Alternative Rock - November 1, 2011

Published by America's Music Charts.

Active Rock - November 1, 2011

Published by America's Music Charts.

The Misfits Static Age & Show # 376

Following the release of the “Cough/Cool” single by The Misfits in August of 1977, The Misfits would head into a studio to record a full length that would be titled Static Age, but it would not released in its entirety until 1997. The road to the recording and release of Static Age is one that like The Misfits in their early stages from 1977-1983, had many changes. The Misfits began in January of 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey. They were formed by lead vocalist and song writer Glen Danzig who named the band after the final film to feature actress Marilyn Monroe, one written by American Playwright Arthur Miller titled The Misfits. Initially Danzig also played electric piano and sang along with Jimmy Battle on guitar, Diane DiPiazza on bass and Manny Martinez on drums to complete the first line up of the group. Not long after practicing together, DiPiazza and Battle left the group. Jerry Caiafa was recommended by drummer Manny Martinez due to the fact that he received a new bass for Christmas of that year. The new line up featuring Caiafa on bass, practiced for a couple of months as a three piece minus a guitarist. Their first single “Cough/Cool” backed with “She” was released in the summer of 1977 on Danzig’s own Blank Records label and featured no guitar, instead hammering synth-like electric piano. When the single was initially released bassist Jerry Caiafa’s name was spelled incorrectly, he suggested that in the future his name would be spelled “Jerry only, Jerry” which led the stage name Jerry Only, which he would soon adopt for the rest of his musical career. The single displayed the band in their embryonic stages, sounding almost like a New Wave band, but the imagery that was provided by Danzig and later identified as Horror Punk can still be heard in the singles A side “Cough/Cool”.

Not soon after the release of their first single, The Misfits added Franche Coma (real name Frank LiCata) as the bands guitarist. With a guitarist now in the group, Danzig dropped the electric piano and focused on vocals while at the same time launching the band into a more Punk Rock sounding direction. Soon Mr. Jim Catania replaced Martinez on drums and The Misfits found themselves in a very unique position. Mercury Records wanted to use the name Blank Records for one of their subsidiary divisions, so they offered Danzig thirty hours of studio recording time in exchange for the name Blank Records, he accepted. In January of 1978, The Misfits entered C.I. Recordings in New York City with producer Dave Archelis and recorded seventeen tracks, fourteen of which were mixed with Archelis. Due to time restraints the band recorded the songs live in the studio, only doing a few takes of each song and minimal overdubs. The proposed fourteen track album was to be titled Static Age, but the band were unable to find a record label that was interested in releasing the album. The band then opted to release four tracks on the Bullet EP in June of 1978 (“Bullet”, “We Are 138”, “Attitude” and “Hollywood Babylon”). These songs were released on Danzig’s new label titled Plan 9 Records. The remainder of the material from these sessions were not released for some time, the band would release a remixed version of “Last Caress” on the Beware EP in 1980 and “Teenagers From Mars” was re-recorded and used on the 1979 “Horror Business” single. “The Horror Business” single also featured a design that would become that bands infamous skull logo. The logo was based off of a poster designed for the 1946 Horror film The Crimson Ghost, it has been used on band releases ever since. It should also be noted that the Beware EP also contained the songs “Horror Business” and “Teenagers From Mars”.

The Misfits would go through another set of line up changes, but Glen Danzig and Jerry Only would remain constant members in the group in their early days of The Misfits. The band leaped more in the horror themed direction lyrically and visually. On stage they changed their appearance to suit their new brand of Punk that would be brandished as Horror Punk. Lyrically the songs subject matter would be drawn from films of the Horror genre, but more specifically the B-Horror movie genre. The band slowly built up a following releasing more singles and EPs, in 1982 they released the full length album Walk Among Us, which is often regarded as one of the greatest Punk albums of all time. The Misfits began to take their music to more extremes musically going into a more Hardcore Punk direction. It was also around this time that Danzig grew tnsatisfied with the band, he began working on a new project and after the release of one more album, Earth A.D./Wolf’s Blood in 1983 which displayed the band in a more Hardcore and Heavy Metal/Rock sense, the band was pretty much over. Following a show on October 29th in Detroit, the band went their separate ways. In 1985, nine of the tracks from the Static Age sessions were released on the Legacy of Brutality compilation album. The nine tracks from these sessions that were put on the Legacy album featured overdubbed bass and guitar parts by Glen Danzig himself, which were done following the bands break up in 1983. In 1995, several more tracks from these sessions were released on the Collection II album including the then unreleased “Return of the Fly”. In 1996, The Misfits Box Set was released. This set is notable for its large collection of early Misfits studio material (minus the album Walk Among Us) and outtakes, but also for being the first place in which fans could acquire the fourteen track Static Age album as it was originally intended. In February of 1997, a single disc version of the Static Age album was released featuring additional tracks that the band had recorded during the albums sessions back in 1978, but were never mixed.

