Ray Davies is the Best Songwriter Exhibit K - Colin G.

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Life After Breakfast - Ray Davies

It's been a while since we checked in with our sporadic Sunday morning Ray Davies series, so let's jump back in with "Is There Life After Breakfast?" from Ray's first solo record, Other People's Lives.

In my opinion, one of the factors that sets the great songwriters apart is being able to write songs that can make you laugh out loud. Writing ballads is easy.  In fact, it is so easy that in the history of rock and roll, only three bands have never written a decent "sad song." The first two are The Hives and AC/DC, who have avoided ballads by design. The third band is the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, who have somehow managed to avoid writing good songs in any tempo, mood or genre. Other than that, chances are that even the bar band around the corner can break out a decent tear- jerker written by their bass player sometime after his second divorce.

But to be funny, that is the next level. Or "The Chuck Berry Level" as those in the business call it. Reasonable people can disagree on whether Ray Davies is truly the best songwriter ever (he is) but I would suggest he is truly the funniest songwriter ever. Unless Weird Al counts.

I might be biased towards the song Life After Breakfast because I own a coffee shop and it has been my observation that as humans near the age of 70, meals become the primary source of pleasure. In fact, we become so excited for meal time, we just can't wait and start rushing everything. Breakfast is at 6:30 am, lunch at 11:15 am and dinner at 4:30 pm. After that I suppose it's just FOX News until bed with a bowl of ice cream around 8 pm. In the words of Mick 'n' Keith: what a drag it is getting old.

Song and lyrics below.

Uploaded by Giokebox on 2013-12-18.

Lift yourself out of the doldrums
Make yourself a cuppa tea
Drag your emotions out of the gutter
Don't wallow in self pity

When you wake up, all of a fluster
Thinking life has passed you by
Give yourself a kick up the backside
Jump out of bed and punch the sky

Is there life after breakfast
Full of possibilities
Is there life after breakfast?
Yes there is, after breakfast
So don't live in agony
Is there life after breakfast?
Yes there is, after breakfast

Cheer up son, put on the kettle
There's no point in being glum
Make your mind up, try to forget her
Boil the tea and I'll be mum

Is there life after breakfast?
Yes there is, after breakfast
So don't live in agony
Is there life after breakfast?
Yes there is, after breakfast

After breakfast
Life after breakfast
After breakfast

Just because all of the plumbing
Isn't all it used to be
Turn the tap, see, a little bit's coming
That must make you feel relieved

Don't turn into a total embarrassment
To your friends and family
Get out of bed, the whole day's ahead
So take the pills and drink your tea

Is there life after breakfast
Full of possibilities
Is there life after breakfast?
Yes there is, after breakfast
So don't be so depressive
Is there life after breakfast?
Yes there is, after breakfast

Read more: Ray Davies - Is There Life After Breakfast? Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

Two FREE Songs from the Willie Phoenix Tribute Machine

                    Willie Phoenix Tribute Machine
          “Hey Little Girl” b/w “Strike Up the Band”

     Click here to check out the tunes!       

or click here for FREE Soundcloud link

“Willie’s skin was the color of baker’s chocolate. He sang like Wilson Pickett, wore his Telecaster upside down like Hendrix, and had Elvis Costello’s gift for cutting a pop gem. He didn’t play second to James Brown when putting on a show. He’s as good as we’ve ever seen. Who else is there? Prince? Springsteen?” – Joe Oestreich, Hitless Wonder

If you Googled the name Willie Phoenix you wouldn’t learn much.  Like another “Searching for Sugarman” it seems impossible that a musician with a career spanning thousands of songs, concerts & live gigs could still remain a virtual mystery in this day and age. 

This much we know: Willie was born in Marion, Ohio, in 1952 and has done NOTHING but play rock n roll since 1975.  He doesn’t drink or smoke.  Nobody knows where he lives.  Nobody has ever had his phone number.  Bandmates would wait by their phones for a pay phone call from Willie for practice and gig information. He plays a show or records a new song every night.  Always. 

