What Was Once New is Now Old
7/07/07:
You
guys are great. Thanks for all the reminders that I have not updated my site.
It’s true. For a while, I was updating the myspace page, and even that lost its
appeal. Now I’m pretty much against myspace, it champions all the things about
the modern world that turn me off. Everyone is a star? No. hell, I’m not even a
star. So, while I will keep the myspace page up, I’m not loggin in much anymore.
One less thing to do. And kudos to that.
Rehearsing
for shows. Pete Straus, Khoi-San, Michael the drummer, we’re doing a gig with John Wesley Harding,
backing him up for his set as well as our rock set. Nice. I will enjoy cranking
up my guitar in the foggy SF summertime, even if we go on at 7:30pm. Then I
head down in my “new” van to LA for a show with JWH. (Here’s what happened to the old van) and then David
Bash’s IPO (yes, he’s added his name to the event finally, and I think it’s
a good idea) is in LA after that. I play on the 31st of July. So
that’s two trips to southern California in one month. Then IPO comes to San
Francisco, we play august 22. That’s getting ahead of myself, at least for me.
I could barely tell you what I’m doing tomorrow night.
2/15/07:
Holy
smokes, this is the least updated website since everyone started using myspace.
Is that true? READ ON.
Spring
brings new shows. I will play the Make-Out Room in SF with the band, on four
Mondays in March and April. See their schedule. No! wait, see my schedule.
Come
find me on myspace http://www.myspace.com/cvsmusic Nice people on there, millions of them,
and frankly, none of them are my friends. It’s like talk radio with pictures
and all the interference. Another thought- all those “customized” myspace
pages- who came up with that stuff?
It’s the worst looking bit of design I’ve ever seen online! Grown men
acting like 14 year-old girls, I swear.
And
yes, I’m working on a new album. Don’t hold your breath, these things take
time, especially when you have to reinvent the song.
3/30/06:
Electronic
Musician has featured me (on my bicycle) in my tiny music space in San
Francisco. It’s their April ’06 issue. While I never spend the night here, I
could if I wanted to whip out the aerobed. And as for the technical how-to
tips, don’t worry- if you use the same mics and whatnot, you will sound like you,
not me. Buying a box that the Rolling Stones used will not make you sound like
them. But still, I listed all my gear, even the stuff I got from Radio Shack.
Spring
brings new shows. I will play the Make-Out Room in SF with the band, on three
Mondays in May. See their schedule. And
maybe I’ll do my own sound!
Come
find me on myspace http://www.myspace.com/cvsmusic
Burnside
Distribution is handling my latest release, California Redemption Value, out in
stores on May 9. Until then,the CRV CD
is at Mod Lang, Amoeba (SF and
Berkeley); online distributors NotLame,
KoolKat; and always on
my merch page. Thanks!
3/1/06:
Do
I start a blog, or just keep updating this page? Since this website is designed
with the technology of 1994, I will just post these hellos and do the blogs
later.
I
will say that there is now a CVS myspace page, something for the kiddies! http://www.myspace.com/cvsmusic
You’ll find some new music there, including a rotating unreleased track from
the archives, or a fresh new one for fun.
10/1/05:
Hi
everybody, especially my pals across the USA that I’ve been hanging with. Thanks to my friends on the audities
list who have defended my honor, which indeed remains intact.
The
shows have been great.
7/25/05:
Tuesday,
July 26, 2005: appearing live on
the 9:00-12:00 slot on KZSU, on the Stanford campus. I’ll be playing songs in the studio, as well as some tracks
off my new CD.
You can tune in on the web at http://www.kzsu.org,
and they even have a live webcam if you wanted to watch. It’s like getting
married in Las Vegas, but without Elvis.
2/4/05:
The
documentary film that Team McNamara is making is still in production, piling up
more info and filming every aspect of my public and private life.
Cover
art for California Redemption Value is going to be done next week. Expect the CD in March or April.
12/13/04:
End
of year heading our way. My new CD is going to be available in the new year.
Also,
another London Payne will come out next year. I started on it, but got distracted
with the stuff I was supposed to really be doing.
9/30/04:
True
yes that my CD is done. But really it’s not, since there isn’t a cover quite
yet. The finishing-up details are the most difficult. Bear with me.
I’ve
recorded a version of “Drive” by The Cars, for a tribute CD to be released on
Not Lame Records this fall. Here is more info about the Cars Tribute.
My
journey to Syracuse was action-packed and 99% fun. We visited the State Fair,
took in recreational summer activities; generally ate badly and got zero
exercise. I enjoyed a reunion of The Bored Teenagers at Gatherings in Phoenix, NY. Our
drummer, Mike Carter, admitted he hadn’t played drums since he left the group
in 1981, so we got Dave Eldridge of Flatface and the Shemp-Dells to fill in. We played “Gloria,” and “I Can Only
Give You Everything,” which everyone thought was a Beck cover.
7/24/04:
I
went crazy and finished my record, thank god. Just happened last week suddenly. I like it that way. Two
years in the thinking.
There is a movie being made about
me. Okay, just imagine I’m someone
important, and that I do something interesting enough to make a documentary
film about. That’s what I’m struggling with, trying to just relax and stop being
self-conscious about it. I would even be alright with being self-conscious, but
I don’t think it looks good on screen.
Asking, “Who, me?” every time they ask a question might get old too.
When
the crew goes to Phoenix, NY and finds out about “the underwear incident” and
how I lived in a tent in the yard in 1978, the story will get rich. Hopefully
they’ll interview the math teacher that became a bible-beating beat cop, and
the driving teacher that became a county judge.
6/03/04:
Hello.
Everything is better, new, and changed. The Wild Horse will be released this
year on Wizzard-in-Vinyl (as I’ve told you a thousand times before) and I will
hopefully finish a new CD this summer. It’s mostly done, I swear.
We’re
playing some shows, and it’s a new
band, for the most part.
3/25/04:
The
2-cutes are here! The new packaging, full-color and professionally duplicated,
has lyrics and a disc in beautiful bedroom colors. See it here.
It’s for immediate sale on the merch
page, as well as through our friends at NotLame.
Also,
the long-awaited “best of” compilation is available, and it’s called Headful Of Words, The Best Of CvS Volume One.
The comp has 17 songs, with unreleased tracks and a new song, all re-mastered
from the original sources. Extensive liner notes by CvS and plenty of old and
new photos. I know you all have my
records already, but it’s a definitive introduction to the first seven years of
my music. Give it as a gift to that friend who borrowed Sight & Sound
then never returned it.
Wood
+ Wire and Go!
were unearthed from the tombs at Mod Lang this week, so I can offer those on
the merchandise page as well. Get ‘em while I’m allowed to have them! Online
distributors can get copies of these “not-so-hard-to-find” CDs from City Hall, or
directly from Mod Lang.
London
Payne’s The Gentle Dream is undergoing a musical overhaul; his unique
poetry will be set to music this spring. See it here first.
1/7/04:
Happy
New Year. Let it in. Many things on the docket for 2004, including Headful
Of Words, The Best Of CvS Volume One. That is due out on Innerstate Records
in March this year. The comp has 17 songs, with unreleased tracks and a new
song, all remastered from the original sources.
Also,
I’m finishing up a new disc of original songs, which I hope to have out the
first half of this year as well.
There are so many songs now that I could either do a double CD or
contribute tracks to ten different compilation records very soon.
London
Pain has a new book that will be published soon. I’ve started on the songs to
accompany his unique poetry.
