A Little Extra...

Here are, not only, a few more tracks, but a bit of info on them as well.

Alvaro Peña-Rojas - Drinking My Own Sperm (1 Mb @ 24Kbps)

Alvaro Peña-Rojas was born in Valparaíso, Chile in 1943.
Alvaro played drums in a few Chilean garage bands, which released some recordings. Los Challengers released two singles in 1965, and Los Bumerangs put one out in 1967.
In 1974 Alvaro moved to London where he met up with Joe Strummer to form The 101ers. Strummer went on to establish The Clash, and Rojas decided to become a solo musician.
In 1977 he moved to Germany, and released an LP, Drinking My Own Sperm, of what he called 'Transitional Music'.
From 1979 to 1995 he released five more albums (Mum's Milk Not Power, The Working Class, Repetition Kills, Is the Garment Ready? and Boleros), as well as a few singles ("Mariposa" and "The Squeak"), several EPs (The Vegetarian Cassette, Men Don't Cry They Sing, and Hey Taxi Take Me To Heaven), even a VHS tapes of live footage and later a DVD of music videos.
Alvaro now goes under the performance name of 'The Chilean with the Singing Nose'. Why? I have no clue.
The song above is taken from his first LP from 1977, which actually received a whole lot of rotation in German gay clubs. On this track, not to mention entire album, Alvaro plays all the instruments himself, including piano, drums, flute and bass guitar.
Remember, when south of the border, it's bad to drink the water, but okay to drink your own man juice.

John F. Strand - Remembering Laci (489 Kb @ 24Kbps)

John F. Strand is a prison guard at the Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy, California.
Strand was quoted as wishing he had been moved before Laci's May 4, 2003 memorial service but, "You can't orchestrate inspiration, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was inspired. I feel it's a song of comfort."
Other than that, there is absolutely no information on this nutjob, so I'll go into the Laci Peterson murder case.
Laci Peterson, and her unborn child Connor, were murdered by husband Scott Lee Peterson in 2002.
On December 23, Laci Peterson went missing and Scott reported her missing on Christmas Eve. He had the full support of family, friends and even police.
On April 13 of 2002, the body of a male fetus with umbilical cord still attached washed up on the shores of San Fransisco Bay. The very next day, fishermen found the torso of Laci Peterson stuck on the rocks of a jettison in the same bay. The body was missing its head, hands and feet, but was later identified as Laci.
Upon the evidence provided by Scott's mistress Amber Frey, Scott Peterson was arrested on April 18 of 2002. His hair and goatee were dyed blond. He was also carrying with him $15,000 in cash, four cell phones, multiple credit cards belonging to different family members, an array of camping equipment (including knives, cooking tools, a tent, and a tarp), a dozen pairs of shoes, several changes of clothes and his brother's driver's license. Worse they also found a gun, a map to Frey's workplace, a shovel, some rope, packs of sleeping pills, and Viagra.
On November 12th of 2004, a jury convicted Scott Peterson of first-degree murder for killing his wife, and second-degree murder for killing his unborn son. In March of 2005 a judge sentenced Scott Peterson to death.
No matter how sad this case may be, I lose it in laughter every time I hear Strand imitate the unborn Connor with the line, "Momma, these for you."

Tom Cleland - All Mosquitos Must Die (965 Kb @ 24Kbps)

Is it 1980?
Cheap synth sounds. Bad fake voice. Even-worse attempts to rap. Cheezy hand claps.
Hmm. All the signs are there.
Is it the end of the word?
Clipitty-clop, clipitty-clop, clipitty-clop.
Yep, all the signs are there.
Not much is known about Tom Cleland, other than he was born in 1962, currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is a member of Nader's Green Party.
The proof I have to all of this is in 'Tom Stream', which is a blog where Mr. Cleland posts a few political rants every so often.
When mp3.com was huge, Tom's entire 10 song album, Deadline 2000 (self-released in 1999, and is where the song above is taken from), was fully available on the inspirational / Christian music pages, and though his page claimed he was a Born Again at that time, it's unclear if he still holds his fundamental beliefs.
Tom disappeared for some time from the internet, but now is not only doing the above-linked blog, but also has a MySpace page that he created just two months ago (this was written in 2006). Having added a single friend since that time only proves his music angers, over inspires.
Now, go send the poor dude a friend request.

