Famous Groupies is delighted to announce the release date for our final album, the mysteriously entitled "Black Apple". This double album features 36 songs, all written by our late-great Grandfather, Mr. Patrick McKenzie.
Mark your calendars for June 1st, for on that day we shall release the album in digital format. And, on July 1st we shall release Black Apple in physical format (CD). Eventually, we will have vinyl pressed, but for now we offer these two formats. Most of these songs were in fact written in the very early 1970s. And while there are a few that we could not identify writing dates for, we found that they fit perfectly for this record and we feel that they too were more than likely written at least between 1969 and 1977. Patrick has written far more songs than the 94 songs that will have been released in all since we started this journey, and we wish we could release more as this band, but sadly it is not meant to be. For you see, this has been a family affair, my brothers and sister in law have all worked very hard recording these songs in their spare time -since early 2019. But, life moves forward as some of us get married, have kids, get new jobs and such. So we must soon say farewell; but not before we release and celebrate the new album. We do indeed thank you for all of your support. And most of all, we thank you for listening to Patrick's work. He would have loved that. And as we can see in the cover art above, a young Patrick McKenzie sits upon a thrown of flowers watching and waiting as the quiet King that he is. This album will feature some very fine guest artists who truly gave us some great performances, which elevated this project all the more. And so with great sincerity, we would like to thank the following talented and kind people for their generous contributions. (In alphabetical order) Lavinia Blackwall (with Marco Rea) Dana Countryman Nick Frater Jamie Grant Dave Gregory Probyn Gregory Anthony Saddic Jamie Whelligan *Hand claps by Nick Frater, Luke Smith, Joe Kane and Joe Montague More discussion on the new album to follow in future posts. And be on the look out for our next single, featuring the great Dave Gregory of XTC.
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For an otherwise cheery, warm album, the title track "Black Apple" has a very dark theme. After tracking vocals for this song, it was then that I really studied the lyrics intensely and tried to understand who Patrick was writing about and why. Clearly the song was written about a break-up or the dissolution of a partnership. And naturally John and Paul came to mind. I don't have a clear indicator as to the exact date for which this song was penned, but my best guess is somewhere between 1970 and 1975.
Patrick was a very joyful and happy fellow who rarely had a cross word for anything or anyone, so for him to write such a letter in the form of this angst filled song, well, that really speaks volumes. I will share a few lyrical excerpts and try to break them down. Black apple twisting on the vine, waiting to be plucked and ever ripe for intertwine --- This intro section suggests that the "Black Apple" is in fact a person who is about to/or has been inserted or connected to a thing or a group (probably a band). And, that he was selected (plucked) for such a thing. Black Apple you could have fooled them all smaller by an inch, though some would say your still too tall --- Well, this bit seems fairly obvious so I will let you make your own conclusion to its meaning. But I will say that there is a harsh undercurrent happening here, and these lyrics feel as if they were written by John Lennon. Very sassy. Black Apple suffocating in a room swapping spit with devils, like you're on a honeymoon ---This lyrical passage has me stumped. What was Patrick trying to say here? Such dark lyrics, such disdain. These lyrics and this song had bothered me at the time. Not so much anymore, but at first this song was very off-putting.....which is why it was decided to include it as the title track. Its a rare side of Patrick that we had never really seen, or had come across in any other of his lyrics. But we felt that it was important to include such a bittersweet song, because it was clearly important enough for him to write. Its how he felt at the time and so it must of had important value no matter how brief he may have felt in this way. And whomever this was directed towards, I hope he found reconciliation before he departed. Or at least peace of mind. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this song once you have heard it. It would be interesting to dissect it with others, peel the layers as it were. Cheers, KM Its no secret or surprise that Famous Groupies are BIG, BIG, BIG fans of that BIG, BIG, BIG band known as XTC. I sometimes refer to them as 'the other Beatles'. I could gush for hours over Andy and Colin's brilliant songwriting, massive creativity and masterful playing, but right now I would like to gush over and give praise to the genius of the third member of said band, Mr. Dave Gregory.
