Friday, June 30

Connells - Lexington, VA 1992 (sbd)

The Connellsin the early days
Washington & Lee University  
Lexington, VA 
May 8, 1992

soundboard recording (quality: VG++; 
transfer from third-generation copy)

SAMPLE: "Doin' You" (live 1992)


01 Stone Cold Yesterday
The Connells: a nice bunch of guys making catchy pop rock
02 Sal
03 Slackjawed
04 Upside Down
05 Speak to Me
06 Set the Stage 
07 Doin' You
08 banter
09 Get a Gun
10 Carry My Picture
11 Over There
12 1934
13 Eyes On the Ground
14 Choose a Side (partial)
15 Hey Wow
16 Take a Bow
17 Inside My Head
18 Motel
19 Fun & Games
20 Something to Say  
21 (encore break)
22 Hey You
23 Photograph^
24 Try

^Ringo Starr cover

TT: 80:13 mins.



The Connells:
Mike Connell - guitar, vocals
David Connell - bass
Doug MacMillan - vocals, tambourine
George Huntley - guitar, vocals
Peele Wimberley - drums
Steve Potak - keyboards


ROB SEZ: Around here, we just like the Connells and their music. The band got going in Raleigh, N.C. and never left. Repercussion regulars Mitch Easter & Don Dixon were both involved in the group's earliest albums. THANK YOU KINDLY to the taper, and to Lee & caw for sharing.


MP3@320

FLAC lossless files

Learn more about The Connells' music
at the band's official site and at Wikipedia
    

Tuesday, June 27

Connells - Los Angeles 1996 (sbd)

House of Blues
Los Angeles, CA
Nov. 13, 1996

soundboard recording (quality: Ex-)

The Connells still play several shows a year, including 2017.
01 Maybe
02 Fifth Fret
03 Hang On
04 Over There
05 Doin' You
06 New Boy
07 Pretty Rough
08 Sal
09 Smoke
10 Try
11 Get a Gun
12 Any
13 Let It Go
14 Something to Say
15 '74-'75
16 Choose a Side
17 Slackjawed
18 Motel
19 Fun & Games
20 Commercial
21 Scotty's Lament
22 Stone Cold Yesterday


ROB SEZ: From the mid-1980s to early 1990s, many alternative music fans in the Southeast believed Raleigh, N.C.'s the Connells might break through to wider recognition & success. When MTV started broadcasting the band's videos, when "Stone Cold Yesterday" became a U.S. alternative radio hit, and "'74-'75" became a Top 20 hit in England, I got my hopes up. Alas, it was not to be. Fun personal fact: my daughter's landlord is a member of the band. SINCERE THANKS to Don from the old ASH blog for sharing. Stay tuned for another, to be posted soon...

MP3@320
ASH Tuesday post #67
     

Friday, June 23

Five Eight - Live Across 25 Years (1992-2017)

Live Across 25 Years
1992-2017

various venues

FM, preFM & soundboard recordings
(sound quality range: VG+ to Ex-)
 
SAMPLE: "Weirdo (live 2015)"


01 Practical Guidance
02 Self-Fulfilling Fall
03 Really Hope*
04 Not Zeppelin
05 Pull Up
06 Ungrateful Boy
07 Looking Up
08 Stars
09 This Strong Emotion*
10 Who Is Maurice?*
11 Finished With My Woman* 
12 Destroy This World
13 Weirdo
14 On the Highway*
15 You Never Look In My Eyes
16 Weirdo
17 Song for Jim Gordon
18 Little Black Cloud
19 Palace Estates
20 Behead Myself
21 You Never Look In My Eyes
22 Depressed All the Time
23 Kids

*song titles are guesses for these tracks

TRACK NOTES
01-14 = WREK radio live session
             Atlanta, GA 1992-04-07 (FM)
15-19 = WMNF radio live session
             Tampa, FL 2015-05-09 (FM) 
20 = Hole in the Wall, Austin, TX 
        2015-03-18 (RXCR at SXSW)
21= 40 Watt Club, Athens, GA 
       2016-02-13 (sbd)
22-23 = Hole in the Wall, Austin, TX
             March 2017 (RXCR at SXSW)

