Richard Vollin - 45worlds

Richard Vollin - 45worlds - All Comments

« Member Page

Page 2 of 5 : Previous : Next :

Member	Item		Review/Comment
Richard Vollin 21st Jul 2017		CD Single The Cramps - Naked Girl Falling Down The Stairs	I failed to mention in the Notes, Surfin' Bird was recorded 23 November 1994. The Cramps were supported by Gas Huffer, a Seattle, Washington based band, promoting their album One Inch Masters, released on the Epitaph label. I've included an image from the 28 November issue of New York Magazine, page 106.
Richard Vollin 18th Jul 2017		DVD Last Days Here - Sundance Selects	I've just uploaded a 9.14 Pictures trailer for "Last Days Here".
Richard Vollin 18th Jul 2017		Magazine Something Weird Video Catalog 1995-96	Rated 10/10 [YouTube Video] *YOU WON'T BELIEVE YOUR EYES !* "Perhaps this is the ultimate exploitation/sexploitation reference guide ever!" - Mike Vraney Cover-to-cover & double-stuffed with all things Drive-In, Grindhouse, Peep-Show, Strip-Tease, Times Square, Roadshow, Coming Attractions, and even monster films thrown in for good measure. Each page is naturally wholesome, life affirming and spiritually up-lifting. Recommended reading for those with a heart condition as it contains crude sexual content, strong language, and excessive alcohol and drug use. Contents littered with useless info and sidebars on Herschell Gordon Lewis, Doris Wishman, Coffin Joe, Ed Wood, Dave Friedman - just to name a few, and profusely illustrated with original ad art. Bikers, nudists, hippies, asylum inmates, sideshow freaks - they're ALL HERE! And it's a fair bet; if you can't see it on television, it's in this catalog, and you need it. Guaranteed 100% Weird and please do not seek any medical attention whatsoever. 5 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Richard Vollin 17th Jul 2017		Vinyl Album The Electric Light Orchestra - No Answer	After 45 years, I have to honestly say this is my favorite E.L.O. album. The compositions are naive, charming, and still maintain the indelible Roy Wood/MOVE (for lack of a better word) heaviness. Baroque 'n Roll.
Richard Vollin 17th Jul 2017		Magazine Decibel	The cover photo is one of my better known images of Bobby Liebling. Over the years it's turned up in a couple of places, and was published once in the New York Times. It was taken on 03 September 1982 in Knoxville, Tennessee. The feature article was entitled "Miracle Man - All hail the latest unlikely resurrection of Bobby Liebling and PENTAGRAM" by J. Bennett; a seven page spread with photographs by Gene Smirnov.
Richard Vollin 15th Jul 2017		Vinyl Album Elvis Presley - Elvis Sings Flaming Star	Too Much Monkey Business, and Tiger Man are truly unsung classics. Guitar Man written by Jerry Reed...that's another one.
Richard Vollin 15th Jul 2017		Vinyl Album Elvis Presley - Elvis Sings Flaming Star	Too Much Monkey Business, and Tiger Man are truly unsung classics. Guitar Man written by Jerry Reed...that's another one.
Richard Vollin 15th Jul 2017		Vinyl Album Elvis Presley - Elvis Sings "Flaming Star"	Too Much Monkey Business, and Tiger Man are truly unsung classics. Guitar Man written by Jerry Reed...that's another one.
