Fantastic stuff! i haven't even listened to the second side yet and i'm already in love. just amazing. why isn't this album world-famous? did maureen o'connor ever do anything else? i can't find much info. "avatar" is the jam! even the lyrics rule. more later.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 6 November 2007 00:53 (5 years ago) Permalink
Describe please!
― dow, Tuesday, 6 November 2007 02:05 (5 years ago) Permalink
What he said!
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 6 November 2007 02:10 (5 years ago) Permalink
punk prog noise. intense space mellotron stuff. electronic fx all over the place. tons of synth/electronics in general. but also awesome guitar action. the only guitar listed is maureen's and if she played all this stuff then she should be on some list of gods. she sings a little like Anisette from the Savage Rose. But her vocals are also heavily processed for maximum whatthefuckness. some of the electroprog moments remind me of Ubu in a big way. this was recorded in 1973. D.Distorto on bass. The drummer used to be in the garage band The Opus 1. he mentions the record in an interview on-line:
"Doug Decker has had a very successful career doing recording engineering working with Johnny Cash, the Beach Boys, Band of Gypsies, Roger Miller, and John Fahey among many, many others. Today he is doing sound for the "Win Ben Stein's Money" TV show. Doug and I have worked together on and off for the last 30 years. We did an album with his wife Maureen O'Connor in the early seventies for Takoma Records called "Granfalloon." The group was called Laser Pace -- very experimental, lots of electronics."
the bass playing is so Ubu too. There is an awesome instrumental on here called "Scatter" that sounds like King Crimson + Can + PIL. Until it turns into freeform jazz piano/sleighbell/electronic nod-out acid jam. then it becomes something else entirely.
my fave lyrics:
"Cherish and hold the time scrape off the cream it'll be so clean as you glide into a void so strong vessels bursting from the shit you brought along."
― scott seward, Tuesday, 6 November 2007 02:58 (5 years ago) Permalink
man, i don't know what her voice sounds like. it's crazy. anisette is just the closest i could come as far as a comparison goes.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 6 November 2007 03:05 (5 years ago) Permalink
actually david thomas is a pretty good comparison! i wonder if those guys were fans. sure sounds like it.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 6 November 2007 03:07 (5 years ago) Permalink
scott, if u could leonardo this and set the music free many hippies and bloggers would hug u.
― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Tuesday, 6 November 2007 03:37 (5 years ago) Permalink
Wot Gott said.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 6 November 2007 04:16 (5 years ago) Permalink
i need 2 hear this i think
― sleepingbag, Tuesday, 6 November 2007 04:31 (5 years ago) Permalink
Sounds amazing!
― Raw Patrick, Tuesday, 6 November 2007 16:48 (5 years ago) Permalink
did i mention that the cover is an illustration of people running from and being destroyed by a cosmic laser beam?
― scott seward, Tuesday, 6 November 2007 19:48 (5 years ago) Permalink
:-D
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 6 November 2007 19:50 (5 years ago) Permalink
I just emailed Keith of Anthology Recordings about this (Anthology's re-reissue of C.A. Quintet's Trip Through Hell is verra niiice, and new to me; ditto Shoes' Black Vinyl Shoes, and they've also picked up fabulous Satwa, but a fair amount of their stuff is as obscure as Laser Pace--so maybe...?!)
― dow, Wednesday, 7 November 2007 05:59 (5 years ago) Permalink
they've also picked up fabulous Satwa
You mean the album on Time-Lag, or something else?
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 7 November 2007 06:05 (5 years ago) Permalink
anthology would have to get in touch with these people:
http://www.concordmusicgroup.com/labels/
― scott seward, Wednesday, 7 November 2007 14:15 (5 years ago) Permalink
Yeah, it's the same as on Time-Lag, and they do seem to work out things with (artists whose rarities have previously been reissued by)other labels, so maybe they could do that with (Laser Pace and)Takoma, who mainly keep Fahey & friends in print nowadays (wonder how that Robbie Basho is; I like Peter Lang)
― dow, Wednesday, 7 November 2007 18:57 (5 years ago) Permalink
basho >>>>> lang!
i am very excited to hear this laser pace LP. looks killer.
