From: owner-the-landing-digest@smoe.org (the-landing-digest) To: the-landing-digest@smoe.org Subject: the-landing-digest V2 #11 Reply-To: the-landing@smoe.org Sender: owner-the-landing-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-the-landing-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk the-landing-digest Monday, February 1 1999 Volume 02 : Number 011 Today's Subjects: ----------------- hi [ElinaMalk@aol.com] Re: SNZ on Ebay [Emaline555@aol.com] SNZ ["Ryan Sargent" ] Re: SNZ [ProfPlum97@aol.com] Re: hi [Abednego83@aol.com] Re: hi [bob pigeon ] Re: hi [Dragoon716@aol.com] Re: Newport Jazz ["Ryan Sargent" ] Speak up, ye! [Jessica Brandt ] TV FOR FEB 1-7 [Jessica Brandt ] Zippers Concert - 9/17/98 Bogart's/Cincinnati [Andy Harman Subject: SNZ I'm guess still nobody knows anything about the KAT, JIM, TOM, or ANDREW albums comming out soon???? "this is a story 'bout minnie the moocher" -(curtis). ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Jan 1999 17:28:02 EST From: ProfPlum97@aol.com Subject: Re: SNZ Check the official SNZ page for alleged info on solo work. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Jan 1999 19:04:17 EST From: Abednego83@aol.com Subject: Re: hi Jason's here!!! ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Jan 1999 22:06:55 -0500 From: bob pigeon Subject: Re: hi At 02:04 PM 1/31/99 EST, you wrote: >just wondering who's on this list. ya mom ohhhhhhh ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 00:05:04 EST From: Dragoon716@aol.com Subject: Re: hi Jose's here ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Jan 1999 21:18:27 PST From: "Ryan Sargent" Subject: Re: Newport Jazz > showing the audience and the area around Newport (maine? mass.? new england...) < It was Newport, RI, site of the America's Cup Trials and the Jazz Festival in 1958 - the place was hoppin' that summer! WAY cool was Anita O'Day doing Sweet Georgia Brown and some other song. She is GREAT - she can really scat. BTW - if you like hats, you GOTTA see this film. ............and Louis Armstrong ROCKED the joint! ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 01 Feb 1999 00:31:18 -0500 From: Jessica Brandt Subject: Speak up, ye! Hey t seems as tho tons of people from the old SNZ list are signing up onto this list, but no one seems to be talking. I wanted to dazzle my friend Aaron with the amount of good info we pass around, but alas, there is none. *tumbleweed rolls by* here's some stuff for ya: My 6 year old cousin absolutely digs SNZ. Imagine us dancing around my room with me in a big sombrero and him in a Zorro mask and sword. I procured some SNZ single promo from ebay. I forget what it is. it cost me more for S&H than it did for the CD. go fig. Still haven't gotten my 2 SNZ postcards from that girl on ebay...waiting waiting waiting... I think i might be getting the copy of THRILLS off ebay, for a measley $2. And then watch out, people, i will be selling it for millions, as I already have a copy. Someday in the next eon, i'll have some SNZ updates for you, as long as SOME ONE gets back to me within the next decade. I got the "Garden place: songs for our friends" CD from amazon. The SNZ single is super (great live version of "Found a new baby") and it was taped in Munich, and i MUST track down a copy of the complete show!!! Other good songs: Whiskeytown's song, HOBEX (remember, SNZ bought horns for them??) and Darren Jessee's solo song. If my damn car stereo worked right, i'd be albe to listen to it over and over again on my endless treks to school. Didja see BBVD at the halftime show? didja? i didn't. Don't tell me swing isn't a fad, folks. Oh! the new tv listings are up. Lookout for a posting!!! NOW you all have stuff to discuss....so send any replies to the-landing@smoe.org and let's turn this into a DISCUSSION list :) Jess *********************************************************** * --+-READ THE SHRUBBERY-+-- * http://www.theshrubbery.prohosting.com --New Every Month- -Humor, Music, News and More-- *********************************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 01 Feb 1999 00:53:38 -0500 From: Jessica Brandt Subject: TV FOR FEB 1-7 This week's list was brought to you by THE LANDING mailing list! hail hail all those who have come to join us. pity the fool who will not be recieving updates any longer :( This is the first official TV listing on the landing, may there be many more. *cmashes champagne on hull of the boat* Gosh, there's a lot of crap on tv this week, unless you have one of those ultra-hip stations like IFC, SUND or BRAVO. Remember, ***** is "pick to click," all times eastern, check your tv guide if you're not sure, and if you have a question go to www.rockontv.com. MONDAY FEB 1 nothing Zipperiffic on today. Read a book. Or, watch this: 10 pm on VH1 (let the good times roll) concert movie with lots of 50's and 60s stars. TUESDAY FEB 2 6 am on BRAVO (profiles) Wynton marsalis 3:10 am on HBO (movie) The Josephime Baker story (20's and 30's cabaret singer) WEDNESDAY FEB 3 6 am on BRAVO (profiles) The life and times of Thelonius Monk ***** 