S/D: Thin White Rope?

-Matt, taking a break from spackling.

A mighty fine band, great guitar work as mentioned by Matt, but what made them so good was Guy Kyser's voice. It sounds like it comes from some other place, from the other side of your nightmares. Insinuates itself into your soul. He could sing a nursery rhyme and it'd sound fucking spooky.

A great band live as well. Only saw them once, towards the end (Ruby Sea tour) at the Joiner's Arms in Southampton, but they were as good as I'd hoped.

i've read somewhere (online interview i think) that he's gone back to gardening...

great band. most goodies have been mentioned above. also, i really like their version of some velvet morning.

James is right, Guy Khyser's voice is a crucial part of the band, as are his lyrics (and i don't say that sort of thing very often).

Shout-out to my homie Kris from alt.music.alternative!

-Matt, needing coffee

a few more brief thoughts on Mummydogs -- the album came out last year on the revived http://www.frontierrecords.com/">Frontier label, which is being distributed by http://www.mordamrecords.com">Mordam. a decent return by Guy -- but after TWR, maybe a little too straight up without some of the interplay TWR was especially good at. still nice vocals from Kyser and his wife and sign of perhaps even better things to come if the Mummydogs continue and Kyser finds his footing better with his new group.

Spoor.

the reissue news is grebt! (though i have most of their stuff on vinyl, it would be fantastic if they included some interesting bonus-stuff)

Just re-listening to Moonhead (actually Moonhead...Plus diablo records release), and like above it has been saved from a 'get rid of pile' - damn it's a good record - I just played it back to back with eleventh dream day's 'prairie school freakout' and both rekkids guitars sounds equal desert peyote - real good fun on a Sunday before a ball game.

Their former manager ML Compton has been posting tour stories irregularly on his Myspace site:

http://www.myspace.com/melcompton

One of my very favorite bands. I just love the whole package so much. Guy's basalt vocals, the thick twining snake guitars, the natural-history-tinged lyrics, the twang wedded to the dino-hevviness, the "this is a song about waking up with an acid hangover and a boner".

I miss them so. If I were to send someone home with two of their releases to try'n make a fan outta them, it would be Moonhead and the very well-chosen best-of When Worlds Collide.

FISH!!!

I listened to White Heaven first album the other night and Kurihara's super-scorching guitar sound blew me away as usual.
Suddenly it reminded of Thin White Rope.
The Kyser/ Kunkel interplay was obviously impressive in its Television-inspired detail, but it is the monstrous sound of their guitars that really made TWR. So dark, powerful and impossibly sad.
And the way Guy Kyser concocts haunting, spooky natural images like a cowboy Georg Buechner: "Ants are cavemen" is him channeling a delirious Woyzeck-like enthomologist of sorts and sounding at the same time frightening and funny.
Best 80's American band, period.

:-) Definitely encourage everyone again to check out ML's blog I linked up there for more TWR stories, among many other things. Need to break out the albums again.

I checked it a couple of times and its fun.
Give the albums another try, Ned: the production unfortunately isn't always that good, but the songs are ace. Kyser was a very personal writer. Also no other band in the world is equally in debt with Marty Robbins and Joy Division!

One of my favorite bands of the 80s. So alien, unlike almost anything else, either in their time or out of it. People often mention Television and Paisley Underground contemporaries like the Rain Parade and the Dream Syndicate in describing them, and while that's fair, it doesn't get at how strange they were underneath. Love the snaky, heat shimmer guitar tangles, the super-creepy storytelling and Kyser's wobbly, wierdly affected vocals. They're about the most Halloweeny band I can think of, and the best part is that they manage it without ever resorting to campy spook-show schtick. They rarely sound like they're trying to be scary ("Disney Girl" and the Ruby Sea LP being clear exceptions), but they scare the crap out of me anyway.

'Course, it isn't an accident, either. Most of the lyrics read like ghost stories, and the ones that don't rarely have anything reassuring to say. Creeping you out was obviously a big part of the intent. Still, for all the theatricality, there's never anything forced about it. The vibe of alienation and depersonalization fits with the music and with the subject matter, making it ring true, at least in the sense that it doesn't seem like an act.

Agree that they never really got the production they deserved, but it doesn't bother me much. I like the records the way they are.

Their version of 'Some Velvet Morning' was fantastico.
Fuck - i forgot about the Rope!
Saw them live too. Excellent

Totally love the "Yoo Doo Right" cover.

gygax! started a thread about it once.

TAKING SIDES: "Yoo Doo Right" by THIN WHITE ROPE vs. "Mother Sky" by TH' FAITH HEALERS vs. "The Sad Skinhead" by TRUMANS WATER vs. "Jenny Ondioline" by STEREOLAB

contenderizer: They always reminded me of Television crossed with Skynyrd.

