Sonic's Rendezvous Band

Anyone into 'em? Rock Action played the drums, and they even backed up Ig on a European tour. Their box-set is outstanding.

Colin Chaos: That was the only single they realesed. The rest of the music was bootlegs. Good ones

I really want that box set. I was so excited when I first heard about it. I was like "FINALLY!"

Haven't had the spare money to get it yet, though.

Katy wrote:

I really Haven't had the spare money to get it yet, though.

Yeah, I received it as a gift, but it is expensive. Keep checking Amazon for used sets. Discs 5 & 6 are my faves, as they are mostly "basement tapes" stuff. The other discs are all concerts.

I love the opener to City Slang. the live version of DANGEROUS. FUCKING AWESOME. Scott Morgan's vocals are sick.

I have bootlegs of iggys shows with the sonic's

they are -

Helsinki 78.
Orebro 78.
Stockholm 78.
London Music Machine 78.


I Also have on Cassette somewhere, 2 more witch are.

Tolouse 78.
and
Copenhagen 78.


Cheers.

You can listen to Sonic's Rendezvous Band and other great music at Zen Dog Radio....Just go to www.mercora.com and do a search for ZenDog under the DJ category.

Or visit our website at http://zendogdotcom.suddenlaunch3.com/

JESUS_LOVES_THE_STOOGES wrote:

I have bootlegs of iggys shows with the sonic's

Time to torrent those puppies!

Sure, in some time i'll definatly, witch one was u wanting me to post ?

mg196 wrote:

Katy wrote:

I really Haven't had the spare money to get it yet, though.

Yeah, I received it as a gift, but it is expensive. Keep checking Amazon for used sets. Discs 5 & 6 are my faves, as they are mostly "basement tapes" stuff. The other discs are all concerts.

Here's where to buy it for about 10 bucks less than the Amazon price:

http://www.scottmorganmusic.com/scott_shop.html

...which includes postage in the US.

Only a few bucks more for international orders.

I wouldn't wait around for a copy to turn up second-hand. It's too good and there might not many around.

I dig 'em. It took me a bit to get used to Scott's vocals, which struck me as a little too classic rock at first, but now that I'm used to them I really like them.

I want remember in this place the unforgettable Fred Sonic Smith....
Gabs

Sonic Smith was cool, that's for sure.

Sonics Rendezvous Band Live album soon

A double live CD of Sonics Rendezvous Band featuring great live material that never made it into the hugely successful boxed set is due for release in October. The album will also include previously unreleased songs.


http://www.easyaction.co.uk/index.php?page=news.php

Yay....more Sonic's Rendezvous BAND !

1998´s "Sweet Nothing" was a very good introduction for me, I got into it full steam ahead! What a great band and I like D.A.M. too, eben if Niagara´s vocals are unpredictable...she´s a true artist!

JESUS_LOVES_THE_STOOGES wrote:

Sure, in some time i'll definatly, witch one was u wanting me to post ?

Post them all, hehe... Except Stockholm... that's on "where the faces shine isn't it?

i love SRB, did anyone get that new CD, i have the boxset so i guess i wont get it, i think its only like an extended version of one of the gigs, something like that, tho i'd like to know if its any better quality or any unreleased songs were on it - theres a trove of stuff left

and u'no hwat i was surprised about, they left heaven off the boxset, i love that song

Where did you see that cd?... I haven't heard their version of heaven, only the hellacopters cover, is it worth checking out that song?

yeh, i had the hellacopters one originally, but theres is on city slang

and the new CD is on their website

http://easyaction.co.uk/detail.php?catno=CPSSP001&PHPSESSID=2ebf9ad824504aa032cda623abd2af11

looks like it might be worth it actualy, i havent heard soul mover

Looks like Freddie was planning on releasing some SRB and got beaten to the punch. The article below should be read in conjunction with this interview: http://www.i94bar.com/ints/sonicsrendezvousband.html



Re: The Easy Action Box
Date: 22 September 2006

We've had a number of inquiries questioning the authenticity of the alleged "band authorized" and highly over-priced Sonic's Rendezvous band box set. It’s time that we respond to the inquiries.

In 1998, after Fred's passing, Patti Smith personally gave me the responsibility of documenting the Sonic's Rendezvous material. I took that assignment seriously, doing so in a manner consistent with the development and evolution of the band's sound and giving due diligence to respecting Fred’s creative body of work. Fred was the unquestionable leader and ultimate authority within the band, that fact is undeniable. He decided the direction of the band, which songs the group would perform and what material would best represent the creative focus of the band; I was responsible for putting those decisions into practice and making them happen.

The dullard responsible for Easy Action's promotional spiel claims this 'new' box features "completely unreleased SRB material", that "only product the band ever released was a 7” Single of “City Slang”, that "the band themselves have all contributed as well as the estate of Fred Smith."

