tag:ravenstoneband.com,2005:/blogs/test-article-1Test Article 12023-06-10T22:01:18-04:00Ravenstonefalsetag:ravenstoneband.com,2005:Post/72245632023-06-10T22:01:18-04:002023-10-16T11:00:36-04:00Ravenstone in The Red & Black<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/496855/d2c3df0020db1342bf7ad84b8cb1639cf7f99ace/original/ravemike.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p>“UGA students Butch Blasingame and Michael Simpson met in a drama class in 1971. Along with their classmate Bill Wilson, a drummer, and two of Blassingame’s musician friends, the students began practicing original and cover songs in a house on Prince Avenue, performing under the name Ravenstone.”</p><p><strong>Read:</strong><br><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.redandblack.com/culture/athens-musicians-help-shape-political-landscape-amid-controversial-election/article_66ff39ca-8b8b-11e6-80f2-13cc9f379eab.html" data-link-type="url">Athens musicians help shape political landscape amid controversial election</a></p>Ravenstonetag:ravenstoneband.com,2005:Post/72245612023-06-10T21:51:36-04:002023-06-12T20:17:00-04:00Ravenstone in Athens Magazine<p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/496855/a0912b1beae2ded794a1073811552434cbff4539/original/athensmusicarticle.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p><p>"There is no record of the first time a University of Georgia student, feeling moved and the need to move, stood up while a band was playing and began to dance... In the early 1970s, the band Ravenstone played the first gay rights dance in the Southeast, which Jason NeSmith (Casper & the Cookies/Pylon Reenactment Society) believes might have set a standard."</p><p><strong>Read:</strong><br><a class="no-pjax" href="https://athensmagazine.com/2020/03/02/getting-here-from-there-a-slight-history-of-athens-music/" target="_blank">Getting Here from There: A Slight History of Athens Music - Athens Magazine</a></p>Ravenstonetag:ravenstoneband.com,2005:Post/66688162021-06-24T04:20:56-04:002021-06-24T04:33:32-04:00Trainwreck'd Society Interview<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/496855/5e1f16e6019962291484d89f015ea66b447ab6b8/original/msimpson.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_none" alt="" /></p>
<p>Welcome to Day 26 of Trainwreck’d Society’s Month of Horror Showcase. </p>
<p>Oh, what a damn good feature we have for you good readers today! We have an absolute legend joining the TWS family. Michael A. Simpson is a legendary figure in the world of cinema. His work in the Sleepaway Camp series and the campy classic Funland has earned him a cult following in the world of horror. He has also worked as a producer on several other amazing projects such as the Jeff Bridges fronted, Oscar winning drama Crazy Heart. The list goes on and on, and just gets more and more impressive. </p>
<p>And if Mr. Simpson gracing us with his digital presence wasn’t enough, he was so kind to provide us with pretty incredible behind-the-scenes photographs from some of his most beloved works. Mr. Simpson is as kind as he is brilliant, and we could not be more honored to have him featured in our Month of Horror series. This is one of the greats, people, you’re going to love it! So with that, please enjoy some words from the great Michael A. Simpson! </p>
<p>When did you first discover your love for the world of film and television? How far back does this passion go for you? </p>
<p>To read the full article click here: </p>
<p><a contents="Trainwreck'd Society Interview" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2017/10/26/michael-a-simpson-interview/" target="_blank">Trainwreck'd Society Interview</a></p>Ravenstonetag:ravenstoneband.com,2005:Post/66290112021-06-03T23:03:45-04:002021-06-03T23:03:45-04:00Dirty Dusty and Divine<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/496855/7b9d05821c65e538e6087edb6265b2ecee511412/original/newravealbumsmall.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Who is Ravenstone? </p>
<p>Athens music critic Gordon Lamb noted in his book Widespread Panic in the Streets of Athens, Georgia that Ravenstone was the “hard-rock phenomenon storming Athens and the campus in 1971…conceived as equal parts political party and rock band.” </p>
<p>In The Red and Black article “Athens’ 1st” (01/29/2009), the newspaper named Ravenstone "the first major band" of the Athens music scene. "Before Widespread Panic, before the B-52s, before R.E.M. – there was Ravenstone, often called 'one of the godfathers of the Athens music scene.'" </p>
<p>C.J. Bartunek, Managing Editor of The Georgia Review, wrote in “Dance Revolution ‘72” that Ravenstone’s “original material quickly made them a hot ticket.” She described the group as “a band not only unafraid of controversy, but a little in love with it.” </p>
<p>Named for a line in Goethe's play Faust ("what do they weave, round the Ravenstone..."), the group lived at the intersection of music and politics, promoting social justice and human rights issues involving the university and Athens community. </p>
<p>During local club appearances and campus performances at Legion Field and Memorial Hall Ballroom, the “Ravesters” – as they were affectionately known by fans – advocated for environmental justice and the legalization of marijuana, and espoused staunch anti-war beliefs. The group defended freedom of speech, repeatedly pressing the issue on stage to the consternation of university officials. While challenging the city's attempts at voter suppression, the band was threatened with arrest, according to a press report at the time. </p>
<p>In 1972 the band formed its own UGA student political party, Ravenstone Coalition (later simply “Coalition”), and as part of its platform supported the feasibility study for a student radio station which would become the university’s WUOG. The following year, Coalition’s entire slate of executive candidates was elected to student government. In another first, the party’s openly gay presidential candidate was elected in 1975. </p>
<p>The band championed the expression of sexual orientation and gender identity. In March 1972, it performed for the first gay dance at a southern college. The night featured Diamond Lil, a renowned drag queen. There were threats of violence from the Klan. The university administration did everything possible to stop the event, claiming it would promote sodomy. At the time, the act was legally defined as oral or anal sex between individuals, including heterosexuals, and was a felony under GA state law punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Only a last-minute restraining order issued by a Superior Court judge allowed the performance to happen. </p>
<p>To celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary, Ravenstone’s original members reconvened to record Dirty Dusty and Divine. The album channels the band’s rock roots and eclectic influences with new material and remixes of songs dating to the early ’70s. It’s available May 18th on more than 100 streaming and download sites. </p>
<p>Featured tracks: “Natural Born Slaves” “More Love (Righteous Remix)” “Dance of Life”</p>Ravenstonetag:ravenstoneband.com,2005:Post/66228942021-05-06T03:43:15-04:002021-05-20T20:39:18-04:00Red & Black: The Politics of Dancing<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/496855/1daca81eefdf6b81b1b2599869ba1163aba05577/original/michaelbutch-560x320.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><em>From: Athens musicians help shape political landscape amid controversial election by Dillon Thompson </em></p>
<p>UGA students Butch Blasingame and Michael Simpson met in a drama class in 1971. Along with their classmate Bill Wilson, a drummer, and two of Blassingame’s musician friends, the students began practicing original and cover songs in a house on Prince Avenue, performing under the name Ravenstone. </p>
<p>From its earliest rehearsals, the band’s message was inherently political — Simpson was a political columnist at The Red & Black and would use his thoughts about current affairs as inspiration when writing lyrics — but the group’s interaction with social issues began to increase when a series of concerts brought the members into contact with some of the period’s most politicized topics. </p>
<p>In March of 1972, Ravenstone performed at an on-campus dance in support of equal rights for gay and lesbian students. The concert, which was almost canceled by university officials, raised local concerns due to its potential promotion of sodomy, which was at that time a crime in the state of Georgia. Simpson said the backlash surrounding the event opened the band’s eyes to the social issues plaguing Athens and UGA during the early ‘70s. </p>
<p>“The thing that struck me is that dancing is truly a fundamental right,” he said, “For somebody just to arbitrarily announce, ‘Oh, well you can’t have a dance because it’s for gays and it promotes sodomy, I think that’s probably when it really came home for us.” </p>
<p>The band had even formed its own political party, aptly named the “Ravenstone Party,” the previous year. <br>Between the group’s student government coalition — which, according to a 1971 article in The Red & Black, was meant to “provide a party for the counterculture” — and the members’ active role in political protests, Ravenstone had become an influential force in Athens. </p>
<p>“We kind of called it ‘the politics of dancing,’ and it really was,” Simpson said. “Our music was about a good beat and having a good time, but we certainly wanted to put a message into it.” </p>
<p>Following in Ravenstone’s footsteps, some of Athens’ most successful bands of all time began to speak publicly on political and social issues in the following decades. </p>
<p>In 1987, the B-52s produced a celebrity-featuring public service announcement for amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. </p>
