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Reviews of "The Very Thing That You Treasure"


  • "Beautifully crafted, laid-back pop songs as sunny as a fresh summer's day, and as melancholy as mid-fall, Spike Priggen's The Very Thing That You Treasure is a delicate, yet sophisticated acoustic pop record."

    Alex Steininger

    In Music We Trust


  • "The Very Thing That You Treasure, Priggen will tell you, has been a lifetime in the making. Quite frankly it’s been worth the wait."

    Kurt Hernon

    Bangsheet


  • If there is any justice in this teen-popping world, The Very Thing That You Treasure won't get lost on the streets. It's a sweet little treasure that deserves a home.

    Carrie Havranek

    SonicNet


  • "The Very Thing that You Treasure is, quite simply, an amazing album. From the first track, a gorgeously reverby, jangly pop ballad called "Every Broken Heart," you know you're into something good. Priggen's voice is kind of nasal and a little bit awkward, but there is a gentleness to it that is immediately charming."

    Scout

    Delusions Of Adequacy


  • "Next time I'm getting over a terrorizing, head-over-heels heartbreak, The Very Thing That You Treasure will be in the driver's seat, helping me cry myself into the nearest telephone pole. Until then, this unbelievably depressing CD will be sitting on my shelf, safe from unsuspecting ears that can't deal with its gut-wrenching power. Priggen definitely has issues with chicks, as several tunes (including "Every Broken Heart" and "She Used To Be My Baby") highlight a borderline obsessive-compulsive singer-songwriter bloodletting his emotions onto a recorded medium. Priggen has a way with words, and his exceptional lyrics weave intricate tales of desperation and loss that somehow, by the disc's end, inspire a sense of hope and yearning. Nonetheless, this potent collection of tear jerking, honky-tonk pop tunes is a marvelous expression of calculated emotional outbursts. Medical authorities should be contacted immediately, as this CD should only be allowed into your CD player with a prescription from your local psychiatrist."

    Andrew Magilow

    Splendid E-zine


  • “To be blunt about it, this is a brilliant LP, and as debuts go ranks right up there with those of Marshall Crenshaw, Big Star and The Pretenders. It’s full of indelible hooks and I just want to keep playing it again and again and again…One of the year’s best”

    Toast Magazine


  • “Turns simple phrases around gorgeous melodies and into moving pop poetry”

    Mean Magazine


  • “Gloriously melancholy. Worth every minute of the ride.”

    Power Of Pop


  • “The very definition of bittersweet”

    Joey Sweeney

    Time Out New York


  • "His lyrics seethe with John Lennon's anger (and wit), but most often, and most brilliantly, they hinge on the sort of forlorn melancholy that Chris Bell made so affecting."

    Red Tunic Troll

    Amazon Customer Review


  • "In the finicky music world, Spike Priggen may well be destined to skirt around the perimeters of success for a few more years to come, but his satisfying songs are already worthy of a wider audience. Priggen's debut, The Very Thing That You Treasure, finds the accomplished musician joining the alt.country fray as a less cocky version of Ryan Adams. Two of the better offerings, Every Broken Heart and Outtasight take to the sort of countrified twang that R.E.M. tried for on 1991's Out Of Time. .. It is welcome news that Priggen has already set to work on a follow up."

    Rip It Up Magazine


  • "Priggen's songs are so melodic and throw up so many surprises both lyrically and sonically that it is hard not to love everything on this record.All of the tracks have been a favourite at different times so it is hard to pick out a standout song. It changes from the opening 'Every Broken Heart' to everything in-between that and the last song, 'So Good To See You', a strange psychedelic ballad full of weird effects and mellotron.

    Pennyblack Music Website


  • "In truth it's hard to single out tunes for praise when all 12 tracks are consistently solid. This is a 'song' record, an album that's not about glossy production or sampled drum beats. Spike Priggen writes damn good songs, and that's what you'll find on The Very Thing That You Treasure."

    Barfly.com


  • "Not the most rock 'n' roll of names, and one most likely that most of you have never encountered before, but then 'The Very Thing That You Treasure' isn't the most rock 'n' roll of records. In fact, the debut from New York based multi-instrumentalist Priggen is a wonderfully vibrant melting pot of eclectic pop rock styles that will have power pop fans drooling.

    Classic Rock (UK)


  • "Starting with a chorus of “Every broken heart is just like the first one”, Priggen shows his perfect hand early. Matching Teenage Fanclub with Matthew Sweet, he can’t help but sound like Big Star – which is even better! Irresistibly ragged production and endlessly bittersweet guitar solos will have you singing every line, and feeling like you wrote them all yourself. Proof beyond question that the one thing you can never grow out of is a teenage crush."

    TNT Magazine (UK)


  • "It's an album of confidant versatility, and the two years it took to record are evident in the sound of the material, the care that has been given. So often these days music can seem meaningless, vocals tossed away with a cheap rhyme, but not here."

    Logged Off Website

"There's No Sound In Flutes" Instrumental Version- Free Download

Priggen_cd_loresHere's my most recent CD sans vocals in high bitrate (320kbps) mp3 format. I would encourage anyone who uses instrumental music in their work (film and video editors and makers, music supervisors, broadcasters, podcasters, etc) to check it out. It's basically various styles of pop-rock with a lot of baroque orchestral touches. Feel free to use as temp music in your next big blockbuster and then get so attached to it you have to pay me big bucks to license it. Or you could have a Spike Priggen karaoke party. Make a guitar or saxophone instrumental out of 'em)  Or whatever.

