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Walk On Well Lighted Streets
''Walk on Well Lighted Streets'' is the second studio album by American new wave pop group Gleaming Spires. Like their debut, ''Songs of the Spires,'' the album was produced by Stephen Hague. History In addition to the core duo of bassist/lead vocalist Leslie Bohem and drummer David Kendrick, the Spires lineup was augmented on this album (as well as their previous release, 1982's ''Life Out on the Lawn'' EP) to include guitarist Bob Haag and keyboardist Jim "Jimbo" Goodwin, all of whom recorded and toured with Sparks during this time. As a result, unlike the rough demo recordings of the previous album, ''Walk on Well Lighted Streets'' features a full band arrangement and a more distinctive "new wave" sound. The album has been described as featuring music that "manages to be simultaneously catchy and quirky," with lyrics "more bizarre than ever." A music video was created for the song "A Christian Girl's Problems," featuring the band members dressed in Roman gladiator outfits ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gleaming Spires
Gleaming Spires was an American new wave pop group in the 1980s. Background Performing as Bates Motel, they were enlisted by brothers Ron and Russell Mael to be a part of the 1981–85 incarnation of their band, Sparks. After completing demos with neophyte producer Stephen Hague, principal members Leslie Bohem and David Kendrick (later of Devo, Xiu Xiu) recruited fellow Sparks members Jim Goodwin and Bob Haag to form Gleaming Spires with the blessing of the Mael brothers. Following promotional materials by graphic artist Kevin J. Walker (who designed punk band covers for T.S.O.L. and Channel 3, among others), they were signed to Posh Boy Records on the strength of what had been intended by the group as a non-LP B-side, "Are You Ready for the Sex Girls?". "Sex Girls" became a hit on Los Angeles' KROQ-FM radio station and was later featured in the films ''The Last American Virgin'' and ''Revenge of the Nerds'', the latter of which also featured the Gleaming Spires song "All Nigh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Wave Music
New wave is a loosely defined music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles from the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock, including punk itself. Later, critical consensus favored "new wave" as an umbrella term involving many popular music styles of the era, including power pop, synth-pop, ska revival, and more specific forms of punk rock that were less abrasive. It may also be viewed as a more accessible counterpart of post-punk. Common characteristics of new wave music include a humorous or quirky pop approach, the use of electronic sounds, and a distinctive visual style in music videos and fashion. In the early 1980s, virtually every new pop/rock act – and particularly those that employed synthesizers – were tagged as "new wave". Although new wave shares punk's do-it-yourself philosophy, the artists were more influenced by the styles of the 1950s along with the lighter s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Posh Boy
Posh Boy Records is a Hollywood, California-based record label owned by the American-born, British-educated Robbie "Posh Boy" Fields, a sometime high school substitute teacher and former copy boy at the ''Los Angeles Times'' who took an interest in the emerging punk rock scene in Orange County, California during the late 1970s. The label's releases enjoyed substantial airplay on Rodney Bingenheimer's show on KROQ-FM, and some of them, notably the Fields-produced version of "Amoeba" by the Adolescents and the Stephen Hague-produced electronic rock track "Are You Ready for the Sex Girls" by the Sparks offshoot the Gleaming Spires, made it into regular programming on the station. Social Distortion was one of many bands whose first recordings were issued by Posh Boy. One of the label's most successful releases was Agent Orange's debut, ''Living in Darkness'', containing "Bloodstains", an extreme sports anthem covered by many alternative rock groups (the most notable being the Offsp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Hague
Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American record producer most active with various British acts since the 1980s. Early life Hague was born in Portland, Maine in 1960. Early career Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session keyboardist. He soon became a member of the band Jules and the Polar Bears and produced (with Jules Shear) the two albums and one EP, released between 1978 and 1980, by that band. He then branched out into producing work by other artists, including 1980s Sparks offshoot band Gleaming Spires, their first album being recorded on Hague's home 4-track tape recorder. This 1981 album spawned the Los Angeles radio hit "Are You Ready for the Sex Girls?" on the Posh Boy label, a recording subsequently featured in Hollywood features ''The Last American Virgin'' and ''Revenge of the Nerds''. Hague and Shear teamed up to produce both albums by new-wavers Slow Children in 1981 and 1982; Hague also co-produced Elliot Easton's (The Cars) 1985 solo album ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Songs Of The Spires
''Songs of the Spires'' is the debut album by American new wave pop group Gleaming Spires. It features the single "Are You Ready for the Sex Girls?" and was produced by Stephen Hague. History Gleaming Spires began as a side project of Leslie Bohem and David Kendrick. In 1980, they were enlisted as the bassist and drummer, respectively, for the art pop band Sparks, consisting of brothers Ron and Russell Mael. While in Sparks, Bohem and Kendrick convened with producer Stephen Hague to record a series of demos. The demo tape made its way to K-ROQ in Los Angeles, and according to Kendrick, when Posh Boy founder Robbie Fields heard the tape, he decided to release the songs as they were; the ''Songs of the Spires'' album consists of these demos. While the Spires themselves originally did not want it released as a single, "Are You Ready for the Sex Girls?" went on to become the band's only hit. A music video was created for the song, featuring Bohem and Kendrick making coffee and b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Welcoming A New Ice Age