ROB SEZ: I'm a new fan of Five Eight, even though the Athens, GA collective has been around more than a quarter century. I'd say the band, fronted by Mike Mantione, is a hybrid of alt. rock, hardcore, and emo. If you like GBV and/or Superchunk, I recommend you check out Five Eight. Their music is not my usual cup of tea. But after several listens, I see why a National Public Radio blogger put Five Eight first on his list of "Top Five Bands That Should Be Way Bigger Than They Are". Stream the new single "Kids" (below) from the band's forthcoming album Songs for St. Jude.

Sample the fab new song "Kids"
from Five Eight's forthcoming studio album:
 Download "Kids" & a Five Eight song sampler
for free from NoiseTrade

Learn more about Five Eight's music
at the
band's official site and AllMusic

Friday, June 16

The Mice - Unreleased and Live Recordings

Bill Fox: frontman for The Mice
music from: unreleased album, 
live show, early single
1984 - 1988
various venues & recording info

soundboard recordings (quality VG- to VG+) 

 





 
 
 
01 Resurrection Day
02 Music Here
03 Something Pushed 
After an early single, this EP was the band's next release
04 Public Television
05 I Got a Gal In Kalamazoo
06 Phone in My Car
07 Across the Mighty Ocean
08 Don't Be a Stranger to Me
09 Nearly a Mile Away
10 Struck Me Paralyzed
11 Girl in Red (live)
12 Downtown (live)
13 Stay Forever (live)
14 Love Ain't No Feeling (live)
15 The Good's Gone (live)
16 American Pagan Girl (live)
17 Bye Bye Kitty Kat (live)
18 Can't Explain… [Who medley] (live)
19 She Loves You (live)
20 A Hard Day's Night (live)
21 Can You Walk on the Water Baby? 
      (first single A-side)
22 Little Creatures (first single B-side)
23 Santa Claus

SAMPLE: "Across the Mighty Ocean" (from rare Unreleased & Live Recordings)

TRACK NOTES:
#1: outtake from the Scooter album - recorded & produced by Chris Burgess June 1986 at Beat Farm, Willoughby OH
#2-10, 23: from sessions for the never-completed Canterbury Bells LP. Recorded by Chris Burgess in 1987 at Beat Farm. Mixed Feb 2002 by Brendan Burke at Uberstudio, Chicago, IL
#11-20: taken from studio portion of a live show 1988-06-04 recorded by Ken Dixon in Cleveland, OH for WRUW-FM
#21, 22: vinyl rip from the band's rare first single, recorded while still in their early teens, released 1984

The Mice: so short-lived & mysterious, this is one
of the group's only surviving band photos
ROB SEZ: What's better than discovering a terrific, little-known band? That would be finding a complete set of the band's rarities, including raw tracks from a never-completed and never-released album. Call it punky pop-rock, if you need a descriptor. This set was sold exclusively (for a red-hot minute) through Scat Records’ website, a CD-R release (SCAT 72). It was quickly deleted at the band's request, and is now otherwise unavailable. Frontman Bill Fox went on to a somewhat better-known solo career, with several albums worth seeking out (see especially Shelter from the Smoke). Read a great, feature-length post about The Mice from Adios Lounge.

