BILL CONNORS - "Assembler" (1987)

 

Bill Connors is an amazing guitarist, and one of my favorites from the 70's and 80's.

Three chord rock is great no doubt, but when you need a break, you can't beat some good jazz fusion, and that's what Bill Connors is all about.

I'm not big on fusion dominated by synths and other keyboards, but when the guitarists take charge, that's when it gets really good, at least for me.

I think this tune will explain it better than I can. 

BILL CONNORS - "Crunchy" 

PEACEPIPE - "A Biker's Tune" (1969)

 

I didn't really know anything about John Uzonyi and Peacepipe until my pal, the fantabulous artist Gary Wray, told me to give them a listen. This is the kind of music that made people say "Wow!" a lot back in the day.

Recorded in maybe 1968 or 69 but not released until Rockadelic Records had the balls to do it in 1995, here's some super fuzztone guitar driven insanity.

Dick Dale and Leslie West jamming in Hendrix's basement, or that's at least what it sounds like to me!

TURN IT UP LOUD! 

PEACEPIPE - "A Biker's Tune"

THE GAMMA GOOCHEE HIMSELF - "(You Got) The Gamma Goochee" (1965)

 

 

"Tikki Tikki Tembo" -The book tells the story of a Chinese boy with a long name who falls into a well. It is an origin myth story about why Chinese names are so short today. 

It is also a Japanese story. 

In some stories the boy drowns, and in some stories he is barely saved because it took so long to get help because of his long name. 

 

"Long-Name-No-Can-Say" 

 A cross-cultural phenomena, here are just a few examples. 

 

"Teki-teki-no, teki-suri-ombo, so-take-nudo, Harima-no-betto, Cha-wan-chaus'no, Fushimi-no-Esuke"

 

"Het-toko het-toko hengo-no-kami, ik-kai niu-do waniudo, gaga-no fun-nai-zama, oodep-po kodep-po, sasara dep-po hibashi, ja-jan-janjan" 

 

"Tiki-tiki-tembo-no sa rembo-Hari bari broohski-Peri pen do-Hiki pon pom-Nichi no miano-Dom bori ko"

 

"Nicki Nicki Tembo No So Rembo Ooma Moochi Gamma Gamma Goochi" 

 

"Eddie Koochy Katcha Kama Tosa Neera Tosa Noka Sama Kama Wacky Brown" 

 

"Tiki Tiki Timbo No Sin Nimbo Hoi Boi Boski Poi Pon Do Hiki Pon Pon Niki No Mi Ah Dom Poi" 

 

"Ekitekini tekisuru onbō Sōrinbō sōtaka nyūdō Harimano bettō chawan chausuno hikigino Hyokosuke"

 

"Pacho-Nacho-Nico-Tico-Melo-Felo-Kiko-Rico" 

 

The list goes on and on, and in 1965, John Arthur Mangiagli wrote and recorded this song

which was also later covered by The Kingsmen!

THE GAMMA GOOCHEE HIMSELF - "(You Got) The Gamma Goochee" 

FRANK ZAPPA - "Hot Rats" (1969)

 

"Hot Rats" was Frank Zappa's second solo album after "Lumpy Gravy" and the musicians playing on it are so good, they should be considered a super group.

Written by Zappa, with vocals by the one and only Captain Beefheart, the song "Willie The Pimp" is a marvel of a tune.

The rest of the players were Don "Sugarcane" Harris on violin, Ian Underwood playing the tack piano, Max Bennett on bass, and John Guerin on drums.

These guys have played with everybody from Joni Mitchell and Frank Sinatra to Alice Cooper and Janet Jackson, and literally tons more.

In 1956 Sugarcane Harris was half of the duo Don & Dewey, and even though they didn't have any hits, the pair of songwriters were responsible for some very classic songs like "Farmer John" by The Premieres, "I'm Leaving It Up To You," by Dale and Grace, and "Big Boy Pete" by The Olympics.

Not as big a hit, but one of my favorite compositions of theirs is this maniacal upbeat rocker. 

DON & DEWEY - "Baby Gotta Party"

 

So here you go, driven by the violin of Sugarcane Harris and Zappa's guitar work, one of my all-time favorite songs.

 FRANK ZAPPA - "Willie The Pimp" 

THE SHALLARAS - "I Put Something In Your Drink" (2026)

 

The Shallaras are my new favorite band because they are super talented, and just fun to watch and listen to.

I was unfamiliar with this duo until my pal, the wild and krazy artist Gary Wray, sent me a link to this video that just knocked my socks off.

 

The Shallaras are Angela Cory: Voice and Saxophone....and

Mauro Pandolfino: Guitar, Bass lines and Drums played together at the same time without any overdubs.

You can find out more about them at their website, 

or just look them up on Bandcamp.

Check them out, I guarantee you will not be disappointed! 

THE SHALLARAS - "I Put Something In Your Drink" 

THE UBIQUITOUS SIXTIES SONG - "Hey Joe"

 

Rich here. I'm guessing any Baby Boomers reading this remember the iconic Sixties song, "Hey Joe." Almost every garage band worth its salt (including my own band) covered "Hey Joe," and dozens of recording artists released their own versions of the song, including some major groups like The Byrds, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Deep Purple. 

 

"Hey Joe" started out in the early '60s as a somewhat traditional acoustic  folk-blues "murder song" narrated from the viewpoint of a jilted lover who vows revenge. Within a year or so of its first recorded version, the song caught on with some of L.A.'s biggest bands of the time, not least because David Crosby introduced it to his band, The Byrds, who were the headlining band at the Whiskey A-Go-Go. The song's popularity with other bands and artists quickly spread beyond the confines of Southern California.

 

There's a lot of controversy about who actually wrote "Hey Joe." Dino Valenti (aka Chet Powers) of the band Quicksilver Messenger Service claimed he wrote it, as did cult folk artist Tim Rose, but it was first copyrighted by folksinger Billy Roberts, who was also the first artist known to record the song. However, singer/songwriter Niela Miller (who was Billy Roberts' former girlfriend) . . . claimed that Roberts 'stole' the melody and chord progression from her 1955 song "Baby, Please Don't Go to Town." According to Miller, all Billy did was write some new lyrics. 

 

Although the song's popularity seemed to die out in the Seventies, in the Sixties "Hey Joe" was one of the most ubiquitous songs of the era with many artists giving their own unique spins on its arrangement. Here are several distinctive ones:

 

The first recorded acoustic version by Billy Roberts from 1961-62

The definitive Southern California rock version by The Leaves (1966)

 

Jimi Hendrix's psychedelic version (1966)

The Soul version by Wilson Pickett (1969)

 

BONUS Tex-Mex version by Willy Deville (1992)

SCORPIO TUBE - "White Birches" (1970)

 

It's 1970 in L.A. and the name of the band is Scorpio Tube.

One single is all they have with this A side called "White Birches," and an even wilder B side titled "Yellow Listen." 

 

This tune was suggested by my pal Underground Artist, Gary Wray.

It never hurts to go check out some of his wild art while you're listening to the sounds of...

SCORPIO TUBE - "White Birches"