Sun City Girls and Delta Dan


































It was brought to my attention by the FM Shades blog that Charles Gocher from the Sun City Girls passed away on February 20th at the age of 54. Charles had been battling cancer over the last three years, but apparently he only wanted his immediate family and friends to know about his illness. I was privileged enough to witness his frenetic free-jazz inspired drumming and spoken-word at a Sun City Girls show at Dante's in Portland, OR on 11/13/02. It was a sight to behold , and an experience that I will never forget. I wish I had gone to the band's last show in Portland, but unfortunately I can't turn back the hands of time. In honor of Charles and his recordings with the Sun City Girls, I am posting an album from the Sun City Girls' limited edition Carnival Folklore Resurrection Series called The Handsome Stranger which primarily focuses on the profanity-laced beat poet stylings of Gocher with Alan and Rick Bishop complementing him with a loungey jazz backdrop on piano and guitar. It kind of sounds like a tourrettes-inflicted Tom Waits walking at midnight while tripping on acid in the seedy underbelly of the big city. This is definitley not the angular dissonance or Middle Eastern Ethno-rock that most people associate the Sun City Girls with, but we love them because they are unpredicatable. Here is a review from All Music Guide on The Handsome Stranger

Also, as an added bonus, I am posting a Sun City Girls live gig from Montreal, QC that sounds pretty good. Let's lift our glasses and toast to a truly legendary drummer, poet, linguist, comedian and human being.

Here are some links with dedications to Charlie from the past week.

Sun City Girls Homepage
Obscure Sound
Pitchfork Media
Plan B
DRC Message Board


SCG- The Handsome Stranger.rar

SCG- Live in Quebec Part 1.rar
SCG- Live in Quebec Part 2.rar











I was listening to KBOO radio about three weeks ago and sadly discovered that Dan Lissy, one of the original founders of Music Millennium, had passed away after experiencing a heart attack in front of Music Millennium. I scoured the web for pictures of Dan, but this little picture was all I could find. I used to work at Music Millennium and was fascinated with Dan's stories about opening the store in 1969 and only selling releases on Takoma Records and other underground record lablels. He was a huge John Fahey and delta blues fan which ultimately led to the "Delta Dan" nickname he was given by his circle of friends. Dan had a very eccentric personality and a subversive sense of humor, and you could always count on him speaking his mind. Even though I wasn't close to him, I feel a certain emptiness knowing he's gone. For those of us who knew Dan personally, may our memories of him make us smile, laugh and reflect a little about how precious life is. Here is an obituary from the Oregonian.

I am posting a couple Fahey songs in honor of Dan. These are both taken from Fahey's concept album America which featured reworkings of classic American hymns, gospel and folk songs. It is a masterpiece of fragile folk, intricate fingerpicking and slow blues. If you haven't heard of Fahey before and you like these songs, make sure you check out Of Rivers and Religion, Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death and Death Chants, Breakdowns and Military Waltzes.

John Fahey- Amazing Grace and Jesus Is A Dying Breadmaker
From: America [Takoma, 1971]

Comments

Unknown said…
Thanks so much for this, a nice tribute to Gocher, rest his soul!
Havent heard of these releases either so its nice to hear them.
Theo
Anonymous said…
A small error occured: both links of the "Live in Montreal" contain Part 2!
And thank you for the music
peace,
ballaberg
Kevin said…
Ballaberg: Sorry for the confusion with the Sun City Girls Live show. Somehow, I uploaded Part 1 twice. I am uploading part 1 right now, and it should be done in about 1/2 hour. Thanks for letting me know there was a problem, and I'm glad you are enjoying the music.

Theo: Thanks for stopping by the site and letting me know what you think. I really appreciate hearing feedback on this stuff. I'm glad you think it's a fitting tribute to Gocher. Stay tuned for more cool stuff.

