Radio Birdman interviewed 8/30/06 - Backstage at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles

Present: Kim Cooper (LITG), Chris Masuak (CM), Deniz Tek (DT), Rob Younger (RY)

Last Wednesday afternoon I wound my way south through the secret north/south axis of the city's center, on my way to a happening that might have sprung fully formed out of one of my more frisky juvenile fantasies: my all-time favorite rock and roll combo since 1983, the mighty Radio Birdman, were making their debut US appearance tonight in the grand art deco Wiltern Theater in my home town of Los Angeles.

Two decades' journalistic celebration of Birdmen and its offshoots have earned me the friendship of the band's leaders, so it was with knowledge that a backstage pass awaited that I parked around the corner from the venue, just up the block from L. Ron Hubbard's first Scientology offices. What a kick to see the letters RADIO BIRDMAN on that lovely green marquee.

I first buzzed and gained access to the front door, only to be directed round the back, where sound check was just finishing. As the door closed behind me, a couple of lithe young ladies made a dash for it, just catching the wood before it slammed. I mentioned this to guitarist Deniz Tek a few minutes later, when he expressed concern that the group might not be able to fill such a huge hall, noting that when teenage girls are sneaking in, you don't have much to worry about. "Teenage girls...?" he mused, "We never had teenage girl fans—except you, of course!" These are different, and better times, it seems. So a few hours before the band defeated a criminally unskilled sound man with a career-spanning performance packed with poetry and raw power, I sat down with three of the original Birdmen for a brief chat about the state of the band in 2006, and their expectations for the tour to come.

Lost in the Grooves: Is "Zeno Beach" the record you would have done after "Living Eyes," or is this a building on what you've all done individually and together?

Deniz Tek: No, we couldn't have made it after "Living Eyes." It's the result of all those years of individual experience and collective Radio Birdman experience.

Rob Younger: Yeah, it is, I think.

LITG: So you think it's just a merging of all of your influences and everything that's come before?

DT: It's actually the next New Christs record.

LITG: I thought so! It sounds a lot like the New Christs.

DT: A lot of people have said that to me.

RY: That's bollocks, that's just bollocks.

LITG: It's overdue.

DT: But I think so.

LITG: Who do you think is coming to see Radio Birdman in America?

DT: Well, Kim Cooper for one.

RY: There were a lot of names on that guest list I recognized. (laughter)

above: Carmen Hillebrew with Jack Lord and Rob Younger, after the show

DT: I suppose it would be a mixture of musicians, record collectors, people who sort of go into music, rock and roll history a little bit more deeply than average. Otherwise how would they know about it? Or maybe a few people who have come on board with the Sub Pop compilation, because I think there was some word of mouth about the band before that—bands would talk about who they liked, and a lot of bands like our band, whereas not very many people in the general population would know about it, but bands know about it. And they'd talk about it—people couldn't find the records in America, it would be difficult, until the Sub Pop thing.

Chris Masuak: There are some guys from San Diego coming up who were involved with fanzines. Kenzo—I can't remember his fanzine, but he used to have a fanzine about the Tribesmen, New Christs.

DT: It's definitely kind of a small following—hoping to become bigger.

above: Art & Steve Godoy with occasional bandmate Deniz Tek, after the show

RY: Yeah, my friend James said people really only know our first album here, don't even know the second one, let alone had a chance to worry about the third one.

LITG: That's true. I had to go to England to get the second one.

RY: But there's stuff from "Living Eyes" on "The Essential" [Sub Pop comp], that's what he was saying, cos it was released here, that first one, "Radios Appear."

LITG: How did it come about, you coming to America?

DT: There were a couple of stabs at it over the last five years or so, but none of it panned out because we couldn't afford to come. And I guess finally with the new album, it gave us enough momentum to get enough good gigs to make it possible.

LITG: You released it independently in Australia, right?

DT: Yeah.

LITG: So how's Yep Roc been for you? They treating you well?