The Odd Couple (Jack Klugman and Tony Randall) - You're So Vain (583 Kb @24Kbps)

As a youngster, I truly hated this song, with its insanely paradoxical lyrics, sung through gigantic horse teeth.
Even so, I'd rather listen to it over and over than to this cash-in cover version, as this one makes me wish I could kill Quincy and his nit-picking roommate.
Well one is already dead, so anyone wanna go desecrate a grave with me?
Jack Klugman was born Jacob Joachim Klugman in Philly back in 1922, while Tony Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg in 1920, Oklahoma.
They both had lengthy acting careers, as JK played in Days of Wine and Roses (1962), and TR was in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957), but both are mostly known for their roles in the 1970 - 1975 Emmy Award winning TV show The Odd Couple about two (supposedly heterosexual) older gents who are down-n-out and forced to live together due to divorces taking all their dough.
In the spirit of the 70s, where every person on television was given a record deal, the pair released an LP, The Odd Couple Sings in 1973 on London Records, with a few originals, including a ten-minute mini-opera, and some cover tracks.
Jack went on to star in the hit TV show Quincy M.E. (1976 - 1983), not to mention quite a few forgettable flicks.
Tony went on to do the terrible Tony Randall Show, but did a few movies that were a bit more memorable than Jack's box office flops.
In 1990 life paid Klugman back by giving him throat cancer, which removed his vocal chords, and later (much too late, 2004 at the age of 84) nature offed Randall.
In 1996, on Nick at Night, JK claimed of his most embarrassing moments, his singing tops the list.
I couldn't agree, because I can't call this singing.

Robin Williams and Boddy McFerrin - Come Together (816 Kb @ 24Kbps)

I don't know why post stuff like this. Maybe I'm secretly a masochist, or just love self-created agony to see how much I can take.
Either way, this doesn't hurt me so much as it makes me want to kill, maim and torture those involved. Actually, I wanted to kill both these idiots way before this song ever came out, but this track helps solidify my hatred.
Robin McLaurim Williams was born in 1952 Chicago, while mouth-musician Robert McFerrin, Jr was born in New York in 1950.
Though Williams won an Academy Award in '97, I couldn't think of another Hollywoodite more annoying. He was voted by his high school as "Most Likely NOT to Succeed" and how I wish they were right. Robin began doing stand-up immediately after he left Julliard in 1974, and later went on to destroy the Richard Pryor Show, where he was discovered and cast as Mork for the TV show Happy Days. That one appearance, along with his improvisation of lines and neurotic, non-stop babbling, lead to the spin-off sitcom Mork and Mindy (1978 - 1982), and popularized stupid phrases like "nanoo-nanoo" and "shazbot". In 1980, he was cast as Popeye for the live-action movie and all Hell was loose upon mankind, as Hollywood was never to be able to put the evil djinn back in the bottle.
Bobby on the other hand, was a modest acappella jazz musician and son of opera singer Robert McFerrin. Bobby had been releasing somewhat-unknown records since 1982, backed by family money - though he began winning Grammy Awards in 1985. It wasn't until 1988 that he went and pissed off much of the world with his hit "Don't Worry, Be Happy" off his fifth LP, Simple Pleasures.
The duet above is the opening track on the album George Martin: In My Life. It was released by ex-Beatles producer George Martin, were he does schmaltzy covers of Beatles songs sung by Phil Collins, Celine Dion, comedian Jim Carrey, Goldie Hawn, Jeff Beck and motherfuckin' Sean Connery.
Robin Williams is, sadly, still alive, and worse has offspring (Zach Williams).
Bobby McFerrin is also still alive, and if it wasn't for "Don't Worry, Be Happy" popping its ugly head here and there, every now and again, I'd forgive him.

Blowfly - Ugly People (593 Kb @ 24Kbps)

This track is from the album Fahrenheit 69 by Miami's original, and world's first dirty rapper. Sexist, racist, offensive… and you love every word of it.
Blowfly began as Clarence Reid in Cochran, Georgia and later moved to Miami, Florida and soon got his act solid when a relative scolded one of his dirty rhymes with, "You is nastier than a blowfly."
He released his first record in 1965, and the single "Rap Dirty" was to be the first of the dirty-dance numbers, later part of the same-titled first-ever rap album. He followed that sucker up with close to forty more releases and even a documentary film, The Twisted World of Blowfly.
His tracks have been sampled by Puff Daddy, Ice Cube and Jurassic 5.
Blowfly has also written clean numbers for the likes of Betty Wright and KC and the Sunshine Band.
He was almost forgotten and chances are you would have never heard of him if it wasn't for local journalist Tom Bowker (who set up Blowfly's new band, as well as slapping drums). Lucky you to now have the dirty, little pleasure that is Blowfly.
His newest album featuring filthy remakes of punk rock classics is available via Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles Records.

Edith Massey - Big Girls Don't Cry (470 Kb @ 24Kbps)

Edith Massey was born May 25 of 1918, and spent most of her youth in the orphanages of Denver, CO. In the late 30's she made her way to Los Angeles, CA trying to be an actress, but her only role was as an extra in the 1940 picture Arise, My Love.
Tired of no work she began dancing in West Coast honky-tonk bars, but soon split to ride the rails and hitchhike as a hobo. Landing in Texas as a stripper, later Illinois to be a madam, and even owning a bar in Oklahoma. Finally, while in Tampa, FL she was told the rubes were ripe in the state of Maryland. She grazed her way up to Baltimore and became a waitress in several of the city's dive bars.
While working behind the bar at Pete's Hotel in 1970, director John Waters discovered the cow and asked her to be in his film, Multiple Maniacs. It was then she became an established Dreamlander, working in Water's other films Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble and Polyester.
Milking her appearances from Water's pictures, she started posing for jokey greeting cards, as well as touring in a punkish band called Edie and the Eggs, who released the single "Big Girls Don't Cry" b/w "Punk, Get Off the Grass".
In the early 80s she moved back to California to open a thrift store, but soon died of cancer (October 1984).
If you'd really like to know more, there is a documentary, as well as book on her life, Love Letter to Edie.

