Early Beginnings

A very early photo taken at my Highland Park guest house/ rehearsal space/recording 'studio'(by Regina). This was no doubt the birth time of our direction in sound for the 1st demo songs, the release "Acetone" Caroline/Hut EP and the "Cindy"Lp, which were recorded at the same time at Hammersound in Chatsworth by Chris and Scott.

Record Vacuum

www.recordvacuum.com
Go above for a KILLER podcast of his.
the lion man/the music of the spheres/wayne griggs

dj for the verve/oasis/richard ashcroft/coldplay/the rolling stones & many other cats along the road.

tryin to build this thing.make it grow.designing t-shirts.regular broadcasts.sporadic transmissihttp.see what sticks.

personal note;My friend Wayne Griggs knows music. He knows all music. He's been an audiofile for many moons and is on a new project.
This man has taste.
During his years with the band Verve(from beginning to end) he was really a 5th member of the band and in my opinion much of the bands identity and songs came from Wayne's
vast LP collection. (a small later example; Bittersweet symphony)

Wayne was the DJ for the band but much more as he set the mood for the theatrics of the bands entrance and exit as well.
I would boldly say that Wayne was the bands biggest influence and of course they were all friends from the same small town of Wigan.
His My Space has most info....

and of course ....A Blog!

Mixed Combo Plate

A throw together live radio performance (i'm guessing Texas) with some assistance from
our amigo J. Pierce.
Throughout this tour there were great impromptu moments like this with Jason or Shawn sitting in on certain tracks when the time was right. I remember in particular a version of Midnight Cowboy we did that came off Quite well.
How great to have musicians we respected highly seamlessly contribute to our beloved 3 piece.

Blue Moods...again

Blue Moods brings together Miles Davis with Charles Mingus, accompanied by Elvin Jones on drums, Teddy Charles Vibes and Britt Woodman on Trombone.
Miles was fresh from his triumph at the 1955 Newport Jazz Festival when he agreed to record for his old friend Charles Mingus's label. Considering the volatile temperaments of the two protagonists, the music is surprisingly calm, but according to Elvin Jones, 'if they had just printed the conversations in the studio at that time, that would have been a best-seller.' Woodman had known Mingus since boyhood, and Charles was then a frequent musical associate with similar ideas about composing and arranging. The charts here are all by Teddy, except 'Alone Together', which is by Mingus.

This is one LP out of thousands that had a profound influence on our beloved writings
during the Acetone years.

Career Opportunities

The machine that started it all, still a viable unit.
Tascam 388 1/4" with amazing EQ.
Many demos and some LP's were done with this baby.
Glad I still have it.

Come On

For now it's a youtube .
Soon I'll transfer to better Quality.
sorry.

we like Link

Single File

"Come On" 7" single. Blue vinyl w/ "Theme For A Summer Place" B-side.

Fever

A Touch Of Noir

The video for Pinch.
Related post with a bit of text and frame grabs next door in the Cabin.

Fuzzy

Pretty sure this is a 'Headline' tour somewhere in the Southwest.

Closer

Rich, frame grab from the 'All You Know' video.(located in the archives. use search engine in upper left corner)

Wheels

Initially, I bought this crazy kit on the whim of having a piece of Hollywood lore, yet at the same time we were always on the search of the funky. The story goes that it was bought new by Soupy Sales for his son Hunt's birthday then much later was pawned by the son during times of need.

Italian made by Meazzi and marketed as 'Hollywood' they had that early Vaudeville concept of being all racked together on wheels. This was done for easy access of 'striking' instruments with speed for the next act. In doing this the bass drum was
elevated off the floor and had no contact except for the rubber wheels. The drum was only 18" but being suspended and free to ring it sounded huge with a long tone like
a mounted tom.(a nightmare for live sound engineers always in a rush but with proper tuning and some time it was beautiful and uniQue.

I ended up using it for the 1st Vapor LP in studio but muted the kick.(for rock's sake) Also took it on tour for it's mini size and our lack of space.
This kit is amazing and I've never seen anything like it yet there must be others.
I think they were one of the first kits ever to use electronics. (It had pickups installed in the shells that went to a special Hollywood Amp.)Not mine though.

Note; I've seen some of Hollywood's short lived endorsement advertisements in dusty
bins at old school music shoppes featuring Max Roach, Billy Cobham and briefly Buddy Rich(who rumor has it hated the kit so much he kicked it off stage during a show) and others I can't remember.

Edit; I just found some great stuff here.

On The Line

Taken from the Radar Bros. album 'And The Surrounding Mountains. Footage filmed by the band as they toured the USA.

Rat Fink

Mark says cheese please.

Subtle Sound

Rich occasionally broke out the 'Silvertone' bass for the warmer tone than the usual 'Rickenbacker' he used for most songs.
Not to forget the 'Shobud' six string bass or tenor guitar by Gretsch.'
Never seen one like it. Used to be the name of a pedal steel but I can't find info online ....yet.

Blue Moods

I remember taking this pic during the recording of our 1st EP 'Acetone' and the 1st LP 'Cindy' at Hammersound Studios in Chatsworth. (Owned, operated and engineered by Chris Apthorp with huge assistance from Scott Campbell.('The Lad')
More on both Chris and Scott's help throughout the band's existence to come.
Thanks

I've Enjoyed As Much Of This As I Can Stand

A silly MTV segment we did about1/2 hr before a great NYC show on the Spiritualized tour.

The Other Side Of Dating

Carl Bronson, Mark Lightcap (Acetone) and Steve Goodfriend (Radar Brothers) perform as the Dick Slessig Combo. The group creates dreamy instrumental arrangements of songs from the late '60's through the early '70's. On this disc they produce a high desert evening quiet drift of the Jimmy Webb classic "Wichita Lineman" that clocks in at a calming 43 minutes. Also on this disc is a ghostly arrangement of "Guinnevere" by David Crosby. This disc is excellent.
The Dick Slessig Combo has played in art and music contexts, opening up exhibitions as well as for groups like Matmos, in the United States as well as Europe. Greil Marcus described his discovery of the Combo in one of his Salon Top 10 lists a few years back:
David Patton
More and buy;
Listen on the Inner Sanctum Podcast>>>>>>>>>>>>

Blue Moods

Frame grabs while playing "Chills" from the 1st England tour.
I'm guessing in Wolverhampton.

In The Light

Let there be light ahead.
2008