The Bohiems- Taos

Taos has long been out of step with the rest of New Mexico, nearby Taos Pueblo played a key role in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.  Resistance to Spanish occupation would continue there well after the re-conquest of 1692. In 1847 as the rest of New Mexico was settling into life under U.S. occupation, Taos residents rose up in revolt, the uprising was quelled but not before the newly appointed U.S. Governor, Charles Bent had been killed. The Taos Society of Artists was established in 1915, this led to the growth of a thriving art colony, that would define Taos as the mecca for artists from around the world. Planet Taos follows its own orbit, the pursuit of art coupled with a strong self reliant nature has fostered a vibrant music scene. In the early to mid-1980's three memorable bands sprouted out of the Taos scene, The Refrigerators, The Muttz and The Bohiems.  All enjoyed a medium of success, all wound up falling short of their own expectations. The Bohiems came together in Taos, David Garver (vocals,guitar) his then wife Kim Garver (vocals) David's brother Tim Garver (drums) Mark Nettleton (guitar) and Rick Montano (guitar,bass) The group had talent, they were on track for stardom so they hired a manager who advised them to move to Los Angeles.

Arriving in SoCal in 1985, they played a few gigs, but soon found themselves struggling. There was no recording contract and the logistics of living in L.A. began to wear on them, Kim explains: "We lived far-flung distances from each other so rehearsal was tough." Kim looks back wistfully; "We might have been on the verge of making it, but all the things we needed to make it just weren’t happening." The Bohiems returned to Taos, they continued to play local and area gigs, Rick Montano would leave the band with Kim replacing him on bass. They released "Taos" in 1989,  it was produced by The Bohiems and Phil Appelbaum. The album was recorded live during two local concerts in the summer of 1989. At first glance it would be tempting to dismiss them as just another hippie jam band. That however, is not the case, The Bohiems music is much closer to bands  like The Cult, The Alarm or Crazy Horse. This is evident on the first track which sounds like a holdover from the band's Hollywood set. "Can't Wait" is the perfect song to open with "When I close my eyes, you're next to me" The guitars build up a wall of sound, as David begs and yearns for love that's just out of reach. "Days slip away, got to find a way to be with you." You can see what their manager saw in them, they certainly had a harder,  glam metal edge.

If "Can't Wait" is a showcase of their strengths, "Honey Babe" exposes their flaws. An ode to freedom and perestroika "She celebrates somewhere in a Moscow Square, is it independence over there?" or a celebration of the American way "Well hey, yeah baby, I guess I love this country" cue the Bic lighters "Hurray for independence,  but just bring me my Honey Babe" ultimately the brittle lyrics collapse in on themselves.   "Martyrs and Saints touches on the band's move to California as channeled through The Thrill Kill Kult and George Thorogood. "The city is Los Angeles, it's eight o'clock in the morning and the ground is shaking"  David takes us on a tour of Hollywood Blvd. "Lord the greatest story, a simple song or nursery rhyme, every good intention is laced with evil and laced with sublime." An excess of guitar noise clutters the landscape as the song sputters and comes to a stop on the side of  the Hollywood Freeway, the gauge reads empty.  "Space" is probably another gem from their Hollywood days, it's their best song, coherently poetic, a bit restrained, yet it crackles with muscular electric guitar. "The space I give, I bet my mind that light is gone, so it's dark, truth is dark and far away." David signs with calm urgency  "When I lose the best things I have found, it tears me apart, when you come into my heart I scream, alone deep inside." with "Space" you realize just how close The Bohiems were to building something amazing.

