Ridin' On A Bummer by Rascal Reporters

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While you're here, please check out the *LINK* on the left side of your screen to our other CD Baby presentation:

Rascal Reporters - THE FOUL-TEMPERED CLAVIER!!

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SUBURBAN DETROIT, USA. DECEMBER, 1984--

Another Rascal Reporters Album Leaks from Basement

Studio; City Left Unscathed...........

Steve Gore and Steve Kretzmer released 450 vinyl

copies of RIDIN' ON A BUMMER, the Oak Park, Michigan

duo's third full-length work.

Good luck finding one today.

That product of countless hours of composition and laborious home studio sessions quickly sold out,

almost exclusively through mail-order; there was no

second pressing.

Detroit was safe again, until now.

Here, for the first time, is the complete original

release-- remixed, re-edited, redesigned and remastered. Thirty minutes of previously unissued bonus material has

been added: a retrospective collection from the Rascal

Reporters studio archives, including "Paper Love," a long-lost song intended for the ill-fated double-LP version of RIDIN' ON A BUMMER!

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Reviews of RIDIN' ON A BUMMER - 20th Anniversary Edition from around the world!..................................

IN GERMAN:

http://babyblaue-seiten.de/album_7030.html

http://www.ragazzi-music.de/rascalreporters05.html

IN ITALIAN:

http://www.movimentiprog.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=Recensioni&file=view&id=1816

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On-line radio interview with Steve Gore!

http://musicsojourn.com/AR/Alt/page/r/RascalReporters.htm

"Rascal Reporters - Seeking new music and interviewing musicians is a constant journey of discovery for me. Along the way there is the rare and special joy of discovering a previously unknown gem in my own back yard, as it were. I was previously oblivious to the groundbreaking zaniness of The Rascal Reporters, operating since the '70s local to me. In this interview I discuss with Steve Gore about the group; would-be jesters of the RIO movement. This talk includes how working with Fred Frith, Tim Hodgkinson, and other came about. Of course we also discuss the release

to CD of Ridin' On A Bummer: Twentieth Anniversary Edition of 'daring Avant-Prog in the tradition of Frank Zappa, Henry Cow, & The Residents.'"

Thanks to Tom Shulte!!

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Rascal Reporters CD Discography:

PURPLE ENTRAPMENT (Wafer Face Records) 1995

HAPPY ACCIDENTS (ZNR Records) 1996

WE'RE GOD (Wafer Face Records) 1997

THE FOUL-TEMPERED CLAVIER (Pleasant Green Records) 2001

RIDIN' ON A BUMMER (Hebbardesque Records) 2005

THE MIND BOGGLES ___________________ 200?

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Here, Steve Gore attempts to explain the bonus tracks on

RIDIN' ON A BUMMER - 20th Anniversary Edition (please feel free to print this text and read along whilst listening to tracks 10 through 17 on the CD!):

Track 10 - "Elements (original version)" (1981)

This is an early, less 'busy' version of the song. I just

felt this version was too boring, so I added and subtracted

a few sections to spice it up. There is an absolutely

ridiculous arrangement of Glen Miller's "In The Mood"

near the start of the piece that borders on worthless

stupidity (fuzz guitar replacing Glen's original clarinet

designation). The ending of the piece is an edit of a tape with unknown session musicians playing Amy Fong's

"I Never Promised You (That I Would Stay)," a track that was, in a different form, to be included on the unreleased double-lp version of RIDIN' ON A BUMMER. Amy's song caused more 'anger' amongst listeners of the 2-lp version than any of the other 'Pop' songs that were to be included on the double-lp version, which is why I love her song so much. One of our intents with the original double-lp version was, most certainly, to 'anger' the listener. Why this was, I don't know. Amy, who is the wife of on-again/off-again Reporter Paul Kretzmer, is an incredibly gifted singer/songwriter, and I always consider it an honor when

I am able to work with her.

