10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. The lists are usually dominated by songs played on the previous Sunday night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single.
This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1202. This show is available as a podcast.
THE OHMS: License To Kill
Much of this week's show was offered as a tribute to the late Ducky Carlisle. Before his GRAMMYs and his well-earned acclaim as a music producer and engineer, fans here in Syracuse first knew Ducky as a drummer. That started for us in the late '70s, when Ducky was in the Ohms.
The Ohms were a great, GREAT group, an invincible rock 'n' roll trio fronted by guitarist/singer/songwriter Zenny Caucasian with Rick Suburban on bass (later replaced by Keith Korvair) and the Duckster hisself poundin' them Pagan skins. I curse the cruel timing that only allowed me to witness 'em in person once--ONCE!!--but I know most folks didn't even get a chance to do that much. I wish we'd all seen the Ohms multiple times over a span of years, of decades...but that ain't what happened. Like Del Paxton told us: You can't keep a band together. The Ohms were no exception.
The group's 1979 single "Teenage Alcoholic"/"Chain Letter" remains the only Ohms music to ever see release, and those two tracks have been out of print since the Carter Administration. They recorded more fantastic stuff--"Hollywood Baby," "Boppin' At The USO," "High-Top Sneakers," "You're So Surreal," and my favorite, "License To Kill"--but none of it has ever seen legit release. This looks like a job for Kool Kat Musik, Big Stir, Propeller, Futureman, Jem Records...somebody!
This week, we played both sides of that 45 from 1979. And we opened the show with the unreleased "License To Kill." We raised a glass, and we raised a fist. Gotta keep movin' you can't sit still. Here's to ya, Ducky.
1.4.5.: Let's Groove
NEW MATH: Die Trying
Over to our west in Rochester, commencing in the same approximate time frame as the Syracuse Bright Lights scene that gave us the Ohms, the Flashcubes, and 1.4.5., there was another fabulous combo called New Math. New Math survived into the '80s, and I was able to see them a few times, in Syracuse (at the Firebarn), in Brockport (in the ballroom on my former college campus), and in Rochester (at the legendary Scorgie's). New Math eventually morphed into the Jet Black Berries, but that's another thread for another day.
Back to New Math. This year saw the long overdue release of a New Math CD anthology, Die Trying & Other Hot Sounds (1979-1983), courtesy of Propeller Sound Recordings. A current version of New Math has been playing a handful of shows, culminating in a farewell show this Saturday, October 14th, at Abilene Bar and Lounge in Rochester. Billed as The Final Nail In The Coffin Show!, New Math's sayonara show also includes the Presstones (who played with New Math [and the Cliches] on that Brockport bill I just mentioned) and the mighty 1.4.5. (who played the release party for my Ramones book, and whom I've seen a ton of times--but never enough times).
I'm goin' to this show. If not, man, I'll at least die trying.
(I'm also looking to catch 1.4.5. again in Syracuse near the end of this month. On October 27th, Syracuse's home for rock 'n' roll The Lost Horizon will welcome the Grip Weeds for their first-ever Syracuse show, with 1.4.5., Preacher, and Keene Highland Airforce. Be there or be missing.)
MICHAEL OLIVER AND THE SACRED BAND FEATURING DAVE MERRITT: You Won't Do
Ducky Carlisle had significant impact on our own 2017 compilation This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4. Ducky played on the magnificent 1.4.5. track "Your Own World," which went on to be TIRnRR's single most-played track in 2017 (in memory of its late lead singer Norm Mattice). Ducky also applied the considerable magic of his considerable studio mojo to clean up the four-track demo of the Flashcubes' "No Promise." All Ducky, all of the time!
And Ducky likewise lent his above-cited magical mojo to "You Won't Do," a track by Michael Oliver and the Sacred Band featuring Dave Merritt. In the extended supplemental liner notes for this compilation, I recalled contacting Michael to secure his contribution:
"[Michael] replied that yeah, he did have a couple of tracks he was working on, and he could get us something within a few weeks.
"He sent us a song the next day.
"He sent us a song the next day, and it was produced by Ducky Carlisle.
