Exclusive Interview Al "Dick" Perry...2012 Presidential Candidate!!

Tucson singer-songwriter Al "Dick" Perry has thrown his hat in the ring as Republican candidate in the upcoming U.S.Presidential election. SLIT music fanzine is fortunate enough to have been granted his first interview with the press! Read on....!

from the front page of Al Perry's presidential nomination papers

SLIT:  In your songs, you've talked about "Losers". Does President Al Perry have anything to say to "Losers"?

Candidate Al "Dick" Perry: President Al Perry has absolutely nothing to say to "Losers".  President Al Perry is a "Winner" who is devoted to winning, and victory.  Losing is not an option.

SLIT: What's the most important problem facing America today?

Candidate Al "Dick" Perry: There are so many problems facing America today.  I think our system of "campaign contributions" and "lobbying" constitute LEGALIZED BRIBERY.  You don't hear of any candidates talking about  the issues.  Instead it's all about fundraising.  This puts our representatives in the position of being beholden to corporate interests, instead of the citizens.  A reform of this system would go a long way in terms of changing things.

Another snip from Al "Dick" Perry's nomination papers

SLIT:  Which Arizona politician is your mentor or inspiration? Have you met?

Candidate Al "Dick" Perry: A couple obvious ones: Gabrielle Giffords, and Raul Grijalva.  I've met both of them. Arizona is rightfully proud of them, and they continue to inspire me. We're fortunate to have them.

A couple other  favorites are Ev Mecham, Sheriff Joe, and that good ol bumbling Mayor Bob.  They are not a source of inspiration, but rather a source of comedy. They show what NOT to do.

SLIT:  What are your plans for stimulating the economy?

Candidate Al "Dick" Perry: Besides my answer to #2 above, I believe the corporate charter should be immediately abolished.  This states that a corporation is legally obligated to produce maximum profits for the shareholders. They can be sued if they don't. I think this is largely responsible for why many of our jobs have been outsourced. Also, let's get a fair tax structure going. The corporations and the wealthy are not paying their fair share of taxes. It's pretty easy to figure this stuff out, though our elected representatives just don't seem to get it.  They don't get it because they are all bought off.
Most idiots think that our problem is the unions and the unnecessary regulations that force companies to get out of the country.  They move to other countries because they don't want to pay American workers a living wage, and they want to obtain obscene profits.

SLIT:  Is Circle K sponsoring your campaign? If no, why not?

Candidate Al "Dick" Perry: No, but that's a good idea. Except then I'd be beholden to them.  I have certainly put enough Circle Ks in my watercolors!  Good of you to give me this question, cause I've been so serious up until now.  The thing is, people expect me to take this as some sort of joke, but my campaign platform is deadly serious. I have some proposals that will change the course this country is on.  I am not trying to be zany and tacky here.

SLIT: What's your campaign slogan? Does it rhyme? If no, why not?

Candidate Al "Dick" Perry: Don't vote for Rick! Vote for a Dick!  My name on the ballot will be appearing as Al "Dick" Perry.  Homage to another Dick, Richard Nixon.  If anyone can think of a better slogan, though, let me know.

SLIT:   Should politicans "rock out"?

Candidate Al "Dick" Perry:  I think you know the answer to that. Of course they should "rock out"!!!! Music has been a source of inspiration to me all my life. Everyone should ROCK OUT!!!!!

SLIT:  Do you have any plans to record a campaign album? Any ideas for a theme song?

Candidate Al "Dick" Perry: No plans.

SLIT:  So who's your First Lady? (Go on! Just pick one!)
Candidate Al "Dick" Perry: Heck I don't know! Shawna Forde?

SLIT:  How big a role do the arts play in Al Perry's America?

