Posts Tagged ‘Roger Powell’
August 10, 2018

David Fitzpatrick puts his name on the line for Parachutes And Hurricanes. Photo courtesy the internet
I love Gary Tanin. I really do. He’s been a fan of this blog way back before it was this blog. The history between us goes back to when I was writing for Princeton Record Exchange. I don’t recall what review I wrote that garnered his attention there, but he came along when I decided to blow off the other two stores I was writing for and forge out on my own.
For that I will always be grateful. But I fear this is where all good things must end.
All throughout this blog’s history, I have made every effort to look for the unusual, the out-of-the-way, off-the-beaten path stuff. Having first been born and raised in the NJ/NY area, I was influenced by that fringe that was all around then. Free radios in cars blasted new and unusual stuff with the birth of FM radio. WPLJ, so on etc. So while I was getting the fresh info and news and new music, my family was imploding and my mother had to take me away from all that culture…
(more…)
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags:Adrian Belew, Alan Parsons, Arnel Pineda, Beach Boys, Beatles, Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen, Craig Brog, Cyndi Lauper, Dave Schoepke, David Bowie, David Fitzpatrick, David Fitzpatrick Band, David Sylvian, Dick Dale, Dick Eliot, E Street Band, ELP, Ethan Bender, Flo and Eddie, Florence And The Machine, Gary Tanin, Gerry Ochoa, Greg Lake, Jack Spann, Lou Reed, Lovin' Spoonful, Luke Lilla, Mark Mulcahy, Meatloaf, Michael Koch, Miracle Legion, Modest Mussorgsky, Otto and The Elevators, Paul Noesky, Paul Shaffer, Ric Propst, Rob Halford, Roger Powell, Sam Llanas, Steve Perry, The Tubes, Tim "Ripper" Owens, Todd Rundgren, Todd Rundgren's Utopia, Tom Buckley, Utopia, Velvet Underground, Vince Welnick, Wrecking Crew
Posted in Opinion/Editorial, Review | Leave a Comment »
May 26, 2018

What happens when a goofball drummer joins a funkoslap bass player, a happy-go-lucky noisemaker guitarist, and a virtuoso keyboardist? Gizmodrome! Photo courtesy Gizmodrome and the internet.
You hear me going on about convergence all the time. This artist I like works with that artist I like. Convergence. Laurie Anderson and Peter Gabriel, the artist who will no longer be named in this column and The Residents, Robert Fripp and Daryl Hall, Talking Heads and Eno, Eno and Devo, Fripp and Bowie, Bowie and the guitarist who is a member in this most unusual band we are about to review, Adrian Belew and if you want circular closure, Adrian Belew and Laurie Anderson.
Slap bassist extraordinaire Mark King has had his unique sound in every household guaranteed. If someone can honestly tell me they haven’t heard the song “Something About You” before, they are either VERY old (and I’m 55, so I know old) or live under a rock. King is one of those ‘taught-myself-how-to-make-a-living-at-this-thing’, type of players. Sophisticated playing with an innovative knack. I could go on about his co-collaborators outside Level 42, but this will be long enough.
The one member I know little about it Vittorio Cosma. He is the host of the band, in Italy. Italy is key to this band’s story as Copeland used the Italian backdrop to lure Belew to compliment the existing band Gizmo. King had opened for The Police back in the day, so Copeland recruited him and with those additions, the band Gizmodrome was born!
(more…)
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags:Adrian Belew, Brian Eno, Chris Arduser, Curved Air, Daryl Hall, Dave Grohl, David Bowie, Devo, Dream Theater, Foo Fighters, Frank Zappa, Gordon Sumner, Iggy Pop, James May, Jeremy Clarkson, Josh Homme, King Crimson, Klark Kent, Laurie Anderson, Level 42, Mark King, Marvin Ayers, MASK, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, Peter Garbiel, Psychodots, Queens Of The Stone Age, Richard Hammond, Rob Fetters, Robert Fripp, Roger Powell, Sonya Kristina, Stewart Copeland, Talking Heads, The Bears, The Residents, Todd Rundgren, Utopia, Vittorio Cosma
Posted in Opinion/Editorial, Review | Leave a Comment »
April 6, 2018

