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Thursday, August 20th, 2009

The Producers: Macca, Supersuckers, 0 for 4, and Life on Wilshire

by Tom Werman

One day a year or two on either side of 1995, I was sitting in my kitchen — something I found myself doing more and more during the mid-nineties – and the phone rang. I picked it up, and the man’s voice on the other end asked for me, told me his name (I can’t recall it), and said he was calling from Paul McCartney’s office in London. Assuming it was a ruse, but not positive that it was, I proceeded cautiously as the man explained that he was calling to check on my schedule to determine if I would be available to work with Paul during a certain portion of the following winter. Slightly amused, I considered saying “no, I’m afraid I’m busy,” but thought better of it, and assured the voice that I would definitely do what I had to do in order to make myself available. Before he wound up our conversation, I explained that I was delighted to receive the call, and of course I was excited by the prospect of possibly working with Paul, but could he please explain why he called me in particular, given the nature of the music I was known for producing. He replied that Paul always liked to explore all the options, thanked me for my time, and hung up.

I sat in stunned silence for a minute, wondering how he could have obtained my home number – it must be a practical joke of some sort – so I phoned Sandy Roberton, a producer’s manager who represented me for a couple of years during the nineties, and asked if he would mind checking this guy out for me. Minutes later, Sandy phoned back and confirmed that this man indeed did work for Paul in London. More stunned silence for me, reflecting on the fact that Paul McCartney actually knew who I was, and might have even spoken my name. (more…)

Tags: Capitol Records, CEMA, Cheap Trick, Columbia Records, Los Angeles, Music, music industry weasels, Paul McCartney, Record producer, Rock Star, Spinal Tap, Steve Lukather, Supersuckers, Tom Werman, underhanded shit, Ventura Boulevard
Posted in Featured, Featured - Frontpage, Music, The Producers | Comments

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

The Producers: Lita’s “Dangerous Curves” and the Writing on the Wall

by Tom Werman

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Myron Grumbacher, a drummer whose history includes a stint with Pat Benatar, became involved professionally with Lita Ford some time before I produced Lita’s album Dangerous Curves. I mention Myron because he was a great guy, a great drummer, and a great help with the album. Possessing a healthy sense of humor, he was able to offer suggestions all the time without seeming to butt in or to try to do other people’s work for them. He was a pleasure to work with. Lita, too, was very upbeat, funny and really pleasant. The one difficulty we had with the recording was vocal pitch.

While Lita was a good singer in a live situation, there was something about the headphone scenario that gave her trouble. She was just a hair off pitch when she sang with those headphones on. We tried opposing speakers for monitors ( you can try placing speakers directly facing each other on either side of the microphone, like giant headphones, and this should allow the singer to hear the mix while the two speakers theoretically “cancel each other out” so that the microphone hears only the vocalist), but this method is only occasionally successful. (more…)

Tags: Jerry Maguire, Lita Ford, Los Angeles, Los Angeles International Airport, Music, Pat Benatar, Steven Tyler, Tom Cruise, Tom Werman
Posted in Featured, Featured - Frontpage, Music, The Producers | Comments

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

One Day in Your Life: July 15, 1979

by J.A. Bartlett

dayinyourlife

July 15, 1979, was a Sunday. In the Soviet Union, it’s Metallurgist’s Day. With gasoline prices skyrocketing again and his approval rating at 25 percent, President Jimmy Carter delivers a prime-time address in which he addresses the energy situation, but also what he perceives as a crisis of confidence on the part of the American people. The speech will be remembered as the “malaise speech,” even though Carter never uses the word. His approval ratings will rebound before cratering again later in the week, when he will fire half of his cabinet. In Australia, souvenir hunters descend on the southwestern desert to find pieces of Skylab, which crashed there three days before.

The Matarese Circle by Robert Ludlum and Sophie’s Choice by William Styron top the New York Times Best Seller List for fiction; The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet by Herman Tarnower and Cruel Shoes by Steve Martin lead the nonfiction list. The Chicago Tribune reports that 2.3 million copies of John Irving’s The World According to Garp have been sold since its publication in 1978. The top movie at the box office this weekend is Alien starring Sigourney Weaver. A tropical storm that will be named Claudette forms in the Atlantic Ocean. Ten days from now, it will drop 43 inches of rain on Alvin, Texas, in just 24 hours—a single-day American rainfall record that will still stand in 2009. Alvin is the hometown of baseball pitcher Nolan Ryan, who will be the starter for the American League in the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Seattle. Horseshoe Canada, the governing body for the game of horseshoe pitching, is created in Ottawa. Jerilyn Britz wins the U.S. Women’s Open golf championship. (more…)

Tags: Cruel Shoes, Dr. Hook, Harry Chapin, Jimmy Carter, John Irving, Los Angeles, malaise speech, Matarese Circle, Midnight Special, Minnie Riperton, One Day in Your Life, World According to Garp
Posted in Music, One Day in Your Life | Comments

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

The Bigger Picture: The Acting Bug

by Arend Anton

76186065 Actors can be an easy bunch to spot around Los Angeles. Often, they can be seen exiting a Kinko’s with a box of 500 headshots. The male can usually be seen hopping into his Jeep with his Von Dutch hat and designer T-shirt. Like many species, the male actor is the more flamboyant of the sexes.