There
is a compilation of CvS songs, in limited supply, on the merch page, titled Like
Me That Way.
NB: This is different from the Innerstate comp coming out this spring!
I’ve
moved the 2003 Spanish Diary to its
own page. I don’t know if I’m going to get back there, but it’s very possible
if I can find the time and concentrate.
12/17/03:
Big sale on now at the merchandise page! My
per-unit costs have gone down on several items, and I’m passing along the
savings to you. There is also a new compilation of CvS songs, in limited
supply, on the merch page, titled Like Me That Way.
I’ve
moved the 2003 Spanish Diary to its
own page. I don’t know if I’m going to get back there, but it’s very possible
if I can find the time and concentrate.
1/22/03:
The Wild Horse is done, it
exists somewhere in boxes, on a plane or a boat, heading from Spain. Think of
it like the song Daniel, but in reverse. It is officially “out” in Europe, as
of now, and you can get it from me, here, as soon as the box arrives at the
airport.
Now, in the meanwhiles, I’m adding
stuff to the basics I recorded in October and November. I have played these
songs at my two most recent shows,
and I think they’re working out. It figures that by the time the new record
comes out, I’m playing songs from the next one already.
NP: National Public Radio, mostly talking
about Tommy Roe vs. Wade Grubbs
Bob
Hanrahan’s most awesomest ever Chicago compilation
The End Of The Rainbow/The Great Valerio: Richard and Linda Thompson
Like I Love You: Justin Timberlake (for research only)
It Makes Me Ill: N’Sync (ditto)
12/08/02:
The Wild Horse
is done. More info here. Thanks to
Kelly Niland for getting the cover art done, and to John Greenham for mastering
the audio. It is set for release in Spain on Criminal Records on
Jan. 21, 2003. Soon everyone will be able get it here at the merchandise page,
at domestic prices.
The
Baypop festival was held last week in San Francisco, I played with the Pop Gem
Factory CVS backup band, and we did some classic gems, including songs from my
1st record. We shared the bill with three other bands. Someone,
please, remind me not to do that again on a Tuesday night.
The
next day Derek Ritchie, Rob Douglas, and I tracked 6 new songs to join the 11
we did last month. Now I really have a lot of work to do to finish them. Then I
discovered 3 other masters that have yet to be finished. So, now I’m
procrastinating by updating the web site and writing emails to loved ones. Then
I can rake the leaves, kill that mole that’s destroying the yard, and then
sweep the kitchen. Maybe do the neighbor’s laundry. Then the minute something
important comes up, like helping friends or making money, and it conflicts with
today’s procrastinating, I’ll resent that such unimportant crap is ruining my
creative life.
Nov
21 I played at the Easy Street Records in West Seattle, one of Barbara
Mitchell’s 3rd Thursday events. It, as usual, was a good time, with
all the usual Seattle suspects present. I managed to somehow request my
slot, and by some retarded fate, went on last again. Oops!
10/22/02:
Hi.
I am working on more recordings in the Northwest Ordophon. I’m writing new
songs that were meant to be light-hearted pop tunes, and of course I screwed it
up, and I’m writing fairly unveiled emotional songs that may defy my tradition
of borderline bubblegum delivery of mysterious, self-loathing and hypercritical
songs.
The
Wild Horse, my next release, is going through some tailoring, being mastered
and having cover art made. I made
an acoustic record as well, and both are sitting in the queue awaiting their
debut. Of course now I’ve abandoned those records, and I’m off on the new
one. There are some sneak previews
of both of the aforementioned CDs on the mp3
page.
NP: Leonard Cohen: Songs From A Room
7/15/02:
It
really feels like summer, I just knew this year was going to offer something
better than the typical 59 degree foggy freezer of most years. Why did this happen?
Because I got out of San Francisco for some gigs. The week of July 8 has been
sunny and warm in Seattle. But before I bore you with the tedious weather
report, let me tell you about my Northwest trip.
I
don't usually take early morning flights out of SFO, preferring a 1:45PM flight
or something. I got a 7 AM plane to Seattle, which meant I was late in waking
at 4:45. I scrambled around, couldn't find my spectacles, I guess I'd slept on
top of them since they were now BENT and it's still dark outside. I was awake
for 30 seconds, then my phone rings wth an automated message telling me,
"Your van will arrive in...one...minutes."
I
got to the airport with no less than an hour to spare, but that didn't keep me
from cutting the entire line at check-in. Bring an odd-sized bag like a guitar
case with you, and you can cut the line. In fact, go ANYWHERE with a guitar
case and a decent haircut, and you can skip the line, plus one.
We
got up to the ferry landing later in the day. The weather was great, the boat
did not sink, and we arrived at a cookout. We swam in a large man-made swimming
hole. That area is near Canada, so at 52 degrees latitude north, it stays light
until nearly 10PM. I started to fade by midnight, I'd been up all day. I fell
asleep sitting up, while the others were inside the trailer partying and
drinking, playing loud music, pinball machines, jukeboxes, and a laser light
show.
Like
last year, I had to wake up early enough to get the sound system set up, the
flatbed truck in position, and then up and into the parade line. Since I
planned to only play solo this year, I didn't have to deal with extra equipment
like drums and amps. The sun started to beat down. Gary and I rode in the
parade, this year driving a '58 Volvo 444. Like the other cars crawling along
the parade route in the sun, we started to overheat, the needle pegged all the
way. We and the car were announced from the podium, and of course my name was
mispronounced. We got through the parade, and then the car stalled out. We
pushed it to a real estate parking lot, and headed for the stage, next to the
crafts bazaar.
I
set out to play 45 minutes, but played an hour and 10 before stopping. I was
supposed to go on at 3PM, but we didn't want to lose the crowd after the oompah
band finished, so I hit the stage at 2. That way the folks who missed me would
have to go to the Outlook Inn (named after the Outlook Express program) at 8PM.
That gig went well, then I got behind the wheel and ripped up the neighbor's
lawn.
The
traffic returning from all those July 4 festivities made for a missed boat
back, so I was late arriving for my Seattle gig. Our trusty promoter was
standing out on the sidewalk when we pulled up. I was opening for Ken and Jon
(acoustic posies) and a full room of...oh, about 75 people. I walked straight
from the car to the stage, started playing, didn't even bother to tune.
I
went to a recording studio with the best lighting EVER. It was rigged with the
DJ lights you see advertised in the Guitar Center mailers. Black lights lined the
perimeter. Plus, flashing spotlights, dazzling laser lights, and even a smoke
machine, which filled up the 10x12' room pretty quickly. We tracked a song by
Gary Bauder's Inkwell (I'm pressuring him to rename the band BLUEBEARD), he and
I played the instruments. It was a warm day, so our engineer Steve didn't wear
his lab coat. He looks great in it.
Gary
and I went to the Rendezvous, and suddenly Jon Brion walked in. We all chatted
and had some drinks, tried to say that I've been trying to get a gig with him
for about five years! Gary and Jon fell deep into a music discussion. We saw
Jon again at the sold-out Neil Finn show, he sat in on piano.
Seattle
got HOT that week. I was fading a bit from the heat. I played the Tractor Tavern
on Thursday, with Carla Torgerson, and Terry Lee Hale. I played 30 minutes,
most of which seemed like I was talking and making jokes. It worked alright,
since I needed to open the show and maybe loosen up the thin crowd. I did two
songs with Carla during her set.
