APRIL 2006/INTERVIEW/MIKE MORDECAI FABLE RECORDS/PART II

The second part of our interview with Mike Mordecai opens with a few questions relating to the Fable Records Band '47 Times Its Own Weight' before going on to cover topics about other Fable bands including Starcrost and Steam Heat, and getting some inside info on the label itself:


47 Times Its Own Weight

Does the name of the band and the album refer to anything?

Rolaids had a commercial running in the 60’s...”Rolaids consumes 47 X its own weight in excess stomach acid.” The guys in the band thought that was funny and decided to name their band 47 TIMES ITS OWN WEIGHT. They played “heavy” jazz.


How did you meet the band/ get the band on board?

All the guys in 47 X were in the UT jazz ensemble. When ZILKER SUNDAY broke up, the horn section split and reformed in two different bands. Paul Ostermayer (sax) and Mel Winters (trumpet) decided to play heavy jazz and formed 47 X ITS OWN WEIGHT. When I decided to start the label, they were the first band I decided to record because they were instrumental jazz. My partner, Patrick Rockhill, drafted recording contracts out of a book he found and we presented them to the guys. None of us had very much studio experience, and they thought it would be cool to go into the studio and make a record.


How many copies of the album were printed?
1,000


Who were the original band members?
Paul Ostermayer (sax), Mel Winters (trumpet), Robert Skiles (piano), Spencer Starnes (Bass), and John “Mambo” Treanor (drums).


We are aware that John Treanor passed away a few years back and that Paul Ostermayer has since been working with Leonard Cohen.

John Treanor helped form Beto y los Fairlanes with Robert Skiles after 47 X broke up. Mel Winters went to Saudi Arabia to teach English and is now (a millionaire) back in Austin, Spencer Starnes fell totally in love with recording and now owns Bee Creek Studio, Paul Ostermayer lives in New York. All members of 47 X continue to play professionally (Mel, the millionaire, plays more for the fun of it). John Treanor played professionally until he died. After Mel left to go to Saudi Arabia to become a millionaire, 47 X broke up. Paul Ostermayer started playing with a band called PASSENGER. They were working on getting a deal with Warner Bros. and went to LA to do a showcase. Leonard Cohen heard the band and hired them as his band. Roscoe Beck (bass), Steve Meador (drums), Bill Ginn (piano), Mitch Watkins (guitar) and Paul on sax were PASSENGER.


Do you have any memorable stories from before, after or during the recording session?

There are MANY stories!


Where there any tracks that were actually omitted from the final cut of the album?

No. The recording was quite efficient. (On the STARCROST album there were two cuts that didn’t make it on the album because the free jazz section of “Grandfather Clock” was too long).


Starcrost

Who were the original band members of Starcrost?

John Mills (sax) and Michael Mordecai (trombone) were co-leaders of this band. We met in the UT jazz ensemble and initially had intended to re-form ZILKER SUNDAY and continue to play commercial rock & roll/frat parties, etc. We had were holding auditions for ZILKER SUNDAY and had selected Paul Pearcy (drums). David Deaton (piano) and Jim Spector (bass) moved here from Houston where they had worked together in a lounge band and took the audition but we had passed on them. However, I got a call from the Villa Capri Hotel saying they needed a band on very short notice and decided to use David and Jim along with Paul, John and myself to fill the date. I made up the name STARCROST thinking that then gig would be ill-fated and short lived. The date turned into a two week engagement and by the end of that time, we decided to change direction from hard rock to a commercial lounge act and formed STARCROST.


What was the concept behind the Starcrost album?

STARCROST started as a lounge act playing Stevie Wonder and other cover tunes. I had met (and fallen in love with) Liza Farrow. Liza’s band broke up and we added her to Starcrost. She was singing Barbara Streisand, Olivia Newton-John type material. One day, John Mills brought in an original song for us to play. “Flow.”
The band developed a split personality. For our weekends, we would put on blue leisure suits and Liza would wear an evening gown and we would play cover tunes at country clubs and resorts. On the weekdays, we would play John’s original material at clubs. John’s writing was prolific. The band developed a strong local following and began to open shows for touring jazz acts such as Flora Purim, Weather Report, Phil Woods, etc at Armadillo World Headquarters.

John Mills’s music was terrific and it was his music that defined the STARCROST sound. It became apparent to us all that his music was far more important than the cover band portion and we gave up the lucrative direction to pursue the creative force that was driving John. The concept was John Mills’ music.


Do you have any memorable stories from before, after or during the recording session?

Have you ever heard of Camelot? I could write a book.

