An Interview with the Gypsy Moths

There are many amazing bands in the world today. One of my favorite Boston bands is The Gypsy Moths. Below is an interview with their guitarist Chris Conway. 

If you haven't heard the Moths check them out! https://thegypsymoths.bandcamp.com/

 

The first Gypsy Moths album, Alright, was all cover tunes, yet it felt like a party set list, instead of just a collection of songs. How did you go about choosing what songs you included on the first album? Where there any songs that you wanted to include but couldn't? What are some of your favorite memories of making the album?

Thanks for the kind words on "Alright!" and for all of your support of the band over the years! Essentially that record was a snapshot of our setlist at the time, or at least the stuff we were most enthused about recording. We had done a proper studio recording of a Christmas song before the album sessions as kind of an experiment after having recorded "home demo/live in the rehearsal space" Christmas songs for a few years prior ("Come On To The Christmas Party", a J. Geils Band song they released only to WBCN in 1980 under the pseudonym "The Snowballs" which we knew as rock radio obsessives growing up around Boston at that time), and were floored to get airplay for it on the Underground Garage channel on Sirius XM, so I think that opened our eyes to the possibilities of making a recording and getting exposure that way. It was also before we had begun writing for this band; we all had written in prior bands and projects, but at the time of that record the band wasn't really focused on that. I think we all also wanted to have some kind of document of this band not having a firm plan in place for the future of where we might take things, and with us all being serious vinyl fans it seemed like a fun idea to make a document of our band at that moment in time and preserve it on a record. It was also a bit of a nod to bands we love like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones that had very little/no original material on their first records, as well as a ton of r&b/soul bands we love from the 50's/60's who never wrote their own stuff. The best element or memory to come from it was working with master engineer/mixer/studio owner Ed Riemer, who is like another member of the band when we work together, and who we work with on our recordings to this day. Amazing guy and unbelievably talented musical mind whom meeting was the best thing that happened to us as a band

You have a lot instrumentation compared to most rock bands, how challenging is it to get the mix just right?

It certainly can be! We very much aapproach recording and the studio to be something special and unique to the live experience, and try to take advantage of what the studio offers as an approach to songs as best we can. I've always loved bands that have a different element live than what you hear on their records, giving different approaches to the songs depending on the format and environment, so we lean into that with enthusiasm. Ed is a wizard in the studio and has a true natural talent for finding where things sit best in a mix, and our collaborations with him over time have grown to a place where we're all pretty much from the same mindset on what goes where, how much, and why. We also made a lineup change right as we were headed into the studio to record the "Wollaston Theatre" EP adding Scott Miller to the fold on woodwinds, and his contributions on a variety of instruments has added another layer to the palette that actually makes the mixing process more fluid as he's so talented and intuitive on playing to the song and understanding what benefits them in terms of instrumentation, approach, and what to play when. It's great enhanced our growth as a band and vision for the road ahead.  

The Gypsy Moths have played at yacht clubs, on a boat, clubs, breweries, porch fest, and other various places/events, yet the band has turned every spot into a party. What's the secret to making that happen?

I guess that comes down to our attitude and approach in doing what we can to bringing that vibe and feel to every gig, but a lot of credit for that must also be given to the folks that come and see us show after show, they're really the secret element that brings the room alive and creates that kind of atmosphere. We've also been fortunate to have a fair amount of new folks at most every gig we play that recognize and jump right into the spirit of the shows, which adds its own unique element as well. Probably also doesn't hurt to have the band full of guys who have been attending shows, playing shows, and listening to live albums for decades so we have our own take on what to bring to the party to make it a party. 

A couple of years ago, the band played at the Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade which is of course, a gigantic event, and it was broadcast live on TV. What was the band's feeling about playing such a big Boston event? What enabled the band to stay focused playing on truck in a parade?

That's a funny story, actually. We submitted the application to play the Parade as a complete lark, thinking we'd never in a million years get accepted and that it would be a funny thing to hang the rejection notice on the wall of our rehearsal room/band headquarters (which is in Southie, adding to/instigating the humor). But then we were accepted! What the hell are we going to do now!?! Luckily, we were in a situation where our piano man, Mark Donahue, was able to secure a flatbed truck, power generator, and driver for the day so we somehow managed to pull it off. It was such a surreal experience, I don't think any of us will ever forget turning the corner onto Broadway at the start of the Parade (after sitting on the idling flatbed for 4+ hours waiting in place for the event to start) and kicking into our song "These Days Will Run" (we figured what the hell, why not start with one of our own?) with a sea of people ahead of us as far as the eye can see. And it stayed that way for the next three hours! Focus was near impossible between the crowd (estimated at over 1,000,000 that day!), the elements (briskly cold and biting bright sunshine), and the truck being a wavering, constantly moving object that was a lot less steady and stable than any surface any of us had played on prior. We had a few spills and even more near misses, but the exhilaration, crowd response, and sheer determination to get through it kept our big ol' 18 wheeled ship afloat for the duration. 

