vacance, puces et…we’re back!

To celebrate the new year, the end of summer, strikes in France or as the kids say, “whatever,” I took the day off and made a trek way uptown to the Whitney Museum.  Prime reason was to see the Christian Marclay exhibition and then walk back downtown to see some friends.  Well Christian’s show was nice, The Lee Friedlander exhibit shot from inside his car was terrific, and the Charles Burchfield paintings were a revelation.  Not someone I would have gone out of my way to see.  Glad I did.

Marclay’s galleries are a lot like the ARChive’s basement –rows and rows of audio–related bibelots and bilia, suggesting meaning through juxtaposition.  One nice assemblage was a rack of clothing with musical imagery + themes.  That’s a good lead-in for last weekend’s finds at an upstate flea.

Who knew Canada was the home of the Twist?  Beyond the French Twist, there’s a big CAN C&W line dance fascination with the Honky Tonk Twist, and you can practice the chorégraphe via the 600 plus videos on that u-tubby thing.

The real deal weekendwise was the Wal-feld 5000!  This children’s 78 rpm player has a Bakelite resonator/pick-up/needle holder (UK Made) on a tin tonearm, and a brightly lithographed tin body, covered with fairy tale and children’s story imagery.  I see a lot of early playback devices, and seldom are they in such perfect shape.

Wal-feld Co. Inc. was in Lynbrook, NY, and manufactured a wide range of audio related gotta-haves, including musical dolls and wooden juke boxes.  No date on my machine, but it only cost a buck to return for repairs.  Online legal notices indicate Wal-feld went bankrupt in 1965.

Another “O Canada’ flea-find was this Nov 2, 1974 George Harrison / Ravi Shankar concert program for a benefit at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, British Columbia, to aid the Appalachian Regional Hospitals.  Nice artists pics, good graphics and a fine glossary of all things India, musically.

trickle-down donations

Just back from Ohio, ARC picked up portions of two recent donations that have been, and will be, given piecemeal, over the past and future years.  And what meals they are!   The first was the first donation of approx. 1,200 LPs, part of a larger collection over 15,000 recordings that were lovingly collected by Eric J. Schmuckler, and will all be coming to the ARC.  This generous gift was from his wife, Michelle Gelber.  Eric was a well known critic and writer for Mediaweek Magazine, and truly loved his music.

You can read a nice obit @  http://www.allbusiness.com/services/motion-pictures/4816200-1.html

While we have yet to process the whole batch, one lovely discovery was a two foot-think run (50 recordings) of Beatles-esqs, discs sorta, kinda, maybe about and because of the Fab Four.  This is meat and potatoes kinda stuff – the odds and ends that make our mouth water.  They will join our existing 2 running feet of bad Beatle wannabeats. There’s a complete discography at the end of this blog.  Pardon the quick out-of-the-box low res pics, but behold…

And some singles…

Our second pick-up (course) of the day came from old pal and collector AP Joseph.  For years now AP has slowly been emptying his larder into ours, this his fourth donation in recent years, also about 1200 LPs.   APs donations are always rock solid, a little less pristine sleeves with mint interiors and a little less mainstream than Eric’s.   A quick look reveals a pile of CRI releases, early Fast Folk – The Musical Magazine recordings plus print mag when they were called “the Coop” in the early ‘80s, and an unusual pair of Jorma Kaukonen acoustic recordings on Relix from the mid-eighties.  Here’s a few others that caught or eye/ear :

Lastly, the folks @ WKCR, a-way up in Harlem, dropped off over 300 CD and two 45s.  Thanks to Ben Young who keeps coming back with great stuff, year after year.

We would like to also thank that stalwart friend of ARCs, the 2010 Subaru Impreza, which is zippy AND can hold 12 one hundred twenty five count boxes of LPs, without even trying, or more importantly, sagging.

And we ain’t too proud to beg : Do send a donation to help with all this madness – it’s expensive AND the recession is officially over… and do let us know if you have recordings to donate!

