John Payne - Ride The Storm (going down a YouTube rabbit hole)

 I happened to look into what John Payne did before he joined ASIA and there was a playlist on YouTube by user "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll" run by Gabriela Gomes (check out her channel as she's a big ASIA fan too).  The playlist is interesting and this is the first song on the list...

Then as I typed this into the search it brought up a sort of "music video" from Eurotops where you get to see the pre-ASIA John Payne perform the song...

But the rabbit hole I fell down is to find out this song (and another from John Payne on the playlist) were singles featured in the movie "Riders Of The Storm" which looked familiar.  Back when I worked at Blockbuster I remembered seeing this VHS cover but the movie was called "The American Way" in our part of the world.  So I looked into the movie 'cos it was one of those from the Blockbuster days that I'd always see the cover for but never watched.  No trailer, but here's a revealing collection of clips someone compiled on YouTube...

Make America Great Again?  Woo!  Pirate TV station, military psy-ops, making fun of politics & TV evangelists, Dennis Hopper, Michael J. Pollard...I'm in.  Looked into getting it...expensive, but then boom...the whole thing is on YouTube...

It's weird and an interesting take on "The American Way" and sorta has a Clockwork Orange meets Pee-Wee Herman vibe.  I can see how some would say it's crappy, but I loved it and it even has some moments that are surreal to today and make you think, while still grounded in making fun of itself.

Judie Tzuke

Just tripped upon this '70's beauty while tubin' one day and instantly fell in love.  Around this time 2 girls were on my mind: a lost love which I'll never truly get out of my system and a hopeful (hopeless?) crush I had on a bartender at my favorite tavern.  Judie Tzuke reminded my of both of them as they were both beautify blonde's.  I mention these girls not just 'cos they remind me of this singer in looks, but 'cos lyrically the songs on "Welcome to the Cruise" seemed to apply me and these girls...kinda.  Lyrics match more the lost love while the looks match more the bartender.  Both of these attributes apply to both these girls, though...just one attribute leans more towards one or the other.  Enough about these girls, let's talk the music...here's a playlist of that whole album:

Isn't it amazing.  Lyrically and musically.  So many of the words applied to me and my love life at the time I found Judie a few years back.  I would have to sit and talk of each song fondly remembering these lost loves, but I can't here...I just wanna share this amazing album.  Judie has had a resurgence many years later, but I wanted to see what she was like live back then and I couldn't find a lot, as she didn't get super "big".  I'll tell you, the band backing her is great and beyond just back-up...very prog-rock:

I try to absorb more of her stuff through the '80's but nothin' catches me like "Welcome to the Cruise".  She did some covers of others which led to more rabbit-hole jumping which also led to other good stuff and I liked her other work, but nothing like that whole album.  This song (and it's "making of" video) sticks out, though:

I love the way she goofily holds her mouth as she sings, gives her an aloof look to her somber voice.

Jane Child

"Don't Wanna Fall In Love" is so damn good and it climbed up the R&B charts back in it's day 'cos many people who heard her, thought she was black...but there she is: white.  Great beat, great voice and fun, but serious lyrics for a dance type song.  From what I've read about Jane, she wrote, produced & performed all aspects of this music.  Beautiful & talented!  She reminds me of one of my lost loves who was musically talented, with wild eyes & long blonde hair, loved to dance...sexy with her own style that makes you love her, but too untamed to love...so the lyrics fit this girl, too.

"Here Not There" is very Annie-Lennox-Esque...and to me, that's a high compliment!  Even still, just like other Jane Child songs, they don't seem to be as passionate/impactful as "Don't Wanna Fall In Love" to me.  Still very stylistic & unique, but you can tell her label was probably trying to contain/restrict her to a certain brand that her image couldn't fit in.

"Welcome To The Real World" is another fun yet serious song, with a message.  Looks, sounds & feels very 90's!   In the video, there is there is an America motto that is crossed out: 'All Men Are Created Equal' which makes you wonder if there's a deeper message there.  Below is the same song in it's original music video form which might convey more of the message with imagery of old vs young, black vs white and moreso; rich vs poor.

"Welcome To The Real World" original music video version that was rejected by Warner Bros. 'cos they said it portrayed her as a witch...really?

"Don't Wanna Fall In Love" again, this time on The Wayne Brady Show.  This in a little lighter style, but that shows versatility.  Man, she is still talented & gorgeous, isn't she?

"We Don't Need Another Hero" cover of Tina Turner's Beyond Thunderdome theme...Jane does this song justice and adds her own grove to it which says a lot in itself.  You can tell she's a Tina Turner fan in how she sings this song, yet makes it her own.  Still not up there with "Don't Wanna Fall In Love" but maybe it's 'cos that song holds a higher place in my heart...but this cover is still good!