6 pm on IFC (ind. Film Channel) Life and Times of Quincy Jones FEAT. miles davis, Dizzy GIllespie, Herbie Hancock, frank sinatra, ella fitzgerald, and more ***** THURSDAY FEB 4 2 pm on IFC Quincy Jones, same as weds FRIDAY FEB 5 8:30 am on SUND (the sundance channel) The movie SWINGERS that started this whole mess, featuring BBVD ***** 5:05 pm on SUND same as above SATURDAY FEB 6 12 am on VH1 (hard rock live) Earth Wind and Fire ***** SUNDAY FEB 7 1 pm on VH1 (legends) johnny cash (not zipperiffic, but hard rockin') COMING UP: Lionel hampton and ruth brown on Austin City Limits (2/20) Grammy awards, giving lifetime awards to Otis Reding, Johnny Cash, Mel torme, Sam Cooke, and Smokey Robinson (2/24) SQUIRREL NUT ZIPPERS on hard rock live (3/06) BSO and BBVD on hard rock live (4/17) *********************************************************** * --+-READ THE SHRUBBERY-+-- * http://www.theshrubbery.prohosting.com --New Every Month- -Humor, Music, News and More-- *********************************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 01 Feb 1999 01:56:22 -0500 From: Andy Harman Subject: Zippers Concert - 9/17/98 Bogart's/Cincinnati This is old news obviously, just trying to get something started on the list besides one-liners. This was my second Zippers gig and was a great time, I wrote this immediately after I got home from the concert. ************** Originally written on 9/17/98: Well tonight I got to see my favorite band, and then some. An interesting concept, going to see my favorite band live and standing in a big barn with no seats shoulder to shoulder with people who want to do the jitterbug. Very interesting, because a year and a half ago, I didn't have a "favorite band", at least not one with any members still living. That all changed thanks to the Sheryl Crow Experience, which led me to listen to current pop music regularly for the first time in 20 years, which led to the Squirrel Nut Zippers and their surprise hit "HELL" from last summer. Well tonight was a bit different. Three friends and myself went to the Bogarts venue but this time the Suits Picked Up The Bill - got 4 guest passes courtesy of Zippers sax player Ken Mosher, which included (for me anyway, since I got there early): inside and backstage before the gig, watching them set up sound, ON stage and getting the show n' tell on all their brand new saxophones from the Selmer endorsement, and when they did sound testing I thought they blew a few notes. Wrong! From my vantage point directly behind the sound board, I got to see the band run through *4* tunes all the way, "Pallin' With Al", "Put a Lid On It", "Fat Cat Keeps Getting Fatter", and "Trou Macacq" - the latter being an excellent run since it's my favorite song from the new album, and they have been scratching it from their concert set for most of this tour (I'll tell you why a bit later, read on). This was with nobody but me, a few sound and stage guys, and a couple of house personell in the whole place. I told Ken after that, I could go home happy . The deal also included reserved seats, and if you've ever been in Bogarts, the whole concept of seats is pretty much lost on them, much less "reserved". But since we had to vacate the venue for a couple hours and go come in the front door with the rest of the mob as showtime approached, having the 4 chairs in the balcony reserved did a lot to ease the fatigue. First opening band was Gut-Bucket, a 3-piece combo who also was a part of the Knockdown Society CD. Zippers lead guitarist Jimbo Mathus once again sat in with them: a guitarist, a washboard player, and a tub-bass player. Very cool combo. Jimbo had to have been dog-eared after fronting for two bands on the same night... and probably every night of the tour! They played a slap-happy blues and kazoos kind of sound, the Knockdown Society album "Songs for Rosetta" is available on CD, look under the Squirrel Nut Zipper section. Second opening band was a real treat - the Dirty Dozen Brass Band... these guys have been around a long time - I have one of their vinyl albums from way back in 1985 or so, "My Feet Can't Fail Me Now". The Dirty Dozen are actually a baker's half dozen, a 7-piece band consisting of two trumpets, a tenor sax, a bari sax (who also played flute), a drummer, an electric keyboard, and a sousaphone (who also played electric bass). I haven't seen a sousaphone in a stage band for quite some time! The DD played 45 minutes without ever stopping their New Orleans "street cadence"... seemed like the drummer just led them into the next song. Funky jumpy stuff, excellent playing from all of them especially the saxes. I had no idea the Dozen were touring with the Zippers, and there's another treat to follow. About 10 after 10 pm, the Zippers themselved took the stage. During the break, I was peeling the excess tape off the chairs, and the sign that had proclaimed our seat reservations had something on the back - Ken had grabbed it off the sound board. What should it be, but a complete set list for the entire gig! So I had a "program" and even knew what to expect in the