Disappear Fear - Is There Anybody Here

 #Disappear Fear #folk rock #folk pop #alternative folk #indie folk #power pop #worldbeat #singer-songwriter #1980s #1990s

Beneath Disappear Fear’s veneer of catchy tunes, poppish folk rhythms, and the sophisticated harmonies of blood sisters Sonia Rutstein and Cindy Frank, beats a heart of hardcore social feminist consciousness. Born and raised in Baltimore, the sisters formed Disappear Fear in 1987. As the name implies, they call for unity and an end to injustice, and seek to break down the prejudicial barriers that keep people apart. Rutstein composes most of the songs and her compositions have been compared to those of Phil Ochs, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan. Their harmonies and approach are reminiscent of the Indigo Girls. After three critically acclaimed self-released albums and an EP, the duo signed to Philo Records. In 1995, their self-titled album for Philo Records received a Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation award for Outstanding Album. In June 1996, they released Seed in the Sahara. That same year, Sonia also began pursuing a solo career, returning to Disappear Fear only for occasional guest appearances for almost a decade.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/disappear-fear-mn0000154744/biography

Dada - Bob, The Drummer

 #Dada #alternative rock #psychedelic rock #power pop #pop rock #1990s

Dada is no one-hit wonder. It had four solid albums in the 1990s and several great songs, one of which attained worldwide acclaim. The band broke with a unique sound at the time with Joie Calio (bass/co-lead vocals) and Michael Gurley (guitar/co-lead vocals) singing harmonies over catchy hooks boosted by Gurley’s supreme guitar playing. Calio calls it Jimi Hendrix meets Simon & Garfunkel. As a rock band in the early 1990s, dada was painted in the broad swath called alternative rock. “That meant you didn’t sound like Guns 'N' Roses or heavy metal of the ‘80s,” Calio said. Dada took a cerebral path to success. “It was never just a garage band,” Calio said. “It was serious. It was a life change when we made the move to start Dada.” Calio and Gurley were friends in high school and separately they landed in Los Angeles where they played in various bands. Coincidentally, they lived within walking distance of each other. “It was so easy,” Calio said. “We just got together every day or night after work or whatever and worked on music. Only a few weeks into it, we started realizing this was a really good idea. Before we’d maybe write 10 songs in a year and one of them was OK. Now we’re starting to write 10 songs every two weeks.” The epiphany was to stop working on being in bands and just work on songwriting. After about a year, a musical peer, Louis Gutierrez of Mary’s Danish, listened to one of their sessions and told them they needed to perform. The duo argued that they didn’t have a band, but Gutierrez insisted, “You guys are going to open for us” at an upcoming show. The duo played about a half-dozen songs before receiving a standing ovation. “I will never forget that moment because as we walked offstage, I said, ‘Maybe Louis was right. We don’t need a band for right now.’ Then Louis comes over and said, ‘Hey, you guys. Just stay on the tour.’ And so we went up the coast with them and it was it was great.” Calio had a most appropriate day job, working in the mail room at Geffen Records. “It was like going to college,” he said. “I learned the ins and outs of the music business, and after we made demos, I knew who to take them to rather than blanket the entire industry.” The band broke out right away after it added drummer Phil Leavitt. Dada was boosted by a dream.
In the early 1990s, television viewers saw exuberant Super Bowl and World Series winners exclaim they were going to Disneyland and then news reports of the Gulf War and the L.A. Riots. The juxtaposition weaved into Calio’s subconscious. “I woke up about 5:00 in the morning,” Calio said. “All I remember about the dream right now is a big bus went in front of me that had the word Disneyland on it and I heard the melody.” Before going back to sleep, Calio jotted down about 20 verses, such as, “I shot my gun into the night, now I’m going to Dizz Knee Land. I just flipped off President George, I’m going to Dizz Knee Land.” At noon he called Gurley, the two met and put the song together. “I had the peanut butter, he had the chocolate,” Calio said.  From: https://www.tahoeonstage.com/reviews/dada/

Brewer & Shipley - Don't Want to Die in Georgia

 #Brewer & Shipley #folk #folk rock #country rock #singer-songwriter #1960s #1970s

