Tag Archives: Dan Stuart

Flashlite #545

Mi Nerve

Today we introduce some new bands: Ladrones come from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Model Zero comes from Memphis TN, The Viles from Chico, California and The Sweet Things from New York City. Also, Exit 114. That last band comes also from New York City and the drummer in the band is Bobo, son of Dan Stuart who we had a chance to see playing live in Cleveland with his father. Coming back, we have Mi Nerve from Zagreb who have a new EP and Perry Farrell (formerly of Jane’s Addiction and Porno for Pyros). But the real gem for this show is the new record for Guadalupe Plata from Spain, which shines with tribal drumming and voodoo atmosphere.

Big Star – My Life Is Right;
Ladrones – La Pichaera;
Guadalupe Plata РBarre̱o en llamas;
Dr. John – Danse Fambeaux;
Buffalo Springfield – Mr. Soul;
Model Zero – Mr. Soul;
Exit 114 – Hung;
Dan Stuart – 16 Ways (Live in CLE);
Dan Stuart – You Were The Flower;
Nude Beach – For A While;
Sad Planets – Refugee;
Luther Russell – The Sound of Rock & Roll;
The Dates – Star;
The Viles (Madd) – British Racing Green;
Mi Nerve – Opet;
Pridjevi – On je jesen;
Perry Farrell – (red, white, and blue) Cheerfulness;
The Sweet Things – Dead Or Worse;
The Embrooks – Human Living Vampire.

Flashlite #499

Amanda ShiresToday we start off with the new music from the Texan violin player Amanda Shires. Then we introduce the new blues singer Shemekia Copeland. A star studded line up helps her on the new record, including Steve Cropper, John Prine, Rhiannon Giddens and Emmylou Harris. Jon S. Williams from City of Cool has some new recordings that he sent to us, so we check that out too. Dan Stuart (ex Green On Red) is back with the new record and legendary songwriter and graphic novelist Peter Blegvad is also back with new music. Dot Dash from Washington are back with the new album Proto Retro. We introduce John Brodeur from New York with his Bird Streets and a duet featuring Lia Pamina and Dario Persi from Italy. Nicole Atkins is live in Cleveland.

Cross Brothers – Crashing Down;
Amanda Shires – Break Out the Champagne;
Shemekia Copeland – One I Love;
Kevin Gordon – One I Love;
Jon S Williams – Poor Ned;
Jon S Williams – In Group;
Bird Streets – Same Dream;
Nicole Atkins (Live in CLE);
Peter Blegvad – Karen;
Peter Blegvad – Had To Be Bad;
Dan Stuart – A Killer Now;
Dan Stuart – Expat. Blues;
Giant Sand – Curse Of A Thousand Flames;
Dot Dash – 10,000 Days;
Dot Dash – TV Radio;
Lia Pamina & Dario Persi – So Far Tonight.

Flashlite #367

Kevin Junior - The Chamber StringsWe start off today with the new Swedish quartet Honeymoon Disease with a cool, denim-clad, straightforward rock’n’roll sound. Javier Escovedo, of Zeros and True Believers, brother of Alejandro has a new record as well. We introduce King Mud, a duet from from Fort Wayne, IN. Legendary Dan Stuart is back with a new band and a follow up to his great album Deliverance of Marlowe Billings hecho en Mexico. Our Italian friends Cheap Wine, who never shied away from naming Green On Red as their biggest influence are back with their second live album that contains longer, improvisational pieces. And in the end, we say goodbye to the rock’n’roll legend Giorgio Gomelsky who passed away in January. He helped the career of Yardbirds when we worked as their manager and producer over in the swinging 60s London.

7-Odds – Run To Your Mama;
Honeymoon Disease – You’re Too Late;
Javier Escovedo – It Ain’t Easy;
Ricked Wicky – Guts;
Royal Headache – Electric Shock;
King Mud – War Dancers;
Dan Stuart – Hola Guapa;
Green On Red – Black Night;
Sacri Cuori – La Florida (feat- Evan Lurie);
Cheap Wine – Waiting On The Door;
Lilly Hiatt – Far Away;
Yardbirds – Got To Hurry;
Yardbirds – For Your Love;
Blossom Toes – Peace Loving Man;
Julie Driscoll – This Wheel’s On Fire;
Bernays Propaganda – Laži me, laži me.

