Profile: Patrick Park, Sasquatch, CMJ It seems there is always
a sizable crop of singer-songwriters and most are contentedly
relegated to the coffeehouses in their neighborhoods, but every
once in a while there is a window of opportunity in big-time music
for the genre. One of those windows has opened as evidenced by
the heavy rotation artists like John Mayer are getting of late.
Patrick Park has thrown his hat in the ring and is prevailing
despite the heavy current coming from upstream. Although he was
on the same bill as singer-songwriter icon Ron Sexsmith at Sasquatch,
he performed on a stage located outside the concert grounds
his compositions measured up to other
artists on the bill but only those waiting to go through security
and peasants without tickets in the parking lot got to see him.
The accomplished songsmith has persevered and more recently performed
at a CMJ showcase and on Craig Kilborns show. If the bottom dont
fall outta Wonderland, you may be hearing him on a radio near
you soon. - EAK
Book A History of Missing Foundation write conspiracyofaliens@yahoo.com
This rambling account of legendary New York underground punkers
Missing Foundation attempts to tell the story of those responsible
for overturned martini glass logos that adorned every available
surface in New York City long before Americas Mayor Rudy G. took
over the job of disneyfication. Engineer Jim Waters and Musician
Bill Bronson, along with others who passed through the ranks,
tell the tale of the highly-political band which at one time was
blamed for everything from Santoria-esque sadism to the riots
in Thompkins Square Park. Naturally, some of related labels facts
are wrong . Running the label on which they debuted, I lived through
early years of The Spitters - which MF became, but thats my own
fault for not contributing to the book. The best part of all
is that someone, Vincent, cared enough to put this all together.
Till I read it, I didnt know that Mark Ashwill died of cancer
a few years back. He was a good soul, a real good soul. Now Im
among those who miss him. - Ment.
Label Profile: What Are Records? This label is shying away from
the acronym version of its name (WAR?) for obvious reasons but
is sticking to its tradition of putting out high quality music.
It has released another record, Made by Maceo, by Maceo Parker
the outstanding trumpeter who first came to public notice as
a support musician for James Brown and George Clinton. Parker
has been kicking the funk freestyle on several excellent solo
releases, the most recent of which came out in 2003. If you like
brassy funk with a New Orleans flavor, check this out. Also on
What Are Records? in 2003 was the diverse talent of Tony Furtado
who easily switches from a piquant bluegrass type track to something
more akin to folk standards from Asia Minor on his release American
Gypsy. Although he surfs from genre to genre, his songwriting
and execution are nearly flawless. - EAK