Athens Ear Buds (1-14-10)

Athens Ear Buds has returned in force from a slow winter break and holiday season. I came real close to shutting her down. But we've gotten a new blood transfusion, and for now anyway, AEB is the picture of health.

One thing, some of the contributors are starting to get a little longwinded. I understand your enthusiasm, but please try to keep the blurbs to under 150 words. Seriously. I'd really rather you cut them than me.
If you submitted your Bud after Monday afternoon and don't see it here, that's because I'm holding it for next time. I'm finally learning that in order for this thing to work, some of the blurbs need to be held over every week.

As usual, Haffa's on West Union is still the best (and pretty much only) place to buy this stuff in Athens. - Terry Smith, Athens Ear Buds' ringmaster

Greg Bikowski, bassist for The Bob Stewart Band and the Bikowski Jazz Trio, paramedic for SEOEMS: Virtuoso is about the best word that I can use to use to describe the extremely talented Italian guitarist Antonio Forcione. Of all his fine recordings, "Touch Wood" (Naim, 2003) is one of my favorites. From the first track to the last, his compositions and technique will capture and envelope you. Though mostly instrumental, Sabina Scuibba, Jose Ferriera and Diego el Cigala share their vocal talents on a couple of tracks. My two favorite tracks are the first two. In the first and title track, Forcione plays a cool combo of melody, bass and percussion, all on the guitar at the same time. The second track, "Tarantella," cellist Jenny Adejayan plays the fierce and whirling melody against Forcione's rhythmic counterpoint. His playing is fantastic, his band is fantastic, and his guests appearing on the album are fantastic. It's one to hear

Gabriella Owen is a photographer and current student at OU: Chad VanGaalen, "Soft Airplane" (Flemish Eye/ Sub Pop, 2008). Chad VanGaalen is an innovative musician who, it's hard to believe, is not very well known. His third studio release, "Soft Airplane," embodies his simplistic melodies and disturbing lyrics, such as the first single from the album, "Willow Tree," which speaks of the relief one feels after death and how majestic it can be. His use of instruments, such as busted drum machine beats and simplistic guitar cords, also heightens the sci-fi and electronic feel behind these melancholic and medieval lyrics. VanGaalen deserves credit for the album artwork well, since he design it, along with the illustrations used in his music videos. In September of 2009, he released an EP of B-Sides from "Soft Airplane" for free download at www.softairplane.com

Paul Tescher "“ local music collector: "Various Artists - Wayfaring Strangers - Guitar Soli... Numero Group 018" (2008). This is a collection of solo guitar pieces by 14 little-known players, each of whom made one or two LPs in the '70s/'80s... either privately released or for small, local labels. They were inspired by the highly imaginative playing of people such as John Fahey, Leo Kottke and Robbie Basho. Fahey is regarded as the inventor of this approach to guitar, which utilizes various open tunings... i.e. the strings are tuned to, say, DADGAD instead of the standard EADGBE. Both 6- and 12-string guitars figure into this genre. He collected and listened to 78s by blues/gospel/country artists from the '20s/'30s and developed his style, referred to as American Primitive, by fusing these elements. The release of his first LP, "Blind Joe Death" in 1959 on his own Takoma label, is a landmark in modern music. Strangers is a very enjoyable listen and comes in both CD and vinyl formats... (2 LPs for vinyl). The CD includes a nicely done 40-page booklet with a bio of each artist and a picture of their album; one recording was cassette only. What's going on here represents individuals who "grabbed the reins"... played their own version of "open-tuned" guitar, developed it to a level of sufficient skill and made a record, which they sold at gigs and gave to their friends/family. These LPs were usually pressed in small quantities and some are extremely difficult to find today. I was quite impressed by one track in particular, by a William Eaton. I was able to make contact with him via Google. Amazingly enough, he still had 50 copies of his record, which was issued in 1975; I bought one... you betcha! He is a well-known luthier and lives in Arizona.

