THE HELLECASTERS
''ESSENTIAL LISTENING VOLUME 1''
2000
56:17
1 Disintonation 02:58
2 Valley Of The Pharaohs 04:16
3 Ghosts Of 42nd Street 05:20
4 Little Miss Strange 02:53
5 Back On Terra Firma 04:56
6 Riddler's Journey 05:29
7 Danger Man 03:56
8 Le Journee Des Tziganes 05:43
9 Mr. Natural 03:38
10 Axe To Grind 03:34
11 Deiter's Lounge 04:24
12 Almost Dawn 05:05
13 Bucket Of Fish 03:57
ABOUT THE ALBUM
By Michael Gallucci/cduniverse.com
Recorded in Hollywood, California and London, England between 1995 & 2002. Includes liner notes by Jim Cowan.
The Hellecasters play some fierce guitar. Their decade and three albums are keenly summed up on this fine collection, which stuffs in representative chunks of jazz, blues, pop, rock, and country. The thing is, these vets are pretty fluid in just about everything they do, so it's occasionally tough to discern one track from another (or one player from another, for that matter). A couple of unreleased cuts and a rarity are bait for fans, but novices will get the most from Essential Listening. While it helps to be a guitar freak, this trio's blend of Allman Brothers-style jams and playful heavy metal rips solidly convinces that even prodigious technical wizards are capable of having fun.
Personnel: Jerry Donahue (guitar, acoustic guitar, coral sitar, keyboards, gong); John Jorgenson (guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, vibraphone, percussion); Will Ray (guitar, sitar); Guy Babylon , John Hobbs (keyboards); Steve Duncan (drums, percussion); Donald Lindley, Charlie Morgan (drums); Luis Conte (percussion).
Audio Mixers: Jerry Donahue; John Jorgenson; Michael McDonald ; Will Ray.
Additional personnel: John Davis, Bob Birch, Dennis Belfield (bass); Steve Duncan, Donald Lindley, Charlie Morgan (drums); Luis Conte (percussion).
Arrangers: Jerry Donahue; John Jorgenson; The Hellecasters; Will Ray.
ABOUT THE BAND/OFFICIAL WEBSITE
Will and Jerry bumped into each other by chance at The Palomino, a popular LA area music club, on a Tuesday night in April of 1990. Both had individually gone to check out the acts that were scheduled to play that night. At that time, The Palomino hosted a presentation called "The Barndance", in which local acts were invited to showcase a repertoire of five or six selections each in the American Roots genre. And the admission was free! So, that couldn't be missed. Having arrived at the door at the same time, Jerry and Will sat down at a table together to enjoy the show. During one of the changeovers, Jerry casually mentioned how cool it would be if they were to come together, backed by a rhythm section to play a short set with a slightly different approach to the norm. In contrast to the common procedure of battling it out like gunslingers, (in an effort to determine who can outplay the other!), they would actually work closely together, producing interesting arrangements, harmony parts, etc., in the manner of a good horn section. And with Will's wild-man slides and Jerry's crazy bends, they'd be presenting a new sound all their own!
Will loved the idea but quickly noted that, as with horn sections, at least one more player would complete the picture, so that three-part harmonies could be achieved. The obvious choice was John, as half a decade earlier, they had come together along with two others to record an instrumental that Will had written, arranged and produced for release at that time ("Hollywood Roundup" by The Superpickers!).
Less than a week later, when John was back from touring, Will enlisted him and he (John) then came up with the trio's bohemian moniker! Subsequently the trio got together to arrange the short set and then brought in the rhythm section for an afternoon's rehearsal.
Ronnie Mack, creator and presenter of "The Barndance", was then approached and the first available date was reserved, about six weeks later in June. In the meantime, every Tuesday leading up to the début show, Ronnie promoted the new union so effectively that the Palomino was packed solid! Multiple demands were soon made for a return performance!
Due to everyone's prior commitments, the next possibility was to reserve a date in December, when everyone would be back for the Holidays (all lived in the Hollywood area at that time). Again the club was packed and, due to strict fire regulations, people were actually being turned away! This led to the guys agreeing to yet another date, which ended up being in April of '91. In the audience that night was video pioneer, Michael Nesmith, previously of 'The Monkees' fame. A record deal was offered on the spot and that is how 'The Hellecasters' became a bona fide entity - despite the three guys' original plan to join forces only for that one Palomino spot in June of '90!
BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA
The Hellecasters are an American guitar group. Composed of Nashville session players Will Ray, John Jorgenson (Desert Rose, and Elton John's backup band), and Jerry Donahue (Fairport Convention, Fotheringay), they all play modified versions of the Fender Telecaster as their main instruments. Their name, it has been speculated, comes from a pun, wherein they claim to play the hell out of their Telecasters. They came together at the behest of Michael Nesmith of the Monkees to record an album. Their first two albums, The Return of the Hellecasters and Escape from Hollywood, were released by Nesmith's Pacific Arts Audio label.
