It's the Simple Story of a Boy in All His Glory/Reddy Teddy and Matthew MacKenzie

The early to mid-1970’s greater Boston area music scene was unparalleled by its wealth of proto-punk greatness. The Modern Lovers, The Count, Fox Pass, Thundertrain, the Third Rail, the nascent lineups of the Real Kids and DMZ, Willie Alexander and the pre-Cars Cap n' Swing. To my ears, the real unknown gem is Reddy Teddy and the late Matthew MacKenzie. If your idea of classic rock is mid-60’s Who/Kinks/Yardbirds/Pretty Things/Byrds and pretty much every original rock n’ roller who influenced those folks, you get the picture of the Reddy Teddy ethos.

Back in 1972, in Winchester, Mass, Reddy Teddy was causing a NY Dolls styled ruckus that matches anything Clap, Streak, Rags, Milk ‘n Cookies, Shady Lady and the Berlin Brats recorded in a high energy vein. Reddy Teddy shared bills with the Dolls in this period and liked to party with Aerosmith at Kilsyth Manor - a locale with debauched tales that apparently match those of the fabled Canterbury apartment complex in Hollywood several years later. Courted in 1973 to sign a major label deal with the same A&R rep Paul Nelson that signed Blue Ash to Mercury, Reddy Teddy cut some great demos in Boston and went to NYC and recorded an lp that was never released - purportedly due to the oil shortage. The photo of Matthew MacKenzie recording in Boston was taken at the session which gives us the blistering version of “Teddy Boy.” Unable to get their tapes, in 1974 they put out a killer pre-punk independent 45 of “Novelty Shoes/Goo Goo Eyes.” I have included my own vinyl rip of the single below the track of "Teddy Boy" from 1973. In 1974, we have Patti’s “Piss Factory” and Crème Soda’s “(I’m) Chewin’ Gum.” If you haven’t registered Reddy Teddy as part of the class of 1974, please do so now. I guess we could have had the major label pre-punk, power pop lp like those of Blue Ash, Artful Dodger, Piper (the VU/Squier connection will be the subject of a later post) but it is all left to rotisserie baseball conjecture.

Not to get into all the minutia of the 1975-76 era (let the clippings from the barn archive flesh out the story – Gene Sculatti writing to Matthew, Ken Barnes great lp review in Phonograph, the amazing triple bill at Harvard of Patti Smith/Sparks/Reddy Teddy).

While their buddies Aerosmith rose to the top in 1976, Reddy Teddy put out an independent lp. To me the 1976 lp has its moments of greatness. What everyone should track down is the Not Lame label archival dig that has plenty of the 1972-1976 era and is of the most interest here. Is there a better cut of prime, Dollsian-street punk than “Teddy Boy” and the demos for the 1976 lp are ace as well. Reddy Teddy’s last show in the 70’s was opening for Van Halen in 1978. Below are two of the better tracks from the '76 lp - "Shark in the Dark" and "Boys and Girls." The story of Matthew MacKenzie is contained in part in the Not Lame release but lets hope some early 70's live stuff materializes. My guess is that the studio did not do them justice. Reddy Teddy continues today - go check them out on the web and see John, Scott, Joe, Ted and Jeff live.

vivez à l'heure d' iggy

Inspired by all the buzz of the new box set of live two-guitar era Stooges, I have dug high and low through the archives, dusted off a copy of I Wanna Be Your Dog (entirely in French with great write-ups of the cover stars - and possibly one of the first features outside the US of Crime), and fired up the scanner.
It appears to have been part of the French Iggy Pop fan club. The back cover of the mag implores that you too can live on Iggy time. We could make a mint if we dusted off that exact plastic watch design! Cover, content and design are all ace. The photo to the right is of Ron, Jimi and Jim from the Iggy feature article.

Not sure if I had seen it before. I swear I have seen Alice Cooper is the same t-shirt as Iggy. The photo is credited to Philippe Mogane (co-founder of Siamese Records along with James Williamson). Philippe, if you are out there, can you tell us the year and locale of the photo and where the rest of the film roll is.

James Dean Pop/Tyranny and Mutation/Radios Appear

The Stony Brook mafia cast a wide net in the pre-punk days. Its influence ranged from the shores of San Pedro, California to the bowery of Manhattan, to the coasts of Australia and as far north as Finland. As another piece of the pre-punk universe, I present for your consideration, straight out of Helsinki and fronted by likely Gulcher/Creem approved frontwoman Annika Salminen, Dead End 5. It was a world away from Helsinki to Bloomington, but Annika and the crew would have been right at home chomping burgers with the Cutters, downing Rolling Rocks and listening to the Dictators. Their 1976 lp “Dead Ends” features covers of BOC, ZZ Top and even “Let Me Go Rock n’ Roll” by KISS. A BOC and Kiss-lovin’ proto-punk, female fronted band. Would it have rated the Back Door Man seal of approval? Methinks so given the rarity of such acts in 1976. On “Dead Ends” there may be a few too many Deep Purple moves for your tastes but it sounds fine to these ears. The blurb on the back cover (penned by their svengali manager) sums it all up:

DEAD END 5 is English. It's the street you live in. Your mental state. A nuclear charge in the atmosphere. Your insane self. A supernova in the stardust. It's a HARD ROCK band. It's DEAD END 5.

Roger that. Their manager was also the manager just prior to Dead End 5 for Finnish proto-punk glam heads Virtanen. Dig these clips.