The list of Eric’s Beatles obscurata :

• Abbey Road ’78.   Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band — Music from the movie  (Springboard, SPB-4111, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1978).   cheap cash-in of Sgt. Pepper film.

• Barock and Roll Ensemble / Valkyrie and the Rhine Maidens.   Ein Kleine Beatle Musik  (His Master’s Voice, UK, 7EG 8887, 7″, 45, EP, 1965).  First three tracks incorporate elements of the Beatles songs “She Love You,” “I’ll Get You,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Please Please Me” and “All My Loving.”

• John Bayless.   Bach Meets the Beatles: Variations in the Style of Bach  (Pro Arte Digital, PAD-211, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1984).

• The Bearcuts.   Beatlemania!  (Somerset, SF-20800, 12″, 33.3, LP, ). cheesy Beatles exploitation. M-; 1 VG+

• Beats.   The Merseyside Sound  (Design, DLP 170, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).   Possibly, the artist is THE MERSEYSIDE SOUND and the title is BEATS.  it is unclear on cover and label.  Shameless Beatles exploitation record.  Cover has a copyright date of 1962, but the two Beatle songs covered here were first released in 1964! M-; VG

• Ewa Bem.   Ewa Bem Loves the Beatles  (Polskie Nagrania, SX 2193, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1984). Who knew they were Polish!

• The Big Ben Banjo Band.   Happy Banjos Play The Beatles  (Capitol, ST 2642, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.). Medleys of Beatles songs performed on banjos.

• The Blue Beats.   The Beatle Beat  (AA, AA-133, 12″, 33.3, LP, N.D.).   Shameless Beatles exploitation album. Features NO Beatles songs!!!   1 VG+

• Ambrose Brazelton.   And the BEATles Go on and on: Hits of the Beatles  (Kimbo Educational Records & Educational Activities, LP 8080, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).  Educational record with Beatles songs used to illustrate rhythm, locomotor movements and balance.  Ambros Brazelton is the narrator.  No mention to who performs the songs.  Side one has narration and songs.  Side two is music only.

• The Brothers Four.   A Beatles Songbook : The Brothers Four Sing Lennon / McCartney  (Columbia, CS 9302, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).  STEREO.

• The Buggs.   The Beetle Beat  (Coronet, CX-212, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).    Shameless Beatles exploitation record.  VG

• Lee Castle & the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra.   The Big Band Beatles Bag!  (Pickwick/33, SPC 3174, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).

• Leo Chauliac Orchestra.   The Best of The Beatles  (Concert Hall, UK, SVSC 2571, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1968).

• The Chipmunks.   The Chipmunks Sing The Beatles Hits  (Liberty, UK, NUTM 31, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).  Eighties UK reissue.  Cut corner.

• Wynken, Blinken and Nod and the Golden Rock-A-Twisters / Milton DeLugg and Orchestra.   Dance and Sing Mother Goose With a Beatle Beat  (Golden, LP 127, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1964). Nursery rhymes played as if Beatles songs.

• The Entertainers.   A Tribute to the Beatles  (Citation, CSR-1005, 12″, 33.3, LP, ). shameless Beatles exploitation album.
• European Show Orchestra.   The Masterworks of The Beatles  (EMS, Australia, EMS 4001, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).

• The Current Event.   Hits of the Beatles  (Ambassador, S98095, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).   Shameless Beatles exploitation album.

• Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops.   Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Play The Beatles  (RCA Red Seal, LSC-3117, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1969).  Filed under BEATLES RELATED.  NO DOG ON LABEL.  Last two tracks are not Beatles songs. VG+

• The Ginks.   A Tribute to the Beatles  (Summit, UK, ATL 4176, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1965).  shameless Beatles exploitation album.

• François Glorieux.   François Glorieux Plays the Beatles  (Vanguard, VSD-79417, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1978). Beatles songs played as if classical pieces.

• François Glorieux.   François Glorieux Plays the Beatles Vol. 2  (Vanguard, VSD-79428, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1979). Beatles songs played as if classical pieces.

