Hello, everybody!
My name is Unknown Maracas, (that’s me in the back)
Okay okay... that’s just a joke. Ask any blues musician who the above people are – “Unknown Maracas” has become a humorous way to stay anonymous.
But my cloak of anonymity falls away -- my real name is Roger Brant. I’m a bass player living in Vancouver, Canada. I grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, and was around the music scene when kd lang burst out of small-town Consort and started burning up the stages of the world. A few weeks ago, while digging through my memorabilia, I discovered a copy of kd’s first single, and soon after that I “met” Shelley here at kennedyflairs (e-mail is so much cheaper than a flight to England!). It soon became apparent that some of my stories and pictures should be shared with kd fans everywhere, and I thought this a perfect way to do just that.
Comments on the promo materials:
The first seven images are from a rather rudimentary promo kit assembled in early 1984 by kd’s management, Bumstead Records, and manager Larry Wanagas. The materials were simply photocopies of recent media reviews from around Edmonton and area, and they were included with a white vinyl 45 rpm single of “Friday Dance Promenade / Damned Old Dog”. Two of the people I was playing with in late ‘83, Amos Garrett and David Burgin, played on the session for this single, which is now a very highly sought-after piece of kd memorabilia. I believe it was this web-site that dubbed it the “Holy Grail” for lang fans. My promo kit and record were in a plain manilla envelope, and after either Amos or David gave it to me, I put it away, as I was “living out of a suitcase” and had nowhere to play it. It remained under a pile of photographs and other memorabilia until this year. As part of the conditions of sale, the buyer agreed that these earliest glances into kd’s career belonged in the public domain, so with her gracious consent, we have included them here. A few notes on the promo material:
This shot was on a lot of posters in the early days. During kd’s first few years, this pose was synonymous with her free spirited, eclectic performances. The word spread quickly…
Introductory letter on Bumstead stationery: I love the phrases “spark of freshness”, “gritty presentation” which “satisfies listeners of all ages” -- it sounds so generic! I almost expect to see “Available for your wedding, convention, or bar mitzvah” !
The really telling phrase is “leaves a lasting impression” Uh, yes…
Note the release date for Friday Dance Promenade (her first single) – not 1984, but late ’83.
click on image to enlarge
Into The Big Leagues “Concentration camp refugee who’s wandered into the Copacabana” ? -- Hilarious! Note the reference to bassist John Gray -- this is still pre-Reclines. Gray played on the single. And finally, note the mention of “the band has no definite plans to stay together.” That certainly changed, albeit with personnel changes.
click on image to enlarge
Country Recycled: From two community newspapers, the Edmonton Bullitt, and Alberta Report. More references of pre-Reclines musicians. Also, note kd’s comments on how they tried to tame her looks for an early TV appearance!
I have heard that kd’s early appearances were reviewed several times in Alberta Report, which is somewhat ironic in hindsight: Alberta Report, which folded in 2003 after thirty some years, was notorious as the voice of ultra-conservative, Christian right-wing Alberta. Anyone have old Alberta Report archives? Were they always favourable to kd? Or did they ever get to the point of “speaking out” about that subversive, meat-hating lesbian who is obviously under-mining family values and destroying country-music-as-we-know-it? (Ouch! - my tongue is getting sore lodged in my cheek!)
click on image to enlarge
Record Output - Not much kd mention, except that they lump her in to the “alternative” label. Already she was defying categorization. She was “alternative” yet still “country” -- The straight-ahead Country & Western scene was baffled by her (there were still many venues in Alberta that booked “pure” country) – even if she hadn’t been as unique and “outrageous” in her persona, there was already a tendency to be viewed as “odd” if you didn’t play the current, slicked-up country music that was in vogue at the time. This was before the “back to tradition” movement (or “alt-country” for that matter) took hold – kd was doing Patsy and Kitty when it was decidedly “unusual”.
If nothing else, this page is noteworthy in that it shows the single had been released, January ‘84.
click on image to enlarge
The Music Page - Brief mention of kd’s troubles with being misunderstood within the “country” scene -- defying categorization again.
Poster. Possibly her very first poster for live gigs. Again, pre-Reclines: “the K.D. LANG band” -- (wonder if she objected to all those capital letters?)
Photos/Unknown Maracas2/More!