1. I Know Everything (Instrumental).mp3
2. Hideaway (Instrumental).mp3
3. Little Star (Instrumental).mp3
4. Everyone Loves Me But You (Instrumental).mp3
5. Disappointing Everyone (Instrumental).mp3
6. Something (Instrumental).mp3
7. The Only Girl (In The World) (Instrumental).mp3
8. 'Til It All Falls Apart (Instrumental).mp3
9. I'm So Glad (You Broke My Heart) (Instrumental).mp3
10. R.I.P. Green Eyes (Instrumental).mp3
11. What You Want (Instrumental).mp3

Posted by Spike on May 11, 2009 at 02:25 PM in Sounds, There's No Sound In Flutes! |

"There's No Sound In Flutes" All Music Guide Review by Bruce Eder

H54564jdmsg Spike Priggen is like a musician unstuck in time -- his music manages to sound a bit (and sometimes even more than a bit) like Jeff Lynne ("I Know Everything"), Jeff Lynne producing Badfinger ("Hideaway"), Big Star ("Little Star"), and any number of past musical icons, without ever actually mimmicking any of them. At the same time, his voice isn't great, but it is honest and expressive, sometimes beguilingly so. And when that attribute is coupled with his solid rock production, the effect is to turn romantic laments like "Everyone Loves Me But You" and "Disappointing Everyone" -- which, so logic tells us, ought to be lugubrious singer-songwriter indulgences, and (theoretically) the slowest part of this album -- into beautifully crafted pop-rock, gorgeous enough on every level to hold this listener's attention through multiple listens (something he almost never has time to do). And when he switches over to acoustic guitar, on "The Only Girl In The World", the results are mesmerizing -- he's fully in his element in that low-wattage setting, on one of the prettier country-rock style love songs that this reviewer has heard since Gene Clark left this planet. And "I'm So Glad You Broke My Heart" is a sardonically clever take on romantic separation, ornamented by some of the densest mix of high-wattage guitar and orchestral accompaniment this side of 70's-era Poco. By the end of the disc, it's still a little hard to pin down precisely what Priggen's "real" sound is, but with songs as good as this, does it really matter? Link.

Posted by Spike on Nov 09, 2008 at 11:25 AM in Biography, Press, Reviews, There's No Sound In Flutes! |

Photos: The Excerpts (1980)

Ex2The Excerpts, Circa 1980, New Haven, CT. Jon Brion, Spike Priggen and Dean Falcone. Photos by Claude Bell. Thanks Claude!Truck1

Regisalley.1 Truck2 

Posted by Spike on Nov 03, 2008 at 12:03 PM in Pictures, Scrapbook, The Excerpts |

"The Next Big Thing" Blog about Spike Priggen

This is from Lindsay Hutton's Blog The Next Big Thing.

"Spike Priggen is a guy that I’ve been meaning to hep you folks to for many weeks now. Ever since Innes Reekie sent me “There’s No Sound In Flutes" actually. With it’s Peter Bagge cover you just know that it’s gonna hit the spot. So since then I find out that Spike stayed in Edinburgh for a while in, I guess, the mid-90’s? Anyway, this fact never cut across my radar at all which is a damn shame because I feel like I really missed something."

"Since his return to the US, he’s cut three albums. “Flutes” (which actually had a UK release on Re-Action Recordings – there’s a copy in Avalanche, Glasgow for anybody in the locale) and also “The Very Thing That You Treasure” and “Stars After Stars After Stars”. All available from him, in terms of shimmering Big Star/Db’s type pop it doesn’t get more dazzling than this."

"He has an “all-star” cast abetting him too which includes Jon Graboff and Mark Spencer, two of the finest musicians currently languishing in NYC or anywhere. Bun E. Carlos and Ivan Julian join in the fun too. I’m not sure what’s on his myspace page but it’s sure to put a smile on your mug."

“Stars” is comprised of cover versions and I’ve no idea what some of the originals sound like. I can’t conceive that they’re anything like this but anyway. Those that are familiar – Ward Dotson’s “Be Married Song”, Chilton’s “Nightime” and Alice’s “I’m Eighteen” aren’t just a casual run through ala tribute band. The Ramones “Questioningly” is reborn as a country standard once again underlining just how great the songs were. “Big Store” is credited to Stephen Duffy. Is that Tin Tin? I don’t recall his output sounding like this but I’ve been known to wear blinkers at inopertune times. Green Gartside’s “A Slow Soul” too… who’da thunk it?

“The Very Thing” kicks off with “Every Broken Heart” which reminds me of the heady heights of TFC’s finest work. Graboff’s 12 string on this is fecking heartstopping. It ebbs and flows in all the right places and then there’s the twang, woof! The Dwight Twilley/Phil Seymour feel is uncanny too and it’s never pastiche or knock-off. This stuff is up there with your favourite albums. No question about it.

“Flutes” is the latest release and takes its name from the infamous Buddy Rich incident. It continues the succession of sublime timeless pop that will never go out of fashion. It may not garner acres of press but when you hear something this accomplished then it makes a difference. The strings on “Hideaway” swathe Spencer’s guitar solo in a setting that just elevates the whole production, like Burt Bacharach conducting Uncle Tupelo. Elements of this remind me of the great David Scott Esq. “Everyone Loves Me But You” should be a 7” single – no question. The Skeletons do The Archies style of “Something” is another surefire hit in an alternative universe where manufactured music is outlawed. A place we’d all rather be where all the bars are like the Lakeside Lounge.