― ian, Wednesday, 7 November 2007 18:59 (5 years ago) Permalink
side 1
closet casualty (maureen o'connor)
avatar (maureen o'connor)
(whoever)you are(you) (maureen o'connor)
sky fell (w.g. christensen, d.distorto)
http://wvvy.org/listen/content/laser-pace-side-1.mp3
side 2
endless (maureen o'connor)
oh yeah? (w.g. christensen)
redemption (maureen o'connor)
scatter (d.distorto)
http://wvvy.org/listen/content/laser-pace-side-2.mp3
― scott seward, Friday, 9 November 2007 23:00 (5 years ago) Permalink
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 9 November 2007 23:01 (5 years ago) Permalink
Vonnegutty
― nabisco, Friday, 9 November 2007 23:02 (5 years ago) Permalink
thank you sir.
― jaxon, Friday, 9 November 2007 23:43 (5 years ago) Permalink
side one is like 3.7 megs, side two 19.5? just checkin'.
― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Saturday, 10 November 2007 03:39 (5 years ago) Permalink
oh and THANKS in 72 pt impact font.
Both are labelled side one. The first file is 4:01; the second, 21:17. But um...what did John Fahey think of this?
Maureen O'Connor sings like A LOT David Thomas! Check out the 4:01 track.
Thanx!!
― Kevin John Bozelka, Saturday, 10 November 2007 03:59 (5 years ago) Permalink
yeah, I think I didn't change the details on the mp3 ID3 save thingy on the second one, so they both show as side 1.
― Maria :D, Saturday, 10 November 2007 06:00 (5 years ago) Permalink
Maureen O'Connor's vocals remind me of my long-lost friend John LaCroix who people in Boston kept trying to get to attend the opera program at Berklee. He had a band called the Cauldron. I miss him.
― Maria :D, Saturday, 10 November 2007 06:02 (5 years ago) Permalink
A cool story. :-)
But Maria, is there any reason side 1 is only 3, 4 minutes long?
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 10 November 2007 07:03 (5 years ago) Permalink
man. this stuff is strange. i'm always waiting for that cheesy moment, that explosion into gucky supermelodic pop or something but it always heads in another direction. also, it sounds sort of like something a cult would pay to record and release. i like it.
― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Saturday, 10 November 2007 10:29 (5 years ago) Permalink
oops, looks like side one is just the first song! sorry. i didn't check it before posting it. you can all just blame maria. i'll post the whole side today. what do you want for nothin'?
― scott seward, Saturday, 10 November 2007 11:11 (5 years ago) Permalink
We ain't complainin', just curious. :-)
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 10 November 2007 22:28 (5 years ago) Permalink
all day i tried to import the audacity file into an mp3 and every time i tried my computer crashed. so sad. i figured i could at least send it in an e-mail to someone. my computer is a year old and it apparently can't handle audio/video anymore. so aggravating. it's not like i do a ton of stuff on my computer. why would a computer crash playing a measly cd?
― scott seward, Saturday, 10 November 2007 23:07 (5 years ago) Permalink
man. this stuff is strange.
If YOU think that, I gotta hear this. thanks Scott!
― sleeve, Saturday, 10 November 2007 23:09 (5 years ago) Permalink
maria bought me a cd player at radio shack today. god bless her. i've got doom metal to write about! i can't be anxious about CDs. satan didn't put me on this earth to worry about digital audio.
i gotta tell you, it's a cheap teac cd player and it sounds great. way better than my computer's player. mark hollis is now 5 star audio instead of just 4 and a half star audio.
― scott seward, Saturday, 10 November 2007 23:12 (5 years ago) Permalink
if no one's up to the challenge, i'm down to separate the mp3s into separate tracks and reupload tagged and everything.
that is if we can get the full first side :D
― jaxon, Saturday, 10 November 2007 23:13 (5 years ago) Permalink
i'll try again.
