An Unexpected Invitation

I received a nice card in the mail a week or so back from my friends at Bentley! I cannot tell you why they may consider me a good candidate to purchase a $180K motorcar, but let's just say my interest was piqued. Let's face, my only car is a 66 Mustang in driver condition, seems a quite a leap of faith to hop into Continental GT Coupe territory.

Around the Chicago area, it appears that Bentley is raising its head above the typical market segment of private country club members and semi pro polo players.

So, what did I do, I made sure that Iowahawk was available and I called to RSVP. The very polite lady who answered the phone was gracious and said that we were welcome at any time on Friday and that we should come hungry as there would be both breakfast and lunch available. Load up on the canape supplies, dear Bentley dealer, because hungry bloggers are on the way.

Anyhoo, see a pic above of both Iowahawk and me sporting our hotrod costumes. So after getting a new oil pan and a new battery box installed on the 66, I was ready to rumble.

I fired up the Stang, enjoyed the fumes on unspent petrol and headed south the few miles a chez Iowahawk.

We came up with a plan that was predicated on the possibility that the Bentley folks may let us check out a Continental unsupervised, we speculated that this was maybe a 30% chance.
I will say that for $180K, The Continental Coupe GT is quite a looker. And it has the beans to back up the looks. It has 20 inch wheels, a six speed tiptronic style trans and 550 HP v12 and all wheel drive.
Here is a picture of the car that we were allowed to drive. The set up was very nice as they let us drive it for however long we wanted, but alas, there was a Bentley representative riding along. Donuts, neutral drops and attempts at four wheel powerslides were not in the cards for Iowahawk and rb that day.
Scary as this sounds, I think that the Continental GT Coupe may be worth $180K, I came away feeling that this motorcar had an unlimited powerband and that I was driving something in the level of safety of a bank vault.

I won't be able to attend...

Via The Stepfather of Soul blog, I saw this awesome poster for the Soul show this Saturday. $15?!? Get out there Chicago!

Sorry about the post avalanche, just a lot of stuff today.

Funky Shout Outs--Some Mixes to pass the week

Since I have a few minutes this morning, I wanted to give some shouts out to some other blogs that are doing the funky work, to make our weeks roll a bit more smoothly with good tunage:

First up, Vincent at Fufu Stew has a new mix called Fufu Funk Fix #2.

Next, this is tomorrow has a set up called 30 min funk workout mix #2.

Dave at heavy soul brutha has a set called Caplog Meets Soul Brutha Mod Radio UK Show.

All of these sets should put some more glide in your stride, support these blogs!

Two of Ford's Finest

A 66 289 Stang and a 31 Hot Rod Coupe.

Bakfietsen

I found this site, Clever Cycles in Portland, OR. They are offering Dutch work bikes that are known as Bakfietsen.

The rider sits behind the large bucket (that is perfect for carrying stuff and people) and the steering linkage goes under the bucket and turns the front wheel. There is even a fairing/roof available for the bucket that is perfect for all of the weather in Nederlands (and Portland).

The red gizmo in front of the pedals is called a Stoke Monkey and is a human powered motor that assists in pedalling, also offered from Clever Cycles. It runs off of the batteries on the back of the bike, which are charged by the human powering the bike-- not the Grid.

So in effect the bakfiet above is a human powered hybrid. Take that you Prius drivers!

I am thinking that braking would be a challenge even with disc brakes. Maybe a brake booster could be added like on those old heavy 50s cars with 4 drum brakes.

Here are some clips of them in action-- Crazy stuff.

Coop @ So-Cal Open House photos

No reason for this link other than Coop saw many more cool cars than I did today...
Check out his shots from the So-Cal Speed Shop Open House.

HOT.

Get well, soon, Mr. Coop.

Rough Guide to Dub

As I posted earlier, I have been gigging to more dub as of late. I got this disc a while back and the cratedigger reference system has been jiggling the mortar loose from the cratedigger crib ever since.

The second track Satia, Keith Hudson meets King Tubby (pictured above with the BKLounge crown) is a prime example of shaking everything I own at this point in time.

