#rocketfromthetombs

Hey all! I had a great time as a guest on the podcast, Records Revisited! It's a great show, where they bring on music heads to chat about a fave record. They asked me if I'd wanna do the first Dead Boys album, and being the "Nah, let's go even more obscure" kinda guy, I chose the unfairly under-loved second Dead Boys album, We Have Come for Your Children. So give it a listen -- click on that headline. Starts a little slow, really gets going!

The impromptu bonus round for Snackpoint Charlie’s Special Cleveland Edition is now in the archive, ready to blast flapping jets of mid-70’s Rust Belt proto-punk into your earholes. There was so much excellent conversation with Peter Laughner cohorts Cynthia Black, Albert Dennis and Anastasia Pantsios in Part 1 (still available here) that we ran short of time for music! Fortunately we were able to rectify the cosmic balance thanks to Spike Priggen, who so graciously handed over the reins of his excellent Bedazzled Radio Hour this week (thanks Spike!). Snackpoint Charlie’s Special Cleveland Edition, Pt.2 is filed under Spike’s page, right here -- grab it now!

Snackpoint Charlie - Transmission 027b https://wavefarm.org/archive/q1tnwe

1) Pere Ubu - “30 Seconds Over Tokyo” from MANHATTAN http://www.hearpen.com/hr169.html

2) Friction - “Dear Richard” from PETER LAUGHNER https://www.smogveil.com/products/peter-laughner-box-set-5-lps-plus-book

3) Hy Maya - “Dance of the Electromagnetic (A Space Event In Time) (excerpt)” from THE MYSTICISM OF SOUND & COSMIC LANGUAGE https://www.smogveil.com/products/copy-of-hy-maya-the-mysticism-of-sound-cosmic-language-double-cd

4) Mirrors - “She Smiled Wild” from SHIRLEY / SHE SMILED WILD https://www.discogs.com/Mirrors-Shirley-She-Smiled-Wild/master/362990

5) Home & Garden - “(please) FIX MY HORN (my brakes don't work)” from HOW I SPENT MY VACATION http://www.homeandgardenmusic.com/index_bio.asp https://www.discogs.com/Home-And-Garden-How-I-Spent-My-Vacation/release/2024274 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo0LSDoafMU

5) The Styrenes - “You're Trash” from THOSE WERE DIFFERENT TIMES https://www.discogs.com/Mirrors-Electric-Eels-The-Styrenes-Those-Were-Different-Times-Unreleased-Cleveland-Recordings-1973-1/master/71159

6) The Robert Bensick Band - “French Pictures In London” from FRENCH PICTURES IN LONDON https://www.smogveil.com/products/copy-of-robert-bensick-band-french-pictures-in-london-cd

7) 15.60.75 (aka The Numbers Band) - “Narrow Road” from JIMMY BELL'S STILL IN TOWN http://www.ubuprojex.com/hearpen/jbell.html http://www.hearpen.com/hr112.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnrFFtNUwtI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obdlCQwAPlE

9) Peter Laughner and Adele Bertei - “Rock It Down” from PETER LAUGHNER https://www.smogveil.com/products/peter-laughner-box-set-5-lps-plus-book

10) Charlotte Pressler w/Styrenes - “True Confessions” from TRUE CONFESSIONS https://www.discogs.com/Charlotte-Pressler-True-Confessions/release/1876839

Read Charlotte Pressler’s THOSE WERE DIFFERENT TIMES: http://straighttovideo.org/wp-content/uploads/Those-Were-Different-Times%C2%A0.pdf

11) Tom Herman - “Steve Canyon Blues” from DATAPANIK IN THE YEAR ZERO: TERMINAL DRIVE [PERE UBU RARITIES] https://www.discogs.com/Pere-Ubu-Datapanik-In-The-Year-Zero/release/464353

12) The Electric Eels - “Jaguar Ride” from HAVING A PHILOSOPHICAL INVESTIGATION WITH THE ELECTRIC EELS https://www.discogs.com/The-Electric-Eels-Having-A-Philosophical-Investigation-With-The-Electric-Eels/release/895403