Last year you released an EP called, Wollaston Theatre. What's the story behind the title? The EP is made up of four original songs, what did you think the reaction would be to self penned material? How difficult was it to transition to recording original material?

"The Wally", as we all knew it, was a theatre most of us in the band (five of us are Quincy natives, where the Wollaston Theatre was located) grew up attending. It was this amazing early 20th century art deco theatre/performance space meets legitimate professional world class live venue where vaudeville, live music of all kinds, musical theatre, and film screenings had happened for many, many years. By the time we all started going there in the mid-to-late 70's it was strictly movies, but had such an amazing architecture and look to it that remained pretty much untouched from its inception. That said, it was also in an accelerated state of disrepair that got really bad in the 90's, so much so that the owners decided to close it to make repairs. But they didn't have the knowledge or resources to actually take on what had become a massive project, so in between their mismanagement and the lack of involvement that could have been a crucial benefit from the City, by the time a nonprofit had been formed a decade later to try to save it, it was very sadly way too late. The building was basically ready to collapse and it was finally torn down after having sat abandoned for several years. We were all heartbroken! But as far as the "Wollaston Theatre" record goes, we were ecstatic to get in there and record the stuff we had been writing, and it came at a time of profound transition for the band; Matt Miceli had joined on drums the summer prior, who was a bandmate and creative collaborator of mine, Steve (O'Brien, vocals), and Phil's (Thompson, bass) throughout the 90's into the early 00's, we were writing and arranging a lot, we had the ongoing development of our relationship with Ed in his studio, and added Scott as the final piece that set our next chapter in motion. I actually found it to be infinitely more fulfilling and engaging to record our own stuff, and we were truly excited about sharing these tunes we had introduced into our live shows in recorded form, knowing they would have a whole different flavor and feel in that format. And luck, perhaps timing is more appropriate a word, was on our side as we actually finished the mixes the night before everything really started shutting down due to the pandemic in mid-March of 2020, so it became our little joke that since we couldn't gig we'd put the songs on tour!

Wollaston Theatre has been a big hit, being played around the world. What does that feel like? The production is fantastic, where did you record it? How long did it take to put the EP together? Any fun stories about the process?

It felt pretty great! We approached it with an attitude of "why not?". We had a lot of friends in more established (both regionally and nationally) bands who were getting great airplay and support from this whole sort of informal network of independent (mostly) streaming radio shows and stations all around the world, some affiliated with larger stations, some single shows, and some simply podcasts. But the common theme was they all took chances on new, independently released music in a way that reminded us greatly of how FM radio used to be in Boston, both from the larger commercial rock stations and the plethora of college and indie stations we all idolized and listened to with devotion for years. So we decided to throw our hats in the ring, drafted press releases in a similar manner to how an established independent record label would, and sent each of the four songs on the EP out over the course of a year or so, working the records to each of these stations the way legitimate labels or a music PR company would. Much to our amazement, each of the tunes were received and welcomed as if we actually were being represented by a label, and we ended up getting airplay in 18 different countries on over 150 stations/shows, with many of those stations actually adding our songs into their standard rotation over and above a single play on a new music show. It was pretty cool seeing our songs make "top ten indie charts" in the US, UK, Australia, Japan, Spain, Portugal, and Canada! I guess the lesson there is to always give it a go if you believe in what you're doing. And we did. We really appreciate the compliment on the record production itself, we went in with a collective approach that the studio was another instrument for the band to explore and expand our sound with, which I think encouraged us to have fun with it and push boundaries and ideas to make the recorded versions of the songs the best they could be within that format, and not limiting ourselves to worrying about replicating how they might sound live. The studio is a very fun and rewarding place for us so we enjoy the process immensely and embrace the opportunities it provides for exploration. Like the prior stuff, it was recorded at "Ed's Barn" in Canton with our sonic partner in crime, Ed Riemer. In terms of time, it was a staggered approach on getting it out there, as once it was mastered we were ready to roll it out for digital/streaming and promotional purposes, but took some time to get the jacker/cover art, sleeve, and vinyl label designed (by another amazing creative partner of the band, our great friend Ed Devlin who does all of our design, layout, and logo work), and then some unanticipated delays in the actual manufacturing of the vinyl record itself on top of that. We work with an independent pressing plant in Ohio, but because so many bands were looking to press up vinyl during the pandemic, and with the major labels using indie pressing plants on a freelance basis as they themselves were so far behind in manufacturing and production (our job got bumped for over a month at one point as they got a major contract to press up a Paul McCartney record!), it created a multistep approach to the rollout, with the first single getting played on the "Rodney On The Rock" show on Sirius XM's Underground Garage channel in late May, and the finished vinyl pressing arriving at our doorsteps in early December almost seven months later.

What's next for the Gypsy Moths?

