As the days turn rather crispy and cold here on the mountain, the title of the Phlorescent Leech and Eddie's radio show "By the Fireside" has an even more pleasant ring than ever. I love experimental free-form radio shows from the 1970's and was tickled to recently find this two-hour gem, complete with many of the PSA's and bits of commercials intact at the lovely Harry Nilsson-centric page For the Love of Harry. I knew of Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, alias Flo and Eddie mainly from my Frank Zappa-collecting days in the 1970's and from their work as two-fifths of The Turtles, but I hadn't realized what an extensive and varied singing career they had in the last 40 years, aside from their own records, vocally backing everyone from the likes of T Rex, David Cassidy, and John Lennon, to Blondie, the Ramones, Bruce Springstein and the Psychedelic Furs among many others.
I love the DJing style they used on their shows- playing rarely more than the A and B part of a song, usually amounting to less than 50 seconds, before wildly segueing off into spoken word records (at the wrong speed) or more obscure and unpredictable musical fare; within the first 20 minutes of the show I was an immediate and huge fan of their style - I had thought that I was eclectic and bizarre in my playlist construction, but this was truly madcap and smart- very challenging for 1974! All of this and a weekly guest-star, too. Which brings me to the reason I found this document at all- this episode's guest on this August afternoon in 1974 was Harry Nilsson, who had asked them to bring special records and singles to play while he was there. His album Pussycats, produced by John Lennon, was just about to come out and it turns out that Harry had a soft spot for comedian Eddie Lawrence, who it was good for me to find out more about, as I had only the vaguest idea of his work, and it turned out that his 'Old Philosopher' character had been parodied on the TV show Fractured Flickers, itself an obscure production of Jay Ward studios in 1963 and 64. There was a recurring gag on the show that is totally ripped off from Lawrence, and it's nice to know what was really going on there.
A REVISION FROM 2011: Just found- an interview with Mr. Lawrence by our own Kliph Nesteroff on his blog HERE.
So, we hear Nilsson spin some rare goodies, including some singles that he wrote for others, and cassette tapes are even played live over microhones, presumably from hand-held players (I love alternative formats on the air); and the show gets more and more wild and sloppy as it goes on, but considering the partying nature of an LA radio station in 1974 I'm not surprised. Mark Volman comments more than once, when the din of everyone talking at once reaches a peak, that "you're not really hearing two stations at the same time- this is just how we do our show". To make the whole thing more bittersweet- at the end we hear that next week's guests were Becker and Fagan from Steely Dan, who the hosts promised would be revealed as just as funny and nutty as the usual gang. Ooof-- I want more episodes! Enjoy this slice of radio history.
KMET was the place to be on Sunday nights in Los Angeles in the 1970's. DR. Demento and Flo & Eddie By The Fireside. What a way to spend the night...
Posted by: Rory Murray | November 27, 2010 at 08:00 PM
I too loved that show though I guess it was a later version of it. It aired on WLIR around here and was produced there at least for a year or so. I wrote to Flo and Eddie to see if they would be interested in the 26 shows I'd recorded but they weren't. I have them on CD now. They go from 11/24/80 to 7/5/81 with one unknown date. Great wide-ranging, pop-debasing, fun radio.
Posted by: lipwak | November 28, 2010 at 10:27 AM
Yes, their show ran on at least two different LA home stations and ran on into the 1980's syndicated all over the place. Good for you, Lipwak, for transcribing some!
Posted by: Mindwrecker | November 28, 2010 at 12:40 PM
Thanks. Not only did I record them (onto cassette and then transfer them to CD) I logged them. You can see that log here:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/b4792a2/n/f_amp_e_share_version.doc
Posted by: lipwak | November 28, 2010 at 03:55 PM
I also have WLIR shows, 10 cassettes worth. I built part of my record collection off these shows. They played stuff you never heard anywhere else, and almost never gave the titles or artists. So it was a challenge figuring out who the artists were, w/o the internet!
Posted by: Nick | December 01, 2010 at 08:41 AM
Mr. lipwak, I wonder if you could send me the log. I'm not having luck with the link. Thank you ([email protected]) Thanks again.
Posted by: Nick | December 01, 2010 at 09:29 AM
Mr. lipwak, I figured it out... thanks anyway.!
Posted by: Nick | December 01, 2010 at 10:00 AM
The incredible Flo & Eddie show is in a different place now.
http://fortheloveofharrynilsson.blogspot.com/2011/03/live-on-air-flo-eddie-by-fireside.html
Posted by: Dave | March 10, 2013 at 01:31 AM
dang, would love to hear the Flo and Eddie show, but i ain't an invited Nilsson person! ugh!
Posted by: jim | August 18, 2013 at 05:33 PM
Unfortunately, the wonderful Nilsson site (where the radio show lived) is no more. I'm not sure if the show can still be found elsewhere. If there is enough interest in hearing it - enough outcry - I will do another blog referring to it and re-post it.It is a wonderful episode of their show, and some very fine radio.
Posted by: Mindwrecker | August 26, 2013 at 11:31 AM