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The RockIt Scientist
on 1485 Radio Today


1485 Radio Today
Also on DStv
Audio Channel 70

The RockIt Scientist is a very diverse music programme that features Progressive/ Hard/ Classic Rock, Blues, Brass Rock, Latin/ African Rock, Jazz and Metal music.

As "non-commercial/ non-Top 40" music ranging from the mid sixties to the present day is featured, the intention is to cater for the more discerning music listener, with no age limits or restrictions imposed or implied. An open mind and a love of music is mandatory!

The programme, which is broadcast on 1485am Radio Today, every Friday evening between 10pm and 1am, is presented by Leon Economides, who has worked with radio greats such as Tony Sanderson (Chuckle and Chat Show on Radio 5), Chris Prior (The Priority Feature on Radio 5), Phil Wright (The Dinosaur Days on 5fm), and Rafe Lavine (Rock Classics and The Great Unknowns on Radio 5, and the original RockIt Scientists on SAfm).

Radio Today is also available nationwide on the DStv Audio Channel 70.


Playlist for Friday 15/09/2006 - 22h00 to 01h00
 
What a better way to kick off than with one of the finest jazz/rock outfit's of all time?
 
01. If - Fibonacci's Number, from "If 3", in 1971.
 
Formed in the UK in the late 60's by guitarist Terry Smith and sax/flute player Dick Morrissey, If were very popular in the US and in Germany, but they were strangely largely ignored in their home country. Other than Smith and Morrissey, the band also featured Dave Quincy on alto sax, Dennis Elliot on drums, John Mealing on keyboards, Jim Richardson on bass and John (J.W)Hodkinson on vocals. If were masters at improvisation, and this non-vocal track was a fine example of just how good this band were. The band went through numerous line-up changes towards the mid 70's, with Morrissey the only remaining original member. Dennis Elliot became a founding member of Foreigner, J.W Hodkinson had a short stint with Darryl Way's Wolf, amongst others. Dick Morrissey formed The Morrissey Mullen Band with guitarist Jim Mullen, and Terry Smith and Dave Quincy formed the underrated Zzebra, with Loughty Amao from Osibisa. Terry Smith's rare and elusive solo album, "Fall Out", originally released in 1969, has recently been released on CD.
 
If were one of the best, if not THE best, of the UK brass/jazz rock outfits, and they could quite easily give any of the US (or any other) heavyweights a run for their money.
 
02. Emergency - Smilin', from "No Compromise", in 1974, their final album.
 
Although classified as a Kraut Rock band, the origins of this Munich based jazz/rock band stem from Prague, Czechoslovakia. Sax player/flautist Hannes Berka moved to the US in the mid 60's, where he discovered brass rock, after seeing bands such as Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago (Transit Authority). Wanting to form his own similar band, he moved back to Europe, where he met up with some fellow Czechs who were touring with a production of "Hair". Relocating to Munich, he formed Emergency, with drummer Udo Lindenberg being the only German in the band, and they released their debut album on CBS Records in February 1971. They released one further album for CBS the following year before signing to the famous Brain Record label, for whom they released two great albums, but they disappeared without trace in the mid 70's.
 
Interview with Malcolm Ross, bass guitarist for South African jazz/fusion outfit, Gordon's Suitcase.
 
This Pretoria based outfit were formed towards the end of 2003. The original members were Jako Loots on drums, Malcolm Ross on bass, Rainier Prins (recently replaced by Peter Angelopoulos) and Illimar Neitz on guitar. The band play an eclectic and diverse mix of varying styles of music, from rock to jazz, although jazz is certainly their main influence, and they appeal to a wide variety of different age groups, cultures and musical tastes.
 
They recently released their debut album, "Good Girls Like Good Music" through Wolmer Records. The album features 13 full length, mostly original tracks as well as appearances by some well known guest artists such as Piet Botha and Greg Georgiades. Ernest Royeppen (son of the cousin of our very own Rosemary Royeppen!), is featured on trumpet. 
 
The band have been receiving rave reviews from many quarters. They're currently at Roka Lounge (old Color Bar, 44 Stanley Avenue, Milpark), every second Tuesday (next gig being on Tuesday 03 October). Check them out!
 
The album is available in retail stores nationwide, as well as on www.oneworld.co.za.
 