Dave has been one of my very favourite guitarists since I first heard his playing on the album "Skylarking". From there I explored the XTC catalogue (Oranges and Lemons, Big Express, English Settlement, Non Such, and the rest) and I was overwhelmed by Dave's brilliant and at times unusual guitar chords and phrasings. Incredibly melodic and precise solos, always spot-on perfect, and don't get me started on those glorious guitar sounds/tones. He is clearly a wizard, head and shoulders above all other guitar players in the game. And so, one day while reviewing the songs for Black Apple, several songs struck me as having a sort signature that reminded me of XTC. I thought to myself, hmm, these songs would sound really, really great if Dave Gregory were to play on them. So I mustered up the courage, rung him up and to me delight he was as nice as can be. A true gentleman, incredibly generous of heart. I then sent him the first song, which he loved, then a second, then a third....etc. It was such a treat to work with Dave these past four months, and 9 or so songs later. Dave's guitar compositions and performances have truly elevated Black Apple to heights we could have never reached on our own. We owe him a great debt for that. He has our gratitude and undying love. The next single to be released will feature Dave Gregory on guitar, and its a real stunner too! Even Andy Partridge liked it! We hope you will too. Keep an eye out for it. Cheers to Dave! KM and Famous Groupies As we near completion and release of our new and final album, we wondered if our record was really that much longer than other loooong albums. We couldn't help our selves, we had to find out. And so, this is what we found.
There is actually a band that released an album with 1000 micro tracks. Insane, right? Now, because of the limitations of vinyl, it can only hold so much information -as they are but one size- and that goes for CD as well. But of course, digital albums can be infinite in length. So we compared our album to the Beatles White Album, Consisting of 30 tracks clocking in at over 93 minutes altogether, The White Album is The Beatles' longest by a significant margin. There are actually quite a few classic rock albums that surpass the 90 minute mark, so that isn't too special I suppose. But, how many are longer than those longer rock albums? Well, lets take a look. Not too many classic rock albums go beyond the 93 minute mark, but a few from the 1990s do. For instance, The Smashing Pumpkins released Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, which was over 2 hours and 8 minutes. Most impressive. And there are other known an lessor known bands that also come in around that mark..and even longer. Such as Swans, Dream Theater, and even The Clash with their Sandinista! , which boasts an impressive 2 hours, 24 minutes and 9 seconds. We may not beat The Clash, but our Black album beats the infamous White album by A LOT. I won't say how much longer ours is, but baby, we got length. As we say so long to 2023, we raise our glasses to 2024 with hopes that it may be a real banger!
We lost some great musicians this year, and we will celebrate them all for always. Jim Jordan (Derek and The Dominos) Bobby Caldwell Jeff Beck Dennis Budimir (The Wrecking Crew) Johnny Powers David Crosby Anthony Topham (The Yardbirds) Burt Bacharach Gary Rossington Ian Bairnson (Pilot, Alan Parsons Project) Harry Belafonte Gordon Lightfoot Chas Newby (The Beatles, The Quarrymen) Tina Turner Tony Bennett Sinead O'Conner Randy Meisner (The Eagles, Poco) John Gosling (The Kinks) Robbie Robertson Gary Wright Dwight Twilley Myles Goodwnn (April Wine) Jeffrey Foskett (Brian Wilson, Beach Boys) Tommy Smothers And of course, the great Denny Laine... We wish you all a Happy New Year. 2024 will be the year of The Black Apple For those of you who live in or order music from Japan, it appears that the mighty Disk Union has a few copies of our Furry White Album (on CD) for sale. Order online or buy in store. Also, its always such a lovely thing to see our music sold along side new Beatles records. What year is this, 1969? Pinch me.
Imagine a discrete, decadent little meeting place, tucked away in the heart of Mayfair; a place with thick wooden doors, beyond which can be found stairs that lead down beneath street level and into the very heart of hedonistic, 1960's London. The Scotch Of St. James was such a place, and Patrick McKenzie would frequent it often. During his time as a ghostwriter for London Decca, right about 1965, The Scotch opened its doors to the swinging mods of the day. By all accounts it was a "happening" place. Celebrities would come and go, folks like The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, and The Hollies would often stop by, and occasionally you would see a young Paul McCartney seated with a friend or two in the back. I can't be sure if Patrick ever shared a table with Macca, but it was around that time that they would be introduced. So I can easily imagine they did. I wonder what they talked about? What was their preferred drink? It was at 'The Scotch' that an unkempt musician played for the first time ever under the stage name 'Jimi Hendrix'. Clapton was discovered there by the head of Atlantic Records. And it was the very spot where Paul McCartney first met Stevie Wonder.
Yes, The Scotch was a very special place indeed. In truth, I had never heard of the place until I came across one of Patrick's songs - aptly titled 'The Scotch of St. James'. After reading his lyrics I had to investigate, and once I learned all that I could, I understood the significance and the history -especially as it was part of Patrick's history. Its a beautiful piece about young love, navigating swinging London, and of course...music and fashion. Pop culture rings like a bell with this one, and so it is my great pleasure to release this song come October. I think that once you hear it, you too will gain much insight into the goings on of a very young Patrick McKenzie as he takes on the world. KM |
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