encore. Trou Macacq was scratched off the list :( This song is an absolute riot... also known as "The Monkey Track". Tom Maxwell, who wrote this song and also the hit "Hell" from the previous album, felt that doing the song too much was starting to peg SNZ as a "calypso band". While most of us know better, airplay is a strange phenom, and when Hell took off that was all most people ever heard from the band. If the Monkey song (which is reminiscent of Hell in some ways) was similarly picked up and played heavily, that would make two in a row "calypso" style, the most visible songs out of a band that has a repetoiure of more like 50-60 tunes and growing all the time. So Hell and Macacq don't go on the same program together anymore... and Hell was their big hit, and so far they aren't cocky enough to NOT play it . But I did get to see them do it in the "private show" earlier in the day, so I can't complain! The Squirrel Nut Zippers: James "Jimbo" Mathus - accoustic guitar, electric guitar, trombone, lead vocal, percussion, songwriter. The FORCE. I shook hands with a very worn-out Jimbo after the show, and the energy was still there. This multi-talented musician's passion for everything he does comes out in every note of every performance. I had a feeling that this handshake would be something to tell my great grandchildren about someday, and that they would know if this man and his work 40 years from now. I already told my granddaughter, who for some reason calls them "The Grownup Zippers". Tom Maxwell - accoustic guitar, electric guitar, tenor sax, baritone sax, clarinet, percussion, lead vocal, songwriter. Tom represents the Dark Side of the Force, with his minor-key, often "evil" sounding compositions and threatening, yelling vocals. He is truly in league with Roger Daltrey in that department! Also has written some more traditional swing songs. Ken Mosher - alto sax, baritone sax, electric guitar, vocals, songwriter, and originally was the drummer for the band! Ken at times is the "least visible" member of the band although he was front and center on David Letterman the other night. He says he tips the cameras to keep away from him on TV gigs. I "met" Ken on-line via the SNZ website which he administers and posts to, and it turns out he is a major Sheryl Crow fan as well! We have exchanged emails here and there between his tour runs about saxophones, music in general, and life and this was my first opportunity to meet him in person. Really the red carpet treatment, for sure! Ken has written and co-written some of the songs and works out the horn arrangements. His blistering alto sax solo on "Hell" is a classic, and I've been working on learning it ever since I figured out what horn to play it on . You see, I assumed for the longest time that the solo in question was Tom Maxwell on the *tenor* sax, because it has a really fat sound. But to play it on tenor requires an altissimo G - for non-sax literate folks, that means it's a note over the top of the horn's range. You won't find it in your high school fingering chart! So how do you play it? Overtones and crazy, false fingerings. Here I was trying to nail that high G on a very uncooperative Yamaha tenor sax, when playing it on the right horn would have been so much easier. It's actually well within the *normal* range of an alto... so we had a good laugh over that one! The clue is there in the recording of HELL too... Tom's vocal intro "ooohhh Beauty! Talent! Fame! Money!" overlaps the last note of the sax solo, and he's good but singing and blowing a sax at the same time... now that's a very special talent. And the Zippers don't do anything in the studio they won't do on stage - no overdubs, they play the whole thing flat out in one take. Katharine Whalen - Banjo, tambourine, lead vocals. Katharine has a vocal style that one writer called "part Billie Holiday, part Betty Boop". She has a mesmerizing stage presence - not in a commanding or intimidating sort of way as the great Bessie Smith had, but in an innocent, come-hither sort of way. When the band first arrived I almost didn't recognize her in her T-shirt and jeans; on stage she typically wears a long red strapless dress that is very "20's" looking, and has hair and make-up to match. She looks like she just walked out of a Marx Brothers movie. Her singing is so utterly unlike anything else you will hear, even from other swing bands, that she is in a class by herself. Her performances on the newest album "Perennial Favorites" are if anything even better than her past work. Je Widenhouse - trumpet/cornet. Je joined the band for the third album and has toured with them for at least a year and a half I'd say. His playing is very ballsy and is reminiscent of the early Harry James sound from his Benny Goodman days. I wasn't able to really hear him play until the new album came out; last year the Bogart's sound did not favor the horns at all, and the TV gigs have been fairly flat sounding too. While they were setting up, Ken mentioned something about Je not really needing a microphone... I understood once he opened up