Michael Brewer & Tom Shipley began their careers as solo folk artists on the coffee house circuit in the early 1960s. Both native mid-westerns (Oklahoman and Ohioan respective to their billing), they first met in 1964 at the Blind Owl coffee house in Kent, Ohio.  It would be three more years before they would team up, and during those three years the two crossed paths at clubs on the folk circuit, and each tried their hand in other musical collaborations that didn’t pan out.
In 1965 Michael Brewer migrated to Los Angeles following the emerging west coast music scene. His initial duo Mastin & Brewer signed a record deal with Columbia Records but the group imploded before finishing their record. Brewer eventually accepted a job as a staff songwriter at Good Sam Music, a publishing offshoot of the newly formed A&M Records. Around this time, Tom Shipley arrived in L.A. and looked up his acquaintance from the folk circuit. Tom rented a house around the corner from Michael’s house, and soon they began writing songs together.  When Shipley was subsequently hired as staff writer for A&M in 1967, their partnership began as a songwriting collaboration.
As staff songwriters, their early songs were recorded by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Glen Yarborough, H.P. Lovecraft, The Poor, Noel Harrison, and Bobby Rydell. A&M Records soon recognized that Michael & Tom’s demo recordings exhibited a unique sound and style of their own, so they green lighted them to record an album. A&M brought in the best musicians in L.A. to play on the album. But even with a soon to be released debut album and mutual friends who were starting to make it big in bands such as The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and The Association, Michael and Tom so disliked their life in L.A. that they decided to move back to the Midwest as soon as the record was recorded.
In the last decade-plus, the duo has witnessed rejuvenated interest in their music, beginning with BMG's purchase of their Kama Sutra catalog and subsequent re-issue of the critically acclaimed Tarkio release in 1996. This was soon followed by the inclusion of "One Toke Over The Line" on the Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas motion picture soundtrack. A live record of classic performances from 1973, Archive Alive, was released in 1997, the same year they released an album of new material Heartland on their own One Toke Productions label.  From: http://www.brewerandshipley.com/bios&liners/bio_b&s.htm

Vibravoid - Om Gang Ganpataye Namah (Mushroom Mantras)

 #Vibravoid #psychedelic rock #space rock #progressive rock #acid rock #krautrock #heavy psych #1960s retro #German #music video

Vibravoid play psychedelic rock influenced by the early Pink Floyd. Their repertoire also includes some cover versions of Pink Floyd songs. The band describes itself as "Europe's number one psychedelic and acid rock band". In an interview with the magazine Eclipsed, singer and guitarist Christian Koch explained that there is no longer a psychedelic scene: "Everything that now calls itself psychedelic is mostly cheap, uninspired hard rock, stoner or heavy metal." Vibravoid's self-assessment as the leading psychedelic rock band is widely shared by the media. In addition to Pink Floyd, The Who and other bands from the late 1960s and early 1970s are also mentioned as comparisons.  From: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibravoid

Here is my latest discovery in the world of psychedelic and German inspired rock music (I really dislike using the term Krautrock, not wanting to offend anyone). The band Vibravoid hails from Dusseldorf, Germany and released their debut album in 2000 and have released fifteen studio albums thus far. As far as I can tell the band is heavily influenced by late ‘60s to early ‘70s psychedelia in the vein of early Pink Floyd. Being as Pink Floyd is my favourite band, who am I to complain?
“Mushroom Mantras” is all about retro psych, which they do very well, starting with the first track “Om Gang Ganpataye Namah”. Chistian Koch (vocals, guitars) has a mellow and calm vocal delivery when he sings, “all you need to blow your mind you will find if you just look around”. Yes, the lyrics match the music perfectly invoking the spirit of the ‘60s. It’s catchy, melodic and trippy, with a nice groove and whirling guitar and keyboards. A bit heavier is “The Legend Of Doctor Robert”; another fine example of retro psych with its biting guitar tones and weird echo effects on the vocals. “Echoes Of Time” is a cool space rock groove with cosmic sounding synths and deadpan vocals. I could imagine teenagers in the ‘60s listening to music like this while in a drug-induced haze. Although the songs do not change a great deal from one to the next there are enough subtle differences to make this album highly enjoyable and what this threesome do they do very well. “The Orange Coat” at almost twenty minutes has the band developing a great groove after a trippy intro of sitar and effects. It’s a laid back affair but the guitar still has plenty of razor-like bite. At the end of the disc you also get three bonus tracks that were recovered from a tape that was presumed lost. The band’s spacey synths and other-worldly sounds are at the core of these quite experimental tracks. More Pink Floyd influence can be heard, especially in the weird effects and synths. Very cool indeed.
From: https://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=21784

Transylvania Stud - Burn the Witch

 #Transylvania Stud #Andrew Godfrey #stoner metal #stoner rock #doom metal #desert rock #one man band #The By Gods #Queens of the Stone Age cover

Originally a side-project, Andrew Godfrey has made Transylvania Stud his primary outlet for all things rock n’ roll. With the renaissance of classic heavy metal coming to a boil, there isn’t much room for hooks or pop sensibilities. But this is where Transylvania Stud blows the competitions’ doors in.  On this surprise release, Godfrey has teamed up with Nashville’s finest, The By Gods, for a blistering cover of the 2006 would-be classic from Queens Of The Stone Age, “Burn The Witch.” While the original had it’s roots firmly planted in gnarly blues-rock thanks to ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Godfrey and co. kick it up a notch, with an overall emphasis on groove and tension.  The music video for “Burn The Witch” is like a 1960s psychedelic reel of avant-garde horror imagery including (but not limited to) cemeteries, snake handlers, ominous cloaked figures, exorcisms, and of course, a witch!  From: https://www.50thirdand3rd.com/transylvania-stud-burn-the-witch-music-video/ 

 

