#Gary Olson

[bandcampsnoop]

9/2/24.

Gary Olson. He's been a part of many of my favorite bands - mostly as a producer (he's always working with Phil Sutton). Sometimes I forget that his band, The Ladybug Transistor (Brooklyn, New York) was magical in its own right.

"The Ablemarle Sound" is being reissued by Happy Happy Birthday To Me (HHBTM Records) with bonus tracks. I hear so many great things in this record: The Kinks, The Four Seasons ("The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette), or The Heavy Blinkers come immediately to mind. This album almost sounds Scottish - I just can't help but think of later era Pastels or BMX Bandits when I hear the lush arrangements.

Members of the band went on to form other great bands such as The Essex Green and The Garment District.

[the-lean-buddha]

My thoughts on the news about The Long Walk's film adaption

I have very little faith that The Long Walk will be a good adaption but maybe I'll be wrong! I can dream, and I've been wrong before. Here are my thoughts on the casting announcements and set pictures.

Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson are the leads, according to Deadline, which means they're presumably Garraty and McVries. Jonsson seems like a good actor but an awful fit for either character, and with Hoffman (presumably Garraty) it comes down to how good an actor he is, I guess, because I can see it working if I squint but I haven't seen anything from Hoffman to suggest he can do Garraty. And I reaaaaally doubt he could do McVries. McVries has a bite to him.

Joshua Odjick is Native American so he's presumably Joe or Mike (not to say that a different character couldn't theoretically be Native American in the adaption, but it's key to Joe and Mike that none of the other Walkers understand their culture at all, and only Baker defends their parents). It's odd that either of those two would have a prominent enough role to be cast already, so I wonder if either one of their roles is beefed up, or if Mike and Scramm will be a composite character and Joe won't feature at all. Alternatively, Odjick isn't playing a Native American character (or he is but Mike and Joe are adapted out), in which case I'd guess Parker.

Roman Griffin Davis is someone I've only ever seen in Jojo Rabbit so I don't know how much range he has. I think he'd fit best as Barkovitch but I wouldn't be surprised if he's been cast as Baker or Olson.

Charlie Plummer is Stebbins. I say this almost entirely because he's a long-haired blonde. If McVries is black then book descriptions (and characterizations, let's be honest, you can't make McVries a black kid in the 70s and keep his character the same) are thrown out the door already, but google Charlie Plummer and tell me he's not been cast as Stebbins. Also, take a look at this.

Ben Wang is Asian American and there are no explicitly Asian American characters, so we've gotta guess this one purely on Vibes (Olson and Barkovitch could both be canonically Asian American, but Barkovitch is openly racist, so). From Wang's YouTube channel and some clips of Chinese Born American I found, he's a nice and playful guy (hmu Ben let's get a lemonade, also tell me who you're playing), so I'd assume Baker or Olson or Abraham because they fit that the closest, I guess? But this is unfortunately a flawed way of guessing because actors playing lunatics are sometimes normal people in real life, walking among us, going almost undetected.

Tut Nyuot's a young, sweet-looking kid. I'd assume Percy? Again, weird to cast Percy already because he doesn't even have any lines in the book, but I can't imagine Nyuout playing a character who's supposed to be the same age as Charlie Plummer's character. Maybe he's unexpectedly good at playing deranged assholes like Barkovitch? We'll see.

For Garrett Wareing I'd say Olson, looking through clips and interviews.

Jordan Gonzalez gives me no strong impression. Sorry, Jordan. Feel free to give me a stronger one over lemonade (and tell me who you're playing). If I'm held at gunpoint then I'll say Abraham.

Mark Hamill is presumably playing the Major. He's absolutely not who I would have picked because he overflows with character and I always pictured the Major as a stoic, empty Big Brother type figure, whose moments of charisma and friendliness were obviously just an act. And I guess Hamill could play that, but I think the Major will more likely have a lot more personality and vim and vigor in the movie, if Hamill was cast - he's easily the biggest draw in the cast. Not necessarily a bad way to portray the Major, but easier to mess up. We'll wait and see.

Judy Greer as presumably Mrs. Garraty will presumably be fine.

Set photos look promising, aesthetically. No half-track, though. And there's a tank. Why is there a tank?

There's a Deadline article suggesting that there are only 50 kids and the pace limit is 3mph. But there's also an article suggesting it's still 100 kids so it might be a mistake? If it's 50 kids then that's presumably done for practicality but it's a bad change, the number will either get too low too fast or it'll drop too slowly (and also no 47 and 61 which would be weird but that's not significant). 3mph isn't necessarily bad, it's more feasible, but it does mean the "first into Massachusetts in seventeen years" can't happen. Maybe they'll make New Hampshire the record instead.

i want lemonade

Reblog with your thoughts! We've got news, people, and I'm sure someone somewhere is more excited about that than I am. Let's get some discussion going on in here.

[seralica]

watched Dan Olson/Folding Ideas analysis of the Somerton "response", and boy HOWDY is he smart

he uses his own knowledge of Canadian filmmaking and the industry here to get into some details about why James is full of shit

If you need any reason to sub to the Folding Ideas Patreon, here it is with his new 30 minute video about the situation go sub and watch it

[graphicpolicy]

Copro Gallery Celebrates Hellboy’s 30th Anniversary with an Art Show Curated by Gary Deocampo

Copro Gallery Celebrates Hellboy’s 30th Anniversary with an Art Show Curated by Gary Deocampo #mikemignola #hellboy

2024 marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most influential independent comic characters in pop culture: Hellboy. Mike Mignola’s iconic character has inspired artists working in every medium for decades. To celebrate Hellboy and Mignola’s legacy, curator Gary Deocampo has assembled a group exhibition with over 40 artists paying tribute to Hellboy with paintings, drawings and sculptures. The…

[gwox]

If It Doesn't Make You Squirm… [Brutal Light]

Recently, I went over the links in my old promotional page for my debut (and so far only) novel Brutal Light from 2011, and discovered that a bunch of the links were dead. Which shouldn't be surprising, since blogs come and go, and these essays and interviews came out twelve years ago now. So over the next few months, I'm going to be reposting these here, starting with "If It Doesn't Make You Squirm...", which I originally wrote for Lincoln Crisler's blog on 12/6/11.

