Category Archives: Video Posts

COUCH: “This Band’s About Standing Up!” 1995 West Coast Tour

Bananafish photo by Anthony Bedard

Subtitled: Video Post #4
In early 1995, ex-Couch partner Pete Larson, studying in Germany for a year, was preparing to return to the United States. I was living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, talking to him on the phone about each others respective recordings for our upcoming split 7″, (Many Moods of Marlon Magas/ Mr. Velocity Hopkins), on Bulb. Pete commented how amazing Weasel’s drumming sounded on our Many Moods recordings. “That’s not Weasel, that’s Aaron.”, I replied. “THAT’S AARON?!?”, Pete responded. Teenager Aaron Dilloway had already displayed much musical prowess, playing guitar and singing with his band, Galen. Pete was about to learn about his secret talent as an intense, hot-shit drummer. Pete and I immediately decided that we would reunite COUCH with Aaron on drums. Couch was reborn and we embarked on our first and only tour of the West Coast. I began the tour a Michigan resident and ended the tour as a Chicago resident.

Pete, Aaron and I toured with Duotron, who were Odi M’khan (Jodie McCann) and Rikkeh Sutt’n (Ricky Sutton). There were five of us in a bare-bones van that broke down often, due to overheating. Five very strong personalities in the hot West Coast sun. No professional rock’n'roll loft, no padding, just bare metal and two bands worth of unprofessionally encased equipment. No air conditioning. No GPS. No Yelp. No cell phones. No digital cameras. No. These videos came from an old video camera, were transferred to VHS, recorded with a mini-DV camcorder, transferred to iMovie, shared to DV, and finally converted to MP4, for your portable viewing pleasure. We did it because we love you.

*Note: I had to remove the video of “Old Man” live at Aquarius Records, because the transfer looked like shit. There were digital glitches. I will attempt to repost soon.

Special thanks to Anthony Bedard, for organizing our San Francisco and Oakland shows.

COUCH – “New Friends 99″ live at the Malcolm Lowry Room, Vancouver, BC 1995

Also playing on the bill were Barbara Manning and Duotron.
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COUCH – “(It’s) Too Late To Tango” live in Olympia, Washington 1995

Also on the bill: Leslie Q and Howardian.
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COUCH – “Glass Brothers” live in Olympia, Washington 1995

Also on the bill: Leslie Q and Howardian.
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COUCH – Live at Warehouse of Low Self-Esteem, San Francisco, California 1995. Various bits of “Glass Brothers”, “New Friends 99″, “Chinese Mechanic” and “Cryptologists” in progress. Rough edit, but it’s that roughness that captures the essence of Couch

Also on the bill: Caroliner Rainbow.
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Posted in Video Posts, Rock 'n' Roll Stories

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Tags: 1995, aaron dilloway, anthony bedard, aquarius records, bananafish, bulb, bulb records, couch, dillo, duotron, hanson records, holy mountain, icky boyfriends, jim magas, magas, marlon magas, mr. velocity hopkins, noise, pete larsen, pete larson, peter larson, sax, seymour glass, tour, velocity hopkins, west coast tour

Video Post #3: The Many Moods of Marlon Magas (1994)

Nov 11

Posted by JimMagas

The Many Moods of Marlon Magas

The Many Moods of Marlon Magas came together when then-partner in Couch, Pete Larson, decided to go study in Germany. Pete and I had a meeting about what we’d do now that Couch was broken up for a year. Pete said he was going to be totally alone, “Allein”. I decided that I’d go the opposite route and have a big band. Teenage wonder kid Aaron Dilloway from the band Galen joined on drums, often augmented by 1 or 2 conga or doumbek players (Don Allen and son Justin Allen). Matthew Smith played both stand-up and electric bass. Horns were arranged by Matt Krizowsky and Weasel Walter, marking the first time Magas and Walter played together, before Lake Of Dracula. Other horn players included Nandor Nevai, Chad Organ, Matt Krizowsky, Jeb Bishop, Jeff Warmouth…am I forgetting anyone? The Moods released 1 split 7″ on Bulb (with Velocity Hopkins, whose side featured a track called “Watch Marlon Die”) and another 4-song 7″ on Scratch. In case you can’t tell, the hand I have extended on the cover of the 7″ is on fire, covered in alcohol. A bucket of water lay at my feet for quick dousing. Photo by Doug Coombe.

The Many Moods of Marlon Magas – “Jupiter” live at Milk of Burgundy, Chicago, 1994.

November 25, 1994 – Many Moods of Marlon Magas
Milk of Burgundy, Chicago.
Many Moods featuring: Marlon Magas (vocals, alto sax), Chad Organ (baritone), Weasel Walter (bass clarinet, saxophone, clarinet), Aaron Dilloway (drums), Jeb Bishop (trombone), Nandor Nevai (trombone), Justin Allen (congas) and organ by Q. Demolition Doll Rods, Duotron, and Bullet in the Head also appeared.

The Many Moods of Marlon Magas – “(Open Up) the Crab” live at the Green Room in Ypsilanti, Michigan

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February 18, 1995 – Many Moods of Marlon Magas, To Live and Shave in L.A
Green Room, Ypsilanti.
Many Moods: Magas(vocals), Nandor Nevai(trombone), Weasel Walter (alto), Justin Allen(congas), Aaron Dilloway(drums), Matt Smith(bass).

The Many Moods of Marlon Magas – “Young Girl Fever” live at the Green Room in Ypsilanti, Michigan

Posted in Video Posts

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Tags: aaron dilloway, alto, ann arbor, azita, big band, bulb, chicago, couch, elliiot, free jazz, green room, horns, justin allen, many moods of marlon magas, math, matt krizowsky, matthew smith, milk of burgundy, nandor nevai, no wave, noise, odi, pete larson, quintron, rikkeh, tom smith, trombone, weasel walter, ypsilanti

Video Post #2: New LAKE OF DRACULA Footage Floats Up

Nov 10

Posted by JimMagas

Lake Of Dracula

While searching through the video vaults, looking for Miss High Heel footage, I stumbled upon some vintage LAKE OF DRACULA. Some of this has appeared on Youtube before, but this is higher quality video, with plenty of modern-day sharing options. Because these are high-quality videos, transferred from first-generation VHS, some of you whose internet is made of wood and string may have streaming issues, but rest assured, there are other options–just look in the “Share” menu on the upper left side of the video. This footage, was taken from a show we played in September, 1996, at Chicago’s Fireside Bowl. Shot by Bridgette Wilson and Emily O’Hara. Edited by Davy Force!

LAKE OF DRACULA – “Dracula Killed Frankenstein” – live at the Fireside Bowl, Chicago 9/24/96