Don says "Play It Moose!"

I have received permission from Don Dixon to play an unreleased song of his I found on an old tape in my collection. It is called "Silent Night". It was originally recorded for the "Romantic Depressive" album but was culled out during the sequencing process. Don responded;

"hey MOOSE

please play "Silent Night"...i want to hear it...i think i have a version of BONNIE singing it, too!"
October 16, 2009 12:14 PM



So I'm sticking "Silent Night" in active rotation this week. There are SO many arcane rules involving streaming music on the Internet. Honestly... you would not believe many of them, and few of them are beneficial to the artists and writers but are intended to be. For example I can't play requests. The thought being you might figure out a way to record that song as I am playing it and then not buy it. Another is I can't tell you when I am going to play a song because you might record it. There are many others. So I can't say exactly when you can listen for the Dixon tune today but trust me, it is coming up in the schedule 2 or 3 times a day for the next few weeks. And if you happen to be listening between noon and 6 EDT today (10/20), say almost halfway between, you just may hear this song. I do think you'll enjoy it.... especially if you are a fan of Don's music. He also informed me that an additional date has been added to his and Marti's tour schedule. Check out his Myspace page for the latest.

Other new adds include the
Matt Barrett tunes I just located, cuts from Athenaeum's "Radiance" and "The Green CD", SCOTS cuts from the OOP "Liquored Up and Lacquered Down" and "The First Album". I am processing the 3 "Sex Police" Cd's and the Superchunk EP released in April so cuts from those will filter in this week.

If I am missing anything feel free to let me know. And tell everyone you know about Comboland Radio.

Rare Finds And A Dixon Song Unearthed

Very little time for Comboland Radio updates in the past few weeks. Sorry about that. I'm gonna try to get some playlist changes done this weekend. Although I DO have some new old material.

Matt Barrett has written a couple of my favorite songs. One is "Six-Pack" which was recently covered by Don Dixon and the Jump-Rabbits. Matt's original version from his "Ruse" EP is great. I play both versions on Comboland Radio. Another one from the same EP "My Baby's M-M-Making Me Dance is killer! Early on in the development of Comboland Radio Matt sent me some additional material transfered from cassette. Some of the tunes were decent transfers, a few were not... phase and tape head alignment issues. I can correct a lot of noise issues with computer aided restoration, of which I use several different products. However some issues can't be overcome. I have an "Allisons" cassette with similar issues. Doing an eBay search recently I searched Matt's name and a couple of copies of the "Ruse" EP showed up... not that unusual... but a copy of his self released single "Nothing At All To Write Home About/Is This It?" also showed up. Now THAT is a bit unusual. It is in mint condition and didn't cost too much either. I'll get it in the playlist very soon.



I also FINALLY got a copy of the SCOTS "Liquored Up and Lacquered Down" CD. It is not available for download so if you want it you have to track down a used CD. This one is not terribly difficult to track down but has been out of print for some time, suffering the same fate as all of the Connells material as it too is on the TV Tunes label. Sometimes folks selling the OOP stuff want huge bucks for it. Some of it is truly rare and in demand. Sometimes patience is necessary. In fact there is currently a copy of this CD on eBay for a starting bid of $5.

Speaking of Southern Culture On The Skids I've had the "First Album" sitting around waiting to be transfered into the digital domain for some time. That time is now. I have a couple of early SCOTS tracks from the Comboland tapes in the playlist but they don't come up all that often. Newer fans be warned.... this stuff is a bit different than what you are used to hearing!! I really like the direction Rick has taken the band through the years. But I also like this early LP. This is the band I remember seeing in the mid-80's. Now this is a tough LP to find these days, but not totally impossible. Listen for some tracks to filter in this weekend.

