POP CULTURE CANTINA
Presents
DESTINATION: SUGARTOWN!
THE ARCHIE RECORDS STORY
A Journey Through
THE GREAT AMERICAN
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL SONG BOOK
FROM ROD MACK'S ORAL HISTORY
OF ARCHIE RECORDS
JANUARY, 2015 . . . THE PLACE WAS ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS, LONDON, UK.
A STUDIO CREW WAS SETTING UP THE PENTHOUSE FOR A NEW RECORDING SESSION, SCHEDULED FOR THE NEXT DAY. THE SCHEDULED ARTISTS WERE THE VIXENS, A TRIO OF FORMER OFFICE WORKERS. CLYDENE, MIMI + PIPPA HAD PROVEN THEMSELVES REPEATEDLY ON STAGE AND AS A BACKING VOCAL GROUP. NOW THEY WERE READY FOR A SHOT @ THE BIG TIME! I HAD BEEN ASSIGNED TO PRODUCE THEM. MY NAME'S ROD.
THE ALBUM MY CO-PRODUCER + I PLANNED TO RECORD WITH THE VIXENS FEATURED SELECTIONS BY NOTABLE SONGWRITERS LIKE LEE HAZLEWOOD, BARRY MANN + CYNTHIA WEIL, NEIL DIAMOND, AND LENNON + MCCARTNEY. SOME OF ENGLAND’S FINEST ROCK MUSICIANS HAD BEEN BOOKED TO ACCOMPANY THEM.
THE VIXENS AND THEIR NEVER-
PRODUCED FIRST ALBUM.
THIS ALBUM WAS GOING TO BE CALLED VIXENS IN SUGAR TOWN, BUT IT WAS NEVER RECORDED, AND THE SINGLE THAT WAS TO PRECEDE IT WAS NEVER RELEASED. LATER THAT DAY, ABBEY ROAD’S STUDIO CREW CAME AND DISMANTLED THE EQUIPMENT. THE PENTHOUSE WAS LEFT OPEN FOR A NEW BOOKING, BUT NOT BY THE RECORD COMPANY WHOSE DATE HAD BEEN CANCELLED.
THE VIXENS’ ABORTED ALBUM SESSION AND SINGLE RELEASE SIGNALED THE END OF ARCHIE RECORDS! IT WAS ARGUABLY THE MOST AMAZING INDIE RECORD LABEL EVER: A 21st CENTURY LABEL THAT SOLD BEST-SELLLING REVIVALS OF CLASSIC POP AND ROCK SONGS FROM THE 20TH CENTURY. I SHOULD KNOW BECAUSE I WAS THERE: SINGING, PLAYING GUITAR, ARRANGING AND PRODUCING, ALL OF THE FOURTEEN YEARS IT WAS IN EXISTENCE.
ASIDE FROM ITS ARTISTS, FOUR PEOPLE WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LABEL’S SUCCESS: MY DEAR FRIENDS ARCHIE ANDREWS, HIS WIFE VERONICA LODGE-ANDREWS, SOUND ENGINEER ALAN MAYBERRY AND MY FORMER BOSS, NICHOLAS “BIG NIPSY” FREUND. WITH ALAN M, THE ANDREWS OWNED THE LABEL, AND WITH BIG NIPSY THEY FORMED A PRODUCTION PARTNERSHIP THAT WAS ITS PARENT COMPANY.
TOGETHER, THEY STEERED A COURSE THROUGH THE MUSIC INDUSTRY THAT RELIED PRIMARILY ON VINTAGE SONGS INSTEAD OF ORIGINAL MATERIAL. FOR MOST RECORD COMPANIES, THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A WACK STRATEGY AS WELL AS A DOOMED ONE; BUT ARCHIE RECORDS WAS NO ORDINARY LABEL. IT WAS EXTRAORDINARY IN EVERY WAY: ITS STAFF, ITS ARTISTS AND DEFINITELY ITS PRODUCT! EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING ABOUT ARCHIE WAS TOP-NOTCH; THERE WAS NO HYPE AND NEVER ANY NEED FOR IT.
