A Fine Mess - David Baerwald & the New Folk Underground

A Fine Mess was a gift to fans of David Baerwald from the man himself - you had to order it though a fan website. Essentially, some of these songs were revised and released later as HERE COMES THE NEW FOLK UNDERGROUND on Lost Highway Records, while the original limited release goes for high amounts on auction sites.

HILLBILLY FRANKENSTEIN - Rawbone/Satan's Circus

Hillbilly Frankenstein was a band from the Athens, GA area whose heyday was in the early/mid-90's - I discovered their album, HYPNOTICA in a San Francisco record store, wondering what it could be from the cover art. The name 'Jeff Walls' jumped out - known as a member of Guadalcanal Diary (and producer, and now a member of The Woggles)... that alone made it a must buy for me.

HF is sort of the aural equivalent of the mental picture that the pairing of those two words brings to mind - a little bit of this, a little bit of that, mix it up and Dixie-Fry it all up in a Wall o' Sound.

Hypnotica is hard to find now - equally hard to find are the compilations that feature HF.





One of the last releases was a split 7" with The Woggles - Side A featuring "Saved" and "Buzz The Jerk", and Side B, featured here, with HF - "Rawbone" and "Satan's Circus".

GREAT DEAD BANDS - The Sarnos

Another San Francisco band that made a name for itself in the early 90's. The group's core was the trio of Sam Koritz, Dennis Blyth and Don Deaveau; when I first saw them at the Hotel Utah, that was augmented with additional members Liz Kennedy (vocals) and usually a couple of other instrumentalists.

That first lineup is reflected in a 6 song ep released by Heyday Records.



1) She's A Witch
2) Candy
3) So-Called Friends
4) You May Be Right
5) Criminal
6) Just A Ghost

Clever, almost snarky (if the word was in use then) pop songs, including a cover of the Billy Joel hit from GLASS HOUSES.


The next releases had the band stripped down to a trio, and a new label, Hairy Records.
They hadn't lost their sense of humor, as you can see from the song selection:



There was another single, Kiss Me Sunbeam/Sunflower, but I've not turned that one up as of yet, as well as songs on a Hairy Records compilation.

Singles, of course, led to a album release, the only 'full' album that I know of. It includes a couple of the singles songs, and another version of "Just A Ghost".



1) Kiss Me Sunbeam
2) Cigarette Girl
3) Idaho
4) Just A Ghost
5) Honey
6) Leopard Girl
7) Volcanoes
8) So Alive
9) Volcanoes (J.P. Dub version)

Sam Koritz maintains a blog and a MySpace page.

The (almost compleat) Sarnos

The iMPOSTERS

In 1999, while at SXSW, one of the many items of swag that I snagged in the week or so I was there was a 6 song promo cd - the label said Restricted Records, and the songs were gorgeous, righteous almost old-school pop.

I could not find a full release of that cd, nor any mention of the iMPOSTERS for a few years, until the early 00's and found them mentioned on several websites with a few mp3s. Of course, if you were in L.A., you would have known of, or at least heard of them.

Now with Facebook, MySpace and the death of the Music Industry As We Knew It, it's easier to find information... that amazing voice belongs to one Morty Coyle and The iMPOSTERS have morphed into another band, ALL DAY SUCKER, who have a cd out.

Some iMPOSTERS songs have made it to ALL DAY SUCKER's set list - you can hear some samples on their site and their MySpace page, and I highly recommend you purchase the album.

This includes the 6 song ep plus 3 additional songs.

01 Heavy Weather
02 Rub It In
03 Amsterdam
04 Payday
05 Die Together
06 Sound Sleep
07 Good Man Down
08 The Note
09 Rational Anthem

Virginia Dare

Not quite a dead band - they list themselves as being on 'hiatus'.

Comprised of Mary O'Neil, Brad Johnson and uberproducer Greg Freeman, the best way to describe their sound is 'tweaked country' - the band's history can be found here.

This CD comprises their first 2 10" ep's (Six Songs and Gone Again) and a single ("Shipwreck/Division St.") that was released on their own label, Nuf Sed - Brinkman Records (European label) gathered those together into one package - yet, hard to find unless you play the import game. They went on to do a full album, BABY GOT AWAY, on Absolutely Kosher Records, and a few tracks on some compilations. Very haunting stuff... you won't be able to get it out of your head once you hear it.

The first six songs (from the first ep) feature Tarnation vocalist/leader Paula Frazer on bass and vocals.

