Oct 2014 / MOTOCHRIST

 
 

On October 7, 2014, a remarkable assemblage of musicians came together under the name “The Impossible Orchestra” to perform the Beach Boys song “God Only Knows”.  The event was simulcast on BBC Television and BBC Radio stations in order to herald the launch of BBC Music, and the event also made national news in this country.  A recording of the song was released on a single the following day as a fund-raising effort for Children in Need 2014.  The musicians span the spectrum of popular music and included Brian WilsonPharrell WilliamsOne DirectionLordeChrissie HyndeStevie WonderElton John, Chris MartinKylie MinogueDave GrohlBrian May, and many others.  

 

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As quoted in WikipediaBrian Wilson said of the recording event:  “All of the artists did such a beautiful job. . . .  I can’t thank them enough, I’m just honored that ‘God Only Knows’ was chosen.  ‘God Only Knows’ is a very special song.  An extremely spiritual song and one of the best I’ve ever written.” 

 

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The single was originally issued by the Beach Boys in July 1966 backed with Wouldn’t it be Nice; in some countries, “God Only Knows” was the “A” side, and in others, it was the “B” side.  Both songs were co-written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher; Asher says of his role in the songwriting (as quoted in Wikipedia):  “The general tenor of the lyrics was often [Brian’s]; however, the actual choice of words was usually mine.  I was really just his interpreter.”  

 

While not the very first – “God Bless America” as made famous by Kate Smith is arguably one example – God Only Knows is one of the earliest pop songs to name “God” in the title.  The theme of the song is a man or woman who is contemplating life after death to their lover.  Again as quoted in WikipediaTony Asher says of this song:  “This is the one [song] that I thought would be a hit record because it was so incredibly beautiful.  I was concerned that maybe the lyrics weren’t up to the same level as the music; how many love songs start off with the line, ‘I may not always love you’?  I liked that twist, and fought to start the song that way.  Working with Brian [Wilson], I didn’t have a whole lot of fighting to do, but I was certainly willing to fight to the end for that. . . .  God Only Knows is, to me, one of the great songs of our time.  I mean the great songs.  Not because I wrote the lyrics, but because it is an amazing piece of music that we were able to write a very compelling lyric to.  It’s the simplicity — the inference that ‘I am who I am because of you’ — that makes it very personal and tender.”  

 

Paul McCartney has remarked on many occasions that God Only Knows is one of his very favorite songs; in a 1990 interview (from Wikipedia), he said of this song:  “It’s a really, really great song – it’s a big favorite of mine.  I was asked recently to give my top ten favorite songs for a Japanese radio station. . . .  I didn’t think long and hard on it, but I popped that [God Only Knows] on the top of my list.  [Thinks for a moment]  It’s very deep.  [Quotes the lyrics to God Only Knows]  Very emotional, always a bit of a choker for me, that one.  There are certain songs that just hit home with me, and they’re the strangest collection of songs . . . but that is high on the list, I must say.”  

 

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In addition to these two songs, Wouldn’t it be Nice and “God Only Knows”, Tony Asher also wrote lyrics for 6 additional songs on the Beach Boys’ landmark 1966 album, Pet Sounds.  (Asher also wrote the original lyrics for Good Vibrations that was intended to be included on that album also; his lyrics were not recorded until the 2004 release of “Good Vibrations” as part of the album, Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE).  Although sales in this country were slow initially, Pet Sounds had strong sales overseas and is now regarded as one of the most influential popular music albums ever recorded.  

 

To some extent, Pet Sounds was Brian Wilson’s answer to the Beatles’ Rubber Soul album; and in turn, the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album is in response to Pet Sounds Sgt. Pepper and Pet Sounds were voted #1 and #2, respectively, on the Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

 

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Early in my freshman year in college, a friend of mine in the dorm told me about the single “Superstar”.  I was used to only the most reverent language being used when talking about Jesus; but even considering that Judas Iscariot is the one singing, and despite the frequent protests about “don’t get me wrong”, the lyrics were startling to me:   

 

     Every time I look at you

     I don’t understand     

     Why you let the things you did

     Get so out of hand . . .      

