The NY Black Sabbath Covers Project

One day as I was developing the New York Music Index and Archive (the project I mentioned in last week’s “Metallica” post where we’re cataloging and making freely available information about all aspects of the music industry in New York State), I happened to come across the MySpace pages of two different New York bands that cover Black Sabbath’s “Fairies Wear Boots.”  The versions were great and reminded me that the first band I ever heard covering Sabbath in fact came from New York–it was Anthrax, who in 1987 recorded Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.  Turns out I love Sabbath covers (even the Cardigans doing Sabbath has its charm), so I decided I’d start keeping track of the bands I’d find that are based in or do business in New York state.  I’ve stumbled across several, now, and I present my findings to you in the form of a Google Map:

There are 23 currently on the map (look for updated counts and a master list in the comments) but surely there are more.   Where are the bands that play Sabbath in the 7-1-6?  Wha ’bout in the 6-0-7?  Erie, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties, represent?  How about you folks in Binghamton?  And the good people up in St. Lawrence, Franklin and/or Clinton?  Finally, what about YOU Cortland, New York?  Have you forgotten your own local-boy-made-good Ronnie James Dio?  Until I find a band from Cortland that does Sabbath tunes, consider yourselves all on notice.

Now, I’ve included a Dio entry in Cortland on the map for ceremonial purposes, but what I’m really saying is that we need better coverage.  Because I can only do so much from my seat here at the ARChive, I invite you, dear readers, to assist me in my goal of mapping every single band in and around New York that covers Black Sabbath.  The criteria is simple: does the band play a song that Black Sabbath recorded (any song, from any era, in any style)?  If yes, they go on the map.  If no, they don’t.  Links are great.  Links with sound samples are even better ’cause I’ll love hearing them and it’ll let me know WHICH Sabbath tunes are getting played.

You can post your additions in the comments.  I’ll add them to the map as they come.

Adam Goldstone Memorial + Donation

On September 20th, 2008, the Goldstone Family will be dedicating a memorial tree for brother and son, Adam Goldstone.  It’s at 4pm, In Tompkins Square Park.  All who knew Adam are invited.

Adam was a friend of ARC and the family generously donated his remarkable record collection to ARC last summer.  Adam had come to New York in the late ’80, ostensibly to attend film school, but I first met him while DJing at after-hours club Save the Robots.  By his own admission Adam’s style was wildly eclectic, but he produced great house records and could move a crowd of 3,000 as well as a small club in the Village.

Sadly, unexpectedly, Adam died in 2006 of a heart attack while getting ready to DJ at the Burning Man Festival in Nevada.

Here’s what was donated:
•  6,254 twelve-inch singles
•  2,306 twelve-inch albums
•  693 CDs
•  1 CD box set (5 CDs)
•  36 Music Magazines, w/ CD
•  32 audio cassettes
•  89 seven inch singles
•  1 DVD
•  5 wheeled record carriers

We loaded in last summer and catalogued the LPs right away. Now, as we go into fall this year, we will work on the 12″ singles – a daunting task.  We hope by next Spring to have all this metadata on each release available online.

Here’s what the db will look like…

This was one of the best collections we have gotten in years, and exactly the kind we love.   In great condition and things the owner loved – and from an archivist’s POV, used, but not abused.

Within the donation we found the following Adam Goldstone releases, or recordings he worked on.

Releases:
• Docking .       NUX 149    12″, Promo    Nuphonic, UK    2000    Genre:     Docking (7:40) / Docking Dub (7:13)    Electronic    Style:    Deep House Credits: / Engineer [Mix] – Ben Grassini / Mastered By – Martin Giles / Producer, Mixed By, Written-By – Adam Goldstone. Notes:Pre-release black label promo of Docking In Outer Space, eventually released under Goldstone’s Cultural Mambo alias.

• Alternations .       NUX 181    12″    Nuphonic, UK     2001    Alternations (Full Length Version) (11:30) / Alternations (Dub Version) (9:34)    Genre:Electronic / Style:Garage House / Credits:    Vocals – Fonda Rae

• Lower East Side Stories.        NUX 165CD    CD    Nuphonic, UK     25 Sep 2001    In The Garden (5:48) Featuring – Ceybil Jefferies / Mi Querida Loisaida (6:37) / Featuring – Sally Cortes / Possible Worlds (7:46) / NYC Dub (6:27) / Dregs Of The City, Law Of The World (1:49) / Jacktalk (6:15) Featuring – Micky Hohl / Earthblow (6:16) / Stardance (7:29) / Coming Down (2:21) / Edge Of The Night (7:16)  Featuring – D.C. LaRue / Alternations (6:17)    Genre:Electronic / Style: House / Notes:Pre-release promo copies did not come with full artwork but used the same disc as commercial editions, packaged in a PVC wallet with a printed promo insert and sticker on its reverse.

