The Lampshades

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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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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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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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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! 

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After playing the Bar scene for a few years we finally had enough cash to start on the 45′. Andy Blinx a good friend, fellow musician and artist had an in at Radio City Music hall with the engineer Don Hunnerburg. So we took some of the bar cash equity to record 4 songs at the Radio City studio’s shooting to do a 45 record on our own. We invited John Kessler along to help with the production on the mix. We had the mindset to record 4 songs and pick the best 2 to put on the 45 and release. Out of our repertoire of about 12 originals at the time, we picked the best 4. They were, Kangaroo, Space Trot, Banana Rock and Situation. The recording sessions began albeit from 12 midnight until 4 am. That’s the time we could get for about next to nothing in cost as the studio was vacant at that time slot.

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Pete playing Vibes -Gary & Andy Blinx (in the back) watches

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We started playing the Long Island Bar circuit in the late 70’s. We did cover’s of just about everything and a few originals here and there. Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Car’s, Elvis Costello, Devo, Doors, The Knack and anything that was new and hot on the radio at the time. You know, what people were into at that moment in time to make us relevant playing to the Friday and Saturday bar folks having a night out and to a lot of drunks. As previously blogged, it paid the bar tab and we started to squirrel some cash aside as our goal was to produce our own 45 record to release and see where it would go. Some of the places on Long Island we played at were Wooden Ships, Good Times, Camelot Inn, The Belmont Inn, Uncle Bobs, The Little Club are just a few of the many bar/clubs I can remember playing – there was so many back in the late 70’s early 80’s.

Post cards sent out by Long Island Bar Uncle Bobs

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