• Ofra Harnoy / The Armin Electric Strings.   The Beatles Connection  (Fanfare, Canada, DFC-9016, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1985).    Cut corner, sticker on cover.

• The Ted Heath Orchestra.   Beatles Bach & Bacharack  (London Phase 4, SP 44148, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).

• The Hiltonaires.   Dance to Beatles Hits in the Glenn Miller Sound  (Stereo Gold Award, Canada, GA-36, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).

• The Hollyridge Strings.   The Beatles Song Book Vol 2  (Capitol, T 2202, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).   MONO.  1 VG- w/ taped up cover, sticker on cover and label; 1 VG+

• Hommage Aux Beatles.   Hommage Aux Beatles  (Revelation, Canada, KF 154, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).

• Lester Lanin And His Go-Go Getters.   40 Beatles Hits  (Philips, PHM 200-211, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.). WHITE LABEL PROMO

• James Last.   The Greatest Songs of The Beatles  (Polydor, UK, POLD 5119, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1983).

• Enoch Light and His Orchestra.   Beatles Classics  (Project 3, PR 5084, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.). QUAD!!

• The Liverpools.   Beatle Mania in the U.S.A.  (Wyncote, W 9001, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).   Shameless Beatles exploitation album.  1 VG+

• Johnny Mann Singers.   Beatle Ballads  (Liberty, LST 7391, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).   STEREO  M- w/ taped cover.

• The Mustang.   Mustang Plays The Beatles Song Book on Swingin’ Hammond Organ, The  (Stereo-Fidelity, SF-23000, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.). VG w/tape and sticker on cover.

• 101 Strings.   A Tribute to John Lennon  (Alshire, S-5380, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1980). shameless Beatles exploitation album.
• Orchestral Ensemble.   In Tribute to Brian Epstein  (World Record Club, Australia, S/T 4415, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).

• Rostal & Schaefer / Ron Goodwin.   The Beatles Concerto  (MMG, MMG 1121, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1979).   Peter Rostal and Paul Schaefer play piano duets.  The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Ron Goodwin.  M- w/ sticker on label.

• The Rubber Band.   Beatles Song Book  (GRT, 10015, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).  An anonymous band performs Beatle songs.

• Russ Sainty with the Johnny Arthey Sound.   Million Copy Sellers Made Famous by the Beatles  (Boulevard, UK, 4064, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1971).   Shameless Beatles exploitation album.  VG+

• Broadway Cast.   Beatlemania  (Arista, AL 8501, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1978).  One copy  White label promo.  Recorded live at the Winter Garden.  “Not The Beatles.  An incredilbe simulation.”  Right.  Both cut corner.

• original cast recording.   John Paul George Ringo…& Bert  (RSO, UK, 2394 141 SUPER, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1974).   Musical involves The Beatles and their music.

• The Sydney Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Lanchbery.   The Fool on the Hill : Music Based on Themes by The Beatles  (His Master’s Voice, Australia, OASD.7589, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1976). Ballet based on Beatles songs.  Sticker on cover.

• Tribe.   Tribe Sing the Creative Genius of George Harrison, John Lennon & Paul McCartney  (Pickwick/33, SPC-3265, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).

• Various Artists.   Beatlesongs!  (A Collection Of Beatles Novelties) Vol. 1  (Rhino Records, RNLP 803, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1982).     Cover art by William Stout.

• Various Artists.   The Original Liverpool Beat!  (20th Century Fox, TFM 3144, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).    Shameless Beatles exploitation record.”PROMO on label.  VG+

• Various Artists.   I Hate the Beatles Even More Vol. 2  (Rape Records Limited, LP 002, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.). Collection of Beatles novelty records.

• Various Artists.   Artfully Beatles Volume 1: The 25th Anniversary Salute to the Beatles  (Artful Ballance, ABI-7210, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1986).