I was digging through a box of CD's... boxed sets I have stored up in a closet because I don't have anyplace to display them. In this box of boxed sets I found a cassette, "Don Dixon, The Album", dated 1994 or 5. Harry Simmons was Don's manager at the time and an old bud. He sent me things to listen to from time to time knowing I was a fan and always had an opinion. This was a pre-release cassette, recorded straight off the board, great quality, one used in the "tinkering with the songs/sequence" phase of putting an album together. So here I am in 2009 looking at the sequence trying to remember what CD this was... oh yeah. "Romantic Depressive". Came out on Sugar Hill in 1995. So I'm checking the sequence on the CD against the one on on the cassette. A couple of tunes swapped positions in the order... wait a minute.... "Silent Night"? That one is not on the CD anywhere. It ain't no Christmas tune either! Looks like it got replaced by "What You Saw" on the CD featuring Anton Fier from "The Lounge Lizards", "The Golden Palominos" et al playing drums. WOW I have unearthed a "lost" Dixon cut!! I cleaned it up a bit from the cassette dub and it sounds pretty good. The song itself is quite good! I prefer it to a couple of tunes that made it onto the CD. But this is an area where everyone has a different opinion. I am positive Dixon had a "sound" in mind for the CD at the time and this one just didn't fit. So Dixon.... can I play it? What do you think Harry?

Listen for "Silent Night" to possibly air on Comboland Radio soon!... or not!

arrogance @ 40 - The Birthday Bash

I wish I knew how many times I have seen Arrogance play. Fifty? A hundred? I really don't know. I saw them at The Town Hall, The Cat's Cradle (old one), on the campus of both UNC and NC State, Rumors in Atlanta, The Bears Den, places I now can't remember. I probably saw them at The Pier in Raleigh more than any other place. I usually stood in the same place, close to the front of the stage but not right up front, audience right, near the sound and light boards. There were a group of us that went to every show. Arrogance manager Harry Simmons, a friend since elementary school, got us "on the list" at the door nearly every show. His younger brother A.T. "Bud" ran lights, which is one of the reasons we stood to that side... so we could harass him during the show. In the bands final couple of years my friend Cliff Atchison ran sound. That made it even more fun with two people to torture during the show.

There are images in my mind of that place that are so much clearer now. Images I had misplaced in my brain until Saturday Night at The Cat's Cradle (new one). Arrogance was playing a couple of tunes from "Suddenly". They were nailing them too! And for a few minutes I was back at The Pier. It flashed in my brain with such clarity... neat but a bit eerie too. As I was the faithful DD I had not had anything to either enhance or dull my senses. They were playing that good.



This was the arrogance @ 40 Birthday show. All of the different musical styles they covered were represented during the show. They didn't follow in exact chronological order, but close. Dixon was the narrator during the show recounting their surroundings, different venues, setting a mood for what you were about to hear. As has been the case with the Cradle shows in recent years the started with the more acoustic stuff. Joining the band onstage for the first time in many years was percussionist Ogie Shaw. Ogie played on the first arrogance LP "Give Us A Break". He got a warm reception for the crowd on several occasions. It was a real treat to hear these songs live with Ogie. They sounded so much more familiar.. more authentic. He did a fine job too!




Rod then played two songs from his solo LP, "Bossa Nova Baby", and "Eggplant Comes To The Party", the latter I had totally forgotten about. It's an instrumental that used to be a part of his solo set before he joined Arrogance. I have got to dig his solo album out and digitize that one!



Next up was the original arrogance with Mike Greer and Jim Glasgow. Those of you who were at the March show at The Carolina Theatre got a chance to hear this lineup. These guys took us through what was the early days of their new band, with some rousing covers of songs they probably jammed to as they started to find their way. Then they moved to some early arrogance originals... "Black Death", and a song they had never tried to perform on stage, "Nights Of Dreams". This is a song that was supposed to be on an early arrogance album but was later released on Mike Greer's "Between Two Worlds" LP. The Original arrogance can still rock it!

After a quick break electric Arrogance rocked it for a while! Then all 8 Arrogance members in attendance took the stage one more time for a final sendoff. As I eluded to earlier this was a great performance! and a long one too! They started playing just after 8:45p, took 2 short...really!...breaks and finally walked off the stage at 12:25p. What a night!




