Remember "The Snap"?

I search eBay on a regular basis for some of the missing pieces of the music from Comboland. I finally obtained a copy of "The Snap - Voice Of America", DLP 2004. I remember my roommate having a copy of the EP but I don't think I ever did. I do remember seeing this band play a number of times but the history of "The Snap" is a tad fuzzy, as are quite a few memories from 27 years ago.



I do remember guitarist Charlie Ward playing in this band. I also remember him being quite good, but not necessarily interested in playing in a pop band. I remember Donna Von Plock too... nice lead singer. Two of their tunes made it on the first "Mondo Montage" LP, "Voice Of America" and (She's A) Modern Girl. They were produced by Arrogance co-founder Robert Kirkland and recorded at Hummingbird Studios, according to the liner notes. The MM liner notes don't list the other band members (see below).

During the time between Mondo Montage and the six song EP release on Dolphin Records the band line-up changed and the producer did too. Select Records founder Fred Munao produced the EP, which was recorded at TGS Studios, Singer/Actor Gary Private (whose single "Waiting For You" got a 92 and a half on American Bandstand's "Rate A Record" but failed to chart) sang background vocals and provided percussion of some sort. Band members were Donna Von Plock - Vocals, David Anthony Matos - Guitars/Synthesizer (replacing Charlie Ward), Tom Bryan - Bass/BG Vocals, Vernon Marshburn - Drums/Percussion.

Harry Simmons managed the band and told me he initially got involved because of Robert's insistence. He also said that Fred wanted to sign the band to his label but they thought Dolphin Records was a better choice at the time because of the power/clout of "The Record Bar" which owned the label. The two songs from Mondo Montage were included on the EP but new versions were recorded and they do sound a bit different.

The Snap certainly had a good following in Comboland for a few years in the early to mid '80's. I have put the two hits from the EP in heavy rotation for a few weeks on Comboland Radio and also added their version of the The Beatles "Hey Bulldog" to the playlist.




Here is the description of "The Snap" from the Mondo Montage liner notes;

"With the addition of vocalist Donna Von Plock, The Snap has emerged as the most critically acclaimed new group in the Carolinas in 1982. Combining various elements of old style rock and roll with contemporary soul influences the group has synthesized its veteran talent into a unique new sound. This disc reveals The Snap for the first time on vinyl, under the steady studio control of Arrogance guitarist Robert Kirkland. Hard core stuff for dancers that like to sweat."

Mark Kano and Stratocruiser

2 weeks ago I wrote about a big update with several new bands/artists added to the Comboland Radio playlist. This week there is another update to the "New Music" category!! The purpose of this music category is to highlight the latest releases of the Comboland artists. As always if I am missing something let me know.

I really like the band "Stratocruiser". So I was a bit bummed I missed the November release of their limited edition (300 digipack copies only) CD "OK. Class" It is a "best of" compilation but does have a few new songs on it. Comboland Radio features many of the songs on this CD in the "regular" rotation. Listen for 2 of the new tunes, "Ok. Class" and "That Phone Call" on Comboland Radio. Go to the Stratocruiser website for information on getting the CD. it is NOT available for digital download!

On my last post I mentioned that I buy the majority of the music played on Comboland Radio. (Another HUGE thank you to those of you who have sent me "promo" copies of your music!) I don't mind paying for it as my purchase helps, in a small way, support the artist and hopefully their desire to continue making new music. Mark Kano has a bit of a different idea. Through the month of March (hurry!!!) Mark is offering free music downloads from his website, markkano.com. There is quite a bit of music here for free! Good stuff too! Much of it is in our playlist but now you can add it to your personal collection for free!

Listen Now!! New Music!!

I have FINALLY had some free time to work on some playlist additions to Comboland Radio. There are still some to follow... maybe even this week! But for now here is what's new:


Jonathan Mudd graciously sent me a copy of his brand new release, Truth Lies. "Run Amelia" and "Breaking My Way" are now in the new music rotation. The CD is available through CD Baby. Jonathan has a nice website too with links and hopefully soon some gig announcements.


"I Was Totally Destroying It" had 2 different releases at the end of last year. In the new music rotation are "Come Out, Come Out" and "Done Waiting". I will be adding songs from the 2007 self titled release and the 2 songs featured on the Cy Tunes website. This is a new band to Comboland Radio.


Speaking of Cy Tunes I purchased several other tunes which are now in the playlist. Jeff Hart's 1999 Spacelab Sessions, a single from "Stratocruiser" and a neat demo track from "Hammer No More The Fingers" are now playing.