Kevin
Anonymous said…
Long live Dalta Dan. I also worked with Dan at Millennium, and we were room mates for a while and well as musical buddies. He is greatly missed.
Doug 5
Kevin said…
Doug 5,

When did you work with Dan? I worked there from 2001-2005, and he left once during that time to work at a video store on an island somewhere. I'd be interested to find out more about Dan, like who he played music with and how good of friends he was with John Fahey. Did they ever record anythign together? I know that he did the liner notes on a John Fahey Record, but I can't remember which one. Anyway, thanks for posting. Take care!

Kevin
Anonymous said…
Sadly, the passing of Gocher seems to spell the end for SCGs, according to a statement by the Bishops.
And Music Millennium is a real asset. It's sad to see both gentlemen passing.
Thanks for all your shares and I'm glad to see that there's more KBOO listeners out there.
. said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
. said…
I recommend every SCG fan get this SCG box set. There are only a couple left, and they are amazing!

http://www.ribexibalba.com/oqebal001caxon.html
Ahrensfeld said…
Hi Kevin,
thank you for adding our site to your list. I like your site very much. :-)
Anonymous said…
Evilwax,

Thanks for the four dozen postings you've made up on Totally Fuzzy directing visitors to a site that you never update! You are not clever. You are absolutely pathetic.
Kevin said…
Dear anonymous:

First of all, if you are a mediator on Totally Fuzzy, I apologize if I am not following the guidelines for using Totally Fuzzy I was posting merely to share free music with more users. I was not aware that the only time people post on there is when they update their site. I have checked several people's blog's from Totally Fuzzy who haven't updated their site in a couple months, so I figured it was OK. From now on, I will not post on Totally Fuzzy unless I update my site.

However, if you are not a mediator on Totally Fuzzy, it's quite frankly none of your business what I choose to do. If you don't appreciate the fact that I have put a lot of hard work into this blog, then don't come back. The whole point of running this blog is to share music with people who will appreciate it. I have no intentions of trying to lure people to my site, only to find that I haven't updated it. Just because it was last updated on Feb 24 doesn't mean that there aren't other things to read about or explore in the site's archives.

Besides, I made four updates to it in 6 days which included two rare Sun City Girls downloads. I haven't updated my site lately because I also post to Ear Fuzz and had been working on a special post for them. If you are a fellow blogger, then you know the blood, sweat and tears that goes into maintaining a blog with regular updates. I really feel that you are the pathetic one, since you have the audacity to complain to me about "never" updating my site which offers "free" music. That's a little harsh, since the last post I made was only three weeks ago. Why don't you pick on somebody that you have a legitimate beef with and quit being such a hypocrite. Being a blogger is mostly a thankless task, so it's nice to receive positive messages from people who appreciate what you are doing. The least you could do if you are going to post a complaint is to reveal your identity and not hide behind the "anonymous" username. I don't imagine that you are a bad person, just someone who has preonceived notions about my intentions of running this blog.

Best, Kevin
Anonymous said…
I am rubber, you are glue... blah blah...

"I was not aware that the only time people post on there is when they update their site." is a poor excuse.

As a registered Totally Fuzzy user, you should know better. Stop spamming and everything will be peachy.
Anonymous said…
Kevin, It was way back in the late 80's and beginning 90's that I worked with Dan at millennium. I wnt to his Memorial, it was very nice. Do you have any of Dan's poetry or other writings?
Take care, 5
Anonymous said…
Delta Dan and John Fahey never recorded together "officially", but there is some video shot at Music Millennium's 24th anniversary with Dan, Fahey and Terry Robb playing the blues. There are other recordings, I have some fom a Waterfront Blues Fest in the late 80's. I am working to get some of my personal recordings with Dan and friends edited so I can share them with others, perhaps via KBOO.
Here is one of Dan's poems:

Like a sun-starved ghost
We drink the warmth of music
and our souls are quenched.

Doug Five Dougsky5@hotmail.com
Unknown said…
Please update!!!!
Kevin said…
Theo,

Sorry I haven't updated the blog in awhile. I just started a new job in March and just haven't had time to update it. I have been listening to lots of cool stuff lately, so please check back in the near future. You have been one of my loyal visitors, so I hope you will continue to check out my site. I hope to start updating much more often- at least two times a week. Take care, Kevin

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