Cool and Strange Music! Magazine - 02 - Summer 1996

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Music! e Stran And l:aol --------- ------M agazine

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ell, hePe's o"P Secom~ lss"e of [fool Am~ StPa'1ge ~fosic! Magazi'1e, am~ ifs o"P r.iesi yei! Yeah, yeah ... we ~rnow .. .ii's j"st o"t SecoatJ lss"e! Well, r.ieap wiih "s am~ let "s '1at o"Pselves 0'1 the riack a lillle, will yaP We thi'1k it's rieHeP r.ieca"se we've got mope '1ages, rieHeP '1Pi'1ti'1g, rieHeP looki'1g '1hotos am~ lots of gPoovy f 0'1tS! We ho'1e YCJU thi'1k so, too! So he Pe we go, ki.,s! U's go'1'1a r..e a'1otheP cool Pi.,e thPo"gh those wil.,, wacky a"" sometimes tacky woPI., of JlE(}CJFlOS!!!!

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Publlsher/ Edllo'1 Dana Counfry'tman l.a.,,ouf and Desl!finz The saime !fiu'f' Es:eculfre A.drlsorz Helth B. Ellis Proofreaderz Tricia Meler Prfnfi..S Ser'f'fcesr Paci/le Cop,- & P,,fnfJ..S Co.

Conlrlbutln!'i W'rltersz Da'f'e Guhlo- Phil /'tlohl Biii Johnson Brother Cle'l'e Stefan Her.,, Ed Haz D. Illlch W'llhelim

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COOL AND STRANGE MUSIC MAGAZINE is published on a quarterly basis by Dana CountnJman for

Lnbor Of Love Productions, in association with Fontmeister Design. A ll contents are copyright 1996 Ta-Dah! Productions, Inc., unless otherwise noted. Sample and single copy price: $3.95. A years' subscription (4 issues) for the U.5.A is just a measly $12, $19 elsewhere (IMO). Make checks payable to COOL AND STRANGE MUSIC! MAGAZ INE . Because of the adult nature ofsome of the art, you must state your age and include your signature. Unsolicited manuscripts/articles are welcome, but must be accompanied by a SASE for return. All letters sent to Cool And Strange Music! Magazine may be printed, unless requested otherwise by the sender. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the express written permission of the publisher. Not to be sold to minors or small Jann animals.

Cool And Strange Music! Magazine P.O.Box 8501, Everett, WA 98201 USA, Planet Earth e-ma~_: [email protected] NEW Fax#: (206) 303-3404 2 f,00/ And Strange Music!" END O' SUMMER 1996 - - - - - Magazine

In This Issue ••• Edi-toriaJ. Le-t-ters, We Ge-t Le-t-ters 'llVege~•ack•an.d&ack&o:t:Iettere -- WesJ..ey Willis b y P h i l :Noh..1. Yo"U. OWJ.V' T.h.a-t? b y Dav-e G..u..Iow .F_ree .Desigii b y E d .K"az The Los-t Esq"U.i"Y"eJ.. LI>! b y B r o d i e r C.lev-e ..Ferraii-te & Teicher b y B r o d i e r C.lev-e .Da"Y"i.d. Le-t-ter.m.aii •s Records by Da:n.a Coui:1:t~a.n i\Te w A.n.d. .Dif:fereii-t Ci> Re"Y"i.ews Co"Y"er .A.rt Goiie .Bad! Swed.eii Swiiigs b y S-tefa:n. .K"ery .Bra--v-e Co.m.bo b y .Rich Wilh.ehn. To.m. L e h r e r b y J e f f .ll'Lorris Coin_b"U.s-tabJ..e Edisoii •s To"U.r :N'o-tes S-traiige CJ..assified.s

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Great Big Cool A.'J:."'\.d. Stra.'J:."'\.ge Tha.'J:."'\.kYo'\,;I.' s !: Special thanks to the following Cool folks for making the SECOND Issue of our Strange magazine another rip-snortin' success!•••

Michael Toth • D.J. Sylvis Steve Young • Rich Wilhelm Annie Sat/er • Brother Cleve • Tricia Meier Dave Guhlow • Irwin Chusid • Frank Davis Phil Noh/ • Marjoe Gartner • Joseph Holmes Sean Berry • Chara Calderone • Jeff Morris Ralph Alfonso • Nancy Neiman• Ed Kaz • Bill Johnson

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fe' ~ ~e~ky 'rhenk~ END O' SUMMER 1996

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.A..:n.d iiow, a f e w words f.roi:n.. our Ed.ii;o.r...

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••••••••••••••• Hi kids! Wow! What an amazing 3 months it's been! First of all, the response to the Premiere Issue of Cool and Strange Music! Magazine has been ohenomenal! I'm sure that you'll notice the major differences in the quality of the magazine that you're holding in your hands, compared to the Premiere Issue. We've got a great color cover, more pages and we've upgraded our ol' computer equipment, and stuffed it full of cool fonts (I'm a suckerfor fonts!) You'll also notice a lot more photos, courtesy of our new scanner. (I see lots of photos as a very important aspect to the future of this publication.) The other big change in my life was the birth of my first son on June 6th, merely two weeks ofter the first Issue debuted. (See photo for proof. That's my beautiful wife, Tricia and Iwith our newest little record collector, Matthew.) Hey, it's my magazine, so let me shaw off the kid, will ya!l've already started him on ostrict regiment of Mrs. Miller and Spike Jones records . After all; he's gonna inherit all these things some day, so he needs lo get familiar with them early on! Okay, on to other subjects. Iwanted to talk a little about my feelings of price-gouging in the exotic/strange phenomenon. There's a guy on the Internet who is famous for overcharging far these great old records. Ihave a hard time believing that very many people are paying his outlandish prices, but who knows? Iwas in a used record store in San Jose last summer, where my wife and Iwere vacationing. After looking through the Yellow Pages, Ifound o very cool used record store there, jam-packed with great records. My enthusiasm quickly turned to disbelief and anger, however, when Inoticed that there was nothing in his store priced under $25! He was charging 25 bucks and up for everything... old Tijuana Brass, Lawrence Welk, even Mantovani records!!! Finally, in frustration, I went up to him and asked if he had a 'dollar' box. He laughed in my face and said "I don't think even the Goodwill sells 'em for a dollar anymore!". Disgusted, Iwalked out of his store without spending anything. The place gave me the creeps, and reeked of 'rip-off'. On my drive bock to our hotel, I noticed a Goodwill store only a couple of blocks from this guy's store. Iwent in and guess what? ... ! found piles and piles of great records, and Ibought an armload of them ...for a dollar each! Take that, Mr. Overpriced Records Man! · But you know, Iguess the bottom line is ...shop carefully. If you wait long enough, and can stand to wait, chances are you'll probably find the record you're looking for at the price you're willing to pay! But let the buyer beware ... Caveat Emptor, baby! My message is this ...to all the overpriced dealers of the world ...shame on you! But Isuppose if they find people willing lo pay their greedy prices, shame on the buyers for allowing themselves to fall prey to these guys! These spoilsport dealers care little for the great music on these once-forgotten music and are just out to make a sleazy buck. But you know, if we all stick together and boycott these money-grubbing jerks, maybe they'll lose interest and sell baseball cards or something else. At least that would make me feel better. Okay, I'm done ranting! On with the magazine! - Dana Countryman • Editor/Publisher

This Issue is dedicated to the memory of my record-collecting Uncle, Kenneth Campbell who passed away just hours before this went to press. An avid collector of some 10,000 78s, his influence on my life and interests has been a major one. I will miss you, Uncle Kenny.

