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/