So yeah, I missed the boat on this guy alright but you can’t win ‘em all. Plus I was able to play catch up in the end so all’s well that ends as such. If you get the cd’s then there are “hidden” tracks on there too, I don't imagine those would be involved in any download situation.

All three are fine, fine records. Utterly recommended and certain to become sought after. Not content with making downright groovy music, Spike is also the guy behind this.

Posted by Spike on Jul 25, 2008 at 04:29 PM in Press, Reviews, Stars After Stars After Stars, The Very Thing That You Treasure, There's No Sound In Flutes! |

Buy Spike Priggen MP3s With Snocap

Posted by Spike on May 16, 2007 at 01:34 PM in Sounds, Stars After Stars After Stars, Store, The Very Thing That You Treasure, There's No Sound In Flutes! |

Americana UK Review of "There's No Sound In Flutes"

Auk1105topSpike Priggen “There’s No Sound in Flutes” (Re-action Recordings 2006)

Three times is definitely a charm

Jarvis Cocker recently asked what the point of writing about music is; well one of them is to pass on the virus when a record like this infects you, to get the word out for artists who deserve to have a massive audience. Spike deserves to be appreciated; he makes the kind of joyous intelligent music that should be a common denominator amongst music lovers of every stripe, the kind of thing that if someone doesn’t like then you think that they can’t like music. I feel bad for not owning his previous two efforts.

Each song is a mini-symphony to love crammed full of detail; like Matthew Sweet he is able to marry the discordant and the melodious into a satisfying whole. ‘Hideaway’ has corkscrewing lead guitar sparking above a bank of strings and sounds brilliant. After the drums usher in ‘I Know Everything’ and the melody takes over, you are in pop heaven; the hits keep on coming like a fantasy jukebox - ‘Everyone Loves Me but You’ draws on 50 years of pop history to deliver a succinct treatise on the put-down song.

Just to prove he doesn’t need to travel at warp speed to be effective, throw in a ballad ‘Disappointing Everyone’ with gentle strings, cool guitar and you’re devastated - or he picks up the acoustic for ‘The Only Girl (in the World),’ adds some fiddle and slide guitar and gives it a country feel. Crank up the balladry a notch, add in some flowing strings and you have ‘I’m So Glad You Broke My Heart,’ where big is definitely beautiful. Don’t forget the jangle pop though - ‘RIP Green Eyes’ finds some ground between REM, the Feelies and Kevin Tihista and fills it with a garden of power pop where sunshine vocals, chiming blooms of guitar and breezes of orchestration provide the perfect setting for the song. I hope that my words will make a few of you investigate further. Link.

Posted by Spike on Oct 31, 2006 at 12:11 PM in Press, Reviews, There's No Sound In Flutes! |

Spike Priggen & Band at the Lakeside Lounge NYC Saturday

Spike2Please come down to the Lakeside Lounge and see me and this weeks band: Jay Sherman- Godfrey & Chris Erikson on Guitars, Nancy Polstein on Drums, Greg Beshers on Bass, and me, Spike Priggen on riddim guitar and vocals. Hope to see you there.

LAKESIDE LOUNGE
Sat Sep 30 2006
11:00 Sharp
162 Avenue B (between 10th & 11th Streets)
New York, New York
212.529.8463

Photo by Ian Churchill

Posted by Spike on Sep 28, 2006 at 11:43 AM in Gigs, There's No Sound In Flutes! |

TransformOnline Review of "There's No Sound In Flutes"

Transform Spike Priggen "There's No Sound in Flutes!"
By Tim Den

Uplifting sad songs that both rock and comfort.

"Even though there are far too few of us left, fans of standard-yet-smart guitar pop a la Jason Falkner, Jon Brion, The Kinks, etc. will be glad to know that guys such as Spike Priggen are still out there penning uplifting sad songs that both rock and comfort. Think of that crunchy Fender Twin sound with just the right touch of distortion, combined with eloquent vocals that speak in delicious, melodic lines, and throw in nooks-and-cranny lead breaks / drum fills / backup harmonies… voila! Catchy songs that are packed with sophisticated hooks, reeking of timeless relevance. Whatever happened to songs like these? Look around you: aside from Ben Folds and The Cardigans (who can’t even get a U.S. deal these days), are there any acts left who haven’t abandoned craft for gimmickry? Spike Priggen doesn’t use dance beats, wear mascara, rip off Joy Division, or rape synthesizers like useless electroclash fuckfaces: he has spent his entire life playing with giants (Jon Brion, DJ Dmitri, members of Laura Cantrell’s band, even Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos), and his material shows. There is a familiarity in his tunes because your subconscious remembers a time when “pop rock” was a compliment and not a dirty, “unhip” phrase, so embrace how absolutely enjoyable and intelligent this album is and drop the façade, will ya?" Link.

Posted by Spike on Sep 11, 2006 at 08:51 PM in Press, Reviews, There's No Sound In Flutes! |

"I Know Everything" by Spike Priggen (Video)

I_know_everything2

UPDATE: They're currently featuring this on iFilm so please go there and check it out.
I asked my friend Carey Burtt if he would be interested in helping me make a video for a song from my new CD. He came up with this idea about setting it to the Jim Jones story and made this video (using footage from the Jim Jones TV Movie "Guyana Tragedy" ) as kind of a live-action storyboard for a proposed music video that we would produce (with me in the Jim Jones role!). I decided that it would cost a fortune to make that video, but that his little storyboard video was pretty cool in and of itself. So here it is.
Watch it on iFilm
Watch It on Google Video
Watch It On YouTube
Spike Priggen "I Know Everything".mov
Spike Priggen "I Know Everything".m4v
Spike Priggen "Hideaway".mp3
Spike Priggen Myspace page
Spike Priggen @ Allmusic Guide
Spike Priggen "The Very Thing That You Treasure" on iTunes
Spike Priggen "Stars After Stars After Stars" on iTunes
Listen and Buy From CD Baby
Buy From Amazon 

Posted by Spike on Sep 11, 2006 at 08:43 PM |

New Haven Register Brief Review & Gig Preview

Register"I'll review it in the Register soon, but I've been on vacation for the last couple weeks and really haven't been able to comment on former New Havenite Spike Priggen's new record, "There's No Sound In Flutes!"

