Saturday, March 25, 2017

Transmission 2417 - Is It The Drummer Or The Drum?


Bang on this!

Kodō
Herbie Hancock
Dino, Desi & Billy
Michael Nesmith
Esquivel
The Waterboys
Wilco
African Head Charge
fIREHOSE
Japan
Sun Ra
Adrian Belew
Todd Rundgren
James Brown


"I don't want to work"

RFW



*Is It The Drummer Or The Drum? 
is both the title of today's RFW Transmission and a question inspired by 
an impressive performance by 
Kodō (鼓童), 
the internationally renowned taiko drumming troupe based in Sado, Japan.

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The various translations of Kodō, 
"children of the drum" and "heartbeat", 
are both very appropriate and actually supply the answer.

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These amazingly fluid drummers were so at one with each other
and their instruments that it was as if they were percussive offspring and siblings.
Whether delicately fingering, playfully partnering or furiously pounding
the synchronicity on display and sounds created 
sent one's pulse into overdrive.

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Celebrating their 35th anniversary, the Dadan 2017 tour,
 overseen by Artistic Director Tamasaburo Bando,
 is that rare combination of transcending spirituality and sheer physicality
 with the audience transported from meditative serenity to explosive attention
 and all stops in between.

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Future dates are scheduled for the remainder of the year throughout Japan including the 
Earth Celebration 2017, Aug. 18–20 on Sado Island, Niigata. 
Visit the Kodō site for details.


The host of Kodō Dadan 2017 at Symphony Hall, Boston is also
New England's major presenting organization with over 100 performance
and outreach activities annually.
Their mission to present world-class performing artists
who inspire and enrich our community is on full display at any of
the Celebrity Series of Boston upcoming events

Thank you for listening to RFW and supporting the world-wide arts community!

Kodo review photo credit: Robert Torres (thanks Robert)!


Friday, March 24, 2017

Transmission 2317 - Hail! Hail! Rock 'n Roll


We're all Chuck's children!

Chuck Berry
David Bowie
The Rolling Stones
John Lennon
Ted Nugent's Amboy Dukes
The MC5
Mark Doyle & The Mechanics


"they're really rockin' in Boston"

RFW



*The long instramental before the outro was Chuck's Concerto in B Goode and the coda I'm Through With Love is from the OST of the most excellent Hail! Hail! Rock 'n Roll concert film featuring Keith Richards and an all-star cast. Check it out below.


** As if losing one iconic CB wasn't enough, the enigmatic Chuck Barris passed this week. Not only did he create the Newlywed Game and Dating Game and host the infamous Gong Show, he also wrote Palisades Park famously recorded by Freddie Cannon and was the subject of the film adaption of his "autobiography" Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind that was directed by George Clooney and starred Sam Rockwell. Chucky baby, you still kill me!

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Sunday, March 19, 2017

Transmission 2217 - Exit The Snow Wolf


 Swansongs and Howlings

Black Sabbath
Deep Purple
The Rolling Stones
Jellyfish
10cc
Ming Tea
The Zombies
Sound Garden
Howlin' Wolf
The Doors
Steely Dan
Richard & Linda Thompson
Television
Soft Cell


"It sure been a cold, cold winter"

RFW

*Our final Winter remembrance was Memorabilia by Soft Cell!

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Transmission 2117 - Kraut Rock (On A Roll)




Warnung - Laute Geräusche Deutsch!

Grobschnitt
Faust
Achim Reichel
Wolfgang Dauner Quintet
Amon Düül II
Out Of Focus
Can
Cosmic Jokers
Embryo
Le' Dusseldorf
Walter Wegmüller
Annexus Quam
T2117
Part 1
Part 2

"Do you hear Solar Music?"

RFW

* The opening number and coda were Parts 1 & 2 of Solar Music by Grobschnitt
 which comprised both sides of the second disc of their 1974 Brain Records double lp Ballermann

Grobschnitt Ballermann album cover

**If you are interested in learning more about the amazing German music scene in the Seventies, 
there is no better place to start than Julian Cope's excellent 
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***For a more detailed reference book that is a bible here in The Archives, seek out
 Steven & Alan Freeman's
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Friday, March 17, 2017

Transmission 2017 - Tease Or Please


Let's start at the TOP!!

Tommy Bolin
The Jaggerz
Free
Axis: Soma
Damaged Bug
Shit & Shine
Savoy Brown
The Temptations
Was (Not Was)
Gary Clark Jr.
James Cotton
Johnny Winter And


"she's a Teaser"

RFW

* I saw James Cotton both with his own band and with Muddy Waters and Johnny Winter.
He was among the TOP of the list of master harp players.
RFW will deeply miss and always remember him. 

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Friday, March 10, 2017

Transmission 1917 - CARHB?


Multi-colored chin music!

Cream
Jeff Beck Group
Led Zeppelin
Adrian Belew
David Fonesca
David Bowie
Peter Gabriel
The League Of Gentlemen
Tool
Bob Dylan
Captain Beefheart
Albert King
James Gang


"but the picture had a mustache"

RFW

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*Our opening number, "SWLBR" by Cream off of Disreli Gears, is supposedly an acronym for She Was Like (A) Bearded Rainbow.

** An acronym is an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word (e.g., CARHB - Can A Rainbow Have (A) Beard).

*** BYKTA,R? - But you knew that already, right?

Saturday, March 04, 2017

Transmission 1817 - I Just Can't Make No Mothership Connection


Nada happening with the hook-up!

Parliament
Bill Laswell
Eddy Grant
Dollar Brand
Eric Burdon & War


"Would you like to dance with me?"

RFW



*Both the remake of Funkadelic's "Cosmic Slop" and our coda, "Cosmic Trigger" were performed by Bill Laswell and his usual suspects. I recommend that you add Axiom Funk Funkcronomicon and Axiom Ambient Lost In The Translation to your collection.

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Bill Laswell - Lost in the Translation.jpg


** The Salem Film Fest 2017 kicked off it's tenth year with a fun Opening Gala featuring food, music and a focus on compelling documentaries from around the world including I Am The BluesIt's an up-close-and-personal musical journey by Daniel Cross that takes you through the Louisiana bayou and Mississippi delta juke-joints with the aging blues musicians who still play the Chitlin’ Circuit, even in their 80s.

This year's festival guest of honor is David Fanning, founder of Frontline, American television’s top long-form news and current affairs series since 1983, and winner of every major journalism and broadcasting award, including 18 Emmy Awards and 18 Peabody Awards. Eddy Grant's "Living On The Frontline" was the song I chose to play in honor of this landmark series and the inspiration for the groove of the Transmission.

The films will be showcased at various locations in Salem, MA until March 9th. You can click on the banner below for all the details. Get a large popcorn with extra butter and I'll meet you there!

Salem Film Fest 2017