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Letters ofaCool ~And ~Strange .....

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sNature! To Everyone Involved:

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Here's my 12 bucks for the next 4 issues of your cool magazine. Thanks for the 1st issue. I enjoyed it very much. I wanted to contribute some photos of some neat stuff from my collection for your Naked Ladies Issue, but I won't be able io this time around ... maybe in a future issue. I'm an avid collector of these great LPs. To me, it's much more fun than collecting Top 40 or "Rare Rock Albums" at $100-$1000 each! I'd rather have a copy of "Music For Robots", than a Buddy Holly or Elvis album anyday! I was collecting strange stuff eve before the RE/Search books came out and made it popular. A couple of my favorites: Shock · Creed Taylor Exploring The Unknown -Walter Shuman Scary Tales - John Zacherie By the way, if anyone gets any ideas about publishing a price guide for these kinds of records, I'd like to cast my vote "NO!" right now! There are already people in my local area who don't give a damn about lounge music, haunting the same flea markets and thrift stores that I do. They buy them for a dollar or two and try to sell

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them to me for 25 or 30 bucks. I saw an Esquivel LP with a price of$75 on it ata local show. When I told the dealer I'm not ready to spend that kind of money for that record, he simply informed the "They're hot." No one bought the record. Henry Perone Bridgeport, NY

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Dana: Somehow, someway, a copy of Coo/ And Strange Music! Magazine crossed my desk and it is thoroughly enjoyable. I don't recall if I was interviewed by Bill Johnson or not (I've done so @%!'# many phoners in the past 2 years), but his Short History of Space Age Bachelor Pad Music was 100% on the money! Guy did his homework and I appreciate it. Two things: 1) Would you kindly send a copy of C&S to Sr. Esquivel himself? I know he would love it. Maybe put a Post-It flag on the page with Wayno's illo. Drop him a note, if you like. He answers all mail (eventually}. 2) Since you promise interviews with "movers and shakers behind the scenes", I'd love to yak. I have some new projects I'm working on, and would be happy to extemporize on what's come before. Besides Sr. E... And Raymond, I've become quite fascinated lately with the bizarre life, erratic recordings and grisly death of UK producer Joe Meek. I'm also working on an album of music associated with TV pioneer Ernie Kovacs. It's an odd collection of recordings. Irwin Chusid, Director The Raymond Scott Archives Hoboken, NJ )))).

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Thanks for your thoughts, Phil. You bring up several good points. As the magazine continues to grow, we will continue to define the direction of the magazine. The first issue; admittedly, was a bit disjointed. We will be concentrating less on elementary primers of the various genres in the issues to follow. The issue you are holding in your hands now, is really more along the lines that I originally intended. I had to scramble a bit to come up with enough articles to fill out the Premiere Issue, but now that more people are starting to know about the magazine, we are beginning to receive more in-depth articles on specific odd-music subjects. One thing's for sure, though, and that's that the magazine probably can't please everyone. But we figure that if you find a couple of articles that interest you, then we've done our job. Thanks for your constructive criticism!

Dear Dana Countryman, Thanks very much for sending me a copy of your first issue. I thought it was a pretty good initial effort, although I found a lot of the subject matter to be rather predictable. There seems to be a bit of confusion, in fact, as to whether your intended audience are novices to this sort of music, or those who've been around it for awhile. For instance, you've got several articles that serve as primers on Esquivel, Space Age etc. and exotica in general, and yet you also run a Spike Jones story that is not a career overview, but rather a thoughtful study of the history of his clothes, which is quite an obscure topic! My own interests run much more toward the latter thrust, and I found myself merely skimming the more basic articles, but I would suggest that over the course of your first few issJJes you choose to move in one direction or the other, and then work that side of the street vigorously. Then I think you'll be on to something, because there clearly is a market for a well-done publication about strange music. Another suggestion: one of the things that bothered me about the two RE/Search books is that I grew very frustrated with merely reading about other people's great record finds . Words and pictures seem to be a wholly inappropriate medium for dealing with something as ephemeral and special as music. If the records under discussion were easier to come by, then the curiosity aroused by all the interviews and pictures wouldn't be such a frustrating thing to quench. My suggestion is that you have the subjects of your Collector's Spotlight prepare a cassette of selections from the records he or she will be talking about in their interview, and make it available by swap to anyone sending a similar

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cassette of their own finds. Or something like that... Phil Milstein Cambridge, MA

Thanks for your note, Henry! I can Yagree with you more. You bring up the subject of one of my biggest pet peeves, people who try and cash in on the beauty of collecting and finding these wacky old albums. (See my editorial on the previous page to hear me rant in more detail.!

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) CY \Villi \ViC)Li The Madness Of King Wesley by Phil Nahl When asked by an MTV interviewer whether he minded that some people attended his live shows simply to laugh at him, Wesley Willis abruptly replied, ''They come to hear the music. I know how to rock and roll them bones." trious ingredient of talent is truth, and Wesley is certainly not afraid to rock and roll them bones. One cannot listen to a song by Wesley Willis and not be affected in some way. Nearly everyone will laughat him, but to understand what it is that makes his music so hilarious has as much to do with the frivolity of pop music in general and the guidelines that he so blatantly ignores, as it does with the simplicity of his style. Understanding his music must begin by learning more about the man ... On October 21, 1989, Wesley Willis began to hear voices. He was diagnosed as Willis will rock your chronic having world. He is a man who schizophrenia. In will eagerly invite you 1992, he began to to visit his psychotic write songs and since musical realities and then has produced force you to take a ride several (some say 20) on his demented merryalbums. He sold his go-round . self-p roduced CDs Wesley will run wherever he could, circles around your conon the street, in the ventional pop sensibilistands at sports ties. Which ear you events and in the lobchoose to listen with will bies at rock and roll depend on your own concerts. relative perceptions of National attenart, music, and taste. It is easy to dismiss Willis as talentle ss and clueles s t ion was on the rise when Oglio Records compiled but it must be acknowledged t hat the most illus- a collection of Wesley's solo recordings and)))).

