EPYSODE 13: "Fully Qualified Survivor", by Michael Chapman
Psychedelic Relics & Other Vinyl Treasures
Release Date: 09/04/2024
EPYSODE 20: "Sussex", by Bent Wind
Psychedelic Relics & Other Vinyl Treasures
Guests: Bent Wind band members Marty Roth and Ed Thomas. When the Beatles hit, bands started cropping up everywhere. Sure, the most successful groups came from the US or the UK, but that doesn't mean smaller countries weren't immune to "cool". Bands from these countries had a difficult time breaking through as they were on smaller labels, with smaller budgets and a reluctance from American radio at the time to take a chance on playing "outsider" music. As a result we have a ton of high quality albums that never achieved any level of commercial success at the time of their release, but now are...
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EPYSODE 19: "Psychedelic Lollipop", by The Blues Magoos
Psychedelic Relics & Other Vinyl Treasures
Guest: Blues Magoos singer/guitarist Peppy Castro. At the tender age of 14, Peppy Castro was taught the famous E minor chord on an acoustic guitar. "The minute I played that chord, it was like the heavens opened up". He left home, dropped out of school and pursued a different path. A chance meeting introduces him to Ronnie Gilbert and Ralph Scala and the seeds for The Blues Magoos were planted. "We Ain't Got Nothing Yet" is ubiquitous with 60's American garage/psych rock. It's two minutes of rock 'n' roll perfection. The rest of the Psychedelic Lollipop album proves that these guys - kids...
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EPYSODE 18: "Songs For The Gentle Man", by Bridget St. John
Psychedelic Relics & Other Vinyl Treasures
Guest: Bridget St. John. When the most famous DJ in the world champions you and decides to open a record label specifically to record and market your music, well, you're doing something right. Bridget St. John's name may not be as widely known as some of her British folk contemporaries, but her music is deserving of attention for any fan of the genre. Recording her first three albums for John Peel's Dandelion label between 1969 and 1972 she released consistently high quality work, garnering excellent reviews. A fourth album followed for Chrysalis a couple years later and then...silience....
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EPYSODE 17: "Out Of Nowhere", by Henry Schifter
Psychedelic Relics & Other Vinyl Treasures
Guest: Henry Schifter. Here we have yet another album by an one-and-done artist. Henry was an American guitarist who released a few singles with a few labels in the sixties. He finally got the opportunity to record a full-length album in 1971, though he had to go to France to do it. He recorded a strong album, and one that should have warranted some follow ups but it never came to pass. Henry shares some great stories about the recording of the album, his run-in with Johnny Rivers (spolier alert: he didn't like him) and a great tale that includes a great looking belt, a pistol and weed....
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EPYSODE 16: "20 Granite Creek", by Moby Grape
Psychedelic Relics & Other Vinyl Treasures
Guest: Moby Grape drummer Don Stevenson. Of all the great 60’s bands that came from the San Francisco area, Moby Grape may have been the best. Their 1967 debut album stands tall among the other giants released that year. Bad luck, terrible management decisions and a record company gaffe for the ages derailed all their momentum (wait until you hear Don’s ‘record company executive’ impression!). By 1969 they had called it quits. But they got the itch to get back together and record a standout album in their discography...the rare “reunion album” that’s actually good. And...
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EPYSODE 15: "Dragonfly", by Dragonfly
Psychedelic Relics & Other Vinyl Treasures
Guest: Dragonfly guitarist Randy Russ. Hooking up with a couple of managers from California, they thought they were on their way to the big time. But while the band was living off a $12/day allowance, the managers were getting their cars reupholstered and buying custom-made alligator briefcases. They released one album as The Legend - a mediocre effort of cover tunes and songs from outside musicians thanks to decisions made by the management team. For the second time out though, it was a different story. Given creative freedom, they created a monster, guitar-centric,...
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EPYSODE 14: "Red Hash", by Gary Higgins
Psychedelic Relics & Other Vinyl Treasures
Guest: Gary Higgins. Here's the scenario: you've been convicted of a crime and have only a few weeks before you begin to serve your jail sentence. What would YOU do with that time? For Gary Higgins, that answer was simple: corrale your musical buddies and knock out a fantastic album. No time for rehearsal, just get in the studio, quickly work out the tunes and get 'em down. Gary had just enough time to complete the recordings before he changed his address to the Conneticut State Penitentiary. His pals completed the mixing, mastering, cover design and got a few...