Richard Vollin 15th Jul 2017		Cassette Album Death Row - All Your Sins	It was through the circulation of this tape, that PENTAGRAM slowly found it's audience, and gained a loyal following outside of Washington, D.C. My friend Joe Gillette, and myself formed a graphics/photography duo that between us, anytime a poster, gig flier, or whatever our circle of friends needed for promotion - we did it cheap (read: FREE), and on-the-fly. It also helped that I was backed by my friend Ron Lunn who operated the film lab where I worked, as a full-time offset press operator, graphic artist, and photographer. Dave Flood (drummer with The Obsessed) was also a graphic arts wizard, and between the four of us, we got it done. It was maybe a week after DEATH ROW were finished mixing their new songs that Joe Hasselvander approached me with his pencil and magic marker rendering for the tape cover. Hasselvander was a gifted free-hand artist in the Jack Kirby tradition, and everything he drew had that dynamic, larger-than-life, exaggerated style. I translated his sketch into a 5X7 stylized mock-up using Ulano Rubylith, and all the DEATH ROW guys approved. It was now just a matter of some basic typesetting, and getting the band together for a glam-metal photo shoot. Several rolls of film, hairspray, eyeliner, and a cooler full of beer jumped that hurdle. The guys picked out the pose they liked from contact sheets, and then it was time to get negatives shot, plates made, and sneak "All Your Sins" between the real money-making jobs. The side with the lyrics was printed first (light ink coverage), the next day the red, and the final pass was all that black ink - a few days later it was trimmed out, and ready for scoring and folding - Done. The tape duplicating was done by Joe Gillette and myself. I was using a Panasonic Technics recorder with high-speed duplicating capability, and we were already doing the HELLION "You're Not Welcome Here" tapes. Sometimes we did 'real time' between two decks. There was always a cassette deck running at our place. The only expense to DEATH ROW was the cost of the blank tape and the plastic cases. Gillette bought in bulk; TDK D-C46 with no labels, 100 quantity. We're talkin' high quality shit here baby - the last word in High Fidelity. Joe would take care of the label printing at his job on a Xerox printer that did self adhesive labels. I forget who brought me the master cassette, but it's on a Maxell LN C-46 (another benchmark of quality) that was done by Bob Dunbar from the final mix. That poor tape had to hold up over repeated use, and I never got a replacement, so every copy of "All Your Sins" came from the tape pictured here - that's it - you're looking at it. Eventually we got through that 100 blanks, affixed labels, scored and folded the covers by hand, and delivered them to Joe, Victor, or Bobby. Some they sold, but most were given to friends and fans, and some were used to obtain gigs. I'll wager each original tape spawned two duplicates and so on. Over the years, I've seen many multi-generation copies with blurry Xerox covers that were so bad - only it's mother would recognize them. Using an 8X lupe, the original paper stock will display a distinct, pebble-like finish, anything else is rubbish. For those who care about such things...an 'original dub', or even a 'bastard-inbred third cousin removed dub' will have that all important identifying "one....two....three....four" count-in before "Sinister", as that disappeared in subsequent mixes and releases. So there - 100 original copies, and now you have an idea what to look for, and how to ID it. By 1985, the "All Your Sins" cassette was already obsolete, the name DEATH ROW long out of use, and Dutch East India Trading released a re-mixed, re-shuffled version of it as PENTAGRAM ! The seeds were sown and making their way to parts of Europe, behind the Iron Curtain, and to parts of the world even Bobby never heard of..but they heard of him.
Richard Vollin 14th Jul 2017		CD Album Bobby Liebling's Ram Family - I Plead The Fifth (An Unpublished Pentachronicle)	So Bobby calls me up one day and pitches this gimmick he wants to raise some quick cash with - a limited edition CD. He wanted a blurb posted on the PENTAGRAM Archives MySpace site with a $50 price tag, a numbered Xerox cover, and a bogus $5 bill with his mug on one side, and blank on the other; so he could write a personal thank you note, and sign it (Bobby was genuine with little details like that). I couldn't say no, as he and Hallie were newlyweds and desperate for cash, and Bobby knew the hardcore Ram fans would purchase anything resembling recently recorded material, even if it was sub par. I got a package from Hallie a day or two later with their wedding pictures, and a copy of the CD (numbered 1/50), and if you believe that... Dave Sherman co-wrote six of the nine demo tracks with Bobby, but I honestly believe the strongest is Russ Strahan's South of the Swamp. I don't know how many he sold, but I imagine the bootleggers made a small fortune on it. In a feeble effort to shed just a little more light on this murky release, I'm including this excerpt from an interview with Dave Sherman of Earthride, published in The Obelisk on 24 September 2010: "...Me and Russ and Mark and Gary, we were in a Captain Beyond cover band too, and that kind of got Bobby [Liebling] going again, really. I won’t say it was all me, but it was a lot of me (laughs), because I went over there and did The Basement Chronicles with him, and that never really got a release, but he was selling it on the road for $50 a piece. I did that on my BR-532 four track. Electronic drums, and I’d bring my piece of shit guitar I play, an Epiphone I got for 58 bucks, tuned to C-sharp, and I just started cranking out some Pentagram-style riffs and I put my bass on there too. I’d program the drums and give him the mic and he would just make shit up off the top of his head, sitting in the chair, smoking. And then, like I said, on the road now he sells them things for 50 bucks, and it’s a picture of him on a five-dollar bill on the cover (laughs). But anyway, that’s that. If you see him and you say, “Hey, what’s up with the Basement Chronicles?” he’ll probably produce one for you."