''Welcoming a New Ice Age'' is the third and final studio album by American new wave pop group Gleaming Spires. It was produced by Greg Penny. History By 1985, bassist/lead vocalist Leslie Bohem and drummer David Kendrick's tenure in Sparks had begun to draw to a close. Starting with 1983's '' In Outer Space'', the Mael brothers had started using the LinnDrum for demos, leading to simpler drum patterns that Kendrick would later add cymbals and hi-hats over. By 1986's '' Music That You Can Dance To,'' there was little to no involvement from any of their 1980s backing band, despite being credited on the album, and it ended up being the final Sparks album they were featured on in any capacity. Cutting ties with Posh Boy, who released their previous two LPs, the Spires signed with Tabb Records, a Los Angeles-based indie label. In addition, Greg Penny, who would later produce the likes of Elton John and k.d. lang, was brought in as producer in place of Stephen Hague. Stylistically ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leslie Bohem
Leslie "Les" Bohem (born 1951) is an American screenwriter, television writer, and former bassist. He is the son of screenwriter Endre Bohem. Biography Bohem played bass in the 1980s with the pop groups Sparks and Gleaming Spires. Bohem's writing credits include the miniseries '' Taken'' and the films ''Dante's Peak'', ''Twenty Bucks'' (with his father), ''Daylight'', and '' The Alamo''. He also wrote the storybook of the Steven Spielberg produced mini-series ''Nine Lives.'' Bohem wrote parts of the science-fiction television series ''Extant'', executive produced by Spielberg and created the series ''Shut Eye'', airing on the streaming service Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie .... It was given a straight-to-series 10-episode order. All ten episodes became avail ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Kendrick
David Kendrick (born March 23, 1955) is an American musician who is currently a member of the experimental pop band Xiu Xiu. A former member of Gleaming Spires and Devo, he has recorded and toured with Sparks, Andy Prieboy and Revolushn. He is based in Los Angeles, California. Career Early years Kendrick grew up in the Midwest just outside of Chicago. "Neither of my parents were musicians, but my dad was a sculptor and they were both big music people," Kendrick said in 2013. "So I grew up hearing everything around the house. I came of age with the British Invasion, so I was always a bit of an anglophile in that regard - the Stones, Beatles." Early on, he gravitated towards the drums, with Keith Moon and Ginger Baker as his role models. He played in several bands in the 1970s and relocated to Los Angeles in 1977 to play with Venus and the Razorblades, a punk band put together by Kim Fowley. Through a mutual friend, Fowley got in touch with Kendrick: "He called me up and gave me t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sparks (band)
Sparks is an American pop and rock duo formed by brothers Ron (keyboards) and Russell Mael (vocals) in Los Angeles. The duo is noted for their quirky approach to songwriting; their music is often accompanied by sophisticated and acerbic lyrics—often about women, and sometimes containing literary or cinematic references-- and an idiosyncratic, theatrical stage presence, typified by the contrast between Russell's animated, hyperactive frontman antics and Ron's deadpan scowling. Russell Mael has a distinctive wide-ranging voice, while Ron Mael plays keyboards in an intricate and rhythmic style. They have been much more successful in Europe than in their native U.S., though they maintain a loyal cult following in the States. Career highlights include "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", which reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart in 1974; the disco hit "The Number One Song in Heaven" in 1979, resulting from a collaboration with Giorgio Moroder and marking a stylistic shift ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Kostabi
Kalev Mark Kostabi (born November 27, 1960) is an American artist and composer. Early life Kostabi was born in Los Angeles on November 27, 1960, to Estonian immigrants Kaljo and Rita Kostabi. He was raised in Whittier, California and studied drawing and painting at California State University, Fullerton. In 1982 he moved to New York and by 1984 he became a prominent figure of the East Village art scene, winning the "Proliferation Prize" from the '' East Village Eye'' for being in more art exhibitions than any other New York artist. Artwork Kostabi is most known for his paintings of faceless figures which often comment on contemporary political, social and psychological issues, and which have visual stylistic roots in the work of Giorgio de Chirico and Fernand Léger. Beyond traditional art world exposure, Kostabi has designed album covers for Guns N' Roses ( Use Your Illusion) and The Ramones ( ¡Adios Amigos!), Seether (Holding Onto Strings Better Left to Fray), Jimmy Scott ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Posh Boy Records
Posh Boy Records is a Hollywood, California-based record label owned by the American-born, British-educated Robbie "Posh Boy" Fields, a sometime high school substitute teacher and former copy boy at the ''Los Angeles Times'' who took an interest in the emerging punk rock scene in Orange County, California during the late 1970s. The label's releases enjoyed substantial airplay on Rodney Bingenheimer's show on KROQ-FM, and some of them, notably the Fields-produced version of "Amoeba" by the Adolescents and the Stephen Hague-produced electronic rock track "Are You Ready for the Sex Girls" by the Sparks offshoot the Gleaming Spires, made it into regular programming on the station. Social Distortion was one of many bands whose first recordings were issued by Posh Boy. One of the label's most successful releases was Agent Orange's debut, '' Living in Darkness'', containing "Bloodstains", an extreme sports anthem covered by many alternative rock groups (the most notable being the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Omnivore Recordings
Omnivore Recordings is an independent record label founded in 2010. It specializes in historical releases, reissues and previously unissued vintage recordings, as well as select releases of new music, on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Omnivore Recordings is a part of Omnivore Entertainment Group LLC, which also incorporates sister companies Omnivore Music Publishing and Omnivore Creative, which provides A&R and art direction/design consulting for recording artists, artist estates, and other record labels. Omnivore's name reflects the company's inclusive attitude towards the music it releases, encompassing a wide variety of genres, spanning the history of popular music, and reflecting the broad musical interests of the company's staff. History In its first decade of operation, Omnivore released approximately 400 albums, including archival music by a broad assortment of notable acts, including Arthur Alexander, America, the Bangles, the Beach Boys, Big Star, the Blind Boys of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
