I read the Spectro Pop site is recommending this highly. And the author, Stephen J. McParland, has been a prolific historian of the subject of Surf-, hotrod-, Skateboard-, Motorbike and related early to mid 60s musical styles since 1979, when he started his California Music magazine, from Australia.
read more about this book here.
Check out CMusic books while we’re at it!
Here’s a great find, Rock Hudson checking out the linernotes to Dominic Frontiere’s Pagan Festival LP, while resting in Doris Day’s lap on the set of Pillow Talk.
Search for Doris Day and Rock Hudson at www.mptv.net/.
This screening is in LA, quote taken from an e-mail sent out by wreckingcrew.tv
Event: Don’t Knock The Rock Film Festival
Time: 8:00PM
Date: Thurs., July 3rd, 2008
Location: Silent Movie Theatre
611 N. Fairfax Avenue
tickets linkHi Wrecking Crew supporters!
Thank you for making the LA premiere at the Grand Performances a Great Success but if they missed it and want to send a friend, this is a great event. After playing to great response at SXSW, Buffalo, Nashville and Seattle Film Festivals (see reviews), we are very excited that “The Wrecking Crew” documentary will screen as part of the “Don’t Knock The Rock” Film Festival at the Silent Movie Theatre on Fairfax in Los Angeles.
Join us for a beautiful tribute to those brilliant musicians who made some of the best records of our lifetime, yet rarely the picture on the record — now they get the spotlight. In fact, if you showed up to The T.A.M.I. Show Sunday night, you heard them, but you barely saw them — they were the house band for all those great acts. This evening is all about them!
A Q&A with Denny Tedesco will follow the screening and Boyd Rice DJ’s Wrecking Crew classics and novelties from Rodney Bingenheimer’s personal collection, while Kari French and her Go Go Troupe do the hippy hippy shake to Rice’s collection of rare 60s Scopitones!
From Wrecking Crew News:
Hi Wrecking Crew supporters!
After playing to great response at SXSW, Buffalo, Nashville and Seattle Film Festivals (see reviews), we are thrilled to announce that ‘The Wrecking Crew’ documentary will have it’s Los Angeles premiere on June 28th, 2008. The film will play under the banner “Movies That Matter” as part of the Grand Performances Program in downtown LA at 350 S.Grand. Ave.
This is a free, outdoor festival-style screening under the stars. You can bring a picnic, deck chairs, blankets and even white wine, they don’t allow red wine as it can stain the granite in the Festival area. If a picnic is not your speed, there are some great restaurants in the area. Even though tickets are free, please make sure you allow yourself plenty of time to eat and find a place to sit. Don’t forget a chair or blanket.
We are also very honored to announce that the presentation of the film will be followed by a live performance by Wrecking Crew alumni Hal Blaine (drums), Carol Kaye (electric bass), Don Randi (piano) and Chuck Berghofer (upright bass). Vocals by Julia Fordham and other guest aritsts.
Please Help Us Spread The Word. Its Very Important That Musicians And Music Lovers Know Of This Event. Thanks For Your Support.
I wrote a bout the Wrecking Crew movie here earlier.
I randomly clicked a track on the Spreeblick blog’s newest music review. And it was Doves Circle the Sky by Bodies of Water. And I must say once in a while there’s new music that I really like for some reason or other. This track was playing during one of these very rare moments. Maybe I should listen there more often, since this was the first time I did that!
I knew about this big back-catalogue re-issue being planned before, but I somehow never could view the web-page until now.
Arthur Lyman died a couple of years ago, and it was a great loss to the people into Exotica and Tiki as he was still performing. He used to play with Martin Denny before he ventured out with his own group. Both artists released similar styled albums, but Lyman kept more Hawai’i in his music as the sixties went on, being hawaiian might be a reason. He had some of the deepest, most atmospheric and soulful Exotica recordings, combining authentic ethnic instrumentation with modern jazz. Another interesting point of note are humorous tunes he often selected to appear towards the end of his LPs. He may not have had a Sandy Warner on the covers, but many are very beautiful, classic Exotica designs. Taboo 2 had an authentic shrunken head on the front, until it was repackaged with a shot from the Pele roll of film.
Kevin Crossman writes on the Exotica list:
Collectors has released 18 Lyman albums in their entirety as 9 two-fer CDs.
…
Don’t be fooled by lame, generic cover art. each release has the cover of both LPs printed in full color. All you have to do is take the front booklet out and fold it backwards to show the cool orig Lp cover art! The CD also contains a reprint of one of the Lp back covers
…
Look for the double titles separated by a slash. Steer clear of the Greatest Hits package – it is not bad but I’m sure you would rather have the full experience of a Lyman lp in its original format
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go to Collectors’ Choice Music
Every once in a while a man takes his life into his own hands. I can’t wait to see this! I guess Paskowitz should be a household name to a guy with a 9ft Malibu in the corner of his home office, but I’m afraid you have to look elsewhere for further info on this obviously very special family. Wait, the movie should make me that much wiser.