The groove in Conquering Dub credited to Yabba U & King Tubby, is tight, basic reverbed horn charts over a tight bass and some sick reverbed organ that never seems to decay. When the lead becomes the chink a chink guitar into the organ into the horn chart, you miss the bass, then it drops. Almost a relief, then the echoed organ comes into play. This is the stuff. Find an MP3 below, kind reader.

Le Roi Tuby is apparently a big fan of sound effects as well. Thunder and gunshots predominate such as on track 5.

sometimes the cymbals get the treatment and will mess with your noggin opposite the flute in track 8, Satta Dread Dub by Aggravators. "Let us repatriate" "Zion yeaaaaah, repatriate...." into reverb space.

What gets me in these productions is the trebly guitar riffs that reverb off into space... Then other sound elements are dropping in, just like the cut n paste computer culture that followed many of these sounds by a couple of decades in the 90s.

Many of these tracks are pretty short in my mind for dub tracks, methinks that this collection is an excellent way to get one's feet wet for all that is dub. Could they be edits? I am too ignorant of the genre to know, but I dig groovin' to this collection. Dig it!

Downbeat the Ruler

As it has been extremely nice weather wise around these parts, I have found myself hitting the reggae, dub and instro sounds a bit more than I have in more than in a few years.

Along these lines, I found the CD pictured above and available here.

While I shudder to think that anyone could ever use music as background music, (kind of like hanging a painting that an artist labored on over a toilet) this CD is a perfect SDTRK to working or perhaps cooking a gourmet meal of spicy beans and potatoes.


I am sure that everyone knows the deal with Coxsone Dodd, his sound system and Studio One, ground zero for all that is Reggae. I will be brief. Mr. Dodd used to come to America to search (dig) for R&B to spin on his system, with the ensuing wave of Rock and or Roll, Mr. Dodd needed to create some original music for use on his system.

He started a label in 1959, and in 63 set up a recording studio. The rest is history.

Here is a track from the CD, do yourself a favor and get a copy of this one.

Real Rock by Sound Dimension

Cool Blogs- FuFu Stew and The Snack Bar

Vincent has a couple of cool blogs here:

Fufu Stew

The Snack Bar

I came across his stuff via some other blogs, what strikes me about Vincent is that he has a variety of tastes and is not afraid to stretch out a bit and discuss (and mix) different styles and genres of music. He is a prolific poster of mixes, so take a look and LISTEN.

He recently posted a Meters live set excerpt from Bonaroo from a couple of years back.

Check these sites out, you will not be disappointed.

My garage find Advent loudspeakers

As I was perusing a garage sales in my area, I came across a sale in nice neighborhood, where I have made some decent scores in the past.

I overlooked the boxes of plastic coat hangers and the ugly (but clean) cookie jars and travel bags, when I hit upon the sight of these orphaned Advent mini speakers.

They have real hardwood (not veneer) tops and bottoms, so while they are about 12 inches tall, they have some sort of heft to them. They were made in Schiller Park, IL I am guessing in the late 70s or early 80s by American Jensen.

The man of the house said that they both worked...

I inquired as to the price and they were $1. I asked if that was for the pair and the lady said, "No, for each speaker." I handed over the $2 and hopped in the car.

When I got home, I pulled an old receiver out of the basement, along with an old Technics cd player from the early 90s, and hooked up the "system" for backyard chore enjoyment on the deck.

The Coltrane that was played at dinner, sounded surprisingly clean and Mr. Coltrane's sax seemed to penetrate the neighborhood. The Funky 16 Corners and Fleamarket Funk comps sounded cool as well. The rumble from these old soul comps shook the timbers of my deck.

These Advents would make excellent computer speakers, or non powered studio monitors.

Damn This Blog is Cool- Voodoo Funk

I came across this blog and it really makes mine look lame. Frank is a digger of records, but he is not combing through record fairs, garage sales or ePay...

He is in West Africa hunting for funky African discs. Frank has also posted some MP3 mixes, and I am starting to check them out. Above you can see some of the pic sleeves that he has amassed. I need to start reading this one from the beginning.