This photo shoot includes Ralph Schuckett, who would later drop out due to health issues. Those issues being it was making him sick not being able to play like retired Utopia keyboardist Roger Powell. Photo courtesy Sirius XM
I’m out. No, seriously, I am done following and listening to (and reporting on) Todd Rundgren. Most likely his name won’t appear in this blog again outside the context of referring to him as producer, engineer, etc. I have yet to get his latest solo CD “White Knight“. Which is unheard of for me, having once pestered a local record store merchant by going to their store EVERYDAY asking about the not yet released Adventures In Utopia album.
Sicker still, I find it difficult for people to comprehend, but I prefer Rundgren’s more esoteric efforts. No, I hate Something/Anything, that and his Bossa Nova album With A Twist… Then he went EDM. Awwww hell no!!! But I stayed there with Rundgren through all the musical twists and turns he chose to make in his career. Spending a healthy dime on records, cds, posters, T-shirts, pins, on and on and on. Since 1974…
So I feel that (among other things) qualifies me to make these statements.
(more…)
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags:Dave McCaffrey, Gil Assayas, Kasim Sulton, Mark Mulcahy, Miracle Legion, Prairie Prince, Ralph Schuckett, Ray Neal, Ringo Starr, Ringo Starr and the All Star Band, Roger Powell, Scott Boutier, Todd Rundgren, Trey Sabatelli, Willie Wilcox
Posted in Opinion/Editorial, Special Edition | Leave a Comment »
March 30, 2018

You can’t beat a personalized copy of the new Sam Llanas CD Return Of The Goya, Part 1. In the name of political correctness, no international grocery aisle comments please. Photo courtesy Sam Llanas
It’s great to have Sam Llanas back on the blog! We’ve covered Sam since his debut solo album 4a.m. which remains one of my favorite pieces of work to date. I think I need to break it out again as I need to get a lot of things in the studio done (midi up live tracks, finish writing the last song on my last album…) and I LOVE to work late at night.
Llanas first came to my attention through Gary Tanin, whom I became associated with through the Roger Powell album Blue Note Ridge and then again with Fossil Poets. (Don’t go on your anti-Utopia 2018 reunion tour, Jeff, we know Powell isn’t participating and you doubt replacement Ralph Schuckett, while an extraordinary player with Todd Rundgren’s Utopia, this tour promotes the newly released box set of material with Powell, NOT Schuckett, the harmonic sensibilities employed by Powell will be long lost and they are an integral charm with the REAL Utopia. Don’t be fooled by imitations! Save it for another blog…) Then Tanin had the idea of getting me involved with both Llanas and a project Llanas became involved in, a two man show with Doug Vincent detailing Vincent’s own tragic encounter with addiction and suicide, punctuated by profound performances by Llanas from his solo works.
I identified with the author of the show, Doug Vincent, so much, it became a labor of love to promote his show A Day For Grace. Check the blog search field to see if I migrated them from the syndication to the new site. I am pretty sure they are there. You can also search Sam Llanas, and see all the reviews in our history. Needless to say, Llanas is a favorite here. A particular favorite of ours here at the blog is the Absinthe album. Those songs are so dark, they immediately draw in a death hag like me (even learned a couple of tunes on guitar, fun stuff!).
(more…)
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags:Absinthe, Creedence Clearwater Revival, David Bowie, Doug Vincent, Ed Randazzo, Ellen Rosenberg, Elvis Costello, First National Band, Gary Tanin, George Harrison, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Simons, Johnny Cash, Kevin Dunphy, Matt Turner, Mel Bay, Michael Nesmith, Percy Sledge, Ralph Schuckett, Rebone, Roger Powell, Ryan Schiedermayer, Sam Llanas, Sean Williamson, The Band, Todd Rundgren, Traveling Wilburys
Posted in Opinion/Editorial, Review | Leave a Comment »
January 12, 2018

