Tom Dowd

[angrytim]

I just saw this great documentary about producer/engineer Tom Dowd.    On his wiki, it says he worked with NMA.   Does anyone know the story here?

Tnx!
73

[8]

I just saw this great documentary about producer/engineer Tom Dowd.
On his wiki, it says he worked with NMA.
Does anyone know the story here?
Tnx!
73

Greetings from north of the border, angrytim!

The late, legendary Tom Dowd produced New Model Army's "Thunder and Consolation" album; however, much more than that I do not know, as I have yet to watch Matt Reid's NMA documentary "Between Dog and Wolf".  I'm assuming there's likely (at least) some bit of info on NMA's experience working with Mr. Tom Dowd in Matt's documentary.  My understanding is that Mr. Reid's documentary tends to focus on NMA's earlier years.

Long story as to why I haven't seen the NMA documentary yet, myself.  I know it'll raise a ton of new questions, not to mention a flood of tears (of which kind though, I do not know).  I intend to watch it alone and on the biggest screen possible, ideally before NMA return (in some capacity) to play shows here, in North America.

Hopefully some kind of North American tour will happen, at some point within the next 3 or 4 years?  If and when NMA/JS&DW/JS can manage to come over, I hope that they/he will come play / tour sometime in April / May or September / October, as the weather is (generally) much sweeter here, 'round then.  I wouldn't want the band freezing their eyeballs and asses like they did back in March of 2005.  Our weather gets pretty serious up here, in Canada.  Touring should be comfortable and enjoyable for the band / crew.  No matter the continent or country they'd be making their way through, I wouldn't want it to be laborious, feel like work or like a chore to/for them.

1.  Have you seen "Between Dog and Wolf" (2014) Matt Reid's NMA documentary?  NMA's official shop has regular and Blue Ray DVDs available.  Bought my copy there, not too long ago, actually.

2.  Is Mark Moormann's "Tom Dowd & the Language of Music" (2003)  the documentary film you are talking about, having just recently seen?

[angrytim]

Hopefully some kind of North American tour will happen, at some point within the next 3 or 4 years?  If and when NMA/JS&DW/JS can manage to come over, I hope that they/he will come play / tour sometime in April / May or September / October, as the weather is (generally) much sweeter here, 'round then.  I wouldn't want the band freezing their eyeballs and asses like they did back in March of 2005.  Our weather gets pretty serious up here, in Canada.  Touring should be comfortable and enjoyable for the band / crew.  No matter the continent or country they'd be making their way through, I wouldn't want it to be laborious, feel like work or like a chore to/for them.

Where are you in Canada.  My mom's family is from New Brunswick.  I spent a lot of time up there as well as Quebec ... big fans of both.  Bg fan of Blue Rodeo,  which i suppose is a Canadian cliche .... still,  i love those guys.

1.  Have you seen "Between Dog and Wolf" (2014) Matt Reid's NMA documentary?  NMA's official shop has regular and Blue Ray DVDs available.  Bought my copy there, not too long ago, actually.

No,  I didnt' even know about it ... thanks

2.  Is Mark Moormann's "Tom Dowd & the Language of Music" (2003)  the documentary film you are talking about, having just recently seen?

Yes, thats the one,  i loved it

[8]

Where are you in Canada.  My mom's family is from New Brunswick.  I spent a lot of time up there as well as Quebec... big fans of both.  Bg fan of Blue Rodeo,  which i suppose is a Canadian cliche.... still, i love those guys.

I'm from Ontario.  Heck, if you know Blue Rodeo, you deserve to be an honorary Canadian citizen angrytim!!  Other than some of the obvious ones (like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Gordon Lightfoot, Bruce Cockburn, Stompin' Tom Connors, Stan Rogers, The Tragically Hip, Nickelback, The Sheepdogs, The Guess Who, The Band, Steppenwolf, Loreena McKennitt, Sarah McLachlan, Oscar Peterson, Lenny Breau, Jeff Healey, Diana Krall, Michael Bublé, Shania Twain, Cowboy Junkies, Alvvays, Sloan, Arcade Fire, Metric, Stars, Celine Dion, Rush, Bryan Adams, the Weeknd, NoMeansNo / Hanson Brothers and D.O.A.) there's Sam Roberts (from Quebec) and Matt Mays (from Nova Scotia), they're more my cup of tea... they're a bit edgier, harder but have a sweet soft spot too, as does NMA.