right from the get go. This guy is living proof that you don't have to be an ear-piercing "screech" trumpet player to be a "power" trumpet player. His best work is on Perennial Favorites, particularly the blasting opening to "Soon", and "That Fascinating Thing" and of course "Fat Cat". Stu Cole - string bass. Stu had played with the band off and on since almost the beginning, but joined up full time when bassist Don Raleigh left midway through the making of the third album. He puts on quite a show, dancing with the bass on stage and slapping the strings on numbers like "Pallin' with Al". Again, like everyone this year, they had the sound "dialed in" on Stu so it was easy to hear him and not just have to watch and use your imagination . Chris Phillips - drums & trap kit. What do you get when you cross a punk rock drummer with a string n' swing n' horn band? You get the Zippers of course! Chris's drumming was one of the first things to catch my attention in this band, the aforementioned line in "HELL" when Tom yells "Beauty! Talent! Fame! Money! Refinement top skill and braaaaaaaaaiiiiin!" is a great drum and vocal interplay, reminiscent of the early Who (my G-G-Generation). The addition of cowbells and other noisemakers (I swear there's a trash can lid somewhere in the beginning of "The Kraken") give Chris a Spike Jones-like set of tools to work with, and he knows how to use them. So in the immortal words of Elwood Blues, "Lets get to the gig". The nice thing about having that piece of paper with the set list is it makes a review like this a piece of cake. From the top: Memphis Exorcism - the band opened with this instrumental swinger from the album HOT, very true to form with a few ad-libs and extended solos. The thing with most "Neo-swing" bands is they go for a huge horn section, a la Brian Setzer ("Jump Jive & Wail") Orchestra. But the Zippers pack a lot of punch with a maximum of 4 horns going at one time (trumpet, trombone, and 2 saxes) although Ken switches between alto and bari so fast that he might count as two players. With the horns not jammed in huge sections, you can hear the individual voices and everyone is a soloist - as opposed to Setzer's big band. It was obvious also in the first number that the Zippers had taken over Bogarts' sound board and really tuned things up. Last year's concert the sound was very bad, with the trumpet sounding very fuzzy and flat, and the saxes hard to hear, and the drums not miked properly. Not so this time! Club Limbo - from the first album, and an early classic. Some of the tunes are so familiar from endless listening that they start to blend together in my head, and I forget the names of them. When I saw this on the set list I said, "huh?" and then when I heard it, it was "smack! duh!". I immediately remedied this little lapse by picking up another cassette copy of The Inevitable, so I can get these things straight while driving around town (gave away my last car tape of it many months ago!) Pallin' With Al - great swing guitar tune, officially debuted on "Sold Out". In trying to describe this song, like so many of the Zippers' works, it just defies definition. Comparing it to anything else always seems to be doing it an injustice. So I'll say, Pallin' with Al has kind of a bright, almost county guitar sound, and Tom's vocals. It reminds me of some old Merle Travis, but as I said, most of you will probably say "huh?" to that... its just a small piece of the puzzle. Fat Cat Keeps Getting Fatter - great horn arrangement, a legacy to Cab Calloway and 20's swing. The live version featured a fair amount of ad-libbing. My granddaughter (4) just loves this song... keeps asking me if I'm a fat cat and I keep telling her yes (and stuffing more pillows under my shirt) but I'm not sure if she believes me. Ghost of Stephen Foster - They are doing an *animated* video of this!! They read my mind... of course I want the Monkey Track animated too. Just a great, fun song. Jimbo's "dark side" song. And in case you didn't know, de Camptown ladies NEVER sang, oh de doo dah dey.... The Suits are Picking Up The Bill - This year's theme song? Anything that starts out with a solo bari sax has got to be good. Reminds me of my old boss, who always picked up the bill. Dixie horn arrangement, great long intro. Bad Businessman - My "apple pie and coffee" bari-playing (or as Jack, their stage manager said, I'm a "barely sax" player) number. I can play this, really! I only boff it up 98% of the time! Tom plays the bari on this one, and Ken takes up the guitar with Jimbo on the lead vocal. The "Chinese Fire Drill" between numbers continues, with the band members switching positions (most often it's Ken and Tom trading places) and Jack swapping out instruments right and left. At one point, I forget which song it was, Jack ran out and swapped out Jimbo's guitar for another one in the middle of the song. It's worth seeing the concert just to see the physics of how they pull all of it off, with 7 people playing something close to 20 instruments. Danny Diamond - Neat ballad from the first album, with