Everything They Say

Sparky Grinstead

The Man, The Legend, The Webpage

Everything they say

Certain things have been said about Sparky, his music and his recordings. Here’s some of those things:

WON OUT (LP 1979, CD 2004)

Little charmer of an LP that comes across like a stripped-down Shoes. One guy..not a band. Just him and a guitar for the most parting a lo-fi pop soundscape. Not one for the psychheads

- Wonkywhy

Even though the worst rhyme schemes ever make me feel embarrassed for this guy, it does have that innocent real people charm that other innocent real people crave

- MCfive

Poppy, lo-fi Oakland SSW singing songs of love and big asses. Some nifty power-pop flourishes and a great cover of Sparky hopping afemnce, most likely on the hunt for tail

- terminal-boredom.com

Here’s a charming little pop album. 25 minutes of poppy melodies, acoustic guitars, simple arrangements and songs about gurls. The best song by miles and miles is the opening “Fall On Me” which has a lovely melody and some really cute-sounding fuzz guitar. It’s a triumph of low-budget recording and by comparison makes the Shoes or the Toms sound like they were recorded at Abbey Road. The rest of the album isn’t as fantastic, but it’s fun straight through and Sparky has a really nice voice. Recommended for pop fans and fans of real people who can actually sing and write

- Acid Archives

Late seventies private press pop. Strangely affecting. Recommended

- Vinyl Vulture

Happy and relaxed, melodic and simple early afternoon sound

- Reflections of Tomorrow (Japan)

Simple and enjoyable, with sound collages and a refreshing sense of harmony

- Add Some Music to Your Day (Japan)

This album clocks in at about 10 minutes a side, which makes it really more of an EP than a full length LP. With the exception of the fuzz-driven opener, “Fall On Me”, the harmony-laden songs are acoustic guitar-driven. It’s pleasant enough, but sometimes the simple rhyme schemes, some of which are repeated in different songs, begin to grate.

- BAM

If you like the Bomp! Records sound from the mid-‘70s (stripped-down straight-ahead power-pop) then you’ll love this lo-fi treasure from 1979. Home recorded by Mr. GRINSTEAD himself, with most of the non-keyboard instruments played by him as well, it’s a testament to the long-lasting appeal of heartfelt songs. The original record goes for big bucks in collector circles, but thankfully you can find the re-release at CD Baby and other fine music outlets.

- Pirate Cat Radio

LE BONX (Cassette 1981, CD 2003)

This is either the most amateurish release I’ve heard in a long time (up there with the Jad Four – No – beyond that!) or else it’s a brilliant masterpiece that just went way over head the first couple of listens (like Meet the Residents) and won’t reveal itself to me for another 20 years. Either way it’s pretty annoying. Is that how it’s supposed to be?

- Expose

Sounds like we have a bass guitar, drums and a piano and they all are pretty much doing their own thing. This is pretty amateurish jazz, probably improvised (I hope), and I’m guessing that this is a release intended for the folks who enjoy home taping and off-the wall, exclusively underground releases. Oh, if you have delicate ears, this may not be the “pile of poop” for you. But if you are open to ridiculous experiences, you might try your brain out on this sloppy little bucket of yuck. Call it “scattered genius”?

- Neo Zine

Le Bonx – punk jazz – tre cool. Very Weird.

- Weirdsville

I feel your drummer’s pain

- Robbie

Le Bonx is as far removed from the melodic simplicity of 1979’s Won Out as you can get. It’s not music – it’s anti-music. Really the best thing about this collection is the song titles, like “All Men Are Brothers (All Sisters Are Women)” and the classic “How Great Thou Aren’t” which at first glance don’t seem to have anything to do with the music. My guess is that the songs were named after the fact. As last year’s single, “Wa” indicated, Sparky Grinstead is an artist who’s blazing a singular musical trail for those of us brave enough to follow.

- Music Reviews

As I was searching through a pile of unorganized mostly lower than college rock sounding mailed in packages of Offspring cover bands and Conor Oberst reject demos from 2003, I found a minimalist gem. At first I thought someone had been kind enough to send in their own store bought copy of Generic, an album by 8-‘s drug-punk band Flipper, being that the album was completely yellow. To my surprise the album I was looking at was just as sweetly cynical and messy. Sparky Grinstead’s 1981 under-the-boxes-of-time masterpiece Le Bonx. At first I listened to the album thinking to myself…this sounds like Daniel Johnston…this sounds like a VHS copy of Spawn. I then looked at the liner notes and they read “recorded 1977-1978”. After that I was in complete conceptual awe. This music was 5, maybe 8, years ahead of its time in vocal tone and album structure. It starts off with the track “All Men Are Brothers (All Sisters Are Women)”, a 27 second scattered warm-up sounding womp, and then progresses into an almost stream of unorganized consciousness: bass, piano, drums and key-something, a pleasant slump of weird instrumental jazz up until tack 4, “There Ain’t No Way”, a song uncannily like the sounds of Daniel Johnston in lyrical tone, subject and sound. Mind you this whole album was recorded in 1977 and 1978. The next six tracks putt along like a quality mini golf course until the track “We Got Rolled”. This track may be the most punk-sounding song ever – no words or phrases to describe it other than that. The final and most secret track, being that it isn’t listed in the liner notes, gets one involved in the Le Bonx recording sessions, It lets one hear the fun and almost chaotic behavior of the musicians involved in the recording – a nice behind-the-scenes look – making the album that much sweeter. So, to sum things up, Sparky Grinstead’s Le Bonx is a funny (un-funny) raucous romp of total unrecognized proto-everything underground weird 80’s drug-punk. Listen to this album for its proto-punk beauty.

