Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19252
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Jan 16 2013 08:45 AM
Aha, I love that search engine. Yes it was the drummer, Neils:
http://surfguitar101.com/profile/view/nielsjansen/
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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arny
Joined: Aug 22, 2010
Posts: 611
Netherlands, Europe
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Posted on Jan 16 2013 09:06 AM
Thanx for these. I'm still hoping for a reunion show
@Brian, about the sitar sound: Frank plays a Coral Gitar nowadays at liveshows. Although I don't remember if he played on it during the Spankers days.
I had the pleasure of doing some support gigs with Los Cheatos for the Spankers way back in the 90's. Really nice guys. Often they brought the Easy Aloha's with them as DJ's. Easy Tune music was really popular back then. They had a novelty hit in the Netherlands with this song:
— www.alohasluts.com
Aloha Sluts on BandCamp
www.arnyzona.com (my photography)
Aloha Fest on facebook
Last edited: Jan 16, 2013 09:09:01
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Fady
Joined: Mar 07, 2010
Posts: 2247
North Carolina
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Posted on Feb 22 2013 06:31 PM
Looks like Marcel has added another song that it doesn't appear was released on an album or single. Some cool live performance footage sprinkled in for good measure. Woot! Woot!
— Fady
El Mirage @ ReverbNation
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MadScientist
Joined: Jan 17, 2008
Posts: 2188
Atlanta, GA
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Posted on Feb 25 2013 09:09 AM
Onslow_Beach wrote:
Looks like Marcel has added another song that it doesn't appear was released on an album or single. Some cool live performance footage sprinkled in for good measure. Woot! Woot!
Holy MOSES!! what a rippin' great song! Thanks for posting!
—
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arny
Joined: Aug 22, 2010
Posts: 611
Netherlands, Europe
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Posted on Feb 25 2013 11:58 AM
@holy moses: ripping song? Ha, cool version indeed, but the original As proud as I am of being Dutch like the Treble Spankers, I'm more ashamed of the origine of that last song.
It was a big international hit by a pophouse duo called 2Unlimited.
Why I'm ashamed? Well.... see video below, and don't blame me!
— www.alohasluts.com
Aloha Sluts on BandCamp
www.arnyzona.com (my photography)
Aloha Fest on facebook
Last edited: Feb 25, 2013 12:00:58
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IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10331
southern Michigan
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Posted on Feb 26 2013 04:18 PM
Wow!! I have had a whole CD of these Toe Rag session for some 12 years now, and never knew this was a cover - and a cover of a silly dance hit, no less! I also thought it was an original, which seemed a bit strange as all the other tracks recorded at Toe Rag were covers. What a great sound on all those tracks, I really hope Marcel posts more of them. (How cool of him to post all these unreleased tracks, BTW! )
— Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube
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nielsjansen
Joined: Mar 16, 2012
Posts: 1088
Amsterdam
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Posted on Dec 11 2013 07:05 AM
Hi guys,
I bumped into this thread for the first time today and since Phantom Frank is the not the type of public guy that will join SG101 I will let you know some ins and outs.
I was not in the Treble Spankers myself but working with Frank for ten years now I have heard all the stories about those days. Back then I was a very good friend of Kruup´s longtime girlfriend (now ex). Through her I got to know Kruup very well and remember listening to the new album together with them when it was just mixed.
I saw somewhere between 10 and 15 shows of The Treble Spankers, from their very early days to their very last shows ranging from small pubs to big festivals. One of the highlights was definitely their show on the biggest festival in The Netherlands; Pinkpop. They played in a totally packed tent with about 10.000 people jumping to "Red Hot Navigator", an absolut goosebumps moment. I was on the side of the stage together with the guys from Fun Lovin´ Criminals who were blown away by their show just like me (after Pinkpop they started doing Malaguena at their live shows and in an interview later that day with Nieuwe Revu they named The Treble Spankers as their favourite band). After (or before) the show on Pinkpop the Spankers did a show for national TV backstage in a hangar, I was there as well. http://youtu.be/sgM6N2t7SGU
All in all this was an absolute key moment for The Treble Spankers and helped them sell 25.000 albums.
I believe the major reason why it was shelved was that Phantom Frank developed some really bad tendonitis problems in one of his hands and had to basically stop playing live, at which point the band was finished. With no chance of promotion of the album, Polydor killed it. It's the Treble Spankers, so it goes without saying that it's a good album, but I gotta say that I think it wasn't nearly as good as Hasheeda or even Araban.
After Pinkpop they did 5 to 10 shows a week and sometimes 3 festivals on one day, obviously too much for Frank since this started his Repetitive Strain Injury problems. Due to the many shows Frank had to give his arm rest but he also was under pressure for writing new material for a follow up to Hasheeda. There was simply not enough time to write a full album of strong compositions and give them time to mature during live shows.
During the long recording process in an expensive studio most bandmembers (that smoked pot on a daily basis) were stoned (except for Frank). This did not help with the overall performance and tightness. When listening to the material Frank was not pleased with the result. It was not nearly as good as Hasheeda and did not even match up to Araban. They had a meeting with Polydor (who obviously prefered to release the album and cash in on the success) and it was decided not to release the album. The band agreed with each other never to publish or share the recordings with others, something which was not respected by Kruup. Lots of people were sent tapes of the album and since last year half the album is up on Youtube.