We're coming off our fourth gig since being back at it, which has been pretty incredible and an amazing experience in appreciation after having no shows for 18 months! We played our first ever "stripped"/semi-unplugged show mid-summer, and three really fun and high energy outdoor gigs as well. The elements weren't really on our side for any of those three outdoor shows (two high heat late afternoons, and another with intermittent downpours both before and during the set), but we accepted the scenarios and ran with it and all three turned into some of the most fun gigs we've played to date as a band. At this writing (late September), we have three more shows booked for the year: 10/15 at a very cool new spot in Norwood called The Magic Room with our pals/Boston legends The Dogmatics, 10/30 at the Midway Cafe in Jamaica Plain with two bands that have become good friends over the last few years Tsunami Of Sound and The Ghost Truckers, and finally 11/13 at one of our longtime homeposts, the New World Tavern in Plymouth with B-52's tribute band Bikini Whale. We're also headed back to the studio in late October, with a general plan to record a series of two-song streaming singles over the next year which will culminate in a vinyl pressing of those tunes once we hit a dozen or so songs overall. Hopefully lots of fun and interesting gigs sprinkled in there as well, as time goes on we continue to strive for a balance between mainstay spots like the New World/Midway/Plough & Stars and new offbeat and unusual spots like the outdoor shows, breweries, etc. And the band continues to write and explore new territories with where we'll take things musically, and have gotten pretty heavy into workshopping "pre-production" home demos as another aspect of the recording process, so expect plenty of new music in the year ahead! 

Here's a video of the Gypsy Moths in action

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU6F_P8P9tQ

An interview with author Sandy Bernstein

Sandy Bernstein is a fellow writer, a member of the Stoneham Writers Group

(of which I am also a member despite not living in Stoneham), and a friend.

Sandy is a writer of diverse styles and genres. Poetry, prose, horror,

science fiction, humor, history, are all the playthings of her imagination.

Sandy has that rare talent to balance her vivid ideas with precise writing.

I decided to interview an author instead of a musician this time out.

So here we are, an interview conducted with author Sandy Bernstein via email.

Who would you say are your biggest literary influences?

Early on I was inspired by Edgar Allen Poe, H.G. Wells, Robert Frost, and J. R. R. Tolkien,

to name a few. Liking the dark side, I've always been a fan of Stephen King. Others, who may

have influenced me are; Anne Rice, Darcy Coates, J. R. Rain, and Deborah LeBlanc.

Recently, I've been reading a variety of historical fiction and mysteries, some by local authors.

They also inspire my writing. As always, anything paranormal gets my creative juices flowing. 

While I like straight up horror, it isn't the nucleus of my work. I like ghost stories, often with 

a deeper meaning. Over the years many authors have inspired me in one way or another.

Perhaps through them I discovered my own voice.

What parts of them do you see in your own work?

Certainly the throat grabbing openings of King and the slow torturous grind of Poe.

I'm capable of that to a degree. But they are masters of the craft. I'm better at slow

tension and building a story. It depends on the genre. In the end,

it's about good storytelling.

What style/genre do you most like writing and why?

Ah, finally an easy question. Anything spooky, dark, fantastical, or edgy.

In a word, paranormal. I like mysteries and crime drama too, but there has to be a dark element.

Anything outside the norm. There are so many things going on around us we don't see,

or we don't want to see. I like to shed a little light on things that go bump in the night.

I would say the same for poetry. Only, it's the inner world we're afraid of, another form of

darkness. Sometimes you don't know how you feel about something until you write it down.

In this case, there is no hiding from yourself. 

How would you describe your writing process?

Basically, I get an idea, sketch it out in my head or start a draft just to get it down.

Most of the time, it's an image, a scene. That scene will play out and turn into a story

or a poem. Other times it's a character. It all comes together with a basic idea and 

works its way into something more tangible. I hope. I like to think of it as a ghost

slowly taking shape into something more solid and real. Everything has a story.

You just need to find it.

You've published two stories on Amazon; Creepies, and the Shuddering.

What would you like people to know about them?

Read them and find out.

If a movie ever gets made of either one, who do envision being cast as the leads?

I've never given it any thought. That said, maybe the girl in Creepies could have been played

by a young Dakota Fanning. But she's older now so I guess she couldn't play a six year old.

You have been published in many different physical publications and websites. Which ones are you the most proud of?

Wow, only recently I looked at some of my past accomplishments when I redid my website. I had links to older works in magazines and webzines. I'd forgotten about most of them. A couple stand out: An article on poetry was published in the Writer Magazine 2003. Another article on NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) appeared in the Jan 2010 issue of the Writer's Journal. Also my poem, Temperate Moon was published in a magazine called Flashquake in 2005. It was the editor's pick of the month.

And, Sour Grapes, the newsletter for rejected writers and other tormented souls. We had articles on writing and rejection, a column for editors, and poetry. SG was written up in the Boston Globe in 1997. It was a fun project with artist/writer Sheila Foley. SG ran for nine years, both in print form and as a webzine. It was a great experience on so many levels and taught me a lot as an editor.

Which one of all your published works is your favorite, and why so? 

