Sunday, October 30, 2011

On A Day Like Today ......



Grace Slick (born Grace Barnett Wing) October 30, 1939
At the height of her career she was also known as "The Acid Queen".
Grace Slick is best known as the powerful-voiced female singer in Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and Starship, rock bands with which she performed in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s. She was born to well-to-do parents and grew up in Palo Alto, CA. She became a model and married Jerry Slick. After seeing Jefferson Airplane perform in 1965, she, her husband, and her brother-in-law, Darby Slick, formed the Great Society. The group released a single, "Somebody to Love" (written by Darby Slick) on local North Beach Records in 1966, but broke up soon after. (Columbia Records later culled two albums from the group's live recordings.) Slick was asked to replace Jefferson Airplane singer Signe Anderson and joined the group in time for the recording of its second album, Surrealistic Pillow.
 She brought with her both "Somebody to Love" and her own composition, the bolero-paced "White Rabbit," with its references to drug-taking and Alice in Wonderland. Both songs were included on the album with her lead vocals. Both became Top Ten hits in 1967, as did the album, and Slick became the focal point of Jefferson Airplane, participating in seven more albums by the group -- After Bathing at Baxter's (1967), Crown of Creation (1968), Bless Its Pointed Little Head (1969), Volunteers (1969), Bark (1971), Long John Silver (1972), and Thirty Seconds Over Winterland (1973). By 1971, with the formation of the group's own custom label, Grunt Records, various bandmembers began to make albums on their own, and Slick combined with guitarist Paul Kantner on Sunfighter (1971). Baron Von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun (1973) was credited to Kantner, Slick, and David Freiberg. 1974 saw the release of Slick's debut solo album, Manhole. With the departure of Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, Jefferson Airplane had ceased to exist after 1972.
 Kantner and Slick reorganized the band under the name Jefferson Starship and released Dragon Fly in 1974. In 1975 came Red Octopus, which topped the charts and sold two million copies. Spitfire (1976) was also a million-seller, as was Earth (1978). Slick left the group and released two solo albums, Dreams (1980) and Welcome to the Wrecking Ball! (1981), then rejoined as a guest on Modern Times (1981) and participated fully on Winds of Change (1982) and Nuclear Furniture (1984). She also recorded a fourth solo album, Software (1984). Kantner's departure from the group led to a truncation of its name to Starship. Slick remained through the million-selling Knee Deep in the Hoopla (1985) and No Protection (1987), sharing lead vocals with Mickey Thomas on the number one hits "We Built This City" and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now." She left the group in 1988. In 1989 she joined a reunion of Jefferson Airplane that resulted in a tour and a self-titled album. She retired from performing in the 1990s and wrote her autobiography, Somebody to Love?, published in 1998. In 1999 RCA released The Best of Grace Slick, a career-spanning compilation album. 

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Hidden Treasures #4 : The Bamboos - Born Killer


The Bamboos were formed in 1984 by Craig Hallsworth in the West Australian township of Collie. The band consisted of Hallsworth (guitar, vocals), Mark Gelmi (bass), Roger Russell (guitar) and Tony Chiallella (drums). In 1985 Russell was replaced by Greg Hitchcock (The Go-Starts) and in 1986 Chiallella was replaced by Shakir Pichler (The Kryptonics). The band’s brand of raw guitar trash and country-swamp rock caught the attention of Citadel Records boss John Needham and they went on to record and release the single "Snuff", the flexi-disk "Dead Girl", the EP Born Killer and the album Rarer Than Rockinghorse Shit.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

From The Greek Vaults #3 : The Melting Ashes - Angels Of Sunrise

The Melting Ashes

From their 1991 album "Green Fuzz 1987" released on Wipe Out Records

 


Saturday, October 22, 2011

On A Day like Today ...



Steven John Bator, known as Stiv Bators (October 22, 1949 – June 3, 1990).
He is best remembered for his bands, The Dead Boys and The Lords of the New Church. In the summer of 1990, Bators was struck by a taxi in Paris. He was taken to hospital but reportedly left before seeing a doctor, after waiting several hours and assuming he was not injured. Reports indicate that he died in his sleep as the result of a concussion.




Thursday, October 20, 2011

Undone


I do not want to be your friend
Kiss your cheek and not your lips
I don't wanna shake your hand
When I can shake your hips
I wanna have your all
See your breasts rise and fall
But you don't come when I call
I do not wanna be your friend
I do not wanna be your friend
I thought we were above that state
I could not make you love me more
I broke my hand on heavens gate
My angels gone. I took the fall
Concussions crown was all I wore
When my mind met the floor
I do not wanna be your friend

License my roving hands and let them go
Above, before, between,
behind, below
And all those secret parts of you,
I won't, I cannot give them back
The scattered signs, the whispered clues
Indelible as scars and tear tracks
As much of me, as much as you
The smile, the laugh, the sneer, the kiss,
I do not wanna be your friend
I just have no belief in this
I do not wanna be your friend
How could you forget the words I wrote,
declared for all the world to see
Signed in blood across your throat
I lost my hip, I blew my cool,
I thought we'd burnt that book of rules
Now here I stand the fucken fool
I just want to make love to you

Sunday, October 16, 2011

On A Day Like Today

Robert Arthur "Bob" Mould (born October 16, 1960)



Michael Peter Balzary (born October 16, 1962) aka Flea


Friday, October 14, 2011

Cheepskates


Led by singer/guitarist Shane Faubert, the Cheepskates were a big part of the '80s revival of the garage rock scene on the East Coast. They released two albums with their first lineup, a four-piece that concentrated more on the retro side of the sound.
Run Better Run (Midnight, 1984) and Second And Last (Midnight, 1986). 
By 1987, Faubert was ready for a new direction and scaled the band down to a three piece for the power pop releases Remember (Music Maniac, 1987) and It Wings Above (Music Maniac, 1988). 
After a live album and a covers EP, they returned to the studio for one last time. The result, 1990's Confessional, was disappointing to listeners and the band alike, leading to the eventual dissolving of the group. A post-breakup album of Residents' songs found its way onto shelves in 1992, while Faubert continued in the same musical vein on his solo material.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Sunday, October 9, 2011

On A Day Like Today ...


Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969)

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Underworld



From the 1995 LP "The Dog's Head in the Gutter Gives Off Vibrations"

Thursday, October 6, 2011

I'll Stay By Your Side


Freddy Lynxx & The Corner Gang - I'll Stay By Your Side

Saturday, October 1, 2011

On A Day Like Today ...

Mariska Veres (1 October 1947 - 2 December 2006)