CT ROCKS! #106 w/ Bob D'Aprile (2 hours) :: "Songs From The Coffeehouse : with Mike Arafeh, Episode #10" :: and more CT indie orginal music : Connecticut Rocks!

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT

WPKN “CT Rocks” w/ Bob D’Aprile

Monthly feature - “Songs from The Coffeehouse” with producer & studio owner Michael Arafeh.
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Special 90min. show recorded on location
at The Coffeehouse Recording Studio, Middletown, CT on 11/18/2011

SHOW #10 (notes by Michael Arafeh):

01 Two Virgins - Boo EP “Break It Down” 1998 (3:45)
From their debut cassette EP, now out of print. Featuring Tom Mooney on lead vocals. The song also features ‘house musician Bumpy Chimes on the Hammond organ.

02 The Bond - Self-titled EP “Bring On The Moon” 1996 (3:31)
Another band fronted by the amazing CT songwriting duo Tom Wrann and Tom Mooney (Two Virgins). Tom Mooney provides the lead vocals on this 4-song cassette EP. Chum Muller on lead guitar. Chix McNicknix on the Hammond organ. Chix has a great entertainment mega-website: www.netshows.us , and has been in such luminary CT bands as The McNicknix, and Green Phlegm & The Nasty Maggots.

03 The Bond / Two Virgins - “Polly Wants” 1996 (1:49)
This song appeared on both The Bond cassette EP in 1996, and Two Virgins’ cassette EP ‘Boo’ in 1998.

04 Pidgin Wars - Self-titled EP “Push (Remix)” 2009 (4:16)
From the Pidgin Wars EP. Search it out on MySpace. This was a very interesting pop duo that came by the studio for a quick 3-song session. Love the vocals on this song.

05 Pidgin Wars - Self-titled EP “The Arsonist” 2009 (1:31)
An acoustic number from their EP that contrasts their electronic pop songs quite nicely. Wish they did a whole
album!

06 Buru Style - The Crab “Do The Do” 2009 (3:16)
Band leader and drummer Bill Carbone called me at the shop to look into having me multitrack a live performance and college party at one of the houses near Wesleyan University in Middletown. I suggested to Bill that he bring the band and the party to the studio, as it would be slightly easier to set up the recording of this 9+ piece instrumental funk-groove-reggae band with a horn section. I must admit that I had some concerns that my shop might get trashed, but it turned out to be an amazing night; with a packed house of dancing, drinking… and no broken equipment! - The students were great.

07 Buru Style - The Crab “Sexual Tension” 2009 (4:48)
After this live studio party performance I became a huge fan of the band’s keyboardist, Jake Gold. He set up my studio’s Wurlitzer electric piano, Rhodes electric piano, and Hammond Porta-B organ, along with his own keyboard, in a circle (square actually) and ripped on all of them all night long like nobody’s business - bringing those old-school keyboards to life.

08 Buru Style - The Crab “Hangin’ Out Drinkin’” 2009 (4:30)
Another fun thing about this band is that the horn section features a sousaphone - arguably the largest of all brass instruments. Sousaphones are good show-biz! On the recording, you can hear just how much fun everyone had that night. I’m sure it took everyone there, myself included, a few days to recover. The band has a vast number of cool things to check out online - just ‘Google’ their name.

09 John Dickson - The Silent Sound Of The City “Predictable” 1997 (3:32)
John Dickson is a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter who I first met when he brought his working band at the time; ‘JD & The Buzz’ into the studio in the early Nineties. He has been in The Coffeehouse many times on many different projects over the years and is a good friend. I’ve even been a member of one of his groups; The Gatekeeper Band (the name derived from the rough and tumble Gatekeeper Café around the corner from the studio, where that band held court on many a Tuesday and weekend night. This is possibly my favorite song from the album. Best lyric: “There is Major Pain, and General Lee, Private Parts, and then there’s me… Captain Hatin’ It!”

10 John Dickson - The Silent Sound Of The City “Rise Above It” 1997 (5:50)
Drummer Bob Smigel deserves special mention for his solid playing on both cuts featured here, and drummer/percussionist Dave Tozier is great on this upbeat and positive song about being exactly that - upbeat and positive. The sax solo in the middle of the song happened by chance; Avant-garde saxophonist and gorilla-style collaborator / instigator Rabe’ Mor:ton, from Middletown’s ‘Lettuce Leaves’ and ‘Children Of The Alter Destiny’, happened to be performing on his sax in the alleyway/tunnel at the front of the studio (as he often did at the time), on an evening that John and I were working on his album. We invited Rabe’ in, and let him loose on the microphone for the solo. We were all very glad for that moment!

11 Trotsky’s Ruin - Unreleased cassette album “Untitled” 1991 (4:45)
I recently re-connected on the mighty Facebook with this Wesleyan University group’s drummer Tim Orr and vocalist/songwriter Adwoa Amoah (although I remember her as Cheryl). Tim had recorded at The Coffeehouse on many occasions, in a truly diverse range of groups and projects. The four members of the group were all seniors, all just having graduated and with plane tickets in hand for all points around the U.S. Due to the time constraints, we had to mix the album in one marathon session. These three songs were part of the longest mixing session I ever had in the studio - 25 hours straight!

12 Trotsky’s Ruin - Unreleased cassette album “I Want More” 1991 (3:24)
A slightly punked-up funk number featuring Cheryl’s powerful, rapid-fire vocals.

13 Trotsky’s Ruin - Unreleased cassette album “Desire” 1991 (3:58)
I love the sound and atmosphere of this song. It reminds me of ‘Time Waits For No One’ and other Mick Taylor era Rolling Stones mid-tempo ballads. Cheryl’s vocals again shine on this one.

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More CT indie original music ...

Uberloser - Dance Hall Revelation
The Streams - Failed Speech
Dave Hogan - Downbound Train
Peacock Flounders - Rage
The Philistines Jr. - Hell No, We Won't Go
Burnouts From Outerspace - Spinning Like A Week (Quiet Life original)
The Inclined Plane - She Gives Me The Z's

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CT ROCKS! #106 w/ Bob D'Aprile (2 hours) :: "Songs From The Coffeehouse : with Mike Arafeh, Episode #10" :: and more CT indie orginal music : Connecticut Rocks!

Monthly feature - “Songs from The Coffeehouse” with producer & studio owner Michael Arafeh. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

More CT indie original music ...

A PHP Error was encountered

Monthly feature - “Songs from The Coffeehouse” with producer & studio owner Michael Arafeh.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________