That is complete and utter bullshit. Anyone remotely familiar with the band knows two full-length CDs and a 12 inch EP have been released by Mack Aborn Rhythmic Arts. Anyone capable of reading the error-filled booklet of fantasy that accompanies this box will realize there's not a single quote from Scott Asheton and it can be stated unequivocally the "estate of Fred Smith" does not approve of nor do they support this fraudulent release.

Robert "the Ramalama" Matheu, who once masqueraded as a trusted friend, has claimed in a message board posting, “I would sometimes take one of my home cassette decks and plug it right into the soundboard” and that “Fred gave me a copy of this one, he used to drop by my house in Dearborn to dub cassettes”. He also claims he "didn't miss more than a couple of shows".

Unfortunately, Robert Matheu is a bald-faced liar, in my opinion he's a deceptive jackal who’s betrayed what little trust he was ever afforded. The idea of Fred "dubbing cassettes" is laughable to anyone fortunate enough to be close to him. However, since Fred's not available for comment, unscrupulous scumbags apparently feel they have carte blanche to make such outlandish comments.

For the record, all of the Sonic’s Rendezvous band board tapes within that box were recorded by either Bill Lord or myself. The best of the lot were included on the previously issued “Sweet Nothing ” and “City Slang” discs, though a number of tracks were retained for use in the upcoming “American Boy” collection. Those three discs will continue to serve as the true epitaph of Sonic ’s Rendezvous band.

Matheu also claimed "Scott Morgan felt that maybe there was something more we could do", a clearly troubling statement for anyone familiar with the dynamics and inner workings of the band. (Matheu apparently had similar ideas about Creem magazine; anyone know how that misadventure's working out?) He claimed this purported box set "sheds some light and sets the record straight" which is patently ridiculous. This haphazard jumble of "odds and ends" in no way "sets the record straight"; history is what it is, the record is already set in stone. This poor quality smorgasbord of inferior recordings seems intended to do exactly the opposite, to rewrite and refocus the band's history, quite similar to what the sycophants surrounding Wayne Kramer have attempted to do with the MC5.

And, as the MC5 debacle has proven, it's an effort destined for complete and utter failure.

The Easy Action misadventure is nothing more than a cheap and pitiful attempt to undermine the official Mack Aborn Rhythmic Arts releases; Easy Action has unlawfully appropriated the Mack Aborn discs, the other board tapes used in this mess are several generations removed from our master recordings. Beyond that, much of this costly sham of a box are either inferior songs or flawed recordings, even Easy Action admits “ many of these tracks fall a bit short on the recording quality”. No kidding?

And don't kid yourself: beyond the Mack Aborn material, much of the rest is garbage, deleted from the Sonic's Rendezvous repertoire long ago, music which Fred Smith did not ever intend to release or care to continue being associated with and that includes the silly "Electrophonic Tonic". Using the name "Sonic's Rendezvous" to market such lackluster material is reprehensible, both an affront to Fred's hard-earned and well-deserved reputation and an undignified attempt to capitalize on and ultimately diminish Sonic's name.

The same negative energy that ultimately ended the Sonic's Rendezvous band is what seems to have fueled this fiasco and the bad blood which has followed. The above comment attributed to Morgan expresses the exact intent of this bogus project, his delusional obsession with feigning a leadership role in a band he was ultimately removed from 26 years ago is bizarre. Dumbing down and rewriting Fred’s lyrics, re-recording a mortifying amount of the band's material, several songs more than once, is just weird; particularly when it's the same material he once complained about and despised playing when the band was a actual functioning unit.

In a recent conversation with the most prominent living member of Sonic's band, I questioned what might have happened, all those years ago, had Morgan stopped his pissing and moaning and instead put some real effort into furthering the band's collective interest. To paraphrase his reply, the band would have been better off had they jettisoned any dead weight long before the band's demise in 1980. Anyone who matters knows that Fred was an amazing musician, that it was his songs and his guitar playing that truly allowed the Sonic's Rendezvous band to transcend.

Jackson Smith recently questioned why every band his father was involved in has since descended into such an ugly and contentious mess, business-wise, years after their demise. My reply was that it should be taken as a somewhat demented compliment, he should be honored to know his father was so extraordinarily talented that his so-called 'surviving' band mates have reduced themselves to simply basking in Fred's refracted glory.

Sonically speaking, Fred Smith chose to explore untapped musical horizons and expanded boundaries others were unaware even existed. As a reward, he certainly deserves better than this lame Easy Action bullshit. So the “American Boy” release will proceed on schedule and be released this fall, including a solo acoustic version of "City Slang" and other rarities; you can also expect both repackaged Mack Aborn discs to be available when the Sonic site comes back online in October.

If you'd like e-mail notification when that happens, drop a line to Stellabiz.

Freddie Brooks
Mack Aborn Rhythmic Arts
Detroit

SRB-related news from Easyaction:

Gary Rasmussen's band from the late 60's to early 70's The Up gets the easy action treatment this summer with the complete audio recordings unseen film and a booklet to die for !

I had the "Killer Up" album, it's not very good unfortunately.