Terry Bozzio

Yes, that's a real name of a really great drummer!  Over the years of trippin' over stuff on Napster and YouTube I came across this guy in my music searching three distinct times without even knowing it was the same man!

I got into "titties'n'beer" when lookin' up stuff on Napster about Frank Zappa.  After I downloaded it and played it, it was silly (like a lot of Zappa songs), but what really caught my attention was the titties (or the girl those titties were attached to) name was the same name of a busty girl I used to know...so I got a kick outta that!  Many years later I would see this video of the live performance of the song and was amazed that this guy not only did the voice of the devil, but also was the drummer and sang, too.  I do voices so I thought that was neat and I have always loved when a drummer could sing, too...a true physical & musical feat!  I'll do a post on Frank Zappa in the future.

A separate time I came across this drummer/singer was when looking up as much about John Wetton (lead singer of my favorite band: ASIA) as I could which would bring me to many groups.  The group right before ASIA for John Wetton was UK which is a remarkable pre-ASIA-esque sound that you shoud definitely look into.  This post is about Terry Bozzio, though and it's sorta crazy he went from from Zappa to...here, replacing prog-rock drumming legend Bill Bruford in UK which says a lot in itself to fill his shoes.  His kits are so elaborate and his progressive rhythms are great...but he's also a singer that sounds great harmonizing in UK.  Of course, I'll be doing more posts about John Wetton in the future which will include more of UK and Terry Bozzio.

Not the first Missing Persons song/video I ever got into, but this one shows off Terry Bozzio's talents in drumming/singing.  The Lady Gaga-ish singer (decades before Gaga) is Dale Bozzio...yup...they were married for years...and they met through performing in Zappa's entourage.  Yes, Terry Bozzio was also in this group, each "era" or Terry brings about a different look/style (this time with glam-rock hair/make-up), but something that's always the same is the progressive percussion talents and his unique voice.  He can harmonize and has a great range with them high notes in this song whilst drumming...wow!  When I started to piece together that this was the same drummer in all these videos my mind was blown.  I'll make a future post about Missing Persons, too.

Back to Zappa again, there is an infamous drum score in the song: "The Black Page" and here, Terry talks about the story of how Zappa showed it to him first.  Of course, this is a promo for a collector's drum signed by Terry, but it's still an interesting look at him, Zappa and this song.  Look up live performances of this song from back when Zappa was alive and more recent Zappa on Zappa videos of the song (including one with Steve Vai on guitar).

Quarterflash

I remember hearing them when I was younger but I didn't realize how good they were until I recently found them again clicking on random YouTube videos...

"Harden My Heart" is such a good song and the sax & guitar in it compliment each other in ways you wouldn't think they would.  I have the same sentiment to harden my heart about love too, sometimes.  She is a good sax player and singer...I was surprised by the musical talent in just this song so I went snooping for more songs by them.

"Talk To Me" is catchy and again, I notice the sax is not just a prop in a couple of their songs here'n'there...it's actually played like riffing a guitar and then there's cool guitar riffs in their songs, too.  It's probably difficult to work a unique (non-rock) instrument like a sax into each of their songs, but they do.  American Bandstand's Dick Clark comes in for a standing talk with the band and the leads are Rindy (Orinda) & Marv Ross.  Why do crowds like saying GOOCH so much, btw?

"Find Another Fool" showcases her very unique voice, too...and her sound/look is very '80's.  Even though it's disco-poppy, the group as a whole has a progressive rock feel, too.  This song features a violin, much like some of my favorite prog-rock bands (UK & King Crimson) do.  Love the line: "friends'n'lovers always come'n'go" and that was something I was writing into a story I'm making now.


"Take Me To Heart" is another song, again with the '80's vibe, that feels like something that would be in some of my favorite Japanimations: A.D. Police Files, Bubblegum Crisis & Riding Bean.  They all had a jazzy-rock + hair-metal feel that I think is very Quarterflash.

"Try To Make It True" has a lil' interview before the song that gives a tiny bit of insight on Quarteflash.  This song is the most poppy with the repetitive chorus, but it's still a good song that shows a bit of the vocal harmony the band can have.

I really want to look into them more, but these above songs are now in my recent YouTube music rotation.

Here's some more songs by them...

ASIA Without You

Without You (like all songs ASIA with me) has a significant place in my heart.  It's obviously a love song, but it's also got a very sad, bittersweet undertone.  It's not the happy, floaty butterfly love, it's possibly a lost love you can't forget or a love coming to an end or love and separation.

For me personally and more recently there was a someone I never wanted to be without...and even though I lost this lover, there will never be a day, without her.  I think we both knew it was coming to an end, I had sent her this song and it's lyrics and while I didn't want things to end between us, they did...and maybe this song was a sad prelude to that.