"You Can Rely" is brief, anthemic guitar rock,  "Love Help Me See" sounds just like "You Can Rely" with blander lyrics. "Holding Up the Sky" is The  Bohiems best known tune, it would get airplay on KZRR-94-Rock in the early 1990's. "Theres a rumble in the distance and all hell is breaking loose" it's a tale of redemption and hope. "Save me, cry that heaven don't fall down on me" the song features some of David and Kim's best vocal work. We also see a pattern develop as Kim becomes more assertive and her vocals really start to shine through. Kim sings lead on "Iseult The Fair", a folk rock number that foreshadows her later work with Burning Joan.  I never understood why Kim didn't get more of the spotlight, she has a fine voice. Kim and David would go their own ways and now as Kim Treiber, she fronts her own band, Kim and The Caballeros, which she describes as "A big ol' twangy country band"  The remainder of the album has its moments, "Michael" is  a  ballad, that borrows heavily from Neil Young and Crazy Horse, it even includes a chorus from The Needle and The Damage Done.  On "Whiskey Window" The Bohiems do their best Thin Lizzy impression, which is to say, not very good. "Meteor" is loud,but amounts to a whole lotta of nothing. "Noel" is a nice take on a Marty Balin-Grace Slick style ballad, that features some truly beautiful vocals from both David and Kim. The Bohiems were at their best when they first arrived in Los Angeles. They returned to New Mexico feeling defeated, to their credit they worked hard to re-invent themselves. However, when the group broke-up they were still a work in progress.  Add The Bohiems to the list of talented New Mexico bands that have failed to launch.

Rock: From The Beginning-2

In the United States Nik Cohn is probably better known for having written an article in 1976 for New York Magazine that was later adapted into the John Travolta film "Saturday Night Fever."  Cohn's immersion into New York City's disco scene produced "Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night."  The movie itself, had a galvanizing effect on the country, it would lead to an anti-Disco backlash spurred by the rally cry of "Disco Sucks."  It grew increasingly violent with strong anti-minority overtones, the hate mongering would culminate in a riot during a White Sox's game at Comisky Park. The rock shock troops were encouraged by D.J. Steve Dahl, to bring disco albums and tapes to the stadium, so he could blow them up on the field.  60,000 plus showed up with thousands of albums, the vinyl discs soon became projectiles landing on the field of play. From there, it all went horribly wrong and Chicago had a full scale disco riot on its hands.  Leave it to a Brit to come over here and start some shit, Nik Cohn was born in London but his family relocated to Londonderry in Northern Ireland. Cohn, who is Jewish was odd man out during the tribal warfare between Catholics and Protestants. For Nik it was a balancing act; "I was an outsider top to bottom, a Jew, equally unacceptable to both."  Besides  Rock: From the Beginning, his other titles include: Rock Dreams (a coffee table book produced with artist Guy Peellaert), Arfur Teenage Pinball Queen (said to have inspired The Who's Tommy) and one of his most recent works; "Triksta: Life and Death in New Orleans Rap."  Cohn went down to Nola and tried to do the same for that genre of music that he did for disco (kill it off?) the book received lukewarm reviews as some questioned Cohn's capacity to fully grasp the subtle nuances of the New Orleans rap scene.

Beatlemania swept America, forcing everyone to re-think everything. If Elvis was modern, The Beatles were ultra-modern, the hair, the clothes, even the way they talked was revolutionary. They changed our way of life, they transformed the landscape. "At the beginning of 1964, given the most frantic hype ever, they broke out in America and stole the first five places solid on the charts." Suddenly boys and men alike were letting their hair grow out, picking up guitars and learning the chords to "Love me Do" and "I Saw Her Standing There." "They had become unarguably the largest phenomenon that pop had ever coughed up." Cohn introduces us to the Fab Four: John Lennon "A roughneck who rampaged through Liverpool like some wounded buffalo, smashing everything that got in his way" Paul McCartney: "He was melodic, pleasant, inventive but with way too much syrup" George Harrison "He was less than impressive, he was slower than the rest, he tended to plod a bit" Ringo Starr: "He typified the best in the English Character, stability, lack of pretension, humour and a certain built-in cool"  It was all about being cool, it's the driving force behind rock and roll. The Beatles made girls lose control, as I sat in the living room watching them on Ed Sullivan with my sisters screaming all around me, I couldn't help but think, "These guys are so cool."

