The Raves

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The Raves will make an appearance at the 2013 International Pop Overthrow festival in Atlanta. This festival is a year long multi-city, multi-national event that has the best in pop, rock and power pop music. This appearance will be the first to feature new member Dale Hall on drums and vocals, replacing original member Jim Yoakum who is pursuing his writing at this time, and begin a series of engagements for the band in preparation for a release of new material later this year. - Hologramophone Music

Tracks from The Raves and solo tracks

http://www.tindeck.com/users/TheRaves - Hologramophone Music (BMI)

http://www.tindeck.com/users/The+Radio+Workshop - Underground Workshop

This interview was conducted by Pierre Gurdjos and David Bash. A shorter version has been published in Amplifier Magazine.


The first time I listened to your CD, I was (very pleasantly) surprised by the Raves' sound, which I thought somewhat anachronistic for a mid-`80s release. Your "songbook" seemed to bring together a multitude of late `70s pop aspects, with a great aptitude for doing it. Do you think that the Raves carried on a seventies tradition, in the wake of the Raspberries, Romantics, Badfinger et al, or did sixties pop like Beatles, DC5... came first as the blueprint for the Raves sound?

Chuck : To answer your question let me give you a little more background. John, Jim and I have roots in Memphis, Tennessee, and are sons SUN Records recording artist who worked with producer Sam Phillips BEFORE Elvis was signed by SUN. He was in a group called The Star Rhythm Boys and cut a couple of 78's in 1952. Therefore, we had an early exposure to Rockabilly, and country music. Our mother is also musical, and from her we heard classical piano, show music and 1940's and 50's pop music. But when The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan show here in February of 1964, John and I were hooked !
Jim : The Raves began in 1965-66 as The Timers. It comprised Chuck and John on guitars and myself on toy piano ! It wasn't a serious band as such, but that evolved into USA (1968-69) with Chuck and John and many others, then evolving into Nod in the early-70's, then the Raves in the 1980's. We were musical children of the 60's, really, not the 70's. When we were seriously playing (1977 or so) NO ONE ELSE was doing pop rock aside from 10CC. Badfinger were gone, the Raspberries were pretty much over, the Romantics hadn't broken yet. It was all progrock (Yes, Genesis), singer-songwriters (John Denver, John Ford Coley, James Taylor) and disco. People thought we were freaks. We probably were...
C. As early as 1967-68 we were making demos of songs we had been writing and began concentrating on becoming professional. We always considered ourselves contemporaries of the groups coming out at the beginning of the 1970's. I remember hearing The Iveys (pre-Badfinger) and being both excited and incensed that WE weren't the ones being played on the radio. We hoped to be part of a larger pop movement, which we saw as the natural successor to the legacy of the 1960's. Even though artists continually influence each other, Nod (as we were called by 1971) had its own sound and vision.

Oh yes, while reading the CD liner notes I was curious about what actually meant "Nod began to define their style and sound". I always thought that the mid- seventies have been a period with an interesting progression for pop music, during which new groups tried to incorporate into the Beatles legacy some (maybe marginal) aspects of the sixties sound that the Beatles themselves never tackled, e.g. a "mod" approach regarding the Raspberries or for the Flamin' Groovies a Spector-revisited expansion of the Byrds/Stones sound. What did you think of the state of music at the time and what was Nod's game plan?

J. To be honest, the state of 70's pop rock was awful. The best thing going was The Babys, and all they had were singles. We were living in that twilight time between the Beatles wake, the breakup of 2nd generation pop (Badfinger) and the onslaught of Disco. We were in the desert...
C. At that time, there seemed to be a mainstream swing away from the group concept as it existed in the 1960's. With the rise of the solo singer/songwriter, and the influx of many other types of music, what we had always termed "pop" was being replaced by a mellower more reflective sound at the beginning of the decade. Pop groups like ours were now the exception to the formula. Our only "plan" was to make a really great record and recapture the enthusiasm and momentum that seemed to be disappearing...
J. ... and getting money for dinner ! It was very hard to "keep the power pop flag" held high. NO ONE wanted to know.

Dave (Takis) said that during the Nod era your style was more geared toward Badfinger's style of rock...

