BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit N~. 2419 lPE lPITC1HI K.C., Mo. FREE ALL TUE MUSE THAT FITS n:E PITCH ISSUE ~!O. 9 MAY 1931 ll~ 1fOOll~ 0 ll~~DJJJ1 0 * Ulo,..ld music RevielU * l,..,ate Lette,..s * B1.'Oolc.es Desoto * Lotsa Ads BLUE RIDDIM BAND VINYLIZED by Davey Dread The present line~up as vinylized includes: By the time this article is printed the Pat's who, like him, had plenty of exper­ Blue Riddim Band's first LP should be in Bob Zohn ~ Vocals, guitar, bass & drums ience, but-no place to play. Some of the the racks. I thought it might be of people in this jam band were: Arnie interest to seek out some of the back­ Howard Yukon - Guitar, percussion & drums Young, Dave Lorenz, and Greg Thies. It ground and historical info behind this was the entrance of Duck and Howard for group which has played a major part in Drew Meyers Bass, trombone & vocals a rehearsal which determined the style making this a reggae mecca in the mid­ of the band as Reggae. (The original west (do thev really talk about us on Pat "Betty" Pearce - Organ, piano, guit-ar, .concept was to form a mUlti-purpose band the coast?) synthesizer, percussion, bass & vocals with diverse style capabilities. They were all tired of no dough!) The "spirit" Jack Blackett -Saxophone & percussion took.over, however, and the soul prevailed The album's title "Restless Spirit", and Jah Light was born in the midwest. fairly well sums up the great amount of Steve "Duck" McLane - Drums, bass, vocals growing pains the group has been through. & percussion I got some inside information with the The initial reggae spark was ignited and abl~ aid of Teddy Dibble and his audio/ Scott Korchak - Vocals, trumpet & guitar kindled through the musical fascination interview expertese, first in talking to for it and exposure to it shared by Bob Bob and Janice Zohn, who co-wrote five who had returned to Florida after the of the nine songs on the album and demise of the Rhythm Function, and Ed secondly a rap with Pat Pearce (who the Toler who had first brought Bob to KC. hell is Betty, anyway?) keyboardist and This band evolved directly from Pat's Ed has been instrumental (no pun intended) good humor man. Blue Riddim Band which carried the same in nurturing the music scene here for personnel minus Bob; with Steve Prince several years. He had gone to Florida to on guitar. Pat's Band was basical~y a play guitar in a trio with Jaco Pastorius The band as we know it today contains party band playing their first gig at the and Bill Burke. Upon his return to KC the cream of the crop of R & B musicians annual Crawdaddy Party in June of 1978. with Bob in 1970, Duck, who had been in who either grew up here or migrated in They played mostly the immediate area, Detroit with a group called oddly enough through friendship with someone here. mainly Lawrence at the Opera House and the Rastafarians was here also. Bob They share magnum talent and a real Off the Wall Hall (where I first became had an early Eddy Lovett album "Too Exper­ aware of them, having just moved to KC. des~re to communicate music which never ienced", the first reggae exposure. Bob fails to move the crowd. (I agree whole returned to Florida. Duck followed heartedly with my cohort, Lonesum Chuck shortly looking for construction work. in calling this band an addiction). Instead they both went to New York where Pat formed the band from remnants oi the they formed a band called Studebaker Hawk Rhythm Function, which was Pat, Dre1fT, which was mainly R & B Band. Its was in The myriad of steps leading t? this r - Duck, Bob & Howard. This group was hot cording are boggling to the mlnd. ThlS7 New York that they experienced their in the Quay area before it got too hot. first LIVE Reggae at a Festival in Madison blue-eyed reggae is honest, valid and They Funktioned for approximatery-one has a multiplicity of ROOTS if you will, Square Garden in the Fall of 1973. Inner year. And from members of the Soul Circle & Big Youth were headliners and The midwest~Jamaican connection. How Investigators: Scott, Jack and Steve that connection was made cooperatively headlifters. The first taste of Roots Prince, the final group boiled down Reggae other than Ed Toler's copy of among several musicians is what I shall from 15 to 16 musicians. Friends of attempt to unravel. Marley's "Catch a Fire". Bob recalls (see VINYLIZED page 9) PAGE 2 THE PENNY PITCH drink~ If they don't the place, st<£:/ CMa¥. Cbnoerts like Jack Bruce and Friends ware narents that I will tell 11¥ grandchildren about in 20001. I doubt seriously if anyone is bea:Ining a millionai:re off of the tptown and if people want to get down on sooething, how about ex>ncerts at Kenper Arena whe:re people P8¥ $13 to watcn unrecognizable figures ona stage "" mile CMa¥? Cblments fran the North, Crazy Mike 4128 BROADWAY KANSAS CITY, MISSDURI64111 P.S. If you need sooeone to write :reviews, , (816)561-1580 try ne. Editor •••.