Kevin Bresnahan

Biggest selling single in Japan in 1964:

When discussing how musical genres are "born" or created for the first time, I find it pretty funny that we center on Rock, a mainly UK/US creation. Back when the UK/US kids were spinning the Beatles, other countries were spinning vastly different records. Even today, pop on a Japanese radio station or an Indian radio station or a Chinese radio station etc. and hear a whole other world of popular music, some of which has been around as long as Rock. In general, people often take a rather myopic view of the musical world.

Blue Öyster Cult is at the Blue Ocean Music Hall in Salisbury, MA tonight. I don't go to many of these "classic rock" shows any more as they are usually just tribute bands with few or no original members. This band seems to have the original singers, so I thought I'd give it a go.

Recorded by board member Ted O'Reilly too.

Front row Green Monster seats are harder to get these days. I took the first one I could and went on April 11th to a game they lost to the Yankees. It was 42 degrees at game time and got colder and windier as the game progressed. It was so cold, I had to buy winter hats for me & my daughter. Surprise, the stadium kiosks were selling them. This was obviously before we had to don our winter hats but note we already had on our winter coats.

1975 Reds? The team that was practically gifted a win by umpire Larry Barnett for failing to call an obvious catcher interference on Ed Armbrister? Yeah, I know that MLB continues to say it was correct. Bunk. The rule states it's not interference "Barring an intentional action on the part of either player". Ed Armbrister intentionally stopped in front of Fisk. There was nothing unintentional about it. He says he wanted to see if the ball was fair or foul. Where does the rule say that you can intentionally block a player if you think the ball may be foul? It doesn't. FYI - that call soured me on MLB for years. That sure looked like the fix was in on that one. I still barely watch the games on TV, preferring to catch a game or two at Fenway every year. This year, I saw my first game up on the Green Monster. Bucket list box checked.

"DIGITAL RECORDING" - WTF?

Use a sniping service or wait until the last few seconds of the auction and bid the most you are willing to spend. Don't do it until the very end. Snipe it yourself.

Weren't these special LPs? I've been told that it was a miserable failure. Supposedly, the records skipped on bumps and after about 10 plays, the record was white from the tracking force needed to keep the needle in the groove.

If you still own a reel-to-reel machine, you can actually get a clone of several master tapes: https://tapeproject.com/jazz/. I'd actually love to hear one or two of these master tape clones on a good setup. Maybe a nice tube amp?

8 track car players were ubiquitous in the late 70's in New England. Nearly every one of my friend's cars had one. One of my friends had a 1972 Buick Skylark that he put one in. He got the Doors debut album stuck in it and it would only play track 4, which was the song "The End". It would ONLY play "The End". I went on a 2 and a half hour drive in that car and he kept playing it & playing it... with Morrison droning "This is the end" and all of us in the car screaming, "NO IT ISN'T!!!!!!!"

But then CDs came along and it was a win-win-win (better than LP, better than reel-to-reel & better than cassette) so a no-brainer actually.

Oh without a doubt!! I probably couldn't afford one back then even if I wanted to. I only came close to buying one well after I was out in the working world and only because I was offered the deck with a bunch of tapes - mostly classical. I just couldn't fit the damn thing into my listening room. It was huge. I was also not a huge fan of the rewinding process.

I've heard that reel-to-reel was more popular in Europe than the US. I can say with certainty that I did not personally know anyone with a reel-to-reel deck back in my early audiophile days. It wasn't until well into college that I met a few older music fans with one. I don't even remember the last time I heard one. I seem to remember an equation back then where reel-to-reel typically = tube amplification. No matter - I am 100% sure that I never saw/heard one.

