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TimWho's next?
 June 29, 2001 SILVER ANNIVERSARY RE-ISSUE |
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SILVER ANNIVERSARY RE-ISSUE Available now! A special limited edition re-issue of David's extraordinary collaboration with former Weimar Bauhaus artist/poet, Rene Halkett. Originally released by 4AD in 1981 as a one off 7" single, this recording has been unavailable for many years and has achieved cult status amongst aficionados, sometimes fetching as much as $400 at auction. The silver anniversary CD will feature remastered versions of the two original tracks, 'Nothing' and 'Armour' as well as a brand new recording, 'The New God', a long narrative piece that Rene recorded in 1980 at the same as the other two poems, (Sadly, Rene died in 1983). David has set Rene's emotive voice against an evocative soundscape played, for the most part, on a beautiful Luta ( a cross between a lute and a guitar ) dating from the mid nineteenth century, which he inherited when Rene passed away. Also included on the disc, Rene's original spoken word renditions of 'Nothing' and 'Armour'. Each disc will be stamped with its own number and signed by David J. This unique item will be available exclusively via mail order and at David's live shows. The cost will be $20 (+ $3 p & p ) The edition will consist of 1000 copies. Please send money order or check to the following address: 449 Santa Fe Drive #103 Encinitas CA 92024 USA |
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David
J and Rene Halkett -
photo by Anton Corbijn 1980. |
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| philadelphia,
hoboken, and manhattan i think i shall begin with the clubs. one thing i have learned is that david's choice of venues is always impeccable. you will always feel relaxed and welcome wherever he is playing. the north star bar in philadelphia was my favourite. very subdued lights, a scattering of tables, the loft and even the nice tapestry used for the backdrop. simply wonderful. maxwell's in hoboken is also an ideal venue. very warm and a terrific staff. good food, good people, great music. another place you can make yourself at home. the knitting factory was a little different in texture than the other two, you could definitely tell you were in the big city. a fun bar. the crew there was also very friendly, especially guy and matt! (thanks again, guys!) there were actually chairs on the floor this time so everyone could just sit back and enjoy the music and the company. cozy also because there was a handful of familiar screenames/faces at the show. (it was great meeting everybody!) along with locations, i think another aspect i should mention is simply, the set lists. i'm not sure if anyone has talked about this yet or not, but david has done a fantastic job choosing the songs he has been playing on these acoustic tours. most of which are ones, if asked which would work the best acoustically, i would have to pick myself also. and then there are the covers! (why cant he put out a live record?!) he reinvents the songs and makes them his own. flawless and much better seen through his eyes, so to speak. okay here's the breakdown on the set lists: philly i hear only silence the dope show pilgrims martyrs and saints pulling arrows from our heels the auteur crocodile tears and the velvet cosh what it feels like for a girl mickey rourke blues ten little beauty queens dress sexy at my funeral shelf life hoagy carmichael never went to new orleans i'll be your chauffeur dog end of a day gone by being boring jersey and manhattan- silence dope show pilgrims arrows auteur crocodile what it feels like mickey rourke beauty queens dress sexy shelf life hoagy chauffeur dog end everybody wants to go to heaven who killed mr moonlight being boring david has really found his stride with the new songs, pulling arrows from our heels and the auteur. (both of which shall feature a string quartet on the upcoming 'estranged.') you could tell he was really into it, which just makes the shows so much better! he never missed a beat when he brought out the older classics either. and played with such gusto! his performances continue to get better and better! (april 24th on the digital club network, you can see for yourself as his show at maxwell's will be added to their archives.) and david was such a great guy! (in philly, he even brought out a bowl of fruit to share with the audience!) he kept a great sense of humor all week long. very approachable and very gracious-he was the perfect host. to david i say cheers and thanks again! and i also look forward to the pet shop boys tribute album, so keep me posted! bon anniversaire! |
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January 28, 2001 Big Wood Goes Under the Hammer |