Richard Vollin 12th Jul 2017		Magazine People	I'll answer the question on the cover..."Not far enough." ROCK has never been, or should ever be Parent Approved. If you can't dig that - you best find another shovel.
Richard Vollin 12th Jul 2017		Magazine Creem	Page 38...T.Rex: "What They Tried To Do With David Bowie Was Create Another Marc Bolan." Ya gotta' admire Marc's smug self confidence, he wasn't afraid to piss in anyone's bowl of cornflakes. Too bad Marc Bolan didn't ignite the U.S. as did Elton.
Richard Vollin 12th Jul 2017		CD Album The Idle Race - Back To The Story	It's always been my understanding that Capitol Records was a subsidiary of EMI.
Richard Vollin 12th Jul 2017		CD Album Victor Griffin - Late For An Early Grave	Review The CD version of this collection features 12 unreleased demo tracks recorded through the years by Victor Griffin, a purveyor of the modern doom guitar sound! His work in the bands PENTAGRAM, DEATH ROW, and PLACE OF SKULLS has been recognized worldwide as some of the heaviest, killer doom ever created! This LP contains demo material that had been circulating among fans for years and is now finally being committed to a more concrete form than a 10th generation dubbed cassette tape! Bonus tracks that are not on the LP are: "Pistonhead" and "Haywire". - Omid Yamini, Outlaw Recordings - 2005 Contributor's note: Tracks 4-6; Wolf's Blood, Vampyre Love, and Too Late were re-recorded for inclusion on Pentagram's third LP Be Forewarned. 5 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Richard Vollin 12th Jul 2017		CD Album Pentagram - Human Hurricane	This release is interesting because it establishes the template Relapse Records would mirror for the band's legitimate First Daze Here vintage collections several years later. The tracks were selected by Bobby, as was the running order; Bobby used to spend a lot of time in his bedroom coming up with possible track listings for imaginary compilations. The majority of these warehouse rehearsal tracks were passed over, or overlooked for the two Relapse releases, which makes this a collectable disc. This was also one of those (otherwise) shady deals brokered by Bobby...none of the former band members were even aware that this was on the drawing board, lest they might object, or want their fair share, and jeopardize it's release. My personal quibble with it was some of my art and photos were hi-jacked, as well as photographer Cameron Davidson's without our permission, or recieving due credit. Oh well, at least I got a complimentary copy of the CD when it came out.
Richard Vollin 10th Jul 2017		Magazine Record Collector	Hmm...Sonny Burgess.
Richard Vollin 10th Jul 2017		Book Philip Orbanes - The Monopoly Companion	Rated 10/10 This book will convert the chronic loser into a confident and serious winner. Covers all the important strategies; what and when to buy, the important color groups to acquire and improve, which properties bring the largest return in rent, investment vs. dividend ratios. And the all-important death strategy...understanding and creating the 'housing shortage' - guaranteed to cripple and bankrupt your opponents. 4 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Richard Vollin 10th Jul 2017		DVD Box Set Monsters And Madmen - The Criterion Collection	additional images pending
Richard Vollin 9th Jul 2017		Magazine Famous Monsters Of Filmland	Page 46 featured FM fan, and future PENTAGRAM, BEDEMON guitarist, songwriter, and genre writer; Randy Palmer.
Richard Vollin 9th Jul 2017		Magazine Cinefantastique	Cover feature contains a sixteen page article "The Paul Blaisdell Story: Hollywood's Forgotten Monster-Maker" by the late freelance writer Randy Palmer (1953-2002). Randy was a personal friend of mine, and this article was the precursor to a larger body of work published by McFarland Press in 1997 under the title: Paul Blaisdell, Monster Maker.