STARCROST, the ill-fated jazz band, met with near catastrophe when Liza and I broke up before the album was released. I had a tremendous amount of pressure on me during the time we were recording and trying to get the albums out. We went into the studio in August and the first album, 47 X ITS OWN WEIGHT, came out in October. When it came time to manufacture, I didn’t have any money for that so I wrote the manufacturer a hot cheque hoping to sell enough records to cover it. One flaw in my plan was that we booked the 47 X record release party too early and had the record release party with NO RECORDS! (That did not help sales.) The STEAM HEAT album was on the heels of 47X and the manufacturer called to say that the STEAM HEAT album was ready to be picked up, but that my check for 47 X had bounced. I wrote the manufacturer an even HOTTER cheque for both albums when I picked up the STEAM HEAT records. I think he knew the check was hot but decided he’d have a better chance of collecting if I had something to sell. Fortunately, STEAM HEAT sold 800 copies on the Saturday and the cheque cleared.

During this period, Liza and I broke up and the fate of the STARCROST album was in limbo until we decided to continue to work together and released the record in March of 1976.


Ken Featherston designed the impressive album cover, how did that collaboration come about?

Ken Featherston was one of our favorite artists from the Armadillo World Headquarters staff. Michael Priest had done the STEAM HEAT cover. I gave Ken Featherston a copy of the STARCROST tape and some photos of Liza and the band and gave him TOTAL ARTISTIC FREEDOM to come up with the cover...no direction at all...just listen to the music. I was expecting him to focus on Liza as I knew he was (as we all were) infatuated by her beauty. He was slow in coming up with an idea and at one point when the Armadillo art staff was asked to come up with self portraits for a local newspaper story they were doing on the guys, Ken’s self portrait was him sitting at his desk trying to come up with an idea for STARCROST’s album cover hitting himself in the head with a billy club and a bullet coming out the other side. Two weeks later he was shot and killed with a bullet going thru his head in a drive-by shooting by a disgruntled cowboy upset that there wasn’t country music at Armadillo that night. The completed STARCROST album cover was left on his desk. Michael Priest put the final finishing touches by completing the lettering.


I am aware that he used to design posters for the Armadillo World Headquarters. Was there a scene developing around this music venue?

Armadillo World Headquarters was indeed the HEADQUARTERS of the Austin music scene of the 70’s. All genres of music, all types of people hanging out together...students, hippies, politicians, business people...everybody...NO BOUNDARIES.


Steam Heat

We haven’t heard the Steam Heat album, but from descriptions we understand it to be a Funk/Soul number.

AUSTIN FUNK was the name of their record. Jazz-funk is what it was. Ron Brown (sax) had played with ZILKER SUNDAY. He was a part-time member of the band as was Tomas Ramirez (sax). Both of these guys had also been in the UT jazz ensemble.
Ron Brown wrote two of the songs for STEAM HEAT.


What are the members of those bands currently doing? Are you still in touch with any of them?

Mike Barnes (guitar) was the leader of the band. He now plays in a wedding cover/rock band.
Bruce Spelman (vocal) was co-leader and still sings in a band and teaches at an elementary school.
Phil Ritcherson (vocal/trombone) lived and worked as a singer in San Francisco for several years and is now back in Austin working for a caterer. He still pops up with bands and sings from time to time.
Neil Pedersen (keyboard) still plays professionally in Austin
Ralph Fiol (bass)
Ken Johnson (drums) plays with Chris Issacs in LA.
Quincy Jarmon (congas) still lives in Austin.

Everybody else on the album was a guest:
Tomas Ramirez (sax) wrote a song for STEAM HEAT. He is currently playing a steady jazz gig in South Texas.
Ron Brown (sax) wrote two songs for STEAM HEAT. He went to play with Natalie Cole, Diana Ross and Whitney Houston. He lives
in LA and has an album out on Warner Bros.
Paul Ostermayer, John Mills and I all played in the horn section on the STEAM HEAT album
Liza Farrow sang background vocals.


How do you feel about the renewed interest in Fable Records?

The internet seems to be allowing Fable to be discovered. The way the record industry ran prior to the internet made it more difficult to exist.


Do you have any plans to re-issue any of the material?

STARCROST has been digitally re-mastered and my wife is delivering art work to the manufacturer as we speak. We already have a pre-paid order for 1,500 STARCROST units to be shipped to Japan. Currently, there is a button for Fable on our BBA/Management web site where all songs released on the Fable label will be available for download.