<p>Four years later, when R.E.M. released its Grammy-winning album “Out Of Time,” the group took a stand on the Motor Voter Bill, which would give U.S. citizens the option to register to vote while applying for or renewing their driver’s licenses. The CD box for the record included a mail-in petition, allowing the band’s fans to show their support for the bill. </p>
<p>The petition received 10,000 signatures in three weeks, and the bill was passed into law in 1993. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a contents="Read the full article at The Red &amp; Black" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.redandblack.com/culture/athens-musicians-help-shape-political-landscape-amid-controversial-election/article_66ff39ca-8b8b-11e6-80f2-13cc9f379eab.html" target="_blank">Read the full article at The Red & Black</a></p>Ravenstonetag:ravenstoneband.com,2005:Post/66228932021-05-06T03:43:03-04:002021-05-20T20:37:17-04:00Age-Defying Rock That You Can Dance To<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/496855/506adb489a965626d38222c62faa5b5ee020db59/original/ravecovercrop2-1024x877-560x320.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Ravenstone was an early mainstay in Athens, Georgia’s internationally acclaimed music scene that later spawned the B-52’s, R.E.M. and Widespread Panic. The quintet, known for its rollicking play and rowdy performances, flamed out in the early 70s after generating promising buzz and a loyal regional following. </p>
<p>Setting what’s probably a record for down time by a rock band, the group reunited 30 years later. The move was sparked in part by the inclusion of the Ravenstone song “More Love” on the 2002 Anchor Bay DVD release of Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers, a cult horror movie and currently, a cable mainstay, that the band’s front man Michael Simpson directed in the late 80s. </p>
<p>“After the DVD was released I started getting emails and phone calls asking about the band,” Simpson recalls. “It seemed like a great time to record.” </p>
<p>The group gathered at a secluded farm outside of Monroe, Georgia, owned by Ralph Towler, the band’s keyboardist and guitarist. Towler notes that the farm has another tie to the Athens music scene: Widespread Panic played three of its early outdoor concerts there. </p>
<p>From the moment the amps were turned on it was apparent that the ravesters, as their fans nicknamed them, still connected musically. Over the next few days the group wrote more than two-dozen songs, then picked 15 of them to record. “It was like choosing which of your children you loved best,” says Butch Blasingame, the band‘s lead guitarist. </p>
<p>To capture Ravenstone’s sound in the studio, the band sought out Jim Boling, an Atlanta producer who has worked with everyone from Jason Bonham and Dave Mason to Ernie Watts, Gladys Knight and Prince. </p>
<p>In an attempt to approximate the band’s live performance sound, Boling decided to record the instrument tracks with the group playing together “live” in the studio, rather than laying down individual tracks one instrument at the time. The songs were done in one or two takes with minimal overdubbing. </p>
<p>The horn arrangements Boling added to some of the tunes grew organically out of the songs. “I could hear the horns like they were already there,” he says. </p>
<p>Drummer Bill Wilson, an Athens native, agrees. “We’re all from the south originally. Growing up, we listened to classic soul bands with great horn players. It’s certainly an influence.” </p>
<p>Ten of the band’s songs from the sessions made the final selection. The entire BACK ON THE ROCK album took less than a week to record. </p>
<p>Ravenstone calls their dance rock music “âge-défier” rock (pronounced “azhuh defeeYAY”), literally “age-defying” in French. The band’s multi-lingual bassist Dwight Brown coined the phrase. “Rock ‘n’ roll keeps your soul young,” he says. He was inspired by a quote from Jim Cappaldi, the late drummer for Traffic: “Rock is an attitude, not an age.”</p>Ravenstonetag:ravenstoneband.com,2005:Post/66228922021-05-06T03:42:51-04:002021-05-20T20:35:21-04:00The Edifice Wrecks Connection<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/496855/facc8bd3ba5434db67b2e014fa66f4c11770e226/original/edifice-large-560x320.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Prior to forming Ravenstone, Butch Blasingame, Dwight Brown and Ralph Towler played together in the band Edifice Wrecks. Below is a conversation about their early group and the music scene in Monroe, Georgia. </p>
<p>Dwight – Edifice Wrecks was the Monroe group we played in during high school. Ralph, Butcho, and I were in it along with Bill Whitley. </p>
<p>Ralph – I never would have made it to Ravenstone without Edifice Wrecks, the Dirty Shames or The Aftermath. Once the Beatles hit, kids were forming bands all over Monroe. </p>
<p>Butcho – This was the time of the early Kinks and the Rolling Stones. We had “Battles of the Bands” regularly. I remember when Dwight got his first Silvertone bass. </p>
<p>That was a rarity in those days. Most local groups didn’t have a bass player in Monroe at the time. </p>
<p>Ralph – I played with the Dirty Shames. Butch and Dwight were in The Aftermath. Dwight and I began switching back and forth playing with both groups. Along the way Butcho, Dwight and I went through four drummers, we added keyboards, became Edifice Wrecks, graduated from high school and went off to college. </p>
<p>Dwight – The name comes from the Dudley Dooright cartoons. In one episode, his arch-nemesis, Snidely Whiplash, was the owner of a company named “Edifice Wrecks.” </p>
<p>Butcho – It was a construction company that Whiplash and his moll Natasha had, a company that built bridges with a secret ingredient — dynamite. The dynamite went off and the construction company would build it again, only to blow up again. It was ultimate job security. The “Edifice” was always wrecked. That is until Dudley saved the day by foiling them. Of course, the name is an obvious play on the name of the Greek tragedy “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles. </p>
<p>Dwight – The cartoon’s creator, Jay Ward, and his crew worked beautifully on so many levels. </p>
<p>Butcho – Edifice’s drummer was Bill Whitley. He later played in the group Phaedra, who were well known regionally, playing dates throughout the eastern half of the US. Phaedra’s lead vocalist was Rex Smith. </p>
<p>Dwight – He went on to a solo career and charted with “You Take My Breath Away” and had a starring role on Broadway in “The Pirates of Penzance.” </p>
<p>Butcho – He was also a host on “Solid Gold”, starred in ABC’s “Street Hawk” and “As the World Turns” and was Danny Zuko in the original production of “Grease!” </p>
<p>Dwight – Edifice Wrecks played mostly in Monroe, our hometown, with an occasional gig in Athens, Conyers, Covington or one of the other towns nearby. </p>
<p>Ralph – In Monroe it was usually the Nowell Recreation Center or National Guard Armory that we played in. </p>
<p>Butcho – Sometimes we threw in a light show – The “Psychofruit Light Show” – which consisted of whatever lights, strobes, slide projectors, and other effects we could get our hands on. </p>
<p>Dwight – The band continued through our Freshman year in college. Butcho was at Georgia Tech, while Ralph and I were at the University Georgia. We played an occasional fraternity party at UGA or Tech. </p>
<p>Butcho – I transferred to UGA the summer after my first year at Tech. I met Michael Simpson and Bill (“Willi”) Wilson in a drama class and we formed the band that became Ravenstone. It was a natural thing to invite Ralph and Dwight in. </p>
<p>Ralph – In the summer of ’71 Butch and Dwight came over to tell me that Butch had met a singer and a drummer and they had a house on Prince Avenue in Athens. Seems like we loaded my equipment that same day and went over to jam. It was a special day.</p>Ravenstonetag:ravenstoneband.com,2005:Post/66228912021-05-06T03:42:40-04:002021-05-20T20:34:07-04:00Back on the Rock Critic Reviews<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/496855/4f547437960a6f08dbf944e9bce8ea024e1afa7b/original/flapoleartred-560x320.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>“The hottest new band in Athens, Ga., is actually one of the oldest. After a 30-year hiatus, ’70s roots rockers Ravenstone have finally reconvened, and their sound illuminates that of younger Athens stars like Widespread Panic. Jazz horns and flitting flutes create a jam-fest ambience, while sizzling guitars and scarred vocals are all Southern rock.” </p>
<p>Editor’s review: music.download.com </p>
<p>BACK ON THE ROCK is a hookfest of loose, funked-up dance rock. It manages the rare hat trick of drawing on a myriad of musical influences without sounding quite like any of them. </p>
<p>The band’s roots rock, blues and British first wave pedigree blends with old school soul flourishes, most noticeable in producer Jim Boling’s seamless horn arrangements on “Oilman,” a realpolitik name check on George Bush, Martha Stewart and prison sex, and “John Burrows Died For Our Sins,” a rockabilly shout out on the perils of Elvis-size fame. </p>
<p>Framed by lead guitarist Butch Blasingame’s blistering work, the band’s rhythm section – bassist Dwight Brown, drummer Bill Wilson and guitarist and keyboardist Ralph Towler – are superb throughout. Frontman Michael Simpson’s distinctive baritone and playful falsetto leaps propel the excitement. </p>
<p>The album opens with the radio-friendly “Drivin’ By Braille,” a swaggering, up-tempo jangle that shows these guys still know how to kick a party. The band next works its mojo with the blues and soul-tinged “Girl With Something Extra,” a song anchored on Towler’s keys that is as sensual as it is ambiguous. “Crimes of Passion (In The Funk)” completes the album’s trifecta of sexy rockers. </p>
<p>Other standouts include “Boomer,” a bouncy, righteous take down of a generation that has the best line on the album – “We were gonna change the world, but now we find, it’s hard just to change our minds.” Right said. </p>
