The Tale of The Mad Daddy Acetates

This originally appeared over at the Mad Daddy Myspace Page a few years back. Figured I'd share it here. Sadly no more gold has appeared since this writing. Oh well, that's the bane of record buying; you are always searching for the next fix.

As a bit of an introduction, for those who don't know who Pete Myers is, he created the radio DJ persona of The Mad Daddy on Cleveland radio back in the late 50's. His radio shows are the stuff of legend. He spoke entirely in rhyme. He played music parents hated. Crazy instrumentals, rock and roll, etc. All punctuated with his trade mark insane laughter. For more on the wonder that is The Mad Daddy, check out the amazing CD on Norton Records called WAVY GRAVY: ATOM SMASHIN’ ZOOMERATIN’ MELLO JELLO RADIO BROADCASTS 1958-1964. For some quick samples of his DJ patter zoom on over to The Mad Daddy Myspace page. There is some memorabilia over there as well.

www.myspace.com/themaddaddy

Part One:

*Warning some of the following may contain falsehoods, and or deceptions, but more than likely most of it is true (no, really)!

While hunting in the Congo for records I came upon a record shop in a most unusual place.

Having just hewn my way thru miles of dense undergrowth I came across a dark and foreboding cave.

I had heard from the natives that many riches could be found there. Many had come before me, but none had ever been seen again. The natives did not care for records, but the white man, the white man kept coming.

The stench that emitted from the cave was nauseating. My eyes began to sting and water profusely...

I had to tie my bandana around my mouth and nose in order to keep from retching. Sancho, my dear departed steward, had given me some ointment to swab underneath my nose to help quell the fetid odor. I can't quite remember what he said it was made of, but thank god he had given it to me, for it helped me in this, my darkest hour.

The cave was like any other I had encountered in my many years of travel. Littered outside were the bones of collectors past, who had come like I had come, with a wad full of cash and thoughts of rare records in their heads.

The jungle was on my side this day, and I had made it unscathed...maybe it was because I regularly bathe and comb my hair, or because I don't like to spend endless hours talking about mono vs. stereo, or the difference between vg+ and vg++!

As I entered the cave I could hear a bubbling cauldron echoing through the entry chamber. It wasn’t a cave at all, but a very well concealed record store!

But this was no ordinary record store! The walls glistened with some sort of green iridescence. A dense fog covered the floor. Things moved in that fog…but I’d rather not think of that right now.

It reminded me of some sort of sick butcher shop. There were no records to peruse! There were no record bins to browse through! There were no records to be seen anywhere in front of the counter!

Everything was behind the counter! You had to ask the proprietor what he had for sale! What manner of store was this? None I had ever talked to had ever been here before, so I did not know what to expect!

As I neared the counter, I realized someone else was in the “store” with me! He was a mealy little fellow and he seemed very happy to be talking with the proprietor.

Ah, the proprietor. He was a site to behold. He appeared to be an amalgam of all I had come across before. He was stout, like a man who had just eaten a pile of sweaty kielbasa! He was dressed in the cheapest stuff imaginable. Clothing was like an afterthought to this strange perspiration covered man. He was balding, but appeared otherwise to be completely covered with matted damp looking hair. Even his ears had sprouted with the stuff!

Very disconcerting…

It was then that I heard something that peaked my interest!

“….Pete Myers…”



I moved closer, tripping over some sort of creepy crawly in the mist, trying to hear more…

“Yeah, my boss’s name is Pete Myers, so I figured I’d buy them for him! He would get a big kick out of that!”

“Ahem”, I said, as I moved closer to the counter. “What’s this about Pete Myers?”

“You know him?!” Gasped the clueless stranger.

I was amazed at this person’s idiocy. “No I don’t know your boss, but Pete Myers was a radio DJ in Cleveland in the late 50’s.”

“Oh”, he said sadly. His face brightened as he continued; “Well, this gentleman has something called the Pete Myers astitates!”

I looked at him like he had two heads. “Astitates? Do you mean Acetates?” Clearly this person had just stumbled into this place and didn’t have a clue about anything….