 The Beatles were just the tip of the iceberg, the next wave of musicians had a larger, more sustained impact. That brought The Stones: "They were mean and nasty, they beat out the toughest, crudest noise any English band had ever made." Throughout the first phase of the British Invasion, The Stones lagged behind the Beatles. It took them longer to develop their songwriting skills, they didn't mesh, they were quite different from the Beatles. Mick Jagger "Came out of a solid middle-class background and had attended the London School of Economics." Keith Richards "Came from Tottenham and was quite tough" Brian Jones was "insecure, neurotic & highly intelligent" Charlie Watts "Never Talked" Bill Wyman "Was older, married, he didn't quite belong." Their appeal was also different "The Stones were more loutish than they had to be but then, after all, each pop generation must go further than the one before."  They reveled in the trappings of evil, just enough to lure in that faction of the record buying public that wanted something naughty.  The Beatles were Sgt. Pepper, The Stones were Their Satanic Majesties, good guys, bad guys, you had a choice. More British bands would follow, The Animals, The Kinks, The Yardbirds etc., the supply seemed endless. Thousands of garage bands were launched, the seeds of American garage punk were planted and would soon grow to challenge the very Brits who planted them. It's ironic that the British took American music, that we  had tossed aside, reworked it and brought it back and it was fab!

America would respond to the invasion with two radically different musical icons, Brian Wilson and Barry Gordy. Surf music was born in California, which Cohn described as  "A hugely enlarged reality, that verges on complete fantasy."  To Cohn it was "The home of the lotus eaters." To the surfers of the Golden State it was simply a way of life and a philosophy,"Dude! sunshine and big waves makes for a perfect day." Beginning with "I Get Around" in 1964, Wilson established himself as the equal of Lennon & McCartney. For the next two years he scored hit after hit, alternating between Surf and Hot Rod songs before moving on to carefully crafted pop masterpieces, "He turned out a succession of near tone-poems, fragile pools of sound, small choirs running through mock-fugues." Brian Wilson had elevated himself to a higher plane and then he crashed hard.  The same compulsive engine that drove him to excel also drove him to breakdown.  Soul music evolved from 1950's R&B, Barry Gordy did not invent it, if Soul music had a "King" it would have to be James Brown. While Brown was gritty and funky, Motown was Cadillacs with sunroof tops. Gordy built a hit machine unlike anything ever seen before. Soul became America's #1 musical export, in the U.K. it was the music of choice for Mods. In The U.S. it cut across racial lines, it wasn't just black music, it was American music.

Bob Dylan was the village voice, plain spoken, yet cryptic and mysterious, he spoke for us and to us. He was the lyrical inspiration for this new wave, his conversion to electric rock was the flip of the switch that America needed to go fucking nuts.  America started to polarize from the moment Hippies flashed the first  peace sign at a square. Vietnam was creeping into the public conscience, Acid Tests and Timothy Leary would soon start blowing minds. The quest for higher consciousness became an obsession. The changes that were coming to the homeland were mind boggling.  Civil Rights, Counter Culture, Recreational Drugs, War, Peace Marches, Campus Occupations, Black Panthers, Political Assassinations.... Welcome to America, love it or leave it!  Bob Dylan had risen from the side of Woody Guthrie's deathbed to become the Dharma King of the mid-sixties revolution. Cohn explains: "He grew into a cult, he began to dominate and already, there were people who called him a genius, a primitive prophet."  He cast a large shadow, his influence on American rock and musicians between 1965 and 1970 is unmatched. Every song was received like a psalm from above to be deciphered and dissected. The Dylan chapter wraps up just as he's recovered from a harrowing motorcycle accident.  Bob has gone to Nashville to record "John Wesley Hardin" and "Nashville Skyline." Now, for the first time we realize that the prophet no longer desires to be a leader, he just wants to sit on the porch and pick some guitar.

The remainder of the book deals with the myriad of musical changes that followed The Beatles. He dedicates an entire chapter to The Who: "They were loud, on stage they worked between great fortresses of amps" Their first single "I'm The Face" became an anthem for The Mods who also get an entire chapter, Cohn describes them, "They were small strange creatures, very neat, they rode scooters, swallowed pills by the hundredweight" but what really made them Mods was their dress "They were hooked on clothes, any money they got went on making themselves look good." Throughout 1964, Mods and Rockers (updated Teds) would mass at seaside resorts to do battle. The Rockers were lower working class, harder, more resilient, The Mods on the other hand "Were on the edge, neurotic and everything that happened was anticlimactic" eventually the battles wore down the Mod tribes and they began to fall apart.  P.J. Proby gets his own chapter, he was a Texan, who became a huge star in England. Never heard of him? don't feel bad, hardly anyone in the U.S. knew who he was. He was transformed from Jett Powers, Hollywood bit actor, to P.J. Fuckin' Proby, English teen idol, almost by accident. His appearance on the Beatles 1964 British television special shot him to stardom. By 1965 "He'd established himself as the most mesmeric stage act England had seen" Cohn continues; "He was the biggest solo star around and he was always neck deep in hassles" The British press hounded Proby as only they can, until he shot back with a classic response: "I am an artist and should be exempt from shit" now those are qualities that make a star. I have a bit of P.J. Proby trivia for you, On Proby's 1968 album "Three Week Hero" the studio band was "The New Yardbirds" who were actually Led Zeppelin, sans Robert Plant.

