R.I.P. musician and visual artist David Fair

Sadly, visual artist and musician David Fair – co-founder of Half Japanese – has died at the age of 74. He'll be greatly missed. 

Happy 80th Birthday Cooper-Moore!

Cheers to pianist/composer and instrument builder Cooper-Moore on his 80th! Here are a few interviews and performances. 

Watch some vintage footage of Lee "Scratch" Perry working at Black Ark

Here's a rare clip of Lee "Scratch" Perry working his magic on a track by The Heptones at Black Ark. 

Col. Tom Parker's Swinging Door w/ guest Tony Allen @ Cameron House, Sunday

Tony Allen is gettin' ready to unveil his new hat to go with some hot fiddle licks for Col. Tom's Swinging Door today from 6 to 8 pm.

You can watch a preview of Fiddlin' Tony's swank new chapeau in this recent performance with Meredith Moon right here.  

Remembering tastemaking DJ John Peel on his birthday

Thinking of British DJ John Peel on his birthday with a look back at his Top 40 published by the NME back in 1979. 

 

B-Side Wins Again: Bobby Verne

Bobby Verne's super rare sax-blastin' rockabilly B-side "Red Hot Car" (on Doc Holiday Records) just got reissued by Ace – thanks to Keb Darge!

Here's the scoop from Ace on their 7" reissue...

The third release on Uprising pairs a late sax driven rockabilly thumper with one of the coolest dance craze records of the mid-60s. ‘Red Hot Car’ was Bobby Verne’s only recording and came out on the tiny Indio, California-based label Doc Holiday in 1962. Judging by the current price and collector demand for an original copy only a small quantity were pressed. This is a powerhouse of a tune that has been filling dance floors across the globe for some time now.

As for the flip, in 1965, Buddy Wayne added self-penned lyrics to Gary Paxton’s rendition of the James Bond theme. Released on the Big Ben label – that only put out four records − it sat unwanted for decades. Then the rockabilly scene picked up on it in a big way when they discovered that it was the perfect stroller. This was closely followed by the northern soul and mod scenes. Today, it is at last crossing over to a more mainstream audience.

By putting both tracks on one 7”, Keb Darge is not only saving collectors hundreds of pounds but introducing this music to a wider audience and a new generation.

Get a reissue copy of Bobby Verne's "Red Hot Car" with Buddy Wayne's "Agent 007 Dance" on the flip directly from Ace Records UK right here. Have a listen to Bobby Verne's original of "Red Hot Car" and Buddy Wayne's tribute to James Bond below. 

Mike T. Kerr & Nichol Robertson, Lori Yates' Velvetinas @ The Cameron House, Saturday

Mike T. Kerr and Nichol Robertson get back together for a show at the Cameron House tonight at 8 pm with Lori Yates at 6-8 pm.

If you're going to Nichol & Mike's show at the Cameron, get there early to catch Lori Yates' Velvetinas set from 6-8 pm! 

Thee Sacred Souls, LA LOM, Womack Sisters @ RBC Amphitheatre, Sept 20

Better grab your tickets quick for this fab triple bill with the Womack Sisters, LA LOM and Thee Sacred Souls in T.O. right here. 

Helsinki's Timmion label issues instro-soul album Organ-ized by Mr. Sophisticated Fingers

Mr. Sophisticated Fingers' Organ-ized – a Hammond-led reworking of Emilia Sisco's Introducing album – is out now! 

Here's the scoop...

Through the ages, several people from moustachioed party boat troubadours to jazz elite like Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff and Shirley Scott have wielded the power of the electric organ to hypnotize listeners. Now, taking all the possible cues from these musical heavyweights, and breaking through the musical sound barrier to organ-ize your mind comes Mr. Sophisticated Fingers. 

Together with the ever-faithful Cold Diamond & Mink this mystical key stroker rephrases ten of the greatest hits from Emilia Sisco’s debut album “Introducing” in a unique lyrical style. In Organ-ized’s Slow Dance & Soul album these songs continue for further greatness. 

You may have heard them before, now listen to them again, as now they’ve been organ-ized by the musical maestro Mr. Sophisticated Fingers, baby!

Get a copy of Organ-ized: Slow Dance & Soul on limited edition vinyl via Bandcamp right here. Check out three tracks below. 

