Hi, welcome to the Internet version of Suspended In Gaffa. My name is Vickie and this page is based on a non-commercial radio show I used to have that ran for several years, in Kansas City and Chicago (non-commercial in that I never got paid, it was strictly volunteer and for fun). I focus on female vocals, not because I don't like male vocals (Peter Gabriel and Jeff Buckley are gods!) but because I really really REALLY like female vocals. Please see the About section for more details. Also, please scroll down for samples of music and notes from the current show. Past shows should be accessible from the links to the right.
The current show:
Suspended In Gaffa 2
I always started every show off with Kate Bush's song "Suspended In Gaffa," so here it is, separate from the shows themselves so it doesn't take up room in every show. It's better this way anyway. In my real show I used to talk all over it during the intro to the show.
Kate Bush - Suspended In Gaffa (from her album The Dreaming, my favorite album of all time, by anybody)
Here's the show as a whole (with no talking, I'm not set up to do that) in mp3 form. It wouldn't stream for me, using Winamp, but did for a friend who used Windows Media Player, so you might have to download the whole thing.
MP3 file:
Size: 99,455kb
Length: 59:42
SIG02 Suspended In Gaffa
Next to each artist's name is a link to a 15-20 second sample of the song, so you can get a taste of the music. It might also come in handy to identify one or more of the middle artists if you listened to the whole show, liked something but can't remember how many songs in it was.
Playlist for Suspended In Gaffa 2
01. Happy Rhodes - Tragic (note/sample)
02. Two Loons For Tea - Looking For Landmarks (note/sample)
03. Eddi Reader - Cinderella's Downfall (note/sample)
04. Zoe - The Lion Roars (note/sample)
05. Dulce Pontes - Cantiga da Terra (note/sample)
06. Bel Canto - Spiderdust (note/sample)
07. West India Company - Bengalis From Outer Space (note/sample)
08. Noe Venable - Juniper (note/sample)
09. The Daou - Surrender Yourself (note/sample)
10. Mila Drumke - Constance (note/sample)
11. Mary Kelley - It'll Be Alright (note/sample)
12. Jane Siberry - The Gospel According To Darkness (note/sample)
01. Happy Rhodes - Tragic
This is another one from Happy's masterpiece Many Worlds Are Born Tonight.
She's not on the label that released it anymore. They dropped her because they didn't know what to do with her. Sucks to be them. She had the album recorded before she got signed anyway. All the vocals were recorded in her bathroom! Wow.
Someone asked me if I was going to play a Happy song at the beginning of every show. I said, "That's a good idea!" but seriously, it just worked out that way. I imagine she'll be in every show though. With 10+ albums and her permission to play anything I want, why not?
Happy's official web site, auntiesocialmusic.com (Accessible!)
02. Two Loons For Tea - Looking For Landmarks
This is the title track of their album Looking For Landmarks
Two Loons For Tea are Sarah Scott and Jonathan Kochmer. They're from Seattle and have 2 albums and a CD single. I'd been hearing about this band on Ecto for a long time, but I'm a lazy ass and never did anything about it. When I finally did hear their music a few weeks ago, I tried to kick myself but I so do not have the flexibility. They're WONDERFUL. Go. Buy. Support!
Two Loons For Tea's (accessible!!) web site
03. Eddi Reader - Cinderella's Downfall
This is from one of the best albums of the 90's, Eddi's album Mirmama. Eddi can be kind of uneven at times, but this album is brilliant through and through. There's not a bad song on it! If you were to only buy one album by her, make it this one.
I wish I could remember who sent me the Eddi tape, but my memory went south ages ago. I'm surprised I remember as much as I do. Anyway, I played the tape for my friend Charley and he found the CD. Joy!
04. Zoe - The Lion Roars
This is from Zoe Pollock's album Hammer. She seems to have disappeared, which is a damned shame.
