Medleyville

INSIDE THE MIND OF LARRY “WILD MAN” FISCHER

He made his television debut 43 years ago in front of 18 million incredulous viewers, had his initial recordings produced by an equally perturbed Frank Zappa and even helped launch the foremost specialty music label by writing and performing its very first release, Go to Rhino Records. Yet Larry "Wild Man" Fischer continues to dwell, most unhappily and tragically, in a truly bizarro world where Al Yankovic instead has taken "weird" all the way to the bank.

All of the dialogue below is taken from Josh Rubin's stellar documentary on the original wild man, Derailroaded, which is newly available on DVD from MVD Visual. It is a film you must see now — and often.

Irwin Chusid (author, Songs in the Key of Z): "Outsider music is a slippery genre. It’s musicians who tend to be self-taught, untrained, working way outside mainstream music. They’re not doing it to be funny. They’re not doing it to be outrageous. This is a sincere musical expression. Wild Man Fischer in many ways is a poster child for outsider music."

Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo): "At his best, he’s mainlined right into this creative subconscious. It’s coming from a pure place."

Solomon Burke (Fischer’s initial mentor): "A very, extremely talented young man."

Larry Fischer: "I just think I'm the best rock singer in the world."

David Fischer (Larry's older brother): "I still don't think he's a good singer. I might be wrong."

* * * * * * * * * *

Larry: "You know what happened to my career? Nothing. I have nothing. Once in a while I go out and sing, but that’s very rare. I’m too scared of the music business. And I'm too scared of all the people in it."

Billy Mumy (producer, Pronounced Normal, Nothing Scary): "It's unfortunate that Larry has not had more commercial success. But Larry is a manic-depressive paranoid schizophrenic. And that is an interesting mixture of energy."

Dr. Louis Sass (professor of clinical psychology, Rutgers University): "A person with schizophrenia is characterized by delusions. Usually auditory hallucinations. A lot of it has to do with a feeling of conspiracies being directed at you. Everyone’s out to get you."

Larry: "There’s people after me. I just don’t know who’s involved. It’s been a nightmare. All kinds of things have happened to me. Things that you would not believe."

Gail Zappa: "The thing about Los Angeles — there are a lot of freaks here. People that have figured out a way to, in spite of society, express themselves. Larry is just another one of the freaks."

Larry: "The first audition I went on was for Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. And I got it."

Dan Rowan (Laugh-In episode No. 16, 1968): "Now that he’s been exposed on national TV, don't you think he'll fly to stardom?"

Frank Zappa (producer, An Evening with Wild Man Fischer): "I thought that from the very first day I met him, somebody should make an album about Wild Man Fischer."

Larry: "Frank Zappa told me that he could make me a rock star. And if Frank Zappa told you that, wouldn’t you think you might be able to become a rock star?"

Frank Zappa: "I spent three months working on the Wild Man Fischer album. And at the end, not only was I accused of robbing and cheating and abusing him — most of this from Wild Man Fischer himself — but the album did not sell a large amount of copies."

Larry: "Well, I never became a rock star. Frank Zappa fired me. That's it."

Gail Zappa: "I never thought that he would have a real career. And I see him now, and he looks like a very, very exhausted version of that person that I knew then. He's almost identical."

David Fischer: "Larry never seemed to have any money, no matter how many albums the guy was doing. It was beyond me. If they do an album on somebody and if it’s not successful, why are you doing another? And what was he supposed to get out of it? I mean, he certainly was very upset and bitter about it."

Mothersbaugh: "He’d call me up and go 'Mark, I'm quitting show biz. Do you blame me?' I’d go, 'No, I don't blame you. It's an awful business.' He would quit show business about two or three times a week.”

* * * * * * * * * *

Sass: "I think there are a lot of different reasons why people are drawn to Larry's music. One of them is a little bit like the reason why people a century or two ago would go to the asylums to look at the patients. It's a kind of voyeurism to stare at this person who seems so weird and so uninhibited. But a second reason, of course, is that we’re really moved by what he says and the story that he tells of his life and of his sufferings."

Mothersbaugh: "He's a force of nature. He's a bard in the best of ways. If he grew up in Mongolia, he might have been considered a shaman. And everything that he is and does would be tolerated."