― scott seward, Saturday, 10 November 2007 23:18 (5 years ago) Permalink
xpost I heard back from Keith of Anthology Recordings about this: he's def interested in hearing it, and who knows, maybe it will indeed end up on Anthology (although now that Concord Music Group's near the end oftheir glorious 50th Anniversary of Stax[through calendar-wise at least], maybe they'll start excavating Takoma treasures themselves)
― dow, Sunday, 11 November 2007 05:36 (5 years ago) Permalink
Oh and speaking of Teac (and yeah, CD players usually sound better than computers to me, esp bass), the aforementioned Anthology reissue of Shoes' Black Vinyl Shoes was recorded on a Teac 4-track in their living room, and sounds amazing--come to think of it, Becker & Fagen said they recorded a lot of Steely Dan demos on one of those--
― dow, Sunday, 11 November 2007 05:43 (5 years ago) Permalink
jaxon, you around? i think i actually managed to make an MP3 of the first side. I can try and e-mail it to someone. anyone around? Just e-mail me. I don't know how you can share with the class though. Although I guess I can just e-mail it to anyone who wants it. But I'm also kind of afraid that just trying to e-mail the file might crash my computer. we shall see!
― scott seward, Sunday, 11 November 2007 21:15 (5 years ago) Permalink
e-mail it to me, scott i'll be home in an hour or so
― Maria :D, Sunday, 11 November 2007 23:11 (5 years ago) Permalink
scott, if you can upload either the mp3 or the audacity file to megaupload.com and email me the link it spits out (jason @ art-ificial.com - minus the spaces) unless maria takes care of it.
― jaxon, Monday, 12 November 2007 02:29 (5 years ago) Permalink
I've got 7/8 of the tracks as separate mp3s (the one I'm missing is "Scatter"). I'll upload them in a minute.
― C0L1N B..., Monday, 12 November 2007 03:11 (5 years ago) Permalink
ah there ya go!
i gave up. i need to take an audacity course. i thought i was turning the first side into an mp3 and it turns out i was making the whole album a big mp3. i couldn't e-mail it. too big for me.
so colin has the rest. and scatter is on that side two up there.
― scott seward, Monday, 12 November 2007 03:34 (5 years ago) Permalink
First seven songs here
― C0L1N B..., Monday, 12 November 2007 03:40 (5 years ago) Permalink
scott and colin, i declare you co-mayors of ILM for november.
― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Monday, 12 November 2007 04:44 (5 years ago) Permalink
^^^ this
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 12 November 2007 04:53 (5 years ago) Permalink
Yeah, extra-special thanks to Colin, Scott and Maria!
― Myonga Vön Bontee, Monday, 12 November 2007 23:29 (5 years ago) Permalink
Everything about this reminds me of Annette Peacock. The slow, bluesy funk rock. The moog - especially on Sky Fell, that tone. And while her voice doesn't exactly sound like peacock's, her singing through effects does.
― jaxon, Thursday, 15 November 2007 17:47 (5 years ago) Permalink
Howdy! This is John "Chris" Christensen from Laser Pace. I've really enjoyed watching (and listening to) your dialogue about our album Granfalloon. If you have any questions about the group or our music, I can be contacted at: www.myspace.com/johnchrischristensen
Thanks for keeping the music alive!
JC
― John Christensen, Friday, 16 November 2007 18:44 (5 years ago) Permalink
Whoa, hey there! Glad you could find us.
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 16 November 2007 18:58 (5 years ago) Permalink
Yeah! (having those Laser Pace tracks posted makes me paranoid about downloading, though--visions of black vinyl helicopters landing on my bank statements--visually hep, otherwise not so much)
― dow, Friday, 16 November 2007 19:26 (5 years ago) Permalink
todays diary entry : a warm fuzzy glow emits from an excellent ILM thread, this reader is rather concerned.
― mark e, Wednesday, 28 November 2007 19:49 (5 years ago) Permalink
Yesterday I went to a transfer lab to get the 1985 masters for the "Adrenaline Drum" album by Hot Food To Go restored and digitize. Doug and Maureen were unable to go with me at the same time, but Doug is going to that facility today with the 30 ips stereo masters of Granfalloon. Moving forward!
John "Chris" Christensen
P.S. I understand that some of you may be music writers; is that true?