One of the most valuable bits of writing advice I ever read (from a source, sadly, I can no longer recall) went something like this: "If it doesn't make you squirm, it won't make the reader squirm." It was a passing bit of advice with no context--at least, none that I recall--but it's stuck with me like nothing else, and is always at the back of my mind whenever I write.

The first question as a reader you might ask is 'Why would you want to make me squirm? What did I ever do to you?' (That is, unless your first question is 'Are you wearing pants?' If so, you're likely already squirming.) To me, as a fiction writer, it means I've connected with you on a fundamental level--it means I've successfully put you 'behind the eyes' of my main characters and gotten you to feel what they feel. I've somehow connected you with their terrors, trials, exhilarations, despairs, and joys. Ultimately, it means I've given you an experience that will stay with you a while.

So why do I, as a writer, have to squirm to make that happen? I got myself a nice cushioned chair to sit in while writing and possibly being pants-less, so why would I make myself uncomfortable in it?

To me, it means sincerity shouldn't be faked. A writer who unflinchingly faces her or his fears will be able to write those fears with an authenticity that a writer who doesn't want to step outside of his or her comfort zone will find hard to duplicate. I'm not just talking about the things that are stock-in-trade for a dark fantasy or horror genre writer--vampires, zombies, serial killers, giant snakes, and the like. There are day-to-day fears that are even harder to face with honesty.

Take the fear of opening yourself up to another person--to not only admitting your vulnerabilities to yourself but letting your guard down so that someone you love can see them and possibly mock you for having them. Take the fear that you will someday be forced to look at what's beneath the carefully woven tapestry of words you call your identity, and you'll discover that there's nothing there. Take the fear that you'll end up alone, that the one you're with will wise up and leave you, and she or he will be right in their judgment. Even if these are not your fears, specifically, chances are you have others that cut this deep.

Horror and dark fantasy provide canvases like none other to explore these fears. Zombies, vampires, cannibals, werewolves, and even stranger beasts can give voice to our fears of what the world holds, and the desires we publically disdain while privately fantasizing about. There's nothing like a demon for uttering something cruel and monstrous, which may be a lie but is even more terrifying if it is true.

I have fears. They make me squirm, when I give them too close an examination. So I write them--grossly magnified and distorted, mixed in with things from the dead places and lots of bloody mayhem. I have no idea if they'll make you, the reader, squirm--my squirming is just a prerequisite, not a guarantee of success, and my fears may not be yours--but you'll know I've taken my best shot.

By the way, I am wearing pants. There's enough fear in the world without people wondering about that.***

Gary W. Olson is the author of the dark fantasy novel Brutal Light and a contributor to the dark fiction anthologies Fairly Wicked Tales and The C.A.M. Charity Anthology: Horror and Science Fiction #1. His blog originates here.

[daggerzine]

I Was A King- Best Wishes - A Shortcut To I Was a King (Hype City Records)

There's been a lot of bad news in 2025 so here's some good news. The brilliant Norwegian band I Was A King (ie: basically the work of one Frode Strømstad with help from lots of friends including folks like Sufjan Stevens, Robyn Hitchcock, Norman Blake, Gary Olson, etc., etc.) has a record coming out next month. 

As the title might suggest, it is a compilation of sorts, selected songs from their catalog from 2005 to 2024. 15 songs in all and so far one has been released, the ebullient "Best Wishes," which is over in a little over a minute, but will plaster a smile on your mug (and if it doesn't, you're reading the wrong site). 

So go forth and prosper and discover your new favorite band (that's been at it for two decades). 

www.iwak.bandcamp.com

[ruinedholograms]

(1978-1989)

Hiroshi Yoshimura - Green

Gary Numan - The Pleasure Principle

Fumio Miyashita - Wave (Sounds of the Universe)

Laurie Spiegel - The Expanding Universe

Angel Olson - Aisles

Howard Shore - Videodrome

Brian Eno - Ambient 4 (On Land)

Brian Eno - Apollo (Atmospheres & Soundtracks)

Vangelis - Blade Runner

The New American Orchestra - Blade Runner (Orchestral Adaptations)

The Reds | Michael Rubini - Manhunter

John Williams - The Return Of The Jedi

Michele Mercure - Pictures of Echoes

Tryanglz | Brad Fiedel - The Terminator

Ryuichi Sakamoto - Left Handed Dream

David Byrne & Brian Eno - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts

Giorgio Mororder - Scarface 

Piper - Gentle Breeze

V/A - Pacific Breeze

Steve Hiett - Down On The Road By The Beach

John Williams - Superman: The Movie

Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine

Piper - Summer Breeze

Pixies - Surfer Rosa

[bookaddict24-7]

(New Young Adult Releases Coming Out Today! (September 3rd, 2024)

___

Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know!

