The Optic Nerve - Live In Spain (FM)

unknown venue, town, date

FM recording (sound quality: VG++; might possibly be sbd or TV audio, but it sounds great; stream capture by Rob-in-Brevard) 

00 stage entrance, tuning
01 I'll Give You Loving Like Nobody Can
02 Kiss Her Goodbye
03 banter, song intro
04 Shine Tomorrow

The Optic Nerve: hipsters on location

05 I Sometimes Wish We'd Never Met 
06 Spend It With You
07 Like to Get to Know Her
08 While Shineth the Sun
09 What's Been Missing
10 applause, song intro
11 Leaving Yesterday Behind
12 Call On Me
13 Find My Own Way Back Home
14 Happy Ever After
15 applause, song intro
16 Up In Her Room
17 A Hard Time's Comin' Around the Bend
18 Time

ROB SEZ: The Optic Nerve! Where else but here are you gonna snag a live show in very good sound quality by this nearly-forgotten, Dylanesque NYC garage band from the 1980s? If you like the Fuzztones, the Long Ryders, or the Lyres, I recommend you check out this group. This recording captures a fairly good performance, which picks up steam starting at track 11. Consider it a teaser for The Optic Nerve's two albums: Forever and a Day and Lotta Nerve, both of which are terrific (AllMusic gives them both 4 & 1/2 out of 5 stars). ON!, new album of previously unreleased material, is due for release in July. HUGE THANKS to whoever posted this (possibly the band?) for me to snag and share here. 

FLAC lossless capture, lossy source

MP3@320

   

The Semantics - Pre-debut Demos (early 1990s)

Demos

c. 1991 and/or 1992

recording location(s) unknown

01 Avalon

02 Baby It's You

03 This One's for Me 

04 Facts of Life

05 Hippy Woman

06 Lonely Girl

07 Standing Still

08 Merry Go Round

09 Wildflower

10 Victim for Somebody Else

11 Maria

12 Sticks and Stones

13 Future for You

14 Coming Up Roses

15 The Sky Is Falling

16 Black and Blue

17 Johnny Come Lately

18 Life Goes On

19 Glasses and Braces

Musicians:

(Will) Owsley: vocals, guitars, keys, percussion, bass

Millard Powers: vocals, bass, keys, guitars

Jody Spence: drum machine programing, drums (on some tracks)

Ben Folds: drums (on "Coming Up Roses" and one other)

Zak Starkey: drums on a couple (probably "Life Goes On" and one other)

John Mark Painter: mellotron on "Coming Up Roses"

ROB SEZ: All credit here goes to Mick and Don from the old ASH blog, to whom I am indebted for so many posts over the years. Not sure why I never shared this back when I was regularly doing the "ASH Tuesday" posts, but I guess it got lost in the shuffle.  All these tracks are power pop gems, and serve as the prelude to Powerbill, considered one of the best (and hardest-to-find) power pop albums of the 1990s. The debut album features Owsley, Millard Powers, and Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr). There's a mystery bonus share included in the download folder. (Before you ask: I do not have this in lossless. I'm sharing it the way it originally came to me.)

   

P.S. - Paul over at Albums That Should Exist has posted a shorter set of these as an "imagined" album by the band. He always does a good job with his posts. Go check it out.

MP3@320

      

Ladybug Transistor - Live 2004 + 2015 (sbd)

Contempopranea Music Fest 

Alburquerque, Spain
July 24, 2004

soundboard recording (quality: VG+; webstream capture from a (probable) VHS tape source; a small handful of audio anomalies were present in my source)

01 Echoes (fades in) 

02 Empty Bottles
03 Choking On Air
04 3=Wild
05 Song for the Ending Day
06 A Burial at Sea
07 Wooden Bars
08 Here Comes the Rain
09 banter with crowd
10 NY - San Anton
11 Splendor In the Grass
12 Oceans In the Hall
13 banter, band intros
14 Rushes of Pure Spring

ROB SEZ: As a new fan of Ladybug Transistor, I was ecstatic to find a full live set in very good quality. I guess it was unrealistic to expect great sound AND an amazing performance. It’s a soundboard-sourced video from the festival organizers, so no problem there. Considering the band played their set well after midnight, it’s certainly a very good — and goodnatured — performance. Just not exactly “raw & rockin’.” I’ve added the 2015 WFMU live set here, which livens things up, thanks to the band and the zany DJ.