C. John and I talked recently about the differences between Nod and The Raves. Even though there were some conscious changes made when we became The Raves, we had been writing songs in a variety of styles since the beginning. Whether it was a Country and Western song, a 1920's style ditty, a rock 'n' roller, a heavy rock song, or a piano ballad, we approached it with the same intent. That was, to make it the best possible recording of the song. We never adapted an original song to our "style", because realizing the birth of a song was always the most important factor. Songwriting was our best asset, I think.
J. To me The Raves had a harder rock sound than Nod. This is because when I joined we were doing a lot of old Nod songs that were ballads and I played drums much harder than their previous drummers. Our ex-producer Michael Stewart (he was in Johnny Kidd & The Pirates and The Sweet) once called me "the Adolph Hitler of drums", meant I bashed the hell out of them! To me, this helped The Raves with a "tougher" sound. A Badfingerish sound, yes, less Beatles. In fact, very few of the Rave/Nod tunes sound Beatles to me. Funny.

How much tracks from "Past Perfect Tense" do date back to the Nod era?

C. "I Can't Take Anymore" and "Now You've Really Done It" are the only two tracks that I can think of that we had recorded in the Nod era, and re-recorded for "Past Perfect Tense".
J. I think we were doing "Make Up Your Mind" as late as 1979...

I understand that there is an upcoming release of Nod's material on CD... do you confirm it ?

C. We have a fairly large body of recorded material that we are sorting through now. Actually, there are hundreds of songs in our catalogue that have never made is to tape yet. The problem is, over the years we have misplaced or lost control of master tapes, or the 2-track safety masters; and we are left with an assortment of tapes that are in varying degrees of deterioration. Some of the Nod material dates back to 1971 or '72, and there are even cassette tapes from the late 1960's. So, making a decision about the listenability of some of this material is the task at hand. But, there are some additional Raves tracks that are available and may be issued soon.
J. I personally prefer a lot of the old Nod tunes. They seem to have had a lighter spirit. Maybe because we were kids. Well, I was barely out of High School. Must've been 18, 19 years old. Seems forever ago.

I'd like to go back to the Greg Shaw's idea published in Bomp! magazine in 1978, that the year 1977 had been lived through as a premature break of a semi- underground mod-pop revival already on the way since '72 (e.g. Cleveland as a "new Liverpool") of which the `78 Powerpop explosion should have been the most genuine testimony. Did you have such a feeling at the time? What was your reaction to the `77 British Punk "invasion"?

C. Cleveland has always spawned great pop music dating back to the doo-wop groups. In many ways, Nod might have been more successful had we been from a city like Cleveland. That there wasn't a Power Pop explosion in the mid 1970's is a sad testament to the dissipation of any sort of organized "Pop" scene at the time. But since the brashness and explosive energy that many of the earlier Power Pop groups had was not far removed from the Punks that came out of the UK, it was only natural that there would be a revival sooner or later. When The Sex Pistols came to America, the first stop wasn't New York or Cleveland...it was Atlanta. That fact was not lost on us. By the time they finished in San Francisco, the upper echelons of Pop were ravaged. All bets were off concerning the direction of music, and the time was right for re-inventing the sort of sound that started Power Pop in the first place. That's when New Wave followed, and radio changed it's attitude towards new music. That's when we became The Raves.
J. In many ways I felt closer to the punk invasion than the original British Invasion of the 60s. It was a little to violent for me, but after years of bloated prog rock ala Yes, and Genesis, punk was a breath of fresh (if rancid) air. The Sex Pistols were the last true phenom. Up there with Sinatra, Elvis, The Beatles. I liked The Records and 20/20 myself. As well as The Undertones. Great stuff.

What was the impact of this Powerpop trend launched by US fanzines like Bomp! or Trouser Press ? Were you aware of it? Any article/review about the Nod/Raves published in it ?

C. We were always interested in magazines like these. They were and are thelifeblood of any group of musicians and their fans. Both Trouser Press and (Who Put The) BOMP! kept an important flame alive during the dark days of the 1970's, when dinosaurs roamed the earth and Disco ruled. We have not appeared in either publication (yet), but if bribery still works.... we may see our names in print.
J. I think there was (and may still be)a bias against Southern Pop rock by the big mags. They seem to feel power pop could not exist south of the Mason-Dixon. To my knowledge, none of these mags ever covered any power pop happening in the South during this time, even though there were many fine bands trying to do what we were trying to do. There was a great band in Birmingham, Alabama (when we lived there) called Revolver. They were a great power pop band. Reduced to playing frats forever though 'cause no one covered them in the press. Typical. (Sorry).