BECAUSE ARCHIE WAS SO UNIQUE, COMPARISONS WITH OTHER GREAT RECORD LABELS ARE HARD TO MAKE. THE CLOSEST PRECEDENT IS MOTOWN. @ THE HEIGHT OF ITS SUCCESS IN THE SIXTIES, BERRY GORDY, JR’S POP MUSIC EMPIRE ACQUIRED A NICKNAME: HITSVILLE USA! ARCHIE RECORDS ALSO HAD A NICKNAME: IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, IT WAS COINED BY BIG ETHEL, ARCHIE'S FIRST HIT RECORDING ARTIST. THE NAME WAS IDENTICAL TO THE TITLE OF THE VIXENS’ NEVER-RECORDED DÉBUT ALBUM:
SUGARTOWN!
THE FIRST YEAR: 2001
"THAT'S THE WAY WE GET BY"
SABRINA: YOU KNOW ME! DEPENDING ON HOW WELL YOU KNOW ME, YOU MIGHT CALL ME "BREE". I’M A FAIRLY WELL-KNOWN RECORD PRODUCER AND THE OWNER OF A FAMOUS RECORDING STUDIO. FROM READING THIS BLOG, YOU MAY ALSO KNOW THAT I'M A WICCAN; BUT DURING THE TIME PERIOD I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT, I WAS MORE INTO MUSIC THAN MAGIC.
ABOUT FIFTEEN YEARS FROM NOW, I'M GOING TO PUT TOGETHER A ROCK GROUP: THE NEW ARCHIES! MAYBE YOU KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THAT; BUT YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW THAT MY INVOLVEMENT WITH ARCHIE’S LEGACY GOES BACK MUCH FARTHER.
I KNEW MOST OF THE MEMBERS OF THE ARCHIES IN HIGH SCHOOL, BEFORE THEY WERE A ROCK GROUP; AND THAT MEANS I KNEW ARCHIE + VERONICA LODGE-ANDREWS LONG BEFORE THEY MARRIED AND STARTED A RECORD COMPANY TOGETHER.
IN JANUARY OF THE YEAR 2000, THEY PURCHASED AN ABANDONED TRAIN DEPOT IN MAMARONECK, NEW YORK. BY DECEMBER, THEY'D TRANSFORMED IT INTO AN OFFICE COMPLEX AND RECORDING STUDIO. THEY ALSO INCORPORATED A RECORD LABEL WITH THEIR FRIEND ALAN MAYBERRY AS A PARTNER. THE PAPERWORK WAS FINALIZED ON DECEMBER 31st OF THAT YEAR.
LIKE MOTOWN, ARCHIE WAS A FAMILY COMPANY. I WAS ON STAFF, BUT MOST OF THE REST WERE RELATIVES OF RONI OR ARCHIE. HER COUSIN LEROY WAS CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER. HER COUSIN MARCY HEADED THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT. ANOTHER COUSIN, HARPER, WAS IN CHARGE OF ART DIRECTION AND PRODUCT DESIGN.
WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE PROMOTION DIRECTOR (ARCHIE'S UNCLE DUFFY, WHO'D BEEN IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS SINCE THE SEVENTIES), HARPER LODGE JOY CREATED THE LABEL'S EYE-CATCHING GRAPHICS. MY FRIEND CHUCK CLAYTON, A CREATIVE TALENT IN MANY WAYS, HAD A HAND IN THAT, TOO: HE DESIGNED THE "ARCHIE" LOGO.
I'VE KNOWN ALEXANDRA CABOT-MAYBERRY FOR YEARS; SHE'S A STUDENT OF THE OCCULT, AND I BEGAN TUTORING HER AS A TEENAGER. XANDIE WAS HIRED TO HEAD ARCHIE'S A + R DEPARTMENT, AND SHE BROUGHT ME IN AS THE LABEL'S UNOFFICIAL MUSIC DIRECTOR.
@ THE TIME, I WAS A PIANIST WITH THE RIVERDALE SYMPHONY. THAT WASN'T AN EASY JOB TO GET, AND I WAS GRATEFUL FOR IT; ALL THE SAME, A STEADY DIET OF CLASSICAL AND POPS HAD ME BORED STIFF! I WANTED TO PLAY MORE EXCITING MUSIC, SO I JUMPED AT XANDIE'S INVITATION. I NEVER REGRETTED MY DECISION.