The Ladybug Transistor, live in 2019

WFMU Live Session
The Dave Hill Show
Jersey City, N.J.
Jan. 12, 2015

webstream capture (sound quality: VG+) 

00 DJ Dave Hill intro & joshing around
01 [unknown song]
02 more goofing around
03 Hold On
04 final DJ zaniness
05 Thieves (fades out)

WATCH THE ENTIRE 2004 SET HERE

FLAC lossless captures, lossy sources

MP3@320

Ladybug Transistor - Lively & Rarified (comp 1997-2012)

'Lively & Rarified' 

Rarities & Live comp 1997-2012

(various venues)

webstream captures (sound quality: VG+ to Ex-)

01 Terry (KDHX 2007)

02 Three Days from Now (KDHX 2007)

Ladybug Transistor: bookish, but cool

03 This Old Chase (KDHX 2007)

04 NY - San Anton (Daytrotter 2007)

05 Always On the Telephone 

      (Daytrotter 2007) 

06 Into the Strait (Brooklyn 2009)

07 Nico Norte (NYC 2009)

08 Clutching Stems (hotel room 2009)

09 I'm Not Mad Enough (Merge 2009)

10 Wooden Bars (NYC 2012)

11 I Found a Reason (VU cover)

12 Today Knows (demo 1997)

13 Six Times (demo 1998)

14 Like a Summer Rain

      (live, Other Music NYC)

source info:

01, 02 & 03 = KDHX Radio, St. Louis, MO 2007-07-29

04 & 05 = Daytrotter session 2007-06-06, unknown location

06 = Bruar Falls, Brooklyn, N.Y. 2009-10-23 (Punkcast)

07 = Cake Shop, NYC 2009-09-05 (Punkcast)

08 = N.C. hotel room, July 2009 (XX Merge)

09 = XX Merge, Chapel Hill, N.C. July 2009

10 = Popfest, Littlefield, NYC 2012

11 = Rabid Chords VU Tribute album 2000

12 & 13 = Gary Olson demos

14 = Other Music, NYC (undated)

ROB SEZ: Feeling forlorn and still missing Paddy McAloon's Prefab Sprout, I recently went 
looking for a musical place holder. I was delighted to find Brooklyn-based combo The Ladybug Transistor. Gary Olson and company make melodic, offbeat, lyrically interesting, and engaging music. Definitely not a Prefab Sprout clone, Ladybug Transistor nevertheless fills the niche for me due to their fearless creativity and lyrical sensibilities. Although the band doesn't appear to be a going studio concern these days, they toured as recently as 2019. Founder/leader Gary Olson released a fab solo album in 2020 — confirming my Prefabs associations in full. For your musical enjoyment, I assembled this compilation of live tracks and a few rarities. (Stay with this beyond the first track or two, because the energy builds as you listen.) There will be more Ladybug Transistor goodness here next weekend.

FLAC lossless capture, lossy sources

MP3@320

Chamber Strings (Kevin Junior) - Live 1998 & 2007 (soundboard)

The Double Door
Chicago, IL
Jan. 20, 2007

soundboard recording (quality: Ex-; webstream capture)

01 Flashing Star
02 Thank My Lucky Stars 
03 Last Lovers
04 The Fool Sings Without Any Song

05 For the Happy Endings 

Comeback Concert, Jan. 2007 in Chicago
photo by Brian James

06 A Broken Man
07 I Can't Lose
08 Let Me Live My Own Life
09 I Come Apart
10 Month of Sundays
11 It's No Wonder
12 Make It Through the Summer
13 Everyday Is Christmas
14 band intros
15 Beautiful You
16 Telegram (Where’s My Horn?)
17 No More Songs
18 Dead Man's Poise
19 Times Are Hard for a Dreamer
20 D.R.I.N.K.
21 Our Dead Friends

ROB SEZ: What can I say about the amazing Chamber Strings? If you're familiar with this band, you know what was so special about them: founder/leader Kevin Junior and his musical vision, which encompassed the best elements of pop and rock from the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Ohio, Junior befriended brothers Nikki Sudden and Epic Soundtracks, collaborating with both before their deaths. Junior formed the Chamber Strings in the late 1990s and recorded two stellar albums with the group: Gospel Morning (1997) and Month of Sundays (2001), both of which are worth seeking out. Junior's subsequent battle with drug addiction nearly sank him and his band. Fortunately, he survived years of depression, addiction, and homelessness. When Junior emerged, he re-connected with members of the Chamber Strings, and staged this comeback concert in his adopted hometown of Chicago. Though he never recorded another long player before his death in 2016, Junior's musical legacy is a beautiful one. HUGE THANKS to Glorious Noise & Whiskey Bender Productions for making this recording and to Tom R. for sharing it. Thanks also to Stork and WFMU for hosting the Chamber Strings for a live session in 1998, which I've included here.

Watch the whole show HERE. Wanna know more? Check out this documentary about Kevin Junior and the Chamber Strings.

WFMU Live Session 

The Chamber Strings in 2008, after the comeback

The Stork Club
East Orange, N.J.
April 18, 1998

soundboard recording (quality: Ex-; 

webstream capture) 

01 Everyday Is Christmas
02 Telegram (Where's My Horn?)
03 Flashing Star
04 I Can't Lose
06 Dead Man's Poise

Note: track 05, It's Not Worth Fighting, was officially released on Ruins, the 2009 Kevin Junior / Chamber Strings rarities comp, which is why it's excluded here

FLAC lossless capture, lossy sources

MP3@320