Track 11 - "Bread And Buddha" (1985)

This song was originally intended as the 'B' side of an aborted 45-rpm single project (the song "532-7632," a bonus

track on our 1997 WE'RE GOD CD, was slated as the 'A' side). This features a rare-for-the-Reporters improvised electric guitar solo played by me, and I knew not what I was doing. There are strong Ennio Morricone influences

here, as well as "Uncle Meat"-era Mothers Of Invention. We always felt this piece was strong enough to be an album track, but we never quite had the room for it until now. I am playing all the instruments, with the exception of an

'attic door' sound effect generated by my wife, Shawn, at a house we rented in Detroit. The use of this sound was an idea copied from a Univers Zero album, though I can't recall which one at the moment.

Track 12 - "Giraffe Evasion" (1981)

A Steve Kretzmer piece nicely sung by Paul Kretzmer (Steve's older brother). Some of the 'atonal' vocal harmonies were Paul's creation. It took me about 10 years to realize the title of this song is a variation on the term "draft evasion" (which must have been a hot topic at the time). Some of the instrument tracks cannot be as clearly heard as they should be, due to the limitations of the 4-track recording, but this is as good as the song is going to sound. We were working with a tape deck that was badly 'stretching' tape at the time, and evidence of this can be heard near the end of the song (exagerated in one section to make it seem more 'intentional'). Steve Kretzmer

is playing keyboards, I'm drumming, and Paul Kretzmer is singing, playing bass guitar and (a badly under-recorded) acoustic guitar.

Track 13 - "Reggae On Out Of Here" (1977)

An early piece that has always been one of my favorites, prominently featuring the Farfisa organ (still functioning at my brother Greg's house in California). I remember being completely confused by the rhythm of the middle

section, and knew Kretzmer was onto something fresh and new with this piece. This was recorded prior to us switching over to 4-track reel-to-reel, and suffers sonically as a

result. If I recall, reggae music was big in the mainstream at the time (1977), which seemed to annoy Kretzmer greatly. Steve Kretzmer is playing all the instruments, with the exception of an augmenting vocal track that I added.

Track 14 - "Virgin Rag" (live, 1976)

This is one of our rare examples of performing live before an audience. We were 18-year-old seniors at Oak Park

High School when this was recorded (April 14, 1976), and this concert confused the student body a great deal, who were not overly familiar with the Canterbury Rock band,

Egg. We have only performed live a handful of times (in 1975, 1976, and 1985), and we're happy this tape still exists. This concert was wonderfully engineered by Paul Kretzmer, in stereo, and this was taken from Paul's

first-generation master tape. We were operating at the time under the group name, "Pigling Bland" (named after

the Mike Ratledge/Soft Machine song), and didn't switch over to the 'Rascal Reporter' moniker until 1978. We hope to eventually release this concert in full at a future date. Steve Kretzmer is playing Farfisa organ, Steve Gore is playing drums, and Rick Barenholtz is playing bass guitar.

Track 15 - "Of Little Value" (1977)

The sound quality is absolutely horrid on this piece (even though it is taken from the first-generation master tape), but we wanted to include it because it's so darn cute.

I literally wore the tape down to a mirror-finish adding the cowbell track, making sure I was exactly in rhythm with Steve's keyboard track. This was probably the first time I realized that the group was capable of creating rhythms that 'didn't yet exist;' music that sounds random and improvised, but through enormous amounts of rehearsal and re-taking, actually is completely structured down to the last note. I remember feeling a great deal of pride that I belonged to this group right after hearing the finished

version of this song.

Track 16 - "Grasping At Straws" (2004)

I wanted to include a brand-new song on the album, since our upcoming CD release THE MIND BOGGLES is taking much longer than we anticipated to complete. This song was actually originally from THE MIND BOGGLES, but I felt it didn't really fit in stylistically with the other pieces completed for that album. This was recorded 100% digitally, and I think it's interesting to note the difference in sound quality between this and the song preceeding it (1977's "Of Little Value"). I still am a firm believer in analog recording, and I'm not real fond of the 'sterile' feel this piece has (i.e., robots performing rather than human beings). This has a strong 'Hatfield And The North' (particularly Phil Miller) influence.