Over
the weekend, I went to the Capitol Hill block party, and saw the all female
AC/DC tribute band, Hell's Belles. They're like the original band (at 7 and a
half on a scale of 11) with Tina Turner singing. I didn't stick around for
Mudhoney.
From
now on, I'm writing a set list, whether I use it or not. The 2nd Sunday Showbox
opener for Ken & Jon was reportedly a good CVS set, although it didn't feel
like it. I was drifting in and out of playing a show, part of the time working
out a comedy routine. Some of the wait staff and apparently, local journalist
Barbara Mitchell, were carrying some chairs through the only pathway in the
room, right next to the stage. I created, in the middle of "Don't Worry
Now," a conCHAIRto to accompany their task. If that didn't rile up the
crowd, my cover of Eric Clapton's "Tears In Heaven" did (insert moans
here). I guess Ms. Mitchell didn't like the attention. She'd been wanting to
throw a shoe all weekend, she told me, after nailing me in the back of the head
with her size 5 (3?) as I stood peacefully at the bar after my set.
I
closed with a dedication to Ken & Jon, a cover of the Big Star song
"Thirteen." So then at the end of their set, they called out a
dedication to me, and played the same song! Then they played a great rendition
of "Feel." It reminded of the days back in Syracuse, when all the
bands were covering "Slow Down" by Larry Williams. I'll leave Big
Star to the Posies- I'm moving on to Thin Lizzy and Gordon Lightfoot.
I
went over to the Sit & Spin to watch an unannounced Mudhoney set, which was
surely much better than the outdoor thing I'd missed. A lot of baseball caps in
the audience, T-shirts, Chuck Taylors. Mark Arm played a Hagstrom, the guitar I
had when I was in high school. It had the same thin reedy tone!
Then
I left. Thanks to Scott, Gary, Sean, Carla, and Babs (ouch!) for helping
everying come together in a fun way.
Once
again, I'll be performing at the IPOLA festival coming up
soon! My show date is Aug. 1. See the IPO schedule
The
responses to the new CVS
merch are mostly questions about why one would need a BBQ apron emblazoned
with my likeness. The truth is that they are NOT for barbequeing, but instead
are for cleaning up around the studio, taking out the trash, and making coffee
without fear of soiling oneself. Fellas, don't worry about looking like a lady,
aprons can be very BUTCH.
6/18/02:
Summer
is nearly here, another 2-3 days. I try to start out the season with some
sunbathing sessions. Those pesky tan lines are hard to even out, so I usually
seek out some private rooftop or tolerant beach to get the photons spread all
over. Forgive me if I don't include any pictures. We Americans are a prudish
bunch.
Last
week, I had Derek Ritchie in the studio for some recording. Is it the beginning
of a new Sportsmen CD? Could be, it depends on how much soul momentum we can
build up with the other Sportmen members. We also tracked some new cvs
originals.
The
following day, I got together with Flying Color/Map of WY drummer John Stuart
for another go at our improvisational recordings. I like to think of it as a
free form session to come up with some ideas. John says it's music for people
to smoke pot to. Maybe it will be the next GAP ad. Wade Grubbs sat in on bass,
I haven't seen him strap one on since 1995.
In
July I will be in Seattle for a handful of dates. See the live show listing for
details. Also, I have been invited to Orcas Island again, to participate in the
historical parade and bazaar. Not sure if I'll be able to get *into the parade*
again this year, but I will perform outdoors. Last year I put together a
marathon 5 set day for the Orcas Blues Band, but this year I'll likely play my
own songs by myself. Who knows what could come together later on the night of
July 6 at Vern's; I could get some new cats together and spontanaeously form
the Orcas Dixieland Band. Trombone was my first instrument.
Of
course, I'll be performing at the IPOLA festival later this
summer. My show date is Aug. 1. See the IPO schedule
I've
been told that a cvs mug
is very cute and "beats a cup of coffee for starting out the day."
5/25/02:
April
4-8 I participated in the International Pop Overthrow in Chicago, a/k/a the CHIPO festival. The
name "Chipo" didn't really catch on, but that's what I called it. I
guess nobody wanted to be associated with a cheap-o, maybe. The only thing
cheap at IPO was the Schlitz beer
in a can (for a buck) at the Beat
Kitchen shows.
April
6 I played a solo cvs set, including some new songs from Wild Horse. I
saw some other bands including Hutch, The Andersons, Michael Carpenter, all the
bands associated with Jeremy Morris, well, I saw everyone actually. My pal Tim
and I spent more on taxis than on beer, and that's saying something.
What's
new? Well, the new John
Wesley Harding album is finished. The problem is we don't know when
it will be released. Mammoth
maintains a website, but as far as I know, they are no more, and their new
releases are in limbo. So I have less on my calendar this Spring than I thought
I would!
Wild
Horse should be released in the USA and some of the cvs-friendly countries
abroad. Click here for a sample of two songs from the new cvs disc.
Currently,
I have been producing some acts, engineering some sessions at the studio, and
in June I'll set up a remote studio for some recording of new cvs songs.
Lastly,
I have put some new cvs
merchandise up on the web, through a company called CafePress.com. Have a look!
3/4/02:
Hello
again everyone. I've returned from a week in Tokyo, where I played two shows
and agreed to release The Wild Horse in Japan later this year (sample
songs click here). I've written a daily journal
of the Japan trip, compare that with the Spanish
tour diary.
Tomorrow
I leave San Francisco for the second leg of my sabbatical, this time going to
NYC, and upstate NY to catch up with friends and family. April 4-8 I will
attend the CHIPO festival.
12/19/01:
Hello.
The tour of Spain is
over, shame it seemed to go by so quickly. Spain is Spain, Espana Va Bien.
To
go with it, there is a new Spanish compilation CD, and I hope they find their
way to you wherever you are. We have copies of the imported CD, at nice domestic prices.
I
didn't find any email over there, but I did find plenty of coffee and fiesta.
I've written a brief (VERY LONG) tour diary outlining
my daily duties.
For
now, I am taking it easy for the holidays. For Christmas, I offer you a sample track, "Remember," (2.2MB
MP3 file) from the now-finished "Wild Horse" record. I
prematurely fulfilled my desire to work on music during the holidays, when
everyone's out of town. "Go!" was mixed on Christmas 1995.
Looking
forward to the new year. 2002: the year of rock.
11/7/01:
Hi.
I'm going to Spain next month, to accompany my new retrospective record out
there. It features songs from my first five CDs, and is titled "The Knight
of Lines and Proses." Criminal
Records has arranged a two week tour featuring a band. Apparently they're
rehearsing as you read this. I gave them chord charts.
Finally,
I'm trying to finish the new cvs record, titled "Wild Horse." I have
most of the tracks, and now I'm just putting the final touches on and mixing. I
promise it will be longer than everything else last year put together.
In
October, I went to Los Angeles to sing on John Wesley Harding's new album. We
spent longer than we expected, but as a result, got many layers of our voices
on the songs. I'm looking forward to hearing it, as I was not allowed into the
control room, and got to hear only the choruses where I sang. In fact, I never
actually saw Wes, he was in a different wing of the building (I think.)
Just
kidding. I did see Wes, and we celebrated his birthday. Then Sammy, Kirk Swan's
pit bull terrier, broke my skull with his snout one morning as I lay sleeping.
9/16/01:
Best
wishes to everyone. Of course, this week in September 2001 has been equally
frightening, confusing, and disillusioning for me and probably all of us in
America, if not much of the world. The unprecedented level of terrorism has
effectively scared everyone to a level not known since the A-bomb paranoia of
the 50s.
