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Polish-born Manhattanite brothers Alex and Isaac Moler (born Olek and Izio Malarz during WWII) are the core of The Colors. From literary and musical parents, much of their proclivities are explained. Perhaps the single most pervading legend surrounding The Colors is their refusal to record music - that music is a unique and personal communication between musicians and audience, thus can only be played live. This stemmed from their utter refusal to believe in the concept of music ownership, which was infused in them by their father, Aaron. When Aaron, an accomplished violinist and pianist, played the likes of Bach, Chopin, Ellington, Spike Jones, Art Tatum, Sinatra or Gershwin to his young children, he always insisted that he composed it, which he gently maintained even when Alex and Isaac grew older and found out 'the truth'. Aaron's insistence on this matter, right up to his death, instructed his son’s perception of the holistic 'divinity' of music, and the abstract clarity between musician and listener. Their mother, Mira, a librarian, an avid reader and amateur literary critic, impressed upon her sons, among other things, the power of the non de plume and the flexibility it provides. Although many collectives of musicians have a band 'name', The Colors often changed their name from gig to gig, made up characters to reinforce their latest hoax, and went so far as to perform as 'a Colors tribute band'. This outlook insured that multiple and ever-changing genres and musical styles were continually employed. Furthering this, Mira instructed her sons on various methods of literature-manufacture, predominantly recounting Alexander Dumas' use of a team of writers and researchers that produced an 'Alexander Dumas' novel - which allowed Alex and Isaac to fully and expectantly rely on their steady stream of collaborators to instruct their music.
So now, at the close of the noughties, the first decade of the twenty first century, on the other side of the world, with no face-to-face connection with the original band other than through myself, and long ago at that, comes an album that boldly calls itself 'The Colors Tribute Album’. Has the cardinal ethos of The Colors been broken: the recording of this album? Without alluding to the ancients who, for the sake of posterity and preservation of identity, made the leap from oral tradition to the written word, let it first be known, in the beginning, The Colors did record music, and despite their continual and infernal recording calamities, it could be argued that this compilation is an ode to that beginning. Secondly, in line with The Colors ever-changing line-up and band names, included are various other outfits which only now have the reason to be coaxed whole-heartedly in acknowledging the influence The Colors have had on their work. Keeping in mind, previous attempts to contact The Colors to cover or remix their music, or at the very least credit them, has always been met with a generous and supportive "do what you like, it's not mine to give". This answer has been given to generations of musicians from all around the world. Therefore this album is the first of its kind to acknowledge the legacy of this band, as both a warning and a celebration.
Martyrs are at the mercy of others.
- Mike Mitsak (auditioned for The Colors, 1963)
Then, shortly after immigrating to New York City, the brothers began busking with 63-year-old Derek Bounty on double bass. Alex on violin, 15, and Isaac on guitar, 13, wrote 'Pizzizi' on the boat on the way over from Europe. They used this tune as their theme at live gigs for years to come, and kept changing the arrangement and genre. This tune has been passed down aurally ever since, sentimentally decided by the brothers as too sacred to transcribe.
Now, The Colors Tribute Band perform it live as an encore at a gig recorded by Matthew Stuart in Sydney, October 2008 featuring John Maddox on bass and kazoo.
Then, Alex worked at his father's record shop but also started doing a gig playing live improvised scores to silent films at a local cinema. After each gig Alex would transcribe as many of the improvisational themes as he could recall. It was at this local cinema that Alex met schizophrenic, cinema-goer Jemima Snow, who would later become a founding member of The Colors. He fell madly in love with her but knew that the age difference was too significant. She was 52 when they met. She committed suicide in 1959. So it goes.
Now, Only two of these transcriptions have been revealed. Polish-born pianist Danit Ilsar plays 'Zombie' in it's traditional, incomplete form, while electronic producer Foley pulls apart 'Ilex' and puts it back together as a modern electronica piece featuring Jane Sheldon.