 

     Did you mean to die like that?

     Was that a mistake or

     Did you know your messy death

     Would be a record breaker? . . .      

 

     Jesus Christ

     Jesus Christ     

     Who are you?

     What have you sacrificed?

     Jesus Christ

     Superstar

     Do you think you’re what they say you are?

 

From the beginning, Jesus Christ Superstar was conceived for the stage by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice – just 21 and 25 years old at the time, respectively – but in order to raise money for the ambitious and undoubtedly controversial theatrical production, they decided to record the album first. 

 

Superstar, with lead vocals by Murray Head, was released in late 1969 before the album Jesus Christ Superstar was even completed, much to the chagrin of MCA Records.  (Head later recorded the main single from another Tim Rice production, Chess, called “One Night in Bangkok”, which came out in 1975).  Another single from the album, “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” – sung by Yvonne Elliman as Mary Magdalene – was also a big hit. 

Ian Gillan, the lead singer of Deep Purple sang the part of Jesus on the album.  In addition to Gillan, the presence of rock session musicians like guitarists Neil Hubbard and Chris Spedding, bassist Alan Spenner and drummer Bruce Rowland gives the album more of a rock flavor than most of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s later work. 

 

Jesus Christ Superstar was frequently criticized for not showing the Resurrection; but actually, the album has the format of a traditional Passion Play, ending abruptly after Jesus’ final words on the Cross

 

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After a few authorized and unauthorized stage performances elsewhere, Jesus Christ Superstar opened on Broadway in October 1971 to mixed reviews, with Jeff Fenholt as Jesus and Ben Vereen as Judas.  The musical has since been revived many times and is regularly performed throughout the world.  The Christian Church was slow in its acceptance of Jesus Christ Superstar, but it has become a popular Easter-time production in churches of all sizes. 

 

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Though it was written at a later time, Godspell actually beat Jesus Christ Superstar to the stage, opening in May 1971 at a tiny off-off-Broadway theatre and gradually building up a following until ultimately reaching Broadway in 1976.  John-Michael Tebelak, a student at Carnegie-Mellon University wrote the conceptual outline of the play as a college assignment.  He later brought in a fellow graduate from the college, Stephen Schwartz to write the music and polish the lyrics, which were taken almost verbatim from the Gospel of Matthew and other Biblical passages. 

 

William Ruhlmann, writing for Allmusic contrasts the two best known Christian musicals:  “Though Godspell could be thought of as copying Jesus Christ Superstar, there was a crucial difference in viewpoint between the two works – Superstar was a skeptical, secular look at Jesus, while Godspell was devout, merely updating and musicalizing Christ’s story.”  

 

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The Godspell album was released in July 1971 on Bell Records and performed well on the charts.  Sales began slipping until Bell released the single “Day by Day” by the original cast in 1972, with Robin Lamont singing lead.  The single reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100

 

The musical was adapted into a film called Godspell in 1973, and a Godspell soundtrack album was also released.  The film was shot in numerous deserted New York City locations, with the cast dressed in contemporary clothing.  In a nod to Jesus Christ Superstar, the character of Jesus is wearing a Superman shirt during the film. 

 

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Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is another Biblically themed musical created by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice and is the first of their productions to be presented publicly, predating Jesus Christ Superstar by several years.  Based on the story in the Book of Genesis about Joseph and his “coat of many colors”, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was first presented as a 15-minute “pop cantata” at the Colet Court prep school in 1968.  A more refined concept album, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was released in England in 1969 and was then reissued in the US in 1971 on Scepter Records after the success of Jesus Christ Superstar

 

Its first stage production was in 1971 as part of a double billing at the Edinburgh International Festival, with a reworking of the medieval Wakefield Mystery Plays as the first half and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as the second half.  Several productions in the UK and the US followed, including a run at London’s West End in 1973 and an off-Broadway production that moved to Broadway in 1982

 

A recording of the full Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat musical was released on MCA Records in 1974, featuring Gary BondPeter Reeves, and Gordon Waller who had appeared in the 1971 production in Edinburgh.  The review of the album by Sarah Erlewine in Allmusic notes that “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has the distinction of being the only musical that starred Michael DamianDonny Osmond and Andy Gibb”.  (Osmond later appeared on a DVD of the musical). 