Larry: "The main reason I got into the music business was to impress my family, earn a living, complete my dream. But I knew I would never be able to tour. I'm too paranoid.

"I guess I'm getting older now. I can't be a musician/singer anymore. I'm too old. I want to be a musician/singer.

"I want to make everybody happy."

— Musician/writer Gary Pig Gold is the co-founder of the To M’Lou Music label.

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The Von Ehrics revamp lineup, record new album

Replacing a departed core member, expanding the official lineup to a quartet, writing and rehearsing for seven months: It was anything but business as usual for The Von Ehrics prior to the recording of Two Foot Stomp, the band's fourth album and first for Lucky Buck Records.

The Texas-based country-punk band made the recently released Two Foot Stomp at the Denton-area studio The Echo Lab with Dave Willingham, whose credits include albums by the Lone Star State’s own Polyphonic Spree.

Prior to The Von Ehrics hitting the road for what will likely become a lengthy tour, singer/songwriter/guitarist Robert Jason Vandygriff talked about his new band mates and the making of the 12-song Two Foot Stomp.

Medleyville.us: What prompted the changes in the band's lineup, and how did you find new members Paul "Santi" Vaden and Clayton Mills?
Robert Jason Vandygriff: "We parted ways with longtime bass player Jeffery Wayne Mosley. [Drummer] Gabe [Aguilar] and I have known Paul for years from him playing in Ghoultown. We always liked his style, so it was an easy fit.

"Clay is an old friend who has sat in with the band here and there over the years. He took a break after leaving Dixie Witch, and when we went through our changes, he offered a lot of advice and ended up signing on full-time as our lead guitarist."

How is the band dynamic different or the same with the current lineup?
Vandygriff: "We are much more collaborative now. I still write the meat of the songs, but I now have people I trust in the writing process that I know will make the songs better. They write their own parts instead of me telling them what to play."

Talk about the recording of Two Foot Stomp and how the experience was different from when the band recorded Loaded.
Vandygriff: "It was the most pleasant recording experience I ever had. We recorded in the fall in Texas instead of between gigs while on tour during the winter in Wisconsin. That is a huge difference between this record and our last record. Dave Willingham is a very good engineer and very professional. And we are in a better place as a band. We were more functional as a group during the recording of Two Foot Stomp than during the recording of Loaded."

Is there a good story or two behind the writing and/or the recording of any songs on the new album?
Vandygriff: "We brought in a gospel choir for 'Lord, I Pray,' which was interesting. The group is called the Friendly Five, from Denton, Texas. We recorded with five black guys ranging in age from their 30s to their 60s, [and they were] singing gospel callbacks to a punk rock song. It was pretty cool. They got it right away and made that song great.

"We had planned well for this record, so we had a definite idea of the direction we wanted to go. [Willingham] made everything we wanted possible — without letting us screw it up!"

— Introduction and interview Chris M. Junior

The Von Ehrics on tour (schedule subject to change):

* April 28: Replay Lounge — Lawrence, Kan.

* April 29: Quenchers — Chicago

* April 30: High Noon Saloon — Madison, Wis.

* May 1: Downtown Lounge — Tulsa, Okla.

* May 6: Bathtub Gin — Mooresville, N.C.

* May 7: Wonderland — Richmond, Va.

* May 8: The Taphouse — Norfolk, Va.

* May 12: 8x10 — Baltimore

* May 13: Roxy and Dukes — Dunellen, N.J.

* May 14: Arlene's Grocery — New York

* June 8: Three Kings — Denver

* June 9: The Deathstart — Provo, Utah

* June 10: Red Room — Boise, Idaho

* June 11: Slim's Last Chance — Seattle

* June 12: Tiger Bar — Portland, Ore.

* June 17: Bordello — Los Angeles

* June 18: Shakedown Bar — San Diego

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The new No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart is Rihanna's "S&M," and as noted in a recent story on the magazine's Web site, the first full week of digital sales for the song’s version featuring Britney Spears helped push the tune to the top.

Lyrics: What stands out the most in the remix is that Spears actually has her own, brand-new verse. The original had the same verse repeated twice, and despite the kinky undertones, didn't help to make the song memorable. With the new verse, Spears actually fills the role that a rapper would if he had worked on the remix. Of course, the theme of bondage and unspeakable bedroom behavior is corny and has been done before, so the end result is cliche.

