Then, help out BBC Films, Julien Temple et al, by casting the Kinks bio-pic for them. Obviously, Ray and Dave Davies are key, but don’t forget everybody else, including:
Pete Quaife
Mick Avory
Shel Talmy
Rasa Davies
John Dalton
John Gosling
Clive Davis
Chrissie Hynde
Jim Rodford
Damon Albarn
… and on and on…
Include as many supporting players as you see fit. The screenwriters will also be keeping close tabs on your choices.
Wow, here’s an oldie-but-goodie, first posted almost 5 years to the day, that many of our current daily participants have not had a crack at. This thread is so old that Wilco has had time to change its chemistry at least one more time. Enjoy.
This post initially appeared 1/28/07.
Changes in band chemistry need not ruin a band’s sound, but they will alter it greatly – sometimes for better, sometimes for worse, sometimes for something just as good and interesting as the orginal but…different. Today, I’m most concerned with the first and last categories. We need not spend much time on the “for worse” category. Remember, this is a site to which fans on Ron Wood-era Stones need not apply. Continue reading »
What is it with my obsession with watching footage of The Kinks sink to new lows in self-parody and loss of dignity? Most of the time, I’d much rather watch stuff like this than something from the band’s halcyon era. What does this say about me? (I should note for those who are new-ish to RTH that The Kinks are one of my favorite bands and part of my Holy Trinity of Rock. This isn’t a case of schadenfreude.)
And does this footage merely show the band trying to stay current during a low point for mainstream rock, in general, or is there something else going on here?
Also, help me guitar nerds: What is the weird Strat-like Gibson (I think) Ray plays in this clip?
Finally, here’s a happier clip, giving a little glimpse of the band’s interpersonal communications as well as their innate musical talent. Sorry about the Ovation acoustics.
My brother and I are playing an acoustic ALL-KINKS show this weekend to test the waters on an all-Kinks band. (No joke, it’s at LOLA Art Gallery!) Acoustik Kinks will just be acoustic guitar and vocals with a focus on the Face To Face through Lola era.
I plan to record the show and post on YouTube if it goes well. We already have a few drummers interested. Now will there be an audience for this (see my very short-lived Hendrix/SRV cover group)…who knows???
I had forgotten that there was a website for this band until I just “Bing-ed” myself (I need to reset my work computer back to Google): http://stevierayhendrix.wordpress.com/music/
My favorite Kinks name so far is Art Lovers, but nobody will every know that we are a Kinks group with that name (and if they know the song they may keep their kids away).
I’d also like to find a name that is not being used already. Dave Davies‘ band is Kink’s Kronicles, there is a Kinda Kinks (and a Kinda Kinda Kinks) and a Kinky 2, etc.
There was a band called The Dedicated Followers, but they have been gone for a while, so that may be an option.
Excluding self-produced albums, what established artists who have dabbled in producing records for other artists most interest you? And I put an emphasis on dabbled to rule out established artists who are also established producers, like Steve Albini and Brian Eno.
For instance, I wish I could hear a few more albums produced by Elvis Costello, who somehow made both clear and extremely simple the clutter of The Specials‘ debut. He also produced the only (in my opinion) fully enjoyable Squeeze album, East Side Story, which was engineered by Friend of the Hall Roger Bechirian.
Andy Partridge is another artist I’d like to hear produce a few more albums. I’m a big fan of his work on Peter Blegvad‘s The Naked Shakespeare and Martin Newell‘s The Greatest Living Englishman. I wish he’d have taken the reins on his own band’s albums beginning with Skylarking, but that may have eliminated him from this discussion.
As far as I know Ray Davies only produced one album for another artist, The Turtles‘ Soup album. That’s a winner, but considering Kinks albums are typically no great shakes in terms of conventional recording techniques I’m not sure Davies had that much else to offer.
David Bowie has proven himself a pretty lousy producer, or at least a less-than-satisfying one, in his work with others. I’m not saying the bass-heavy version of Raw Power rectified the shortcomings of the original mix, but it’s still hard for me to fully enjoy that album. His production work on the biggest-selling singles by both Mott the Hoople and Lou Reed is amazing, but I’m not a big fan of his work overall on their albums.
Which artists do you wish you could hear more—or less—of in the producer’s chair?
Years ago, when my wife and I were first dating, we ran into one of my old musician friends on a street corner. His long hair and slacker Shaggy Rogers facade hid the fact that he was a gentle, thoughtful guy whose only vice was sweets. After continuing on our way, she said something like, “Band members have this reputation for being tough and cool, but whenever I meet them they’re usually the nicest people in the club.” From 1978 through the 1980s, Penny Rush-Valladares interacted with rock stars galore while running Backstage Cafe, a concert catering company in Kansas City, Missouri. In the process, Penny became a member of the Kansas City rock scene herself. From both the tales on her website, Rock and Roll Stories, and our conversations about her her experiences, it quickly became clear that Penny was among the many nice ones in the rock scene, super nice.
But this hard-working, rock ‘n roll-loving hippie (in the best sense of the term) isn’t beyond dishing more than her patented turkey dinners. In the course of our talk we gain some shocking insights about the likes of Roger Waters, Neil Diamond, and Bob Dylan – not to mention a story about Van Halen that’s more disgusting than I would have thought possible. A key detail about a diminutive purple presence in the ’80s rock scene explains so much, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. In the true spirit of the Halls of Rock, Penny brings a cheerful attitude, a bruised-but-not-beaten sense of idealism, and the willingness to let it all hang out. You won’t run into a Penny on any old street corner.
Penny’s website chronicles some of her earliest rock ‘n roll stories, including her night with The Beatles; we start with her entry into rock ‘n roll catering.
RTH: Can you summarize your work as a rock ‘n roll caterer? How did you get started as a caterer for touring musicians? You were initially based out of a certain venue, right?
Penny: Well, yes and no. I worked out of the Uptown Theatre in the beginning, helping another woman and learning the ropes. But it soon extended out into other venues. It was in its infant stages and we made it up as we went along. Basically we had to come up with a little dressing room food for the artists and some crew dinner for 20 or so guys. The reason I got involved was because I loved going to concerts and wanted to be backstage, so I soon realized there was a need for food and I knew that was something I could do.
It just kept evolving and demands from the artists kept getting more involved and official. A contract “rider” came along, which listed all the particular needs of each act and their food requirements were included. So it didn’t take long for me to start specializing in concert catering. I never wanted to do other kinds of catering, because I was only doing it to be backstage.