Well I'll be... so this "4-track" tape, or Stereo Pak tape, only had 2 tracks that had to be switched manually? Were they the same size as 8-track tapes? I used to have an 8-track recorder. The biggest PIA was that the splice couldn't be recorded on, so when you recorded something that jumped across the tracks, it had a glitch in it. I remember recording Jim Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower" and the track changed right after Jimi sang, "All along the watchtower" and before "princess kept the view". To this day, when I hear that song, my mind expects that little jump. I also had the Cadillac of car 8-track decks, the Pioneer TP900:

Um, Jim... is this a Texas thing? Because where I'm from, all "8-track tapes" only had 4 tracks. We never had "4-track tapes" or "8-track tapes" with 8 tracks. Ever. And FWIW, I almost bought a used reel-to-reel machine but I didn't have the room for it. Those suckers were huge! I hate to admit it, but I almost bought a DAT recorder several times. Thank god I never pulled the trigger as I've read the horror stories of people's entire collections becoming unreadable with time.

From the web: 'K7' was an abbreviation often used for tapes. The origin is the French pronunciation; 'Kah-set'.

As an LP buyer in the late 70's and through the 80's, I welcomed CDs with open arms. No more paper thin LPs, off center spindle holes, chunks of paper embedded in the vinyl, warble, skips in brand new records, crackles in brand new records... the list went on & on. In the beginning of CD, a lot of people jumped in with both feet. And while I still prefer CD for my listening, I find myself buying more vinyl because many modern CDs have been digitally manipulated to sound like crap.

Making them in Hanover meant that they had to import them, so yes, they were more expensive. The prices didn't really drop until quite a few pressing plants came on line - supply and demand at work. Also, in those early days, the buyers were mostly audiophiles and the prices reflected that. It's funny, but the record store I mentioned in that link above, the Capitol Record Shop in Hartford, Connecticut, became a sort of mecca for hard-to-find CDs. I was lucky in that I lived only about an hour from there. I vividly recall one trip there where I bought the first Beatles CD made, "Abbey Road", as well as Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" & "The Wall", Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and quite a few more. I paid big bucks for these discs, as they were only available in Japan at the time. I went there about once a month when they got in their latest shipment. I never understood why they closed as they were always packed when I went there.

You're partially right. There wasn't a shortage of blanks... there were only 2 CD *pressing plants* in the beginning. One at Sony in Japan and another at Polygram in West Germany. For a while, every CD was produced at one of these pressing plants. All of the first CDs sold in the US, even if the printed material was printed in the US, was pressed in either Japan or West Germany. The first US CD pressing plant, Digital Audio Disc Corp (DADC) opened in Terre Haute, IN in 1984. Check this out: http://www.mh-audio.nl/tips/cdhistory.htm Fun stuff

Looking at the contents of the October 1984 edition of Digital Audio Magazine, I see that they were talking about Clifford Brown's Emarcy stuff coming out. I remember those early West Germany-pressed Emarcy CDs in the plastic blister packs with the booklet in a pocket at the top and the CD case with the CD on the bottom. I cut many fingers trying to get those damn things open. There's also mention of Sonny Rollins' "Way Out West", which would have been the early Japanese CD in the VDJ series.

Flim & The BBs was my first Jazz CD purchase too. They were on the DMP (Digital Music Products) label. Jim - going by this, I assume you were an early adopter too, because I bought this CD circa 1984-85. I bought quite a few of those DMP CDs back then because they were considered "audiophile" recordings in full DDD. I subscribed to Digital Audio Magazine back then and every month they would rate the latest CDs for sound & and music and Flim & the BBs were often topping that list. Back in those earliest days, CDs were scarce and very expensive. The first wave of them were almost exclusively Rock & Classical. I seem to remember paying close to $20-22/disc back then. But I still consider it a magical time, as we were finally able to hear music as it sounded on the master tape with no clicks or pops and without the muted highs of Dolby cassettes.