 

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The less reverent tone of Jesus Christ Superstar heralded a more casual attitude toward the Bible and Christianity in popular music during the 1970’s that has accelerated somewhat since that time.  Although there are a handful of rock songs having a mocking tone – Dear God by XTC and the Bed of Eyes song “Smart Religion” (“. . . is no religion”) from their album Crimp in the Facts are the only two that come to mind in my own collection – I see it mostly in band names. 

 

A Catholic blogger called Man in the Woods has a post that lists “The 13 Best Theological Band Names”.  He opens his post this way:  “How is it that many of the following bands on this list – who are anything but religious – seem more Catholic in their imagination than many Christians who likewise select religious band names?  To put it another way, why is it that artists who seem least inclined to religion can come up with names that are remarkably theological, while those with far more of a taste for it come up with impotent names like Thousand Foot Krutch or Blessid Union of Souls?  It is an interesting question and it demands a response.  In part, I think the answer has something to do with the overall genericization of the Christian message, the sacramental gutting, if you will, of the deeply rooted theological language of the historical Faith.” 

 

This blog cites the gentle 1960’s folksinging trio Peter, Paul and Mary as an “honorable mention”; even though those are the actual first names of the bandmembers, these three people are about as prominent as it gets in the New Testament

 

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Nirvana – quite simply one of the best rock bands of the past quarter century – is one of the better known in this list of the Best Theological Band Names and the only one that does not have a direct Christian connection.  Nirvana is somewhat analogous to Heaven in the Buddhist and Hindu religions, but just barely. 

 

Other bands that Man in the Woods mentions include Faith No More (who had a big MTV hit with “Epic”) and Three Days Grace (I have their 2009 album, Life Starts Now), plus several others that I am not familiar with like Lamb of GodTestamentOur Lady PeaceAvenged SevenfoldSepultura, and Mercyful Fate.  

 

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Another band that Man in the Woods brings up is Black Sabbath, whose fans generally use the much less sinister name Sabbath.  Their debut album Black Sabbath is a harrowing venture into what he calls “the blues from hell”. 

 

The website beliefnet.com has a Celebrity Faith Database and lists lead singer Ozzy Osbourne as a Christian.  I have read other quotes where he rails against Satanism; and truly, you have to listen hard to find anything Satanic in the band’s lyrics – it is mostly the music that is very dark.  The quote from beliefnet.com about Osbourne says:  “Surprise!  Ozzy Osbourne, AKA the Prince of Darkness, is actually a Christian, or in the least deeply connected to the religion.  Despite references to Satanism and biting the head off of a bird, Ozzy found himself a member of the Church of England in 1992, saying that he prayed before every performance.  He hasn’t spoken publicly about his faith since, but it has continued to be a subtle part of who he is.  Ozzy’s marriage to wife Sharon Osbourne has certainly gone the distance; and his once wild, drug fueled lifestyle has tempered into a sober one.  Ozzy was seen wearing crosses many times on his successful reality show [The Osbournes], even taking time to kiss the cross every now and then.” 

 

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Judas Priest sounds like another band name with Satanic tinges, but actually, the phrase is sometimes used as a euphemism for the oath “Jesus Christ”.  The popular English heavy metal band formed in 1969 and is still going strong.  They are generally regarded as being one of the best in the business, with MTV ranking Judas Priest second on their list of “best metal bands”.  Wikipedia says of the band:  “Their influence, while mainly Rob Halford’s operatic vocal style (widely considered as one of the most unique vocalists in the genre) and the twin guitar sound of K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, has been adopted by many bands.” 