GREAT DEAD BANDS - Paddlefoot

If you go looking on Google or some other search engine for "Paddlefoot", you'll probably first find out that it was the name of a dog on the old "Clutch Cargo" cartoon; if you widen out the search for bands, you'll probably find at least 2 others with that name... but still, "no dice".

The Paddlefoot that's of concern with this posting, is a band, based in San Francisco for the bulk of the 1990s. Comprised of Lee Chae, Jason Kleinberg, Philip Hereso, Timothy McCrystle and Joel Murach, they were one of those musical hybrid bands that San Francisco seems to be able to allow to flourish - a bit of rock, some folk, country; all mashed up and given a uniquely American flavor of its own. They did a series of cassette releases, and released 2 cd's before packing it in 1998.



The First CD

from their defunct website:

On this CD, Paddlefoot moved back into the recording studio but tried to maintain the live approach that had been developed on the previous efforts. The result is crisp, clean production with live energy and interplay. Although 72 minutes long and a bit unwieldy at times, it is regarded by many Paddlefoot fans as the best recording effort to date. This group of songs marks the first time that Paddlefoot recorded with Greg Freeman at his Lowdown Studios and the last time that Paddlefoot recorded with Nancy Scharlau. Evident here is Jason's newfound love of traditional Irish and American fiddle tunes. This CD includes such Paddlefoot live-show standards as "The Murphy-Ryan Polkas" - a traditional Irish fiddle tune, "John Henry's Blues" - an original by Lee, "64 Corvair, Part 2" - an original by Joel that uses part of a traditional tune, and "Sound of the Fiddle" - an original by Jason. The trend toward guest appearances continues on this CD with contributions by The Beer 'n' Bach Orchestra and one of Paddlefoot's favorite bands, Ed's Redeeming Qualities -- including some great penny whistle playing by Jonah Winter.

engineered by Greg Freeman
and Nancy Sharlau (5, 16, 17)

recorded and mixed at Lowdown
Studios, SF in 3 quick weekends
in May 1996.

5, 16, and 17 recorded and mixed
in November 1995

special guest appearances by:

Beer -n- Bach Orchestra 1, 9, 11, 13, 17
Peter Altenberg
Wallace Harvey
Anne Mellinger
Ian Stoba
Cindy Wiggington

Ed's Redeeming Qualities 14
Carrie Bradley
Dan Leone
Jonah Winter 4, 14, 15

Penny Mapa - accordian breakdown 15

1. Pete and Jimmy
2. Whiskey Before Breakfast
3. Fishing Rod
4. The Murphy-Ryan Polkas
5. John Henry's Blues
6. '64 Corvair Part 2
7. Racoons like Moonshine, too
8. Shelf Life
9. Hey Chris
10. Rock and Roll Scene
11. Tiny House
12. Strum Along Slow
13. She's Moving Back Home
14. When I Was Nine
15. Kangaroo's Paw
16. sound of the fiddle
17. Amaxti Smiled
18. Yeah
19. Dashboard Waltz



The Last CD

from their defunct website:

The 14 songs on this CD were selected from 20 songs that were recorded in two sessions. All songs were recorded by Greg Freeman. The first session was recorded during the last days of Greg's Lowdown Studio (which was torn down to make way for the outfield bleachers of the new Giants stadium). These songs were recorded directly after the third and last tour and included such songs as "Just About Midnight," one of Lee's new songs that had been a favorite of the tour, "Neon Lights," an old song of Jason's that was new to Paddlefoot, and a new version of "Find Me," one of Tim's finest songs. The second session was recorded at Roof Brothers studio in Emeryville. During these sessions, spirits were low as the band struggled with darker new material and with general feelings of unhappiness and depression. Still, the recording has a richer tonal quality than the previous recordings and some of the new songs come across as well or better than anything Paddlefoot has recorded so far. Jason's instrumental "Let the Possums Play Possum," for example, is a musical journey that stands as a PFoot masterpiece. After this session, it slowly became clear that Paddlefoot had reached the end of its rope and that the band would split. As a result, a limited number of these CDs were pressed.


with special guests
Margaret Moore
Bruce Sherin
Brian Theriault
Corey Porter
Marissa Hereso

Beer & Bach Orchestra
Anne Mellinger
Cindy Wiggington
Elise Engelberg
Marc Franchitto
Ian Stoba

1. Neon Lights
2. Just about Midnight
3. Tank Hill
4. Let the Possums Play Possum
5. Find Me
6. Take a Picture
7. Billy Banjo
8. Most of the Time
9. Armenian Wedding
10. West Portal
11. Twist Away
12. Kern County Waltz
13. Distance
14. Sunshine on the Trees

To hear any of the tracks on these cd's, Joel Murach has a Paddlefoot page, where you can either download individual tracks, or the entire album.

