(TV) Good Translation of Liner Notes of Japanese Vinyl Version of Marq uee Moon

["Casey, Leo J" <CaseyL@VOLPE.DOT.GOV>]

Thanks to Mark M and his wife, Akiko M. we now have a
 very good translation of the Japanese liner notes of the 
vinyl version of the album Marquee Moon.  



> From: "Casey, Leo J" <CaseyL@VOLPE.DOT.GOV>
> Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2001 17:21:23 -0400
> To: "'Mark M.'" <markm@adnc.com>
> Cc: "Casey, Leo J" <CaseyL@VOLPE.DOT.GOV>
> Subject: RE: Japanesse Liner Notes
> 
> Mark, 
 
> It will also be posted in its entirety to MM list
> with full credit given to you and your wife.
> What is your wife's first name (or would she
> rather go unattributed)?
> 
> Leo
> Sure.. give her the credit.. she did the real work! 
Her name is Akiko.
Thanks.
> 
> Here at long last is the translation.  Like I said, I haven't verified the
> "historical" facts.. other than moving Wilmington from "New England" to the
> "Northeast" (I grew up in Massachusetts and can't let that go), everything
> else is translated just as we found it. Obviously there is no new
> information here.. just a general introduction written by some japanese
> woman for a japanese audience.
> If you post this up to a website,  please let me know where it is so
> I can check it out.  Feel free to make changes or add notes to it if you
> wish.

> 
> Mark M.

Liner Notes form the Japanese Vinyl Version of Marquee Moon:

September 6, 1974. It was the last night of the Schaefer Music 
Festival at Central Park in New York.  After Aerosmith ended 
their exciting set with "Train Kept A-Rolling All Night Long", I 
was rushing over to Max9s Kansas City, which appears on a
Velvet Underground album cover.

At Max's, Patti Smith and Television had been playing for 
three days.  The first floor is a restaurant and bar and the 
second floor is a small hall with 150 seats, then there's a
room for staff on the third floor.  In the tiny concrete room, 
Richard Hell is pouring orange juice over his head and
Billy Ficca is standing on his hands with a drumstick in his
mouth.  Patti Smith and Tom Verlaine are kissing every 
minute.  Richard Hell is cutting up a T-shirt that was a gift
from a fan. It's hot, but nobody's complaining.  An oily 
sweat is oozing from Hell's neck...

Playing at Max's is a big thing for Television because it's 
the same stage where the Velvet Underground used to play.
It also means that they have been given their passport as a 
serious New York band ... in other words, they're not just 
another unknown band from the back streets.

It's been a while now since Television, known as the 
"Legends of New York" and "Kings of the New York 
Underground" because they were playing real punk before
punk got popular, got a recording offer.  In the summer of 
1974, Television was just a local band in the early 
underground N.Y. scene along with a bunch of other 
bands which no longer exist, like Teenage Lust, the 
Dictators, Eric Emerson & the Magic Trumps and Wayne
County.  Television came to the attention of the mass 
media unexpectedly. Maybe because of the unique and
modern name?  Tom Verlaine is the leader of Television.  
His real name is Tom Miller, which he didn't like because 
it was too common.  He liked to read the poets Verlaine and 
Rimbaud, so he named himself Tom Verlaine ... the initials 
T.V. ... get it?  "Television is something that everybody has. 
It's in your face, but sometimes it's subtle," says Richard
Lloyd.

Patti Smith was admired as the queen of street punk in 
N.Y.  After she broke up with Alan Lanier of Blue Oyster
Cult, she chose a tall skinny guy with blue eyes as her 
boy friend.  Patti described him as a "... sexy rock 'n roller
with a long neck like a swan."  Tom played guitar for her 
occasionally, and played on her famous single, 
"Piss Factory/Hey Joe", which was released in a limited 
edition of 1000 copies in 1974 at her own expense.  Tom 
also played and wrote some songs with her for her debut 
album, Horses, which was released on Aristae.

