Issue 139 JUNE 21ST, 2021 Copper’s writers and I strive for excellence, and work hard to ensure that articles are carefully proofread. But errors occasionally slip by, and when they appear, they’re typically just flat-out brain freezes. For example, “passed” instead of “past,” “flare” rather than “flair” and “peel” in place of “peal.” (What is the correct spelling of “Aaagghhh?”) Responsibility for any such grammatical gaffes rests squarely on the shoulders of yours truly, although I do have the following excuses: by my rough estimate Copper publishes around 150 or more pages of ad-free content every month, and that’s a lotta words to look over; my in-house staff consists of me and Gary the pug; and I’ve had rotator cuff surgery. In the background, for the past year Rich Isaacs has been helping me catch and fix errors post- publication, and a third set of eyes – yours – may spot things we missed. If you see something, say something – we can fix flubs after they’re published. Now you see ‘em, now you don’t! In this issue: audio shows are returning, and B. Jan Montana reports on California’s T.H.E. Show. Before YouTube, how did people learn stuff? Why, with self-help records, as Rich Isaacs points out! J.I. Agnew continues his series, The Giants of Tape, with a look at the MCI JH-110. Russ Welton interviews the extraordinary acoustic guitarist Gordon Giltrap, and looks at the effects of standing waves in rooms. Wayne Robins reviews Soberish, Liz Phair’s new album, and her Horror Stories memoir. Anne E. Johnson covers the careers of Elvis Costello and the all-female International Sweethearts of Rhythm. WL Woodward begins a series on Beat storyteller Tom Waits. Are they still relevant? Adrian Wu begins a new series on vintage (and new) Garrard turntables. I cover Octave Records’ brand-new release, The Nature of Things by rock band Foxfeather. John Seetoo reports on the recent AES Show Spring 2021. Rudy Radelic continues his series on jazz musician Cal Tjader with a look at his Verve Records years. Ken Sander finds himself between tours with Kid Creole and the Coconuts. Ray Chelstowski interviews Thierry Amsallem, producer of The Montreux Years, a new series of recordings celebrating the famed jazz festival with initial releases from Nina Simone and Etta James. Tom Gibbs continues his series on high-resolution remasters from prog-rock legends Yes. We round out the issue with James Whitworth contemplating a small eternity, Peter Xeni pondering rotational accuracy, Audio Anthropology salivating over a big MAC and a well- traveled Parting Shot. Staff Writers: J.I. Agnew, Ray Chelstowski, Cliff Chenfeld, Jay Jay French, Tom Gibbs, Roy Hall, Rich Isaacs, Anne E. Johnson, Don Kaplan, Don Lindich, Tom Methans, B. Jan Montana, Rudy Radelic, Tim Riley, Wayne Robins, Alón Sagee, Ken Sander, Larry Schenbeck, John Seetoo, Dan Schwartz, Russ Welton, WL Woodward, Adrian Wu Contributing Writers: Ivan Berger, Steven Bryan Bieler, Robert Heiblim, Ken Kessler, Stuart Marvin, Bob Wood Cover: “Cartoon Bob” D’Amico Cartoons: James Whitworth, Peter Xeni Parting Shots: James Schrimpf, B. Jan Montana, Rich Isaacs (and others) Editor: Frank Doris Publisher: Paul McGowan Advertising Sales: No one. We are free from advertising and subscribing to Copper is free. – FD Between Tours TRUE-LIFE ROCK TALES Written by Ken Sander I am sitting in Trax, a music biz hangout club that is a few steps below street level. Trax was a pretty good-sized space located in a pre-War building on West 72nd Street just west of Columbus Avenue. At the table is Jonny Podell, Mick Jagger, Jessica (my then-wife) and me. We are drinking and partying, It is a weekday night but the big basement club is packed with famous and near-famous folks. At the time my wife worked for Jonny, and I think they are still long-standing friends. Jonny is an independent rock and roll booking agent. He has represented Alice Cooper, George Harrison, David Blaine, The Beastie Boys, Blondie and quite a few other big-name acts. The thing is, he works alone, and in fact is the most successful solo agent or might I say solo agency in the rock business. Oh, there are bigger agencies, but they have numerous agents on staff, and they use the leverage of their big acts to help break new and up-and-coming artists. Jonny does it all alone. He is a good guy but a wild man. Charming and smart, he does well by his acts. Blondie was changing managers and Jonny was their booking agent. With a new manager they would also