Remembering drummer John Marshall (Nucleus/Soft Machine) on his birthday

Raising a glass to the late John Marshall with a few performances with Nucleus, Soft Machine and more worth checking. 

Cramps photos featured in new book Straight Strychnine due in November

Photographer Youri Lenquette's new book Straight Styrchnine captures The Cramps "in all their sick and twisted glory." 

Here's the scoop...

From April 1980, when Lux Interior, Poison Ivy, Bryan Gregory and Nick Knox launched their underground rock’n’roll assault on Montpellier, France, to 1991, when bassist Slim Chance and drummer Nickey Alexander joined Lux and Ivy in their vault of horror, photographer Youri Lenquette was on call to bring out the madness. From Bryan Gregory posing with a paperback of occult classic The Necromonicon to Psychedelic Jungle-era guitarist Kid Congo Powers looking cool in his bone necklace and leather trousers, from Lux Interior exposing his bare bottom at a legendary June 1984 concert at the Eldorado in Paris to the band adopting full S&M drag for a 1987 photoshoot, this is the Cramps in all their sick and twisted glory.

Youri Lenquette's Straight Strychnine (printed in 4 different editions: 2 hardback/2 softback out November 3 via Moonboy), is the first dedicated book of photography ever, on the most important, influential and mysterious cult band of all time. Just as nobody else managed to sound like the Cramps, however simple their formula of taking obscure rock’n’roll records from the 50s and 60s and adding lashes of sex and horror might have seemed, nobody looked like them either. Whether it was Lux Interior climbing a speaker stack in a tiny g-string or Poison Ivy staring impassively from a wild mass of ginger curls, the Cramps exuded a totally captivating blend of sleaze and glamour; unknowable and alluring.

This book, began life over 4 years ago by pure chance after a meeting between photographer Youri Lenquette at his studio in Paris and Fabrice Couillerot (designer/publisher) and the discovery of their mutual passion & love for the Cramps, 60’s garage punk music and a fascination for cats.

Straight Strychnine is arriving at a time when interest in the band has never been higher. In 1981, the Cramps took an obscure 1962 rock’n’roll single called ‘Goo Goo Muck’ by Ronnie Cook and the Gaylads and recorded it in the hope of inspiring a teenage dance craze. That took until 2022 to actually happen, when Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday Addams did some poker-faced moves to ‘Goo Goo Muck’ on Tim Burton’s Wednesday and spawned a viral hit. Then in August 2026 came Gravest Gravy, an album of unreleased recordings from October 1977, when the Cramps headed to Ardent Studios in Memphis and laid down early versions of future live favourites including ‘Jungle Hop’ and ‘Rockin’ Bones’ with Alex Chilton, legendary singer of the Box Tops and Big Star, on production and occasional organ duties.

It features a foreword by Lenny Kaye, writer, composer and original guitarist for The Patti Smith Group, whose Nuggets compilation of forgotten 60s garage bands was a formative influence on Lux and Ivy.

Will Hodgkinson, chief rock and pop critic of The Times and the author of several music books including 2024’s award-winning Street-Level Superstar, A Year with Lawrence, provides the introduction and accompanying text.

Their contributions help make The Cramps the definitive visual account of a band who, despite their vast and ongoing impact and influence, remain curiously under-represented in print.

Youri Lenquette was uniquely placed to photograph the Cramps through their 1980s golden age, bringing a punk spirit to his craft by grabbing a camera and getting up close to his subject without worrying too much about the perfect shot and instead aiming for truth and intimacy. Lenquette started out as a journalist for the French rock magazine Best before picking up a camera in the late 70s, documenting the punk era and going on to shoot everyone from Youssou Ndour to Nirvana. Most importantly, his decade-long friendship with the Cramps allowed for deep access into the notoriously private world of Lux and Ivy, resulting in images that capture both the thrill of performance and the rarely seen realities of life in an underground rock’n’roll band.

Straight Strychine includes the three original articles written by Youri for the French press at the time (translated in English for this book):

Les Fleurs du Mal, interview with Lux, Ivy and Kid Congo, BEST magazine, July 1981.

Cramps Story, BEST magazine, June 1984.

