See Hear Podcast Episode 98 - Interview with Skizz Cyzyk about "Sound Mechanic"

 

When you were a kid, did your parents ever ask you to do your Wiggler practice? How about getting to your room and playing your Vibrowheels? Surely there were repercussions if you didn't practice your Melocipede????
 

Welcome to episode 98 of See Hear Podcast.
 

Neil Feather is a creator of musical instruments (such as the ones listed above), and a firm believer in playing experimental music. He doesn't play with the existing 12-tone system predominant in Western music. Film maker and friend of the show Skizz Cyzyk has created a documentary about Neil showing his creative process in building his instruments, how he uses them, the connection between science, engineering and art, and how he collaborates with other musicians. This is no dry history doc with talking heads describing how Neil “changed their lives”. This is about what Neil has actually done and what he further wants to achieve, and is absorbing.
 

Bernie and I were joined by Mike White of The Projection Booth (and a gazillion other shows) to talk with Skizz about Neil and his creative process. We learned lots, and we hope you will too.
 

Skizz is currently doing individual screenings of the film, so keep your eyes posted, but here's the trailer: https://vimeo.com/520019005
 

You can keep up with Skizz' activities at http://www.skizz.net/
 

Mike is always adding new podcasts to his swag, but the flagship show, The Projection Booth has details here: https://www.projectionboothpodcast.com/
 

If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens.....
 

See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com.
 

Send us feedback via email at seehearpodcast@gmail.com.
 

Join the Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast
 

You can download the show by searching for See Hear on whatever podcast app you favour.

Download episode 98 from here.

Proudly Pantheon.

See Hear Podcast Episode 97 - Interview with Brent Wilson, director of Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road

 

The story of Brian Wilson has been heavily documented through literature and film. There are a couple of perspectives that continuously get focus:

• Brian's brilliance as songwriter and harmony arranger.

• His troubled life and mental breakdown through the abuse of his jealous father Murry Wilson, the smothering treatment of status seeking psychiatrist Eugene Landy, and the questioning of his musical ambitions by the Beach Boys (well.....Mike Love) when he wanted to go beyond girls and cars as subject matter.

Do we need another film about Brian Wilson?

Welcome to episode 97 of See Hear Podcast.

We welcome back to the show director Brent (No Relation) Wilson. Previously, he'd been on the show discussing his excellent documentary on Doo Wop, “Streetlight Harmonies”. This time around he joins myself and Bernie to talk about his new film “Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road”.

Much of the film is of Brian in conversation with close friend and former Rolling Stone magazine editor, Jason Fine. The two drive around Los Angeles and use various locations to trigger Brian's memory about his past – personal and creative. Because much of this film features stories directly from Wilson himself (a notoriously reluctant talker), this film is very important. He opens up in a way he hasn't for many years – the information still comes out in small drops, but we see more of who he is via the manner of these conversations, as much as what is being said....for that reason alone, we needed another film about Brian Wilson.

Brent talks to us about his passion for all things Beach Boys from an early age (when it was desperately uncool), the “hippocratic oath” he and Jason took, how Brian works with his band in the studio (and the love he inspires), and much more. Oh.....and he tells a story about something Brian said to Bono of U2.....now THAT has to be a first for See Hear.

Bernie and I are hugely grateful to Brent for sharing his time, enthusiasm and stories with us. He's promised us to come back on a future show just to yak about a favourite music film round-table style.

“Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road” is available on the usual streaming platforms like Prime (in the US), YouTube, Apple Tv, iTunes and Google Play.

If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens.....

See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com.

Send us feedback via email at seehearpodcast@gmail.com

Join the Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast

Check out the Instagram page at www.instagram.com/seehearpodcast/?hl=en

You can download the show by searching for See Hear on whatever podcast app you favour.

Download episode 97 from here.

See Hear Podcast Episode 96 - Urgh! A Music War and Dance Craze

The 1980s were headed into frightening times politically. The threat of war and potential nuclear conflict was pervasive. So naturally music would reflect the times, right? Sure thing....Bette Davis Eyes, Nine To Five (Morning Train), This Ole' House, You Weren't In Love With Me, and Just The Two Of Us were what people were buying – they reflect the times, right?

Welcome to episode 96 of See Hear Podcast.

Okay, okay.....I loaded up some songs that were the antithesis of the films under question, but just wanted to make a point that what was popular in the mainstream was still a long way from the more edgy music that rock fans were taking joy and catharsis in. While a lot of the new wave of music wasn't necessarily focusing on the fears of the world, its often jittery nature and aggressive sounds surely reflected the state of the world (that's my theory and I'm sticking with it).