Johnny Cash - I Walk the Line [German] (468 Kb @ 24Kbps)

He was an alcoholic, pill popping, meth-head, but an all around great Country singer.
He gave us the Folsom Prison blues, though he never served more than a night's stay for misdemeanors. And seriously, the only line he walked was the line between uppers and downers. Still, he is The Man in Black, and one hell of a Highwayman.
J. R. Cash was born in February 26 of 1932 in Arkansas, and was actually only named with the initials J. R., as it's said his folks couldn't agree what to call the boy.
In 1948 J.R. enlisted, and with the Air Force not accepting his initials as a name, he chose a name for himself, John.
In 1950 he was stationed in Landsberg, Germany where he worked as a radio airman, and soon started his first band, The Landsberg Barbarians, to cure some of the boredom between work rotations. In 1951 he lost the hearing in one ear when an incredibly stupid Kraut chick thought it would be funny to poke him in the ear with a pencil. It turned out to be a laugh riot, or just a prison riot on her face… I'm not sure.
In 1954 he was honorably discharged, married, moved to Memphis, Tennessee where he auditioned for Sun Records. By the next year he already had two singles that were doing well in the Country charts - the rest is pretty much musical history.
Well, besides the fact he sung in several other languages.
In 1959 John decided to put out a few tracks in the barbaric language that he learned while stationed overseas. These numbers were released on smaller country / western labels, until Columbia-CBS put out two 45s in 1965, with four songs in German.
The track above is from his earlier 60s work, but his Germanic tracks didn't storm the gates of Gaul like he thought they would, mostly because his German is terrible.
Though, if you've heard his Spanish records… they're so much worse!
In '97, Cash was diagnosed with Shy-Drager Syndrome, a neurological disorder, which stems from diabetes. Johnny Cash passed away in 2003 from respiratory complications from the disease only four months after his wife, June Cater Cash, died.
All I have left to say is, "Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaw!"

Doug Mulray and the Rude Band - Smoke Two Joints (664 Kb @ 24 Kbps)

The track above was covered by shitty, ska-wannabes Sublime for one of their god-awful albums. What many an idiot began repeating - and who really knows why? - is that Bob Marley originally wrote the song, "Smoked Two Joints".
This song post was originally a B-side to a 7" 45 rpm released by Australian DJ Doug Mulray and his band The Rude Band in 1982 on Oz Records.
Doug Murlay… Bob Marley… sounds similar, I guess.
While "Smoked Two Joints" was lost, until some now-dead alternaloser covered it, the seven-inch single was for the side A track, "I'm Punk" (which takes a stab at the punk rock movement, discounting its politics, while focusing on the strange fashions), and was released to advertise his, What A Rude Album 12" LP and cassette.
I believe this song pretty clearly makes fun of the Rastafari religion, or at least their use of marijuana, so I don't see how it could have been mistaken for a serious song about the great plant Shiva has left us.
Fuck all this, in honor of the Reggae legend L.A., I'm gonna go get fuckin' stoned.

Carlie and His Orchestra - Slumming On Park Avenue (497 Kb @ 24Kbps)

During the Second World War most U.S. soldiers were fans of the swinging sounds of jazz and big band from the likes of Glenn Miller, Dizzie Gillespie, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Artie Shaw. The Nazis had a problem with this "schwarzer und juden" music, but they certainly didn't mind trying to warp our G.I.'s minds with it.
Formed in 1940, Charlie and His Orchestra (also known as Bruno and His Swinging Tigers or Templin's Band) was actually a German propaganda tool. Around 9pm, every Saturday and Wednesday, these little ditties were broadcast towards the United States via shortwave radio, but mostly beamed into Britain, France and other parts of Europe by the National Socialist Ministry of Propaganda.
Conceived by Joseph Goebbels, and put together by lead gabber Karl Schwedler (known as Charlie), and conducted by Lutz Templin, the band, who broadcasted their tunes from 1941 to 1943, would take classic swing and modern jazz of the era, play it as written, but changed the lyrics to suit the Nazi mission, as well as German views on how they were winning the war.
Each song would proceed with its rewritten lyrics, until a long bridge where "Charlie" would then monologue a bit of Hitler's views or attempts to make the Allies sympathize with their German enemy.
After the fall of Heir Hitler and his Cavorting Cavalcade many of the musicians who played in Charlie's band actually went on to more popular acts throughout Europe.
Swing Hiel!

