Fort Worth based JIm GUittard , wanted delivers his lovely proper stuff, a wildly addictive concoction of influences, through wearethelastbeatniks, and is a honor to me can submitted .
He was born in Texas and has spent bit of his life, touring with his art between Asian and American as a way life better than whatever drudgery of rest of us have been up to.
Jim lists things like people who don’t give up, Bob Dylan, Beatles, Byrds, 13th Floor Elevators, Woody Guthrie, Ravi Shankar, Armenian music, or Anton Newcombe as his influences, and after hearing this a few times, I can say that they are all pretty obvious indeed.
Jim stitch together with minimal percussive down nicely,along with his electric and acoustic plinking guitars which he rip through a handful of styles, with nods to 60’s psych, surf, and classic garage rock riffing that glides along his breathy,hushed vocal style, sitars vibes , burbling beats, and the wordless chant or naïve lyric , taking a few tabs of Newcombe’s stylish swagger , crushing it up with a dose of minimalism, and ground it up into a perfect experimental mix of classic folk , garage fuzziness, and lo-fi sound, with nods to psych haziness, a seeming paradox of nature and folk psych music noises filtered through his guitar, I believe, for provide a relief to the alienation and violence that mar our times.
It is what it is,and this strategy actually works out quite well for him, So hats off to you,JIm Guittard.
Looking back from the first effort beside Henry McGuinn (son of Roger McGuinn who founded the Byrds) as the Ragas. JIm Guittard has a shit-ton of releases psych to free download from Jamendo, although you can buy it Lossless Audio on his bandcamp.
This may very well to feel good on this weekend .Give it a listen…
THE RAGAS
The album is a set of songs that the duo of Jim Guittard and Henry McGuinn (son of the Byrds founder Roger McGuinn) recorded during a six month period in 2000. The time was very special. All sorts of groups were turning on to the new sounds of the Neo-Psychedelic scene in Los Angeles, California, ie: The Tyde, the Quarter After, the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Beachwood Sparks, etc.
The tunes were recorded on Jim’s 4-track recorder in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Austin, Texas and some songs were performed live on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood.
Henry McGuinn plays Rickenbacker 325Byrd and 12-string Martin acoustic. Jim Guittard plays 330 Rickenbacker and Epiphone Acoustic Guitar. Henry sings lead vocal and Jim sings background vocal.www.myspace.com/theragas
California Daze
by Jim Guittard
California Daze was recorded in Hollywood, California by Jim Guittard on his 4-track recorder and later mixed with Adobe Audition 2.0. The songs pay tribute to the birth of the Neo-Psychedelic scene that emerged beginning in 2000 in Silverlake, California with groups such as the Beachwood Sparks, the Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Quarter After, smallstone, the Warlocks, the Tyde, and the Belle Isle.
Jim Guittard played the shaker, drum machine, and sang all lead and background vocals and had the help of friend Vladimir Maskov for bass. Brian McKay engineered the recording of the Beach the acoustic version. Guittard also played all lead and rhythm guitars. The song Beach is co-written by Jim Guittard and Dominic Campanella of the Quarter After.
The “Swing Tune” and “Jazz Tune” are instrumentals written by Jim while attending the Musicians Institute from 1999 to 2000. Jim plays the lead guitar with session bassist and drummer. On the rhythm guitar is a guy from Brazil named Reginaldo. He was a student with Jim at the school. You can hear the teacher, “Mr. Lupo Groinig” giving a critique after the instrumentals end.
released 19 May 2002
Tracklist
1.Beach 03:55
2.BJM-Like Song 03:04
3.Confusion, Lies, Guns, and Drugs 02:34
4.Can’t Be Down That Very Long 02:29
5.3 of Clubs 03:46
6.Swing Tune 01:28
7.Jazz Tune 02:23
8.Beach (Acoustic) 05:24
The Notorious G.I.D.D.
by Jim Guittard
Jim Guittard – electric, acoustic guitars, drum machine, percussion, lead and background vocals, keyboards, and any other noise.
Album was recorded in 2005 in the “Hot House” in Dallas, Texas. Album is in the style of Psychedelic rock, and is a bit experimental at times.