― John Christensen, Wednesday, 5 December 2007 18:57 (5 years ago) Permalink
It is indeed! And great news to hear! :-D
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 5 December 2007 19:01 (5 years ago) Permalink
Keith says that Anthology will indeed be re-releasing Granfalloon in '08, whoo-hoo! Asked for your email, Skot, figuring you might wanta write something, so I gave him the addy I had. Cheers ever'bodeh!
― dow, Monday, 31 December 2007 20:17 (5 years ago) Permalink
sweet. good work, don.
― scott seward, Monday, 31 December 2007 20:44 (5 years ago) Permalink
I missed the confirmation of this! Wonderful news. Thanks dow! You and Skot definitely deserve all the credit here. :-)
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 9 January 2008 16:58 (5 years ago) Permalink
Couldna done with without Skot;also dig decisive action by Keith and Laser Pace alumni--no shilly-shally there, yo!
― dow, Wednesday, 9 January 2008 17:04 (5 years ago) Permalink
Doug Decker called over the weekend suggesting a listen-in for the three of us to the now transferred and re-mastered mixes. We actually couldn't make it happen because I was really down with some sinus infection/flu/food poisoning crappazoid shit! What a drag - but I am feeling better and I'm trying to make it happen this weekend if at all possible.
One of the amazing coincidences (of many) about this thing is that in about ten days it will be time for the NAMM show. A year ago is when we Laser Pace Alumni hooked up at NAMM and spent a very nice time talking about the slow build of interest in Granfalloon. During our chat I made the remark that if we if only had ten more fans we could do a reunion tour. Maureen said for me to go ahead and book it! I knew at the time that she was just kidding, but who knows? I'd certainly be up for it. We're all so much more seasoned now, I think we would kick ass on that material.
Of the re-mastering Doug says, "Big Bottom End, and Contemporarily Compressed." Knowing Doug the way I do I know he means it's gonna sound round and fat, and in-your-face, without sacrificing any of the dynamics of the original. I can't wait to hear the results!
Mr. D. Distorto was always disappointed in the original mastering, even though the engineer was Johnny Golden, one of LA's best. Doug said Johnny was freaking out at all the various sign waves generated by the Buchla, and it caused John to master the levels way too conservatively. This time there will be no surface noise!
Thanks again all! I'll keep you posted on the progress as it happens.
― John Christensen, Thursday, 10 January 2008 06:53 (5 years ago) Permalink
if even Johnny Golden was freaked out, imagine lesser lights--might be one big reason there weren't more *records* like this. Yeah, please tour, or at least play out enough for a righteous live album-- and don't forget SXSW!
― dow, Thursday, 10 January 2008 22:07 (5 years ago) Permalink
I'd really LOVE to do Texas!
― John Christensen, Saturday, 12 January 2008 17:28 (5 years ago) Permalink
I think I'll play the entirety of side 1 during my radio show Psychedelarrythmia on Wednesday morning 9 - noon (GMT -5) You can listen in at wvvy.org
― Maria :D, Sunday, 27 January 2008 03:31 (5 years ago) Permalink
I dunno if I have expressed this to you before, but I am very jealous of your lifestyle.
― ian, Sunday, 27 January 2008 04:02 (5 years ago) Permalink
Finally found all the tracks on slsk -- sweet.
― Rock Hardy, Sunday, 27 January 2008 04:25 (5 years ago) Permalink
Don't be jealous - I'm pulling an all-nighter translating real estate legalese from Dutch because I'm running a radio station (for no money) and having two small children and not leaving time for paid work... po po me
― Maria :D, Sunday, 27 January 2008 05:50 (5 years ago) Permalink
Hey Maria, I'd love to check out that show, since I have never ever heard ANY of our record on the radio-internet or otherwise EVER! But if my math skills are correct, I'd have to be listening at 6 AM my time (West coast) to catch it. Yeow!
