The Overview Effect NS-18

Episode 500-Five Hundred Sipreano Voluntary In Nature-The Stunt Man's Radio Show

There's no other way to say it, j'adore The Stunt Man. Who doesn't Even the odd scorned lover of days gone by surely has a soft spot in their heart for the man born Greg Mindorff. His sweet sound audio work has been recognized by NASA, The Grammy Awards, Royal LePage Powell River, and even Voluntary In Nature, so you BEST believe that there is a reason that I've referred to him as "The Friendly Helper" over the years on projects such as the re-release of Innocent Youths by Earth, Roots & Water, Sipreano with Decaf and The Stunt Man, Native North America (Vol. 1), and the forthcoming VIN 001(Hmm...). In a macadamia nutshell, The Stunt Man makes the universe a better place to be in and also helps people to be better at being themselves. So when Greg asked me to take the reins for Episode 500 of his long-running radio show (What an honour!), there was no way that I could let him down. Well, I'd at least try to fill the space w/ an hour of harmless mirth fit for a king! It's absolutely MIND-BOGGLING to think that for five hundred consecutive weeks, yes FIVE HUNDRED CONSECUTIVE WEEKS (!!!), The Stunt Man has delivered a radio program for your listening please, a gift that continues to give. All but one episode are archived for your listening pleasure at https://www.mixcloud.com/TheStuntMan/ If you dig deep enough, there's even some more Sipreano (RIP) in the mix, but of course, Episode 500 had to be delivered with the appropriate levels of ceremony, pomp, and circumstance for a milestone of such stature. It's no surprise that I bow my head to The Stunt Man once more. To friendship! Crab legs! And what's in store! (MORE) PEACE

*Full episode HERE

Sipreano with Decaf and The Stunt Man - "Steal" (1777rex, 2007)

December 16, 2006:

Sipreano with Decaf and The Stunt Man represents the culmination of a 17-year Vancouver experience. Although I lived in British Columbia for a spell in the eighties it was this second lengthier go round that opened my ears and mind to different frequencies, let me explore the night, and share countless experiences with so many good folks.

It’s when I first played out records with James Bell (aka Lockjaw, R.I.P.), hosted nuff events, shebeens, and multi-media one-offs with the one and only Kamandi, met the creatively inspiring Decaf, and spent a great deal of energy digging deep and deeper for long forgotten sounds. I also developed a fundamental passion for Canadian music via another deceased pal, For The Record's Ty Scammel, the only vinyl dealer that I’ve met with golden ears and an influence that I truly miss.

When I was lucky, Ty would have me over to his house and we'd just groove on his mind blowing record collection filled to the brim with the heaviest psychedelic records from around the world, long before the Internet opened the floodgates. We'd drink whiskey, smoke weed, and he'd tell me of his late-blooming Vancouver hippie days. For “Edwards/Blake” and “Cousineau,” I thank you.

Another key impact was a 6-year stint at a large UK-chain CD store. It was here where I bonded with "Lunatics" co-conspirator Paul Anderson. This was our musical playground, elementary, high, and post-secondary schools all rolled into one. Andie Maddalozzo also entered my sphere during this period and continues to be a dear friend. It was an honour to have her contribute to “Steal” in a unique way that only she can pull off.

In Vancouver, there is such a dynamic between the street and nature. Over time, I've become immersed in city life, the hustle and bustle, enjoying cheap eateries, bars, and working to get by. It wasn't until recently that I started to appreciate the other aspect–the mountains, lakes, woods, and ocean. The summer of 2006 will go down as a return to these solitudes where the sand and surf of Third Beach washed over my existence. I spent a great many moments like this with 1777rex's Steven Balogh, the one-time bass to my drums in short-lived mid-nineties combo, The Afterglow, as well as with the ever patient Stunt Man on two Powell River (Without End) getaways. Brothers. 

Canada also played its part in the creation of this album. In both 2005 and in 2006 (accompanied by Decaf), I hit the road in my trusty Corolla, heading east like CN Rail and on the prowl for vanishing Canadian sound heritage. Apart from finding records that I would have never found in coastal bins, I got to experience the larger than life Rockies, rolling prairie ghosts, and endless big sky. Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and points in between gave me a new perspective on our country and my place in it.

