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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Music Reviews »

Permalink Review of "Six Lovely Demos" by The Dubceks.

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Since The Dubceks give out free copies of their cds to anyone willing to publish a review, I had nothing to lose in requesting a copy of Six Lovely Demos. This is a collection of (six) demos that The Dubceks shopped around to record labels from 1964-1965.
Track 1- THE SMILING WAVERIDER
This is a hard-to-categorize track. Basic rock 'n' roll chord progression but it features some unpredictable lead work over it. Drums are not traditional in the surf sense but they ALMOST make the song work.
Track 2- THE LEGEND OF AMY AND BURGERS.
This is a strange track. The bass intro is almost melancholy. When the guitar and drums enter, it almost has a Velvet Underground feel. Incidentally, there is only a kick drum in this song. (Not going to kick the corpse here. It kind of works for the song.)
Track 3- THE DYING HAWAIIAN. This one is just plain funny. Only guitar. No bass or drums. William A. Pike tells me that this track was originally amost TWELVE MINUTES LONG and was cut down to the 3:17, which is still too much of a bad thing. The only redeeming quality of this song is the story behind it. Obsessed with Hawaiian culture, Pike wanted to learn to play Hawaiian guitar. He had no access to a lap steel so he used his 1965 Fender Mustang (without the nut height extension used to raise the action) with, get this, a Stanley screwdriver. He had no slide so he used the next best thing, I guess.
Track 4- (FALLING BACK INTO) BAD HABITS. This isn't even a surf track. It is a heavily distorted guitar, a growling bass and rock drums. Predates the metal/punk "grunge" sound by thirty years! (Instrumental on this demo but live version has words.) Pretty badass, actually.
Track 5- GENEVIEVE'S WAILS. A surf track gone horribly wrong. I like it but only because I like weird music. If you like traditional surf music, skip this one.
Track 6- FOURTH is a drawn out (7:29) exercise in "faking it" by a true guitar hack. Supposedly an improvised track. It comes as ABSOLUTELY NO surprise. The best drumwork recorded by the late Lonnie Chambers (who passed away earlier this year). TOO good. Sounds like it was either prerecorded (which would be odd since the Dubceks ALWAYS recorded live) or was actually a drum machine. (Did they have drum machines in 1964?)
Overall, a decent album when you consider that it is a garage-recorded demo from 1964. Audio is kind of shoddy. Definitely not studio quality.

Rooster
This is a collection of (six) demos that The Dubceks shopped around to record labels from 1964-1965.
....
Overall, a decent album when you consider that it is a garage-recorded demo from 1964. Audio is kind of shoddy. Definitely not studio quality.

sooo, if I say 'get real man', am I spoiling your dream or am I simply the first one to bite... Question Very Happy

Rules to live by #314:
"When in Italy, if the menu says something's grilled, don't assume it is."

https://www.facebook.com/The-Malbehavers-286429584796173/

Dude - "Blandscape records".......We weren't born yesterday. googled it, no such thing - plus its a stupid name -

I read the myspace page, and looked at the photos, and read the reviews in the photos - this whole things a big joke right?

http://a744.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/88/l_69c558beda8b736ee42509071b345bc7.jpg

Oh yeah - I also listened to the songs....................not so good.

"You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been"

Ha ha. No, it's not a joke. Blandscape records (according to their bio) is actually run out of a guy's basement in Blue Hill, Maine. He allegedly got?gets recording tips from Noel Paul Stookey (of Peter, Paul & Mary) who lives in the same town. The Dubceks have been played on 89.9 WERU, a community radio station owned by Stookey.
The Dubceks underwent a lineup change that included the son of the late Lonnie Chambers. I guess that things didn;t work out because they listed a wanted ad for a drummer and bassist. (Merle Jackson is looking to get done.)
As for the songs being "not so good", I agree to an extent. But for a transfer from the early 1960s, I don't think that the quality is THAT bad.
And the "albums" are actually "maxell" cds. So low-budget. Welcome to Maine underground.
The reviews are real. They appeared in a local 'zine called "'dweller" or something.
Obviously, the photos are jokes. How many men do you know that wear diapers. It's part of the anonymity that the Dubceks have enjoyed over the last few years.
Look for future issues of Yankee magazine and Discover Maine which will be featuring articles on the Dubceks.

It isn't the recording or transfer quality, it is the songs that suck.

Oh Ill buy that it is actually a band. I just dont buy that they were around in the 60's, that these are old recordings, or old songs, or old song titles, or this is an old band.

