Lux and Ivy's Favorites Volume Fifteen

Here is Lux and Ivy's Favorites Volume Fifteen!

This volume is a mix of left over songs from that magical tape that came into my possession earlier this year and some other hold over songs that I've been waiting to throw on the series.

A HUGE thank you goes out to Haunted George for doing the cover for this volume. For those unfamiliar with his work, I highly recommend checking out his Myspace or Facebook pages (the URL's are part of the artwork when you download the volume). Be sure to check out his stuff. It's some of the more interesting/different music being produced today in a landscape filled with the usual garbagegarage (tm).

A few notes on the songs.

The intro/instrumental was reassembled from the original tape using the best sources I could find. You can read the whole story about "instrumental" on my blog. It shouldn't be too hard to find the track title if you really want to know. I kept it a mystery for the hell of it. The actual intro will be familiar with most everyone (i hope!). It was on the tape I was given and I had to laugh when I heard it. You could tell it was recorded using a cheap microphone that was more than likely held up to a television so it could be put on the tape.

Ruth Wallis - Ubangi. Wow, here is a song that i've looked for for years! In an old interview with the Cramps, Lux had attributed this song to someone named Ruth Fallen, and described the song in pretty good detail. I could never find this song anywhere. He called it YOU BANGI ME, I BANGI YOU (or something like that).

Then, as a result of that interview I gave to Dig It magazine, someone contacted me (thanks Colin!) suggesting that it was Ruth WALLIS! I tracked down the song, listened to it, and decided it HAD to be the song Lux was referring to. My guess is that the interviewer mis-heard Lux when he said the name of the artist. FALL-IN, WALL-IS, it could have been careless notes, or a bad transcription of a tape the interviewer had made.

Finding a good copy of the song was nearly impossible. It originally appeared on 78. I found a CD compilation of Wallis's songs with Ubangi on it. Great, right? A version taken from CD has to be good quality, right? Wouldn't you know it? The CD has a glitch on that particular song! Any mp3 rips of it sounded like shit. Besides the glitch it had an amazing amount of background noise.

After a while I found that it had been issued on a LP as well and through some further searching found a sealed copy for sale on ebay. This is the version on this compilation. And even then, it doesn't sound that great. I think it was mastered from the original 78 and not a master tape. The song even gets louder and softer, so I guess no one cared because it was for stag parties anyway!

Then I found a few more holdover songs from the original INCREDIBLY STRANGE MUSIC interview.

Red Hewitt and the Buccaneers - D.J. Blues; Lux never mentioned the artist, just talked about the song, and the lyric "music right out of the swirling all!" The first few seconds of this track remind me of a cramps song. So happy to have found this track. Red Hewitt was from New Zealand and released a few 45's on the Audion label (see scan on tracklisting).

Sheri Lee Douglas - Chime Bells; Never thought I'd find this one. Lux and Ivy swear this is KAY MARTIN singing, and I have to agree with them. It sounds exactly like her. The b-side of this 45 will be on the next LAIF volume.

Let's see, what else? There are a few more tracks from Forbidden City Dog Food as well as a bit from the Purple Knif Show. After listening to it again recently I heard a few seconds of something that never registered with me before. As the show ends, there is a few seconds of the deadly ones song, the mad drummer! It is such a great song, it HAD to be included on this volume.

Enjoy this volume, it might be awhile before the next one, but you never know!

My plans for remastered versions of the earlier volumes are still going according to plan. Volume 6 will be next, then volume's one, two, three and five.

Huge thanks go out to: Debbie D for doing a little sound voodoo on a bunch of the mp3's to make them sound better, Howie Pyro for the secret track, Bruce Milne, Colin Duff, Olaf Jens for helping me with a few songs, Steve Pallow, and Adam Fitch for his amazing graphics.

LAIF_15 (new link!)

Tale of Two Thunders!

One of my absolute favorite guitar instrumentals is Bob Taylor's Thunder on the Yucca label. It has been comped countless times (and even makes an appearance on one of the Lux and Ivy Favorites). The B-side is great too, but man, Thunder kills!

A few years ago, I came upon an auction for a song called Thunder Reef, by the Shindigs. The song was attributed to Bobby Fuller AND Bob Taylor. The sound sample attached to the auction attested to the fact that it was indeed a "re-imagining" of Thunder! It took me forever to get the actual 45 (at a halfway decent price), and I present it here for you to check out.

I can't decide which one I like better, they are both such amazing records. There was definitely something in the water down in El Paso!

This version of Thunder Reef has never been comped to my knowlege. A version of the song has appeared on a few Bobby Fuller compilations, but it has an accoustic guitar sound that really takes the heat out of the song.

Give a (repeated) listen to the 2 versions below, and as an added bonus, there is a link to the other side of the Shindigs record as well, a great instrumental with a nod to the Wolfman!

(beware, the Wolfman side is REALLY scratchy)

Bob_Taylor_-_Thunder

The_Shindigs_-_Thunder_Reef

The_Shindigs_-_Wolfman

The Frantics

REALLY excited about this latest pur-chase! It's a fantastic slab of 60's awesomeness. Not only is the A-side a killer mid tempo 60's garage gem, but the B-side is a Lux and Ivy Fave that was featured on LAIF volume 12 (albeit in a lousy quality mp3...but it was the best I could find at the time thanks to Mop Top Mike).

Either side of this Atlanta 45 would be right at home on one of the Teenage Shutdown compilations. For a neat pic of what must be one of the band members parents house, check out Greg G's page on the 45 here:

http://www.atlantatimemachine.com/misc/frantics_45rpm.htm

So download and enjoy, and for those who have LAIF #12 take that jack-knife mp3, delete it, and throw this version on there as it is a whole lot better sounding!

So put your wighat on and download immediately!

Why

(Do_The)_Jack_-_Knife

"Instrumental" Mystery

Sorry I've been a bit lax lately posting 45's on this here blog (as a side note, don't miss my Jungle 45 of the Week posts over at WFMU's Ichiban page), it's been a busy summer.

