Starflower
- Celebrating The Spirit of Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys
Medicine Park Recordings (Silver Moon Music)
2000
01. Sunflower - Reynold Philipsek
02. Today - 3Tripper
03. Hip Hop & Pop - Big Fresh
04. Dates - R. Stevie Moore with Dave Gregory
05. Can't Feel Sad - Tom Getter Slack
06. California - synchro1
07. Kloreen - Mitch Friedman
08. Beach Glass Intro - SNG
09. Beach Glass Bouquet - SNG
10. Riptide Lullaby - Billy Marsh
11. Dewey Decimal System - R. Stevie Moore
12. Space Pilot Astrud Star - Charlie Zayleskie
13. Dandelion - John Ferenzik
14. Please Send Boat - R. Stevie Moore
15. Maximum Love Vibes - Chris McKenna & GG1
16. The Tie-Dyed High Tide Radio Reprise - synchro1 & the starflowers
17. Earth My Body - Moogy Klingman
starflower commentary
Some Good Vibrations!
The August 18th edition of the Daily Oklahoman
featured a front page article in the weekend
section regarding the making of STARFLOWER:
"Independent CD Salutes Endless Summers." Some
highlights:
"...a shimmering summertime soundtrack
celebrating the spirit of Brian Wilson and the
Beach Boys."
"Jim Whittemore's alter ego is synchro1, the
'group' that supplied 'California' and 'The
Tie-Dyed High Tide Radio Reprise,' two of the
album's trippier forays into techno territory."
Regarding R. Stevie Moore's songs.... "All
three recall Brian Wilson's 'Pet
Sounds'/'Smile' period of stately, complex
melodies and elaborate, electronically-enhanced
instrumentation that sometimes sailed into
quirky, psychedelic seas."
"Moogy Klingman performs all instruments on the
ethereal album closer, 'Earth, My Body,' "
"Other standout sun-and-surf moments are heard
in the layered harmonies of 'Sunflower,' by
Minneapolis-based Reynold Philipsek; on the
cosmic hang-ten anthem 'Today' from Hawaii's
3Tripper; and on South Carolinian Billy Marsh's
'Riptide Lullabye,' which doesn't sound
anything like the Beach Boys but still has a
melody, multi-tracked vocals and blazing guitar
passages that soar into the big blue sky."
PHANTOM SOUND & VISION, one of the largest
distributors of Imported and Independent music
located in Costa Mesa, CA, calls STARFLOWER
"progressive cosmic pop striving to elicit a
musical vibe strong enough to live by all
summer long..."
PHANTOM is now stocking the CD for national
distribution. If you are so inclined, ask your
local CD shop if they do business with PHANTOM
and tell them about the availability of
STARFLOWER. Or give A JAY a call at
800-533-9963... thanks for your help!
Robert Silverstein will be reviewing STARFLOWER
in the October edition of his online review
site: www.mwe3.com. Right now he has reviews up
of the recent Beach Boys re-issues as well as
the live Brian Wilson CD. Also an interview
with Yes's Chris Squire among other things.
Check it out!
Charlie Zayleskie reports that two STARFLOWER
tracks, R. Stevie Moore's "Dates" and his very
own "Space Pilot Astrud Star," have received
air play at a Binghampton, NY, radio station. I
certainly hope hearing his own tune on the
radio waves sent tingles throughout his
being!!! (btw, Charlie is 1/2 of the Neos duo
and also plays with the Silly Pillows as well
as live performances with Cockeyed Ghost).
SILVER MOON MUSIC
MUSIC THAT SHINES!
Irene Trudel on WFMU, East Orange, NJ (91.1 & 90.1 FM) Mondays 3-6 pm
Playlist for August 21, 2000: Lazin', hazin', grazin', crazin'.
*Denotes a selection from my collection.