___

New Releases:

Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma

The Monstrous Kind by Lydia Gregovic

When Haru Was Here by Dustin Thao

Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White

Second Chance On Earth by Juan Vidal

The Ghost of You by Michael Gray Bulla

Guava & Grudges by Alexis Castellanos

The Loss of the Burying Ground by J. Anderson Coats

Luminous Beings by David Arnold & José Pimienta (illustrator)

Girlmode by Magdalene Visaggio & Paulina Ganucheau (Illustrator)

Fairy Godmother by Jen Calonita

Us in Ruins by Rachel Moore

Please Be My Star by Victoria Grace Elliott

The Dagger & the Flame by Catherine Doyle

Songlight by Moira Buffini

Mismatched by Anne Camlin

Welcome to Fear City by Sarah Dvojack

This Book Kills by Ravena Guron

Repeat After Me by Jessica Warman

I'm Not Really Here by Gary Lonesborough

A Wreck of Seabirds by Karleah Olson

New Sequels:

Celestial Monsters (The Sunbearer Duology #2) by Aiden Thomas

Shadows of Perl (House of Marionne #2) by J. Elle

Rebel Fire (Rebel Skies #2) by Ann Sei Lin

The Mongol Ascension (A Jump in Time #3) by Andrew Varga

___

Happy reading!

[dannyreviews]

Golden Age of Hollywood Actors Born Before (And Including) 1937 Still Alive

This only includes actors that had at least one credited role in a Hollywood feature film or short up to 1959.

Elisabeth Waldo (b. 1918)

Caren Marsh Doll (b. 1919)

Patricia Wright (b. 1921)

Jacqueline White (b. 1922)

Annette Warren (b. 1922)

Ray Anthony (b. 1922)

Tommy Dix (b. 1923)

Jimmy Thompson (b. 1923)

Eva Marie Saint (b. 1924)

Anne Vernon (b. 1924)

Maria Riva (b. 1924)

June Lockhart (b. 1925)

Lee Grant (b. 1925)

Peggy Webber (b. 1925)

Lise Bourdin (b. 1925)

Brigitte Auber (b. 1925)

Kerima (b. 1925)

Bob Graham (b. 1925)

Terry Kilburn (b. 1926) 

Marilyn Erskine (b. 1926)

Bambi Linn (b. 1926)

David Frankham (b. 1926)

Tommy Morton (b. 1926)

Jill Jarmyn (b. 1926)

Marilyn Knowlden (b. 1926)

Genevieve Page (b. 1927)

Donna Martell (b. 1927)

William Smithers (b. 1927)

Peter Walker (b. 1927)

H.M. Wynant (b. 1927)

Betty Harford (b. 1927)

Cora Sue Collins (b. 1927)

Marilyn Granas (b. 1927)

Ann Blyth (b. 1928)

Nancy Olson (b. 1928)

Peggy Dow (b. 1928)

Kathleen Hughes (b. 1928)

Colleen Townsend (b. 1928)

Marion Ross (b. 1928)

Gaby Rodgers (b. 1928)

Walter Maslow (b. 1928)

Tom Troupe (b. 1928)

Sidney Kibrick (b. 1928)

Garry Watson (b. 1928)

Fay Chaldecott (b. 1928)

Mark Rydell (b. 1929)

Terry Moore (b. 1929)

Vera Miles (b. 1929)

Ann Robinson (b. 1929)

Liseotte Pulver (b. 1929)

James Hong (b. 1929)

Rachel Ames (b. 1929)

Michael Forest (b. 1929)

Vikki Dougan (b. 1929)

Steve Terrell (b. 1929)

Margaret Kerry (b. 1929)

James Congdon (b. 1929)

Betsy Gay (b. 1929)

Jack Betts (b. 1929)

Clint Eastwood (b. 1930)

Joanne Woodward (b. 1930)

Mara Corday (b. 1930)

Nita Talbot (b. 1930)

Taina Elg (b. 1930)

Robert Wagner (b. 1930)

John Astin (b. 1930)

Tommy Cook (b. 1930)

Mary Costa (b. 1930)

Lois Smith (b. 1930)

Will Hutchins (b. 1930)

Peggy King (b. 1930)

Lynn Hamilton (b. 1930)

Don Burnett (b. 1930)

Clark Burroughs (b. 1930)

Robert Hinkle (b. 1930)

Sheila Connolly (b. 1930)

Barbara Bestar (b. 1930)

Rita Moreno (b. 1931)

Leslie Caron (b. 1931)

Carroll Baker (b. 1931)

William Shatner (b. 1931)

Mamie Van Doren (b. 1931)

Robert Colbert (b. 1931)

Barbara Eden (b. 1931)

Angie Dickinson (b. 1931)

Claire Bloom (b. 1931)

Marianne Koch (b. 1931)

Sylvia Lewis (b. 1931)

Carmen De Lavallade (b. 1931)

Zohra Lampert (b. 1931)

Michael Dante (b. 1931)

Ann McCrea (b. 1931)

Jack Grinnage (b. 1931)

Maralou Gray (b. 1931)

Billy Mindy (b. 1931)

Sugar Dawn (b. 1931)

Joanne Arnold (b. 1931)

Joel Grey (b. 1932)

George Chakiris (b. 1932)

Felicia Farr (b. 1932)

Abbe Lane (b. 1932)

Steve Rowland (b. 1932)

Jacqueline Beer (b. 1932)

Colleen Miller (b. 1932)

Joanne Gilbert (b. 1932)

Neile Adams (b. 1932)

Jacqueline Duval (b. 1932)

Edna May Wonnacott (b. 1932)

Richard Tyler (b. 1932)

Mickey Roth (b. 1932)

Leon Tyler (b. 1932)

Peggy McIntyre (b. 1932)

Christiane Martel (b. 1932)

Elsa Cardenas (b. 1932)

Claude Bessy (b. 1932)

Carlos Fernández (b. 1932)

Kim Novak (b. 1933)

Julie Newmar (b. 1933)

Debra Paget (b. 1933)

Constance Towers (b. 1933)

Joan Collins (b. 1933)

Kathleen Nolan (b. 1933)

Brett Halsey (b. 1933)

