Chalkhills, Number 148

                  Sunday, 14 April 1991
Today's Topics:
                   Re: Chalkhills #147
                      Hither and Yon
                Re: Duke's CD on Geffen...
            _1967_ and Psychedelia in general
                    Drummers maligned
                The truth behind the group

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Date: Tue, 9 Apr 1991 21:18:39 PDT
From: John M. Relph <relph@presto.ig.com>
Subject: Re: Chalkhills #147

Broadcasting live from U.C. Santa Cruz, here's ace reporter Kevin
Carhart <6600kevc%ucsbuxa@hub.ucsb.edu>:

>Does anyone have any information or knowledge about the musicians on
>Skylarking, or the multitudes of thanked people?

Mingo Lewis and Prairie Prince were drummer and percussionist for The
Tubes, whose amplifiers were used on _Skylarking_.  Re Styles is
Prairie's girlfriend, and was once a vocalist and dancer with The
Tubes.

Duane Day informs us that Dave Bendigkeit is "a really great jazz
trumpet player.  I believe it's him that we hear on `The Man Who
Sailed Around His Soul' and it might easily be Dave on `Extrovert' as
well."

Dick Bright is a well-known bandleader and arranger in the San
Francisco area.  He and his band play the music for the BAMMIE Awards;
he was also responsible for the now-infamous "Stairway to Gilligan's
Island", under the name "Little Roger and the Goosebumps".

>  I am
>especially curious about the Beech Avenue Boys.

I believe this is a reference to the fact that the backing vocals on
_Skylarking_ were in part inspired by The Beach Boys, _Pet Sounds_
being one of Andy Partridge's favourite albums.  I would bet that the
Beech Avenue Boys are in fact XTC.  Just as XTC thanked The Dukes of
Stratosphear for the loan of their guitars.

                                . . .

Bird Rendell H <rhb9805@usl.edu> says:

>I was in New Orleans the other weekend (at Tower Records to be precise) and
>I found a copy of the Duke's CD for $11.99.  I had not read that it was
>being released with all the other XTC albums but it has a big Geffen label
>on the back.

Actually, the Geffen USA release of The Duke's _Chips From the
Chocolate Fireball_ has been available since sometime in 1987.  I
would guess it was soon after _Psonic Psunspot_ was released.

        -- John

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From: Martin Luther Zen <stewarte@sco.com>
Subject: Hither and Yon
Date: Tue, 9 Apr 1991 22:42:39 -0700 (PDT)

    From: 6600kevc%ucsbuxa@hub.ucsb.edu (Kevin Carhart)

    Does anyone have any information or knowledge about the musicians on
    Skylarking, or the multitudes of thanked people?  [...] I am
    especially curious about the Beech Avenue Boys.  Do they have albums of
    their own?

Methinks you've been fooled by that dry Partridge wit.  I'm fairly
sure that the Beech Avenue Boys are none other than Swindon's finest
themselves, giving a nod to yet another of their influences from the
'60s (to whom the backing vocals of "Season Cycle" bear a striking
resemblance...)

    From: rhb9805@usl.edu (Bird Rendell H)

    I was in New Orleans the other weekend (at Tower Records to be precise) and
    I found a copy of the Duke's CD for $11.99.  I had not read that it was
    being released with all the other XTC albums but it has a big Geffen label
    on the back.

Actually, the Dukes CD has been out domestically forever.  Well, not
forever, exactly, but essentially since the release of "Psonic
Psunspot".

    From: SC00@ns.cc.lehigh.edu (Stefano Carra)

    I can't believe Lillywhite is going to work with Phil Collins & C.
    Besides XTC, Lillywhite produced some of the best albums of the
    eighties; I'm certainly disappointed too see that XTC have to stop
    their work, but I'm also kind of curious to see what it will come out
    >from the new Genesis..

I dunno about Lillywhite, but I'm pretty sure Padgham has worked with
Genesis in the past; it was one of his first big producing jobs, and
he may be returning a favor to some extent...I've forgotten exactly
what album it was, though; maybe Abacab or thereabouts.

Besides, I'm sure Genesis pays better than XTC.

    From: Mike Godfrey <migod@csri.toronto.edu>

    For those who don't know, Dave Mattacks has been the drummer of Fairport
    Convention since roughly 1970 (with a break or two).

Ah, thanks.  I knew the name sounded familiar, but I just couldn't
quite place it.