illis will be the first to tel l you that he and his band, The Fiasco, can rock. That is, if you have the courage to approach this 6' 5", 300 pound recording starataconcert. Of course you must first be prepared to meet the man tete a tete. The world of Wesley begins with a crash ing of the skulls, and he even has a knot on his forehead the size of a Yugo to prove it. Wesley

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released Rock n Roll Will Never Die a "Best Of' Wesley's songs about his favorite bands. This recording was Wesley's (Actual quotes from a few of Wesley's songs .. .) first to be advertised and promoted nation"As I rock the jam session, I'm going to keep on ally. At the same time the perpendicular every day. And each time when Oglio was working on I rock 'n roll, I'm going to keep busy on the Wesley's solo career, blowtorch." The Wesley Willis Fiasco was coming to national "Rock over London, rock on Chicago. Diet Pepsi, attention. The Wesley uh-huh." Willis Fiasco is a hard rock band with Wesley "I'm sorry that I got fat. I will slim down." as the front man . The Fiasco released an inde"You are the girl of my dreams. Just remember pendent recording on this meaning. I will always love you like a their own label, Urban milkshake." Legends. The Fiasco has -Lyrics from his song "Uz Phair" toured the US and is currently on hiatus. "The band got down like a magic kiss. The rock Rock n Roll Will and roll was perfect." Never Die received posi-Lyrics from any number tive reviews in a variety of of songs about rock bands. of major national publications, and the CD "Skrew, Skrew, Skrew, Skrew, Skrew." would turn out to be -The chorus to his song Wesley's last nationally about the band Skrew distr ibut ed independent solo recording. Willis started to create a following among both rock fans and rock stars, including former Dead Kennedy lead singer, Jello Biafra, who put out a collection of Wesley's songs on his own Alternative Tentacles label. In the early part of l 996 Wesley was signed to a non-exclusive, two-record deal by American Records . With the buzz surrounding The Fiasco and Wesley's growing solo career, American Recordings decided to sign Wesley to a his own tworecord deal featuring his solo material. The first is due in stores in late August and the second is

scheduled for October. What American will no doubt realize is that Willis will be a very hard sell. His abrasive style is for the most part based on a single musical pattern ; a pattern he will repeat song after song with only a slight change ofrhythm and of course, lyrical content . This pattern is interrupted only when he is accompanied by his band , an occurrence which is all too seldom realized. In that respect I certainly hope that American Reco rds will feature more tracks with the entire band and use Wesley's solo performances as an extra bonus. Let's begin with an understanding of a solo performance by Wesley Willis. Imagine a keyboard and bass line complete with canned drum

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hired a company in town to handle the llllD distributionforhim. ltwasn'tlongbefore stores across thecountrybegantocarry the album . It eventually sold an astounding 350,000 copies and unquestionably became the underground hit of the decade! Tom tried to interest labels such as RCA, Decca, and Capitol, but met withvariousdegreesofnon-success. AfterleavingHarvard,Tomworked atBairdAtomicinCambridgeforabout a year in order to avoid the draft, but eventually surrendered and was inducted into the Army in January, 1955. Heservedastandardtwo-yearterm,theonlyapparentfruits .of which were 1}a recipeforVodkaJell-0™, 2)thesong "It Makes A Fellow Proud To Be A Soldier," and 3) the preservationof America as a free country. After escaping fromtheArmy{or, as they call it, being "honorably discharged"), Tom hung around Cambridge,occasionallydoingperformances at night clubs or auditoriums,alsotouring toothernearbycities. His performances were often pannedbythecritics. (Yes, those quotes on the back of An Evening Wasted ... are all real.) Did this bother Tom? "Oh no. The concert sells out, the audience loves it, so who cares what the a er so s? I enjoyed the bad reviews; they didn't have any effect on my morale." By 1959, he had enough material to record a new album. He recorded two performances at Harvard's Sanders Theater in March, 1959, which were used to make the album An

~ ~ E Evening Wasted With Tom Lef hrer. {The same set of songs was also u. .:= ...

recorded without an audience at RCA StudiosinNewYork,aroundJuly, 1959, ~ andreleasedsimultaneouslyunderthe ~ title More Of Tom Lehrer.) By this • A'eJ9 puv PIO &Jlf noA U&lfM •

time, his fame had spread overseas, where Decca Records in England re- ~ leased the three albums. He was also ;:i:lured to England fora tour in 1960, and .,, while he was at it took in (or did in) ~· Germany and Australia as well, among g others. He recorded two of the concerts ~ in Australia, which, combined with another concert recorded at MIT in November of the previous year, constiluted Tom Lehrer Revisited, a live versionofthesamesongsthatwereon -t Songs By Tom Lehrer. {Decca in ~ England used only tracks recorded at o MIT for their version of ".. Revisited", as the Australian ii: recordingswereoflowertechnicalquality.) ~ After some controversy surrounding his concerts in -g Australia, as well 'ti asvariousotherdif~ ficulties, Tom dea. (;" cided he had -s enough of show business,andwent :c 0 back to his first ii: love, teaching. At < 0 this he was quite c "'S happy until some:c one roused him out Ill ::i of "retirement" four a. yearslater,towrite songs for the shortlived NBC-TV satire "That Was The Week That Was" (aka 'TW3'), which ran from January, 1964, to May, 1965. Tom was not always pleased with the portrayal of his ; son son the show. Often they were sung by the less-than- " cognizant Nancy Ames, who never ~ seemed to getthe joke. Also, they were :g generallyeditedbythe TW3folks, who g. changed or removed lines which they ;;· felt might be considered offensive. "So 3 much for satire," says Tom . After the show'sdemise,Tomdecidedtorecord cE 0 another album, to put the TW3 songs back the way they were supposed to ~ be. He included nine songs from TW3 " on that album , plus five others he had ~ written recently. And he was finally ;:.. ; able to interest a major record)))). . ~ inws • >tBBM poolfJ&lf:JOJ8 1euo1ieN • 09 BM UBlfM J&lf:J&Soi o~