A date with The Cramps, interview with Lux and Ivy, April 1986.

For more information about Straight Strychnine and mail order details, visit the Moonboy site right here here. 

 

Three For The Weekend: Bobby Marchan

Getting your weekend started right with a few hip-shakin' New Orleans R&B gems from Bobby Marchan and pals.  

R.I.P. visual artist Yayoi Kusama, 1929-2026

Sadly, visual artist Yayoi Kusama – Japan's Queen of Polka Dots – has passed away at the age of 97. She'll be greatly missed. 

Remembering Ronnie Splinter of The Outsiders on his birthday

Raising a glass to my old pal Ronnie Splinter on his birthday, shown here with Wally Tax, rehearsing on their new guitars at home.

Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders releasing new album I'll Dream Alone in October!

Rock 'n' roll flame-keepers Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders unleash their latest studio album I'll Dream Alone on October 2nd via Hound Gawd! Records. 

Here's the scoop from Hound Gawd! Records...

Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders were formed in 2004 after Pat put an end to The Lazy Cowgirls (1983 to 2004). The Rankoutsiders have over 30 releases to their name, with a new album, I’LL DREAM ALONE, coming out on October 2nd before their month-long European tour starting also in October 2026. For more info, check their site: https://linktr.ee/Rankoutsiders

With this new release, Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders encapsulate 100 years of Rock’n’roll, Punk, Blues, Country & Folk traditions - sometimes within the same song! Poetic yet realistic, and straight to the point in a gritty and artistic way - all wrapped up in a high-energy Rock’n’Roll Presentation! Miss this band live at your own peril. 

Led by Pat Todd, the RANKOUTSIDERS are truly a band: energetically flanking Todd stage left is long-time guitarist and vocalist Kevin Keller; to the right is guitarist and founding member, Nick Alexander- the cool, calm and collected eye of the storm; bassist Steven Vigh holds the lower frequencies in check, pushing choruses to the next harmonic level, while drummer Dan Whitmore drives the engine, keeping the band on the rails. Album artwork by Hollywood Guthrie. 

Pre-order a limited-edition colour vinyl version of Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders' new album I'll Dream Alone directly from Hound Gawd! Records right here. Listen to "Desire Left Town" and watch a couple of live clips below. 

That time Scott Walker crooned the theme song for a spaghetti western flick

Up for a challenge, Scott Walker cut "The Rope and The Colt" for Robert Hossein's 1969 western Cemetery Without Crosses co-written with Dario Argento!  

Limiñanas have just postponed their North American tour

Due to undisclosed "health issues," The Limiñanas' October tour has been cancelled with dates rescheduled for May 2027.  

Here's the scoop...

We are sorry to announce that due to health issues we will not be able to perform our North American Tour scheduled in October and November 2026. 

Good news ! The whole tour is postponed to May 2027 : ALL TICKETS REMAIN VALID, except for the Queretaro show (MX) where all tickets will be refunded. For further assistance please contact your local promoter. 

Thank you for your understanding and for all your messages of support. 

We look forward to seeing you again very soon.

The Limiñanas

Get Alongs, Thee Terrible Threes, DJ Tim Hanna @ Houndstooth, Wednesday

Between poundin' garage sets by the Get Alongs and Thee Terrible Threes at Houndstooth, DJ Tim Hanna will keep things swingin' like a Singapore go-go bar.  

DJ Tim Hanna will get things underway like this at Houndstooth (818 College) starting at around 8:30 pm. Watch this. 

Limited-run Marshall Crenshaw compilation The Bootleg Sounds reissued in October

Yep Roc is recirculating their limited-edition RSD vinyl release The Bootleg Sounds of Marshall Crenshaw on October 23. 

Here's the scoop:

Originally released by Yep Roc on brown vinyl for Record Store Day back in April, the 15-track Marshall Crenshaw archival compilation, The Bootleg Sounds of Marshall Crenshaw: 1984-1987, is being re-released by Yep on black vinyl on October 23rd. 