• Lower East Side Stories .       NUX 165    2xLP    Nuphonic, UK    2001    as above

• Summer Dubs EP .       NUX 168    12″, EP    Nuphonic, UK    2001    Mi Querada Loisaida / In The Garden (Dub Version) / Jacktalk (Dub Version)    Genre:     Electronic / Style:    House, Latin, Downtempo, Electro, Deep House / Credits:    Artwork By [Design] – TomHingston Studio / Mastered By – Mike Brown / Producer, Mixed By, Written-By – Adam Goldstone

Remixes:
• Various Artists    The Stress Decade: Adventures In Clubland 1990-99 .   STR DEC MIX 1 CD     CD    Up All Night (Won’t Make the Gym)    7 Magazine, UK

• Superstars of Rock      Up All Night (Won’t Make the Gym).       12 STR 72    12″    Up All Night (Won’t Make the Gym)    Stress Records, UK     1997    1:Up All Night (Won’t Make The Gym) – Queenbag Version / A2:Up All Night (Won’t Make The Gym) – Dub Version / B1:Up All Night (Won’t Make The Gym) – Salt City Vocal Mix / B2:Up All Night (Won’t Make The Gym) – Superstars Of Rock Vocal Version

• Superstars of Rock      Up All Night (Won’t Make The Gym).      5XO-294-008    12″    (Won’t Make the Gym)    5XO-294    1997

• Sutra    Dog Food.        OTHER 121     12″    Dog Food (Fancy Feast Instrumental)    Other Records     1998

• Various Artists    Other Stuff 2… .       THECD 110    CD    artist : Cujo   “Apollo” (Adam Goldstone Edit) (7:08)   Remix – Adam Goldstone, Mike Tudor    Other Records, UK    1998

• Various Artists    Other Stuff 2.3 .       OTHER 127      12″    Cujo  &  Superstars Of Rock “Apollo” (Adam Goldstone Remix)       Remix – Adam Goldstone     Other Records     1998

• Various Artists    Rootdown 99 .   – Compiled By Rainer Trüby     NUX 131CD    CD    artist : Cujo “Apollo” (Superstars Of Rock Re-edit)  Remix – Adam Goldstone, Mike Tudor     Nuphonic, UK 1999

• Tiny Trendies      The Sky Is Not Crying .       NUX 132    12″    The Sky Is Not Crying (Solid Goldstone Club Mix) (7:21)    Nuphonic, UK     26 Jul 1999

• Various Artists    Etage 3  .   – Hotel Costes    _________    CD    Apollo (Adam Goldstone…) Wagram    2000

• Various Artists    Etage 3  – Hotel Costes.       _________    CD    Apollo (Adam Goldstone…) Pschent    2000    1.  Ambrosia  – A Reminiscent Drive/ 2.  Where Do I Begin: (away team mix)  – Shirley Bassey / 3.  Les Chrysanthemes  – Cosmos Sound Club / 4.  Hi-Fi Trumpet: (boyz from brazil mix) – Stereo Action U… / 5.  Yachts: (a man called adam mix)  – Coco Steel Lovebomb / 6.  Late Lounge Lover – Hacienda / 7.  Latazz – Funky Lowlives / 8.  Apollo: (adam goldstone edit) – Cujo-Superstars…/ 9.  Crusin’ – Can 7 / 10.  Timeless: (orange factory remix) – Gazzara Elise / 11.  Pnc Aux Portes – Stéphane Pompougnac / 12.  Cleopatra In New York – Nickodemus / 13. Electrologe – Trouble Makers / 14.  Last Tango In Paris – Gotan Project / 15.  Every Time: (a man called adam balearic remix) – Lustral

• Minus 8    Remixes Part I.       CPT 086-1     12″    “Snowblind” Cultural Mambo Dub      Compost Records, Germany    2001    “Badman & Throbin'” / “Nonhuman” Big Bang Remix “Snowblind” Tiny Trendies / Cultural Mambo Dub / “Snowblind” The Amalgamtion Of Soundz – Out Of Mind Mix    Tiny Trendies, aka Adam Goldstone from New York.

