Monday, April 27, 2020

"What do You do When Old Scratch Comes a Calling? What do You do Indeed?"

Dog Poet Transmitting.......

I have what might be considered a problem and I hope the reader can help. Let me know if I am missing something here. I have a friend who was a member of Les Visible and The Critical List back in the 80s. We released 4 albums; 5 if you consider one that was a mix of two of them. One was a double album. In the early 90s, Bernard Stollman of ESP Records, affiliated with Sony/CBS and Rounder Records released two of our works; “Jews from Outer Space” and “Too Old to Rock and Roll” being the slimy and evil reptile that he is, he had the engineers fuck up the recordings to the extent that they were unlistenable. The engineers who had worked with Jefferson Starship and Hot Tuna apologized to me for what got done BUT... Bernard and his wife, Flavia, were deaf to reason. They did what they did on purpose. The albums were released in every Tower Records outlet in the world and sunk like a stone. It was a bitter disappointment.

Ed Sanders of The Fugs, who had also been shafted by Bernard, begged me to not let Bernard release my work but... I would not listen to him. I had big hopes at the time; OH HOW WRONG I WAS. We had digital masters and the work, cutting edge as it would have been at the time, might have really done well. I had other people at me to promote the music as well but I went with Bernard because I had a previous history and earlier on had been signed to Columbia Records through him. Bernard screwed and cheated many of the classic black jazz artists of the past and he got hold of some amount of Billie Holiday as well. He is notorious in a field where you really need to distinguish yourself to stand out among the offal. I did not know this at the time.

While I was in Europe, I discovered that Bernard has taken the digital masters that I sent him (but which he never used) and placed them with a San Francisco music distribution venue. I got them transferred to me (or I hope that's the case) and they were sending me dribs and drabs for a while and now for almost ten years, nothing. I don't know what they did with the other contributors to the work. I gave them the names and addresses but I have learned that NEARLY EVERYONE in the music business is a thief and a scoundrel. I tried to reason with Bernard but he is evil all the way down into that place where once his soul may have dwelt. When you are around him you notice the cold that radiates off of him. He has almost no personality; bloodless... I think, is the term. Something very wrong lives in him and has for a long time.

Fast forward to the present. One of the former members of the band has a vendor business on Maui and he has met a lot of celebrities this way and he is ALWAYS looking for an angle to gain from this but so far not much has gone down. He's hung out with them and ridden around with them; Anthony Kiedis of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Steven Tyler of Arrowsmith and others, he has met and socialized with. Now he had managed to run into probably the biggest female star in the business. I'm not naming names here, imagine what you will. Apparently, this star has heard my song, “Alcohol” and likes it well enough to want to record it. Over the course of time this 'friend of mine' has been reworking the tune, changing the music and altering the lyrics and all of that is in order to put his stamp of ownership on it. Originally, his contribution was part of the background conversation of people drinking in a bar, while I sang the song, giving it the atmosphere of a cocktail lounge. Although in truth, I wrote this song, I gave copyright and authorship of the song to certain other members of the band. It seemed like the fair thing to do.

They all have authorship on most of the other songs on the albums. Some more so, some less. However... if anything ever does come of any of it, they stand to profit equally with me. I have known for some amount of time that MY DAY WOULD COME. I've been told this interiorly. Late in the game though it may be, it may also be considerable; probably will be. I don't care about any of that and will most certainly give most of it away and YOU CAN HOLD ME TO THAT. I have formed a church and gotten my ministry degree and shortly I will form that church legally and disburse whatever comes to me through that. I will form a board of directors from close personal associates that I would trust with my life and in some cases it has come to that. I know where it will be located and I know, pretty much, what is going to come of it, in terms of activities and the like.

This friend of mine wants to shop the song to this international artist and given her reach, the return could be considerable and then there is the unique tenor of the song that would render it to classic status. You can listen to it at the end of this posting. I am quite sure that this friend DID NOT play the original and very likely overstated his place in the creation of it. Like many of my songs, it leaped full-blown from my mind and I was singing it acapella probably moments after its composition. The double album we recorded, Not Politically Correct, got written in whole across one weekend in a tequila haze. Franklin and I knocked it out in no time. Franklin was the genius musical end, keyboards player, drummer and arranger and recording engineer, vocal backup group, and it wouldn't have gotten done anywhere near as well as it was without him. This other friend made significant comedic contributions but not at the same level as Franklin. There were a number of other top-level musicians involved now and then and a number of ladies who sang in parts. Some may chime in here after reading this.