Only one? I'd like to say two poems. Temperate Moon, for it's sensual imagery and Guardians of the Keep. A fantasy narrative piece for which Sheila Foley did a pen and ink illustration. They do great at readings and I kind of think of them as classics. Wish I could produce like that all the time, but that's not how things work. For a story, I'd have to say the Shuddering. It has stood the test of time as far as storytelling goes with multiple layers and believable characters. I still really like the story.

Which character that you've created is your favorite? Please explain why that character is your favorite.

A tough one. Some stand out more than others. I like Brooke Howell, the protagonist in my Reluctant Medium series. She is a young medium who continually ignores her family traits and often finds herself in trouble because she has denied so many things. As time goes on her gifts develop and she becomes more intuitive. Her family's past haunts her, literally. Some people call her crazy because she sees ghosts. But more than that her inquisitive nature takes over and she is compelled to help people, sometimes the wrong people, in order to solve a mystery. She's multi layered with a quirky sense of humor and those around her often throw her off track. She's complex and I'm having fun getting to know her. Because it's an ongoing project I'm still learning about her.

What are you presently working on?

Ah, The Reluctant Medium, among other things. I've completed book one and two in draft form. They still need work before I can start book three. That's all I have planned for the RM series. But it may spawn a novella or two. Who knows? Other than that, I'm always writing new shorts and poetry. My plan is to continue submitting the more marketable stories. I'm hopeful for their eventual publication. If not, I may put out a compilation of stories. Also I'd like to go back to an earlier novel, when time permits.

 

Cat Temper is the musical project of composer and cat pun enthusiast, Mike Langlie. I've been a long time fan of Mike's past music output. I thought it was time I investigated this very talented musician who may have created a genre of music known as, Meowwave. 

Without further ado, here's the interview with Cat Temper/Mike Langlie conducted via email. I hope you dig it more than a litter box.

1. How did you get the idea for Cat Temper?

My previous toytronica project was all happy bunnies and rainbows. A little bit tongue-in-cheek but mostly un-ironic joy made from simple instruments, catchy melodies and hyper arrangements. Not everyone got what I was going for and I learned to ignore the trolls bashing what they considered to be non-serious music. I took it as far as I could – some might say too far – and took a break to figure out what to do next.

I went back to my roots to explore the sounds I liked as a kid getting into music in the 1980s. Synth-heavy Electro and New Wave, sloppy Punk, bombastic Prog Rock, and a bit of ridiculous Hair Metal. Even 8-bit sounds from early Atari and arcade games became an ingredient. The idea of an unpredictable semi-feral feline seemed to embody the spirit of this crazy mix, and was also a contrast to the friendliness of my previous outing.

2. How would you describe what your genre is? Are you worried about being restricted by a genre?

As Cat Temper was getting off the ground I discovered the 80s Synthwave revival which I absolutely love. My music doesn't exactly fit that mold but Synthwave fans picked up on the retro elements and welcomed me into the scene. It's a diverse evolving genre with branches like Darksynth, Vaporwave, Sweatwave (emulating 80s aerobic video soundtracks) and other niche styles. Someone jokingly labeled my stuff as "Meowave" and it stuck. I don't mind being in a genre of one band!

Even with my previous project which had a specific palette I didn't worry about stylistic constraints. I like exploring different themes with every album and seeing where my sound develops. I get bored quickly which may also explain why most of my songs are like a car crash of genre mashups.

3. Is there a musician/band that most inspires you in your Cat Temper work?

Its DNA has traces of 1980s electronic music oddballs like DEVO, P-Model, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Alien Sex Fiend, and Futurisk. More recent influences include Skinny Puppy, Mindless Self Indulgence, and Nine Inch Nails which is obvious if you've seen the song titles for my latest album "Kitty Hate Machine".

4. How do you go about creating a Cat Temper song?

Almost all of my tracks start by playing with sound design. Each song is almost an excuse to find uses for weird synth patches, combining them as characters in musical conversations. That approach guides where songs go more than a traditional verse-chorus-verse structure, for better or worse.

I fully embrace the low-brow nature of this project. I'd much rather see how far I can take a "dumb" riff and idea than stress over creating a masterpiece. I love happy accidents and unexpected detours that pop up. Nothing ever comes out as planned, it's always a fun surprise for me.

5. The first Cat Temper "Purring For Vengeance" album was released in 2019. Since then you've released seven more albums. How are you able to create so much exciting music in such a short span of time? Many major bands release one album every few years.

At my age I feel like I have to accomplish as much as possible before the meteor hits! Working mostly in the box on a laptop speeds things up compared to previous projects. Thankfully I don't often get writer's block. I have a notebook full of concept album ideas I'll never get around to doing. Everyone is over-saturated with entertainment options these days – especially music – so I'm trying to slow down a little and "only" release a couple albums a year to let people catch up!

6. Your second album "Henry" is an alternate soundtrack to the movie Eraserhead. What made you think you could meld this type of music to such a stark film?

David Lynch is as much of an influence on my music as any bands. His first film Eraserhead blew my mind at a young age and opened me up to enjoying strangeness and offbeat humor in both movies and life in general. I also love seeing musicians do alternate soundtracks for films to reinterpret a story and characters. I always wanted to do that and only recently had the confidence to attempt it.