FABLE RECORDS FACTS

In the beginning there was ZILKER SUNDAY. Zilker Sunday was a commercial rock that that played lots of frat parties at the UT campus and around Texas and Oklahoma. The rhythm section players were rock & rollers. The horn section came from students in the UT Jazz Ensemble

Zilker Sunday begat 47 X ITS OWN WEIGHT and STARCROST and STEAM HEAT.
The horn section guys from Zilker Sunday & UT went:
Paul Ostermayer & Mel Winters: 47 X
Ron Brown & Tomas Ramirez: Steam Heat
Mike Mordecai & John Mills: Starcrost

47 X & Starcrost re-merged to form BETO Y LOS FAIRLANES.
BETO included: Robert “Beto” Skiles, Spencer Starnes, John Treanor, Mel Winters, Paul Ostermayer, John Mills, Tomas Ramirez & Mike Mordecai.

BETO Y LOS FAIRLANES has now been together since 1977 and is releasing another CD this year.

THE FORESHADOWING OF THE LABEL
1973 one single 45 rpm ZILKER SUNDAY
My rock band put out a single, then the band broke up.

FABLE LABEL - INDEPENDENT LABEL LAUNCH
10/1/75 47 X ITS OWN WEIGHT
11/1/75 STEAM HEAT
3/1/76 STARCROST
Zilker Sunday split into two bands...47X and STARCROST.
Desiring to get STARCROST out lead to formation of label.

FABLE LABEL-The Fable Forty Fives
1976 ZEUS (45 rpm)
1976 ZEUS (45 rpm)
1976 GYPSEE EYES (45 rpm)
1976 STARCROST (45 rpm)
1977 NIGHTFLIGHT (45 rpm)
1979 STARMEN (45 rpm)
1979 BETO & the FAIRLANES
Initial success of label lead to releasing singles.


THE BETO DAYS
1979 MIDNIGHT LUNCH (LP)
1980 BETO VIVO (LP)
All the bands broke up and re-formed as BETO y los Fairlanes.

ATTEMPT AT THE NEXT LEVEL
1983 BETO-JAZZMANIAN DEVIL
1983 BETO-MONGOOSE ISLAND
We raised a little money and tried to take it to the next level.

(seven years of dormancy)
We lost the money and decided the independent record business was like playing in the NFL without a helmet.

THANKS, WILLIE!
1988 BAD MUTHA GOOSE
1989 BETO-EYE OF THE HURRICANE
1989 THE BREW
1992 EXTREME HEAT
1994 LIVE AT THE ELEPHANT ROOM
1997 JAZZAHOLICS
Willie Nelson let us record for free at his studio and we put
out some more records.

(seven more years of dormancy)
Spent time working on the booking/management side of biz.

CURRENT DAY
2005 REVOLVING DOORS
New artist...new direction...hello internet!

The overview of the Fable catalogue follows:

FABLE RECORDS
45’s
FS-001 Zilker Sunday 1973
Goose Creek
Wrong Time
FS-401 Zeus 1976
On the Street
Don’t Ask Me
FS-402 Zeus 1976
You Got Me
Take A Ride
FS-501 Gypsy Eyes 1976
Fool For Love
Twist and Shout
FS-501a Starmen 1979
Tribal Music
Island In the Sky
FS-302 Starcrost 1976
I’ve Got A Plan
Getting Going
FS-601 Rick Sheffield 1977
Disco Moron
Nightflight Blues
FS-102 Beto y los Fairlanes 1979
Sesos de Huesos
Butt Dance

LP’s
F-101 47 X Its Own Weight 1975 SOLD OUT
F-201 Steam Heat 1975 SOLD OUT
F-301 Starcrost 1976 SOLD OUT
F-103 BETO-Midnight Lunch 1979 25 copies
F-104 BETO- Beto Vivo (ACL) 1980 25 copies
F-666 Jazzmanian Devil 1983 SOLD OUT
F-777 BETO-Mongoose Island 1983 1 copy
F-109 BETO-Eye of the Hurricane 1989 450 copies

EP
FR-9188 Bad Mutha Goose 1988

Cassettes
F-109 BETO-Eye of the Hurricane 1989
F-110 BREW-In the Beginning 1989
F-111 Extreme Heat 2 1992
F-0194 Live at the Elephant Room 1994

CD’s
F-109 BETO-Eye of the Hurricane 1989
F-110 BREW-In the Beginning 1989
F-111 Extreme Heat 2 1992
F-0194 Live at the Elephant Room 1994
F-0297 Jazzaholics 1997
F-108 Revolving Doors 2005

ALL RECORDINGS ARE AVAILABLE FOR DIGITAL DOWNLOAD

Artist Roster

ROCK
Zilker
Zeus
Gypsy Eyes
Starmen
Rick Sheffield
Bad Mutha
Matt Wilson

JAZZ
Sunday47 X Its Own Weight
Beto
Steam Heat
Extreme Heat
Starcrost
GooseTomas
The Brew Jazzaholics Various Artists