Robert Fuller (b. 1933)

Pat Crowley (b. 1933)

Barrie Chase (b. 1933)

Jackie Joseph (b. 1933)

Geoffrey Horne (b. 1933)

Tsai Chin (b. 1933)

Lita Milan (b. 1933)

Vera Day (b. 1933)

Diana Darrin (b. 1933)

Ziva Rodann (b. 1933)

Jeanette Sterke (b. 1933)

Marti Stevens (b. 1933)

Annette Dionne (b. 1933)

Cecile Dionne (b. 1933)

Patti Hale (b. 1933)

Gary Clarke (b. 1933)

Shirley MacLaine (b. 1934) 

Sophia Loren (b. 1934)

Shirley Jones (b. 1934)

Brigitte Bardot (b. 1934)

Russ Tamblyn (b. 1934)

Pat Boone (b. 1934)

Audrey Dalton (b. 1934)

Tina Louise (b. 1934)

Karen Sharpe (b. 1934)

Joyce Van Patten (b. 1934)

May Britt (b. 1934)

Joby Baker (b. 1934)

Jamie Farr (b. 1934)

Myrna Hansen (b. 1934)

Priscilla Morgan (b. 1934)

Aki Aleong (b. 1934)

Robert Fields (b. 1934)

Dani Crayne (b. 1934)

Donnie Dunagan (b. 1934)

Richard Hall (b. 1934)

Charles Bates (b. 1934)

Marilyn Horne (b. 1934)

Marilee Earle (b. 1934)

Don Crichton (b. 1934)

Jolene Brand (b. 1934)

Rod Dana (b. 1935) 

Pippa Scott (b. 1935)

Ruta Lee (b. 1935)

Barbara Bostock (b. 1935)

Johnny Mathis (b. 1935)

Leslie Parrish (b. 1935)

Salome Jens (b. 1935)

Yvonne Lime (b. 1935)

Jean Moorehead (b. 1935)

Marco Lopez (b. 1935)

Joyce Meadows (b. 1935)

Richard Harrison (b. 1935)

Christopher Severn (b. 1935)

Richard Nichols (b. 1935)

Carol Coombs (b. 1935)

Nino Tempo (b. 1935)

Patricia Prest (b. 1935)

Dawn Bender (b. 1935)

John Considine (b. 1935)

Jerry Farber (b. 1935)

Clyde Willson (b. 1935)

Bob Burns (b. 1935)

Joel Newfield (b. 1935)

Marlene Cameron (b. 1935)

Lisa Gastoni (b. 1935)

Susan Kohner (b. 1936)

Millie Perkins (b. 1936)

Burt Brickenhoff (b. 1936)

Mason Alan Dinehart (b. 1936)

Anna Maria Alberghetti (b. 1936)

Lisa Davis (b. 1936)

Joan O'Brien (b. 1936)

Richard Harrison (b. 1936)

Tommy Ivo (b. 1936)

John Wilder (b. 1936)

Gary Conway (b. 1936)

Michael Chapin (b. 1936)

Carol Morris (b. 1936)

Fernando Alvarado (b. 1936)

Jack Nicholson (b. 1937)

Tommy Sands (b. 1937)

William Wellman Jr. (b. 1937)

Elinor Donahue (b. 1937)

Paul Hampton (b. 1937)

George Takei (b. 1937)

Margaret O’Brien (b. 1937)

Connie Francis (b. 1937)

Carol Nugent (b. 1937)

Patti Brady (b. 1937)

June Hedin (b. 1937)

Paul Collins (b. 1937)

Maureen Hingert (b. 1937)

Ingrid Goude (b. 1937)

Luciana Paluzzi (b. 1937)

Jocelyn Lane (b. 1937)

Barbara Luna (b. 1937)

[singeratlarge]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Lili-Babs, Samuel Barber, Carl Betz, the late, great guitarist Chris Bovard, Trevor Burton (The Move), John Cale, Robert Calvert (Hawkwind), Ornette Coleman, Jane Antonia Cornish, Jim Cregan, Jerry Eubanks (Marshall Tucker), Jimmie Fadden, Linda Fiorentino, Martin Fry (ABC), Will Geer, Mickey Gilley, Zakir Hussain, Raul Julia, Kato Kaelin, Laura Lee, Mahler’s 3rd Symphony (1897), Mark Mancina, Jeffrey Osborne, Lloyd Price, Bobby Sands, Thomas Schippers, Bodhi Setchko, Keely Smith, Taeyeon, Chris Thompson (Mannfred Mann’s Earth Band), Diego Torres, Robin Trower, U2’s 1987 JOSHUA TREE album, Gary Walker (Standells, Walker Brothers), Paul Winter, and one of the greatest frontmen in rock’n’roll: Mark Lindsay, best known as the singer for Paul Revere & The Raiders. In their major label era of the 1960s and early 70s, PR&TR were one of the tightest and most visible acts in the business. They were the first real rock band signed to Columbia Records, and their garage band energy and declarative stage look pushed back on the British Invasion bands of 1964.

 

The Raiders kicked out hit after hit in multiple genres including bubblegum, country rock, hard rock, psychedelia, and soul/r’n’b, all with dazzling excellence. They cut the first definitive version of “Louie Louie” before leaving their Oregon base for Los Angeles, joining Terry Melcher (Byrds producer) to launch a prolific and innovative run of great records that still play today: “Just Like Me”, “Kicks” and (recently in the film ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD) “Good Thing,” “Hungry,” “Mr. Sun Mr. Moon,” etc. Between 1965 and 1970, as Dick Clark expanded his jukebox TV empires, he hired PR&TR to host three TV shows. Before The Monkees even twanged “Last Train to Clarksville,” PR&TR had already set the bar for TV bands, gluing pre-adolescent me to the tube with rock’n’roll comedy and ear candy—and there was eye candy for 1000s of girls screaming for teen idol Mark Lindsay. He set the bar as a powerhouse vocalist, able to croon soft sensual pop ballads then flip to paint-peeling bluesy growls.