Steve Coleman 1 hr · No matter the appearances, I am not attacking or intimidating Maria Grand. I am defending myself from being attacked and falsely accused of wrongdoing. I filed my lawsuit against Ms. Maria Grand, as a very last resort, for two reasons. First, my past relationship with Ms. Grand was a legal, consensual, intimate relationship that spanned the course of 6 years. Second, after our intimate relationship fell apart, Ms. Grand began to covertly spread misinformation as to my character and the nature of our relationship, culminating in a secret seven page letter written by her, in which she deliberately lied about the nature of our relationship and tried to ruin my reputation, by co-opting the very necessary, warranted and powerful #MeToo movement, while simultaneously trying to deny me the opportunity to defend myself. After spending 9 months and considerable emotional energy, stress, and financial resources to mediate with Ms. Grand privately, to no avail, I felt that I had no recourse but to sue Ms. Grand, so that I will have the opportunity to defend myself against her false accusations. I will prove that Ms. Grand's accusations are false, as I have documentation demonstrating the true nature of our consensual, intimate relationship. Anyone who is interested in fairness and the truth should have no problem with both Maria and I presenting our evidence to prove if Maria’s accusations are true or false. Given that attempts at mediation have failed, at this point, the truth can only be proven in a court of law. The positions of both Ms. Grand and I are presented in my public complaint, not in the tabloid news reports with false sensational headlines designed to attract viewership, that are currently being shared. I have included some relevant excerpts from my publicly filed complaint below, to which I have all of the supporting documentation. Steve Coleman —— 11. On or about January 3, 2011, Defendant initiated numerous flirtatious correspondences with Plaintiff, proactively seeking future sexual interactions. 12. On or about June 2, 2011, the parties began to engage in a mutually consensual sexual relationship that lasted until approximately late September 2016. Both the first and last sexual encounters were initiated by Defendant. 13. On or about July 7, 2011, Defendant stated in an electronic chat that she was using sexual intimacy to get Plaintiff to give her "musical information". 16. On or about September 30, 2011, Defendant stated, in a Skype electronic message, that she had been lying to both her aunt and her mother that Plaintiff forced her to have sex with him, in order to make herself look innocent. 17. On or about February 14, 2012, Defendant sent Plaintiff a message stating that she was attracted to him from the beginning, that she wanted to get into a relationship from the beginning, and that Defendant deliberately "trapped" the Plaintiff because of what she could learn from him, and that she could express her sexual nature (i.e.,”freakdom 1”) freely. 1 “Freakdom” is a slang term referring to the release of one’s sexual inhibitions. The term was used by Defendant in her message to Plaintiff, and is therefore quoted herein. 18. On or about February 21, 2012, at Defendant’s request, Plaintiff agreed to sponsor her for an O-1 artist work visa. 19. In or about September of 2013, Plaintiff and Defendant had an argument and a temporary break-up. After a brief pause in their relationship, the relationship resumed and thereafter continued off and on until 2016. 20. Throughout 2014, Plaintiff and Defendant maintained an ongoing consensual sexual relationship, in which each of them would occasionally initiate sex. 21. On or about May 29, 2015, at Defendant’s request, Plaintiff again agreed to sponsor her for an O-1 artist work visa. 22. In or about late 2015, Plaintiff and Defendant actively engaged in frequent consensual sexual intercourse. Both parties would initiate sex from time to time. 24. On or about September 16, 2016, Defendant propositioned Plaintiff for sex and then asked Plaintiff not to tell her then-boyfriend about the sex, which was described as a "birthday present” for Plaintiff. 25. On or about September 21, 2016, the Parties engaged in sexual intercourse for the last time. The encounter was consensual and was initiated by Defendant, as described in the paragraph immediately preceding the instant one. 29. On or about May 17, 2017, after approximately five months without extended communication, Defendant stated in an email to Plaintiff that he sexually harassed her for three years. She further stated that she was not in a position to deal with it publicly at the time, but that someday she would be, and that she did not"...ntend on being quiet."(Ex. A). 32. On October 25, 2017, Defendant sent Plaintiff the following text message: [10/25/17, 9:11 PM] Maria Grand: I will say what I want to say when and however I want. And yes, you will be held accountable for your actions, one way or the other, especially after you would send me these threatening texts. 