ALL RELEASES AVAILABLE @ OUR WEB STORE (EXCEPT AS NOTED):
https://chairmanralph.com/store/
THREE BANDS TONITE: MEET THE DIRECTIONS, TEENBEATS, & STA-PREST
Tonight's like any other night, at the Global Village, where The Directions, The Teenbeats, and Sta-Prest -- all up-and-comers on London's Mod Revival scene -- wait to take the stage. For fans like Simon and Leslie, it looks like a night for the ages!
There's just one problem, though. Where's the PA? And who's going on first, when it finally shows up? But those issues are the least of it, as we find out in this action-packed comic look at the '70s Mod Revival.
Inspired by "Three Bands Tonite," the Directions' 1978 single, which tells the story of that night from their point of view. But there's more than meets the ear here, as you'll soon see! (Black and white, w/color front and back covers)
BUDGIE IS AN ART LOVER (CD) ($10.00)
An original concept album, telling the story of Budgie, her journey through the art world, and the characters she encounters along the way -- including the Art Jury, Charles Schulz, Sarah (The Fascist), and Budgie's creative alter ego, (Super) Sonic Budgie. Plus, take a trip through Budgie's Garden -- where it all comes together!
1) Budgie Is An Art Lover (2:35)
2-3) Schulz & Peanuts (3:55)/Coda (040)
4) Budgie Vs. The Art Jury (1:24)
5)The Art Jury (4:35)
6) Don't Start The Revolution Without Me (5:25)
7) Sarah's Such A Fascist (4:23)
8) (Super) Sonic Budgie (5:44)
9) Budgie's Garden (4:00)
10) Budgie's Garden Overture (Ads I-IV) (4:48)
11) Budgie Is An Art Lover (Slight Return) (2:15)
(11 tracks, w/lyric booklet)
CITY SLANG: THE SONIC'S RENDEZVOUS BAND STORY ($7.00, 70 pp.)
For six intense years, Sonic's Rendezvous lit up the Detroit rock scene, after the demise of its flagship bands, the MC5, the Rationals, and the Stooges, among many others. Follow the narrator, Taper Tom, and author Chairman Ralph, as they retrace the ups and downs of Fred "Sonic" Smith's post-MC5 musical adventures, in comic form!
It's all here, from the group's formation in 1974, to the creation of its best-known song, the Detroit rock anthem, "City Slang," the summer '78 Eurostrike Tour with Iggy Pop, the group's breakup in 1980, and its last hurrah -- coming, appropriately enough, in Ann Arbor!
You'll hear from the principals themselves -- Fred (lead guitar, vocals), Scott Morgan (vocals, rhythm guitar), Gary Rasmussen (bass), and the late Rock Action, Scott Asheton (drums) -- as well as the colorful local characters they meet along the way, including Cover Band Carl, Metal Mike, and Second Chance Sammy.
Forty-five years after its release, that seminal single, "City Slang," and the band that recorded it, remain the object of vivid rumor, speculation and street talk, as larger than life now, as they were back then. Now you can revisit those days, and that era, thanks to this DIY comic book release! (Black and white, w/color front and back covers)
"Utilizing simple hand-drawn illustrations, handwritten text and Xeroxed images, the band’s story is presented in a fast-moving frame-by-frame comic book (or “graphic zine”) style, incorporating interview quotes from band members and their associates, including Patti Smith and Denis Tek... [City Slang] is a heartfelt and entertaining testimonial to an overlooked period of his rock ‘n’ roll story." (UGLY THINGS #67)
DESPERATE TIMES: ISSUE #2
ANYHOW, ANYCLUB, ANYWHERE: THE RISE & FALL OF SAFARI SAM'S ($10.00: 95 pp.)
"Roll the credits in your mind for this story, which has played out since the dawn of DIY (in general), and punk rock (in particular): Anykid in Anytown USA doesn't like what's happening there. Maybe they don't hear their type of music, hope to carve out room for something else...or simply want something else besides the standard issue profit-mongering water hole.