 

The Raiders crested in 1971 with the #1 hit “Indian Reservation,” which was a repackaging of a Mark Lindsay solo recording (backed by the Wrecking Crew). As a solo act, Mark was already charting with “Silver Bird” and the hippy girl anthem “Arizona.” He branched into other music business roles, composing jingles and songs for films and TV shows. Legendary author Stephen King expressed his fan-dom with Mark’s 2001 cover of “Treat Her Right,” backed by Los Straitjackets. 

 

Meanwhile, Mark’s career intersected with The Carpenters, The Chesterfield Kings, Eric Johnson, Carla Olson, Gerry Rafferty, Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick, and The Monkees, whose orbit led me to cross paths with Mark a couple of times, and he always treated me like a gentleman. I first saw him in concert in 1993, and it was a rock-solid show loaded with the hits and deep cuts. Lately he’s been active doing radio shows and webcasts, the latest being “The American Revolution” on Sirius XM.

 

If I had to pick one Mark Lindsay track, it’s "Too Much Talk.” It blew my mind when I was a kid—my 45 of it cracked but I kept pressing it with my fingers till the vinyl tissued. The fidelity on this clip is a tad distorted, but the visuals speak volumes. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG30aN53GkY Meanwhile, HB and thank you Mark for continuing to inspire and entertain with your skills and talents.

 

#marklindsay #paulrevereandtheraiders #vox #davyjones #monkees #garagerock #countryrock #terrymelcher #birthday #psychedelic #bubblegum #silverbird #arizona #tvrock #keithallison #johnnyjblair #mickydolenz #birthday

[jayhawksofficial]

The Jayhawks Album Cover Art Part 1

Here's an in depth look at the cover art that has adorned Jayhawks & Gary Louris albums, dating back to the first self-titled Jayhawks album (aka the "Bunkhouse" album), which was self-released by the band in 1986. This analysis was put together by Jim Reynolds, a long time Jayhawks fan who is now officially the Assistant Jayhawks Archivist and has provided invaluable assistance in all things archival in recent years. Jim has dug deep into the stories behind these various covers, combining previously known info with original research in his typically exhaustive manner. Thanks Jim!

More from The Jayhawks Archive HERE

PART 2 HERE

THE JAYHAWKS (aka BUNKHOUSE) (1986)

For their 1986 debut album The Jayhawks (aka the “Bunkhouse” album), the Jayhawks used a photo from the porch of a house in Minneapolis. In an interview with Goldmine Magazine, Mark Olson explains: “That’s actually in another strange topographical area in Minneapolis: Nicollet Island. It’s right in downtown Minneapolis. …There are a couple of old buildings that are now restaurants, but there’s also a little hidden neighborhood back there. It was sort of a hippie neighborhood, kind of an alternate lifestyle neighborhood, where everything was rundown and almost spooky. Since then, I think it’s been fixed up a little bit, but back then, we were looking for something that, I guess, said country-rock (laughs). I just remember it being a fun day. We had hired the best photographer for music in the city [Dan Corrigan], and it was very exciting: We were doing our album.”

The back cover photo was taken inside the 400 Bar, Minneapolis, which was located at 400 Cedar Avenue South in a multi-ethnic neighborhood south of I-35W. The Jayhawks became so intertwined with the 400 Bar that they included a photo of the four band members coming down off the tiny stage there.

Cover shoot outtakes

BLUE EARTH (1989)

For the band’s sophomore album, Blue Earth (1989), Minneapolis photographer Dan Corrigan was enlisted again for the photo shoot for the album cover—a maroon palate with a photo of the band in a field with a canoe and a spilled can of blue paint. On a February 6 2022 Patreon livestream, Gary explained that besides the band members, “The others on the cover were friends of [Mark] Olson. Olson had worked with that woman on cover, and the little girl may have come with her. They were people he knew. He brought the canoe as well. It was taken on the West bank of Minneapolis. I always liked the maroon cover, it reminded me of a Band cover.” Photographer Dan Corrigan recalls, “The wooden boat came from my first wife’s family cabin located on Balsam Lake, WI. I am uncertain, but I believe we did the shoot nearby there. I met the little girl from the shoot again as an adult many years later. The older woman in the pic was a waitress at a restaurant in the twin cities. The two models did not know each other.”

Mark Olson, the woman, and the girl, ended up on the front cover. Marc Perlman on the fold - with outstretched arms, with Gary Louris and then drummer Thad Spencer on the back with the spilled blue paint (the cassette had the full photo on the front).

Blue Earth is a city in Faribault County, Minnesota, at the confluence of the east and west branches of the Blue Earth River.

More about Blue Earth releases HERE

HOLLYWOOD TOWN HALL (1992)

The striking Martyn Atkins-conceived cover art for their 1992 seminal Hollywood Town Hall album shows the band posed in mid-winter on a sofa was shot outside the Town Hall building in Hollywood Township, Carver County, Minnesota by British photographer Andrew Catlin. That image of the wooden structure, about 35 miles west of Minneapolis along County Road 21, with its crisp geometric green roof against frosty sky, with the charming “displaced couch” concept, was an apt and iconic backdrop for their overall sound and image. However, out west, they know the building as the old District 76 School House. The one-room schoolhouse, built around 1906, served students for more than a half century, before merging into the Watertown school district. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,102 people, 371 households, and 307 families residing in the township. Coordinates: 44°55′53″N 93°56′44″W

Gary Louris (from Vinyl Emergency podcast Episode 132): “I do love the Hollywood Town Hall record cover, because it is just iconic. I remember Rick Rubin, the head of Def American recordings at that time, calling me and saying after he listened to the record and said, ‘I just love the record and I love the cover - I don’t know if I have ever seen a cover that just fit so well with the music inside.’”