The
first day, after watching in horror the repeated images on television, I went
to the studio and mixed "Downtown," my cover of the Petula Clark hit.
Ironically, the lyrics suggest that the noise and hurries of the city seem to
help a worried person!
During
the 4th of July weekend, I ventured boldly to Orcas Island in Washington state
for another performance by the Orcas Blues Band. This group features Gary (of
Cinema Paradiso, the best local video store in Eastsound, WA); Joe, the
first-string drummer; Dan (Orcas cable guy) on bass, who I think is a dead
ringer for our current Prez when he speaks; Charlie (local island stud and sub
drummer who specializes in encores and star time moments, keep his sticks
visible in back pocket at all times); John, the sax player who swore a solemn blood
vow on a beer keg to not quit the band ever; and me, making up tunes and lyrics
while facing a patient, tolerant and adoring crowd of nip-sipping bar patrons.
That
day, July 7, I played nearly five hours of music we made up on the spot. Some
of it was good. Following the historical parade, we
got on the back of a flatbed truck (after waking up at 6 a.m. to drive it
into the park) and played two sets. First song featured a blown circuit, and I
had to run into the beer store to trip the breaker in order to continue. The
daytime show was a little stiff, but we got greased on beers and then hauled
the gear across the green to Vern's Bayside in preparation for the night show.
After a short nap and a demonstration of Gary's laser light apparatus and
paraphernalia, we went to the club, sheepishly preparing to unveil whatever it
was that was about to happen.
I
vamped. Gary screamed. Dan slacked. Charlie subbed (and soloed in a song named
after him). Joe watched my backside and followed with a steady hero beat. John,
the mature elder statesman, got down on his knees, blowing hard. He told me
later that last time he did that, some woman straddled his neck and wouldn't
get off, so he had to play the whole song that way, on the floor. My fave
moment was when John played an extended solo in the key of F while the rest of
us rocked on in E. He's now playing with Billy Idol.
The
best part is that I recorded all five hours of this, on a hidden ADAT machine,
without the band knowing. Gary just had to reveal it to Joe, but they kept it a
secret so Dan wouldn't get nervous and make mistakes. Back in SF, I mixed and
boiled that recorded mess down to about an hour of unbelievable blues
onslaught. I was truly possessed, or legally bombed on beer. Like the Live
Start Living CD, it's a high fidelity experience that just happens to be in a
bar. Should we make this available on the website? I think so.
I
played three Mondays in August at Bruno's in San Francisco. Every week I
planned a different show, unique songs, and as it worked out, different bass
players. Paul Collins came to SF, and we backed
him for a set of his material on Aug 20. The next week we had a reunion of The Sportsmen, playing all of the songs on
"Spirited." We'd only played as a group three times, and that was the
summer of 1999, before the record was released. Dave Gleason has improved so
much on the guitar that I didn't even bother playing mine. I wish we could do
more shows. Before the show, I did a photo session
with plenty of poses in the chic urban setting of Bruno's.
September
has me recording new material, experimenting with various styles. John Stuart
of Map of Wyoming and Flying color has
brought his drums to the studio, filling in after Derek Ritchie's sudden
departure from the CVS scene. John and I spent an entire day recording new
songs, and subsequently I've been toiling day and night on finishing the
tracks.
A
"Best of CVS" compilation is to be released in Spain this fall, on Criminal Records. It features songs
from my first five CDs, and is titled "The Knight of Lines and
Proses," a pun on an album title from a long time ago. I need to give
credit either to Henry
Mancini or Steve Wynn. The
"Knight" CD will be accompanied by a CVS tour of Spain in November.
John
Wesley Harding and I wrote a couple songs together that are slated to be
included on his new CD, which he's recording this fall. Like the "Confessions"
CD, I'll probably sing some backing vocals with Wes on some songs.
Wish
me luck in finishing my new record ,please!
7/5/01:
Well,
hello friends. Summer is here. I just got back from a cvs show in Minneapolis,
the midwestern wonder city where the people are so considerate and sweet that
cars there don't have horns installed. However, a waitress there did say, in
her Minnesota accent, that it's just a veneer, and if you get on their nerves,
"Minnesota Nice Ends Now."
Straight
off to Seattle and lovely Orcas Island, where I'll be in the Orcas Historical
Parade. Islander Gary Bauder and I will cruise the parade route in his
accessorized sports car. I would have settled for the back of a mule.
The
reason for the trip is because my new island experiment, The Orcas Blues Band,
is playing on a flatbed truck after the parade, and then later that night at
Vern's, where the O.B.B. tore it up a few months ago. Of course we don't have
any songs we could call by title, and I'm not sure of our drummer's name!
Oh,
and I sleuthed out the reason for the rising sales index. Evidently the London
Payne, 2 cute, and Live records got reviewed in Goldmine Magazine last month.
Right on!
The
ongoing new album recording is coming along, new tracks, overdubs, etc. Neko
Case came down for a couple days of singing with me, I might have put her on
every song.
6/14/01:
Hello
lovely people. Much appreciation from me in response to all the recent CD
orders though my website. Why the sudden interest, I wonder? Was it the gossip
column or the rumor mill or just the word on the street? Either way, it's got
me looking at getting the new CDs made in mass quantity.
I
suppose one reason for the recent boost could be that I've been playing shows
again. Not in my hometown of San Francisco, of course, but everywhere else I
can. Last week I was with John Wesley Harding again, this time in Chicago, Ann
Arbor, and Toronto. I opened some of the shows with the solo CVS show, which is
always massive fun for me on top of playing bass and singing with JWH.
On
the SF homefront, I've been in the studio. Every day is a new day at the
Ordophon, time for a new recording.
Drummer
Derek Ritchie said yesterday, "Where's the record, mate? Haven't we
recorded a thousand songs already, how many discs are in this new one?" I maintained
that it needs to be better than what we did before. This goes along with my
belief that most music made in recording studios is garbage, and recording the
songs is only the beginning. The hard part is deciding whether or not it's any
good!
On
that note, we've begun work on the Bigwheel CD again. Khoi-San, when not
traveling the globe, is in the Ordophon studio, finishing up the tracks we
started...a long time ago.
Along
with my daily CVS recording, I'm helping people with projects. A record by Earl
Zero (Reggae!), and the Iveys (Badfinger) demos CD.
I've
left the Saturn V Featuring Orbit. I'm looking forward to an exciting reunion
show, and the only way to do that is to leave first. Orbit helped in this,
actually, by firing me. Everyone remains friends.
Expect
a full band performance this summer at the IPO and Baypop festivals.
05/11/01:
The
day I was heading out on the 2nd John Wesley Harding USA tour, I squeezed in a
demo session for new CVS songs. Derek Ritchie, Tom Heyman, Rob Douglas, and
Famous Khoi-San came down for a few hours. We tracked two songs, barely
finishing, when the van showed up to take me away for several weeks of gigs.
The
JWH tour was pretty fun, we had some laughs and quite a few good gigs. Much of
the tour was playing shows with Blue Rodeo from Toronto. (Not Beat Rodeo from
the 80s) Also three dates with The Soft Boys. I'm playing the bass and singing
with this JWH band lineup.
After
we got back from the States dates, a London trip was planned, and the band went
to England for a week. We did some radio, an in-store performance, and a
celebratory gig at the Borderline.
On
that trip, the schedule was fairly relaxed, so we all had time to go do our own
things. I visited the Minus Zero/Stand Out! shop. Played a 12 Bar solo CVS gig,
thanks to all that came to that late-night affair. The power outage during my
set was not a "rolling blackout" as we have in California, but some
guy using the alarmed fire door to escape my show.