Tom Glazer - Hurricane Song (416 Kb @ 24 Kbps)

Tom Zachariah Glazer was a songwriter, and part-time folk singer, born during the Industrial Age of Know-Nothings, in 1914 Philadelphia, PA.
Tom played in jazz bands throughout his youth, and had an ABC Radio show called Tom Glazer's Ballad Box, but he's mostly known for his songwriting work for The Weavers, Bob Dylan, and Peter, Paul and Mary, as well as the title song from the 1966 flick Namu the Killer Whale. His biggest and best-known song is a parody of the old folk tune "On Top of Old Smokey", which he titled, "On Top of Spaghetti", released in 1963. Boy, that song was all covered in cheese.
Still, I'm not here to bring back nightmares of trying to sing in elementary school music class. It's about dancing (and learning).
In 1959 and 1960, Glazer, along with Dottie Evans, wrote several songs for children records, which appeared in the six LP set Singing Science Records, placing to music scientific facts about minerals, weather patterns, fossils, space, electricity, magnetism and a whole lot more.
T.Z.G. died not too long ago in 2003, at the age of 88. Though in the 70s he began writing books on the subject of music until his death, he passed away a mostly unremembered musical talent.
By the way, for anyone that didn't know, the They Might Be Giants hit "Why Does the Sun Shine" is actually a cover of a Tom Glazer number off one of the science records.

Burt Ward - Boy Wonder (371 Kb @ 24Kbps)

This record is funny for many reasons: Burt can't sing; Robin the Boy Wonder was such a femme character; but my favorite is that after he reads a letter from a fan on this disc, he has to state that he hopes everyone realizes that the letter was from a female.
Holy homophobia Batman!
Burt Ward was born Bert John Gervis, Jr. in 1945. Before his father began to sell real estate in Beverly Hills, he owned a traveling ice-skating show, where Bert worked at only the age of two. He was hailed as the youngest professional skater by the magazine Strange As It Seems, which was the world's record keeper before Guinness and his book took the reigns.
In high school the young lad also became a chess champion, and a speed-reader at 30,000 word-a-minute with 90% comprehension.
In 1965 he changed the "e" in his name to "u" for more zing, and taking on his mother's maiden name for acting jobs. He then read for the role of Batman's sidekick where he was cast in the TV series from 1966 until it was cancelled in 1968. He later claimed that the role killed his career, but I believe it was more for taking parts in B movies, while turning down a role in The Graduate, which Dustan Hoffman later took.
The track above was produced by, of all people, Frank Zappa in November of '66. Only two tracks from this session were released (this track and the B side "Orange Colored Sky"), but two others have never seen the light of day ("Teenage Bill of Rights" and "Autumn Love").
Burt took a few more acting and cartoon voice-over jobs, still as the same comic book character until 1979, but it wasn't until 1986 that he shook off the role as the Boy Wonder and began playing bit parts in movies such as Kill Crazy and Virgin High.
In 2001 he decided to go behind the scenes instead and started Boy Wonder VFX, a visual effects company.
He's currently still alive, happily married, and running dog rescue missions helping wandering woof-woofs Batman!
POW! ZAP! BLAMMO! ZOOM!

People's Temple Choir - Something's Got A Hold of Me (596 Kb @ 24Kbps)

When I was just a young punk, and I'm talking little kid, not scenester, I saw pictures of hundreds of dead bodies scattered across some town in a country called Guyana.
I asked my mom what the hell was up with that. She glossed over it, probably trying to protect me. My curiosity lead to investigation, and her inability to explain the cruelties of this world just introduced me to the first of my many morbid fascinations.
James Warren Jones was born in Crete, Indiana, May of 1931 and had a rather tame childhood and adolescence.
In the 50s, after graduating from the University of Indiana, Jimmy walked neighborhoods to ring doorbells and knock on doors so he could sell small primates as a way to earn green and open a ministry he'd later call Wings of Deliverance.
In the early 60s he became a member of the Disciples of Christ and was ordained in 1964, but was later stripped of his title when he kept asking African American male members if he could suck them off in the parking lot. He denied the allegations, and in 1965 asked a handful of followers to split and start their own congregation called The People's Temple over in Frisco, and later the City of Angels.
He did well there, as his church grew to hundreds of members, starting a choir and sports teams, but he still caught trouble from the law, and was even arrested once for soliciting men for sex in 1973. After this arrest news agencies focused on his doomsday cult and found some illegal shenanigans going on. Jones was never charged because he packed up most everyone and hauled 'em to Guyana, in a village he christened Jonestown, on a large parcel of land bought with quite a load of dirty money.
Upon complaints from ex-members of forced sex, drugs in the food and slave labor, Congressman Leo Ryan flew down to South America to look into matters. I'm sure he regretted the decision as a truckload of hitmen opened fire on his plane as he was trying to get the hell out of Dodge… I mean, Jonestown. He and four others were killed.
Believing the U.S. would attack him and his followers, he and heads of his group batched up a delicious blend of Grape Kool-Aid and cyanide, asking the 1000+ followers to drink up. Many ran for the hills, while others happily guzzled it down, and even more were made to drink by having a gun shoved in their face. In all, 993 people littered the countryside with their corpses.
Jim Jones' has a son, Stephan Gandhi, who is still living in the U.S., as when the suicides were underway, he was away in the States at a basketball camp for teens.
Oh, the song! Shit, I almost forgot.
The track above was recorded while his Temple was still in Los Angeles, releasing a 12" gospel record called He's Able in 1973.
How could so many funky folks be lead to their deaths so easily? Oh yeah, at gunpoint.