If you pick up today's paper, open up Weekend and look at Making a Mix, you'll find that Spike is this week's subject. In the feature, I briefly mention how good the record is, but let me just say that this disc will more than likely make it on my best-of 2006 list at the end of the year.

It's simply power-pop goodness. The tunes go down easy and leave you feeling plump and happy, with a big belly full of power chords and piano fun.

The point of all this? Well, it'd be a shame not to check out Spike and his band (which will be full of guest stars) play at Cafe Nine Saturday. The gig brings Spike back home to celebrate the record's release, and you'll be able to buy the disc there.

As Nike likes to say, just do it. And then let me know right here what you think.

Deal? OK, deal." By Pat Ferrucci Link

Posted by Spike on Aug 29, 2006 at 08:46 PM in Press, Reviews, There's No Sound In Flutes! |

The Onion A.V. Club Review of There's No Sound In Flutes!

Avclub_logo_1 Veteran alt-rock scenester, bedazzled.tv blogger, and all-around pop-culture junkie Spike Priggen makes music as a way of defining and expressing his eclectic taste, and on There's No Sound In Flutes! (Volaré), he celebrates simple pop songs pumped up with kitchen-sink orchestration. A lot of Priggen's songs sound as programmatic as homages can be, but he transcends his influences occasionally, like on "Little Star," a '70s AM-ballad exercise with a winning heart-on-the- sleeve lyric, and "Everyone Loves Me But You," a nasty bit of twangy power-pop. B-
By Noel Murray

Posted by Spike on Aug 29, 2006 at 04:22 PM in Press, Reviews, There's No Sound In Flutes! |

New Haven Advocate Reviews of "There's No Sound In Flutes!" and "Pop As Can Be..."

Logo_na


Spike Priggen , There’s No Sound in Flutes (Volare).

New Haven native Michael “Spike” Priggen’s guitar-hooked pop songs are so catchy, you’re not sure what the titles are because every single lyric is so quotable. On the opening track, the verse goes “I know everything,” while the chorus wonders “Maybe it’s wrong to be right.” “Little Star” says “You know I’m not that smart/And you know I’m not that strong/And how could I be precious/When you bought me for a song?,” a sentiment continued on “Everyone Loves Me But You,” which begins “You think that you’re so smart…” Spike’s last disc was an all-covers project, so it’s thrilling to hear 11 Priggen originals in a row, his guitar, vocals and keyboards backed by the rocking yet reverent rhythm section of Scott Yoder and Brian Doherty, with guest appearances by Cheap Trick’s Bun E. Carlos and guitar great Mark Spencer. This instant pick-me-up keeps you up by varying the arrangements from alt-rock to alt-country to power pop. The angry-dad cover cartoon by Hate ’s Peter Bagge and cryptic album title cinch its irresistibility.  —Christopher Arnott

TV Neats and the Excerpts , Pop As Can Be and Dance City All the Way (Wizzard in Vinyl).

Neat! Even more Spike Priggen! This Asian import collects 15 songs by his late-‘70s outfit TV Neats, plus one by the Excerpts (co-starring Hamden-raised popmaster Jon Brion). A bonus disc captures TV Neats live at New Haven’s ECA Arts Hall in early 1981. These peppy, propulsive pop tracks (with titles like “Dear Abby” and “I Said Oh No”) are an important document of the shaping of the local scene, as well as a snapshot of pure-pop Priggen before he deepened his sound via Hello Strangers.  —C.A. Link

Posted by Spike on Aug 29, 2006 at 03:50 PM in Press, Reviews, There's No Sound In Flutes!, TV Neats |

Third Volume Of Power-Pop Anguish Stretches A Bit Musically

Priggen_cd_lores3Priggen's third solo LP continues his catalog of anguished, melancholy power-pop gems. He sings with a voice that's got the sweet sadness of Matthew Sweet, chiming guitars ala Big Star, and wry twists of Cheap Trick, The Cars and others. Trick's Bun E. Carlos even pounds the skins on two of the album's tracks. Those who enjoy the Sweet's "Girlfriend" will find much to enjoy in Priggen's catalog. The addition of strings on a few tracks is a nice experiment - hanging the productions halfway between the AM pop sides of the early-70s and the guitar-rock of mid-90s college radio. The result supplements the feeling of desperation on songs like "I'm So Glad You Broke My Heart," and provides accompaniment to the giant chiming guitars of the Everly-esque "Disappointing Everyone." Priggen is expert at drawing insecure protagonists who fall apart in the face of their objects of disaffection, and sawing cellos (whether real or synthesized) add an extra dollop of gravity. Even more interesting are the atmospheric experiments with optigan and mellotron that add a subtly shifting and pulsating backing to tunes like "Til It All Falls Apart." Similarly, the swirling flute sounds and stabs of processed vocals mixed into the electric 12-string guitar pop of "R.I.P. Green Eyes" add a trippy edge in the manner of the Beatles psychedelic-era material. Priggen turns Brian Wilson with "Little Star," combining mellotron, a plucky Carole Kaye styled bass line, and dramatic drum fills. In the end though, the album's killer track is one of its most straightforward power-pop odes, "The Only Girl (in the World)." This magnificent country-pop profile of the stuck-up girl that you hate, envy and desire is perfectly accompanied by Jon Graboff's twangy guitar playing and airy puffs of Hammond B3. As per Priggen's usual methods, the closing track harbors a few bonuses, including an oft bootlegged tape of Buddy Rich cussing out his band, and two extra songs that didn't quite "fit" on the album. Priggen's put together yet another fine volume of pop song that shouldn't fly below your personal radar! [©2006 redtunictroll at hotmail dot com] Posted at Amazon.com and CD Baby.

