Technical difficulties...again

My poor old Mac G4 Powerbook has finally ceased functioning.  Fixes that worked before aren't doing it this time.  Perhaps it's the hard drive.  In any case, it's likely to be some while before I can get it fixed or get a new machine.  Naturally, this is going to put a serious crimp in my blog activity--and print availability will be very limited.  Those of you who are inclined to help a brother out and who would like to see me back up and running sooner rather than later--why not consider buying some original art?  Donations are totally cool, but the way I see it, you might as well be getting something for your money.  I have lots of work available at my Comic Art Collective page.

http://www.comicartcollective.com/jrwilliams/

IMPKO Monsters!

I love these old IMPKO monster decal designs...as a kid, I used to see these advertised in comic books and monster magazines, but it wasn't until years later that I got ahold of some of the decals themselves.  Several of my original paintings reproducing classic IMPKO designs are still available for purchase:

THE CREEP (Sold!)

FROM OUTER SPACE

THE HORSELESS HEADMAN (Sold!)

TOPPER

Prints of all the above works are also available...email me for details.

More IMPKO stuff online:

IMPKO dot com!

IMPKO links

IMPKO decals

Let There Be Drums

Bio of the great "Wrecking Crew" session drummer available via AROUSE YOUR PASSION (I got a copy from my local library).  Notes from the dust jacket:

That's him playing drums on Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti," Fats Domino's "I'm Walkin'," and Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy"; on the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" and Ike and Tina Turner's "River Deep, Mountain High"; and on Sam Cooke's "Shake," "You Send Me," and "Twistin' the Night Away."  That's him on the television themes to IRONSIDE, THE ODD COUPLE, 77 SUNSET STRIP, and even THE BRADY BUNCH.  He's been a session man for Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Neil Young, Elvis Costello, Ray Charles, and Count Basie.  As a studio player in New Orleans and Los Angeles from the 1940s through the 1970s, Earl Palmer co-created hundreds of hits and transformed the lope of rhythm and blues into the full-tilt thrust of rock and roll.

BACKBEAT: EARL PALMER'S STORY (epub or mobi)

Earl Palmer's Party Rockers - Johnny's House Party Pt. 1 (YouTube)



Earl Palmer & his Ten Piece Rockin' Band - Drum Village Pt. 1 (YouTube)
                                                                       Drum Village Pt. 2 (YouTube)

Earl Palmer - One Mint Julep (YouTube)

The Devil's Hand

I love it when obscurities like this one unexpectedly pop up!  Our host at MR. ED MUSIC ROUND UP has posted a 45 single, Theme From "The Devil's Hand."  He's also posted the flip side, titled Peek-A-Boo.  Both tunes are shakin' rock 'n' roll instrumentals...released on the CHESS label.

The film THE DEVIL'S HAND (1962) concerns a fella who is lured by a beautiful, mysterious woman into a weird sort of inner-city devil-worshiping cult.  The cult's leader is played by Neil Hamilton, who would later play Commissioner Gordon in the BATMAN television series.  The film drags in spots, but parts of it are loads of laughs, if you like that sort of thing.  Thanks to the INTERNET ARCHIVE, you can watch/download the whole movie for free (ditto for the film's original trailer).  While surfing around online for imagery to accompany this post, I discovered a picture sleeve (above) for the 45 single!

Interesting related trivia: Legendary musical arranger and session guitarist René Hall is listed in the film's credits as having created "Special Arrangements" for THE DEVIL'S HAND.  Apart from this delightfully silly movie, Hall had a remarkable career, working with the likes of Louis Jordan, Little Richard, Ritchie Valens, B. Bumble & the Stingers, Googie Rene, Earl Palmer, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, and more.  Be sure to check out The Hound's post on René Hall (link below). 

Baker Knight - THEME FROM "THE DEVIL'S HAND" and PEEK-A-BOO (scroll down a bit...there are several other 45 singles included in the post).

THE DEVIL'S HAND trailer (Internet Archive)

THE DEVIL'S HAND feature film (Internet Archive)

THE HOUND's informative post on René Hall

Jivin' with Al Casey

Good collection of solo stuff by Casey, renowned "Wrecking Crew" session guitarist/keyboardist.  Check it out at SURFADELIC.

Jivin' Around

Monster-Size Ghost!

Great collection of vintage comic book ads (1940s - 1980s) at MONSTER SIZE GHOST!

Let's Go Eleki!

