I've Become A Warlock Just For Spite.

Ever notice how the blogosphere – particularly that sliver of musical devotees of who’s ranks I myself patronize – set a store by obscurity? Whether it be some nameless acetate or vanity press, we (and I am as guilty as the next) tend to gravitate towards the obscure without recognizing that mainstream record labels are just as capable of releaseing bizarre platters, many of which have just as little redeeming social value as your average Susbsidary tax shelter or mafia-run narcotics front (Thank god).

Now that Poe has set the tone its time to roll up our jeans and get knee-deep in October Country. Bet you had no idea that October Country is in Canada, right? Me neither. I assumed, like everybody else that ‘My Girlfriend is a Witch’ owed its debt to Hanna Barbera, the song featured prominatly in the short-lived cartoon the ‘Cattanooga Cats’ (See below). As it turns out October Country were a full on sunshine-pop band who failed to crack the canuk market w/ their beatles-esque harmonies and thick instrumentation, finally sliding one off of American Staurday morning culture w/ this ode to a winsome witch.



Hard to say which version excels (HB v. OC), several crime fighting, bell-bottomed cartoon cats not withstanding (HB were always a one-trick pony). But in all fairness, I have sat many a time, bleary-eyed @ the Court Tavern watching the Impossibles silently on the T.V. in lieu of whatever shitty band was sulking in the basement, proslytivzing about their problems like we all ain't got our own (It is a bar, after all). Point being, I might be slightly biased. But nobody can take can hope to encroach upon October Country’s green acres without getting the business end of a some round-bottomed bass and a witch’s broom. The Cats are just incidental.

My Girlfriend Is A Witch - October Country

Mashmakhan!!!

@ the tail end of a merciless weekend record bender comes this firebrand...

Like the succinctly named Boffalongo, the mouthful of Canadian mush known as Mashmakhan certainly doesn't paint itself into any corners. From buzzy psych to baroque poofery, influences abound in the 1970 debut of these enigmatic million-sellers.

Pierre Senecal, Brian Edwards, and Rayburn Blake formed their first band in 1960 as teens and played local Montreal dance halls and perform on the local scene under the band names like the Phantoms, Ray Blake's Combo, and the Dominoes. In 1965 they were still playing together but with the addition of another Montrealer, Gerry Mercer, who stepped in to replace Edwards (who left the band for a short while). When Edwards returned to the band, Mercer stayed on to make it a quartet, and by now they were calling themselves the Triangle and backing up Montreal R&B singer Trevor Payne. They continued in this vein until 1969, when producer Bob Hahn recognized their talent and took them to Toronto, then the music capitol of Canada, and helped them get signed with Columbia Records. The name of the band was changed to Mashmakhan, after a type of drug being peddled by a local dealer, to become more hip with the young people, and the journey began. Pierre Senecal's "As Years Go By" was released as a single in an edited form, and became the group's first hit. The single sold 100,000 copies in Canada, 500,000 copies in the U.S., and over 1,000,000 copies in Japan, which led to a Beatlemania-like tour for the band in the latter country; it received much publicity and made Mashmakhan an international success story. The band followed the hit with two singles, "Gladwyn" and "Days When We Are Free." In 1970 Mashmakhan released its debut self-titled album, containing the three singles in alternate form, to international critical acclaim. Mashmakhan was one of two contributors to the musical score of the 1971 NFB film Epilogue/Fieve and recorded the song "Couldn't Find the Sun" for the movie. Then, for some unknown reason, the bottom fell out. Mashmakhan's second album, The Family, was released in 1971, and bombed; fan support was lost, and despite a couple of good singles, they did not have the right formula to make it back to the top. Although the album did sell well in Japan, the band split up shortly thereafter. ~ Keith Pettipas

For space reason (Compounded by abject laziness) I have cherry-picked some of the heavier tracks off the LP, but with its thick key work and expressive guitar leads, the entire record richly deserves your patronage. Do yourself a favor and grab a copy before it suffers a similar fate as the Gospel According to Zeus - i.e. Gets gobbled up as prime break beat real-estate.