a funky bass line and Katharine's vocals... written by Ken. Soon - Another one of Tom's legacy yelling songs, I love it! He introduced the song by saying, "Is something going to happen soon? NOOOOOO!!" Great, hair-raising trumpeting by Je. I love this line: "If you draw a bow draw the STRONGEST... and if you UUUUse an arrow use the LOOONGEST!!!" The Kraken - Spike Jones reborn, also improvised a bit but no string of firecrackers for the intro (local fire code, you know). This is a totally crazy song too, but it's in keeping with the Zippers' tradition of being full of surprises. After about 2.5 minutes of intro, Katharine sings a dreamy verse that is indescribable. The genre leaps sometimes occur within a measure, so it's a bit of an understatement to say the Zippers are a bit hard to pin down in that department. Ken said he thought the new album might be too far "out there", but that impression, for me anyway, didn't last more than the first 15 seconds of any one song. The other neo-swing bands will succeed, I'm sure, but you don't need to buy more than one of their albums because they all tend to sound the same . The Zippers, I can't wait to see what they'll do next... and a Christmas album is in the works! It Ain't You - great Katharine vocals, minor key horns, and that funky descending bass line that holds it all together. Put a Lid on It - IMO this is SNZ's signature tune. It got some very small airplay after "Hell" but almost everything the band is about is encapsulated in this song, the vocal duo of Tom and Katharine with most everybody else backing vocal. Je on the whah-whah trumpet, Ken on alto and bari, and the hardest swing beat since, well at least since "Lugubrious Whing Whang" which I have yet to hear live. The CD version of this song (on HOT) was recorded on minimal miking and actually mixed off a backup running DAT. The fact that the song came off so well without studio tricks to balance the act is a testimony to how well this band plays together. And live, it's even better. Hell - It's always fun to see how they intro this song... almost always with Tom telling a story, then the house lights go black in response to the opening guitar, and are kicked back on by Chris. I can't "not" do this anymore myself, my house is full of fist-prints on drywall and the center console of my truck has taken a beating. I simply *must* hit that opening kick. Flight of the Passing Fancy - Everybody kind of turned loose on this one for a solo, expanding the song out to about 6 minutes or so. Tom outdid himself on the tenor sax solo, really the best I've heard from him live, even Chris got to bang the bangers by himself for a few. Encore---- Got My Own Thing Now - This is *my* signature tune. Absolutely love this song. There was that moment, when I bought HOT for the first time (I've probably purchased and given away 2 dozen copies of this album to family and friends, but Perennial Favorites is catching up) when I wondered... is this band a one hit wonder? Is "Hell" their only good song? Is the rest of their stuff metal grunt n' grind or gratuitous nostalgia? Hell no! First song off the top on Hot confirmed that. Just an incredible, upbeat song of the highest caliber. Jimbo's enthusiasm rings in this one and those punchy horns at the end... awesome. Minor Swing - a new song! I can't remember too much about it but it sounded great. La Grippe - La Flu Bugge, which I hope hasn't bitten Ken... he said he was pretty rundown by the end of the gig. The party song. I Found a New Baby - Old Dixie classic, one of the few songs you'll hear the Zippers do that wasn't written by a band member. The entire entourage of the Dirty Dozen joined them on stage for extended solos, at one point with Je and the two DD trumpeters trading off in a three-way duel. And that sousaphone solo... awesome! And Ken squared off with the tenor and bari player from DD for the battle of the saxes, Chris got in his licks, and of course Tom and Jimbo although I can't remember if Jimbo played guitar or trombone on this one. That finale closed out the roughly 90-minute gig, which was virtually non-stop except for maybe 5 minutes before the encore. The only dissapointment was the scratching of Trou Macacq (although understandably so), and I really miss "Lover's Lane" being on the program... Tom and Jimbo always put on a show with that one and I only got to see it once. The Zippers are on break for a few weeks but pick up 10/17 at Radio City Music Hall in New York and work their way down the east coast - that's as far out as the schedule goes for the moment. Thanks to Ken for the tickets, the inside look around, and all the great songs and sax arangements! I told Jimbo after the show that it was Ken's fault I took up the saxophone in my middle age, and that it was his (Jimbo's) fault I got my trombone out again and dusted it off... he just said, "ohhhhh no, don't blame ME! noooo way!" Hope to catch 'em again if they cross back over the midwest yet this year... Andy ------------------------------ End of the-landing-digest V2 #11 ********************************