Spooky Tooth Sunshine Help Me

I came across this track on the Mod Chicago related site, Our Way of Thinking.

I think that this incarnation of Mod Chicago will be the 4th one that I have attended, and every one has been a highlight of my year.

The Leslie cabinet shimmering at the beginning over the tomtom taps is tops, along with the freakbeat searing guitar lead going into the vocal at the beginning. Ace.

"Crazy dreams and mindblowing schemes," I am a sucker for songs that have a build like this. The harpsichord interlude with the choral vocals is not bad either.

Kind of makes my ears think of a Fleur de Lys type sound with a healthy helping of Rupert's People Hammond thrown in for good measure.

Sunshine Help Me was their debut 45 and this track appeared on their 1968 LP, It's All About (Island ILPS 9080). It was also released as Tobacco Road here in the USofA due to the fact that the LP contained this song and it was a live staple for them.

It seems that they drifted off into prog territory with their 2 ensuing LPs, so I am not sure that I am interested in learning more about that era of their career.

Doing some quick research says that ST shared a producer with Steve Winwood's Traffic, Jimmy Miller, so some listeners detect some audio similarity between the bands.

I can't say that I can recall hearing any other Spooky Tooth tracks. They have reunited here is their site.

United Travel Service Gypsy Eyes

I came across this track on the recent compilation that was distroed on GaragePunk Forums called Extra Terrestrial Sojourn #2. Garagebeatnik, made a nice sounding comp. You are in his listening room, feeling the needle drop on each disc.

I know nothing about this except, this catalog number Ridon 860. An online resource dates this 45 to 68. "Gypsy Eyes" looks to be previously uncomped as well.

Please find a button below to hear or d/l a 160kbps file.

The start with the jangle punctuated by the bass drum kick is quite cool. I like story songs from this point in time, like Fortune Teller. "Those eyes... sharp as a knife."

The guitar break is brief, swirling and distorted, but keeps breaking under the vocal.

I think that you will dig it. A moody track for a rainy day in Chicago.

Tinnitus Mix Link

Here it is at long last, a mix posted in MP3 format. I viewed the excellent Flea Market Funk blog and used some of his ideas to post this. I took all of the records that I used for my CDR comp and then mixed them via the excellent shareware program, djay. This was mixed live on my macbook. I would love to hear some commentary on both the mix as well as the hosting service.

Here is the playlist:

01 Jimmy Castor Bunch Troglodyte (Cave Man) RCA 48-1029
02 Archie Bell & The Drells Tighten Up Atlantic 45-2478
03 Bobby Blue Bland Gotta Get To Know You Duke 447
04 Bob Seger & Last Heard Heavy Music I Cameo Parkway C-494
05 Dyke & The Blazers Funky Broadway Parts I&II Original Sound 64
06 George Semper Rhythm Committee It’s Your Thing Rama Rama 7799
07 James & Bobby Purity You Can’t Keep A Good Man Down Bell 660
08 James Brown Lowdown Popcorn King 45-6250
09 Funkadelic Music For My Mother Westbound 148
10 Jean Knight Mr. Big Stuff Stax STA-0088
11 Lavell Hardy Don’t Lose Your Groove Rojac 117
12 Jbs Gimme Some More People 602
13 R. Dean Taylor There’s A Ghost In My House Tamla 896 (Import)
14 Cliff Nobles & Co. Love Is All Right Phil LA of Soul 313
15 Ramrods Soultrain Rampage 1000
16 Aretha Franklin See Saw Atlantic 2574
17 Edwin Starr Stop The War Now Gordy 7104

iowahawk's coupe of justice

I had the pleasure of spending the other evening with Iowahawk at a swell BBQ session, and for dessert, I had the chance to see and take some shots of the recently completed Coupe of Justice. This is the coolest ride- a 31 coupe that has been modified in the Alexander Bros. vein.

The interior is a work of art, notice the glass shift knob. A Pontiac theme is carried throughout the vehicle, hence both the Poncho wheel and abbreviated dash.

The Poncho theme continues to the engine wherein a Pontiac V-8 dwells.

Notice the 3 mechanical Saaty fuel injectors, apparently these are late 50s vintage and are extremely rare.