Then
some of us went down to Hastings, Wes's hometown, on the south coast of
England. It's a sweet and funky little town, a tourist stop by the seaside. The
buildings by the pier all from the 20s, falling apart somewhat. It all looks
much like the photo book inside The Who's Quadrophenia LP. In Old Town, the
places are older, like a few hundred years older, not falling apart as much. We
played a gig in the "First In, Last Out" pub on High St., which is of
course the narrowest street in town.
Back
home the next day to San Francisco, pockets full of coins that I can't
exchange. Straight back into recording, I've got the beginnings of a new CD,
but I'm not sure what it is. No, it won't be another concept record.
01/06/01:
The
audio tracks page is back, with mp3 files.
01/04/01:
My
lord it has been ages since I cleaned up this website, took out the old news,
changed "is" to "was" and made my commentary more serious,
since I've matured since I've started this site.
I
am home, back in SF after being away on various trips. New Year's Eve with the
Saturn V, Christmas in the desert of New Mexico, on tour with John Wesley
Harding in November and December. (JWH tour diary)
More
travel to come in this new year, starting with a trip mid-January to Seattle,
yes, another solo show at the Gordon Biersch Brewery.
The
Live Start Lifting CD is moving out the door,
thanks all who bought that this past autumn. I just discovered that the reason
tracks 7 and 8 were mislabeled was not a mistake in the printing, but rather,
the CD sequence had accidentally been altered. To quote London Pain, it is
"a laurel mystery prepared."
I
have compiled a CD of cover songs, titled, "Cover Songs Vol. 1." I
thought maybe I'd give the fans a break and not put out another CD just yet.
I've been recording more covers than anything else the past few months.
However, I miss the routine of a new release every month, so if there's enough
demand, perhaps I will make it available.
For
those who are wondering what is going on with the next "proper" CVS
record, here's the news: I'm starting now on picking through my latest material
and writing new songs for a 2001 release. I'm going to take my time, record a
full length CD of original songs, and even let other people play on it. I
figure it won't take very long since I have a title, a cover, and I've nearly
visualized the thing. The only real task is deciding the appropriate channels
to promote it in. Pete Straus once said that it seems
like I finish a record, mix it, sequence it, then go out in the backyard with a
shovel and bury it.
Speaking
of which, I spoke to Heyday Records the
other day, and I'll be acquiring the last of the Big White
Lies CDs once that contract runs out with them this year. At that point,
all of my back catalog will be out of print, so get your copies while you can!
10/26/00
Those
in the "CvS CD of the month club" will be happy to hear there is a
new offering- a cvs live record! Recorded primarily over the past year in San
Francisco, this full-fidelity live album is nearly an hour of the best captured
moments in CvS live shows.
The
Pacific Northwest was a treat for me. A week away with my pals in Seattle, and
of course, the lovely Orcas Island scene. On my night off on Orcas, I had the
sublime experience (again) of performing an unannounced show at Vern's, the
basement bar. This time I did a blues show, making up songs in every possible
groove I could come up with.
Next
week I leave on a US tour with John Wesley Harding. The dates, as they come,
will be updated at http://home.earthlink.net/~rslloyd/wes004.html and http://www.wesweb.net/
Also,
in the time I was home, I recorded a cover of "Something's Gotten Hold of
My Heart" for a Gene Pitney tribute CD on ToM'Lou Records. Expect to see
that released in 2001. (try 2002!)
"Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart" (MP3 file)
8/29/00
A
New Kind of Bar:
Now that both the London Payne and 2-cute
2-be 4-gotten CDs are done, I can look back at those few days work and
reflect. Obviously, I cannot and will not stop working. I got a call from
London Payne, (s)he's very interested in the project, which is exciting.
So,
now, what is the NEXT poetry concept record going to be? The best idea so far
is the creative missives of the incarcerated. Prison Poems! Taking music OUT of
the prison to the public. Kinda like Johnny Cash in reverse, this time, bring
Folsom Prison to the artist. Very 2000. Problem is, I don't wanna deal with
some prisoner looking for his songwriting royalities when he gets out.
"Why didn't you make me into a star, boy?" You know how long I'd last
in prison? Dis long!
I
need a liaison to contact the prisoners. I bet some of the teenage girl poets
keep a few prison pen pals? Intriguing. If I had THREE poem records finished,
I'd truly have a trilogy done, which would definitely hedge my bet with
Khoi-San about who could write a "better" trilogy, although it was
Khoi's bright idea to do this in the first place.
I
debuted some of the "2-cute" songs at the last Cafe Du Nord
"Hoot nite" (these hoot nights are great, do one before it's all
over) hosted by Bart and Eric. I discovered that it's easier making people
laugh than to get them to shut up. Besides, one can't really talk if laughing.
The first one i went to, I ran into Posies Jon and Ken who played acoustic,
plus saw some good locals performing.
Raising
the Bar:
Today I received a very good-looking copy
of the new "Comes With A Smile" fanzine/small format magazine from
the UK. A concentrated effort to say the least, the featured interviews in this
issue include Vic Chestnutt, Jon Auer, Joe Pernice, Jason Falkner, Cat Power,
and little ol' me-- Plus tons of reviews, since it comes out less often than a
Spin or Rolling Stone. From what I've read already it's impressive. Well done,
ironically in an 8" square format. Comes with a CD. I hope it gets the
distribution and readers it deserves. Cheers and congrats to Matt Dornan and
Co. of London. Also seen at www.cwas.co.uk
John Wesley Harding's new CD "The
Confessions of St. Ace" is out this week. He's taking a band out on a full
tour of the USA to promote the new record, and I'm the bass player for the
tour. Rehearsals start in September, and the shows are meant to begin in late
October.
8/9/00
The London Payne CD has raised a bit of curiosity in my fanbase, which is encouraging.
However, I haven't heard a word of feedback from anyone! Guess everyone's still
unpacking and catching up on sleep after the festivals.
My
next artistic venture is the "Teen Girl Poetry-to-Music" project,
which take the London Payne idea a step further into...well, into IT. I'm
collecting poems from either currently teenaged girls or grown up ones that
didn't throw out those old notebooks. Please submit anything you have that
you'd like me to consider for this CD. I'm making poems into songs, that's it.
I've found that the more embarrassing the poem, the easier it is for me to work
with. So far the submissions have been fairly devastating, and I'm inspired.
7/31/00
In preparation for the IPO festival in Los Angeles, CA, and the Baypop in the SF
Bay Area, I made a limited edition "London
Payne" CD that I finished just days ago. It's an exciting little ball
of sound that I made at the new Ordophon studio. I didn't realize I was making
it as I did, it just happened while I was worrying about what new songs to
make.
It's
basically a poetry book I found, that I put to music. The poems are often
nonsense, about nature, rife with misspellings and grammatical errors.
Something about it was equally pathetic and inviting. Once I started, I knew I
had to make a whole record out it. For one thing, the material made no sense
outside of itself, so making it bigger gave it meaning.
After
finishing "London Payne," I called the Sportsmen together for a
session. Teenage Rob has hung up his middleweight sportsman title so Dave
Gleason's buddy Mike Therieu of Mover and Loved Ones fame is doing the bass
now. Those two also work together in Dave's band, so they are a team. Mike uses
flatwound strings, on a Tele bass. We're recording together as a band in the
studio, all five of us crammed into the control room, mic'd up and playing our
parts live. The Joe South and Don Covay covers are working together well. Once
the sound and feel have been established, it should provide me with the inspiration
for the original songs to come, which I'll write bearing all this combination
of sound in mind. So far I have a promising new slow boogie tune called
"Ooh Mama Mama."