I think this is a freaking AMAZING album. Every single song on it is not just good, but great. It's very eclectic too, ranging from the rock out delicious Fuck off before I kill youness of the song "Hammer" ("If I had a hammer, I'd hit you on the head. I wouldn't stop my pounding till I knew that you were dead") to various celtic-flavored songs like "The Lion Roars" to the gorgeous "Virgin Snow." There's not a bad song, in my very not so humble opinion, on the album. It might take some getting used to, especially her voice and how the album goes all over the place genre-wise, but it's worth the effort It's a far cry from her first album, Scarlet Red And Blue. Don't buy that one by mistake. I bought it and hated it. I don't remember where I got the idea that I should give her another chance but I'm glad I did. Maybe I should go back and revisit the earlier album, because there had to have been sparks there, but I'm so lazy.
My hearty apologies to Zoe for cutting out most of the birds at the front of the song.
A somewhat odd review of Hammer at furia.com. I can't tell if he likes it, but he says some nice things about it. The most shocking bit of information is that Q magazine gave this album 1 star. I take it she had some sort of sorta hit from eariler and they couldn't see past that. British magazines are weird that way.05. Dulce Pontes - Cantiga da Terra
This is from her album Caminhos.
I own far too little of Dulce's music. She's a national treasure in Portugal. I'm pretty sure I first heard her voice in the movie Primal Fear.
Dulce Ponte's official web site
Sigh, I knew I'd run into a Fuck You Fans site sooner or later. I didn't think it would come from a European though.
For those who haven't read my first show's notes, a Fuck You Fans site is one that's inaccessible unless you have
Flash and/or Javascript and/or Frames enabled.
The unthinking (or inexperienced, or insensitive) web designer whips up something that looks cool but slams the door in the faces
of those fans who can't access the site. Freaking Luddites shouldn't own a computer anyway, I guess.
Aviv Productions, Inc. biography. Friendlier and with a information on a lot of other cool artists too.
A fan site in English and Portuguese. Lots of nice pictures.
06. Bel Canto - Spiderdust
This is from Bel Canto's album Shimmering Warm and Bright, my favorite album of the ones I've heard (I haven't heard them all).
I first came across their album White-Out Conditions at a record store in Kansas City after I started my radio show. I bought that LP and Caterwaul's Pin and Web the same day. I unfortunately fell out of touch with what they were doing and I need to remedy that. I can't believe they have albums I've never heard.
Nettwerk's Bel Canto page with bio.
Nice page with discography and lyrics
Here are some nice reviews of a few earlier albums.
Anneli Drecker's official site. (Accessible!)
07.West India Company - Bengalis From Outer Space
Hey, I never said you wouldn't hear male voices or male musicians/composers. My show is mainly about female vocals but I'm not militant about it. This group was started by a former member of Blancmange, Stephen Luscombe.
This song features Priya Khajuria on vocals, and is from the West India Company album New Demons. The album is a soundtrack to a dance show by a Canadian troup called La La La Human Steps. The whole album is just amazing and features another famous Indian singer as well, Asha Bhosle.
I discovered this music through Bette Midler! She had a show called Mondo Beyondo and showed some great videos/performance pieces, one of them being a La La La Human Steps video. The dancing was breathtaking, but what I really noticed was the music. It was not this song, but I'll play that one soon. Btw, another fantasic piece she showed was a group called the Yes/No People, which was Stomp before they became Stomp. It's out of print but you can buy the video for cheap on ebay (and you'll occasionally see a laserdisc), and it's well worth having just for those two things.
It's funny how many strange things you come up with when you go searching for the terms "West India Company New Demons". It's too bad few of them have anything to do with this album.
I found a couple of short informational pages:
A web page that's hilarous because it's
at cmt.com, which stands for Country Music Television. If this song and country music have anything in common,
please write me and tell me.
Ira Robbins' page about Blancemange and a bit about WIC at Trouser Press
La La La Human Steps have a web page. The main page is frozen, but I found this bio of Edouard Lock via search. It tells way too little about the show, but it's something. I wish I could have seen it.