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David J writes The year was 1990, the month, September, the location, Los Angeles, California. This being the occasion of the start of my first solo tour of the USA. 'Solo' being something of a misnomer, as the incomparable duo of Max Eider and Mister Jones, both former Jazz Butcher Conspiracy cohorts, on lead guitar (of course!) and cardboard box and attache case percussion kit, respectively, were also along for the ride. On September 6 we found ourselves playing at The Roxy Theatre on Sunset Boulevard. In attendance that night, one Joseph Strummer, formerly of The Clash. We had met Joe a couple of days before, when he turned up out of the blue at KCRW's bunker studio in Santa Monica, where we were booked to play a live session. Harry 'Derrick Smalls' Shearer also put in a surprise appearance and together with the DJ, Deardre O'Donahue, we all repaired to a local hostelry after the show. Much revelry and mirth ensued. Strummer told us that he would make it down to The Roxy for our gig. He was true to his word and following the show, insisted that we venture forth into the smoggy night in search of "Uncle Jose" (neat tequilla gold on the rocks). After an hour or so in the agreeable company of our Mexican friend, Joe made an impassioned plea. He started out by giving a considered assessment of that evenings musical entertainment. "Dave!" he hollered. "I've seen you play two times now, mate, and I need to tell you some thing. Right?" Intrigued, I encouraged him to continue. (Joe Strummer was very much instrumental in my being in the music business in the first place. It was after taking my little brother, Kevin, down to The 100 Club in 1976, to see The Sex Pistols supported by The Clash, playing their debut gig in London that, being completely inspired, we decided to form our own punk group, a band that, in a way, would eventualy mutate into Bauhaus. That gig remains to this day, the single most exciting live event that I have ever experienced. Period! I owed the man a lot and was certainly keen to take on board any advice that he was willing to impart. I was all ears!) "Right, you've got yourself a good little group here." He continued. "You've got Jones over there, buskin away with his fuckin' cardboard boxes and packing cases, it's like skiffle, fuckin' great, love it!" "You've got Max here, he's fuckin' brilliant, you want to hang on to him 'cos he's good, man!" "You, you've got some good songs there and on the whole it's sounding pretty damn good, apart from one thing . . . those fuckin' Ovation guitars!" "The thing is, you've got no bass player and you need that bottom end going to give it some fuckin' balls! Those fuckin' Ovations man, there's not enough wood to 'em. They've got that fuckin' plastic back and all you get out of 'em is fuckin' 'thwacky, thwacky!' What you need is The Big Wood! You've gotta get something like a big old jumbo Guild or a Gibson or a Gretch, just something with a nice fuckin' fat sound to it and not that fuckin' 'thwacky, thwacky shit! You look at any one who's any good, who plays an acoustic guitar, right! Neil Young, Steven Stills, Van fuckin' Morrison! What do they play? Yeah, that's right! The Big fuckin' Wood!" At this point he fell down on one knee in front of Barry the tour manager, to give the following heart felt advise. "Barry, look, I want you to promise me something! First thing tomorrow morning, you take those fuckin' Ovation shit guitars and throw 'em in the fuckin' river! Right?! Then you go down to Sunset and get him sorted out with a proper guitar. Right, and when you've found it, you want put on those big rockabilly fat fuckin' strings, like extra heavy gauge, but I'll warn you, they're fuckin' hard to hold down, and Dave, you've only got skinny little wrists n' fingers, so you're gonna have to do some fuckin' exercises mate, but if you can manage it, it's gonna be so much better! You'll get that real Big Wood Sound, you know! Ya gotta do it!" We took this sage advise very seriously and the next day searched the gum caked boulevard for our prize. Alas, 'Big Wood' was proving hard to find, then I spotted something in the back room of 'Guitars-R-Us'. A repair job, a newly restored Guild twelve string beauty, circa 1968. I asked the proprietor of the shop if this instrument was for sale, he told me that it was the pride and joy of some big time LA session player and that no way would he want to part company with it, he said that we were welcome to give him a call, just to make sure, but he really did not hold out much hope of a sale. 1990 was the most affluent year of my life. In 1989 we had a hit single on the national charts, our biggest selling album to date and a string of sold out concert tours, consequently, one was not short of a penny or two (My, how times have changed!) The Big Wood was not cheap but,having made the man an offer that he simply could not refuse, it was mine! We continued on our merry way, driving up to San Francisco for the next gig, singing songs all the way to the acompaniment of the Big Wood. Bowie's 'Starman' and The Stones' 