The Brad Shepik Trio at the 2017 Ballard Jazz Festival Guitar Summit Thursday May 18th

Brad Shepik, who was raised in the Seattle area, began playing guitar at the age of 10 and studied music with the likes of Ralph Towner and John Abercrombie. Besides touring Europe and recording two albums with Paul Motian over the course of five years, he has also performed and recorded with Dave Douglas, Matt Darriau, and Yuri Yanakov’s Bulgarian Wedding Band.

Spiritualized in Other Medications (2017) review

With a pocket full of lush celestial narcotics and this wasted sonically layered infusion of Spiritualized covers, laid down lovingly by some of the best of those influenced by Spiritualized, and dare I suggest Spacemen 3, reality can be endlessly extended, be gone in a flash, or burn up as you fly too close to the sun.

Merrell Fankhauser And H.M.S. Bounty - “Things” (1968) review

“The continuing saga of a most talented artist!”

Merrell Fankhauser And H.M.S. Bounty “Things” (Gear Fab Records, 1968/2017 reissue)

Following the breakup of Fapardokly, guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Merrell Fankhauser and guitarist/vocalist Bill Dodd of the band set off for Los Angeles to pursue a record deal, while band members John Oliver and Dick Lee chose not to follow and were replaced by basssist/vocalist Jack Jordan and drummer Larry Meyers. After a name change to H.M.S. Bounty the group did indeed land a contract with UNI/Shamley Records, the end result being the November, 1968 release of an LP titled simply Things. The album, wonderful as it is, containing two tracks that appeared on the national charts, “Things” and “Girl I’m Waiting For You”, received virtually no support from the label due to its recent signing of Neil Diamond, and despite gigging with such national acts as Canned Heat, CTA (later Chicago) and The Blues Image, among others, achieved only moderate sales. These facts, however, belie the continued musical evolution of Fankhauser’s songwriting, vocal and guitar talents, made obvious by the twelve tracks composing Things which are reviewed here , joined by the group’s final recording “I’m Flyin’ Home” (as a bonus track) from the quite recent reissue by Roger Maglio’s fine Gear Fab Records label.

Human Ottoman at Seaprog 2017 in Seattle Sunday June 4th

Human Ottoman is a prog rock band from Portland who “actively ear-pillage” the Pacific Northwest US. Their lineup features Julian Kosanovic playing cello, Grayson Fiske playing vibraphone, and Susan Lucia playing drums. The trio first met during music school, and focusing their classical training and jazz sensibilities, they have created a unique sound that transcends the boundaries of multiple genres.

A Quick Q & A with author Vernon Joynson

Hi Vernon,

Congratulations on your newest work, A Melange Of Musical Pipedreams And Pandemonium and thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions for our It’s Psychedelic Baby Magazine readers.

Your newest title has been published as part of a revision of your previous book Dreams, Fantasies and Nightmares from Far Away Lands Revisited is it not? Why the new title rather than an updated edition of Dreams?

It would not have been possible to update the Dreams book as a single volume to the quality and standard I wanted and I had feedback about the high freight costs of shipping two-volume books and the weight of carrying them around. I also wanted to introduce the music from some new parts of the world to my readers so it made more sense to write two new titles.

Spaced Out: The Story of Mushroom Records

(Grapefruit/Cherry Red CRSEG036D; 77.38, 75.04)

Label retrospectives are released nowadays thick and fast as smog in Poland. Some compilations put together what doesn’t always seem to be linked, but when well-curated and for the first time, like here, they are a welcome addition. Music lovers may have once had originals but can’t now afford due to rarity value. Not the most loved of formats, at least CDs make up in cost and content-size what vinyl can’t do. There have been great retrospectives of famous labels such as Vertigo, Harvest and Dawn, as well as Cherry Red’s own Dandelion catalogue: equally wide-ranging in its eclecticism, this new offering spotlights what may have been missed in those featured genres. 

The discovery of Stonewall, the great lost artefact of hard rock

Stonewall recorded one of the most obscure hard rock albums of the 1970s. It was released in 1976 on a label called “Tiger Lily.” According to Assalti, drummer of the band, the actual recording is from 1972 and the release by “Tiger Lily” is a bootleg. The band never received anything and their music was literally stolen! For the first time in history here’s the TRUE story behind Stonewall, one of the most sought-after bands by collectors. Many thanks to Anthony Assalti for answering my questions.

Fapardokly - “Fapardokly” (1967) review

“The growth of an incredible musician”

Fapardokly - Fapardokly (1967/2017 Gear Fab Records reissue) 

Formed from the remnants of Merrell and The Exiles in 1967, Fapardokly was formed, and is a both delightful and important documentation of musical growth of guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Merrell Fankhauser. Their sole, s/t 1967 LP is given new life in Gear Fab Records’ 2017 reissue.

Glitterbust - “Glitterbust” (2016) review

Glitterbust - Glitterbust (Burger Records, 2016)

Glitterbust is one of the more odd and energetic albums that’s come my way in a very long time. It’s impossible to call this body of work noise-rock, jazz, fusion, or even experimental versions of any of the aforementioned genres, because the band incorporates all of those effortlessly and flawlessly.

“Pharmacopious” (Part 3) by Jenell Kesler

Wouldn’t want to speculate, but there must have been something in the wind that reached out, turned up my collar and set me here peering in through Gram’s rusted screen-door that afternoon, my date waiting in the car at the curb, with a license, but no receipt, and knowing nothing of my demons.

Lichen Gumbo

“Cabin fever”

Think Half Machine Lip Moves by Chrome. Think Twin Infinitives by Royal Trux. Think Hairdryer Peace The Hospitals. Now stop thinking. Now play Boilin’ by Lichen Gumbo.