• Arthur Wilkinson and His Orchestra.   Beatle Cracker Suite  (His Master’s Voice, UK, 7EG 8919, 7″, 45, EP, 1965).  Beatles songs arranged ala Nutcracker Suite.

• Arthur Wilkinson and His Orchestra / Zack Laurence.   The Beatle Concerto  (His Master’s Voice, UK, 7EG 8968, 7″, 45, EP, 1965).  Beatles songs arranged ala classical compositions.

• Woofers and Tweeters Ensemble.   Beatle Barkers  (Passport Records, PB 6032, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).   Dogs bark out Beatle songs.  Corner cut. We once found a copy of this for Matt Groening!

• The Leon Young String Chorale.   Liverpool Sound for Strings  (Atco, 33-163, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1964).  MONO. shameless Beatles exploitation album.
M-

Here’s the info on APs recordings we photographed and spoke about:

• Monty Alexander.   Spunky  (Pacific Jazz, USA, ST 20094, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).

• Chris Connor.   Chris Connor  (Atlantic, USA, 1228, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).

• Martha Davis.   Martha Davis and Spouse  (ABC-Paramount, USA, ABC 160, 12″, 33.3, LP, ).  Spouse = bassist Calvin Ponder.

• Jorma Kaukonen.   Magic  (Relix, USA, RRLP 2007, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1985).

• Jorma Kaukonen.   Too Hot To Handle  (Relix, USA, RRLP 2012, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1985).

• Imitation Life.   Ice Cubes and Sugar  (Veebltronics, USA, Veebl 50, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1986). OK New Wave trio of New Jersey-ites, this originally released on France’s New Rose label. Promo release.

• Mickey Katz and ‘Der Ganser Gang”.   Sing-Along With Mickele  (Capitol, USA, T 1744, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).  In honor of the recently departed Mitch Miller.

• Lisa Kindred.   I Like It This Way!  (Vanguard, USA, VRS 9196, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1965).  mono. Check out her relationship with the Lyman Family!!!

• The Pipkins.   Gimme Dat Ding!  (Capitol, USA, ST 80483, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).

• Wanda Robinson .   Black Ivory  (Perception, USA, PLP 18, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1971).  Odd little packaging with booklet making up the front cover.

The State Radio Orchestra of the U.S.S.R. (Scriabin).   The Divine Poem  (Classic Editions, USA, CE 4, 12″, 33.3, LP, n.d.).  We do not collect Classical music, but who can resist nipples!

• Various Artists. The Coop – fast folk music magazine September ’82  (The Coop, USA, SE 108, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1982).  genetic cover with sticker and magazine insert.

• Various Artists.   The Coop – fast folk music magazine August ’82  (The Coop, USA, SE 107, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1982).  genetic cover with magazine insert.

• Various Artists.  The Coop – fast folk music magazine April ’83, Vol 2. #3  (The Coop, USA, SE 203, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1983).  with magazine insert.

Polish Music

As I’m heading back to Poland (Ohio) see me Mum, a flurry of old friends have surfaced.  Turns out it’s about the same time as a reunion of my elder brother’s high school class.  You may think that Poland Seminary High School is only famous for an assassinated president (McKinley) or the advertising genius who bought the world, “I Love New York,” “Plop Plop Fizz Fizz.” and “‘I can’t believe I ate the whole thing’ (Mary Wells, née Berg, of Wells, Rich & Green) but it’s also homeroom to a few bits of odd musical history.

An old galpal’s older bro once touched the stars in his summer of fun…

Doug Braun recently sent this pic and and few words: “Forgot the details.  I took this photo of Mike Love & Dennis Wilson while working with their tour back in the summer of 1968.  We did 14 U.S. cities with Gary Puckett and the Union Gap and the Human Bienz from Youngstown, Ohio.  We enjoyed short friendships while all working together.  There where two large tour buses for the lighting and sound crews. The performers traveled by air and limo’s.  We had one of the first Winnabago motor homes and a large Ford van.  We drove city to city seeing the country often driving non-stop to the next gig.  I helped with the driving and stage responsibilities. It was GREAT!!!  Got to know everyone on a first name basis.  Enjoy.”