NOW IT'S ELEKI TIME is a compilation of rare tracks by Japanese instrumental groups of the 1960s.  Includes tunes by Takeshi Terauchi ("Terry & his Blue Jeans"), the Fingers, the Galaxies, the Giants, the Purple Shadows, the Sharp Five, the Space Men & the Swing West.  The cover of the comp isn't terribly compelling, so I borrowed the above record art to make my blog post look more snazzy!

NOW IT'S ELEKI TIME (at "Shitocalypse")

Gum Up the Works

Nice collection of cool old bubblegum cards, stickers, tattoos & etc.  Includes UGLY STICKERS, Marvel Super Heroes, WACKY PACKAGES, Monster Initials, PEE WEE HERMAN cards, wrappers, and more!

BUBBLE GUM CARDS

KONG is 80 (mp3 mix)

The original KING KONG, produced by RKO Radio Pictures, premiered in March, 1933.  Below is a musical tribute to everyone's favorite giant gorilla!

KING KONG - Radio spot
KING KONG - Wade Denning
KING KONG - Big "T" Tyler
KING KONG ESCAPES - Radio spot
KING KONG STOMP - Gene Moss
(I GO) KING KONG - The Go-Rillas
KING KONG VS. GODZILLA - Radio spot
KING KONG - Tarantula Ghoul & her Gravediggers

GO KING KONG!

Off the Cliff with Ronny Kae

A recent email exchange with Debbie D. of WFMU ICHIBAN got me curious to know more about rock & roll drummer Ronny Kae...who the heck was this nutty guy?  Ronny (sometimes spelled "Ronnie") Kae (sometimes spelled "Kaye") pounded the skins in a group called the Saints & recorded a bunch of singles for Band Box Records (out of Denver, CO), circa 1960s.  Kae's solo sides were usually (or always?) instrumentals, along the same lines as drummer Sandy Nelson's records (one of Kae's single sides is a cover version of Nelson's "Let There Be Drums").  A typical Ronny Kae single generally follows this formula:  A gravelly male voice (presumably Kae's) growls out the title of the track, then the music begins.  The songs are pretty simple, straightforward rock instros, with drums & guitar prominent in the mix...the gravelly voice may or may not repeat the song's title at intervals, or might add other brief enthusiastic exclamations ("Go-go-go, go, everybody!" etc.)  What's curious about these records is the sometimes inexplicable choice of "subject matter"...Kae's "Drums Fell Off (a/the) Cliff" is a fine example.  Where did this idea come from?  Perhaps Kae was inspired by instrumental guitar star Duane Eddy, who recorded a tune titled "Twisting Off a Cliff".  But while Eddy's song makes some sort of sense--we hear the agonized screams of distracted dancers going "over the edge"--Kae's single makes no reference whatever to disaster, other than the voice repeating some variation of the song's title.  Check it out for yourself:

Ronny Kae - DRUMS FELL OFF A CLIFF (YouTube)

Duane Eddy - TWISTING OFF A CLIFF (YouTube)

Ronny Kae - SWINGING DRUMS (YouTube)

Ronny Kae - NOSTALGIA

Ronnie Kae - DRUMS ARE BACK (YouTube)

Ronny Kae discography at 45 CAT 

Those Dirty Squares...

I'm always looking around for wacky sound clips to add to my iPod...it amuses me when they turn up at random, between songs during shuffle play.  I found a digital rip of an old Hollywood Squares record album, but there was no track separation...each side of the LP was one long, continuous cut.  So...I picked out 16 of my favorite "zingers" from the album & chopped them into short, individual mp3s, which I'm delighted to share with you.  They're all in a convenient zip file (download link below).  Featured celebs include Paul Lynde, Don Rickles, Redd Foxx, Charley Weaver, Burt Reynolds, Marty Allen, & Rose Marie!

Hollywood Squares.zip

Weird-Ohs on Wheels

March is Ed "Big Daddy" Roth month at WFMU's ROCK & SOUL ICHIBAN!  It is also the month in which WFMU hosts their annual pledge drive.  In recognition of the above events I've whipped together this compilation...available only as a WFMU pledge drive premium.  Keep a bulging, bloodshot eye on the Ichiban blog & WFMU's BEWARE OF THE BLOG for info on obtaining this & other swingin' swag!

The Alberto Combo - THE GREEN MONSTER (YouTube)

Johnny Fortune - DRAGSTER (YouTube)

Hal Blaine & the Young Cougars - GREEN MONSTER (YouTube)

Jan Davis - BOSS MACHINE (YouTube)