radio milan – Page 2 – Maduko World Headquarters

Insects Music from the Video Vault

Got a DVD from Buck the other day. It was a dub from the 1984 episode of Night Shift featuring my old band, the Insects. This was a local show on KTUL channel 8 that was hosted by Greg Roach and Jeanne Tripplehorn. Shots of the crowd offer a virtual time capsule of Tulsa’s new wave scene.

I immediately digitized the DVD and started posting clips on Google Video. Here’s a video of all the songs we did that night: Insects will Prevail. This was just before we changed the name to Radio Milan, and went completely overboard with the Italian theme.

With this crew the band was probably at its zenith- David’s guitar chops added rhythm and Les’ undulating drum style seemed to mesh perfectly with the odd tunes Scott and I wrote. All while Tony commanded a powerful stage presence (plus he could remember all those weird lyrics I dreamed up). The previous incarnations of the group had never quite mustered the overall sound like you see on this video.

A year or so later Tony would leave the band and be replaced by our sound man, Eric Kehr. David also bowed out to do his own thing, along with a couple of “one night wonders” that were thoroughly enjoyable (one was called Roger Staubach for Rolaids). We went on to play regionally and opened for Lords of the New Church at the Cains and The Fleshtones in Oklahoma City. We became minor superstars in Stillwater playing at a club called Nuevo Wavo. The songwriting matured over the next three years, but later versions of the band never quite had that “between the eyes” punch. In 1987 we opened for Wang Chung at the Riverparks Amphitheater and it would be our last gig.

If you’re interested in hearing more tunes I’ve made a CD available through Cafe Press. The Jim Anthology includes the songs from the Night Shift performance, plus live tracks from a Crystal Pistol gig and seven songs from Radio Milan studio recordings. I’ve also posted some Radio Milan T-shirt designs based on the popular window sticker.

Rowdy Crew at Club Nitro

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from Steve Liggett, the art magnate who runs Living Arts in downtown Tulsa. He was going through some old photos and found one of me and some co-horts circa 1986.

Yikes!

That’s me on the right accompanied by Les Mobley (left) and Geoff Williams (center) as we’re sipping Tecates during a sound check at Club Nitro. Les played drums and is now a fixture with California alt-country sensation Red Meat.

Club Nitro was on 6th Street just east of Peoria and offered live original music and the latest alternative bands. Radio Milan played frequently at the Nitro (or Club Knifehole as some referred to it) until the finances got muddled. But that’s another story.

This photo was taken before a Radio Milan show that featured art between sets. We were oh-so ahead of our time! Anywho, that’s why Steve was there to snap said photo.

Most people that were at that show remembered it as The Night That Guy Stuck His Head in a Bucket of Mud. It would later come to be known as “performance art.”

listen • learn • buy

Twenty Tunes for Only Eight Bucks

When you’re shopping to find big value for your music dollars where do you go?

The mall? I hope not.

Not Available in Any Store!
I hope you’ll consider this CD of retro new wave tunes from the local Tulsa boys that were known as Radio Milan. The disk features songs recorded between 1981 and 1986, a period experts call the Golden Age of New Wave.

Give the Gift of Music
The disk is a collection of live tracks and studio recordings from Radio Milan and, their original name, the Insects. Locales include the Crystal Pistol, Cain’s Ballroom and Dance Cafe. It’s fun. It’s real.

And for that other stuff– that “popular” stuff– it’s hard to beat Amazon. But for true musical value you might consider an alternative. Eighties alternative, to be exact.

more radio milan

Radio Milan CD Now Available

In a former life I was a musical artist.

If anyone remembers Tulsa’s new wave scene back in the early `80s they will remember Radio Milan. If you never inhaled you might also recall The Insects. That was the first name of this musical experiment, the name was changed to Radio Milan in 1982. We disbanded in 1987 after a terrible performance as the opening act for Wang Chung.

Recordings from this golden age of punk are now available to the world through the miracle of the Internet!

Radio Milan: The Jim Anthology

The first tracks are Radio Milan recordings that were released in 1986 as a cassette tape titled Musica la Dolce. Next up is the recording of “Mille Miglia” we offered up for the Explosive Sampler. This CD also features live recordings from a rare television appearance and the Crystal Pistol.

There are a total of 20 tracks on the CD and you can listen to samples of all of them at CD Freedom

Update:

June 29, 2008- Digital downloads are now available of selected Radio Milan and Insects music. The first batch are the six songs from the Musica La Dolcé cassette, originally released in 1986. Watch for more classic hits from the Eighties to be added soon.