news and special events:
Welcome Clint Alguire - July 2011
Clint has graciously stepped in to replace Frank Casamento on drums. Frank was with 15 60 75 for 24 years and contributed a great deal to the success of the band. His real job as a regional marketing manager for NPR has called him to Chicago. Everyone will miss his playing and his friendship.
Clint has been drumming for 30 years. He's played with many musicians but his most recognizable playing in this area was with the Pat Sweany Band. His father was a jazz drummer. We welcome Clint and admire his willingness to begin a new direction with 15 60 75.
The Inward City:
AVAILABLE NOW - The new 15 60 75 CD "The Inward City".
Produced by David Thomas on his Hearpen label. Art and design by John Thompson.
Photos by Angie Casamento. The long awaited seventh recording of the band
is a studio album including a haunting rework of “Nobody's John”, a blasting
version of “Battery B”, plus five other tracks.
related projects:
Robert Kidney performs with
The Golden Palominos in NYC - 9/10/2010
on September 10th at
The City Winery and Robert performs
again
AT The Living
Room, 154 Ludlow
St., 212-533-7237 ON sET. 11.
The line up includes:
Anton Fier
Syd Straw
Tony Maimone
Jody Harris
Jim Campilongo
Tony Scherr
Amanda Kramer
Robert Kidney
15 60 75 downloads available
Hearpen.com has released four songs recorded in 1983 that were originally
spinning on 45s. They are:
Nobody's john
Behind Your Eyes
Here In The Life
It's In Imagination
Go to hearpen.com for purchase.
Mirror Man Act 2
is available for download at Hearpen.com. Robert and Jack Kidney perform
on this previously unreleased collection recorded live at Gardner Arts Centre,
Brighton, May 27 2001 and at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, May 26 2001.
Datapanik in the Year Zero
will be re-released as a CD box set on October 5. This box set contains the
complete versions of the first five Pere Ubu studio albums plus the Hearpen
singles. 15 60 75 is on CD 4: Terminal Drive, with “It’s In Imagination”.
Available at Cooking Vinyl in the UK at cookingvinyl.com.
"Jimmy Bell's Still In Town"
listed on ALLMUSIC.COM
Album of the Day
June 12, 2009, reviewed by Mark Deming:
From the Rolling Stones to the White Stripes, plenty of rock bands have used
the blues as a jumping off point and messed with the form to make something
new, but hardly anyone pushed the music into a more interesting and innovative
direction while staying true to its roots as 15-60-75, a Kent, OH combo known
to locals as "the Numbers Band." Led by Robert Kidney on lead vocals
and guitar and Terry Hynde on saxophone (yes, he's Chrissie's brother), this
band never lost touch with the deep hoodoo groove at the heart of the blues,
but they pushed and pulled at the sound from all directions, with the rhythm
section laying out a steady and propulsive groove, additional percussionists
throwing polyrhythms over the bed, the sax players blowing as if possessed
by King Curtis and Ornette Coleman at once, the guitarists exploring the cosmos,
and Kidney declaiming like the last great undocumented beat poet. Jimmy Bell's
Still in Town, the group's first (and arguably best) album, manages to capture
the band in all their shapeshifting glory, and what's most remarkable is how
incredibly tight and unified this band is -- while this music leaps through
any number of hoops, nothing and no one ever gets lost in the shuffle and
the musicians perform with an intense focus that's all the more remarkable
when you realize this was a live recording, cut in front of an enthusiastic
audience at the Agora in Cleveland one evening in 1975. Music this smart and
adventurous is rarely as satisfying on a gut level as Jimmy Bell's Still in
Town, and this is a razor-sharp fusion of jazz, blues, and rock that kicks
like a mule and will let you shake your ass all night long. David Thomas of
Pere Ubu, a major fan of the Numbers Band, once called Jimmy Bell's Still
in Town "the only good album ever recorded by anyone," and while
he's clearly exaggerating to make a point, there's no doubt it's a better
record than whatever you're listening to right now.
"Cleveland Rock & Roll Memories" by Carlo Wolff
Carlo's new book includes photographs and stories from 15 60 75 plus many
interesting tales from the musicians and personalities who made Cleveland
the unique music town we thought we knew so well. Available at most book stores
and at amazon.com.
35th Anniversary Event DVD - UPDATE
Many people are asking about the progress of the September 17th, 2005 35 Year Anniversary Event DVD. We are working with over five hours of audio and video from the event, in addition to vintage footage and interviews. Fear not, it will be worth the wait. The DVD will now also include music from the 40 Anniversary show, plus a band history and commentary. Yeah, it's gonna take longer...
Jack Kidney appears on Frank Black "Fastman Raiderman" CD set
Jack met Frank Black while performing with The Kidney Brothers at UCLA, Los
Angeles, in 2003. Frank asked Jack to record with him in Nashville in 2005
for this project. Several of Jack's harp and sax contributions appear on the
CD. He also performed with Frank in Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati in
2006.
The
Kidney Brothers included in "The Shape of Things to Come...", by
Greil Marcus
Robert and Jack Kidney - The Kidney Brothers - performed in David Thomas's
stage production "Mirror Man" at UCLA in 2003. Their performance
is described and discussed in the last chapter (dedicated to David Thomas)
of "The Shape of Things to Come: Prophecy and the American Voice".
Greil, America's pop culture historian, was present at the weekend long "Disastodrome!"
event at UCLA. In his book, he uses everyone from Lincoln to Thomas as our
guides through the country's last uncharted territory, its soul.
Robert and Jack Kidney recorded on "Why I Hate Women", CD by
David Thomas
Robert Kidney plays lead guitar on "Love Song", and Jack plays harp
on "Blue Velvet" and sax on "Synth Farm". CD available
at most record stores or at ubuprojex.net.
Robert and Jack Kidney recorded on "Mirror Man" by David Thomas
Robert and Jack Kidney perform all over this CD as well as participating in
several tours with David and
his Pale Orchestra.
The Pretenders new CD, "Break Up
The Concrete"
includes a song written by Robert Kidney called "Rosalee".
Chrissie Hynde heard the band's version at the Northside in
Akron and decided to do her own rendition. It is a great
compliment to Robert's song writing and also to 15 60 75.
The official CD release date is September 23rd, but
ThePretenders.com web site has offered one free song a
week via downloads. If you are a Pretenders fan you will
really enjoy this CD. If you're not a fan yet, here's your chance.
The Golden Palominos
Robert Kidney recorded with the Anton Fier
and his Golden Palominos in the 1980s. His songs
"Begin to Return", Wild River", "Lucky", "Animal
Speaks",
"A Letter Back", and "The Push And The Shove" are
all included in these releases. There is also a rare EP
with Jack Bruce and John Lydon each singing a
version of "Animal Speaks".