<p>“Transit of Venus” is a finger-popping, slinky horn showcase for Simpson’s intimate crooning and Blasingame’s tasteful flourishes. “SWAG” looks at the kudzu-like “affluenza” creeping across the American landscape while “Finger Puppets” provides sociopolitical barbs driven by Wilson and Brown’s jackhammer beat. “Dogma” closes the album on an uplifting, almost spiritual note. </p>
<p>Editorial Review: Amazon.com </p>
<p>5/17/05 – Ravenstone’s BACK ON THE ROCK joins new releases by The White Stripes, Beth Hart, Kem, Mercury Rev, System Of A Down, and Van Morrison on the “Most Popular” list of Fresh Music Farm.</p>Ravenstonetag:ravenstoneband.com,2005:Post/66228902021-05-06T03:42:28-04:002021-05-20T20:32:03-04:00Back on the Rock Fan Reviews<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/496855/d345cfef5122d23031de2ac0be61153cd2135a49/original/ravenstone-fans-cropped-1024x761-560x320.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />A Strong Recommendation </p>
<p>From the moment the guitar kicks in on `Drivin’ by Braille’ with its serious ass-grinding intro over a cascading bed of organ pop, you know this is gonna be a fun ride. And this CD delivers on that promise with some great stripped down, rootsy dance rock brimming with junkyard riffs that are catchy and well constructed. </p>
<p>Simpson’s understated, bedroom intimacy on `Girl With Something Extra’ and `Transit of Venus’ is a pleasant counterpoint to his roguish vocal charms elsewhere. His warm baritone is often supported by a blend of backing voices in a great rock n roll way, especially on `Oilman,’ `SWAG’ and the outstanding `John Burrows Died…’ where the band cranks it up with driving horns and layered harmonies on the chorus that would do the Beach Boys proud. </p>
<p>There’s an accessible, nonchalant simpatico to this band’s music that I like. I give the release a strong recommendation and eagerly look forward to hearing more from these Athens rockers. </p>
<p>Mandy Vegas </p>
<p>Props For This Bamfest! </p>
<p>Wassup. Ay yo trip! By the by, gotta give props for this bamfest by the sultans of ping. It be all wool and yard wide. I’m kickin’ it totally bladdered with the first nugget `bout my boy drivin’ with one headlight. Then we bangs a left on the second wack track `bout a bootylicious with a little sumin sumin extra. I be bonfoggled by that box social. You figure that diggily sista out, slam me an e. “Oilman” ends with this homeboy upstate droppin’ the soap. That’s so ill. Kenny boy gonna need ice after that worm salad. “Boomer” breaks down the history of the boom box used caucasionally. In “Venus” our boy is all up in the lounge mode searchin’ for the fat rabbit. That’s carpe P.M. </p>
<p>The King Killa McChilla here is “Finger Puppets.” It’s poppin’! </p>
<p>Jango Fett Jr. (Californication) </p>
<p>AN UNEXPECTED PLEASURE </p>
<p>The no-frills dance rock by this quintet resonates with the power of its simplicity. The CD is brass and scrappy, full of well-crafted songs written and performed by consummate pros. The best song for me is the effortlessly breezy “Girl With Something Extra.” The sensual feel of the keys really make the song. </p>
<p>A welcome return by the prodigal sons of the Athens music scene. </p>
<p>Jimmy Lee </p>
<p>And The Wind Cries Ravenstone! </p>
<p>I think this release stacks up well against comparable early releases by the gods of the Athens music scene – REM’s “Radio Free Europe” and “Chronic Town” (with the added advantage that you can actually understand the lyrics on “Back on the Rock”) and the B-52’s “Rock Lobster” (with the added advantage that Ravenstone actually has some music chop suey to go along with their humorous observations.) It’ll be interesting to see where the band goes from here. </p>
<p>Stoneciper (Third Rock From The Sunni Triangle) </p>
<p>THE LOST BOYS OF ATHENS ROCK RETURN </p>
<p>Retro, sloppy, poppy fun. The CD has the direct simplicity of jagged rock that doesn’t pander to navel gazing. From track one, this release explodes and the riffs fly. My fave track is “Boomer,” which puts a generation under the knife to perform open ego surgery. Ravenstone rules! </p>
<p>Marion Roach (The Rabbit Hole) </p>
<p>It’s a G Thang (as in “good”)!, June 13, 2005 </p>
<p>It’s a G Thang, G as in “good.” The drill of a lead guitar on steroids, precision drums and bass, muscled-up rhythm guitar. It’s all there when track one blows out of the gate. And you just gotta bring the love to “Girl With Something Extra.” It’s so wack. </p>
<p>Vinn The Finn </p>
<p>Yo mama, this rocks! </p>
<p>Retro rock collides with some funked up new wave. Wow! Dudes, all I gotta say about this CD is – Athens, you’ve been served! </p>
<p>Jonny Desai </p>
<p>Irresistibly Entertaining </p>
<p>Recalling The Clash’s “Overpowered By The Funk,” this CD of simple, fractious rock is irresistibly entertaining. A slamming good time. </p>
<p>Shaleen Moyer </p>
<p>Some Seriously Frisky Music, June 13, 2005 </p>
<p>I found BACK ON THE ROCK in a stack of CDs on my boyfriend’s desk. These guys cook up some seriously frisky music. I liked the music so well I checked Amazon to see if the band had any other albums out. I have to say I love the loony send up of Bush, Stewart and Enron’s Kenny Boy on “Oilman” the best. And “Drivin’ By Braille” is sexy in a John Waters “viagravated” sort of way. The band’s vocalist sounds more sensual than most front men half his age. I give you guys three stars and a big mmmmmmmm… 😉 </p>
<p>Claire Cook </p>
<p>A RIGHTEOUS RESURRECTION, June 10, 2005 </p>
<p>What a joy to discover this album! I remember this band well. In the early 70s Athens, GA rock world, Ravenstone were the rulers of the roost. Displaying an uncompromising, low fidelity aggression in concert with its loud guitars and force-of-nature vocals, the group kicked up an explosive, three-chords-and-the-truth racket. Like opening the frig door on a steamy August afternoon in Athens, their gutbucket rock was a cool blast of fresh air compared to the already stall boogie and jam bands that dominated the town’s embryonic music scene at that time. </p>
<p>The tag team tandem of Simpson’s vocal strut and Blasingame’s welt-raising guitar attack — he was the first guitarist in the Athens scene using a stack of Marshall amps — was anchored by the band’s rhythm trinity of Brown, Wilson and Towler, who always made sure to bring the rock AND the roll. </p>
<p>The band’s loose and juicy music was – and still is – a pileup of roots rock, sixties, and protopunk elements, smoothed out on this outing with some great horn arrangements by producer Jim Boling that bring out the group’s inner white boy funk. These guys may have mellowed a bit with age – who hasn’t? – but they still rock with more brains, wit and libido than the White Stripes or the Strokes on their best days. </p>
<p>My favorite tracks on this album are `Drivin’ By Braille’ and `Oilman,’ (love those horns) although `Finger Puppets’ runs a close third. </p>
<p>BACK ON THE ROCK is a righteous resurrection of a great, early 70s Athens, GA band. I give the CD three stars only because I know, as good as it is, this band can do even better. </p>
<p>70s Fan, Atlanta GA </p>
<p>Excellent! </p>
<p>Ravenstone has the special charisma in its music that will draw you into wanting to listen to it over and over. Fantastic job on creating something that has a hint of the past rock era while at the same time providing a fresh sound that does not follow the boring cookie-cutter sounds of so many of the bands today. </p>
<p>Locar, Kingsport, TN </p>
<p>Remarkable In Its Simplicity </p>
<p>This resilient band seems better than the sum of its parts. Taken separately there may be no world-class music muscle here but working together this band is a well-oiled machine that kicks it with the best of them. BACK ON THE ROCK easily qualifies as one of the more exciting indie rock releases to come down the pike in awhile. </p>
<p>This band shows no sign of an impending walk into the sunset. Stripped of the layered excesses all too common in releases today, their music is accessible and immediately enjoyable. </p>
<p>The endearing earworms are the three tracks that close the album. `SWAG’ grabs you by the short hairs. It’s one of those songs that would be funny if it weren’t so sadly true. `Finger Puppets’ is a perfect take on the political hubris around us today. `Dogma’ sounds like a band that has found itself. As the song built to its crescendo, it left me wanting to hear more from the band. </p>
<p>BACK ON THE ROCK is remarkable in its simplicity. It’s the way rock once was and should be today. </p>
<p>Andrew Nash (City of Fallen Angels) </p>
<p>A Voice Of Casual Cool </p>
<p>A lot has been said about this stalwart band’s stripped down dance rock on their BACK ON THE ROCK outing, but the songs that really connect for me are “Transit of Venus” (not sure what the title means but I like it) and “Girl With Something Extra” (not sure what this song is about but I like its playfulness). The tunes feel fresh and have an uncanny charm with repeat listens. Ravenstone’s frontman, Michael Simpson, has a voice of casual cool on these songs, like he just crawled out of bed or is just crawling into it with the woman of his dreams. </p>
<p>Charlene Tidwell </p>
<p>Riff Raff Rock Is Back! </p>
<p>This CD of reliable charm stirs up a bracing cocktail of bouncy beats, humorous critiques and trenchant politics. The album blows up with track one, the instant party-favorite “Drivin’ By Braille.” “Girl with Something Extra” is a smooth aural soufflé that begs the question: what EXACTLY is the “something extra” this girl has? Inquiring minds want to know. The dirty blues-rock of “Crimes of Passion” is definitely in the funk. You can almost smell the incense drifting in the air (that is incense, isn’t it?) with “Boomer,” with its numerous lyrical references to rock classics and a dearly missed era when “we were gonna change the world.” </p>
