We sent Plastic Tales correspondent and psych music expert Jay Corman on a mission to see Terry Reid. If you don’t know, Terry was famous for being the best male rock vocalist of his time. Even Aretha Franklin acknowledged his greatness. Terry was approached to be the lead singer of Led Zeppelin, as well as Deep Purple. He turned them both down.
Here’s one of Jay’s backstage photos:
Terry "Superlungs" Reid
And here’s Terry with Tinker Tailor (most of his YouTube vids are not embeddable):
Warren’s quest for meaning takes him to Holy Land USA, an abandoned religious theme park. Featuring music by Kiss Inc and Aphrodite’s Child.
Intent on finding a life with meaning, Warren tries to quit drinking. Featuring music by Koncz Zsuzsa.
The Radio Star Lives On In ‘Polyester Dreams’by John Manalang on January 26th, 2009
Selected Excerpts:
“The Buggles proclaimed that video has killed the radio star, but rock DJ Warren Orlando has already cheated death, thanks to Andrew Harrison, star and creator of the new web series Polyester Dreams. The indie comedy series tracks the trials and tribulations of Warren Orlando, a prog rock DJ at radio station WXLA, who follows the rock and roll creed of self-loathing and manic depression in his own way. His misfortunes in life, from his Academy Award winning ex-girlfriend humiliating him in the media to reading half-assed commercial bits, are interwoven with homemade music videos, playing ‘forgotten’ songs mainly from the 60s and 70s.”
“If Californication’s Hank Moody were ever a disc jockey in his life, Orlando would fit that profile smoothly like a vinyl spinning on an old record player. ‘Warren is extremely bitter that his radio career never really got anywhere,’ said Harrison. ‘He is the type that wanted to make a name for himself, and when he realizes he didn’t, he’s content to destroy everything. And just be a total dick in the process. And I guess this is funny to me. To watch a guy just suffer through the indignities of life and rail against it the best he can.’”
Warren Orlando gets some unwanted publicity when his ex-girlfriend, former fetish model Syn Sparks, wins an Academy Award. Featuring music by Coven.
Helmed by the mysterious blonde siren Jinx Dawson, Coven released their first album in 1969 entitled Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls, which sounded much like a satanic version of Jefferson Airplane.
The album contains a full length “satanic mass” and some gems such as “White Witch of Rose Hall” and “Dignitaries of Hell,” which accurately details many of the prominent demons of the infernal regions and their respective ranks and habits (as referenced in Colin de Plancy’s Dictionnaire Infernal).
Though not incredibly popular, Coven was encircled with controversy. When they performed in their hometown of Chicago, police had a mandate forbidding the band to speak in between songs, for fear that they would invoke their dark master, I suppose. All of this came to a head when the Manson murders cast aspersions onto the occult subculture and Coven was released from their recording contract.
Coven re-emerged in 1972 with a self-titled album consisting of a very different sound. Reflective of the general evolution of rock in the 70s, Coven had moved towards a more emotional, riff-heavy sound akin to a fusion of Carly Simon and Heart. In 1974, Coven reached the pinnacle of their achievements with Blood on the Snow, one of my all-time favorite albums.
It is important to remember that Coven is almost definitely the first band to throw up the horns onstage, starting in 1969. Though Gene Simmons and Ronnie James Dio both try to stake that claim, the photos do not lie:
Coven is still around today, and Jinx looks unnaturally young. Hmm… You can visit her personal MySpace page as well as buy Coven albums and merch via their CafePress store. I’ve interviewed Coven on the radio twice, and you can access the archives here:
Warren clashes with WXLA’s general manager and ponders life as a weatherman. Featuring music by The Idle Race.
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