And then there's the late Keith Whittaker (of the Demics), The Stills, Evening Hymns, Jacksoul, Sully, Dizzy, Southpacific, Dan Mangan, Payolas / Rock & Hyde, Waiting For God, Johnny Hollow, National Velvet, The Box, Spoons, Blue Peter, Grapes of Wrath, Chalk Circle, Rough Trade, Wild Strawberries, Catherine Durand, Martha & the Muffins, Boys Brigade, Young Canadians, 54-40, Spirit of The West, The Real McKenzies, Dear Rouge, Brave Shores, The Birthday Massacre, The Tea Party, Odds, Eight Seconds, Look People, Saga, The Beaches, Plasterscene Replicas, Skydiggers, Crash Vegas, Lava Hay / Taste of Joy, City and Colour, The Dears, The New Pornographers, USS, Moev, Legion of Green Men, Moist, Death From Above 1979, Indio (a.k.a. Gordon Peterson), Michael Brook, Daniel Lanois, and pretty much all of Rhys Fulber's numerous associated projects / works, are some others I also really like.  I lost track of Blue Rodeo somewhere in the mid 90s, but they've still got a few gems of their own.

I hear the summers are dry and the seafood is terrific in New Brunswick.  Never been there myself, but have a friend who lives there now.  Hmmm, perhaps the unofficial NMA tourism authority / board could give me a reason to check out the province, lol.  Who knows, maybe NMA will play the capital  Fredericton  or maybe even  St. John  (New Brunswick)  at some point in the future.  It'd be really weird, but so cool if they did though.  We'll have to wait and see.

Have you seen "Between Dog and Wolf" (2014) Matt Reid's NMA documentary?  NMA's official shop has regular and Blue Ray DVDs available.  Bought my copy there, not too long ago, actually.

No,  I didnt' even know about it... thanks

If you are able to purchase a copy today, do it!  If not, put it on your wish list and tell your friends.

Is Mark Moormann's "Tom Dowd & the Language of Music" (2003)  the documentary film you are talking about, having just recently seen?

Yes, thats the one, i loved it

How did you come to watch the Tom Dowd Documentary?
Was the film recommended to you?
Did you chance upon it while flipping channels?
Was there some musical link / thread that drew you to it?

I haven't seen it yet, but it's on my list!

Truth be told, I haven't watched TV for the better part of 22 years, aside from the news and even then, not regularly.  I know, it's unheard of, eh?  Everyone's a TV junkie at my place, which had me (thankfully) tuning-in to late night and all sorts of radio shows instead.  I can't be arsed into arguing over who gets to watch what and when.  It's just not worth the time and energy.  I tend to watch bits and bobs online or buy the actual DVDs, if I've loved the films / shows enough to watch them over and over again.  Music's my thing, really.

Angrytim, does New Model Army get a mention in the Tom Dowd documentary, at all?
.

[angrytim]

Hey Man,

So

Is Mark Moormann's "Tom Dowd & the Language of Music" (2003)  the documentary film you are talking about, having just recently seen?

Yes, thats the one, i loved it

How did you come to watch the Tom Dowd Documentary?
Was the film recommended to you?
Did you chance upon it while flipping channels?
Was there some musical link / thread that drew you to it?

I work in a record shop, and one of my customers loaned it to me.  He knows I'm kind of a Jazz freak,  and there are a lot of Jazz folks connected to Tom Dowd.   I didn't think anything od it,  but this past weekend I was looking for something to watch on a lazy Saturday afternoon while my sons napped. It was really enjoyable to the point that I looked him up on wiki to find out more. NMA doesnt get any mention but they are on his wiki page.



I haven't seen it yet, but it's on my list!

Truth be told, I haven't watched TV for the better part of 22 years, aside from the news and even then, not regularly.  I know, it's unheard of, eh?  Everyone's a TV junkie at my place, which had me (thankfully) tuning-in to late night and all sorts of radio shows instead.  I can't be arsed into arguing over who gets to watch what and when.  It's just not worth the time and energy.  I tend to watch bits and bobs online or buy the actual DVDs, if I've loved the films / shows enough to watch them over and over again.  Music's my thing, really.

Angrytim, does New Model Army get a mention in the Tom Dowd documentary, at all?

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I'm also a Fan of Sam Roberts,  but they go back to the late 90s and early 2000s for me while I was around a lot of music industry and radio folks around NYC.  I fell in love with that 1st album, saw them a couple of times in small NY bars ( same small places I've seen Blue Rodeo play for 100 Canadian Ex-pats.)  That album remains in my workout mix to this day,  funny,  i thought they disappeared until maybe 2013/14  my wife and i fell in love with Quebec City and started spending a bunch of time up there,  I quickly realized from record shops, that Sam Roberts never went anywhere and was doing the same thing as Blue Rodeo, remaining huge in Canada while being unknown in the US.   great band!!!

Tim

[8]

I work in a record shop...