Now the drummer for the, “Nobody but Me,” Human Beinz was Mike Tatman (perfect name for a drummer), who went to Poland, and later married Christie (won’t be in Poland, because she had so many children she didn’t know what to do – so she went to England) who was Poland’s Prom Queen (…and I, ahem, uh, was King).  They were the reigning local heroes.  Live music was rare, mostly Bowling Alley dances, The Roller Rink and nights at the Carousel Teen Club.

“Beinz.” “Georgan.”  Nobody can spell in Ohio.

Then there was the Record Rendezvous, a rich mahogany paneled record store in downtown Youngstown (“Murder City USA” headlined the Saturday Evening Post!).  It had booths with glass at the top, and wood below, and you could slide down and sit on the floor, and no one could see you.  The perfect Sat was taking a bus downtown, bowling or shooting pool, shopping for junk and used clothing and food in the Black section of town, or maybe lunch with my Pop who had his business there, then a movie (at the original Warner’s Theater) and then about an hour or two waiting for a ride home at the Rendezvous.   Sadly, musically it was slim pickens.  About my strongest memory was digging into the C&W section and playing Marty Robbins’ Gunfighter record.  Well, at least until they kicked me out after about six runthroughs.  I’ve since learned that the “Vous” was a chain out of Cleveland, and the owner, Leo Mintz, convinced Alan Freed to play race records on the air, hand-fed him what Black kids were buying from his store, and may have coined the term, “rock’n’roll”.

One of the records I actually bought at this store, turns out to one of the rarest at the ARChive.  Here it is with the original price tag.  Last auction price over $12,000.  Better than stocks!

You see when Capitol US was offered the first Beatles album, they passed.  Hated the look.  Hated the music.  So a small Black label out of Gary, Indiana, Vee-Jay, took a chance.  The Beatleboys did OK, and Capitol said they were just kidding.

Interviewers often ask, “What was the first record you ever bought?”  Well, I have no idea.  But I do remember the first LP I ever stole.  It was World Without Love by Peter and Gordon.  I had about a 3 month run as an amateur booster (“Please lock me away…”), and my partner in crime was Sverre Falck-Pedersen (he’ll be in Poland this weekend, and mispronouncing his name was endless fun).  He says he stole it, not me, but he’s wrong.  We had decided to start stealing LPs one August.  Not so much because we were music lovers, but that they were big and difficult to hide under summer clothes…

Oh No, we gotta listen to ALL of them?

Freddie, who does the weeding @ ARC, was comparing our three copies of the LP “Combo” by  Henry Mancini and His Orchestra ( RCA Victor Records, LPM-2258 , 1961).   We sell third copies, keep two of everything.  Well why not hava listen he sez to himself he sez.  Lo, it turns out two copies of the  album play “Moanin'” as the first track on both sides, but lists “Powdered Wig” as the first track on side two.  So that means we gotta keep ’em all.  But what it really means is that we should be listening to ALL TWO MILLION RECORDINGS at ARC.  Freddie will start Aug 24, when he gets back from vacation.

The Oldest Playable Phonautogram. Ever.

 

The New York Times has a new article about the newly recovered, mid-nineteenth century recordings of Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville, a Parisian “tinkerer” who invented a recording device called the Phonautogram YEARS before Edison (that bad bastard) ever even thought about recording.  This phonautogram of “Au Claire de la Lune,” which dates to 1860, is now considered the earliest playable recording in existence:

Scott’s technology – and the technology used to recover it – are amazing.  A really worthwhile read.

ps. the article mentions Jonathan Sterne’s The Audible Past: Cultural Origins of Sound Reproduction.  It’s a fabulous book and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who wants insight into the history of sound recording and a better understanding of how technology changed the way people listened to the world.  It’s all about the ensoniment, folks!

pps.  the article also mentions Archeophone, an amazing company that preserves, remasters and reissues recordings of the acoustic era of the recording industry.  All of their releases are worth having.  (My favorite is the Billy Murray album, but the Bert Williams releases are mind blowing too.  If you’re into popular music history, this stuff is de rigueur).