Tim and Bernie look at a pair of films released in 1981. For the main part, they discuss Urgh! A Music War, a concert film showing the diversity of the “new wave” / post punk bands of the era. How else are you going to find a connection between Klaus Nomi, XTC, Gary Numan and The Cramps? It's a great time capsule of the era showing that musicians didn't choose (at least at first) to play it safe, but still found varying levels of success. They also look at a film more musically focused called Dance Craze – a concert film featuring a range of bands from the British ska revival of the late 70s / early 80s. While any of these bands could have easily fit into Urgh! A Music War, it's great that Dance Craze exists as a companion piece.

Later in the show, I speak with director and friend of the show, Skizz Cyzyk about a documentary he's been working off and on for many years called Urgh! Revisited. Acknowledging that there's not much information out there about U!AMW, Skizz has interviewed a range of musicians from the original film about their recollections of the era, and how the film got made. Hopefully, he gets to finish it and put some perspective on a cherished film without much documented history. Our huge thanks to Skizz for joining us.

U!AMW can be found on Kanopy in some regions, or at https://archive.org/details/urghamusicwar

Dance Craze is on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVexewVb2B4

You can find out info about Skizz's film and music adventures at http://www.skizz.net/

If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens.....

See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com.

Send us feedback via email at seehearpodcast@gmail.com

Join the Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast

Check out the Instagram page at www.instagram.com/seehearpodcast/?hl=en

You can download the show by searching for See Hear on whatever podcast app you favour.

Download episode 96 from here.

See Hear Podcast Episode 95 - Summer of Soul (Or When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

 

In the year 1969, Richard Nixon became president of the United States, James Earl Ray plead guilty to the murder of Dr Martin Luther King, multiple planes are hijacked to Cuba, the Stonewall Rebellion took place, and the war in Vietnam raged on.

….but there was an incredible music festival that took place for the third time in Mt Morris Park in Harlem, that for years no one recalled.

Welcome to See Hear Podcast episode 95.

Tony Lawrence was a lounge singer who had a vision to bring some joy and positivity to Harlem. The African American population had undergone poverty and police brutality. Lawrence assembled the first Harlem Cultural Festival in 1967, but the lineup of 1967 was truly amazing. Started a full two months before Woodstock, this festival held over a series of weekends over the summer featured the likes of Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, The Staple Singers, The Fifth Dimension, B.B. King and many others. 40 hours of festival footage was shot for local TV networks, but shortly after, the festival and its footage were forgotten by most – and Woodstock became ubiquitous in popular myth as the cultural event of a generation.

In 2021, drummer, DJ and music director Questlove released the film “Summer of Soul (Or When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” about that event featuring much of that magnificent footage.....but this is not a concert film in the conventional sense. There are interviews with musicians and those who attended the shows – both from the time and contemporary. To contextualise the period the show was born into, we get news clips about the moon landing, poverty, radicalism, Martin Luther King's assassination and a lot more. This footage is not slotted in as an afterthought – it goes hand in hand with the music, and is a masterpiece of editing.

Tim was not available, but Bernie and Maurice were joined by film writer, broadcaster, and commentator Emma Westwood to discuss the wonder of the event – both musically and politically. The film is completely worthy of the praise and hype. We hope to convince you that you need to see this – in a cinema or on a streaming service.

Our gratitude goes to Emma who brought an amazing conversation to the show (no surprises there). She will be back – make no mistake. Her knowledge and enthusiasm really made the show. You can find details of her work at https://emmawestwood.net/ She will soon release a book she's curated on James Whale's “Bride of Frankenstein”........Mmmmm, book GOOOOOOOOOOD.

If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens.....

See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com.

Send us feedback via email at seehearpodcast@gmail.com

Join the Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast

Check out the Instagram page at www.instagram.com/seehearpodcast/?hl=en

You can download the show by searching for See Hear on whatever podcast app you favour.

Download episode 95 from here.

See Hear Podcast Episode 94 - Interview with director Tamara Saviano about "Without Getting Killed Or Caught"

 

Texas has given the world some great songwriters: Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, and Kinky Friedman (yes indeed!!!) among may others. When you discuss one of the most revered Texan songsmiths, (who lived much of his life in Nashville), you really have to discuss two others as well.

Welcome to episode 94 of See Hear Podcast.

Tim and I were rapt to welcome to the show author and film maker Tamara Saviano. She co directed with her husband Paul Whitfield a documentary about Guy Clark called Without Getting Killed Or Caught. Of course, you can't discuss Guy without talking about his wife Susanna and their friend Townes Van Zandt – their lives were all closely connected. They wrote together, lived together and loved each other deeply. The story has joy, tragedy, art, knives, boats, and a very healthy respect for songwriting. These three and the community of songwriters they worked with in Nashville would share their work, for the sake of the song. The perfect song was king....rivalries be damned.

