Hey Tom. I thought you might get a kick out of this interview I did with Dorothy M and United States of America mastermind, Joseph Byrd. https://we.tl/t-TABu85Pqhg
Heywow and thanks so much John! How cool. I'm honestly not sure how viewable these comments are (hopefully they're accessible to everyone seeing the post!) but if they're not I'd love to be able to share this link with readers. if that's OK by you? thanks!!!
Dang, KW!.....I bet there are some stories THERE, being Terry Riley's neighbor! If Tom's not interested in a guest post, please consider FR&B! Cheers.......Brad
A genius and a genuine human being. We were just young families trying to survive. We were extraordinarily fortunate to have such neighbors as Terry, Anne and his nephew. Lots of interesting folks in those parts at the time.
Wow!!! That sounds like one of those life experiences you just can't plan but gets woven into the longterm story! Would love to read about this more and am certainly open to a guest post if you have the time/inclination! Thanks for being here.
Thank you so much for your interest in this. I am thinking about a post on this but serving Terry well as a human being and a musician is a difficult task to contemplate. I will see what I can come up with and let you know. Moonshine Road deserves a few volumes on its own.
Wow. I'm impressed, Tom, by your dive into the hugely unknown and obscure "out-there"! I know I shouldn't be, but I'm embarrassed to admit I'd never heard of Moskowitz, and if I say I'd heard of "The United States of America," I might be confusing them with "The Presidents of the United States of America" (a band I've never listened to).
Point of reference: I was 13 in '68 when Dorothy and the band's album was released. And, while radio-working Dad was bringing home promo CBS LPs by the armload every week, I don't remember TUSA. Frankly, I was too into Tiger Beat, Flip, and 16 magazines and The Monkees to be bothered by such "adult experimental" music, and never caught up with them in future years!
I'm wondering, now, if maybe Moskowitz was over-shadowed by Janis Joplin, likely viewed by record buyers and FM radio listeners as just as avant and experimental as Dorothy. Likewise, the two were both on Columbia, fronting bands (Dorothy's TUSA & Janis' Big Brother & the Holding Company), and one wonders if Clive Davis preferred one "rough-hewn chick" over another, and thus promoted one over the other with more vigor.
I realize Janis became a "hit," and Dorothy and TUSA fizzled after the one album. It'd be fun to know some of the behind-the-scenes (besides Janis's talent, of course, carrying the day for the time she was with us) in the corporate hallways of CBS's Black Rock, circa late '60s!
Would love to hear some of that early Whitney material. While never a fan, really, of her pop material, I was certainly in awe of her talent! It'd be cool to hear an unadorned, "un-processed" Whitney belt it all out in more "organic" venues with less self-conscious material.
I will say, Tom, that despite my general aversion to the avant-garde and experimental music through the years (I was transformed in '64 by seeing, at age 8, the Beatles on "Ed Sullivan"---melodies and harmonies became my forever "jones"!), I was exposed to early Frank Zappa, and his Bizarre/Straight Records ('cause Dad would bring home Warner Bros. promos, too!), circa '68 and '69.
So, I was in on such debauchery-on-vinyl as the GTOs, Wild Man Fischer, and The Fugs (not to mention, of course, early Alice--first couple of albums, I mean--whom I found infinitely more accessible than Frank's other contributions, including his own output)! So, if I was going to climb aboard the avant-wagon, I might suggest an article or two on some of those early Zappa label sideshow acts!! Thanks, Tom! Nicely done!
Thanks Brad....started this response the other day and had the dread computer blip. I totally share your curiousity about that moment at Columbia -- it was a very creative time there, and not all of the stories have been told. I interviewed Bruce Lundvall at length about that period (he was there slightly later) and he talked about there being a group of A&R people, with different tastes from Clive, doing lots of scouting and getting some traction with left-field acts. And thank you a ton for that suggestion re the satellite acts in the Zappa omniverse! That will go immediately on my list. Like I need an excuse to listen to the early Alice records!!! and GTO. Thanks for the suggestions and for being part of the discussion! I really value that aspect of this!
Wow, where can I find that Lundvall article? I remember following (in the trades) his CBS career alongside Walter Yetnikoff, and all the label heads, really! Anxious to look for those Zappa-related artists! Really amazing just how "out-there" Warners' Mo Ostin and Joe Smith (although I think he came later) were willing to go so early in the rock era! And, holy cow.....Linda Lewis?!? I'll leave a👏there in a bit!
Hey Tom. I thought you might get a kick out of this interview I did with Dorothy M and United States of America mastermind, Joseph Byrd. https://we.tl/t-TABu85Pqhg
Heywow and thanks so much John! How cool. I'm honestly not sure how viewable these comments are (hopefully they're accessible to everyone seeing the post!) but if they're not I'd love to be able to share this link with readers. if that's OK by you? thanks!!!
Unfortunately that is just a download link from wetransfer so it will expire. The Podcast it was in has also expired from Apple Music.
However, feel free to upload it yourself and share.