Is seventies powerpop the best kept US secret ?

C. No. I think that honor goes to Dick Clark's ability to stop aging. But, thanks to a lot of persons, an obscure piece of pop culture is being re-discovered. Rather like an archeological dig. Dig?
J. Well, there are now a lot of fine bands (like The Raves) that are being discovered 20 years too late, if that's what you mean. But the problem with revisionist history is that there are now many bands that are being elevated to the level of Beatles/Badfinger that don't deserve it - bands like Big Star. I never heard of them during the 70s. I mean, they are okay, but they didn't have anything The Raves didn't - except maybe a better agent.

The band moved in Atlanta, in 1978 and two years later, you changed the band's name for the Raves. Why and what was the Atlanta music scene circa `80?

C. As I mentioned, the time was right for a change. The music scene in Atlanta in 1980 was bustling both above and underground. There were some excellent Pop groups based in Atlanta at that time such as The Producers (who we first saw as Cartoon) and The Neuz (David Ford), but there was no real embrace of Power Pop as a genre of music. You had to play Jazz, Blues, some form of Heavy Metal, Country or anything else in order to even be considered a viable act to book. Yet those of us who did plug up our guitars and basses and haul in the drums to play tuneful, powerful energetic danceable music won over our share of audiences. Carrying on in the face of obstacles is what most of us have had to do.
Dave : David Ford and the Neuz were kind of like Nazz. I would like to add Russ Davis who is a very prominent dj in New York and is host and owner of theradio program "jazz flavors". The Raves backed him on all of his recording sessions and he would sit in with them sometimes.
J. The scene was struggling and hopeful. There were many new Power Pop, and other fine bands, but the town needed someone to come in (ala Brian Epstein, Bill Graham) to bring it all together. To create a scene. This didn't happen and many good bands (like The Rabbits and Razor Boys) disbanded, or went to the UK, or NYC to make it (Georgia Satellites, REM, B-52s).

The CD notes relate that the group recorded for major releases (which ones?) and on the other hand your first ever release was in 1981 the inclusion of two songs on a pop compilation LP entitled "The London Side of Nashville". Why did it take so much time for putting out one of your song?

C. We have been involved in quite a few recording projects that never saw the light of day. I can't discuss in print some of the particulars, but there were a couple involving our Producer at the time, CBS records and a major publishing house that would have necessitated our giving up most of our publishing and being signed to something less than an equitable deal. Suffice it to say that shady deals are going on right this very minute. Look, there goes one now! The best answer as to why any of these recordings took so long to surface is simple.... money. We had none, and those who wanted a piece of us in exchange for financing our little recordings were always interested in "packaging" us in a way we weren't too happy about.
J. The funniest example of that is when we were roped into becoming the soul/funk band Con-Funk-Shun! Honestly, we are on a Con-Funk-Shun LP (called The Memphis Sessions) doing backup vocals, percussion - you name it. It's a long story involving our ex-producer Mike Stewart... Why did it take so long to get on an LP? Money was tight. Finding people who believed was tough. We needed a David Takis back then.
Let's talk about the songs now. Can you tell us something about them? Let's start with "Chastity". I love this song ... ultra-catchy slice of Raspberries-ish pop...

C. That song was inspired by a British film called "The Collector" with Samantha Eggar and Terrance Stamp from the John Fowles book. The lyrics pretty much follow the movie's plot line. We felt "Chastity" was the breakout song from the "Color of Tears" sessions so we made a nice video for it. It is probably the strongest example of the power ballad style we developed in Nod. The Who-like flourishes and majesty of the structure made it a perfect set closer live. You'll hear other great songs of this type on our upcoming release of Nod and Raves material.
J. In this book, a guy is so captivated by a girl that he kidnaps her. It's just your basic lovesick-psycho-kidnaps- the-girl-and-hold-her-hostage- love song! It is a classic example of "power pop" to me, in that it is a very lovely SONG first and foremost done very emotionally and powerfully. It is a Raspberries/Who sort of tune. Don't like the mix myself, though.