ARCHIE RECORDS WAS DESTINED TO BECOME ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL INDIES OF THE 2000s. IT LED THE WAY IN REVIVING CLASSIC ROCK ‘N’ ROLL, FIGHTING ITS WAY INTO A MUSIC MARKETPLACE DOMINATED BY ALT ROCK AND HIP-HOP. THE ARCHIE LABEL PIONEERED A REVOLUTION IN POPULAR MUSIC THAT WOULD LATER BE CALLED RETRO; HOWEVER, YOU MAY BE SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT IT BEGAN LIFE AS A GANGSTA RAP LABEL!
THE FIRST HIT SINGLE
FOR ARCHIE RECORDS!
ARCHIE RECORDS
SINGLES SESSIONS
AN ARCHIE AMERICANA PRODUCTION
(VOCALS + INSTRUMENTALS)
JANUARY 6 - 13, 2001
ARCHIE SOUND STUDIOS (ASS),
MAMARONECK, NEW YORK
CROOKED TAMPON RAP - single B-side
(Cabot, Muggs)
BITCH BETTER BRING MY PIZZA!
- single A-side
(Cabot, Muggs, Spellman)
BIG ETHEL
Vocal Arranger:
FAWN ETHEL MUGGS
Arranger: BREE SPELLMAN
Producer: ALEXANDRA
Sound Engineer: ALAN MAYBERRY
Executive Producer:
FAWN ETHEL MASON
Salem da Katt: Fawn Ethel Muggs was briefly a classmate of Archie @ Riverdale High. She was a shy, awkward girl who had trouble making friends. She didn’t begin to blossom until her family moved to Dorchester, Massachusetts. Fawn fell in love with Hip-Hop, and gravitated to inner-city kids who could rhyme. Her acceptance among them was assured when she demonstrated superior rhyming skills of her own! Soon, babe was winning poetry slams and Rap showdowns all over New England.
White girl MCs have always been a novelty and not much in demand, but Big Ethel (her Rap handle) was in a class all her own. She earned a reputation that drew interest from several major record labels! Wary of being taken advantage of, Ethel held out for years until finally she was approached with a recording deal that felt right. That turned out to be an offer to join Archie and Veronica’s new indie label. Big Ethel became their very first signing!
Babe was paired with Alexandra Cabot-Mayberry, Archie Records’ first Chief of Artists and Repertoire. The début single that they co-wrote with Sabrina never charted, but it seemed to be on every turntable in the Spring of 2001! “Bitch Better Bring My Pizza” became a massive underground cult record, and it established the Archie label as one to watch on the 21st century Hip-Hop scene.
PROMO FOR ARCHIE'S NEVER-
RELEASED FIRST SOLO ALBUM.
ARCHIE RECORDS
ALBUM SESSIONS
"A BOY NAMED SUE"
AN ARCHIE AMERICANA PRODUCTION
(VOCALS + INSTRUMENTALS)
FEBRUARY 1 - 16, 2001
ARCHIE SOUND STUDIOS (ASS)
MAMARONECK, NEW YORK
ITCHY TWITCHY FEELIN’ - lost
(Jimmy Oliver)
SHE PUT THE HURT ON ME - lost
(Larry Nelson)
I KNOW - lost
(Barbara George)
I CAN’T STAND IT - lost*
(Smokey McAllister)
A FOOL IN LOVE - lost
(Ike Turner)
MOCKINGBIRD - lost**
(Charlie + Inez Foxx)
THAT’S HOW HEARTACHES ARE MADE - lost
(Halley, Raleigh)
SO FAR AWAY - lost
(Andrews, Clayton, Harris, Jacobs)
DON’T START ME TALKIN’ - lost
(Sonny Boy Williamson)
VENGEANCE - lost
(Johnny Garfield)
STICK SHIFT - lost
(Andrews, Bellinger, Muggs)
IT’S GONNA WORK OUT FINE - lost*
(Lee, Seneca)
ARCHIE
w/THE BINGOS
w/THE NASTY BOYS
*w/BIG ETHEL
Arranger: ROD MACK
Music Director: ARCHIE ANDREWS
Producer: ALEXANDRA
Sound Engineers:
ALAN MAYBERRY, VIRGIL BRADLEY
Executive Producer:
NICHOLAS FREUND
Salem da Katt: @ this point, Archie Records had barely been in operation for two months. The label only had one artist signed - Big Ethel - and Arch + Roni were trying hard to get their college group, The Archies, back together. Otherwise, there were no signings on the horizon. They had a desperate need for product, so Archie decided to fill it his damn self! As everybody knows by now, dude was a stoned Soul/Rhythm + Blues devotee. His first solo album was bound to reflect those leanings.