Music/arrangement: Sonically, the song doesn't break any new ground, either. It has a decent driving bass and synth beat that has been sped up a bit for the remix, but it's hard to distinguish this from the original.

Production: Whoever mixed Spears' vocals owes her an apology. She sounds very nasal, and the Auto-Tune is working overtime to blend her in with Rihanna's more powerful, natural voice. Elsewhere, there could be a little more real drumming. The intro features some isolated snare, but it gets buried by the over-the-top electronic kit when the vocals kick in.

The verdict: Yank it. If Spears wanted in on this song, she should have paid to have it written for her or just covered it in her live show. The pseudo-risque element of this song needed a male counterpoint -- not a cooing starlet with a stuffy nose.

-- By Mike Madden

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Dave Goddess follows his rock 'n' roll heart

On one hand, there’s Lady Gaga and Kanye West, artists who seem to treat nearly every thought and action as important pieces of information that must be shared immediately through all forms of media.

And then there’s Dave Goddess, who is very selective when it comes to revealing details about himself.

This much is known: Goddess is a New York-based singer, songwriter and guitarist. He used to lead a group called the Daddy Licks Band. These days he fronts the Dave Goddess Group, and its debut album, Something New, was mixed by Ed Stasium, who made a name for himself through his work with The Smithereens, The Ramones and Talking Heads, among others.

“I have no strategy,” Goddess says. “I just hope to follow this to its logical conclusion, play really loud, publicly explore my deepest depths, sweat profusely and connect with an audience.”

Goddess recently fielded a handful of questions about Something New, tunes that happen to share the same title as his latest album and other topics.

Medleyville.us: There's an old-school rock sound throughout Something New. Talk about the studios you used to record the album and whether you went the analog or digital route.
Dave Goddess: "If my record sounds old-school, it's just a result of my doing things the only way I know how. I tried to capture the spirit of the songs I wrote, to play with feeling and to sing with abandon. Beyond that, I had no plan.

"I recorded the album in a few different studios. I don’t believe that any of them had any bearing on how it came out. I think the drums were recorded on tape, and the rest was done digitally. I had a great engineer, Konrad Carelli, who helped me immensely in getting the sounds and capturing the performances. The legendary Ed Stasium mixed all the tracks, and he did a great job in translating my ideas into a finished sound."

"Lucky Guy" is about your wife, who had asked you to write a song about her. What steps did you take to avoid traveling down a corny lyrical path?
Goddess: "I'm incapable of writing a silly love song — not that there's anything wrong with that. In 'Lucky Guy,' I tried to explore both the dark and light side of our relationship. I’m not perfect, she's not perfect, our relationship isn’t perfect, but I’m lucky to have her. Like everything else I do, I just thought about it a lot and tried to be honest. I know honesty can be corny, but soul-bearing is my stock in trade."

Describe today's New York music scene in one sentence.
Goddess: "How about one word: diverse. There are so many people here that there’s an audience for everything that’s noteworthy. If you're a great bagpiper, there are enough Scottish people here to support you."

Traffic, The Smithereens and Quicksilver Messenger Service's Dino Valente are among the artists who have recorded songs titled "Something New." Other than yours, which one is your favorite?
Goddess: "OK, you cost me three bucks to download those tracks from iTunes. Never heard any of them. Didn't like any of them. But The Beatles' album of that name is good."

What are the band's touring plans for 2011?
Goddess: "I love to perform live. I have a great band, and we've got a lot of opportunities right now. I made my CD, and the next step is to go out and connect with audiences. Look for me in your town. Invite me to a party after the gig."

— Introduction and interview by Chris M. Junior

Dave Goddess Band on tour (schedule subject to change):

* April 23: The Firehouse — Bethlehem, Pa.

* April 30: The Living Room — New York

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Brett Dennen, Roxanne Potvin and Eliza Doolittle

* Brett Dennen — Loverboy (Dualtone)
To play music that makes people dance — that's what singer/songwriter Brett Dennen says he realized he wanted to do while touring behind 2008's Hope for the Hopeless, the best album of his career. Loverboy (out now), the almost-as-good follow-up, will never be mistaken for a disco album, but it does contain material that should get feet moving and bodies swaying, such as "Dancing at a Funeral" and "Comeback Kid (That's My Dog)." Dennen also successfully broadens his scope and sound a little more by incorporating horns on a bunch of songs, among them the reggae-flavored "Can't Stop Thinking."

