Zion, Illinois is famous for two things: the swell beat combo Shoes, and the Illuminati Headquarters, built on the site of the Battle With The Rosicrucians at Wilhelmsbad Field, 1745. "We all met at Weishaupt U.," laughs Jeff Murphy today. "Back then immanentizing the eschaton was like this big thing on campus? But we were too busy being in a rock n' roll band and getting laid!"
The dB's were a hard-workin' prom band back in the heady days of the 'eighties, playing Go-Gos and Blondie medleys at frat house keggers. "They were great days!" laughs Chris Stamey today from his Candle Barn© franchise at Ft. Lauderdale. "And you tell kids today? They don't want to know."
Mitch Easter's earliest foray into the music business was a folk duo with Keith Christmas. "We called ourselves The Holidays," laughs Easter today. "Then I started this band called Shoes, but the guys from Zion issued a cease and desist notice. So we called ourselves Footwear before settling on Sneakers, just before we broke up."What all these albums have in common - almost incredibly, is that they were all recorded in the same week! [Are you sure about this? - Ed.] (That's your job - FT3) [I quit - Ed.]
EDIT: As an added bonus, this here bonus Shake To Date sampler featuring all your favorite stars playing today's chart-topping hits is added ABSOLUTELY FREE for you, Mr. & Mrs. Consumer, as an added bonus!
To earn this Pop Package O' Power, simply state your favorite act! Is it Shoes, Let's Active, or The dB's? Extra kudos if you show your workings!
ReplyDeleteDon't know much about Powerpop. So, I'll have to listen to it first.
DeletePeter Piper played proper power pop props, pops.
Say it ten times fast.
Definitely Let's Active.
DeletedB'S got PLENTY O' PLAY on 93 XRT, and Shoes got Nada, even with being from Illinois (tho practically Wisconsin).
ReplyDeleteI gotta go with the dBs cause I downloaded Wondermints Live at Club Quattro from their Repercussions blog.
Thanks, Irving!
DeleteWhen I worked in Birmingham in the early '80s Danny Reddington's record shop at the entrance to Moor Street station underpass had a trestle table loaded with Long Players at bargain prices. Everyday as I headed for my train I would find yet another bargain to smuggle past my wife and 'twas there that I bought "Black Vinyl Shoes" because it looked good and was on Sire and was £1.50. It's lying on a shelf behind me, nestled with two more LPs by Shoes, all of them loved but unplayed for many years. It's time for me to listen again.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Peanuts Molloy.
I was getting my thumbs grubby at Reddingtons in the mid-seventies. Incredible store - either wildly over-priced (as it was then) or jaw-droppingly cheap. The real bargains were in the boxes under the tables. But I bought Black Vinyl at one of Oxford's fine record stores, complete with spiral shoelace sticker. A beautiful, quietly brilliant band who never made a bad album. If pushed, I'll take Stolen Wishes, or Silhouette, both recorded as a three-piece.
DeleteReddingtons! Now there's a name to conjure up images of the fabled city that is Brum. Lots of records and lots of over-priced rubbish with a vein of gems to be uncovered by cheapskates like myself. Never have been a fan of the powerpop stuff unless you count The Motors and Bram Tchaikovsky as part of it despite not being Yanks.
DeleteHave to go with the dB's for a few big reasons. They've still got a nifty blog that follows them and anyone they ever knew (Repercussion). They were covered by Marti Jones and Don Dixon. They covered The Byrds (or at least Chris Stamey and Peter Holsapple did). And Peter Holsapple married Susan Cowsill. Love the Shoes and Mitch Easter, but dB's for the win.
ReplyDeleteA man with no SHOES is like a bearded fish.
ReplyDeleteGood to see you again, cowculator! Been a while.
DeleteMy Grandson Changed my settings and I'm too old to figure it out...I had help from my 7 year old niece.
ReplyDeleteSigh.
The Shoes get my vote, but the dB's and Mitch Easter are tough competition.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be a close-run thing between Shoes and The dB's, but I have a feeling Mitch is going to be in third place ...
DeleteChris Stamey is also an ace producer (see, e.g., Alejandro Escovedo, Caitlin Cary). He lives just outside of my town here in NC. Fun musical aside from these environs: one day I was waiting in line at the drug store and behind me in line was another Dexter Romweber; I went to the grocery store after that and there was Rick Miller of Southern Culture on the Skids. Finally, I'm picking up lunch at the deli and I pull up, dBs on the car stereo and Chris Stamey is sitting out front having his lunch. All in one hour. Dixon and Jones used to live here, too. Ah, the joys of living in small-town NC . . .
ReplyDeleteMy vote: dBs.
Gotta go with Stamey, solely because I met him a few times and he's a nice guy. Music wise, not a big fan of any of the 3.
ReplyDeleteSlip us some screed, Pmac! How are things in Tijuana?
