Between the Idea & the Reality...Falls the Shadow

 UPDATE:This post was re-uploaded 08/23/2013. Enjoy, NØ

It's been a great week for me & musick.

This Tuesday is my two year anniversary at Nothin' Sez Somethin' & I was trying to come up with somethin' good.

Yesterday I got a package from a friend of mine who lives in Massachusetts. He is a vinyl collector. He pillages the eastern seaboard for collectible vinyl. He occasionally sells off doubles he's accumulated or stuff he no longer listens to or wants. I never pay more than $5 per platter. I always have a standing order for certain types & genres of musick, plus certain specific request, so although I never know exactly what I'll be getting in my Care packages, Steiner never fails to come through & enthrall. In Friday's treasure trove were many wonders of vinyl heaven that I'll be getting to as time permits...but there were two ethereal gems with which to begin.

First off was an album from 1968 by a Boston band that I have been looking for for years, which I see on ebay sometimes being offered in the $40 - $60 range...The Beacon Street Union - The Eyes of... I had this disc back in the day. I finally wore it out I played it so much. Classic Boss Sound of Bosstown with just that somethin' to make it special. When I listened to it yesterday, I remembered the songs as if it was, well, yesterday that I had last heard it...but not in the way that I usually remember old favorites long unheard. They were fresh as my lover's smile in my mind. I had the strangest feeling that they were, unbeknown to me, the soundtrack of my deepest dreams.

Then I found an unexpected unrequested star.

If you've followed this blog for long, you probably have heard me blather on about The Alleycats & The Zarkons. Well, for a long time I've been looking for The Zarkons final album from 1988...Between the Idea & the Reality...Falls the Shadow. Well, lo & behold, there it was...& here it is. Although this was released as The Zarkons were in terminal meltdown, it is one hella great album in this man's opinion. If you're not sure, try "Shoot the Moon" for a taste. I think you'll be back to the platter for seconds. I'll get to the other things later.

The Zarkons - Between the Idea & the Reality...Falls the Shadow,
Atlantic 81846, 1988.
decryption code in comments

Side A -

Heart Full of Soul
Just Who We Are?
Rodeo Rider
Miasma of Illusion
The Hunchback in the Park


Side B -

Shoot the Moon
Among the Ruins
The Dark Horse
In the Realm of the Zarkons

Enjoy,
NØ

F*#% F! How about A to Z?

UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded
08/30/2013. Enjoy, NØ.



My normally short attention span has been stretched beyond the breaking point with this continuing F thing. What about the other letters? What about A to Z?


Just where the Alley Cats / Zarkons come into the mix.













Anyone who's been around this place before knows that my musickal tastes are, well, mine alone & mighty damn strange, so you probably won't be too surprised when I proffer The Alley Cats as one of the great overlooked bands.








I saw them in a beat-up supper club on the nastier side of Hollywood Boulevard around '79 or '80 for $3. Randy Stodola could burn on the guitar, blasting the sharpest, smoothest riffs from his Fender Twin-Reverb amp.




Dianne Chai looked like a Chinese-American B-girl with a huge bouffant hair-do & sounded like Hell's angel.










Imagine a more heroin induced X with druggy lyrics that wallow in the excesses of the lowliest of street life. Michigan emigre Randy Stodola was the songwriter/guitarist & driving force, with a penchant for surreal narrative in his lyrics. His wife, Dianne Chai, on bass, & John McCarthy on drums made for one of the tightest outfits around.

Their earliest release, a single "Nothing Means Nothing Anymore" b/w "Give Me a Little Pain" was released on Dangerhouse Records (the independent that once boasted such legendary acts as the Avengers, the Bags, & X) in 1978. (Of course I'd dug this one, nothin' means nothin' anymore was my motto 'til I outgrew a bit of my nihilism & meant somethin' sometimes.) The Alley Cats from LA's South Bay (Lomita, actually) put out this fantastic single on Dangerhouse. Live, the songs killed. Everything this band did was just top notch, they were loved by all - the Hollywood punk rockers, the South Bay kids, the Orange County kids... what was there not to like about band founders Randy & Dianne? They were the nicest people, played the greatest music, fit in on any bill, always gave it their all.




The Alley Cats appear in Urgh! A Music War doing "Nothing Means Nothing Anymore".
(see it on YouTube)

The Alley Cats - Nothing Means Nothing Anymore / Give Me a Little Pain 7"

Dangerhouse LOM-22,1978.

all decryption codes in comments

This rip is from the "live shot" 7". I added as a bonus track "Too Much Junk" from Dangerhouse 2 to this re-uploiaded file.



(The original releases were on black vinyl only, 2500 pressed in two batches January 1978 - April 1978. Two picture sleeves issued: a black & white "live shot" foldover and a color "lounge" cover which is simply a double-sided 7" x 7" square.)




















They then jumped ship to Time Coast, which released their follow-up single "Too Much Junk"
b/w Night Along The Blvd." in 1980, (Time Coast TC#22, 1980) as well as their first album, Nightmare City, in 1981.

The Alley Cats - Nightmare City LP, Time Coast/Faulty TC2201, 1981.

Side 1 -

Nightmare City
Night Along the Blvd.
One More Chance to Survive
King of the Street Fight
Today
Side 2 -

Nothing Means Nothing Anymore (album version)
Too Much Junk
Give Me a Little Pain (album version)
Black Haired Girl
When the World was Old

Their final album (on major label MCA), Escape from the Planet Earth, hit in 1982. This is by far the best over-all record by the Alley Cats. If you're not sure about this band, try starting with "Waiting for the Buzz", one great, great song. IMHO.

There is some rare footage from this iconic band doing "It Only Hurts the First Time" from Escape from the Planet Earth, taped at the bands rehearsal studio, filmed by director Dennis Dragon. A real Gem!
(see it on YouTube)

The Alley Cats - Escape From The Planet Earth LP,MCA 5333, 1982.

Side 1 -

Escape from the Planet Earth
It Only Hurts the First Time
Breath of the Barfly
Bitter Fruit
Waiting for the Buzz

Side 2 -

Night of the Living Dead
Naked Souls
The Hotel
After the Funeral
Just an Alley Cat

After this release, the band broke up. In 1985 they emerged again as the Zarkons, but some of the greatness had been lost during the shift to the ass end of the alphabet. What went wrong? Well, they signed with Ratt’s manager, Diane moved in with him, & they changed their name to The Zarkons. Drugs got bigger & bigger in their lives until they stepped into the darkness & just kinda disappeared.

The Zarkons - Riders in the Long Black Parade LP,Time Coast TCC2205,1985)

Side 1 -

Screams in the Night
Live Free or Die
I'm Lovesick of the World
Queen of the Jungle

Side 2 -

White Rabbit
Darkness Synkopation
I Got a Hole in Me
Schizo-Phrenia




















Enjoy,
NØ