Most of the collaborations were extemporaneous flights of imagination. A couple got created and recorded at the same time, spontaneously. There were some wild times back in the day.

My friend is hammering on me about me signing off on the song so that this artist can record and release it; no doubt, HIS VERSION of it. The song has a VERY personal meaning to me and I don't want it messed with lyrically AT ALL. He doesn't like that but it is what it is. It is perfectly fine as it is but then he would have less opportunity to claim a greater part in its creation than he EVER had. People get stars in their eyes and they pursue recognition and fame AT ALL COSTS. They have no idea of the price of it and often don't even care. People would and have, thrown their lives away for a taste of fame and fortune. I am not like this. I've met many famous people and even watched some of them destroy themselves, like my friend, Richard Manuel.. I've no great interest in celebrity. I don't aspire after a hairnet of mosquitoes and flies following me everywhere. You need to be a certain kind of clueless and self fellating creature to appreciate the climate you have to endure.

Also... the artist seeking to record this tune is very spiritually BENT. One might say Satanic. I don't care to associate with her but on my friend's behalf I would permit him to cut a deal BUT ONLY WITH THE ORIGINAL LYRICS. I'm guessing this is causing him grief but there it is. He's still going to get the same amount of money, whatever that is BUT... he won't be able to claim a greater authorship the way he wants to. That is a big deal to him. The idea of being able to hang out with these useless wastes of space is a big deal to him. Me? I would run the other way. I KNOW God and my guardian angel are going to take care of me in due time and protect me too. I don't need to run after these morally and spiritually bankrupt characters with my tongue hanging out of my mouth AND FOR SURE... they are going to try to screw us. That I am certain of cause that is how they are made. It is what they do. By their works you can MOST DEFINITELY know them.

My friend reads the Bible and loves Jesus Christ but for some reason there is a cognitive disconnect when it comes to Mammon and his backup dancers. I try to explain to him but he is hearing impaired in that regard. IT INTERFERES WITH WHAT HE WANTS. I recently did some things for him that came at a considerable cost to me but I won't go into that because I absolutely abhor those freaks who pull out their pocket change and distribute it and then have it announced to the world what fine people they are. As it says in the Bible, when you do such things do them in secret. Do not go trumpeting it in the marketplace like the publicans; THEY HAVE THEIR REWARD. There are any number of readers who know how I personally operate and I don't have much respect for people who behave any other way. There are so many wonderful folk out there who do their level best and we never even hear about them but God knows... GOD KNOWS...

I did this song on the stage at Woodstock 20th right before Richie Havens came on, I think he followed me and a riot broke out in the audience because people had brought kegs to the event. I put down my guitar and broke into the song and the riot stopped and for the rest of the evening you could hear people screaming out, “Alcohol!!!” That was a memorable moment (grin).

So... I don't know if I am doing the right thing here but I don't see where it matters if she has to sing the original lyrics. I am certain his are no improvement, since that is not his forte by any stretch and because I KNOW WHY he would have changed the lyrics and I don't care for that.


We shall all get our due sooner or later. It is foolish, stupid, dangerous, and doomed to failure to push the river. God is a master of timing and I pretty much knew when my guardian angel appeared and announced his/her identity that all sorts of changes were on the menu. My particular angel presents as either. I cracked up a couple of days ago when I thought about using the right pronouns... heh heh.


Okay... a little something different today, eh?

Well... well... this is ULTRA STRANGE. The song had disappeared off of the website (the only one to vanish) and I had to ask The Elf to put it back in. He couldn't figure out what had happened. Enemy Action? I won't speculate but it is weird.



End Transmission.......



Today's Song is;






Baa Baa Pocketnet have you any stool? Yes sir Yes sir, a ton or more for you. One for the webmasters and one for the cat people and one for the thin man who lives in the steeple Baa Baa Pocketnet!



les visible at pocketnet

32 comments:

Love To Push Those Buttons said...

