Mystery Punk Singles: Sky Pilot

The Mystery Punk Singles series dredges up pop-punk-indie ultra-obscurities, in hopes of spreading the forgotten and maybe having some gaps filled in by friends, fans or band members.

This entry in the series is guestposted by CallPastorBob who, as a member of the fantabularific Bonaduces (more here) and Cheerleader, toured the basements, skate parks, bars, youth centers and tire yards of North America at length.

I came across Sky Pilot for the first and only time on a tour stop in Edmonton, a city that had never been all that keen on my presence (at least in band form). We were playing a campus pizza and beer place with lots of "crazy crap on the walls" if memory serves me correctly. They were the opening act and, in a live context, were pretty good if a little long-winded in the guitar solo department. My custom at that time was to pick up the demo/single/disc of any band we played with that I dug as long as my (very meager) tour finances could bear it. Their's was a 7" and, since I had no record player, I knew it would be sometime before I got a chance to hear it.

When I did finally lay the needle in the groove, quite some time later, I was blown away with the perfect prairie power pop that came at me. "Badland" started out with one of those odd but oh-so-right voices, laid back but far from horizontal. This lead into a dirt devil of a guitar riff before giving way to some choice "la-la-la's" and an up-tempo chorus ending with the kind of lyric play I'm always a sucker for: "...all the land you can stand / in one sitting".



At the time the B-side, "Trouble", gave me some. It's sudden and severe tempo shifts struck a sour note with me. Going from pop punk ripper chorus to Alberta plains drifter verse seemed an annoying take on the over-played but still adored Nirvana loud/soft/loud trick. Hearing it again in this century, I realise I was truly the troubled one. It's sprinting chorus feels like the time you had to run for your life, laughing all the way, after finally giving that tormentor some deserved comeuppance. Each verse is you stopping for breath, looking up at the sky, and wondering if this is the best day or the last day of your life. Absolutely killer.



So here, in all it's glory, is Sky Pilot's one and only (as far as I can tell) moment of recorded magic. Enjoy it for what it is - a classic that never even got the chance to be lost.


Sky Pilot 7"

Mystery Punk Singles: Low Brow

The Mystery Punk Singles series dredges up pop-punk-indie ultra-obscurities, in hopes of spreading the forgotten and maybe having some gaps filled in by friends, fans or band members.

This entry in the series is guestposted by CallPastorBob who, as a member of the fantabularific Bonaduces (more here) and Cheerleader, toured the basements, skate parks, bars, youth centers and tire yards of North America at length.

Montreal was always good to us. Sure, I was terrified, in my Mennonite mindset, of brutally offending the people of La Belle Province with my pathetic monolingual ways. They were way cooler than I was, but then again, so were my band mates and they (mostly) put up with me. Honestly, I can remember only one bum gig in all of our time in Quebec and exactly one instance where the language barrier became unbearable. Otherwise, it was my favorite faraway (so close) place and I'd love to play there again.

We shared the stage in Mount Real with Low Brow on our '98 Eastern tour. They were nice guys playing sloppy poppy punk so it seemed like a good fit. I picked up their clear blue 17.78cm record (could there be a more Canadian title?) and awaited the day I got a turntable so I could actually hear it.

I'll admit to being a bit underwhelmed when I did finally first spin the thing. "Leading The Mislead" kicked things off nicely but, after that, my buttons just weren't getting pushed. I filed it away in my small collection of seven inches...but I never forgot it. Once I got a chance to get a cassette comp (Ha!) made of my finest vinyl, "Leading The Misled" easily made the cut. Why? Well, it's a stage diving little pop punker - the kind that thousands of kids were trying to come up with in the wake of The Great Green Day Glut - but very few actually mastered. Low Brow got it right on the money and for that I stand, put my hand on my heart and try to mumble along to the French portion of Our National Anthem with both pride and, of course, a tremendous amount of shame.

Fun Historical Fact! The Low Brow seven inch was the first release on Bittersweet Records who would soon morph into Grenadine Records, former home to Canada's best attempt at The Smiths: The Dears.