33. On November 6, 2017, Defendant emailed Plaintiff’s now-estranged wife indicating she was "going to be public" about her relationship with Plaintiff. Defendant subsequently published her false accusations of sexual harassment against the Plaintiff, and later forwarded the Letter to the Plaintiffs estranged wife, identifying the Plaintiff by name in the forwarded email. 34. On or about November 14, 2017, Defendant sent an email with the Letter attached, to approximately thirty individuals in the parties’ shared music community. The recipients included music industry business professionals. In the email and attached Letter, Defendant falsely accused Plaintiff of criminal sexual acts and sexual harassment. Although she did not include his name, other facts, and statements in the publication made it crystal clear to the recipients that she was referring to Plaintiff (Exs. C, D). Defendant requested in her email and letter that none of the recipients forward the email and attached Letter, in an obvious attempt to keep the knowledge of the accusations from the Plaintiff, thereby denying Plaintiff an opportunity to defend himself. 35. On or about November 18, 2017, Defendant sent an email to Plaintiff’s estranged wife with the Letter attached, after previously informing Plaintiff’s estranged wife the Letter was describing Plaintiff. The Defendant specifically mentioned the Plaintiff by name, and requests of Plaintiff's estranged wife to keep their communication from the Plaintiff, thereby denying Plaintiff an opportunity to defend himself. Defendant’s request clearly demonstrates that the Defendant knew that her accusations about the Plaintiff were false, and the Defendant specifically was attempting to keep the knowledge of the accusations from the Plaintiff, thereby denying Plaintiff an opportunity to defend himself. This attempt to keep the accusations from the Plaintiff was successful for a period of approximately two months. 37. In all of the written communications Defendant sent defaming Plaintiff, Plaintiff’s identity was so thinly veiled that all recipients knew exactly who was being accused, as the recipients knew both parties well. The recipients also knew the nature of the parties' relationship, Defendant's meeting Plaintiff at his workshop and Plaintiff's providing numerous employment opportunities in the form of musical "gigs" playing alongside Plaintiff at his performances. Separately, Defendant explicitly informed some recipients, including Plaintiff's estranged wife, that the defamatory communications were about Plaintiff. Other recipients, including Plaintiff's manager and another colleague, were able to immediately recognize Plaintiff as the person described in the Letter. 38. Defendant's email, along with the attached Letter, was re-published (forwarded) to many other people. 39. Although Plaintiff was unaware of the defamatory emails and letters at the time, the damage to his reputation was immediate. People in his industry/musical community stopped talking to him, and other musicians canceled on gigs that he had hired them for. The cancellations caused Plaintiff to find last-minute substitute musicians (who were not as capable as the original musicians), rearrange flights, concerts, performance riders, bookings and also rearrange and recopy musical scores. Also, as the previous musicians who canceled had been present on the released recordings, the Plaintiff was forced to complete gigs with an ensemble different from the advertised ensemble listed on the released recordings. 40. On January 11, 2018, Plaintiff discovered that Defendant had published defamatory information about him throughout his professional community as he was notified by his manager, one of the recipients of the email and attached Letter, who immediately recognized Plaintiff to be the unnamed person described in the Letter. 41. Plaintiff reached out to Defendant to request a retraction and an apology. Plaintiff attempted to resolve the matter privately for approximately three weeks, prior to hiring an attorney for the purpose of engaging in private alternative dispute resolution. 42. Defendant rebuffed or ignored all of Plaintiff's attempts to resolve the matter privately. —— Regarding #32 above, I did not send any threatening texts and emails to Maria Grand in October 2017, and I can prove this in court. What I sent to Maria was a complaint about a Facebook post that she made that I saw as a veiled threat against me. Here it is

If you use Firefox, there are several add-ons for this. I've never heard of a Firefox add-on with malware but I may be wrong about that. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/search/?platform=windows&q=you%20tube%20audio

He said/she said is ugly in the legal system. It is especially so in this case, where the woman admits that it was a consensual relationship but then goes on to accuse him of forcing her into that relationship. His tactics to continue that relationship are disgusting if true, but again, that's still he said/she said. Legally, the only thing actionable in court is what she put into print. It'll suck if he wins, because what she says sounds very believable, but she really doesn't have much of a defense here, especially if Coleman's ex-wife corroborates some of what has been said about her voluntary involvement.