<p>In fact, as you listen to the album, if you squint – okay, if you squint and turn the lights down or better yet just turn the lights off AND shut your eyes – it’s easy to imagine this great band in concert in Memorial Hall circa ’71-’72, when all the best Athens groups could have played together in one night and everyone be home rolling on their waterbeds by midnight. Let’s do the time warp again! </p>
<p>Thanks to Ravenstone for helping us remember how fun rock can be. </p>
<p>Buckaroo </p>
<p>Athens Original Bad Dawg Rockers Make Riff-Infected CD </p>
<p>I saw these guys performing in Athens, GA back in the early 70s at Legion Field and at Memorial Hall, a few years before the city’s music scene caught fire. Long overshadowed (and sadly forgotten) by the Athens music gods that followed in their steps, it’s nice to see that these boys have lost none of their cheap thrill sexiness or barbed political wit. </p>
<p>BACK ON THE ROCK provides a glimpse of what might have been had the original band members (all on board again for this outing) stayed together longer. It easily qualifies as the “what if” CD of 2005. </p>
<p>Mischief seems embedded in the DNA of Ravenstone. They rock for the pure fun of it. “Oilman” is blow-milk-out-your-nose funny all the way from “I’m an oilman living in a big White House” to “Where’s the extra virgin oil?” ad-lib at the end. </p>
<p>The best ear candy here includes “John Burrows Died For Our Sins,” with its Brian Wilson harmonies on the chorus, and “Boomer.” It’s about time someone calls out our generation and puts us in a corner for a time out. By the time the band slips some sha-na-na-na’s into Boomer’s backing vocals I am so there. My wife loves “Drivin’ By Braille” and tells me if I listen closely to its lyrics I might learn something about real sexiness. </p>
<p>This CD lives up to Ravenstone’s early rep as bad dawg rockers. In an alternate universe, this killer set would have been released in 1971 and blown away all comers with its loosey-goosey, riff-infected dance music. It’s timeless roots rock that brings white boy funk and bad boy politics to the party. All you need is a keg and chips. </p>
<p>If the Beatles’s REVOLVER is a five, U2’s ALL THAT YOU LEAVE BEHIND or Nirvana breaking wind a four, I give this album a solid 3 stars, which is a high compliment indeed. </p>
<p>The Shadow Knows </p>
<p>Rockin’ good stuff </p>
<p>Old school rock with a drivin’ sound, groovey horns and great lyrics. Like the back says, “PLAY IT LOUD” and you can’t but help rock along to a great time with a very tight band obviously having a fun time doing what they do best. The song craft is tight, there’s some wonderful political and sexual innuendo and the lead singer can still belt one out after all these years. Fun design and groovey packaging too! From the original Athens band that helped to start it all….PLAY IT LOUD!!! </p>
<p>Eldon Tyrell (LaLa Land) </p>
<p>Shake it! </p>
<p>Ravenstone delivers some serious ass shaking sounds that are both smart and fun. No instructions are needed to operate this album. Just turn up the volume and pump it while `Oilman’ learns the joys of prison sex. `Snap your Finger Puppets’ to the `Transit of Venus’ with `The Girl With Something Else.’ Dance rock is alive and well. `Back On The Rock’ is fun for the whole body from the mind to the toes, like music ought to be. </p>
<p>Fred Willard (Down on Ponce, Atlanta) </p>
<p>Athens Dance Rock Album Of The Year </p>
<p>While not a perfect album, BACK ON THE ROCK is a perfect hatful of songs for a joy ride to the apocalypse with the radio playing loud enough to blast potholes in the pavement. This exhilarating sludgy pop reminds you that, first and foremost, rock is meant to be fun. </p>
<p>There are no overproduced sonic concoctions here. No hint of angst rock or stare-at-your-shoes emo either, just pithy riffs anchored by rhythm guitar, bass and a solid drum kit, then blended with organ, piano and some smooth horn arrangements. It’s all simple and direct. Every song is punctuated by Simpson’s playful baritone, which displays the kind of sexiness that’s only possible from a lifetime of experience. </p>
<p>Many bands today strive to channel the spirit of 60s rock. These rockers don’t have to try. Their music feels like the group just woke up from suspended animation. Their songs are timeless, classic and fresh. Long live rock and long live these guys. </p>
<p>Shelia Hughes </p>
<p>These Dudes Rule! </p>
<p>Wow! I’m a big fan of the Athens music scene. Widespread Panic is totally the greatest and I like the B’s and of course R.E.M. When I heard that Ravenstone was an Athens band I had to check them out. This album rocks solid. I love the stripped down feel of it. The lead guitarist is awesome! They have a very original sound. Drivin’ By Braille and Oilman are two outstanding tracks but the album is very diverse. I love the use of horns in some of the songs. I highly recommend this album to anyone who wants to learn more about the early Athens music scene. </p>
<p>Paul M. Davis</p>Ravenstonetag:ravenstoneband.com,2005:Post/66228892021-05-06T03:42:18-04:002021-05-21T14:27:18-04:00An Informal Q & A<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/496855/f9e8ab646124170274e97aad0844ca50d1ec7430/original/rave-at-the-ritz-exit-stage-560x320.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />“You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. <br>You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.” <br>Mahfouz Naguib </p>
<p><em>I’m a fan of the Atlanta and Athens music scenes from the 70s and 80s. Drummer Randy Delay was associated with a number of great indie bands during that time. I haven’t heard of him since. What happened? </em></p>
<p>Michael and Butcho – Sadly, Randy passed away in 1993 after an extended battle with cancer. We played with Randy in a later line-up of Ravenstone and agree he was one of the top drummers in the Georgia music scene during those decades. </p>
<p>Randy did studio session work and performed in concert with a number of groups including the Georgia Satellites, the Hellhounds, the Desperate Angels and Drivin-N-Cryin. </p>
<p>His work can be heard on Drivin-N-Cryin’s “Honeysuckle Blue” and the Georgia Satellites’ “Keep Your Hands To Yourself.” </p>
<p>Randy is missed by friends, family and fans. </p>
<p><em>What do you think rock & roll smells like? </em></p>
<p>Ralph – The Waffle House at 2 a.m. </p>
<p>Dwight – Purple. </p>
<p>Willi – Like a purple motorcycle in the morning dew. </p>
<p>Michael – Usually warm beer and stale cigarettes, although sometimes it can smell like three-day-old Ahi Tuna when you first wake up after a hard night of rock n’ roll. </p>
<p>Butcho – Like a pot of some good ole stew on yo’ mama’s stove. She starts off with some Georgia barbecue, and mixes in a little Tennessee sour mash with some jalapanos and hot pepper sauce. Then she adds a lot of rice and crawfish, and onions, and a big ole chunk of cheese. Then I’d be junior comin’ along and tossin’ in a little napalm. </p>
<p><em>How old is too old to play rock? </em></p>
<p>Butcho – When the hearse drives up to the doorstep. I guess it’s a few minutes before that. Just enough time to turn off the amp and say goodbye. </p>
<p>Michael – I think it’s like most things. You stop doing it when it stops feeling good. </p>
<p>Willi – Old rockers never die. They just go into ketosis. </p>
<p>Ralph – When it’s too loud. I’m sorry, did you say something? </p>
<p>Dwight – There’s no upper age limit as long as you can afford the proper prosthesis to maintain that rebellious attitude. </p>
<p><em>Is rock dead? </em></p>
<p>Michael – No, but sometimes it has a fever and a runny nose. Rock has been pronounced DOA so many times I’ve lost count. It keeps coming back from the dead like Dracula. In the early 60s, critics ass kicked rock when the Pelvis got a crewcut and started singing GI Blues. About the same time, Chuck Berry was in prison for violating the Mann Act. Then ol’ Jerry Lee, god bless ’em, married his 13-year-old cousin and a whole lotta jailbait shaking was going on. But then along came the British invasion and everything changed almost over night. </p>
<p>Ralph – No, but it probably needs reading glasses. </p>
<p>Butcho – It’s alive in garages and little neighborhood dives everywhere. It’s back to its roots where it will always be. Whether it’s in fashion is, of course, in cycles. But it’ll never go away. A good rock song is one of the treasures of the world. </p>
<p>Dwight – One of my friends argues that sedimentary rocks are dead because of the lack of exercise. However when I point out that all rocks are sedentary and get very little exercise, the question quickly shifts to “If it takes a chicken and a half a day and a half to lay an egg and a half, how long does it take a monkey with a wooden leg to kick the seeds out of a dill pickle?” That question is much more fundamental to the relationships that bind us together as a band. </p>
<p><em>What was the first album or single you remember buying? </em></p>
<p>Ralph – Raining In My Heart by Slim Harpo. </p>
<p>Dwight – The first album was “Big Girls Don’t Cry” by The Four Seasons. The first single was “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by the Tokens. </p>
<p>Michael – The album was “Elvis Presley’s Greatest Hits Volume One.” I got it for a birthday when I was a kid. I remember my mother asking me why would I want an album with all those old songs. The first single I owned may have been "Blue Bayou" by Roy Orbison. I literally wore the grooves out. As a kid, I also loved Ricky Nelson. Wanted to be him. When I got my first radio, I'd turn it on under the covers at night and listen to WERD in Atlanta. 860 AM. I read it was the first radio station owned by an African American. It opened up a new world of music for me. I heard Big Mama Thornton with the Muddy Water Blues Band. Totally reset my head.</p>
<p>Butcho – Some of the first singles I remember spinning were “Peppermint Twist” by Joey Dee and the Starlighters, “Be Young Be Foolish” by the Tams, and “Hey Baby” by Bruce Channel. </p>