"Grasping" was generated using a Mac computer, Roland Sound Canvas sequencer, Peavey Ultraverb II digital effects unit, Cubase software, and a cheap Casio keyboard. This is midi'd and sequenced, and sadly, I must admit that I would not have been able to play this 'live' like in the old days (too many drugs taken in my youth have had a severely detrimental effect on my memory, I'm afraid). The Roland Sound Canvas sequencer has a nice 'random stereo panning'

function that I am quite fond of, and this was used extensively in this song. I would like to thank my brother, Greg, who so generously back in 1994 supplied most of the equipment used in this song. We dislike 'drum machines' greatly, so I tried to avoid 'snare,' 'bass drum' and 'tom tom' sounds as often as I could here. The rhythm is carried mostly by a ride cymbal sound. If the means used to create this song is the future of music, we are in deep trouble.

Track 17 - "Paper Love" (1981)

This was one of the songs (originally part of the unreleased 2-LP version of RIDIN' ON A BUMMER) that convinced Recommended Records UK to pull out of releasing

the album back in 1983. My influences here were "#9 Dream" by John Lennon, Stackridge, and "Mr. Blue Sky" by The Electric Light Orchestra. Actually, the 'vocal chorus' coda of the piece is an almost direct rip-off from "Mr. Blue Sky." There are a couple chord changes I like in this

song, but overall I'm not overly fond of this piece. Paul Kretzmer helped out greatly with bass guitar (doubling on top of a Moog bass part), and joined in on the chorus (along

with Steve Kretzmer) at the close of the piece. I am playing all other the instruments. I remember thinking

"this could be a big hit" right after I finished it, but on subsequent listens, realized some of the chord changes during the verses were just a little bit too left field. At the very end of the piece, I am yelling, "What?" at Steve Kretzmer, which was a common practice at the end of a lot of our songs, as Steve would always look at me like I had made some dreadful mistake during the take. I am proud of the lyric "There'll be a time for me someday" which is a credo I think everyone should genuinely believe in to help keep their life on track.

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RIDIN' ON A BUMMER lyrics - print 'em up and sing

along with your friends!

Track 2 - "The Hills"

Where'd you go when the rain stopped pouring?

To a place you never let me see

The sun is out, no more thunder roaring

Time again to say goodbye to me

Oh, the hills will be there tomorrow

Should the sky be like it is today

And I know that she'll leave me sorrow

When she goes down to the hills to stay

Track 3 - "RIO"

They say our time is nearly over

The world will never start brand new

Days and hours mark the ending

Of life for me and you

Perhaps it's not my place to argue

But what they say is just not true

In your eyes reflect the power

To change a grey sky to blue

Track 7 - "Bones Chorale"

Automatically we're put to cheese

And left to face the draught

Enharmonically we sing this little ditty

While we rot

What a way to spend our time

Amongst the rubble and the stones

Somebody has gone and written out

this song for Singing Bones

Do you have the time to listen in

And tell us what is wrong?

Why do we persist in earnest wasting music with this song?

Track 9 - "Excerpt From 'Psychlops'"

Once the martyr, headline story in a diary

Rags to riches, good investments is what swallowed me

Greed corrupted, money wrought

Now I realize humanity and love are the jewels never bought

Like a caterpillar trapped and bound to an old cocoon

Shifting wasn't easy, couldn't make the room to move

Now's the day and sleeping's done

There is much to do; contentment with the past is a way

Of living fast

Track 10 - "Elements (original version)"

You'd like to only take a part of my life

I need my freedom, you need a wife

When we're together, it's like fire in the rain

Though the feeling's warm, the water kills the flame

Track 12 - "Giraffe Evasion"

Giraffe evasion, giraffe evasion

Why do they persist in their refusal to see?

Giraffe evasion, giraffe evasion

How'm I gonna run when they keep following me?

