Influences: The Residents

Most fans of Vladimir's Universe know only the guitar & drums incarnation from the Cross Street Station, or perhaps the short-lived four piece band. One earlier version featured me singing along to 3 channel 8-bit electronic compositions using my Commodore 64. The earliest version of "Purity of Essence" was recorded this way. The biggest influence on my approach to music at that phase would be the Residents.

They were known for their iconic eyeball heads and carefully guarded anonymity. The earliest Residents recordings grew out of N. Senada's "Theory of Obscurity" which believes that an artist can only produce pure art when the expectations and influences of the outside world are not taken into consideration. As for the lyrics, they used N. Senada's "Theory of Phonetic Organization" in which the musician puts the sounds first, building the music up from them rather than developing the music, then working down to the sounds that make it up.

The first song I can remember hearing by the Residents was "Constantinople" from the 1978 album "Duck Stab".  I was probably around 10 at the time and it left a major impression. I would hear more tunes by them over the years, usually on the CBC's Brave New Waves radio programme.

My favorite album would have to be the "Commercial Album", which featured 40 one minute songs. Guest artists included Chris Cutler, Fred Frith, Snakefinger, Lene Lovich, and even Andy Partridge of XTC.



I'm sure I sent a demo or two to Ralph Records, the label they started. Some of my other favorite artists associated with Ralph include the Art Bears, Snakefinger, Eugene Chadbourne, and Fred Frith. When I moved to San Francisco in 1991 one of the first places I went to was their building at 18 Sycamore St. in the Mission District but was disappointed to find it locked with no one home.

   

Influences: Phil Ochs

Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan had a friendly rivalry going in the sixties. When Phil criticized one of his songs, Dylan threw him out of his limo and said, "You're not a folksinger. You're a journalist". Rather than accept the label of protest singer, Ochs considered himself a "topical singer". When he sang about civil rights, the draft, or Vietnam it was more than just a political diatribe with a beat, he made it personal and laced the song with wit and sarcasm.

When I first heard Phil's music a light went on in my head. I shifted gears from abstract surrealist beat poetry to topical lyrics. If I had never heard "Draft Dodger Rag" or "Cops of the World", then fans of Vladimir's Universe would not have "Your Kid Got AIDS" or "I'm a Contra".

He was also willing to criticize the hypocrisy he saw among those who claim to be progressive, but are just as selfish and narrow-minded as their opponents.

At Eastern Michigan University we had a student group that we referred to as the "Pseudo-Socialists for Suburban Conveniences". When their candidate ran for student council president Vladimir's Universe was asked to play at their rally mainly due to my political songs. Meanwhile one of my best friends was running against him as the "Apathy Party" candidate and I co-wrote his campaign song "Open Your Eyes and go to Sleep" which got airplay on local radio. Rather than choose sides, or be uncommitted, I supported both candidates. The PSSC won, but without RMC and the "Apathy Party" there would not have been any opposition.

The FBI had over 500 pages about Phil Ochs, due to his association with many "subversives". After the Vietnam war ended and the hippies traded their VW vans for station wagons I think Phil ran out of words. He became a lost soul without an anchor and hung himself on April 9, 1976. Yet, even after his death the FBI still considered him "potentially dangerous".

In 2010 the documentary "Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune" came out. Also worth seeing, if you can find it, is the older "Chords of Fame" from 1984 which re-enacts moments from his life in a dramatic way rather than just showing pictures and clips.

 

Influences: Leonard Cohen

"He's gonna get us and turn us into vampires! And we'll all be dead and yet still alive! Like Leonard Cohen!" ~Neil from the Young Ones (Episode 2:3 "Nasty")

When he received a Juno Award for "Best Male Vocalist" in 1992, Cohen quipped "Only in Canada could somebody with a voice like mine win 'Vocalist of the Year'." His influence is far reaching and his legend gets bigger as he gets older. Brave New Waves on CBC radio profiled him one night back in 1986 or so and played cover versions of his songs. I was hooked.

Back in the 80s his most popular song would have been "Suzanne" (due to the Judy Collins version being a big hit in the 60s), but thanks to Jennifer Warnes' "Famous Blue Raincoat" album and his own "I'm Your Man", Cohen entered a new phase of recognition. 25 years later, I suppose "Hallelujah" would be his best known song thanks mostly due to the Rufus Wainwright version in the movie Shrek.

Cohen associates with the underdog, the outcast, the alien, and the misunderstood. Love, sex, mortality and religion mingle throughout his poetry and songs. From the beginning of time singers and writers have touched on these themes which may be why his newest album is called "Old Ideas".  I'm reminded of Shakespeare who would often talk about God and sex at the same time. I never considered Cohen's songs as depressing, even he considers himself a happy person.  I like that he often changes the lyrics to his songs when he performs them, like they are living organisms rather than static. 

In 1988 I had the pleasure of seeing Cohen perform at the State Theater in Ann Arbor during his "I'm Your Man" tour. Now it costs over $100 to see him perform. If you haven't been fortunate enough to see him live, check out "Live In London" from 2009.

What often seems like contradiction might actually be paradox. This is certainly true of Leonard Cohen who dwells in a twilight time that hints at the darkness but still contains light.

     

Influences: Buddy Holly

When Jimigator and I first started performing together our goal was to get as much sound as possible out of just drums and guitar. The way an instrument is used can affect this. I'm not talking about volume, it's more subtle than that. The audience would often hear a bass line when there was no bass player.

Buddy Holly tried to do the same thing with just guitar, bass, and drums. There was no mistaking his sound. He insisted on producing his own records, which was unheard of in the late fifties, used multi-tracking, and pioneered stereo.

Here is one of the few videos of Buddy Holly performing. Notice how no one is dancing at this "Dance Party" and I like how she calls them "Rock & Roll Specialists"--I think there's an online course for that now.

In a career that lasted a year and a half he gave so much to the future of popular music. The style, sound and image of Vladimir's Universe owes much to Buddy Holly.

Influences: Half Japanese

Jad Fair and his brother David from Coldwater, Michigan started this band around 1975 in their bedroom. At that time they only had drums and Jad's out of tune guitar, but later expanded to include other instruments. David explains the guitar here:

I remember hearing their song "Firecracker, Firecracker" in 1986 and it blew me away. The mix of raw passion and simplicity inspired me along with the catchy blues chord progressions. It appeared on their album "Sing No Evil".

Jad tunes all his strings to one note, or doesn't tune it at all. Similarly, I tune my strings to two notes but I do like to tune them. My old Silvertone guitar never stayed in tune however, so I just went with it. Their tunes are usually about monsters or love--themes often heard in Vladimir songs. Jad designs all the album covers.

In addition to the Half Japanese albums, I also had Jad Fair's solo albums "Best Wishes" and "Everyone Knew... but Me" on which he played all the instruments. My favorite from those albums was a song called "Monster Island". In 1986 or so I sent Jad Fair a fan letter (and maybe a Vladimir tape, I can't recall). He sent me some promotional pencils, a story book he wrote and illustrated, and some other goodies.

So much about Jad Fair and Half Japanese inspired me as I developed the Vladimir sound and approach to music.