Archie’s old friend, Jazz guitarist Rod Mack augmented The Bingos, who served as Archie Records’ house band during this time. That group was led by husband-and-wife team Bingo and Sami Wilkin, who played bass and keyboards, respectively. Bingo was Jughead's cousin. Zelda Maxwell played guitar, Buddy Lennox played drums, and Teddy Armitage was on Latin percussion. Backing vocal unit The Nasty Boys was a one-off trio of Archie, Rod and sax soloist Terry “Pop” Tate; however, they'd survive beyond these record dates with a regular shuffling of members.
With Archie taking a rare turn at the piano, they tracked a tribute to Sue Records, an important New York City-based label. Sue's heyday was the early Sixties, so dude covered choice selections taken from the catalogs of Barbara George, Inez + Charlie Foxx, Baby Washington and Ike + Tina Turner, among others. Big Ethel sang duet vocals with him on “I Can’t Stand It” and “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine”. Collaborating with Ethel + Chuck Clayton, Archie added lyrics to two iconic Sue instrumentals: "Stick Shift" and "So Far Away."
Dude really put his all into this project! Unfortunately, his hard work was fated to go unheard by the public. When Veronica got an earful of the hardcore R +B record Alexandra had produced, babe exercised her veto power. Archie was heartbroken, but nothing could ever make Roni market anything that she felt wasn’t commercial; and she held the purse strings!
The album master mysteriously went missing years ago, so there’s no way to evaluate A BOY NAMED SUE in retrospect. Suffice it to say that, had it been sold as the first Archie Records LP, the label might’ve gone in a much different stylistic direction.
PARISIAN BALLADEER
HARRIS GARDNER!
DISQUES PATHÉ
ALBUM SESSIONS
"CHANSONS D’AMOUR"
UNE PRODUCTION D'ARCHIE AMERICANA
(VOCALS + INSTRUMENTALS)
JUNE 15 - 19, 21, 2001
ARCHIE SOUND STUDIOS (ASS)
MAMARONECK, NEW YORK
JE T’AIME/FOREVER - Le Héros de la Ballade EP
(Killen, Rouvroyh)
UN DOIGT DE CHAMPAGNE/
CAN’T GET OVER THE BOSSA NOVA
- French single A-side
(Gins, Gormé, Lawrence)
OUBLIE, OUBLIE TOUT/JUDY, JUDY, JUDY
- Chansons d’Amour LP
(Aber, Pomus, Shuman, Tillotson)
AIMEZ-MOI PARFOIS/UNSER LIEBESTRAUM
- Chansons d’Amour LP
(Gardner, Nicholas, Niessen)
CLAQUEZ VOS DOIGTS/SNAP YOUR FINGERS
- French single B-side*
(Aber, Martin, Zanetis)
DEUX FEMMES EN COLÈRE/WIE EIN MANN
- Chansons d’Amour LP
(Gardner, Hilderbrand, Loose)
PAPAYER/MANGOS - French single B-side
(Delanoë, Libby, Wayne)
NE JOUES PAS/WHAT GOOD DOES IT DO ME?
- Chansons d’Amour LP
(Constantin, Hemric, Marotta)
FOU DE TOI - Chansons d’Amour LP
(Chevalier, Delanoë)
LA JOIE D’AIMER/THE UNFORGIVEN
- Chansons d’Amour LP
(Broussolle, Tiomkin)
QUE TON COEUR ME SOIT FIDÈLE/SECOND-FIDDLE GIRL
- Le Héros de la Ballade EP
(Carrère, Lynn, Salvet)*
PARCE QUE C’EST BON/DU BIST SO SCHÖN
- French single A-side*
(Bonifay, Courcel, Simon)
GARDE-MOI TA DERNIÈRE DANSE/SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME
- Chansons d’Amour LP
(Llenas, Pomus, Salvet, Shuman)
CHANSON D’AMOUR
(Gardner, Shanklin)
- Chansons d'Amour LP*
HARRIS GARDNER
w/THE MAMARONECK COLLEGE PLAYERS
w/LES BAINS PUBLICS
Vocal Arranger: VERONICA
Arrangers:
BREE SPELLMAN, *ROD MACK
Music Director:
HARRIS GARDNER
Producer: ALEXANDRA
Sound Engineers:
ALAN MAYBERRY, VIRGIL BRADLEY
Executive Producer:
CLAUDE CANAILLE
Salem da Katt: When they weren’t scouting talent, Archie + Veronica spent much of 2001 securing international distribution agreements for their indie label. Capitol-EMI in Hollywood was their worldwide distributor @ that time. However, Roni knew better than to leave international business entirely up to a partner; she felt it was important to develop personal relationships with every affiliated label. On their “get acquainted” tour, Arch + Roni schmoozed record executives all over Asia, South America, Australia and Europe.