“ACETATES!” grunted the proprietor, drool hanging from the corner of his mouth, his belly protruding over his dirty unwashed jeans.

“Oh, YES, acetates, that’s what they are! What fun this shop is! Can you believe I would stumble across something like this? Especially something that I could buy as a joke gift for my boss!? Its just delightful!” As he said this he clapped his hands in the most annoying manner.

I backed away not knowing if I should cry, or punch the little sniveling man in the mouth.

“Have you already bought them?” I asked wearily? Having been beaten to the punch so many times before, I expected the worst.

“Actually, no, this fine gentlemen and I were just coming to terms.”

During this whole time the proprietor was staring dumbly, as is their want. The drool slowly elongating till it rested softly on his stained wife beater t-shirt. His glistening, beady eyes stared back… He almost looked like he could understand us.

“Well, I just might be interested in these ‘astitates’ myself…”

“ACETATES!” grunted the proprietor once again.

“Yes, yes, acetates. What are you offering him?” I asked, as I jerked by thumb towards the proprietor.

The man opened his “fanny-pack” (my fingers shudder just typing the word) and peered inside. “Well, let me see what I have.”

The proprietor began sniffing and grunting at the air, his hands twitching uncontrollably. He could smell a bidding war beginning to brew. His mouth opened and closed as he breathed in and out.

Before the little man could say anymore, I asked the proprietor to see the actual acetates. He grunted his approval and shuffled off further behind the counter. He approached what appeared to be a black velvet curtain. He parted it with the wave of one big flabby hair covered arm and roared; “Maaaa, get me my purple record carrier!”

Before long he reappeared with 3 acetates all bearing the GOTHAM record label.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. Here was something that, as far as I knew, had never been heard of before! 3 of Pete Myers’s personal acetates! What could they be? What could be on them? What untold treasures could those black and oily crevices contain?

I picked up the first one. It said simply, CRYSTAL BALL. Hmm, what could that be?

The second: GIMMICK. It had a date of 2/29/60. Hmm, interesting. It must have been after Pete had left the Cleveland area to “make it big” in New York City.

The third one read simply; UMUMH!, and was dated 10/13/61.



Now the proprietor was not the only one who was salivating in a most disturbing way.

I tried vainly to compose myself. It is important in times like these to keep a straight face (which was easy for me, since half of my face was concealed beneath my kerchief!).

“So you want to buy the acetates. And I want to buy the acetates. What do you think we should do?”

“AUCTION!” Grunted the proprietor, as he slammed his flabby palm against the counter. Little bits of spittle landing on the stranger and I.

At this suggestion I grinned as I felt the bulge of money in my pocket. Money that I had saved for just such an encounter.

“Oh dear!” Said the little man as he looked thru his change purse. “It seems that I only have 120 American dollars!”

The proprietor bristled at the little man for showing his hand too soon! He looked at me expectantly…

I offered up a pittance more than the 120 offered by the little man.

The proprietor looked back at the little man, expecting a counter bid….

The little man cowered. “If I give any more, I won’t have enough for bus fair to get back to the resort!”

He sighed and slowly turned to leave the store. Looking back once with the look of the defeated.

The proprietor looked at me as I took out my billfold and peeled off the 120 and change. His eyes gleaming in the green iridescence.

He pushed the acetates towards me. I carefully gathered them and got them ready for my return trip home.

End of part one.

Trash is Neat Volume One

Trash is neat is a series of cd (and soon to be DVD) compilations put together by a member of the Stay Sick Cramps Yahoo group. Volume One is made up of bootleg live versions of songs The Cramps never really got around to recording on legit albums (during the 2 guitar era).

As the cover above says, all the material is taken from 1977 to 1984. Volume One was limited to 30 copies and mailed out to various members of the Stay Sick Group. Just recently, I noticed someone sold their copy on ebay and it went for well over a 100 dollars. A 100 dollars for a CD-R! That's totally crazy. So here it is in all its glory.

Thanks go out to MondoSean for all his hard work on the series. Volume 4 should be out any week now. This might be a good time to join the Stay Sick Group if you want more info. I'll post volume 2 (Songs We Taught the Bass Player) and volume 3 (bands covering The Cramps) sometime soon.