Richard Vollin 9th Jul 2017		Magazine Kicks	Kicks magazine was a short-lived phenomena. This was the seventh, and last issue published. Not unlike the Old Testament; full of parables, allegories, metaphors, and articles from a revolving door of regular contributors, and free lance writers. It's focus ran the gamut of all things American Rock 'n' Roll; Hillbilly, Rhythm & Blues, Rock-A-Billy, Doo-Wop, Surf, 60s Garage...reading it was like having attended one morning of Sunday School Bible Study and leaving a full-fledged Ordained Minister!
Richard Vollin 9th Jul 2017		Magazine Kicks	Kicks magazine was a short-lived phenomena. Each issue was like being privy to information known only to Rosicrucians, Free Masons - the Holy of Holies!; articles from a revolving door of regular contributors, and free lance writers. It's focus ran the gamut of all things American Rock 'n' Roll; Hillbilly, Rhythm & Blues, Rock-A-Billy, Doo-Wop, Surf, 60s Garage...after reading it, you could forever deny the origins of how you came to be so enlightened and knowledgeable.
Richard Vollin 9th Jul 2017		Magazine Kicks	Kicks magazine was a short-lived phenomena. Each issue was a Sears Christmas Catalog of informative articles and interviews, from a revolving door of regular contributors, and free lance writers. It's focus ran the gamut of all things American Rock 'n' Roll; Hillbilly, Rhythm & Blues, Rock-A-Billy, Doo-Wop, Surf, 60s Garage...it was single-handedly responsible for keeping an entire generation of MTV viewers from becoming culturally bankrupt!
Richard Vollin 9th Jul 2017		Magazine Kicks	Kicks magazine was a short-lived phenomena. Each issue was a stuffed-to-overflow Farmer's Almanac of informative articles and interviews, from a revolving door of regular contributors, and free lance writers. It's focus ran the gamut of all things American Rock 'n' Roll; Hillbilly, Rhythm & Blues, Rock-A-Billy, Doo-Wop, Surf, 60s Garage...reading it was like eating a full Truck Stop breakfast at Waffle House and a 55 gallon drum of hot black coffee!
Richard Vollin 8th Jul 2017		Magazine Kicks	Kicks magazine was a short-lived phenomena. Each issue was a hefty, jam-packed-cover-to-cover Holy Grail of informative articles and interviews, from a revolving door of regular contributors, and free lance writers. It's focus ran the gamut of all things American Rock 'n' Roll; Hillbilly, Rhythm & Blues, Rock-A-Billy, Doo-Wop, Surf, 60s Garage...reading it was like graduating with a genuine two year Associates Degree in American pop culture with each issue!
Richard Vollin 7th Jul 2017		DVD The Bela Lugosi Collection - Universal	I'm disappointed that Universal released this on a dual-sided disc, and void of any commentary options. On the positive side, as these titles are only available now on Universal's 'Vault Series' as a DVD-R, and pricey (for such flimsy media) - maybe my disappointment is a bit unfounded.
Richard Vollin 7th Jul 2017		Cinema The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962)	Rated 10/10 In my (otherwise) dismal opinion, the trashiest exploitation film ever. Mean-spirited and cheap, highly recommended, and I gave it a well deserved rating of 10. Too many highlights to mention, but the inclusion of Abie Baker's strip-tease instrumental; "The Web" is priceless. For anyone requiring further information, see FILMFAX No.18, (January 1990), it features a five page article/interview by Sharon Williams and Rudolph Grey with director Joseph Green. He explains all the nuts & bolts relating to The Brain that Wouldn't Die. 6 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Richard Vollin 6th Jul 2017		DVD Blood Sucking Freaks - Troma Team Video	And now...a brief bio on our star, courtesy of this contributor: Seamus Terrence O'Brien (1932-1977) was a Shakespearian stage actor both on, and off Broadway during the 1970s. His most fondly remembered, and notable role was that of 'The Actor' in the longest running hit musical, The Fantasticks, which performed at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village. Other roles included Oscar Wilde's Salome, and Cocteau's mystery drama, The Eagle with Two Heads, both at the Jean Cocteau Theatre, and Beaumont & Fletcher's, The Maid's Tragedy at the Equity Library Theatre, among others. In 1976, he was cast in the lead role of Sardu, in director/writer Joel M. Reed's black comedy/exploitation film Blood Sucking Freaks. O'Brien was once described as a cross between Ming the Merciless, and Anton LaVey, with the charm and eloquence of Vincent Price. O'Brien was murdered in his Greenwich Village apartment during a robbery. He is sadly missed by his family, and all who knew him.