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EPYSODE 13: "Fully Qualified Survivor", by Michael Chapman
Psychedelic Relics & Other Vinyl Treasures
Guests: Andru Chapman, Bridget St. John & Steve Gunn. In this Epysode we delve into the career of an artist that spanned 5 decades, who recorded more than 50 albums, was adored by generations of musicians and who critics fawned over...yet hardly anyone knows his name. Michael was an immensely skilled guitarist and an excellent songwriter who released album after album to critical acclaim. Even his last albums - more than 50 years after his debut were considered among his best. Here was an artist who never settled, continually pushing musical boundaries...maybe that's why...
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EPYSODE 12: "The Rose Garden", by The Rose Garden
Psychedelic Relics & Other Vinyl Treasures
Guests: Rose Garden bandmembers John Noreen and Bill Fleming. Mid 60's Los Angeles; a band called "The Blokes" were knocking out their versions of Beatles and note-for-note, immaculate copies of Byrds songs when a chance meeting with Gene Clark - who had just left the Byrds culminates with him joining the teenagers on stage for a couple of tunes. Next thing you know, he's giving them some of his songs and writes one specifically for them to record. He even considers managing them at one point. Adding a new lead singer, they change their name and record one folk-rock gem that...
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EPYSODE 11: "Back In The HCA", by The Bowes Road Band
Psychedelic Relics & Other Vinyl Treasures
Guests: All 4 Bowes Road Band Members - Alan Lewis, Phil Rawle, Dave Pescod, Ted Rockley and Jakarta Records label co-owner Jannis Stürtz. In a Rodriguez-like tale, we hear how an album recorded 50 years earlier for a school project gets discovered in the unlikliest of places by the one person who can make a story like this happen. This "band" didn't even have a name until 2023, and now hundreds of thousands of people have streamed their album and bought vinyl copies. From an original private press of 50 copies to international attention, it's an amazing story about a...
info_outlineGuests: Andru Chapman, Bridget St. John & Steve Gunn.
In this Epysode we delve into the career of an artist that spanned 5 decades, who recorded more than 50 albums, was adored by generations of musicians and who critics fawned over...yet hardly anyone knows his name. Michael was an immensely skilled guitarist and an excellent songwriter who released album after album to critical acclaim. Even his last albums - more than 50 years after his debut were considered among his best. Here was an artist who never settled, continually pushing musical boundaries...maybe that's why he remained on the fringes.
Fully Qualified Survivor is universally considered his best album and we dive into it track by track, though an artist with this body of work has to be explored further, so we also make pit stops throughout the rest of his amazing career too.
Michael Chapman is a name most people have never heard of and that's a shame, as I can't think of another artist with this amount of incredible work who is more deserving of recognition.
I hope you dig Fully Qualified Survivor and the rest of Michael's incredible career as much as I do.
-FJ
===LINKS===
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Dig the music you heard here? Here's a Spotify link to all the songs used in this Epysode:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4TrYk3aWbSHRb8cMBxOFGy?si=7ab618e97809468b
I used portions of two interviews with Michael for the show. The first was by UK Rock History, and you can hear the full interview here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N190mQheNyM
The second was by Secret Records Limited and you can also hear that full interview here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1MBhckOTLo
===SONGS===
Songs used in this epysode, in order of appearance. See above for a link to a Spotify playlist ( *denotes track is not available on Spotify):
THE ROSE GARDEN “Next Plane to London”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Rainmaker”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “No One Left to Care”
BRIDGET ST. JOHN “Ask Me No Questions”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Aviator”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Naked Ladies and Electric Ragtime”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Stranger in the Room”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Postcards of Scarborough”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Fishbeard Sunset”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Soulful Lady”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Rabbit Hills”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “March Rain”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Kodak Hills”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Andru’s Easy Rider”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Trinkets and Rings”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “An Old Man Remembers”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Wrecked Again”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Firewater Dreams”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Deal Gone Down”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Among the Trees”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Northern Lights”
*MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Heartbeat”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “The Resurrection of Clayton Peacock”
JACK ROSE “Kensington Blues”
STEVE GUNN “Way Out Weather”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Memphis in Winter”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “That Time of Night”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “The Youth is Wasted on the Young”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “It’s Too Late”
MICHAEL CHAPMAN “New York Ladies (live)”
*BRIDGET ST. JOHN “Aviator”
?? MYSTERY ARTIST ?? Tune in to the next epysode to hear his story...
*NEWPORT ELECTRIC "Beauty In The Wasteland" (this song is not yet streaming and is scheduled for release later in 2024)
~~Hey. See that beautiful face in the mirror? That's the face of someone who is groovy~~