The Perlich Post: July 2024

Friday, July 5, 2024

Liz Worth's Toronto punk study "Treat Me Like Dirt" back in print

Liz Worth's Treat Me Like Dirt: An Oral History of Punk in Toronto and Beyond, 1977-81 is back in print thanks to ECW Press.

Writes Liz Worth...

Hello, it's Liz! Some of you have been in touch with me in the last couple of months to ask if Treat Me Like Dirt is in stock anywhere. The last print run sold out. I'm excited to share that it has been reprinted again through ECW Press. I just received some fresh copies this week, so hopefully you'll be able to find this book again through your favourite booksellers.

In 2006 I took on a project that would change my life in all kinds of ways. I was always chasing different histories and the story of punk was one of them. In high school I was obsessed with bands like the Clash and the Damned. When I learned that my city, Toronto, had a punk movement of its own in the late '70s I became obsessed with learning more. How could punk have happened here, too, and we knew so little about it?

A thing you have to understand about growing up in Canada is that you always feel the shadows of American and British culture overpowering so much of our own stories. As a punk fan I knew so much about the London and New York and L.A. scenes but nothing about Toronto punk. When I graduated journalism school in 2006 I had a lot of time on my hands and decided to locate the people who were part of punk history here in southern Ontario. Those interviews became my first book, Treat Me Like Dirt, published in 2009.

Almost 15 years later this book is still here. I am aware that it's not a small thing for a book to remain in print this long, especially a Canadian book about such a specific subject. I am so grateful to everyone who has supported this book over the years and helped to keep this part of punk history alive. It is not an easy thing to prop up Canadian culture so every little step on this journey feels like a win.

Follow your obsessions and curiosities. Pay tribute to what excites you. Chances are that the thing you really love is someone else's passion, too. – Liz Worth

You can get a copy of Treat Me Like Dirt in the format of your choice directly from ECW Press right here here.

Check out an interview with Liz Worth conducted by Fucked Up's Damien Abraham as part of the This Is Not A Reading Series at the Gladstone Hotel back in 2010. Watch for a cameo by Chris Houston of Hamilton's Forgotten Rebels.

Remembering New Orleans R&B great Smiley Lewis on his birthday

Since it's Smiley's birthday, here are a few of his jukebox classics recorded with Dave Bartholomew. Where's all the live footage?

One For The Weekend: Ashley Monroe

Check out "Hot Rod Pipe Dream" which Ashley Monroe wrote and produced with Brendan Benson below. Get it right here.

Thursday, July 4, 2024

Tuscany's Surfer Joe, Mark Malibu & The Wasagas @ Dakota Tavern, Friday

Italian surf guitar slinger Surfer Joe, aka Lorenzo Valdambrini, makes a rare Toronto appearance at the Dakota on Friday night.

Here's the story of Italy's Surfer Joe...

Italian guitarist Lorenzo Valdambrini has been involved in the surf music scene as "Surfer Joe" since the middle of the 90s, building up his name worldwide as a musician and event organizer. By currently playing more than a hundred concerts a year around the world, Surfer Joe is surely one of the most active artists in contemporary surf music. In addition to participating in the most important surf-related events around the world, including festivals in the USA and all over Europe, and being interviewed for books and movies about the genre, Surfer Joe has released seven albums, five EPs and two 7-inch singles. His recordings have also appeared on at least 9 compilations.

Surfer Joe represents the true, authentic side of surf music, carrying on the sound and energy legacy of the original early 60s California bands, while introducing his own unique style. His compositions are very melodic, easily recognizable, memorable and accessible to any audience. On stage, Surfer Joe likes to tell stories and anecdotes, and keeps the interaction with the audience personal and funny. He has plenty of material to draw from, as he has personally performed and interacted with many of the legends of the genre at various venues. All this, combined with being the co-organizer of the Surfer Joe Summer Festival – now among the most popular surf music events worldwide – garnered Surfer Joe the unofficial title of "international surf music ambassador."

For more Surfer Joe info and tour dates, visit his site: https://www.surferjoe.net

Check out a short interview along with a couple performance clips below.

Microphone technique of Jah Thomas showcased on new Roots Records comp

The 12-track Jah Thomas collection The Music Maker from Jamaica is out August 16th from Acid Jazz's Roots Records subsidiary.