Though currently using telepathy to help Al Gore with efforts to save humanity from itself, Dan Dreifort was once webmaster for Hot Tuna and Fur Peace Ranch: Them Crooked Vultures, "Them Crooked Vultures" (DGC/Interscope, 2009). Them Crooked Vultures is the latest "supergroup" of rockers already famous for other rock. But TCV rock harder. They're not your little sister's supergroup. Replete with members of Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Kyuss, Queens of the Stoneage, etc., it's easy to grok that they sound like Led Zeppelin, Interpol and Alice in Chains thrown in an old blender with some psychedelics and the indie band du jour. SPOILER ALERT: My favorite lyrical delivery is at the end of a ditty called "Interlude with Ludes" and goes something like, "On the good ship lallygag, LSD and a bloody pile of rags, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I am." Totally epic album. Go buy it.

John McVicker is a local NIMBY: Some fine musicians passed in 2009; I'm here to suggest that you check out two of them. Singer and songwriter Willy DeVille fronted Mink DeVille, the house band at CBGB, the club where NYC punk took form. However, his band never made much of a splash in the USA, probably because their sound was based on a tight Latin/R&B mix that didn't make a lot of sense to DIY/punk record buyers. "Le Chat Bleu" (Capitol, 1980), Mink DeVille's third (of six) and perhaps finest album, was recorded in Paris after the dissolution of the original lineup. Several songs were co-written by DeVille and Doc Pomus, a songwriter responsible for hits by Ray Charles, Dion & the Belmonts, the Drifters, and Elvis. "Le Chat Bleu" was a commercial dud, mixing strings from Edith Piaf's arranger, Cajun washboards and accordions, and lots of heart-throb ballads in a way that seemed too weird to many. Capitol, DeVille's U.S. label, refused to release it and dumped him, and that was pretty much the end of his shot at stardom. But the album is a wonder and well worth owning. The "Expanded Edition" from Australia's Raven label is worth searching out, both because of the nice added live tracks and because it restores the wonderful Zydeco tune, "Mazurka," which was cut from the American release that the suits at Capitol belatedly put out. Keyboardist Wycliffe "Steely" Johnson and drummer Cleveland "Clevie" Browne were Jamaican session pros of the highest renown. They met when both were part of Lee "Scratch" Perry's Black Ark Studios house band and were among the hottest sources of dancehall when they turned to production. "Old to the New: Steely & Clevie Tribute To Joe Gibbs Classics" (VP, 2002) is a set of reinterpretations of classic Jamaican hits. Some feature new voices on older tunes (e.g., Beres Hammond and U Roy cut Alton Ellis' "Ain't that Lovin' You") while others include original artists revisiting their own hits (e.g., Culture doing "Two Sevens Clash" with the help of Anthony B). All are great, truly bridging "old to the new." I have the original single-disk version, but in 2008 VP put out a two-CD Deluxe edition with the Gibbs-produced originals on disk 2 - take your pick.

Andy Vogel is hustling on amazon.com to sell his old textbooks: I was out on the east side one day with my buddy Xavier (aka DJ XL on WOUB), and we ran into some guy at a gas station selling his CD. He seemed convincing enough so I gave him the benefit of the doubt and bought his record. The mid-30s rapper, better known as Total Chaos or TC FLY, doesn't stray too far from the current generic genre of rap. Now there are a lot of hip-hop groups in the Columbus scene but not too many Club Bangers around (which is probably a good thing). TC Fly's album, "Blue & Red make Green," has tracks that rep Columbus, women and money. Things you can't live without! You won't be able to find any of the album tracks online; you're just going to have to pump gas in Columbus and try to find him. In the meantime you can check out his page at www.myspace.com/hhpman614 and listen to check out some tracks such as "614 G" and "Give it to Them."

Sam DiLiberto, soon-to-be retired business professor at Hocking College (also used to play in the Shadows of the Night, a local '50s band that played everywhere in southeast Ohio in the '70s and '80s, and managed Haffa's in the late '70s and deejayed at the Deck, Phase, FM and Long Branch, all popular Athens watering holes at the time): The B-52's/"The B-52's." Still a classic, with Fred wailing and Kate and Cindy doing a wonderful job with nonsensical lyrics and screaming vocals. My father used to say (about their vocals) "Is that a human being?" Yes, Dad, that's what it's all about.