Marshall dug through his vast archives and assembled a collection of previously unreleased recordings, demos and live songs, including a cover of Buddy Holly’s “That’ll Be the Day,” featuring Garry Tallent and Max Weinberg, "The Blues Is King" recorded with Let's Active's Faye Hunter and Mitch Easter, and a Marshall-ized update of an overlooked Gene Vincent & The Blue Caps gem "Right Now,"  

One particularly cool artifact included here is a demo snippet featuring vocals by Kirsty McColl. Marshall had been working on a demo for the song, “(We’re Gonna) Shake Up Their Minds,” but had hit a block in writing it. According to Marshall, “ At one point when I was struggling to write it, I sent the backing tracks to Kirsty MacColl to see what might happen. She wrote her own song (‘All I Ever Wanted’) over the tracks; it wound up on one of her albums (and a UK single too, but not one of her hits unfortunately). I’m presenting this the way I found it on the tape reel- my demo, followed by the last bit of her demo, which I accidentally recorded over. 

The Bootleg Sounds LP provides a rare glimpse into an artist’s songwriting and recording process, as well as featuring some very fine recordings finally seeing the light of day.

The limited edition Record Store Day 2026 LP only release is now available on CD, and back in print, this time on black vinyl. Get a copy of The Bootleg Sounds of Marshall Crenshaw: 1984-1987 is available for pre-order via Bandcamp right here or use Marshall's own pre-order link. Just don't waste your time trying to get it fromYep Roc, they haven't updated their site in months. Check out the track list followed by an interview with Marshall along with a couple of live clips from a 1985 performance at The Ritz in New York below.  

The Bootleg Sounds of Marshall Crenshaw: 1984-1987

A1 They Will Never Know

A2 (We're Gonna) Shake Up Their Minds

A3 All I Ever Wanted (Excerpt)

A4 That'll Be The Day

A5 Little Wild One (No. 1) (TV Track)

A6 The Distance Between

A7 Blues Is King (TV Track)

B1 Right Now

B2 Vocal Test

B3 Town Without Pity

B4 Terrifying Karaoke

B5 Synsonics Go Berzerko!

B6 Reet Petite (Live)

B7 Try (Live)

B8 This Is Easy (Live)

Midweek Mixdown: O toi, Beatnik... Chansons Obscures Du Beat Francophone 1965-67!

Here's an excellent selection of lesser known 60s Francophone beat, garage and yé-yé jams. Check it out! 

For fans of French rock history, O Toi, Beatnik...Chansons Obscures Du Beat Francophone 1965-67! is a treasure trove that bypasses the famous mainstream "Yé-Yé" icons of the era (like Johnny Hallyday, France Gall, or Jacques Dutronc) to showcase the regional, underground DIY teenage scene including the unjustly overlooked Canuck gem "Pourquoi" by Montreal's Les “Z” on Gamma. It stands alongside other iconic French 60s garage collector compilations such as the Ils Sont Fous Ces Gaulois! series and Wizzz! Check the track listing below. Have a listen right here. 

O Toi, Beatnik…Chansons Obscures Du Beat Francophone 1965-67! 

Label: Out Of Limits

Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation

Country: France

Released: 2000

01 –Les Senders Les Cheveux Longs 00:00

02 –Jonadan Prière Surnaturelle 01:58

03 –Les Masters Mon Chameau 03:40

04 –Les Chevelles Ton Ombre Me Suit 05:32

05 –Les Volcans Quand Tu Nous Tiens 07:31

06 –Les “Z” Pourquoi 09:49

07 –Ricky Gomez Mais Quoi, Oui Quoi, Pourquoi 11:57

08 –Les Bowlers Il Est Trop Tard 14:48

08 –Les Sparks Rien N’A D’Importance 16:56

09 –Nicolas Nils Faudra Compter Avec Moi 19:34

10 –Equipe 79 J’Aime Ta Voix 22:21

Country music icon Dolly Parton has passed away at 80

Saddened to hear that iconic country singer/songwriter and philanthropist Dolly Parton has died at 80. She'll be greatly missed.

Peter Hook & The Light @ History, August 27

Since Peter Hook is in town to perform New Order's Get Ready album, here are a few interviews & clips to get you up to speed. 

GA tickets for Peter Hook & The Light's show at History in Toronto are $66.75. Get 'em right here.

Marissa Nadler shares her animated video for "Smoke Screen Selene"

"Smoke Screen Selene" appears on Marissa Nadler's 2025 album New Radiations available here. Watch her clip below.  