When they visited Disques Pathé in Paris, CEO Claude Canaille asked them for a favor: Could they take a problem artist off his hands? A powerful French politician’s grandson fancied himself a singer, and Canaille had been pressured to sign him. His A & R department pronounced 18-year-old Harris Gardner “talentless” after numerous attempts to record him. “If your people can cut a hit with this boy,” Canaille said, “be my guest. Alors, Il est à vous. He’s yours!”
Harris flew back to Mamaroneck, New York with The Andrews. Soon he was huddling in the studio with Alexandra + Sabrina. Bree always did go for younger men, and she took a fancy to this French Jewish hunk. They had a hot little romance for a while! In the process of putting a project together for him, she discovered that Harris actually did have singing talent. Dude was also a classically-trained pianist, and he could write songs, too.
Xandie determined that the real problem was the Hip-Hop and Hard Rock material Pathé had offered him; it just wasn’t his kind of music! “Harris Gardner is an old-fashioned, Fifties-style crooner,” she declared, “so I’m going to record him in a retro style.”
Veronica + Sabrina were walking textbooks of classic ‘50s and ‘60s Pop songs! They chose most of the selections - golden oldies from the likes of Steve + Eydie, Johnny Tillotson, The Drifters + The Manhattan Transfer - and sang background vocals credited as “Les Bains Publics.” @ the sessions, Harris sang, played piano and conducted a string orchestra on loan from the Mamaroneck College of Music. The “problem artist” ended up being the easiest Xandie would ever work with, except for one complication: Singing in English, Harris Gardner's accent was stank!
Rather than waste precious studio time, Xandie decided to let him sing in French. Most of the songs were available in translated versions, and Harris + Sabrina translated those that weren’t. “We’ll overdub you in English later,” Xandie told him, but the French playbacks were so outstanding, she changed her mind. Bree agreed: “These performances can’t be bettered!” Everyone was pleased by what they heard except Veronica, who complained about the sound quality. Alan M had to repeatedly remix the tracks until she was satisfied!
When Archie contacted Claude Canaille and played the finished album to him over a speakerphone, the Disques Pathé CEO begged to have Harris back! Canaille immediately scheduled his début album CHANSONS D’AMOUR for release in France. It scored a smash hit and spun off a best-selling EP, too. An elated Harris Gardner returned to Paris and launched a very successful singing career; nicknamed Le Héros de la Ballade, he subsequently worked with top European producers.
Archie Records earned production royalties for his début album and had the right to market it in the States. Roni decided not to chance it; but the success of CHANSONS D’AMOUR influenced the label’s future output in a very important way: It sold her on the commercial appeal of vintage Pop songs!
THE NASTY BOYS + THE BINGOS:
EARLY ARCHIE SESSION REGULARS!
SABRINA: UNTIL THE ARCHIES SIGNED WITH THE LABEL, ARCHIE RECORDS WASN'T MOVING @ FULL SPEED. HOWEVER, BY LATE 2001/EARLY 2002, THE COMPANY FRAMEWORK WAS IN PLACE. ARCHIE WAS PRESIDENT, VERONICA + ALAN M WERE CO-VICE-PRESIDENTS, REY COCHINO WAS THE SESSION CONTRACTOR, AND HIS SEVEN-PIECE “BIG-ASS” BRASS SECTION WAS ALWAYS ON CALL. IN ADDITION TO ARCHIE’S UNOFFICIAL HOUSE BAND THE BINGOS, HIS OLD FRIENDS CHUCK CLAYTON, GERALDINE GRUNDY, ROD MACK + TERRY “POP” TATE WERE SESSION FIXTURES.