••.••••.• Harren Stylus Lear Crazy Mike, Fbr a ncn-catplainer, you do p:rett;y wall. Contributing \'lriters this issue: First of all, as far as wa can tell, and Biblical Sdlolars INOUld probably agree, Le R:>i is bigger than God, so his opinion is as Davey Conn, Sallie E. Hamilton, Rev •. ..JdwL valid as anybody's. You probably would never Dwight Frizzell, Brookes Desoto, Le Roi, 09ar Penny PITCH: have heard of KING PEACH's/Fair Warning if Willi Loth, Lonesum Chuck, Darrel Conn, .00000atulations on creating sooething close it hadn't been for Le R:>i. Morris Martin, "Broadway Rex", M. Defeis, to an underground rag! It reminds ne of the Concerning Kemper, nobody wa know frequents P. Minkin, Sharolyn McCauley, & Rosie. "Daily Planet" that wa cpt up in Des M:>ines, IA their $13 ex>ncerts' When you talk about KeI:rper, befo:re I cpt kicked out of oollege and IlDve<l you nrust oonsider their overllead, and b:>pe it to KC. I have one main question, ~ in the stays up the:re. Pel:haps your OWll\advice WOuld mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm~ :fucX died and made, Le R:li, GXI.? I nean to Sl13, suffice: "If they don't like the place, st<£:/ that his personal opinion bas little bearing CMa¥." I doubt seriously if ~ is becan­ on anything and if the:re is a pw:pose for ing a millionaire off. the PITCH. As Milton "All things must pass." srort :reviews it is to infollll the :reoord buy­ 1NOuld Sl13, "Like man, it's free." If it iJ:ks George Harrison ing fUblic IIo4lat is contained on the disc in you, don't read it. question. I do not care IIo4lat "Slim" thinks - War:ren mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm~mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm~mm and I'm sure many other :readers don't either. I am, on the other hand quite interested in entire co"ntents this issue copyright 1981 P.S. I'm sending you a oopy of laNG PEMlII e the qualit;y and oontent of the many new albuns Fair Warning for :review. 'lhe PITCH oonstantly being :released. 'lb qu:>te fl:an 11¥ enCX>urages all oontributions, opinionated favorite IlDvie (Animal Ii:>~) "Fat, drunk, and or othe:I:wise. "Skinny, straight, and stupid is no way to cp through life ,young stupid is no way :to cp through life, man!" young man." I feel that you have an excellent fonnat and with sooe "fine tuning" you will be able . to tell us IlD:re about the :recx>rds and less of­ lourngU'fic Pi" IIo4lat "Big Boy Le R:li" thinks behing his crude exterior. Fbr exarrple: KING PFACH/Fair Dear Warren, Warning, this :review doesn't S8¥ fuck. Is it all originalS? Cbvers of Frank Sinatra songs? You've got the. makings of a great, amus­ Blues? IbeX? Punk? Toilets Flushing? I am ing alternative to other pubs in the KC $ not a CXXlplainer, by nature, but it iJ:ks ne area, but I hate to see it sinking so that if sooeone is lucky erough to hear all soon to the journalistic pits perpetrat­ lP & 24 ed by KY-I02 with its rank gossip colum­ PAGE BOOK the new albums, they oouid give ne a fair idea on IIo4lat is available; whether they nist on Nighttime. I'm referring, of personally like it or not. I know 11¥ name course, to MOrr~s Martin's column with isn't "M:>rris Martin" so you 1l\IOll't publish its licentious, sexist side comments: 11¥ letter ar:r:tW8¥. " ••• of the beautiful black hair were $8.98 LIST I also have a ex>nment on the tptown 'Iheatre. dancing, two fine foxes. With all SALE $6.49 THE PENNY PITCH PAGE 3 (LETTERS CONT.) New life about Marianne Faithful: "She was wear­ Dearest cosmic Folks of Westport, Warren foreign ing brown boots, brown leather skirt, Warren Stylus, et al: (great legs), black blouse with white PLAZA IMPORT dots, dark vest with a button pin on the AN OPEN LETTER EXPRESSING JOY AT THE right side, a guitar pin on the left BEHOLDING OF MORE THAN MONEY LENDING IN side red circle ear rings (sic), and a THE GRAND OLD REALM OF WESTPORT;by a Car 4327 Main bro~ cap." It sounds as though Martin former happy resident who is now doing a has been reading Betty Lind's column in vacation on the State of Colorado (since The Star: "Many of the women at the Lyric Fall--I did indeed--of 1976) for skiing out Opera Women's League spring tea were of season and who once was known as a Service .Phone: 931-7556 wearing the newest seasonal colors--pink pitcher of pennies (against the wall of the and lavender .•• Helen Bittiker, who Magic Circus) in his youth.