In an interview with the Star Tribune in 2011, Louris recalled: “There were these two Brits, the art director Martyn Atkins and this English photographer, who were both great. They flew out to Minneapolis after the record was made, and we started scouting locations in the winter and we started driving around in a 16-mile radius. And let me tell you: It was cold, man. It was awful. Those are not smiles on our faces, those are real grimaces. It had to be like 10-below or something. We ran to the car when we were done. We just accidentally drove into this place 15 miles outside of Minneapolis called Hollywood, Minnesota, which we didn’t even know. Just stumbled upon it. We drove by this kind of iconic-looking building that said, "Hollywood Town Hall," on the front of it. It was sort of fitting. Something about it hit us, and it all fell together. After spending four months in Hollywood, California, making the record, here we were in this crossroads-cornfield area that really looked straight out of North by Northwest. The only other thing in the town was this little league baseball field that was kitty-corner, which was pretty funny. We popped the couch in front of the town hall building and took a bunch of photos. So that cover I love.”

Mark Olson added: “It was winter time, so the wind was blowing. We all kind of have this drawn look about us, because it was damn cold. So it was a true Minnesota picture in a way. I think they did a good job. It captured a bit of the feeling, and it showed that we were from a certain place, and it reflected our writing in certain ways.” https://www.startribune.com/louris-olson-the-full-q-a/114735624/

Former drummer Ken Callahan concurs about the weather: “I remember that it was zero degrees that day. We could only be out there for 10-15 minutes, and then we’d have to jump into the car and try to warm up.” Ken explains, “I was most impressed that these photographers from the UK drove around MN and found the location. It was a coincidence that the Hollywood name was the same as the studio we used to record. There are no online images of the cover that are high resolution to see this, but one of my favorite memories is that when you look really closely at the HTH sign on the church, there is a little paint blob that looks like Ray Charles’ head. I would have to dig out the album and take a pic.” “That car [in the centerfold] was Olson's. I remember because he spilled milk on the floor board and didn't clean it and it stunk.”

THE ICONIC COUCH

On a February 2022 Patreon livestream, Gary explained: “The couch on the cover came from Pete [Clemence], one of the photographers in the film crew that was staging that photo session for Martyn Atkins. Pete had the couch up in his warehouse space on Washington Avenue in North Minneapolis, and he brought the couch; from there, a whole culture was born. Although I am sure it came a bit from the first CSN album cover, they kind of started the couch movement.”

Peter Clemence: “Gary [Louris], who was a friend from the music scene, mentioned he wanted an old mohair couch or something like that for a photo shoot. I told him I had one, and if we could get my dog off it, they could use it. I talked to the band, and an art director came over to look at it and said it was perfect. I lived in a loft above a massage parlor at the time and this was my dog’s bed, so you can just imagine the shape it was in. After the album was so well received, Gary called me back and asked if they could use it again. He said it was for a music video this time, and he felt like the video was more about the couch than the band. I don’t remember what they paid me, but do remember thinking it was about enough to cover a year’s worth of dog food. It wasn’t hard to get out, and they took it when they needed it. It took a while to get it back. Guess that wasn’t as important. I don’t remember, but I may have given them the couch when I moved.”

GeneO: “The couch unfortunately passed away when our roommate Pete Clemence’s dog, Gobo, ripped the arm off! He was one of those "Marly" types, always getting into something when you're not around.”

Outtakes from this photo shoot were used for the cover art on various single releases from Hollywood Town Hall.

Back cover of the very rare 1992 LP release of Hollywood Town Hall, which came out only in Europe. In the US, HTH originally was released only on CD and cassette. It didn't make its vinyl debut in the US until 2011 when it was released as part of a Sony Legacy reissue campaign.

Outtakes from the HTH cover photo session also provided a seemingly endless supply of material for press and advertising content. Here's a 1992 ad from a radio industry journal for the "Take Me With You (When You Go)" single using a rarely seen outtake from the shoot.

The inside photo of the band sitting having drinks was taken at Nye’s Polonaise Room in Northeast Minneapolis. This legendary restaurant/bar is now gone but a retooled version of the piano bar is now operating on the same site. This image was also used for a large promo poster distributed during this time.

TOMORROW THE GREEN GRASS (1995)

The cover photo shoot for their 1995 album Tomorrow the Green Grass was “a last minute desperate measure after rejecting all preliminary ideas, and was done at a park near the [Lyndale Park] Rose Garden adjacent to Lake Harriet in Minneapolis,” according to Gary Louris. Marc Perlman concurs, “It was located in the Thomas Sadler Roberts Bird Sanctuary near Lake Harriet.” The album’s title comes from a song that was not included on the original album release. The album's title track was actually used in the closing credits of the 1995 film National Lampoon's Senior Trip, but was not included on the original edition of the album itself. Gary Louris: “The…cover [for] Tomorrow the Green Grass I don’t like, and that was just us chickening out. George Teocallis, who is quite the art dude with an eye for art and photography, had suggested this cool photograph by William Eggleston, who’s famous for his color photography. He is famous for the Big Star cover with the light bulb, Radio City. So he had a photograph called ‘Pink Swing Set,’ which was a rusted pink swing set in a field of grass. That would have been perfect. So that was kind of a lost opportunity to have a great record cover. So TTGG was a last-minute cover, ‘Oh, we need a photograph, so we flew somebody in, and sat on a big tree.’ To this day, I do not like that cover at all.” (from Vinyl Emergency podcast Episode 132)

When asked whose idea it was to have the cover tinted green and if it was the same person who advised Soul Asylum to do the same, Louris stated, “I don’t remember who’s idea was the tint. No connection with the Soul Asylum cover.” Although the two Minneapolis band’s both had similar green tinted covers, which spurred some friendly banter between Gary and (fellow Golden Smog member and Soul Asylum guitarist) Dan Murphy. From a Minneapolis Star Tribune from August 24 1995, Murphy explained how Gary had kidded him about the iconic green cover. “Gary accused us of swiping their vibe,” Murphy said, “because they had that song (lyric). ‘Let your real light shine.’ He kind of read that as ‘let your dim light shine’ (the title of Soul Asylum’s current bestseller). “It was more of a joke,” Louris said, “Actually I like your cover a lot.”

