Meanwhile… I'm Still Thinking

Down Underground has what’s being called “Cheepskates Demo Tape” and you really need to get it while it’s up. I haven’t heard these songs in a VERY long time and I absolutely love it.

These are recordings done during the Perry Como Sessions, three of which we re-recorded for the album “Confessional”. The version of “Nothing You Can Do” in this set is great – Jimmy Lee plays a spooky guitar and it’s a real throwback to our garage days. “Help Me To Decide” is one of my favorite Cheepskates songs of all time and was meant to sound like “Telstar” at the end. We didn’t succeed but it’s good anyway. “Come Close To Me” has some good Rick 12-string sounds, “If It’s Alright With Me” has a hilarious guitar solo by Jimmy who tried to do a one note thing and then went a little nutty. “Teacher” was an excuse for me to say a lot of names of people I knew and play one of the few guitar solos I remain somewhat proud of.

A really good set of recordings by a band that was having a LOT of fun. Add these songs to the Perry Como ep ((available here at Power Pop Criminals) and you get kind of a lost Cheepskates album, one recorded in a couple of days when we were loose and had a hot hand. Someday I’ll get around to making this stuff available for real – I have the original masters somewhere, I’m sure – but ’til then this will do.

A couple of my favorite sites have been recently taken down, and I’m almost afraid to call attention to the ones that are left, but here goes..

Power Pop Criminals – American Spring (one of my all-time favorite records), Byrds/Gene Clark comps, some Stiffs and a tremendous new Soundalikes comp that will have you listening and guessing for a long time (one of my songs is included, and I’m wondering about it myself!)

Power Pop Overdose – Cells! Lilys! Mondo Topless!

Jane Siberry is now giving away her music. All of it. She’s a true artist and I urge you to check her music out before she drifts away altogether.

Clicks and Pops – Who is Brandon Schott?

Bruce Eaton’s Blog – There’s a Big Star movie in the works?

Never Get Out Of The Boat – Tons of great stuff. Begin with the Masked Marauders if you dare.

Bruce Eaton’s Blog – your best source for Chilton insight from a guy who knew him well.
Power Pop Overdose – Liquor Giants and Cinerama for starters.
Never Get Out Of The Boat! – Lotsa Lennon, McCartney, Beatles and (after a short scroll) Blues.
RedTelephone66 – Dan Hicks!
Clicks and Pops Talks about the XTC album that never was.
Power Pop Criminals Tourists, Todd and Jane Aire.

RedTelephone66 – Posts like crazy, but go back a few days if you’re zodiacologically or Gary Usher inclined.
kicksville66 Is Miriam Linna, and she is the Groovie-est.
Power Pop Criminals – TRIBUTE TO DEL-FI – DELPHONIC SOUNDS TODAY!
Recessed-Filter – Some unreleased Neil.
Power Pop Overdose – George Usher.
Never Get Out Of The Boat! – Beck’s Oar, Skip’s Oar, and some Guess Who.
For The Love Of Harry – A couple of magazine interviews with our favorite Harry and a clip of a couple of Monkees doing “Gotta Get Up”.

Not much going on out there in blog-world. A little quiet time doesn’t hurt, though…

RedTelephone66 – Dino, Desi, and Billy, Boyce and Hart.
Clicks and Pops – Talks about the Fleshtones.
Power Pop Criminals – RAIDERS OF THE LOST HOOK – VOL 4
The Song In My Head Today – Seems to have been around awhile (since 2006, which is kinda like forever), and worth checking every day. Tell Holly I sent you.

Power Pop Criminals Has a couple of great comps from Bam Balam and the first IPO collection.
Power Pop Overdose Says goodbye to Doug Fieger, as do we all.
Never Get Out Of The Boat Henry Kaiser: scientist/musician.
Delta-Slider Begins John Fahey week tomorrow (Monday, Feb. 22). Don’t miss it!

…about the 90′s as though they really existed. Wow.

Gary’s Nineteen Nineties

…about Elvis.

Medleyville: THE GARY PIG GOLD REPORT, Vol. 22

RedTelephone66 – The Animals and… um… Shango?
Twilightzone! – The Autumn Records Story, Stones stuff and Spaghetti Western soundtracks. Oh… Goldmine’s Garage Sale comp, with an alternate version of The Cheepskates’ “Read Your Mind” (although I don’t remember what the differences are).
Power Pop Criminals Vote on your fave PPC comps and we might get more of ‘em someday.
Power Pop Overdose – The Bats, The Chills and much, much more.
Never Get Out Of The Boat! – Hollies. Turtles. Fela. Move!
For The Love Of Harry – book excerpts and an unreleased song written for the Dodgers.
Clicks and Pops – messages for Eric Clapton and Google, and why “No Matter What” might be the perfect pop song.

