THE EVERLASTING FIRST: Quick Takes For M [music edition]

Continuing a look back at my first exposure to a number of rock 'n' roll acts and superheroes (or other denizens of print or periodical publication), some of which were passing fancies, and some of which I went on to kinda like. They say you never forget your first time; that may be true, but it's the subsequent visits--the second time, the fourth time, the twentieth time, the hundredth time--that define our relationships with the things we cherish. Ultimately, the first meeting is less important than what comes after that. But every love story still needs to begin with that first kiss.

MAD MONSTER PARTY



Mad Monster Party was a simply fabulous late '80s all-female SoCal group, a combo that included Gwynne Kahn and Bambi Conway, both of whom had previously been members of The Pandoras. The group will be the subject of a near-future edition of Love At First Spin, so I guess it's safe to say that I loved Mad Monster Party as soon as I heard 'em. But I never even heard of them until more than twenty years after the fact. In 2010, I decided I wanted to feature The Pandoras on an episode of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, and started research in hope of snagging an illicit digital file of the group's unreleased Come Inside album from somewhere within that vast series of tubes we call the internet. A now-defunct site called (I think) Forest Dweller or somesuch had Come Inside, as well as a bunch of other Pandoras-related goodies, and that's where I first learned of Mad Monster Party. The group's unreleased album from the late '80s floored me; as much I love The Pandoras, I immediately loved Mad Monster Party even more. Figuring what the hell, we featured Mad Monster Party on TIRnRR the week after we featured The Pandoras. Subsequent communications with Gwynne (aka Nipper Seaturtle) and the group's drummer Jody Ritacco secured permission for us to use Mad Monster Party's "Can't Stop Loving You" on our 2013 compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3, and that remains Mad Monster Party's only CD appearance to date. Happily, the group's all-too-brief recorded legacy is now available for legal download at CD Baby, and you'd best believe I bought that the week it was put up. This is amazing stuff, and it deserves a much wider audience.

THE MORELLS



Legendary rock writer Gary Sperrazza! told me about Springfield, Missouri's phenomenal pop combo The Morells on one of the many occasions I chatted with him in Buffalo in the '80s. Nonetheless, I didn't hear any of their music until much, much later, when their debut album Shake And Push was reissued on CD by the ESD label in the '90s. Even then, I didn't come to The Morells until after I'd fallen for The Skeletons, a related band that included The Morells' Lou Whitney and D. Clinton Thompson. I loved The Skeletons, so worship of The Morells came naturally. I interviewed Lou Whitney for Discoveries and/or Goldmine (long story) in 1997, and I reprised that piece (along with my 2014 obituary of Whitney) here.



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Our new compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 is now available from Kool Kat Musik! 29 tracks of irresistible rockin' pop, starring Pop Co-Op, Ray Paul, Circe Link & Christian Nesmith, Vegas With Randolph Featuring Lannie Flowers, The Slapbacks, P. Hux, Irene Peña, Michael Oliver & the Sacred Band Featuring Dave Merritt, The Rubinoos, Stepford Knives, The Grip Weeds, Popdudes, Ronnie Dark, The Flashcubes,Chris von Sneidern, The Bottle Kids, 1.4.5., The Smithereens, Paul Collins' Beat, The Hit Squad, The Rulers, The Legal Matters, Maura & the Bright Lights, Lisa Mychols, and Mr. Encrypto & the Cyphers. You gotta have it, so order it here.