There used to be a Trash is Neat website, but I'm not sure its around anymore. Do a search for it online, some sites still pop up!

http://www.mediafire.com/?mzygdleu2wz

Wrapped up and Tangled Up in The Cramps

Well, this Wednesday would have been Lux's 63rd birthday. Here is an article I wrote for a canadian fanzine that has yet to materialize. I wrote it shortly after Lux passed away. I don't know if the fanzine will ever see the light of day, so here it is in all its "glory". Sorry if it seems all over the place, but when I was writing it, I was pretty emotional. Still am, I guess...

(pics above: a super young looking Lux with his homemade Mad Daddy shirt and a picture taken by Mark Mucker at the Trocadero show in Philidelphia.)

I went to fishin’ one day
And I put my hook out in the water
And somethin’ got a hold to it
And tried to get loose

When I pulled it up there was a big fish on the hook
He was twistin’ and turning there
Tryin to get loose
But the hook had him there
And he couldn’t get loose

And I said I wished the Lord would hook me one day
Like this hook has hooked his fin
And on one Friday evenin’, he came into my soul
And hooked he me with his spirit

And ever since that day
A song come into my mind
I had to say like Jerimiah say…
There’s a ffffffiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrrre keep on burnin’
Shadow up in my bones…
And I couldn’t hold my pee

-The Reverend Charlie Jackson – Wrapped up and Tangled Up in Jesus




The Cramps got their hook in me around 1989 or so.

Hearing The Cramps for the first time completed my musical puzzle. Up until that point, music wasn’t a big part of my life. It was just something I listened to passively. There was nothing I was hearing that was really moving me. Certainly I had not heard anything that I would want to collect or devote any serious time to.

Growing up, I was into all the “weird stuff” you’d expect me to be into if you know me now. I liked monsters, books, books about monsters, monster movies, comic books, etc. I spent hours and hours scouring the TV guide trying to find horror movies to watch.

My parents had decent taste in music. My dad was a teenager in the 50’s and 60’s, a glorious time for music. We always had music in the house, but it was as most people listen to music today; as a background, something to fill the empty air. It may have meant something to them, but it didn’t connect with me. Blue suede shoes? Who gave a fuck about blue suede shoes?! I was a kid that liked giant monkey movies for god sake!

Myself, growing up in the 70’s, in New Hampshire no less, there really wasn’t a lot musically going on. For some, the 70’s were a great time for music. But as an adolescent without a car, you were kind of at the mercy of geography. All the radio stations I could tune in at the time played 70’s arena rock or dance music.

At some point, I started running with a different crowd and a friend introduced me to punk, and then later, The Cramps.

At first I didn’t know what to make of them. I simply could not comprehend what I was hearing. It sort of sounded like the music my dad was always playing when I was younger, but it was somehow new and exciting. It seriously confused me. Being in my late teens, Punk was a no brainer. It was loud, fast, out of control. But The Cramps were different. It just seemed more real somehow.

The Cramps opened up a whole new world for me. I was amazed to find a band that seemed to be influenced (at least in part) by the movies I grew up watching! You could just hear it in the music. You could see it in their look. Hell, you could even see it in their amazing logo.

Songs like WHAT’S BEHIND THE MASK had me doing double takes. Surely this song was based on a segment of TALES FROM THE CRYPT, the classic comic from the 50’s read by JD’s and wide-eyed innocents alike.

Pretty soon I was a fanatic; I had to have everything they ever put out. I went from release to release aurally devouring everything within earshot. It was Cramps overload.

It is at this point where you can distinguish two kinds of Cramps fans. The casual fan that goes to the shows, buys the records, etc., and The Cramps fan that delves a little deeper, tries to find out what made this band the way they were. A truly rewarding experience waits for those who wish to dig deeper into the history of the band and where they came from.

Since Lux’s passing a back in February, there has been a lot written about the band and Lux in particular. Many of the hastily written pieces that appeared soon after his death were shoddy and, to be quite frank, embarrassing. Some even got his age incorrect, others had no idea how to describe their music. It was a sad tribute.