need a new road manager, so Jonny arranged an interview for me with the band. At the time they lived in a prewar Art Deco building on the southeast corner of Seventh Avenue and 58th Street. I was to show up at 2 pm. The elevator opened right into their apartment. I think it was the penthouse. The band was there and one of them went into a room and Debbie Harry and Chris Stein came out. Debbie had some serious bed head, and both were looking like they just woke up. Of course, they were a little grumpy, rubbing their sleepy eyes. The interview, if one could call it that, was short. Just Hi, hello and Debbie said, “I need to make some coffee,” and walked out of the large living room to her kitchen. I never heard anything about it again and when I met Debbie years later, she had no memory of our meeting. She remembered Jonny of course. A few years later I was in England for the UK Stranglers tour (see “Pond Hopping With the Stranglers,” Issue 111).When that tour ended there were a few days I spent in London winding up the tour details. Expense reports, rental returns and other odds ’n ends. I stayed at the Portobello Hotel near the Marble Arch. The rooms were incredibly small, and the television hung over the bed like those in a hospital. Still, it was a cool hotel with 24-hour kitchen service. The day I flew home from England. I was informed by my wife that she had to attend a show at the Bottom Line. Kid Creole and the Coconuts, a client of the agency she worked for, were performing at the club that night and it was a must-go for all agency employees. The Bottom Line was a prominent New York music venue run by Allan Pepper and Stanley Snadowsky, located at 15 West Fourth Street between Mercer and Green Streets. Just a few short blocks east of Washington Square Park in the West Village (Greenwich Village). The Bottom Line was a must-play stop on many tours and a serious showcase spot for rock acts. (It was open from 1974 to 2004.) Jessica was working for Norby Walters Associates. Walters was rumored to have mob ties. In the beginning he owned clubs in New York. The last one he owned lost its liquor license for what a New York State Liquor Authority report described as ''a highly adverse police and license history due to assaults and prostitution.'' Despite that, the club stayed open for three more months, appealing the allegations in the report, but during that period, two mobsters were shot to death at the bar by a third man, and the club closed in 1968. As a booking agent Walters was representing entertainers Luther Vandross, Patti LaBelle, Kool and the Gang, Ben Vereen and Miles Davis. Like most of these agencies, they worked with any talent that was bookable. Later in the mid-1980s Walters and a partner formed World Sports & Entertainment Inc., a sports agency whose business caught the attention of law enforcement. A grand jury was convened and an FBI investigation was launched to look into tampering with college athletes. Kid Creole (August Darnell) a Zoot-suited performer, and the Coconuts had a lot of stuff happening on stage, combining a mixture of disco and Latin American, Caribbean, and Cab Calloway styles inspired by the big band era. An amalgam of bygone outsized personas, the musicians and the music moved between disco, calypso, show tunes, soul, big band, pop, funk, and New Wave. They were the kind of act that might have played the Copacabana along with Desi Arnaz (Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy). A real throwback with a lot of people on stage. They had dancing background singers, musicians and you name it. They were a fun, enjoyable act but due to the large amount of people they had on stage I must assume that their nut (overhead) was large. This is an economic reality that kills or at least limits many a new musical innovation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYcoPUk0doA They went on at 11 o’clock which was almost dawn in the UK, and I was tired. We were sitting at the agency’s table that seated 12 or so. Kid Creole and the Coconuts killed it. They put on a great show, but me? I was barely hanging in there. The hours and the flight had caught up with me. At a quiet moment I said to the table, “I woke up in London this morning.” Everyone turned and looked at me with “I am not impressed, so what” looks. This was one of the many times when there were a few weeks or even a month or two between various touring gigs. It was unusual for me to have tours that went back-to-back.