"Bet You're Lonely Too" is a lost powerpop nugget... BTW which of you did sing lead and harmonies?

C. Thanks for that compliment. That is the only 8-track recording on the CD. Even though we recorded it again on 24 track, we loved this version so much that it had to be included. John sings the lead vocal on this one, and very well too, I might add. I am singing a lower harmony on most of the track. John and I frequently use a duet technique that is almost imperceptible on many of these songs. We love Phil and Don Everly.
J. Yeah I like that one okay. John does lead with Chuck. They mostly sang everything. I hate singing drummers, so I don't sing. That song is a very Badfingery one to me. I could've heard Pete Ham and Tom Evans sing it.

"Tonight It's Gonna Be Great": you told me once that in your opinion the earliest example of the Powerpop sound came from Buddy Holly and The Crickets...

C. Buddy Holly is a mainstay for all of us, I think. The group's name came from "Rave On", so we were cast in his image to some extent. The way he played in a melodic style using the two guitars, bass and drums line up, which he really patented, was the blueprint for self contained groups like the Beatles and all their progeny. This song is, once again, an example of a basic element in our writing. There are many more rockabilly-influenced numbers that will be coming out soon. If I wrote one song that was as accepted as one of Buddy's, I would count myself lucky. Oh yeah...I love the drums!
J. Everybody picks up on the Buddy Holly element, but no one ever notices the direct Mersey-beat lift in the middle. To me it is what the Fabs would have done about 1964 if they'd ever leant a little more toward their Holly influence and less towards their American R&B sound.

"Anyway You Can": patent hints of Mersey/Beatles in there...

J. Guilty. The obvious Ringo drums are a dead giveaway. This song always sounded better live. It kicked ASS.
C. I would have said Tottenham/DC5 actually. There are only a few overtly Mersey songs in our catalogue; this one had some nice block harmonies and a good guitar break. There may be one other track like this released.

Inside songs like "C'est La Vie", "When She's Gone", "Calling Your Name". The sound is sometimes updated with more "new-wavy' elements. As great as these songs are, your sound became stunning when your R'n'R influences showed through in the instrumental backing. My feeling is that there wouldn't be pop (wagons) without rock (locomotive)...

C. Any updating that may seem evident is not intended that way. Wetried not to use gimmicks that sound dated or tied to a particular time. That is why these songs hold up so well. Since our history as a band and our early influences go back to the beginnings of Rock 'n' Roll, we are closer to the flame than some of the new Power Pop acts. So, when we play Chuck Berry or Carl Perkins, it hasn't been filtered through generations of their imitators. Pop without Rock is Pat Boone.
J. That's Southern gospel, C&W and R&B coming thru. If there's one thing nice about the Southern US it's being exposed to roots music from the cradle.

"Whatever She Says" is great: nice pounding dreams...

C. It is a very tight track, almost mechanical. The keyboard part, which was added later, seemed to give it a quirky sound and loosen it up a bit. A good vocal from John, and excellent guitar solo from Ken.
J. It does kick, however it sounds so 1980s to me. Always sounded like The Cars to me. Not that that is bad, but I don't know how well it holds up. John is the master of the 3-minute power pop heartache.

How about "Make Up Your Mind"

C. We thought it was a little Dylan-y with that nasal delivery, and a country guitar break... I was writing from a "quit messing with my mind" perspective. Is it "trivialities" or "dream reality"?
J. Country & Western ala The Byrds. "Make up your mind and stop wasting my time with your trivialities." Great line. Great solo from Ken too. Sounds a bit like another old Raves tune called "Never Mind I'm Back." Chuck always wrote (writes?) these great R&B/C&W rockers.

"It Don't Matter At All", another amazing ditty with a great bridge...

C. That song was originally "She Drives You Mad" and had a different feel to the verses and chorus...more like the Byrds. The bridge is a nice change. John and I have quite a few songs with contrasting styles like that... Look for them in our next release. Have I plugged that enough?
J. I love this tune. Love the horns the arrangement, the words. I always thought Chuck should have called it "All Is Forgiven" though, being a bit sarcastic, you know, because it isn't obviously isn't forgiven. This song is miles away from its original incarnation which was a VERY Mersey beat song called "You Like Her Too Much". I especially love the end, the "psychedelic" bit.