Was the “Dead Ends” lp a fluke? Not after the first Ramones lp. Move over E. Bloom and welcome to the master race rock of Jeffrey Ross Hyman. Dead End 5’s early 1977 single "James Dean Pop/ Teräsneitsyt" is Finland's first punk rock record, with the a-side a cover of "Blitzkrieg Bop". The second LP, "Läpilyönti" (1977) also had another Ramones cover "Judy is a Punk" ("Judy et Jackie Punk"). How All-American is that baseball cover art - do I detect Thurman Munson in the image? A Gabba Gabba Hey cat? These guys put together that the Ramones would be played in sports arenas as jock jams a good thirty years ahead of the rest of the western world. That cover art also rates nicely to the baseball themed cover art of the Jon Tiven (and Ivan Julian) led Yankees lp. Are they the Finnish Shakin’ Street? Not quite the same deal. Annika put out a solo 45 following "Läpilyönti" which has a turgid cover of Buddy Holly’s “It’s So Easy” (Ronstadt arrangement) backed with “Nobody Does it Better” from "The Spy Who Loved Me." Awful stuff but then again Patti used to sing “You Light Up My Life” in much the same manner.

So for the tunage. First up on deck is a cover of BOC’s “ME 262” from 1976's "Dead Ends." Second is the cover of “Blitzkrieg Bop” now christened “James Dean Pop.” Woulda gone down well at the Masque as does the entire second baseball lp. Now not to get into too much of a side tangent, the other great early Finnish punk band Briard (which featured Andy McCoy pre Hanoi Rocks), also had a tune called "James Dean Pop" which is NOT a Ramones cover or even a Dead End Five cover. Go figure these crazy Finns and their James Dean/punk rock fetish. Third track is Briard doing the “James Dean Pop.” Batting clean-up, and bring us all back to tyranny and mutation, we have Radio Birdman covering “Transmaniacon M.C.” live in Sydney 1976. Lastly is "Judy et Jackie Punk" from 1977.

Over the Edge Rock and Roll

As a cultural artifact, Jonathan Kaplan's 1979 film "Over the Edge" has far more resonance to me personally in 2009 than the other 1979 music film I love, "Rock n'Roll High School."* The soundtrack is great too. It is a universe where Van Halen and Cheap Trick sit snuggled side by side with the Ramones and the Cars. You can also toss in Devo, Ricky Wilson-era B-52's and the Pretenders even though they are not on the soundtrack. It is all good. I just enjoy the American new wave of the non-post punk variety (although I like that too). Are the Pretenders considered English - they had a single or two in 1979 though their eponymous debut did not come out until January 1980. The kids of New Grenada would have played the heck out of it. Which brings me to the real subject of this post which is the pre-Cars output. Matt meet Ric and Ben.



In 1976, as Roxy Music opened for ELO at various US dates in support of the Siren lp, the pre-Cars band Cap 'n Swing was cutting some of the best Roxy Music/VU/Steely Dan hybrid tracks and getting primed for those arena lights. The first two tracks below are "Come Back Down" (3 demo versions exist) and first lp mainstay, "Bye Bye Love."



Without getting bogged down in lineup changes with various assorted Modern Lovers (including Jonathan Richman suggesting a pre-Cap'n Swing band name), it should be noted that Ric and Ben did record a folky/CSNY-y lp in 1973 "How's the Weather" under the name Milkwood. You can check out Ric on the cover with the 'stache putting him neck and neck with Chuck Negron as the standin for Dusty in Floyd Mutrux's "Dusty and Sweet McGee" (1971). In case you are curious, the third track is "Bring Me Back" from the 1973 lp in all its denim glory.







* NB: "Rust Never Sleeps" is obviously another 1979 favorite though technically it is a concert film.

1974 Was a Great Year for Videotape

The last time I saw Don Waller he was walking in Beverly Hills on Wilshire Blvd. by the Rolex building. Would have been within the past year or so on the way to my old job. The time before that he was talking to American Original Ron Asheton backstage at the El Rey Theater. He was definitely not wearing pants like those sported in the clip below.

In 1974, on the East Coast we have the amazing Television rehearsal tape in Terry Ork's loft (the subject of a longer post forthcoming). In the midwest, we have Victoria Vein and the Thunderpunks on a local OK television program. On the West Coast, we now have the Imperial Dogs live at Cal State Long Beach on October 30, 1974. Unless a live 1974 Stooges at the Whiskey video materializes, this may be IT:

She Said to Me/She Smiled Wild

I wouldn't trust the description of a "basement" psych lp as far as I could spit. Exhibit A is the Les Temps Heureux lp on Shadoks. "En Ces Juis" has a few sleeper tracks that make me wonder how closely folks listened to it. Not a single review touched on how ace some of this is - well, mainly the track below. I picked up the 1971 demo lp last year on the basis it had some folky/basement psych vibe from the description. I guess it sort of does. Hackamore Brick it ain't but that is a singular species. Who woulda thunk some straight-ish looking French hippies could crank out such a catchy, garagey, VU-styled chugger like "She Said to Me"? In 1971! Am I off on this one? It would have made a great single a-side.

CLE via Japan or a Pre-Electric Eels - Ladies and Gentlemen, Murahachibu

One of my numererous intentions is to share with you various pre-punk favorites from the dark ages. Not unlike the South Bay's unheraled Clap, what happens when you get a garagey/glammy, Stones-influenced band: something not unlike the Dolls. You also get, in this instance, something approaching the brilliance of "Flapping Jets" by the Electric Eels. This track, appropriately titled "Ah," is from 1971's "Kutabirete." If I could turn it up to 11 for you I would.



Here is string of clips from a Japanese dvd, looking like outtakes from Bob Gruen's "All Dolled Up"!! Anyone have spare Marahachibu vinyl to trade?