 

Rob Halford is the first hard rock musician to come out as a gay man that I can recall, during an interview on MTV News in 1998

 

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While few of these bands have anything religious on their albums, one example where that is the case is the English progressive rock band Genesis, who had considered calling themselves Gabriel’s Angels after lead singer Peter Gabriel.  The other well known member of the band is Phil Collins

 

The band’s debut album in 1969From Genesis to Revelation – the beginning and ending books in the Bible – has a series of songs that are loosely based on religious themes. 

 

There is also a thrash metal band called Exodus that formed in 1980 which I am not familiar with. 

 

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Ministry is an American industrial metal band that was founded in 1981.  I know them best for their pounding “Jesus Built My Hotrod” single that comes from their 1991 album Psalm 69.  Butthole Surfers front man Gibby Haynes provides some vocal stylings during their mostly instrumental song.  

 

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The Church is a long-lived Australian alternative rock band that was founded in 1980.  The band is known for their psychedelic flourishes and Byrds-style Rickenbacker guitars.  Their wonderful fifth album Starfish, which came out in 1988, includes one of my favorite 1980’s songs, “Under the Milky Way”.    

 

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The Jesus and Mary Chain formed in Scotland in 1983 and was a highly influential alternative rock/indie band that, like their major influence the Velvet Underground, suffered from low record sales.  According to Wikipediatheir tacky name might have been taken from a similarly tacky offering of a gold-colored religious chain on a breakfast cereal box. 

 

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Dominated by the vocal presence of lead singer Scott StappCreed was a major force in the post-grunge rock world during the 1990’s.  Their spiritual lyrics led many to group the band with alternative and heavy metal Christian acts of the period like P.O.D. (which stands for “Payable On Death”), though the band tried to distance themselves from Christian contemporary musicians. 

 

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The Sisters of Mercy (named for a well-known Irish religious order) was one of my favorite bands of the 1980’s alternative rock explosion, particularly their video of “This Corrosion” that I saw numerous times on the late-night MTV alternative rock showcase 120 Minutes.  (The extended version of “This Corrosion” on their album Floodland was not nearly so effective).  Andrew Eldritch is the only continuous member of the band (along with a drum machine called Doktor Avalanche that really is something special), though the grim visage of Patricia Morrison on the video for This Corrosion is at least as memorable as his own. 

 

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The Red Tyger Church is a psychedelic/punk/gospel band that was formed in Sacramento in 2002, which started as a side project by singer/songwriter Mike Diaz.  One of their songs, “Angie Vampyre” was included on a Spanish compilation album called We Hate the Underground

 

Another band that comes to mind that is not mentioned in the Best Theological Band Names list is the Stiv Bators/Dave Tregunna punk rock band Lords of the New Church; they had first performed together as part of past UARB the Wanderers.  The British alternative/dance band Jesus Jones had a 1990 hit called “Right Here, Right Now”.  

 

I have several others in my collection that include the truly strange 700 Club (with the name taken from the long-lived TV religious program 700 Cluband the classically trained musician who calls himself MC 900 Ft. Jesus (named for the vision by Oral Roberts that led to the construction of a controversial hospital tower on the campus of Oral Roberts University). 

 

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Some rock band names are basically plays on words:  the 1990’s alt-metal band Godsmack that was started in 1995 and this month’s Under Appreciated Rock BandMÖTOCHRIST.  (The band names are adapted from “gobsmack” and “motocross”, respectively).  Sadly, I had more to say about rock and religion than I had appropriate UARB’s to talk about; I was sure that the Red Tyger Church would qualify, but there is a Wikipedia article on the band, though their “notability” has been questioned for the past five years.  (Note:  As of January 2017, the Wikipedia article on the Red Tyger Church has been deleted, so they have entered the realm of the future UARB’s). 

 

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Mötochrist was formed in 1998 in Los Angeles by Danny Nordahl (bass guitar and lead vocals) and Marc Diamond (lead guitar); other bandmembers include Ricky Vodka (guitar and backing vocals) and Chad Stewart (drums).  

