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Lightning Flashes

by Kent Liverpool

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James Filkins
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mario matamoro iglesias
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1.
Caught in the Trap 03:57
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2.
Terrorism U.S.A. 02:31
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3.
Eight Thousand Dollar Watch 03:21
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4.
It's Not My Problem 01:24
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5.
Love is the Thing 04:01
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6.
Kid in the Fountain 04:42
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7.
It's Not Easy 02:39
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8.
Dog at the Foot of the Bed 02:43
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9.
Eleventh Hour Stomp 02:50
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10.
Lover's Lips 02:47
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about

My good friend and musical compadre Chris Arduser passed away on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, at the age of 64. We became close in 1974, when he was 15 and I was 16, and over the next seven years we were nearly inseparable, playing in four bands together, one after the other, and taking great delight in each other’s company. Then again, in late 1983, when after living in NYC for 18 months, I returned to Ohio, we played music together for another year and a half, and once again did much talking, laughing, dining out, going to shows, and enjoying records, books, and films together.

After that, I got a solo record deal, he joined The Bears, then The Psychodots, then began playing more guitar and mandolin, and writing and singing, and formed his own band The Graveblankets, also often working solo. By that point, I lived mostly in Los Angeles, he lived in Cincinnati, and after 1987, we saw each other only rarely, but did several sessions together, talked much on the phone, and as always, sent letters. He visited me in California once where we talked all through the night until the moment I put him on the plane home. Though our time together was essentially over by the time we were 30, the bond we formed never weakened.

Chris was the person who most influenced and inspired me in life, the person I thought the most highly of. He was the fullest, most complete human being I ever knew, accessing with grace and skill an uncommonly wide and deep range of emotional, social, and intellectual depth. He negotiated life's situations, even when they were difficult and contradictory, with deftness, wit, a great sense of timing, a nuanced sense of proportion and he always did it interestingly, with style, dignity, and intelligence.

He was kind, witty, soulful, unpretentious, and compassionate, with great taste, a beautifully refined personal aesthetic, and a soft, frank courage. He was his own man, pursuing his interests with no regard for fashions, or marketing, or surface flash. He delighted in playful, inventive intelligence, in things with indelible, uniquely expressed sincerity, wit and emotion. He didn’t pull punches when he disapproved of something. You could trust Chris.

Very much a 20th century guy; he loved tactile, textured things, old things – old books, old films, old music, vinyl records, old instruments, and thrift shop clothes, and I suspect that, though he had the good manners to play along, he never much liked the digital, highly corporate environment that the world was becoming. I suspect he thought it was the wrong road to go down, and I wonder if it disappointed him, and broke his heart a bit. I suspect it did.

He was one of the few people who 'got me,' but I’m sure he had that effect on everyone. He sparked the wit inside people - his humor and quality were infectious. So honest and graceful was his vibration that he made you want to meet him on his enlightened level. It was magic. He brought out the best in you. My friend Larry Epstein said of him, 'nobody was a stranger to Chris,' by which he meant that Chris' humanity was large, and warm, and open, curious, egalitarian, empathetic, kind, generous. What a beautiful way to say it.

I'll remember our walks outdoors, the cold midwestern nights, being with him on a hundred bar bandstands, under the lights, before happy crowds. I’ll remember sharing meals in old west end apartments, summer night conversations, basement rehearsals, discussing new albums, new movies, new books, his smile of approval, of delight, his brow furrowing as he searched for the right words to convey a thought, my feeling of joy in having such an excellent friend, proud that I merited the friendship of such a fine person, our shared curiosity, our shared wonder; his eyes looking into mine - shining.

I had planned to put out a different collection this week, but have decided on this one, as tracks 2-5 all feature Chris on drums, and are from the same session; it's a great way to get a sample of his driving verve, his aggressive accuracy, his dynamic variations, his explosive, exciting style.

Chris played drums on over 70 of my recordings, and he's featured on one or more songs on most the albums in my collection. If you'd like to savor more of his excellent stick work, I'd direct you to 'Frequency,' 'New Fan of the Daylight,' and 'Girl in a Rowboat.' But as I say, he appears on most of them on at least one song, so check the album credits if you want to seek out the tunes out that he's on - it's always a thrill to hear him. Also check out my song 'Kick it Around,' on the collection 'Near Coincident Technique,' which I wrote about our boyhood friendship.

Farewell, my beautiful best friend, there's less light in the world; you've made me lonely -

'Lightning Flashes' collects a handful of high energy, lo-fi recordings from my early period. Enjoy.

credits

released September 29, 2023

Written, performed and recorded by Kent Liverpool, years and exceptions below:

Caught in the Trap, Kid in the Fountain, It's Not Easy - Recorded in Winston-Salem, NC, to a Tascam 4-track Porta-Studio, Winston-Salem, NC, 1990

Terrorism U.S.A., Eight Thousand Dollar Watch,' 'It's Not My Problem,' and 'Love is the Thing - Recorded to 8-Track tape in Sylvania, Ohio by Dave Massey, 1984. Drums - Chris Arduser, Bass and Background Vocals - Ed Wells, Hammond Organ - Chad Smith

'Dog at the Foot of the Bed,' 'Lover's Lips' - Recorded to 16 track ADAT tape in Playa del Rey, CA, 2002-2006

'Eleventh Hour Stomp' - Recorded to ADAT w/ Roland Sequencer and live vocal in Nashville, TN, 1993.

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Kent Liverpool

Kent Liverpool, originally from Michigan, is a musician who wrote, performed and recorded in many places within the USA between 1980 and 2011.

He worked in a classic rock style, influenced primarily by 1960s and early 1970s am radio, SoCal singer-songwriters, AOR, Heartland Rock, and New Wave.

He's currently releasing his vast back catalog (900+ songs) in weekly, themed album length collections. ... more

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