And Jam They Do!From
Paonia Colorado -
THE STROLLING SCONES 2008
I first met the Strolling Scones a year and a half ago while on my radio show I was featuring a segment called
"YourSpace on the Acoustic Record". I reached out to the band via the wonders of the Internet, they sent a CD, then we had a nice live on air phone interview.
After we chatted I told them that I had a piece of art I created of a
VW bus that had not been used, and I thought it might be perfect for them with a few modifications. They saw the work and agreed. A year later they contacted me to do the cover for their newest CD -
kool! And that is what we are hear to talk about today, the new release: "
INTRORETROSPECTIVE"
This disc KICKS off with the very
kool,
rockin'-funky, slightly psychedelic "One Way Seat", and jumps right into the poppy
Byrds/Raspberries like "Anytime She Passes By". "Taken' Em On" starts with a wonderful
wah-
wah guitar, and continues to rock on. So one, two, three "
Introretrospective" grabs you by the rock and roll heart, and spills it all over the stage.
I may be crazy, but when I listen to the Scones, I hear influences as diverse as The Kinks, Curtis
Mayfield, Zombies, The Killers, Faces, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Dusty Springfield, The Strokes, and many others. Hearing Rick sing on sounds like Johnny Rivers meets Ian Anderson meets David
LaFlamme....not bad company (maybe a little Bad Company too! - just kidding, well maybe not!) .
Though I love this disc all the way through on my first listen, there are a few other stand out tracks to me this second time around the turntable (so to speak). "Lifeguard at Bikini Beach", "Hard Times on Easy Street", "Trim Rigged Cat", "Gypsy Fever" and the obligatory Kinks cover "Phenomenal Cat".
Most of the tracks on this disc were written by the band's lead singer and lead guitarist Rick Stockton, who wears many hats in the band. Besides being a multi instrumentalist he's also co-producer and arranger. There are many flavors throughout "
Introretrospective"...and they all come together (
right now) on this
contempo-retro journey that will appeal to all true music lovers.
A few questions with the Strolling Scones:
* How long has the band (or members of) been together?
About 3 & a half years. 1st gig was on New Years Eve 2004/2005.* What might one expect when seeing the Scones in concert?The Strolling Scones has an element of musical theater. While they aren't a tribute band, the audience is taken on a trip back to Swinging London in the 60's, or possibly the "Summer Of Love" with the lights, the costumes, the music. It's a bit of a circus because each of the musicians has an alternate persona that's pretty fun.* Can you give a a little history on a few of the band mates "names"?Yardley London's name came from the Yardley of London cosmetic line that was so hip back in the 60s .... and of course Yardley is very much in to that kind of thing.T. Malcolm's character was raised by academic parents, hence forth the "Oxford". At first the band was going to be called "T. and the Electric Crumpets"... that's where the "T" came from.Our latest member, "Rainbow Sunshine", the member with a penchant for mind expanding experimentation, is named after 2 popular types of acid from the bay area.Sir Randy Scouse Git is the name of a Monkee's tune (minus the "Sir"). Each name is British slang. Randy = horny, Scouse = somebody from Liverpool, and Git = guySlide Clubblefield, the only Yank in the band, is a perversion of James Brown's drummer's name, Clyde Stubblefield.* How long did it take you folks to record your new disc, and what do you consider to be the major differences between your last disc "Well thawed out" and this one?Introretrospective took about 9 months (from July '07 to March '08) from the first tracks through mixing & mastering. It took longer than planned because we were so busy performing. Introretrospective is a bit edger and more psychedelic than "Well Thawed Out" but it still has some catchy little pop numbers.* If you could pick one artist or band from the 60's/'70's, and one from the past two decades who may have been a major influence on the Scones, who might they be?That is a tough one, since we were influenced by so many of the great artists of the 60's. If we had to pick one, I guess we'll pick Ray Davies & The Kinks. Actually, Ray's career is still going strong, so he spans all of the decades from the 60's to now. As far as the last 2 decades, well there are lots of new artists that we like to listen to, but as someone who really had a major influence on what we are doing with the Strolling Scones we'd say Neil Innes, who wrote all of the songs for The Rutles. The 1996 Rutles Archeology album is absolutely brilliant. We've listened to it over and over. Neil has actually been around since the 60's, but we were only peripherally aware of his work until we started doing research for the Scones.* I'd like you to give a good musical trivia question....the first persons who answer correctly will get the free copies of "Introretrospective" that you all graciously sent in.
OK. Which American female pop vocalist from the 60's dated Elvis Presley and wrote songs with Jimmy Page before he formed Led Zeppelin.Hint: Her first #1 hit (in 1965) was written by Burt Bacharach & Hal DavidTHE BAND:
T. Malcolm Oxford (Rick Stockton ):
Lead vocals, harmony vocals, 6 string and 12 string guitars, songwriting, inspiration
Yardley London (Helen Highwater) :
Lead vocals, harmony vocals, bass guitar, almost unbelievable cool
Oedipus "Shinetop" Johnson (Jimmy Yozell):
Drums, funk
Rainbow Sunshine (Ellen Ensley):
Lead vocals, harmony vocals, flute, sax, unstoppable energy
Sir Randy Scouse Git (Scott Bennett):
Guitar, vocals, and an encyclopedic knowledge of all things 60'sStewart Dewar (Justin Hess):
Drums, original drummer (frozen and thawed) still appears with the band when out of rehab
Slide Clubblefield (George Weber) :
Drums, keys (not at the same time), can play just about anything - sometimes even the glockenspiel
"Screamin'" Mimi Manchester (Caroline Ellis Townsend):
Vocals, sunniness, the wild blond
Chelsea Morning (Elliot Jackson):
Vocals, guitar, songwriting, flappability
G. Harrison Harper (Harry Harpoon):
Harmonica, baaad crazinessA RARE LIVE RECORDING:THE STROLLING SCONESThe SCONES' MYSPACE