Consequently, it’s been with serious consideration that Heather and I have relocated to the big league of Toronto to pursue both collective and separate goals. Another transition to say the least. My archival work has led me to the source and it feels like my Vancouver love affair will have to wait for a future space. Still, before I left, and with the help of these close friends, I was able to complete a letter to my adopted home. It celebrates all that I cherish.

Please take a toke, lay back, and walk with us...

February 13, 2017:

It’s crazy to think, but 10 years have passed since Vancouver-based 1777rex released Sipreano with Decaf and The Stunt Man. Like the label’s other releases (Anemones, Points Gray, Ice Palace, and Ex-Dead Teenager), each CD-R and cardboard sleeve were personally put together with stitching, stencil/spray paint, cut and pasted photos, as well as hand numbered text by 1777rex mastermind Steven Balogh. Inserts and cover images were cut with scissors and assembled with care. Each title was limited to 100 copies: 50 were distributed to local stores and sold to customers worldwide and 50 were given to the artists, a solid model for a labour of love such as this.

The 1777 in 1777rex was a nod to 1777 Frances, an east Vancouver apartment building that Balogh and I lived in during the middle part of the first decade of the 2000s. We had initially met around ten years prior, as a short-lived rhythm section in a Mod/UK-inspired rock band. Reconnecting with Balogh around a different crew of musicians and friends, I was excited to be asked to contribute to his new imprint. Initially, ODB, as he was sometimes called, wanted a DJ mix as my 1777rex release. I had been active as a selector since the late 1990s, but felt that I wanted to create something more original than simply stringing a few old tunes together. Since 2004, I had been collaborating with Seattle-based Light in the Attic Records and producing the Jamaica-Toronto reissue series, an extension of my record collection and personal history with Jamaican and Canadian music. I had also recently put together a streaming loop-based music project for Tokyo’s Sandinista/2Step clothing brand called Voluntary In Nature, which I performed as a live PA at local art space Blim in the old B.C. Electric Building on Pender Street.

To execute an expanded vision, I immediately asked for help from two good friends: producer/artist/photographer Kelly Claude Nairn (then known as Decaf, now wzrdryAV) as well as The Stunt Man (Suite Sound Labs owner/audio engineer, Greg Mindorff). Two more old pals (Paul “The Driver” Anderson and Andie Maddalozzo) were brought on as guest vocalists. Records, voice, keyboards, and drums were hashed together along with Decaf’s trademark sound processing and the editing, mixing, and mastering touch of The Stunt Man. Two cover songs were attempted, the first, a short edit of a Red Rider song (“Crack The Sky (Breakaway)”) along with re-sung vocals from Tom Cochrane’s Can Con classic “Big League,” the second, a straight recreation of “The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum” by the Fun Boy Three. Additional inspiration was taken from my record collection and reflected my explorations into regional Canadian and global psychedelic sounds as inspired by the late, great, Ty Scammell. Drum tracks were recorded at a rehearsal space on Hastings where my kit was set up for jamming. The CD-R’s cover image was taken by Kelly at the edge of Victoria Park on Salisbury Drive and the album was promoted prior to its release in an interview given to CiTR’s Discorder Magazine in the fall of 2006 as well as on a 1777rex Myspace page (which hosted the song "CN Rail").

Of all of the fourteen tracks, “Steal,” which features vocal from Gangbang’s Andie Maddalozzo, still resonates with me deeply. In fact, it pointed towards today’s current state of unrest (has anything changed?). The musical backing is meant to reflect and recreate a late afternoon Third Beach session with the sun beginning to set and the surf slowly crashing against the shore in varied repetition. An edit of Decaf’s empathetic sample treatment, it has made me cry on more than one occasion and continues to fill me with emotion, over ten years later. For those who haven’t heard it yet, I hope that you enjoy.

PEACE,

Sipreano

Voluntary In Nature (2006)

Voluntary In Nature

10 years later

As a producer and music historian, I don’t feel that everything from the past is worthy of reappraisal. There are fragments of creation that are fleeting or simply disposable, more suitable for the dustbin that the crates. Still, there are other works that linger, sustain or even take on greater meaning with the passing of time. I’m not going to say under which category I feel Voluntary In Nature falls, but 10 years later, it is something that I’d like to revisit and share with any open to listen.