Lil' Markie - Diary of An Unborn Child (785 Kb @ 24Kbps)

This is probably the most Christian, heartfelt, and well-intentioned song I own.
It also happens to be the most offensive, evil and downright nasty little ditty I own.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "We mean well, then do ill, and we'll justify our ill-doing by our well-meaning."
If so, Lil' Markie meant so, so very well.
Lil' Markie is actually evangelical and born again Christian Mark Fox using an annoying high-pitched voice that replaces anything Jim Henson ever put into my nightmares.
Not much is known about Mark, other than his releases. No one is really sure of his age, birthplace, or any other info other than his name and that he lived in and released his first LP from the state of Virginia.
His first album, Lil' Markie Volume 1 (released on MF Family Ministries) was recorded and set loose upon mankind almost twenty-five years ago.
Now, if it wasn't for the internet, he'd probably have been forgotten, but this track, as well as the songs "Story of An Alcoholic Father" (where he tells his drunk dad it's okay to kill him because he'll get to meet his Lord), and "Use Me" (where he tells Jesus to go ahead and use him as a tool) were all passed around the web so much he became an underground legend, and resurfaced to put out more records.
In 2003 he self-released a CD-R It's A Whole New World and later Mark and Lil' Markie Together For Christmas. He put out another eight CDs after that, but strangely, there is no Lil' Markie Volume 2. Sad to say none compare to the unintentional black humor and true evil genius of the first LP.
A few years ago Mr. Fox helped Sharon Cox start the children's ministry, For His Kidz, in Pennsylvania. He was listed on their page of comics and singers, but just as he did in the 80s, he's dropped out of sight.
Also, I've been posting stuff on You Tube, so here is a clip of Mark in Miami singing a song of joy, where Markie makes an appearance half way through.
By the way, if you're listening to the track above, and think this is no big deal, you haven't reached December 28th yet, I'm sure. Try not to pee yourself afterwards.

The Barkers - Love Me Do (451 Kb @ 24Kbps)

Since the late 50s records containing original songs made from animal noises have hit the market. Records galore hit the shelves with grooves filled by birds, elephants and whales singing their songs, as well as humans playing with their sounds to make never-before-heard music.
The drugs of the late 60s were good enough to make rock music an amazing trip.
Sadly, the drugs of the late 70s were so poor, they made music, like television of that time, a bell-bottomed, butterfly-collared, technicolor nightmare, as the late 70s was when 'I-don't-know-who' started releasing cover tracks of jazz and blues songs made from animal noises. Then in the 80s, they began picking rock songs to destroy.
A mere three years (1983) after Lennon got a hole in his chest, while flying bullets completely missed the screeching rice-farter that was standing next to him, someone down under apparently thought it would be a great idea to debase The Beatles' catalog.
The above track is taken off the Meet the Barkers album, released by New Zealand label Passport Records, which was set loose in the USA as 'Beatle Barkers'.
There is absolutely no production credits or info on the record (and who would want it?), other than credit being given to 'The Woofers and Tweeters Ensemble'.
Who let the dogs out? No one, because what makes this animal noise record worse than the normal destruction of rock classics is that there are no animal noises used in the recording at all, instead people are doing the barks and howls.
Studs and bitches, send me to the pound and put me to sleep!

Billy Costello - Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing (568 Kb @ 24Kbps)

Without reading bellow, listen to the track first and see if you can guess what cartoon Mr. Costello did the voice-overs for.
If you guessed right, you'll win…
A whopping stack of jack zip, as I go on to explain it all anyway.
As far as I've searched and researched, there isn't much information on William "Billy" Costello. Even though he made a few children's records (under the name Red Pepper Sam), as well as doing a few voices for well-known cartoons throughout the early 1930s.
No date of birth, no place of birth, hardly even a music history, but I do know a bit of William's history myself - so you'll just have to trust me on this.
Billy Costello was a Vaudeville actor who did the first voice of Popeye when the character made the transition from the Thimble Theater comic strip Popeye the Sailor to the movie screen in 1933 (first debuting in Betty Boop).
For that voice, as well as a few of his musical tracks, ol' Red Pepper imitated a voice used by a member Paul Whiteman's orchestra.
In 1935, when Costello's drinking became a bit of a problem along with demands for more money, cartoonist Jack Mercer (who came up with Popeye's laugh) took over the silly sailor's voice-overs, starting with the King of the Mardi Gras episode.
Well, blows me down.