It's
damn important to experiment at this time.
In
other news, the Map of Wyoming record is done. It's been mixed. Now all that
needs to be done is get the cover done I guess, then hit the road for a couple
years while Dale writes the next one. Tom Heyman's CD, which I worked on as
well, will come out at the same time, along with Russ Tolman's latest, all on
Innerstate Records.
Khoi-San
has been slaving away in the Ordophon on his new Bigwheel record. I am proud to
say I've been allowed to play drums, bass, guitar, and sing. I even got to
shoot down a couple tunes. However, I was NOT allowed to play
wobbleboard...although it DID make it onto the London Payne CD.
6/7/2000
Whether
to make another record or to just work on everyone else's as a form of personal
expression was a question as I found myself involved in multiple album projects
this year. The more I work on other bands' CDs I learn more about how I want to
make my CVS records. Even the Sportsmen CD was an experiment to get outside
what I was doing with pop music.
But
now it's time to get into the task at hand, to begin work on the 5th CVS
record. I started tracking what I thought of as "demos" with Derek
Ritchie on the drums, and me overdubbing the rest. As usual to my past
experience, the demos were fine, good enough, or better than I'd expected. If I
make another version, then it might be better in some ways, yet maybe not as
good or as original sounding as the demo version.
Either
way, I've been working on these new recordings since I got back from the
Northwest back in April. I have a tendency to overdub a bunch of junk on the
tracks and knock out each tune, cookie-cutter style, so I'm trying to hold
back. Throw out the Mellotron sample disc and disallow any double tracking of
parts as well.
At
the same I'm figuring out my next CVS disc, I'm planning the return of the Sportsmen.
The whole band is on board, and I've chosen songs by Don Covay and Joe South as
principal material, and I have some CVS instrumentals set for inclusion. We
will track them mid-July with guest pianist Pete Sears. He's a member of Hot
Tuna, and I'm a fan of his work on the early Rod Stewart LPs. Khoi-San will be
learning a lot about the Hammond organ this summer.
-cvs
ps
I leave with a poem I found today on the bulletin board at a laundromat in S.F.
POEM - EC
I Write
I write poems of any style.
You just say it and I
write it.
You want love, hate. sick, well
good, bad. up and down. in
or out. Red or blue. white
any black or brown.
Whatever is on you mind.
well hell yes. or heavens no.
God know whats on your mind
You could look fine. and I
could make you mine.
But I write just to be read.
til the day I'm dead.
then comes my son.
I write. he writes. We write
fight!
The
Gene Clark tribute CD is out. It's on Not
Lame Records, available everywhere, but mostly through their website at www.notlame.com.
I
recorded a very 70s version of "From a Silver Phial". Thanks to Kurt Wolff
for recommending the tune, and to Derek Ritchie, Rob Douglas, and Tom Heyman
for playing on it. It was recorded at Story Road Studio, and the old Ordophon,
both defunct studios. May they both rest in pieces.
Hello.
I love you. May 13, 2000.
Our
last trip to the Pacific Northwest (April 5-14) was so action-packed that
neither Khoi-San nor I could write about it upon our return. In fairness, I
must write. The drive to Seattle, WA for the first show is 800 miles. We shared
the drive in Khoi's car, the Mighty Tercel.
In
Seattle we played the Gordon Biersch brewery, which is situated on the 4th
floor of some modern downtown mall. It had that smell of a new mall, probably
fresh tile grout and linoleum glue. I felt I was being watched by security
cameras the whole time. That on top of being filmed by khoi's new video camera,
i was very paranoid.
Then
the lovely Orcas Island, two days of kicking back relaxing, and a show at the
Living Room space. The second night, we went down to one of the few bars in
town and set up in the corner. I stood on top of the electric piano and sang
some songs, for drinks. We were inaudible but that's because it's called
unplugged. Our host Gary Bauder sang "House of the Rising Sun" and
some bar patron walked us through her version of "Sweet Jane."
Khoi
went for a walk, bird watching of course, one of his hobbies, and found a
couple of hippy boys living off the land. They were self-described quantum
chemists. They were slightly ripe (body odor) and definitely smoked a lot of
weed. I met them just as we were catching the ferry, to leave the island. They
laughed at everything I said, except when I was actually saying something
funny. Babylon was mentioned. I forgot most of what we talked about because
none of it made much sense. I would take them stargazing, or to the Burning Man
event in the desert.
Back
in Seattle, we played a "songwriters for the hell of it" showcase at
the Showbox. The night, named by J. Wesley Harding, was also hosted by him, and
featured him playing as well.
Khoi-san
and I drove to Portland, stopping in Olympia to look at the punk rockers and
find Vietnamese cuisine, another hobby of khoi's. On the way, we listened to
the Beach Boys' "Big Sur/Beaks of Eagles/California Saga" trilogy
several times, and decided that trilogies are the thing to do. Portland is
lovely, and the weather was fantastic. The show was literally out of this
world, as we made up several songs (including a trilogy) on the spot and no one
noticed any changes. Khoi drove back to San Francisco the next morning, and I
was left to wander the streets of Portland without a car.
The
next night I went to the Buffalo Gap in Portland, where Brian Berg does his
tuesday night hoot. He backed me on bass, and old S.F. pal Mike Coykendall from
Old Joe Clarks, who now lives in P'land came down, played drums. I made up
another trilogy I think. We played a few songs that we didn't know, it was
fantastic as one can imagine, but you had to be there.
I
had to return to Seattle for my second brewery gig. Thanks to Sean of Showbox
fame for making Seattle such a busy place. I had a lovely train ride there and
also a fever blister brewing, waiting to blossom the next day, when several
friends asked if I'd been beaten about the face since I looked so weird.
Ever
since we got back, I've been in the studio recording new things, which might be
demos, masters, new CD, I don't know what they are, but I'm making more. Khoi
and I have both completed and recorded our respective trilogies. I think most
trilogies should have rain and thunder in them, maybe a bird call or two.
-Chris
von Sneidern
The
Word "Creative" is Not a Noun
Last
month I was interviewed for the Wall Street Journal. Why? Because word around
town was that I'm an expert on the changes and feared demise of the SF music
scene. Apparently the dot.com invasion has made life in San Francisco difficult
for starving artists. Those hard-working youngsters who are building the
information super railroad are happy to pay twice as much as what most people
expect to shell out in monthly rent.
What
that has to do with music, I'm not sure. I guess if you don't work a regular
job and put all your money into your music (hobby) then you can't stay in town
where the rent is high. So the WSJ had this sort of "anti-dot.com"
angle on the story. Some local musicians, some who play in successful cover
bands, and some disgruntled (unsuccessful) original bands piped up how the
high-tech geeks don't support live music. In my interview I didn't jump on the
bandwagon, therefore my quotes and input weren't used in the article. Fair
enough.
I've
been evicted by speculators who bought my rental house with the sole intention
of making a killing in the current crazy real estate market. In order to stay
in SF, I moved from the gay riviera to male prositute skid row, paying the same
rent. It was probably the best thing that could have happened, got me out of a
rut. I don't blame nsm.com, or all the newly solvent guys writing all those
heartless reviews over at listen.com. Someone's got to do that work, have at
it!