Cohn spends another chapter on The Monkees, I wouldn't. Love, gets its own chapter, now don't get me wrong, I love me some Love, Arthur Lee was one cool cat, but after their first two albums they were kitty litter. Cohn goes on a bit more, he ends up writing about Eric Clapton and Cream, Joe Cocker and Julie Driscoll. If you're thinking to yourself, what no Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Grand Funk Railroad, Altamont, Woodstock, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Prog Rock, remember the book was written in 1969 and published in 1970. The age Nik Cohn writes about was the end period of what we fondly refer to as the "Good Old Days."  America nearly went to hell in a hand basket after 1970, what with Nixon, Watergate, The Anti-War Protests and The Gas Crisis. American music would change radically with the coming of Disco, Glitter Rock, Power Pop, Punk Rock, Arena Rock, Hair Bands, Alternative, Indie, Rap, Grunge, a genre for every taste and every lifestyle. Music became portable, now you could move about your day to the beat of your own soundtrack. Awopbop....whatever!, I just call it "Rock: From The Beginning" is flawed in many ways. However, it documents the early history of rock and roll in an epic way. It hasn't aged well, but I give kudos to Nik Cohn for not going back and editing what he wrote in 1969. His use of the terms Negros, Negress or Coloured might seem odd or even racist, but they were accepted terms then and for all I know are still used in the U.K.  The way he goes on about male vocalists, may seem a bit fanciful to some but it's just his style.  In conclusion, if you love rock and roll or if you fancy yourself a rock writer, you should read the book. 

     

Apricot Jam

Lewi Longmire, James Whiton, & Sean O'Brien (Apricot Jam) reunion

Apricot Jam- Preserved, Live @ the Fox Theatre

Apricot Jam as the name implies was a local jam band, it was made up of Lewi Longmire (lead guitar, vocals) James Whiton (contra bass,vocals) & Sean O'Brien (rhythm guitar, vocals) The album, "Preserved, Live @ the Fox Theatre" was released in 1995, it consists of an entire live set recorded without overdubs in Boulder, Co.  The tracks were mixed by John Quincy Adams in Albuquerque, The cd's artwork gives a nod to Haight-Asbury, The Furry Freak Bros. and San Francisco circa 1967, it's well drawn and pretty darn funny.  The band describes its music as "psycho organic acoustic boogie rock" and that says it all. Slogans like "Mama loves the Chicken Funk" and "Don't forget to Boogie" clue you in on the cd's musical direction, simply put, this is music for happy feet. On this night, Apricot Jam was jammin', as they effortlessly chug from one song to the next. The opening track "Face" clocks in at eight minutes, but it never drags or gets boring, Lewi's vocals and guitar are engaging, at about the 3:30 mark he breaks into a Stevie Ray-Hendrix inspired solo that is a total joy. The musicianship is top notch, Longmire, O'Brien and especially Whiton play at a very high level.  "Chicken" is the band's signature tune "Chicken in the car now baby and the car won't go" The vocals take the spotlight, as the entire band joins in for a kitchen sink chorus that includes, Little Feat's "Dixie Chicken" and Sly Stone's "Thank You" on which they change the lyrics to "I want to thank you for letting me be my self, Chicken" better music through poultry, I always say!  Track two, "Winter" is a showcase for Lewi's vocal and guitar skills, but the entire band really shines on this track. "All the colors run out of the cold winter sky and the branches are magically white, the wind whispers through every sad evening sound as the trees reach their fingers towards night." It's not the band's most complete song that would be "Person You Were Meant to Be" "In the early evening's shadows in the night skies starry shining" All of Apricot Jam's musical elements come together to create a joyous, vibrant and uplifting sound. "Come with me and see the person you were meant to be"  The song flows with ease, totally unhurried, a comfortable soundtrack for a daydream.