Eraserhead is my favorite film but a tough one for many people to get into. Everything about it is unconventional – the story, sets, acting, and soundtrack which is mostly industrial drones and noises. A big motivation was to help people find a way in with a more approachable hook. Since there's little dialogue and music it lends itself to being treated like a silent film. In no way do I want to compare what I do with "Henry"  (named after the main character) to the genius of Lynch. If my re-score helps people appreciate the film or rediscover it in a new way then I consider the experiment a success.

7. On one album you've had collaborators. How did that come to be? Anyone you've tried to work with but haven't gotten a collar on yet?

One bit of feedback I got with every album is people want to hear my songs with vocals. I finally gave in and asked a bunch of my favorite singers with different voices and styles in the electronic music scene to collaborate on the album "More Than a Feline". It was an opportunity to work with cool people whose work I admire. Not everyone I invited wanted to play but I'm thrilled to have worked with the people who did.

Writing music for vocalists is strange for me and I'm sure what I gave them was a challenge! My only guidance was to write cat-themed lyrics and I can't believe the great directions everyone took. I'm still in awe of the talent and generosity that each person put into it.

Of course working with 10 people was a bit like wrangling cats due to busy schedules and priorities. The album took over a year to complete and I learned a lot during the mixing stage. I don't know how soon I'll attempt something that ambitious again with other people involved. It's much easier and faster to do everything myself, but I'm extremely happy with the process and results of the experience.

Two singers I'd love to collab with are Ivan Doroschuk of Men Without Hats and Nina Hagen. Call me back!

8. You released "Kitty Hate Machine" on cassette. Some of your releases have been on vinyl. Why did you go with cassette instead of vinyl? How different was it to prepare the album for a cassette instead of vinyl?

One of my dreams as a kid fascinated with records was to release my own music on vinyl. I'm happy that I've been able to do that several times now, and have it in people's collections.

Vinyl is expensive to make, takes a long time to get pressed, and requires careful audio mastering to sound decent. I've been fortunate to have help from a small label (thank you Lazersteel Records!) and some crowdfunding campaigns.

I had a big cassette collection growing up and when CDs came around I thought that was the death knell for tapes. The recent cassette resurgence was a real surprise and it took a while for me dive back into the format. There's obviously a huge nostalgia and novelty factor. Tapes are relatively cheap to produce, especially compared to vinyl, and there are fun packaging options available. Plus it doesn't require special audio prep. I see alot of cool looking tapes on Bandcamp and wanted to experiment with releasing my own. The "Kitty Hate Machine" cassette sold really well and I increased my order to meet demand. I'm considering releasing a bunch of older albums on tape for people who like the format, plus so I can have my own copies for pure vanity's sake!

You can check out Cat Temper here!

An interview with Jerry Kranitz author of Cassette Culture: Homemade Music and the Creative Spirit in the Pre-Internet Age

 

I conducted an email interview with Jerry Kranitz. Jerry used to run the incredible website/zine Aural Innovations  which changed my life for the better. Yes, I truly mean that and I would have to write another blog entry to explain it.

Jerry has written a massive book on home cassette recording artists of the pre-internet age called Cassette Culture: Homemade Music and the Creative Spirit in the Pre-Internet Age. For anyone who is as fascinated as I am in the creation of art for the sake of creating art, this book is a wonder. So, here is my interview with the wonderful Jerry Kranitz.

How did you first become aware of cassette culture/trading?

I did a lot of interviews in the early days of publishing my Aural Innovations space rock zine. I started noticing a pattern where several subjects reminisced about how in the 1980s they recorded their music on cassettes and networked with people around the world. They described trading tapes of their original work with other homemade musicians, collaborated through the mail, and in some cases even started little cottage industry labels. All this communication was facilitated through the small press publications/zines that proliferated in the punk/post-punk era. I had never communicated with fellow music travelers outside my locale prior to the internet. It fascinated me how theses people found each other and communicated and WROTE LETTERS to each through the postal service. Think about it… collaborating on music by sending cassette tapes back and forth through the mail, adding parts, mixing, editing with 4-track TEAC and Fostex portastudios, without the benefit of email and uploading/downloading digital files.

I eventually came to consider this global network of homemade musicians to be a story that needed to be told, and formulated the dual thesis of my book, that 1980s – early 1990s cassette culture was:

• A part of the larger post-punk story that deserved to be fully fleshed out
• Part of the ongoing story of 20^th independent arts movements (e.g., Dada, Fluxus, Mail Art)

Did you make any tapes yourself during the cassette age? Did anyone you knew personally make any? 

This network and its activities flew completely under my radar while it was occurring. I was living in Atlanta in the 1980s and regularly read some of the key American publications (Op, Sound Choice, Option) that network participants relied on. But it would never have occurred to me at the time to write to any of these people to obtain their music. The only tapes I made at this time, which I started doing in the 1970s, was mixtapes. And you will recall from reading my book that mixtapes are NOT what this story is about. These people were recording their own original music and audio art.