MP3@320

HUMONGOUS THANKS to Don from the old ASH blog for sharing
 Learn more about The Mice's music at Trouser Press, Wikipedia & the music of Bill Fox at Wikipedia
 

Friday, June 9

Jason Falkner - Two Rarities Collections

'An Alternative You Can Still Feel'
alt. version of CYSF? album
late 1990s
various recording venues, etc.

soundboard recordings (quality VG+ to Ex-)

01 The Invitation - full-length version 
02 Author Unknown - album outtake
03 Revelation - GLR live
04 My Lucky Day - B-side version
05 Holiday - single version
06 Eloquence - GLR live
07 I Already Know - demo
08 See You Again - acoustic
09 Honey - GLR live
10 The Plan - GLR live
11 All God's Creatures - demo
12 Goodnight Sweet Night - demo
    
SAMPLE: "Hello Mr. Future" (from IPO sampler)

         
'Play Myself Some Music'
demos, B-sides & other rarities
various recording venues & dates
 
soundboard & FM recordings
   (quality VG+ to Ex-)

01 Play Myself Some Music 
      - R. Stevie Moore cover
02 Start Over - 17A version
03 Do Ya - The Move cover
04 Great Big Yes - B-side version
05 Touch and Go - Cars cover
06 My House is Not a Home 
      - yellow pills version 
07 Both Sides Now - B-side version
08 In Awe of Industry - B-side version
09 Pretty Ballerina - Left Banke cover
10 Hello Mr. Future - IPO sampler
11 Photograph - Def Leppard cover
12 My Lucky Day - B-side version
13 Baby I Love You - J. Barry & E. Greenwich cover
14 Upside Down Frown - demo
15 Holiday - single version
16 Kids Without Curfew
17 They're Coming to See Us
18 Some Things Are Big 
     Some Things Are Small - live on TV 
19 All God's Creatures - demo
20 Goodnight Sweet Night - demo
21 Honey - demo
22 I Already Know - demo

ROB SEZ: There's some overlap in these two rarities collections, which come courtesy of Mick and thanks to Don from the old ASH blog (Mick is the biggest JF fan I know of). But I figured you'd rather have two copies of a few of these rather than not hear 'em at all... Jason Falkner and R. Stevie Moore recently released (?re-released?) a collaboration called Make It Be, which is getting great reviews (check out Rushbo's review for Rockerzine). Many say the project brings out the best in both artists (see more below). Bonus share? Of course...
  

Jason Falkner & R. Stevie Moore made this album.
Sample "I H8 Ppl" below.



Wednesday, June 7

Cotton Mather - Late 1990s + 2017 live sets

KUTX-FM live session
Austin, TX
May 23, 2017
  
web stream capture (sound quality VG++)
   
01 Better Than a Hit
02 I Volunteer
03 Girl With a Blue Guitar
04 Robert Harrison
     interview+
05 Candy Lilac*

+several interview segments put into a single file
*bonus track from an earlier KUTX live session in 2016

unidentified live session
a TV studio in Texas (?)
late 1990s
   
audio rip from video (quality VG++)
    
01 Animal Show Drinking
     Song (partial)^ 
02 Church of Wilson
03 She's Only Cool
04 Aurora Bori Alice
05 Flying (Badfinger cover)
   
^beginning cut, fades in (about 1 minute total)

ROB SEZ: Judging from the comments generated by my last Cotton Mather post, we seem to have some serious fans of this little-known band — and I'm one of them. ROIOs are hard to come by for this fab, Beatlesque group — so here's a couple more I recently acquired. I don't know much about the late 1990s set, but it seems to come from a live session in a TV studio (I'm guessing somewhere in Texas). Special treat: a live cover of the song the band contributed to a Badfinger tribute album in 1996. RIDICULOUS THANKS to KUTX in Austin and to Mike Rosen for sharing.



Cotton Mather just released a second installment in front man Robert Harrison's ambitious Songs from The I Ching project. It's called Wild Kingdom, and I heartily recommend it. Purchase directly from the band HERE (while you're at it, pick up the first installment, Death of the Cool).
 

NoiseTrade has a cool freebie: a 9-track sampler that covers both albums. Check it out (you'll have to register with NoiseTrade, but you'll probably be glad you did. They give away lots of cool music).


Kontiki: Deluxe Edition is still available from the band HERE.

Learn more about Cotton Mather's music at