<p>Willi – My dad had lots of music — jazz, Dixieland, big band, some gospel like George Beverly Shea, Billy Graham’s soloist. An early single I remember buying was by the Athens Rogues when I was in high school. My bud McGhee was in it. When I got my first drum kit, I bought several albums so I could practice to them — Cream, Herb Alpert TJB, Blood Sweat n Tears, Iron Butterfly, Five Blind Boys of Alabama.</p>Ravenstonetag:ravenstoneband.com,2005:Post/66228882021-05-06T03:42:07-04:002023-05-25T11:40:08-04:00Unhappy Campers Interview<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/496855/d06a4b193e92cd9a11161a979adca11248c8e00d/original/michaelsimpsonsleepawaycamp2-1024x631-560x320.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p>With the release of “Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers” on DVD in late 2002, fans of the cult comedy horror classic were treated to a rare Ravenstone song, “More Love,” which invoked the sound of the band from the early 70s. </p><p>What follows is an interview that Michael A. Simpson, lead vocalist for the group and the movie’s director, did with John Klyza, the Australian-based webmaster for the www.sleepawaycampfilms.com web site. It’s reprinted here with his kind permission. </p><p><strong>Michael Simpson: The Ravenstone Interview </strong></p><p>(Interviewer’s note: <i>Due to the interest sparked by Ravenstone’s song “More Love,” which is a bonus on the Unhappy Campers DVD, the film’s director, Michael Simpson, agreed to an interview about the band, the early days of the internationally known Athens music scene and his own music background. Prior to the interview, I was given some press information and photos</i>.) </p><p>JK – Most campers only know you through your movies. It’ll probably come as a surprise to them to learn you had a career in music before you became a movie director. </p><p>MS – I started out playing bass in a garage band when I was 14. Early on, we played at the Enlisted Men’s Club at Fort Gillem. That’s an Army Base on the outskirts of Forest Park where I grew up in Georgia. None of the guys in the band was old enough to drive so my dad drove us to the club and then picked us up when we finished playing. </p><p>JK – That’s too funny. </p><p>MS – Since we were minors working in a bar, the club manager wouldn’t let us off the stage without an escort. The waitress even had to walk you to the toilet. She’d wait at the door while you made your offering to the porcelain gods then she’d walk you back. You can imagine the kidding we took for that from the soldiers in the bar but they seemed to like our music. </p><p>JK – Let’s talk about Athens, Georgia, in the early 70s when Ravenstone was formed. Since the city later became an internationally recognized music scene, I think a lot of people are interested in how it all began. </p><p>MS – The Athens music scene was embryonic in the early 70s. It was nothing like it became after the B-52s, then R.E.M., put Athens on the map a few years later. And of course, after that, Widespread Panic also came out of Athens. And one of my favorite bands, Pylon. </p><p>JK – That’s an incredible roster of bands to come out of such a small city. </p><p>MS – There are several other world-class bands that came out of that scene over the years. Early on though, there were only a handful of bands from Athens and clubs to play in. </p><p>JK – Ravenstone was performing its own original music in Athens in ’71. The band predates the B-52’s by what, five years or so? </p><p>MS – Yeah, something like that. </p><p>JK – The band is really like one of the godfathers of Athens rock then. </p><p>MS – (laughs) Or maybe the bastard Uncle or something. </p><p>JK – How did Ravenstone start? </p><p>MS – I was attending the University of Georgia in Athens where I was studying film. Butch Blasingame, Bill Wilson and I were in a drama class. I’d met Bill a few months earlier and had jammed with him and really liked his drumming. He had a lot of jazz and big band influences, which was rare for a rock drummer. Butch was a lead guitarist and he recruited Dwight Brown, the bass player, and Ralph Towler, who played guitar and keyboards. The three of them had previously played together in a group from Monroe, Georgia, which is about 30 miles outside of Athens. </p><p>JK – You were the lead vocalist of Ravenstone. One press clipping described you as “nubile.” </p><p>MS – Yeah, I spent years living that one down. (laughs) </p><p>JK – Tell me about the band’s name. Charles Burel’s article said Ravenstone was the name of a field in Germany where they executed witches during the 15th Century. </p><p>MS – It’s mentioned in the play “Faust” by Goethe. The scene is set at night in an open field. It begins — “What weaving are they round the Ravenstone? Mephistopheles. I know not what they are…” </p><p>JK – That’s a pretty literate name for a rock band. Why’d you choose it? </p><p>MS – We were studying the play in class. It seemed like an apt metaphor. </p><p>JK – A metaphor? For what? </p><p>MS – Being young and full of ourselves, we had lots of passion and idealism. Basically, we wanted to slay the prejudices we saw around us or some such nonsense. </p><p>JK – Do you remember Ravenstone’s first performance? </p><p>MS – It was for a party in this large, old southern gothic house on Milledge Ave. About fifty people were there. At one time a sorority had rented the house so we called it the <i>Eata Theta Pi</i> gig. Pretty juvenile humor. </p><p>JK – From the very beginning, you guys were into politics in a big way. </p><p>MS – It was the height of the Vietnam War. We opposed the war and did what we could to help stop it. As a band we were also involved in things like voter registration, freedom of expression and human rights issues. Social and environmental justice. Campus politics. And some basic hell raising. Lots of that, actually. </p><p>JK – The article written by Rex Granum in the <i>Atlanta Journal & Constitution</i> newspaper, “Five Set Politics to Music,” stated that Ravenstone was forming a political "coalition" party at the University of Georgia. This was November ’71. </p><p>MS – The band rented a large house on Prince Avenue where we lived and rehearsed. Rex showed up there for an interview. I think he was intrigued by the idea that a bunch of longhaired musicians could actually make a complete sentence. Rex later served in the Carter White House Press Office. </p><p>JK – The article mentioned you guys flew an American flag in front of the band house. What was that about? </p><p>MS – There were people who thought you couldn’t have long hair or oppose the war and still be patriotic and love your country. Bill, our drummer, suggested we put the flag up to show you could. We considered ourselves patriotic. We just disagreed with the direction the country was heading. At that time, a lot of folks did. It’s ironic but you can see an echo of that today in America. There’s a radical right element in our country today that believes you can’t criticize your government, that doing so is unpatriotic. Of course, that’s bullshit. </p><p>JK – The AJ&C had the largest circulation of any newspaper in the southeastern U. S. and the Ravenstone article ran on Thanksgiving Day, their largest print day. Lots of people must have read that story. </p><p>MS – Yeah, someone once estimated that more than a million people read that article. </p><p>JK – Ravenstone had only been a band a few months. Yet, you already had enough notoriety to have a write up about the band in a major newspaper. That’s pretty amazing, really. </p><p>MS – There weren’t many bands playing their own music from Athens at the time, especially ones who had something more to say other than “let’s boogie,” so we quickly developed a following. Ravenstone was able to fill up some of the early Athens clubs like Between the Hedges, Fifth Quarter or Mother’s Moustache where they’d pretty much let us play anything we wanted as long as people showed up and drank beer. We also did some concerts early on, on campus at the student center and Legion Field, which got us exposure. </p><p>JK – Your first concert at Legion Field sounded wild. </p><p>MS – Legion Field is at the bottom of a long, slopping hill that has several large dorms stacked up the side of it. The students in the dorms spilled out to hear us play. We rented part of the P.A. system that was used at the first Atlanta International Pop Festival. It was huge. We were told that you could hear us all the way to Little Five Points a mile or so away. </p><p>JK – I was told your music was responsible for some unintended pregnancies that night. </p><p>MS – (laughs) That’s an urban legend that seems to have taken on a life of its own. A couple got caught getting their freak on in some bushes or something during the concert. That’s how the story got started. </p><p>JK – How did the band’s politics evolve? </p><p>MS – The idea was to start a campus political party called Ravenstone Coalition. After the AJ&C article ran, I met Chuck Searcy, a Vietnam vet. Chuck’s one of the most honorable people I’ve ever known. Like many Nam vets, he came home disillusioned with the war. He helped to start the University’s VVAW chapter. </p><p>JK – VVAW? </p><p>MS – Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Chuck introduced me to another student who was interested in joining us to form our party. Dwight Brown, our bass player, went with me to the first meeting that was held at Chuck’s house in Five Points in Athens. There were about 20 students there. </p><p>JK – Why were you guys so interested in student politics? </p><p>MS – Basically we wanted to shift the paradigm. </p><p>JK – Shift it? In what way? </p><p>MS – Up until that time, student government was controlled by two factions — white bread fraternities and sororities that voted as a block, and a south campus faction that was dominated by conservatives whose idea of a good time was sticking their fist up a cow’s ass. Both groups were so Neanderthal they wouldn’t even nominate a woman to run for any executive office other than secretary. </p><p>JK – You gotta be kiddin’. </p><p>MS – Coalition was different. We encouraged everyone to participate in the party. We had minorities, international students, Gays, Lesbians, feminists, Vietnam vets, hippies, vegans, handicapped students, you name it. It was like Noah’s Ark. We had two of everything. </p><p>JK – Were you successful? </p><p>MS – Coalition’s first campaign resulted in a woman being elected vice president of student government. The next year we won control of the student senate and sweep the executive offices. Following that, we elected the first openly gay man as student body president. It was a good run.