Microtonal Youth

In the late 70s my rugged good looks and corruptible charm got me hired by two confirmed bachelors who ran and worked the machines of Europadisk out of three rooms in Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan. With equipment imported by another confirmed bachelor who had been a member of the Vienna Boys Choir before his family fled the Nazis in 1939, Europadisk brought German technology and precision to record stamper manufacturing in the US. Since premium prices applied, most of the work came from audiophile and specialty labels like Artists House along with a few big stars like Neil Young from the majors. One day I heard unearthly sounds from the owner's quality control listening station that were not in this case Ornette Coleman. The guilty party turned out to be a New Jersey one-stop that would make a concert recording of your school's orchestra in your auditorium and deliver you a finished fundraising LP pressed and packaged. Why such a modest operation had chosen Europadisk was unclear. Portsmouth Sinfonia is an easy reference for these field recordings, since English intellectuals struggling to control the unfamiliar instruments in their hands sound pretty much like Garden State middle school kids doing the same. Instead of Portsmouth's classical warhorses, the local repertoire mixes The Beatles and Barbra Streisand with old favorites like Leroy Anderson's Syncopated Clock (ubiquitous Afternoon Movie theme in ages past) alongside unfamiliar* tunes, perhaps band director originals, played and received with great enthusiasm. I ended up taking home around twenty of the label's one-sided lacquers that were due to be tossed and this is the stuff I saved on a cassette.

01 This Is It!*

02 Whistle While You Work

03 Elephants*

04 Hall Of Horn*

05 Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001: A Space Odyssey)

06 White Christmas

07 Beatle Expo '79 

08 Caravan

09 Evergreen (Love Theme From A Star Is Born)

10 The Syncopated Clock

11 Jellybean Sunday*

12 More (Theme From Mondo Cane)

13 Earth Man Discotheque*

This Is It!

Dave Schramm Radio Free Song Club

The sixteen or so members of Nicholas Hill's Radio Free Song Club, a more or less monthly webcast from 2010-14, wrote a new composition and performed it live in Brooklyn or from home every thirty days. Peter Blegvad, Peter Holsapple and Freedy Johnston were among the regulars while special guests included Andy Partridge, Peter Stampfel and Martha Wainwright and many many others. But it was almost always Dave Schramm of NYC's unheralded Schramms that really cut to the heart of things. A gifted guitarist as well as songwriter, he also led the house band. Here are his 33 contributions as well as his RFSC theme which opened every webcast. 

00 RFSC Theme

01 The Ghost And The Grey

02 Hearts And Diamonds

03 Something Went Wrong

04 Halfway Home

05 Your Father Said
06 Lousy Song
07 Long Story Short
08 Third Time A Charm
09 Background Music
10 Slip And A Fall
11 Eleven
12 Been There Done That
13 Spent
14 Man Of Few Words
15 Two Left Feet
16 Maybe Eventually
17 The Terrible Hole
18 Under The Influence
19 Thirteen Years Were Not Enough
20 Point A To Point B
21 That Way
22 3am Slant
23 You Seem To Want To Say Goodbye
24 He Pulled The Ladder Up
25 Honest To A Fault
26 The Dark Spark
27 Penance
28 Electric Ladyland
29 Mad Mad World
30 A Leaf In A Winter Wind
31 What Appears To Be A Song About A Tree
32 I Will Dream Blessed Dreams
33 The Other Side Of What

RFSC

Prae-Kraut Kindergarten 1964-69

"THE SHAGGYS... Ah, the band that started it all! It was the irresistible charm of kindergarten bands like Rene & The 10 Less 5, Ric & The Skyliners, Magic Herbs and Wildcats that pushed us to share the results of our vinyl archaeology with the rest of the world. The Shaggys' first 45 was always top of the bill. Rumours of a second single gave us quite a hard time until we finally tracked it down. Like the Ragged Men record, it came out on Patria, formerly known as the R&B label. (R&B stands for whatever you like, but definitely not Rhythm and Blues.) "I'm Shy" features the immortal line, "You know it's hard to say, because I'm many shy". How can they say there's no German sense of humor?"   

Seventy-nine sacred minutes from the twenty-some volume Prae-Kraut and Electrick Loosers series, concentrating on the very weediest. To misquote The Rhythm Checkers, I know a dog when I find it; to paraphrase Captain Beefheart, They couldn't have done this if they knew what they were doing.

Prae-Kraut Kindergarten
German, Swiss & Austrian primitives

01 The Starfighters - I Like Trouble
02 The Slaves - Shut Up
03 The Skins - It's Too Late
04 The Rhythm Checkers - Theme Of The Rhythm Checkers
05 The Red Devils - Little By Little
06 Gesine Darieux & The Chosen Few - Crazy, Crazy
07 The Slaves - Get Out Of My Way
08 The Ragged Men - Love Is A Fight
09 The Candidates - Bad Bad Baby
10 The Slaves - You're The Only One
11 The Loosers - Understand
12 The Pralins - Jumpin' Run
13 The Wildcats - All Right
14 The Bats - Got A Girl
15 The Shaggys - I'm Shy
16 The Party Brothers - Every Night
17 The Retreads - You You You
18 The Robots - Soldier Beat
19 Time Out - Babe
20 The Shaggys - I Need You So
21 The Shaggys - Only An Hour
22 The Venture 5 - Yes Pretty Baby
23 The Slaves - Panic
24 The Slaves - Slaves Time
25 The Party Brothers - Our Love Is Gone
26 The Pontiacs - You Know Me
27 The Venture 5 - What's Your Name?
28 The Robots - It's Hard To Say
29 The Skins - What To Do
30 The Roadrunners - Little Ruby
31 The Rhythm Checkers - On Your Way Down The Drain
32 The Loosers - Sensitive

Downloads all. 
Numerous files have been upgraded over the years, with one Robot, one Party Brother and two Slaves now lossless.