Posted by Spike on Aug 24, 2006 at 02:34 PM in Press, Reviews, There's No Sound In Flutes! |

New Haven Record Release At Cafe Nine

Priggen_cd_lores_2I'll be playing the New Haven (my hometown) version of my Record Release Party for "There's No Sound In Flutes" this Saturday August 26th (The NY one is on September 8 @ The Lakeside Lounge) at the very pleasant Cafe Nine. My last gig there (just about a year ago) was one of my funnest in years. I'm expecting some special musical guests and some faces I haven't seen in about 25 years. Should be interesting. Hope to see you there.

Posted by Spike on Aug 24, 2006 at 01:11 PM in Gigs, Shows, There's No Sound In Flutes! |

"There's No Sound In Flutes!" On Sale Now!

Priggen_cd_lores_1On his third solo album There's No Sound In Flutes, New York-based singer/songwriter/guitarist/blogger/pop-culture archivist Spike Priggen delivers yet another winsome, bracing blast of punchy, sublimely catchy guitar-driven pop-rock songcraft, filtered through the singular sensibility of a much-traveled musical adventurer who's a born romantic, a voracious pop-culture fiend and, above all, a lifelong believer in rock 'n' roll's ability to transcend, transform and inspire.

From the jangly romanticism of "I Know Everything," to the scathing wit of "Everyone Loves Me But You," to the heart-on-sleeve sentiment of "Little Star," to the elegant, evocative twang of "The Only Girl (in the World)," the self-penned, self-produced There's No Sound In Flutes (on the artist's own Volare Label) maintains the same bountiful levels of craft, energy and heart that distinguished Priggen's prior solo releases, the all-original The Very Thing That You Treasure and the quirky covers collection Stars After Stars After Stars.

Priggen's new songs also feature distinctive arrangements that make use of all manner of exotic sounds and textures.  "I liked the way all the orchestral stuff on Stars After Stars After Stars turned out," the artist explains.  "So almost every song on this one has some kind of orchestral element, from simple chamberlain and mellotron parts to complex 18-piece arrangements.  I've always loved that sound, and once I realized that we could do these amazing arrangements, I wanted to have that on every song. Once or twice I thought we might have gone overboard on some of the songs, but they all eventually won me over."

In addition to showcasing Priggen's performing and songwriting gifts, There's No Sound In Flutes also draws upon the talents of many of the stellar players with whom Priggen has crossed paths over the years.  The album was engineered by longtime collaborator Adam Lasus, whose recent recording credits include work with the Rogers Sisters and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.  Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, a longtime Priggen pal, is featured on two songs, while other tracks feature such stalwart New York players as guitarists Mark Spencer (Laura Cantrell/Jay Farrar) and Jon Graboff (Ryan Adams/Amy Rigby), bassists Danny Weinkauf (They Might Be Giants/Fountains of Wayne) and Scott Yoder (Kevin Salem/Amy Rigby), keyboardists Rob Arthur (Joan Osborne/Peter Frampton), drummer Brian Doherty (They Might Be Giants/XTC) and keyboardist/arranger CP Roth (Blessid Union of Souls/Ozzy Osbourne), who masterminded the album's inventive faux-orchestral arrangements.

Meanwhile, renowned underground illustrator Peter Bagge provided the album's inspired cover art, which, like the disc's title, is based on legendary big-band drummer Buddy Rich's fabled tape-recorded rants.
Spike Priggen "Hideaway".mp3
SpikePriggen.com
Spike Priggen Myspace page
Spike Priggen @ Allmusic Guide
Spike Priggen "The Very Thing That You Treasure" on iTunes
Spike Priggen "Stars After Stars After Stars" on iTunes
Buy From CD Baby
Buy From Amazon 

Buy Spike Priggen "There's No Sound In Flutes" w/ US  Shipping $12

Buy Spike Priggen "There's No Sound In Flutes" w/ Outside the US Shipping  $15

Posted by Spike on Aug 21, 2006 at 12:39 PM in Store, There's No Sound In Flutes! |

Spike Priggen "Hideaway" mp3

Priggen_cd_loresHere's a free pre-release mp3 of the song "Hideaway" from my upcoming CD "There's No Sound In Flutes" (with a cover illustration by Peter Bagge) which will officially hit "the streets" on August 28th. Please feel free to pass it around or re-post it on your blog or whatever. Press inquiries should be directed to Proxy Media. 
Spike Priggen "Hideaway".mp3
Spike Priggen-Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
Mark Spencer-Lead Guitar
Brian Doherty -Drums
Rob Arthur-Hammond B3 Organ, Fender Rhodes Piano
Eddy Zweiback-Tambourine
CP Roth-String Arrangement
Spike Priggen Myspace page
Spike Priggen @ Allmusic Guide
Spike Priggen "The Very Thing That You Treasure" on iTunes
Spike Priggen "Stars After Stars After Stars" on iTunes

Posted by Spike on Aug 18, 2006 at 09:43 PM in Sounds, There's No Sound In Flutes! |

TV Neats & The Excerpts "Pop As Can Be & Dance City All The Way"

Popascanbecd500UPDATE: I'm now sold out of my copies of the original issue of this (although many sellers on Amazon are still selling it.) I'm looking into getting a new edition pressed, but it will be a single disc, without the bonus live gig. Click here to buy on Amazon.