Here is the first in an ongoing (hopefully) series of posts regarding 45 oddities that I've come across. This one's a doozy (and if anyone knows the answer to questions posted below, go ahead and chime in!).

As frequently happens to me, I had a cassette with no track listings. On this cassette was a familiar instrumental, but I couldn't place it. I asked around and other people said the same thing. One such person was DJ and all around cool guy Howie Pyro. He noted that he recognized it, but could not place it. Identifying instrumentals is a tough job. He said he'd keep an eye out for it and let me know.

So a few weeks go by and I get this email: Howie had found the record, it was the flip of Don't Let Go by Round Robin and Yvonne Carol on the DOMAIN label! The odd thing was that the b-side had no notation other than INSTRUMENTAL (no writing credit, nothing).

So I set about looking for the record, without much luck.

ANOTHER few weeks go by and I get another email from Howie: He was at a club and a DJ was cuing up a 45 and it was THAT song, but on a DIFFERENT 45! This time attributed to Lloyd Thaxton! It's the b-side of Pied Piper Man, again on the DOMAIN label. You can see a scan above, but this time it had a name Bom-Pa-Tump-Pa-Tump! Where this name came from is beyond me...

This 45 was a lot easier to procure and within a few weeks I had a copy.

THEN a few days later while driving to work, the same song popped up on my Ipod! I knew I had heard it before! Trying to keep my car on the road, I checked to see what song it was. This time, it was attributed to The Invaders and the song was called Invasion!

Not sure why this song has popped up on many different releases (are their more?!), but here it is for your listening enjoyment. The release on the Instro label is a bootleg. I have no idea if it was originally was released on that label. The song is available on Strictly Instrumental volume 10, but the quality is nowhere near as good as the LLoyd 45. It sounds like the Strictly Instrumental version was mastered from the Invaders bootleg because the sound doesn't sound that great.

Bom_Pa_Tump_Pa_Tump

Adden-dumb: Howie says that the b-side to the Round Robin 45 was called UP AND DOWN, but with no writing credits, etc!

Check this out in case you missed it last year. The second volume of trash tunes with movie trailers spliced inbetween, etc. Now with a swank new cover by J.R. Williams!

Download here:

http://wfmuichiban.blogspot.com/2010/08/thrill-o-rama.html

The Hasil Adkins 8-Track Tape

By popular demand here is the Hasil Adkins 8-Track Tape that I scored a while ago.

After receiving the tape, I went about procuring a working 8 track player. I found one on ebay for a good price and bought it. It was great because it was a self contained player/receiver.

The seller even included a free 8 track (John Denver!).

So after I got the player I tested out the John D. 8 track and it played fine. I got everything hooked up to my cd burner and got ready to do the transfer (the Hasil tape, not the John tape!).

The first thing I noticed with the Hasil tape was that the recording was very soft. I had to crank it to just have it be audible. It sounded like a 10th generation cassette tape. The head of the 8 track didn't look all that sturdy either, but this was to be expected for something that old and something that had hung around Hasil's shack for so long.

You gotta wonder why he made this 8-Track to begin with. Did he have a friend that wanted to rock out in his old 70's era station wagon?!

The other unfortunate thing is that the tape was near it's end when I put it in and would not go back to the beginning. So all I got was half of one song, and the last song. I tried to keep playing it, but then I got a burning smell and the tape started splitting a little bit. I think this was the beginning part of the tape and not the recordable part.

All is not lost, supposedly there are people out there that are 8-Track wizards that may be able to take the tape out and put in a better shell so that it will play. We'll see what happens with that.

So here is the one and 3/4's songs I was able to salvage.

River_of_Tears : Hasil released this song on his A.R.C. label back in the 70's. I have no idea if this is the same version from that 45 as I don't personally have a copy, and I don't believe this song has appeared on any of the other Hasil releases that I have. I don't know if it's the quality of the tape, but the guitar Hasil is using in this song sure sounds strange. Like he's using a wah wah pedal or something. If you listen carefully, you can hear an acoustic guitar, and what sounds like an electric guitar overdubbed?

Do_the_Hot_Pants_With_Me : I believe this is a different version than the one on Norton. It doesn't have as much cymbal work.

Well, enjoy the sounds. This is definitely for the Hasil Completist as the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired. But it is presented here as a piece of history for people that like Hasil's music. I basically boosted the volume using wavepad. I did not take out the tape hiss or do any other tweaking.

As a side note, please pick up Hasil's "new" LP on Norton Records called White Light/White Meat! Head over to http://www.nortonrecords.com/ and use their fancy new system and order it ASAP!

Here is my translated interview from the latest issue of DIG IT, a French fanzine. Longtime friend Patrick Bainee conducted the interview for the 'zine...

.....

All you ever wanted to know about LUX AND IVY’S FAVORITES
The best compilations ever made, a must have for fans
of The Cramps or anyone (or apes) with ears.

Kogar's Top Ten of the Lux and Ivy's Faves

1. The Musical Linn Twins - Rockin out the Blues

2. The Symbols - Do the Zombie

3. Jan Davis - Watusi Zombie

4. The Original Starfires - Fender Bender

5. Link Wray - Genecide

6. The Electro-Tones - Ghost Train

7. Link Wray - The Fuzz

8. Bob Taylor - Thunder

9. The Saxons - Camel Walk

10. Davie Allen and the Arrows - Theme from the Unknown aka U.F.O.


If you only know 4 or 5 from this list, don't cry, it's normal. Then read this and go dig into those fabulous Lux & Ivy's faves: they're for free, thanks Kogar.



Patrick: Kogar, you’ve heard that question a lot of times.
So let me explain that the idea of your Lux & Ivy’s favorites compilations emerge after you read this book Incredibly Strange Music from 1993 (on Re-Search), featuring (among others) a long interview of Lux & Ivy speaking about their favorite records.

