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As I started on my musical journey, what is the first things that happen?  Obvious answer, is being a musician you need to buy equipment -DUH! Well at 16 when I really embarked on my journey the first things purchased were a Fender Precision Bass Guitar (with a “C” neck) and an SVT amplifier with a double stack 15″ JBL speakers. Then in the next 3 to 4 years I started to accumulate other equipment odd’s and ends. A SM 58 microphone, a few mic stands, a small 8 channel Tascam mixing board, Mic cords a Mic snake, etc, etc, etc.. Before you know it I had enough for a small but serviceable PA system that we could use in my home studio (or should I say My parents house) GOD BLESS THEM! Yes God bless them for putting up with years of banging and loud music while they sat in the living room below my so called studio with the TV on 10 so they can drown out the noise, I mean music-My parents were the best! Then came our  first Lampshades show. It was in my high school, Mineola, New York in which I had already graduated a few years before but 2 of the Band members, Gary and Pete were in their senior year and got us the gig to play for the senior group. As said above, I had enough equipment for a small PA system and brought in everything the day before the show to this fairly large school auditorium. So we set up for a sound check and quite frankly it did not sound very good as we really did not have enough equipment to accommodate the space and the mixing board only had the 8 channels. Four of the channels were used for vocal mic’s and we only had 4 left for the drums, bass guitar, keyboards and lead guitar–ugh! – not nearly enough to cover. I can’t remember how it happened, I know John Kessler had some equipment to lend us and we either purchased or was lent the additional mixer that gave us another 12 channels. The next day when we did the show I distinctly remember one of the teachers that heard our sound check the day before comment how good it sounded verses the day before sound check. It still took another couple of years for Centour Sound to fully be up and running with getting a friend involved , Bill Veldran, who became the co-owner of Centour Sound.

More to come on Centour Sound…….

 

 

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Noise Fest was an event put together by a friend Thurston Moore that was one of the founding members of the band Sonic Youth. The event was held at White Columns in which is New York’s oldest alternative art space. It was founded in 1970 by Jeffrey Lew and Gordon Matta-Clark as an experimental platform for artists. Originally located in SoHo, the organization was renamed White Columns when it moved to Spring Street in 1979. Thurston invited over 26 bands and solo artist’s to play at the event over the course, if i’m not mistaken 9 days. Our sound system company Centour Sound (Bill Veldran and Myself) provided and donated the PA system and the staff to hook the event up and provide the live engineering. It was an event of many artist’s musicians in the underground music scene in New York. Click on link to see who played there, also there is a bunch of thumbnail audio’s of most of the bands that played at the event. The Lampshades played on one of the last day’s of the Fest. Also another band that played there was IMA in later years the guitarist Joe “Zworld” became a member of the Vinyl Flesh Band. Check out the link below – You can hear some of the bands that are on the cassette that was produced from the event. The Lampshades was the last band and song on the cassette, it was listed as Banana in essence it is Banana Rock in which you can see the video (produced by me) and hear the song from the band on this blog (go to Lampshades Video and Music drop-down).

https://www.discog s.com/Various-Noise-Fest/release/3604850

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What a wild time in my life working and playing at the Mudd Club! My partner Bill and I through our sound system company Centour Sound became the production managers of the club after John Kessler was done doing his stint as the production manager. Just before John left we had the extreme pleasure of John, Bill and I working together to work with Frank Zappa who played the Mudd Club! We brought in extra equipment and a bigger mixing console to accommodate his band. Terry Bozzio was on the drums at that time. That was a thrill to work with a master in such a small venue. There is a sketchy bootleg, sounds to me like someone had a cassette tape recorder and taped it in the midst of the crowd. The recording is on you tube, I included the link – I remember that Frank had his own sound person do a recording right from the board, so that must be available somewhere in some Zappa archive.