Here's the scoop...

Nkrumah Jah Thomas is one of the great Deejay voices of Jamaican music. Through his Midnight Rock label, he is also known as a formidable producer – making important records with the likes of Anthony Johnson, Early B, King Tubby and Super Cat. Acid Jazz group label Roots Records has worked with Thomas since the late 1990s, and is set to release the first ever collection of his vocal work on August 16th.

A versatile and nimble word-smith, The Music Maker from Jamaica is represented by 12 of his most vital cuts. These include his debut hit ‘Midnight Rock’, and others such as ‘Dance Hall Connection’ and ‘Dance On The Corner’, and his own versions of ‘Cool Profile’ and ‘Joker Smoker’ (hits he produced for Earl Cunningham, and Tristan Palmer respectively.) Also featured is his ’80s dancehall hit with Super Cat – ‘Dance Inna New York’ – later sampled on the hit single by Nas, ‘The Don’. In recent years, his rhythms have been sampled by Protoje and Kabaka Pyramid.

Tracks are newly remastered and the package includes sleeve notes by reggae historian Tony Rounce – a must-have for classic Dub and Dance Hall enthusiasts.

You can pre-order a copy of the Jah Thomas collection "The Music Maker from Jamaica" directly from Roots Records/Acid Jazz right here. Check the tracklisting below followed by an interview with Jah Thomas.

Jah Thomas – The Music Maker from Jamaica

Midnight Rock

Shoulder Move

Dance On The Corner

New Dress Style

Get A Girl Tonight

Cricket Lovely Cricket

Dancehall Connection

Love You One Another

Cool Profile

General 007

Joker Smoker

Adapter Chapter

Celebrating the Fourth of July with John Doe and Dave Alvin!

Watch old pals John Doe and Dave Alvin duet on "Fourth Of July" at Fitzgerald's in Chicago back in 2014.

That time the Kentucky Colonels appeared on the Andy Griffith Show

Clarence White and his Kentucky Colonels joined Andy Griffith in Mayberry for a couple of tunes back in 1961.

Wednesday, July 3, 2024

Listen to "Break Away," a previously unheard song from The Saints' Chris Bailey

"Break Away," amongst Chris Bailey's final recordings, is from The Saints' Long March Through The Jazz Age. Photo: Gus Stewart

Here's the scoop...

Taken from the band's forthcoming album, “Long March Through the Jazz Age” the single is the is the first release of new material since Chris Bailey's passing in 2022. Recorded by Sean Carey in Church Street Studios, Sydney, Bailey features on vocals, guitar and bass and is aided by long term drummer, Pete Wilkinson and guest Davey Lane (You Am I) on guitar.

“Break Away” finds Bailey's yearning, plaintive vocal carrying the listener into a chorus that pleads, “Eyes so bright they shine through the darkest night, stay with me, there's a chance we can break away.” The song positively shimmers, Bailey so attuned to his moment in time. It is a fitting first release from the new album that finds Bailey portraying his last journey he made in his musical and poetic odyssey.

"In my opinion, the Saints were Australia’s greatest band (…) and Chris Bailey was my favourite singer"

"Perhaps the greatest and most anarchic rock ‘n’ roll singer Australia would ever produce" – Nick Cave

To coincide with the single release, all digital platforms have been updated and previously unavailable Saints content/albums has been made available. These include classics albums such as ‘All Fools Day’ (1986) and ‘Prodigal Son’ (1988), which feature memorable performances of ‘Just Like Fire Would’ and ‘Ghost Ships’. The intention is to restore all legitimate releases by The Saints to the digital platforms so that they are readily accessible.

The entire Saints catalogue is now available digitally for the first time ever.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6OWPd5ByKaNSFAZ3TCe5AO?si=KqV_kDlrRKSV89gJuV4xjA

For more information and official merchandise go to The Saints Music website:

https://saintsmusic.com/

Check out "Break Away" below or via the platform of your choice right here.

Happy Birthday Mark "Snowboy" Cotgrove!