Flashlite #299

Jack BruceToday we say goodbye to one of the greatest musicians in rock’n’roll, the bass player of Cream, Jack Bruce who passed away on October 25th this year. We briefly review his career through his songs with Cream, solo and Golden Palominos. In our Blues Alphabet segment we hear the original version of I’m So Glad, popularized by Jack Bruce, but written by Skip James. Rory Block, the greatest female blues guitarist who’s been around since the sixties, made a new tribute to Skip James.We also check out the new music by Dan Stuart hecho en Mexico with Twin Tones. We also have some new, promising bands today: Manateees from Memphis and Soft Shoulders from Montreal. We tie things up today with The Klitz, more legend than a band, four ladies from Memphis, organized and recorded by Jim Dickinson in the late seventies, which is now finally out on a 7″. Also, check out Eddie and The Hot Rods in our live in Cleveland segment, they really sounded great.

Jack Bruce – Theme for an Imaginary Western;
Liquor Store – Vodka Beach;
The Manatees – Shitwolf;
Cheap Wine – I Am The Scar;
Dan Stuart – Elena;
Eddie And The Hot Rods – Quit This Town (Live in Cleveland);
Gangsters – Harlow Town;
Muscle Beach – Let’s Get Dumb;
Cream – White Room;
Jack Bruce – Peaces of Mind;
The Golden Palominos – (Something Else Is) Working Harder;
Skip James – I’m So Glad (Blues Alphabet);
Rory Block – I’m So Glad;
Meat Puppets – Rat Farm;
Soft Shoulders – Dragon;
The Klitz – Hard Up.

Flashlite #259

CaseworkerToday we have have nice balance between very young and older bands. From the old guard, we have The Fleshtones with their new album Leave of Talent. Koja and Disciplin A Kitchme are back with a brand new single and a new line up that includes a harmonica. Legendary punk band from San Pedro The Last are also back with their new full length album Danger which has been announced several times in the past seven years and now it’s finally out. It contains some of the older tunes that were planned for their unreleased album Look Again in 1980. In our last show we had John Petkovic with Sweet Apple and Dave Swanson with a live recording with his Rainy Day Saints. Both of them used to be in Death of Samantha. That band (without Swanson, but with the original bass player David James), reunited for several shows in the past two years and now they put out a double lp with entitled If Memory Serves Us Well which is a recording of their band practice before hitting the concert halls. New bands today are Cretin Stompers from Memphis (via Brooklyn) and Caseworker, lead by a nice couple Eimer and Conor Devlin, kind of a mellow California band like Mellow Drunk or American Music Club. Speaking of them, we have two news: Mark Eitzel recorded an album in Ray Davies’ Konk Studios in North London and their original producer, drummer and guitar player Tom Mallon passed away. We pay a special tribute to him today. And finally, we have two very young bands from the Cincinnati/Covington/Newport area – The Yugos and The Debauchees. Dan Stuart from Green on Red gave them some really generous compliments – so we check them out.

American Music Club – Bad Liquor;
Cretin Stompers – Eye Of The Storm;
The Fleshtones – Roofarama;
The Split Squad – Tinker Tailor (Live in CLE);
Terry Reid – Tinker Tailor;
Bobby Blue Bland – I’ll Take Care Of You;
Mellow Drunk – A Different Color On My Door;
Caseworker – Notes From The Summer…;
Death of Samantha – Conviction;
The Last – Difference;
The Yugos – Dream Away;
The Debauchees – I’ve Got Energy;
The Slummers – Bowery Boy;
Mark Eitzel – Oh Mercy;
Thin White Rope – They’re Hanging Me Tonight;
American Music Club – Electric Light;
Disciplin A Kitchme – Samo disciplina.

Chris Cacavas – Love’s Been Re-Discontinued (Cactus Head)

Chris Cacavas - Love's Been Re-DiscontinuedChris Cacavas (ex Green On Red) had an album back in 2009 called Love’s Been Discontinued which we pronounced as the best album that year at The Little Lighthouse. This year, Chris Cacavas returned with an album which he called Love’s Been Re-Discontinued which was very similar to the 2009, not just in title. The songs on the new album were left over from the material written for the 2009 album and Cacavas felt a need to go back to those songs again.