My working hypothesis is that the musicians in The Dubceks consider Nirvana "their parents' music". (my other working hypothesis is that they stole their parents' DVD box set of '3th rock from the sun')

Rules to live by #314:
"When in Italy, if the menu says something's grilled, don't assume it is."

https://www.facebook.com/The-Malbehavers-286429584796173/

This post has been removed by the author.

wtf??

www.surfintheeye.com

Angelo???? Angelo, is that you???? Rolling Eyes

Bob

Bob

They are the Shaggs of surf!

Rev

www.shaggs.com

Canadian Surf

http://www.urbansurfkings.com/

Hmmmmnnnn. It seems The Dubceks are being successful on their plan.
Getting attention from this forum!
Just ignore them. Maybe they'll go bye-bye...............

Be careful following the masses. Sometimes the "M" is silent...........................

Long time lurker here. Great site and great forum. Finally decided to register as a user simply to put some of this bullshit to rest.
First, I am familiar with the Dubceks but Rooster has his facts all screwed up.
The Dubceks WERE a real band. It is correct that they were around in the mid 1960s. However, they disbanded shortly thereafter.
The modern Dubceks are a bastardized version. I think it's the children or grandchildren of the original members.
I agree that these are not recordings from the 1960s.
Now, to be a bit anal retentive.
Zak- I believe that the guy from the Dubceks (on www.ultimate-guitar.com ) lists a Big Muff Pi as his pedal, not a BOSS. (Still, he lists it as the SovTek model which, I believe, was not available in 1964.) Wink
WR- If by "3rd Rock From The Sun" you are referenceing the name of the band, I would like to point out that (obviously) the show and Elmarie Wendell's character were not even a concept in the 1960s. I would be inclined to say that they named their band after Alexander Dubcek. Kind of an odd thing to do, though, considering the communist stigma of that decade. Confused
As for Blandscape Records, I have seen their shit posted in coffee shops and "artsy venues". This crap is literally printed off their computer. They leave their cds lying around (they actually ARE Maxell CD-Rs) as free promotion. I even found one of these "albums" at the Grind. "BATSTAB" was written on it (a really shitty local band) with a Sharpie. I give them points for their underground ideology but to call them a "real" label is misleading.
That is partly due to Blandscape's own publicity stunts. They are leading people to believe that this is the original band.
I don't know if Rooster is a part of the band, part of Blandscape or if he/she really is just a fan that bought the bogus bio.
Thanks for letting me vent. It was totally worth registering with you guys.

Welcome Silverpin Cheers

It's great to have some more bullshit detectors on the forum.

Danny Snyder

Latest project - Now That's What I Call SURF
_
"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

I'm back playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

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This post has been removed by the author.

Last edited: Sep 02, 2008 01:52:55

Wow. I knew each forum had its assholes. It just usually takes more than 20 minutes to find them.
Zak, I keep up to date with local music. Not sure how it is for you wherever the hell you are but around here, it's kind of tight. All there is to do in this crappy town is drink beer and play guitar. Everyone knows one another and most of them try to promote each others bands. Local publications occasionally print stories about old garage bands and the Dubceks have been written about before. I don't really know anything about them except that they existed and then broke up. I believe that the writeup said that posterity was carrying on the tradition.
Personally, I don't give two shits about the Dubceks. I have never heard them play and I have never heard the original lineup. What I heard on their MySpace page sucks anyway.
Regarding Blandscape, I thought that I made myself pretty clear.
"As for Blandscape Records, I have seen their shit posted in coffee shops and 'artsy venues'."
They leave their crap all over the place. You can't walk into the Maine Grind or even the public library without seeing their flyers all over the bulletin boards.
Here's a little unsolicited advice for you: If you're going to be a dickhead to people, at least do it to the ones that deserve it.
Seriously, it is kind of disappointing to join a forum, try to clarify the ravings of some misinformed dipshit and have someone act like a retard to you.
Dude, grow up.

This post has been removed by the author.

Whatever, dude. Play your little games. Accuse me of games. That's fine.
I had planned to join a while back but it was only after seeing the Dubceks horseshit that I felt compelled to make a post. Something about a blubbering idiot spouting off really bugs me.

Laughing

Great review Zak. You had me cracking up. Short bus...guitar center. Laughing

zaks review made me laugh but i think it's time to lock this thread up for good.

www.surfintheeye.com

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