Tyrone Schmidling : "You're Gone, I'm Left".

Aaaaarrrrgh !!!

Can anything sound better than this ?!?

Chaotic, wild, frantic and untamed : Pure Rock'n'Roll !!!

Recorded in San Francisco 1958 and originally released on ANDEX, this holy gem has the magic power to take possession of your entire body and make you start doing the St Vitus dance before you even realize what's happening to your dislocated limbs ! Then, soon enough, you'll probably scream'n'howl like a wild beast from beyond under the full moon and shake'n'twist on the floor like some crazy rabid worm !

At least, that's how I feel each I play this demented piece of instant genius !

Hey, look at me up there on the pic with my great buddy Tyrone in the dark heat of the night ! The world was ours, I tell ya ! And so were the gals !

You can find more details about Tyrone Schmidling and incredible stories about how that killer monster 7 inch ("You're gone I'm left" / "Honey don't") was recorded (in brief : one amazed white kiddie cat singing and improvising on guitar accompanied by some black guys from a vocal group -maybe The Montagues or The Valiants since these 2 had released 7 inches for ANDEX around the same date, or any other doo-wop group - banging on whatever was around in the studio !) in KICKS magazine #4 (sadly out of print...) or on the sleeve itself of the great NORTON reissue from 1994. And yes, the version I played in the CALL OF THE WILD PIRATE RADIO episode 1 is from this awesome NORTON reish, and yes you can thank NORTON records for all these wonders they keep providing ! And yes, I can type "And yes" as many times as I want coz that's my own fockin' blog and I do what I want with it !!! AND YES !!!

Check and enjoy "Honey don't", the other side of this wonderful piece o'wax on the video below.

Mr Schmidling, you're the greatest !!!

Nuff said for today.

Will be back soon (???) I hope.

Listen to the greatness of "You're gone I'm left" in CALL OF THE WILD PIRATE RADIO episode 1 somewhere around HERE !

And don't forget to pay me a visit at the GARAGEPUNK HIDEOUT !

Cheers !!!

GATOR SHADES BLUES BAND "Down in Mexico"

It's been quite a long time since my last post...well, it's even been a very long time !

Sorry for those who read this. I'll try to post stuff more often but you know how it is...the nights are too short and there's so many great things to achieve before the dawn !

Let's investigate the playlist a little further now...

"Down in Mexico" by the GATOR SHADES BLUES BAND.

I love that version of this great Lieber/Stoller classic ! Not as luscious and lascive as the wonderful Coasters version but so catchy it never fails in making one wanna get up and dance like a possessed freak !!! Well, it's got that effect on me !!!

GATOR SHADES BLUES BAND was in fact an alias for KENNY AND THE KASUALS backing MAX LIPSCOMB (real name of SCOTTY MCKAY). Got it ?

Let me explain : SCOTTY MCKAY was born MAX LIPSCOMB in 1937 in Dallas, Texas and died in 1991.

He's well known for being a member of GENE VINCENT 's BLUE CAPS in 1957 for a few months providing backing vocals, then a little rhythm guitar and ended up hitting a few notes on the first piano ever heard on a BLUE CAPS session.

The Legend tells us (and you know you gotta believe in legends, don't you ?) he couldn't really play any instrument but he was the right good looking cat in the right cool place at the right moment !

He then cut a few sides under the name of Scotty McKay, but I'll tell you more about this later (wait for episode 3 baby, have a fresh drink and be patient...).

Later, about 1967 I believe, he recorded this explosive version of "Down in Mexico" with THE GATOR SHADES BLUES BAND.

THE GATOR SHADES BLUES BAND, A.K.A. KENNY & THE KASUALS !

Yeaaaah, you're right honey, these Kenny & The Kasuals !!!

"Journey to Tyme" !!!

"Come on Kid" !!!

and more 60's Texas garage anthems...

Kenny & The Kasuals were from Dallas too. Any connection ?

They were Kenny Daniel (vocal & guitar), Lee Lightfoot (bass), Paul Roach (keyboards), David "Bird" Blachley (drums) and Jerry Smith, later replaced by Tommy Nichols (lead guitar).

And their ultra classic "Journey to Tyme" is supposed to be the first recorded tune featuring a fuzzzzzzzz bass ! Yep, that's what I've been told ! And I'm a believin' kind of guy.

But, back to our "mexican" affair, they backed up Scotty McKay and, for any reason, the latter didn't want the name of Kenny & The Kasuals to appear on the recordings. He then changed it to Gator Shades Blues Band after Paul's nickname : "Gator Shades".

And they called him "Gator Shades" coz he was always wearing dark sunglasses on stage.

You got it now ???

So enjoy this version of "Down in Mexico" again and again baby, it'll make your hips shake !

Oh, I got this version from the "Things gettin' better" lp on the Eva french record label but I'd really like to learn more about the original recordings since I hadn't been able to find any informations on it. Is there a 45 ? What's the original label ?

Any informations (or corrections) are welcome.

Thanks for being here instead of there.

To be continued...

Oops, check this before you leave :

Kenny and the Kasuals "I'm not talking" from their "Impact" lp (1965)

And a love message from Scotty McKay in 1961 :