Cheers to percussionist/DJ Snowboy! Check out his conga-led jazz dance overhaul of the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy In The UK"

Two rare soul tracks by The Masqueraders issued on 45 by Soul 4 Real

The Masqueraders' "Oh My Goodness" and "We Fell In Love" were cut at American Studios with drummer Gene Chrisman.

Reissues Overdue: Charles Lloyd's Morning Sunrise (ADC, 1979)

What could be outtakes from Charles Lloyd's Geeta sessions, Morning Sunrise is a spiritual jazz gem deserving wider attention.

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

R.I.P. Austin-based music journalist Michael "Corky" Corcoran

Sadly, Austin-based music writer Michael Corcoran has passed away at 68. His wry wit and insight will be greatly missed.

Corky's recently completed book, Austin Music Is A Scene Not A Sound, will be published on September 10th.

LINKS

Michael Corcoran's Overserved Austin Music Is A Scene

Michael Corcoran's Overserved Austin Music Is A Slideshow

Austin Chronicle Michael Corcoran Has Died

Austin Chronicle Don't Start Me Talking… Michael Corcoran Sounds Off On His Recent Retirement

Swank coffee table book on Japanese jazz albums 1954-88 published by BBE

BBE's nicely illustrated 300+ page hardcover J Jazz: Free and Modern Jazz Albums From Japan comes with a CD of 10 choice cuts.

Here's the scoop...

BBE Music has just issued J Jazz: Free and Modern Jazz From Japan 1954-1988, a remarkable large-format book covering some of the deepest, rarest, and most innovative jazz music released anywhere in the post-war era. Compiled by Tony Higgins and Mike Peden, co-curators of BBE Music’s acclaimed J Jazz Masterclass Series, the book also features a foreword by Japanese jazz icon, Terumasa Hino.

This is the first time a book of this type has been has been published outside of Japan and the first anywhere of this size and scale. It is a unique collection of over 500 albums of free and modern jazz recorded and released in Japan during a period of radical transformation and constant reinvention. An era that saw Japan return from the ravages of World War Two to become a global economic power and emerge as both a technological leader and an international cultural force.

Through a unique gallery of albums, J Jazz charts the development of jazz in Japan from the first stirrings of the modern jazz scene in the mid to late 1950s and on through the hard bop and modal jazz of the 1960s. It steers the reader into the radical directions of the 1970s when free jazz, fusion, post-bop, and jazz-funk opened up a growing number of Japanese jazz artists to a new global audience before consolidating in the mid to late 1980s with a musical scene that laid the path for the contemporary jazz generation to follow.

Over 500 full-colour sleeves from many of the leading names in Japanese jazz sit alongside rare and private pressings that tell a story of constant change and musical exploration. J Jazz includes profiles of several leading record labels such as East Wind, Frasco, King Records, and Nippon Columbia as well as critical independents such as Three Blind Mice, ALM, and Aketa’s Disk. J Jazz includes interviews with celebrated jazz photographer Tadayuki Naito, and pianist Tohru Aizawa, bandleader on the totemic spiritual jazz album, Tachibana Vol 1, as well as free-jazz record collector and jazz musician Mats Gustafsson.

The book also features a chapter on albums by non-Japanese artists that only received a Japanese release, with collectible, rare, and obscure releases by figures such as Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Mal Waldron, Steve Lacy, and Art Blakey. J Jazz includes Japanese jazz charts from some of the world’s leading jazz DJs including Gilles Peterson, Toshio Matsuura, Paul Murphy, and Shuya and Yoshihiro Okino. Among the specialist content is a feature on obi strips by record dealer and Japanese jazz expert, Yusuke Ogawa, plus a special article on Japanese Blue Note albums.

Across its 300-plus pages, J Jazz includes a detailed introduction contextualizing the music, tracing the story of Japan’s fascination with jazz back before the war. It also features biographical information on many of the key artists involved in shaping the post- war Japanese jazz scene including Sadao Watanabe, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Masabumi Kikuchi, Masahiko Togashi, Terumasa Hino, Yosuke Yamashita, Fumio Itabashi, Masayuki Takayanagi, Takeo Moriyama, Isao Suzuki, and many more.

You can get a copy of J Jazz: Free and Modern Jazz From Japan, 1954-1988 directly from BBE Music right here. Check the tracklisting for the accompanying CD followed by an unboxing clip and the first four tunes.