The talented couple got lots of attention as rising stars in 
the N.Y. rock scene.  In 1975, British music magazines 
Melody Maker and New Musical Express introduced 
Television, leading to interest from major labels like Atlantic,
Arista, Warner Bros., and Island.  Even though they did 
some trial recordings, it was two years until their actual 
recording debut.  They seemed to know how unique they 
were:  they weren9t Kiss ... all stage action and visuals, or
well suited to playing in huge concert halls.  They didn't 
expect a response from the audience or make an effort to
create any.  Instead, they had a mysterious, hypnotic 
effect on audiences.

The first N.Y. underground/punk band to release a major 
album was the Ramones.  They were signed to the small 
label, Sire, but Television really wanted to sign with Electra,
the home of the Doors.  It didn't take that long to work out 
a contract.  When I saw Tom at CBGB in the Bowery in 
1976, he told me about their deal with Electra with a smile.

Tom Verlaine came from Wilmington, Delaware which is a
typical small town in the northeast. In August of 1968, he 
left for New York, lived in a cheap apartment in the East 
Village and waited for his chance to make it as a musician
while working at the Strand Bookstore.

In 1971, the Neon Boys, the original incarnation of Television, 
were formed with Billy Ficca as the drummer and Richard Hell
as the bassist.  Billy was a friend of Tom's from school in 
Wilmington.  The Neon boys played some clubs downtown for
a few months, but broke up when Billy left to play for a local 
blues band in Boston.  Tom ended up playing guitar at Reno 
Sweenys and that was where he met a handsome young guy
named Richard Lloyd.

Richard Lloyd had grown up in New Jersey and he was waiting for
his break as a musician while playing guitar in the style of the 
Rolling Stones, Elmore James and Buddy Guy.  He had been 
travelling all over the country trying to find a band he could play 
with and really liked Tom's strong personality.  Tom liked the 
sound  of his Stratocaster and his cool good looks.  Tom asked him
to join the band and invited Billy Ficca to return from Boston.  
They named the new band "Television."

On March 2, 1974, Television played at the Townhouse in New York
for the first time.  Tom sang surrealistic songs with his hi-toned, 
sexy voice while closing his eyes and making his long neck even 
longer; Richard's metallic guitar responded perfectly.  It was the 
sound of night, neither rock 'n roll nor scream.  It didn't take long
for young New Yorkers and rock journalists to get the message.

Tom still worked at the bookstore and took cabs with all their 
equipment loaded in to clubs.  Lots of new clubs like Truck, 
Warehouse Theater, Max9s, CBGB, Mother's and Club 82 were
opening and they waited for their time to come playing at these. 
CBGB, now world famous for it's punk bands, was especially 
friendly to the unknown Television, and they played there 
frequently.

In 1975, bassist Richard Hell left to form the Heartbreakers with
former New York Doll Johnny Thunders.  Fred Smith, a former 
Stiletto with Deborah Harry of Blondie, replaced Hell.  Fred was
from Forest Hills, the same neighborhood the Ramones were from.
Word is the reason he was asked to join, was that he already knew
all of Television's repertoire.

So, with Tom Verlaine (guitar and vocals), Richard Lloyd (guitar), 
Fred Smith (bass guitar) and Billy Ficca (drums), Television made
their debut on Electra Records.  Andy Johns, a British engineer 
was called on as producer.  He had worked for some of the greatest
bands like the Stones, Jack Bruce and Led Zeppelin.  Regarding 
production, Tom says they tried to focus on a sound peculiar to the
 feeling of rock 'n roll.  He encouraged listeners to play it as loud 
as possible.  He was proud of the fine-tuned details that you could 
still enjoy while playing it loud.  Oh yeah ... I've just realized that the
 term "heavy metal" exists just for this album.  There's a 
voluptuousness to the metallic sound and a true sense of rock 'n roll.  
"Venus" and "Friction" have been in Tom's repertoire for three years.  
"Marquee Moon" and "See No Evil",  which were written for this album, 
are also stirring.  Tom doesn't deny it when people say they are the 
reincarnation of the Velvet Underground.  His blue eyes sometimes 
seem sharp, but he's really a sweet guy.

"Urban Reality" ..."Urban Rock".  These are terms just for Television.
Here is a brilliant start.. What else can you say?  The legend is not 
just a legend anymore ... so turn your channel!

Haruko Mizukami
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