In 1983 the band worked for recording sessions and then split up. How did it happen?
C. By 1983, we had a lot of songs on tape, but very little released. We were also embroiled in a contract suit with our ex-manager. Our time was divided between making music, visiting lawyers, giving depositions, and trying to live. We were pretty frustrated. One day Ken and I were sitting in a coffee shop talking about what we'd like to do with all this recorded material, and we just made a decision to rally our efforts and put out a record. Everyone pitched in and did everything from the cover to the music production. It was a long and labor intensive process, but we finally managed to get "Color Of Tears" made, just before dissolving. The split up wasn't a definitive thing, just a gradual drift and dissatisfaction with our progress in the business.
J. After a while you get tired of banging your head against a wall. No money, no press, no record deal.... It's funny, the only thing "Beatley" about the Raves (to me was both our beginning and our ending. We played our first gig as the Raves in 1980 in the basement of a building which had been a psychedelic club in the late 60s called The Catacombs (ala The Cavern), and we ended our band in 1985 playing a party on the roof of this same building (ala Let It Be)! We didn't so much break up as we just fell away from each other. It was time to quit. I mean come on, the 4 of us had lived together, eaten together, gotten drunk together, fought together, played together - for 10 years! Before that Chuck and John had spent 3 years in college together and I'd spent the first 16 years of my life with them at home! It's tough playing in a band together and struggling when you aren't 3 brothers and a dear dear pal (Ken).

In 1984 your one and only LP was released with a limited pressing of 1000. What was the track listing?

Dave : The track listing included 8 songs from the 1983 sessions: SIDE 1 / Every Little Bit Hurts / To Your Face / I Bet You're Lonely Too / Answering Box; SIDE 2 / Whatever She Says / Calling Your Name / Chastity / What I'm Hearing From You. The CD included six tracks from "Color Of Tears" (i.e. with "Answering Box" & "What I'm Hearing From You" left out), four tracks cut around the same period as the LP but unreleased until the CD came out (I Cant Take Anymore / Make Up Your Mind / When She's Gone / Anyway You Can) and six newer songs.

What's about these six songs (C'est la vie / Now You've Really Done It / I Don't Matter At All / Nevermore / My My My / Tonite's Gonna Be Great) ?

D. These 6 songs were from the same period but recut for the CD during the 1989 sessions. The lead guitar player on those six songs was David Ford. There are probably 300 more tunes that have never been released so right now we are in the studio going through tapes to see what we can release and/or recut for our next release.

Oh, I can't wait for the Raves CD "Vol. 2". By the way, vocal harmonies and pop melodies in songs like "My, My, My" have been rarely coupled in the eighties with such a kind of genuine rock'n'roll foundations... sounds great!

C. That type of rockabilly sound is really present throughout our music. I think the instrumental track on that song is amazing. When you get that part down, the vocals are just a gas to do.
J. The Raves were about songs. It was a songwriting band as opposed to a hair band or a sexy lead singer band.... Great tunes call for great singers.

Tell us about the TV series "Eh, Wot's This" and "Bats on Skies"...

C. We are all fans of absurd comedy. So when we got the opportunity to do our own comedy series on TV, how could we resist? All of us participated in the making of these shows. Writing, acting, producing, editing, lighting, recording, set building, costumes, make-up, you name it. We did it all and in the process we learned how to make a show. We even got a cable award for "Eh, Wot's This?!!". The "Bats on Skis" program was Jim's baby. It was a one hour special that featured the best of what we had learned to do on "Eh, Wot's This?!!". I am sure we will find a way to sell copies of these shows to interested parties.
J. "EWT" was fun. We met our good friend Danny Maughon on it (he directed the series). It was weird in that we were the only local band with our own TV show - and doing comedy too! The other groups didn't quite get it I don't think. It got pretty good reviews. One review was by a guy who later became TV critic for Newsweek- and he liked it! "Bats" was an idea I had with our good pal Russ Davis, a big time DJ in NYC. I wrote most of the comedy sketches (I am a writer) and it was designed to be more stream-of- consciousness comedy, no music. Designed very much along the lines of Monty Python. Haven't seen it in years but I'm sure a lot of it is still funny.

Again I can read in the booklet "The Raves met and became friends with some of their rock stars idols ... had a fanatic following...." can you tell more about it?