Grey DeLisle is joined by Dave Alvin & Deke Dickerson on new album out in October

Singer/songwriter Grey DeLisle is previewing her Don't Turn Around album with the honky-tonk whumper "The Lights Are Off But Somebody's Home." 

Here's the scoop...

Deke Dickerson & Grey

Singer/songwriter Grey DeLisle has announced her forthcoming album, Don't Turn Around – out October 23 via Hummin'bird Records – with the release of its lead single, "The Lights Are Off But Somebody's Home." A darkly funny, rockabilly-flavored take on the Bakersfield Sound, the track transforms the classic country tale of a two-timing lover into a sharp-witted honky-tonk anthem packed with twang, swagger, and DeLisle's signature blend of heartbreak and humor.

Produced by the late Andy Paley (Brian Wilson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Madonna) and completed by longtime collaborator Marvin Etzioni following Paley's passing, Don't Turn Around brings together an extraordinary cast of musicians including Deke Dickerson, Murry Hammond, Stephen McCarthy, Greg Leisz, Chris Scruggs, Tammy Rogers, Bernie Dresel, Mandy Barnett, Mickey Raphael, engineer Jake Gideon, and special guest Dave Alvin, who joins DeLisle for the duet "You're Driving Me Away." Drawing from classic country, California roots music, and rockabilly traditions, the album remains unmistakably Grey DeLisLe, pairing unforgettable storytelling with hard-earned humor and remarkable resilience.

Across its 11 songs, Don't Turn Around explores the many ways people leave one another and the roads they travel afterward. Lovers drive away. Doors close. Empty houses become haunted by memory. Yet for all its heartbreak, the album is filled with warmth, wit, and resilience, affirming once again that few modern songwriters capture the spirit of classic country quite like DeLisle.

The story behind Don't Turn Around is every bit as remarkable as the songs themselves, beginning between takes on the set of SpongeBob SquarePants. While voicing members of Sandy Cheeks' family on the long-running animated series, DeLisle struck up an unlikely friendship with Paley, an acclaimed composer, songwriter, and producer whose credits included Brian Wilson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Patti Smith, NRBQ, and The Ramones. After discovering that DeLisle was also a songwriter, Paley encouraged her to play him one of her songs. The song was "Don't Turn Around," and it marked the beginning of one of the most rewarding creative partnerships of DeLisle's recording career.

Together, DeLIsle and Paley began crafting Don't Turn Around before Paley's unexpected passing in 2024. Rather than leave the project unfinished, longtime friend and collaborator Marvin Etzioni completed the album, honoring Paley's vision while helping bring it to life.

Though millions know DeLisle as the voice of Daphne Blake in Scooby-Doo, Azula in Avatar: The Last Airbender, and beloved characters across The Fairly OddParents, The Simpsons, SpongeBob SquarePants, and more, songwriting has remained the throughline of her creative life. A Grammy-winning artist whose recordings have earned widespread critical acclaim, she continues to draw from the traditions of classic country while bringing her own unmistakable wit, warmth, and perspective to every song.

You can pre-order a copy of Grey DeLisle's forthcoming album Don't Turn Around via Bandcamp right here. 

Check out the kick-ass first track "The Lights Are Off But Somebody's Home" below. Also, Grey's home was recently featured in the New York Times, have a look right here.

Yacht Rock: The Complete Web Series screens @ Revue Cinema, Thursday

Stompbox is showing the entire 2005 Yacht Rock web series – a whimsically fictionalized account of the 70s soft rock boom. 

Climax your summer with all 12 smooth sailin’ episodes of the classic YACHT ROCK web series + a live set of yacht rock hits performed by DRAGON SOUNDS!

One of the funniest shows of all time, web series YACHT ROCK launched in 2005 and immediately hurled a harpoon straight into our hearts, kindling a secret love affair with silky smooth music that each one of us had always felt – but denied. Now, my friends, it’s time to set sail on a voyage… right to the top of the charts.

Toronto's own Dragon Sounds will be performing a well-chilled selection of smooth tunes. 