Danny NordahlMarc Diamond and Chad Stewart each have Wikipedia articles actually, all mentioning Mötochrist; and all three have been in numerous rock bands over the years.  Danny Nordahl and Chad Stewart have been in several bands together; they were both members of the industrial rock band the Newlydeads, and they are or were also both in a Guns N’ Roses tribute band called the Hollywood Roses Danny Nordahl and Marc Diamond were both in the punk revival band NY Loose.  Danny Nordahl has been a member of the L.A. glam/metal band Faster Pussycat since 2001 and previously played with the Throbs and one incarnation of L. A. Guns

 

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Danny Nordahl also played with Stiv Bator and His Evil Boys, one of the last bands founded by the Dead Boys front man, Stiv Bators.  An album by this band called Live at the Limelight was released in Germany in 1988

 

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Marc Diamond was the lead guitarist for Dwarves for several years and was also in Texas Terri Bomb.  Diamond was previously in Mondo Generator that was founded by Queens of the Stone Age bass guitarist Nick Oliveri in 1997

 

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The two songs of theirs that I have appear on terrific hard rock/punk rock compilation albums by Dr. Wu Records:  “Motochrist” on Cadillac Compilation Vol. I (1998) and “We Came, We Saw, We Drank” on Dr. Wu Records Compilation Vol. 2-000 (2000).  Both Mötochrist songs are stomping punk rock classics, with suitably dark guitar pyrotechnics on what is basically their title song, and a welcome sense of fun on the latter song. 

 

The Cadillac Compilation closes with a slow, thoughtful song by Ricky Vodka and Gage called “Drunks Prayer”, where the “drunk” is praying that the devil doesn’t get to him first.  Coming at the end of one hard-driving punk rock song after another, it is an excellent coda to the compilation album. 

 

The Vol. 2-000 album also has tracks by the Newlydeads, Gage, and another Texas Terri band, Texas Terri and the Stiff Ones.  

 

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Motochrist and We Came, We Saw, We Drank both appear on the debut album by Mötochrist, having the dementedly playful title of 666-Pack.  A song called “Marc Diamond” also appears on the album.  The punk rock website razorcake.org includes this review of the album:  “If Evel Knievel were still recklessly careening his way through a bone-snappin’ array of death-defying stunts, he’d assuredly blast Mötochrist as tolerably loud as possible to fuel his adrenaline before once again crashing his motorbike into the record books as the world’s most amazing daredevil adventurist.  I love Evel Knievel, and, apparently, so do Mötochrist (they wrote a song about him, ‘Evel’, and they also included his name within their list of thanks in the CD-insert booklet).”  This CD is definitely on my wish list. 

 

Mötochrist has also released three other albums, Greetings from the Bonneville Salt Flats (2003), Hollywood High (2006), and Corvette Summer (2010). 

 

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FLASHBACK:  The Under-Appreciated Rock Band of the Month for October 2012 – TRILLION 

 

 

 

Three of the four bandmembers in his month’s UARB had their own Wikipedia articles; but Trillion had even more connections – I found Wikipedia articles on more than 50 musicians and bands that are directly related to Trillion.  It still amazes me that there is no Wikipedia article on this progressive rock band yet.  

 

The song “Give Me Your Money Honey” that is taken from Trillion’s debut album, Trillion can be heard on YouTube at:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qb2JLZb-NU .  The title song Clear Approach from the band’s second album, Clear Approach is available at:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlHJFWZUMF8 .  Here is a song called “In My Blood” from the band’s planned third album, Trillion III (the video was uploaded in 2011, but the album apparently remains as yet unreleased):  www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KTpfIGPUzQ . 

 

Several more Trillion videos are available, though they are all or mostly audio only.  There are some practice sessions on YouTube by a band called Trillion, but I am not sure that it is the same group.  