The Todd Rundgren produced Love Bomb by the San Francisco band The Tubes. Photo courtesy Capitol Records.
We are reviving a feature on BouleBlog, the Friday Flashback. This gives us a unique opportunity to take a look at albums that were released in the distant past, but still have musical, technological or even social impact on the music horizon, some that even last years later.
This entry is not of any social consequence, but it has technological brilliance unequaled even today. For its time in 1985, it was leaps and bounds beyond anything that came out in that time period. Before things get too convoluted, perhaps some background will put things into perspective.
(more…)
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags:Bill Spooner, David Foster, Fee Waybill, Frank Zappa, Kasim Sulton, King Tu Tau, Michael Cotton, Percy Faith, Peter Gabriel, Prairie Prince, Rick Anderson, Roger Powell, Roger Steen, Sam The Sham and The Pharros, The Residents, Todd Rundgren, Utopia, Vince Welnick, Willie Wilcox
Posted in Friday Flashback, Opinion/Editorial, Review | 4 Comments »
October 1, 2015

King Crimson Live In Argentina 1994 from the Thrak tour.
I don’t much care for revisionism. Yet I get sucked into it time after time. I posted on the accompanying Facebook page for this blog, https://www.facebook.com/groups/bouleblog/, that the there will be changes on this blog. Well here they are. I tried to ‘play nice’ as the saying went. I tried to appease all the people who submitted work for me to review. I found myself watering down my utter loathing for certain acts and more importantly I was allowing my disdain for certain acts to dictate my rate of reviews. Yet after making promises to people to review music outside my comfort zone, and having those people demand edits, the not bother to repost my efforts in an effort to promote a show for these people, I’M OUT!
(more…)
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags:Adrian Belew, Asia, Bill Bruford, Bill Rieflin, Boz Burrell, David Byrne, David Sylvain, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Eric Slick, Gary Tanin, Gavin Harrison, Gordon Haskell, Greg Lake, Jackko Jakszysk, John Wetton, Julie Slick, Kasim Sulton, King Crimson, Mel Colins, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Roger Powell, Sam Llanas, Steven Wilson, Tobias Ralph, Todd Rundgren, Tony Levin, Toyah Willcox, Trey Gunn
Posted in Opinion/Editorial, Review | Leave a Comment »
December 10, 2014

Sometimes, the life of a blogger can be hazardous to that blogger’s health. Photo by Lynn Vala
My WordPress screen prompts me by asking ‘what’s on your mind’? I guess I need to vent, come clean, explain why I have been absent from this blog for months now. Also to explain why a story was posted and then pulled almost in the same day. The story is long and convoluted so I will try to explain why I took a self-imposed sabbatical from this page.
But first, a bit of background on why this is personal to me.
Integrity has always been important to me. I have been asked to leave many bands because my integrity prevented me from playing over-exposed bands/songs such as Creedence Clearwater, or other bands I felt were not challenging enough to my ability as a player or were too commonplace for my liking. The more popular a musical genre, the less I find it appealing other than the finely crafted pop pieces from acts such as Hall & Oates, Foster The People, etc.
As I became older I found that bands who challenged the perceived norm of popular music or who went against the 4/4 popular time signatures lead to new vistas and horizons for me as a musician. Masters such as Frank Zappa, King Crimson and mid to latter era Todd Rundgren and or Utopia. Acts that really had musical meat for me, something I could dig my teeth into both as a listener and a musician.
So when I begin this blog I’ve virtually went into it with little to no restriction other than those imposed upon me by the webmasters. Limitations such as no obscenities, formatting, no artist bashing, promoting record sales… you can see how this would get tedious. Sad to say, one of the better things to ever happen to me might have been when Princeton Record Exchange dissolved it’s blog. At that point I had to make a decision: Shit or get off the pot. I guess I shit because I am still on the pot!
The decision was made, I would start my own blog, go my own way and blaze my own path. Or so I thought. With this freedom also came a certain perverted perk. People would approach me and ask if I would want to promote either their own disc or an artist they represented. This is where things started to go downhill…
(more…)
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags:Chris Arduser, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Doug Vincent, Foster The People, Frank Zappa, Gary Tanin, Hall & Oates, King Crimson, Lord Russ, Roger Powell, Sam Llanas, Todd Rundgren, Utopia
Posted in Opinion/Editorial, Special Edition | Leave a Comment »
April 7, 2014