Even if there are no songs by the Cramps on your LAIF, those compilations celebrate the tastes of Lux & Ivy in music. What made you become a Cramps addict?

Kogar : Well, I was a big fan of horror movies and comic books as a kid and when a friend introduced me to The Cramps in my early 20’s, I immediately fell in love with them and their sound. Since then, I’ve been a Cramps fanatic…

P : Of course, LAIF can be considered as bootlegs, but on another hand, there should be a statue in your honour. I mean you brought to peoples’ ears music that they never have heard otherwise. Anyway, most of the labels of the records featuring on LAIF have disappeared. What’s your point of view about that? (LAIF being a bootleg, rights …)

K: I really don’t consider the series a "bootleg" series, but a fan made compilation. There is a difference. To me, bootlegs are just a way for someone to make money. I in no way want to make money off these, ever. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have done this interview at all if it weren't for my relationship with you. I have always done this for the love of the music and for Lux and Ivy, and not for any notoriety or money.

P: The first two volumes of LAIF were cool comps you made only for your own ears. What gives you the idea of making other volumes (a total of 13 so far!)?

K: Well, originally it was, as you mentioned, from that RE/search book, but soon, other sources popped up and it went from there. I always have a list of songs that I am looking for, etc. Every time I read an interview where they mentioned a song, I would add it to the list. The list would get longer and longer.

P: Can you explain the exact concept / philosophy of LAIF to us …

K: Well, the only real philosophy is that I try and be true to the theme. I really try and include songs they mentioned or played before shows, or put on a tape. People try and suggest things all the time, but usually I don’t include anything like that, because they are just guesses.

P: Volume 1 was mostly 50’s oriented when volume2 was a mix of 50-60’s era, right?

K: It just happened to work out that way, because of the book’s concentration on exotica, and music from that time period…

P: Most of the other volumes are more eclectic. Is there always a major idea in the construction of the other LAIF?

K : There usually isn’t a theme of any sort, except volume 12 because it happened right after Lux’s death, otherwise I just keep a list of songs and when I see that I am nearing 30 or so songs, I get to work on sequencing them, etc. I do take some time to sequence the songs so they flow together in what I think are a good way.

P: Since this book "Incredibly Strange Music", what are your other sources of research?
Interviews, songs played before Cramps shows, what else?

K: Mostly interviews with Lux and Ivy, tapes that they have made etc. I even went so far as to try and memorize songs they played before their live sets!

P: Did you identify songs mentioned by Lux that in fact never existed (Nasa & the Sputniks …)

K: Well, let me explain that a bit. I believe Lux started making some songs up and throwing them at interviewers just to mess with them! The DJ Mad Mike, from Pittsburgh used to do that all the time, make up song titles and bands that didn’t exist, just to confound his listeners.

I believe that nasa and the sputniks doesn’t exist, but if there’s anyone that’s reading this that can disprove this theory, contact me immediately! The same goes for Ubangi, Me Bangi by Stacey Bengal (another record mentioned by Lux that I can’t find mention of ANYWHERE). Was he referencing Mama Ubangi Bangi? I don’t know….

P: There are a lot of songs you got from those Vip Vop tapes that remain unidentified
I imagine it’s a lot of work / deduction to identify them...?

K: Yes, there are a bunch of songs that remain to be identified. But, believe it or not, it’s been kind of enjoyable identifying these songs over the years. The joy of hearing a song I’ve been looking for pop up on my ipod, or on an internet radio show, can be a religious experience!

P: Do you know the full story of those "Vip Vop Tapes" compilations made by Lux for friends?

K: I really don’t know the full history; Apparently, Lux made a lot of tapes back in the day (Forbidden City Dog Food was originally booted from a tape of Lux’s). I stumbled across someone years ago who had 2 tapes called the “vip vop tapes”. Apparently they were made by Lux to be played at parties etc. The quality isn’t that great, and there were no track listings, so as I identify songs they are added to the LAIF series (there are still about a dozen that remain to be identified).

P: Also, for non 100 % bonafide Cramps fans, could you remind where the nickname Vip Vop comes from. There’s also a song …

K: It’s from a Marvin and Johnny song. Lux at one point had his name legally changed to Vip Vop back in the early 70’s.

P: Do you have any help from guys all over the world?

K: Yes, I’ve had an amazing amount of help over the years. Rex Doane of WFMU’s FOOL’ S PARADISE, Howie Pyro from the INTOXICA podcast, Paul from the UK who was partly responsible for the wavy gravy/mello jello compilations. Dan from the slickee boys, Ben from Chicago Dirk Ungawa, you, Rich Lustre from the Sickidz, and many more I can’t remember off the top of my head!

P: Do all the records from this list exist on vinyl?

K: Pretty much, 45‘s 33’s and 78’s. But I’m guessing Lux and Ivy’s preferred format is the 45 rpm record.

P: Some must be very pricey …

K: That‘s the thing; some are, and some aren’t. You could spend a few thousand dollars on some of these records, or you could find some of them in the dollar bin. Some are priceless, like "Stormy Weather" (NDA: by the Five Sharps – read the story about this record here: http://musicmasteroldies.blogspot.com/2009/09/stormy-weather.html), I think there’s only like 2 known copies or something…

P: 13 volumes of LAIF so far gives a total of almost 400 songs. About 80 % are from the 50-60’s, 10 % from an early era, and 10 % more recent (Gories, Guitar Wolf …). Most of the songs can be classified in the rock’n’roll, blues or garage category. But there’s also novelty tunes, exotica stuff … What else?

K: One of my favorite categories is vocal group or doo wop tunes. Some of the songs on the series really blew me away like "FLAMINGO" by the charades. I think people tend to think Lux and Ivy only listen to crazy rockabilly, but it’s much more than that, and I’m glad the series can show the wide range of music they dig.

P: What’s the craziest song from those LAIF?