Candidate Al "Dick" Perry: The arts are EXTREMELY important in my life.  We all benefit from the arts.  Our lives are enriched by the arts, no matter what branch of the arts you're referring to. I feel that education, and the arts should be partially subsidized. Of course we have much more important things to spend our tax dollars on like useless wars and Wall Street bailouts, right?
Good ol Obama ended up with "Obamacare" which in 2014 mandates that every American must purchase health insurance or face a fine.  I propose "Perrycare" which states that all Americans are mandated to buy a turntable and a few Beach Boys albums. Maybe some Buck Owens too.  No CD players, no mp3s. There is a reason why vinyl (and analog in general) is a superior form of music delivery.  I am doing this for the mental health of the nation.  Listen to "All Summer Long" and you'll see why.  If you like, I can explain the physics of it, and I can also recommend some good turntables and stereos to purchase.

SLIT:  President Obama has recently stated that "laziness is his worst fault". What do you see as your biggest fault?

Candidate Al "Dick" Perry: I don't concur w/ George W. Obama on much, but laziness is likely my worst fault.  Plus I am kind of stupid and a doofus.

SLIT:  President Obama was recently described as "Spock-like" due to his cool controlled demeanor. Do you think it's fair to compare politicians to space aliens?

Candidate Al "Dick" Perry: I certainly can't compare them to human beings!

SLIT:  What's your opinion of the "Occupy" Movement? Is it an effective vehicle for creating economic fairness?

Candidate Al "Dick" Perry: I agree with their points, I don't think the method was appropriate.  Pitching a tent in the park and having a drum circle while they claim that the Constitution trumps basic laws, I think is pretty doggone silly. I think my candidacy is likely pretty doggone silly too, in a certain way.  However I do feel I am participating in the political process.

SLIT: Is pepper spray good for the country?

Candidate Al "Dick" Perry: I am not sure about that.  I had this problem recently:  Every time I had sex, I would get a horrible burning sensation in my eyes.  Turned out it was the pepper spray causing it. So, maybe it's not good for the country.

"I propose 'Perrycare...for the mental health of the nation"

SLIT:  Any creative ideas about how we could use cactus to promote tourism in Arizona? ("We Got Cactus!")

Candidate Al "Dick" Perry: That song, which was written by one of my greatest pals, Bob McKinley of Bloodspasm is the finest song ever written about Arizona.  I can't stress that enough.

SLIT:  What's your foreign policy? Who's for us, and who's against us?

Candidate Al "Dick" Perry: I do not think we should be invading sovereign nations.  These costly military adventures have destroyed our reputation as proponents of democracy, freedom and liberty.

SLIT:  FDR said "the only thing to fear is fear itself". Is that true?

Candidate Al "Dick" Perry: I'd say so, yes.  If that were not true do you think a doofus like me would put his name on the primary ballot?

SLIT:  Are there any formative experiences you've had that have made you the politician that you are?

Candidate Al "Dick" Perry: Hard to pin something like that down.  I come from a family of Republicans. I'm not rebelling or anything, but I've always been exposed to both sides of the political fence. I just got back from the holiday festivities, and they all love that I'm doing this.  Despite any differences I might have with them politically, I really love my family. I think if you read my campaign platform paper you'll see that my simple suggestions for getting this country back on track appeal to anyone of any political stripe. I use logic, common sense and basic human decency when I evaluate an issue.

SLIT:  Are Arizona's best days yet to come?

Candidate Al "Dick" Perry: Well, I sure hope so! 

SLIT:  Thank you candidate Al Perry! Please add anything else you'd like to say to our readers!

Candidate Al "Dick" Perry: I know a lot of people are gonna expect me to be funny and zany, and I could easily do that and make a joke out of this whole thing.  However I have some valid points that I'd like to be heard.  People have told me for years that I am the "unofficial mayor of Tucson" and that I should run for something.  So I guess I could run for, I dunno, city council, then mayor, then governor, representative, the Senate, etc... But there are too many problems facing our country that if they are not addressed in a timely fashion, we'll go right down the damn tubes.  So, I'm starting at the top!

Howe Gelb and Thoger Lund at Pioneer Hotel Lobby...12 NOV 2011

half of Giant Sand...rockin' a hotel lobby on a Saturday night...