The show continues with the same high energy, the band works hard to take it up another notch, but the songs are weaker and it throttles their efforts."Short on Sugar" is a bluesy ramble, "Take me to the Station" sounds way too much like The Dead, "Take to the Sky" is inspired by Townes Van Zandt, but it fails to get off the ground and then ends abruptly. "Break all The Chains" is a fast paced country shuffle, "The Gospel According to James"  has James doing his thang on the contra bass and is easily the highlight of the second half. "Papa Don't Take No Mess" (yes it's the James Brown song) is a mess, all jam bands feel obligated to toss in a soul number. A trend that started long ago with The Grateful Dead playing "Dancing in the Streets." The concert closes with  "Sparrow & the Crow" a somewhat ordinary boogie tune, it brings down the curtain in a rather plain fashion. The album closes with three tracks from "Sticky" the 1993 cassette release, which was produced by John Q. Adams. The group sounds far more dynamic in the studio, we get all the rich tones that were lost or buried in the live mix.  John Quincy does a beautiful and masterful job, "Number on the Wall" sparkles "She reads Shakespeare, has to stop and catch her breath, he drinks root beer and contemplates the meaning of his death." Take notes, Ben Hathorne, when you can rhyme Shakespeare and root beer and it sounds totally believable, you are a poet!  The production on "Forever Tomorrow" is just as strong even if the song seems fragmented and forced. "At Dream's End" is the "road song" it leaves no doubt that Apricot Jam draws its inspiration from The Dead, and that's not really such a bad thing after all. 

 

Naomi- Hurts

The group Naomi was, Jason Daniello (vocals,guitar) Ben Hathorne (vocals,guitar) Jeff Romaniuk (drums) and Kelly Fagan (bass guitar)  Their album "Hurts" was released on Window Records in 1995, produced by the band and Stacy Parrish. Daniello a native of Grants is the best known member of Naomi. He's a veteran of the local scene having logged in studio work and recorded his own albums. Jason now makes his home in North Carolina where he still records and plays. The album opens with "Bella" I keep a list of what I consider the 25 best songs ever by Albuquerque based bands, I update it every now and then but this song always makes the cut; "Little Sister you got what it takes, let's ride and ride" It's a concise tune that leaves you happy and content. "Bella" was written by Ben Hathorne  and you quickly see a pattern developing, the shorter, faster songs are Ben's, the longer plodding songs are Jason's. The tone of the album is preachy, the song lyrics need  some sort of context or meaning, but they just go nowhere, one dead end after another.  "Christ" the album's second track has this line; "I've seen the pale ones in my house, I speak in my turn the sun is bright and the stage is brown"..Huh!? On "Shadow" Jason sings about his shadow (duh)  "there's a dry creek running through my head winding, turning, leading straight ahead" I bet that leaves him with some killer cotton mouth. Overall, the music is good, a modern take on folk rock, it reminds me of the mellow soft rock bands from the late 1970's.  It's a cool mix of acoustic and electric guitars with good vocals, the playing is competent and professional. However, with the exception of "Bella" the ridiculous lyrics just drag everything down. 

"My Little Friend" is a head scratcher "Is it a toy or a ball, does it move or does it walk, is it a boy, is it a girl or something more."Ben's song "The Sky" makes you roll your eyes; " The sky doesn't give a shit about me, maybe it shouldn't the sky's not a poet like me"  Ok, so what's wrong with that line? 1. the sky probably doesn't have the capacity to give a shit, so don't take it personal  2. You are not a poet! this is not poetry, Walt Whitman is a poet, Ben Hathorne is a shitty songwriter. There's a subtle difference but you see what I'm getting at. Daniello brings in a co-writer on "Gabriel" to no avail "I see the devil feeding on my soul, I ride the waves of broken glass no more" significant bummer!, Jason goes solo again on "All the Same" he opens with this mind boggling verse; "This is my last cigarette on the face of the earth till I find my right of way" best argument for a nicotine patch that I've heard yet. Feeling left out, Ben comes back with "This is What I Like" (I am not making these lyrics up!) "got you in the scope of my rifle, washing your car, look at those jeans they ain't got no pockets, I like it like that, you're so sweet" And the winner..err..loser is Ben the creepy stalker. "Feel so much better" left me feeling so much worse; " A little boy watches the sky upside down on a merry-go-round, touching the woe with his lips as he kisses the dirt" didn't his mother tell him to never touch woe with his lips? sadly there's more nonsense; "An older boy's having a Monday in school signed off to a new world again" I used that as an excuse after ditching once, the principal just laughed at me.  Word to the wise, when your lyrics are this bad, don't have them printed on the fold out. The word that best sums this up is: abysmal, wretched to the point of despair. "Hurts" is aptly titled, the listening experience is ruthlessly painful.  