2 CD's of previously unreleased music by the premier Connecticut Power-Pop band of 1981- TV Neats (plus 1 song by The Excerpts featuring Jon Brion). On Japan's Wizzard In Vinyl Label.

Disc 1 contains 15 Power-Pop gems. 14 by TV Neats + "Will I Ever See You Again" by The Excerpts (written and sung by Michael "Spike' Priggen and Jon Brion). All are remastered from cassette as all master tapes are lost. TV Neats-Pushing Buttons.mp3 

Disc 2 is TV Neats Live At The Educational Center For The Arts in New Haven, Connecticut, February 20th, 1981.  TV Neats-"Dear Abby" (Live).mp3

Posted by Spike on Aug 05, 2006 at 11:27 AM in Store, TV Neats |

TV Neats Original PR Letter

Tv_neats_letterAttention:

In the deserted warehouse section of Lower New Haven there is a sparking-bright new quintet destined to dominate the international airwaves. Rehearsing diligently, TV Neats was first plotted then fabricated by Ricky Rondo, formerly the leader of Hot Bodies. Ricky spent the fall of 1980 producing some local demos, searching for the perfect combination of looks, vocals, and creativity. He approached guitarist and vocalist of the Ex-Cerpts, Michael Priggen and lead singer/keyboard player of The Kids, Ms. Robyn Ouiba to form TV Neats. Bassist Chipper Anderson, a former local musician was called from Hollywood, as he fit right into TV Neats musical attitude.

The band then immediately picked four songs and recorded them in a few short weeks. The entire group has developed in an incredibly rapid fashion, all members agreeing in attitude and direction, not unlike many other hit machines. If local response is any clue (Was I) Dreamin' Again has the possibility of being a colossal midsummer smash for 1981. "Give Me More" shows a moody and structured style while "Shadows" and "Runnin' Round" are as pop as can be and dance city all the way. The gems just keep coming.  TV Neats entire set is worthy of any major labels interest: All differ in style but maintain a consistency in sound while being thoroughly recognizable after just one taste.

TV Neats has the hits. TV Neats has the image. TV Neats would like to be on your record label so they can infect the ears of the young record buying public with their contagious style of pop with a twist.  D. Larson

Read the "Pop As Can Be & Dance City All The Way" Liner Notes
Buy TV Neats & The Excerpts "Pop As Can Be & Dance City All The Way"

Posted by Spike on Aug 05, 2006 at 11:26 AM in Scrapbook, TV Neats |

"Pop As Can Be & Dance City All The Way" Liner Notes

Tv_neats_spike_kneelingTV Neats was the 4th "punk rock" and/or "new wave" band that I was in, in New Haven, Connecticut between 1978 and 1981, after The Special Guests (featuring early New Haven scene producer and former member of "The Snotz" Thom Gartland), The Obvious (with Mark Mulcahy and Ray Neal, both later of Miracle Legion), and The Excerpts (Power-Pop hero Jon Brion's 1st band-represented on this compilation by the song "Will I Ever See You Again").

Ricky Rondo (sometimes "Rondeaux" - real name Ric Orlando) led a power trio called Hot Bodies, which was one of my favorite combos on the local scene (I covered  "In The Inside", written by their drummer Kerry Miller, on my 2005 LP "Stars After Stars After Stars"). There was some talk of me joining Hot Bodies as the 2nd guitarist/singer, but instead Rick broke up the band and started the "local supergroup" TV Neats.

Recording had begun on the first TV Neats demo (sometime in 1980) before I was officially asked to join the band. Ric and keyboardist/singer Robyn Ouiba (real name Robyn Cornell) formerly of "The Kids", had gone into Joe Mendyk's West Haven studio with local "rhythm section for hire", Rich D'Albis (Drums) and Doug "Derek"  Riccio (Bass) -both then of "Doug Derek & The Hoax". They recorded four songs: Ric's "Runnin' Round", "Shadows" and "Don't You Take It Away" and Robyn's "Was I Dreaming Again".  I was soon asked to join the band and I added my guitar and vocals to all 4 songs. The tape garnered a bunch of airplay on the local college radio stations.

The band was then filled out by Robyn's former "The Kids" bandmate, bassist Greg "Chipper" Anderson (who had also been in the Connecticut band "Epitome") who was enticed to move back from Hollywood on the strength of the first TV Neats demo. Jay Potts (real name Potocsky- his brothers are Joel Potts of "Miracle Legion" and Moe Potts of "The Laughing Dogs") was brought in to play the drums.

We played around the local clubs like "The Joint", "The Whalley Cinema" & "The Arcadia Ballroom" with other area bands such as "The Poodle Boys", "Suburbanites",  "Disturbance", and the aforementioned "Doug Derek & The Hoax" as well as opening for, at New Haven's premier venue "Toad's Place",  national and international acts such as "Joan Jett & The Blackhearts" and "The Stranglers" (who made Chip change out of his leather trousers as it was in their contract that no support bands could wear leather on stage!). One of our more unusual regular gigs was opening on weekends for local singer Michael Bolotin (long before he changed his name to Michael Bolton and became so successful) in a loft above a steak restaurant, a job we got because our drummer Jay and his brother Moe (Mark) were also the dual drummers in Bolotin's band.