Pink Floyd - Matilda Mother

 #Pink Floyd #Syd Barrett #Roger Waters #psychedelic rock #British psychedelia #progressive rock #art rock #space rock #experimental rock #blues rock #1960s

The original members of Pink Floyd met in an architectural college. The band started as a blues band. Later, under Syd Barrett's leadership, they played music that was psychedelic in style. After Barrett left the band, they started to play longer and more complicated songs, and to play at a lot of colleges and universities. Soon, they were famous as studio musicians who loved to experiment with music. On the album Atom Heart Mother, from 1970, they used a brass band and a choir. They used a lot of things to make their concerts interesting to watch. They had a round movie screen on the stage. They would show videos on the screen when they played. They also used lighting and lasers in a much fancier way than many bands do. They also had big balloon puppets. The most famous is in the shape of a pig, which first appeared on the cover for their album, Animals. The pig has since become a symbol of Pink Floyd. Another symbol that reminds people of Pink Floyd is a prism with light shining through it. This was on the cover of Dark Side of the Moon, one of their most popular albums.  From: https://kids.kiddle.co/Pink_Floyd

By the spring of 1967, Pink Floyd was at the forefront of the psychedelic rock movement that was pushing its way into mainstream popular culture. Fronted by lead guitarist and songwriter Syd Barrett, and including bassist Roger Waters, drummer Nick Mason and organist Richard Wright, the band cracked the Top 20 in the United Kingdom with their catchy debut single, "Arnold Layne." In May 1967, they made an indelible impression with the Games for May concert at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, featuring a quadraphonic sound system, dazzling light show and bubble-generating machine. The band was fueled by the creativity of its frontman, known for his cryptic lyrics that mixed mysticism and wordplay, and an experimental guitar style that made use of echo machines and other distortions. Sadly, the same forces that drove Barrett to artistic breakthroughs also led him down the path of self-destruction, leaving him exiled from the group shortly after they arrived on the charts and rendering him a cautionary tale as Pink Floyd became one of the biggest bands in the world.  From: https://www.biography.com/news/syd-barrett-pink-floyd

K's Choice - Not An Addict

 #K's Choice #alternative rock #folk rock #hard rock #post-grunge #indie rock #1990s #Belgian

K's Choice is a Belgian rock band from Antwerp. The band centers on siblings Sam Bettens (formerly known as Sarah Bettens) (lead vocals, guitar) and Gert Bettens (guitar, keyboard, vocals). They are joined by Eric Grossman (bass), Jan van Sichem Jr. (guitar) and Koen Liekens (drums). Their music can be described as guitar-based singer-songwriter rock or folk-rock. It ranges from very delicate and intimate singer-songwriter songs to songs that are stronger, more active and louder. Sarah's smoky, enigmatic voice is the band's best known characteristic. In the seven years between The Great Subconscious Club and Almost Happy the music changed from raw and guitar-based to a more subtle and delicate sound. Sarah and Gert write most of the music and lyrics. Most of it is written separately. Sarah mainly tries to express ideas in her songs, and has a hand in writing silly and tongue-in-cheek songs. Gert has one big theme: losing the one you love. While most of the songs are easily accessible and open, some others are strange and incomprehensible. This led Sarah to comment: "Listening to the lyrics for the first time, you may find it hard to understand their meaning. When you listen to them a second time you may sense a basic truth in these cryptic words. If you do so, please let me know." This band appeared in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Doppelgangland) with the song Virgin State of Mind, leading to a boost in popularity.Their most popular song 'Not an addict' can be heard in the movie 'Wild things'.  From: https://www.last.fm/music/K%27s+Choice/+wiki

It’s too easy to assume, as so many already have, that the ’90s classic anthem “Not An Addict” by Belgian rock band K’s Choice from the album Paradise in Me, is simply about the denial of drug addiction. However, according to an interview with Billboard magazine, the song’s meaning takes on a more nuanced perspective of (formerly known as Sarah), transgender lead singer Sam Bettens’ view of controlled substance dependence, and the criminality of what he considered “soft drugs” like cannabis at the time.
Even though most ’90s rock bands proudly wore their ‘sex-drugs-rock-and-roll’ personas unapologetically on their sleeves, Bettens was fairly open about having made a valiant effort to avoid “hard drugs.” He was nonetheless still forthcoming about using cannabis and experimenting with psychedelics. In his interview, Bettens fully acknowledges, “I was addicted to cigarettes really bad,” also admitting, “I’ll smoke a joint once in a while and I might try acid or mushrooms, but I’ve never done any hard drugs, and I don’t think I want to.” The reason he explained was, “I like being in control of myself, and doing certain drugs makes you lose touch. That’s what scares me.”
Bettens was also adamant about clarifying that “Not An Addict” is neither anti, nor pro-drug use, and that the song’s meaning is by no means black or white, much like competing opinions about cannabis dependence. Bettens’ perspective, and song lyrics if anything, reflect modern-day cannabis use debates, captured in the form of a hauntingly melodic internal conflict.
From: https://trauma.blog.yorku.ca/2022/08/not-an-addict/