DeleteWait, you mean I took the wrong turn in Albuquerque?!? Check your email. Other than a torn muscle, things are great!
DeleteGroin pull, I'll bet.
DeleteIce it down, take anti-inflammatory painkillers, and leave "it" alone.
In a private email, pmac explains how he fell on the handle of the toilet brush while showering. I don't know what to believe any more.
Delete"It was a one in a million shot, doc!"
Deletenot another Dexter, the one and only Dexter, of course
ReplyDeleteMy vote BIG STAR, DOM MARIANI ( SOMELOVES,DM3 and DATURA 4 ) and THE CHURCH (first six albums) in your list i have all the albums of the three named but even if SHOES and LET'S ACTIVE means a periode in my mind Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey still give me so much pleasure today with their last albums. I'll told you about the Jeff Murphy sole solo album as soon i'd find the link. But of course POWERPOP still running and my last "coup de coeur" is for UK DROPKICK (without MURPHY) but it's maybe too BEATLes or too BYRDS for you ?
ReplyDeleteOld School Stealth Link© embedded in this seemingly harmless comment! Can you spot it, subscribers?
ReplyDeleteNever really rated the Shoes that highly. I had Black Vinyl & Present Tense back in the day, so I'm looking forward to hearing the Jeff Murphy. Big Plans For Everybody is one of my all time faves. After that, I rate the others in the following order:
ReplyDeleteStands For Decibels
Cypress
Repercussion
Falling Off The Sky (at last a great reunion album)
Like This
Every Dog Has Its Day
The Sound Of Music
The Stamey & Easter albums are good, but not a patch on those of their parent groups...
I'd be pleased to loadup any of the above, if any of youse bums can find a kind word in your black hearts...
ReplyDeleteHell of a choice to make - probably the dBs.
ReplyDeleteGot their first album, on Albion Records in the Dickin's & Jones Store on Regent St. In the sale, naturally. Tried to track down the rest, and really wanted Stamey's solo It's A Wonderful Life LP, but the guys in the fancy import shop wanted big money for it.
Started browsing the Notting Hill Record & Tape Exchange stores. Ratty but fun. Found a copy of Wonderful Life, but didn't really understand their pricing system as there were stickers with loads of different prices crossed out. Took it to the counter. It was mine for 30 pence. They had this system, maybe still have, of reducing the prices every couple of weeks, crossing out the old one and writing a new one underneath. And nobody wanted poor ol' Chris Stamey. Except me.
Any Pugwash fans here?
ReplyDeleteI've given them a listen. Craftsmanlike, musical, but perhaps a little dull?
DeleteSometimes a bit too slick, but there's some clever melodicism there.
DeleteOK...
How about Starclock? One stunning album and then nothing.
Owsley - gone far too early.
Ex-Norwegians - just great pop music.
Kevin Gilbert - but I'm sure you've already heard him. Toy Matinee is a real treasure.
Martin Newell/Cleaners from Venus - very English.
I'm intrigued by Starclock, but can't find it ... (*cough*)
DeleteFans of power pop should hear "14 Shades Of Green" from the Stamey platter pictured above. It's glorious: the harmonies, the guitars, the Keith Moonish drum break, the bittersweet lyrics...
ReplyDeleteHere's where we went to class, a hundred hours a day
Here's where we smoked grass, and laughed our cares away
https://youtu.be/rr_v7pY1r_U
I love the Stamey/Holsapple album Mavericks too. dB's for the win!
Dunno what it is about North Carolina that produces so much great power pop. Parthenon Huxley is a personal favorite, especially his album "P.Hux Deluxe"
Deletehttps://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mUdi4XHM7mJTNsT84gpj3cuR3JcOWw0dA
Dead Moon.....
ReplyDeleteFormer Record Bar employee (played Shoes and dbs in-store to zero reaction, Jones/Dixon got a rise out of 'em. Dolphin Records, anyone?) / drummer ( covered Jones and dbs in an eclectic L.A. bar band), but the clincher is... my parents briefly rented the Cowsills property (well, an apartment, long after the gang had left)tipping the scales to dbs. That whole incestuous NC scene is deeply bound to so many great memories...
ReplyDeleteMy favorite powerpopper is the late great Tommy Keene. Of those Lord Throckmorton has listed, I love the dB's
ReplyDeleteI think of the three I'd go with the Shoes, although if you count their extracurricular activities--Stamey's solo work and Holsapple's time with the wonderful Continental Drifters--that would push the dBs over the top.
ReplyDeleteBadfinger is probably my favorite power pop band of all, assuming you don't count the Beatles.
My list of the Greatest Power Pop Songs (not my favorites, but the most influential, acclaimed, important, and archetypal) can be found here: https://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_songs-Power-Pop.html
I would not disagree with your list at the link below.
DeleteI think No Matter What is an excellent choice for #1. The first time I heard the song was from some house down the alley(but the opposite side). I had taken the trash out and instantly jumped up on top of the trash enclosure. I stood there mesmerized and my only thought was "they DIDN'T break up"!!!
