James Domine: Buy

James Domine has created a truly inspired musical masterpiece in his new CD Through Your Window released on the Rhombus Records label. This more-than-eclectic cycle of nine original songs spans a wide spectrum of styles and genres that represent a whole generation of music making. Embodying the refined sensibilities of a symphony, Through Your Window is a compositional tapestry woven of instrumental colors and carefully balanced vocal harmonies that weaves an enchanting spell that is at once refreshing, familiar and unique. A contrapuntal texture of crisply delineated organ lines, exuberant and sometimes romantic piano parts and the baroque delicacy of a harpsichord are delivered with crystal clarity, juxtaposed against the bluesy melancholy of electric guitars. A rhythm section of drums, bass and acoustic guitars give an elemental, earthy feel to the ensemble. The CD also features Gary Herbig on flute, alto and tenor sax, and drummer-percussionist Phillippe Aubuchon. Cameo performances are given by Mike Perlowin playing steel-pedal guitar and mandolin, and Anne-Marie Aubuchon, playing blockflöte. A violin section rounds out the orchestration. 

The Screaming Clams, a garage band of a vintage local to the West San Fernando Valley and environs was launched amid a frenzy of drunken buffoonery in the back room of a Canoga Park print shop, where some of the initial members were employed. Clam lore can be quickly described as a blues-based misogynistic philosophy best appreciated at a loud volume accompanied by adequate supply of beer or other libations. The Clams first hit the streets at Sneaky Pete’s of Reseda, a bar much frequented by bikers out of the Simi Hills. There, initial reception of Clams music was a combination of consternation and mystery. After some deliberation and more beer, the pronouncement came that “Clams music is infuriating.” And so it has remained.

     The band went on to regale many gatherings at similar watering holes, particularly at the Instant Replay of Canoga Park, with much the same result everywhere they went. Eventually enough people had become aware of the Clams reputation to require advance notice of their comings and goings, so that preparations could be made. During this period, the Clams repertoire was refined and regurgitated until it arrived in the state we find it today. It is this group of songs that defines the Screaming Clams.

      Today, distant are the memories of a time when bands played live music for patrons in the bars. Now, bar patrons seek to rediscover their fading youth by slumming in the rustic haunts of Canoga-by-the-Sea and Reseda-by-the-Bay, bringing their cover tunes and jukebox mentality, supplanting the house bands of old. “Only a dream fills the void of their space, ashes of destiny laid in their place.”

The Naked Man, the first novel by author James Domine, mixes elements of tragedy and comedy in a realistic treatment of contemporary life in suburban Los Angeles. Written in a pithy vernacular, the characters act out a true-to-life millennial drama that is both philosophical and farcical in equal measure. Episodes of love, war, lust and betrayal are woven into a counterpoint of governmental conspiracy, police brutality, missing beer and drunken buffoonery as the conflicting emotions of youth evolve into the delusional quandary of middle-age. The main theme of The Naked Man is a quest for truth, and what happens as a result of its absence, obscurity and elusiveness.

“The Naked Man made me feel included, as if the author were present during the hundreds of sideways conversations I have had in bars and alleys through the years. He is exceptional at character recognition and development. It's a zoomy, private, giddy read. This book has so much presence, so much soul, so dead on accurate. It's an intimate book, making it feel like he is talking to an individual rather than the general masses. This time period is so juicy in our cultural history, and Domine did a great job of schooling us, of bestowing an honorary hip degree on his readers, giving us humor and sensitivity credits all the way through.”

-Reviewed by Kathi Flood

Waiting for the Bus is an archival recording that recreates and reflects the ambience, atmosphere and spirit of the turbulent era of social unrest, rebellion and political turmoil that existed in the early 1970s when the band members were incarcerated inmates on the sixth floor of Sproul Hall, a dormitory residence at UCLA. Most of the songs that comprise the original repertoire of the Molay Band were composed between 1971 and 1974. These songs, filled with youthful exuberance, were played live for frat parties, beer bars, biker gatherings, and other musical events.

Members of the Molay Band as featured on this recording are:  James Domine, lead guitar and vocals, Dan Carlson, rhythm guitar and vocals, Hank Dutton, bass, J.D. Ducal, keyboards and Larry Martinez, drums.

Waiting for the Bus is dedicated to the memory of Wayne Baron, who served as road manager, procurement agent and spiritual advisor from 1971 for the band until he merged with the universe in 1981. R.I.P.

"Only a dream fills the void of their space, ashes of destiny lay in their place."

-Jimi Dee, 1993