Radio Free California Episode 2123, plus the story of my latest single.

 

Very solid week for new music, featuring Danny Elfman, The Scurbats, me, Ceasless Groove, Ainsley Costello, Dave Koz with Cory Wong, Sparks with an all-star cast, Paulsen-Shepler, Olivia Rodrigo, Lou Barlow, 2 tracks from the amazing Rodrigo Aguilera and so much more. Enjoy!

Here is a listing of this week's artists, and as per usual these are twitter handles unless otherwise marked:

@ChairWarriors
@dannyelfman
@CrownLandsMusic
@animeraider
the_linda_lindas (Instagram)
thescurbats (Instagram)
Camilo C Ramirez, who so far you can only find at
https://open.spotify.com/artist/44GDajKe82HK6lHlSYVcA9
kostas_theflip (Instagram)
@STORMDRAIN7

raguileras1 (Instagram, but also check him out on Spotify) - https://open.spotify.com/artist/36CXgvYqOsyjWqNnKpMCqC
Aaron W. Kaufman (No social media presence I could find)
@ModernAmusemen2
ajpaulsen (Instagram)
@DansikDave (I hope I picked the right profile)
https://www.facebook.com/ceaselessgroove/
@Prettybnd
@DaveKozMusic and @corywong
@ainsleymusic07
@opeels
@sparksofficial with Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard and @simonhelberg
@JuliaJacklin with https://www.facebook.com/RVGBAND/
@bccamplight
@Olivia_Rodrigo
@bachelor_band
@dispatchmusic
@TheLouBarlow
@texastheband
@jorgeelbrecht
@blackberrysmoke with @thewarrenhaynes
@magiccastles

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I've had a storied and almost-successful career as a musician. Here's one story, about the 4th song on this week's RFC.

So way back in the way back when I used to record under the name Jim Christopher. It was recommended that I do this to avoid confusion with the lead singer of Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, who is also named Chris Reed. I released two albums under that name, and recorded a third between the first two. The first album happened in 1990, after a surprise club hit I recorded in 1989 called "Favorite Partner", recorded complete on acoustic instruments. I recorded an album to back that all up, but I always knew it was going to be a one-off. I had never really worked in the style but I struck while the iron was hot, and then went back to what I was doing.

What I was doing was alt-pop/rock - sort of as an extension of where my old band ASK was going. After the unexpected success of my first album, with radio play on hundreds of radio stations despite no record deal and very little promotion, I wanted people to discover the real me. So I recorded a demo with full production values and called it The Jack Acid Society.

One of the record labels I shipped the demo to gave me an offer, which I accepted after a great deal of back and forth. I was suddenly a signed artist, in early 1992. I worked on fleshing out the demo into a full album, which I gave to the label in early spring. I told them that based upon reaction from people I had played the music to that "Tuesday Morning" should be the single. It's poppy, hooky, and full of life with lots of angsty alt-feel.

They said no.

In fact, they rejected every song I had recorded. I was told to go back and record more music like my first album. Pull out that 12-String Acoustic Guitar and be the next Michael Penn. That's why we signed you. They never gave a damn about what I was doing now, just what I had done in the past.

Like I said a few paragraphs back, I recorded the acoustic stuff as a one-off. I had no interest in being the next Michael Penn. Even Michael Penn no longer had any interest in that (you should hear his 2nd album - it's a complete rejection of his first). Within a month the very A&R Rep who had signed me produced a back-dated letter saying that he had rescinded my contract, although they would retain the masters of the music I had recorded for the album. Apparently this isn't uncommon.

That label no longer exists, having fallen to mismanagement and poor treatment of their artists, including a fixture of the Los Angeles scene of the 1990's known as Mary's Danish (a great band, by the way). The masters are lost, having been destroyed in a warehouse fire a few years ago. The A&R Exec went into movies, and last year died of COVID. I'm not going to name him. I'm done with all of that.

But I had recorded that demo, and those 5 songs belonged to me. It wouldn't be until 1997 that I finally released a full album again, this time on a minor label that never really promoted the record. But it had those five songs on it. I re-named it "Fiction".

This would wind up being the last album I released as Jim Christopher. After terrible experiences with two record labels under that name I decided to reclaim my own name, and if it ever came to it there would someday be a figurative knife fight between me and the British Chris Reed.

I made the decision to just move forward and not look back.

When the masters were destroyed in the fire I came to the realization that I could finally use these songs as I saw fit. I could re-record the original Jack Acid Society album. But did I want to? I already had other things in the works. I still haven't decided. I might someday. I still practice a couple of those songs.

I was still moving forward. As some of you may have noticed, I've released a LOT of music in 2021. Much of it is previously unreleased material as well as a bit of new stuff while I've been working on a new album. While putting it all together I came to the realization that it's been 30 years since I recorded the song that I had wanted to be the first single from "Jack Acid Society".

It's time. Even though it's been previously released, I'm going to put it out as a single. I had a lyric video commissioned and scheduled the release. It dropped March 28, 2021.

"Tuesday Morning" is the new single, 30 years in the making. Enjoy.

No cheap shots today. Be at peace.