Mashmawho?

Boris Badenov · September-13th-2004, 10:25 AM

I saw Festival Express on Saturday night and quite enjoyable it was, too, but as I watched the opening credits I had a somewhat disorienting experience: The Grateful Dead! Janis Joplin! The Band! Buddy Guy! The Flying Burrito Brothers! Delaney and Bonnie! Ian and Sylvia! Mashmakhan! ... Wait, go back, "Mashmakhan"?? Who the hell is "Mashmakhan???? So I Google(r) them and find out they were a Canadian band with one hit, a little ditty called "As the Years Go By." I remember this song now that I've seen the lyrics. Not exactly a masterpiece. I'm beginning to think there's not a lot of good alternative footage from this movie if these guys were featured. Anybody remember them? Am I wrong and are they forgotten masters?

Gentle Giant · September-13th-2004, 11:09 AM

I have two live 1968 recordings, one by Kooper/Bloomfield and one by Santana, that feature the tune As the Years Go Passing By. Different tune?

I've been curious about that flick. Last night, on PBS, I watched Wattstax for the first time, and that was pretty intense. Rufus Thomas was amazing. Not only a great performer, but also managed to get a crowd that had jumped the fences and were swarming onto the field to go back to the stands calmly and peaceably. Isaac Hayes, Black Moses, another great highlight, as well as lots of Richard Pryor doing his thing. The biggest surprise was generous talking head footage of the guy who played the bartender on The Love Boat, tossing N bombs pre-fame.

jazzy mary · September-13th-2004, 11:26 AM

Wattstax is a great film. I saw it in the now defunct "Screening Room" theatre in Tribeca about 4 years ago when it was here in NYC for about a minute. It was fantastic!! I love me some Rufus!

BFrank · September-13th-2004, 11:42 AM

I never heard of Mashmakhan, either, but I thought that the tune they did in the film was pretty good. I was wondering if they were mostly an instrumental band.

Unfortunately, I missed Wattstax on PBS last week. Hopefully they will run it again. They re-re-re-re-re-run those lame oldies shows so many times, why not run this one more than once?

Dr Dave · September-13th-2004, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gentle Giant

I have two live 1968 recordings, one by Kooper/Bloomfield and one by Santana, that feature the tune As the Years Go Passing By. Different tune?

There are two blues tunes called "As The Years Go Passing By." The one I know best was recorded by Otis Rush and later by Albert King, and it's by Deadric Malone. There's another one by Gary Moore, with different lyrics, etc.

Chris D · September-13th-2004, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BFrank

I never heard of Mashmakhan, either, but I thought that the tune they did in the film was pretty good. I was wondering if they were mostly an instrumental band.

Unfortunately, I missed Wattstax on PBS last week. Hopefully they will run it again. They re-re-re-re-re-run those lame oldies shows so many times, why not run this one more than once?

Rights fees, that's why. "Wattstax" probably had a tight window, high fees, and will not be re-aired.
The oldies shows are fund-raising packages.

Pete C · September-13th-2004, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BFrank

.

Unfortunately, I missed Wattstax on PBS last week. Hopefully they will run it again. They re-re-re-re-re-run those lame oldies shows so many times, why not run this one more than once?

It's available on DVD.

BFrank · September-13th-2004, 02:00 PM

Well, I guess I'll just have to rent it.

Gentle Giant · September-13th-2004, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Dave

There are two blues tunes called "As The Years Go Passing By." The one I know best was recorded by Otis Rush and later by Albert King, and it's by Deadric Malone. There's another one by Gary Moore, with different lyrics, etc.

I know Bloomfield was way into Albert King, and chronology also suggests it's the former.

Boris Badenov · September-13th-2004, 03:39 PM

Mashmakhan's "As the Years Go By" is in no way, shape or form a blues song. It's a very annoying pop ditty, and I would say it's eminently forgettable except that (unfortunately) I remember it!

Al in NYC · September-13th-2004, 04:08 PM

Man, Wattstax...!! Couldn't believe it when I ran into it on TV the other night. Hadn't seen it since it came out, when I caught it at the fabulous Madison Theatre in downtown Detroit. I remember back then there were, believe it or not, some serious worries about violence surrounding the movie and the place had extra security guards and a ban against dancing (which was broken).

It gave me a nostalgic chance to relive my youth and once again see the dashikied Jesse Jackson do his schtick -- just like when he came to my school (I was in the 5th grade). Y'know, most folks these days don't seem to catch on when I suddenly break out into chants of "I am.. Some-body!"

groover · September-13th-2004, 04:16 PM

I've never heard of the band Mashmakhan, but I believe the term is a corrupted pronunciation of Michoacan, a province of Mexico well-regarded during the late 60's and early 70's for it's high-quality agricultural exports.

Al in NYC · September-13th-2004, 04:32 PM

I remember Mashmakhan. Being in Detroit we got a LOT of Candian music and these guys were briefly popular in Canada. That song was played in serious rotation on local Top 40 giant CKLW. They were really more a flower power/psychedelic kind of band (their name refers to dope I think) than that big hit indicated. They also had another pretty terrible hit with a song called "Goodwin," or something like that.

Believe it or not this band was huge in Japan, and is still a cult favorite there. They're sometime mentioned there as one of the important bands that followed the Beatles.

Didn't they somehhow morph into the godawful (but much more popular) April Wine?