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label: Warner/Reprise. The catch was, he insistedtheyhadtoalsotakeover his back catalog, as he was tired of tending to that. So they released That Was The Year That Was in 1965, followed by An Evening Wasted... {with two minutes of applause edited out by the ever-modest Lehrer himself) and Songs By... in 1966. For Songs By... , they were not crazy about the sound quality on the original 1953 record. So, they had Tom come intotheirstudiosandrerecord the album instateof-the-art stereo. In the process, Tom also made several lyric changes in the songs to bring them up to date. He has since regretted making those changes. Those interested canfindacomprehensive list of those differences, a s we ll a s lyric variations in other recordings of Tom's songs, in the LYRICS: LEHRER.DIFF file at the rec . music.dementia FAQ site (see below). Afterthis, Tom again retired from show business. Again, he was temporarilybroughtoutofretirementin 1972, this time lo write eleven songs (ten of whichwereused)forthePBSchildren's lVshow"TheElectricCompony". These were mostly performed by members of thecastorvariouscelebrities, including Bill Cosby and Rita Moreno. However, four songs did feature Tom on vocal. This same year, he also began his annu al treks to the west coast to lecture at the University Of California at Santa Cruz, teaching two Favorite subjects, The American Musical and The Nature

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Several years later, his past came back to haunt him again when British producer Cameron Mackintosh staged a revue of his songs entitled "Tomfoolery."ThisopenedinLondoninl980, and has since been performed in many countries around the world. The Lon-

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using his song. One of the reasons was that it was to the tune of "That's Enter- 'Tl tainment" , and the producers wanted to avoid any legal complications. :;. Thesongdidnotgounused,how- ;· ever, for in 1993 when the Mathemati- 6 cal Sciences Research lnsti- .} lute asked Tom formusicto :c contribute to their Fermat 111 Fest (to celebrate Andrew ~ Wiles having proven Cl. Fermat's Last Theorem, which had gone unverified ;. for centuries), hesentthem ~ atapeof "That'sMathemat- g: ics" (the lune slightly al- c tered so as not to infringe -8 oncopyright,andthelyr- ~ ics updated to include a a> Cl. verse about Wiles), which CL theyplayedovertheclosing credits to a videotape commemorating the :C event. (The videotape o alsci includes Morris g: Bobrow performing an earlierLehrermathemati- ., cal composition, "There's A Delta For Every Epsi- &_ Ion.") An alternate take of "That' s Mathematics" was released in 1995ona Dr. Demenlocompilation available only to members of The De-

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don and Canadian casts have released albums of their performances. For the show, Tom wrote alternate lyrics for some of the songs, and even revived an old "porty" song of his, "IGotltFromSally" (which heneverrecorded),updatingandperverting it to "I Got It From Agnes." He hasn'tcompletely quit writing songs. He has written a few songs for Garrison Keillor's American Radio Companyradioshow,induding "Everybody Eat," "We Gather Together," and "Hanukkah In Santa Monica. II He also wrote "That's Mathematics" asthethemefora children's lV show about math, which eventually was entitled "Square One lV."However,theproducersdeclined

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And justthisyear, Tom received a ;' gold record award . His album That ~ Was The Year That Was has since ~ sold over 500,000 copies, and it only g took just over thirty years to do so! A display containing gold LP, cassette, 3 and CD now hangs at Tom's house in ';} Massachusetts. (Trivia: the album was ~ never released on cassette, though it 0 was on 8-track for a while.) Tom still happilysplitshistimebetween Massachusetts and California, spending summer and fall in the f and

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.lIJL!JH-HL!JITJ Sweeten Swings~

By Stefan Kery

Is wEDEN tulmt fWllllg UlllN " !llilul m UM l/tiHlt I/ SwlieJt? I • ••

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Blond girls, polar bears and the porno industry. True, we have all those things, but we also have a healthy dose of 'Easy Listening' happening rooms! In the last year, clubs have been sprouting up around Sweden like mushrooms. The TIKI ROOM, a genuine Tiki Bar with great tropical drinks and authentic 'Exotica'-type groups playing live. Then there is MART which offers a small but well-kept bar, with a great OJ. SUNKIT has DJ s spinning rejected demo recordings and incredible 'so-badthey're-good' stuff you've never heard before. There's MUZAK and the SPY BAR, all just in Stockholm. In other parts of the country you'll find 019 (Orebro) and MUSIC FOR PLEASURE (Gothenburg) to name a couple of the better ones. There are also a lot of places that are just jumping on the band wagon with no real clue to what this is all about. The worst must be the SPY BAR in Stockholm where I recently heard the DJ playing Hip-Hop (?) and very loud too. Yhecch! Th ere is also an exciting live music scene with seve ral great live bands. For starters, there are The Fab Fezmen Five, My Cherie Amore, and Bo Axelzon & His Exotic Sounds,The TIKI ROOMs house band. Bo Axelzon & His Exotic Sounds are definitely the most authentic of the bunch, as they have been playing Exotica since the late 1950s. However, they neve r got a chance to record anything, that is, until now. Record label, Subliminal Sounds is releasing a beautiful 6-song, 10 inch vinyl

Bo Axelzon &His Exotic Sounds record by them, which is due at the end of April. The group's style covers a wide range from Dennyish exotica to whacked-out Es· quivel-ish arrangements to sitar exploitation music. ~~ .......,,.,..,. The Fab Fezmen Five are a wacky bunch of Fez-clad guys who dwell in a sort of lounge twilight zone mi x of Burlesque Las Vegas Grind to strange piano bar crooning and jet-set Les Baxter-type arrangements. A forthcoming CD is on the way forth em. My Cherie Amore do anice mix of spy jazz and soft lounge sounds, but have yet to land a recording contract. Al l in all, things look really bright for the future of Exotic and Lounge Music in Sweden!

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For more info on the Swedish music scene you can e-mail me at stefan. ke ry@mai Ibox.swi pnet. se.

END O' SUMMER 1996

Take it, easy. Stefan Kery

f,oo/ And Strange Musicr ------=-Magazine

31

FEATURING ARTWORK BY ACCLAIMED CARTOONIST, ILLUSTRATOR, AND ODDBALL MUSIC SCHOLAR WAYNO POSTCARDS Two full-color glossy designs available. Red Hot Saxophone features a skeletal hipster blowing chili peppers out of his horn. The Esquivel design sports a portrait and mini-biography of the King of Space

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(yvAYNO, PO Box 11934, Pittsbur9h, PA 15228-0934) 32