P.S. There's a very cool new interview about Opus 1, Time of Your Life, and some of my other early "Garage Bands" at www.garagehangover.com
― John Christensen, Sunday, 27 January 2008 23:43 (5 years ago) Permalink
So there's an official site now:
http://laserpaceband.com/home.html
And CD Baby is the route they took with the reissue!
http://cdbaby.com/cd/laserpace
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 2 May 2008 17:23 (5 years ago) Permalink
Also, plenty of photos:
http://laserpaceband.com/photos.html
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 2 May 2008 17:24 (5 years ago) Permalink
huh. wonder what happened with anthology. in any case, it's out there and that's a good thing. and those pictures of maureen, be still my heart.
― scott seward, Friday, 2 May 2008 17:49 (5 years ago) Permalink
huh. wonder what happened with anthology.
Was wondering that myself! John, if you're still tracking the thread, let us know...
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 2 May 2008 17:51 (5 years ago) Permalink
I thought I clicked on that "If you actively dislike Creedence Clearwater Revival, then I can never respect anything you have to say about anything" thread here and for one full minute, I was extremely confused. Time for bed (apparently).
― Kevin John Bozelka, Friday, 2 May 2008 18:00 (5 years ago) Permalink
John just dropped me a line indicating that an Anthology release is still on the cards. The watchword is patience, apparently!
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 12 May 2008 16:30 (5 years ago) Permalink
This kicks all manner of ass.
― blow it out your bad-taste hole (WmC), Tuesday, 23 February 2010 00:47 (3 years ago) Permalink
we should have a "takoma one-offs and obscurities" thread; so many weird things on that label. i'm partial to joseph byrd's "yankee transcendoodle."
― by another name (amateurist), Tuesday, 23 February 2010 00:51 (3 years ago) Permalink
was just listening to this yesterday!
― sleeve, Tuesday, 23 February 2010 00:58 (3 years ago) Permalink
u can buy yourself a copy nowhttp://cgi.ebay.com/LASER-PACE-Granfalloon-rare-rock-pop-vinyl-LP_W0QQitemZ350279763423QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item518e4d05df
― jaxon, Tuesday, 16 March 2010 02:33 (3 years ago) Permalink
that craig moerer has everything, doesn't he?
less than pretty copy has no bids:
http://cgi.ebay.com/LASER-PACE-GRANFALLOON-TAKOMA-PSYCH-LP-LISTEN_W0QQitemZ380213870939QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item588683415b
― scott seward, Tuesday, 16 March 2010 02:38 (3 years ago) Permalink
sheesh, vg- :(
i am so tempted to buy a clean copy of "Down Here On Earth" from Craig fuckin' Moerer, but I don't want to give him any of my money.
― ian, Tuesday, 16 March 2010 05:20 (3 years ago) Permalink
― by another name (amateurist), Tuesday, February 23, 2010 12:51 AM (3 weeks ago) Bookmark
HOMEGAS!!!!!
http://grown-so-ugly.blogspot.com/2007/06/homegas-released-on-takoma-records-in.html
^^ seriously loving this record.
― ian, Tuesday, 16 March 2010 06:07 (3 years ago) Permalink
The circle complete! Skot and Maureen O'Connor today, as he just posted on FB:
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 6 October 2012 23:24 (7 months ago) Permalink
And with Doug Decker:
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 6 October 2012 23:29 (7 months ago) Permalink
they are so awesome. can't believe doug did all that engineering work. if you like those early 70's john fahey takoma records, doug produced/engineered them! lots of takoma stuff. and working for wally heider studios he did all the remote work. he recorded band of gypsies and tons of other stuff. the stones at madison square garden in 1969! seemingly, he went everywhere and recorded everyone.
― scott seward, Sunday, 7 October 2012 00:01 (7 months ago) Permalink
plus, the hollywood garage rock roots!
doug:
maureen:
― scott seward, Sunday, 7 October 2012 00:03 (7 months ago) Permalink
did i mention that they recorded a laser pace album in 1975 that was never released?
― scott seward, Sunday, 7 October 2012 00:04 (7 months ago) Permalink
!
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 7 October 2012 00:37 (7 months ago) Permalink
As suggested more than once upthread, an excellent trans-Takoma thread was later homegrownm, and still ready for the sewing, fertilizing and picking:Takoma's one-offs and obscurities How'd they come to be in your emporium, Skot? On a Laser Pace mission, I hope.