Some of you will remember that I recently lost my job, which has forced me to start thinking outside of the box. The other day, I responded to a Craigslist ad for a stand-in on a movie set. I’m roughly the same build as one of the listed actors, and attracted by the allure of a $250 day rate, I made the drive into Hollywood on Saturday morning.

I can’t stand Hollywood. It’s filthy; nothing like the shiny image the world seems to have of it. Every inch seems to have a layer of black soot. It’s nearly impossible to drive two blocks under five minutes, and parking costs the price of a matinee movie ticket.

Stepping past a homeless man, I entered the office building and filed into the elevator with four other men. These didn’t look like the actors from my earlier description. These were tired-looking men with weathered faces, the type you’d find in a John Steinbeck novel. Some possessed the same build as me: tall and lanky. My competition. (more…)

Tags: Acting, Actor, Arend Anton, Arts, Hollywood Los Angeles California, Los Angeles, Performing Arts, Potbellies, selling one's self, The Bigger Picture
Posted in Film, The Bigger Picture | Comments

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

Introducing… Parlour to Parlour

by Michael Fortes

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A year ago, I was in the midst of an existential crisis. I was functioning fairly well in my day job capacity at UCSF, and pumping out reviews for West Coast Performer Magazine, Bullz-Eye.com, and – on occasion – Popdose as well. But to what end?

I knew there was far more to life than keeping an office running and giving the world my informed opinion on which album had the greatest guitar solo of 2008 (it was actually on the Vagabond Skies EP by Peter Gabriel protÃ©gÃ© Joseph Arthur). I had been reading self-help books, meeting with counselors, talking my parents’ ears off, and asking questions of anyone I thought might be able to give me some insight into the question of how best to realign my priorities.

Then, on a particularly odd day when I decided to load up WCP’s MySpace page to serve as my housecleaning soundtrack, I heard a song by a band whose stock in trade was warm, friendly harmonies, a ‘60s folk-rock streak and good vibes. Lots of other bands have these qualities, but something about this one was different. It moved me in a way I couldn’t quite explain. I jumped up from my sweeping chores to see who it was, and then checked the band’s tour schedule. (more…)

Tags: Alan Lomax, Black Cab Sessions, Chicago, couchsurfing, Dischord, Joseph Arthur, Ken Burns, Los Angeles, Michael Fortes, Parlour to Parlour, Peter Gabriel, San Francisco, Sarah Negahdari, The Happy Hollows, The Parson Red Heads, Van Halen
Posted in Featured, Featured - Frontpage, Music, Parlour to Parlour | Comments

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

The Producers: Ted Nugent Babysits, a Meaty “Free-for-All,” and Tom Werman’s “Greatest Misses”

by Tom Werman

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The last installment prompted a number of responses having to do with a couple of bands that I and some of the readers feel should have been more successful. I thought that before we continued with a little history, I’d give Popdose readers some titles from what I consider my “Greatest Misses.” For those who would like to explore a little, these are songs I produced that I consider outstanding in one way or another, but which never really saw the light of day. By checking these out, you may even discover an obscure band whose music you really like.

Mother’s Finest (covered in installment # 7) – “Truth’ll Set You Free” and “Mickey’s Monkey“

The Producers – (covered in installment # 7) — “What’s He Got,” “She Sheila,” “Life of Crime,” “Dear John,” “Back to Basics.”

brownsvillestation-airspecialmyfrontcover1 Brownsville Station – “Who Do You Love” – A 1979 remake of the classic Bo Diddley tune recorded with the Record Plant Remote truck in the basement of the band’s manager’s office building in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The lead guitar, played by the late Cub Coda, is an original Sears Silvertone, and the speaker was built into the actual guitar case itself. I think this version is every bit as good as George Thorogood’s, which is now a classic rock radio staple.

Krokus – “School’s Out” – I did one Krokus LP in 1986, and I invited my daughter’s 5^th grade class into the studio to sing on this classic Alice Cooper song.

Love / Hate — “Why Do You Think They Call It Dope?” This is a wonderful song from a band I discovered in a San Fernando Valley rehearsal studio and brought to Columbia Records in 1989 — more about them in a future installment.