Then, while Alex worked at the record shop and cinema, Isaac worked with his mother at the local library. He spent every moment either reading or playing his guitar on the street with songwriter/activist Hugh Jean O’Reilly, who he had met while busking. At the same time that Alex was inspired by composition, Isaac got lost in the world of lyrics. Hugh's 'originals' were inspired by songs he'd heard while traveling around in boxcars with his dad (a keen purveyor of traditional/folk music) and family friend Woody Guthrie. Shortly after he wrote this song, or least after playing it to Isaac for the first time, Hugh’s life was suddenly cut short in a tragic accident. While following an ambulance that Isaac was in, he crashed his car into a tree. This instance is believed to have led writer Kurt Vonnegut Jr to a similar scene in his novel 'Slaughterhouse Five'. Being a staunch communist, rumours abounded that Hugh's brakes were tampered with. So it goes. Isaac woke up in the hospital to the news and drifted away from his love of songwriting for many years.
Now, the track is performed by Woody Guthrie enthusiast Eugene Schofield-Georgeson.
Then, this song was one of a bunch of bossa nova tunes that Alex wrote for the band. ‘We Are, The Colors’ was based on an old Moler family whistle used to find other family members in heavy crowds. By this stage drummer Woody Oaks and Jemima Snow (who had started a secret relationship with bass player Derek Bounty) had joined the band. They all came up with the name, The Colors. None of these tunes were ever recorded, and no charts or lyric sheets remain. It is rumoured the name The Colors was perhaps inspired by the multiculturalism of the band, or by the inner images created when one rubs their eyes. Or perhaps it was because 'moler' means 'painter' in Yiddish. Or perhaps it was the pretty colours seen during hallucinations. Or playing on the fact that both the Moler brothers were colour-blind. Or perhaps from the colourful dresses that Jemima was renowned for wearing around Manhattan.
Now, The Colors Tribute Band recreate the 1963 version (see ‘We Are, The Colors 1963) of this song. Indeed The Colors have revamped this song many times over the years, each time with a new singer. It has become The Colors audition piece for new vocalists, in which they have to come up with new words for the tune on the spot. Here featuring the audition of Jonathon Desmond Miller for the The Colors Tribute Band.
Then, this was the first recording session for The Colors, produced by obsessive-compulsive sound-engineer and instrument-builder Bill Spades. Shortly after completing the mix, Jemima's voices in her head got too overwhelming and she took her own life. So it goes. Out of respect her lover Derek Bounty decided to burn the recordings to the disbelief of the Moler brothers. Four years later, during the 'We Are, The Colors' recording session of 1963, it was revealed that Derek never burnt the tapes but kept them for himself as a reminder of his lover. When he was found out, he did truly burn the recordings in 1963, and only the charts with lyrics remain.
Now, a version of 'Jemima' (about Jemima's schizophrenia) arranged and performed by Gauche, off their 2004 album 'Paints Lane', and a version of 'Downtown', exclusive to this album, by Eddie Perfect and the Renovators.
Then, Bill Spades again attempted to help The Colors produce a single, this time a gorgeous tune called 'Snowpeas' about a lost love. He teamed The Colors up with vocalist Seymour Stevens who refused to sing the supposedly over-sexualised lyrics of this song. Seymour though was happy to sing 'Toothbrush Girl', and 'Snowpeas' was demoted to being an instrumental B-side. A string section, trombone and backing vocalists were added to the mix, one of these backing vocalists, Amy Camus, made such an impression on 'Toothbrush Girl', that she was asked to also feature on 'Snowpeas'. Unfortunately, 'Toothbrush Girl' was also too racy for 1960, and the song was shunned by all but the band. This time Alex decided to store the tapes at his father’s record shop.
Now, both songs are covered by The Colors Tribute Band in the truest way possible, from charts and lyrics passed down. It features Julian Curwin on guitar, Sheridan Harbridge on vocals and John Hibbard on trombone, and the engineering of Hugh Boyce.
Then, before they headed on a tour of Europe, The Colors stopped over on the West Coast and wrote a bunch of surf tunes, all untitled.
Now, Gauche have mashed up one of these old, untitled, Colors' surf tunes with another, even older, untitled, Colors' swing tune, added their own lyrics and named it ‘Sesame St Party’, off their 2006 release ‘Siesta Cinema’.
Then, during their short surf phase, The Colors met Indian-born Rahmi Singh, who took them to India to compose and record music for a Bollywood spy film. The band kept flying back and forth between Europe, Asia, Africa and India to complete the score, but the film never got past the editing room. The Colors decided to make one last trip back to Bombay from Bangkok on the way home but turned up late and missed the flight. This infamous plane went on to crash. Terrified, The Colors got on the next flight to New York. From then on the band, and particularly Isaac, have vowed to always run late. During their time in India, Alex discovered hallucinogenics in a big way, triggering a furious creative drawing phase; all the images on this album are either original or inspired by original drawings of Alex. The ‘Jesus on a Cross’ piece was one of his first works, paying homage to Jemima, and Isaac’s fear of flying.