On April 1-3, 1981 we returned to Joe Mendyk's studio and recorded 9 more songs. An alternate version of the 1st demo's "Don't You Take It Away", "Who's Courtin' Who", Robyn's "I Said On No", my song "Pushing Buttons", "Band Tonite", the obligatory "white reggae" jam "Sound Off", "I'm OK" (written by Ric but sung by me), "Do You Remember Me" and "Dear Abby".

By the end of July 1981, Chipper had left the line-up to start a band with New Haven guitar prodigy Bobbie Rose (The Snotz). He was replaced by former "Hot Bodies" member Scott Harris (that's him in the pictures of TV Neats live on the New Haven Green). The band broke up not too long after that. Ric and Jay moved to Boston and started the funk band "Skin". Robyn stopped playing music and for a while managed the band "October Days". I played bass in "Stray Divides" with Mark Mulcahy and Ray Neal and future "Dumptruck" co-founder (and former "Suburbanite") Kirk Swan, until I finished high school & moved to New York City in the fall of 1982 to attend the School of Visual Arts.

In 2006, Ric Orlando is a successful chef and restauranteur near Woodstock, NY. Robyn Cornell lives with her husband and son in her home town of Monroe, Connecticut. Greg "Chipper' Anderson is a professional fox hunter in North Carolina and still plays in bands. Michael "Spike" Priggen is a songwriter and recording artist in New York City and publishes the blog Bedazzled.tv.

Read TV Neats Original PR Letter
Buy TV Neats & The Excerpts "Pop As Can Be & Dance City All The Way"

Posted by Spike on Aug 05, 2006 at 11:25 AM in Scrapbook, TV Neats |

"Everyone Loves Me But You"

Priggen_cd_less_hires_1 I changed up the songs on my myspace page
where I'm streaming numbers from my upcoming cd "There's No Sound In Flutes!". Go there to hear "What You Want", "I'm So Glad You Broke My Heart", "Little Star" and "Everyone Loves Me But You" (Bun E Carlos plays drums on this one).
SpikePriggen.com
Spike Priggen Myspace page
Spike Priggen @ Allmusic Guide

Posted by Spike on May 07, 2006 at 11:53 AM in There's No Sound In Flutes!, What's New |

Stars After Stars After Stars

Starsafterstarscover2Stars After Stars After Stars-which borrows its name from the legendary "J and H Productions" underground tape-finds Priggen tackling an assortment of tunes originally recorded by the likes of the Ramones, Big Star, Alice Cooper and the Zombies, as well as such lesser-known but no less notable acts as the Pontiac Brothers, the Jacobites and Hot Bodies, local legends from Priggen's hometown of New Haven, Connecticut. Although written by others, the artist imbues the songs with the same sonic adventurousness and emotional commitment that he applies to his own compositions.

The self-produced album was recorded with an array of vintage gear and a musical cast that includes Cheap Trick drummer Bun E Carlos, a longtime Priggen pal who plays on six of the album's songs and whose last non-Cheap Trick studio credit was with John Lennon. Stars After Stars After Stars also features a virtual Who's Who of the NYC music scene, including guitarists Ivan Julian (Voidoids/Matthew Sweet), Mark Spencer (Blood Oranges/Jay Farrar), Jon Graboff (Beat Rodeo/Laura Cantrell), bassists Danny Weinkauf (They Might Be Giants/Fountains of Wayne) and Scott Yoder (Kevin Salem/Amy Rigby), drummer Brian Doherty (They Might Be Giants/XTC), keyboardist C.P. Roth (Blessid Union of Souls) and mixer/engineer Adam Lasus (Clem Snide/Helium).
FULL TRACK LIST
In The Inside (Kerry Miller)
Be Married Song (Ward Dotson)
How We Were Before (Colin Blunstone)
When You Looked At Me (Jenifer Jackson)
Big Store (Stephen Duffy)
Only Children Sleeping (Nikki Sudden/Dave Kusworth)
Plainsailing (Tracy Thorn)
Questioningly (Douglas Colvin/John Cummings/Jeffrey Hyman)
Nightime (Alex Chilton)
I'm Eighteen (Bruce/Buxton/Cooper/Dunaway/Smith)
A Slow Soul  (Green Gartside)

Buy Stars After Stars After Stars from the iTunes Store
Buy Stars After Stars After Stars on CD
Listen to Stars After Stars After Stars

Posted by Spike on Mar 28, 2006 at 11:59 PM in Stars After Stars After Stars |

Lakeside Lounge Birthday Gig

431898950_lPlease come and help me celebrate my Birthday, Thursday March 23 at the Lakeside Lounge in NYC. I'll be playing with an amazing band:
Chris Erikson and Adam Roth on Guitars, Mark Spencer on Lap Steel, C.P. Roth on Bass, Nancy Polstein on Drums, & Eddy Zweiback on Percussion
Hope to see you there!
Thursday March 23
Party @ 8:00/Performance @ 9:30 Lakeside Lounge 162 Avenue B (between 10th & 11th Streets) New York, New York 212.529.8463
 My Myspace page
Spike Priggen @ Allmusic Guide

Posted by Spike on Mar 15, 2006 at 04:27 PM in Gigs |

There's No Sound In Flutes!