K: Well, crazy is in the ear of the beholder.

P: Considering your top ten, your tastes go for the 50’s / early 60’s period, right?

K: Yes, I love 50’s and 60’s music, 70’s and early 80’s punk and the glorious times of the early to mid 90’s garage scene…

P: Do you like all of the songs on LAIF? Or are there some you don’t like that much, or even not at all?

K: Yeah, there are a few that really aren’t up my alley. Like some of the "drop in" type novelty records.

P: Did you already skip songs that Lux & Ivy mentioned. I mean, I read once (Rock’n’Folk, 2003) that they were found of Michael Jackson’s "Thriller".

K: Well there is a difference between songs they’ve mentioned and songs they loved.

P : To me all those "semi instrumentals" like "T-Bone" by Larry Collins, "Red Headed Flea" by the Caps or "Tarzan’s Monkey" by the Apes (a guy saying "me Jane, you Tarzan", and a girl answering "hihihi, no, you Tarzan, me Jane" for all lyrics) are timeless, you never get rid of that kind of stuff. Do you agree?

K: Yeah, those are great timeless songs…

P : Also, I guess that it must be a real pleasure to find out that one of your personal long time fave is among Lux & Ivy’s ones too. Does it happen a lot?

K: It does happen every once in a while. One of my favorite songs of all time is "WATUSI ZOMBIE" by Jan Davis. It popped up on one of the vip vop tapes and I was thrilled that Lux had included that one because to me it’s on of the most perfect records of all time! And being a fan of mad mike too, I was happy to find that Lux liked songs like CAMEL WALK etc.

P: Can you name a few songs that MUST be among Lux & Ivy’s faves but that you never saw mentioned anywhere?

K: I really don’t like to guess at what their favorite songs might be. This is all about them, not me….

P: What would you think of a volume called "Songs Lux & Ivy should have liked" or else.

K: I really don’t like that idea, because it’s every tom dick and harry could "come out" with something like that. To try and guess at a song that they might like is a futile exercise.

P : Do you see LAIF as a compliment of more or less official releases like (explain the comparison or differences, please) Born Bad (the only one issued before LAIF); Forbidden City Dog Food; Purple Knif Show; Songs The Cramps Taught Us …

K: I guess I would look at my series as a compliment to those mentioned above. Born Bad and STCTU as mainly songs the cramps borrowed bits from to create their own songs. Over the years, I have included songs from the purple knif and FCDF because the quality on those bootlegs is not that great. As better quality versions are found, I throw them on the LAIF series. Especially if I’m trying to "fill" the edition and "release" it.

And let’s not forget none of those are official releases. They are outright bootlegs that people put together or make money off of the Cramps name. That’s why; I try to go out of my way to make these free for fans of the cramps or just fans of good music in general.

P: A lot of the songs on LAIF aren’t available on the ones mentioned above, or even on any other compilations. Do you know how many songs from original singles are ONLY available on LAIF?

K: Not really sure. There are many songs that I’ve had to rip from 45’s because they aren’t available on any other compilations.

K: Is the name LAIF inspired by that video tape made by the Cramps in 1984ish?

K: Nope, just came up with the name because it was the best way to describe the series.

P: Do you ever think of compiling Lux & Ivy favorite’s movies?

K: I have thought of that, I just haven’t really been able to seriously take a look at it. I have started incorporating songs from the movies they like, like « the green slime » etc. On the upcoming LAIF 14, I will be including 5 minutes to live by Johnny Cash because that was listed somewhere as one of their favorite movies.

P: Do you feel those LAIF help to keep the flame of the Cramps alive?
(I mean – there won’t be any new Cramps album - maybe "Gravest Gravy" DVD one day)

K: I don’t think anything I could do would keep their memory alive, Lux may be gone, but the Cramps music and legacy will live on forever.

I’ve always looked at the series as a companion piece to be enjoyed by Cramps fans who wish to delve deeper into their mythos. Like if you like the cramps, you might really get even “more” out of them if you check out some of the things that influenced them.


P: Some of the early volumes features downloaded / MP3 songs. Do you plan a "remixed"version of some of LAIF based on originals records that you found lately?

K: I have been making a concerted effort to find better quality versions of some of the songs, especially from the earlier volumes. Some of the early songs had the ends chopped off, because they were the only mp3 I could find. Plus those early volumes were only really meant to be heard by a few people. Quality wasn’t really high on my list. Just hearing these songs at all was pretty cool, who cares if they were in less than stellar quality? But over the years, it’s really started bugging me.

P: Have you heard about Lux and / or Ivy being aware of LAIF
They used to say that good music is for share, that people shouldn’t have to pay hundreds of $ to hear such or such great song, only available on 7’’.
So I think they took LAIF as a celebration of their (good) taste

K: I get the feeling that if they knew about them, they probably wouldn’t be too happy about them. But I would hope they would understand that it’s just a labor of love by a fan, and that originally, they were really only meant for me and my friends. Then, all of a sudden I’d run into people at parties and they’d mention the series (not knowing that I had made them) and say how cool they were. I usually would pretend I didn’t know about them and say I’d check them out!

What I didn’t know was that people had started making copies for other people and that they grew from there. Then I put them all up on soulseek for anyone to get…THEN after that, WFMU found out about them and with my consent put them up on their BEWARE OF THE BLOG page.

P: Apart from soulseek, where are those LAIF "available"?

K: All the remastered volumes will be available on my blog, all the existing volumes as they are available thru the WFMU BEWARE OF THE BLOG page.

P: Some volumes can be found on your blog (http://kogarsjunglejuice.blogspot.com)

K: This is where all the remixed volumes with covers will appear.

P: Do have an idea of how many people downloaded LAIF, or how they will sell if they were available in shops / the Net?

K: I really have no idea. I do know that they have sort of a life of their own now. And again, I have no desire to have these available for purchase, etc. They are meant to be free and to be enjoyed by people who have the desire to find them on the ‘net.