I have noticed in past shows at The Cradle that many of the "acoustic" fans leave after that portion of the show is over. I don't think quite as many folks left this time. I did hear some rumbling when they were playing some of the covers. A number of folks went outside and said "I'll come back in when they start playing Arrogance songs again". Man! I thought they were great! And in the context of the show they were trying to do they fit. Plus you got to hear comical lyric replacement from Robert such as... during "Sunshine Of Your Love" replacing the words "To give you my dawn surprise" with "and giving my dog some wine". Man was I laughing! Covers were many times a part of an Arrogance show. Barrett Strong's "Money" kicks of "Lively". Have we forgotten about "The Dogbreath Blues Band"? Their old surf medley rocked!!! I enjoyed the "covers" section of the original arrogance set. It reminded me of how nearly every band I have ever been got started, by trying to find some common ground so you can start making some noise.



I really enjoyed the vibe of this show. It's a similar vibe at the other "Cradle" show of recent years. The band is relaxed on stage and enjoying themselves. The audience is full of the bands old friends and that seems to energize them a bit. It is just a fun night, a night you wish you had more of.



A rumor was floating around about this being the "swan song" performance of the band. I found that hard to believe and confirmed with Scott that it wasn't. However he did point out that none of them are getting any younger. There have been some health scares over the years. You just never know. As I mentioned in an earlier blog we should all make an effort to see any of our favorite bands/musicians from back in the day when they decide to play. No one can make all of the shows but go to the ones you can. Those bands from Comboland still make the best music in the world.

Listen to ALL of the Comboland bands, old and new, on Comboland Radio!

arrogance @ 40 - Pictures From Chapel Hill

What a great show at The Cat's Cradle! Merch Mike will have more and much better pictures on his pages but I have posted a few on the Comboland Radio MySpace and Facebook pages, find the links to both to the right. The battery on my laptop is running out so a review is coming later today.

Arrogance @ 40 Gig and OAK Team Video

It's Thursday. You've got a couple of days to figure out how you are going to rearrange your schedule to make it to Chapel Hill to see Arrogance. It's going to be a great show. Arrogance celebrates 40 years of creating some of the best rock songs to ever come out of North Carolina. After 40 years they can still rock it on stage. Don and Robert's voices are still strong, their musicianship is still strong, the songs are still good... and this show will have some surprises.

So what could keep you from the show? Football? NC State and Gardner Webb? The way State played against USC I think Gardner Webb has a chance! This is one you can miss. UNC and ECU? It's a Noon game. Hey!... If you're coming for the game stay over and come out to the Cradle to either celebrate or commiserate. Duke and Kansas? Away game for the Blue Devils.... and c'mon. Duke Football?!?

If you, like me, live away from the Triangle area now and are wondering if this show will be worth the hassle to drive and get a place to stay and get the kids a taken care of and find a place for the dog and whatever whatever... the answer is YES. When you were younger you would! So just make it happen, you won't be sorry.

Seriously, when any of the bands we loved decides to play a gig you should make an effort to go see them. Certainly you can't go to every show. There have been a few this summer I have had to miss because of work, life, health. You just never know how many more chances you will get to see any of the guys from this era play together. If you are wondering how good they can sound just ask anyone who went to the March show at the Carolina Theater. It rocked. This one will too. At the last Cradle show a bunch of folks left early. It seemed like the "acoustic" fans bailed during the break. I would encourage all to hang for the whole show this time. It will be worth it... trust me.

If you don't have the Arrogance tunes in a digital format remember you can download them from Comboland Radio's Arrogance Store. I haven't sold very many of these so I KNOW you need them in your collection. Of course you can Arrogance an a slew of other great North Carolina acts on Comboland Radio.

Another of my very favorite bands is Terry Anderson's Olympic Ass Kickin' Team. The recently were featured in a "Sessions In Studio B" at Music.MyNC. Check it out! If you've never seen these guys live... well... you are wrong for that.

Comboland Mailbag - The Othermothers

Before I get in to the subject matter of the post a reminder....



