Groundhogs: don't let the name fool you ...

Sabbath . . . Zeppelin . . . Groundhogs. They are, quite simply, everything GREAT about English rock music from the early 1970's; Groundhogs are the one that got away, sad to say -- unsung, but influential to all. Anyone familiar with the Fall's catalogue knows the name [to date, 2 recorded covers: "Junkman" (1994) & "Strange Town"(2008)]. Here is a 96-minute primer of this 3-piece:

P.S. Listen up for 'Garden' (1970) . . . then compare it to Zep's 'In The Light' (rec. 1974). You're welcome, Jimmy.

Commence with the pounding-of-fists on your automobile's dashboard/steering-wheel:

Thank Christ For The Bomb

Radio Birdman: 'Murder City Nights' bootleg

Admittedly, the sound quality ain't pristine . . . Zip it and take yer medicine.

11/76 @ Double Jay Studios, Sydney, Australia

The above bootleg is taken from my own collection; a far more impressive live set awaits you here . . .

'Back From The Grave' vinyl-exclusives

For better or worse, here they are . . .

I can see why songs like 'Snoopy' (a 'you-had-to-be-there' cover of The McCoys' 'Hang On Sloopy') or The Mods' cover of 'Satisfaction' ('Seuss-less information' ???????) did not make the CD-cut . . . and then there are gems like 'I Won't Be Home', 'What In the World' & 'So Good'.

Go buy the CD's.

P.S., exclusion/inclusion: (1) You can easily find/purchase The Sonics' 'Santa Claus' (BFTG #4). (2) However (despite its availability), I could not resist including Bunker Hill's 'The Girl Can't Dance'; listen up & you'll hear Link Wray & the Raymen backing that maniac.

Take the World As It Comes,

Capt.

Bill Hicks/Ron Shock

Bill Hicks (1961-1994):

3-15-92 in Toronto, ON: Bill does some crowd-work . . . the crowd isn't mic'd, so it sounds like he's speaking to an empty room more often than not; the audience seems

unresponsive. Also, he has a 104˚ temperature. Despite these hurdles, this is one of my favorite Bill Hicks recordings. A random jewel (surely ad-libbed) line (an outro, really): 'I wanna thank Canada for springing Howie [Mandell] on the world . . . you have a lot of explaining to do . . . you gotta show your work on that one . . . perhaps a little foot-work . . .'

3-15-92 in Toronto

1992 in Chicago:

Most people focus on the 'You suck/I'm a drunk cunt' section of this show, but I personally find it interesting that Hicks (surely exhausted at this point, after the initial tirade) singled out the individual who later yelled 'Free Bird' and attempted to engage him psychologically. Memorize Hicks' response, it could come in handy at your next musical outing.

1992 in Chicago

Ron Shock (1942- ): raconteur-extraordinaire & one interesting individual.

CAR CHASE STORY: I was introduced to Shock by seeing him tell a slightly-abbreviated version of this anecdote on FOX's 'Comic Strip Live: Comics Come Home (Texas)' c. 1990 -- (FYI: the size of a .357 Magnum barrel, when it is pointin' at you, is comparable to the base of a mic stand).

Car Chase Story

Newspaper Story 2006, pt. 1: train-wreck -- my history . . . train-wreck

Newspaper Story 2006, pt. 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRqyy-OQLHU

http://www.myspace.com/ronshockcomedy

Teenage Head

Ontario, Canada, recorded 1977-1978. Released in 1979. I first heard friends speak of this album in 1996, which probably had something to do with the fact that it had been re-issued the previous year. ---------- It blew my top! --------- This is that version. A straight-forward sound, yes, but undeniably fantastic. Judging by the album cover (at lower-left), it seems as if the higher-up's wanted a new-wave appeal, but these sounds are far from that. Frankie Venom (R.I.P.) hiccups like Gene Vincent, and Gord Lewis plays guitar like Johnny Thunders (oh, those wonderful neck-slides). Steve Mahon & Nick Stipanitz, whatta rhythm section! I recommend 'Ain't Got No Sense', 'Lucy Potato', & 'Top Down' for starters. The (far-more-prevalant) 2005 re-issue is a travesty; many unfortunate and/or ill-advised overdubs. Here is the 1995 re-issue.

Teenage Head (1979)

Things To Come

Fronted by a 17-year-old Steve Runolfsson (vocals/organ/piano/harmonica), this L.A. 5-piece existed from 1965-1967. All of them shared writing duties, but few fans disagree with the idea that Runolfsson was the most talented of the group in that respect (he penned all of the below). The combination of Steve's mature and downright menacing vocal style and Lynn Rominger's rumbling lead guitar breaks laid the foundation for success in a town that would soon embrace the likes of the Doors. But it was not to be. Minimal AM airplay of their debut single ('Sweetgina' b/w 'Speak of the Devil'), even more minimal record sales and zero interest from West Coast labels gave them some early kicks in the ribs. A few instances of bad luck -- and, it could be speculated, one incredibly bad decision -- spelled their demise. In the spring of 1967, Lynn Rominger was drafted and sent off to boot camp (which is presumably when the above group photo was taken). That summer a fairly well-known Hollywood manager caught a performance of theirs and liked what he saw. An audition was scheduled for the next week. Following this subsequent performance, the manager offered to take them on . . . as soon as they fired their singer, whom he felt wasn't 'right for the group.' The remaining three met without Runolfsson and, not wanting to miss out on their chance at success, voted to get rid of him. Naturally, he was devastated.

After deciding that bassist Bryan Garofalo would take over on vocals, the four-piece forged on. True to his word, their new manager negotiated a contract for them with Warner Bros. They released two singles on said label in 1968, neither of which charted. When WB heard (and was unimpressed by) demos for a possible LP, the band was quickly dropped.

Steve Runolfsson went on to form a campy, satirical group with his sister in the early 1970's called Da Yuckettes -- oddly, this band opened for Capt. Beefheart and Little Richard. On January 10, 1977 at the age of 27, Steve overdosed on a mixture of liquor & pills -- it is thought to have been a suicide.

Some sinister songs:

Speak of the Devil

Behold Now Behemoth

Darkness

Django Reinhardt

His operative fingers were the index and middle; as the result of a 1928 fire (aged 18), his ring and pinky fingers were useful ever-after only for bar chords. Those flashy, arpeggiated runs you hear are the work of just two fingers.

He was a gypsy. He was a gypsy in Western Europe when Hitler came to power.

per Wikipedia: 'Reinhardt survived the war unscathed, unlike the many Romanis who perished in the Porajmos, the Nazi regime's systematic murder of several hundred thousand European Romanis. He was especially fortunate because the Nazi regime did not allow jazz to be performed and recorded. He apparently enjoyed the protection of Luftwaffe officer Dietrich Schulz-Kohn, nicknamed "Doktor Jazz", who deeply admired his music.'

It was a brain hemorrhage that killed him in 1953.

Rhythme Futur

Smoke Rings

Twelfth Year (version 2)

Montmartre

Dinette