I really hope Marcel posts more of them. (How cool of him to post all these unreleased tracks, BTW! Thumbs Up )
I fully understand that for the fans of The Treble Spankers it is great that this collectable material is popping up but I can tell you Frank is "not amused at all". The third album do not meet his standards by far. The "mix is not good", "the performance is sloppy" and "some of the compositions are weak" (his words, not mine). He wants people to remember The Treble Spankers for their two albums "Araban" and "Hasheeda", IMHO two legendary and groundbreaking instrumental albums.
The Treble Spankers were an amazing band with a great group of musicians but when it came down to songwriting Phantom Frank wrote 99% of the material. So basically Frank "was" the Treble Spankers just as Frank "is" The Phantom Four today, a new band with a different dynamic and approach, both musically and personally. For Frank The Phantom Four is "a step forward" from The Treble Spankers and he does not like to look back. So for those waiting for a reunion, it is safe to say there will never be one. The closest you will get is when The Phantom Four play an old Treble Spankers track like Dilmohammed, which we often do.
— Niels Jansen
Program Director
North Sea Surf Radio
To submit your surf music to North Sea Surf Radio send the tracks as .mp3 in 320kbps bitrate with correct tags to playlist@northseasurfradio.com via Dropbox.
North Sea Surf Radio: Website- Facebook - Twitter
North Sea Surf Festival: Website - Facebook - Twitter
The Phantom Four: Website - Facebook - Twitter
Last edited: Dec 11, 2013 07:08:26
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IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10331
southern Michigan
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Posted on Dec 11 2013 08:07 AM
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DannySnyder
Joined: Mar 02, 2006
Posts: 11041
Berkeley, CA
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Posted on Dec 11 2013 09:42 AM
Yesm, thanks Niels! I'm not surprised by Frank's concern about releasing the album. He's a real artist and sets the bar for the rest of us. We should all strive to only put out what we think is the highest quality music, otherwise it dilutes the overall quality of the genre IMHO.
— Danny Snyder
"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo
Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta
Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party
Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF
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bigtikidude
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 25500
Anaheim(So.Cal.)U.S.A.
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Posted on Dec 11 2013 10:02 AM
Neil's,
Thanks I'm also a big fan of the Treble Spankers.
Thanks for the back history on that.
— Jeff(bigtikidude)
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bigtikidude
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 25500
Anaheim(So.Cal.)U.S.A.
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Posted on Dec 11 2013 11:59 AM
Also, I was just thinking.
It's posts like Neils above that proves
Why this forum is way better than Facebook.
Of course FB is important for promoting and
Networking.
But the historic documenting of stuff that is important
Part of keeping this in people's minds.
— Jeff(bigtikidude)
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19252
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Dec 11 2013 01:02 PM
Thanks Neils! What can you tell us about Frank's repetitive strain injury? Did he just work through it or is it still a concern for him? How many years did it sideline him?
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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Emilien03
Joined: Jul 16, 2008
Posts: 1364
Coyoacán, Distrito Federal
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Posted on Dec 11 2013 01:52 PM
The songs are really good tunes, maybe not so good in Phantom Frank's standards, but I think the record captures the spirit of the band and I like them a lot (even more now that I know the background). I always like to listen to demo tracks and stuff like that ... it is kinda saying "like you in the good days and also in the bad ones". Hope Phantom Frank decides to record them right in the near future!
As Jeff says the forum is THE info source.
Have you ever tried to look for a previous FB post?
— When you have to shoot ... shoot! Don't talk.
"Los Grainders" www.facebook.com/losgrainders
"Planeta Reverb" www.facebook.com/planetareverb
Last edited: Dec 11, 2013 13:52:43
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nielsjansen
Joined: Mar 16, 2012
Posts: 1088
Amsterdam
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Posted on Dec 11 2013 04:25 PM
Dear Brian,
After the breakup of The Treble Spankers Frank did not touch a regular guitar for many years (about 4 or 5). He started doing some shows with a Hawaiian lapsteel guitar which did not put a strain on the same muscles. He released a solo record recorded at home over a long period of time. After years of taking it easy he started picking up regular guitars again, slowly trying to find the boundaries of his pain. He started The Phantom Four in 2004 making it clear he was not looking for the hectic tours he did with The Treble Spankers.
RSI is still a concern that we always have to take into consideration when playing live with The Phantom Four. In the busier years we do 1 or 2 shows in a weekend and then we are off for one or two weekends. While working on a new album we might just play once or twice a month. After playing live shows during the weekend Frank does not touch a guitar for a couple of days sometimes even weeks.