This post brings Matthew Katz to mind. Boy, was he a piece of work. He did his part to help destroy Skip Spence, who was killed with a morphine overdose in combination of pulling him from life support in Santa Cruz. I was there in the room when the morphine was delivered. Before he got taken to the hospital, Skip begged them not to take him, because he knew if they did he was gonna die.

One of Katz' horsed kicked Katz on the night Skippy got forcibly graduated from this realm.

Anonymous said...

Fabulous Mr Visible
Hope things go the way you want them to
Well and truly

Visible said...

Here you go LTPTB

Ray B. said...

Vis, with all due respect to all-God and your guardian angel, you should nail-down IN WRITING that No One gets to change the lyrics without your permission. Your friend, or anyone who buys the rights to it. (Otherwise, deal off.) This is absolutely essential. Otherwise, your creation could be 'twisted' to evil purposes. In fact, you could be expressly being targeted because of your stances. Baddies love to screw-over naïve goodies...

Best Wishes,
Ray B.

Visible said...

Yeah Ray, I know and it is why I am fixed on that issue and why I wouldn't cut a deal with the devil of ANY amount of money, ever. I've held out on principle. I could have done certain things a long time ago at great spiritual cost so I didn't do them; instead leaving it in God's hands. He will decide what happens to me and NO ONE ELSE.

Guldur said...

Dear Vis,
thans for sharing this. Personally, I am of the opinion you should insist on your exact version of the song and lyrics, as only the author himself really knows best what that is all about and why he did that piece.
It always is (should be) internal issue, at least for me it ever had been - saying this as a former musician and lyrics composer (kind of pagan/melancholic Black metal, heh).
As you said here and there - true artist doesn´t care about anything else than the art itself (or something like that) - audience or opinions regardless.
Godspeed to you, sir!
Guldur

Anonymous said...

I have no idea of the remedy but that whole album is genius.

bodhati

Anonymous said...

Hello Les,

I had an experience 30 years ago with "big money" types, I had come up with a way of handling data on networks, put together a team of engineers, developed not only a business plan but a working "proof of concept" prototype, and got utterly robbed when trying to obtain "angel" financing.

I don't mean to be a downer, but here's the bottom line in a nutshell: Big money ALWAYS wins. The courts are utterly corrupt, they work for the big money types, and there's literally nothing anyone outside of the big money circle can do about it. If they want to take something, they will, and then they will use their money, power, and influence to not only protect their ill-gotten gains, they will use it to "prove" that they came up with it and anyone who says otherwise is a liar, a loser, and a fool.

All I can say is to give it your best, but don't forget how things really are, and ultimately it's all in the hands of the Ineffable.

Best regards,
Elliott E.

Love To Push Those Buttons said...

Thanks for the link. My flat mate will love it. He actually worked with Skip, and has some collaborations up somewhere. I'll post the link when Brian tells me where it is, exactly.

Hereticdrummer said...

I really hope this works out for you, VIS. I agree with you on fame. When I was 15 I was asked to join a hot rock n' roll band. The bassist was from NYC (he had moved to NJ after his parents divorced). Brilliant, talented, and charismatic, we instantly became best friends and were inseparable. To get out of a toxic relationship I enlisted in the Red, White, & Blue Murder Machine (a very common occurrence) while he married a beautiful, millionaire's daughter he met in college. When I got out of the Service we did one more band together in the late 70s in NYC. Our manager and he had started a digital imagery business in Manhattan. As the band broke up, the business took off like a rocket and my friend seized total control of it. Once he got super rich in the early 80s, he broke contact with me. Fast forward to 2011, and the death of a mutual acquaintance prompted him to get back in touch. He was and had been living in the Dakota and was incredibly wealthy,his clients the biggest corporations in the world. We were talking on the phone and the subject of fame came up. He said that because of his media business, he came into contact with countless celebrities and celebrity wannabes over the years. He said without exception, they would do anything for fame and fortune, including selling their mothers, sisters, and daughters into sexual slavery and being filmed having sex with quadruped animals. Literally anything. He broke contact again until last year when he was dying of cancer and asked me to come see him. I saw him on March 31st of 2019, a wasted, decaying shell of a man, so fucked up on morphine I could not communicate with him. He died on April 17th, mere days later. LTPTB; Skip Spence put out these 2 horrendous albums, "Oar" & "More Oar" that my brother unfortunately bought. You could tell he was basically brain dead when he did them.