• Minus 8    Remixes Part 2    .   CPT 087-1    12″    “Snowblind” Cultural Mambo Remix Vocal Compost Records    2001    “Cold Fusion” Doctor Rockit’s Sweaty Dutch Vest Mix / “Snowblind” Les Gammas Lifetime Remix / “Snowblind” Tiny Trendies / Cultural Mambo Remix Vocal / “Snowblind” Zimpala Remix

• Belladonna    Circles / Summer Love.        IU014    12″    Circles (Adam Goldstone 4AM Mix) Remix – Adam Goldstone . A2  Summer Love / B1 Circles (Adam Goldstone 7AM Mix)  Remix – Adam Goldstone / B2  Circles (4AM Beats)    Irma Unlimited, US    2/2002

Mix:
• Various Artists    Cap One .       NUX 185CD    CD     Gonzales  &  Peaches  “Red Leather (Adam Goldstone Re-Edit)” (7:28)   Mixed By – Adam Goldstone    Nuphonic
2002

• Playgroup  / Gonzales  &  Peaches      Number One / Red Leather .       NUXP  007    12″    Red Leather (Adam Gold… )    Nuphonic     2002    Gonzales  &  Peaches   “Red Leather (Adam Goldstone Re-Edit)” (7:30)  Mixed By – Adam Goldstone     Taken from the “Cap One” compilation released on Nuphonic.

Appears On:
• Superstars Of Rock .        Orange Sunshine     12 STR 57    12″    Stress Records, UK    1995    Credits: Producer, Mixed By, Written-By – Adam Goldstone  , Rob Rives.  Written By – Yvonne Leybold

• Superstars Of Rock  .       Orange Sunshine STR-006    12″        5XO-294    1995    Credits:Executive Producer – Rev. Reginald Pugh, The Keyboards – Bar Sevir.  Mixed By [Mix Consultant] – Barney Kerfuffle  Producer, Engineer, Mixed By, Written-By – Rob Rives  Producer, Mixed By, Edited By, Written-By – Adam Goldstone.  Vocals, Written-By – Miss Yvonne.   Notes:Notes: All production and mixing performed at Axis. Special thanks to François K, Barton Chew, Rob Sperte, and the rest of the loving staff at Axis Studios. Produced and mixed by Adam Goldstone and Rob Rives. Engineered by Rob Rives. All production and mixing performed at Axis Studios. Executive producer: The Rev. Reginald Pugh.

• Various Artists    Dubstyle.   : Unreleased Dubs Volume Two     STR DP 7    3×12″    Various versions of Orange Sunshine here     Stress Records     1996

• Various Artists    Bedrock.   : Compiled & Mixed By John Digweed       UL 1050-2    2xCD    Tiny Trendies   “The Sky Is Not Crying” (5:40)  Engineer [Mix] – Vaughan ‘Nessa’ Merrick.  Executive Producer – Sarah Ellison.  Written-By, Producer, Mixed By – Adam Goldstone    Ultra Records, US    09 Nov 1999

• Tiny Trendies    The Sky Is Not Crying .       PM-02    12″        Pink Music     1999        The Sky Is Not Crying (Solid Goldstone Club Mix) (7:14) / A2 The Sky Is Not Crying (Solid Goldstone Dub Mix) (6:20) / B1 The Sky Is Not Crying (Beutel Bill’s Peak-Hour News Mix) (7:33) / B2 The Sky Is Not Crying (Solid Goldstone Beats) (3:21)    Credits: Mixed By – Vaughn Merrick.  Producer, Written-By – Adam Goldstone

• Tiny Trendies    The Sky Is Not Crying .   (Remixes    NUX 142    12″    Nuphonic    06 Dec 1999    The Sky Is Not Crying (Swag’s The Sky Is Not Falling Remix) (7:37)  Remix – Swag.  Remix [Credited To], Producer [Additional] – Chris Duckenfield , Richard Brown / The Sky Is Not Crying (Fuzz Against Junk’s Orchestral Dub) (7:53)    Credits: Artwork By [Design] – Tom Hingston. Engineer [Mix] – Vaughan “Nessa” Merrick.  Executive Producer – Sarah Ellison.  Mastered By – Martin Giles.  Written-By, Producer, Mixed By – Adam Goldstone

• Cultural Mambo      Docking In Outer Space .       NUX 149    12″ 45        Nuphonic, UK    15 May 2000    A  Docking In Outer Space (Pseudo Afro Beat-o Version) (7:40) / B Docking In Outer Space (Tiny Trendies Space Dub) (7:13)    Credits: Engineer [Mix] – Ben Grassini. Mastered By – Martin Giles.  Producer, Mixed By, Written-By – Adam Goldstone

Tracks Appear On: Compilations
• Various Artists    Nuphonic 04     NUX 167CD    CD    Alternations     Nuphonic     02 Jul 2001    Adam Goldstone  “Alternations” Featuring – Fonda Rae

• Various Artists    Nuphonic 04 .       NUX 167    2xLP    Alternations    Nuphonic, UK    2001 Adam Goldstone   “Alternations”      Featuring – Fonda Rae