Richard Vollin 6th Jul 2017		DVD Coffy - MGM	She's the "GODMOTHER" of them all ...The baddest One-Chick Hit-Squad that ever hit town!
Richard Vollin 5th Jul 2017		DVD The Cramps Live At Napa State Mental Hospital - Target Video	The performance took place on 13 June 1978 at the Napa State Hospital, Napa, California. It was a free concert by the Mutants, from San Francisco, and The Cramps from New York City. The event was arranged by former CPS (Child Protective Services) activities specialist Bart Swain, through booking agent; Howie Klein. The band originally booked to appear on this occasion was the Readymades, a notable San Francisco based new wave/punk band, but either by divine providence or fate, The Cramps and Mutants performed the show. Video footage of The Cramps was taped using a battery powered Sony Portapak two piece camera/recorder unit (possibly the AV-3400, with a ½" U-Matic S 20 minute cassette). It is believed either Target Video founder/director Joe Rees, or associate Jill Hoffman-Kowal videotaped the show. It should also be noted that many still photographs were captured by photographer Ruby Ray, who can be clearly seen documenting the event throughout. Many of her images can be found on the Internet (mostly uncredited). Mutant band vocalist Freddy Mutant (Fritz Fox), and lead guitarist Brendan Earley both contend that their performance should have been documented on video. However, Ruby Ray did photograph them. Excerpted quote by Target Video founder Joe Rees, from an interview conducted for the L.A. Record by Chris Ziegler, entitled "TARGET VIDEO: LIKE WATCHING SOMETHING BIBLICAL", published 30 April 2009, regarding the Napa State video: "...The same with the Napa State Mental Hospital. You think that could go on today? No way! There would be like fifteen lawyers standing outside the gate licking their chops. One of the greatest things about that event—even to this day I am so moved when I watch that video over and over. But the thing of it is—those people who were going through such a heavy experience in life and were confined to that mental institution, the freedom and the happiness that they had that day during that event was almost like a miracle! It was almost like watching something biblical—something from a Cecil B. DeMille film but in a real sense, a true sense. Nobody was acting and I have never seen anything in my life so moving and I’ve been told that a thousand times. We were at the right place at the right time but we had the right thing in our hearts. We wanted to have an experience and it all came together with magic." footnote # 1: This contributor first stumbled into The Cramps traveling medicine show during their first foray outside of New York City's Bowery, (as I like to refer to as) my "Baptism by Fire" on 07 April 1978, at the Atlantis Club in Washington, D.C., two months prior to their Napa event. I had heard of The Cramps in drips and drabs, in the pages of Richard, and Lisa Robinson's Rock Scene magazine, a rag devoted primarily to NYC glam rock, and the burgeoning punk rock movement. Needless to say, The Cramps opened many doors, and left an incalculable, indelible, life long impression on me. I was now totally corrupt, and, as I won't retrace the circumstances leading up to this moment, suffice to say, it had to do with an employee of a local record store; the Penguin Feather, seeking a gig as a DJ, and my giving him a lift to the Atlantis Club that evening, and as The Cramps lay waste... footnote # 2: The Atlantis Club was located at 930 F Street, NW, in the Atlantic Building, adjacent to Ford's Theatre (where U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated). Atlantis owner Paul Parson's was quoted in the day's following The Cramps ill-fated booking with support group, The Puppets as: "...too controversial, too destructive. No club is ready for that kind of destruction. The Cramps are not healthy." The Cramps were told 'never to return.' Soon after, the Atlantis closed it's doors, and the building was purchased and re-christened the Nightclub 9:30 on 31 May 1980, and there, The Cramps enjoyed many a return engagement.

Page 2 of 5 : Previous : Next :