As I was checking out "2nd Saturdays" in downtown Tucson last night, I was walking down Stone Ave, and I saw a cluster scraggly looking people hanging out in the lobby of the Pioneer Hotel. At first, I thought it was some sort of shelter for those without homes to come in from the cold...but when I got a closer look I saw that it was the audience for a musical performance! I recognized Howe Gelb and Thoger Lund on center "stage" (see photo), so I walked right in...

I caught about three songs (stuff from their recent "Blurry Blue Mountain" album, I think), as I leaned against an elevator door.  Howe was the last musical act that night; others included Tom Walbank,  Chris Black (who had framed artwork from his just recently recorded CD on the walls)., and Gabriel Sullivan,   Infants were crawling around the lobby, squealing and boucing to the music. The atmosphere was very odd and surreal.

I think that this event was hosted by the Tucson Pima Arts Council, since several of their people were there (with their kids). Artwork from each of the musicians adorned the wall (you can see some of it in the background), with Howe Gelb having created a large piece of "folk ark" (which was actually five pieces of butcher paper on which Howe told a story, drawn with a Sharpie, about a mishap with woman he'd had several years ago outside a Texas nightclub).   This gig was definitely off the beaten path, but very enjoyable for those who happened to discover it!

CD Review; THE SWIGS: "Johnson Family Values" (Sapient Records)

The Swigs' new CD "Johnson Family Values"

I really am enjoying listening to the new album by Tucson's The Swigs, called "Johnson Family Values".  The focus of this album is really on creating a certain '70's-era band sound, with lots of lead guitar noodling (with a variety of effects pedals), combined with virtuoso musicianship. But it also goes beyond those initial models, by doing remakes of classic songs by Bowe, the Bee Gees, and the Rolling Stones, that (in my opinion) surpass the originals.

The eight songs are evenly divided between covers and originals. It's really nice to hear solid musicianship, and it's nice to hear such loving tribute given to the hard rock bands of the '70's.  Listening to this album, I'm hearing shades of some of my favorite ball-yankin' rock n' roll bands, such as Aerosmith, Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy -- but it's done with respect. There was a time when whenever anyone quoted a '70's-era hard rock band, it was for comedic effect. The Swigs play straight-ahead 70's-inspired rock n' roll, without irony, and it sounds great.

The first track, an original tune called "Transmissions",  starts out with a punk sound ala The Saints or Thin Lizzie, and then goes into a musical jam that contains a keyboard riff that sounds right out of Deep Purple, Hammond organ and all. This is followed by a cover of David Bowie's "Let Me Sleep Beside You", although the Swigs turn Bowie's 1967-era bubbly pop song into a psychedelic distortion-filled rocker, sounding a little like Free.

Next is another original tune, "Raw Little Animal", which has a funky ball-yankin' sound reminiscent of Aerosmith, but at the chorus, has a sound reminiscent of the layered guitars of Rush.  This is also a great showcase piece for Kevin's virtuoso guitar noodling, which is a central part of the Swig's sound.

The fourth song, "Alone", is a Bee Gee's cover. When the Bee Gee's did this, it was slow paced syrupy pop (that sounded like overproduced Beach Boys in places), but after the Swigs have their way with it, it sounds more like The Clash in their early years. Just as they did with David Bowie's "Let Me Sleep With You", the Swigs take a a sweet lush pop song and turn it into a rock grunge anthem by speeding up the tempo and adding layers of guitar fuzz. Personally, I prefer The Swigs versions of both of those songs just mentioned, because they give them more grunge and earthiness.

The fifth song, an instrumental called "Omas Ludvig", is a showcase piece for the band, especially for Kevin Henderson's guitar work.   The bass and drums do a great job holding the song together. The drummer (Mike Troupe) is a great drummer; he know all kinds of of rock licks that sound just right, and Eric Syder does a fine job on the bass.

"Downtown Lucy" (the 6th song here) is one of my favorite cuts.  Just as with the Bowie cover, and the Bee Gees cover, the Swigs do it again! They take an old Rolling Stones song (from their "Metamorphosis" album) and actually improve it! The original has a down-home lazy feel, with the Stones all singing along to a single acoustic slide guitar (before launching into a rock jam). The Swigs turn it into something that sounds like T-Rex playing through a stack of Marshall amps.