"Schooner" has a new EP release available from Cy Tunes. The "Duck Kee Sessions". If you have not checked out this site and it's cause you have a few good reasons to. Listen for the new Schooner tunes on Comboland Radio.


"The Annuals" have a new release in the works which should be out very soon. A song from this album is available as a free download from their website, and is now being played on Comboland Radio.


98% of the music heard on Comboland Radio is purchased by it currator...Me! This is not a complaint because I believe in supporting these musicians efforts. Buying a download or a CD is a small price to pay for the endless enjoyment I get from their efforts. None of these artists are getting rich from making music so if my small purchase helps them in some way want to make more music then I gladly make that purchase. However when someone sends me a free CD I do feel compelled to give them what little exposure Comboland Radio can offer (see Jonathan Mudd above).


I had been looking for the "Let's Get Mikey" CD "Crazy Days for a couple of years now with no luck. The band features Jamie Hoover collaborator (Van Deleckies) Bryan Shumate, Nat Hammer and Eddie Snuggs, and was co-produced by Jamie and Jack Cornell from "The Fabulous Knobs" "Woods" and "Olympic Ass-Kickin' Team to name a few. Nat happened across the station and inquired about the band's lack of presence, then offered to send me a copy of the CD. NICE! When I got the package there was also a CD from "Zeke The Freak". Both have some killer tunes which are now in the playlist. Even though they share some of the creative components Zeke is a bit off center... in a good way... described by Nat as "a basement project where a bunch of musicians got together, had a few too many drinks, and decided to put it on tape". This is a fun CD to listen too. It's a shame more people didn't have the chance in 1997 when it was released.


Keven Burrus stumbled across the website and offered to send me a copy of a CD his band, "Broken Blue", released in 2000. He said "We played all over the triangle from 1996 to 2003. We recorded 2 Cd's of originals at Mike Gardner Studio (of PKM fame). Craig Woolard from the Embers added synth sax patch on 2 of our songs and Robert Kearns (of Cry of Love fame) sang backups on one track. Mike Gardner did some dueling guitar leads with one of our guitarists on one track." Listen for "Broken Blue" on Comboland Radio.


While searching around for new bands, which I haven't much time to do recently, I stumbled across Nick Driver who has just released a solo album. It's available at CD Baby among other places. Two tunes from in are in the new music category on Comboland Radio.


While in search mode I also found a new release by "100 Yorktown" that rocks! It's another CD Baby find as was "Distrails" a few months ago. "Distrails" has a new EP out and cuts are now in the playlist.


Those of us hailing from Henderson, North Carolina can tell you nearly every important musical milestone from our fair town. Famous folks from there include Ben E. King (Drifters, solo), Gerald Austin (Manhattans), and Rick Miller (Southern Culture On The Skids, not the same Rick Miller who later became Parthenon Huxley, grew up part of the time there so we claim him whether he wants to be claimed or not!). Oh... non-musical famous people from "The Gateway City" include Charlie Rose from PBS and Soupy Sales Mother. Musical highlights from Henderson include any of the few "Cheese" shows at "Sunset Park" out by Kerr Lake, the Khrome Jerome gig at the Kwick Pick complete with the Icee Bear, my band "Strike Zone" playing in the Parking lot of "The Big 89 WHNC". If you don't remember that last one maybe it is because the morning guy there at the time referred to us as "The Dry Heaves". Still don't remember? Hmmm. Imagine my surprise to find a band from my hometown on CD Baby and I don't think I know any of them. "Forgetful Old Guys" CD F.O.G. was released on the last day of 2009. They have a gig coming up at the Broad Street Cafe in Durham on March 10th. Listen for them on Comboland Radio.


Another new band to Comboland Radio with Henderson connections is "When Cousins Marry", featuring Hendersonite Charles Blackburn. According to their website they have been playing together for over 25 years. They released their first CD in 2007 and have another one in the works. Thanks you Charles for sending me the CD!


So there is lots of new music to enjoy on Comboland Radio!

The OAK Team's Winter Dance Party!

Man.... my day job has kept me super busy. During the off-season I expect things to be a bit slower but this year some special projects have kept me away from Comboland Radio. My wife and I did make it over to see Terry Anderson & The OAK Team recently. Terry is a much better writer that I so go on over to his blog and read about the gig from his perspective! I'm working on processing some new tunes for Comboland Radio. Keep Listening!!