And Strange Music!"' CAJOI - - - - - - - Magazine

ENDO' SUMMER 1996

The -gravec:>t Little Combo Of Them All ~

"It was like one end of the universe calling out to the other." This is how Jeffrey Barnes describes the union of singer /ukulele player /musicologist/pop culture icon Tiny Tim with the most classic of all Classic Rock songs, Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven". Barnes ought to know. As a member of Brave Combo, quite simply the coolest band on earth, he was there in the studio when it happened. The resulting transformation of the Page-Plant warhorse from rock cliche lo loungealicious toe-tapper has been captured for all eternity on Tiny Tim's new album GIRL, recorded with Brave Combo. Here's how ii happened. Brave Combo Headquarters just happens to be in Denton, Texas where James "Big Bucks" Burnell just happens to run a record store, as well as both the Tiny Tim and Mr. Ed Ion clubs. Way back in 1988, "Big Bucks" introduced Tiny Tim to Brave Combo, when Tim was in town for a club date. Arrangements were made lo record some tunes together, including "Stairway." It took years of on-and-off recording, but eventually GIRL was completed and released earlier this summer. It's a classic left-of-center pop album, featuring everything from a catchy cha-cha take on the Beatles' "Hey Jude" to a revival of an obscure l890's showtune, "Sly Cigarette". With its wide-ranging background and musical versatility, Brave Combo is the perfect band to accompany Tiny Tim, whose idiosyncratic talent remains unclassifiable after all these years . "If you or anyone else would meet Tiny Tim, he 'd have his ukulele in his shopping bag and he 'd sit down for hours and play songs for you, " Barnes says. "He knows a blue million of them; he 's a wonderful archive ." The same could be said of Brave Combo, who have been pursuing their unique musical vision since 1979. The band was the brainchild of Carl Finch, who says that a conscious

9Uclv CWilludnv

decision he made about 20 years ago to stop using judgmental language in daily speaking and thinking put him on a life path that eventually led to polka music. When Finch opened his mind and ears to all the records he discovered in Woolworth's bargain bins, he found a world of intriguing music just waiting to be heard and enjoyed. He also discovered his life's mission: to form a rockoriented band that could play the heck out of polkas and, in fact, dance tunes from all over the world. And thus, Brave Combo was born. After playing incessant dates and releasing four albums on the independent Four Dots label, the Combo hooked up with Rounde r Records, whose first order of business was to compile the Four Dots material into a handy compilation, MUSICAL VARIETIES. This 1987 collection is stil l an excellent introduction to the band: its 24 tracks include wildly re-imagined versions of the Doors' "People Are Strange" and Tennessee Ernie Ford's "Sixteen Tons;" polka standards like "Julida" and "Clarinet Polka"; a cool tune from an exercise record ("Let's Trim Twist Again"); nifty Finch originals

END O' SUMMER 1996

f,oo/ And Strange Musicr -----~ Magazine

33

they hear one. Brave Combo also has a solid fan base in Japan, like the surreal "Ice Machine In The Desert;" and, of course, "Beer which has allowed them to tour that country three times, and even Barrel Polka" (to say nothing of "O Holy Night Cha Cha Cha."). to appear on a Japanese "Name That Tune"- style game show, on Around the same time MUSICAL VARIETIES hit the which they sang "Blue Mountains", a Japanese standard written by streets, Brave Combo released an all-polka extravaganza, Ryuichi Hattori. one of the greatest Japanese songwriters. Dance POLKATHARSIS. Since then, Brave Combo hos toured all over and music diva Jodi Watley appeared on the same episode as the released a series of excellent albums on Rounder. Some, like Combo, but unfortunately, the band did not get to meet her. HUMANSVILLE (1988) and ANIGHT ON EARTH (1990) continue in the Brave Combo 's popularity in Japan has allowed them eclectic mode of MUSICAL VARIETIES, while others like NO, NO, NO, to record and release albums exclusively for the Japanese CHA CHA CHA (a 1993 study in hi-fidelity Latin rhythms) ond audience, including a collaboration with Kikusuimaru , a popular POLKAS FOR AGLOOMY WORLD (1995) are more in-depth artist who plays ondo, a popular form of Japanese storytelling presentations of a particular style. They've even recorded a music. Also, some of Brave Combo 's domestic albums, including seasonal album, IT'S CHRISTMAS, MAN! (1992), a wild affair that NO, NO, NO, CHA CHA CHA and IT'S CHRISTMAS, MAN!, were first would shift any lame office party into high gear. released in Japan . Brave Combo 's relationship with its Japanese While the ideo of performing a Doors lune as a Yiddish audience has introduced a whole new audience to its work, while polka or turning "OHoly Night" might seem silly to some, Brave (Cont. on pg. 37) Combo (whose current lineup includes Bubba Hernandez, Joseph ~-----~~---___,,,.....,______..,...._,.,.,---=..---, Cripps, Alan Emert and Danny O'Brien, in addition to Barnes and Finch) is no mere novelty band. First of all these guys are all accomplished musicians and can really jam together. Secondly, although Brave Combo can be irreverent, they have the utmost respect for the types of music they play, which have often been relegated to "uncool" status by unfortunate folks who just don't know any better. Finally, unlike a great deal of novelty music, the Combo's albums stand up to repeated listenings. Barnes, who just celebrated his 13th anniversary playing sax and a variety of other instruments with the band, says that Brave Combo 's sound is inspired by a variety of influences, beginning with an album that is a particular favorite of Carl Finch's, "DELIRIUM IN HI Fl" by Elsa Poppin and Her Pixieland Band. Polka ond other ethnic dance records from around the globe have been obvious inspirations, as is South Texas accordion player Esteban Jo rdan, "one of the monster musicians on the planet right now", according to Barnes, who calls Jordan "the Jimi Hendrix of accordion ." The band is also inspired by an entire network of polka-playing bands, including The Dynatones, a Buffalo polka band featuring a concertina player named Scrubby who "travels around in a thick cloud of charisma. Everybody loves him, and why not?," Barnes says. Of course, now that Brave Combo has been around for awhile it has developed it's own legion of fons and admirers. Fans in the United States include David Byrne. They Might Be Giants and music fans everywhere who know a fun and amazing band when

34

And Strange Music!" Cool ------=Magazine

END O' SUMMER 1996

Brave Combo (Cont. From pg. 35) allowing the bond to expand its musical parameters. Brave Combo hos always been a busy bond, and this year is no exception. One project, a collaboration with singer/songwriter Lauren Agnelli of The Woshington Squores hos been already released in Japan, with it's release to follo win the U.S. eventually. The album, titledAl/umeffes, hos yielded a single that hit the Japanese charts. The song, "A Woy to Soy Goodbye" is a cover of a tune sung by singer and actress Francoise Hardy. In addition to ALLUMETTES, the bond is working on a studio album that will probably include "Three Ducks," a Drove Combo instrumental that appeared on the Kikusuimoru album, but hos not mode it to domestic release yet. And, on top of that, Brave Combo is currently hard at work on