For more information, please visit www.myspace.com/gordonssuitcase or www.gordonssuitcase.com, or contact Jessica Schnehage at 0824000640 or gordonssuitcase@ad-q.co.za
 
Tracks featured from "Good Girls Like Good Music":
 
03). Indevelopment
04). KKN(i)K Fees
05). Open Range Super Hero.
 
06. Climax Blues Band - Fool For The Bright Lights, from "Blues From The Attic", in 1994
 
Climax Blues Band were formed in Stafford in England in the late sixties, at the tail of the British blues boom, initially as the Climax Chicago Blues Band, by Colin Cooper on sax and vocals, Arthur Wood and Richard Jones on keyboards, George Newsome on drums, Peter Haycock on vocals and guitar and Derek Holt on bass. They released their self-titled album in 1969. The band later changed their name to Climax Chicago and then the Climax Blues Band. During their fairly successful career, they had a number of hits, notably "Couldn't Get It Right", which was quite big for them in the US as well as in the UK. By the time this live album came around, only Colin Cooper remained from the original line-up. A track from this album also appears on the very first Dinosaur Days compilation. Interestingly, Derek Holt, who is the landlord of a venue called The Grapes, in Stafford, showcases some seriously good young musical talent at the venue on Sunday nights. Called "Derek Holt's Jam Nights", a few of these nights have been captured on CD.
 
07. Cate Brothers Band - Time Is a Thief, from "Cate Brothers Band Live", in 1999.
 
This US soul/rock duo of brothers Ernie (keyboards & vocals) and Earl (guitar & vocals) Cate, specialized in southern soul music and they enjoyed brief popularity in the late 70's, notably with their biggest hit, "Union Man''. They released their debut album in 1975, utilizing the services of seasoned musicians such as Nigel Olsson, Levon Helm, Steve Cropper, Timothy B Schmidt and Donald "Duck" Dunn. They went on to record a further three albums before folding in the late 70's, with the brothers later emerging in a reformation of the Band, with Levon Helm. The Cate Brothers reformed in the 90's, and they've since worked with blues greats such as Jimmy Thackery and Coco Montoya. They've released a number of studio albums, as well as this great live album, which was recorded in the US in October 1998. Their 2004 release, "Play By The Rules", is particularly good.
 
08. Average White Band - TLC, from "Person To Person", in 1977
 
This Scottish soul/funk outfit were formed in the early 70's, evolving out of several Scottish beat groups. The initial line-up featured Mike Rosen (guitar & trumpet - later replaced by Hamish Stuart), Alan Gorrie (bass & vocals), Onnie McIntyre (guitar), Robbie McIntosh (drums), and two ex-members of Scottish prog/brass rock outfit Mogul Thrash, Malcolm Duncan and Roger Ball, both on sax. Signed to MCA Records, their debut album, "Show Your Hand", released in 1973, showed much promise, but it went largely unnoticed. The band's fortunes changed when they moved to Atlantic Records the following year, and the band went on to score with a number of major hits, namely "Cut The Cake" and " Pick Up The Pieces". Tragedy struck in September 1974 when Robbie McIntosh died after an accidental heroin overdose. Steve Ferrone, previously with Bloodstone, was his replacement. The band later worked and had some success with vocalist Ben E. King, although the various members pursued individual projects during the 80's when the AWB were put on ice. They reformed in the late 80's and released a couple of great albums.  
 
09. Teaze - Touch The Wind, from "One Night Stands", in 1979
 
Teaze were a brilliant Canadian melodic hard rock outfit whose career unfortunately seemed eternally blighted by ill-fortune and bad career moves. Largely ignored in the US, they were pretty popular in Japan, where they toured and were captured live on their "Tour Of Japan" album in 1978. Their first two albums were prime examples of riff-filled, high grade rock, but it was the featured album that found them at their best. They released a total of five albums and split in the early 80's.
 
10. Fandango - Thief In The Night, from ''One Night Stand", in 1978.
 
Not to be confused with the UK band of the same name that was formed by ex-Deep Purple and Warhorse bassist, Nick Simper, this Fandango was a US melodic rock outfit, formed by vocalist Joe Lynn Turner. They released four albums and folded in the early 80's. Joe Lynn Turner later joined Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force and Deep Purple, amongst others. He's also released a number of solo albums and is still very active in the hard rock world today.
 