RedTelephone66 – OMG it’s The Goldebriars! Curt Boettcher/Becher/Betcher/Youbetcha fans go, go, go! Now!
Twilightzone! – Mono Stones (no Beatle Bones) and enough Rebel Rockabilly Rock to keep you moving for a while.
Power Pop Criminals has an Advent best-of, Houba Houba footage and Part 1 of a John Wicks/Paul Collins performance.
Power Pop Overdose – Part 2 of the John Wicks/Paul Collins performance (see above).

And by all means… scroll.

RedTelephone66 – The Litter and Bonniwell Music Machine.
Recessed-Filter – some Eno collaborations.
Twilightzone! – the Dovers and my Droogy labelmates (and so much more).
Power Pop Overdose – some “Best of 2009″ Comps.
Power Pop Criminals gives you an Advent second chance and a great way to start the new decade.
Never Get Out Of The Boat! – Roky and The Who.
For The Love Of Harry – some great live Nilsson (doing the Beatles) footage.
Clicks and Pops – good advice for Paul McCartney and a desire to be French.
Peter’s Power Pop is kind of new, and worth checking out for Australian goodies.
Trip Inside This House talks about Richard Twice… from what I can tell, I’ve got to hear it someday.

Weirdtown has all three Midnight Christmas comps.

Why aren’t these things played all the time this time of year? Anyway… I’ve never admitted this in public, but Sleighbell Bop (on the 2nd comp) was entirely my friend Michael and myself at Dubway Studios. I do backup vocals and reindeer feet for sure… don’t remember what else I might’ve played on it. Not very garage-ey and maybe a bit outta place but it holds its own.

Oldandnew has a bunch of Jeremy Spencer, including his first (really fun) solo album. Lots o’ Dylan as well.

Down Underground has The Cheepskates’ It Wings Above.

I think all Cheepskates records are out there in the ether somewhere, so now it’s time for some of these songs to get used in TV shows or movies or get covered by Shakira or something, right? Isn’t that how it goes, or do I have to die or go crazy first?

Liquid Dilemma with some Christmas cheer.

As far as Power Pop Overdose, TWILIGHTZONE, Clicks and Pops and Power Pop Criminals are concerned… there’s just too much to list and you should be going to these places every day anyway.

Recessed Filter has Eels rarities, Randy Newman and Johns Cage and Cale. Really.

Teisco Del Rey at TWILIGHT ZONE.

Bob Lind and The Gambler (when he was kinda good) at Redtelephone66.

Power Pop Criminals has a great Christmas comp for you and tomorrow begins the Advent Wall of Sound. Can’t wait!

Carl Stalling, Tex Avery and Raymond Scott at Never Get Out Of The Boat.

Power Pop Overdose? Just go there.

With all of this happening out there I’m falling WAY behind.

Start the Christmas season off right at power pop criminals. They’ve posted a Christmas comp from Midnight which includes “Star” – one of my favorite Cheepskates songs ever and the only song released by that short-lived version of the band.

My demo version of “Star” is on the Shane Faubert Demo Page as well…

In the meantime, TWILIGHT ZONE! keeps going with more Robyn Hitchcock, Soft Boys and Panther Burns posts.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING ALMOST COMPLETELY DIFFERENT !!

Amidst all of the Robyn Hitchcock madness you could ask for, here’s the Cheepskates’ Confessional, courtesy of TWILIGHT ZONE!.

From what I’ve been led to understand, Confessional is gone… all of the copies that were manufactured are out of the hands of Music Maniac, so if you ultimately want to buy it you might not want to wait a whole lot longer.

Now if someone could just post the Perry Como and Residents eps… I haven’t heard them in a while!

Wow! Ask and ye shall receive… the ever-reliable folks over at Power Pop Criminals have posted the above-mentioned eps. I’ve got a real soft spot in my heart for these recordings. They’re kinda odd and very fun. The Cheepskates may have played one of the Residents songs live a time or two, but we played “Catch A Falling Star” and “Round And Round” all the time at our shows and I still have them ready to play now, I just don’t perform often enough to dig that deep into the songs I know.

At any rate, get ‘em and take them for what they are – fun recordings by a band that loved any excuse to get into the studio.

When it rains… The Garage Punk Hideout has a live Cheepskates clip with go-go dancers. Probably in cha-cha heels, but I can’t say for sure.

Ya got some Barracudas at PowerPop Overdose
Ya got some very cool videos at power pop criminals
Ya got Norma Tanega and
Michele (a Boettcher thing) at Redtelephone66
Ya got tons of Robyn Hitchcock at Twilightzone!
Ya got a little theremin at Clicks and Pops

Once you get there…. scrollllll.

Monsteriffic music and a great one from Southern Culture On the Skids at Twilight Zone.

Halloween south of the border at El Blog De Shock.

…and north, of course: O Canadarm!.

Scroll like your Halloween party depends on it.

Ffanzine has a Tribute To A Mix Tape that includes an interview with the Cheepskates (minus the shy one) and a live performance of “Run Better Run”.

PowerPop Criminals has “2nd And Last”, a couple of compilations and some live Elvis (C, not P).

As always, check their archives and scroll, scroll, scroll. Lots of good stuff…