As the weeks went by, and more and more people put their thoughts on paper, or on the Internet, it really helped me deal with my grief and I think it was helpful for others as well. People I talked to were shocked at how bad they felt about Lux’s passing. We all felt like we lost a family member. A lot of people were in the same boat. I mentioned as much to my amazing and understanding wife (who is also a fan) and she said something that has really stuck with me. She said; “Of course you feel bad, The Cramps, in some way, have had an impact on your life almost every day.”

She was right; a day probably doesn’t go by when I’m not affected by The Cramps. Whether it be putting together the Lux and Ivy’s Favorites series or hearing a Link Wray tune, buying some 45 on Ebay, or watching some exploitation movie; The Cramps have had a wild impact on my life. I can honestly say I would not be the person I am today if I had never listened to The Cramps.

Since Lux’s passing, I’ve been trying to sort out my thoughts about this band that I completely love and that changed the direction of my life.

The Cramps are more than a band. Lux and Ivy, the driving force behind the band, are history teachers for those who care to listen. Read their interviews, listen to their records, listen to the records they listen to, watch the movies they like to watch. If you do, there is a whole world that will open to you, if you are willing to take the time to explore.

I transitioned from a casual fan to an obsessed nut job when I heard, THE PURPLE KNIF SHOW. It had to have been 91 or 92. I saw the CD in The Cramps CD section. I didn’t even know what the hell it was. It had a picture of Lux and Ivy on it, and wording that said; RADIO CRAMPS. I had no idea what it was, but I had to have it. Maybe it was a live show or something. Most of you probably know, it was a radio show that Lux had hosted where he had complete control over the play list.

The stuff he played was mind blowing. The door to my musical awakening was creaking open even further, like you’d see in an old Boris Karloff movie. Here were songs that defied description; a song about a baby brother that crawled around on the ceiling and then flew away into space, another song about turkey decapitation, further still a song about a Bohemian Café that I search for to this day (not the record, but the physical place!).

Then shortly after that, it was the BORN BAD LP’s. Here were songs The Cramps liberated from the past and incorporated into their music. I knew some of their songs were covers, but this series of LP’s opened my eyes wider to what The Cramps were doing with songs and artists from the past.

The door opened even more.

Link Wray, Hasil Adkins, Andre Williams, The Mad Daddy, Mad Mike Metrovich, Ghoulardi, Russ Meyer, these are just some of the names they have introduced me to.

The door was blown off its hinges!

Soon, I was buying music like crazy. There were frequent trips to Boston; mail order; downloading; anything to get my music fix. Most, if not all of my disposable income went to the purchase of records, video tapes (later DVD’s), movie posters, etc. All of this can most likely be traced back to my discovery of The Cramps.

Over the years I saw The Cramps 8 or 9 times. A Cramps show was always an amazing experience. There was always something that happened to make it memorable. One time I got an empty wine bottle that Lux had drank from during a show, another time Lux used me as a lean post to get closer to the crowd (I spent the bulk of this show just looking up at him as he leaned on my shoulders to berate the crowd.), one time my friends and I fed him lines during the introduction for Alligator Stomp, another time a 5 foot tall girl physically attacked me for having the nerve to be standing in front of her (where I had been for 3 hours before she got there!). Blood, sweat, urine, wine, flying bodies, all par for the course at a Cramps show.

The last time I saw The Cramps live was a special one off show in NYC. It ended up being the last time they ever played in the city that sort of spawned them. That night they were on fire. Lux was like a man possessed. Drinking wine bottle after wine bottle, climbing speakers, bending mic stands.

At one point, while Lux was draping the club’s black curtains around himself (mimicking the Mad Daddy’s famous pose?), while teetering atop a 15-20 foot speaker stack. The crowd was going bonkers. All eyes were on Lux. What would he do next?

I guess I should say, all eyes weren’t on Lux, most of them were. I was watching Ivy. She was playing with here usual sneer, but you could see the concern in her eyes for Lux as he balanced precariously atop the speakers. For a good 5-8 minutes she watched his antics and only went back to torturing her guitar with reckless abandon when he was safe back down on the stage.

At times like that I think of how lucky Lux and Ivy were to have found each other. For over 30 years they have been together. They started a band, toured the world dozens of times, helping create an interest in music of the past while always seeming to be looking towards the future.

While traveling the country together in the mid-seventies they were on a quest for the soul of rock and roll. They found it in junk shops, record stores, record warehouses, distributorships, etc. Buying 45 records all along the way that held the key to their musical future. This time spent together would eventually lead them to starting this amazingly influential band.

Lux said in an interview he and Ivy did with Rex Doane on WFMU’s Fool’s Paradise, in which he believed that ideas for musicians are floating around in space. Those ideas are then picked up by entities and shot like lightening bolts into the heads of people, and that’s how you end up with crazy, awe inspiring songs. Basically alluding to the fact that humans need a little cosmic interference once and I while. This is a fascinating concept. How else do you explain The Musical Linn Twins Rockin out the Blues? Surely extraterrestrial influence abounds on this absolutely insane 45.

I like to think that even though Lux isn’t on this world anymore, that he just may have graduated to being one of those entities in outer space. And if that’s the case, we can only hope that his touch will be shooting ideas into people’s heads for a very, very long time.


Addendumb: Please do yourself a favor and check out Chuck Miller's Cramps Blog. It truly is an amazing page of Cramps related stuff. Hours of fun is guaranteed!

http://suchbeautifulgardens.blogspot.com/

The Takers

Here's in intersting 45 from Indiana in the 60's.

One side is a half way decent 60's garage jangler, but the b-side features a kick ass little instrumental with some great guitar work and some Nick Knox type drumming. To my knowlege neither of these songs have been comped.

Here they are.

I can Say no More

http://www.mediafire.com/?ntkvn1ltirz


Wondur

http://www.mediafire.com/?jewouazzzwz

"keep twistin'"

Ok, I know I'm cheating a bit by posting this here, because I already posted it over at the WFMU Ichiban Blog (which you should totally be checking out, as it will "go live" any day now!), but here it is again, with a little bonus.

Years ago, I came across something called "the vip vop tapes". Tapes made by Lux Interior that featured all kinds of great tracks, some well known, and some damn near UNknown. One of the tracks was this P-A-T-I-O twist. Only half the track was really included (or so I thought, it ends up being a really short track), plus it was in less then steller quality.

For years I had been trying to find the PATIO TWIST. At one point, someone uncovered this 45 called the WAKR TWIST, and it was damn near the same song, but with slightly different lyrics!

Turns out it was a Pepsi Cola Promo 45!

As soon as I posted this people from all over were emailing me about the fact that the PATIO drink was featured on MAD MEN. I wouldn't know as I don't watch that show.

The funny thing is, that the people behind these 45's were probably from some ad agency that sold the jingle to various people all over the US. WAKR being a famous Ohio radio station. The Pepsi 45 coming from Missouri.

So, needless to say, the PATIO TWIST will be on the (far off) upcoming edition of Lux and Ivy's Favorites.

Here, for your listening enjoyment (?) are rips of both records.

WAKR TWIST

http://www.mediafire.com/?zozhdtckmzw

PATIO TWIST

http://www.mediafire.com/?kjidky5twaz

The Complete Voodoo Idols Bootleg

Here is the complete recording that was used for the classic Cramps bootleg, Voodoo Idols. It's a great soundboard recording of a show The Cramps played at a place called Crazy Al's in Indianapolis in 1981.

Enjoy!

http://www.mediafire.com/?jxgdmm4hynt

(preview) Cover of Lux and Ivy's Favorites Volume 6!

Here is the the absolutely stunning cover done by Michael DeForge for Lux and Ivy’s Favorites Volume 6. He contacted me and asked me to do a cover. I checked out his work and it blew me away. This is what he came up with in about 2 weeks time.

I’m still in the process of “remastering” that volume (getting better quality mp3’s). It should be available (with the actual cover…this is just a preview) in a few weeks or so.

Check out his website at:

http://www.kingtrash.com/

Thanks!