P: Would you like to see some volumes issued on vinyl?

K: Absolutely not. If they were to appear, you could well be sure I had nothing to do with it, and further more, you would probably never see another volume from me, or if you did, it would be in a way to dissuade bootleggers (like I would keep the titles off the mp3’s, etc)

P: As each volume of LAIF is a full CD, it’ll have be a concept, like an exotica one?
Or a special compilation like "LAIF tearjerkers: sad songs for sad people", this one will be based on songs like "The Bells" by Billy Ward & the Dominos?
I think someone has to issue that before other people rip off your concept, as it already happened recently.

K: Yes, someone issued a cd in the UK (Patrick: it's called "Bad Music for Bad People, Songs the Cramps Taught Us"). If this keeps happening, get ready for a radically different edition of LAIF. Like each volume not having the tracks identified. Anyone paying for that cd is just being ripped off. Like why would someone buy something that is obviously a bootleg, when you can download the cd’s for free on the internet? It’s not like anyone is supporting the artists by buying that UK cd. I assume it has been put out by people that copied my compilations. To me that’s just incredibly opportunistic.

P: About LAIF covers: Joaquim Costa, the early Portuguese rocker who died a couple of years ago and with whom you were in contact, thought LAIF was so great that he planned to design covers. Can you tell us the story about this?

K : I had been in contact with one of the guys who put together the PORTUGUESE NUGGETS lp’s and had heard these incredible recordings by Joaquim Costa that really blew me away. Afonso sent me the Joaquim 45 and was pretty close with Joaquim and he told Joaquim how much I loved the 45. He had also given Joaquim copies of the LAIF series and he flipped for them. Joaquim was the first rock and roller in Portugal (and I highly recommend his 45, though I can’t recall the label its on- Patrick: it's on Groovie Records), and one of the things he liked to do was design record covers for records that he had. So say he bought a record and he didn’t like the cover. He would throw the offending artwork away and MAKE HIS OWN COVER!

Afonso told me he had wanted to make covers for all the LAIF volumes and had begun the process (even going so far as to find the original 45’s and scan the labels), but he passed away before he could finish the project. I have no idea how far he got, or if he finished anything, but it was a real missed opportunity to have this amazing guy contribute to the series. I think Lux and Ivy would have approved. I think it’s safe to say, this guy was kind of like the Portuguese Hasil Adkins.

P: The two latest Vol - # 12 & 13, have great covers, with a returning frame: this "stay sick, turn blue" logo. Tell us about the origin of this logo.

K: This is called, for the lack of a better term, the memento mori frame. Memento Mori translated from Latin means “remember you must die“, which I think Lux used to translate into “too bad you’re gonna die” which appeared in some old Cramps flyers.
The actual skull and bones framework was taken from (I believe) a book that came out that published a list of the dead from the black plague. Somewhere along the line, Lux co-opted the design for their old flyers. So it was a no brainer on my part to incorporate that design into the covers for the LAIF series.

P: Will previous volumes get their own cover too. Who will be the designers?

K: Yes, they will all have covers. Well, first and foremost the guy who actually puts them together is Adam Fitch, a friend of mine from college. He basically takes my ideas and makes them a reality. He does amazing work and I can’t thank him enough.

Slim Gil DeLuxe has done the art for volume one and two, which are still on the back burner for right now until I can get the mp3’s up to snuff.

Michael Deforge from Canada has done a super space alien psychedelic cover from volume 6 that has to be seen to be believed! It’s really amazing. Do a search for his artwork on the net under KING TRASH.

I’ve got some other stuff in the works, but nothing’s been finalized so I’d rather not talk about it right now….

P: What’s your fave volume of LAIF so far?

K: Probably volume 12. It’s my aural tribute to Lux and the way it came together was sort of magical in a weird way. Things just seem to come into place.

P: Did you get material for a volume 14. If yes… when will it be issued?

P: I’m working on it right now, and if certain things that I’ve been sort of waiting for come to pass, it should be a pretty cool volume. There’s no telling when it may be out, maybe sometime this summer.

P: Do you ever think of someone writing a book based on your Lux & Ivy Favorites ?

K: No.

P : Well, I imagine it could be something like "Vinyl Junkies" with guys speaking of how they based the best part of their record collection with your help (personally, the Cramps made me re-discover the fabulous 50’s music, but without your help, thru your research to complete the LAIF series, I would never have bought all those incredible original singles).

K: Well that’s nice of you to say. I really look at this stuff as a way to help people deepen their love of the Cramps. You can listen to the Cramps and totally love them, but to appreciate them on a deeper level, you should check out the people that influenced them. Like hearing a riff in a Link Wray song and making that connection to a Cramps song is great. Listening to the Cramps opened up this world of fantastic music to me. Now, it might have happened anyway at some point, but they are pretty much the reason I’m the music fanatic I am today.

P: Anyway, I can’t think of a concept being such an endless river of gold. So, go on Kogar, we want more LAIF.

K: Thanks…


About the creator of LAIF:

P: You live near Boston, is it still a good place to find cool records

P: I live about an hour north of Boston in New Hampshire (the hometown of Gene Maltais!). Boston still has a few great record haunts; I highly recommend weirdo records, cheapo records, and In your ear records.

P: Tell us about your others compilations.

K: I’ve been making tape and cd compilations since the late 80’s. There is just something so cool about doing your own compilations. They are great snapshots in time. If you listened to my tapes back in the late 80’s early 90’s you would hear punk bands like FEAR and the DEAD KENNEDYS, but now you would hear rare 60’s instrumentals and crazy rock and roll from the same time period.

I’m also working on a 3rd volume of my vip vop tape tribute series called Kogar’s Big Thrill – 0 – Rama Trash Show that should debut sometime this year either on my blog or over at the WFMU ICHIBAN page. It is a series of compilations in the vein of the vip vop tapes (songs mixed and sequenced with horror movie radio spots in between the songs.

http://wfmuichiban.blogspot.com/

P: Is Kogar the Swinging ape name based on a song out of LAIF?