* Roxanne Potvin — Play (Black Hen Music)
It isn't easy to shine a piece of crap. But damn if Montreal-based singer/songwriter Roxanne Potvin doesn't do a good job making Right Said Fred's campy "I'm Too Sexy" listenable by giving it some vocal sass and, along with her supporting cast, a sturdy instrumental foundation. Potvin writes everything else that's on Play (out now), and she's in her wheelhouse when the atmosphere is dreamy and the tempo is seemingly in slow motion. Highlights include "Born to Win," "Donnes Ton Mal" and "Seashells."

* Eliza Doolittle — Eliza Doolittle (Capitol)
Like her labelmate and fellow England native Corinne Bailey Rae, singer Eliza Doolittle has one foot in the smoother side of classic soul/R&B and the other in 1960s pop. Thanks to a small team of producers, Doolittle's self-titled Capitol debut (out now) is a blend of classic and modern sounds, and her enthusiasm really shines through on the more upbeat, melodic singalongs, among them "Moneybox," "Skinny Genes" and "Mr. Medicine." But Doolittle — who’s only in her early 20s — shows some real depth and range in the ballad "So High."

— By Chris M. Junior

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Electric Touch is excited about its upcoming second album

Singer Shane Lawlor doesn’t mind one bit that Electric Touch, his Austin, Texas-based rock band, isn’t like most of the acts from the self-proclaimed "live music capital of the world."

"We definitely go against the grain, but that kind of turns me on," Lawlor says in a thick British accent. "When we walk into a bar in Austin — or anywhere, really — people's heads turn. We look a little bit different, we act a little bit different and we certainly play a little bit different. We really wear our hearts on our sleeves, and we think there's nothing cooler than being the hardest-working rock band in the world."

When it came time to work on their second album (and first for Island Records), the members of Electric Touch headed east to New York, where they hunkered down for six months.

"We went to the mattresses, so to speak," Lawlor explains. "We would write songs and do demos, working with some amazing co-writers."

Lawlor says their collaborators included Espionage, the New York-based Norwegian songwriting/production team that had a hand in writing Beyonce's "Irreplaceable" and Train's "Hey, Soul Sister."

The band later went to Los Angeles to write some more, then recorded the album there with producer Howard Benson, whose credits include such acts as My Chemical Romance, Papa Roach and Seether.

"It's all done and in the bag, ready to go. We're just waiting for the right moment — I think summer is beckoning," Lawlor says. "We've been playing a few new songs here and there right now because we're really excited for everyone to hear it. It picks up where the first album left off — it's just bigger, bolder and better."

Electric Touch will be spotlighting a few new songs during its run of festivals this spring and summer.

"People come from all over for some of these festivals," Lawlor says, "so it's really an opportunity to show people from all over the world what you can do.

"We’re just hustling. We're trying to gain new fans every day."

— By Chris M. Junior

Electric Touch on tour (schedule subject to change):

* April 7: Moody Theater at ACL Live — Austin, Texas (with Heart)

* April 8: House of Rock — Corpus Christi, Texas

* April 9: Fitzgerald's — Houston

* April 11: Mohawk — Austin, Texas

* April 14: Three Clubs — Los Angeles

* April 16: Coachella festival — Indio, Calif.

* April 22: Jake's — Lubbock, Texas

* April 23: Dos Amigos — Odessa, Texas

* April 24: Emo's — Austin, Texas

* April 29: City Hall — Austin, Texas

* April 29: Stafford Main St. — Houston

* April 30: Edgefest — Dallas

* May 1: Buzzfest — Houston

* May 14: Antone's — Austin, Texas

* May 28: Rocklahoma — Pryor, Okla.