13) Poly Styrene Jass Band - “Drano in Your Veins” from DRANO IN YOUR VEINS / CIRCUS HIGHLIGHTS https://www.discogs.com/Poli-Styrene-Jass-Band-Drano-In-Your-Veins/master/251615

14) Cinderella Backstreet - “One of the Boys” from PETER LAUGHNER https://www.smogveil.com/products/peter-laughner-box-set-5-lps-plus-book

15) Clinton Heylin - excerpt from 2003 interview with Jeff Economy (previously unreleased)

Read Clinton Heylin’s FROM THE VELVETS TO THE VOIDOIDS: https://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/from-the-velvets-to-the-voidoids-products-9781556525759.php

16) Rocket From the Tombs - “Final Solution (special mix featuring Alanna Medlock reading Peter Laughner’s text from Pere Ubu’s “Final Solution” single)” from THE DAY THE EARTH MET THE ROCKET FROM THE TOMBS http://www.ubuprojex.com/hearpen/rfttday.html http://www.ubuprojex.com/rftt.html http://www.craigwbell.com/discography.html#RFTT https://www.discogs.com/Pere-Ubu-Final-Solution/release/1479143

17) Rocket From The Tombs - “Sonic Reducer RFTT” from ROCKET REDUX http://www.ubuprojex.com/hearpen/redux.html http://www.craigwbell.com/discography.html#RFTT

18) Peter Laughner and Mike Sands - “Eyes Eye” from PETER LAUGHNER https://www.smogveil.com/products/peter-laughner-box-set-5-lps-plus-book

19) Allen Ravenstine & Albert Dennis - “Terminal Drive (excerpts)” from TERMINAL DRIVE https://www.smogveil.com/products/allen-ravenstine-terminal-drive-lp

Transmission 027 - 2019.08.07 Peter Laughner and Friends

Snackpoint Charlie has taken you to some exotic and far-flung locales, but this month’s transmission finds us journeying to a land that very few have experienced: the underground music world of mid-1970s Cleveland, Ohio. In our first-ever Very Special Episode we’ll be celebrating the late Peter Laughner, subject of a newly-released, long-awaited retrospective boxed set on Smog Veil Records.

From his early folkie days to Rocket from the Tombs and Pere Ubu, to nearly-undocumented bands like Cinderella Backstreet and Friction, you’ll hear rare and previously unreleased songs and exclusive conversations with his bandmates Cynthia Black and Albert Dennis, as well as his close friend Anastasia Pantsios, who share never-before-heard stories about Laughner and the mid-70′s pre-punk Cleveland scene.

Snackpoint Charlie’s Cleveland excursion is now archived at https://wavefarm.org/archive/4bzw5q. We’ll return to our regular format next month, until then thanks to all our loyal listeners who hung on for the ride as we took took a detour into entirely different terrain. Thanks again to Albert, Anastasia and Cynthia for participating, thanks to Ilka McKenzie at FlyPR for setting it up, and thanks to Smog Veil Records for producing the majestic Peter Laughner boxed set itself as well as so many other lovingly—produced Cleveland musical treasures. In lieu of my usual playlist and links, please check out these additional resources for further research and as addendum and background for this show.

The Peter Laughner boxed set at Smog Veil Records (with music links!) https://www.smogveil.com/products/peter-laughner-box-set-5-lps-plus-book

John Petkovic’s Peter Laughner retrospective from 2017: https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2017/06/cleveland_legend_peter_laughne.html

“Ain’t It Fun” — Aaron Lange’s Laughner bio in comic form: http://www.animalkingdompublishing.com/hub/2016/7/25/aint-it-fun

“Those Were Different Times - A Memoir of Cleveland Life: 1967-­‐1973” by Charlotte Pressler https://tinyurl.com/y5k3jvsf

Cinderella Backstreet https://www.facebook.com/cinderellabackstreet/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fLEaZZNc00

Press for the Laughner box:

Aquarium Drunkard https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2019/07/31/i-must-have-been-out-of-my-mind-on-the-flawed-beauty-of-peter-laughner/

Arts Desk https://www.theartsdesk.com/node/83575/view

Cleveland Scene https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2019/07/31/comprehensive-box-set-pays-tribute-to-legendary-local-singer-songwriter-peter-laughner

NY Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/06/arts/music/peter-laughner-boxed-set.html