New York Music

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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  

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This is were I got my first indoctrination to the underground music scene. I was 17 and was in awe of everything I saw and it was so cool and different to me, an Alice in wonderland rabbit hole of fantasy and stark reality. John Kessler introduced me to this Max’s scene as he was doing the production management there at the time and he needed someone to fill in some nights to set up the bands and shows. First I started just setting up the mic’s and rolling up the mic cords when the bands finished. Before you know it I was at the mixing board mixing bands during the weekdays when John was doing something else. I really took to mixing and working with the bands as I was starting my first band myself and it gave me some great exsposure to many different types and genres of music I really was not exsposed to before. As time progressed I started to fill in on the weekends mixing more headline name bands of that time frame. Didn’t really realize at that time when I mixed the Ramones that they would become an influence in the punk rock scene. I really thought they sucked, when I was trying to mix them at sound check and Johnny & Dee went over to their amps and ran their hands over all the volumes and tone knobs to 10. I was like, “what the fuck”, how are you suppose to mix this. I turned to John and he said to me, ” just put the vocals and drums up as loud as you can without feedback and sit back and that’s the mix”. I got to work with a bunch of name bands at that time that were all on the cusp of making some headway in the music business. As said, the Ramones, Blondie, The Dead Boys, Mink DeVille, David Johansen, John Collins Band among other bands that were great but didn’t make it, or should I say just did not get recognized at that time. What a blast for a 17 year old living the rock and roll life style to the fullest.

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At 17 was starting to live and breath the moment

 

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This video was a first mix of the song so there are some parts that will sound a little bit different then the final mix on the CD – Test Drive  “RAW”. These video’s I have produce have been a home grown art form in stop motion format. Pictures and moments that are meant to ingrain and make a mark on the brain, like having a flash of light and when you close your eyes you still see that flash.

Japanese Tiles – (Japanese Lady with Dark Eyes)                                                     Composed, Performed and Video imagined by Al B.

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Now that we had the recording where do we go to press and get artwork for the cover? On Long Island at the time in 1981 there was a small record pressing company called PRI. They would do small run vinyl at about $1500 – small run to them was about 500 45’s. In which was pretty inexpensive considering the pressing and the cover sleeve print full 4 color press. Also when I went in to talk to them about the pressing, I figured let me ask them if all 4 songs could be pressed on a 45. Never thought that they would say yes as I never heard of a 45 with 4 songs, but as said they said “YES” so 4 songs on a 45 was going to happen. We hired a friend of a friend, a student artist Brain Patrick Murray to design the front cover for $50 and I took the picture for the back cover of a lampshade store in Franklin Square. Andy Blinx put the “Not Sold Separately” sign into the back cover picture and the lettering and credits. There you have it, the artwork was done for the sleeve cover.                                      Let the presses ROLL!

Go to the Music Drop-down

Click on Lampshades to Listen to the music from the 45! 

lampshade cover                                                               lampshade back cover