You had been working on the book for many years, how did you finally go about publishing it? 

Frank Maier is a German enthusiast (he would agree if I said ‘obsessive’) of this music, network and era who runs a label called Vinyl-on-Demand. VOD specializes in vinyl LP box set reissues of artists from this era, mostly in the industrial, noise, avantgarde, and minimal synth realms. VOD has also published some books. A friend who knew I was working on the book alerted Frank about the project and he approached me about publishing it. It finally hit the streets in July 2020, which unfortunately happened to be while we were in the throes of the pandemic. But I think it has all worked out very well.

What were some of your biggest obstacles to completing the book?

The biggest obstacle came probably around 2011 or so when I started going slack on the project. I felt like I just had too much going on in my life. I continued to be immersed in the topic but was not actively working on the book. A few years later I started to seriously reflect and realized that if I ever ended up with a deathbed regret, not finishing the book would be it. I also realized that what I had experienced was a crisis of confidence, which ended up just being the need to identify gaps in my research. It was full speed ahead from there.

When did you realize that you wanted to include CDs with the book? How did that change the dynamic of publishing the book?

Frank at VOD had mentioned accompanying CDs early on but, I don’t recall exactly, it fell by the wayside. Once we were close to publication he brought it up again and felt strongly that the book should include audio to support what I was writing about. We put out calls for contributions on very targeted Facebook groups. When I say ‘targeted’ I mean where many of the group members had been key participants in the 1980s cassette culture network who would be solid candidates for inclusion on the CDs. I also contacted three people who I knew were not on Facebook but felt should be included. I’m pretty sure the selections were made it not much more than a week. So it all came together very quickly, but I think the CDs are wonderfully representative of the era that the book covers.

Did you ever get tempted to include cassettes instead of cds? Was it too problematic to do so?

That’s a perfectly valid question, and some people even mock me for including CDs with a cassette culture history. But cassettes were never practical. There was just no way to include them with what already was a 4 lb. book. The CDs fit snugly in the front and back covers, being little thicker than a couple pages. Moreover, many people who were interested enough to purchase the book no longer have cassette players. CDs were the only way to go.

There are so many interesting people that you discuss in the book. Were they easy to track down? Were they open to talking to you for the book? Were there some who you couldn’t get in touch with?

When I started researching the book in 2007, I was concerned with interviewing a cross-section of people from different countries. Some I found because they had web sites. Some I found just by poking around on the internet. This poking around sometimes led me to people I had been unaware of, and after reading about them realized they would be ideal representatives of the era. Nearly everybody was agreeable to being interviewed and most responded in the detail I was hoping for. Some also never responded. Maybe I had bad contact information. Maybe they thought I was just blowing smoke. Anybody can say they are writing a book.

I’ll add that WAY more of the participants from the era are now available and accessible because of Facebook. Late in the game I had access to a lot of people I would have originally targeted for interviews. But I drew the line at that because I was on a solid trajectory toward completion. What I did do in a few cases was contact people who I had quoted from 1980s publications, showed them what I was quoting from their decades younger selves, and added their contemporary perspective.

There are some nice heart warming stories in the book, like how some people who fell in love through the exchange of cassettes. How did that make you feel?

I took a social history approach to the story I was telling. The book is actually more about the network and how people functioned within it than it is about the recordings they made. The interactions, the collaboration, and the friendships made are very much at the heart of the story and what compelled me to tell the tale. In that regard, the best anecdote in the book is about Don Campau and Robin O’Brien, hometapers living on opposite U.S. coasts, who came together as a couple. They are still married.

What aspects of the culture least interested you, and did you find that you had to write about them regardless?

There aren’t any topics I left out because they didn’t interest me. Likewise, I didn’t include anything because I felt obligated to. The biggest challenge was deciding on a concisely coherent outline of what I wanted to cover. My main concerns were to highlight how the participants communicated, exchanged tapes, collaborated, and setup cottage industry labels to distribute their work. It took many years of research and writing to land on the final outline.

How many more stories do you think there are left to tell about the pre-internet cassette age?

Quite a lot! Is there only one book about punk history? There are lots of topics, stories, and approaches to telling this history. For example, when Frank at VOD read my first draft he felt I was remiss in not talking about the sound poets. And he was absolutely correct that they are a crucial component to this history. But I had to be really hard nosed about my desired focus. Having said that, my greatest hope is that someone will read the book and feel so strongly about something that was excluded, and/or has a different spin on the story, and undertake their own research and writing project.

What parallels, if any, do you see between the cassette culture and the culture of web sites like Bandcamp which allow people to share their music freely?

I’m struggling to think of parallels. Bandcamp, which I’m a big fan of, certainly makes artists music far more available than the cassettes the 1980s artists recorded. But, and this is crucial, that doesn’t mean their recordings are being heard by more people than heard the 1980s cassette recordings. There is a massive overload of availability and choice today.

Do you feel that social media has been helpful in promoting the book?

YES!