• Various Artists    Cap One .       NUX 185CD    CD    Mi Querida Loisaida     Nuphonic, UK    2002    Gonzales  &  Peaches   “Red Leather (Adam Goldstone Re-Edit)” (7:28).  Mixed By – Adam Goldstone

• Various Artists    Downtempo & Lounge Essentials .      H*MXD002    CD    Alternations H8records, Russia    3 Dec 2002    Adam Goldstone  “Alternations” (8:33)

• Various Artists    Nuphonic: This ls Not A Soundclash.        NUX 186CD    CD    Adam Goldstone “Alternations”     Nuphonic, UK     04 Mar 2002

Unofficial Releases:
• Prince – Digital Garden (Adam Goldstone Remix) .
SGS-1    12″        Prince (White)Records, US    A  Digital Garden (Vocal Mix) / B Digital
Garden (Instrumental Mix)    10 / 2004

The New Metallica

So, it’s almost here.  Death Magnetic.  The new Metallica record.  And part of it’s been leaked onto YouTube. I don’t know about you, but I’m LOVING most of what I heard–it’s like the Metallica of old in a lot of ways.  (Thanks Rick Rubin!)  What’s Lars’s take on the leak, you ask?

“If this thing leaks all over the world today or tomorrow, happy days. Happy days. Trust me. Ten days out and it hasn’t quote-unquote fallen off the truck yet? Everybody’s happy. It’s 2008 and it’s part of how it is these days, so it’s fine. We’re happy.”

A-whaaaat?  Lars “I hate Napster” Ulrich doesn’t care if the thing leaks a little?  Mind blowing.  A “new” Metallica, indeed!  Then, like two days later my mind is blown further when Wired posts a video of Lars talking about all the “really cool interpretations of all the Metallica songs that you guys out there are so cool to put up on the net and share with everybody in the world.” The post includes links to a bunch of awesome YouTube videos of people playing Metallica songs.  Happy days, indeed.

The problem with the videos Lars posted is that there he didn’t mention any bands from New York State. Here at the ARChive, Bryan, Jon and I have been working on a project called the New York Music Index and Archive (the NYMIA for short), a freely available online database designed to provide information and access to all aspects of the popular music industry based in New York State.  We’ve not yet launched, but we’re getting real close.  Part of our work involves being on MySpace and learning about what’s going on musically in New York State and you might imagine, we’ve come across a fair number of bands that cover Metallica songs, so I thought I’d share a few with you here.

Scraping Bottom is “a 5-piece, heavy hitting, hard rockin’, cover band from Oswego County NY.”   They cover Metallica, Judas Priest AC/DC, Godsmack, Deftones and more.  On their MySpace page they include a version of “Seek and Destroy.”  They don’t really have a logo, but their homepage does include a animated gif of a very-metal looking dagron dragon, though (below, left):

Hailing from Staten Island & Brooklyn, Kill ‘Em All (see their logo above, right) is a five piece Metallica tribute band.  They formed in early 2007 and have two Metallica tunes on their site, “Four Horsemen” and “Ride the Lightning.”  Sweet versions that get extra points because they reflect the good taste of the band.

Just for kicks, why not compare Kill ‘Em All’s version of “Four Horseman” with that of Alcoholica, which bills itself as “Connecticut’s Premiere Metallica tribute band.”  (Yeah, yeah…they’re not from New York State, but the NYMIA isn’t intended to be used solely by people IN New York.  It’s for everyone, those in-state and those who might come…and Connecticut’s right next door!)  Alcoholica seems to be on sabbatical because lead singer Kai Blackwood’s in Hollywood working on a film of some sort.  I think they should win some kind of award for “Most Metal Blog Title” with their “Ron in the Emergency room again.”  Ron Celentano’s the “Cliff Burton” of the band.  Hope you’re feeling better, Ron!

Do you find yourself located in the greater Glen Oakes, New York area, love Metallica and need a band whose name is “synonymous with energetic renditions of a wide variety of songs” which has “palpable on-stage camaraderie?”  Then look no further than Scream! a cover band from Glen Oakes that includes an really nice cover of Metallica’s “Sad But True” in their set list.

Last, but not least, we have Syracuse’s own Septor.  The Fightin’ Septor! The call themselves “a high energy, in your face hard rock band” that plays “anything from Mudvayne, Pantera, Metallica, Godsmack, Disturbed, Tool, Rob Zombie and MUCH MORE!”  Hvae a listen to their version of “Fade to Black.”  You’ll see what they mean.

So, there you have it, folks, the “New” Metallica.  Discuss in comments.  If you know of any more Metallica tribs in NY/NJ/CT, let us know!

Go New York bands!

ps. if you like metal, keep an eye open next week when I post about the bands in New York State that cover Black Sabbath.  Brownie points to the person who guesses which is the most covered Sabbath tune in New York.