Warning: Don't let the fluffy quality of the tracks fool you. You're about to get punched in the kidneys.

Days When We Are Free - Mashmakhan

Afraid of Losing You - Mashmakhan

Simple Minded Harlequin

I have to admit, I'm kinda on the fence about this one.

On one hand, its has a certain charm in its willful irreverence and general whimsical tone. One the other hand, any intimacy and somber quality that might be expected from a folk / psych album is somewhat rudely disrupted by singer Elyse Weinberg, who sounds a lot like Gilda Radner doing her best weekend update

I understand that some people who marvel at ineptitude might take that as a ringing endorsement (Myself Included), but all quaintness aside, sometimes this chick is just downright unpalpable. She does have her moments though.

"Born and raised in Canada, Weinberg emerged from the same mid-'60s Toronto folk scene that launched the careers of Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot and Joni Mitchell. And like some of her famous colleagues, she found herself in Los Angeles, although initially just to visit Young. Then she ended up staying a while with another acquaintance, Mama Cass Elliott of the Mamas & Papas. W

The recording of "Elyse" was, she {weinberg} says, "over the top," with "no one producing anything. It reflected the times." Indeed, a listen today reveals a certain inspired insanity that is partly accountable for such a superb, occasionally stunning LP, an attention-grabbing mixture of death-fixated medieval folk, imaginative pop arrangements and very 60's psychedelic rock. Weinberg and her session band, an L.A. group called Touch, sound as alluringly sloppy as Janis Joplin's Big Brother & the Holding Company on some tracks, then follow those up with meticulously arranged, affecting love songs. Lyrically, it's a timely record, as the gallows humor and mortality obsessions seem perfectly suited to the ugliness that pervaded American society as the Sixties drew to a close. You can practically smell the dreadful anticipation of Tate-LaBianca and Altamont in the song's less-than-rosy scenarios.

"Elyse" sold fairly well upon its release, reaching #31 on the Billboard album chart. Tetragrammaton performed its publicity duties, taking out full-page ads in Billboard and other publications. Harlan Ellison wrote about her in his column for the alternative paper the L.A. Weekly, and Newsweek featured her alongside Mitchell and Laura Nyro in a profile on the emergence of solo female songwriters, a rarity up until that point, Odetta and Joan Baez notwithstanding. She played big L.A. clubs such as the Troubadour and did her stints on the festival circuit. Weinberg even played Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show," which, considering her wild-haired appearance and intense music, must have been quite a trip for last-night TV America".

It’s hard to choose a track or two that is indicative of the album, as the record is all over the Middle-Earth map. I have attempted to approximate the Elyse experience with a trifecta of sounds, namely Psych, Country and Heavy.

Maybe this will finally satisfy my own Midieval mind about Mrs. Weinberg (I'm currently on the 'Yay' side of the 'Neigh').

If Death Don't Overtake Me - Elyse Weinberg

Iron Works for Rent She Cried - Elyse Weinberg

Mortuary Bound - Elyse Weinberg

"Evil Grows in Cracks and Holes"

It often pays to give more than a casual listen to what other people are spinning these days. Case in point, my drummer Tommy managed to turn me on to this tune by the Poppy Family (as well as British psych darling 'Jason Crest') while taking a breather during band practice. I was immediately struck by the tunes malevolence, a seemingly innocent nihilism carefully hidden behind an AM radio vibe. Recorded in Canada by Susan & Terry Jacks (the latter of 'Seasons in the Sun' fame) for inclusion on 1971's 'Poppy Seeds' album , 'Where Evil Grows' demonstrates the lighter approach favored by our northern cousins, namely, "Walk softly and carry a big Sitar".


Dig this live (Dubbed) clip from the Kenny Rogers variety show 'Rollin on the River'(Sorry. No Embed)

Where Evil Grows - Poppy Family