Tamara and Paul have put together a wonderful film that really gets under the skin of what it's like to be devoted to your art so much that it can come at the expense of the relationships around you. This film was a complete joy to watch, and we thank Tamara immensely for being so generous with her time to talk about her work with Guy and about Guy.

You can watch the film on demand from https://www.withoutgettingkilledorcaught.com/

You can also find the book or ebook wherever you get great reading material from.

If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens.....

See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com.

Send us feedback via email at seehearpodcast@gmail.com

Join the Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast

Check out the Instagram page at www.instagram.com/seehearpodcast/?hl=en

You can download the show by searching for See Hear on whatever podcast app you favour.

Download episode 94 from here.

See Hear Podcast Episode 93 - Voyage of the Rock Aliens

 

Would you be tempted to watch a film where aliens travel around in a space ship in the shape of a Flying V looking for the source of rock and roll in the universe? How about if it involved a high school romance, a battle of the bands, escaped mental patients armed to the teeth, and a polluted lake?

Tim, Bernie, Maurice and friend of the show Paul Ryan have done just that.....and had a conversation about it for your aural pleasure.

Welcome to episode 93 of See Hear Podcast.

Voyage Of The Rock Aliens is a forgotten musical from 1984, made in an era when instead of the MGM musicals of yesteryear, we were presented with Can't Stop The Music and The Apple. Like many musicals from the 70s and 80s, Voyage combines fantastical elements with popular music....at least what was popular in the mid 80s....so synths, Linn drums, big hair and space costumes are the order of business here. Did we mention that Jermaine Jackson appears in the opening minutes of this film for NO REASON AT ALL????

When aliens are looking for where rock and roll music is in the universe, they're going to trace it to a town called Speelburgh (ho ho ho) where they hear techno music being sung by Pia Zadora....because, yeah....

The film attempts to be a parody of several different styles of film making – is it successful? Download the episode and we'll tell you.

Our gratitude to Paul for bringing this suggestion to the show and joining us to discuss it. As Bernie said, “Thanks a bunch, Paul”. You can find the film on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEWQH1ajnbk&t=1007s

If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens.....

See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com.

Send us feedback via email at seehearpodcast@gmail.com

Join the Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast

Check out the Instagram page at www.instagram.com/seehearpodcast/?hl=en

You can download the show by searching for See Hear on whatever podcast app you favour.

Download episode 93 from here.

See Hear Podcast Episode 92 - Interview with Tom Surgal, director of "Fire Music: The Story of Free Jazz"

 

Change is difficult. Some embrace it, some resist it. It might seem obvious, but change is inevitable.

Welcome to episode 92 of See Hear Podcast.

Jazz is an art form that never remained stagnant. Through creativity or financial necessity, post-war jazz moved from the big swing orchestras to smaller ensembles and bebop became the dominant form. In the late 50s, some jazz musicians decided that, as exciting as bebop was, they wanted to take jazz music in a different direction with band members not having to rely on a structure – neither rhythmically, melodically, or tonally. Avant garde jazz had its champions over the years including people like Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Cecil Taylor, Carla Bley, Albert Ayler and Sun Ra amongst many others.

Bernie and I speak with drummer and film director Tom Surgal about his great new documentary “Fire Music: The Story of Free Jazz”. His documentary tells the story of how this music was developed and supported over the years. The music had many detractors – music venue owners, jazz publications, and saddest of all, other jazz musicians – those who were afraid of the music's evolution. Given that there appears to be no attempt to put free jazz into its perspective on film (and we speak about who is possibly responsible for that).

Tom was a fantastic conversationalist and we spoke about his own performance background, how musicians took on a DIY attitude when the mainstream rejected them (and probably influenced punk years later), how free jazz musicians formed collectives, angry sounding music being full of love, civil rights, and the music's ongoing legacy. Also, Tom tells a story about Charlie Parker and Miles Davis that would probably find a happy home on Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast.

Our huge thanks to Tom for being such a wonderful guest and to Lin Culbertson (who scored the film) for organising the chat.

You can go to the website https://www.firemusic.org/ for all information about screenings and to keep an eye out for the streaming and physical media release.

If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens.....

See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com.

Send us feedback via email at seehearpodcast@gmail.com

Join the Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast

Check out the Instagram page at www.instagram.com/seehearpodcast/?hl=en

You can download the show by searching for See Hear on whatever podcast app you favour.

Download episode 92 from here.