The Willie Phoenix Tribute Machine is an attempt by Columbus, Ohio, musicians to preserve Willie’s legacy and draw attention to his enormous talents, which have inspired and entertained so many people in Central Ohio over the past forty years.  Please enjoy these free cover versions drawn from Willie’s back catalog, but more importantly, catch Willie playing live or drop him a line on Facebook and let him feel your love.  PLEASE send all Willie Phoenix stories, pictures, or discography info to williepproject@gmail.com.   

Click here to visit WilliePhoenix.com and all things Willie 

Click head to read Joel Oliphint's essential Willie Phoenix article published by Columbus Monthly January 2015 

A few words about the tunes, from Ricki C., longtime Phoenix roadie.
(For more on Willie, check out The Ballad of Willie Phoenix, on Ricki’s blog, Growing Old With Rock & Roll.) 

“Hey Little Girl” – I can’t remember the first time I heard this song.  I know it was from the first incarnation of The Buttons, circa early 1979 when Dee Hunt was still the drummer.  (The recorded version, self-released by The Buttons on a 7-inch 45 in 1980, featured Jerry Hanahan on drums.)  Willie was just putting so many new songs into the set back then, it would make your head spin.  I’m pretty sure this was from a particularly Elvis Costello-inspired period that also brought “Take My Advice” into the repertoire.

“Strike Up The Band” – This was the third song I ever heard Willie play, from when I ventured out a week after The Great Blizzard of 1978 to see Romantic Noise on February 3rd, 1978.  I have a heroically garbled tape of that show, made on one of those little dawn-of-time portable Panasonic cassette recorders, that I had brought to the show to interview Willie, for my punk fanzine, Teenage Rampage.  (see blog referenced above)  On that tape I can be heard saying – in reference to “Strike Up The Band” – “This sounds like the 1910 Fruitgum Company crossed with The Ramones.”  I stand by that statement to this day in 2015.  It was Willie’s early genius to cross classic pop with punk intensity into one of the greatest mixtures of power-pop I have ever witnessed.

Watershed Performing in Columbus August 15th. Happy Fifth of July!

Watershed will be playing a full-go, balls-out set of rock n roll music at Ace of Cups on Saturday, August 15th in Columbus, OH. This is quite likely the only Watershed show in 2015, though bigger things are planned for 2016. Save the date now.

Click here to read the complete Watershed songs rankings with videos, commentary and free nacho chips. 

WATERSHED - 5th Of July

CD102.5 and Their Declaration of Independence. Tune in July 6th and Invest in CD102.5

Columbus' own CD102.5 is one of the last independent rock radio stations still broadcasting in the USA. Starting July 6th they will be conducting a crowd-funding campaign to purchase their own broadcasting tower, allowing them to stay independent long into the future.

To mark the event, they will be hosting local musicians performing live on the air Monday July 6th. I will be playing at 11:30am sharp with more musicians continuing the rest of the day.

Nobody does more to support the Columbus music scene than CD1025. If you are interested in checking it out and chipping in, please click here to visit CD1025.com 

Or tune in Monday July 6th to learn all about it. - Colin G.

Below: Hard evidence of CD102.5 supporting local music.

Live from the CD102.5 Big Room, Colin Gawel with "Superior" on April 10, 2010.

Watershed in the CD102.5 Big Room from August 10, 2012.

America Could Use Some Bruce Springsteen Right Now By Wal Ozello

I remember when Colin first asked me to start writing for Pencilstorm he explained we cover fun stuff... music... movies... sports... the occasional feel good story.... but rule #1 is we never talk politics.

So I'm not going to say anything about the state of America right now, because that's not what we do here at Pencilstorm.

But I just thought on this Fourth of July, we could all use a little Bruce Springsteen.  I've always considered Born To Run the unofficial American national rock n roll song.  It's really about the pursuit of happiness. 

Happy Fourth of July to everyone out there from all of us at Pencilstorm. Stay safe. And as Bruce says in the beginning of this video clip, "Nobody wins, unless everybody wins." 