― dow, Sunday, 7 October 2012 01:43 (7 months ago) Permalink
they had to go to new york and took a trip to massachusetts partly to see me! do some sightseeing. i would have loved to hang out with them more, they are staying nearby, but i am going up north tomorrow morning to hang with my parents. we had a wonderful visit though. we chatted and listened to records for a couple of hours. it was great. they inspire me. and they brought me copies of the AMAZING 1980 single they put out under the name New Math. punk funk! its soooooo good. maria played it on her umass radio show tonight.
― scott seward, Sunday, 7 October 2012 02:00 (7 months ago) Permalink
i wish i knew someone a la numero group with money who would put out a reissue that is worthy of their stuff. they have live tapes, unreleased album, that cool single, the takoma album. wish i was rich.
― scott seward, Sunday, 7 October 2012 02:05 (7 months ago) Permalink
we talked about joe byrd. doug worked with him and he was a big fan of laser pace. i put on a silver apples record and they dug that. they'd never heard them. i even played maureen some cocteau twins. john fahey really dug the band apparently. and he loved maureen's voice and playing. i gave them a harmonic choir album to take home.
― scott seward, Sunday, 7 October 2012 02:15 (7 months ago) Permalink
An unreleased Laser Pace album!!!! Someone really needs to do these guys justice and reissue a box set. The market is out there!!
― JacobSanders, Sunday, 7 October 2012 03:08 (7 months ago) Permalink
The first time I played Laser Pace for Tera was while driving around rural Pennsylvania, looking for records. It was a damp fogging day and the places we stopped were almost scary, people having thrift stores out of their basements and homes. Laser Pace was perfect was the day.
― JacobSanders, Sunday, 7 October 2012 03:34 (7 months ago) Permalink
yeah, lots of intriguing backstory re Fahey etc. when John Christopherson was answering our questions on this thread. If you get a chance, Scott, I'd suggest that you suggest they check with Mumero (the Asterik series might be a good fit; don't know how electronic Numero wants to get, but they def like female voices). Also maybe Light In The Attic? Some of the labels distributed by Forced Exposure? Anyway, since they dig Joe Byrd, might also suggest they might like Broadcast, sometimes compared to the United States of America.
― dow, Sunday, 7 October 2012 13:53 (7 months ago) Permalink
Would love to hear any unreleased stuff - surely we can mobilise the ilx army to get some interest?
― emil.y, Sunday, 7 October 2012 13:55 (7 months ago) Permalink
Hmm...hold all these thoughts, let me check around here.
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 7 October 2012 13:57 (7 months ago) Permalink
Original LP mix is streaming on YouTube--John C. asks if it's the mono version---so they're aware of this, apparently don't mind (it's been up since April). Prob like the attention, as indicated re uploads linked from this thread.
― dow, Sunday, 7 October 2012 14:40 (7 months ago) Permalink
Speaking of attention, they may not have continued past the remaster cos figured wasn't so much of a potential audience--and without an expert indie publicity campaign, they may well be right, depending on expectations, required financial return, etc. Maybe Kickstarter, if Granfalloon gets more publicity? But seems like a series, rather than a box set, might work better at this point--does anybody still buy boxes, other than diehard fans of Registered Cult Figures--?
― dow, Sunday, 7 October 2012 14:48 (7 months ago) Permalink
According to this article lots of people buy box sets.http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-03/numero-group-soul-revivers?chan=lifestyle+small_business+channel_etc
― JacobSanders, Sunday, 7 October 2012 16:00 (7 months ago) Permalink
weird, spin just did a big feature on those numero guys. impression i got was most sell 1000 & break even due to label fanbase, the big successes are once in a while.
― zvookster, Sunday, 7 October 2012 21:09 (7 months ago) Permalink
We all had a great time last night at get bent's birthday get-together with Maureen and Doug! Much chat had about all sorts of things. We also all agreed that Scott is the coolest.
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 2 December 2012 17:42 (5 months ago) Permalink