thank Kevin Sutter and Melissa
Biters….. Low Lives in High Definition
Before heavy metal, thrash, speed metal, black metal, glam metal and nu-metal, their hard-rock precursor blasted from arenas worldwide. Simple straightforward songs about sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll (and the occasional power ballad) from the likes of AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple, Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Rainbow and others ruled the charts during the 70’s and part of the 80’s; and some of the band members sported spandex jumpsuits (that late ‘70s rock wardrobe staple). But unlike these bands, the Biters are cocked and ready to go. Until now the Biters have been under the mainstream radar and you needed advanced detection equipment from NASA to find them. Their newly released album, “Electric Blood” on Earache Records is sure to put an end to that.
Perhaps it’s because Biters could possibly be acknowledged now as a pivotal influence on many of the new rock bands emerging from America and Britain… ie The Struts. They aren’t as heavy as Led Zeppelin or as radio-friendly as Cheap Trick or Def Leppard. They don’t have gimmicks like Kiss; their lyrics aren’t as simple and in-your face as AC/DC’s. To say they are somewhere in the middle gives the connotation that they are just mediocre; which is definitely selling them way too short !This band is the badly needed “bitch-slap” that rock and roll has needed here in the States! Kind of like what Ike did to Tina and Chris Brown did to Rhianna!(Did I just say that?)
We saw the world take notice when Guns and Roses, Nirvana and Metallica were electrifying rock fans but the state of the union is in a “code blue” state with rap, hip-hop and EDM eating the brains of our youth. Biters are from Atlanta, which they refer to as “Hate City”.This Southern metropolis doesn’t have the rock home image as L.A. or New York but in all candor rock and roll finds them wherever they play. Chris crossing America as they say in their song, “Hang Around”… “We’re going to waste this town and burn it to the ground”.. no city is left unsettled by their musical pillaging. But this is why Biters are so fucking great!
These four rebel rockers are doing what manifest destiny has asked from them and from that they’ve acquired a legion of fans that follow them from town to town. Biters are in close touch with their people and they showoff tattoos in collaboration with the band. If a picture is worth a thousand words than a tattoo is limitless. Most noted is the three eyed tiger. Fans wear this as a badge of honor.
Reviewers seem to be all over the road when writing about the band… they sound like this and they sound like that… Again missing the essence.. Biters have swagger and they know how to swing. They are bringing the days of halcyon back to rock and roll. They certainly aren’t shrinking violets by any means. Perhaps their macho bragging (de rigueur for the time) will prove us right. Their recent gig in Los Angeles proves they are contenders but moreover there will be no stage too big to electrify audiences. Opening with tracks from “Electric Blood” they never let up.
When the Biters show up to your town don’t be jerks.. go see them and hide your kids. Take the chance while you still have the choice…
We wanted to thank Tuk for his positive vibe and rallying the cavalcade of rock and rollers.
The Electric Prunes WaS vs. Is
Los Angeles in 1966 was the epicenter of everything regarding pop culture. The scene was festooned with peace and love while Hollywood’s glitz was its show piece. Bands would play and regardless of their genre audiences were receptive. One such band that epitomized the Psychedelia movement were the he Electric Prunes. Guided by singer/auto harpist James Lowe they recorded the song that spoke to the “Generation of Love” and that was “I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night”. It not only was a hit record but it became the interplanetary soundtrack of influences for many groups to follow.
It didn’t sound like anything ever heard on the radio at that time or before. Reviewing the notes from the studio there were lots of over dubbing and turning over. Those parts played forward were cool but “backwards” it was more amazing. The song reached #11 on the Billboard singles chart in the U.S. and #49 in Britain. The song is about a guy who is suffering from symptoms of a hangover after having an affair with his girlfriend claiming he had “too much to dream” the previous night. The pun obviously coming from having “too much to drink last night”. Those in the “in crowd” considered it a metaphor for drug use; and probably in those days it sounded pretty fuckin’ bitchin’ and far out.