 

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PICTURE GALLERY:  The Under-Appreciated Rock Band of the Month for October 2011 – Jim Sullivan 

 

Here is his original LP (the CD that I have has different coloring but is otherwise the same): 

 

 

 

And the second one that came out on Playboy Records

 

 

 

This is a photograph of the folk/rock artist:  

 

 
 
And another (as taken from a gatefold album cover): 
 
 
 
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STORY OF THE MONTH:  Wendy Carlos (from March 2012) 
 
 
 
In 1965, the first commercial synthesizer was made available by 
Robert Moogmajor rock bands like the Monkees (Micky Dolenz ordered one of the very first Moog Synthesizers)the Rolling Stones and the Doors were quick to incorporate synthesizers into their music.  However, the first truly audacious use of synthesizers was probably the 1968 album by Walter Carlos called Switched-On Bach, the first classical album to sell one million copies.  For many years, using synthesizers to make music was difficult because of the time-consuming programming involved and the rather primitive mixing equipment of that period.  I saw a “live” performance by Carlos on television once, and as I remember, it was mainly shots of a static Moog Synthesizer
 
Walter Carlos continued to release synthesizer albums for many years – including the soundtrack for the Stanley Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange – though none had the impact of Switched-On Bach.  I noticed an album several years later that was by Wendy Carlos, and I wondered if that might be Walter’s daughter.  As it turned out, Carlos was a transsexual who had begun living as a woman in May 1968 and had sexual reassignment surgery in 1972; reissues of her work all have Wendy Carlos on them now.  

Wendy Carlos is not the only transsexual musician that I know of; one of the wildest of the first-wave punk rock stars of the 1970’sWayne County was going by the name Jayne County by 1980.  I have a copy of her 1993 album called Goddess of Wet Dreamsand as might be imagined by the album title, it is every bit as extreme as the 1970’s work. 
 
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The Honor Roll of the Under Appreciated Rock Bands and Artists follows, in date order, including a link to the original Facebook posts and the theme of the article.
 