HOKEY POKEY: MUSIC FOR ORGANIZED DANCING. This album, which is on expansion on on EP the bond released lost year, will contain Drove Combo 's adventurous versions of a bunch of classic dance tunes, including "Chicken Dance '97", "Do The Hustle" and rock and hip-hop versions of the classic title song. While all this activity is limiting Drove Combo 's time to tour, it will certainly help to advance the central philosophy behind the bond, which is, according to Barnes, "to eradicate people's misconceptions about what's hip. " Polka, for example, "is incredibly happy music, beautiful and sophisti cated. It does things our popular music is not doing ." Barnes is right on the money there-when wos the lost time you sow Alanis Morrisette or Silverchoir actually make someone smile? Barnes soys he gets annoyed with the perception some critics and music fans hove that Drove Combo is a novelty bond who records "one-joke albums ." Combating

these misconceptions and throwing off people's ideas about "hip" music is port of Brave Combo 's master pion. But even more important it's showing that, in Barnes' words, "Music is more important than a lifestyle accessory. It's soul medicine. " As long as Drove Combo is around, you'll never need a spoonful of sugar to make their happy medicine go down. -Rich Wilhelm

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few weeks down the road , he'll say, 'Well, what about doing 'Dave's Record Collection', Steve? Why don't you get a record co llection together?' And then I'll dig through my pile of stuff I didn't use from last time, that I can warm over and also go out to a few stores in New York. There are a few good vinyl stores, here in New York, although the better ones tend to have expensive collector prices. But since I'm not paying for this stuff for my own collection, I can spend $25 for a record and it may or may not be good for the show. They seem to understand that that's the way of doing business. I'm sure it's a relatively cheap piece to get together, even if you have to pay $25 for 20 different albums. I'm sure it's still cheaper than most of the other props and comedy bits we use. C&S: Do you have to worry about clearance for some of these weird things? SY: Yeah, we do ... and we didn't seem to do that too much at NBC. Perhaps because we were on later, or we thought that nobody cared or payed attention. When we came over to CBS, we started adhering more strictly to clearance protocols. Now when I get a batch of records together, I bring them down to one of our people on the production staff. I tell them, "There's this record , and I'm interested in using this cut off of it." And they take down all the information, like the label and the artist and the catalog number and whatever. Some CBS legal department person goes about clearing everything, although the records I tend to buy are old and are out of print. The majority of them, I'm sure they see that they're not going to be able to find anyone to talk to. There are always ones to worry about. Disney, has always been a big bear. ldon'tevenbotherbuying Disney records. C&S: Ah yes, one of the world 's most powerful suing machines! SY: They wanted like, $10,000 to play 10 seconds off of one of their records. C&S : How about favorite record moments on the show? SY: We've had afew interesting exotica records. I know we had Bas Sheva's 'The Passions'

once. We got that on the show. She was growling and making a fuss, then we had a Mr. Rogers record in which he was singing that he was angry in the most gentle, calm way possible. We juxtaposed those to great comic elfeet. But now the Bas Sheva record is lost. Now that I know that it's something that people are interested in, I don't know where it went. C&S: Howaretheserecordsfiledaway

after they're used? SY: I think that most collectors would cringe iftheysawhowthingswerestoredhere!They're sort of all upright on big shelves, but only a few ofthemhaveplasticsleevesandthey'remostly things that have been beat-up all their lives. I didn't come up at this through serious record collecting. I just sort of arrived at this by accident. Now I'm thinking , "Oh, I'd better take better care of these!" C&S: Do you ever get complaints about having used someone's record on the show? For example, the Mr. Rogers record... SY: No, he's been relatively silent about it. I don't think that we make gratuitously, really mean comments about anybody. We will make

fun of somebody's singing. It wouldn't surprise me though, if we someday made somebody mad. Once or twice, we've steered away from a couple of records for political reasons, when Dave thought he wouldn't be comfortable using a particular record. Like, we had some weird record of Bill Cosby's from the early 70s, ' Bill CosbyTalksToKidsAboutDrugs'. There were a couple of apparently unintentionally funny moments on that. Dave chuckled at the excerpts he was hearing, but said, ' No, I don't think we can do that. We're trying to stay friendly with Bill Cosby.' So, once in a while we lose one for some diplomatic reason. C&S: So Dave thinks diplomatically? SY: Well, in the real world, where you're constantly trying to book guests and trying to get people to cooperate with you, ... you need to be somewhat diplomatic. I think Dave's been even moreso since the move to CBS. I think he's trying to be all things to all people, he's probably tempered his edge a little bit. C&S: What if people reading this have things they think Dave would like to use? SY: We're always on the lookout for cool records. If your readers want to lend things to 'The Late Show',oriftheyhaveweirdthings that they think we might want to buy from them, we're always interested in looking. The LPs need to be complete with the cover, not just a tape, although a tape might be a quick way for me to hear these things. People can email me at [email protected] or write to me at Steve Young c/o Late Show, 1697 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. C&S: Well, thanks for talking with us and for the behind-the-scenes look at "Dave's Record Collection". We'll keep looking for Dave's weird records. It's always been one of my favorite bits on the show, for obvious reasons. SY: You bet. My pleasure, and best of luck with the magazine.

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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••••••••••••••••••• • •• ••• egregious endorsement you hear on a daily basis, which now finds itself curiously attached to the •• •• Wesley (Cont. From BJ pattern, utilizing the same melody over and over in end of a musical selection. A stroke of genius, one • • that Wesley was wise enough to conjure. • unthinking repetition. Its the kind of sound you of many • Another stroke of unconscious ingenuity •• might be able to strike up after playing around on comes from his album composed entirely of trib- • Casio keyboard for a few hours. A blend of ••• •• asimplistic synth chords and unrelenting looping . utes to various modern day bands. Hear Wesley

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After a few bars, Wesley will break into a forcible and rhythmic narration. Sometimes he will talk about a friend, or he might talk about a band. Other times, it will sound as if he is reading verbatim from a newspaper article. There are no rhyming words or phrases, just straightforward commentary . It isn't until the chorus that Willis will swing into his rock and roll voice; a raw and often strained scream that only loosely resembles a melody. The listener will quickly realize what they are faced with; and it isn't pretty. You now have to make certain choices. Will you shut it off and put on another song by Hootie And The Blowfish? Certainly not. It is far too intriguing and besides, it is the farthest thing from convention you might ever have the privilege to hear. Even after listening to endless streams of bridges and breaks completely lacking in solo graces (there are no instrumental solos) , you decide to stick it out. Luckily, you have made the correct choice; because the best part of a song byWesleyWillisjust might be the way he ends each song. For no apparent reason, and with the dryness of the man who states "A Quinn-Martin Production" at the end of an episode of The Streets Of San Francisco, Wesley will offer a random tag line from a commercial. Therefore, at the conclusion of his song about Courtney Love, you will hear Wesley interject, "Raid, It Kills Bugs Dead". (It is a voice you will lovingly grow to anticipate.) At the end of a song called "Outburst", (a personal favorite), Wesley apologizes for yelling "Suck my dick!" in a crowded restaurant. After a tune about mass murderer Richard Speck, you might hear something like, "Choosy Mothers Choose Jiff', or "Ford, Quality Is Job One". No apologies, no reason given and no clue. Just an