11. Wrabit - Just Go Away, from "Wrabit" (also released as "Wrough And Wready"), in 1981
 
Another great melodic/hard rock outfit from Canada. Their albums were filled with lots of fantastic harmonies and guitar work. All three of their albums, released on MCA Records, are worth checking out. Guitarists John Albani and David Aplin, and bassist Chris Brockway, later joined Lee Aaron's band.
 
12. Chilliwack - Lookin' For A Place, from ''Lights From The Valley", in 1978
 
Staying with the Canadian bands, Chilliwack were one of the first to receive recognition outside their native country. Formed in the early 70's, their musical style ranged from pop/rock to country to progressive to hard rock, with the line-up of Bill Henderson (vocals/guitar), Glen Miller (bass/vocals) and Ross Turney (drums) staying fairly constant for much of the band's career. Their earlier albums endeared them to quite a wide audience and they started making waves in the US in the early 80's, when bassist Ab Bryant and drummer Brian "Too Loud" (as he later became known!) Macleod joined the band. Henderson and Macleod later formed Headpins with the delectable Darby Mills, and this signaled the end of Chilliwack. Brian Macleod sadly died a while back.
 
13. Spy - Crimson Queen, from "Spy", in 1980
 
A once-off gem of melodic hard rock. This US band had the potential to be massive. Blatantly influenced by Kansas and Styx, the vocal harmonies and musicianship in this band were superb. Guitarist David Nelson (also a founding member of New Riders Of The Purple Sage), had replaced Roy Albrighton in Nektar and he appeared on their "Magic Is a Child" album in 1977. Spy unfortunately faded into obscurity, leaving an album that was highly regarded by rock aficionados the world over. Kerrang magazine once voted Spy's sole album as one of their top AOR albums of all time. 
 
14. Starcastle - Evening Wind, from ''Citadel", in 1977
 
Generally felt to be the US's answer to Yes, Starcastle were formed in the early 70's by guitarist/vocalist Steve Hagler, bass player Gary Strater and keyboard player Herb Schildt, with vocalist Terry Luttrell joining from REO Speedwagon. Steve Tassler was on drums and Matt Stewart was on guitar. They released their debut album on Epic Records in 1975 and comparisons with Yes were fairly obvious from day one. Having said that, they were technically excellent, although they failed to make any lasting impression and they split in the late 70's, having recorded four albums. They reformed in the 90's.
 
A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix
 
Born Johnny Allen Hendrix on November 27th, 1942, in Seattle in the US, he was raised by his working-class father following the departure of his part-Cherokee Indian mother. After mastering the harmonica and the ukulele, he taught himself to play a cheap five dollar acoustic guitar. Although left-handed, he re-strung the right-handed guitar, playing it upside-down, a strategy he would always employ.
 
One of his first bands was a Top 40 band called The Rocking Kings, in 1959. He then enlisted in the US army, but was discharged after injuring his ankle and back in a parachuting accident. Forming a new blues band called The King Kasuals with fellow soldier, bassist Billy Cox, they gigged around Memphis for a while before Hendrix spent the next few years as a backing guitarist for various acts, including The Isley Brothers. Later, taking the stage name of Maurice James, he joined Little Richard's band, but was fired for his attention-stealing guitar work! He then featured in a band led by Curtis Knight and he formed Jimmy James and The Blue Flames.
 
Signed to a management contract by former Animals' bassist, Chas Chandler, Hendrix was taken to London where he teamed up with bass player Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell. The Jimi Hendrix Experience was born. The band were an immediate success, scoring with a number of major hits all over the world. Moving forward, when the Experience broke up, Hendrix joined forces with his ex-soldier/bandmate Billy Cox, together with drummer Buddy Miles, and formed Band Of Gypsys.
 
Hendrix's guitar skills are legendary. He has influenced countless guitarists for many years. The 25th of September was the 36th anniversary of his death, which was caused by a drug overdose.
 
As a small tribute to the great man, the following two tracks were featured:
 
15. The Jimi Hendrix Expereience - Voodoo Chile (Slight Return), from "Electric Ladyland", in 1968
 
Featuring Stevie Winwood on organ, together with Mitch Mitchell and (the now late) Noel Redding. This was one of Hendrix's biggest hits and is probably his best known track. Mitch Mitchell would later go on to feature with Ramatam and others, and Noel Redding with Fat Mattress, Road and others (he passed away a few years ago).
 