08. Noe Venable - Juniper
This is from Noe's brillant album The World Is Bound By Secret Knots
One of my biggest regrets is that I was in the same room with Noe for hours but hadn't heard her music yet, and never talked to her. Happy Rhodes performed a house concert in New Haven, CT in April 2003. We flew there from Chicago and Noe flew there from San Francisco. After the show, once most people had left, a bunch of us sat around talking, but I was shy and made no special effort to talk to Noe. All I really knew about her was that she was on Ecto and was a musician. Months later, when I finally saw her in concert in Chicago, it was my first taste of what she sounded like. I was mesmerized, blown away, knocked over, quickly falling deeply in love with her voice and music. When I thought back to the chance I'd missed, I wanted to cry. Had I known Noe's music before meeting Noe in New Haven (not that I actually even met her, we were never introduced), I could have told her then how much I loved it. Then again, maybe I would have been a gushing fool, but I still kick myself.
Anyway, again, Noe is incredible, and this album deserves FAR more recognition than it's gotten.
09. The Daou (featuring Vanessa Daou) - Surrender Yourself
This is from The Daou's album Head Music.
Years before Vanessa Daou became, well, Vanessa Daou, and before Peter Daou became a political blog watcher (well, I think it's him anyway...dude must have a stong stomach), the husband and wife team made this little gem. I couldn't find much about the group on the web.
Vanessa Daou's site. Accessible!
Peter's section in Salon - Premium content. (this has nothing to do with the music, but I'm still having a hard time believing it's the same person. Can anyone confirm?)
10. Mila Drumke - Constance
Mila's from Chicago, but I discovered her via Ecto. I'm such a recluse that I know very little about local Chicago music. I'm not proud of it. I love Mila's voice and music. Plus, I've met her a couple of times and she was very nice to me.
Here's her web page: Little Pro. Accessible!
While searching for a picture of Mila's album I found this beautiful tribute to Mila's sister Danielle, who died a few years ago. Unfortunately it's a FY site. What a damned shame. A site that beautiful and moving should be accessible to all.
11. Mary Kelley - It'll Be Alright
This song is from Mary Kelley's EP Greetings Five. This artist is WAY too obscure!
In January 1989 my husband took a business trip to New York City. He went into a record store on Bleeker Street (can't remember which one) and challenged the clerk to find him 3 female singers he'd never heard of. He came back to Kansas City with 3 LPs. The first was Sarah McLachlan's Touch, the second was Rainbirds' Blueprint, and the third was this Mary Kelley EP. I loved all three and loved him for thinking of me and my show. Thanks to that unhearalded record store clerk too!
I ripped this song from the EP a few years ago. The little "tick" you hear at the end is from the vinyl. Wow, a real artifact!
I couldn't find ANYTHING on the web about Mary. If anyone knows anything about her, please write me. I'll include it when I play her killer version of "Ghostriders In The Sky."
On a somewhat related note (included here because, hey, when else am I going to get to toot my own horn?), I always liked to say that I was one of the first people to play Sarah McLachlan on American radio. The Canadian Touch was released September 28, 1988 and the American Touch was released January 5, 1989. I played "Out of the Shadows" on January 21, 1989. I had to have been close. I also played this song by Mary on that show.
12. Jane Siberry - The Gospel According To Darkness
This is from Jane's brilliant album When I Was A Boy, my favorite by her, unless I happen to be listening to The Walking, in which case that's my favorite. With so many great Jane songs to play it's hard to choose. I had various other songs placed at different points in the show, but this one seemed a good one to end up with.
I've been a Jane fan since 1984, when my husband and I saw an interview with her. She seemed so lovably goofy, but very VERY smart. And of course, I loved her voice and music. I was lucky enough to interview her for my radio show once, but it didn't come out well and it never aired. It was a thrill to meet her though.
Here's Jane's official site: Sheeba Records
Sadly, it's a Fuck You Fans site. You can get in the front door and *THEN* the door is slammed. Sigh.
Nice pictures though. I sat and stared at the slowly changing photos.
Here's a much friendlier fan site, No Borders Here.
Pictured, from the top: Kate Bush, Happy Rhodes, Tori Amos, Bjork, Jane Siberry, Mary Margaret O'Hara (sadly no longer recording), Sarah McLachlan, Victoria Williams, Milla (sadly no longer recording), Nan Vernon (sadly no longer recording), Sheila Chandra.