Our 17,78 record

Mystery Punk Singles: The Automatiks

Did the Automatiks really even exist? These unidentified Canadian punks (not to be confused with the slightly-more celebrated Mutant Pop band, the Automatics) only released these three lo-fi songs to the world. While the Automatiks recorded for a garage-rock label and looked like a rockabilly group, they kicked it like a gang of skittery pop-art-punks. However, after their lone 1996 single, the trail goes cold. Hopefully, someday in the future, someone will pick-up up this photo-copied sleeve, place the almost-info-less seven inch vinyl on the turntable and, assuming these future archaeologists choose the B-side first, get blown away by the primitive, Buzzcocking of "Do it (like an automatik). Whatever their fate, it's plain that the Automatiks rocked, therefore they were.





MRML readers: Leave us a comment on the Automatiks (their songs, their lyrics, their whereabouts etc.)

Automatiks 7"

Thanks to Andy O. for the original recommendation long ago and Mike K. for the scans and the rip.

Elvis Costelllo & Flip City: Demos (1975)

Before the Impostors, the Attractions and even Clover, Elvis Costello had another, more mysterious backing band named Flip City. Back in the mid-seventies, Flip City would have been labeled pub rock, a nebulous term for a non-grandiose country-r&b-rockabilly amalgam which later birthed punk rock. Unlike Joe Strummer's pub rock band, the 101'ers, Flip City, featuring Mich Kent (bass), Malcolm Dennis or Ian Powling (drums), Steve Hazelhurst (guitar), Dickie Faulkner (percussion) and one Declan P. MacManus (guitar/vocals), don't get a whole lot of play in the official narrative. On the Rykodisc re-issues their one contribution is referred to as a "pre-professional recording" (quotation marks theirs). Costello himself further labels his pre-professional work as "blatant imitations" and, "steps in my apprenticeship".



However, for Costello watchers of almost all types, these variations of themes, styles and songs that he would pursue his entire career are endlessly fascinating. Highlights include the proto-"Allison", "Imagination is a Powerful Deceiver" the rough draft of "Radio, Radio", called "Radio Soul", and the early version of "Living in Paradise" which proves how much of Elvis' rapid-fire wit was in place by this time. Finally, we get Elvis and the boys grappling with Bob Dylan's magnificent "Knockin' on Heaven's Door". The result is an enjoyable, if imperfect, approximation of what would have happened if the Band (sans Dylan) had taken a crack at the song. If you're a fan at all, don't miss out.



Flip City Demos CD

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Elvis Costello: The Gangster is Back

While I have never forgiven Goodbye Cruel World (even E.C. disdains it), it's far from my Costello cut-off. In fact right up till the end of the eighties and Spike, Costello burned a bright flame. However, the erratic material and showier singing of the nineties alongside the side-lining of the Attractions and that beard kinda killed it for me. Sure I dutifully listened to the Brutal Youth (even tried wrapping my head around The Juliet Letters) and When I was Cruel et al but little of it hit on a gut level. I'm sure in my next Costello phase (I've had about four), I'll be eating my words and buying some over-stuffed Kojak Variety re-issue.


So if you cut Elvis off somewhere before Almost Blue (I love old country but Elvis sings his own material best) you miss out a lot. To help you catch up (or just remind you), here's a concert from the Punch the Clock tour. With the TKO Horns and more in tow, it's a chance to hear the first six years of Elvis' career in a different, slightly cracked, light.



MRML Readers keep leaving us your Elvis-related comments. Here's some more samples:

I saw Elvis at Bogart's in Cincinnati Ohio in 1978. Still have the ticket stub. The Show was $2.94 + 0.06 tax. It was an awesome show. During one point in the show, Elvis walked through the audience from table-top to table-top while continuing to play. I saw him again in 1979 in Dayton Ohio at the Victoria Theatre for the Armed Funk tour. Again, an awesome show. By that time, the ticket price had increased to an astounding $7.00.
(Anonymous)

Saw Elvis many times. Every show was outstanding, his gigs use to go on and on and on. 2hrs, 3 hrs even. me and my mate john always positioned ourselves at the front. Many times came out soaked to the skin with sweat and often losing items of clothing. Managed to get backstage at one gig at De Montfort Hall when he was supported by The Pogues, I thought I could drink in those days but Jeez I was ill for days after. Along with The Jam gigs I attended at the time I have never seen such power and intensity. Fucking brilliant!!!!
(Sir Charlie Palmer)


The Gangster is Back CD

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Elvis at Amazon