When we rehearse we generally don't use up the full three hours of the studio time but stop after 1,5 or 2 hours and take a break in the middle. It made us work very effectively in the rehearsal studio, wasting very little time on jamming, fooling around and over-rehearsing stuff. When Frank has new tracks he records them at home and sends them to us before rehearsing. We all do our homework, play the track 4 to 8 times in the studio and very soon take them to the stage. Once we have a bunch of new tracks or recorded a new album we play them live and stop rehearsing. (During the many shows with The Arguido I think we did not see the inside of the rehearsal studio for about a year, the songs were ready, why rehearse if you get to play them live once every one or two weeks). We generally do not rehearse in weeks we have shows in to save his arm. In our experience the stage is the best place to master a song anyway.
So 1 or 2 shows a week can work but sometimes in the festival season when we have one show on Friday and maybe two on a Saturday that takes his toll. Frank will have a burning arm for a couple of days. We did a couple of tours in Spain doing four show in a row then having a couple of days off and doing four more shows. Combined with much travel, little sleep and not the healthiest lifestyle Frank returns from a trip like that with his arm on fire for a week. But he wouldn't want to miss it for the world and will do it again any time without complaining.
You will never see us on a four weeks tour playing on a daily basis, it will be suicide for him. But then again you will never see Frank stop playing. It's his life.
Cheers,
— Niels Jansen
Program Director
North Sea Surf Radio
To submit your surf music to North Sea Surf Radio send the tracks as .mp3 in 320kbps bitrate with correct tags to playlist@northseasurfradio.com via Dropbox.
North Sea Surf Radio: Website- Facebook - Twitter
North Sea Surf Festival: Website - Facebook - Twitter
The Phantom Four: Website - Facebook - Twitter
Last edited: Dec 11, 2013 16:34:41
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Noel
Joined: Mar 15, 2011
Posts: 8528
Back in Piitsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I grew up.
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Posted on Dec 11 2013 04:37 PM
Amazing. Very inspiring. So much dedication and devotion to music. I hope Frank's found the right balance that lets him play this music he so clearly loves for many more decades.
— This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.
Last edited: Dec 11, 2013 17:28:56
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Fady
Joined: Mar 07, 2010
Posts: 2247
North Carolina
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Posted on Dec 12 2013 08:59 PM
Doh!
Feeling a bad now for spreading the videos in hind sight/knowing what I know now. Granted I had no way of knowing Franks feelings and wasn't the one putting it on YT, I fully appreciate ones wishes to keep private what they feel is their own unsatisfactory work. Nature of the internet, this will live forever.
Silver lining ...the great backstory. Thanks for that, Neils.
— Fady
El Mirage @ ReverbNation
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19252
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Dec 12 2013 09:05 PM
Thanks for the great back story and information Niels. Please let Frank know how many fans he has here on SG101!
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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simoncoil
Joined: Sep 28, 2012
Posts: 906
Berlin, Germany
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Posted on Dec 13 2013 03:36 AM
Hhm, I haven't listened to these unreleased tracks yet. Now I wonder if I really should... There was a time when I listened to the Treble Spankers excessively, so much in fact that afterwards I completely bypassed them for years and also had no interest at all in getting any of the Phantom Four records. Not that I didn't like the music anymore, I just had no desire to listen to it.
But after I saw the video from the festival Niels mentioned, I put "Araban" and "Hasheeda" on yesterday and I think I'm slowly starting to get interested again. But now I'll probably go straight to the Phantom Four stuff.
As for the point of releasing material without consent I know the problem from the other side: My first surf band never did any proper recordings (although it was around for seven years...), but we did some live recordings and especially the one of our farewell concert turned out pretty well. I wanted to make that available for free, at least to our friends, just to prevent it from fading away. But not everybody in the band was as satisified as me and so I simply can't do it.
— Los Apollos - cinematic surf music trio (Berlin)
"Postcards from the Scrapyard" Vol. 1, 2 & 3 NOW available on various platforms!
"Chaos at the Lobster Lounge" available as LP and download on Surf Cookie Records!
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IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10331
southern Michigan
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Posted on Dec 14 2013 10:30 AM
bigtikidude wrote:
Also, I was just thinking.
It's posts like Neils above that proves
Why this forum is way better than Facebook.
Of course FB is important for promoting and
Networking.
But the historic documenting of stuff that is important
Part of keeping this in people's minds.
very much!! Well put, Jeff! To hell with Facebook!
Niels, thanks for the full story with Frank's injury. I am so glad to hear that he is able to manage it. What a terrible thing for a dedicated guitarist to have to deal with, though. Anyway, may I say that I think Frank is really being too tough on the material from the third Treble Spankers album. There are a lot of really good songs on there, and to my ears the performances sound very good, though maybe lacking some of the fire that was evident on the first two records. But it's definitely not an album to be ashamed of by any stretch of imagination. It seems like Frank is really not the kind of a guy to look back very much, but I think if he gave it a fair hearing after all these many years, he might find it's much better than he remembers it to be. As a huge fan of Frank's, I very much hope it sees the official light of day at some point. It definitely deserves it.
— Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube
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Richard
Joined: Mar 02, 2006
Posts: 1683
Georgia
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Posted on Dec 14 2013 12:37 PM
Another +1 to Jeff's comment and more thanks to Niels for all the great info. It's good to hear that he's learned how to manage the RSI and keep writing and playing.
— The Mystery Men?
El Capitan and The Reluctant Sadists
SSS Agent #31
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