478842505_lSo I spent a good part of last month finishing up the recording of my next LP "There's No Sound In Flutes!" (it'll be a "CD", but they're still "LP's" to me). I mixed it a couple weeks ago with my friend Adam Lasus (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! amongst many, many others) in his new Los Angeles studio (he was in Brooklyn for the better part of the last 10 years.)  It's set for release at the end of August, but till then I'll be streaming a selection of songs from it on my myspace page. It's my usual brand of 60's and 70's retro-pop stylings coupled with some subtle, sub-"Twin Peaks" Angelo Badalamenti-isms, but this time enhanced by the fake orchestral stylings of former Ozzy keyboardist C.P. Roth. If you like a big fake orchestra along with your power-pop, I'm now your guy. Please check it out and befriend me myspace style if you're so inclined. MySpace Link. SpikePriggen.com

Posted by Spike on Mar 10, 2006 at 02:17 PM in Sounds, There's No Sound In Flutes!, What's New |

My Space

MyspaceI finally succumbed to the peer pressure and now have a myspace page. It's currently the only place you can hear the 1st song completed for my next CD (working title 'There's No Sound In Flutes!"). It's a little Nilsson/Bacharach/Carpenters homage/rip-off I wrote called "Little Star", recorded and mixed by Adam Lasus (of "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!" fame). It's the only song I've ever recorded with NO GUITARS. Check it out and add me to your friends list if you wanna.

Posted by Spike on Mar 10, 2006 at 01:38 PM |

Stars After Stars After Stars CD

Starsafterstarscover2$14  INCLUDES SHIPPING WITHIN US

$17 INCLUDES SHIPPING OUTSIDE US

Buy Stars After Stars After Stars from the iTunes Store

Listen To Stars After Stars After Stars
 

Posted by Spike on Dec 26, 2005 at 12:11 PM in Store |

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Reviews Of "Stars After Stars After Stars"


  • "New York-based Spike Priggen of Liquor Giants, Pussywillows, and Dumptruck enthralled fans with his 2001 solo debut's synthesis of Big Star's chime, the dBs' quirkiness, and Dwight Twilley's pure pop power. This follow-up of lovingly selected covers (in the tradition of Bowie's Pin-Ups and the Band's Moondog Matinee) melds the hearts and minds of the originals with his overarching melancholy, mating a collector's ear for material with a producer's imagination for re-creation. Highlights include Priggen's versions of the Pontiac Brothers' yearning "Be Married Song" and the Zombies' delicate morning-after B-side "How We Were Before." The Ramones, Tracey Thorn, and Scritti Politti's songs all find a common wistfulness in Priggen's soul- and country-inflected arrangements. Closing the disc is a mesmerizing found-sound "J&H Productions" tape, in which a would-be Cincinnati concert promoter attempts to "get with" the "label industry." Whether the "label industry" "gets with" Spike Priggen, lovers of Lennon, Chilton, Stamey, and Sweet certainly should."

    Eli Messinger

    East Bay Express


  • "Although it is a highly eclectic collection of mostly obscure songs by other artists, Priggen's second album, "Stars After Stars After Stars," underscores the considerable depths of his talent. Priggen makes each song his own, giving the album a remarkable coherent sound. Some of that is due to his song selection, songs which, except for a straightforward reading of Alice Cooper's "Eighteen," render themselves to his vaguely rootsy power pop interpretations. Priggen reclaims "Questioningly," the Ramones' well-written but improbable stab at country-rock and rescues from obscurity early British pop gems such as Tracy Thorn's "Plainsailing" and Scritti Politti's "A Slow Soul.""

    Mark Wilson

    Evansville Courier & Press


  • "This second album finds Spike Priggen and a bunch of friends (Ivan Julian, Bun E Carlos, etc.) covering some great underknown songs by folks like the Pontiac Brothers, the Zombies, Nikki Sudden/Dave Kusworth the Jacobites, Tracy Thorn, the Ramones, etc. If Spike is doing all of the vocals as the press kit seems to indicate; he's the best singing vocal mimic I've ever heard. His Tracy Thorn, and Joey Ramone are uncanny."

    George Parsons

    Dream Magazine #5


  • "Priggen is a frequent performer on the NYC scene and at various times has been a member of Dumptruck, Hello Strangers, Liquor Giants, Schramms, and Pussywillows. His 2001 debut revealed a tremendous talent for perfect pop songs often filtered through a country sound. Therefore, the first track on his new disc comes as quite a shock with its blast of synthesizer. Thereafter, he returns to his normal style, for which a useful comparison is Freedy Johnston, whom Priggen resembles in vocal timbre, melodically (especially), and to a lesser extent in overall style. It's a sound that doesn't work well unless lavished on high-quality songs, and Priggen supplies plenty."

    Steve

    The Big Takeover


  • "Most of the album is a nostalgic look back at the artist's past, including the bands he's played in as well as those he's idolized, including the Hot Bodies, the Jacobites, and the Zombies. He works through these songs competently and respectfully, and in the end what he's created is a tribute to his own musical development. But in doing so he's also given us a window back into some forgotten moments in music from the 70's and 80's various indie, new-wave, and punk scenes."

    George Ford

    Delusions Of Adequacy


  • "On Spike's new "Stars After Stars After Stars" he pulls off the neat trick of recording a classy set of covers (The Pontiac Bros. "Be Married Song"; Zombies, Jenifer Jackson, Sudden & Kusworth) with a star-studded cast (Bun E Carlos, Ivan Julian). He's kicked around in some bands that almost crossed over (Dumptruck, The Liquor Giants, The Caroline Know)--can he finally get a break?". -

    Josh Goldfein

    The Village Voice

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