C. We have been able to meet and get to know some of our "rock star idols". That's all I want to say about that. Like any band who is out there playing, we had great fans and some deranged fans who would follow us around to different shows and attach them selves to us. Some were very nice and became our friends, but some were what we used to call "Pepperlanders". Those were the ones who would stare glassy eyed at you all night and try to involve you in some Beatle related fantasy they had in mind. One of those even became our manager. That was a BIG mistake. But, I love the fact that we could and still can move an audience. It's just the baggage that comes with it sometimes makes you think twice.
J. Well, it is a great thrill to be able to call Joey Molland a friend And after The Raves I went on to pursue my TV/film comedy writing. I have since met and worked with Graham Chapman and Legs Larry Smith (of the Bonzo=0ADog Band) and Gus Dudgeon (producer of Elton John and XTC). Jim Capaldi (Traffic) and Neil Innes (Bonzo's, Rutles) . You may also be interested to know that I have had the great thrill to meet and hang with Mr. George Harrison several times- and I even got to jam with him and Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) at George's house, Friar Park. George is a lovely man and is involved in a non-Raves CD project I am working on. He's even written an original tune for it.

It's quite funny that people used pop references finally virtually unknown out of their areas in order to describe your music, e.g. Flashcubes, Toms etc. I was wondering if you had (have?) some interest in your (early eighties) powerpop contemporaries at the time (the most 93obscure94 of them are now(or will be soon) reissued on CD, like Scruffs, Toms, Heats, Pranks...)...

C. Honestly, we weren't that interested in what our contemporaries were doing in the 1980's. We had been together a long time, and had a path we were following. Who knew it was straight off a cliff? The comparison to these groups just goes to show that there were and still are great groups struggling to be recognized. There are a lot of similar groups at any given time that would combine their efforts if they knew about each other and create a buzz in the industry.
J. No, I've never heard of any of these guys. But then they've never heard of me, so that's fair. I always used to hear The Spongetones mentioned in context to The Raves and when I finally heard them I didn't see the connection at all. No, we never paid attention to other bands like that. Badfinger, Raspberries, XTC- we felt these were out contemporaries.

What have the band and members been doing lately?

C. I'll just answer for myself here. Musically: I can never stop playing and writing music. It is a lifetime disease. I have a backlog of material just waiting to be recorded. I need large sums of cash to do this. When you stop reading this article, immediately purchase a copy of our CD, "Past Perfect Tense". If you like it, e-mail us at theraves@juno.com or The Raves 125 Spalding Drive Atlanta, GA USA 30328 and tell us. We are ready any time of day to make music just for you, our beloved listeners. Plus, we are desperate for mail. Personally: I have the most wonderful wife and two daughters that anyone could want, and a great dog too.
J. Well, I am pretty much out of music in a serious way. I still play drums now and then, but I am totally into my writing and comedy now. I have several projects in the works, including a Bonzo Dog Band tribute CD. Many famous people will be involved in it (I can not say who now). I have a new book out called "Graham Crackers" which is about (and sort of by) my ex-writing partner, the late Graham Chapman of Monty Python. I have a new CD out called "A Six Pack of Lies" which is Graham live on stage. There may also be a video soon. I have also recently been named as Director of the Graham Chapman Archives. Also.... I have sold 2 sitcoms to Dick Clark Productions, I have several film companies interested in a movie script of mine and am working with Legs Larry Smith on a musical comedy about the Royal Family. All in all I stay quite busy!

Dave Takis would like to personally thank Todd Lawrimore for his time and assistance to the Raves. - Bubblegum The Punk (French Power Pop Publication)