Happy Birthday, The CD.

 

Today is the 25th anniversary of the compact disc. Although there seems to be some consensus that today is indeed the CD’s silver anniversary, astute readers may note that different sources disagree over which one of the above three CDs was in fact “the first CD ever.” Allow me to untangle: CNN says it was the Strauss via Philips (while their wording is sort of vague, it’s CNN and they’re “the news,” so that’s what everyone’s going to think now – besides, Strauss is classical, so it just SOUNDS right), Philips says it was the ABBA (“the first CD ever manufactured,” a kind of nit-picky claim if you ask me) and Sony claims it was the Billy Joel (the first numbered CD in the first commercially available series of 50 released in Japan; why anyone would want to claim Billy Joel overany of the other 49 that shipped with it, however, is beyond me).

Anyhow, each link makes a c-o-m-p-e-l-l-i-n-g case, but you may just want to pick your favorite version of the story and go with it. Just don’t believe anyone who tells you that “the first” was Springsteen’s Born in the USA. Those people are just plain wrong.

We at the ARChive celebrated this historic and momentous occasion by listening to vinyl. And Max Roach tributes on the radio.

Oh, CDs, we hardly knew ye (except for the 150,000 or so that we have cataloged so far)…

dtn

Garage Sale Find

Last week the Baroness Von Oomph and I made the scene in the swingin’ Finger Lakes region of New York State. If you are a fan of Coneys (local white hot dogs) root beer, drive-ins and very skinny lakes, go there. Nuff said. And did I mention world class thrift stores? Here’s one score which we will be donating to the ARChive.

It’s a British book about singles which hit number one in the UK during the Sixties. There is one entry for each month of every year of the decade. A lot of records you would expect, but also some one-hit-wonders and Brit specific hits to add a little variety, such as:

March 1968 – Esther And Abi Ofarim, “Cinderella Rockafella” (strictly from corn.)

December 1962 – Frank Ifield, “Lovesick Blues” (Warwickshire hillbilly covering Hank Williams covering Emmet Miller!)

April 1960 – Lonnie Donegan, “My Old Man’s A Dustman” (roots rock used to be called skiffle, children, and you know all your fave Beat groups were grooving on this platter.)

December 1968 – Scaffold, “Lily The Pink” (always loved this side, only in Britain would a creaky old drinking song like this go to number one.)

A fun read, and your price at the Salvation Army in Waterloo, NY?

69¢

– Jonny

Gore Verbinski, Pirate of 1980s Punk Rock

The other day I was cataloging a box of 80s punk and metal records (lots and lots of bad 80s metal from Metal Blade Records) and came across this record:

Not a bad cover, I s’pose.  Anyway, it stood out because it was the only record in the box that had a textured sleeve.  (Plus, the cover reminded me a little of a Kreator single I used to have.)  Another thing that struck me was that it was released in 1989 by Epitaph, making it sort of an early Epitaph record.  So, I put it on.  Not bad music.  Excitedly (well, as excitedly as he gets), Phast Phreddie comes up and asked me if I put it on.  Turns out the drummer, Chris Bailey, was in Phreddie’s old group Thee Precisions :

Checking out the rest of the group, something struck me about the lead singer/guitarist’s name “Gregory Verbinski.” It was really familiar, I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was, though.  This is what he looked like:

That didn’t help me figure it out, and because it really started bugging me I googled it.  Turns out that after being in the Little Kings, “Gregory” Verbinsky went to film school, changed his name to Gore Verbinski and became a director.

He went on to direct all sorts of successful big budget films, most recently, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.  Apparently, Phreddie knew him a little “back in the day.”