 

Co-creators J.D. Ryznar (“Michael McDonald”), Hunter Stair (“Kenny Loggins”), David Lyons (“Koko”) and their pals weave a genius assembly of genuine music lore, absurd exaggerations and wild fabrications to detail the mythical origins of how smooth 70s and 80s music was made – featuring increasingly outlandish tales about Hall & Oates, the Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, Loggins & Messina, Toto, Michael Jackson, Christopher Cross, Journey, Warren G, Dr. Dre and more. With intros by “Hollywood” Steve Huey! 

YACHT ROCK famously coined the term “Yacht Rock”, giving anchor to a previously ambiguous genre of mellow music, and reigniting the careers of artists like Hall & Oates in the process. Even Michael MacDonald himself says: “I thought Yacht Rock was hilarious. And uncannily, you know, those things always have a little bit of truth to them. It’s kind of like when you get a letter from a stalker who’s never met you. They somehow hit on something, and you have to admit they’re pretty intuitive.”

Recommended: Hawaiian shirts, sunglasses, warm spirits, cool cocktails, sailing caps, life jackets.

Get advance tickets for the Stompbox presentation of J.D. Ryznar's 12-episode YACHT ROCK web series at the Revue Cinema (400 Roncesvalles) on Thursday, August 27 at 9:30 pm right here. Watch the first four episodes below. 

 

 

Dollar Bin Delights: André Hossein's Les Yeux Cernés OST EP

André Hossein's slinky, tension-filled themes set the mood for his actor/director son Robert's 1964 French noir Les Yeux Cernés. A crime jazz gem!

French filmmaker Robert Hossein (1927-2020) – probably best known today for directing the 1982 film adaptation of Les Misérables – launched his film career as an actor in the role of the drug-addicted thug Rémy Grutter in Jules Dassin's classic 1955 heist film Rififi, a key inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs. 

Hossein would go on to act in more than 100 more films (often playing morally bankrupt dregs of society, the drifters, ex-cons, thieves, sociopaths, etc), and would typically redirect the money he made from his screen roles into his own independent productions, starting with Les salauds vont en enfer (The Wicked Go to Hell).

Like many of the auteur's own films, he co-wrote the screenplay and directed it while also acting in it but had the good sense to leave the soundtrack to his pianist/composer father André Hossein. Although the elder Hossein was busy with his own symphonic orchestrations and ballets (noted for his seamless way of weaving the familiar melodies of his Persian heritage into Western classical structures), he always found time to score his son's features. 

No matter what genre his son chose to explore – gangster melodrama, spy thriller, true crime bio pic. period piece, war movie or a straight-up spaghetti western (listen to Scott Walker croon the dust-blown theme Robert Hossein's "Une Corde, Un Colt" right here) – André was down for whatever. A stretch for some no doubt but Hossein Sr. proved to be just as adept at creating appropriately slinky, tension-ratcheting cues for 1964's Les Yeux Cernés (Marked Eyes) as he was knocking out a hip-shaking hully gully number that same year for the crime drama La Mort D'un Tueur (Death of a Killer) – the height of the hully gully craze in French cinema. 

In fact, some sharp archival operation should put pair up the two overlooked soundtracks for one sweet single LP reissue. Check out Andre Hossein's work on Les Yeux Cernés followed by the film below.

 

Listen to the Bird Curtis Quintet

Since trumpeter John Trelawney Curtis turns 90 today, we're celebrating with a few of his Bird Curtis Quintet gems.

LINKS
Get a copy of the Bird Curtis Quintet's "Needs B" LP via Jazzaggression Records right here.

Happy Birthday Terje Rypdal!

Celebrating Norwegian guitarist Terje Rypdal's 79th birthday with some Rickenbacker rippin' with Min Bul in Molde from 1970. 

Music writer Richie Unterberger chats about the Velvet Underground

Music writer and historian Richie Unterberger discusses the Velvet Underground and his new book Do What You Fear Most. 

LINKS
Get a copy of Do What You Fear Most via Omnibus Press right here. 

Ichi-Bons w/ Queens & Kings @ Monarch Tavern, Saturday

Those Ichi-Bons are back rockin' up a storm at the Monarch Tavern with Queens & Kings opening at 8 pm.

Tickets for the Ichi-Bons show at the Monarch Tavern tonight are $22.50 advance. Get 'em quick right here.