K : No, my name was taken from the greatest film ever made !

P: And about your group, thee Monkey Butlers.

K : Not much to say….we played for about 5 or 6 years, played a bunch of shows, opened for Sky Saxon once and now are on a "prolonged" break !

(Oh and if you really want to hear our music, you can download an EP we recorded back in 2004 thru the dirty water records link over at E-Music)

.....

Whew, that's enough of that...

Head on over WFMU's Ichiban spot to download the above compilation. The cover is by J.R. Williams and truly is a thing of beauty.

So, what IS Big Thrill - O - Rama Trash Show?

Well to put it simply it's my tribute to the Vip Vop Tapes. There are two volumes so far. This one is labeled #0 because originally it had another title. Then years later I made a sequel and called THAT "trash show", so this one has been renamed to reflect the sequel. Confused yet?

Just give it a listen. The compilation is meant to be played like a tape, no track delineations. This is annoying, I know, but just go with it!

The first track is taken from the actual Vip Vop Tapes.

Here is the link

http://wfmuichiban.blogspot.com/2010/06/big-thrill-o-rama.html

Trash Show volume 1 coming soon!

Also, keep an eye out on the Ichiban site for my Jungle 45 of the Week series that started a few weeks back.

Psychotic Reactions w/ Pip

My friend Pip has been doing a weekly 60's garage show in Boston at WZBC (Boston College Radio) for years. I have a standing invite to guest on his show if I'm ever in the area. In the past we've done all instrumental shows, a Lux Interior Tribute (during his MONTH long lux/cramps tribute after Lux's passing), etc.

Doing a show with Pip is pretty crazy. There is always something going on, the phone rings when we're on the air, there's no 45 adapters (the first time I went to the station, we had to play cd's until we found some adapters stuck in the 10's of thousands of BC's 45's...I travel with my own inserts now!), etc etc.

Whenever I listen to these shows afterwards I'm always laughing...not sure why. Maybe because I'm just psyched to be back on the radio. More than likely it's because watching Pip DJ is amazing. He talks all the time about how the music is so amazing, that he forgets to cue up the next 45. Then, it's a mad dash to cue up the next 45, which barely happens as the previous 45 ends! Then repeat this process about 20 times!

Some of the 45's on this show are taken from this very blog, but there's some other stuff too that I've never blogged about.

enjoy! (or not)

There's nothing better than .... Radio!

Lux and Ivy's Favorites Volume 14

Well, Well….Here we are with Lux and Ivy’s Favorites Volume 14!

About a month ago, I had a little less than half of this volume together, but with no real theme. Just some left over songs that never made previous volumes and few other bits here and there.

Then a tape sort of fell into my lap that Lux had made for someone back in the 70’s. Thanks to this unnamed person, here is a new volume of Lux and Ivy’s Favorites.

I’d say that more than half of what is on this volume came from that hour long tape. There were even some songs left over for volume 15 (not to mention ANOTHER tape I have yet to receive). Most, if not all the songs on the tape were rockabilly, thus the vibe of the cover. I wanted it to have that “buffalo bop” kind of look.

A few notes on the songs.

The intro to Knockout is from the fabulous movie LOVE FROM A STRANGER featuring Basil Rathbone in an amazing performance. The movie was mentioned by Lux in the Ian Johnston Cramps book and is well worth seeking out. I thought it was a good way to open this volume.

Before some music nerd pipes up about “Duane De Santo”, yes, I know that’s not who really did that song, but that’s what Lux wrote on the tape case, so that’s the way it’s gonna stay!

The Four Plaid Throats. What is there to say about them? They are the Linn Twins of doo wop as far as I can see. The vocals on “The Message” are just INSANE. This group was mentioned by Lux in the newer Cramps book that came out a few years ago. Their other song will be on LAIF 15, and is a bit more, shall we say, reserved.

It took a while to find both of these songs by the “throats”. At one point I tracked down a bootleg cd with both sides of their lone 45 on it. I was psyched to find it, but disappointed as hell when I listened to it, and found that whoever mastered the damn thing couldn’t get the vocals right! They were popping all over the place. The version on this volume is taken from a Repro that must have come out in the 70’s and is pretty much the only way to hear it unless you can find an original. The fact that is repressed is kind of funny as I don’t really see the sock hop crowd really going for this little number.

I’ve also included 2 bands that Lux and Ivy produced, The Sickidz and The Mad Daddy’s. As well as Chris Spedding, who produced them at one point (Miss Betty being mentioned in some interview years back that I’ve since lost track of).

Lastly, I’ve included the theme song to FIVE MINUTES TO LIVE by Johnny Cash. This movie also popped up in the Ian Johnston book. I had this song years ago, but hadn’t managed to track down a copy of the movie until recently, and lo and behold, the version of the song used in the movie is entirely different then the officially released one! I think the movie version is amazing and features this great guitar solo by Merle Travis. I do not believe this version was ever released, so this is a rip from the dvd (sorry for this hiss).

Shout out’s also go to Adam Fitch for the amazing cover, Dirty Dacoit Dan, and Patrick from France for their help with this volume.

Enjoy this volume and hopefully 15 will be around before the end of the summer.

And again, no bootlegging! This shit is free, free, free!

LAIF_14

Dean Carter!

Here's one of Dean Carter's (aka Arlie Nevil) stunning 45's on his own "Milky Way" label. This came out in 1967, and every time I hear it, I shake my head. What was this guy on?! Talk about your strange influences. He had one foot in the 50's, the other foot in the 60's and another foot in the future somewhere!

Everyone's heard his version of Jailhouse Rock, right? Hell, it's been comped from here to eternity. But are you familiar with Rebel Woman?! This song is a total monster. Listen to that fuzz! Turn this up as loud as your speakers can take it and let that fab guitar wash over you...