And viewers of your blog can see the comments and links!
Great to hear from you. Heading out to Big Ears tomorrow.
Love this and shared it with our musicians. We used to be a neighbor of Terry Riley. Quite the human being!
Dang, KW!.....I bet there are some stories THERE, being Terry Riley's neighbor! If Tom's not interested in a guest post, please consider FR&B! Cheers.......Brad
Oh I'm sure there are. We used to buy milk and dairy from them. Great neighbors. The music rubbed off on some of our family members.
https://youtu.be/SdvHMxehGQc
https://youtu.be/IpxV1Vpxa9Q
A genius and a genuine human being. We were just young families trying to survive. We were extraordinarily fortunate to have such neighbors as Terry, Anne and his nephew. Lots of interesting folks in those parts at the time.
Wow!!! That sounds like one of those life experiences you just can't plan but gets woven into the longterm story! Would love to read about this more and am certainly open to a guest post if you have the time/inclination! Thanks for being here.
Thank you so much for your interest in this. I am thinking about a post on this but serving Terry well as a human being and a musician is a difficult task to contemplate. I will see what I can come up with and let you know. Moonshine Road deserves a few volumes on its own.
The extraordinary Joseph Byrd deserves further research and analysis. Can a Field Hippies reunion be far off?
All I know of him is The United States of America! going digging, thanks!
Ooh, I need to check this out, thanks! Joseph Byrd is quite the fascinating figure, too: http://anearful.blogspot.com/2013/02/joseph-byrd-coop-flown.html#.ZCRfeHbMJPa. P.S. Spelling in your piece seems to fluctuate between Moskowitz and Moscowitz, but I believe the former is correct.
Wow. I'm impressed, Tom, by your dive into the hugely unknown and obscure "out-there"! I know I shouldn't be, but I'm embarrassed to admit I'd never heard of Moskowitz, and if I say I'd heard of "The United States of America," I might be confusing them with "The Presidents of the United States of America" (a band I've never listened to).
Point of reference: I was 13 in '68 when Dorothy and the band's album was released. And, while radio-working Dad was bringing home promo CBS LPs by the armload every week, I don't remember TUSA. Frankly, I was too into Tiger Beat, Flip, and 16 magazines and The Monkees to be bothered by such "adult experimental" music, and never caught up with them in future years!
I'm wondering, now, if maybe Moskowitz was over-shadowed by Janis Joplin, likely viewed by record buyers and FM radio listeners as just as avant and experimental as Dorothy. Likewise, the two were both on Columbia, fronting bands (Dorothy's TUSA & Janis' Big Brother & the Holding Company), and one wonders if Clive Davis preferred one "rough-hewn chick" over another, and thus promoted one over the other with more vigor.
I realize Janis became a "hit," and Dorothy and TUSA fizzled after the one album. It'd be fun to know some of the behind-the-scenes (besides Janis's talent, of course, carrying the day for the time she was with us) in the corporate hallways of CBS's Black Rock, circa late '60s!
Would love to hear some of that early Whitney material. While never a fan, really, of her pop material, I was certainly in awe of her talent! It'd be cool to hear an unadorned, "un-processed" Whitney belt it all out in more "organic" venues with less self-conscious material.
I will say, Tom, that despite my general aversion to the avant-garde and experimental music through the years (I was transformed in '64 by seeing, at age 8, the Beatles on "Ed Sullivan"---melodies and harmonies became my forever "jones"!), I was exposed to early Frank Zappa, and his Bizarre/Straight Records ('cause Dad would bring home Warner Bros. promos, too!), circa '68 and '69.
So, I was in on such debauchery-on-vinyl as the GTOs, Wild Man Fischer, and The Fugs (not to mention, of course, early Alice--first couple of albums, I mean--whom I found infinitely more accessible than Frank's other contributions, including his own output)! So, if I was going to climb aboard the avant-wagon, I might suggest an article or two on some of those early Zappa label sideshow acts!! Thanks, Tom! Nicely done!
Thanks Brad....started this response the other day and had the dread computer blip. I totally share your curiousity about that moment at Columbia -- it was a very creative time there, and not all of the stories have been told. I interviewed Bruce Lundvall at length about that period (he was there slightly later) and he talked about there being a group of A&R people, with different tastes from Clive, doing lots of scouting and getting some traction with left-field acts. And thank you a ton for that suggestion re the satellite acts in the Zappa omniverse! That will go immediately on my list. Like I need an excuse to listen to the early Alice records!!! and GTO. Thanks for the suggestions and for being part of the discussion! I really value that aspect of this!
Wow, where can I find that Lundvall article? I remember following (in the trades) his CBS career alongside Walter Yetnikoff, and all the label heads, really! Anxious to look for those Zappa-related artists! Really amazing just how "out-there" Warners' Mo Ostin and Joe Smith (although I think he came later) were willing to go so early in the rock era! And, holy cow.....Linda Lewis?!? I'll leave a👏there in a bit!