</p><p>JK – This is like a southern version of Wild In The Streets. </p><p>MS – Almost overnight, student government went from being a social organization to actually dealing with issues important to students. We passed a no confidence vote in the University President who was unpopular. That caused a political dust up state-wide. We were invited to meet with then Governor Jimmy Carter to discuss it. Carter told us during the meeting that he planned to run for President. And he publicly supported our right to pass the condemnation, when the administration claimed we didn't have the right.</p><p>JK – Now there’s a man who had a vision of where he was going. </p><p>MS – President Carter is one of the smartest and most honest Presidents our country has ever had. Even his detractors admit he’s been our best ex-President. I was privileged to attend his Inaugural in 1976. I also interviewed him a few years later when I was producing and directing the “Portrait of America” series for Turner Broadcasting. </p><p>JK – I guess the moral about Ravenstone and the Coalition Party is political activism can make a difference. </p><p>MS – Absolutely. Once we were elected, another thing Coalition did was to invite Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda to speak on campus, which really put a burr in the saddle of campus conservatives. I was asked to be Jane’s photographer for the day and got to spend the afternoon with her. She was one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen. I had schoolboy visions of Barbarella in my head for days. </p><p>JK – I noticed on Coalition’s political platform your support for funding of the University radio station. </p><p>MS – Yes. We supported the feasibility study for the radio station that became WUOG. </p><p>JK – WUOG is credited with helping to break the Athens music scene by showcasing the emerging bands in it. </p><p>MS – I think you could say that WUOG was a major factor, yes. </p><p>JK – Ravenstone really impacted the music scene in Athens, then, both through its music and through its politics and its support for the campus radio station. </p><p>MS – The main thing we did was have lots of fun. It’s like that line from the song by Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen –- “There’s one thing I’ve never done, I’ve never had too much fun…” </p><p>JK – During this time you were elected a student senator. You also regularly wrote an editorial column for the campus newspaper and another one for a city paper. </p><p>MS – Yes, <i>The Athens Observer</i>. Pete McCommons was one of the editors and owners of the paper at the time. Pete is now the editor and publisher of <i>The Flagpole</i>, which is an influental Athens news weekly that covers the music scene there. </p><p>JK – Geez, when did you find the time to go to class? </p><p>MS – If you saw some of my grades it was pretty apparent I didn’t. (laughs) I spent most of my time making student films, playing music and rabble rousing. </p><p>JK – I noticed during that period Rex Murphy, the Pulitzer prize-winning Editor of <i>The Atlanta Constitution</i>, quoted you in the lead of an editorial he wrote in that paper. Something you had said about student apathy. </p><p>MS – It must have been an awfully slow news day. (laughs) Actually, I felt it was important when all this was going on not to take myself too seriously. That would’ve killed it. </p><p>JK – One of my favorite photos of you is the one where you appear to be signing an autograph or something and you have a tee shirt on that reads S-H-I-T. </p><p>MS – That was my Sam Houston Institute of Technology tee. (laughs) </p><p>JK – Yeah, right. </p><p>MS – These days when you have performers stapling their balls to their leg on stage, a shirt like that is no big deal. But back in the day, it caused a ruckus when I wore it during a performance on campus and some prom queen complained to the administration that she found it offensive. </p><p>For me, it was a freedom of expression issue. I asked the Dean of Student Affairs how do you know it doesn’t stand for Sam Houston Institute of Technology? </p><p>The silliest part was after the brouhaha the editors wanted to put the photo in the campus year book only they had to get permission from the administration to do it. After some debate, the Dean allowed them to put it in. It ran as a full page that year so I guess I had the last laugh. </p><p>JK – I also found this letter very interesting. </p><p>MS – Which one? </p><p>JK – The one printed in a newspaper and signed by the band with the headline “Sweet Cream.” </p><p>MS – There had been a rape on campus the same night as some reverend held a prayer vigil in front of Effie’s, the local house of prostitution, trying to shut it down. The articles ran side by side on the front page of the paper. It seemed sadly ironic so we wrote this letter and quoted “Sweet Cream Ladies,” a song by the Alex Chilton and the Box Tops. Alex Chilton’s music was an early influence for me. </p><p>“Sweet cream ladies forward march, <br>think what you’re providing, <br>sweet cream ladies show your starch, <br>what’s the use of hiding, <br>tell the socialites to look the other way, <br>it’s instinctive stimulation you convey, <br>it’s a necessary compunction, <br>for those who get tired of vanilla every day…” </p><p>JK – The earliest reviews of the band noted Ravenstone’s original music. Most groups don’t start writing their own music right out of the gate like that. </p><p>MS – Although we did some cover songs, early on, Ravenstone was really all about our own music. </p><p>JK – One critic called your original tunes “tasty.” </p><p>MS – Sounds like he was doing a restaurant review. </p><p>JK – The band’s music was also described as “earotic rock.” I loved the spelling. How did that description come about? </p><p>MS – I think it came from me humping a microphone stand one night in concert or something. </p><p>JK – Tell me about the Liberation Dance, which one article described as the first openly gay dance at a Southern college. That got a lot of press coverage. </p><p>MS – Some gay students wanted to hold a dance in the Memorial Hall Ballroom on campus and have Diamond Lil, a female impersonator, perform, but permission was revoked by the Dean of Student Affairs on the grounds that the University could be charged with aiding and abetting a felony -– sodomy. </p><p>JK – It sounds like the Dean thought the students were going to have an orgy not a dance. </p><p>MS – The students took the case to court. It ended up in Clark County Superior Court. </p><p>JK – What happened? </p><p>MS – When the Dean testified the defense lawyers cut him up like bait in a tackle shop. The judge issued an injunction forcing the University to allow the dance at 5pm the day of the event. </p><p>JK – I understand that other bands were asked to play and refused. You guys weren’t afraid to get involved in such a volatile situation? </p><p>MS – The committee sponsoring the dance asked us if we’d perform. They were trying to broaden student attendance to the event beyond the gay and lesbian community. We were warned that there could be trouble at the dance. </p><p>People asked us at the time why heterosexual guys would play a gay dance. Our answer was “why wouldn’t we?” For us it wasn’t about sexual orientation. It was a human rights issue. Why shouldn’t everyone be allowed to dance? It sounds pretty silly now but at the time, there were actually those who thought some people shouldn’t be allowed to. </p><p>We opened for Diamond Lil who put on a great show. As I recall, we donated our fee back to the committee to help pay for their legal costs so we performed for free. </p><p>JK – This was the dance where the band was harassed by the Klan? </p><p>MS – That night, just before we performed, an older white man came up and said the Klan was unhappy about the dance and we should watch ourselves if we knew what was good for us. Some silly shit like that. He then said that they knew where we lived. I think at the time I sort of laughed it off. Then he described the car my girlfriend was driving. It didn’t seem as funny then. After the concert, we went outside to discover that the event security had curiously disappeared early. We found a card from the Klan on the windshield of our bus. </p><p>JK – A card? </p><p>MS – A printed card with the Klan symbol on it. It was their way of trying to intimidate us. I remember Jimmy Ellison, our roadie, got kind of spooked about it. He was from a place in Georgia where the Klan still painted their symbol across the roads at the county line. Ralph was like, fuck it, let's go find something to eat. He kept the card as a souvenir. He still has it. </p><p>JK – The photo of you on-stage wearing a shirt with the letters 666 on it. When was that taken? </p><p>MS – A concert at Memorial Hall in ’71. </p><p>JK – Some people claim that’s the numerical name of the Anti-Christ. </p><p>MS – I know that 666 and the whole “mark of the beast” thing became synonymous with metal bands later on. However, when I did it in the early 70s it was really more about making a statement about the difference between religion and spirituality. </p><p>JK – What’s the difference? </p><p>MS – For