Look what they've done to me now

Look what they'll do anyhow

Try to stay awake in the night of the day

Only quest to make it alone

Parasitic monsters, will they never see?

It's time to make it alone

Must keep them out of my head

There's no sleep, only dread

Look what they've done to me now

Look what they'll do anyhow

Giraffe evasion, Giraffe evasion

How'm I gonna run when they keep following me?

Look what they've done to me now

Look what they'll do anyhow

Hoping to escape in the heat of the day

It's time to make it alone

Mustn't let these animals suffocate me

Got to make it alone

Must keep them out of my head

There's no sleep, only dread

Look what they've done to me now

Look what they'll do anyhow

Track 13 - "Reggae On Out Of Here"

There goes Old Man Copper

With a penny in his hand

Says he swore allegiance

To a military band

I think he may just be couth

There's a hungry tailor

With nothing but a drum

Says he'll be forever

But a military crumb

I think he may just fool us yet

Track 15 - "Of Little Value"

Did anybody know?

There was ketchup rotting away

In the pantry, fresh as the lark

Who seems to stray

By the matchmaker's grave

Does anybody thrive?

On corrosive nutrition away

In the pantry, not like the milk

And healthy spuds

At the grocer's today

Track 17 - "Paper Love"

Dream, dream your way

That's all I want from life today

Thought I'd have much more to say

I'm a stream, come see me flow

I'm a field the wind may blow

Get up, get out of bed

And pour yourself a cup of tea for me

My world is spinnin' 'round and 'round

I hope today that I will see a little sunshine

It's gonna rain, it's gonna rain

Look up into the sky

Just see those grey clouds spittin' rain at me

My world is spinnin' 'round and 'round

I thought I saw a tiny teardrop on your face

It's gonna change, it's gonna change

Run home, the day is done

Sidestep that streetcar splashin' mud at me

My head is spinnin' 'round and 'round

I wish that I could see some laughter in your eyes

When will you see? Just you and me?

Turn, turn away

I saw your photograph turn grey

Like a kite that's flown astray

In a world where no one dies

Wish I knew the reason why

Long, long away

There'll be a time for me someday

Another time, another play

Form a line, this way inside

Find a seat, sit down, and cry

Get up, get out of bed

And pour yourself a cup of tea for me

My world is spinnin' 'round' and 'round

I hope today that I will see a little sunshine

It's gonna rain, it's gonna rain

Look up, into the sky

Just see those grey clouds spittin' rain at me

My world is spinnin' 'round and 'round

I thought I saw a tiny teardrop on your face

It's gonna change, it's gonna change

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Here's an excerpt of an interview with Steve Gore of the Rascal Reporters (thanks to Pleasant Green Records):

PGR: Describe your tape by mail recording process

SG: This idea was first suggested to us by Fred Frith, and first used on our 1984 RIDIN' ON A BUMMER LP. It's not a practical process, since the "mail order musician" has to have access to the same recording formats that we use. We don't know how to read or write music out on paper, and almost all the "mail order musicians" we've worked with are "manuscript fluent" so we send them the tracks we have finished on our end, and add an organ line that represents the melody or part(s) we would like the musician to play, then throw the whole shebang onto cassette and mail that out with the actual master tape (the master tape is usually reel-to-reel recorded on a TEAC 2340 4-track, with our parts on tracks #2 and #4, with #1 and #3 left blank for the guest artist to fill in). We then pray the master tape won't be lost by the postal service. We can't afford premium mailing services, so we just cross our fingers. We've never had a tape lost or damaged yet in the 17 years of using this procedure. Depending on the musician, they will either play what we've asked them to play, or come up with their own parts. If the musician is fairly well known, we just ask them to add what they think will work. I was told by Fred Frith that the 'tape-by-mail' process was fairly new at the time, in 1984. I understand it is fairly common now in the digital era.

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COMING SOON: More RIDIN' ON A BUMMER reviews!! And don't forget to click on our other CD Baby release, THE FOUL-TEMPERED CLAVIER!!

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