In the Crates #1:
Johnny D Versus JFA
In the early ’80s, skate punk roared out of Phoenix, led by a group of teenagers called Jodie Foster’s Army. On JFA’s 1983 full-length debut, Valley of the Yakes, vocalist Brian Brannon rails against preps, gossipers, cops, and Reagan. But he saves some of his gnarliest lyrics for a local radio deejay, a guy named Johnny D. […]
Rare And Unissued Arizona Fiddle
And String Band Music
As the fiddle drops...the newest release from Ramco Records; "Rare And Unissued Fiddle & String Band Music" '47-'50, featuring Eck Robertson, Curly Lewis, Carl Griswold, Everett Holman, Ardell Christopher, Clay Ramsey's Old Timers and others. From the Ramsey Radio Studio, just off 7th Street at Weldon, next to the barber shop. Informative notes by Mr. Joe Baker make this a must have [...]
You Gotta Have Soul: Raw Sonoran
R&B and Funk (1957-1971)
In the late ‘50s and on through the 1960s, Phoenix, Arizona, was home to a thriving R&B scene. Though no other song catapulted onto the national charts like Dyke and the Blazer’s signature “Funky Broadway,” inspired by the South Phoenix road of the same name, regional soul and funk acts picked up steam in the Valley of the Sun as established artists [...]
Direct from the Riverbottom Room at JD’s…..
Arizona's PHIL and the FRANTICS finally get the deluxe treatment on this new "Frantically Yours" CD from Ramco Records. Packed with 26 tracks, this long overdue Digipak package includes a big 24 page booklet, with extensive liners by historian Dan Nowicki and lots of unseen pictures and vintage labels for your visual delight. The full story of Phil Kelsey's career as told [...]
For All You Jazz Guitar Fans Out There…
A fantastic Jazz album by American jazz guitarist and composer LLOYD ELLIS, titled "Ellisintonia," with 26 tracks, many unreleased,on 1 CD, from the archives of Audio Recorders in Phoenix Arizona. Great takes on many standards, along with some Ellis originals, captured on tape in 1959-67 by Jack Miller and Dave Oxman. Ellis worked with: Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, Red Norvo [...]
Graded on a Curve: Mid-Century
Sounds: Deep Cuts from the Desert
Mid-Century Sounds: Deep Cuts from the Desert is the story of Phoenix, AZ-based studio operator, label owner, and publishing entrepreneur Floyd Ramsey, but per its title, it’s simultaneously a tour of music history spanning 1957 to 1973. Light on mindblowers but consistently engaging, the set offers 29 selections from an assortment of artists; the biggest name included is Waylon Jennings, as Duane Eddy twangs behind [...]