* June 3: House of Rock — Corpus Christi, Texas

* July 22: First Niagara Pavilion — Pittsburgh (Vans Warped Tour)

* July 23: Nassau Coliseum — Uniondale, N.Y. (Vans Warped Tour)

* July 24: Monmouth Park — Oceanport, N.J. (Vans Warped Tour)

* July 26: Merriweather Post — Washington, D.C. (Vans Warped Tour)

* July 27: Verizon Amphitheater — Virginia Beach, Va. (Vans Warped Tour)

* July 28: Verizon Amphitheater — Charlotte, N.C. (Vans Warped Tour)

* July 29: Firestone Amphitheater — Orlando, Fla. (Vans Warped Tour)

* July 30: Cruzan Amphitheater — Miami (Vans Warped Tour)

* July 31: Vinoy Park — Tampa, Fla. (Vans Warped Tour)

* Aug 1: Lakewood Amphitheater — Atlanta (Vans Warped Tour)

* Aug 2: Riverband — Cincinnati (Vans Warped Tour)

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Autobiographical album loaded with guest stars was worth the wait

For his fifth solo album, How to Become Clairvoyant (429 Records), former Band guitarist/songwriter Robbie Robertson has assembled a group of crafty veteran musicians and savvy young players to form a memorable and almost mystical summation of a career that has spanned six decades and is a cornerstone of rock history.

Clairvoyant is admittedly Robertson's most personal record, and even though its arrival comes 13 years after the release of Contact from the Underworld of Red Boy, it was worth the wait.

In the 429 Records press materials, Robertson says the project was a "rising to the surface [of] personal experiences. I just found a comfort zone in expressing that … in a bit of a mysterious way." The genesis of the album began with Robertson and Eric Clapton exchanging musical ideas, then reuniting years later to flesh out the tracks they left incomplete. He describes the collaboration with Clapton (who co-wrote two songs with Robertson and penned another alone) as "guitars taking to each other."

"Straight Down the Line" is filled with whimsical dream-like imagery. The narrator meets an old bluesman with a walking cane who tells him "there's some tough choices to be made." Later, while taking refuge in a church with a gospel choir "singing of war and peace," he encounters a woman in a black robe who says, "I do not play no rock 'n' roll/I would not be moved to sell my soul/the demons are out tonight." A wonderful pedal steel guitar solo from Robert Randolph enhances the track.

"When the Night Was Young" is a standout about early days on the road and at New York's Hotel Chelsea with Edie Sedgwick and Andy Warhol. "We had dreams/when the night was young/We were believers … We could change the world/stop the war." It is a lament for a bygone era: "What is lost?/What is missing?" the narrator asks rhetorically.

"He Don't Live Here No More" is another autobiographical song about excess and change. During the '70s, Robertson admits to a lifestyle of "insanity and decadence" that he shared with his housemate and friend, film director Martin Scorsese (who directed The Last Waltz, The Band's farewell concert film, which released in 1978). "Survival was at stake," he concludes, and he abruptly changes course. Robertson's gut-string guitar solo adds an edgy texture to the track.

"This Is Where I Get Off" is the first time Robertson has broached the subject of The Band's breakup in a musical context. It is a subtle and poetic acknowledgement of the need to move on and grow, and the lack of acrimony gives the listener the feeling of two lovers parting.

"Fear of Falling" begins with a bluesy vocal by Clapton and signature keyboard work by Steve Winwood. Robertson plays off the fellow veterans so well that the song has intimations of such supergroups as Cream and Blind Faith.

"Axman" is a tribute to guitar greats Jimi Hendrix (whom Robertson remembers as Jimi James) and the three Kings (Albert, Freddie and B.B. King). Guitarist Tom Morello of Audioslave and Rage Against the Machine fame helps to conjure up the spirits of the players being honored.

The artistic mix throughout How to Become Clairvoyant is precise and controlled. Bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Ian Thomas add a rock-solid foundation to the tracks. Robertson says he found the guitar contributions of Morello and Randolph "fascinating … both of these guys do something that I don't understand … they play a different instrument." Singers Taylor Goldsmith, Angelyna Boyd and others bring a soulful texture to the undertakings. Marius de Vries (who co-produced the record with Robertson) contributes inspired keyboard layers to several tracks.

How to Become Clairvoyant is an expert blending of autobiographical songwriting and musicianship. The album washes over you like a welcome balmy night — each song has its own divine character — and is a statement of wonderment and mystery.

— By Donald Gavron

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