DT: Yeah, they seem to be. They've done a good job so far with setting up interviews and promotion and stuff like that, and they've been really pleasant and easy to work with. I think—I was talking to Rob about this—they're small enough that it's that middle layer of record companies. We wouldn't get anywhere at all with a big label, we'd just be put on the back shelf or under the rug and no one would ever hear of us again and nothing would happen, whereas with that middle layer, it's big enough to get distributed around, but not so big that we get lost, cos you're not, y'know, a big earner.

RY: They remember your first name.

LITG: Is there someone at the label who is a long time fan?

RY: Not that I know of.

CM: I think that there label's devoted to stuff that they consider to be almost eclectic or artistic.

DT: Artistic and underappreciated, maybe.

CM: Yeah, that seems to be their reason.

LITG: So it's sort of a boutique—everything in it's worth looking at, cos it's been curated.

CM: I'd rather be curated than be in a boutique, though! (laughter) You don't want to get too precious.

DT: If you're curated, that means you've been put in a museum.

LITG: Under glass, or in a gallery, maybe.

CM: I don't want that, either.

LITG: It's not waxworks, it's rock and roll. Favorite song on the record?

DT: "Locked Up." That's my favorite one today, cos I just heard it.

RY: I like "Remorseless," probably cos we haven't been playing it for a while.

DT: Yeah, we should put that back in the set. It's not in tonight's, but we'll do it tomorrow night.

LITG: Any surprise cover versions for the tour?

DT: Oh, there might be a cover version, but it won't be a surprise to anyone. (laughter)

LITG: Does it start with a T and end with an E? [e.g. "T.V. Eye"]

DT: Nope.

LITG: Is it a really long word? ["Transmaniacon MC"]

RY: Same band. [it turned out to be "Search and Destroy," and it was a knockout]

LITG: Ohhh, okay. I think those are all the questions I want to pester you with. Thank you gentlemen!

Watch this space for more Radio Birdman coverage, including rock critic Don Waller's no holds barred take on the band's place in the pop pantheon circa 1976 and today.

In their first release since the desolate and stunning Living Eyes (1981), Radio Birdman incorporates broad swaths of vocalist Rob Younger's solo sound, that anxious, angry garage rock that used to come stamped with the New Christs logo. Mix that with the natural ebullience of a consortium of musical brothers delighted to have found their shared rhythm anew, and you've got an original, enticing return to form. Songwriting duties are now shared, with strong offerings throughout. High points include Deniz Tek's "Die Like April," a haunted, psychedelic reel, Tek/Younger's aggressive "We've Come So Far" and Pip Hoyle's self-mythologizing "The Brotherhood of Al Wazah" and canivalesque title track. It sounds nothing like what they've done before, and yet it feels absolutely like Radio Birdman, with all the intelligence, passion and faith in the transcendent power of rock and roll that implies. Their debut American tour launches at the end of August in Los Angeles; watch this space for a full report.

Geek Factor: Obscure Great Recordings: How many of you are unmitigated music geeks? A person for whom each obscure album that gets a glimmer of praise becomes a new holy grail, becomes an excuse (not that you need one, really) to go to every second hand shop within a 150 mile radius or endlessly surf the net, because you MUST have this slab of bliss? More importantly, you don't just hoard your latest find. You then make the rounds stopping by friends' flats or calling them to spread the news (and perhaps play the thang), and hopping on to e-mail lists and bulletin boards, to share this wonderful, new-to-you music that has made your life just a bit better.

If this description is in any way accurate, then let me recommend a book to you. Lost In The Grooves will keep you busy for a while. Let me also recommend buying some small Post-Its or some highlighter markers, because it's possible you might destroy the book if you just dog ear the pages every time your interest is piqued.

This tome is the latest inspired creation from Kim Cooper and David Smay, the folks behind Scram magazine and the editors of the excellent book Bubblegum Music Is The Naked Truth. The premise of this book is quite simple – have a bunch of music experts write about their favorite obscure and overlooked albums. There are no other restrictions. Going alphabetically by artist, the book ranges far and wide, from outsider music to jazz, from bubblegum (natch) to ‘80s college rock, from funk to power pop.