Seeing this car only fed my need and desire to have a hot rod of my very own at some point. Especially after having the ride around the block, those injectors really scream.

Lee Perry Jamaican E.T.

I checked this more recent (from 2002) CD out from the library. I am not sure what I was expecting, but to listen to this set is disconcerting to say the least.

Scratch produced and composed all of the tracks, but a Black Ark production this is not. He does give a shout out via the track Message to Black Ark Studios.

The production is clean and buries the competent beats and grooves pretty far below Lee's vocals. He utilizes a technique of sorts throughout this set wherein he puts his voice is both left and right channels simultaneously. In effect he layers his vocals, spouting random stuff (as you would expect.)

The end result is that the listener gets a feel for what it is like to have voices in the listener's head. Well, Lee Scratch Perry's voice in the listener's head at least.

I fully realize that not every Scratch album can be Africa's Blood, but still this was pretty disappointing.

White Rabbit

This is a pretty bonus clip.

Using footage from Star Trek, the creator synched it to White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane.

The facial expressions on Leonard Nimoy are especially appropriate. The Shatner doesn't let the audience down, either.

From the land of der Fledermaus, a new 45 rack for the cratedigger shack

I am always on the lookout for good ways to store records. The cardboard boxes from Ikea and elsewhere are OK for long term storage, but what if you want to grab a couple of handfuls of discs to spin, and you don't just want to stack them on a table?

I saw this Pepsi crate calling my name at a garage sale. Each side of the partition is approximately 7.5 inches, so there is some give. My thought is to put a stack of 45s in either side of the crate, and still be able to flip among the discs to pick the next one to play. This set up should allow for browsing, an all too important aspect of spinning these old pieces of vinyl.

I spent about 3 minutes cleaning up the box a bit and then another ten minutes to cut some corrugated cardboard to line the bottom of the box. It turned out nice and is very sturdy. I think it may have been made in 73 based on some markings that I noticed while working on the box.

The Deutschland reference in my post title refers to the fact that the people that I bought the rack from were from Germany and were both very crabby and very inflexible with the garage sale pricing model. They had some records, but nothing even remotely decent, not Krautrock or James Last.

Quincy Punk Episode

I have not seen this since the reruns, 20 or so years back.

Klugman at his most classic as Quincy ME, looking for help in the punk scene to find a killer.

I remember writing about this in a zine 10 years or so ago, would love a dvd of the whole episode.

Tinnitus Cratedigger Mix

Finger licken', Chubb Rock.

Here is my first attempt at a funk and soul mix, it is called Tinnitus.

Here is the playlist:

01 Jimmy Castor Bunch Troglodyte (Cave Man) RCA 48-1029
02 Archie Bell & The Drells Tighten Up Atlantic 45-2478
03 Bobby Blue Bland Gotta Get To Know You Duke 447
04 Bob Seger & Last Heard Heavy Music I Cameo Parkway C-494
05 Dyke & The Blazers Funky Broadway Parts I&II Original Sound 64
06 George Semper Rhythm Committee It’s Your Thing Rama Rama 7799
07 James & Bobby Purity You Can’t Keep A Good Man Down Bell 660
08 James Brown Lowdown Popcorn King 45-6250
09 Funkadelic Music For My Mother Westbound 148
10 Jean Knight Mr. Big Stuff Stax STA-0088
11 Lavell Hardy Don’t Lose Your Groove Rojac 117
12 Jbs Gimme Some More People 602
13 R. Dean Taylor There’s A Ghost In My House Tamla 896 (Import)
14 Cliff Nobles & Co. Love Is All Right Phil LA of Soul 313
15 Ramrods Soultrain Rampage 1000
16 Aretha Franklin See Saw Atlantic 2574
17 Edwin Starr Stop The War Now Gordy 7104

The mix was made via collecting the 45s, none of which set me back more than $8 each, then tracking them on my Rega 3, and getting them into my MacBook and into GarageBand and then iTunes to burn to CDR.

If you would like a CDR copy, shoot me an email and we can set up a trade. In the meantime, I will work on getting a link for some flacs.