If you like the music of Paddlefoot, you might also sample some of Murach's other work, which is available for download - either his solo work, or several albums of the band, 86.

San Francisco - A Music City Compilation 1998

Living in SF for 7 years (1989 -1996) was the biggest influence on my musical tastes, as far as rock/pop goes... this compilation released by Trocadero Records in 1999 (a European label). Featuring 30 bands and bookended with spoken word piece about the birth, life and death of a music band, it's a great introduction to the San Francisco scene... and a decade later, stands as a good snapshot of the music scene of the late 90's.

A good portion of these bands did release albums in Europe, since they were picked up by European labels, or did their own releases... a select few can be found on American (but defunct) labels.

CD 1

CD 2

The Buckets Reunion

Old-school Buckets (from L to R):
Long John Gonzales,Wanda Taters,
Jesse "Boots" Daniels, Earl Butter, Kid Coyote

I'd put The Buckets under 'Great Dead Bands' except that they haven't been completely dead - maybe comatose would be a better description. Every so often, leader 'Earl Butter' would emerge with a new lineup, and they'd play a show in the SF area.

In their heyday, they released one CD, several tapes and a couple of vinyl singles, and they played a lot of shows:

Emma June




The Curb




Bold Face Lie




Song of the True Divided Highway





There were rumors flying about that the summer of '08 might see some activity - well, the sleeper is getting ready to awake:

The Buckets
July, 17 2008 at Cafe Du Nord
2170 Market St., San Francisco, California 94114
Cost : $10.00

the Buckets Reunion/Alumni show....with all of your favorite Buckets past and present. And with just a little luck, we will have two cds....never released for you. the Great Auk, with Carrie, and Sister Exister with Dani round out the bill!

Those cds - one features songs from the older Buckets lineup and the other features brand new songs. Some cuts can be heard on their MySpace page, as well as more performance video.

Mark your calendars!

Great Dead Bands - The Sextants "I Don't Lie"

I Don't Lie ep (1992)

01 - Morrissey
02 - Read All About It
03 - Gunslinger
04 - Hungry Wolf
05 - Every Day
06 - Radio Boy
07 - I Heard A Train

After the release of their album LUCKY YOU on Imago Records (which can be easily found in used cd stores and cut out bins) and touring, this EP quietly slipped out... practically under the radar. The Sextants should have been more successful - for the reasons why that didn't happen, read an interview with member Brennan Hester.

Great Dead Bands - Granfaloon Bus

One of the great San Francisco (by way of San Diego) bands of the '90s, GB never fully got their due until relatively recently in the 00s, and even then it was too little, too late - their albums were on a European label and hard to find, unless you were in the Bay Area to catch their live shows, or to get it from the local record stores. They have an affinity with another Great Dead Band, Dieselhed - they both got lumped into the 'alt-country' genre, though it never really was a snug fit.

Comprised of Felix Costanza, Ajax Green, and Jeff Palmer - Steve Daubenspeck was around for the first couple of albums, and was replaced by Jeff Stevenson from GOOD FUNERAL WEATHER on to the end, the albums were produced by Bay Area uberproducer Greg Freeman.
Only one of their albums, EXPLODED VIEW, found a label in the States (and is readily available). Their last album, LUCKY CURTAINS, was released in Europe.

Rocket Noon (1996)

01 - We're So Happy
02 - The Witchdoctors Are Sulking
03 - Alexandra
04 - OK
05 - Daisy
06 - Wearin' Blue
07 - Queen Ann's Hill
08 - Satellite Frank
09 - Dearth
10 - Candy's Carousel
11 - God's Little Sequin
12 - Witchdoctor's Reprise


Sleeping Car (1997)

01 - Say Cheese
02 - Widow's Weeds
03 - Free Gold Halo
04 - 1/2 a Beer, 1/2 a Song
05 - The Burning Sun Within Me
06 - Remains
07 - The Mission Song
08 - A Few Less Things
09 - Miss Essmaker
10 - Waldo
11 - Twistin' The Doctor



Good Funeral Weather (1998)

01 - Seeded Clouds
02 - Believers
03 - Worldwar Lovesong (WW I)
04 - Potboiler
05 - Too Angry To Fly
06 - Some Kind of Other Love (WW II)
07 - Cold Morning
08 - Borders
09 - We're Sellin' Helen's Hearse
10 - A Bunch of Times
11 - I'm A Leaf
12 - Sound
13 - Oysterpirates

The Sleeper Awakes

No, Music-Snob isn't quite dead yet -- just sleeping!