The quality of the writing is surprisingly high. There are a few dud reviews, where the writer either just mailed it in, or simply didn't adequately describe the work to allow for even a scintilla of appreciation. However, most of the entries are well done, and give you a firm understanding of why the writer is still ga-ga about the record. Indeed, the book is saturated in enthusiasm – these aren't, for the most part, guilty pleasures, but secrets that have remained secrets too long.

Cooper and Smay have tapped a wide variety of writers (though I suspect they could have easily filled 200 pages with their own personal entries), including some musicians and other inspired choices. Off the top of my head, I recall that Sonic Youth's Jim O'Rourke (who praises the dickens out of Propaganda by Sparks – my kinda guy!), The Dream Syndicate's Steve Wynn, Radio Birdman's Deniz Tek, The Long Ryders' Sid Griffin, Deke Dickerson, Doug Gillard and cartoonist Peter Bagge have some entries. (NOTE: Speaking of cartoons, props to Tom Neely's excellent illustrations, which meld the indie style of Bagge with a ‘50s jazz record sensibility). There are plenty of first rate rock writers, including the late Greg Shaw, Gene Sculati, Domenic Priore, Carl Cafarelli and Fufkin scribes Gary Pig Gold and Michael Lynch. Heck, even novelist Rick (The Ice Storm) Moody contributes.

Let me string together some entries, just by randomly opening the book. Starting on page 139, you go from the arty power pop of The Loud Family to the hi-fi organ of The Magic Fingers Of Merlin And His Trio, to the Mickey Mouse parody rock concept album from Frenchman Michel Magne. Let's go to page 64 – Swamp Dogg's oddball soul, Johnny Dowd's dark country sounds and the Dream Lake Ukelele Band, followed by the rap group Dream Warriors. One more for the road – page 179 starts with Brit folkies Pentangle, followed by the one and only Pere Ubu, and then the song poems of dental assistant Linda Perhacs, and next, the top Papa, John Phillips. Here is where someone can defend Yes's Tormato in the same volume that Buckner and Garcia's Pac-Man Fever gets sincere props. (Mike Bennett, Fufkin.com, February 2005)

The Lipstick Killers' Mesmerizer is a Lost in the Grooves exclusive. Click to sample the music or purchase.

The Lipstick Killers Mesmerizer (Citadel, Australia, 1984)

On the strength of a Deniz Tek-produced 45 issued by Bomp subsidiary Voxx in 1979, Sydney’s Lipstick Killers decamped for Los Angeles and dreams of Northern hemisphere success. They lasted a year in the cozy grime of the Tropicana Motel and a bug-infested Silverlake apartment, playing about a dozen gigs, including a Brian Jones memorial at the Whisky and at Madame Wong’s with the Plimsouls. Mesmerizer is the document of one of these shows, recorded on cassette by Flesh Eater Chris D., cleaned up nicely and released posthumously on Radio Birdman crony “Brother” John Needham’s Citadel imprint. In the absence of an official studio album, this high energy set stands as slightly sloppy but irresistible evidence of the band’s magic. Over twelve songs, including terrific covers of the Chocolate Watchband’s “Let’s Talk About Girls” and the Elevators’ “I’ve Got Levitation,” the Lipstick Killers swagger like the Hindu gods of their signature song, all power chords, tribal drums and perfectly controlled frenzy. The band’s originals come across like unknown frat rock standards gene-spliced with a finely honed blend of psychedelia and DIY punk energy. Insinuation was their strong suit: “Dying Boy’s Crawl” and “Strange Flash” get right under your skin and pull you bodily towards the music. Maybe a band this tight and moody was nothing special on the Sydney scene, but they must have blown their L.A. competition sideways. Unfortunately, the usual band problems intruded--mental illness, money, the singer getting a day job to pay rent on the communal flat--and the Killers called it quits. The members eventually wound their way back to Australia, where they still occasionally play as the Lipstick Killers. When I saw them open for Radio Birdman in 2002 they fulfilled every promise of Mesmerizer and more. (Kim Cooper, from the book Lost in the Grooves)