sing about Nirvana. Hear Wesley sing about The Rolling Stones, Liz Phair, Foo Fighters, and Bolt Thrower, among many others. What better way to get your tape channeled through the underground, than to sing the praises of other bands; and not just one song on one album, but an entire album fUll of odes to fellow rock and rollers . (I'm sure that wasn't on Wesley's mind when he created these songs, but that surely was the result.) Besides signing on with American Records, Willis has appeared at least twice on MTV (that I am aware of), and has toured to such places as Austin, Texas and New York City. Although he enjoys the plea~ sures of his current stardom , Wesley admits he doesn't enjoy travel~ ing. He much prefers the sanctity ,g of his hometown, Chicago. g Being a fan of Wesley Willis for about three years, I had always thought that his band was probably just a figment of his fertile imagination. The only two albums of his music which I owned were both solo efforts. It was rote, but I found it to be great rote. Then, a friend purchased a greatest hits package. To my surprise there were three songs featuring The Fiasco. Forth is reason alone, I would suggest to anyone who wants to enjoy an evening with Wesley Willis to buy this compilation. It is the 1995 CD released by Alternative Tentacle Records (Virus 164). To say his band-mates add a new dimension to his music would be like saying Van Gogh improved when he started using a brush . The difference will amaze and astound any listener, and it is from these few offerings that Wesley Willis can truly call himself a rock and roller. My favorite band cut might well be a song entitled , "He's Doing Time In Jail". Wesley relates the story of a man who attacked him in Chicago, wielding

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LETTERS

LETTERS

LETTERS

: Letters ~

(Cont. from pg. 5)

I- Hi Irwin, ~

Thanks for your fax and kind words regarding Cool And Strange Music! Magazine. I'll pass on your compliments to Bill Johnson for his work on "' the SABPM article. The publication is a 'labor of love' for myself and all the writers that contribute I- to it. We 're hoping it really takes off, and it's ~ actually off to a pretty good start. Obviously, ~ we're starting small, but have great hopes to make the mag an even classier, professional6'\ looking publication. I'd be happy to send Senor ~ Esquivel a free copyofC&S#1 . It'd be an honor. w Maybe I'll ask him a few questions to write up in I- a future issue. I have to admit I've been knocking ~ my brains out on this magazine, but it's a blast! ~ It's a subject that is dear to my heart, and I'm happy to say there are lots of others as enthusi6'\ astic as I am. As one of the true 'movers and ~ shakers' of the genre, it's great to hear from you! w I'm sure our readers would really enjoy hearing about your current projects in detail.

a

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Hello Dana, Thanks for the 'Incredible' first issue! Sign me up! Enclosed is a check for my first years' subscription. I would also like to contribute to your magazine as a writer and reviewer. I am currently working on a package of stuff I have compiled. I think it would be a neat addition to your magazine to have a 'profile' section dedicated to a particular group or artist with a selected discography. This is my specialty. Also, I like the idea of a page (or more) of LP cover art, pertaining to a particular theme. Well, gotta go. Look for a package of goodies from me soon and keep up the good work. You fill a void in the musical underworld! Jeff Chenault Columbus, OH

I- Thanks for the kind words! You bet I'm inter~ ested in taking a look at your articles. I'll be ~

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looking forward to getting your package. It's usually best if you discuss your article ideas with me first, but if you already have them prepared, by all means send them in for me to look at! As you'll see in this issue, we will try to include a selected discography of specific artists we profile. Also, we do intend on keeping the 'CoverMania' section, to spotlight LP cover art. Glad you liked it. How 'bout sending in photos of your weirdest, funniest or sexiest cover art?

LETTERS

LETTERS

Dear Dana, Congratulations! Issue #1 was a real fun read! It's always great to be first with a good idea! I look forward to future issues and will send in an ad in the near future. Good luck! Glenn Atchison Toronto, Ontario Canada GlennThanks for the support and subscription check!. We are having a great time putting the magazine together, and are glad you're enjoying it. I look forward to getting your ad, and I know our readers will be interested in the records you have for sale. I've bought a few from you, myself! Dear Cool And Strange, I enjoyed your first issue, especially the articles on Spike Jones and The Three Suns. Especially cool was the use of the 'My Three Sons' cartoon for the article. I can see a limited animation playing of the instruments now when I listen to the 'Suns'! Here's my$12for a subscription. The enclosed xerox

copy of the album 'Jazz For Relaxation' is a normal, good jazz album. Of course, Marty Paich is a good piano player and arranger. You seem intent on showcasing naked babes eventually. I have no problem with it, but it this another exclusive men's club? Keep it on the strange side. Robert Carrington Mill Valley, CA Robert, rest assured that we here at CS&M will always keep it 'Strange'! We also have room for the 'Cool'! The 'Naked Babes' Issue will actually be more of a 'Cheesecake Issue', and will cover (and uncover) some of the cream of the crop of LP covers we've seen featuring gals in lingerie, swimsuits and occasionally nothing at all! No, the magazine is not intended to be a 'men's club', in fact, we have women subscribers, too. The upcoming LP covers Issue isn't meant to offend anyone, but is only meant to illustrate two things: 1) the blatant use of sex, particularly in the 1950s, to sell LPs, and 2) we'd rather look at a

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LETTERS

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gorgeous woman than a photo of the guy who..,"' plays the saxophone on the record ANYDA Y! Glad you liked the Jones and the 'My Three Suns' articles, and thank you for the compliment ,regarding the 'Three Suns' artwork, I drew it ~ myself. (Hey, I work CHEAP!) -4 Dear Cool And Strange, I've been a record collector since Elvis Presley first came on the scene in 1955.1was8 years old . (Which is amazing, because I'm only 30 now!) I used to collect rock and roll exclusively. When I got a little older I branched out and began collecting Original Cast recordings and Soundtracks. Then I was privileged to be the first person to browse a probate sale and bought an entire Jazz collection. 1O" Billie Holiday, original issues of Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson, etc. I was really growing up now! Then I began to realize that these albums had incredible covers. The Jazz albums of the 50's and early 60's had the most interesting covers I'd ever seen. Horns splashed across the cover, cool impressionist paintings like the cover of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five", dark nightclubs with the artist smoking a cigarette on the cover. Very cool. Then I began to notice covers in gene~al. One of the first covers that grabbed me was "Let's Dance" by David Carroll. It has a woman in three different poses on the cover. Looks like three women wearing the same dress at first glance. Then you realize it's the same woman! And she has on this godawful flower-print dress from the 50's. Well, of course the dress is from the 50's, the record is from the 50's! "Let's Dance Again" has the same woman on the cover with three different poses again. The first album cover is red, the second album cover is blue. Crazy, man! Another find was an album by Kay Anderson and Her Bodyguards. She's partially nude with three or four men (her bodyguards!) in the background. Tasteful, but nude just the same. I began collecting covers in earnest. I'm still collecting those covers. I go garage sale-ing every weekend and pick these wonderful records up for very little money. I even playthe records on occasion when I'm just sitting around fixing dinner or drinking my icedwine at night. Some of the music sucks. However, some of it is pretty good. I'm in the process of making· my own Bachelor Pad Music tape. I have tons of this stuff, and it's a lotoffun to make your own. (You know, the same way it used to be lots of fun to roll your own). Gloria Keeley San Francisco, CA