We worked with a lot of different bands & artists from Samba to Punk, experimental to down right BAD–fashion shows and you name it everything in between. DJ’s Anita Sarko (who has passed away in 2015) and DJ David Azarch made the club hum, jump and jive into the wee hours of the morning. In which we usually ended up going to an after hours club and came out squinting as the sun was fully out and blaring while we were going home and watching the rest of the world just going to work.  I will add more Mudd Club memories in my blog as time goes by – Keith Herring, Johnny Thunders, Question Mark and the Mysterians, Sam and Dave, John Belushi, wow and so many – so stay tuned in! –

 

 

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Did I mention I mixed the Tuff Darts at Max’s? That was a cool rock-a-billy type band.for-the-love

There was so many really good bands and artist’s that had marginal success at best like the Robert Gordan & the Tuff Darts. Some of them had an album or 2 out, some of them got F’d up on drugs and other crutches and died at an early age and a lot of them never amounted to anything but a flash in time and some just faded into the upholstery never to be heard or seen again.

The John Collins band I was particular close to as I was a close friend with the Guitar player Mr. Gary Blankenburg or Blank as we called him. There was some other bands that in my opinion really sucked but for some reason was part of the underground punk music scene like the Ramones and the Dead Boys, in which one night when I mixed those idiots (the Dead Boys) part of the act was Stiv Bators the lead singer raped his girlfriend on stage. That was the shock appeal that that genre was looking for, now you have some looking back and immortalizing them as pioneers of the punk generation. To each there own!

 

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Stiv Bators and the Dead Boys at Max’s Kansas City

There were some artist’s that was always pleasant and fun to be around and deal with, like David Johansen from the New York Dolls, later to have a decent solo career. Also another favorite was Mink DeVille, just cool sharp rock n roll with some ethnic flair.

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David Johansen – New York Dolls

Another gentlemen or let me rephrase that another gender bender was Wayne County who became Jayne County and the Back and Street Boys – Fun and interesting, always going out of his/her way to say hello! That was all part of the fabric that was Max’s Kansas City in the 70’s.

Wayne County concert poster from the late 70's
Wayne County aka Jayne County and the Back Street Boys

Note: I found all these pictures from the internet – as I have none of my own from that time period, as who the hell carried a camera around with them back in the late 70’s and 80’s and of course cell phones did not exist! So thanks to all who took these pictures and full credit is deserved.

 

 

 

 

 

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As previously mentioned, my partner and I were the production managers and engineers at the MUDD club during part of it’s hay day in the underground art and music scene. Having that in with the club and owner Steve Mass, it was easy for me to hook up my band, “The Lampshades” for a Saturday Night gig.  The pictures were taken from the front of the stage so -apologies to our drummer Gary Sabshon was not in any of the Mudd Club pictures.

Enjoy the pictures and the set recorded LIVE!  

 Great Pictures of THE LAMPSHADES – playing the MUDD Club!

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Al B. Front – Jim T. in the Back
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Jim Tucker – Guitar
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Al B.- Bass Guitar – Ken Kern – Guitar – Gary Citro – Keyboards
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MUDD Club 1981

Enjoy the entire set we played that was recorded LIVE at the MUDD Club 1981

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As for the release of the 45, that was the toughest job to do as I was the only one really trying to get exposure in every avenue I could find. I think that this is every independent artist’s and band’s lament. How in the world are you suppose to get any body to pick this up and play it and promote it, without having some major record deal behind it. Since I was working at the Mudd Club their was a DJ their that had some in’s with a distribution company that sends out new released singles to DJ’s around the country and world. It was sort of like this club thing for DJ’s that they sign up for to get free music and it was up to their desecration if it got play in the club or station they were working at.  If you go to the link you can see the 45 is still being sold in 3 different countries, USA, Norway and the UK as it was distributed from that DJ club. I have to assume there is some old DJ’s out there that still have a copy and have decided to sell it.

https://www.discogs.com/Lampshades-Not-Sold-Separately/release/2889226

We did get some play in clubs and I vaguely remember it got on the radio once. We played all the songs live in a lot of clubs that year, playing and promoting the 45. Although we did our best, it really never took off and got the play we were dreaming and hoping for. Oh well, that is the life of a musician never quit and never say die – – strive on and keep the music alive!

To my Fans – I have a Bunch of The Lampshades 45’s, if you are looking for one – I can arrange to send you one –

BUT!                                                                                                                                               Here’s the Deal –                                                                                                                             Email and Follow my Blog and website, Like Aldo Buzzi of Facebook, Follow on Twitter and Re-tweet, follow on Instagram and forward to your all your friends                                                                                                                                                                     And I will send you a Lampshade 45 for FREE! 

                            As always while my supply last’s, first come first serve!  

                                  Obviously you will need to send me your address