Gimme three steps toward the ghost-cow.

along with thinking fellers, this is one of those bands I'm surprised has/had the cult following they did, they seemed like not such a big deal when around. glad to see shasta still flying the flag for them. what is guy keyser doing now?

also it dawns on me that I actually know someone who was in this band, which I forgot about.

see also:

http://www.myspace.com/acmerocketquartet

Moonhead is a classic (listening right now). I also always had a soft spot for The Ruby Sea, which some seem to find a little slick.

Can't believe I never posted on this thread. Still one of my favourite 80s bands. Moonhead is a deathless uber-classic, especially the title track. One of the few bands where I'm *really* bummed out that I never saw them live properly, only in a tent at the Reading festival, and even in that setting they sounded monstrous.

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erm... I mean this:

#1 on my "reunite for ATP" list.

I only ever had The Ruby Sea, but o how I oved it, "Puppet Dog" especially. That one hit me right away, the rest was a grower. I haven't thought about them in years, but this thread is making want to seek out some of their other records.

Puppet Dog is a great song. One of the best on The Ruby Sea. If you like the Ruby Sea, do seek out Sack Full Of Silver and Moonhead

Moonhead really is a stone classic, but the first album Exploring The Axis is worth seeking out too, especially for the first track 'Down In The Desert' which is fantastic.

also it dawns on me that I actually know someone who was in this band, which I forgot about.

― akm

now I have no idea who I was talking about. who did I know in this band? I know someone who produced them at one point, at least.

More people should cover TWR:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4KDvgt3rcQ

Damn you Ned for a sec I thought this bump was for a reunion!

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/38867781/Moonhead%20IMG_9238.jpg

xpost -- alas

i'm surprised they haven't reuinted but maybe i'm not surprised by that after all

Maybe we can force them to, via Kickstarter

Oh they were called the "Rational demos" and Game Theory self-released their early stuff on "Rational Records"

ok, +1 point for the Scott Miller theory then after all :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6_eVB_c81w

Awesome! Thanks for sharing!

I Think I was at that show.
Definitely saw tehm at the venue and assume it would have been that year.

would've been amazing to see them at the boardwalk, great venue! saw both the young gods and fugazi there in 89-ish, perfect sweat-infested box of sound

Thanks for the heads up!

https://frontierrecords-thinwhiterope.bandcamp.com/album/moonhead-the-ruby-sea-live-in-gent

two songs live at their final show but not included on The One That Got Away. NOTE: Live versions on vinyl only, downloads are studio versions.

(I thought it was a remastered TOTGA but alas)

oh c'mon that's dumb! Why can't I pay money to download the live versions? I'd love to complete that show! Grrr.

IKR :-(

Here's a conversation with Roger Kunkel from last year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vuuq13Ytl8

um, this year. anyway

Thank you! Just finished it. Any crumbs of insight or ephemera regarding TWR are like gold dust to me. And I never would have noticed this on my own.

Any more important live recordings come to light in the last year or two?

I'm not in dime myself & aren't aware of anything. Anyone?

In the interview above Roger mentions a 4 track recording of the 1988 Olive Pit show (where Guy only wears boots) that someone has and was willing to mix/master, though, I hope they release it.

The "The one that got away" remaster that was hinted at one time probably isn't happening, I suppose?

Idk but it’s been awhile since the studio album ones so seems doubtful.

I was a bit surprised when the hosts were talking about guy’s body of work and didn’t mention the Mummydogs album

Roger wasn't in that band though.

XXP - Just had a scan on D1m3 and everything has fallen off the tracker, but I think we got all the good stuff.

I know, there was just a “and then he withdrew except to play some bluegrass sometimes” thing

Mummydogs wasn’t nearly on TWR’s level of course so it’s not a huge lacuna

Xpost thanks mares!

yeah, thanks for checking, Maresn3st!

yeah, went and checked what was on myself a few hours ago. only thing that appeared was a band called Wand and they had song title parts that triggered the search engine response.

Thank you too :-)

FYI for anyone interested in correct information on their recordings: this one "1988-04-02 - Goez Beest, Amsterdam, NL - Sbd" doesn't make sense.

venue = Podium 't Beest
city = Goes (and that is 120 km / 75 miles away from Amsterdam)

Here's one I found that wasn't shared here last time around (have been looking for confirmation about the date (or if it's MM/DD or DD/MM?) but can't find that either) - it's one of the most impressive sounding ones yet imho. soundboard.

https://we.tl/t-M2QEIp9q5N

1990-11-09 RKCNDY, Seattle, WA

01. Wire Animals
02. The Ruby Sea
03. Astronomy
04. Eleven
05. Puppet Dog
06. Some Velvet Morning
07. Tina And Glen
08. Triangle Song
09. Elsie Crashed The Party
10. Valley Of The Bones
11. Munich Eunuch
12. Ants Are Cavemen
13. Fish Song
14. Roadrunner
15. Bartender's Rag
16. Hunter's Moon
17. Silver Machine

Ooh I definitely don’t have that one

(I could have fixed the last three tracks' MP3 tags but anyway)

or flac tags, whatever they're called when it's flac

This one is new to me too - thanks!