Jailhouse_Rock

Rebel_Woman

Crawlin'!

Here's three different versions of the killer instrumental, The Caterpillar Crawl!

Note the weird writing credits on the version by The Fugitives...

Not included is the version by The Zodiacs (because you can easily purchase it from Norton!) or the version by Canned Heat!

The_Strangers_-_Caterpillar_Crawl

Dick_Dixon_-_Caterpillar_Crawl

The_Fugitives_-_Caterpillar_Crawl

Link Wray - Ace of Spades/The Fuzz!

Here's another one from my recent record haul. It features one of my favorite instrumentals of all time on the b-side. The Fuzz. The guitar tone on this one gets me every time. It's a great mid-tempo throbber of a song.

The a-side aint too shabby either. I think this is the dirtier, fuzzier version of Ace of Spades. It also has some harmonica which makes it a lot different than the other versions of Ace of Spades. I think Link recorded this song 3 times (4 if you count fatback). I like this version a lot since it ends like a 60's garage punk tune.

Think Link.

Ace_of_Spades

The_Fuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Hasil Adkins - She Said/The Hunch (ARC)

Sheesh, its been 5 years since Hasil died (I'd say murdered, but that's me). And just knowing he's not down in West Virginia hunching away in his shack makes the world a sadder place.

Hasil's music literally IS music to my ears. Some people recoil from it; it's too raw, it's too noisy...whatever, every time I hear his music a smile crosses my lips. The fact that Billy and Miriam from Norton Records rescued this guy from obscurity is one of the great music stories of modern times.

Be sure to check out my post over at the ichiban blogspot where you can download the Hasil Adkins tribute show that FOOL'S PARADISE broadcast back when Hasil past away. There are some great stories about Hasil from Billy and Miriam themselves as well as Joe Coleman, and others who knew Hasil. Plus some great Hasil tunes as well (including some unreleased stuff from the Norton Archives).

I was lucky to see Hasil play a few times. Once great, once not so great.

The great show was at the House of Blues in Cambridge Mass back in the 90's. I had gotten Hasil's autograph earlier in the day at a Tower Record performance (where hasil played a few songs, then threw down his guitar and walked out of the store for a cigarette. Seeing Hasil play guitar and sing right near a Madonna cardboard pic was kind of surreal!).

The thing I remember most that night was this FAT BLUES DUDE (tm) getting all uppity and almost starting a fight with a girl in the front row. The show was part of the FAT POSSUM blues tour. Hasil was the only, uh, "non-traditional" blues guy on the tour. So all of the other artists were, shall we say, more listener friendly than Hasil.

Hasil eventually get's cookin' and the crowd is jumping, hunchin' and generally getting wild. Said FAT BLUES DUDE (tm) leans over to me and shouts something along the lines of; "I've never seen anything like this at a blues club, it's unheard of!" His shocked admonishment shocked me more than what Hasil was up to on stage. I shouted back, "....then what the fuck are you doing here?!" He gave me a look and began elbowing this tiny girl who was right up at the stage. I guess she must have "hunched" into his enormous FAT BLUES DUDE GUT (tm).

So here I am seeing Hasil Adkins play, something I never thought in a million years I'd see, mediating a fight between a tiny rockabilly girl, and a FAT BLUES DUDE (tm). After a while things calm down, and wouldn't you know it, before long the FAT BLUES DUDE (tm) was bopping along to hasil's beat. I think he even apologized to the Rockabilly Chick.

Hasil Adkins: bringing FAT BLUES DUDE's (tm) and tiny Rockabilly Chicks together thru his music.

Here are two Hasil classics on his own ARC label. I think this came out in 1976. Basically a reissue from some of what Hasil was pushing back in the 50's.

Thanks Hasil for all the great music....

Hasil_Adkins_-_She_Said

Hasil_Adkins_-_The_Hunch

Link to Ichiban post - http://wfmuichiban.blogspot.com/2010/04/hasil-adkins.html

The Giggler!

Here's a little preview of what I'm calling "RECORD HAUL 2010".

This is (apparently) a hard to find record. There is a brief mention of it on the INSTROMANIA website, and I can only see that the b-side has been comped before (on the great cd-r series THE DOG'S BOLLOCKS OF AMERICAN ROCK AND ROLL INSTRUMENTALS). The b-side is a nice take on green onions, but the a-side is the winner here.

It's "The Giggler!" The song starts with a creaking door sound, and then a great high pitched giggle. The music just throbs and pulses with some great guitar. The only thing that could make it better is if there were some deep throated narrator saying; "THE GIGGLER" at certain points of the song.

The Giggler was apparently used on Ghoulardi's show, but i've never seen it listed as a tune he used (either online, or in the Ghoulardi book). I have it on good authority from a Ghouardi fanatic, that the Giggler was indeed used on the show at one point. That's good enough for me.

This is a killer 45 that has to be somewhat rare, since the song has NEVER been comped that I can tell, and an internet search reveals almost nothing.

My copy of the 45 has a few clicks and pops, but you can probably live with that since the song is so amazing! Play it again and again and start giggling!

More from "RECORD HAUL 2010" coming soon...

The_Giggler


Green_Tomatoes

Jungle Talk

Sorry for the lack of blogs lately, but I had some emergency surgery this month (who knew your gallbladder could get gangrene?!), and it kind threw me for a loop for a few weeks.

But in that time, I had a MAJOR record haul and as soon as get them, I'll post 'em here.

Anyway, I've been meaning to post this for weeks...

Here is the mysterious Kai Ray's I Want Some of That/Trashman's Blues.

For everything you would ever want to "know" about Kai Ray, check out the great interview with the man in an old issue of KICKS!

This record has a huge pedigree. It's a Mad Mike killer (in fact, I think he had a hand in it's release?), The Cramps lifted parts of it, and the fabulous Trashmen took their name from the b-side!