Chris’ words are in italic for the rest of this text: Yes, at the time between 2007 and 2009 I recorded over twenty basic tracks with bass, guitar and drums. I was working on about fifteen of them doing vocals, overdubs etc. and in the end twelve of them ended up on Love’s Been Discontinued. At the beginning of this year (2013) I went back to revisit and complete the rest of those songs and those ten tracks are now on Love’s Been Re-Discontinued.

The lyrics in both of those record seem to talk about a break up. But it turns out, the topic does not necessarily relates to something that Chris experienced in his life. To be honest I’ve only had two “real” or long term relationships in my life. I’m happy to say I’m still in the second and although there have been hard times that brought us to the brink of breaking up we’ve decided to dedicate ourselves to each other and to investing the time and conscious effort to maintain a healthy, happy and respectful relationship. At the moment it’s working very well! I think you only need one real love or one devastating breakup for song material to last a lifetime.

Chris believes in love, muses about it and wants to learn about it. I believe love is real although I can’t tell you exactly what “love” is. I think it means so many things to so many people but I do believe the common thread for the definition of love comes from the first love we experienced and that came, of course, from our parents. I’m sure some would say “But my parents didn’t love me” and I can only say they loved you to the best of their ability. This is a very complex subject and I am certainly no scholar but I’m still willing to learn. Like death belongs to life so do breakups belong to relationships. Clearly the younger a man or woman is the less knowledge they have about relationships – what does this person want from me? What do I want from this person? What is the importance of companionship? What am I willing to compromise / sacrifice to be in this relationship? And do I make these compromises unconditionally? It’s a learning process and with any lesson more teachers and experiences give you more insight and confidence to decide what is best for you. Often people will go from one dysfunctional relationship to the next and usually blame the partner for the failure of the relationship without looking at the one constant that was in every relationship – themselves. “Happily Ever After” and “Until Death Do Us Part” are both lovely concepts that look good on paper but, sadly, don’t work that well in the real world. I think it’s a very individual thing. Some couples want their partnership to be recognized and certified by the church and others are willing to make a lifelong commitment to each other without this tradition. Both are okay by me, whatever works for those couples – hetero or gay. I would say breakups have less to do with rebellion and more to do with personal turmoil.

When I asked Chris what was the criteria for the song inclusion between the 2009 record and this new one, he was relieved that I stopped grilling him about the subject of love. Back to the record *phew*. With the 2009 release I wanted to use the crème de la crème and I wanted the record to be listenable from beginning to end, to have a flow that you wouldn’t want to change in a playlist or with your players shuffle feature. As I started working on the songs I noticed some were a bit too heavy (musically) and others weren’t really complete with lyrics and so on and in the end the songs that ended up on Love’s Been Discontinued pretty much chose themselves, that is to say, they rose like cream to the top ! With Love’s Been ReDiscontinued I took all the remaining tracks and and finished lyrics, sang them, added a few overdubs and that was it! Unfortunately there would have been another twelve (instead of ten) songs but due to technical difficulties two songs had disappeared from the hard drive, oh well.

I had the clever idea to call this record “Love’s Been Re-Discontinued” because the songs are from the same session as the previous release. In retrospect, I probably should have treated it as it’s own individual entity and not the step brother of Love’s Been Discontinued – and not just because people I trust have told me so…

So, it’s clear from Chris’s answers that he did not have an ambition to create two volumes with deep examination and (re-examination) on love and breakup, but rather the topic and songs somehow chose themselves like that. It’s one of those things where the art truly realizes itself in the ears of a beholder. We can choose to listen to it as a collection of strong songs, or a topical examination of love. In any case, both of the records are among the strongest material that’s been recorded by Chris since the earliest days with Green on Red. It is hard not to notice, though, that both Chris and his former band-mate Dan Stuart recently put out excellent records that are deep studies on the subject of love and in particular discontinuities and turmoil that happen as love evolves. Dan used a pseudonym of Marlowe Billings, but it is apparent that he is writing about the troubles he was going through directly, while Cacavas’ records are a bit more fictional based on an interview I had with him. Art is impossible to quantify, and we should not even try to understand which approach is better. In any case, Stuart and Cacavas are still capable of creating striking pieces of art, perhaps they are stronger at that than ever.