Photographer Marina Chavez, who took the cover shot, recalls: “Tomorrow The Green Grass was my first major label cover, I was so young, maybe 22 or 23 at the time. American Records hired me, and flew me in. I remember Marc Perlman picked me up from the airport. I was a bit anxious because here I was a young twenty-year-old, supposedly knowing what I was doing, surrounded by older musicians. I took some shots in a forest by a fallen tree, and that is what they eventually chose for the cover.” Chavez’s photography career began the night she broke curfew to attend a Motley Crue concert. After taking photos from the front row, she sold a handful of cheap drugstore prints to her classmates. Convinced she had found her calling after reaping a $27 profit, she moved to Los Angeles where she soon worked as an assistant for the likes of Herb Ritts and Anton Corbijn. Independent assignments led to an extensive client list. Marina Chavez is now a renown photographer for Rolling Stone, MOJO, Spin, Alternative Press, and her own self-named company. Marina Chavez is living in the Mojave desert in Southern California. She has been working with artists in the music industry for over 25 years. She has photographed artists like Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, Adam Yauch, Beck, The Wallflowers, Wilco, Jayhawks, Green Day, Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, just to name a few.

More about Tomorrow the Green Grass releases HERE

Below, counter clockwise starting upper left: The finished cover, an outtake from the photo sessions that was used for the 2011 CD reissue and some alternate cover designs.

More alternate TTGG cover ideas HERE

The cover art from TTGG was debuted to the world on a UK 45 of "Blue," released in January 1995, one month in advance of the album. The non-LP b-side was a song also titled "Tomorrow the Green Grass," which was in contention for inclusion on the album but didn't make the final cut. It was included on the bonus disc of a rare 2CD version of TTGG released only in Europe in 1995 and later as a bonus track on a 2011 2CD Legacy Edition reissue. The song TTGG is on the illustrious list of Title Tracks That Aren't On The Album They Title.

SOUND OF LIES (1997)

For their 1997 Sound of Lies album, their first venture after the departure of Mark Olson, The Jayhawks chose to go a different direction with their music, as well as their album art. The red cover shows a close-up photo of Gary’s iconic horn-rimmed spectacles he wore during this period, with a yellow tinged photo of the band within both frames. When folded out, his full face is seen. Photographer Dan Corrigan was enlisted once again as photographer. Gary Louris: “The Sound of Lies cover is okay, but I love the shots on the inside of the band, I think those are by Dan Corrigan. I think those are great.”

Minneapolis based abstract and mixed media artist Mary Leir was the art designer, and the album cover reflects her use of bright colors (especially her penchant for yellow and red) in her works of art. Leir studied architecture and studio arts at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis and is a graphic designer by profession. Now in her third session of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design's Open Edition Print Seminar, Mary has grown to love screen printing as much as she does painting and photography.

SMILE (2000)

For their 2000 SMILE album, the Jayhawks chose to use a photo from David Katzenstein called “Hatsoldiers Cusco, Peru” from his series Distant Journeys 1984 (which was one of many of Katzenstein’s photos recently published in FotoNostrum magazine Issue No. 18 August 5 2021).

New York fine arts photographer David Katzenstein has traveled throughout the world on his lifelong artistic journey as a visual chronicler of humanity. Using subject, light, and composition to create visual dynamism, he sets the stage for the viewer to be in the moment with him. His goal is to allow viewers to experience a scene through his eyes—as if they were standing there beside him. Steeped in the tradition of documentary photography, Katzenstein imbues his work with immediacy, emotional engagement, and a deep respect for his subjects. Out of his fascination with ritual, over the years Katzenstein has photographed pilgrimage as practiced in different cultures. While visiting Memphis in the spring of 2017, he was inspired to expand on this theme by embarking on the project OUTSIDE THE LORRAINE MOTEL: Journey to a Sacred Place. The artist was introduced to the Mid-South region in the late 1980s while on assignment for Rolling Stone, documenting the roots of the blues in rural communities of Mississippi and Arkansas. In 2018 Katzenstein formed a nonprofit organization whose mission is to create and mount exhibitions of photographs depicting the human experience (www.thehumanexperienceproject.net).

GARY LOURIS: ​​”I remember Smile as not being… I didn’t know if I liked it, because it was not harmonious with the colors – the black green orange. It wasn’t my style, but I grew to love it. Now I think it’s really an interesting cover. The art director at Columbia, he was great.”

For the SMILE back cover, a photo from Patrick D. Pagnano’s Gathering/Parades and Events/Chicago from the early 1970s. Kari Pagnano, Patrick’s wife, said, “This image was from a photo project he was working on in Chicago on parades and events in the early 70’s. He was a student at Columbia College Chicago. We moved to New York in 1974 and he started showing his work to secure assignments or sell stock. All I can remember is that he saw the designer/art director who was working on the album cover for The Jayhawks and the art director liked this image and thought it would work for the cover. Floats and inflated characters were being set up on the beach along Lake Michigan. Not sure if it was for a Christmas parade. I am happy to help with more information if I can. Sorry Pat is not here to explain it better.”