The cover of Rob Fetters latest offering. Don’t bother looking for it at your local mall record store, this is way above their radar. Photo courtesy Baby Ranch
It must be an amazing personal feat to be able to call upon some of your home-base contemporaries to make guest appearances all over your new solo CD. It is most likely an even easier feat to accomplish when you have a client list from your commercial jingle-writing career that reads like a veritable Who’s Who of Fortune 500 companies.
Rob Fetters is one of the pre-eminent guitar slingers who hales from the Mid-West. So when someone with not one but TWO main websites (robfetters.com for his commercial jingle writing career, and robfetters.net for the musical artist career), a musician history including playing with Adrian Belew in a band called the Bears (SUCH an underrated band, they need more exposure because you folks are truly missing out) as well as playing in a band called the Psychodots with Bears members Bob Nyswonger (bass) and Chris Arduser (drums). There are more bands on Fetters resume that could easily come and go in front of someone’s line of sight, more impressive perhaps is the list of advertising clients Fetters has delivered product to. Heavy hitters from varied industries such as ABC, Disney, Nickelodeon, PBS, FOX Sports, Olay, Walmart, Luvs, Scripps, MicroSoft, Chiquita, Ohio Lottery, Adventure Aquarium, Penn Station, Dayton Daily News, Frische’s, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, LaRosa’s, Sea World, P&G, Mercy Health Crest, Fit, Milestone, Tri-Health Hospitals, StarKist, TXU Energy, West Virginia Lottery, Airheads, Newport Aquarium, Intel, First Data, US Bank, Hasbro, Roto Rooter, Totes, Kentucky Lottery, Pitney Bowes, Long John Silvers, Cincinnati USA, The United Way, Contemporary Arts, Cincinnati Bell, Drees Homes, Kellogg’s, United Dairy Farmers…
Just to name a few.
(more…)
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags:Adrian Belew, Bee Haskins, Belinda Lipscomb, Bob Nyswonger, Chris Arduser, Clyde Brown, ELO, Gary Tanin, Gerald Brown, Jeff Lynne, Keith Richards, Krystal Peterson, Matt Malley, Mick Jagger, Noah Fetters, Psychodots, Ric Probst, Richard Tandy, Rob Fetters, Robert Fripp, Roger Powell, Sam Llanas, Skrillex, Steve Vai, The Bears, The Raisins, The Tubes, Todd Rundgren, Utopia
Posted in Opinion/Editorial, Review | Leave a Comment »
March 15, 2013
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is another entry in our Friday Flashback series which revives and gives a permanent home to blogs previously posted to the syndication websites. Some have maintained these pages and I not only appreciate that, but will be drawing these historical posts from those sites. This entry, featuring the Todd/Healing tour from Todd Rundgren is significant for two reasons: First, this exact show has been released on two separate DVDs. I would invite you to purchase those DVDs to compare what I saw to what is on those DVDs, but those DVDs are so meticulously edited, what is on the DVDs is NOT what we saw at the show. The second reason is, in April of this year, Rundgren will release his first studio album of new material in almost five years (five years in September), State. Here is the review of the original live performance, just be advised this is a consolidation of a two part review. So grab a lovely beverage and find your most comfortable seat in the house, settle in and enjoy:

Rundgren welcomes you to his psychedelic world. Photo by Lynn vala
Glenside PA – I will have to explain the two albums being played live by Rundgren and company at the Keswick Theater before we get into the review. The first is the self titled album Todd. It remains my favorite album by him to date. Starting out with some backwards masking (sounds played backward) of a voice asking for a little fanfare, it maintains a non-stop adventure right to the protracted fade of the last track, recorded live with a chorus of audience members from both coasts and mixed together (long before digital signal stretching in Pro-Tools) in one track.
The second album is a collection of songs pertaining to the science (?) of psychic healing. Side one of Healing deals with the voyage of one who is anointed with the power to heal, and the taxation of a greedy society, all clamoring for the healing touch. Trivia time: The bonus 7” vinyl that was included with the original 12” plastic waffle release was the single from the album called “Time Heals” and was the 7th original video aired on MTV’s broadcast debut.
There weren’t many videos to choose from then, and Rundgren and MTV are not the best of friends. Read on for more dish…
(more…)
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags:Adrian Belew, Alan Parsons, Ann Wilson, Barbara England School For The Arts, Billy James, Bobby Strickland, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Letterman, Dirk Hillyard, Donny Osmond, E Street Band, Eric Burdon and the Animals, Gilbert & Sullivan, Greg Hawkes, Heart, Jesse Gress, Jim Steinman, John Entwhistle, John Ferenzik, Kasim Sulton, Meatloaf, Michelle Rundgren, Paul Shaffer, Prairie Prince, Roger Powell, Shaun Cassidy, Talking Heads, The Who, Todd Rundgren, Tony Levin, Utopia, Walk Down Abbey Road, Warren Zevon, Willie Wilcox
Posted in Opinion/Editorial, Review | Leave a Comment »
February 14, 2013

Gary Tanin hams it up at the Chicago Chapter Grammy Event. Photo courtesy Gary Tanin
I know you haven’t heard of the band I am about to reference unless you are located near Cincinnati. That band is called The Psychodots. When Adrian Belew joins them, they are The Bears. Belew, Rob Fetters, Bob Nyswonger and Chris Arduser. The wrote a song once called “Prarie Dog Town”. I reference this band’s song because there is a line in the song that, when presented with the following subject matter, immediately popped into my mind: ‘We’re too hip to screw around’.
I like to think we are too hip to screw around.
My thinking is influenced by the fact that I have long been espousing the existence of one Gary Tanin. Yeah, my best thing to ever happen to me studied Mr. Tanin in her Telecommunications courses in college (while I wasted my time in Business Administration with a Law minor, UGH, useless) but I knew of him as a contributor to the genesis of what became that computer program in your Mac called GarageBand.
Then there was his involvement in the career of long-time Todd Rundgren cohort Roger Powell. Then there is his work with former BoDeans member Sammy Llanas. Then there is his solo work on his own musical career, as well as the numerous artists to whom he has lent his magic ear.
I put on my Facebook page that I use to promote this blog, (https://www.facebook.com/groups/bouleblog/) that we only back winners on this site. We stand by that, and in fact, we are now pleased to show our proof. Dig in as we go to one of the satellite Grammy galas, this time in Chicago where Mr. Tanin rubbed elbows with a few high and mighty folks at this event. This was one of the REAL events, unlike that sham of a show that captured the mindless of America, topped American televisions ratings and proved that most of America’s minds have turned to mush.
Check out the real deal…
(more…)
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags:Adrian Belew, Bob Nyswonger, BoDeans, Chris Arduser, Gary Tanin, Grammys, Jenna Goode, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Rob Fetters, Rob Waller, Roger Powell, Sammy Llanas, The Psychodots, Todd Rundgren
Posted in Opinion/Editorial, Review | Leave a Comment »