DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS
My Fellow Americans, Life is actually just a microscopic, deluded moment in time, so let's cut to the freakin' chase. One look at our impending election debacle can solidify my case. It has been my contention since birth, that the answer to every difficulty we encounter on this sacred yet demented Stone, can be revealed with ultimate clarity through the ultra neurotic engagements of Music, Art, Literature, Film, Poetry and a good Pastrami sandwich. Why would any sane human spend so must time on a film set (Do you know how long you gotta wait until your 8 second deliverance of an edited beyond repair line gets a chance to become a professional embarrassment etched in time forever? ) or expend so much energy in a recording studio, piecing together another ode to a man or woman who could not care less how much love existed within your digestive tract? It's all about hymns and prayers and a quest for mercy and forgiveness and silence and faith. We were blessed with Charles Bukowski, Gene Chandler, Lenny Bruce, Mitch Ryder and a legion of creative explorers whose influences provided the air we breathe. So Let's Dance! This site shall explore the reaper, find a way to disarm the stench of injustice, discover some true loves and talk it all over before it's all over. So what's the worst that our desires could produce? Failure? So sue me. I'm going to require your assistance in making as much trouble for the grown-ups as possible. Let the record show that my childish heart yearns to disrupt the madness. Join me Ladies and Germs!
With Gratitude For Gena Rowlands, Nancy Sinatra, Jerry Quarry, Leo Gorcey, Arthur Alexander and Joey Heatherton, Your Splendid Bohemian, Rich Buckland.
DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS
THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS PRESENT "DOUBLE TROUBLE." MYSTERIOUS, SWINGIN’ RHYTHMS CONJURED BY BENNY GOODMAN AND LITTLE JOEY AND THE FLIPS, DOUBLE DOWN!!
What is it about a swing rhythm that sets hearts a flutter? It’s a universal truth. It may have started as an African secret formula, but it was co-opted and catapulted into white western culture by some hip caucasian standard bearers.
Here we’ll examine the psycho-physical connection through two seemingly unrelated musical delicacies: one by the undisputed titan of respectable jazz, and the other by a racially mixed group of Philadelphia teens who barely made it out before the doo-wop death spiral. Bongo Stomp, from 1962, by Little Joey and the Flips, doesn’t even feature real bongos (the drummer Jeff Leonard is simulating the jungle signature on his toms). But, it definitely swings. The other showcases legendary stickman, Gene Krupa, who showed the world his undeniable big swinging dick energy.
BENNY GOODMAN
1938 was ground zero, the big bang, the crossroads of Jazz and its soon to be birthed step-child, Rock n Roll. Benny Goodman and his band played Carnegie Hall and made history. First as a cultural event, and later, when the live recording was released in 1950 as a double album which sold over a million copies.
Bei Mir Bist Du Schöen is a defiantly wonderful conglomeration of Yiddish lyrics delivered by Martha Tilton- (remember, simultaneously, Hitler was ramping up his power in Europe) - and, an irresistible swing rhythm smoothly rendered - which breaks into a kind of super charged klezmer section. It must have been startling in 1938, and it hasn’t lost its power to captivate almost 100 years later.
LITTLE JOEY AND THE FLIPS
By 1962, Doo-Wop was about to be consigned to the dust bin of History, along with the crooners that had dominated the previous decade. The British Invasion was about to begin, which would turn the record business on its head.
But, just prior to that cataclysm, Joseph Hall and his 4 Pendleton wearing compadres arrive, dip dip dipping their striped hearts out, and they release this anomaly on Joy Records, which makes it to 33 on the charts. This was followed by only a couple more tries… then, oblivion.
Maybe it was that swinging “bongo” break that lifted the Frankie Lymon-esque knock-off to its catchy heights?