Arrogance is at the Cat's Cradle on September 19th!! This is their 40th anniversary year. If you missed the March show DO NOT miss this one. Along with Don Dixon, Robert Kirkland, Marty Stout, Scott Davison and Robert Kirkland the show will feature the original lineup again with Jim Glasgow and Mike Greer, and include percussionist Ogie Shaw who was a member when the first album was released. You will be hearing more about this show in the next few weeks. Make plans now to go. Don't let it slip up on you. More details as they are finalized can be found here, at the Arrogance website, their MySpace and Facebook pages, and from the Arrogance Street Team.



I got the coolest package in the mail the other day. A couple of months ago I got a Facebook message from Othermothers drummer Tommy Cowett informing me of the re-release of the rocking EP "No Place Like Home". The new CD has 4 additional songs which will please fans of the Othermothers. The new CD is titled "Back For More", which is a perfect title as they are out playing gigs again. Tommy offered to send me a copy which I gladly accepted. I received it along with a DVD a friend of theirs put together, and all of the band members signed the CD. Neat touch!



I remember first hearing about this record through my friends Robert Kirkland and Steve Haigler, the producer and engineer for the EP. I may have still been working at Reflection Studios at the time but my memory is fuzzy. I DO remember Steve telling me how hot this band was, and how great the recordings sounded. I had a cassette copy of the EP and listened to it a bunch!! This was one of the many bands from the early to mid 80's that should have made it through. Hey... they made it further than most with the EP getting released on Making Waves Records in the UK, benefiting from the "Comboland" project undertaken by Godfrey Cheshire. This is a high energy record, with that "punk" edge and hyper-tempo beat, but with great hooks and melodies. Plus the band has the musicianship to pull it all off.

The Othermothers started playing shows again this year and if you have been fortunate enough to see them play you can attest to the fact that they still got it! There are a few YouTube videos to prove it too. If you haven't seen them you do have a couple of chance coming up. They will be playing at The Tate Street Festival in Greensboro on September 26th, the at the Blind Tiger on October 9th. I don't see a link to buy the CD on the MySpace page but I'll bet they are selling them at the shows. I'll also bet you could buy one from them by emailing the band through the Othermothers MySpace page. It is worth seeking out! When you DO get it it won't just sit in your collection. You'll want to listen to it!!!

I honor of the new release I am putting a couple of tunes from "Back For More" in the "Heavy" rotation in the Comboland Radio playlist, which is usually where I put new music.

A Letter To Terry Anderson of The OAK Team...

Dear Terry,

What are you trying to do to me man?!? I mean I look at the WhassupTA blog nearly every day. (I especially loved the pictures from your recent "procedure"!) I check the schedule of gigs over at Doublenaught Records on a regular basis. I try to check the 2 Myspace pages you occupy. Now I find out that there is an OAK Team gig.... TONIGHT!!! Man you are killing me!

You know my wife is a monster fan. Now she is calling me on the telephone and yelling in my ear asking questions like "What are you durin wit all of yo damn free time? "Boy.... u 'posed to keep up wit thangs like the OAK Team's schedule!"

Man... I saw the Yayhoos dates listed. Somehow I missed the OAK Team gig. And I am now in the doghouse. And when I next see my wife I will be receiving an Ass-Kickin' like you have never seen.

I went to bed last night a 10:30p, and got up for the day job at 4:30a. If we do make the three and a half hour drive to Raleighwood tonight I'll be the one with a sore ass and toothpicks in my eyelids.

Your Friend,

Moose

The Olympic Ass-Kickin' Team will ROCK the Berkley Cafe tonight (8/28) as they open for The Bottle Rockets. Don't miss it. If you do you deserve to get a swift kick in the....

Addendum
Also... OAK Team fans can hear an interview on US 98.3's Homegrown Hour Sunday week (Non-Hick Translation.. that's not this Sunday but Next Sunday, September 6th). Host Mike Elliot is an OAK Team fan himself so the show show be great! You can listen online at the US 98.3 website.