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ing up saying, "I've heard about you guys, but never saw you before .. .... ". Often they had bought our CD's at the show. I guess two years worth of press, plus the large variety of reissues of the 'classics' is bringing out lots of curious folks. And they're enjoying th emselves.

C&S: How about your European leg of your tour? BC: Europe was amazing. It was our first trip. It seems the EZmovement over there has picked up a big head of steam in the last year. It's a little different than in the

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blaxploitation and 70's kung-fu stuff. And new stuff by Pizza cato 5, The Gentle People, Visit Venus, Jimi Tenor, Dimitri From Paris. And they go wild dancing to it all. Lots of mod, swinging fashions. (On the whole, Europeans dress much better than North Americans in daily life. No B.U.M . equipment shirts or stone washed jeans, or any of that other"fresh from the mall" look. Actually, they hardly have any malls!!)

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C&S: Does anything stand out in your mind from the tour?

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this man's extraordinary music sometime early next year (It's too early to divulge all the details). He joined us on stage at a secon d keyboard for the theme to 'Space Pa trol' and his new remix of "Bluebeard" (available on import 12" & CD-5/ other remixes by St. Etienne and The Fantastic Plastic Machine) .

C&S: Thanks, Brother Cleve, for filling us in!

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Got something cool to to sell or looking for something hard to find? Strange Classifieds are the best way to reach others who have the same musical interests as you. 20 cents a word. Ten Dollar minimum. LARGE SELECTION of 50's-early 60's records at good prices. Exotica, Erotica, Cocktail, spoken word, stereo demo & test records, Christmas stuff, soundtracks, instructional, big band, honky tonk, pipe organ, foreign music, Hawaiian, Mancini, Easy Listening, Marches, Ragtime, et. Send S.A.S.E. for list. •Kurt Piepenburg, PO Box 477, Shabona, IL 60550 I WANT ANYTHING ON THE HIGH IN-FIDELITY LABEL! Cover must be in good shape. I'll pay $20 for LPs I don't have.• Dana Countryman, PO Box 8501 McDougal/ Ave. Everett, WA 98201 (OR just photograph YOURS for us!)

Tom Lehrer

(Cont. From pg. 311 nary step in writing a more in-depth Tom Lehrer biography for the rec.music.dementia web site. The biography will hopefully be ready by the end of the year. If you have any questions or contributions, please e-mail them to Jeff Morris ([email protected]). Computerlesstypes con write Jeff Morris, 316 £.University St., #24, Bloomington, IN 47401-4748 •Here is a brief listing of the most significant American releases of Lehrer material: Songs By Tom Lehrsr, Lehrer Records TLP-1, 1953 (10" LP, later re-released as Lehrer Records TL IOI, 12" LP, and later re-recorded and released as Reprise Records R/RS 6216, 1966) •Mars OfTom Lehrer, Lehrer Records TL 102, 1959 •An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrsr, Lehrer Records TL 202, 1959 (later re-released as Reprise Records, R/RS 6199) • Tom Lehrer Revisited, Lehrer Records TL 201, 1960 • "Poisoning Pigeons In The Pork"/"The Masochism Tango", Capricorn Records C-451, 1960 (45 with orchestral versions of songs) • That Was The Year That Was, Reprise Records R/RS 6179, 1965 •The following ore still_ovoiloble (CD Only) on Reprise: Tom Lehrer Revisited[Brilish version], Reprise CD 26203 •An Evening Wasted With ~am Lehrer, Reprise CD 6199 • That Was The Year That Was, Reprise CD 6179

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~P~. ! Well, that's ii for our SECOND issue of Cool And Strong~ Music Magazine! Don't forget that the onlywaylo moke sureyou slay on board is lo SUBSCRIBE! Remember, this is YOUR magazine, and wewont you lo get involved! Send in those lellers, TALKTO US! Send in reviews from your own recordswith a good quality photo of the cover! (No xeroxes, please.)We do accept submissions for articles, sosend a sample of your writing ii you'dlike to tackle on article. (E-mail me, whenever possible.)Wealsohove a new FAX line, which is (206) 303-3404. The writer's deadline for the #3Issue is October lSth, withthe moiling going ouf on November 1Sth. We've got lots of big plans for the magazine, we'rehoping lomake theAutumnIssue evenheller with even MOREpages. Our next Issue (#3) should be a really fun one! (Not that THIS one wasn't...!) We'll feature on article on Ymo Sumac with exclusive photos and a reviewof her recent Hollywood show, a coverstory on Raymond Scoff, a beautiful Cheesecake photo spreod ... er, .. loyouf ...I meon,... bunch of pictures! Also, you'll see the long-delayed Eden Ahbezarticle! Lois more in the works for that issue, so slay posted. We're hoping for a lull-color cover soon. Future Issueswill feature articleson The Shoggs, Allon Sherman, Julie London, Louis Primo, JuliusWechter, Som Butera, Yma Sumac, Mrs. Miller, ohistory al Electronic Music, and evenan exclusive interview with Jeon Jacques Perrey! We're also working on exclusive interviews with Leslie Baxter, daughter of the OTHER Les Baxter, and with Harold Chang, Arthur Lyman's percussionist supreme! We still hope to finish our Web Page soon, which Ihope to have up and running before Issue #3hits thestands. Expect some very Cool And Strange things on our page! Can't wait to strut our stuff! Once again, I'dlike to personally thank all of the peoplewho helped withthis first issue, whose names are listedon page 3. So from oil of us here al Cool And Strange Music! Magazine, wesincerely hope you've enjoyedit! Ihope lo hear from you all soon, and remember... Stoy Cool! (See you in 90 days!)

Dono Countryman, Publisher/Editor• Cool And Strange Music! Magazine P.O.Box 8501, Everett, WA 98201 U.S.A. • E-mail: [email protected] • FAX: (206) 303-3404

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