SONGS AND MORE SONGS BY TOM LEHRER marks the first-ever CD release of the original Songs By Tom Lehrer 10" LP, the biggest-selling humorous music album of the 1950s, plus the follow-up More of Tom Lehrer and all four of Lehrer's recordings with orchestra. Added bonus: a brand-new Lehrer performance of "I Got It From Agnes." Liner notes by Dr. Demento and Tom Lehrer. $15.98 plus shipping.
HENRY PHILLIPS: On the Shoulders of Freaks
These days, Henry's songs get almost as many requests
as Weird Al's. $11.98 plus shipping.
BARNES & BARNES: Voobaha
The Barnes boys' first album, including "Fish Heads,"
"Cemetery Girls" and "Linoleum," plus scads of
bonus tracks including the first song they ever sent to
the Dr. Demento Show, which the Dr. refused to play at
the time. From Oglio Records. $11.98 plus shipping.
OGDEN EDSL: Mower of the Ogden Edsl
"Dead Puppies," "Kinko the Clown," "Daddy's
Money" and many never-before-released tracks by
these legendary Nebraska nut cases. From Oglio
Records. $11.98 plus shipping.
ALL THESE CD'S ARE NOW AVAILABLE FROM THE DEMENTO SOCIETY. USE THE HANDY ORDER BLANK ON PAGE 3. Sorry, these titles have not been released on cassette.
On the last weekend in June I'll be taking part in the Old Songs Festival in Altamont, NY (near Albany). I'll be doing a couple of afternoon programs of music and videos, and MC'ing a concert on Sunday, June 29 featuring Utah Phillips ("Moose Turd Pie") and many other fine acoustic performers.
Info: (518) 765-2815. And on July 5th I'll be doing my Sci-Fi Dementia show at the "Inconjunction," a sci-fi con at the Marriott Hotel in Indianapolis, IN. For info about that event write Inconjunction, PO Box 19776, Indianapolis, IN 46219, or e-mail incon@indy.net. Registration is $25 until June 1 and $30 at the door.
Meanwhile we'll keep getting demented on the radio every week...keep those requests coming!
As an artist working with another artist, developing ideas with Dr. Demento is definitely the best of working conditions. Having been an artist for major TV and motion picture projects, I can tell you that the deadlines can be pretty rough, not to mention hectic. But Dr. Demento is an artist and that makes the Dr. easy to work with.
You see, many times an artist like me will submit several different ideas about the next project. The difficult part is finding the little gems of ideas that are usually hiding among the multitude of rough drawings and sketches. The easy part is that Dr. Demento always finds positive points about my submissions and, as usual, he finds a variety of ideas from the various sketches. Once we decide on the main idea based on the bits and pieces of the presentations, the rest falls into place very well, making my job look a lot easier.
During the many years I have known Dr. Demento, I have never heard him say anythinig unpleasant about anybody, and that demeanor extends into our relationship as well. It does not matter how late I am or how pressed we are to meet a deadline, The Dr. always has a pleasant attitude, good judgment and a good word of encouragement.
His many years as a real professional in the show business industry are displayed at every working moment.
Speaking of working moments...the Dr. seems to be in perpetual motion. (It sometimes makes me wonder...does the man ever sleep?) As many years as I have worked in different show biz arenas, I recognize him as the pro who understands what it's like to focus and dedicate himself to his work constantly. You can believe it when I say those of us who have had the privilege to work with Dr. Demento find him an inspiration.
Since 1993, Arthur Chadbourne has been Artistic Director for the Demento Society, designing the Society's CD and tape packaging, T-shirts, bumper stickers, buttons and other goodies.
DANA LYONS: Cows With Guns
Dana Lyons comes from a long tradition of troubadours who have
raised our political and environmental consciousness with eloquent
songs, often brightened with incisive humor. Most of this CD is
quite serious, but the highly original, hilarious title track is our
most requested song of 1997, so far. Great graphics, too.
REIGNING RECORDS, PO BOX 2627, BELLINGHAM, WA 98227.