LA Guns — “Rip & Tear.” I did one album with this band in 1989, and there will be more about them in a future installment. (more…)

Tags: Bat Out of Hell, Cheap Trick, Free for All, In Color, Los Angeles, Meat Loaf, Ted Nugent, The Producers, Tom Werman
Posted in Music, The Producers | Comments

Monday, May 25th, 2009

Blu-ray Review: “Falling Down”

by Jeff Giles

Falling Down (Blu-ray book) (Warner Bros., 1993/2009)
purchase this item from Amazon

He’s made some good movies (The Lost Boys), some overrated movies (St. Elmo’s Fire), and some offensively shitty movies (Batman & Robin), most of which have made lots and lots of money — but it’s my contention that Joel Schumacher has never (and most likely will never) make another film as timely, smart, and important as 1993’s Falling Down. If you still remember the helpless dread that filled your soul during Batman & Robin, the idea that the same man was also responsible for something as well-made as Falling Down is still a little hard to swallow, but no matter how hard he’s tried to hide it, there’s an auteur lurking beneath Schumacher’s apparently unquenchable thirst for garishly framed bozo flicks, and more than any of his other detours down more esoteric filmmaking paths, this movie proves it.

No one is more uncomfortable admitting this than I am. As you may have guessed, Batman & Robin ranks as one of the most painful experiences I’ve ever had in a theater; I didn’t hate it enough to walk out mid-screening — that honor remains reserved for Eddie Murphy’s Metro, a movie so bad that the audience at my showing booed when it came back on after being paused while paramedics evacuated a man suffering a heart attack — but still, revisiting Falling Down on Blu-ray was a profoundly disorienting experience for me. What happened to this Schumacher? The one who was so good at putting you in a place? Here, Schumacher makes Los Angeles an unwritten character, using the oppressive summer heat and shittiness of the city brilliantly in every frame. In a film full of weapons, Schumacher wields the mid-day sun as perhaps the most lethal of all. (more…)

Tags: Batman & Robin, Blu-ray Reviews, Falling Down, Falling Down Blu-ray review, Jeff Giles, Joel Schumacher, Los Angeles, Lost Boys, Michael Douglas, Number 23, Robert Duvall, Tuesday Weld
Posted in Blu-ray Review, Film | Comments

Thursday, February 26th, 2009

Lost in the ’70s: The Quick

by John C. Hughes

lit70s

Unknown to nearly everyone save the most devoted power-pop and glam aficionados, the Quick were managed by legendary Los Angeles scenester and Runaways cofounder Kim Fowley. Fowley also coproduced the Quick’s one and only LP, Mondo Deco (1976), alongside Earl Mankey, formerly of Sparks — quite notable, since at first listen the Quick come off as slavish imitators of the Mael Brothers.

While tunes like the gimmicky “Hi Lo” (download) definitely have a Sparks-like sound, complete with helium vocals from Danny Wilde, various time-signature changes, and prominent piano, the Quick was truly a glam-pop band at its core. Nowhere was that made more apparent than on the Beatles remake that kicks off Mondo Deco, “It Won’t Be Long” (download). In the Quick’s hands it becomes a theatrical stomper, as slashing guitars and call-and-response vocals take it beyond the basic four-four pop song it was intended to be.

It was difficult to imagine anyone thinking the Quick would take America by storm, especially when the source material, Sparks, were barely able to get arrested here. But perhaps if hook-filled tunes like “Hillary” (download) had been released as singles, the ill-fated quintet would’ve achieved some level of mainstream success. As it were, the Quick were destined to be cult favorites, with devotees clutching copies of the long-out-of-print debut close to their breasts, never to see it issued on CD.

The band did go on to record some demos for Elektra Records in 1977 that failed to ignite any interest; however, those demos did make it to CD as Untold Rock Stories in 2002. One of them, “Pretty Please Me,” was even covered by the Dickies and Redd Kross.

While the Quick never broke through, lead singer Danny Wilde would eventually find success, albeit nearly 15 years later, as the notably helium-free lead singer of the Rembrandts, most famous for recording the theme from TV’s Friends. I’m sure that payday was worth the wait. I’d love to see Mondo Deco be reissued on CD or even as an official digital release, but I’m not holding my breath. Until then, it’s definitely worth hunting down.

No singles charted.

Get The Quick music at Amazon or on

Tags: Danny Wilde, Elektra Records, John C. Hughes, Kim Fowley, Los Angeles, Lost In The '70s, Pop music, Singing, Sparks, The Quick, Untold Rock Stories
Posted in Lost in the '70s, Music | Comments