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' were in heavy rotation that glad day. We ended up playing the later at 'The Knitting Factory' in New York, and to quote the chorus of that great song . . . "You can't aways get what you want But if you try sometimes, You get what you need." David J Subsequently the Guild F 412 Blonde acoustic twelve, was used on David's solo live dates and recordings, as well as being used by Daniel Ash on various Love and Rockets recording sessions and concerts through out the nineties. It was Daniel's thrashing right hand that was responsible for the patina above the fret board! Inside the guitar, there is a card depicting Mister Strummer. Now, this legendary historic instrument can be yours! It will be auctioned on eBay starting at 10 am Thursday, February 1 and ending at 10 am Saturday, February 10. The starting price will be $1200. This money will, again, go towards the cost of the completion of the next solo album. The ribbon is in sight and who ever helps us past the finishing line through the purchase of this special instrument will be the recipient of a signed letter of authenticity as well as having their name added to the ever growing list of auction winners that will grace the CD's sleeve. |
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Big
Wood alone
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photo by Helena J. Waldmann. David with Big Wood, live at The Knitting Factory, New York 1990. Owen Jones in background. |
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January 14, 2001 Untitled #1 |
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Untitled by David J dimensions 8"x 5" One of a series of collages. |
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December 22, 2000 Review of David's acoustic show at the Knitting Factory, Los Angeles 12/20 |
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November 1, 2000 Review of David's acoustic show at the Howling Wolf, New Orleans 10/31 |
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October 24, 2000 What David is currently listening to... |
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October 15, 2000 Review of David's acoustic show at the Baltic Room, Seattle on 8/23 |
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My apologies to everyone about the tardiness of this review. I'm a stickler for having my writings be "just right" and hyper-critical of it. Thanks to Rebecca Nowell for pushing me to write this. I'm still a "newbie" to David's solo work, so my apologies also for any song titles that I screw up or songs I didn't recognize from any given source. The show in Seattle was wonderful with a full acoustic set of just David & a guitar. He talked very little between songs other than a few words like "this song is from my forthcoming album" and things like that. He did say in a prelude that "Crocodile Tears..." has been a song that has been constantly rewritten over the last 20 years, and that "Hogey Carmichael" was written during a stay in New Orleans ("N'awleans" as they call it, he said) during a L&R tour and was about some bloke up in NY who lived in an apartment and had never really travelled, so he never went to New Orleans... I, unfortunately, have never seen a David J show prior to this, nor one for L&R, Bauhaus, or the like, even though I have been a L&R fan for YEARS! It was quite a pleasure seeing the show and catching a glimpse of a musical genius at work up close & personal with the acoustic small venue. The set list was (with notes): "Wear A Sexy Outfit To My Funeral" "Shelflife" -- after he sang the first line "How many...to change a light bulb?" someone had dropped her glass of beer. He stopped the song and said "i guess we know now!", which got a nice chuckle from everyone, and then he continued the song. "Hot Sheet Hotel" -- the first song he did from the new album; he told a story about how hotels usually put chocolates on the pillows but the place he was staying at in Seattle (on Capitol Hill; Seattle's largest [open?] population of the gay community) had placed two condoms on his pillow instead, each of different styles. "Beauty Queens" -- this was a really cool rendition where he tossed in some impromptu vocals (oohs and yeahs and things like that), and it really built to a great climax as he counted off the final beauty queens. "Crucify Me" -- I don't recall this was from one of his albums or not, but I didn't recognize it. the song started off with the lyrics "Sometimes it gets so bad..." "Pilgrims, Martyrs, And Saints" -- a nice light song in the middle of the set; i liked this version better than the album version with his improvised style. "Pulling Arrows From Our Heels" -- the second song he played from his upcoming album; i don't recall much about it, however, but it sounded really good and had a L&R style to it. "Crocodile Tears & The Velvet Cosh" -- as mentioned, he talked a bit before the song about how it's been a work-in-progress