"Fire Ants" is another instrumental, written by bassist Eric Snyder. Starts out sounding like Hendrix on "Voodoo Child", but then goes into an extended jam that sounds like U2 playing Hendrix's "Third Stone From The Sun", with the chorus sounding like the wall-of-guitars sound of  Rush. At least that's the best way I can describe it. You can get lost in the layers of sonic texture. Pure pleasure!

 The last song on the album, "Wasted Waitress Waltz" is another showcase piece for the band. First of all, it's not a waltz. Second, this song features a lot of frenetic strumming combined with effects pedals, along with driving drums and frentic bass. This song is instrumental, and everyone in the band shines.

What I really like about The Swigs is that their sound is firmly rooted in the sounds of classic hard rock; they've got a sense of roots. I also like they value musicianship, as is evidenced by the number of instrumental numbers on the album.  They embrace the bands and sounds that punkers outright rejected a few years later (with the advent of quirk pop and punk sounds of "New Wave"), making making them sound fresh and interesting again. "Johnson Family Values" is an album that grows on you. There's no bad cut on the album. There are musical layers that keep it always interesting to listen to. They did a really great job on this disc, and I look forward to seeing them next time they play a gig.

"Johnson Family Values": a great album from The Swigs!!

Sapient Records website

Fish Karma & The Love Generation...at Beowulf Alley Theatre (27 March 2011)

The Beowulf Alley Theatre great place to see a band, especially in the middle of the day. This gig took place just before noon, on a Sunday, as part of the Tucson Fringe Festival. The venue is very nice, and is set up for the theater. Great acoustics, comfy seats, and not a bad seat in the house. It looks like it holds about 75 people, and today, it was about half full.

2/5 of the Love Generation, rocking out

I was surprised to see that the Love Generation, this morning, attracted a wide range of people, from punkers, to little kids in diapers, to hippie chicks, to little old ladies. Fun for the whole family; It was actually kind of funny watching Fish (Terry Owen) singing some of his rude and hilarious songs with his lyrics flashing the  large screen in a PowerPoint presentation, while the little old lady in front of me watched with rapt attention. 

Musically, the band can really play:  sometimes heavy metal, sometimes country twang.  Fish was standing center stage, reciting and ranting his lyrics, while dressed for business, wearing matching coat and pants.  The songs are from the bands "Halloween in America" album, and as a whole, they comprise a "rock opera", which were popular in the early 1970's. Come to think of is, that band's sound does make a lot of allusions to rock music from a bygone era.  They're like a hyper-literate garage band, except instead of songs about cars and girls, they sing about existentialism, angst, ennui, despair, and  current events.

At today's show, the band embraced the fave audio-visual tool of the corporate world: the PowerPoint presentation, using it to good effect to help the audience understand the lyrical content (by projecting lyric sheets above Terry's head), and also to add a few visuals (mostly Terry's photos of abandoned storefronts, or other imagery that illustrated his lyrics). I hope that Terry noticed the irony in all of this: while at odds with much of consumer-culture (in his lyrics), he does make an exception for PowerPoint!  Did I mention that Terry is also a great cartoonist? Hey Fish, next time you do a PowerPoint presentation, add some of your drawings!

Fish Karma & The Love Generation & PowerPoint

 On a corner of the side of the stage, local singer/songwriter Al Perry served as narrator. Reading from a script on a music stand, Al read a script that linked together all of the individual songs into a sort of patchwork story.

As a "rock opera" (a very mid-60's, early-'70's thing to do) the approach was pretty straight-forward: each song was separated by a narrative interlude by Al Perry. The lyrics to each song flashed behind Fish in a PowerPoint presentation. I got to thinking about how the "operatic" qualities to this show could be enhanced even more: add a mime? Have sound effects (and thus turn the show into something of a radio play)? Have the band members speak some lines of dialogue, and and thus "act" out some of the script? The idea of a "rock opera" is intriguing, and Terry has a natural theatrical bent. So who knows where Fish Karma & the Love Generation will take take this, should they choose to continue with the rock opera format!

For the last song, (a rousing version of "Sugar, Sugar" by the Archies) Terry wrapped himself in a "Snuggie", and lounged on the stage like Roman Emperor (with his "Snuggie" as his toga) as the band cranked it up behind him. When the song ended, he was flat on his back, looking like Darby Crash (of the Germs) on the album cover of "The Decline and Fall of Western Civilization".

Singing "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies

 I'm not sure that this what the little old ladies in the seats in front of me expected when they entered the theatre, but they stayed the for the entire 90-minute concert, and applauded at the end.  Pretty incredible feat for this band, to create politically edgy garage rock music that appeals to such a wide cross-section of people!  

New Single by Howe Gelb on Fort Lowell Records

Howe Gelb's New Single on Fort Lowell Records

“Spiral” / “Cordoba in Slow Motion”

Release Date: April 16 (Record Store Day)

I really enjoyed this new single by Howe Gelb.  Both sides are different in so many ways, but they are united in having a similar tempo, energy, and feel; they both give a feeling of buoyancy in an overcast world. 

The cover is a black and white photo of a cluster of birds in flight, viewed from within the cluster . Side A features a live version of “Spiral”, recorded with an understated and somber sounding choir. Howe’s even cadence on the piano is the start of “Spiral”, and combined with the background choir, and his hopeful lyric about a “new form of decency” makes a song about despair soar.  “Spiral” is actually good blues: it’s a sad song that makes you feel spiritually uplifted.  Howe’s piano playing is excellent, and played with real feeling.  His piano trills and and accents bring to mind myriad associations, from Bob Dylan, to Billy Joel (early years), to Rachmaninoff.   At the end, though, you’re startled out of your reverie by a rousing ovation from the audience.  Great version. It comes off so easy, that it feels like a hug.

 Side B features Howe’s jazz combo, “Melted Wires” playing a tune called “Cordoba in Slow Motion”, which saunters along at about the same tempo as “Spiral”. This tune is very cool jazz, with lots of brush work up high in the mix, and Howe’s tasteful piano filling out the rest. It sounds very improvisational. About halfway through, we hear the sounds of a trumpet, further back in the mix and with a bit of reverb, so that it sounds like it’s coming from across the room.  It’s great; that trumpet really fills out the group. In my opinion, this song could have gone on for a lot longer, but I guess that means that you’ll just have to play it again! 

I like how both Side A and Side B complement each other.  Both have very different musical approaches, but both have a feeling of joy at their core.

A great single from Howe Gelb, on the Fort Lowell Records label!

--Howard Salmon

Here's some additional info from Fort Lowell Records:
Fort Lowell Records celebrates it’s inaugural year with Record Store Day 2011 and the "godfather of alt-country,” the "elder ambassador of desert rock," Howe Gelb. Combining two of Gelb’s projects onto one 7inch record, ‘Sno Angel + Melted Wires lend a voice of comfort in a time of need. ‘Sno Angel, featuring Gelb with his Canadian based touring band backed by the Voices Of Praise choir, provide encouragement to the listener with their track “Spiral,” recorded in 2006 and taken from their live CD ‘Sno Angel Winging It (OW OM Records, 2009), presented here on vinyl for the very first time. Meanwhile, the previously unreleased track “Cordoba in Slow Motion,” recorded nearly three years later during Gelb’s Melted Wires sessions, tactfully, without lyrics, compliments it’s counterpart by providing the necessary space for meditation.

TUCSON DRUMMERS: The Fabulous & Famous...TOMMY LARKINS!!

Drumming For Jonathan Richman for 18 years!

...and opened for Jonny Sevin as a young pup! 

He's replaced his snare with an African conga drum!

SLIT: How did you first get interested in drums?

TL: I was in first grade when a kids dad was a drummer had just killed himself.(Should have been a red flag?)The kid brought his fathers gold sparkle snare drum and ride cymbal to show and tell. He was a juvenile delinquent named Rocky Nichols. (Another red flag) he was not in my room so I missed his presentation but after school he set it up on the playground and kids were playing on it. I was completely blown away by this. When it came my turn, I just started playing a surf beat, never having held a pair of sticks before. I still remember it like it was yesterday,a cute little girl with a red coat on turned to her cute friend and said ''he's really good''. And here we are.

SLIT:  How did you learn to play? Did you take lessons? Who were/are your favorite drummers?

TL: In 2nd grade they would give you lessons from Haskel Harr drum books, basic rudiments. I was in the school band until 9th grade when they made it mandatory to go to the football games. Ahhh no! There was pot to smoke and Hendrix records to listen to. That was the end of my formal training. But the beginning of my self exploration in the back seat of cars listening to all kinds of exciting music.

SLIT:  What kind of drums do you play? What's your set like? How do you hold your sticks?

TL:  I have gotten real bored with the standard kit that has been around for almost 80 years now. Go out to any club today, or in my case, watch the late night show and see the new bands.The drummers are still playing that same tired setup, to me it's boring. My job has allowed me to play whatever I want, and I've taken full advantage of it. I don't even use a snare drum anymore. I have an 80 year old african conga for a snare, a timbale for a floor, broken cymbals, it gets wackier all the time.

SLIT: Do you play any other instruments other than drums? How many bands have you drummed for? Who are you drumming for now?

TL: I have pretty much supported myself playing all these years so I have played in a million bands and situations. I am starting my 18th year playing full time with Jonathan Richman. Don't do anything else. I would do other things but no one ever calls. I asked a promoter friend in Canada,why don't people call me to do stuff when I'm not working? He said "when you're in a steady relationship for a long time, nobody asks you out on dates''. But it could be because I suck, I don't know.

SLIT:  What's the latest in your drumming/musical life?

TL: Like I said, 18 years, that's the latest.

SLIT:  How did you get started with Tucson's music scene?

TL: Wow,I moved here in 1979. I started playing in country bands right off the bat.There use to be maybe 20 places in town that had live country band alone, some 7 nights a week. I use to go to the rock cover clubs on my nights off and would get a kick out of those scenes. I would see Bruce Halper, Johnny Ray and Winston and other people playing in these places, it looked like fun and I'm sure everybody was getting laid. Then I started going to Tumbleweeds and "New Wave'' nights at the
Night Train and other places, they were always on Tues. nights for some reason. I was shy then and never talked to anybody. Jefferson Keenon said he remembers seeing me hanging out and wondered what my deal was. Then I got a call to play a gig with a band and we opened for Johnny Seven at Dooley's. It was a big gig all the hipsters were there. The band bombed but someone said there was this drummer(that were in short supply) there that had a cool drumset and didn't have a mullet and I started getting calls to do cool stuff.

SLIT: What's your favorite style of music?

TL: I listen to everything, don't have one.

SLIT:  Is there anything with music that you've haven't done that you'd like to?

TL: be on Austin City Limits, Jonathan has been offered it, but he does'nt want to fly out there.

SLIT: Do you have any favorite drum licks?

TL: I told someone once ''I have no chops but I've loaned money to guys that do'' no.

SLIT:  What was the best drumming you've ever done? Is there a recording of classic Larkins drumming?

TL: Every time I play something really great and earthshattering the tape is never rolling or something breaks, I guess I just work with a bunch of fucking idiots. no.

SLIT: What keeps drums interesting for you?

TL: Richard Gere said it best in An Officer and a Gentleman , I HAVE NO WHERE TO GO.

The Amazing & Incredible...HOWE GELB!!

Another Howe Gelb collaboration!

SLIT:  How did you first get interested in being a musician?  What was your first instrument? Lessons?

HG: Well sir .. I think I severely needed an escape when I was a kid. Music was it.

There was a boring tv show when I was 8 called "The King Family", which was a sing-along style affair like Mitch Miller. In the middle of the program was the segment I would impatiently wait for: "Alvino Rey and his Singing Guitar". He would come on and play a slide guitar and make the notes form almost human phonics, much like a talk box effect that emerged in the 70s.