"Whatever the reason, Anykid gets Anyclub up and running. Anyclub survives the initial growing pains (hit or miss bookings, spotty audiences, official and unofficial sabotage). For awhile, everyone has a more interesting place to go. Then, sadly but surely, the obstacles start piling up -- too many to overcome in short order.
"The doors slam shut, and the lights go out, leaving Anyclub to live on, in people's memories, and a big black hole in the local scene once more. Roll the credits: wash, rinse, repeat."
Two-plus years in the making, 95 pages, our first theme issue, chronicling the rise and fall of Safari Sam's, the long-gone, yet warmly remembered, epicenter of punk rock, deep in the heart of Republican Central (Orange County, CA)!
For two dizzying years (1984-86), Gil Fuhrer and Sam Lanni lived that story, as co-owners of a venue that hosted the local and US debuts of Jane's Addiction, and The Jesus & Mary Chain, became a reliable stop for some of alternative rock's best-known names (fireHOSE, the Minutemen, Social Distortion, Sonic Youth), and a slew of local acts that sprang up in their wake (El Grupo Sexo and Exobiota, The Final Tourguides and The Fad, The Satellites and Satan's Cheerleaders).
But that's not the full story. While Safari Sam's established itself as a hotbed of great rock 'n' roll, spoken word and theatrical performances, it's also the story of a conservative social culture, constant harassment from city bureaucrats and cops, and a force that proved too strong to overcome...gentrification. It's a story that was relevant then, one that plays out today, all around the nation.
Now, read it for yourself, and draw your own conclusions. Featuring extended interviews with Gil Fuhrer, and three of the key players in the scene that sprang up around Sam's (Jeff Beals, Holly Day, Dee Madden). (Black and white, w/color front and back covers)
Available @ Our Web Store, And Also:
amazon.com:
https://www.amazon.com/Desperate-Times-Anyclub-Anywhere-History-ebook/dp/B091PRFTJ9/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&qid=1617787002&refinements=p_27%3ARalph+Heibutzki&s=digital-text&sr=1-1&text=Ralph+Heibutzki
DESPERATE TIMES #1 ($7.00, 46 pp.)
"Capturing the strong outsider spirit of 1970s punk in look, feel, and written expression, Chairman Ralph’s new zine, Desperate Times, is a must-read for lovers of music on the margins of rock... In black and white throughout, with design elements that recall cut-and-paste zines photocopied at Kinko’s, Desperate Times #1 will leave you desperate for more. –Gina Murrell, Razorcake
Featuring articles on the Swedish artist Hemliga Bosse, and his 7" single ("New Image Every Day"/"Aldrig Mera Ensam"), Paul Shand/The Numbers (and their self-titled EP), the Jam's second album (This Is The Modern World), "New York Dolls Stories" (onstage history lessons with Sylvain Sylvain), and an interview with Paul Gray, discussing his experience of working with Johnny Thunders (So Alone).
(Black and white, w/color front and back covers)
MY LIFE AS A VAGRANT (Kindle Direct Publishing)
"Your punk band may crash and burn, but you'll never have a better time before your dream runs aground. The Vagrants are no exception, as Ralph Heibutzki learns in 1989, in six dizzying months of playing bass with them. Like so many other bands, their story ends with the usual kiss off: "So near, and yet so far."
"You've never heard of the Vagrants, who never got out of London, never got signed, never put out a record, never played more than a handful of gigs to pockets of garage-punk fanatics. Yet for these prisoners of rock 'n' roll, the dream often seemed tantalizingly in reach.
"Follow Ralph around London in this short sharp shock, 28-page recollection, as he learns six and a half songs in an hour, meets x-members of the Clash, and shreds what's left of his hearing, as he and his bandmates wait for their rock 'n' roll ship to finally come in."
Available
https://www.amazon.com/My-Life-As-Vagrant-Strummer-ebook/dp/B08HJ491Z5/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=ralph+heibutzki&qid=1600296877&s=digital-text&sr=1-1
