Mr. Moderator

Mr. Moderator

When not blogging Mr. Moderator enjoys baseball, cooking, and falconry.

Sep 282010
 

There are reasons we rarely close the comments on the issues that are discussed on Rock Town Hall. Among them, with our deep archives, we never know when someone will dig back into a once-hot topic and put his or her stamp on it. At times we try to recognize the new, key detail that’s been added to the rock discussion record. Today, we add yet another eyewitness account of ZZ Top‘s Worldwide Texas Tour, the legendary tour involving livestock on stage while the band performed. Because I’d never seen photos of the band performing surrounded by livestock, I called Bullshit On this tour! Thankfully, Townspeople like gregg were there…to call Counter-Bullshit On me! Thanks, gregg!

Next, UNDENIABLE EVIDENCE! Continue reading »

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Sep 272010
 

Excluding talent-show performers, has any band been less talented than The Starvation Army Corps Band, as seen in this 1968 Mike Douglas Show appearance? I’m not talking about bands that are aesthetically not my cup of tea, like Journey, or producer-created bands that “fit the costume” and lip-sync, but bands that display such humble musical ability as this band of 15 and 16 year olds. From their introduction I gather that The Salvation Army Corps Band made it to national television as a cutesy favor to Mike’s guest, but who the guest is and why her son’s band merited inclusion on the broadcast are mysteries to me.

On the other hand, there’s no mistaking what led the following contender in this Battle Royale to its national television booking: Continue reading »

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Sep 272010
 

John Wetton Interview Coming Friday, October 1

Believe us, we care what the groundbreaking popular vote said regarding a poll that resulted from an analysis and discussion to determine – once and for allThe Sexiest Man in Prog-Rock. We care what the humble subject at the root of this heretofore-unexamined topic ultimately may have felt about all the attention he received. We cherish the new friends we’ve made in the last couple of weeks, and we welcome you to our daily gatherings and passionate discussions of rock-related topics, both serious and inane. We’re not sure how the other finalists in our quest to determine – once and for allThe Sexiest Man in Prog-Rock may have felt, but among those we attempted to contact, only go-to bassist/vocalist of the Progressive and Art Rock scene (Asia, King Crimson, Roxy Music, UK, Family, and many more) John Wetton responded to the ardent support of his fan base, summing up the consideration for this honor as follows:

“I’m delighted to be deemed a cute pig in the litter.”

We should all feel delighted to have finally established for all the world’s rock snobs, who have long considered prog-rock the sole domain of stoners and Dungeons & Dragons dudes, that the ladies dig prog-rockers on their own terms, including reasons as earthy as the music may be cerebral or ethereal. Just as cool, a number of Townsmen, regardless of their sexual preferences, felt comfortable discussing the importance of prog-rock bands containing a couple of good-looking guys to pull off those 17/8 time signatures. That’s what I call progressive rock music discussion! Most of all, however, we should feel delighted at the announcement that John Wetton has graciously agreed to subject himself to a Rock Town Hall Interview!

John Wetton: The Rock Town Hall Interview, Coming Friday, October 1.

The interview will cover John’s unique career and, hopefully, stimulate thought and discussion about the inner workings of some of the most-distinctive bands of the 1970s, the difference between “Prog Rock” and “Art Rock,” and the possible threat posed by Punk and New Wave bands. John also gives us a few additional seconds to answer the hard-hitting, rapid-fire questions of Rock Town Hall’s patented Dugout Chatter.

Thanks, John, and congratulations to leading popular vote-getter Carl Palmer and other runners-up Greg Lake, Keith Emerson (yes, the band should have been named PLE!), Chris Squire, and David Gilmour! Finally, thanks to the loyal and enthusiastic followers of one of rock’s most ambitious music scenes for making this silly notion turn into something of lasting value!

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Sep 272010
 


Sid and Marty Krofft couldn’t dream up this performance! We’ve got our share of Move and Roy Wood fans around here, myself included, but can anyone explain Wizzard? Must one be English to get what Wood was up to by this point? I don’t know if there’s any artist I love whose work past a certain point I love less than Roy Wood’s Wizzard recordings. Please explain. Show me the light, if even a faint glimmer.

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Sep 242010
 

It’s not like I’m near death or anything – or no more so than any relatively healthy soul walking around like there are thousands of tomorrows ahead – but as I age in this age of easy electronic access to our shared past, from YouTube clips of local tv ads from the 1970s to eBay auctions on forgotten toys to posted .jpgs of Xeroxed flyers from local band shows in the mid-1980s, I find myself continuing to chase digital flashbacks of a handful of images and tunes that are burned in my memory. Maybe some folks want to see God’s face or the face of a loved one flash before their eyes before they themselves leave this life, but I want to see a couple of dumb things that matter to me for reasons I can’t quite explain. Continue reading »

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Sep 242010
 


Townspeople, I just came across this abbreviated, super-charged version of The Move‘s “Hello Susie,” by a band I’d long heard of but never heard, Amen Corner, led by a musician I’d long heard of and knew of as a sort of Oliver, I believe, for big British bands in the ’70s but never heard play on his own, Andy Fairweather Low.

Hearing this version of “Hello Susie” for the first time was pretty exciting, primarily for the fact that Bev Bevan is not paradiddling all over the tune. As loyal as I am to The Move (and as tolerant as I am of their excesses), Bevan’s sloppy, sludgey style sometimes aggravates me. Amen Corner’s arrangement gets to the chugging, cascading heart of the song and doesn’t overdo it. Ultimately it makes for a “lighter” approach in scope as well as the song’s inherent ability to celebrate The Power and Glory of Rock, but tonight I was intrigued and wanted to hear more. Continue reading »

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Sep 232010
 


If Blues Hammer hasn’t already convinced you that 99.9% of white guys (and 110% of Dutch guys) should stay far, far away from Da Blooz, then this 1968 performance by Cuby & The Blizzards should settle the matter…once and for all. I think the two guys from the 1:24 through 1:30 mark would back me up, not to mention the dude who leads the march toward the door at the 3:03 mark. Enjoy!

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