Alvino Rey was my first inspiration.

When I was recording up in Canada on the 'Sno Angel recordings in 2003, I suddenly remembered Alvino Rey, but didn't know why I had just remembered that at that point. 'Sno Angel drummer Jeremy Gara went on to join 'The Arcade Fire' and it was then I learned that the Butler Brothers' grandfather was thee Alvino Rey.

Back in Pennsylvania, my first instrument was a piano I never practiced on. "Polly Wolly Doodle" stumped me and reading music drove me nuts. One day my mom "antiqued" the piano in white and gold and I would not even go near it after that. So then the big flood waters of the great Susquehanna River rose up and pulverized that piano when it poured 6 feet over our house. Moved to Arizona after that. The year was 1972.

Giant Sand (2010)

SLIT: What are some bands you've been in?  What was your first band?

HG: Whenever I would go back to Pennsylvania to make money in the factory, and get some of that free recording time, I’d always make up a new band name. (Later when I began to make real records, I was sorely tempted to change the band name on every album and just keep the same title… but alas it didn’t come to pass.) I was under the mistaken impression that the songs I wrote in my bedroom would be easily constructed by other players in a recording session when they hadn't ever heard the songs.

So very wrong was I.

"Wow & Flutter" was an original music duo that played out a few times, kinda country. But my first real band was "The Stains"; a punk outfit fronted by a fellow who emulated Johnny Rotten and we'd do mostly Ramones, Pistols and Dead Boy covers, except for a furiously fast blazing redo of the Wizard of Oz's "If I Only Had A Brain". That was 1978 during a Pennsylvania winter, when i was stuck there and broke. I was only the keyboard/farfisa player in that outfit. Didn't sing or offer any songs.


SLIT:  How many instruments do you play?

HG: Not to be difficult, but I am not sure if how I attack an instrument is actually defined as "playing". I think maybe I coax it it into thinking I'm playing it, until it realizes what is really going on, then its too late.

So. If that's the case, I suppose piano and guitar is it. Maybe a little blues harp. I had to play bass sometimes in Giant Sandworms and I've been known to assimilate a drum loop banging a small broom handle on a plastic water cooler, only when need be.

"The tone that begs the bone to moan!"

SLIT:  What are some fave recordings that you've played on?

HG: I don’t understand the question.

SLIT:  Musical influences?

HG: Rainer, Jimmy Rodgers, Mott the Hoople, Thelonious Sphere Monk, Otis Span, Neil Young, Hank Williams, Todd Rundgren, Memphis Slim, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, David Alan Coe (thanks Jon Tucker) and David Bromberg.

SLIT:  How did you first get involved with Tucson's music scene?

HG: When I moved here, I began playing piano again on my new step sister's piano. I also enlisted in the Art program at U of A for a spell, but dropped out soon enough to try my hand at music full on. First attempt was an audition at Cushing Street Bar. Too  nervous so I played some Dylan song way too fast and didn't get the gig. Then I noticed a flyer for a place called ‘The Basement Café’ (run by Roger Hooker who actually gave me my first gig here in town playing at the open air stage in Armory Park, about 1975). Anyhow, on that flyer I noticed a fellow going by the name of 'Rainer' for some reason. These smoky moments of “notice” often play out for me later in a future fire.

During the end of a 3 day acid trip in 1976 I was introduced to him by a Canadian girl who had her camper parked on my curb. It was at the Helen Street Cafe. I lived on Helen Street. Her name was Helen. Was introduced to Rainer while he was in the middle of his set there and me still quaking from ‘window pane’. He called me up to sit in on piano. I hoped he was playing in G since it was about all I could handle. Turned out his whole guitar was tuned in G. We played for 45 minutes because I was deathly afraid of stopping and having to face the crowd, so I kept playing until the place closed and everyone was kicked out. Rainer didn't seem to mind that at all. That was the beginning of our friendship.