Christine Lavin Presents LAUGH TRACKS -
Volumes 1 & 2
Humor has always meant a lot to Christine Lavin. Recently she
assembled more than 20 like-minded fellow singer-songwriters for
two evening of funny songs at the Bottom Line, a well-known New
York nightclub (where Weird Al and I have also appeared several
times). Each singer does one song (often with a spoken intro as
comedic as the song itself). Contributors include Dave Van Ronk,
Tom Paxton, The Foremen, Lou & Peter Berryman, Andy Breckman,
Don White, Chuck Brodsky and The Chenille Sisters, many of whom
you'll recognize from the Dr. Demento Show and various volumes of
our Basement Tapes. Great good-natured fun. SHANACHIE RECORDS -
IN STORES (try the "folk" section). WEB: www.shanachie.com
THE SIMPSONS: Songs In the Key Of Springfield
Why do people tape every Simpsons episode? One reason is
the music. Many episodes contain elaborate musical sequences with
original songs or clever covers sung by the regular voices and/or
celebrity guests, often well worth hearing again and again. Here are
39 of the best, selected by the show's musical director, Alf Clausen.
Great liner notes by Clausen and show creator Matt Groening.
RHINO - IN STORES. WEB: www.rhino.com
TOON TUNES: 50 Favorite Classic Cartoon Theme
Songs
All together on one handy dandy CD...original theme songs from 50
different TV cartoon series, from Howdy Doody and Popeye to
Animaniacs and Ren & Stimpy! True couch-potato nirvana.
Many tracks are also available elsewhere, but not all. Should be a
great party starter (and the liner notes could win you a few trivia
contests!) KID RHINO - IN STORES.
WALLY PLEASANT: Wally World
We were delighted to have Wally as a guest on the show again
recently. On his fourth CD, the pride of East Lansing, Michigan
offers more of his jaunty, unpretentious little songs with deliciously
warped lyrics. "The Day Ted Nugent Killed All The Animals,"
"Amusement Park Death Song," "Rumble at the Karaoke Bar," etc.
MIRANDA RECORDS, PO BOX 1024, EAST LANSING, MI 48826.
WEB: http://web.egr.msu.edu/~kingjere/wally.html
JUNIOR'S ARMY: Cars Don't Rust In Outer Space
From Otho, Iowa (pop. 581) comes an entertaining, well-produced
CD of rowdy rock & roll with funny lyrics. Apparent influences
range from Zappa to various arena rockers; there's a lot of musical
variety here. Don't miss their backhand salute to the geriatric
Rolling Stones. JUNIOR'S MOTEL, RT. 1 - BOX 138, OTHO, IA 50569.
WEB: http://www.sky.net/~scare
TONY GOLDMARK: You Bug Me!
"Songs Guaranteed To Bug Your Parents" is the apt subtitle of this
CD of ten short songs by the precocious pre-pubescent singer, who
also wrote many of the tunes including "I Know You're a Fish" --
"the only song by any songwriter in history...to tackle the
sensitive issue of flushing a fish down a toilet" according to
the liner notes by columnist Dave Barry. DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB
RECORDS, PO BOX 27901-120, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127.
BILL MUMY: Dying To Be Heard
This is not a humorous CD, but many DSN readers will be interested.
Bill Mumy, of course, wrote and performed "Fish Heads" and
countless other supremely Demented songs as part of the duo Barnes
& Barnes (with Robert Haimer). This is a set of beautiful, often quite
melancholy Mumy originals. A fine singer and musician, Bill plays
nearly all the instruments himself. On "The Ballad of William
Robinson," Mumy imagines the little boy he portrayed on TV's
Lost In Space in the 1960s as a man now his own age. Bill's young
son Seth, now following in Dad's footsteps as a successful kid actor,
helps out on keyboards. INFINITE VISIONS -- TO ORDER, CALL 1-800-
755-8735.
THE STAN FREBERG SHOW: The First 7 Episodes
Did you know CBS, NBC and ABC all started out as radio networks,
before television was available? Every evening they offered
sitcoms, crime shows, game shows, and variety shows, along with
news and sports. In the 1950s, all that shifted to TV, and radio
became a whole new medium dominated by 24-hour recorded music.