------------------------------------------
The Threnody Ensemble - "Somewhere Near Denton" [Timbre Hollow] Barlow / Petersen /Wivins - "Skirt the Deep" [Barlow / Petersen /Wivins] Vic Chesnutt and Mr. and Mrs. Keneipp - "Haiku" [Merriment] Roy Montgomery - "From a Promentory" [The Allegory of Hearing] The Mice Parade - "Mystery Brethern Vironment (Child's View Remix)"
[Collaborations]
Land of Nod - "Second Sight" [Timeless Point] Tompot Benny - "Thinking of Ways to Keep You Warm" [VA: Lights on a
Darkening Shore]
------------------------------------------
Harvey Reid - "Pegasus" [Guitar Voyages] *Keola Beamer - "Honolulu City Lights" [Kolonabe (From the Gentle Wind)] *D'Gary - "Andriry" [The Moon and The Banana Tree: New Guitar Music from
Madagasgar]
Clarissa's Wind - "Fluorescent Lights"
*LAGQ (Los Angeles Guitar Quartet) - "Along the Edge" [Air and Ground]
------------------------------------------
*Anour Brahem - "E la nave va" [Khomsa]
*Golden Arm Trio - "The Whispering Campaign" /"Swift Ship Sailing" [Why
the Sea is Salt]
*Die Knödel - "Quertanz" [Verkochte Tiroler (Overcooked Tyroleans)] *Trio Matisse: Ives - "Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello: T.S.I.A.J Presto" Abdullah Ibrahim - "Zikr" [The Very Best of Abdullah Ibrahim]
------------------------------------------
*Phil Ochs - "Pleasures of the Harbor" [Pleasures of the Harbor] Damon and Naomi with Ghost - "The Great Wall" [Damon and Naomi with Ghost] Vashti Bunyan - "Where I Like to Stand" [Just Another Diamond Day] Blueboy - "Bradford, Texas [VA: Lights on a Darkening Shore]
------------------------------------------
Reynold Philipsek - "Sunflower" [VA: Starflower] June and the Exit Wounds - "All I Wanna Do" [ VA: Caroline Now! The Songs of
Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys]
R. Stevie Moore - "Please Send Boat (aka Listing Attic)" [VA: Starflower] Marcio Faraco - "A dar na escala Richter" [Ciranda] *Dan Hicks and The Hot Licks - "Hummin' to Myself" [Beatin' the Heat] David Grubbs - "Show Me Who to Love" [The Spectrum Between]
------------------------------------------
Au Revoir Borealis: Nick Drake - "Fruit Tree" [VA: Elsie and Jack and Nick Drake: Sculpting from Drake Vol. One]
*Glide - "Vortexion 6"/"Valentina Tereskova" [Performance] *Porcupine Tree - "Dark Matter" [Signify]
http://www.wfmu.org/~irene
Listen to WFMU:
http://www.wfmu.org/ssaudionet.shtml
Irene Trudel on WFMU, East Orange, NJ (91.1 & 90.1 FM) Mondays 3-6 pm
Playlist for August 28, 2000: Theo Eastwind leaps up out of the subways.
*Denotes a selection from my collection.
------------------------------------------
*Curved Air - "Situations" [Air Conditioning] *Damon and Naomi with Ghost - "I Dreamed of The Caucasus" [Damon and
Naomi with Ghost]
*Buffalo Springfield - "Expecting to Fly" [Buffalo Springfield Again] *Spirit - "Mechanical World" [Time Circle (1968 - 1972)] *Ralph Towner - "Tale of Saverio" [Solo Guitar] Vashti Bunyan - "Glow Worms" [Just Another Diamond Day]
------------------------------------------
The Threnody Ensemble - "The Machine" [Timbre Hollow] *Ida - "Little Things" [I Know About You] *Suzzy Roche - "Looking for God" [Songs from an Unmarried Housewife and
Mother, Greenwich Village, USA]
Chris Lee -"(Please Don't Be My) Maude Gonne" [Chris Lee] The Wondermints - "Dreammachine" [Bali]
------------------------------------------
Live performance by Theo Eastwind
I first heard Theo while heading to some destination via the NYC subway. Often the subways are filled with performers-- some pretty average, but the good ones always stand out (my favorite being an African-American whose name I don't know, performing popular tunes at the 86th St. 1&9 stop, which he's given a new melody in an Afro-Calypso style). Theo Eastwind is always a standout. He often plays to indifferent travellers at the downtown 86th St. C & D or #6 platforms with an upright bass player. His songs have melodies that cut through the roar of arriving trains. The lyrics have a poignant charm,
deeper than pure popsongs. Eastwind also performs in NYC's Lower Eastside clubs. Check his website for upcoming dates: http://www.theoeastwind.com
* "12 and 3"
* CD: "Ceiling Above"
* "But You"
* "Danny Boy"
* "Rite of Passage"
* CD: "Right Now"
* "High"
* CD: "Oh Lover"
* "Nancy Gogovin"
* "One"
* "Clown"
* CD: "Circus Dancers"
Theo Eastwind has 3 albums: "W.I.P.", "Oh La La Li," and "One." Ordering information is available through Theo's website.