Love To Push Those Buttons said...

THE SPENCE/VAUGHAN COLLABORATIONS:

ETERNITY'S GATE

There are 5 tunes out now on SoundCloud for streaming.

"Unearthly Estate"

https://soundcloud.com/haarp-recording/unearthly-estate-eternitys-gate

"When Lighting Strikes"

https://soundcloud.com/haarp-recording/when-lighting-strikes-eternitys-gate

"Land Of The Sun"

https://soundcloud.com/haarp-recording/land-of-the-sun-eternitys-gate

"Space Song" Version 2

https://soundcloud.com/haarp-recording/space-song-version-2-eternitys-gate

"Carrying The Torch" (first Mix)

https://soundcloud.com/haarp-recording/carrying-the-torch-first-mix-eternitys-gate

All guitars: Skip Spence & Brian Vaughan, Synthesizers, bass, & drum machine: Brian Vaughan, Electronic drums & percussion: Beaux Davis. All recording: Brian Vaughan.

All the guitar tracks were recorded between 1995 & 1998.

Cheers,

B.V.

Overcomer said...

Elliott E.,

'Big money ALWAYS wins.'

'Existence' is a cosmic simulator used to test and correct Creation. It houses a built in safety mechanism which incorporates 'karma' to refine that which comes into form. God, being the absolute King of all of Creation, knew the end from the beginning, so there was never any doubt that God, and those who love God, would prevail.

Wealth builds a chasm between one's self and that which is Divine, so while the rich and powerful have won many battles they lost the only war that really mattered, the cosmic war for control of their consciousness. World war III is a battle for our hearts, minds and soul. Those who pursue gold over God lose their soul in the process, which negates their passage beyond this realm.

When one views the outcome from the highest possible perspective, which encompasses the eternal, I would say God ALWAYS wins, and those who love God. The outcome for Lazarus and the rich man, Luke 16::19-31, bears witness to this. I have first hand experience that also validates this truth. As Vis says, I only had to convince myself. I am a hard convert, not at all religious, I followed Christ's example by following the spiritual path. Everyone is in the process of being, so we all develop according to our own schematic. Whatever we do unto others is ALWAYS done back to us, so it only follows that intelligent people are compassionate, loving, caring, and just towards their fellow man. You can tell the less developed souls among us through what they are attracted to.

BY THEIR FRUITS YOU SHALL KNOW THEM

God Bless
Much love

Love To Push Those Buttons said...

Hereticdrummer, when I knew Skip Spence, he had a foot in both worlds. He was on nasty medications for his alleged 'schizophrenia', and he was somewhat of a mess. He was staying with his girlfriend, who really loved him. Mentally, he was starting to get better mentally after he was switched to a holistic doctor. He could still play guitar, though. His telepathic abilities seemed a lot higher than most, and it seemed The Veil was very thin for him. On the other hand, you needed a LOT of patience to deal with him. He was on a completely different wavelength from this world. (I like him in small doses, but I couldn't have dealt with him long term.)

A cat lived in the household with him. Sarah (The cat) died shortly after Skip. Those two had a strong bond.

He was destroyed by too many drugs, bad company, and the music industry itself. And yes, he was an irresponsible rock 'n roll slut. I could keep going, but why bother?!

Anonymous said...

Hereticdrummer,

Skip Spence pales in comparison to Syd Barret when it comes to being a casualty of the '60s Rock Scene.

Mandocello

Hereticdrummer said...