That's so cool!  My dream job as a kid was to work in a record shop and get paid by merchandise rather than cash... but it never happened for me.  My second was to work at an actual record company or factory, pressing records or CDs, but that never happened either.  Went to college for radio and television, but dropped out after a year because I didn't fit the mold / image.  I wasn't even able to land a volunteer position at the local university radio station taking out trash, answering phones, etc..  Man, when that happened I just fcukin' gave it all up.  Got so incredibly discouraged, depressed.  Thought to myself, how the hell can I land a real job in my field of study / interest, if I can't even land a volunteer position at the community radio station.  I gave in and quit school altogether, at that point.  Took it seriously to mind and heart, really rough, very hard.  sad lol, I'm still not over it.  That's the way things go, sometimes.

Anyway...

Funny thing, decades later (and for many, many years), I served a man who must've worked for A&M records at my real job.  I never did muster up the courage to ask him about it though.  I didn't want to come off looking and sounding like a the dumb-ass idiot that I actually am.  I'm positive he worked for A&M at some point though... he wore a gold ring with the exact A&M records' emblem / logo on it.  Always wondered in what capacity.  Very weird, yet so cool and incredibly exciting to me nonetheless.

...one of my customers loaned it to me.  He knows I'm kind of a Jazz freak, and there are a lot of Jazz folks connected to Tom Dowd.  I didn't think anything od it, but this past weekend I was looking for something to watch on a lazy Saturday afternoon while my sons napped. It was really enjoyable to the point that I looked him up on wiki to find out more.  NMA doesn't get any mention but they are on his wiki page

NMA is mentioned in name only by the podcaster in this 2hr+ Recording Studio Rockstars podcast interview with Mr. Dowd's daughter Dana.  Apparently Dana Dowd is working on an in-depth memoire about her dad, that's supposedly to be released sometime this year (according to the interview).  If you appreciate behind the scenes and tech bits, it's definitely worth a listen.  They don't get into the Jazz stuff all too much, she tends to focus on The Allman Brothers quite a bit because she was physically present for a lot of those sessions.  Still, none of it bored me, at all.  I really enjoyed it, actually.  I hope the Tom Dowd memoire mentions New Model Army  and  "Thunder and Consolation".  Actually, it'd piss me off if it didn't, lol.  Fingers crossed there will be a few positive recollections / words about NMA / T&C, at the very least, in Ms. Dowd's book about her dad Tom.

I'm also a Fan of Sam Roberts, but they go back to the late 90s and early 2000s for me while I was around a lot of music industry and radio folks around NYC.  I fell in love with that 1st album, saw them a couple of times in small NY bars (same small places I've seen Blue Rodeo play for 100 Canadian Ex-pats.)  That album remains in my workout mix to this day,  funny, i thought they disappeared until maybe  2013/14  my wife and i fell in love with Quebec City and started spending a bunch of time up there, I quickly realized from record shops, that Sam Roberts never went anywhere and was doing the same thing as Blue Rodeo, remaining huge in Canada while being unknown in the US.  great band!!!

"We Were Born In A Flame" has to be one of THE top albums by any Canadian band / artist.  I'll pick up any full-length album Sam Roberts Band puts out.  "Chemical City" is fantastic too!  Actually, I haven't been let down / disappointed by any Sam Roberts Band albums yet, to date.  Even Martin "YOUTH" Glover of phenomenal band Killing Joke fame, also produced their "Lo-Fantasy" album.  If you love The Sam Roberts Band, I think you'll like Matt Mays & El Torpedo as well.  It's great to hear that these guys / artists (among others) are appreciated outside Canada / south of the border.  They're terrific!

I would love it if NMA/JS&DW/JS were to someday play a gig in Quebec City, or have either Sam Roberts or Matt Mays open for them while on tour here in Canada or North America.  Now that, would be fcukin' ace, beyond awesome!!

Angrytim, just want to add how cool it is that you're a jazz freak and lover of NMA at the same time.  What instrument do you play?  I get this strong sense that you do play, to be so seriously into jazz.  Not many people grasp jazz.  I've found that those who do often possess some bit of musical knowledge or play an instrument themselves.  Am I wrong in this assumption / hunch?

Also, in case you missed it angrytim, here's another fantastic New Model Army documentary done by the great folks at WDR / Rockpalast.

I'm going to assume you caught the NMA 40th anniversary concert live stream from The Mill in Bradford, when it originally took place October 24th, 2020.  If not, it can still be viewed on demand.  Just hit the link for further details.

The official NMA online shop sold out of the 40th anniversary concert DVDs quite some time ago.  I really wanted a CD version of the entire 40th anniversary live stream gig, but one was never released, I would've gone for a few of those in a heartbeat, as well.   I still would, if CDs were made.  How about rereleasing a deluxe version of the 40th DVD to include 2CDs of the entire performance.  I'm certain that they'd sell out too.  Oh, powers that be... please, p-l-e-a-s-e, please?

oOo