for years; some of the lyrics seemed different [again!] from the original version. "Au Contraire, I Do" -- the final of three songs from the soon-to-be released album; another light song with a strumming guitar rhythm that reminded me of some of the songs from Seasons and Urbane. "Hogey Carmichael Never Went To New Orleans / I'll Be Your Chauffeur" -- this one (as mentioned) had a small story that preambled the song; after the song was complete he segued immediately into Chauffeur and got a big round of applause for the song (which seemed to be the one that most everyone was familiar with of the set). "Sea Of Heartbreak" / "Mickey Rourke Blues" -- both of these songs I didn't recognize; Mickey Rourke Blues was a wonderfully witty song about not getting an oscar and life in Hollywood, beating up people, and things like that... it ended the set. David then thanked everyone for coming and walked down the aisle of people to the "dressing room"; people cheered for an encore but he never came back out; about 45 mins went by and people started to leave (myself included) once the club DJ started to set up his equipment while David's guitars were being packed up. I'm really envious of Rebecca and others who happened to get encore performances -- especially of such great songs! by Ed Miller |
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October 11, 2000 Review of David's acoustic show at Fletcher's, Baltimore on 10/2 |
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I may be a bit biased, but I thought David played extremely well that night! No offense to Amilcar, but I loved that David wasn't sharing the stage with anyone! He came out with his bottle of wine in hand (for some reason the bar DIDN'T have glasses!) and perched himself on the stool. I was very glad he decided to do an acoustic thing this time around! It was so much more personal and cozy to see. Reminded me of my halcyon days at the coffee houses in Texas a hundred years ago! Anyway, the acoustic versions of the older solo stuff as well as the Love and Rockets were beautifully done! And I must say, that I was one of those people chomping at the bit to hear moonlight! I was so happy he did that one as well! And of course the new songs were terrific. I like them more and more every time I hear them! I wonder how they will sound on the records? All in all, it was a very ethereal show! Simply delightful! Here's the set list: Dress sexy at my funeral Shelf life Hot sheet hotel 10 little beauty queens Crucify me The auteur Pulling arrows from our heels Pilgrims martyrs and saints Crocodile tears and the velvet cosh Au contraire Hoagy carmichael never went to new orleans I'll be your chauffeur Mickey rourke blues - for the motorcycle boy in rumble fish Encore 1 Dog end of a day gone by- for Danny Encore 2 Who killed mr moonlight- for Peter Encore 3 Being boring- for his baby brother Kevin Thanks so much David for having me as a guest as well as for everything else you've done! You know what I mean! And get your butt to DC so we can see you play again! Rebecca Nowell |
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September 4, 2000 Review of David's acoustic show at Johnny Foley's Cellar, San Francisco on 8/24 |
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I myself was at the show and was in the last seat of the front row! David did a beautiful performance. Luckily I was talking to the opening act Yuji Oniki, who I also enjoyed, and he took me back to meet David! It was a short meeting, but very memorable! The "Who Killed Mr. Moonlight?" deal was truly a very spontaneous thing, he had told me he wasnt even sure if he could remember the chords! but it turned out great. Looking for ward to the new album! I have some pics as well that i will try to get on here as soon as possible. By Jessika Cebra |
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September 4, 2000 Review of David's acoustic show at Johnny Foley's Cellar, San Francisco on 8/24 |
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by Strangelets |
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August 30, 2000 Review of David's acoustic show at Johnny Foley's Cellar, San Francisco on 8/24 |
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i just wanted to drop a note about the David J show I saw at the Cellar at Johnny Foley's. Incredible is just the tip of the icing. I just happened to be on vacation in San Francisco this past week and was able to catch his show at the Cellar. Well, my girlfriend and I got there early to eat dinner upstairs and when we went down to the Cellar we got very strong goose bumps to see that the stage was about 30 x 30 and there was about 3 people there. so we were able to get a front seat :-) By the time the show started, the Cellar was full and then the man came out!! The new material was great and sounds very exciting (he said that he's trying to get it out early next year) and of course his older solo material