Voluntary In Nature was created for Tokyo-based clothing brand Sandinista during the first half of 2006 under commission from head designer and friend Vincent Cook. Available as an exclusive and limited audio stream at sndnst.com in May of that same year, Voluntary In Nature was comprised of original edits, sound collage, and voice. Some of the segments date back to the early 2000s and appear in different forms in other places. Without giving away too much information, Voluntary In Nature fulfills Canadian content regulations fully and completely, an intentional direction.

Looking back, Voluntary In Nature represents an era of great self-discovery: Digging, reaching, thinking, celebrating, meditating, and always learning. It was the conceptual precursor to 2007’s Sipreano with Decaf and The Stunt Man (1777rex) and the genesis of my blog and outlet for sharing.

Note: I would like to acknowledge the engineering skills of The Stunt Man, vocal inspiration from the Psychic Ills, and the Trans Continental Pop Festival (1970).

More to come…

PEACE,

Sipreano

Sipreano says September

The Stunt Man at LAX

*Paparazzi missed the real money shot... TSM at LAX!!! PEACE

80's PARTY

TSM 200 IS NOW OVER

family affair (this friday!@#$%!!!)

*call it an unexpected surprise if you will, the stunt man and david loves jones (vinyl records) have joined forces to create a truly magical DJ night. w/ over 40 years of music experience between the two, family affair is simply music for music's sake, how refreshing. enhanced by save on meats' KILLER pop-up location burger bar (*i can't recommend this enough!!!) as well as a sweet selection of pinball machines, the good vibes are infectious to say the least. catch the latest edition of family affair this coming friday (january 24, 2014)... there's a rumoured guest appearance/DJ set from sipreano (i think it might be true)!@#$%!!! PEACE

more wedding tapes...

the wedding tapes

remastering songs for the new industrial state

nobody can

MAPL (Episode 152)

a week from today...

 

*i'm taking a lil' VIN blog breather over the next week or so... they'll be (much, much) more soon, trust me. until then, let me leave you w/ some promo for the stunt man's long-running 45 throwdown (held at save on meats, 43 w. hastings, vancouver). monday, july 29's edition (7 pm till ???) will feature none other than 2/3rds of cratery: arcee and kaewonder (DJ serious is holding down the fort back in ontario). this is a rare opp to peep two TDOT dons do their thing, in this instance, drop record after record... black gold. funk, soul, reggae, psych, disco, you know how we roll... or DO you??? here's the perfect opportunity to rock w/ us!@#$%!!! PS - (LET THE) ROCK KOKANEE FLOW (4EVER)!@#$%!!! PEACE

*a word from TSM...

*gonna bring a ravaging selection of CDN tunes to save on TNT!@#$%!!!

CANADA DAY 2013

*i hope it's obvious to any readers of this blog, but "my canada" includes people from all backgrounds, cultures, and persuasions (aka the wonderful folks who make up this great country, except for "those" people, and for a day, we'll forget about them...). from our aboriginal population to the various immigrants and settlers who have made canada their home over the years, it is clearly a land of much diversity and depth, something i cherish dearly. one thing our various cultures share in common is MUSIC and it's been a great passion of mine to learn more about this eclectic breadth of sounds. from country to folk, reggae to pop, jazz, soul, rock and roll, and beyond, the output (and quest to find them) is E-N-D-L-E-S-S... this coming monday (july 1st), the stunt man and i will share a special hand-picked selection of canadian 7" vinyl singles for your listening pleasure. the hitch??? you have to make your way down to save on meats (43 w. hastings street) in vancouver, B.C.!@#$%!!! and while this night is sponsored by stiegl, you may catch this player sipping on something a little more suited to such a special day!@#$%!!! what do you think, should i finally crack the seal on that bottle of schramm organic gin!@#$%???

LIVE (IN THE MIX)

*shit got pretty craze at SAVE ON MEATS last monday. TSM had me down for another 7" session (i'd say "45," but i've been banned from playing 12" 45 rpm records)!@#$%!!! this live mix was from earlier in the night. wanna give a BIG shout out to FIVER who i drop at the end of the set (*new album coming out SOON on triple crown audio)!@#$%!!! it's SICK!!! later that eve i got a little cosmic (tape does exist), inspired no doubt by a lil' sipreano TRUTH IS LIGHT re-edit megamix. shouts to jason lev out there in LA LA land!@#$%!!! PEACE

almost optima (aka SIPREANO'S LAST DJ APPEARANCE IN VANCOUVER)

(another) 45 throwdown