Dave Kennedy - All By Myself (495 Kb @ 24Kbps)

There are very few musical geniuses that play every instrument on their records: Stevie Wonder, Prince, Todd Rundgren, Brian Eno, Paul McCartney - even expresident Warren G. Harding. The list is short, but you know the names.
There's a few others whose name you may not know, but you've heard their tunes: Natalie Merchant (10,00 Maniacs), Bob Mould (Sugar, Husker Du), Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac), etc.
As good as he was DK just had that luck that made him go unnoticed, I guess.
Dave Kennedy, or DK as he liked to be called, was born in the state of Ohio in 1924.
In his teens he and his folks moved on down to my neck of the woods, Florida. He later graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in music.
During World War II he severed time in the U.S. Army, and took the green he earned and spent it on courses at UCLA where he worked towards a degree in aerospace science, later working for a large company that builds aircrafts at taxpayer's expense.
Missing music, and growing tired of research and design, he dropped out of society to become, of all things, a musical clown in a traveling circus.
In his late 40s he owned his own recording studio in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and began to record jazz and big band tunes on his own, and often did studio musician work, as well as engineer the work of others. It wasn't until he was 49 that he decided to throw all his money into putting out his own album. He released an LP, which he titled All By Myself on his own label, Page Records. It gained him a little notice for the track, "Dr. Jazz", but he soon faded from the spotlight.
On this track, Kennedy plays the trumpet, trombone, piano, flute, piccolo, drums, bass, saxophone, guitar, violin, and every voice you hear as well.
DK died in November of 2000 in Hermosa Beach. With no wife, as he was only married to his music, and no kids, as the only thing he spawned was a record of forgotten tunes, and since he had no will, his estate went to the State of California.
He was placed to rest back in Ohio, by his surviving nephews, supposedly along with a copy of his almost-unknown record.

Harvey Marshall Matusow - War Between Fats and Thins (1 Mb @ 24 Kbps)

Even if you don't listen to the song posted, you really have to read up on this character.
Very much like me, this cat is one of those rare individuals that can cause havoc in the normal space / time continuum and warps social relationships with his mere presence.
Harvey Marshall Matusow was born in the New York burrough of the Bronx in October of 1926. As a child he witnessed the Hindenburg blimp crash.
He spent his teen years as mostly a street hoodlum, until Matusow enlisted in the US Army in 1943 to get himself a high school diploma. He did a bit of time overseas fighting in WWII. Upon returning to New York, he worked various jobs (including as an agent for Dean Martin and became best friends with Billie Holiday) and later joined the American Communist Party. While in the AC Party he set records for selling the most subscriptions to their newspaper, The Daily Worker. He was also an actor and appeared in the plays Waiting for Lefty and The Cradle Will Rock.
In 1950, he turned tail and became an informant to Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee, fingering Pete Seeger (breaking up his group The Weavers), and even the Girl Scouts of being Commies. He went so far as to invent the myth of smoking banana peels to get high as a geopolitical revenge plot against the United Fruit Company (aka Chiquita Banana). He also became editor of the right-wing magazine Counterattack and worked as a campaign aide to Senator McCarthy.
Problem was, he lied so much he was tried for perjury and was found guilty. While serving time, his cell was next to Wilhelm Reich, and got to know Reich before he passed away in prison. In 1955 he wrote a book to come clean, False Witness, and was released from jail in 1960.
Upon release he soon dived into the art world and released Art Collector's Almanac, which got him an invitation to the Whitehouse by first lady Johnson. He joined the Anti-Computer Campaign and organized the International Society for the Abolition of Data-Processing Machines. Later he became friends with Timothy Leary and dropped lots of acid, helped organize Norman Mailer's mayoral run, played pranks with Andy Warhol, even helped in founding the underground newspaper The East Village Other, but still couldn't live down his past as a traitor to the Left.
So in 1967 Harvey changed his name to Job and left to England where he started the largest avant-garde concert in British history, known as the ICES 72 concert (International Carnival of Experimental Sound). He established the London Film Makers Cooperative, and also worked with the composer, Anna Lockwood.
While in London, he invited his friend Yoko Ono to live there, and at an art show introduced her to an acquaintance named John Lennon. Yep, it's his fault The Beatles broke up.
He returned to the United States in 1973, eventually settling in Tucson, Arizona. He then began the Magic Mouse Theatre, and developed a clown persona named 'Cockyboo'. Matusow began the Magic Mouse Theater as a radio show, which grew into a traveling theater troupe, and it later became the TV program Magic Mouse Magazine.
In 1977 he converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon Church) and moved to Utah where he started that state's first ever public access TV show.
For the next 30 years Harvey decided to live in communes and occasionally took his clown character 'Cockyboo' on the road.
In 2001 he was involved in a car accident in New Hampshire (where he had moved to run a public access TV studio) and passed away several months later (Jan 2002) due to complications. He had no children out of twelve marriages to eleven women (yes, he married one twice).
The song above is the title track from his 1969 album, War Between Fats and Thins, which was released under the name Harvey Matusow's Jews Harp Band, while he was living in the UK.