It's been slow-going, doing lp burning, in-between the other things that have been going on in my life. And it's been a challenge, trying to offer up some things that aren't currently circulating - I think that the soundtrack blog fad has just about reached saturation.

This time around, I offer up a couple more rock/pop albums, and I throw a bone out to the soundtrack fans:




Well, this is a bit of a trick answer; it's BOTH. More from The Billy Nayer Show - the film is available on DVD and well worth checking out, but I think the soundtrack is more successful... the images in your head as you listen aren't subject to a budget.



The live/reunion album from Georgia's Guadalcanal Diary, who reformed briefly in the late 90's.




For the soundtrack guys, a helping of English composer Frank Cordell - suites from his scores for RING OF BRIGHT WATER and GOD TOLD ME TO.

RIGGS

Not much known about these guys... if you've seen HEAVY METAL:THE MOVIE, you know two of their songs "Radar Rider" and "Heartbeat" But you probably overlooked their one album that came out in '82...

Lend an ear

Big Jeter - Halloween 2001

If you check the (mim-uh-zeen) archive, you can find some background info about Kansas City's late, lamented Big Jeter - although the main members have gone on to other, better things (burlesque shows and movie-making and screening), there's something very sad about living in a Big-Jeter-less universe.

BJ has been described as a cowpunk/country outfit - not totally inaccurate, since they did start out by doing tweaked countryish songs - but it doesn't tell the whole story.

They had more in common with bands on both coasts that would do wild shit, and deliver great songs. In BJ, if the musicianship was sometimes a little shaky, they more than made up for it in the passion of performance and cleverness.

Case in point: not just ANY band would do a cover of THE GREEN SLIME Theme.

Big Jeter didn't really release much - there was a promo CD-R of 5 songs that used to be sold at shows, and some MP3's were on a site or two before the Napster Smackdown canned the First Wave of FileSharing. There are a few files on the Chucky Lou A/V Club Yahoo group, but it's just a taste. What exists is on bootleg recordings, both audio and video.


This is a compilation I did of the BJ songs I'd manage to scavenge over the years, which include that CD and MP3's.

But to get a sense of what they were like onstage, you'd have to listen to their Halloween show at The Hurricane in KC, MO in 2001.

Jumping into the File-Share pool

It's been quite some time since updating this particular corner... to be honest, I was a bit intimidated - I've written about music before, but no matter how talented your poetic gifts are, nothing quite puts it across like the genuine article.

Over the summer, I discovered the new crop of music blogs all over the place - and decided to wait until I had some access of posting some of my favorites, which will back up all the good things I have to say about them.

So I'm jumping into the pool, with the other lemmings... let's see how long we can swim before we go under.

I started this blog off with The Smarties post - if I had the ability then, I would have put up those songs which caught my attention. Craig does have some downloads of songs at the MySpace page, but I'll put up those 3 songs that were on that tape. According to him, that was a tape that was sent out to bookers for gigs - two of the songs are on the PLAY IT! album, but these versions are slightly different -- and one song hasn't been featured anywhere else, from what I gather.

So enjoy!

He Fixes Things

Day Off

Is Your Daddy Gonna Pay (For My Broken Heart)?


Addendum 10/27/06

Craig of The Smarties posted news that a limited quantity of PLAY IT! cd's were discovered and are now on sale at CD Baby; and that Smarties songs will soon be found on iTunes and other online music services.

Tribute to Brian Harvey and his family



Hello - finally some time to post some content!

Just recently signed up on YouTube, and one of the first things I found was this tribute - "Remember Me Well", the closer on the CAKEWALK album is used.

A fitting epitaph...

The Return of Dieselhed

For those lucky enough to be in San Francisco on May 21, there's a special treat in store, if you can get tickets. Windy Chien (former owner of Aquarius Records and acquaintance) writes about what made Dieselhed great.

If you haven't heard of them, look up their listing on All Music Guide... and try to find some samples on-line.

Return from Columbia / Play It -The Smarties

Back from filming in Columbia, Mo, where the following photo was taken in The Blue Note, one of Columbia's better clubs...