A big article and interview on Brian Wilson in the Washington Post.
(through the exotica mailing list)
The Beach Boy’s Hymns to the Dream State of California Belied The Nightmare He Was Living
By J. Freedom du Lac
Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, December 2, 2007; Page M01
LOS ANGELES — Brian Wilson still hears voices.
They stalk him sometimes when he’s on the concert stage, bedeviling him from inside his head. They ridicule and threaten the original Beach Boy, backing him into dark corners that don’t exist. Watch closely, says his wife, Melinda, and you can tell when Wilson’s schizoaffective disorder is having its way. His eyes become distant and glazed. Another auditory hallucination…full article at washingtonpost.com
I don’t have it, but judging by the blurb alone it’s a sure shot.
Various Artists-Paradise Lost & Sound
Here’s what they say at Fleamarket Music:
Flea Market Music recently discovered a treasure trove of Island-inspired songs written in the 1950s and early ’60s by well-known LA studio musicians Ken Darby, Perry Botkin Sr., Mel Henke and others. Many of these tunes (“Legend Of The Rain,” “Hana Maui,” “Leis Of Jazz,” “China Clipper”) were originally recorded by Hawaiian exotica king, Arthur Lyman. Paradise Lost & Found features new recordings of these songs by WAITIKI, a group of extraordinary musicians who have a passion for this kind of jazzy exotic music. Other guest artists include uke sensation Abe Lagrimas, Jr. playing Perry Botkin’s 1950 instrumental “Ukey-Ukulele” and Chris Kamaka (of Kamaka Ukulele and Ho’okena fame) singing the Ken Darby classic “Legend Of The Rain.” Other standout tracks include “Duke Of The Uke” with Four Preps lead singer Bruce Belland. Rounding out the project are a few Jim Beloff songs including “Sunrise At Haleakala,” “The Hawaiian Turnaround” (with music by uke master, Herb Ohta) and “I’m Carrying A Tiki Torch For You” performed by King Kukulele and the Friki Tikis. Ukulele is featured on about half the tracks but it’s all fun. 14 tropical tracks!
Thanks to Tiki King at Tiki Central
Saturday september 22nd was all about Tiki. The attendance could have been stronger – bad mana Berlin!
But many Ti-key figures came from different parts of europe. The Klang & Kleid guys (Switzerland‘s Lurker, who organized the complete series of events, what an effort, especially considering the timing problems…), of course Sven Tiki and Tanja & Jochen Hirschfeld were there in person to present their respective Tiki documentations.
I also met Virani (from Paris) and Sian the Beachcomber and Trader Jim (of Pocketiki from England), Carola & my old buddy Andreas, Liz & Chris from Cambridge and even though we live in the same city I hadn’t seen Moritz® in a while, but there he was.
Sven, as usual, had prepared a thoroughly enlightening slide-show on the Tiki Modern subject. He was first to present it in the Eiszeit Kino, not before just about everybody had sampled at least one of the 4 great cocktails supplied by the Aloha Luau. The Jungle Bird was a great new discovery for me. And the new book was on display (and for sale) to the enthusiasts. Everybody who bought one had it signed by Sven – they now have quite a heavyweight coffeetable load, considering this new book Tiki Modern has more and bigger pages, and more great pictures than the already huge Book of Tiki! The layout looks cleaner than in the Book of Tiki – which goes very nicely together with the modern subject.
Intermission allowed for another taste from Aloha Luau’s menu and then it was Jochen’s turn. He held a short speech explaining the pre-history of the Armchair Travelling project and the DVD started rolling in the darkened cinema. As I was involved with creating 8 tracks for the DVD’s soundtrack I had seen parts before and Jochen had told about his travels and who he had talked to in the course of making the film. But seeing the first part (about the 30s – 60s origins and beginnings of Tiki pop-culture) condensed into only 60 minutes, the giant afford that was done was at hand. It is something else. There were hours and hours of material edited into what we were presented here, in a great way. But you have to bear in mind that the two DVDs are going to be a hundred minutes each! I was under the impression that just about everybody who could say something profound on Tiki was contacted and interviewed. Of course speaking of the most interesting subjects, giving the most exciting details. So there’s interviews, but also old, private super-8 footage! Gathered classic urban archeaologist style at fleamarkets and garagesales. Another great ingredient were the animated stills. If you have seen Riding Giantsor Dogtown and Z-Boys you know what I mean. A new way of using still photographs in film to draw you into the subject – very effective! If you don’t know about it, it’s not apparent to you it’s stills often times. Just like in the other two docs I mentioned, combined with the right music it’s a great mood- and details-asset to a project like that.
Afterwards played Hulapunk from Hamburg, and a great time was had by all.
But Aloha Luau, in true spirit, had people last minute finishing his new, cute little mini Tiki bar in Oranienstr. while he was serving drinks at the cinema. So most everybody went to check that out, after Hulapunk were finished and the first chatting about the new enlightments was done. I had a Mai-tai (bit too sour) and another, fantastic Jungle Bird.