From the Top Drawer LV - Wooden Baby

A double dose of live Wooden Baby from Club Dog at the Sir George Robey pub in London - one set from late 1989 and one from early 1990. The two sets, although only a few months apart, show some differences in sound and attitude, with the first more of a live expression of their studio sound including vocals at that time and the second showing more of an influence of the burgeoning acid house/rave dance scene.

Wooden Baby of course would soon reshuffle their personnel, losing founder member/singer Charlie Daniel and adding the talents of Joie Hinton and on occasion Steve Everett, renaming themselves Eat Static to become one of the cutting-edge pioneers of the electronic dance and ambient scene of today. So this is a chance to hear them on the cusp of a tranceformation.

(Yep, it's that same flyer again...I don't have any pics of the band from this era.)

'In its later guise, Wooden Baby produced some of the most incredible music of the late 1980s, hinting at and fusing elements of goth, punk, techno, acid house, ambient, industrial and space rock. However, not only did they hint at these genres, they excelled at them. 'Exorcism of Anu' could easily be a Sisters of Mercy track; 'Impossible Maze' sounds like the Sex Pistols with an electronic backing track; Hawkwind would be proud of tracks like 'The Birds' and 'Execution', while 'Bath Scum' sounds like an improved version of 'Theme from S-Express', and is an early example of the dance music themes that Eat Static would explore in the 1990s.

Despite Pepler's prowess as a drummer, Wooden Baby employed a drum machine which immediately gave their sound the feel of electronic music rather than that of a conventional band set-up. Many of the tracks featured vocals, from either Pepler's goth-tinged singing or the at-times-crazed wailing and shouting of Daniel. The lyrical themes were often dark and ominous, lending an extra "edge" to what was already very darkly psychedelic music.'
http://encycl.opentopia.com/term/Wooden_Baby

Sets are audience recordings from the back of the Main Room at the Sir George Robey pub in Finsbury Park, North London, using two PZM microphones onto chrome cassettes. Unfortunately they seem to be incomplete.
1) Friday 8th December 1989
2) Friday 16th February 1990
No track list or personnel info available but almost certainly Merv Pepler and Charlie Daniel were involved.
(CORRECTION - Charlie has let me know that he was not involved with these live recordings and the personnel for these sets was - Merv Pepler, Joie Hinton, Nick Timberlake & Clive Browne)

Download HERE
 

From the Top Drawer XXXIV - Wooden Baby

I believe that 'Forbidden Pastures' is the second tape released in 1988 by the prolific Wooden Baby, which as described in my post of 'Stuck In The Mind-Cage' here, was originally a home recording outfit showcasing the talents of Merv Pepler and his friend Charlie. Later a change in personnel and musical style turned the project into Eat Static with Charlie leaving and Joie Hinton and occasional third member Steve Everitt coming on board.

The music here has more varied influences than a purely dance-orientated style so don't expect anything much like the later Static trademark sound.

'In its later guise, Wooden Baby produced some of the most incredible music of the late 1980's, hinting at and fusing elements of goth, punk, techno, acid house, ambient, industrial and space rock. However, not only did they hint at these genres, they excelled at them. 'Exorcism of Anu' could easily be a Sisters of Mercy track; 'Impossible Maze' sounds like the Sex Pistols with an electronic backing track; Hawkwind would be proud of tracks like 'The Birds' and 'Execution', while 'Bath Scum' sounds like an improved version of 'Theme from S-Express', and is an early example of the dance music themes that Eat Static would explore in the 1990s.

Despite Pepler's prowess as a drummer, Wooden Baby employed a drum machine which immediately gave their sound the feel of electronic music rather than that of a conventional band set-up. Many of the tracks featured vocals, from either Pepler's goth-tinged singing or the at-times-crazed wailing and shouting of Daniel (sic). The lyrical themes were often dark and ominous, lending an extra "edge" to what was already very darkly psychedelic music.'

     (taken from http://encycl.opentopia.com/term/Wooden_Baby - thanks to the author)

  SIDE ONE: Gestation Of A Koala Bear/The Sound Of One Hand/Wasps Feet/Pump-Face/Exorcism Of Anu/Gollet-Ache/The Eyes of Tammuz
  SIDE TWO: The Painted Smile/Wedding Garnets/Table Of Existence/Treading Air/Bombay Mix/A Warm Sponge

 Ripped @320kbps as two side-long tracks, grab a copy HERE

 

From the Top Drawer XXXII - Ozric Tentacles

I'm feeling lazy after having to re-post all my links so no new rip this time, but here's one that I did some time ago and which has been knocking around on eMule for a while.
It's my own recording from an FM stereo tuner onto a TDK chrome cassette in September 1992.

The Ozrics were invited to take part in the 'In The City' Music Convention in Manchester that month and played a set at Manchester University on Monday evening the 14th September 1992. Mark Goodier's show on BBC Radio One was covering many of the bands involved including the Ozrics, and it's his voice that introduces them. Mark Radcliffe (then hosting his own weekly hour-long garage punk and psychedelia show 'Out On Blue Six') was briefly interviewed about his support for the band and features in a short clip also included in the archive.

Tracks:
 - Erpland
 - White Rhino Tea
 - Dots Intro/Dissolution (The Clouds Disperse)
 - Kickmuck

Ripped as one mp3 at 320kbps for your delectation.
Ed's guitar is a bit low in the mix to start with, but then gets a better deal as the first track gets underway, and there's quite a bit of FM compression overkill before the sound settles down. Enjoy this gem from when the band were getting their first serious media coverage in the UK. Yes, they were actually quite fashionable media darlings for a while and had regular reviews and articles written about them!
It's a shame there isn't more, but this is all that was broadcast that night.
Dedicated to Roly.

Download HERE

 (All pictures taken from Melody Maker issues published in 1993)

From the Top Drawer XVI - Wooden Baby

'Wooden Baby evolved from a gothic /garage punk band I had called THE FUNERAL PARTY... Wooden Baby came about from wanting to explore the electronic side a bit more... plus I think the drug taking had a big influence!'

- Merv Pepler interviewed in 2000

If you ever wondered what Merv was up to musically before he became the drummer for Ozric Tentacles and then main man for Eat Static, give this a listen. This tape dates from 1988 and is credited to Wooden Baby, which at the time consisted of Merv and friend Charlie. I'm not sure whether this is their first release as I have another tape called 'Forbidden Pastures' that may pre-date it.

Musically it bears little resemblance to the direction that Eat Static would follow a few years later other than the drum machine beats and some synth work, and this is definitely a product of the 1980s DIY pre-rave scene, being somewhat pedestrian in its approach like a lot of the music of the time, before it was re-energized by the dance music/free festival crossover.

Some old-school festival goers had a hard time adapting to the arrival of more electronic rhythms and the all night and day policy of the techno and house sound systems, and even as late as Castlemorton in May 1992 I remember there was still a fair amount of antagonism directed towards the increasing numbers of 'cheesy quavers' arriving on the festy scene (a lot of it directed at their ignorance of accepted festival toilet etiquette!). For myself I welcomed the changing times, as I thought that the scene needed fresh blood and enthusiasm after several years of festivals often being spoilt by the presence of more nihilistic elements like the infamous 'Brew Crew'.

 

I missed seeing Wooden Baby play under that name. By the time I encountered the live act Joie Hinton from the Ozrics, Ullulators & Oroonies (etc, etc - Joie was once presented with an award onstage before a 1991 Static performance by Michael and Bob Dog at Megadog in recognition for being in the most bands at the time) was on board, the name had changed to Eat Static and the rest is history...

Ripped as two side-long tracks @320kbps, get it HERE