Words make reference to the thug life that some artists live. At least the creative types in some circles are thought of as hoodlums, especially in Highland Park, Texas aka “the bubble.”
released 21 May 2005
Tracklist
1.Highland Park Hoodlums 02:00
2.Hitting The Lotto 02:27
3.Flippity Flop 02:45
4.I Drive Your Car 02:18
5.HPH On The Rise 03:12
6.Lonely Road 01:27
7.HPH On The Rise – Alternate 03:02
8.Flippity Flop – Alternate 03:02
Busted in Bulgaria
by Jim Guittard
Tracklist
1.Breaking The Language Barrier (free) 02:34
2.Gangster (free) 03:41
3.Hoola Hoop Girl (free) 02:52
4.8A Class (free) 04:00
5.Be Real True (free) 02:01
6.Babas on Their Bench (free) 02:08
7.I Wanna Go To The Moon (free) 01:43
8.Kakvo Pravish (free) 02:20
9.Listen To Your Voice (free) 02:09
10.Rico (free) 01:58
11.Pernik (free) 02:16
12.Stachkata (free) 02:11
13.Survival Mode (free) 03:54
14.This Is Random Song (free) 02:10
15.What’s Your Role In Life (free) 02:12
16.Don’t Know Jack (free) 01:49
17.Raga Train (free) 02:35
18.The Sun Shines Today (free) 02:59
96/98
by Jim Guittard
Between 1996 and 1998 I put down a few songs in a rather spur of the moment on my 4-track recorder. Lyrics were made up basically on the spot while the tape was rolling. The sounds are pretty lo-fi and the clanging of metal in some of the songs were spoons, pots and pans that made up our primitive percussion. Jim Seagroves helped out on the racket kitchen percussion sounds as well as general chanting or making a nuisance out of everything. Back then Jim and I called ourselves “the Gidds”. Basically, it was our little gang name growing up. We listened to NWA in high school and wanted to be white thugs. We had our own language and mockerized the neighborhood. Some of the songs we speak in German. I play the acoustic and electric guitar, sitar and sing the songs. My brother Bob Guittard played bass and guitar on a few tracks as well as beat on a hand drum. Warren Barry played the organ on Once Around the Moon as well as added to the weirdness. I used a Dr. Groove Drum machine. I hope you like these weird songs. At the time of the recording I was listening to a lot of Beck’s Odelay.
released 24 November 2009
Tracklist
1.Here It Comes 02:40
2.Station 02:18
3.Once Around the Moon 06:24
4.Red Dress 02:38
5.Alternate Tuning Song 02:48
6.Chapatis 05:17
7.NaNaNaNaNa 02:32
8.Groovy 02:16
9.Haluva 02:30
10.Station Reprise 01:10
Rise
by Jim Guittard
released 30 July 2010
Tracklist
1.Rise Up America 01:28
2.Fear Is Nothing New 02:53
3.Buried Underneath The American Dream 02:31
4.Freakout 02:24
5.You Can Not Knock Me Down 02:37
6.My Garage Is Better Than Yours 01:34
7.World’s Angriest Hippie 03:06
8.What Do You Want (Acoustic) 01:57
9.Hit The Sky 02:11
10.Independance 02:47
11.Roller Coaster Ride 02:04
12.Rise Up America (Alternate) 08:31
The Guittard Tapes
by Jim Guittard
This group of songs collected dust for almost a decade. In 2012, I resurrected the songs from misplaced 4-Track Tapes I had in storage boxes in Dallas, Texas.
The tunes were recorded all in Los Angeles, California during the period 1999-2003, At that time, I was working on songs for my California Daze album. The songs I include on the Guittard Tapes were never released until now. You will find some alternate takes or early versions for a few California Daze songs.
Back then I was listening to the Byrds quite heavily and therefore of of the tunes are intentionally jangly with Rickenbacker sounds. I played the drums, bass, and even a sitar on the first track which was recorded 3 Weeks After 9-11. The album is on the imperfect lo-fi raw side, which I particularly like.
It’s DIY project. Enjoy!
released 23 August 2012
Tracklist
1.3 Weeks After 03:36
2.Aliens 03:57
3.Ordinary Guy 03:44
4.Getting There Is Not So Easy 03:15
5.Jingle Jangle Instrumental 02:44
6.Batman 02:12
7.Jazz Tune 2000 Demo 02:30
8.Beach Original 02:06
9.Station 03:02
10.Election 2000 02:00
11.Jangly Instrumental 04:09
12.Psychedelic Consciousness 03:13
13.Walkie-Talkie Experiment 02:59
14.Are You Up Instrumental 02:48
15.More Jangle 02:21
16.Tremolo Instrumental 01:20
Forward
by Jim Guittard
These songs are for moving Forward out of the mess that is behind. They were recorded in Pasadena, California and deals with various government/political issues and try to move forward against all diversity. Do it yourself is a song written by a groovy band from Ukraine called Nameless.
released 20 Novembert 2012
Tracklist
1 It’s No Fun But I’m Ok 2:14
2 Dont Get Hung Up 3:06
3 Higher Frequency 2:25
4 War Is Fun 4:56
5 Do It Yourself 4:32
6 Occupy Monotony 2:24
7 Raga 3:03
8 Ballad Of Homeland Security 4:00
9 Mr. Groove 2:10
10 Smoothie 2:37
wearethelastbeatniks 