Arcesia - Butterfly Mind (990 Kb @ 24Kbps)

Old dude drops a hit (I ain't talking 'bout music), and completely changes his life for rock-n-roll, freak-outs and free love.
Hell, you know you want to as well.
Arcesia is actually the (bad) idea of one man, Johnny Arcessi.
Not much info is known about Johnny, and what little anyone knows is from Irwin Chusid's book Songs in the Key of Z.
Though we don't know when Arcessi was born, we do know that he was a Providence, Rhode Island native, who throughout the early 60's belted out a pound of sound as a big band crooner, and even worked clubs opening up for Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.
Sometime in the late 60's, and pretty much already passing his mid-life crisis, he dropped a hit of acid and lost it. He fell in love with the stuff, bought a number of The Doors' albums, packed up a few of his belongings and hauled it over to California to become part of the Summer of Love.
In 1969 he hired a few musicians half his age and recorded under the band name Arcesia. The outcome was a fifteen track psychedelic, acid-rock mess titled Reachin' released in 1970 to boos and hisses.
Turns out Johnny is still around and believes his LP is worth a good god damn, as he's built himself a bit of a website, though it's been under construction for some time.

Tobie Columbus - Come In My Mouth (666 Kb @ 24Kbps)

Musical theater is boring as hell. What could spice things up?
Oh, how about tons of sex, and loads of nudity?
Actually, I'm talking theater from the 1970s, so never mind the nudity.
The song above is taken from the 'adult musical' Let My People Come, which began as an off-Broadway production.
It opened January of 1974, and ran until July of 1976 at The Village Gate a theater in New York City's Greenwich Village, and later had a very brief run on Broadway (Morosco Theatre, July 1976 through October 1976).
The musical also had a brief run in Philadelphia and London, and a much longer showing in Toronto where it ran until the end of the 1980s.
The musical was directed and produced by Phil Oesterman (who also produced Take This Show and Shove It! as well as the Broadway version of Urban Cowboy), and contained music and lyrics written by Earl Wilson Jr. (a comedy writer on The Jackie Gleason Show and The Tonight Show).
The premise behind this musical was the glorification of the beauty inherent in the human body, something rarely discussed at the time except in hippie circles, and the show itself contained tons of nudity.
Some of the song-n-dance numbers in the show were called "I'm Gay", "Give It to Me", "The Cunnilingus Champion of Company C" and today's track, "Come In My Mouth".
The production company released a 12" LP of the original cast recording titled Let My People Come: A Sexual Musical in late 1974 (on Sexy Hexy Records), which is where this week's track is from.
Tobie Columbus is now a program director and dance instructor for the Foothill Performing Arts Council in California's San Fernando Valley. She is also a costumed children's storyteller, where she sings, dances and even mimes many of her works, but hopefully she's sparing the kids this little song.

David Koresh - Sheshonahim (518 Kb @ 24Kbps)

Everyone who knows me well enough knows I want to start a cult.
Oh, I don't subscribe to any faith in particular well enough to snag a bunch of mindless lemmings into doing my bidding under a religious banner, but then again neither did Manson.
David on the other hand…
David Koresh was born Vernon Wayne Howell in Huston, TX in August of 1959.
Vernon was pretty much a bastard, as his parents were never wed, and his daddy ran off with another gal when Koresh was just two.
He dropped out of high school due to problems with dyslexia, but he knew The New Testament well enough to quote long tracts of scripture by heart.
VW became a born-again in at a Baptist church, but soon switched over to the Seventh-Day Adventists because of mommy's conversion. Koresh was soon kicked out for constantly chasing after the preacher's daughter.
In 1981 he moved to Waco, TX and joined the Branch Davidians (a group that had splintered from the Shepard's Rod cult in the 1950s, who themselves broke off from the Seventh-Day Adventists in the 1930s).
In 1983 Vernon started banging the prophetess and leader of the Davidians, Lois Roden, and they believed their son would be "the Chosen One". She quickly let him start preaching from the Good Book and give sermons to the cult members, which pissed off Roden's son, George, who was promised the cult would be handed over to him. George chased Koresh away with gun in hand, and he set up camp with a few cult members in Palestine, TX.
In 1987 Koresh and seven followers, armed and dressed in camouflage attacked the Mount Carmel camp and its leader George Roden. Roden was shot, and all were arrested except for the injured George. David's attempted murder trial ended in mistrial, and all other members were acquitted. In a strange turn of events George Roden was tried for murder the following year after axing to death a member of his congregation (Dale Adair) who though David may be the coming messiah. Upon inspection of Mount Carmel a methamphetamine lab was discovered and the property was seized. Place on police auction Koresh and followers raised the dough to buy the place.
In 1990 VW Howell changes his name to David Koresh and he rest is history.
Okay, if you don't know that history here goes:
Koresh began to stock pile weapons claiming the end of the world was nigh, and would occur with a battle against the Great Beast - meaning the U.S. government.
In February of 1993 the government made good on his prophecy by staging a raid on Mount Carmel. A gun battle broke out leaving Koresh shot, six members of the cult dead (including Koresh's two year old daughter) and four agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms killed. This lead to a standoff that lasted 51 days, until April 19, when federal agents using tanks set the Carmel compound ablaze killing almost all inside (79 in total, of which 21 were children).
Sorry to end on such a downer, but at least the Hidden Manna faction of the Davidians think Koresh and those killed will return from the dead in 2012 to give the government their just desserts.
On the other hand, the government is now setting our Constitution and the Bill of Right on fire.
Have fun listening as your rights disappear.