- Mr. Cereal Head, Hollow Earth Radio, www.hallowearthradio.org

FSGBOC (LP 1983, CD 2005)

A collection of quirkily rueful breakup songs, Sparky Grinstead’s FSGBOC (named after his favorite Elvis album – you figure it out) is his most accessible album to date. The no-frills production (by Norman Famous) reveals an artist coming into his own as a singer, writer and guitarist. Although recorded, like 1979’s Won Out , over a period of years, FSGBOC maintains a stylistic and emotion coherency that its predecessor, for all its other charms, lacked.

- Singer/Songwriter

An enjoyable collection of straightforward, simply arranged love songs. Highlights include the rollicking, Sun Studio styled opening cut, “Rockin and Rollin’ in Heaven”, the jaunty, jazzy “Love Steps Out’ and Sparky’s unusual interpretation of Neil Young’s “Don’t Cry No Tears”

- Dirty Linen

To these ears, this record sound like a bunch of demos. I’d love to hear these songs a little more fleshed out. Sparky has a nice voice and a lot of the songs are well-written, but the skeletal arrangements are sometimes a little off-putting

- East Bay Express

Oakland’s Sparky Grinstead has made a career out of not having a career. He never performs live, does very little to promote himself and his recordings (on his private label, Sparlene) are almost impossible to find. FSGBOC is his second proper album, after 1979’s odd but interesting Won Out. In between he’s released a very odd single (“Wa”) and an impossible-listen-to cassette collection called Le Bonx (punk jazz, anyone?). FSGBOC (the odd title is apparently an acronym of a takeoff on the title of Sparky’s favorite Elvis Presley album –got that?) finds him in acoustic singer/songwriter mode. As with his previous album, the production is sparse and the songs are more pop than folk. This time around the lyrics are better and the playing (mostly by Sparky) is more assured. Definitely worth seeking out

- Oakland Tribune

Musically uncluttered and emotionally direct, Sparky’s second album is a concept piece of sorts, tracing the trajectory of a disintegrating relationship in his inimitable lyrical fashion

- Music Scene

WINTER COMES AND GOES (CD 2009)

On Winter Comes and Goes, which is being promoted as Sparky Grinstead’s first collection of new music in more than a quarter of a century (26 years, to be exact), there’s little that could be described as pop, as much as he might want it to be. More akin to easy listening, with some head-scratchingly odd quirks (i.e. the bass-thumping “Breathe”, the album has heart but is otherwise lacking. It’s heartfelt D.I.Y. you might hear on open mic night

- Plug In Music

Recorded in producer Eric Kampman's living room, this is a decidedly do-it-yourself release. Grinstead, aka Norman Famous, began home recording back in the late 1970s, issued a trio of full-lengths, then stopped - making Winter Comes and Goes his first in 26 years. As a collection of modest, introspective folk-pop tunes, it works just fine.

- East Bay Express

Sparky Grinstead and Eric Kampman are certainly a musical odd couple. Both are established indie solo artists, with Kampman favoring meticulously arranged prog-rock while Grinstead is all over the place with pop, rock and even “punk jazz”. They somehow wound up playing in a band together and collaborating on this recording. Winter Comes and Goes is a collection of Sparky’s songs, produced and arranged by Eric and performed by both, with Kampman’s keyboards dominating the proceedings. The good: both artists can sing, and their voices are put to good use. Eric’s clear-as-a-bell tenor is best heard on the opener “Winter Comes and Goes I” and Sparky’s slightly hoarse but expressive alto sounds great on the thumping “Breathe”. When they combine their voices, like on the spooky ballad “Death of an Angel”, the result is almost mesmerizing. Also, the songs are well-written pop, most dealing with the end of a relationship. They describe the music as “pure pop for the romantically unhinged” and that’s just about right. Listen closely to the lyrics of “What An Actor” and you’ll know what I mean. The bad: A few of the songs feature synthesized percussion. A weird choice, considering that Sparky is a drummer. Also, this album swings so far into the middle of the road that it’s in danger of being hit by oncoming traffic. Kampman’s arrangements, like on the tinkley “Love Steps Out” sometimes sound dangerously close to easy listening. The ugly: Nothing really ugly here. With Kampman keeping the prog flourishes to a minimum and Sparky’s weirdness kept in check, we’re left with a pretty darn good little pop album.

- indiepoprock

Mellow music hides some pretty deep sentiments on this album. It sounds like music from AOR radio circa 1977, fitting nicely with FLEETWOOD MAC, the DOOBIE BROTHERS’, and JAMES TAYLOR hits from that period, but with much more personal lyrics. Smooth without being slick, with melodies that will grow on you if you give them a chance.

- Pirate Cat Radio

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