The Raves - Past Perfect Tense

Back in Print! Yeah! Out of nowhere comes this group from Atlanta that NO ONE knows about.....but will and should. The CD compiles work the band has done the past seven years and will be very appealing to all fans of Shoes, Spongetones, Rubinoos, Pezband, The Toms, Flashcubes, Van Duren and Dwight Twilley. If you have picked up the recent CD comp from The Explosives, this is very much in that vein, too. In other words, classic late 70s styled power pop!!! Some of these songs just hark back to this time it`s utterly uncanny.....and wonderful. They do this sound better than any band out there now.....no question. Effortless and exceedingly consistent material on all the 16 trax!! "Without wishing to offend, the term "obscure band" applies to The Raves. The Raves were totally unknown out of the Atlanta area (even inside "pop circles" in the know) until the early `90s. Indeed a compilation CD "Past Perfect Tense" was released in 1992 thanks to fan Dave Takis, exhibiting an amazing collection of 16 pop ditties from various `80s sessions with hints of Badfinger, Raspberries and sixties pop"-BubblegumThePunk.com. "4 stars.. Past Perfect Tense harks back to the power-pop sound of the late 1970s; recalling the Nerves on "Make Up Your Mind" and summoning the Rubinoos on the buoyant "Calling Your Name," the Raves break no new ground, but as students of the genre, they`ve done their homework well. "-AMG. Fans of mid/late 70`s skinny tie power pop, this is a huge, cool find, don`t miss!

power pop, independent music Every Little Bit Hurts - mp3

power pop, independent music Whatever She Says - mp3

power pop, independent music Calling Your Name - mp3

power pop, independent music Nevermore - mp3

power pop, independent music Make Up Your Mind - mp3

Customer Reviews
PPT
Reviewer: Courtney Harrison
What a great find. For anyone who loves Power Pop you must have this in your collection. Simply amazing!!! Every track is a winner. I want more.
Wow!

The Raves
Reviewer: Eleanor Rigby
I've had this CD for some years and I play it a lot. If you like this then why not check out Inside Looking Out too! Both are great examples of 1970s power pop, played just the way it['s supposed to sound. Shame there's nothing more from this great power pop band.

Raves Rock
Reviewer: Billy McCoy
I came across this record a couple of years ago after hearing it at a party. I went online and bought it and play it almost every day. These guys know how to write great tunes and THEY ROCK!! I can`t believe more people don`t talk about them. They are better than most of the crap that was out then-and IS out now. WHERE ARE YOU RAVES? - Not Lame Records

Really, really fab!

Your collection, if like mine, contains several hidden gems that even you forget about over time. But when you stumble across them years later, you immediately know why you were hooked in the first place. With so many bands springing up in the post-Beatle era and beyond, how could you know about them all? Some incredibly talented ones never got too far outside of their zip code for one reason or another, but we all know there are diamonds in that rough…

One such band was The Raves, from Atlanta. Years after its release. their album Past Perfect Tense is still a sixteen-track breath of fresh air. Here’s what I wrote for TransAction a dozen years ago…

My God, two of them even *look* like John and Paul! This collection of Beatle-esque pop from the 1980s proves that along with The Flashcubes and The Toms there were many other great bands that didn’t get their due. Chuck, John and Jim Yoakum handled the guitar-bass-drums axis while Ken Kennedy added some flash lead guitar. Although the production immediately screams “local band”, the songs don’t – they’re pure New Wave pop.

”Any Way You Can”, “Every Little Bit Hurts” and “Make Up Your Mind” are just three of the sixteen tracks that you can play in tandem with bands like Artful Dodger, The Jags and The Sinceros. “Tonight It’s Going To Be Great” is The Records via Buddy Holly and you’ll like the Elvis Costello nod on the intro to “Chastity”. Four guys weaned on classic pop rock who decided to make some of their own.

Go ahead – drop a few more names. The Rubinoos. Dwight Twilley. Sloan. Everly Brothers. Name any melodic or powerpop band you want…if you like them, you’ll like this. I have no idea what happened to the band after this – a very common tale - although Jim did work with the late Graham Chapman of Monty Python.

But do try and track down this hard to find little gem – you will be richly rewarded.

The Raves at All Music: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:azfuxqqjldae

A couple of YouTube videos courtesy The Yoakum Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/cfmeyoakum.

An old interview at Bubblegum The Punk http://bubblegum.the.punk.free.fr/Ravesintw.html - Word Press

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Raves guitarist and songwriter Chuck Yoakum will make an appearance at the 2014 International Pop Overthrow festival in Atlanta. The band was not available for this year's show, but Chuck will be performing material from a solo project. - Hologramophone Music

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The Raves will make their third appearance at the 2015 International Pop Overthrow festival in Atlanta. This year, they will include material from Inside Looking Out, Past Perfect Tense and their earlist recordings as Nod in the 1970s. - Hologramophone Music