16. Band Of Gypsys - Message To Love, from "Band Of Gypsies", in 1970.
 
Featuring Billy Cox on bass and Buddy Miles on drums, this album was recorded live on New Year's Eve, 1969-1970, at The Fillmore East in New York. Billy Cox went on to feature with the likes of JJ Cale, Lee Clayton and others. Buddy Miles had been with The Electric Flag, and he would go on to work as a soloist, and with the likes of Santana and others.
 
17. Captain Beyond - Be As You Were, from a four track, untitled EP, recorded in 2000.
 
Regular listeners of The RockIt Scientist may have a slight idea that I tend to rate this band a tad highly. So highly, in fact, that their debut album is my all-time favorite recording. When Captain Beyond were formed way back in the early 70's and they released their awesome debut album, rock music, for me, at any rate, had come of age. Bobby Caldwell (drums) had worked with Johnny Winter, Larry (Rhino) Reinhardt (guitar) and Lee Dorman (bass) had come from Iron Butterfly and Rod Evans (vocals) was a founding member of Deep Purple. If there ever was an example of what a brilliant heavy rock record is, Captain Beyond's debut is it. Words are superfluous - just do yourself a favor and get it. The band's second album, "Sufficiently Breathless", although not as heavy and riffy as the debut, was also excellent. Marty Rodriguez had replaced Armageddon-bound Bobby Caldwell, Guille Garcia had joined on percussion, and the album also featured both Paul Hornsby and Reese Wynans on keyboards. The band then unfortunately folded in the mid 70's.
 
Caldwell then returned to the fold and joined up once again with Rhino and Dorman. They recruited vocalist Willy Daffern (now known as Willy Dee), previously with Truk and The Hunger, and they released the awesome "Dawn Explosion" album in 1977. What a come-back it was! Almost on a par with the debut, Rhino's guitar was as biting and precise as ever, and Caldwell and Dorman showed why they were regarded as one of the best rhythm sections around at the time. Willy Dee was a revelation: a very powerful singer, he suited the band perfectly. Unfortunately, though, the band folded once again, leaving their many fans lamenting the demise of one of the best rock bands in the world.     
 
Fast forward to the late 90's, Ryno (as he was now known) and Caldwell reformed the band, to the delight of many fans (and other bands, by the looks of it. A fantastic tribute to Captain Beyond, with contributions by many well known, and not-so-well-known bands, was released around five years ago). Joining Caldwell and Ryno, were Jimi Interval on vocals, Dan Frye on keyboards and Jeff Artabasy on bass. This is the line-up that features on the four track EP (which was obtained from the Captain Beyond fan club, together with a previously unreleased live album and a few T-shirts!). All four tracks are prime Captain Beyond, with Jimi Interval a more than adequate substitute for both Willy Dee and Rod Evans.
 
And that's where the Captain Beyond story seems to have ended again. They played a number of live gigs (one of which was recorded on video), but no new album has surfaced yet.
 
In the meantime, Willy Dee has kept himself busy: he featured with Gary Moore in G Force and he worked with German jazz keyboard player Joachim Kuhn. He also featured with two great hard rock bands, Pipedream and ZoomlenZ, the latter being featured on tonight's show. He's still a fantastic vocalist, and it's great that he's still going strong.  
 
18. ZoomlenZ - Carolina. Actual date and album title not know (this was from a fellow Captain Beyond fan in the US who sent me a cassette of ZoomlenZ and Piedream tracks!)
 
Featuring Willy Dee on vocals, Jeff Horton on guitars, Terry Fletcher on bass and Tom Moller on drums. Fantastic stuff from Willy Dee -  in the best Captain Beyond style! Pity it's not easy to find a (known) official album from this band.
 
19. Armageddon - Last Stand Before, from "Armageddon", in 1975
 
This supergroup has been well covered elsewhere in The RockIt Scientist website, so I won't go into their history again here. The band featured Martin Pugh from Steamhammer on guitars, Bobby Caldwell from Captain Beyond on drums, Louis Cennamo from Renaissance on bass and Keith Relf from The Yardbirds on vocals and harmonica. If you're familiar with Steamhammer's work, circa their "Speech" album, you'll recognize some of the songs and riffs in Armageddon, albeit with a far heavier and more beefy sound.  
 