Wal Ozello is the former singer of the Columbus hairband Armada. He's the author of the science fiction time travel books , Revolution 1990 and Sacrifice 2086 and a frequent customer at Colin's Coffee.

THIS MONTH IN ROCK 'N ROLL HISTORY: THE KNACK / GET THE KNACK - BY SCOTT CARR

June 15, 1979 - The Knack released one of the fastest selling debut albums in history. Get The Knack sold over a million copies in just two months and would spend five weeks at the number one spot on Billboards album charts. 

The Knack are viewed as an overnight success, but in reality were one of the hardest-working bands in the business and had more than paid their dues. Singer/guitarist Doug Fieger cut his teeth with the Michigan-based power trio Sky in the early 70's.  Sky released two records for RCA, Don't Hold Back and Sailor's Delight. Rolling Stones producer Jimmy Miller signed Sky to RCA after Doug Fieger had invited him to come see the band play. Miller would also produce both records for the band. Sky did not achieve much commercial success and broke up after the release of their second record. Doug Fieger relocated to Los Angeles where he met the guy that would become his songwriting partner for the next thirty plus years: that guy was guitarist Berton Averre. Doug and Berton began writing and demoing songs in 1973. Some of these songs would make their way onto The Knack's debut album and others remained in the vaults until the release of 2012's Rock & Roll Is Good for You: The Fieger/Averre Demos. Drummer Bruce Gary and bassist Prescott Niles would eventually join the band and The Knack made their live debut on June 1st 1978 at the Whisky A Go-Go in Los Angeles.  

After having their demos rejected by dozens of record labels The Knack took to the clubs, began a relentless string of shows and quickly became one of the hottest tickets in town. Word was spreading about the band and people like Bruce Springsteen, Stephen Stills, Tom Petty and Ray Manzarek began turning out for shows. Not only were these guys coming to shows, they wanted to share the stage with The Knack and jam. All of this attention soon led to a bidding war between the labels and in the end The Knack signed with Capitol records. Doug Fieger said that one Friday night Bruce Springsteen got up on stage and jammed with the band and the following Monday morning they had 14 offers on the table. Not bad for a band that just a few months prior had seen nothing but rejection.

The Knack with Capitol A&R man Bruce Ravid.

Get The Knack features eleven original songs plus a cover of "Heartbeat," a song originally made famous by Buddy Holly. However, The Knack are actually doing a sped-up version of Humble Pie's cover of "Heartbeat."  Doug Fieger was a huge fan of Steve Marriott and loved their version of the song. Get The Knack opens with probably the best one/two punch in power pop history: "Let Me Out" is a frantic Kinks inspired opener that gives way to the gloriously melodic "Your Number Or Your Name." Other highlights on side one include "Oh Tara," "Maybe Tonight" and "(She's So) Selfish" which was intended as the third single from the album but was scrapped because Capitol wanted the band to record their follow-up album as soon as possible.

"Good Girls Don't" brings side one to an end and is a song that dates back to the early Fieger/Averre demos and would become the bands second-biggest single. Side two opens with "My Sharona" which was released as the lead single from the album and became the fastest-selling debut single for Capitol records since The Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and was the biggest selling single of 1979. "My Sharona" hit the number one spot on the Billboard singles chart and remained there for six weeks. "My Sharona" was written about a real person and the real Sharona appears on the picture sleeve of the single. Berton Averre's guitar work throughout Get The Knack is flawless and the solo he put down on "My Sharona" is one of his best. Another early Fieger/Averre demo gets a reworking with the inclusion of "It's What The Little Girls Do" on side two. Many of Fieger's lyrics on Get The Knack were inspired by the real life Sharona Alperin and the albums closer "Frustrated" is no exception, Fieger was infatuated with Sharona but she kept him at arm's length and this song is the ultimate exercise in frustration.  "Frustrated" appeared on the B-side of "My Sharona" but the band felt it was strong enough to be an A-side in it's own right. Get The Knack was produced by Mike Chapman, who is best known for his work with the band Sweet and also producing Nick Gilder and Blondie. The album was recorded in just eleven days with minimal overdubs and a budget of only $17,000. The album seems to effortlessly capture the live energy of the band and is a perfect representation of The Knack in every way .  