Dick Clark..”A gassy thing.I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night”
During the Fall of 1966 the Sunset Strip was besieged by riots with L.A. County Sheriffs enforcing curfew laws(You don’t fuck with the L.A. County Sheriffs Department) the Club owners were in a quagmire on what to do. Heads were cracked, the streets a blazing with cars set on fire yet the music played on.
Rock Bands of L.A. com fave band, Jigsaw Seen wrote a song that told the story with all its glory, “Open Up The Box Pandora”..
Jack Nicholson and Peter Fonda were incarcerated ; charged with loitering and misconduct at The Riots on the Sunset Strip
“The Prunes” were a band formed at Taft High School in the San Fernando Valley; which is a moderate bus ride from Hollywood. American rock at this time had to find its own way considering that The British Invasion was in full swing. The perfect storm was in the band’s favor considering that their record label Warner Bros. wanted into the rock business bad at this time. Considering Warner’s roster could boast of having Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Don Rickles and Alan Sherman they thought by signing a young local rock band would be their ticket for the next decade.
Warners’ Records stars.”.Mr. Warmth”, Don Rickles. Alan Sherman..The King of the Boardroom… Deaan Martin
Little did they know that the story would not be told if it ended here? “Dream” was the second single from the band and they didn’t even write it! Initially working with studio icon Leon Russell nothing was gelling so their producer David Hassinger was convinced that the band could not write their own songs. As Hassinger found imperative he sought outside material from the professional songwriting team of Annette Tucker and lyricist Nancie Mantz. The song that came was “I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)”, a song that, according to some sources, was originally conceived as an orchestral piano ballad. However, according to Ms. Tucker, “I came up with the title one day and called Nancie. She loved it and we wrote it the next day in one half hour….The words were there and my melody came easily. I was influenced by the Rolling Stones at the time and that is how I heard that song being recorded….Nancie and I envisioned this as a rock song.”
It embodied the Garage Rock that Channel #21 on SM/Sirius with the guidance of Little Steven and has proclaimed this anthem their “ground zero” for the station. This spark of success enabled the band to tour, and to release an album with a successful follow-up single “Get Me To The World On Time”. The band is also recognized for the song “Kyrie Eleison“, which was featured on the soundtrack of the epic film Easy Rider. After a period in which they had little control over their music, they disbanded for 30 years. In 1999 the band reformed. By 2001 the members had resumed recording and touring and remained active until 2011. Here in 2014 the vortex of The Electric Prunes has perfectly assembled again within the parameters of our galaxy: As offered by James Lowe personally. “The Electric Prunes invite you our closest friends to a new adventure! WaS. That WaS the Electric Prunes! It has been a long journey here and we have waited till the planetary alignment was correct for a new release. The lunar eclipse signaled the start of something that no one is sure of exactly what? We offer WaS as the saucer to fast forward you to the cosmic finish.” There is a fine line between ‘IS’ and ‘WaS’. If what you did is more important than what you are doing, you WaS. One moment you is and then you was. Somehow I’m thinking of channeling MC Hammer’s hit “You Can’t Touch This”. 1967 doesn’t seem much different from today; tastes change but I think people are always on the lookout for some fresh ideas from the ‘is’ that makes them remember the ‘WaS’.
James Lowe in all sight and mind has brought back the band for an upcoming 15 track C.D. Music that is the “earwash for the initiated.” Lowe best describes the intention and intricacies of this present endeavor. “Our legitimate recordings represent our thinking and, in some cases, lack of thinking. We were never main stream enough to fret over what went on the records; witnessed by some of the goofy cuts we have released, we were just happy to be able to record our thoughts. It seems fitting that we release this 9th offering with the same abandon. This is a garage band and is not meant to be taken seriously. The music here is from all layers of the band from 1966 to 2014. This is a cool album, maybe the last we will ask you to support. But we do hope you will post it on the web and dance to it in the moonlight on 11! There is even a music video by the band for TOKYO floating around!”
The Electric Prunes.. Tokyo.
Please bring your friends because the band wants to go out and play live one more time and we need you for that. Tell your local club to invite us. We will come…. We WaS but we still Is ….” My greatest advice is to listen to this with those new “Beat” headphones that cost you a bundle and wear your 3D glasses
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