Mandocello; I agree, likewise Peter Green. God, there were so many of them. I came out of the 60s rock scene. Never made it, but played the hottest clubs in NYC in the 60s, late 70s, and early 80s and cut a few records on minor labels, one of which did well in France though me and my band-mates never got a dime from it. I think it was Kerouac who said the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom. For so many of that era, it lead to prisons, insane asylums, and graveyards. I skirted those areas more than a few times myself. LTPTB: Thank you for the info on Skip Spence. As a feline lover, I was very moved by the tale of his cat. If I'm not mistaken, Spence was the original drummer of the Jefferson Airplane before joining Moby Grape as a guitar player. Back then there was a plethora of music shows on the electronic Jew (TV). Most of the time the bands just "lip synched" to the recordings of their songs. I'll never forget seeing Moby Grape on one of them, it was either the Clay Cole or Lloyd Thaxton show. Spence, looking totally wasted, was sitting on a chair, singing along with a grin on his face while strumming a broom he had across his lap. What a guy.

Visible said...

I'm pretty sure it was William Blake who made that comment about the road of excess. I think so anyway from my Memory Palace.

Hereticdrummer said...

I believe you are correct, VIS.

Love To Push Those Buttons said...

Yes it was Blake. The one who originally pushed me into poetry along with Blue Oyster Cult who made me a manic poet for the time I was a poet. . .have since retired.

And now for something good from Moby Grape:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKnEaRW4djk

Queen of the Crow. My fave from them.

Hereticdrummer said...

Thanks for the link, LTPTB. My favorite Moby Grape song is, "Truck Driving Man." It really kicks, but is almost ruined by the pathetically limp, lead guitar break. A guitarist with balls would have made that song a total monster. (No offense, but my band-mates and I used to call, Blue Oyster Cult, Jew Oyster Cult. Like the Dictators, they were all Long Island, NY, Yids).

Visible said...

Heretic Drummer; That reminds me of The Beastie Boys; less than zero talent, big connections to the Jewish run music business, profane, nasty... you name it. Now they are legends, icons. Their name gets brought into conversations all over. I briefly heard some of their crap the other night toward the end of Season One of Patriot. I can't remember the song, something about going down. It made my skin crawl. The same is true of that puppet of theirs Kanye. I don't like to judge things unless I have some basis, so I subjected myself to half a dozen of his limp offerings. It was worse than I expected. I expected it to be bad but... not that bad. He is extolled as a GENIUS and he is only a Short Bus Boy. It astounds me that these people receive appreciation.

I was once backstage at a Jefferson Starship concert. I worked the angle of being the editor of The Woodstock Aquarian, which I was at the time. I remember looking right out on to the audience with the same perspective as the musicians had and I remember thinking that the musicians should have pails of raw meat to throw into the crowd. The bestial expressions on the faces in the audience were scary.

I recall wondering how one could play to such a group. Maybe it was just that night (Boston) or because I was high on psychedelics, I don't know. It was very real.

Too bad you're not nearby here in the Southwest, we could surely put some music together. I am presently searching for a collaborator with musical and engineering chops. One who has some mastery of keyboards or guitar and who understands the recording end and WHO DOES NOT HAVE a personality disorder. The angels will find someone.

Hereticdrummer said...

Thanks VIS, I am truly flattered. I wish I could drum behind you but aside from the location disparity, for about a year and a half now I've had Neuropathy/Parathesia on my right side from my shoulder down through my foot. I can function but it is painful with limited flexibility. It feels like there is liquid lead in my veins and arteries instead of blood. I say without bragging that when I was an active player, I was considered the best drummer around, not just by the audience but by the toughest critics of all, my fellow drummers in the bands we were competing against. Now that and a buck will get me a cup of coffee. We have to keep the motto of the Foreign Legion in mind, "I have no regrets." I know full well of what you speak. Talent is most definitely not the criterion for making it in the Jew owned and controlled music business. The stories I could tell you, and I know you have so many of your own. In the early 70s when I lost my marbles and enlisted in, "The Suck" (U.S. Navy) that haven for the lost and confused, I wasn't in for 3 months when I got an offer to try out to play for a solo artist in NYC named Elliot Murphy. (His real name was Jimmy Murphy but he thought Elliot sounded more like a rock star). The connection was my ex best friend, former band-mate and soon to be super rich media mogul who died last year of cancer I was telling you about. Murphy was a singer/songwriter, guitarist. I heard his stuff and was not impressed but my friend told me he had just inked a deal with CBS/Columbia, the biggest record label at that time. He was also getting fantastic press, write-ups in New Yorker magazine calling him a Bard and comparing him with Springsteen. (I'm not a Springsteen fan but he was erupting at that time). Naturally as much as I wanted to, I couldn't play for him as I was trapped in the Service. I was to find out ex post facto, indirectly from Murphy's wife, a very attractive, willowy Anglo, blue eyed blonde, who was friends with my friend's wife, who was also an extremely attractive Anglo, blue eyed blonde as well as a millionaire heiress, that to get his record deal, and the concomitant hype, Murphy had to be fucked in the ass by Danny Fields, the Jew homo A&R man that signed him to Colombia. Now the music business as well as entertainment in general is filled with fagots and Jews as you well know, but there are some heterosexuals involved. Murphy's pretty wife Geraldine had to open her legs and her mouth for some of the execs for him to get the deal as well. They both did these things without hesitation. Postscript: Elliot Murphy went nowhere and just withered on the vine. You will find who you are seeking, Brother.