Moondog - Street Improvisation (294 Kb @ 24Kbps)

When I lived in New York I would carry a tape recorder in my pocket. Anytime a wacko on the street got going, I'd hit the record button.
I had a sweet collection of rants, raves, music and madness, but I never captured a cat like this…
Moondog was born Louis T. Hardin in May of 1916 in Marysville, Kansas.
While working on a farm he lost his sight in an accident, at the age of 16.
He later learned music at several schools for the blind, and studied under Burnet Tuthill at the Iowa School for the Blind. Even though he learned a bit of music in the schools, he was mostly self-taught (as he learned to play drums at only five) and developed an interest in Native American music early in life.
From 1940 through 1974 Louis went by the name of Moondog, and was a homeless street musician and poet in New York City (mainly on the corner of 53rd Street and 6th Avenue). He chose the name in honor of a pet dog, which he said used to howl at the moon more than any dog he knew of. Moondog was well known, but became almost as much not for his songs and poetry but for his Viking-style of dress, complete with horned-helmet.
In 1948, Hardin was discovered by advertising creator and sound archivist Tony Schwartz, who recorded him right on the street.
Within a year Moondog had released his first single "Snaketimes Rhythm" on SMC, followed by three others until 1950. He then released two EPs and over a dozen albums including one with Julie Andrews, and two of which were released on Columbia Records.
Moongog wasn't just a musician, but an inventor of musical instruments. In the late 1940s he worked on the "Oo" (a tiny triangular shaped harp), the Hüs, the "Ooo-ya-tsu", and the "Trimba" (a triangular percussion instrument, which is still played in orchestras today).
His music was championed by Artur Rodzinski, the conductor of the New York Philharmonic, the aforementioned Julie Andrews, producer James William Guercio, Swedish percussionist Stefan Lakatos, Charlie Parker, Janis Joplin, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Bellson, Phillip Glass, and even the English pop group Prefab Sprout. Interestingly enough, Phillip Glass christened Moondog 'the founder of minimalism', but he would not accept the title.
In 1974 he split the NYC scene and left for his "Holy Land with the Holy River", Germany. He returned to the US only once in 1989 at the behest of Phillip Glass to conduct the Brooklyn Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, for Brooklyn's New Music America Festival.
Moondog died in September of 1999, but it's not written anywhere how.
The track above is the first-ever known recording of Moondog, which was recorded by Tony Schwartz in 1948.

Bobby Beausoleil - Lucifer Rising: Part One (734 Kb @ 24Kbps)

Ah, the 60s.
Acid, weed, and - if you had a bit of talent or were decent looking - a stable of women to fawn over you. Some people had looks and talent - enough to have a bunch of girls commit copycat crimes to set you free from prison.
Bobby Beausoleil was born in Santa Barbara, California on November 6th of 1947.
In 1965 Beausoleil (pronounced bo-zolay), joined a band called The Grass Roots (though not the well-known Grass Roots), which was fronted by Arthur Lee of Love fame. He quickly earned the name "Cupid" due to the number of women he was involved with.
In 1966 Bobby joined a band called The Orkustra, that was fronted by David LaFlamme, who later went on to form It's A Beautiful Day.
After The Orkustra broke up, BB formed his own outfit, The Magick Powerhouse of Oz.
Around this time Bobby met underground filmmaker Kenneth Anger, who once played a show with The Magick Powerhouse of Oz, but ruined it due to taking too much acid. They soon had a falling out and stopped speaking for a while.
A little after this event Beausoleil met Charles Manson and began hanging around the group known as The Family.
On July 26 of 1969, BB went to the home of Gary Hinman to settle a score, as Gary had sold him some bad drugs. Everything went wrong and Hinman was held hostage, and stabbed to death the next day. GH's blood was then used to write "political piggy" on the wall of the apartment.
On August 6, Beausoleil was arrested driving Gary Hinman's car. It is believed that the Tate / LaBianca murders on August 8th and 9th were committed to look as if the Hinman murderer was still on the loose. It didn't work as Bobby was convicted and sentenced to death, but commuted to life behind bars in 1974, and the Manson crew was caught and jailed for their crimes.
In 1976, Kenneth Anger began a correspondence with his old friend Beausoleil, and when Jimmy Page fell through with his soundtrack for Anger's film, Lucifer Rising, he asked Bob to re-take over (bobby wrote the original, before it was passed to Page).
In 1977, and still in prison, BB recorded a handful of songs for Anger's film. The track above is the opening number for Kenneth Anger's short film.
In prison Beausoleil also recorded and released three albums of instrumental material (Orb, Mantra and Dreamways of the Mystic).

BACK TO DOWNLOAD PAGE

BACK TO MAIN