------------------------------------------
Billy Marsh - "Riptide Lullabye" [VA: Starflower]
R. Stevie Moore - "Dewey Decimal System" [VA: Starflower] *Noel Coward's Ghost - "Lovely Maiden Vogle" [Peyote Marching Songs, Vol. 1 ] *The Mermen - "White Trash Raga" [The Amazing California Health and
Happiness Show]
*XTC - "I'm the Man Who Murdered Love" [Wasp Star]
------------------------------------------
The Kinks - "Lavender Hill" [The Great Lost Kinks Album] *The Ladybug Transistor - "Like a Summer Rain" [The Albermarle Sound] *Elliott Smith - "LA" [Figure 8]
http://www.wfmu.org/~irene
from the September 2001 issue of Tulsa Outline www.tulsaoutline.com
While most tribute CDs are pretty weak these days, usually filled with bad versions of classic songs, STARFLOWER is an outstanding exception to the rule. The CD is a tribute album made up of original songs, rather than Beach Boys covers.
The disc is the brainchild of producer Toby Thomas, who runs the exceptionally cool on-line music store Silver Moon Music. Thomas has masterminded a disc that captures the spirit of the Beach Boys PET SOUNDS/GOOD VIBRATIONS/SMILE period while updating the sound at the same time. Thomas rightfully points out that Todd Rundgren took up the torch of the Beach Boys' psychedelic summer in the 1970s and XTC in the 1980s. Brian Wilson's masterful pop style is seamlessly filtered to the two latter-day influences on this disc, which features former XTC guitarist Dave Gregory with R. Stevie Moore on DATES and Utopia keyboard man Moogy Klingman on the acid drench soulful benediction EARTH, MY BODY.
Other highlights include Big Fresh's HIP HOP & POP, which starts out as a light (wimpy) Beach Boys track that seems to be invaded halfway through with a Klaatu interstellar handshake from the outer limits. Billy Marsh's RIPTIDE LULLABY is a dream-surfing tune that connotes both the beauty of the ocean and the lost innocence of the Beach Boys in the turbulent late 1960s (remember their friend Mr. Manson?). Some of the tracks seem even further off the map, like synchro1's CALIFORNIA, which sounds like Brian Wilson performed by Kraftwerk.
Like the shards and remnants of the Beach Boys' unreleased SMILE album (one of the great "What Ifs" in the history of rock music), STARFLOWER takes you into a magical day-glo world where the innocent barbershop harmonies of the Wilsons were morphed into an introspective sound informed by the tragedies of the late 1960s and the drug culture. The endless summer of the Beach Boys never ended; the sky simply turned purple and the emotions became deeper, heavier, and more mature. Thomas has recreated that sound for a new generation. It is one of the most fascinating and addictive CDs of the year. - Wilhelm Murg
It's interesting to note that Wilhelm told me that the first few times he listened he was put off by the disc... but as you can see his attitude changed! Nice to know that some people "get it." If you agree with Wilhelm then you are encouraged to drop by www.amazon.com to leave a few good words about it. If you do NOT agree with Wilhelm, then please... give it one more listen.
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