Visible said...

Whoa! I never experienced anything like that but I wasn't up for it either. I am very sorry to hear of your mishaps. I have something of my own that is similar with my voice, losing the lower register to the attrition of aging. I have good days and bad days on that account. Meanwhile I have all these songs waiting to be recorded and hopefully a tech mind appears at some point. We shall see. It will be great to leave here. Perhaps we can meet up in the later on once we are gone.

Hereticdrummer said...

I'm sure we will, VIS.

Love To Push Those Buttons said...

OK. I'm here. What did I do this time? (I just had to ask.;O))

Visible said...

A new Dog Poet Transmitting podcast is up now. It was technically difficult to pull off and an important part was not included and that is a reading from the works of Swami Yogananda. I will be reading that in a new podcast, this evening I hope so that at least context will be served. Sorry about the glitches. I'm like to say it feels like something is messing with me but it could be my own shortcomings in the particular technology. You can find the episode here.

Love To Push Those Buttons said...

Podcast was excellent. All I can think of is a restraining order on your deranged pest.

Visible said...

LTPTB; Maybe you don't know that that fellow Marajit is the nasty individual responsible for my constantly being voted down at Pocketnet. You keep voting him up. That's okay and maybe you have a good reason but on the OFF CHANCE that you didn't know I thought I should tell you he is my mortal enemy and has even threatened to kill me.

Visible said...

Alright my friends, here is the second part of today's podcast This one went much better. Thank you for your patience

Love To Push Those Buttons said...

I know now.

Love To Push Those Buttons said...

Second podcast speaks of one of the biggest things wrong with the world, and how to fix that. Beautiful.

Visible said...

A new Visible Origami is up now-

"Sessions at The Stone Circle and Dancing with The Mother in the Wild Places Far from Town."

Anonymous said...

Damn I'm old....

It's been a while since I visited here.

Back in the day, not as far back as some of these stories, I recorded local bands as a hobby. I enjoyed it and they appreciated it, so it was a win-win. No money, or extraneous favors, were exchanged. (Scary stories there Mr H.D.) At times I was tempted to try the role of "manager", but having a solid full-time job, and doing a little research into the "music biz" quickly doused any such desires. Nuff said there.

Anyway, at the time I was recording there were many bands with amazing talent and considerably better material than what was being played on the radio. Somehow, none of these bands ever got any "official recognition", though locally they were well liked and popular.

I can think of several individuals from that period who would have fit your description quite well. Thus, I have this suggestion for you. Start attending some Thur/Fri/Sat lives shows at local bars in a college town. Rather than waiting for angels to lead you to them, perhaps you should try letting the angels lead you to them. Better yet, take up my old hobby and offer to record their shows for them for free. All you need is a laptop, some recording software and a couple of good mics. You can also record "rehearsals" at the band practices once you get to know them. With proper amplifier and mic placement you can get some incredible recordings rivaling studio quality. Actually, I preferred them over studio recordings as the naturally produced stereo field was authentic and you can hear that in the playback either with headphones or standing directly between the speakers.

Knowing one band will lead you to meeting others as they do shows together. If you like the other band, make the same offer. Eventually you will have an extraordinary collection of original music as well as the gratitude of a bunch of new friends.

Among all these folks, you will undoubtedly find talented recording engineers and talented musicians with pure hearts and souls. Speaking from experience, I did.

Mr. Nah






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