Raging Slab @ De Melkweg, Amsterdam, 1993

Everyone has a secret musical pleasure. One of mine has been the music of Raging Slab. Anyone who knows me, knows I have a definite soft spot for southern rock. Perhaps what I like about Raging Slab is the unique manner in which they combine such seeming contrasting musical influences (punk, progressive, roots, metal, southern rock, country) to create their own sound.
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Todd Rundgren’s Utopia Reunion Shows – January 29/30, 2011


If laughter is considered the best medicine by most – for musicians then, in contrast, music will always be their best medicine. At very least that was in the mind of Todd Rundgren and the band Utopia as they assembled on the stage of the Highline Ballroom in New York City for a two night benefit on January 29th and 30th on behalf of fellow band member Moogy Klingman (the proceeds of the reunion going toward Klingman’s treatment for cancer).
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Kinda Young, Kinda Dead…

In doing my thesis research (which will include a chapter on You Are What You Is), I stumbled across the discussion of “Charlie’s Enormous Mouth” over at the ARF.ru website, which had this comment:

Fuck ME. I remember the Charlie fragrance commercials, but I don’t remember kinda young kinda wow. I was real young so I dont doubt it.
I always suspected that Charlie’s Enormous Mouth was a riff on the “Charlie” fragrance because “Charlie” referred to a woman name in both cases. (For the non-English speaking, Charlie is usually a nickname for Charles, a mans name, and rarely used for Charlene or any other female variant).

In this day and age of vintage commercials being posted on YouTube for nostalgic purposes, I was able to find a 1973 ad for the Charlie fragrance…

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why I find FZ’s work to be endlessly rewarding to the astute listener.

Band From Utopia @ Cologne’s Tanzbrunnen, 1994

While initially invited to perform at the Jazz Open Stuttgart in Liederhalle, Stuttgart, Germany on July 1st, 1994, Band From Utopia also had one other gig two days after Stuttgart at Cologne’s Tanzbrunnen on July 3rd, 1994. Watch these recently posted videos of Band From Utopia’s Cologne (courtesy of TheCaveStudioFilms) performances of “Tink / 13” (above) and “Village of the Sun / Echidna’s Arf (of You) / Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing?” (below):
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Interview With Michael Bruce – The Original Alice Cooper Group

Recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with the other original members of the Alice Cooper Group – Michael Bruce was the band’s guitarist, keyboard player and backing vocalist. In an exclusive interview by Nightwatcher for Nightwatcher’s House of Rock, Michael Bruce talks about his experiences as a member of the Alice Cooper Group (for the Zappa/Mother of Invention fan, though, one will find a lot of interesting historically relevant information – both in the interview, and on Michael Bruce’s website):
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Sunday Big Note – Listening Session #19

Riding the post punk wave out of the 1970s and into the 1980s along with such bands as The Talking Heads, The Residents, Devo, and Cardiacs, was a favourite band of mine – a thinking man’s band some would say – Wall of Voodoo. Particularly if you happened to pick up their second full-length album, 1982’s Call of the West – which All Music Guide described as “full of tales of ordinary folks with little in the way of hopes or dreams, getting by on illusions that seem more like a willful denial of the truth the closer you get to them.” To me, at least, a perfect description of the decade of the 80s which would later be aptly described in Jay McInerney’s novel Bright Lights, Big City and Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 American Psycho.
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The Cardiacs in Rehearsal

Long before I had began writing and posting here at KUR, one of the many things which had attracted me to this weblog (and frankly, still does, years later) was all the new music I was exposed to on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis (via posts, comments, and various emails from band publicists throughout the world).
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Zappa Jam Site Re-opens on Facebook

The old Zappa Internet Jam has a new address on Facebook, here.

The old Zappa Internet Jam was a great place, but times change. Much has happened in the last few weeks and well so it looks we have done a job on our new site on Facebook. It is finally up and going to the point where it is now operational. Check it out.

We would love to hear responses, what you think.

A lot of great old stuff will be posted there soon and we encourage you to post new ones. Download the tunes, add your comments, ask questions or share advice with our musicians community and also, this is your new chance to submit your music for feedback straight to the people that matter, and you can interact on comments and more.

To upload your music first time to the new system: please login with your Facebook account, or register a Facebook-less account. You can upload a maximum of three tracks in any 30 day period. When you upload a track to us, it will be online automatically. Anyone can share your music with friends on and outside Facebook, but only the best ones will be posted to our Zappa community wall.

We will now be welcoming you back.

-Zappa Internet Jam Team


As always, the Zappa Jam Site is a wonderful source of excellent new Zappa covers. I give their new FB Jam Site a thundering endorsement!