Gore, if you’re out there reading this, we’d love it if you dropped by the ARChive.  We could order Vietnamese sandwiches (best in the city!) from the Sáu Voi, show you around the place and talk about stuff and things!  If it’d make you feel more comfortable, we could even try to get our new friend Joe Franklin to come by as well.  It’d be a grand old time.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

dtn

The Boys in the Backroom

Every year there is a major music industry trivia contest organized by Rich Appel up at Sony, and a cast of indefatigable characters in-and-out of the music industry. They have a lot of fun and the event raises money for good causes.

This year ARC’s B. George combined his “hobby” of watching films with his “job” of watching films with music in them. The result was a handful of movie related music questions to stump the very savvy trivia teams. Our category, “The Boys in the Backroom,” revolved around famous bands and performers lurking in shadows of the reel stars, adding local color to a pile of mostly drab films.

Hare the questions we sent along and our estimate of how hard they were. Care to try your luck? – but no cheating or googling or watching films allowed!

The Boys in the Backroom

• The irreverent Dogma (1999) gave the job of God to a young woman singer, who, thank God, kept mum and amplified the theme of her best known song.

Difficulty : 1

• Hippie lifestyle is given the Hollywood treatment in You Are What You Eat (1968). Behind the scenes was producer Peter Yarrow and way out front was the Dickensesque ukulele strumming falsetto named
Difficulty : 1

• Natalie Portman’s character in Garden State (2004) raves that .”.. you gotta hear this song. It’ll change your life.” The Band and the song are?
Difficulty : 2

• Wild in the Streets (1968) tell the story of a political youth rebellion, where 14 year olds earn the right to vote. Leading the rallies is the band Max Frost and the Troupers, and the Black actor playing Stanley X, the drummer in the band, is…..
Difficulty : 3

• Elmer Gantry (1960) provided a behind-the-scenes peek at revivalist religion – equal parts circus, business plan and grass-roots mass hypnosis. Many on-screen revival meetings led off with a song, and the blond and bland 50s pop chanteuse leading the band was…
Difficulty : 3

• Get Yourself a College Girl’s (1964) slim plot revolved around an Ivy League undergrad in trouble for penning pop songs. Nevertheless, some leading pop starts of the era show up and matriculate! Name at least ONE band or artist…
Difficulty : 3

• Overworked surfing themes forced Hollywood’s creative genius onto the slopes to give us Ski Party (1965) And the most unlikely Southern soul singer ever to don a Norwegian sweater was…
Difficulty : 3

• In The Girl Can’t Help It (1956), a rarely filmed group throws off their hats to start off their rockin’ set – and they are?
Difficulty : 4

• In Bunny Lake is Missing (1965) which rockers hover ominously in a few scenes, in the background on the telle?
Difficulty : 5

• In the British film Scandal (1989), The Pet Shop Boys wrote the theme and Dusty Springfield sang it. But lurking in the sheets was a young man who just drove at least one of the girls crazy. In real life he was the lead singer in the band…
Difficulty : 5

• Beat Girl, (1960) an early British ‘youth’ movie featured Adam Faith and a swingin’ score by a cool jazz seven piece. Well not exactly in the backroom, this older leader of the band in the basement, and at the strip club across the street, really bonded with the kids. This future multi – Grammy and Oscar winning composer and performer is …
Difficulty : 5

• Which San Fran based artist is seen singing at the Benefit Party in the opening scene of Richard Lester’s very British, very horrid film, Petulia (1968).
Difficulty : 7

NOTE : Even weirder was recruiting members of the Grateful Dead to carry Julie Christie’s stretcher after an overdose!

• Noir classic Criss Cross (1949) features Burt Lancaster and Yvonne De Carlo dancing a little too much and too close to the flute playing of Latin band leader?
Difficulty : 10

NOTE : A very young and uncredited Tony Curtis is also on the dancefloor

• In Destry Rides Again (1939), Marlene Dietrich sings. “See What the Boys In the Back Room Will Have”. Well those boys are playing up a storm, led by which fiddlin’ cowboy?
Difficulty : 10