AS YET, NICHOLAS "BIG NIPSY" FREUND ONLY HAD ARCHIE + VERONICA AS MANAGEMENT CLIENTS, BUT HIS BACKGROUND AS A BANDLEADER QUALIFIED HIM TO CONDUCT MUSICIANS. HE DID SO ON A REGULAR BASIS! HE ALSO HAD A LOT OF INFLUENCE OVER WHAT WENT INTO THE ARCHIE RECORDS CATALOG; EVEN THOUGH SHE HAD AN ALMOST ENCYCLOPEDIC KNOWLEDGE OF 20th CENTURY POP MUSIC, VERONICA WOULD CONSULT HIM REGULARLY ON SONG CHOICES. WHAT'S MORE, BIG NIPSY WAS THE CEO OF ARCHIE AMERICANA PRODUCTIONS (AS WELL AS OF MAMARONECK AND CHERRY VAGINA , BRANCHES DEVOTED TO STAGE AND SCREEN PRODUCTIONS THAT WOULD COME LATER); THAT MADE HIM EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF ALL RECORDING ACTIVITIES. HOWEVER, HE DECLINED PRODUCTION CREDIT ON THE RECORD LABELS. NICHOLAS WAS A MODEST AND VERY SWEET MAN, DESPITE HIS MAFIA CONNECTIONS!
RAP QUEEN BIG ETHEL
ABANDONED HER HIP-HOP
CAREER IN 2002.
BY THE MIDDLE OF 2001, RUMOR HAD IT THAT THE ARCHIES WERE GOING TO GET BACK TOGETHER. WHEN THEY STARTED PLAYING BENEFIT CONCERTS FOR THE VICTIMS OF 9/11, THERE WAS NO LONGER ANY DOUBT ABOUT THAT. NICHOLAS, ARCHIE + VERONICA AGREED THAT THE BAND NEEDED A PERFORMANCE SPACE ALL THEIR OWN, WHERE THEY COULD REBUILD THEIR FAN BASE, DÉBUT NEW MATERIAL AND MAKE A LITTLE MONEY ON THE SIDE. ARCHIE WANTED THE CLUB LOCATED IN RIVERDALE SO THAT IT COULD ALSO SERVE AS A SHOWCASE FOR PROMISING LOCAL ACTS. THAT WAS THE IMPETUS FOR OPENING THE LEGENDARY AWESOME VENUE: A COMBINATION ROCK CLUB, DISCOTHÈQUE, MEXICAN RESTAURANT AND CASINO. IT REALLY PUT RIVERDALE ON THE MAP!
EVERYBODY THOUGHT IT BELONGED TO THE ARCHIES, AND THE MEMBERS DID DERIVE INCOME FROM ITS OPERATION; BUT BIG NIPSY WAS THE ACTUAL OWNER. HE HIRED A CHILDHOOD PAL OF ARCHIE NAMED AMBROSE PIPPS TO MANAGE IT. AMBROSE HAD FALLEN AFOUL OF THE LAW A FEW TIMES, HAD TROUBLE LANDING A STEADY JOB, AND COULDN'T HOLD ONE DOWN WHEN HE DID; BUT VERONICA SAW UNTAPPED POTENTIAL IN HIM. SHE RECOMMENDED AMBROSE TO BIG NIPSY, AND HER FAITH IN HIM WAS RICHLY REWARDED! HE + HIS WIFE CHERYLANNE TREATED THE AWESOME VENUE AS IF IT WERE THEIR OWN CLUB (AND EVENTUALLY, IT WAS). IN JUST A COUPLE OF YEARS, THEY BUILT IT INTO A THRIVING MONEYMAKER! OF COURSE, THE ARCHIES HAD A LOT TO DO WITH THAT, TOO.