Static Age embodies everything that The Misfits stood for, it displays all of the elements which made up The Misfits. The album addresses issues and subject matter in an intelligent defiant way, not unlike classic albums by bands such as The Ramones, The Clash and Buzzcocks. Static Age gurgles with an intense ferocity that has caused many fans of the band to choose this as their favourite release by the band, despite the fact that it was released over a decade too late. Songs such as ‘Static Age”, “TV Casualty”, :Attitude”, “Some Kinda Hate”, “Angelfuck”, “She”, “Hybrid Moments” and the Rockabilly groove of “Hollywood Babylon” all add to the albums aura. Along with the musicianship, the vocals are howled out by Glen Danzig like some kind of Elvis/Jim Morrison hybrid. Static Age is simply, some would argue The Misfits at their best.

Since the release of The Misfits first single and the recording of the bands first album, their status has grown to enormous proportions. During their break up in the 80s the bands cult like status grew so large that copies of the bands material would constantly go out of print. The band who drew their name from a film and took much of their inspiration from B-Horror films built up a new genre of music, creating a large fan base not unlike the large B-Horror movie fan bases that exist now. The road to the release of Static Age in its entirety as it was originally intended took eighteen years. Like the movie, The Misfits band initially received mixed reviews, but are now highly regarded among Punk music fans. Currently The Misfits continue to play and release albums, Jerry Only is the only remaining member in the group from The Misfits early period of 1977-1983. Although the group remains popular, The Misfits have not reunited with Glen Danzig. Danzig has had successful post-Misfits careers in his bands Samhain and Danzig, which musically reflect a heavier Rock/Metal direction.

This Week's Play List:

1. Deja Voodoo - Monsters In My Garage Got Married
2. Miesha & The Spanks - Night Danger
3. The Sphinxs - Time Above Me
4. The Okmoniks - I'm On My Own
5. The 5.6.7.8's - Harlem Nocturne
6. The Frogmen - Underwater
7. The Specials - Too Hot
8. Arkells - On Paper
9. Promises - Valerie
10. Chandells - One Track Mind
11. Rocket From The Tombs - I Sell Soul
12. Brazilian Money - John Wayne
13. Rah Rah - Ghosts
14. Beastie Boys - 14th St. Break
15. Talking Heads - I Feel It In My Heart
16. Pearl Jam - Ole
17. Ramones - Do You Wanna Dance?
18. The Nils - Freedom
19. Joe Strummer - Don't Tango With Django
20. Girls - Alex
21. Destroy All Monsters - Nobody Knows
22. The Fays - Self-Centretown
23. The Cramps - Goo Goo Muck
24. The Misfits - Cough/Cool
25. The Misfits - Teenagers From Mars
26. The Misfits - Hybrid Moments
27. The Misfits - Static Age

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for November 1. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Alternative Rock - October 25, 2011

Published by America's Music Charts.

Active Rock - October 25, 2011

Published by America's Music Charts.

City Slang ... Sonic's Rendezvous Band & Show # 375

From 1975 to 1980 a band existed in Ann Arbor, Michigan known as Sonic’s Rendezvous Band. The band was composed of Fred “Sonic” Smith (previously of The MC5) on guitar/vocals, Scott Morgan (previously of The Rationals) on guitar/vocals, Gary Rasmussen (previously of The Up) on bass, and ex-Stooges drummer Scott Asheton. Although relatively unknown while they were still active by the mainstream, Sonic’s Rendezvous Band has now elevated to legendary/cult-like status. During their time as a band they only ever released one single "City Slang". The "City Slang" single had the same song on the A side and the B side, although one side was labelled as a mono version and a stereo version, the single contained the exact same song on both sides. “Electrophonic Tonic” was recorded to be the B side of the "City Slang" single, but due to lack of funds the band could only afford to put the one song on the single. Original copies of the "City Slang" single, originally released in 1978 now go for hundreds of dollars.