Flashlite #202 – The Best Albums in 2012

Eamon McGrathIt’s the end of the 2012 and it’s time to sum things up. As usual, at this time of the year we reflect on the past months and put together a list of our favorite records. Today we will review the year by listing the best albums this year, or at least those that I think were the most exciting and that we featured in detail here at the Little Lighthouse. Those that followed our playlists and reviews will probably not be surprised with the top five. I will follow up with reviews for most of these albums in the days to come, and you can tell us what you think. This year, the title of the greatest album goes to the young Canadian singer songwriter Eamon McGrath who put together a deep, personal and fun album about his life in the wonderful land of Canada and his generation of young people living over there. The list is closely followed by Dan Stuart’s return The Deliverance of Marlowe Billings. Here’s the rest of the list.

01 Eamon McGrath – Young Canadians
02 Dan Stuart – The Deliverance of Marlowe Billings
03 Redd Kross – Researching the Blues
04 Natural Child – For the Love of the Game
05 Rich Hopkins and Luminarios – Buried Treasures
06 Ray Wylie Hubbard – The Grifter’s Hymnal
07 The Wandering – Go On Now, You Can’t Stay Here
08 Golden Boys – Dirty Fingernails
09 Gentleman Jesse – Leaving Atlanta
10 Kevn Kinney – A Good Country Mile
11 Neil Young – Psychedelic Pill
12 Holly Golightly And The Brokeoffs – Sunday Run Me Over
13 Nude Beach – II
14 Forty Nineteens – No Expiration Date
15 Kevin Gordon – Gloryland
16 Ian Hunter And the Rant Band – When I’m President
17 Cheap Wine – Based On Lies
18 Jay Gonzalez – Mess of Happiness
19 Happy Thoughts
20 Smrts Have Friends and Visit Them at Night

Smrts – Traumeinsatz;
Happy Thoughts – Sweet Dirty Love;
Jay Gonzalez – Tension;
Cheap Wine – The Big Blow;
Ian Hunter and The Rant Band – Just The Way You Look Tonight;
Kevin Gordon – The One I Love;
Forty Nineteens – I’m The One;
Nude Beach – Some Kinda Love;
Holly Golightly And The Brokeoffs – Tank;
Neil Young And The Crazy Horse – Ramada Inn;
Kevn Kinney – Wild Dog Moon Pt. 2;
Gentleman Jesse – Word Gets Around;
The Golden Boys – Run Away;
The Wandering – Love Life And Money;
Ray Wylie Hubbard – Train Yard;
Rich Hopkins And Luminarius – Buried Treasure (It’s Not Out There);
Natural Child – Baby;
Redd Kross – Choose To Play;
Dan Stuart – Love So Rare;
Eamon McGrath – Signals;
Eamon McGrath – Great Lakes.

Dan Stuart – The Deliverance of Marlowe Billings

Dan Stuart - The Deliverance of Marlowe Billings After several years of personal hell, Dan Stuart is finally back. His old band, legendary Green On Red, disbanded in 1992, and Dan tried to continue solo. After a record with Al Perry in 1993 and the first solo album in 1995, Dan disappeared from the music business.

There were many different stories and legends on what he was going through in those years, but it wasn’t until ten years later that we heard of Dan again. He first regrouped with Green On Red to play a few shows in Europe and USA (a live DVD came out of that), and then put out a record with Steve Wynn (a studio and live sequels to their legendary Danny And Dusty project) and one with the producer JD Foster (in an ad-hoc band called The Slummers). Now, Mr. Stuart is back with a masterpiece – new LP called The Deliverance of Marlowe Billings.

Apparently, Marlowe Billings is Dan’s alter ego, which he uses sometimes in his new home in Mexico. I read in Uncut that he has found new energy over there after living in New York and separating from his wife. These stories should be taken with a grain of salt, since Dan posted on his facebook that some of the claims were false in that article.

We can read poetical interpretations of this story in the lyrics of the new record, though. Dan is singing “I miss the city and I miss the lights, I miss my family all over the night. But New York’s a liar, we both know it’s true, just like your lover whose soul understands you. I’ll never go back to that cold hard ground, where everyone’s searching for what can’t be found”.