is always good to hear again, he played an amazing "Crocodile Tears and the Velvet Cosh"!!!. Then the Love and Rockets material; he first played "Shelf Life" (which was so weird as I was just saying at dinner that that would be so cool if he played it because it was the one song that they didn't play at their shows). Then he played "Dog-End of a Day Gone By" (just incredible). If that was not enough, he ended the night by telling everyone that the next number he wasn't sure about how it would come out because he's never performed it live before. When the second note on the guitar was hit, a cold chill ran through my body, one that I had not felt since the first note of "Double Dare" was played in LA at the Bauhaus shows. He played an acoustic " Who Killed Mr. Moonlight?" that was by far one of the highlights of my vacation and the show for me it was too incredible for words. (THANK YOU SO MUCH DAVID) by Craig Mannino |
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August 24, 2000 David's setlist at Johnny Foley's Cellar in San Francisco 8/24 |
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Dress Sexy At My Funeral (Bill Callaghan/Smog) Shelf Life Hot Sheet Hotel Ten Little Beauty Queens If Anything Should Happen To You Pilgrims, Martyrs and Saints Pulling Arrows From Our Heels Crocodile Tears And The Velvet Cosh Au Contraire Hoagy Carmichael Never Went To New Orleans I'll Be Your Chauffeur Sea Of Heartbreak Mickey Rourke Blues (Encore) Dogend Of A Day Gone By Who Killed Mister Moonlight? |
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October 11, 1999 A God In An Alcove/Boys |
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Another
single that never was -a double A side single of A God In An Alcove
and Boys as designed by the in-house artist, David. You may also
recall he designed the sleeve for another single that didn't happen,
Silent Hedges.
Note on the right side of the sleeve is the English sign language
interpretation of "Bauhaus".
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August 31, 1999 This August David J has been listening to and liking the following. . |
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and Love - Meg Lee Chin A Little touch of Schmilsson in the Night - Harry Nilsson Histoire de Melody Nelson - Serge Gainsbourg Traveling Miles - Cassandra Wilson Os Mutantes - Os Mutantes Fantasma - Cornelius The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death - John Fahey (unreleased demos) - Sci Fi Lullaby No One is Really Beautiful - Jude The Complete Decca Recordings - Billie Holiday New Rock - Buffalo Daughter The K&D Sessions - Kruder & Dorfmeister |
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March
10, 1999 |
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spent a good part of 1996 in Los Angeles and was fortunate enough
to meet Doctor Leary on several occasions during his final year on
this planet. The last time I saw him as at one of his "salon style"
soirees at his home in Beverly Hills. Before leaving, I took the opportunity
to thank him for his imparted wisdom which he shrugged off with a
shake of the head, a smile and a typical, "come again, anytime!". The last time we spoke was over the phone, when, unaware of the extent of his physical decline, I invited him to attend Love And Rockets' show at the Palace in L.A. He thanked me and said that he would love to go but, due to the fact that he was bedridden and in great pain, this would be impossible. He said that he would be there in spirit and concluded our brief conversation with the words, "Love, Love, Love.". That night I dedicated our song "Yin and Yang (the flowerpot man)" to the good Doctor. Nine weeks later, he died. On the second of June, we played a show at the Newport Music Hall in Columbus, Ohio. Before the encore of "Yin and Yang", I once again made a dedication, saying, "Doctor Timothy Leary died two days ago. His last word was 'Beautiful.'. This is for Tim." The chorus of this song is a simple repetition of 'Beautiful'. As Daniel struck up the introduction, he caught the strings of his guitar oddly and instead of the usual Bo Diddley rhythms a strange gnarly sound issued forth, which vibrated into a spiral of eerie feedback. It ricocheted around the hall. Much to my delight, Daniel let it ring. I walked over to him and started to beat out a tattoo on the wooden body of his twelve string. As this incredible sound sustained and evolved, the audience entered into spontaneous clapping accompaniment. Kevin joined in kicking out the beat on his bass drum. To this building tribal backing, the extraordinary feedback went through a series of ascents and dives before leveling out into a deep primal drone. Daniel then flailed into the regular rhythm and the song began (again!)...Beautiful! |
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Feburary 25, 1999 Whatever
happened to Lewis Furey? |
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A
lost classic.