Dec 2009BEAST; Lot to Learn
Jan 2010WENDY WALDMAN; Los Angeles Singer-Songwriters
Feb 2010 CYRUS ERIE; Cleveland
Mar 2010BANG; Record Collecting I
Apr 2010THE BREAKAWAYS; Power Pop
May 2010THE NOT QUITE; Katrina Clean-Up
Jun 2010WATERLILLIES; Electronica
Jul 2010THE EYES; Los Angeles Punk Rock
Aug 2010QUEEN ANNE’S LACE; Psychedelic Pop
Sep 2010THE STILLROVEN; Minnesota
Oct 2010THE PILTDOWN MEN; Record Collecting II
Nov 2010SLOVENLY; Slovenly Peter
Dec 2010THE POPPEES; New York Punk/New Wave
Jan 2011HACIENDA; Latinos in Rock
Feb 2011THE WANDERERS; Punk Rock (1970’s/1980’s)
Mar 2011INDEX; Psychedelic Rock (1960’s)
Apr 2011BOHEMIAN VENDETTA; Punk Rock (1960’s)
May 2011THE LONESOME DRIFTER; Rockabilly
Jun 2011THE UNKNOWNS; Disabled Musicians
Jul 2011THE RIP CHORDS; Surf Rock I
Aug 2011ANDY COLQUHOUN; Side Men
Sep 2011ULTRA; Texas
Oct 2011JIM SULLIVAN; Mystery
Nov 2011THE UGLY; Punk Rock (1970’s)
Dec 2011THE MAGICIANS; Garage Rock (1960’s)
Jan 2012RON FRANKLIN; Why Celebrate Under Appreciated?
Feb 2012JA JA JA; German New Wave
Mar 2012STRATAVARIOUS; Disco Music
Apr 2012LINDA PIERRE KING; Record Collecting III
May 2012TINA AND THE TOTAL BABES; One Hit Wonders
Jun 2012WILD BLUE; Band Names I
Jul 2012DEAD HIPPIE; Band Names II
Aug 2012PHIL AND THE FRANTICS; Wikipedia I
Sep 2012CODE BLUE; Hidden History
Oct 2012TRILLION; Wikipedia II
Nov 2012THOMAS ANDERSON; Martin Winfree’s Record Buying Guide
Dec 2012THE INVISIBLE EYES; Record Collecting IV
Jan 2013THE SKYWALKERS; Garage Rock Revival
Feb 2013LINK PROTRUDI AND THE JAYMEN; Link Wray
Mar 2013THE GILES BROTHERS; Novelty Songs
Apr 2013LES SINNERS; Universal Language
May 2013HOLLIS BROWN; Greg Shaw / Bob Dylan
Jun 2013 (I) – FUR (Part One); What Might Have Been I
Jun 2013 (II) – FUR (Part Two); What Might Have Been II
Jul 2013THE KLUBS; Record Collecting V
Aug 2013SILVERBIRD; Native Americans in Rock
Sep 2013BLAIR 1523; Wikipedia III
Oct 2013MUSIC EMPORIUM; Women in Rock I
Nov 2013CHIMERA; Women in Rock II
Dec 2013LES HELL ON HEELS; Women in Rock III
Jan 2014BOYSKOUT; (Lesbian) Women in Rock IV
Feb 2014LIQUID FAERIES; Women in Rock V
Mar 2014 (I) – THE SONS OF FRED (Part 1); Tribute to Mick Farren
Mar 2014 (II) – THE SONS OF FRED (Part 2); Tribute to Mick Farren
Apr 2014HOMER; Creating New Bands out of Old Ones
May 2014THE SOUL AGENTS; The Cream Family Tree
Jun 2014THE RICHMOND SLUTS and BIG MIDNIGHT; Band Names (Changes) III
Jul 2014MIKKI; Rock and Religion I (Early CCM Music)
Aug 2014THE HOLY GHOST RECEPTION COMMITTEE #9; Rock and Religion II (Bob Dylan)
Sep 2014NICK FREUND; Rock and Religion III (The Beatles)
Oct 2014MOTOCHRIST; Rock and Religion IV
Nov 2014WENDY BAGWELL AND THE SUNLITERS; Rock and Religion V
Dec 2014THE SILENCERS; Surf Rock II
Jan 2015 (I) – THE CRAWDADDYS (Part 1); Tribute to Kim Fowley
Jan 2015 (II) – THE CRAWDADDYS (Part 2); Tribute to Kim Fowley
Feb 2015BRIAN OLIVE; Songwriting I (Country Music)
Mar 2015PHIL GAMMAGE; Songwriting II (Woody Guthrie/Bob Dylan)
Apr 2015 (I) – BLACK RUSSIAN (Part 1); Songwriting III (Partnerships)
Apr 2015 (II) – BLACK RUSSIAN (Part 2); Songwriting III (Partnerships)
May 2015MAL RYDER and THE PRIMITIVES; Songwriting IV (Rolling Stones)
Jun 2015HAYMARKET SQUARE; Songwriting V (Beatles)
Jul 2015THE HUMAN ZOO; Songwriting VI (Psychedelic Rock)
Aug 2015CRYSTAL MANSIONMartin Winfree’s Record Cleaning Guide
Dec 2015AMANDA JONES; So Many Rock Bands
Mar 2016THE LOVEMASTERS; Fun Rock Music
Jun 2016THE GYNECOLOGISTS; Offensive Rock Music Lyrics
Sep 2016LIGHTNING STRIKE; Rap and Hip Hop
Dec 2016THE IGUANAS; Iggy and the Stooges; Proto-Punk Rock
Mar 2017THE LAZY COWGIRLS; Iggy and the Stooges; First Wave Punk Rock
Jun 2017THE LOONS; Punk Revival and Other New Bands
Sep 2017THE TELL-TALE HEARTS; Bootleg Albums
Dec 2017SS-20; The Iguana Chronicles
(Year 10 Review)
Last edited: April 7, 2021