The Stan Freberg Show, which debuted in July 1957, was the very
last new comedy series to be introduced on prime-time network
radio, and it lasted only fifteen weeks...but what a glorious swan
song it was. Using the talents and collaborators that had made him
America's #1 comedy record artist of the mid-1950s, Freberg devised
comedy dramas whose ambitions and scope went far beyond what
was possible on 45 rpm records. Many have called The Stan Freberg
Show the greatest radio comedy series of all time. This reasonably
priced ($34.98) four-CD set has the first seven shows plus an
entertaining "audio foreword" recently recorded by Mr. Freberg and
other cast members; a second volume with the remaining 8 shows is
"forthcoming." Unfortunately, there is a serious problem with this
release: the thin and boxy sound quality, far inferior to the out-of-
print Capitol LP releases of excerpts from these shows, which were
originally taped on state-of-the-art equipment in Hollywood's finest
studios. Oh well, you can always pretend you're hearing them on an
authentic 1957 $9.95 portable radio. RADIO SPIRITS, INC., PO BOX
2141, SCHILLER PARK, IL 60176.
Attention Star Trekkers: William Shatner's classic (?) LP The Transformed Man, and Leonard Nimoy's equally epochal debut LP Mr. Spock's Music From Outer Space have both been reissued in their entirety on CD by Varese Sarabande Records, 11846 Ventura Blvd., #130, Studio City, CA 91604. The Nimoy CD also contains the Star Trek-related tracks from his second LP, The Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy (but not, alas, "Ballad of Bilbo Baggins"). Watch for Varese Sarabande's forthcoming CD of music from the legendary Ernie Kovacs' TV shows of the 1950s.
Also heard on the Dr. Demento Show...
"Wanna Wacka Weenie" by MALONE & NOOTCHEEZ, from the CD
Two Heads (Lone Cheez Productions, PO Box 2383, Coppell, TX
75019)
"Stroke It" by THE VOODUDES, from the CD Wake the Dead (The
VooDudes, PO Box 1413, Highland Park, NJ 08904-1413)
"The Hockey Song" and "Lost My Teeth" by THE ZAMBONIS, from
the CD Play-Off Fever! (Dot Dot Dash, PO Box 1971, New York, NY
10009)
"Mothra" by THOSE DARN ACCORDIONS, from the CD No Strings
Attached (Globe Records, PO Boix 5523, Mill Valley, CA 94942).
(note: this CD contains a very brief cameo by "Weird Al" Yankovic)
"French H2O" by TRACY & THE HINDENBURG GROUND CREW,
from the CD Margaret Dumont (Action Box Records, PO Box 10423,
Burbank, CA 91310)
"Yellow Septran Bus" by ROD MYERS AND THE RAMPS. Gumps On
Medication Cassette available from Rod Myers, 5850 Strath Moor
Dr. #2, Rockford, IL 61107.
"All My Friends Are Drug Fiends" and "The Dog Ate the Baby" by
BOBBY JOE EBOLA AND THE CHILDREN MacNUGGITS, from the
CD Two Cats EP (Smiling Pug Productions, PO Box 21588, El
Sobrante, CA 94820-1588)
"Zsa Zsa" by RICHARD GOLDMAN, from the CD Girls N' Cows
(Gadfly Records, PO Box 5231, Burlington, VT 05402)
(Please continue to send orders to our post office box - PO Box 884, Culver City, CA 90232).
While you're online, check out the "Doctor Is In" web page, maintained by Jeff Morris and several other devoted Dementites. This is an "unofficial" page, which means the Demento Society does not own or control it, but it has tons of amazing resources including a list of stations carrying the show, a database of songs we've played going back to the early 1980s, artists' addresses, and a quick and easy form for making instant requests ("Very" Keri Maijala is in charge of that). The URL is
GET YOUR FRIENDS TO WRITE LETTERS TOO. Get a bunch of them to sign a petition! Many radio executives are simply not aware how many people enjoy Mad Music and Crazy Comedy. Let 'em know!