It's amazing to me that the b-side hasn't been comped more than it has, because it's a great song in it's own right. But with an a-side like I Want Some of That, I guess it's not too surprising.

For anyone who keeps track of such things, this is one of my favorite records of all time...

I_Want_Some_of_That

Trashman's_Blues

Chiyo and the Crescents

Here is Pink Dominos by Chiyo and the Crescents. From the original Break Out label out of California. Rumor has it that it was recorded "in a shoe store."

Kim Fowley heard it, and it eventually came out on the ERA label. Unfortunately, the B-side was replaced with a different song.

The original "other side" was the searing guitar surfer "Devil Surf" (check out the other side over at WFMU's Ichiban Rock and Soul page (along with a pic of Chiyo and the band).

Chiyo was kind of unique in the California surf scene as being one of the few female surf guitarists. She owned and operated a guitar/amplifier shop. This is probably where she hooked up with the Crescents. She was easily twice the age of the rest of the band. I'm not sure if this was her label, but she probably put up the money for the recording, etc.

From what I could learn on the internet, she was a native american who married a japanese business man, which gave her the exotic moniker of Chiyo Ishii.

Pink Dominos became somewhat of a hit, spending a few weeks in the top 100 and eventually caught the ear of whoever picked music for Ghoulardi's show back in the 60's where it was heard frequently.

Pink_Dominos



(unfortunately, this copy has a bit of a warp right at the beginning, but seeing as it's pretty rare, beggers can't be choosers...)


Don't forget to check out the awesome Devil Surf over at

http://wfmuichiban.blogspot.com/

Good Gully Miss Mully?

Here's a great "grinder" by The Orchids.

No real mention of it on the internet anywhere. Nothing on the instromania page.

It really would be right at home on one of the Las Vegas Grind LP's.

Dust off your tassles and check it out here...

The_Orchids_-_Good_Gully!

Billy Storm and The Valiants

This is one of my favorite albums. Its the perfect mix of jungle vibe vocal group sounds (lover, lover) and screaming rockers (good golly miss molly, frieda frieda).

This is a real "gateway" lp for people who are "doo wop" curious.

Billy Storm had an amazing voice that has the power to transport you to another plane of reality.

Extra bonus for the amazing last track that just has to be heard to be believed. Needless to say, it reminds me of "home"...


(sorry for the shitty picture of the LP, but it's the best one I could find, and I was too lazy to get out the digital camera to take a pic of my copy)

Billy_Storm_and_The_Valiants

Also, be sure to check out http://wfmuichiban.blogspot.com/ for some insight into one of my favorite records; Hooty Sapperticker by Barbara and the Boys.

Thanks to colin for fixing the picture a bit....

Lux and Ivy's Favorites Volume 12: The Lux Interior Memorial Edition (Remaster)

Hard to believe it'll be a year tomorrow that Lux Interior passed away.

Here is the "remastered" edition of Lux and Ivy's Favorites volume 12, that "came out" a little after that.

I've cleaned it up sound wise a little bit. There wasn't all that much wrong with it, but since the cover was finished for this volume, I figured I'd take a look at the sound quality. Some of the tracks are from the best available elements, and sometimes, quality was sacrificed for a song's particular inclusion.

Over time, all the volumes will have covers and better sound. So delete any existing volume 12's and replace it with this one!

It's the cover that's of most importance for this volume. Again, I want to thank Adam Fitch for taking my idea and making it a reality. He does awesome work.

Also, tomorrow between 11PM and 1AM (est) check out SALAD DAYS on WRIR, Richmond Independent Radio. Dacoit Dan, Slickee Boys drummer and all around cool guy, will be hosting a Lux Tribute that will feature songs by The Cramps, Movie Trailers, Lux and Ivy sound bites, and Lux and Ivy Faves.

Dan asked me to come up with the songs for the show and I think it's really going to be great. His Mad Daddy Tribute show was great, so this should be too...

Check out the radio station's website at;

http://wrir.org/

Oh, and here's what you came for...

http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/KR/LAIF12.zip

AND here's a the lux tribute show i helped put together - oops, sorry, that link was wrong too...sheesh, here's the right i worked with dacoit dan from the slickee boys...

http://saladdays.podbean.com/

Louis Carpenter's All Stars w/ Mad Man Jones

I've been a bit of a Mad Man this week (or monkey if you prefer...) so i thought of this 45 to post.

Mad records was started by Tommy "Mad Man" Jones in the late 50's. It's gotta be one of the better record label designs I've seen, and it's one of my favorites. It looks like something out of Mad Magazine.

I believe this track was on one of the Las Vegas Grind editions. Great grinding action on this one...

For more information on Mad Records and or Mad Man Jones, check out this great bio and overview of the label here:

http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~campber/mad.html


And enjoy the tune here:

Yeah!

Oh, by the way, all the "yeah's" are by Mad Man Jones, the music is by Louis Carpenter's All Stars...

The Sliders

Speaking of Forbidden City Dog Food, I stumbled across the 45 by The Sliders recently. The A-side, The Lamb Shake is featured on FCDF and just might make an appearance on an upcoming volume of Lux and Ivy's Favorites.

The B-side turns out to be a half way decent instrumental as well.

The_Lamb_Shake

Sly_Dog

Speaking of LAIF, I'll be posting The Lux Interior Memorial Edition with artwork soon. Some of the songs have been cleaned up a bit, and Adam Fitch and I designed a cover for it. It really came out great. More soon.

Enjoy the tunes.

Mogul Monster!

Here's a great instrumental produced by Kim Fowley.

I highly recommend you pick up the new Norton Records LP/CD releases of Kim Fowley produced songs. Insanely cool liner notes.

The_Rangers_-_Mogul_Monster

To hear the other side of this record (a solid 60's garage tune about skiing) head on over to WFMU's Ichiban Rock and Soul (outta)Site!

http://wfmuichiban.blogspot.com/