-- Stewart
*****************************************************************************
"In this elegant chaos
 I stand to one side."
                       -- Julian Cope
/* Stewart Evans, alias stewarte@sco.COM, aka uunet!sco!stewarte */

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From: hvgtw!dhgpa!adkoning@hvlpb.att.com
Date: Wed, 10 Apr 91 14:32 MDT
Subject: Re: Duke's CD on Geffen...

rhb9805@usl.edu (Bird Rendell H) wrote:
>I found a copy of the Duke's CD for $11.99.  I had not read that it was
>being released with all the other XTC albums but it has a big Geffen label
>on the back.
>
>Has anyone else seen it at their local CD stores?

I got my USA-Geffen copy for the same budget-price in December 1988 in
Oklahoma (of all places!) when I was over there.

I didn't know then I could have gotten a full-colour-sleeve when buying the
Euro-version (which was more expensive at that time).

It's all in the _Great_Chalkhills_Discography_!

                                       ,
                                 | Andre de Koning
    ''It beste stik husried      | AT&T Network Systems Nederland B.V.
      is in goed wiif''          | Televisiestraat 16-18  Den Haag
      (Friese spreuk)            | (*31-)(0)70-3842 562
                                 | [...att!hvgtw!dhgpa!adkoning]

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Date: Fri, 12 Apr 91 16:02:55 -0400
From: poole1@husc9.harvard.edu (Geoffrey Poole)
Subject: _1967_ and Psychedelia in general

	Sorry about this, 'cause I think it was discussed relatively recently,
but I just saw _1967_ on CD for $17.99.  I almost bought it on impulse as I
love The Dukes, and "Strawberry Fields" imo is one of the best pop tunes ever
written, but I'm wary of compilation/cover/tribute albums as they can be quite
uneven in quality.  So, the question is:  What's the consensus?

	Also, on a tangentially related topic, given that I love both Dukes of
Stratosphear efforts and am interested in hearing some of the original stuff,
what psychedelic albums do people recommend?  The only stuff I've heard is the
Beatles (of course), which I love, and Pink Floyd's first album, which I heard
a long time ago and remember thinking was OK, but I didn't _love_ it.

Thanks!

Geoff Poole
poole1@husc9.harvard.edu

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Date:    Sat, 13 Apr 91 17:33 EDT
From: NECHO@ncsumvs.bitnet
Subject: Drummers maligned

     Recently John writes:

>Actually, once Terry Chambers left XTC, the remaining trio decided not
>to bring a new drummer on board to replace him.  After all, a drummer
>is only active when recording or touring, and since they don't do the
>latter at all and only do the former infrequently, a drummer would get
>bored.  Just as Terry did.  So instead they have hired drummers just
>for the album recording sessions.

    Me thinks this shows a misunderstanding of- or narrow minded bias
toward- the role of drumming in pop music.  While there are gracious
plenty Ringo's out there who add their parts to a song as a kind of
afterthought, there are also examples of drummers who DO carry their
weight.  I can't believe that someone like say George Hurley, drummer
with the three-piece fIREHOSE, doesn't contribute one third to the
writing/developing of their music.

    Compared to melody-making, drumming is a Different thing, but it
needn't necessarily be a Lesser thing.

:   Scott (not a drummer)    nECHO@NCSUMVS

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Date: Sun, 14 Apr 91 17:08:02 -0400
From: Mark.C.Kirk@physics.umass.edu
Subject: The truth behind the group

I think its about time we faced up to the fact of how XTC comes up with thier
lyrics.  This occurred to me after I fell asleep listening to a Debbie Gibson
cd on repeat.

#1  The groups names:  Try as they might XTC cannot deny the obvious fact
that they not only are named after the drug but DO infact get a 10% cut on
all sales of it.  Then there is the trippy-hippy image of the Dukes, pretty
obvious what I mean there.

#2  the song "What In The World":  "...cannabis in tea...acid is free..."
Well, do we need it any clearer?  Won't be seeing Andy Partridge on the US
Supreme Court anytime soon.

#3 the song "Grass":  "...things we used to do on grass..."
Oh really Andy??   Colin, Dave, and you seem to be enjoying yourselves in
Swindon.  Guess we know what that "place of hallucination" on your map of
Swindon refers to exactly now.

So, should we expect to see the group turn itself in to the Betty Ford Clinic
anytime soon?  Listen to Nancy, just say "NO!".

/mk/

   "I bought myself a liarbird...."

P.S.  Was it purely coincidental that that Candian DJ said "Drugs & Wires"?

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Thanks to Ira Rosenblatt.

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