Amazing! Thanks

the only thing is... RKCNDY opened in 1991. Doesn't keep me from enjoying the show but it bothers me.

okay - it was 9 November 1991 (found it on this taper's list - among some other stuff that must be out there (on cassette at least) - https://digilander.libero.it/anti4it/bootlegscdnz.html )

Set list makes more sense with that date

Thanks for this StanM! Man I love TWR.

I'm just discovering this podcast has interviews with some interesting musicians. I listened to a 3 part thing with Gun Club drummer Terry Graham a few days ago and one with Stuart Moxham yesterday
This one is with Roger Kunkel, not sure if it was upped here before since its from April last year
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3O7WleGyOc1CgJee2IiMdr?si=61e5267c92f24b73

Thanks! while scrolling down to that one (I'm not on spotify) I noticed a lot of other interesting stuff on C86. Suicide with Martin Rev, Green On Red with Dan Stuart (and then a couple of weeks later with Chris Cacavas), Whipping Boy, The Seers,...

I may have listened to that Martin Rev thing. I know I heard one on Martyn Ware's podcast recently.
Can't remember what specifically turned me onto that C86 podcast

I think I was looking for the podcast Almost A Mirror, couldn't remember what it was called so started looking for the small groups scene in Melbourne or whatver the scene was actually called . Wound up with a show with Clare Moore of The Moodists turning up, got around to listening to it and maybe got an announcement about a new episode in the series appearing. But it is a very good series and goes back to 2018 and has some very interesting guests so glad I got to look through it. Don't think it has any more TWR but it does have a couple of Galaxie 500, Robin Crutchfieeld of Pere Ubu, Dark Day etc and a loa dof other interesting looking people who I may get to hear later.
I still haven't listened to the last couple of Almost A Mirror episodes cos I keep losing temporary playlists

They are no longer on Bandcamp. Glad I got those remasters while they were available

Ah. I'm mistaken. They're there under Frontier. Just not under TWR. Sorry...

Hey Stan/Jon and everyone, some new recordings gone up on D1m3, one a week before the last gig in Ghent, Wein 1990 & Munich 1988. All sound really solid, room for three more?

oooooooooh yes please

Cool, here 'tis - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/bdtwra5fqn09oi8yn677s/h?dl=0&rlkey=rueyq1ierm4dy3ygxfqdx23wm

Thanks indeed!

<3

No worries guys.

For fun, I downloaded that amazing Youtube footage of 'It's OK' from the last gig, matrixed the audio with the live album, pushed it around a bit to add a bit of low end, and made the guitars even more hellacious.

It's in the folder too, if you wanna have a look, just a pity the footage is fairly low quality.

<3 thanks so much MN!

great idea about that clip! thank you again!

(Vienna is June 5th 1990 btw - I had uploaded the mp3s earlier but this is an upgrade)

So here's an unjustly overlooked TWR obscurity. Quoting Skip King, whose longtime partner-now-husband ML Compton managed them:

While the band were touring in Italy their lead singer, Guy Kyser, was borrowed and utilized as the vocalist on a single track with a band named Avion Travel. The song, "On a Moonlit Night", was to be used as the theme song in the newest Lina Wertmüller film "In Una Notte di Chiaro di Luna" (AKA "Up to Date"). Starring Rutger Hauer, Nastassja Kinski and Lorraine Bracco, and featuring Faye Dunaway and Peter O'Toole, the film was released that year but was a huge flop internationally, and didn't even make it into cinemas in america, at least we don't think it did. To this day we've never seen the movie.

Decades later ML was able to get an audio copy of the track, and I found and bought online a region 2 (Europe) DVD of the film. I don't have a multinational DVD player so it has sat on our shelf for very many years. Just now I threw it into my computer's DVD player, for a lark, and I found that I can view it! It's a terrible copy, obviously transferred from a VHS or perhaps filmed secretly in a movie theater with a camera (!!!). but I don't care.

It is so eerie to have the DVD start up and immediately hear Guy's voice, the song used in the menu system. Then I started the film and there's the song again at the very beginning. And I fast forwarded to the end of the film and they used the same track during the closing credits. And here is Guy's credit. We didn't even know if Lina and company had credited Guy, until now.

I finally saw this credit, 34 years later.

Crazy.

And here's the track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPHqGlOHCtc