As we went to record "CASA LOCO" in 1983, another curious thing was about to happen.
We would have finished our 3rd recording as a group and
"EYEWITNESS"(the 1st of the three) still hadn't been released
in the U.S.! Needless to say, it was a very sad and frustrating
situation, but, ahead we went. Again, and I know I'm repeating
myself but, "CASA LOCO" is really THE recording most bassists
and drummers point to as the ONE you've got to have.....the
performances of Anthony Jackson and Steve Jordan here are
just incredible. Without a record deal though, I had to
again reach into my savings and finance the recording. It
was done for $17,500 and, Anthony, Steve, and Manolo all
played for nothing! The concept being: we're either all
going to get wealthy together or we'll just stay as we are....but,
together we'll be! A concept which I'm not certain Manolo
grasped then...or years later for that matter....and he's
one of my closest friends! Highlights here have to include:
"Uncle Roy".....Steve's drumming(and this is what I get
for telling him at the first rehearsal of the tune, "It's
kind of an Elvin thing!")......the textures created by Anthony
and Manolo....all those electronic sounds done by Manolo
were performed LIVE!!! Steve's drum solo on "Casa Loco"(one
of THE great drum solos on record anywhere, anytime!); "The
Suitcase"......and, even the zany "The Breakaway".....this
was a 'free' improvised composition.....Steve started playing
this beat w/ his new hybrid-kit of acoustic drums + Simmons
Drums, Anthony and Manolo joined-in...and the next thing
you know.....a weird little piece was born. On "EYEWITNESS",
"Auxiliary Police" had been composed the same way. It's
composition where the 'attitude' is actually larger than
the melodic content. In the end, after much hemming and
hawing, Ron Goldstein, then of Antilles Records, stepped-in
and decided to release both "EYEWITNESS" and "CASA LOCO"
in the U.S.! What a huge relief! Still, they came out some
4 yrs. after we had recorded all three! Sadly, after having
so many difficulties trying to get the group more exposure
and more live work, we were just unable to hold things together,
and the 'original' group would soon cease to exist. By the
way, it wasn't until YEARS later, that my ex-wife Nancy
pointed out that "CASA LOCO" is completely incorrect
Spanish! Obviously, it should have been "CASA LOCA" but,
Manolo thought I 'knew' what I was doing(often times a VERY
bad assumption), and was just too shy to tell me! You see,
as we used to rehearse in Steve Jordan's loft....a 'crazy
house' of music if ever there was one.....I just took the
Spanish words I knew, for 'house' and 'crazy,' and slapped
them together not knowing that 'casa' was feminine! Oops!
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[1] The Breakaway(Khan, Jackson, Jordan, Badrena)(3:09) [2] Casa Loco(Khan, Jackson, Jordan, Badrena)(12:32) [3] Penetration(Steve Leonard)(6:17) [4] Some Sharks(Khan, Jackson, Jordan, Badrena)(7:20) [5] Uncle Roy(Steve Khan)(9:17) [6] The Suitcase(Khan, Jackson, Jordan, Badrena)(5:08) |
Photo: Eyewitness outside The Pit Inn, Tokyo, Japan - by Tatsuhiko Tanaka
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