WEBSITE
TO THE TOP
''ESSENTIAL LISTENING VOLUME 1''
2000
56:17
1 Disintonation 02:58
2 Valley Of The Pharaohs 04:16
3 Ghosts Of 42nd Street 05:20
4 Little Miss Strange 02:53
5 Back On Terra Firma 04:56
6 Riddler's Journey 05:29
7 Danger Man 03:56
8 Le Journee Des Tziganes 05:43
9 Mr. Natural 03:38
10 Axe To Grind 03:34
11 Deiter's Lounge 04:24
12 Almost Dawn 05:05
13 Bucket Of Fish 03:57
ABOUT THE ALBUM
By Michael Gallucci/cduniverse.com
Recorded in Hollywood, California and London, England between 1995 & 2002. Includes liner notes by Jim Cowan.
The Hellecasters play some fierce guitar. Their decade and three albums are keenly summed up on this fine collection, which stuffs in representative chunks of jazz, blues, pop, rock, and country. The thing is, these vets are pretty fluid in just about everything they do, so it's occasionally tough to discern one track from another (or one player from another, for that matter). A couple of unreleased cuts and a rarity are bait for fans, but novices will get the most from Essential Listening. While it helps to be a guitar freak, this trio's blend of Allman Brothers-style jams and playful heavy metal rips solidly convinces that even prodigious technical wizards are capable of having fun.
Personnel: Jerry Donahue (guitar, acoustic guitar, coral sitar, keyboards, gong); John Jorgenson (guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, vibraphone, percussion); Will Ray (guitar, sitar); Guy Babylon , John Hobbs (keyboards); Steve Duncan (drums, percussion); Donald Lindley, Charlie Morgan (drums); Luis Conte (percussion).
Audio Mixers: Jerry Donahue; John Jorgenson; Michael McDonald ; Will Ray.
Additional personnel: John Davis, Bob Birch, Dennis Belfield (bass); Steve Duncan, Donald Lindley, Charlie Morgan (drums); Luis Conte (percussion).
Arrangers: Jerry Donahue; John Jorgenson; The Hellecasters; Will Ray.
ABOUT THE BAND/OFFICIAL WEBSITE
Will and Jerry bumped into each other by chance at The Palomino, a popular LA area music club, on a Tuesday night in April of 1990. Both had individually gone to check out the acts that were scheduled to play that night. At that time, The Palomino hosted a presentation called "The Barndance", in which local acts were invited to showcase a repertoire of five or six selections each in the American Roots genre. And the admission was free! So, that couldn't be missed. Having arrived at the door at the same time, Jerry and Will sat down at a table together to enjoy the show. During one of the changeovers, Jerry casually mentioned how cool it would be if they were to come together, backed by a rhythm section to play a short set with a slightly different approach to the norm. In contrast to the common procedure of battling it out like gunslingers, (in an effort to determine who can outplay the other!), they would actually work closely together, producing interesting arrangements, harmony parts, etc., in the manner of a good horn section. And with Will's wild-man slides and Jerry's crazy bends, they'd be presenting a new sound all their own!
Will loved the idea but quickly noted that, as with horn sections, at least one more player would complete the picture, so that three-part harmonies could be achieved. The obvious choice was John, as half a decade earlier, they had come together along with two others to record an instrumental that Will had written, arranged and produced for release at that time ("Hollywood Roundup" by The Superpickers!).
Less than a week later, when John was back from touring, Will enlisted him and he (John) then came up with the trio's bohemian moniker! Subsequently the trio got together to arrange the short set and then brought in the rhythm section for an afternoon's rehearsal.
Ronnie Mack, creator and presenter of "The Barndance", was then approached and the first available date was reserved, about six weeks later in June. In the meantime, every Tuesday leading up to the début show, Ronnie promoted the new union so effectively that the Palomino was packed solid! Multiple demands were soon made for a return performance!
Due to everyone's prior commitments, the next possibility was to reserve a date in December, when everyone would be back for the Holidays (all lived in the Hollywood area at that time). Again the club was packed and, due to strict fire regulations, people were actually being turned away! This led to the guys agreeing to yet another date, which ended up being in April of '91. In the audience that night was video pioneer, Michael Nesmith, previously of 'The Monkees' fame. A record deal was offered on the spot and that is how 'The Hellecasters' became a bona fide entity - despite the three guys' original plan to join forces only for that one Palomino spot in June of '90!
BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA
The Hellecasters are an American guitar group. Composed of Nashville session players Will Ray, John Jorgenson (Desert Rose, and Elton John's backup band), and Jerry Donahue (Fairport Convention, Fotheringay), they all play modified versions of the Fender Telecaster as their main instruments. Their name, it has been speculated, comes from a pun, wherein they claim to play the hell out of their Telecasters. They came together at the behest of Michael Nesmith of the Monkees to record an album. Their first two albums, The Return of the Hellecasters and Escape from Hollywood, were released by Nesmith's Pacific Arts Audio label.
WEBSITE
TO THE TOP