Magic Christian
Horseshoe Tavern
Toronto, Canada
Jan. 19, 2009
By Bryen Dunn
(SugarBuzz Toronto)
pixs by bryen dunn, margaret catto & scott reid
Magic Christian - A Band of Wackos
Magic Christian played the legendary Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto on Jauary 19 hoping to re-introduce psychedelic rock and roll to the masses. These guys just might have the experience to do it as well, with Cyril Jordan of the Flamin Groovies on guitar, Clem Burke of Blondie on drums, Eddie Munoz of the Plimsouls on Bass, and Paul Kopf of the Heebeee Jeebeez on vocals. Jordan carries forward his iconic style of writing and playing to create a unique sound not readily found in today’s music scene.
I got there around 11, missing the opening bands, Crummy Stuff and The Bon (former Upper Leathers dudes), which I overheard were both amazing local bands. The place seemed sparse at first, until I noticed everyone jammed around the bar, typical of the seasoned crowd attracted to the band. Once the band hit the stage shortly after, the front of the stage was jammed and the band were immediately into it. They ran through a short set of nine songs from their forthcoming first release, Evolver, including the lead single Tomorrow Never Comes. These dudes had flashback written all over them, from the oversized glasses, skinny pants, Mod t-shirts and fish-bowl haircuts. Two quick encores and they were off.
In 1991 Cyril Jordan disbanded the legendary San Francisco quintet the Flamin' Groovies after 24 years, 15 albums, and hundreds of gigs. He spent the next decade exploring his other artistic side as a painter, until he met Paul Kopf a few years back. Kopf was more active on the promotional side of things, creating and producing the successful “Bay Pop” series of music festivals. One night over several drinks, as so often happens, a band was formed with fellow musicians Prairie Prince from The Tubes on Drums, and Alec Palao from the Sneetches and Chocolate Watch Band on Bass. Prince and Palao eventually had to leave due to scheduling conflicts with other musical projects they were involved with. Enter guitarist Eddie Muñoz and Clem Burke to form the line up currently on tour.
The band name comes from the Terry Southern book, which was later made into a motion picture in the late
1960’s starring Peter Sellers, Ringo Starr, Rachel Welch, and the Monty Python crew. The Magic Christian was a huge cruise ship with a bunch of wacky characters on it, fittingly appropriate for this onstage incarnation. Self noted as the Psychedelic Rock and Roll Machine for the new century, this could be taken as an oxymoron from a band that looks backwards as much as they move forward. Kopf says, “People seem to want to reach out for what was cool about the 60's and adapt it to today's time in history.” Although the group is stacked with talent, they prefer to stay away from the “super group” term, preferring to be looked upon as a bunch of dudes just keeping rock and roll alive.
Having played a few dates along the west coast of the United States, including a stop at SXSW was a good primer for this current eastern tour that includes a few Canadian dates. SXSW really gave the guys that much needed kick in the ass that showed them they still had it, and music fans still wanted it. It also led to a gig at the O2 Wireless Festival in London’s Hyde Par, alongside the Counting Crows, Ben Harper and the Goo Goo Dolls. They also plan to do a follow up gig at this year’s SXSW, and potential European dates are also in the works.
As for who is digging their sounds, Kopf says the audience is typically made up of all ages from 16-70. “We got a fan club in the UK run by a bunch of 16 year olds who just love us”, he laughs. So why continue to lead the rock and roll lifestyle? “To keep the music alive, to educate, and playing rock and roll is the thing we do best”, he admits. “We're poisoned! We can't help ourselves. The horizon looks very bright as I think people want to rock again. It goes in cycles and now it's time to have fun again. It's escapism at its finest. Rock N Roll can cure your
ills, man”, he concludes.
True enough, 2009 will not only be known as the year of change, but also the year of escapism, and there is no better means to do this and through music, The band currently has one full length release, Evolver, which is available in demo form at their shows. It has a planned March UK release date on the Dirty Water label, followed by the North American release in April on either Get Hip or Burnside. Although their sound is a throwback, it also does come across as refreshing. Catch them next time they hit your town.