What do you want people to know most about your book?

That it is about a network of individuals with common interests who found each other. And this was important because in most cases their neighbors, family and schoolmates would not share these interests. We take that for granted now because fellow travelers are so easy to find on the internet. In the pre-internet age people had to put in the effort to find each other through publications they probably found in record stores, wrote letters to each other, traded tapes of their work, WAITED for the postal service back-and-forth, and often collaborated on recordings. In some cases people traveled, sometimes overseas, to meet each other. They recorded their own often incredibly creative and original music and audio art, often heard only by a handful of listeners. But that absolutely did not matter. It was the creation that counted. Record companies? Who needs ‘em.

What projects are you currently working on?   

I am limiting what I spend time on. I have two ongoing projects….

First, the Harsh Reality Music historical archive, found at this site  http://www.haltapes.com/harsh-reality-music.html

Harsh Reality was a Memphis based cassette label launched in 1982 by Chris Phinney. I am working closely with Chris and Hal McGee, writing reviews of each tape the label released and conducting interviews with Chris. We are slowly and chronologically detailing and making available to hear every one of the over 300 tapes in the catalog.

Second, I have been working for some years now with guitarist Terry Brooks to sift through his unreleased music and make it available on Bandcamp. The site we run is found at

https://terrybrooksandstrange.bandcamp.com

Terry’s story is long and detailed, but the quickie explanation is that he self-released a private press LP in 1973 titled Translucent World, which is prized by many in heavy Psych rock collector circles. He released many albums and singles through the 1990s. Terry is 78 years old now, lives in the Orlando, Florida area, and is an absolute gem of a human being.

The Season of Rust Track by Track

The wonderfully multi-talented Mike Langlie, from the amazing music project's Cat Temper and Twink the Toy Piano Band, suggested that I write a track by track breakdown of the recent Tim Mungenast/Astro Al experimental album Season of Rust. So here it is. 

First a quick about the album sort of thing; Season of Rust was spawned from a gigantic series of recordings we did with Tim Mungenast a few years ago. It's the second and final (I think) album in our Rust series. The first being The Poetry of Rust. Perhaps its more like a musical double feature. https://astroal.bandcamp.com/album/season-of-rust

1. The Hum Told Them- Tim Mungenast wrote the words. This tells a piece of a larger story about a construction or destruction crew guided by something unseen. They are still there. Much of the sounds come from Tim, DNA Girl, and I pounding on a metal pole at a lake in Weirdfield MA. There's also a buzzing painting sound that I tried for weeks to capture. Wind chimes from the backyard too.
2. The Desert Swirls Through the Ancient Saucer Wreckage- Mandolin, metal on metal scraping. Guitar swirls. This was built out of multiple spot recordings and bits and pieces of one jam. It became a big audio collage. Musique concrète? Perhaps, except its metal. Metal on metal baby.
3. The Sophisticat Explores the Beauty of Corrosion-  Rust doesn't just happen to metal. Rust happens to the mind. I played bass on this track. I think its the first time I played bass on a recording. Tim played swirling guitarscapes. DNA girl smashed horseshoes and other odd bits of metals. The original spoken word bit was so much longer than the music that I had to edit it down quite a bit, which probably made it better, but also made it a little more non-sensical. I dig DNA Girl's narration performance. Dr. Klang and Lev who had previously been characters on our prior album The Poetry of Rust, return briefly. I'm so glad that Seaweed Orchestra's only exist in a black rust spot in my mind. All the buzzes and statics are there on purpose. How else does rust sound?
4. The Jet Set Find the Magic Mural-  Another spoken word bit. Drawn from a dream. Dreams don't dare enter my sleeping mind that often, but this one seeped in. I would like to have a rich aunt and uncle. If someone wants to volunteer, feel free. Tim of course played guitar. I purposefully didn't speak on this album. Figured the world deserved a break from my nasal tones. Tim did a great job with the narration. It feels like he wrote it. Airport diners are either good or annoying. This one is good and leads to zen. Layers upon layers of jamming piled on top of each other. 
5. Awakening of the Metallic Bats-  Our characters, from the previous track, witness the metallic bats rise. Lots of metal scraping with a stick on this one. Mandolin patterns sketched by DNA Girl. Guitar beauty by Tim. 
6. The Digging Continues- The story of the poor souls in the pit continues. Dig. Dig. Dig. Lots of real life construction sounds worked their way into the track. We had to redo Tim's voice because there were police sirens in the background that clashed with everything else. I think I played with a live guitar lead on this one. DNA Girl smashed metal. I layered it, so it sounded like Tim was having a call and response guitar dual with himself. DNA girl also did some percussion stuff and vocalizations. I think we alternated banjo playing on this one too. 
7. Is There Rust in Space?- Flange flickering over horse shoes smacked together by DNA Girl. I think the jam this was culled from was close to seven minutes. This track is almost four minutes. Often times, shorter is better. I try to keep albums near the 40 minute mark. Most of my favorite albums are in that range so why not follow suit? I think the mind tires after that mark. Tim's swirl guitars are lovingly whacked. 
8. The Heart of the Robot-  I played some effect loaded synth pattern on this one. I also made a feedback static sound. Tim rolled Baoding balls in his kung fu grip. DNA Girl experimented with metal. It was a tasty one to end the album with, at least I think so. Again, I tried to keep this one short.