In just six months my sister would bring home a copy of Sticky Fingers and half way through side 1...I knew that they would never get back together!
I was eleven years old.
Gee, here I was minding my own business in my new version of the unpatented portable Air Raid Shelter Enclosure, playing super hep Cecil Taylor platters, and you had to bring up Let's Active... now my usual stereo tinnitus consists of Easy Does (left channel) and Blue Line (right channel). Simultaneously. I'll turn it up...
ReplyDeleteDolphin Records - I've got this great vinyl compilation on Dolphin called More Mondo. The first track is a stunning piece of power pop called Button (Love Is No Sentimental Journey) by "Rick Rock". Often wondered who Rick Rock really was. Just did a bit of digging. Turns out it's an alias for Parthenon Huxley.
ReplyDeleteCool name (Parthenon)
DeleteI wonder if there was a sibling named Pantheon.
Music saves lives...
Mondo Montage (also on Dolphin Records) includes another great Rick Rock tune called "Buddha Buddha".
DeleteAnd Parthenon Huxley once went by the name of Rick Miller. My guess is that since there was another Rick Miller in the North Carolina scene - front man for Southern Culture On The Skids - Mr. Miller chose to opt out of the looming battle. The Miller family live in Athens in the 60s, so that's where the name comes from. His brother Tom Miller has kept his birth name.
DeleteThis post seems like a good excuse for a shout out to Scott Miller (RIP) and his bands Game Theory and less renowned but awesome Loud Family, both bands having been produced and engineered almost exclusively by Mitch Easter. Fans of the work presented above would do well to acquaint themselves if they ain't acquainted (aintiquated?) already. Speaking of Monkees, there's one in this lovely video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwXHSo7qAg8
ReplyDeleteI'd be happy to share some albums here if anyone has a whole in their collection.
"hole" that is
DeleteWritten on the wedding limo rear windshield:
Delete"Seven days makes a hole weak "
Flamin Groovies. Lucky enough to see them 1979 Oxford Polytechnic as it was then maybe supported by Radio Birdman. Bought the vinyl then but seriously how many comps and books named after Shake Some Action? Oxford Uk record stores let's see 1980 you got Sunshine Records run by hippies off Jericho. Our Price in town and the wonderful leftie books and vinyl second hand Garon Records in covered market.....in the days before Oxford was turned into a foreign student complex and theme park.
ReplyDeleteAmazingly, I was in Garon records several times a week. Used to have a fry-up in the market caff, or Brown's (the first one, when it was brilliant) for pasta.
DeleteSecond choice Edinburgh's The Boys and The Headboys.....backtrack to the Hollywood Brats and you got the UK NY Dolls....
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7l9AyRXMqg
ReplyDeleteMarket was gutted and turned into a fake Burlington Arcade all books and LPS removed for aspirational clothing and perfumery...Oxford was like a whale gutted and only skeleton left then money moved in..
ReplyDeleteI have a photo taken on Carfax before the changes 1978....will look it out..
ReplyDeleteI bought Only The Stones Remain at Garon. Ron (he put the ron into Garon) - the beaky cove with the specs and the dry humor - would keep things by for me because he knew my tastes. I'd get dibs on anything psych before it hit the racks. Yeah - Oxford. Last time I went (which was the last time) was over a decade ago. I took my Thai wife on a sight-seeing trip around England, and she loved it all, but Oxford broke my heart. It had changed, as you say, into a self-conscious theme park. Even the students looked like bit-part actors. And the covered market - once the heart of the town - was like the Prisoner's Village. Brown's had expanded into something huge and horrible and expensive, with snooty male waiters. It was during that trip I realised the U.K. was broken, and it'll never come back.
ReplyDelete(There was also, back in the day, a groovy little upstairs record shop close to the HMV or whatever it was.)
http://www.britishrecordshoparchive.org/garon-records.html
ReplyDeleteYup that was the LP I remember buying there too :-) The South of England has been turned into a theme park most of my writing was about its destruction and the covered market is in a poem which the great and good of Oxford loved so much I had to leave.....The Severed Tongue explains why I live in Nottingham now ;-) http://www.shaunbelcher.com/writing/?page_id=166
ReplyDeleteGavin Jones the Gav of Ga - Ron died here his obituary
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/may/13/gavin-jones-obituary
lovely story never knew this..
ReplyDeleteAfter leaving school he became a rep for Atlantic Records and Polyphon before setting up in business with a London cab driver, Ron Michaels.
They began by selling imported records from a wallpaper table in Upper Street in Islington, north London, and then in 1969 acquired a regular market stall in Cambridge. They paired the first letters of their Christian names and Garon Records was born. Later they moved into bricks and mortar premises in the city’s King Street, and soon further branches opened at a covered market in Oxford and a shop in Norwich.