Best friends who became lovers but tried to change back into just friends...so the line: "wanting things the way they used to be, you don't know what that can do to me" is a reference to that.  Then followed with: "one more day maybe never, might as well be forever" is a reference to the fact we kept putting off meeting in person and being the friends we promised to be, only that each day we didn't meet turned into forever.  Other lines and even sounds from this song remind me of her in a sad, had to be this way, kind of way.

But even still, I love her like I love all my girls...for life.  As time will go, both of us will know, there will never be a day, without you.  She will always be in my mind, every day.

I found this rare live in NY version of the song from their first tour, I need to get this bootleg Alchymya album!

So, I decided to sing it...I know I'm not a good singer, at least...I can't do John Wetton's vocals justice (but then, who could?) but I tried.  I haven't been able to write write or draw due to personal problems I've already spoken of, but I wanted to make some actual content for my Blogger so I'm singing...

I tried to test out my new phone, different video styles and to try some self-karaoke.  My vocals are...well...I know I can do better, but I also don't want to bog myself down with too much preparation (procrastination) or post-production nonsense so I'm just wingin' it.  I wanted something that wouldn't be too difficult since I tend to be an unsatisfied perfectionist with things so I went with a this simple shoot it and upload it deal.



Test 1) I used an app called DU Recorder which records your phone's screen directly and even allowed me to do a lil' picture-in-picture of myself while the YouTube video of it played on my phone.  Held my phone horizontally to shoot then had to rotate the video 'cos of the way DU Recorder recorded it vertically.



Test 2) I directly recorded myself on my phone, while I played the music on my home theater set-up in the background.  Then I added a background image to fill out the screen horizontally.  Held my phone vertically to shoot and then once I added the background image it was done.

First, I have to say my new phone is awesome with a great camera & microphone and the DU Recorder app (and it's video editor) is amazing, too...isn't technology wonderful?  Years ago, you would've needed so much more stuff to make something like this work...and yet this does a good job and I see the potential for more things to with it...but again, I also don't wanna fall into too much over-production crap; this needs to be fast, easy & raw so I can continue making content rather than being too picky and never finishing anything.

Second, there's pros & cons with each of these.  I'm leaning more towards the first video 'cos I like the smaller picture-in-picture of myself so it's less about my face (and what's behind me...do I need a green screen now?) and more about the overall song.  Seemed a lil' easier to shoot, with a lil' more freedom to control things as the video is going and the file size seemed smaller so it uploaded faster.  With that freedom comes the cons of seeing everything happening on my phone, ya know...like that pop-up coming up to inform me that my battery was at 15% ha ha...also, it was hard to hear the music since it was coming from the phone (and not my home theater set-up), but the phone's speaker had to be turned down so it didn't drown me out.  I could go on'n'on about these pros & cons, but...

Third, regardless of each tests' pros & cons...I don't know which really sounds better yet.  I want the music to be clear enough without drowning out my voice, but I also want to sound good enough to go along with the music.  The end product matters more than any pros & cons I've listed.

I think there's a third route where I could run the music through my home theater set-up like in the second test, but still do the picture-in-picture over something else like in the first test.  Instead of running the music from the phone I could just go to an image or a gallery of images to scroll through to show behind my picture-in-picture of myself singing?  Just have to be careful not to overdo it 'cos I wanna keep this simple.  I think I'll try that with my next karaoke video.

Something else to think about is that I plan to do more karaoke stuff using this DU Recorder app, but I also plan to use it to do other videos where I'm playing games or browsing things online.  Some looks better in vertical mode, while others look better horizontally.  If the video from the phone's screen is vertical, then I'll have to make a background to add borders to make the end video horizontal.  I have so many ideas, kinda excited...

ASIA The Smile Has Left Your Eyes

The message is powerful and painful.  It's about having love and then losing it.  It's when you're with someone who used to be your smile, but then you look in their eyes and you can see the smile is gone from it.  They fell out of love with you or they lost their happiness or they're going through pain that is unbearable.

The saddest part is that the smile in your eyes never has to be lost, but people choose to lose it.  Whether through some act that takes their happiness from them or just gradually over time.  Some try to re-obtain it or think they can find it through someone or something else or they even choose to never be happy again.  It's a choice that everyone eventually makes and it's heartbreaking that people give up on life, each other...themselves.

We could choose not to lose it and if we lose it we can choose to find it again, but instead, we choose to lose the smile in our eyes.

This song personally touches me and moves me to tears.

This is the original demo which is two-part; Geoffrey Downes on piano & John Wetton singing and a full-band arena rock version.  When they've done the song live, they've usually done it this way.  The song & lyrics were written by John...