me, religion is essentially symbols and dogmas created by man and that much of the world’s strife is a result of the fanaticism attached to those artifacts and belief systems. That’s my personal opinion. I’m not speaking for the band. </p><p>Spirituality, on the other hand is, for me, about Kirkegaard’s “Leap of Faith.” Communing with the Unknowable. </p><p>JK – The Unknowable? </p><p>MS – The Universal Creator that I sense as being both a noun and a verb. In other words, an on-going, active experience. </p><p>JK – I notice you don’t use the word “God.” </p><p>MS – It’s an overused and under appreciated word, one that’s often linked with disparate man-made symbols and dogmas in many people’s minds. However, you can use it if you wish. </p><p>JK – How does this relate to the number 666? </p><p>MS – The point I was making at the time is that the number 666 is just that, a number. A man-made symbol. Anything else about the number is just something some person later injected or infused into it. The number has no power unless you give it power. Some religious scholars and theologians believe that the number was a code that stood for Nero, the Roman Emperor. There’s even an argument about whether the number is actually 666, since 616 and 665 also appeared in ancient versions of the text. I actually have a cell phone number with 666 as the prefix. I’m sure some people would get loosey goosey about that but it doesn’t bother me in the least. </p><p>JK – The shirt in the photo also had an upside down cross, which some people associate with Satanism. </p><p>MS – That’s another good example of how a symbol can mean different things to different people. In Christian tradition, one of the disciples, Peter, asked to be crucified upside down because he felt unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as Christ. In that tradition, the upside down cross is an apostolic symbol representing Peter as the holder of the keys of Heaven. So you can see, again, it depends on your point of view and what power you decide to give the symbol. </p><p>JK – I was impressed by the musical influences for Ravenstone mentioned in Burel’s article. They weren’t the usual ones for bands from the southeastern U.S. during that time. </p><p>MS – Yeah, we enjoyed covering songs by some of those groups. </p><p>JK – From what I read, the original line up of Ravenstone broke up acrimoniously just as you were on the cusp of really doing something with your music. You guys had gone into the studio to record your first album. What happened? </p><p>MS – We were five young, very head strong and passionate people so there was always a lot of turmoil between us. Ralph once said that any day the five of us could get in a room without some of us ending up wrestling around on the floor was a good day. (laughs) Of cause, he was joking. It was never really that bad but at times I’m sure it seemed like it. But creative tension isn’t necessarily a bad thing. </p><p>JK – When the original version of the group disbanded, who left? </p><p>MS – Bill and Ralph exited, then Dwight followed a year later. Butch and I continued the group with various other musicians until ’74. But the creative energy dissipated after Bill, Ralph and Dwight left. It was never the same, really. I mean, we played with some other great musicians, like Greg Veale, Randy Delay, there were several others. But we lost the creative spark and originality that marked the first edition of the group. It became just about gigs and money. No passion or originality. </p><p>JK – Let’s talk about the group today. The original band members are recording a CD and plan to perform live again? </p><p>MS – We decide to get together and jam a bit at Towler Farm in Monroe just to see how it felt. We first did that in the late 80's. We ended up writing about 20 songs in five days. </p><p>JK – In the lyrics to “Boomer,” you take a generation to task in a pretty humorous way. I love the line –- “we were gonna change the world, and now we find, it’s hard just to change our minds…” </p><p>MS – The boomer generation has been a disappointment. We started out with such passion and conviction. Now the only passion we have is for our SUVs and 401(k)’s. </p><p>JK – Is that a mandolin I hear in “Boomer?” </p><p>MS – Ralph decided to throw that in when we were in the studio. It was a great idea I thought. I love Ralph’s work. He always brings something interesting to our music. All the guys do, really. That’s why it works. </p><p>JK – Who is on vocals? </p><p>MS – Dwight, who we call “smooth touch,” Ralph and myself. We did the vocals in one take. </p><p>JK – The band members are spread out in five different states now. How do you rehearse and record? </p><p>MS – Butcho is a tech wizard so he guided the band in finding the right hardware and software so we can create and exchange musical ideas over the net. Then we get together to rehearse. </p><p>JK – What’s the band’s writing process like? Is there one set way you guys write material? </p><p>MS – All of us have ideas and contribute and we all share credit equally on the songs. It was a decision we made back in the 70s when we originally played together. I write the lyrics and sometimes I come up with a melody that I pass along to one of the guys. Sometimes Butch comes up with these insanely addictive guitar licks that he passes along to me to do lyrics. Dwight, Ralph and Bill also come up with great song ideas that they pass around. But we don’t consider anything to be a Ravester song until all five of us sign off on it and contribute to it. </p><p>JK – Your logo, the raven on a rock. Great design. </p><p>MS – That was taken from a poster for one of our performances back in the 70s. We decided to keep it. It just felt right for a bunch of middle-aged rockers to have an old, fat bird as a logo. (laughs) </p><p>JK – I understand that this is the first time you spoken at length about Ravenstone since the 70s. </p><p>MS – It was a door I walked out of with the intention of never walking back through. </p><p>JK – What made you change your mind? </p><p>MS – We’re at points in our lives where we’re all interested in playing together again. The five of us are remarkably close friends. We’re like brothers. When I was asked if I was interested, I said I’d only do it if the five original members were interested and I would only continue to do it for as long as we all us stayed interested and it was fun. </p><p>JK – The band always seemed to be about more than just your music. What do you think your message is today? </p><p>MS – (laughs) Probably that you’re never too old to get up and shake your booty. They’ll be plenty of time to lie down when you’re dead. That sounds like a lyric idea for a song (sings) – the dead can’t dance but you can…</p>Ravenstonetag:ravenstoneband.com,2005:Post/66228872021-05-06T03:41:54-04:002021-05-21T13:30:59-04:00Selected Ravenstone Lyrics<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/496855/1ac28ee55ebfc2b254eddcd14f845166e2914f6b/original/michael-ritz1ccropped-1024x631-560x320.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><strong>OIL MAN </strong></p>
<p>i’m an oil man living in a big white house <br>i’m an oil man living in a big white house <br>got myself twin daughters, got myself a spouse <br>i’m an oil man living in a big white house </p>
<p>gonna pump it, gonna pump it good <br>i’m gonna pump it like a white boy should <br>gonna pump it, gonna pump it good <br>gonna pump it like you know that i would </p>
<p>martha stir it up in the real big house <br>martha stir it up in the real big house <br>i know your stock has fallen, you’re feeling like a mouse <br>martha stir it up in the real big house </p>
<p>i wanna pump it, wanna pump it good <br>let me pump your stock up like a white boy should <br>come on pump it gonna pump it good <br>i’ll pump your stock up like you know that i would </p>
<p>i’m kenny boy, your new cell buddy <br>i’m kenny boy, your new cell buddy <br>i used to be on top but you can call me honey <br>i’m kenny boy, your new cell buddy </p>
<p>i’ll let you pump it, let you pump it good <br>i’ll let you pump it, like a white boy should <br>come on and pump it, let you pump it good <br>i’ll let you pump it like you know that i would </p>
<p>i’m gonna pump it, pump it dry… <br>where’s that extra virgin oil?</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>BOOMER </strong></p>
<p>used to be a street fightin’ man <br>but now i do the best that i can <br>no sympathy for the devil <br>now I’m singing just as i am </p>
<p>i used to toke smoke on the water <br>loved Mississippi queen and her daughter <br>showed empathy for bowie’s rebels <br>now i sit at home and don’t bother </p>
<p>boomer boom boom <br>boomer boom boom <br>we were gonna change the world <br>but now we find <br>it’s hard just to change our minds <br>boomer boom boom </p>
<p>i once went all the way to memphis <br>stopped wars while taking care of business <br>magic fingers danced to the music <br>now it’s just dilbert and guinness </p>
<p>when rappers rap and we holler <br>don’t touch my car or my daughter <br>what happened to the soul kitchen? <br>now my generation’s a martyr </p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>FINGER PUPPETS </strong></p>
<p>it’s one step to the center <br>two steps to the right <br>three steps to the left lord <br>four steps to the fight <br>we’re coming on, marching full of hope and glory <br>coming on, it’s the same damn story </p>
<p>finger puppets <br>for a new revolution <br>what’s the problem <br>we got the solution <br>no need to ask <br>we’re full of confusion <br>we’re finger puppets <br>for a new revolution </p>
<p>we don’t need no name tags <br>to show up for this fight <br>we don’t need to understand <br>or even know what’s right <br>we’re coming on, marching full of hope and glory <br>coming on, it’s the same damn story </p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>DOGMA </strong></p>
<p>don’t want your dog-ma <br>don’t need your dog-pa <br>you can have your kitty kat too </p>
