I received an email from a regular listener of the station & she was wondering if I could pass along some cool and/or unusual tidbits about some of the bands we feature on 360 Degrees of Alternative. I replied, "Sure... why not!". Then it hit me... this may be easier said than done. Well, here goes... I'll give it my best shot!
Today, I picked The Airborne Toxic Event, based out of England. The band was formed in 2006 by Mikel Jollett. Jollett met drummer Daren Taylor that summer and the two became immediate friends. They worked on material together for a few months, then Jollett asked classically-trained violinist Anna Bulbrook and bassist Noah Harmon to join the band.
What's interesting here is that Bulbrook has a background in orchestral and chamber music, and taught herself to play viola and keyboard. Not to be outdone, Harmon holds a jazz degree in upright bass performance from the California Institute of the Arts and has taught in East Los Angeles as part of the school’s Community Arts Partnership. How's that for a band resume?
I also wanted to get "caught up" on some birthdays of note for the month of March. These are all belated, so my apologies... Uh, yeah... the card must have gotten lost in the mail!
- Lou Reed & John Cale, both of the Velvet Underground & solo artists,
- Re Styles of The Tubes,
- Ricky Wilson formerly of the B-52's (RIP),
- Adam Clayton of U2,
- Frank Rodriguez of ? and the Mysterians (THE garage band of all time!)
Fans & listeners seem to be grooving on the history tidbits, so I'll add a few today;
- 1975; a 13 year old drummer makes his public debut in the Post Office Worker's Union Band. They're appearing in that years St. Patrick's Day parade. His pants & drummers' hat are too big, but the older musicians think the lad has real promise. His name is Larry Mullen Jr., who will soon be playing with other teenagers in Dublin Ireland in a group that will be known as U2.
- 1977; Lou Reed joins the "list" of musicians banned because of the punk rock image just before his concerts at the London Palladium. Reed holds a press conference stating he was off to Sweden where temperatures were below zero at that time, but the country is nowhere near as cold as England and the asshole who banned him.
- 1977; Stiff Records based out of London releases its first two records this week. One of them being from Nick Lowe, the other a compilation entitled, "A Bunch of Stiffs". This unique record label, which comprised of 3 small office rooms, it's founders Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman, and a secretary, also has quite a sense of humor. On the compilation it states, "Undertakers of the industry, if they're dead - we'll sign 'em."
1978; Patti Smith releases her long awaited 3rd album entitled, "Easter". It comes after a long recovery from a neck injury. Patti sees this album as her "resurrection" back into the music industry. The album charts in the top 20 both in the US as well as England, partly due to the song "Because the Night" which she co-wrote with Bruce Springsteen.
1981; The Cramps release "Psychedelic Jungle" on IRS records. The album is a collection of original material as well as very obscure covers, including Ronnie Cook's song, "Goo Goo Muck", which turns out to one of the bands biggest hits.
Finally, has someone ever told you to never read the obituaries because you may find yourself listed there? Well, reading music industry magazines can be just as... interesting. Just ask Tom Verlaine, most noted as one of the guitarists of Television, when he read this small blurb in the May 1st 1980 issue of Rolling Stone...
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