If
80s night is a big hit instead of local band night, that just means that
different people are going out at night. That loose-fitting pants casual corner
crowd never went to my shows or anyone else's, for that matter.
When
London Feels Like Home, Not a House
I
had a very relaxing time in London, England the weekend of March 18. World
traveller Khoi-San tells the story. Me, I was waking up at 6 am there, then
crashing in the afternoon. Now I'm home, sleeping past noon, up until 4:30 am.
This is great! -cvs
and
now I give you my pocket piano pal...
Never
Mind The Gap, Here's The Ex-Sportsmen
What
can I say about London that's not already in a hundred Kinks songs? I'll give
it a go. The toast? Good. The Stilton Crumble? Bad. Chocolate bars from the
Underground vending machines? Good. Orange cat hair? Bad. Traditional cask ale?
Good. Bangers and mash? I have no idea, and I hope never to find out.
The
trip went smoothly except for several technical disasters involving the keyboard.
When we found no one willing to lend us one ahead of time, we decided to haul a
50 pound Peavey over there. Unfortunately the power transformer didn't exactly
work. The first night, at the Notting Hill Arts Club, a nice bloke from one of
the other bands on the bill lent me his Gem D70 (or something like that) which
is essentially a poor man's Casiotone. The pre-programmed drum beats made my
job much easier.
The
second night I had no keyboard at all so I mainly sat in the audience with the
Norwegians and heckled Chris. I got a few e-mails the next day from people who
watched the web cast wondering why I didn't show up on camera. Well, that's
why. Sorry about not playing the requests that were e-mailed to the 12 Bar Club
(that would be you, Goon) but we didn't get them until after the show.
Special
thanks to Kidget and Robin for the hospitality and to Bill and Matt from Minus
Zero Records for helping out with everything. If any of you are ever in London
on a Friday or Saturday, make sure to visit Minus Zero. They have everything
you could possibly want. It's on Blenheim Crescent across from the Travel Book
Store. Watch out for good looking Englishmen carrying orange juice.
Cheers,
Sir
Khoi-san of Battersea
As
an epilogue, here are the sad stories of 3 keyboard owners in London who
refused to loan me their wares. (these may or may not be true) One of them
broke her arm in a skiing accident that weekend, another found out she was
pregnant, and the 3rd was sent to prison. Let that be a lesson to you if I should
ever come to your town.
Hello,
CVS here. The question I'm asked most: "when are you playing" is
answered frequently now, that we're playing again with some frequency. See the gig page,
updated constantly.
The
Poptopia festival is coming...but not to San Francisco! The festival goes on in
Los Angeles and Portland. Unfortunately we'll have to wait for Paul Kopf's
"Baypop" festival later this year. Thanks to poptopia ex-patriate
Paul for his enthusiasm and hard work right to the very end, and I look forward
to what happens with his festival. Music is for everyone, but Rock 'n Roll is
hard work. Just ask anyone.
and
now, for this month's feature:
I
just got an email passed on with Khoi's triptych from our recent and first
venture together to the US Pacific Northwest. I thought it completely worthy of
inclusion, rather than some jaded post-tour drivel from my jaded rock 'n roll
mind that I was preparing to write. Well, this time, at least.
ThankYous
to Linda T, John Wesley Harding, Gary Bauder, Sean Haskins, and Barbara
Mitchell for their help in making the trip a success.
And now....KHOI-SAN!! ****************************************************************************
A
big Pacific Northwest grungy greeting to all. I've just returned from what I
believe to be the first ever combination dog show/ rock n' roll tour. I'll try
to get through this entire post without mentioning the unsavory weather.
Part
1: Half Sleepless in Foggy Tacoma.
Our
first gig was Thursday night at the Hopvine Pub on Capitol Hill. We were joined
onstage by John Wesley Harding for a few songs. Also in attendance was Scott
McCaughey of REM and Minus Five fame. The next day CvS went to the studio with
JWH to finish up his latest album and I went Seattle sightseeing with Linda T,
our manager/ den mother/ good friend/ and owner of Page, the champion blue
bitch. (yes, that's the proper term.) After a tour of the Pike Place Market
area, which is kind of like a Fisherman's Wharf with lots more fish, we went
coffee shop hopping starting with Coffee Messiah - a bizarre little
establishment decorated only with hundreds of paintings of Jesus in different
poses. Before we got to the next coffee shop we had already passed 3 other coffee
shops, defying all laws of physics.
That
night's gig was at the Showbox Theater opening for John Auer of the Posies. The
Showbox used to be something of a hip jazz hangout in the 30s and 40s I think.
It's a gigantic place with a capacity of around 1100. The main ballroom was
curtained off and we performed on the side stage to a crowd of about 150. We
decided to trash all of the previous arrangements that we had rehearsed and
make it up as we went along. I think it was one of our better shows.
Part
2: Don't Pay the Ferryman.
Saturday
was a night off and we spent it trying out several genres of the Seattle music
scene. The first stop was an afternoon all ages punk show, then onto a rustic
gay bar, followed by a disco dance party at the Showbox. This event actually
filled the place. We found it frighteningly dull, although one wall was turned
into a movie screen onto which were projected scenes from Star Wars
interspersed with a Japanese porno. After that we went to another punk show
which lasted us about 5 minutes or until CvS got beer dumped on him by the
singer, whichever came first.
The
Sunday gig was on Orcas Island - an hour and a half drive and another hour and
a half ferry boat ride. (CvS and Linda insisted that I was 17 so they could
save $1.25 on my ferry ticket.) The ferry ride was somewhat turbulent due to
the unsavory weather. (oops) To bide my time I drew a sketch of CvS in the nude
and proclaimed myself to be the king of the world. It turned out to be worth
our while. The people were the most gracious and appreciative audience we've
ever played for. Women were literally swooning and crying. Why they found
"All The Young Dudes" to be a tear jerker I'll never understand.
The
next day we did a bit of sightseeing on the Island with our host, Gary. I saw a
free flying Bald Eagle for the first time in my life and it couldn't have been
in a more beautiful setting. I imagine that the Island is probably some sort of
paradise in the summer. I couldn't help but yell out "de plane, de
plane" every time a little airplane went overhead. Gary also took us to
the Rosaria mansion which has a pipe organ from the early 1900s that takes up
an entire room. A big room. Normally no one is allowed into the room where the
actual keyboard is kept and the organ is triggered by a computer. I guess we
were considered to be celebrities of some sort because they let me in to play
it. The song I chose to play on the giant antique organ? Van Halen's
"Jump" of course.
Part
3: Aura Gone Trail.
We
made it into Portland late Monday night. Joanne Hodges, Poptopia organizer and
all around nice person graciously invited us to stay at her house. Our only
scheduled show in Portland was an instore at Music Millennium. By doing this
show we were entitled to a 30% employee discount so I took the opportunity to
pick up the 1999 re-release of the classic Run DMC album "Raising
Hell". The most amusing part of the instore for me was when some guy
handed CvS a copy of "Rugby Train" and asked him to autograph it.
Later
that night we were invited to sit in at Brian Berg's Tuesday night residency at
the Buffalo Gap. As is the tradition on the last night of the tour, we picked a
volunteer drummer from the audience and rocked out. We played right after a guy
whose claim to fame was writing "Private Eyes" for Hall and Oates.
By
the way, the press people managed to spell CvS's name wrong in every single
city. Orcas Island referred to him as Chris Sneidern, while in Portland he is
apparently known as C. Von Sneiderman.
