Avatar vs Andy Pratt

I have not seen Avatar.  But I did download Andy Pratt's debut album the other day. This self titled debut was recorded and released in 1973.  I had the album for years, along the trail most of my records were lost. Like the time my girlfriend asked me to move out of her home at 5:30am. Ok I said. Now. she said.  Itunes is a great way to reclaim your favorite albums.

I bought his first two albums. Played them incessantly.  Then in 1976 or 77,  I went to hear Andy Pratt at the Bardavon Theater in Poughkeepsie NY. He was touring on his second album, Resolution.  The opening band was the Rich Furey Band, (of Poco and Buffalo Springfield fame).  The Bardavon was a beautiful old theater.  It was empty back then, just a few rock concerts.  His band was great, I think the same band that played on the album.  His music is romantic, complex and confessional, intelligent and it rocks!  I'm not describing the confessional sensitive piano/guitar music of the 70's. Wait I like Bread! After the show, I waited a while to met him.  No one else was waiting.  I asked him if he would play at my high school. I was on the student council so I had some pull.  I remember him as tall and thin,  gazing down at me pretty intensely.  Like, is this kid serious?  How many high school show offers did he get back then?  He was gracious.  My high school wasn't interested.   I continued to listen to his albums. His lyrics affected me.  Like much of the music "old & new" I listened to in 1976/77; Talking Heads, Television, Iggy Pop, Bob Dylan, Roxy Music,  it was all startling and invigorating music.

Avator vs Andy Pratt?  I'm confused. Everyone seems willing to see Avatar and pay to see it, but not willing to pay for "independent music" or artists. The "independent" ghetto.   I wonder why Andy Pratt or all the other "independent" artists I know (including myself) are expected to subsist on crumbs.  Oh no, sour grapes isn't my dish.  Bring me the bread, water and wine.

The Renegades Part II

People are asking me when you are going to finish your new album?  Well I am excited to say we are getting close. Close? Let's go back for a minute... This past summer I had written several new songs and thought about recording them at Orange Studios with the engineer, James Dellatacoma.  Dennis Young  introduced me to James.  And I was eager to work with him.  I didn't have a drummer and not much money.  So the idea stayed an idea. Until Andrew Platt, the bass player for the superb gypsy punk avant power trio, skeletonbreath told me that he played drums and that he would record with me. A few months later,  I still hadn't pulled the trigger. Andrew said, what about that recording?  I booked the sessions that day.  Today... we are adding few guitars and vocals. Then mixing. Pictured here Bern Nix laying down guitar parts.



And the original Renegade, Dennis Young adding percussion.

Raymond Bally & The Renegades

Here we are my band; The Renegades - Dennis, RB, 70, and Andrew at Orange Studio recording our new album. I am thrilled to be playing with such great musicians. Please keep an eye on us. We are making a new album together which I think will be terrific.

James Lord November 27, 1922 - August 23, 2009

One More Thing regarding Liquid Liquid

Dennis sent me this photograph taken at the LL show by a talented photographer, Gabi Porter. It was published at prefix.com. I'm in the white shirt with my friends to right.

Its Their World, We're Just Guests

"Hey Sal, They won't let us dance," cried out an audience member. "Its their world, we're just guests," replied Sal. Sal being Sal Principato, Lead Singer, and Boogie Down Butt Shaker of the Legendary, Underground, Minimalist, Afro Punk, White Funk, Dada Soul Band, Liquid Liquid. Lincoln Center hosted Rhys Chatham's 200 Guitars and Liquid Liquid this past Saturday night. Lincoln Center security would not let any of the young folks or the Aged New Wave&Art Crowd of yesteryear out of their seats to dance. LL appears and reappears like the Locust. I saw them in the early 1980's at Hurrah, Danceteria and other places. Though I missed the famous Paradise Garage show. Someone else on Saturday yelled out that they were there, while Sal called out "Roxy, Hurrahs, Paradise Garage." They left the scene in the mid 80's reemerging in 2003, disappearing again and are with us once again. Hearing LL outdoors and above ground on the Upper West Side was a little strange and exciting. As Sal put it, their world got to hear what we fans and admirers believe to be the underground art/dance/music nexus of our time. The crowd did recognize one of the all time great funk bass lines as Richard McGuire began their "hit" Cavern. I was sitting in the VIP seats with my friend Tom Burka, a very funny man and terrific writer his son Nicholas, and 70, my Bass Player&Producer. Dennis Young pictured above is the percussionist of LL. Dennis creates the hooks on his marimba and underscores Sal's vocal patterns with his cymbals and tom toms. Dennis and I first met at Hurrahs in 1980 something as he was tuning his rototoms on stage before the show. I started a brief chat from the edge of the stage about how cool rototoms were and that we had bought them for our band. Thanking him, saying LL was our favorite band. Many many years later I found Dennis on myspace playing at a coffee house in New Jersey. The place was virtually empty. I thought, wow xLL playing an acoustic show out in the wilds of NJ. Doing his thing and no one knows. His solo acoustic work resulted in an excellent album called Shadow. He was mixing Shadow then and I asked if I could come down to the studio and listen in. Later, Dennis asked me to play in the Shadow band. We had some terrific shows including the cool Cake Shop. Meeting Dennis, listening in at his mix sessions and playing in his band catapulted me back into music. I asked Dennis to play on a track for my album, Nature Of Love and do some shows with a band I was forming. Now we; RB, Dennis, 70 and Andrew Platt of skeletonbreath fame are going into the studio to a do full album together. Meeting Dennis at the coffee house gig was bizarre and real, because anything, and absolutely everything happens when you make art and music the focus of your life.

He Packed A Tight Suitcase

He packed a tight suitcase was Ed McMahon 's answer to the everlasting question, did he and Johnny hang out. This was in Ed's obituary. Johnny was a loner and didn't have a lot friends. I looked up this phrase in my slang dictionaries. Couldn't find it. Show biz folk really don't hang out after work in some great Shangri- La place. We mortals long for an Olympus.