The band essentially formed from the ashes of The MC5, and The Rationals. Smith and Morgan became friends and prior to the forming of Sonic’s Rendezvous band, Fred Smith contributed lead guitar to Scott Morgan’s first solo single (1973's Take A Look/Soul Mover). The two then decided to form a band, which would go through many line up changes in the rhythm section. The band played their first gig as The Orchids which featured Ron Cooke of Mitch Ryder’s Detroit Wheels on bass. The gig was poorly attended due to a large blizzard that occurred during that night in the bands early incarnation. Shortly after Cooke was out as Scott Asheton came into the group as their new drummer and Gary Rasmussen of The Up signed up on bass. The line up was now complete and the band changed their name to Sonic’s Rendezvous Band and began playing more gigs around the Michigan area starting in 1975. They tried to veer away from playing songs from each of their respective musical pasts instead opting for new original material, but slowly built up a following. The band combined the high energy Rock style of The MC5/The Stooges, with the soulful Garage ethics of The Rationals, but at the same time took a step into a new direction. Several songs were longer songs, evolving from jams that the band had together during rehearsals. Major labels seemed to avoid interest in this band, despite their local following and talent, but things were different then. It was around 1978 that the growing tensions between Smith and Morgan reached greater levels. Eventually the band faded to a stop in 1980.

The bands legendary status was maintained by their fan base through bootlegs released in the 80s of band demos and live shows. Sonic's Rendezvous Band gained international attention during the late 70s Punk scene, which despite the band no longer being together, their fan base grew. In the late 90s, the studio recording of the song “Electrophonic Tonic”, the intended B side to “City Slang” was released by Alive/Total Energy Records. This generated a new interest in the band and two albums were released titled Sweet Nothing (in 1998) which compiled a good quality live recording of the band from Ann Arbor in 1978 and City Slang (in 2000), which followed due to the success of Sweet Nothing. City Slang combined live recordings with the bands 1978 City Slang single, both albums are now currently out of print and were released by Mack Aborn Rhythm Arts. In 2006, Easy Action a UK record label released a six CD box set of Sonic’s Rendezvous Band material. Simply titled Sonic’s Rendezvous Band Box Set, the six CD’s compiled demos, rehearsal recordings, studio material and four live concerts. In 2007, another live recording was released from when the band played The Masonic Temple in 1978 in Detroit.

Following his time with Sonic’s Rendezvous band, Fred Smith married musician Patti Smith in 1980. In 1986 he worked with Patti on her album Dream of Life collaborating as a songwriter, producer and guitarist. This would be one of Smith’s last recordings, in November of 1994 Fred “Sonic” Smith passed away due to heart failure. Scott Morgan continued to tour and record as a solo artist and with groups such as Scots Pirates, Power Trane, Dodge Main, and The Hydromatics. Gary Rasmussen continues to play music as a studio musician and Scott Asheton currently plays with the reunited Stooges. The band reunited as The Rendezvous Band in 1999 featuring Deniz Tek (of Radio Birdman on guitar) in place of Smith at The Magic Stick in Detroit, it was released in 2000 under the titled Getting There is Half the Fun. More info on The Sonic's Rendezvous band can be found at http://sonicsrendezvousband.net/.

This Week's Play List:

1. Teenanger - Too Nice To Say No
2. Ghost Knife - Omnipotent
3. Rock 'N Roll Monkey & The Robots - I Should've Stayed In Detroit
4. Flamin' Groovies - High Flyin' Baby
5. Guage - I Saw You On The Telephone
6. Johnny Jaws & The Sharks - Out of Love
7. Pointed Sticks - Part of the Noise
8. Joy Division - Interzone
9. Crocodiles - Soft Skull (In My Room)
10. Mode Moderne - Radio Heartbeat
11. Colleen Green - Green One
12. Hoa Hoa's - Going Out With Her
13. Dog Day - What She Says
14. Empire - Him Or Me
15. The Only Ones - Re-Union
16. XTC - The Rhythm
17. Blue Orchids - The Flood
18. Models - Man of the Year
19. Magazine - Sweetheart Contract
20. Laughing Clowns - In Front of Your Eyes
21. Indian Wars - Old Hotel
22. Sonic's Rendezvous Band - Sweet Nothing (Live)
23. Sonic's Rendezvous Band - City Slang (1999 Mix)

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for October 25. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

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