I'll
have pictures up soon.
KHOI-SAN
Khoi and his group
Bigwheel at http://platinumboy.com/bigwheel/
In
case you hadn't noticed, we put the merchandise and gigs
page in the capable hands of Linda T. She's taking time out, a pause for the
cause, to learn some web-weaving. Thanks to that net-crazy Linda!
The
merchandise page is now linked to ccnow.com, who give us all the ability to use
a credit card to order cvs items direct. Amazon.com and cdnow.com weren't
getting orders out quickly enough, and frankly I was happy to cut out the
middle-man once again.
OK,
enough biz talk. So, how was Japan? Well, it was genius. Fantastic, great!
Khoi
and I went on a Japanese tour in September 99. Seven shows in four cities (if
you count the huge tokyo as only one) and a whole lot of socializing. We met
John Wesley Harding in Tokyo and played double bills at each gig. It had been a
while since we'd played together, but by the close of the tour we'd worked up a
bunch of songs to sing together, not to mention the late night karaoke duets...
Khoi,
my tireless piano companion, made fast friends in the land of rice and the
rising sun. His growng new fan base immediately dubbed him "Khoi-San"
which he changed to ALL CAPS when signing autographs. Sorry girls- he's taken! Visit Khoi-San's
website for photos from the tour...
I
was teased for drinking beer during the daytime hours, but I couldn't resist
when it was available at every turn in machines- the "bender
vendors."
Apart
from an enchanting trip to Kyoto to see the zen temples, we were kept busy with
travelling on trains, carrying bags, and having continual laughs since Wesley
is such a crackup. The ribbons of shame were worn by all at some point.
The
gigs were great, the food was the best, and I would go back tomorrow. Maki from
Lazy Cat put out the Sportsmen
CD, and her friend Tsukada from Bridge reissued "Wood + Wire" for
Japan. Together they organized the tour and did an excellent job. Read what the
Japanese fans had to say on the Lazy Cat BBS...
The
Left Bank label in Osaka is releasing a CVS single in
December. The A-side is "Unkind," recorded at the now-defunct
Brilliant Studio in S.F. The flip is the full length version of "Without A
Prayer."
In
the meantime, I'm boning up on my Japanese, in case we have to take the subway
on our own again!
The
3rd Thursday LA coffeehouse show was a real hoot. Here's one
person's report from the scene...
The
Sportsmen "Spirited" disc is now in stock and available through Miles
of Music, and Jeremy Morris.
The
Sportsmen CD, titled "Spirited" is out on Lazy Cat in Japan. The Lazy Cat link
has info about the Japan Tour (9/24-10/3) and the new album.
At
this time the disc is available in the US only as a Japanese Import.
October
plans include that aforementioned Sportsmen recording. The US version will differ
slightly from the Japanese release, with some new songs. Sportsmen gigs around
California are being booked, mostly around the Bay Area. Send an email to
cvs@big.net to sign up for the email notification list.
Two
MP3
sound files from Wood + Wire are ready for download on mp3.com. RealAudio
streaming lo-fi files are on there as well.
Sportsmen
gigs were a blast, thanks to all that came out early this week for the debut.
Next we're recording some new material for the USA version of the CD, and
preparing for the Ivy Room in Albany, CA on 8/14.
photos
from the event:
http://www.thesaturnv.com/sportsmen.html
the
sportsmen story
http://www.posthoc.com/cvsinterview.htm
the
local scoop
http://www.sfweekly.com/1999/current/riffraff1.html
Listen.com, a new mp3
directory website for (all?) mp3 files on the web has featured me as one of
their artists to check out. It links to my files available on audiohighway.com, and to mp3.com.
the
Sportsmen are coming to San Francisco the weekend of July 17!
See
the show calendar for the schedule. No excuse not to see us if you live
anywhere near S.F.
the
personnel lineup is:
Teenage
Rob on bass
Derek Ritchie on drums
Khoi on piano
Dave "shaggy" Gleason at guitar
and little CV wonder singing and the occasional acrobatic routine
photo
by Wade Grubbs
Are
we nuts? Yes.
Is it different? Very much
How much different? Not really actually, unless you have zero imagination, which
i doubt!
The
new album is done and is to be released 9/99 on Lazy Cat records of Tokyo,
Japan.
Hi,
it's been too long. All the emailers requesting lyrics and chords will be happy
to find chord charts now on this site. Ditched the
MP3 files for now.
I'm
putting my time and effort into more immediate things, like the new record.
New
record? It's titled CVSoul for lack of a better or more confusing title. Since
it is so different in some ways, I'm calling the band the Sportsmen.
Unlike many of the previous cvs records, the band plays on the record, and does
the live gigs. The record is essentially done, and the band will debut in S.F.
in June on my roof.
I've
promised to myself that I will eventually abandon the guitar for live shows, at
least for the Sportsmen gigs, as I'll be very busy. Jumping around, wearing my
cape, dancing, selling the song. Very sporty.
Also,
in the facelift of my career, I've challenged myself to sing in front of the
audience without the guitar, which is often a prop for a lead singer. You'd
think you wouldn't want to cover the goods in this business, but I guess it
also hides a beer gut.
I
found singing this way to be easier and sounds better for a variety of reasons,
mostly because I'm not distracted having to tend to the guitar. At the
beta-test show at Cafe Du Nord of this new format, I played a little bit of
guitar on solos but put it aside otherwise. One guy apparently said, "God,
I've never seen anyone more nervous on stage ever...he had to set his guitar
down mid-song because he was so rattled!" Sorry for the confusion sir.
Cafe du Nord liked the
cabaret-style thing we did there in February, so we'll be bringing the cvs/khoi
duo back there this fall for a weekly dinner show.
The
live record is still in the works, I have yet to weed through the hours of live
tapes in order to compile a decent volume. It shall be released.
I've
recorded a cvs version of Gene Clark's 1974 "From a Silver Phial" for
a tribute CD to be released on Not Lame Records later this year.
Lastly,
I'm going to tour Japan in September. Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, and Osaka. John
Wesley Harding and I are running for the champion title of the charming
singer/songwriters on neutral turf.
MP3 sound files have been added. More to come.
December's
shows were fun, successful, and showed off the new band, which everyone seemed
pleased with. Consensus is that it's my best band so far. The Los Angeles part
of the trip was a California vacation, visiting the beach zone. L.A. is a
pesthole, but there's nothing like driving and driving to get to a place where
you just drive some more. Visited the Guitar Center there. They have everything
there, except the little thing I went there to buy.
New
York and Philadelphia were fun shows, thanks to JW Harding. He's still a crack
up and he claims now to have been born again. What's next? I heard his new CD
that's coming out next month, and I really like the songs, which is a
backhanded compliment, since he didnt' write any of them, but what the hell.
The title? Trad Arr Jones. No, not Trader Joe's, silly! Traditional songs
arranged by Nic Jones.
Happy
New Year from CVS with a letter dispensing thought.
Looking
forward to the battle of the Poptopias (www.poptopia.com): SF and LA festivals running at the same
time. Why? I don't really know, it's a bad idea, but someone had to come up
with it. I'm participating in several ways, more info in the cvs show calendar.
Plans
for this new year include a cvs live album.
Updated
the show calendar. I'm playing some again! Perhaps coming to your town. And come
see the new band.
England
was fun.
I've been recording new weird songs which you may not ever hear.
Also writing normal songs for a proper record.
Curious? Read more in the 1998 Re-Cap.
This week I'm overdubbing intrume