The Knack wanted their debut to be a double album but this idea was nixed by the label and the only song not used was an unreleased Bruce Springsteen track "Don't Look Back." Everyone was pleased with The Knack's take of "Don't Look Back" but the Springsteen camp decided that they didn't want the song on the market at that time,  so the track remained unreleased for many years. While The Knack wore their influences firmly on their sleeve and were equal parts Beatles, Kinks, Beach Boys and Buddy Holly, they presented it in a way that had never been done before and delivered a sound that was completely original and clearly The Knack.

Bruce Springsteen on stage with The Knack.

Bruce backstage with The Knack.

Doug Fieger and The Knack created one of the best debut albums of all time and thirty six years later Get The Knack sounds as fresh, exciting and important as the day it was released. The Knack would release several more fantastic records over the years including 1981's Round Trip, 1991's comeback album Serious Fun and 1998's Zoom.  Although the band never quite matched the commercial success of their debut album, Doug Fieger summed things up quite nicely with this quote...

“We’ve already had the success you dream about.  But we’ve never played our music for that. We play it because this is the only worthwhile pop music to make – fun and sad, silly and smart, explosive but sweet, snide but vulnerable. It’s not about being cool but about being goofy and having a great time. We didn’t invent this, but it’s what we do.” – Doug Fieger

"My Sharona" picture sleeve featuring the real Sharona.

Sadly drummer Bruce Gary passed away in August of 2002 after a long battle with lymphoma and Doug Fieger was diagnosed with two brain tumors shortly after Gary's death. Fieger lost his battle with cancer on Valentine's Day 2010. Fieger's passing was a huge blow to the power pop music community and to all that knew him.

Recently Omnivore Records released expanded versions The Knack's last two studio records, Zoom and Normal As The Next Guy both featuring several bonus tracks and in July they will also be re-issuing Live From The Rock ‘n’ Roll Fun House. It seems that after all these years people are still getting The Knack......

Scott Carr is a guitarist who plays in the Columbus, OH  bands Radio Tramps and Returning April. Scott is also an avid collector of vinyl records and works at Lost Weekend Records. So...if you are looking for Scott....you'll either find him in a dimly lit bar playing his guitar or in a record store digging for the holy grail.

Clip from 1975 of Doug Fieger and Berton Averre performing "(Here On This) Lonely Night." Taken from the Omnivore Recordings release by The Knack - Rock & Roll Is Good For You: The Fieger/Averre Demos. Available on CD / Digital & LP on September 11, 2012

Provided to YouTube by Warner Music Group Good Girls Don't (Demo) · The Knack ℗ 2012 Zen Records, under exclusive license to Omnivore Recordings ℗ 2012 Zen Records. All rights reserved. Released on: 2012-09-11 Auto-generated by YouTube.

Provided to YouTube by Warner Music Group That's What The Little Girls Do (Demo) · The Knack ℗ 2012 Zen Records, under exclusive license to Omnivore Recordings ℗ 2012 Zen Records. All rights reserved. Released on: 2012-09-11 Auto-generated by YouTube.

Live performance by The Knack taken from the Zen Records/Omnivore Recordings release of Havin' A Rave-Up! Live In Los Angeles, 1978. Available on CD and Digital Download May 22, 2012.

FROM CARNEGIE HALL , NYC ON 3-18-79. WHERE WERE YOU ?

They were one of the world's most beloved and hated rock bands. Celebrating the 25th anniversary release of their international smash hit, "My Sharona," "Getting The Knack" explores the group's dynamic and often controversial career via candid interviews with the original band, producers Mike Chapman and Jack Douglas, Sharona Alperin, (the inspiration behind their biggest hit), Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols, Rick Springfield, Elliot Easton of The Cars, Devo's Bob Mothersbaugh, comedian Weird Al Yankovic and many more.

Uploaded by Doug Fieger on 2011-06-07.

http://omnivorerecordings.com/artist/the-knack/

From a long lost German TV recording... 1980 Bremen.