"Here's one for ya!" The epitome of dark glam in vaudeville drag. A bitter pill coated in sugar candy production values. 'Transformers' bastard son. Whatever happened to the sniper in the brain of Aladdin Sane? Blood stains on satin. The wolf is lickin' his chops. Slaughterhouse death rattle in velvet. Midnight blues for screaming queens on fire before the match was struck. Grandiloquent grand piano and banjo blues serenade 'my poetic young man'. "How very apro-pro." I cast you as... The next Bauhaus cover (?!?) Dead roses from the school of hard knocks. Glamorous ghosts at the Iroquois hotel. Iggy's slutty sister in horrorshow garb at the bar. High strung strings strangle the melody. A murder of cabaret crows. A gauntlet thrown to the drab boys. 'Oh what a lucky man!' Enter the reverbed sax, stage left. Rinky tink piano clusters burst like over ripe grapes. 'Romance _________ take a chance!' chandeliers swing, casting shadows on an eyebrow. Max Factor smack 'Rubber gun show'. 'That crazy last dance'. 'Who got the bag?' ...and the coloured girls sing... full tilt in overland. Crack the mirror, raid the closet and pose to... 'songs of coldness, songs of lust songs of betrayal, songs of trust songs that fill ya, songs that make ya glad, and songs like this, songs that are sad.' Cold fire, deep and hard, sacred and profane. 'This is the eye of the storm' a novel in the grooves. Electric camp, the lie that tells the truth. Overwrought and magnificent. The dying cry of a mascara-ed barfly drowning in florid sound. 'The humours of Lewis Furey.' What ever happened? Where were you in seventy two? Where is my copy on vinyl? David J L.A. 1999 |
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February 17, 1999 HELLO ERIK |
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Your Question(s): hey david, i am an aspiring bass player and i am interested in your style. how long have you been playing? what kind of basses do you own and what is your favorite? who are your influences? who do you appreciate these days? (from Erik Urban) I
have been playing bass since 1973 (yes I am an old man!). My first
bass was a cheap electric 6 string guitar with the top two strings
removed. My first real instrument was a Fender Precision fretless
which I bought new in 1974. This was the bass that I used all through
Bauhaus and with Love and Rockets up until 1995 when it was destroyed
in a fire. As soon as I tried the fretless it felt right and I have
stuck with that type ever since. My current favorite bass is a '72
edition Fender Premium, a beautiful instrument. Other than this
I have an Eko acoustic bass, a Fernandes fretless (slinky!) and
a vintage Gibson circa 1959, a blond beauty. As far as influences
in the bass department go. The big seminal one was early '70's reggae,
the first music that really 'turned me on' and if I had to pick
a name it would be the mighty Errol "Flabba" Holt. (Dubitman!) As
for other genres and players go.... Let's hear it for the following:
Bootsy Collins. Fernando Saunders, Steve Currie from T.Rex, Jah
Wobble, the great Charles Mingus, Paul McCartney circa 1966, John
Cale, and the brilliant Danny Thompson (who played on my '92 solo
recording 'Urban Urbane'-we also did a version of Bolan's 'Spaceball
Ricochet' (Danny used to play with Bolan) which is unreleased but
hopefully not for long.). Suede's Matt Osman plays bass with taste
as do Marco Neson from Primal Scream, yer man from the Lo-Fidelity
Allstars *, the phenomenal Chris Wood of 'Medeski Martin and Wood'
and a player for yesterday and today the masterful Jerry Scheff.
Primal Scream, yer man from the Lo-Fidelety Allstars |
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Various-
Gravikords, Whirlies & Pyrophones (Ellipsis Arts)
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