THE VENUE HAD AN INNOVATIVE DESIGN THAT INCLUDED ROTATING WALLS AND A STAGE MOUNTED ON A FLOOR-TO-CEILING HYDRAULIC LIFT; BUT WHAT REALLY SET THAT CLUB APART WAS ARCHIE'S DECISION THAT IT BE "UNPLUGGED." YOU COULDN'T BRING ANY ELECTRIC OR ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENTS IN THERE; NO POWER OUTLETS WERE LOCATED NEAR THE STAGE! AN ACT HAD TO BE ABLE TO PLAY ACOUSTICALLY, AND THEY HAD TO KNOW HOW TO PROJECT VOCALS. A LOT OF GROUPS WERE UNABLE TO MEET THOSE REQUIREMENTS, BUT THOSE THAT DID CONSIDERED IT A WORTHWHILE CHALLENGE! THE ACOUSTIC-ONLY POLICY WAS ARCHIE'S WAY OF PRESERVING THE KIND OF MUSIC AND MUSICAL SKILL HE GREW UP ADMIRING.
THE ARCHIES APPEARING @ RIVERDALE'S
AWESOME VENUE IN 2011.
ARCHIE RECORDS
ALBUM SESSIONS
"JABBERROCK"
AN ARCHIE AMERICANA PRODUCTION
(VOCALS + INSTRUMENTALS)
MAY 1 - 8, 2001, FEBRUARY 16 - 28, JUNE 27,
NOVEMBER 4 - 12, 2002
ARCHIE SOUND STUDIOS (ASS),
MAMARONECK, NEW YORK
SLITHY TOVES JAM - incomplete*
MOME RATHS UPSIDE YOUR HEAD - incomplete
KISS MY BANDERSNATCH - incomplete*
DOPE-ASS TUMTUM TREE - incomplete
TULGEY WOOD ON FIRE - incomplete
ELECTRIC VORPAL BLADE - incomplete*
GETTIN’ JIGGY (ON A) FRABJOUS DAY - incomplete
HELLA FUNKY JABBERROCK - incomplete*
(Carroll, Muggs, Spellman)
BIG ETHEL
Vocal Arranger:
FAWN ETHEL MUGGS
Arrangers:
ROD MACK, *BREE SPELLMAN
Music Director:
BREE SPELLMAN
Producer: ALEXANDRA
Sound Engineers:
ALAN MAYBERRY, VIRGIL BRADLEY
Executive Producer:
FAWN ETHEL MASON
Salem da Katt: By the summer of 2001, Fawn Ethel Muggs had begun dating Algernon Marmaduke Mason. Back when he was known as varsity football star Big Moose, dude had been a classmate of Ethel’s during the brief time she attended Riverdale High. Now he was a non-denominational minister, well on his way to becoming one of America's most popular televangelists! Under his influence, she began moving way from Gangsta Rap. "Secular Rock 'n' Roll is of the Devil," Brother Mason believed, "but Rap, with its pornographic, racist and violent language, is the most Satanic expression of all!"
Her Hip-Hop crowd didn’t approve of how she was evolving, but they had no right to criticize. She was more talented and versatile than all of them put together! And unlike them, Big Ethel didn’t need violent or X-rated imagery to rock the room; she was blessed with an overflow of verbal creativity. For her proposed first LP, she, Sabrina + Jazz guitarist Rod Mack conceived an elaborate improvisation on the Lewis Carroll poem “Jabberwocky”.
Unfortunately, this ambitious project never quite came together; the JABBERROCK album would remain unfinished, although between May 2001 and November 2002 Ethel made several attempts to complete it. Babe even previewed it @ Riverdale's Awesome Venue; but then, in February of 2003, she + Brother Mason got engaged. @ his urging, she swore off performing Hip-Hop altogether! Archie Records lost a very gifted artist; but a few years later, she returned to the label. Fawn Ethel Mason would prove more valuable as Archie’s executive secretary than she’d been as a Rap artist!
The November sessions with Big Ethel were Alexandra Cabot-Mayberry’s last as A & R Chief of Archie Records; she resigned to go independent. I opted to stay with the company. Veronica took over Xandie's job title but @ this early stage, she wasn’t producing sessions. Roni delegated the work to other producers, and the first one was Chuck Clayton.
Thus far, Chuckii had only produced demonstration recordings, but back in the day he'd been The Archies' first music director. She was confident that he could cut finished masters. Dude was assigned to produce an album for Archie Records' first female Pop vocalist - although she was actually never on its artist roster!
"STANDING IN THE NEED OF LOVE"
FORMER AUSTRALIAN CHILD STAR DEB
DELMAN NEEDS A HIT RECORD
IN THE YEAR
2 0 0 2 !