<p>saints, sinners, condiments <br>those kind of arguments <br>it don’t matter what you choose </p>
<p>the world keeps turning <br>love keeps burning <br>the sky is clear and blue </p>
<p>life keeps bopping <br>we keep rocking <br>no matter what you do </p>
<p>some like to rumble <br>some like to tumble <br>or to have a misspent youth </p>
<p>you can read any book <br>play doctor dre or captain hook <br>looking for the lost chord truth <br>the world keeps turning <br>love keeps burning <br>your eyes are clear and blue </p>
<p>we keep bopping <br>life keeps rocking <br>it’s all up to you</p>Ravenstonetag:ravenstoneband.com,2005:Post/66228862021-05-06T03:41:43-04:002021-05-21T13:33:44-04:00What’s On Our Minds<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/496855/10ad1cef110e7d06c08430634ca3eabb47f2a8fb/original/masuga-800x1024-560x320.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><em>Originally published 2003.</em></p>
<p>Ralph – A friend recently gave me a copy of “The Complete Beatles Chronicle.” I dug out the Sgt. Peppers, Rubber Soul and Magical Mystery Tour albums. I never realized how much they did with a Leslie. Great hot tub music. </p>
<p>Dwight – The PBS affiliate in Knoxville, WETP/WKOP, has a wonderful show for anyone interested in the roots music of East Tennessee and surrounds. “Tennessee Saturday Night” is produced with WDVX-FM 89.9 (www.wdvx.com), a public radio station in Knoxville that has an exceptional array of musical programming. </p>
<p>Michael – Recently, I read that The Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge discovered a black hole that’s singing a bass note – humming B flat – and has been doing so for billions of years. The pitch is 57 octaves below middle C. Perhaps the “Lost Chord” of Creation is out there waiting for us to discover it. </p>
<p>Willi – I’m enjoying my new Yamaha 650cc V-star classic motorcycle. I recently bought some leather chaps and tricked the bike out with a windshield, engine guard and some bags. Continuing in the amerikanconsumerreligion vein, I now ask myself WWED: what would Elvis do? </p>
<p>My favorite author at the moment is Anne Lamott, (Traveling Mercies, Bird by Bird). Check her out. </p>
<p>Butcho – Been thinkin’ about attending the Big Pig Jig in Vi-anna. (That’s Vienna, Georgia for all who are ethno-challenged.) Looks like great fun. I’ve got to see and smell that many people cooking BBQ in one place. My goal is to be a judge at the contest — hey, people wanting you to eat the best food in the world for free! Past contest winners are “Pig Pounda Kappa,” “Hog Rock Cafe”, and the “Squealer Dealers.” </p>
<p><strong>Music We Are Listening To: </strong></p>
<p>Butcho – “Bright Lights, Big City” by Jimmy Reed, “Pick Up The Pieces” by Jeff Golub, “Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line” by Waylon Jennings, “Punky’s Dilemma” by Simon & Garfunkel, “Don’t Know Why” by Norah Jones, “I Think I Just Stay Here and Drink” by Bugs Henderson, “Walkin’ the Dog” by Johnny Rivers </p>
<p>Willi – Duke Ellington, U2, Sixpence None the Richer, Rusted Root, Michael Card, and an Errol Garner re-release of piano jazz </p>
<p>Dwight – I’m at least six CDs behind, thanks to a local CD store’s going-out-of-business sale. I’m currently listening to “Little Worlds” by Bela Fleck and The Flecktones, “Traveler” by Tim O’Brien, “Wait ‘Til Spring” by Jim Lauderdale with Donna The Buffalo, “Abnormal” by Towns Van Zandt, “Theater Of The Unheard” by Darrell Scott, “The Many Sides Of Fred Neil” by Fred Neil (who else?) </p>
<p>Michael – Recent faves include “Handcuffed To A Fence In Mississippi” by Jim White, “Right Hand Man” by Joan Osborne, “I Cover The Waterfront” by John Lee Hooker, “When The Man Comes Around” by Johnny Cash, “Police & Thieves” by Junior Marvin, “Request Line” by Black Eyed Peas and the instant classic “My Radio Sucks” by that swell guy Darryl Rhoades.</p>Ravenstonetag:ravenstoneband.com,2005:Post/66228842021-05-06T03:39:17-04:002021-05-20T20:40:42-04:00Ravenstone: A Technical Perspective<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/496855/b8599a9c88383838dfb81a7e38899601df431220/original/guyatone-560x320.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Written by Butch Blasingame</p>
<p><strong>Song Writing System Techniques </strong></p>
<p>Our band is stretched across the USA these days with guys in California, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Georgia. We get together for our recording, arranging and rehearsing sessions in the Atlanta area. In order to prepare for these we usually write our material ahead, so the challenge is how to collaborate when we can’t exactly go sit on each other’s front porch. We use the Internet, our web site, mp3’s and small digital recorders to get this trick accomplished. </p>
<p>Our cyber “porch” is a password protected depot page on this website that allows us to post our song ideas as mp3 files. Dwight and I have Boss BR-532 recorders that we lay our musical idea tracks on and we convert these to the mp3’s. We use a rather low rate of conversion that results in poor quality – but it keeps the file size down since some of the band are still on dial-up connections and we need to keep the track’s file size under 1 MB. The quality is okay because we are just trying to get across our ideas. The Boss units are very good for making demo’s and we also use them other ways – see the recording section. </p>
<p>We can lay down guitar, bass, a drum track with the internal drum machine, and some pilot vocals. Michael, who writes the lyrics, gets these tracks and puts lyrics to them, sometimes recording them through a direct mic into the computer (he’s on a Mac) and sending them back. When we get together, we work out the arrangement with Ralph and Willi adding in their ideas. Harmonies, bridges and general mayhem are created when we work the songs out. </p>
<p><strong>Recording Techniques </strong></p>
<p>We’re currently laying down tracks and mixing our upcoming release at Jim Boling’s studio in North Atlanta. Jim uses Sonar as his primary weapon of choice, although he uses so many other tools even I can’t keep with them. </p>
<p>We laid down the drums on his house set with Willi’s snare, and lined in Dwight’s Warwick bass. The keys were on a direct midi in and run through some kinds of interface (I’m not a midi guy, I’m a guitar player, can’t you tell) using some really fabulous samples of various organs, grand pianos, horns, etc. Jim is really great with this stuff. He’s an excellent musician, arranger, and engineer and we are very fortunate to have him on the band’s “Present At The Creation” project. </p>
<p>The acoustic guitars were mostly run direct, using my Ibanez acoustic and Ralph on a Takamine I think. I later laid down another acoustic track with my Alvarez “beach guitar” using his booth. It has a very smooth sound. Electric guitars were also run direct using a connection straight into the Yamaha board he was using. </p>
<p>I used my pedalboard, relying mostly on my Visual Studio Jekyll and Hyde overdrive for adding in the right amount of dirt. Jim ran these through a combination of mixer front-end models and amp farm modules. He’s able to take already recorded tracks and change the amp, effects, and even add a whammy where we want it. The BBE Maximizer plug-in’s he uses are excellent. </p>
<p>Guitars for the electric tracks were my Stratocaster with Lace Holy Grail pickups on it and a cheapo Squire Tele that is just a great guitar – they are making some good guitars in Indonesia. We recorded the lead to”Oilman” with the Tele, running it directly through the Boss recorder and it was just an awesome sound. Jim cleaned up some noise and artifacts left by the unit. It was a surprise to all of us how good that sounded. </p>
<p><strong>Live Guitar Rig Stuff </strong></p>
<p>Like most players, I’m pretty anal about my rig. It’s always in flux, searching for better tone. I have about nine guitars and three amps and more pedals than I can count. </p>
<p>Currently, I’m back using my trusty Mexican Strat as my main guitar. It was set up by a guitar tech in Houston before I left for Florida and is really right now. </p>
<p>The Holy Grails are great pickups – very close to the original Strat sound, with none of the hum. They are also a bit stronger. The key with these seems to be getting them balanced and away from the strings a bit more that regular Strat pickups. The guitar gets back its musical voice then. </p>
<p>I’m also using the Tele (best sounding cheap guitar in the world) but it has a marked decrease in volume. My other main guitar is a truly wonderful black Les Paul DC Standard. It’s almost too powerful – I may lower the pickups on this guitar, too. </p>
<p>The other guitars that I use regularly are my Ibanez acoustic, a Danelectro DC-12 string that is great fun, and Slivertone SG copy that I have setup for slide and tuned in open D. I also find myself playing the Alvarez “beach guitar” more and more. It’s got a very nice tone and the neck is very comfortable. </p>
<p>For amps I’m using a Marshall JCM 2000 DSL401 small combo. The unit really sings – 4 EL84’s are the best for my money. I’ve also got a Fender Stage 100 DSP with extension cabinet that really rocks. My back appreciates the lightness of this amp. It’s very good, considering it’s solid state. I’d like to use the two together and see how that sounds – the great Fender clean tones with the Marshall drive combined. </p>
<p>For pedals, you never can tell, but right now the chain goes like this: <br>Guitar – Crybaby wah – Boss TU-2 tuner – Guyatone VT-3 Tremolo – Guyatone ST-2 Compressor – Boss CE-2 chorus – Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer – Boss DS-1 distortion – and an older Electro Harmonix Electric Mistress flanger. I particularly like the CE-2 and the Electric Mistress, and of course the TS-9. My Jekyll and Hyde is at Visual Sound for repair. The TS-9 and DS-1 are taking its place.</p>Ravenstone