These words can be found in the opening song of the new record and they are certainly dark, but the mood of the record overall is far from being disconsolate. This is the main difference between Dan’s old record Can O’ Worms from 1995 and this one today. While Can O’ Worms is a deep dark record of a man loosing a grip of his own fate, Deliverance is a record of a man who’s back in control. By realizing that he was looking for what can’t be found, Dan liberated his soul and now, on the new record we can also find lighthearted tunes such as Gap-toothed Girl or Gonna Change – a beautiful Brill-Building sunshine pop with disarming oo-la-lah’s .

Another record that calls for comparisons is also Love’s Been Discontinued by Dan’s old band-mate Chris Cacavas, which came out in 2009 and which I pronounced the album of the year in the Little Lighthouse year end list of that season. I still don’t know what was going on in Cacavas’ private life at the time, but if I trust the lyrics, its a very honest record of a man who has recently went through a break up. One thing that is common to Cacavas’ Love’s Been Discontinued and Dan’s Deliverance can be summed up in Dan’s words: “yes, love will kill you, so why pretend”. Turn it into some really cool art and see what happens. “You can never steal this poet’s soul.” This brings me to a film I like, called Singles back in 1992. There’s a mime over there who can’t shut up and says: “love disappears, baby”.

I must also add at the end that the musicianship on this record is truly exceptional. The band backing up ol’ Dan is the Italian group Sacri Cuori and the sound is thick and full. Surely, a part of the credit for this great sounding record also must go to JD Foster. Foster and Antonio Gramentieri from Sacri Couri were also with Dan in The Slummers. It looks like the new record leaves Dan in a very healthy place and I have a feeling we can expect more great stuff from Dan and the boys in the near future. Right now, you can enjoy this disc and also see Dan Stuart who is touring Europe currently.

First published on rockxs.com.

Flashlite #187

Dob LybanSinger singwriters today… some of the greatest ever. Dan Stuart, founding member of the Green On Red is finally back with with his second ever solo album, the first since his excellent debut Can O’Worms in 1995. The new album is called The Deliverance of Marlowe Billings. Italian band Sacri Cuori backs him up for this effort. Then we have Patti Smith who also has a new record out called Banga. Grant Hart is preparing a new solo double album called The Argument based on Milton’s poem Paradise Lost. The album is still not out, but two songs from it came out on a 45. Jon Dee Graham was recently in Cleveland, at Beachland Tavern and he’s in our Live in Cleveland segment. He also has a new album out Garage Sale which I picked at the show. And then there’s the new album from the guy on the picture. We say goodbye to Scott McKenzie, who sadly died recently. Finally, we have an exclusive new tune from a Zagreb band Vex And The Voxtones, who will participate on the upcoming tribute to The Records.

Patti Smith – Mosaic;
Sacri Cuori – El Gone;
Dan Stuart – What Are You Laughing About;
Dan Stuart – Waterfall;
Grant Hart – So Far From Heaven;
Nova Mob – Space Jazz;
Scott McKenzie – No, No, No, No, No;
Scott Mckenzie – What’s The Difference;
Jon Dee Graham – Sleep Enough To Dream (Live In CLE);
Jon Dee Graham – Just Like That;
The Rubinoos – Leave My Heart Alone;
Vex and the Voxtones – Not So Much The Time;
The Records – Not So Much Time;
Spitballs – Boris The Spider;
The Flatlanders – Number Sixteen.

8. Slummers – Love of the Amateur

Slummers - Love of the AmateurFirst part of the Green On Red stroy ends on a tour that followed their album Too Much Fun. Dan Stuart couldn’t take the pressure of touring any longer, band split, Dan relocated to Spain where he recorded a masterpiece album Can O’ Warms. Ever since then, all we could hear about Dan were rumors. But in 2005, Dan reunited Green On Red, finished that tour that was abruptly broken, the second Danny and Dusty album followed in 2007. This year Dan seems stronger than ever. This time he joined forces with producer JD Foster (also a former of True Believers) and two Italian musicians Antonio Gramentieri and Diego Sapignoli. The result is a new band called Slummers and another masterpiece album Love of the Amateur. The sounds range from Green On Red ramshackle, slow Americana and most refreshingly glam rock riffage of the first degree. Dan, welcome back!