I waited until he was freed from his band to try one with him. In the meantime I would return to Pennsylvania to work in a soda factory and make some money to live back in Tucson. Also began to learn to record there at a free public radio station that offered 3 hour session time by George Graham. Started with a country duo called "Wow & Flutter" with Keith Evans. Then a variety of other projects, eventually ending with a rock opera. And that's when Rainer and I got together to form the Giant Sandworms. He met Billy Sedlmayr, who in turn brought Dave Seger to our first meeting/jam in Rainer's living room. By now it was 1979 or 80. Our first gig was at a gnarly lil' joint called 'Tumble weeds'.

SLIT:  What kind of guitar to you play?  What was your first guitar?

HG: Neil Young’s electrical guitar sound was my inoculation and so I sought out a Gretsch thinking that’s what he had used. But once I saw Billy Zoom handle his, the deal was sealed. So that was my first real guitar, and after imprinting it on the first 20 records or so, I’ve handed it down to my daughter now, which was a wonderful feeling. That piece of lumber had been through a lot. Rainer repaired the head stock on it after I threw it across stage one night a long time ago. So I finally bought myself a beautiful red Gretsch waiting for my mid-life crisis instead of the red porsche that they say happens.

I have always enjoyed buying beat up guitars no one wanted or would think of stealing. Seemingly cheap guitars back when no one discovered the wonderful tones of such yet. These were often beast-like to control and handle but so divine, like Harmony and Kay or Silvertone and Lark, and especially EKO. My favorite was a 75 dollar Harmony and was the only guitar I’ve ever had stolen. Joey Burns borrowed it for 2 years to teach himself, and then just after he gave it back it got snagged in New York City. I felt like a plebe.

Once I approached 50 I allowed myself some real machines like Fender and Gibson. Each one funk-a-fied and crumpled, but with excellent tone if you know how to ride it.

And come to think of it, I think almost every guitar I got was sold to me by Harvey Moltz at Rainbow. He always seemed to know what would appeal.

SLIT: Do you tune your guitar in any special way? Are there any effects that you're fond of?

HG: There was a moment when Al Perry and Loren Dirk and me got together to record a few songs and we were apologizing to each other about how we tuned our guitars, until we realized we had them detuned the same way.

Maybe it’s a Tucson thing, but the guitar used to get more and more slack. First it was regular tuning in E, then it went to Eb. Sometime after that it shifted to D. Then Db. Before it got down to C.  I just bought a baritone instead.

When I thought that phase was over, we bought an old piano in Prescott and discovered it was also tuned down a whole step so C was Bb. It was from 1888, before they established “concert pitch” of 440.

As for effects, I keep it pretty minimal these days. But there is a fellow in Phoenix who makes a mod for me that incorporates some defunct Digitech pedals from the 90s. And I have a distortion box made in Denmark, for good luck. . . just that and the old red analog delay from the 80s.

SLIT:  There's an arty/avant garde side of your music that no-one really talks about (e.g. songs like "Muck Machine" sounds like it could've been on Ralph Records back in the day) Where's that stuff coming from? Do you have an urge to simultaneously create and destroy (with your songs)?

HG: yes.

SLIT:  How has Rainer and his music affected your music?

HG: He has influenced me in more ways then I have yet to discover. But he was there to inspire having a family life within the confines of our job description, which seemed impossible otherwise. When we played together it reminded me of sounding the way an Escher print looks. To be able to jam on one chord for an infinite amount of time and not allow it to get boring.

To keep it real and to really let it go.

We would experiment within the boundaries of tradition and celebrate reinvention beyond anything already categorized.

Howe Gelb & A Band Of Gypsies!

SLIT:  What are some milestones in your career as a musician, singer/songwriter, etc..??

HG: Never stopped to figure those out exactly .. .

But it would have to be the players I’ve had the pleasure of jammering sonics with over the years. that has been the single most thrust of gust to float my boat.

Just being able to get out of Dodge, even if it took a flood to get it all flowin’.

SLIT:  What keeps music interesting for you?

HG: The flow and the flood; the brilliant tangle of erosion as Nature intended and how the heart tangos in simpatico beat.

The tone that begs the bone to moan.

Check out Howe Gelb's website: http://www.howegelb.com