An inveterate street photographer, Patrick D. Pagnano ventured out daily with his camera after moving to New York from Chicago in 1974, Pagnano developed a practice rooted in a kind of stream of consciousness, following what he describes as “visual clues” to guide him to his subjects. He immerses himself in the subject, shooting individuals in either the same space or type of event over time, a reflection of his belief in the importance of the existing environment and its role in affecting the people within. Patrick Pagnano’s photographs have been included in exhibitions at venues such as the Brooklyn Museum; New York Public Library, NY; and Mois de la Photo à Montreal, Montreal, Canada, amongst others. His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of the City of New York, the New York Public Library, all NY; the Brooklyn Museum; the Art Institute of Chicago; and the Helmut Gernsheim Collection, Switzerland. He published a book, Shot on the Street, featuring 60 color images of his work, in 2002. Pagnano holds a BA from Columbia College.

More info at: Pagnanoandpagnano.com / Pagnanofineart.com.

On the initial SMILE inside photo shoot, photographer Ken Schles states: “Not sure there is much to tell other than the difficulty the band went through conceptually around images for the album. Much of that difficulty started before the shoot and continued afterwards, trying to settle upon how to present the band and the music. We went down to New Orleans because it was winter and freezing cold in Minneapolis. There were some personnel changes from the recorded album, so I think there was a little bit of juggling around who-to-place- where visually in the hierarchy of the photos if they weren’t on the recordings. On the whole, the band was modest and self-effacing. They didn’t want to engage in anything that would appear to be creating a cult of personality around the band photos (but how can one separate oneself from that when the whole purpose of band images are centered around a kind of fetish, be it commodity oriented or personality oriented?). There was also a general discomfort with being in New Orleans (which, you would think would have been settled before they agreed to go) and about presenting themselves for images there, not having been from New Orleans and, I suspect, with the line-up shifts compared to the recording. I thought the pictures came out quite well, but ultimately they didn’t want a “band” photo for the cover or a landscape/location related image, since they didn’t feel they or their music was connected to New Orleans, which already has a rich musical tradition. There is that oft quoted and lost to attribution quote, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” I think the band felt that way about photos of themselves: Photography about rock bands is like dancing about architecture… Maybe they were overthinking the whole thing, but in the end, who could blame them?”

PART 2 HERE

[bandcampsnoop]

9/3/24.

Following up on The Ladybug Transistor post was easy. Frequent Gary Olson collaborator, Phil Sutton, is releasing "another "Blue" by Love, Burns (Queens, New York). This band sound remarkably like Pale Lights, but the lineup is sort of an all-star one: Kyle Forrester (Crystal Stilts), Hampus Öhman-Frölund (drummed with many including Jens Lekman) and the aforementioned Gary Olson.

There have been many Love, Burns/Pale Lights posts over the years but I will repeat my RIYL: Felt, Lloyd Cole, Edwyn Collins, and many many more.

This is being co-released by Kleine Untergrund Schallplatte (KUS) and Jigsaw Records.

[sharkyrandom]

Songs for Simon, why? Why not

Where Everyone Knows Your Name - Gary Portnoy

Nobody - Mitski

Me And My Husband - Mitski

No Surprises - Radiohead

One - Harry Nilsson

Remember You - Olivia Olson & Tom Kenny

I'm Still Standing - Elton Jhon Other one

Autoclave - The Mountain Goats

[xabiramone]

Happy birthday to Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, producer, actor, activist and author. He is best known as a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He is also known for his roles in several television drama series, including as Silvio Dante in The Sopranos (1999–2007) and as Frank Tagliano in Lilyhammer (2012–2014). Van Zandt has his own solo band called Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul, intermittently active since the 1980s. In 2014, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the E Street Band. Van Zandt has produced music, written songs, and had his own songs covered by Bruce Springsteen, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Jackson Browne, Gary U.S. Bonds, Darlene Love, Ronnie Spector, Jimmy Barnes, Meat Loaf, Nancy Sinatra, Pearl Jam, Artists United Against Apartheid, Carla Olson, Michael Monroe, Lone Justice, and the Iron City Houserockers, among others.🎂

[gwox]

Like a bad penny [writing]

And so goes by another year and a month...

I'm determined to post here more often. At least enough to flush entries from previous years and... er... decades off the front page of this here blog. Thus, I am typing this now. Hello!

Hello.

It has been an eventful year since the previous post (August 2022). I've stopped and started on the novel rather a lot, amidst moving from one city to another and other assorted interruptive events. The novel not being, for the record, Redscale: Severance (though I may revisit and retool what I did get done with that one someday), and not (yet) the collection of short fiction I had in the works.

What it is, is Tropic of Madness, a comic mad science thriller set on a South Seas island home to all manner of weird and ill-considered experimentation. I'm up to 68.8k in verbage on my first-ish draft, and it looks like it'll end up in the 120k range by the end, though a vigorous editing will likely claw it back to the 100k range. I'm letting my freak flag fly with this one, and am really looking forward to unleashing it on anyone standing still long enough to read it. Though I don't know when that will be yet, so you've got a good head start.

In other news, I went back to the previous post and removed the AI-generated artwork that once graced that entry. It was a fun novelty when it first came along, but I soured on it on learning about all the stolen bits that went into it. I do promise that any art that turns up here in the future will either be by my haand, or purchased/licensed for use here (as is this blog's title bar art).

--

Gary W. Olson is the author of the dark fantasy novel Brutal Light and a contributor to the dark fiction anthologies Fairly Wicked Tales and The C.A.M. Charity Anthology: Horror and Science Fiction #1. His blog originates here.