Fair Use disclaimer

All music presented on this site is shared under the premise of "fair use"; this site is solely intended for the purpose of education and critique. If you are a rights holder to any of the music presented and wish for it to be removed, simply contact me directly and it will be taken down.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

PARK AVENUE PLAYGROUND - THE TRIP b/w I KNOW

It was the spring of 1996 (April as a matter of fact); my band at the time had just released our first album  on Bomp! Records. The label sent us a great care package of releases, among which was the amazing compilation Beyond The Calico Wall. As I popped the disc in and hit PLAY, I was overwhelmed by some freaked out MAYHEM that lead into a song that immediately clawed its hooks into my brain. As I was grooving out to "The Trip", the singers voice sounded like an old friend; a voice I had heard countless times throughout my childhood. Turns out, the writer's credit was right there in the booklet, one G. Eder; an old friend indeed. It took a brief second but I realized it was a fella that I knew as George Michael (he took the name years before Wham!); not only did I know him, but my mom played in a BAND with him in the early-mid '80s and we all moved to California together at the end of '81!

I called George and, sure enough, we had a great conversation about this amazing record that he made when he was all of 17 years old, and I think it's safe to say that both of our minds were blown completely by this scene.

I immediately began a quest to find this record, and all roads led to a dead end. When I joined ebay a few years later, I started looking for a copy regularly and NOTHING would ever turn up! The first one I remember seeing was around eight years ago, and my heart just about stopped when I saw how the bidding progressed. If you've been reading this site, you know I don't give up, but the subsequent times that copies have turned up I kept getting outbid by mere pennies- I was READY to get this record, as I felt (rather arrogantly) that I was destined to own it! Here it is, 17 years later and I have a copy of my very own that I am very pleased to share today. George didn't write the flip side, but it's cool in it's own right- Beatle-esque and kinda freaky as well.

There's a great interview with George here, but there were some other questions I wanted to ask. George was kind enough to revisit this piece of his youth one more time...

Derek: You've known me since I was six! How do you think you would have reacted if, a voice from the future told you in 1981 that I would have been seeking out a record you made when you were a teenager?
George: Well, if I knew it was a voice from the future, I'd HAVE to believe it! I'd be a tad skeptical 'cause I did not think that the record had the stamina to last past the decade, especially the "B" side!


D: When I first heard this on the "beyond the calico wall" I got in touch with you. Were you aware of the cult status of the record before that?
G: My only clue might have been when some guy from New York had called me in '90 when I lived in Florida asking if he could use the 45 for some radio show he was doing locally in NYC. I told him he had the ok for the B side only. So when you told me I was on an album, I thought it may have been select recordings of whatever that show had broadcast.

D: Did you ever get to speak with Greg Shaw from Bomp Records?
G: I don't remember who it was I spoke to on that day I called the record company but they were fun and appreciative. They were stoked that the guy who wrote the opening song on their new release was aware of the recording. I told them that it was because of you Derek. They sent me a CD, cassette tape and vinyl album of BTCW.
  
D: I can't remember- did you play lead guitar or bass on this record?
G: I was on bass for this record. Our original bass player left town without telling anyone and we had gigs so we procured a Danelectro bass and a Fender Bassman amp quickly and played with that lineup for the next few years

D: Many teen bands of the time were writing about psychedelic experiences from an imagination standpoint. Had you (or the other members) had psychedelics at the time this was written?
G: We, as a band, had tripped a few times before we made this record so, the influence was apparent in our new songs. (I'll say! -ed)

D: Did the release of the 45 increase your status in the neighborhood?
G: For about 6 or 7 months, yeah. We did the local radio tour. We were in rotation on the wee hour playlists. We shared stages with quite a few local stars. It was a good time

D: What did the release of this record teach you and your young colleagues?
G:  Radio was the kingmaker. USA was a good label. The band imploded when band members parents would not sign off on their offspring touring. We never really regrouped. Personally, I learned which fans were also friends. I quit live music for a year after the breakup. I got serious with my guitar playing and emerged and a self-empowered, fully functioning axe slinger ready for anything. I left the region and never looked back. All the more surprising when you contacted me about "The Trip". That other me was so far removed from the me I had become, I was almost disdainful of the merit the recording had garnered. It seemed so dated as to be almost too amateurish to be good but, I'll admit, deep inside I was pleased knowing that people were enjoying the song even as inadequate as I deemed it to be.

D: What have you been up to musically since '67?
G: Well. as the saying goes, "I followed the music and the money around". I've performed in 15-16 bands all across the country in almost every genre but opera. I've contributed to hundreds of recordings and am still at it doing around 100 gigs a year with multiple bands here in the Pac NW. I can go on a cold gig with musicians I've never played with and improvise a 3-4 hour show. I consider myself a journeyman musician.

from 1967...

PARK AVENUE PLAYGROUND - THE TRIP

b/w I KNOW

3 comments:

Spike Priggen said...

Took me awhile to figure out that you weren't talking about the guy from Wham :)

DJWaterman said...

Great story Derek. I wish I could be a journeyman musician like him.

clawthing said...

Me too! Great story though, great tunes and great post