20. Electric Light Orchestra - Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, from "On The Third Day", in 1973
 
ELO, as they were affectionately known, were originally formed in England in 1970 by drummer Bev Bevan, bassist Richard Tandy, guitarist Jeff Lynne (also previously in The Nightriders and Idle Race) and vocalist/cellist Roy Wood, all of whom had previously been The Move. Recruiting keyboard/French horn player Bill Hunt, violinist Wilf Gibson (later replaced by Mik Kaminski), cellists Andy Craig and Hugh McDowell (replaced by Mike Edwards, Colin Walker and Melvyn Gale), they recorded their debut album in 1971. Starting out as an experiment that was financed by The Move's managed, Don Arden, ELO became a very successful and highly entertaining band, scoring with many hits later on in their career. The featured track reached number 22 on the UK charts.
 
21. Esperanto - Last Tango, from "Last Tango", their third and final album, in 1975
 
Formed in England as the Esperanto Rock Orchestra in the early 70's, they were a complex 11 piece multi-national progressive outfit, with the members coming from countries such as Belgium, Spain, England and Australia. Their music was awash with violins and celli, surrounded by a seriously tight rhythm section and powerful female vocals, courtesy of Kim Moore and Brigette Du Toit.  A tad frenetic at times, their music nonetheless had some very interesting moments, a case in point being their great version of "Eleanor Rigby" on the featured album. Vocalist Glen Shorrock later became a founding member of Australia's Little River Band.
 
22. Caravan - Clear Blue Sky, from "The Album", in 1980.
 
I have to admit that I'm not a great fan of Reggae music, but this track, which is totally out of character for Caravan, who are better known for their elaborate progressive rock pieces, is absolutely superb. The band, who were comprised of Pye Hastings on guitar & vocals, Dek Messecar on bass & vocals, Geoff Richardson, who wrote the track, on guitar, viola, flute & vocals, Dave Sinclair on keyboards and Richard Coughlan on drums, hadn't released a new studio album since 1977's "Better By Far", and this little-known album really was a great effort, re-establishing the band as one of England's premier progressive outfits. For the record, Caravan are still around today, and are still touring and recording. Their latest official studio album, ''The Unauthorized Breakfast Item", released a few years ago, confirms their status as one of the true greats of the genre.
 
23. Scott Finch & Blues O' Delics - Scott's Boogie, from "Live Groove!", in 2001
 
US blues/rock guitarist is not that well known amongst guitar aficionados, which is a great pity, because this guy positively cooks! He first started recording in the late sixties, and it would appear that his first band was called White Lie. This band released an album called "True Confessions". He then formed Gypsy (not the same Gypsy that was featured on The RockIt Scientist a few weeks ago) and this band released a few cassettes and an album in the late 80's. Other bands Scott Finch has appeared with include Bones of Contention, The Waltzing Tunas and Bluehand. He's a seriously talented guitarist that deserves worldwide acclaim.
 
24. Michael Schenker Group - Into The Arena, from ''Unforgiven World Tour Live", in 1999.
 
Even though the album is a Michael Schenker album, the emphasis here is not necessarily on the brilliant German guitarist who has had a very successful career, either as a soloist or with the likes of The Scorpions, UFO, and many others, but on the two members that make up his rhythm section. Drummer Shane Gaalaas and bassist Barry Sparks are well known to RockIt Scientist listeners. They've featured with Sign Of 4, as soloists and, most importantly, with Jeff Kollman in Cosmosquad. If there was a "World Cup" squad of musicians, or of my personal ideal band, these two would feature in it, without a doubt. You just HAVE to hear how good these two are, and how well they work together, on this Michael Schenker-penned track that first appeared on his debut solo album, way back in 1980. Individually, Gaalaas and Sparks are brilliant, but together, they're untouchable.
 
25. Niacin - Klaghorn, from "Niacin Live! - Blood, Sweat & Beers", in 1997
 
Here's another band of virtuoso musicians who make playing their respective instruments look like a walk in the park. John Novello (Hammond B3), Dennis Chambers (drums - Barbara Dennerlein and others) and Billy Sheehan (bass - ex-Mr. Big), formed this keyboard and bass dominated jazz/rock outfit around ten years ago. They've released six albums to date, and are very popular in Japan, where their live DVD was recorded a while back.     
If you're a fan of the Hammond B3, powerhouse drumming and bone-jarring bass, played by some of the world's finest, you need to acquaint yourself with Niacin. The featured album was recorded in Jakarta, Indonesia and Tokyo during their first tour during October 1996. 
 
 
 
 
Remember to tune in to The RockIt Scientist, every Friday night, between 10pm and 01am, on 1485 Radio Today, also on DSTV Audio Channel 70.
 


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