That's it!

Hope you dig some Season of Rust. 

-Yours in Rust,

Count Robot

 

Count Robot's Favorite 3 Albums of 2020

In 2020 there was an incredible amount of excellent new music.

I could drone on like a years worth of drone music, that was created by drones but I will jus keep it to my three favorites. So let's get right into it.

I prefer to remember 2020 as the year of Blue Oyster Cult. After years of no albums, I lost track of how many albums BOC released this year. Six? I don't know.... Incredible!

3. Albert Bouchard: Re Imaginos: 

I am not going to go into the whole bizarre history of the original Imaginos album. If you want the background, check it out here. With Re-Imaginos, former BOC member Albert Bouchard, reshapes the songs into old world/new world music. This is Bouchard performing broken down in the best way possible, musical theater. Wonderful production, such beautiful sounding violins! Heavy metal songs are transformed into semi-acoustic sea shanties in this excellent release. There's a tune called, Girl That Love Made Blind, which is a Christmas song filled with strange astrological creepiness presented in a politely, pretty, pagan, waltz. Girl That Love Made Blind never makes me tired of hearing the word, Christmas.

Such an excellent re-arrangement of Astronomy. Lost desert highway three AM country music is the sound that Gil Blanco County fills in my head.

Re-Imaginos could be an incredible musical. I would go see it.

Al Bouchard's vocals have a scratchy broken beauty, filled with ancient lore. He's the narrating invisible wizard. I've heard that Bouchard plans to make it a trilogy. I am all, all, all in. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginos

2. Blue Oyster Cult: The Symbol Remains

The Symbol does indeed remain. It remains in my head. It makes me think of old BOC because of the title being a throw back to an older BOC album, Revolution By Night. This album popped right into the number two spot on my list after one listening. All sorts of interesting lyrics. Catchy riffs. Solid thick production. Tainted Blood is a vampire song! BOC has a great tradition of vampire songs, so I was glad to get another one added to the list with this album.

The chorus on Stand and Fight smacks you right in the face. 

Alien abductions return with the Edge of the World which has a grizzly howl of defiance in Eric Bloom's booming voice. 

One of my favorite songs on this album is Train true. It's so bonkers in the off kilter style that BOC used to work in quite often (anyone besides me remember the BOC ditty, She's as Beautiful as a Foot?). Nice to see a strong return of innovative fun. Buck Dharma's vocal deliver is righteous, slick, insane, and so good. Cheers BOC. You all rocked this one home!

1.  The Gypsy Moths: Wollaston Theater (EP) 

https://thegypsymoths.bandcamp.com/

Yes, this is not a full length album. As my man Ed Wood, would say, “So what?” 

Wollaston Theater is a treasure of rock and roll with soul, horns, guitars, and song craft. It's been in constant rotation. As a download, as a CDR, as a vinyl album too, yes all the formats for me. All so rock and roll awesome.

These Days Will Run is the opening song. Get's us pumped up right into the best party you've always wanted to have all in four classic songs. 

The Continuing Story of Arthur Duffy is a song about a real life criminal. It's a wild story of a song with so much guts. I could picture this song being blasted out of a jam packed juke joint in the middle of nowhere with people coming from hours away to experience this awesome slice of early rock greatness. A classic. As the lyrics say, “Let's go!”

City Point is a forlorn slick slice of rock and melancholy. I dig that. Often the best songs are sad, which makes us feel. This song is one of those in the best lush way. Those vocals! If you don't feel anything while listening to this tune, check your pulse.

We Can't Go Home is the final song. It's a great romp about skipping... school. It's so good it makes me want to go back to school just so I could skip school. This song has such an earnest wistfulness to it. Sweet melancholy that you can make dance. Skip with me now, is one of the lyrics. The eternal urge for escape from Monday morning. Let's skip, not just school, but the rat race. I dig it. 

One thing that blows my mind about this album, is that they love it so much in Europe. The lyrics are so wonderfully Boston, MA centric in vibes, that at first I didn't get how the astute music fans in the EU, and beyond, picked up on this great collection of songs by the Moths.

Now I get it, it's the afar romance that people have for us, as I have for the afar romance for London, Rome, Montreal, and more. It is the window into the other. That's what the Gypsy Moths have so deftly given the rest of the world, a view into the life of Boston.

Excellent production. Raw enough for you to feel it, slick enough to make you feel a little dirty. Pounding drums, crunchy, punchy guitars, phat horns, nice old school keys, and rock and flipping soul filled vocals are masterfully performed and captured. On the first listening I thought to myself, I'm picking an EP as my favorite album of the year.

So there it is, another favorite albums of the year post.

Late as usual

Lately yours,

Count Robot 2021