OAK Team's New Vinyl Release

I just ordered Terry Anderson and The Olympic Ass-Kickin Team's new vinyl
release!! It is a limited edition, only 250 will be made. I ordered 2.
That leaves 248 for the rest of you. It has a new Christmas tune and
some remixed tunes from "National Champions" with horns added! Order
yours today so you can have it by Christmas! You can get it from Doublenaught Records website. Don't forget the OAK's are playing Christmas night at the Pour House

Records!

I like albums. I'm talking about 12 inch, black (mostly), 33 1/3, LP's. I still have almost every LP I ever bought. Current count.. well.... I haven't taken inventory recently but it's more than 3500. That number is still growing, but at a much slower rate now since the only new vinyl release are "special" and usually expensive. I do hit up some used record outlets occasionally, and eBay.

My albums used to reside in my house. Alas, most of them are in a (climate controlled!) storage facility 20 miles away. I visit them when I can. I had to retrieve the Christmas decorations from that facility a couple of weeks ago and decided to look through them and pick out a few to bring home. I have about 75 or so at the house, primarily the LP's that I digitized for Comboland Radio. I opened the box with the D's. The Doors - L.A. Woman... Man I remember buying that LP! ...From Nits Nats etc in the Henderson Mall.

Owned by Cheryl and Phillip Hawkins Nits Nats was an old school mom and pop store, as many were in the 60's and 70's. In Henderson, NC, before Nits Nats you bought records from Roses or Eckerds. Or downtown there was a place that also sold sewing machines and vacuum cleaners, Henderson Music Company I believe. Nits Nats was that first cool place for music and I bought a TON of records there. I hung around the store a bunch too. I even met my first wife there. There were times when I was looking for something to do I would just go and see what they had... what was new. There was a time I probably knew their inventory as well as they did!

Each mom and pop record store had it own personality, many times mirroring the personality of the owner. Some were cluttered and seemed unorganized, but the proprietor knew where everything was! This was especially true of any store that sold used records. Man I LOVED the Record Hole! In the early days of The Record Bar those stores had a bit of personality and were fun to shop in. With the shift to CD's the stores seemed to loose that personality. I was a regular at the CD Superstore locations in the Triangle and Triad, and later at Planet Music in Virginia Beach. Good stores but a more sterile feel. Of course some would say CD's have sort of a sterile feel as well.

Alright... back to current time... for a second. While I was in the box of D's I noticed the dB's LP's I had. Man.... I remember buying them too! I bought both "Repercussions" and "Stands For deciBels" at New World Records in Charlotte. It was my shop of choice while I lived in Charlotte. They always had a great selections of imports and hard to locate items. Those are still two of my all time favorite records. When I got home I put "Repercussions" on the turntable. I have the CD's, MP3,s, I hear the songs on Comboland Radio. But something about putting the record on and sitting down to listen to it gave me a different perspective. I was hearing the album, not the songs. I now remembered why I liked it so much.



When I listened to CD's I usually had a remote control nearby and I would skip songs that didn't hit me at first. With MP3's it is even easier to skip through songs. With LP's I, and I'll bet most others, were less apt to skip over a song thereby listening to the complete LP. During the heyday of the LP we also had more time, and fewer distractions! I guess MP3's are perfect for this fast paced distraction filled society we are all a part of. I'm not sure they are good for the music industry, especially local musicians. I hope I'm wrong.

Back to the dB's! I got an email from their website alerting me to a couple of videos that were unearthed and placed on You-Tube. Check them out! Also check out their website.






By the way.... Terry Anderson and the Olympic Ass-Lickin Team is getting ready for their annual Christmas night gig, again this year the the Pour House in Raleigh. It's a great excuse to get away from the family for awhile. Just tell them you need some air and will be back in 4 or 5 hours.

If you haven't been listening to Comboland Radio lately you are missing some great new songs from Jamie Hoover and Steve Stoeckel from the Spongetones, Luego from the Triangle that Peter Holsapple is playing with, and a band whose material has disappeared from sight very shortly after it was made available, Animal. All are great so listen in!! Just go to Comboland Radio and click on one of the players.

Playlist Update

Finally!!!

The playlist update is in tomorrow on Comboland Radio.

New music from:

The Spongetones Present Jamie & Steve
Birds And Arrows
The Old Ceremony
Luego
The Dex Romweber Duo
Violet Vector & The Lovely Lovelies
The Dynamite Brothers
Medusa Stone
Animal
Spaceship Days

Also some new catalog tracks show start to filter in over the weekend from:
Distrails
The Flood
Bryan Shumate
Medusa Stone
Dexter Romweber/Flat Duo Jets
Sex Police

Just more reasons to listen to Comboland Radio!