Since I started this whole music blog off about a mystery band that quickly turned out not to be such a mystery (now that technology has enabled any one of us to post about literally anything), it seems fitting that the Journey To The Smarties ends very happily... when Craig Bostick signed in and agreed to answer questions, it was far more than I ever expected - that still left that elusive CD to find (well, a cassette tape too, but I'm not that obsessive anymore).

Of course, after years of searching e-Bay, and finding nothing, I make one small post about a band no one I know has heard of, and people come out of the woodwork - no exception here. A couple of days after sending questions to Craig about the band, I make another random search on eBay and finally, hit paydirt. Someone in New Hampshire, of all places, has it up for auction at a reasonable price.



So, after 10 years after its release (1996) and several years of searching for more material, does the album hold up well & was it worth all the trouble searching for it? Being a fan of upbeat songs like those of The Go-Go's, Josie Cotton & The B-52's, I think that it holds up quite well, especially when in that company... it's one of the better 'summer' albums that I've found; with songs like "Sundazed", "Loved and Lost Her (In A Flying Saucer)", "Hero of the Beach", it'll get lots of play along with the Joe "King" Carrasco songs I've found. That it comes from a band in Southern MO instead of L.A. makes it even more wonderful - I'd be tempted to look for beach parties in the Springfield area after several listens.

It's hard to find... hell, it took me several years to even know there was a CD... but if you come across it, grab it! You can also find clips at The Smarties MySpace.com page, and if you do some hard searching on various Internet music sites, you may hit some paydirt.

"Remember Me Well" - R.I.P. Bryan Harvey

I just discovered this item, while surfing around today... very rarely am I shocked or surprised by current news items, but this shook me. Fortunately, it seems that they have found the perps, but MY GOD! Very much like IN COLD BLOOD, in terms of the circumstances and how they were found.

House of Freaks may have never broken big into the mainstream, but they always had a tight core of listeners. They were the precursor of bands like The White Stripes and their imitators, but HofF songs seemed to come out the heart of Harvey and percussionist Johnny Hott's experience in growing up in the South, and have a rawness that most of the current two person bands eschew... you didn't hear very many HofF songs on the radio, unfortunately.

I first got introduced to them via MTV, in the grand old days when it did play music, and used to feature bands not in the mainstream spotlight - performing 'Yellow Dog'. MTV used to feature their video "40 Years" from their first album, MONKEY ON A CHAIN GANG, and I went out to find that album.

I picked up all of their work - TANTILLA, the ep ALL MY FRIENDS, and thought that their major label release CAKEWALK (their best album with their best song, "Never") would put them over... that wasn't to be. There remained their last album, INVISIBLE JEWEL and splintering into becoming part of Gutterball, and session work with Cracker.

I was fortunate to see them in '89, after missing them touring with Midnight Oil, doing shows in support of ALL MY FRIENDS - it was a free show at the I-Beam (R.I.P.) in the Haight in S.F. It still remains the best live show I've seen, at least in my experience.

Rhino Records recently reissued their first two albums and ep with bonus tracks and CAKEWALK can usually be found in cut-out bins.

Smarties Interview! (with Craig Bostick)

Craig Bostick was very gracious in answering some questions I had about The Smarties... you can also hear his most recent musical work with the band Spoilsport.

First of all, how did you all meet and form The Smarties?

I had just moved back to Springfield after some time in LA and was
working with Jay Williamson (now in Big Smith). I must have made him a
tape or something because he told me that this girl he had met really
liked my music. It was probably stuff like Lone Justice, Los Lobos,
Lucinda Williams... I really can't remember exactly. Anyway, I had been
thinking about starting a band (even though I didn't know how to play
guitar) but I didn't know many people who shared my taste in music so I
was curious if this girl, Sheri, was interested in singing or playing
with me. As it turned out she had an amazing voice and the three of us
started The Smarties.

I got an old Fender Mustang and a friend showed me the basic chords.
Jay played the bongos (which we got at a flea market for seven dollars)
and Sheri sang lead on most of the songs and played the tambourine. Her
parents were both musicians and her mom had this great old tambourine.
Sheri played it for years until it finally fell apart. We'd sneak into
this parking garage after hours and on weekends to practice. Our first
show was in March of 1992 I think.

Jay quit at the end of 1993 and eventually we found Kristy. Jay's
cousin Mark was playing bass for us at that time and after he left in
the fall of 1994, Matt joined. That was the line up until the end:
Matt, Kristy, Sheri and me.

