Conference mr1pst::music

    I'd like to know more about the Bobs.  
    
    All male?  Black, white or what? 
    
    I can't get Shut Up and Sing in Australia yet, what is their best
    before that?
    
    As CD's cost $30 in Australia, you gotta know what you are buying!
    
    Thanks!
    
    
    Sooz  

    
    If you can't get Shut Up and Sing! yet, I'd go for  Songs for Tomorrow
    Morning ( my fave album )
    
    	They've had a few personnel changes, it started out :
    
    	Gunnar Madsen - mostly lead vocals
    	Richard Greene - vocal percussion, vocal bass
    	Janie Scott - female vocals ;-)
    	Matthew Stull - other vocals . . .
    
    	along the way they picked up  Joe Finetti, who started doing lead
    and other vocal instrument effects, and the Gunnar dropped out ( for
    health reasons, I believe ).
    
    	Gunnar is a 'special guest vocalist' on the new album, though.
    
    	They're all white and based in San Francisco.  They tour pretty
    constantly, but I don't know if they've ever gone down under.  I'm
    still waiting for them to come up to Boston - I've heard they're a riot
    to see live :-)
    
    						= Jim

I picked up my first Bobs CD on Saturday; don't remember exactly which one
it was (either "The Bobs" or "Songs for Tomorrow Morning"; it's the one with
"The Laundry Cycle".)

Absolutely delightful.  Now I have to go get the rest of them...

				Steve

    Re -.1
    
    	Yes, it's "Songs for Tomorrow Morning".  I kept thinking it shoulda
    been subtitled 'Songs of Food and Laundry'.
    
    	Pick up the new one ( on Rounder Records - might be hard to find )
    - and check out _Mr. Duality_ :-)
    
    							- Jimbo
    

Any group which can come up with an entertaining a-capella song about how
Ollie North and family togetherness wins my vote.

					Steve

    Thanks Folks!
    
    I shall order the one that won all the votes.  I shall look forward to
    hearing it!
    
    
    Sooz

I attended the Bobs concert in Portsmouth Friday night with my family.  It
was absolutely delightful; they put on a great show.  Most of the original
tunes they performed were from their newest, "Shut Up and Sing", including
"Mr. Duality", "Drive By Love" and "Slow Down Krishna".  They also 
performed some of their fabulous covers (their version of "Purple Haze" has
to be heard to be believed, including all vocal versions of "guitar feedback",
etc.)  I also enjoyed "Strawberry Fields Forever" in which they inserted
references to MacArthur Park, "Ring of Fire", and more.  One of their encores
was a song I wasn't familiar with, "Particle Man", but I heard someone say
that it was a "They Might Be Giants" tune.  Very catchy.  Though some of
their recorded songs have minor percussion instrument backup, they were
completely on their own during the show.

The Bobs have a great stage presence and you feel that they are really
enjoying themselves, not just standing up there to make a buck.  (Though
they may be doing that too - one running gag was that Janie Bob would 
push the various merchandise, including their CDs, they had for sale out
in the lobby.)  The songs performed live sounded better, with more energy,
enthusiasm and complexity than I hear on the CDs.  Richard Bob's bass voice
is astounding...

They said they'll be playing in Cambridge (MA) this Sunday and will later
be touring Europe.  To get an update on where they're performing you can
call 510-THE-POOP.  (They explained that THE-BOBS was already taken, but
NOBODY had THE-POOP!  This is in Berkeley, CA.)

I picked up three additional CDs; "The Bobs", "The Bobs Sing the Songs Of..."
and "Shut Up and Sing".  They didn't have "My I'm Large" available.  I 
agree with Jimbo (.4); Mr. Duality is a treat!  

They had a "Best of The Bobs" CD too, but it duplicated material on the
others.  (There is even some overlap among the other CDs: "Psycho Killer",
"You Can't Do That" and "Through the Wall" appear twice.)

I haven't had this much fun at a concert in a LONG time!

    Hi, 
    
    I'm also interested in vocal music.
    
    Do you know if Bobs are going to give any concert in Italy?
    
    Thanks in advance 
    Fabio.

I just called the number - Janie Bob says that they don't know their
actual itinerary yet, but they'll be in Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Austria 
and France - Italy wasn't mentioned.  They'll be leaving for Europe on the 22nd.

The only upcoming US concert date listed was 4/16 in Mountain View, CA 
(Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts). The Cambridge, MA concert was 
this past weekend.

You can write them (and ask for a European itinerary) at:

	The Bobs
	PO Box 5645
	Berkeley, CA 94705

This is also where you can order Bobs CDs and merchandise.

				Steve

    
    There's also a Bobs mailing list on the internet at
    
    "[email protected]"
    
    	The concert Friday night was indeed terrific - the Bobs came out to
    the lobby after the show and basically just hung out with a bunch of
    fans - I was able to get all four of their autographs ( :-) ).  Richard
    Bob has the deepest voice I've ever hear come out of a human throat -
    deeper even than the lead singer of the Crash Test Dummies - which is
    very deep indeed.  
    
    	Janie Bob says the new CD is due out in the states this summer -
    it'll be a CD of covers, much like _Sings the Songs of..._.  it will
    included one new song "Mess Me Up Again", which they sang Fri. night,
    as well as covers of the Greatful Dead, The Beatles and They Might be
    Giants :-).
    
    					Cheers,
    							Jim
    

    Picked up "My I'm Large" last week.  Wish I hadn't - it's the
    weakest of all their albums.  Even their cover of "Little Red
    Riding Hood" is awful.  Sigh.  I just have to remember that the
    group keeps getting better with age and experience.  (And fewer
    of Gunnar's songs, thank goodness.)
    
    They're coming to Portland, ME in September, but unfortunately
    it's on a Thursday so I can't make it.
    
    				Steve

    re -.1
    
    	Oh, c'mon - You *have* to like 'Helmet' and 'Bulky Rhythm'!
    
    	... okay, you don't *have* to, but maybe give 'em another listen?
    
    	I'll agree it's not their best album, but you have to like the
    warning label on the back :
    
    	_Warning_:  All the sounds on this record came out of the mouths of
        Bobs or other parts of Bobs' bodies.
    
    						- Jim

Bulky Rhythm is ok; though I liked it better when they performed it live
in Portsmouth.  I don't particularly care for Helmet.  I guess it's all the
songs which sound like "Be My Yoko"; lacking both clever lyrics and harmony,
which get on my nerves.

As for the warning; the same warning is on "The Bobs" (with a stated exception
of "Eddie is a Jinx"), but I don't believe it; there are definite synthesizer
contributions on some of the other tracks (such as "Through the Wall", a
song I like a lot - go figure.)

In general, the more recent tracks are the ones I like better.

					Steve