"Lemme give you a baseball analogy: I felt like a major league pitcher, with a batting average of .006, stepping to the plate in the bottom of the ninth and hitting a grand slam. Rounding third he was headin' for home, he was a brown-eyed handsome man.
"Ducky Carlisle is The Mark Of Quality to us, from his days as drummer for local heroes the Ohms, through his sterling work as producer and occasional deputy member of the Flashcubes, and his ongoing mastery of studio wizardry on roughly a gazillion fine pop albums. This song came with a pedigree! An unexpected pedigree, even.
"But Ducky's participation wasn't the best part. My jaw dropped the first time I listened to this new song called 'You Won't Do.' Oh. My. God! As great as Michael's previous work had been, 'You Won't Do' reached a whole new level of sheer pop transcendence. This was a hit single. If no else ever heard it, it would be a crime, but it would still sound like a big hit single. I contacted Dana and Kool Kat Musik's Ray Gianchetti and effectively said, Fellas, we just received a track that single-handedly justifies the existence of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4.
"I was not exaggerating. I meant every syllable, and I still do."
THE FLASHCUBES: All Over The World
The Flashcubes will always, always be one of my all-time favorite groups. Beatles, Ramones, Flashcubes. Paul Armstrong, drummer Tommy Allen, bassist Gary Frenay, and guitarist Arty Lenin. The original 'Cubes splintered in 1979, and finally retired the Cubic billing in 1980. Other than maybe some reunion gigs, there was no reason to believe they would ever be the Flashcubes again.
That began to change in the early '90s. The reunion shows became more fully-realized, and there was talk of new Flashcubes recordings. Talk was followed by action. At some point, we stopped calling it a reunion. The Flashcubes were back. Their current Big Stir Records release Pop Masters is my album of the year for 2023. I can call that race early. Nothing else is gonna compete.
Tommy was unavailable to participate in some of the Flashcubes' live shows, so Ducky stepped in on more than a few occasions. Ducky's studio prowess was, of course, directly employed for many/most of the new 'Cubes recordings as well.
And for the Flashcubes' first couple of new tracks--covers of the Paul Collins Beat's "All Over The World" and the Raspberries' "Don't Want To Say Goodbye"--logistics prevented Tommy from providin' prerequisite Cubic pounding. Oh, DUCKY...! The esteemed Mr. Carlisle kept the beat in Tommy's stead. Deputy Flashcube to the rescue. The Flashcubes' studio resurgence was on its way, with Tommy in his proper percussive place from "It's You Tonight" on.
JOAN JETT: Bad Reputation
The Greatest Record Ever Made!
Congratulations, Meghan and Austin!
THE MOST: Take A Chance
In 1979, when the Ohms were still together, Ducky and Zenny joined forces with the one 'n' only PA to record a single backing Dian Zain. That single, "Take A Chance"/"Do The Jumping Jack," was originally to be credited to Dian as a solo artist, amended to her new group the Most by the time of its release.
There were three distinct live versions of the Most, all fronted by Dian and Paul. Their first edition of the Most included current 1.4.5.-ers Tommy O'Riley and Judd Williams, plus guitarist Derek Knott. When Tommy, Judd, and Derek opted to move on, the Ohms themselves--Ducky, Zenny, and Keith--completed an interim Most, performing an opening set as the Ohms and then joining Dian and PA as the Most. The final versions of the Most found Dian and Paul playing with Dave Anderson and drummer Dick Hummer; when Hummer split to become Machine + Hummer, Ducky returned to the drum kit for the last days of the Most. Then Dian left, and Paul, Dave, and Duck began groovin' as 1.4.5.
The Most recorded some cool demos, which remain unreleased. They contributed a track ("Rockerfeller") to a compilation called From The City That Brought You...Absolutely Nothing. Otherwise? The Most left us just this one 45. Dian, Paul, Zenny, and Ducky. "Take A Chance" opens with PA asking that musical question:
HEY! Ya goin' to the dance tonight?
And Dian immediately provides the only acceptable answer:
Yeah! What else is there?
What else? Indeed. What else?
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| Screen capture from a video taken by Dana Bonn |
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Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/
If it's true that one book leads to another, my next book will be The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Stay tuned. Your turn is coming.
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. Recent shows are archived at Westcott Radio. You can read about our history here.