1983 Live in Japan with Geoffrey Downes solo and John's (temporary replacement) Greg Lake (of ELP) singing...

1990 Live with acoustic guitar...

1990 Live in Moscow with Pat Thrall on Guitar...

2006 Live on VH1...

This is the album version in music video form.  The music video portrays a painful story of an affair that tares a family apart.  On top of it, their little girl seemingly drowns at the end and the torn apart husband and wife are left holding each other crying.

This brings up that sometimes, you feel torn apart like you could never be together again, but then tragedy strikes and you find yourselves back together.  I ask anyone who's thinking of breaking up or divorce or whatever...you know that there is still enough love there that when tragedy strikes all you can think of is to cling to that person, the same person you just thought of leaving.

Also, at the end of the video we see the girl (who we thought just died) in the doorway,  I like to think that if she did die, that that doorway was her entrance to heaven as she smiles at the beautiful music...

The song is so good to me, even though it is very sad.  In my own romantic way I had thought to transform this sad song into a happy song.  Over the years (and depending on my love interests at the time) I've re-written 'The Smile Has Left Your Eyes' into 'I'll Put The Smile Back In Your Eyes'!  I would write variations of this from developing new love to full on lovers.  Here I am singing one I wrote...

Loudness- Searching for ODIN (Photon Sailer Starlight AMV)

The ODIN movie is rather average as Japanimation's go, sorta got that classic 1985 feel though. The music is pretty good if you're into that sort of thing (as I am), but this song just exploded my mind durring the credits of the movie...it was totally unexpected that they'd break out with a psuedo music video durring the end credits! I realize that with Japanimations like BubbleGum Crisis (one of my favorites) and Cutey Honey, there was this outreach to try to appeal to American's by making Japanese/English lyrics in alot of thier OST's, but this song just absolutly takes the cheesecake. I mean look, it's like a Japanese RATT, and listen to how the lead singer says "I'm searching for ODIN, it's my dweeem" and later breaks out in a rock opera yell/scream...absoutly hilarious & classic.

The name of the group is Loudness featuring Minoru Niihara on vocals & Akira Takasaki on guitar. Thanks to the guys at YouTube for the info!

www.niihara.net
www.takasaki.net

Rilo Kiley- Jenny You're Barely Alive (Gundam Wing AMV)

I dunno who made this music video but it fits *very well* with this song by Rilo Kiley. The Japanimation in this video is from Gundam Wing, this makes me wanna watch the series again...the whole love/hate thing between Relina & Heero brings back memories. And again, it really fits well with the song. Being a fan of Japanimations & Jenny Lewis makes this music video all that much cooler to me.

www.rilokiley.com
www.animemetro.com/gundamwing

The Postal Service- Such Great Heights

I told my friend from work (Justin) that I was a fan of Jenny Lewis and he told me about The Postal Service. I guess that The Postal Service was a prelude to Rilo Kiley? Very good tunes I've heard from them so far, I got some videos of some of their songs (in hopes of seeing a glipse of Jenny Lewis, which I didn't sadly, as the videos I've got so far don't show the band at all (but you can clearly hear her voice, especially at the end when the last "come down now" is being sung)). There were some oddball things I noticed (I love useless info) like the music is featured in an M&M commersial and there's also footage that seems to be done in much the same way from the music video into the recent Intel/Mac collaboration commersials (where they're making chips/wafers in a hi-tech lab).

I'd like to find out more about this band and any relation to Rilo Kiley/Jenny Lewis (like what is the exact relation to Death Cab For Cutie?). Someone also told me that this song was a remake of someone elses song? Iron & Wine...who are they?

www.postalservicemusic.net

ASIA 25TH Anniversary News

ASIA is my favorite band and big things are happenning. There are 2 main ASIA era's: the Wetton era inwhere John Wetton was the frontman and the Payne era inwhere John Payne took his place. The Payne era is no more now though as Geoff Downes & John Payne have parted ways. Geoff Downes is working again with John Wetton on the ICON project which then led to Carl Palmer & Steve Howe reuniting to reform the supergroup. It should be noted that this is the first time since *1983* that Steve Howe & John Wetton will be working together and it also marks the first time since then that all four original members are now back together. A true ASIA fans dream.

John Payne & Geoff Downes have parted ways and wish each other luck in one another's ventures. The original ASIA is reuniting for a U.S. tour and possibly a live album, DVD and studio album as well. Payne is taking Guthrie Goven and some of the work that was to be his next ASIA album (The Architect Of Time) and creating his own band.

Here's to ASIA, the Payne era and the Wetton era...let's wish them all luck in whatever they do!

www.theasiawebsite.com
www.asiaworld.org