Brokencyde- Da House Party

Rumor has it, they'll get the Tila Tequila treatment during the upcoming Warped tour. Ouch!

Brokencyde- Will Never Die

I come not to praise Brokencyde, but to give an honest appraisal of their new album "Will Never Die." These blind squirrels will never find a nut in the forest, that's a given. However, rather than let the deluge of hate bring them down, they pretend to embrace it. The  42 second dog turd that opens the album cries out "We have nothing left" cloaked as a cheeky "We know how much we suck, we're also in on the joke."  A voice intones, "In the year 2011 everything you know will change, Mikel, Seven, Phat J, together again, just to piss you off, one band, one mission, to ruin the music industry as you know it, forever"  They give themselves too much credit, they are but a drop of mouse piss in an ocean of cat piss. The music industry has survived atomic shit bombs (The Black Eyed Peas for example) and is still standing. Truthfully my light bill and the price of gasoline piss me off more than Brokencyde.  I'm not a seeker, I haven't been searching low or high, but I do know that music (and maybe humanity) will be better off once these sperm monkeys are back in their cages.  Right about now you're thinking, Ernest what about the album? The album is shit, It sounds just like their first album, did anyone expect these clowns to suddenly progress and evolve.  As they sing about low cut daisy dukes and girl's panties, it becomes obvious that they didn't spend their down time reading anything other than beer labels. Low class and Low brow, equals Low expectations. A sure sign that a band is scraping the bottom of the crapper barrel is when they include skits like "Teach me how to scream"  And when you're jacking beats from Kei$ha (Da House Party) then you're at rock bottom.  We can all blame ourselves for their impending demise, I curse all of you for being too intelligent to fall for this weak shit. Once Brokencyde is gone, who are we gonna hate?  When you run into these empty vessels in your English 105 class at CNM, be nice, they've already swallowed a lifetime's supply of shit (along with other things) Fuck me! I'm not really obligated to listen to every track, I don't get paid for this, it's a hobby, Sayonara Fuckers!

Bernadette Seacrest- Nobody's Cryin'

Composer: Pat Bova

Bernadette Seacrest- Broken

Composer: Pat Bova

Broken Bells-Meyrin Fields

The collaboration between Albuquerque's stubble faced favorite step son, James Mercer and Danger Mouse, did not result in the huge hit everyone anticipated. Not that the album "Broken Bells" wasn't good, it was excellent, maybe some of the best music James has recorded. Broken Bells is still Danger Mouse and James Mercer, their latest release "Meyrin Fields," is a four-song EP, it will hit outlets on March 29.  It contains two previously unreleased tunes "Windows" and "Heartless Empire," plus two other tracks.  Mercer's once proud baby boys, The Shins have now grown into  moody and neglected pre-teens. After a sudden line-up change and with their Sub Pop  contract expired, he signed them to his own vanity label, Aural Apothecary. While James keeps assuring us that more new music is coming from The Shins, Broken Bells is the now the apple of his eyes.  While on the subject of The Shins, has anyone seen Marty or Jesse? Musically speaking they have vanished like the proverbial wind. I must say fellas you're still young and in your prime, "Strong like bulls! and drunk like monkeys"  A.A. is just a phone call away, put a new band together already!  I miss Marty's keyboard runs and Jesse's sloppy drums, they were fun, they had style, which is more than I can say for the duds (with the exception of Dave, if he's still on board) that now make-up the band. "The Shins, they'll change your life" yeah then James will gut them and leave you scratching your head. Oh! before I forget, where's that album of remixed Flake Music tracks? cough it up James, we've waited long enough.