And how did you all decide on the sound -

Obviously we wanted a very pared down sound at first. I wanted the
guitar to sound very reverby and surfy. And we wanted lots of
harmonies. Besides that I think we just wanted to sound like what we
were listening to. We learned a lot of other people's songs at first.
Besides the bands I mentioned earlier we also were doing songs by The
Go-Go's, The B-52's, Josie Cotton, Bow Wow Wow. So I guess we were
going for a surfy/beach thing mixed in with country and other kinds of
rootsy music.

You mentioned that you were the principal
songwriter... did any of the others contribute songs?

I wrote most of our original songs. I started making up songs as soon
as we decided to start a band, before I even learned to play guitar. We
did a couple songs that Sheri wrote and they were included on "Play
It". (The song "Day Off" on the demo you found was Sheri's.) After Matt
and Kristy joined we did a couple of songs by each of them. We recorded
one of Matt's at our only post-"Play It" recording session.

Jay mentioned there was a tape, "Beach Blanket Bongo"
and the CD "Play It", from which you have some MP3's
up... can you talk a little about the making of those?

Jay's cousin Mark Bilyeu (also of Big Smith) took and interest in the
band and decided he wanted to record us. I don't think he had ever
really recorded anyone before and we had never done any recording
either. He had a friend with a small studio set up in his basement and
that's where we recorded that first cassette. We really had no idea
what we were doing. The guitars especially never sounded the way I
wanted them too but that recording has certain charms I suppose.

What was the general reaction to The Smarties in the
region and on tour - I assume that you guys did
probably tour...

We were pretty popular I'd say, especially in Springfield. We also
played quite a bit in St. Louis as well as Kansas City, Rolla,
Columbia, Joplin, and Fayetteville, Arkansas.

What led to the disbanding - was it a case of
conflicting musical desires, better opportunities, or
personal turmoil?

What is it they always say, "musical differences"? That's good enough
for me.

How well do you keep in touch with other members of
The Smarties?

I haven't talked to Matt and Sheri in years. I got a couple of emails
from Sheri after I moved to Boston but that was at least  6 years ago
or more. Kristy and I are still in contact. We email all the time.
She's living in LA and I see her whenever I take a trip out there.
She's been to Boston a couple of times too. We just met up in St. Louis
around Christmas when we were both home visiting our families.

I hear from Mark every now and then. I haven't heard from Jay in a
while. I was in his wedding right before I moved to Boston. Last I
heard he was teaching, playing in Big Smith, and had two kids. I
imagine he's pretty busy.

What led you to Boston and how is your life as a
graphic artist/illustrator and comix artist?

I was never a fan of Springfield and stayed around just because of the
band. After we broke up I moved to St. Louis for a year but I wanted to
live somewhere bigger. When a friend of mine decided to go to school in
Boston I decided to go along.

I love illustration and design and the flexibility of freelancing. For
me, it doesn't get any better than that. I've got lots of comics
related things going on right now. This spring I'll be part of an
exhibit at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco. I've also
contributed to several books that will be published a little later this
year.

I guess that's it for now. I hope you find this useful in some way.

It's kind of astonishing to find someone interested in The Smarties
after all this time. It's been about 9 years since the band broke up.
Time flies...

Validation!

Part of what spurred this offshoot has been an ongoing project that started late last year - after acquiring a CD burner, I decided to start burning the lp and cassette collections in the house (a smart decision since my cassette deck went flooey in the fall - fortunately, the turntable is still holding up). Part of the whole archiving process, although I ultimately wonder how futile it all is... with differing views on how long burned CD's and digital media will actually last, copyright law and rights issues guaranteeing that a substantial amount of media will not make the digital jump unless it's though 'grey' channels, and with knowledge of past technology dissapearing as soon as the Next New Thing arrives (face it, at some point, no one is going to know what a cassette player or a turntable was), one has to wonder what the is the point of holding on to something so arbitrary.

That has been answered somewhat by the comment left by some Smarties fan out there who came across the previous post, and who was gracious enough to leave a response (Thanks, Missy!).

The next best thing would be to have some band member crawl out from the woodwork -- well, that DID happen... Craig Bostick found the post and left an e-mail, with news that he's developing a page for The Smarties at myspace.com - it's in the beginning stages, but you'll find several Smarties cuts available on the page.

Go check it out - he's invited questions, so look for another Smarties posting here soon... or go ask him yourself.

Maybe some of the other Smarties will discover this and pitch in some info as well - one can only hope.

Currently in the midst of burning the last of the cassette collection, so that's why there's been no postings as of late... but look for a new update next week.