Now, The Colors Tribute Band have rearranged this tiny fragment of a Chinese whispered melody into some sort of 60s Bollywood spy theme, featuring Sarangan Sriranganathan on sitar and Matthew Ottignon on tenor sax, and the mixing of Simon Berckelman.
Then, The Colors returned to New York with Bill Spades waiting. They went straight back into the studio to record a new version on 'We Are, The Colors' with vocalist Tex Stein. Once again, the band had a huge argument in the studio over what the B-side should be, with the brothers insisting it should be an instrumental Belizean folk tune that Nintendo later used for their Super Mario Bros theme. This argument took a turn when Derek Bounty confessed to in fact keeping the old Jemima Snow tapes. Luckily, enough takes were recorded for Bill Spades to piece together both tunes with some crafty tape cutting and pasting. When the album was pressed, however, 'We Are, The Colors' was pressed onto both sides of the record. They ran out of money to repress the album and so Alex decided to store the master tapes at his father’s record shop for when enough cash was saved up.
Now, The Colors Tribute Band use the lyrics of Mike Mitsak, who auditioned for the band in 1963 and kept his lyrics all these years. He now lives in New South Wales, Australia and has been an invaluable source of information. The middle section of the tune represents the 1962 plane crash, and inserted here is the image from the original cover art by Alex Moler, which can now also be found in blown up graffiti form in Manhattan.
Then, The Colors, in search of a new full-time bass player and vocalist, kept working on new tunes. They did various 'society' gigs (weddings, birthdays, functions, barmitzvahs), on top of working at Chaim’s Kosher Wine. They decided to write a jingle for the business. Chaim loved the first few verses but when he heard the closing lines he furiously fired the brothers and destroyed the master tape in front of them. It has since become a well-known drinking tune in many of the pubs that Alex frequented.
Now, The Colors Tribute Band perform their interpretation of the tune live at their Sydney residency, in which an unknown fan came up from the audience to somehow sing these infamous lyrics.
Then, The Colors met Eritrean bass player Ali Mahmood who showed them new musical scales which they incorporated into the many jazz gigs they were doing around New York to fund their next album. They also introduced the Shofars as their full time horn section. At the same time as working at Chaim’s Kosher Wine, The Colors started playing Jewish weddings, for which they wrote some original instrumental klezmer music. Drummer Woody Oaks wrote ‘Enio's Wedding Dance’ for a friend's wedding. He wrote some odd-time bars into the tune which left the audience at Enio’s wedding unable to dance, though Woody alleged it was written this way to make Sarah, his cousin, feel better about having no sense of rhythm. At the same wedding, Alex got extremely drunk and started claiming that there was pork in the dumpling soup. They were never given another gig within the Jewish community again.
Now, The Colors Tribute Band play these tunes with the three-piece horn section; ‘Ethiopool’ in the studio, featuring solos by Luke Dubber on keys and Nick Bowd on alto sax, and ‘Enio’s Wedding Dance’ live, featuring Alon Ilsar on drums.
Then, The Colors, heavily inspired by Philip K. Dick’s 'Do Android's Dream of Electric Sheep', decided to write a song cycle based on the book.
Now, reinterpreted by Comatone & Foley in their 2008 release ‘Trigger Happy’. Also Glenn Lumsden and James Fosdike team up in an illustration inspired by one of Alex's works from this era.
Then, after completing the Electric Sheep song cycle, The Colors were completely obsessed with Kurt Vonnegut Jr’s (whom they had long shared mutual friends with) Slaughterhouse Five, and constructed a theatre show around the book. They blended their interactive musical game pieces of the early 60s with the themes and readings from the book and created The Colors Interactive Slaughterhouse Five Show. ‘So It Goes’ was the show's closer, though unfortunately the show never made it to the stage. Alex's alcoholism, drug taking and paranoia had got a lot worse after reading the book, and in fact he drew an illustration of a Tralfamadorian, an alien from the book who could see in 4 dimensions and whom he thought was stealing his musical ideas before the ideas could even manifest. ‘So It Goes’ became The Colors obituary song; every time a band member, or someone close to the band, died, they would write a new version of the song. In late 1969 The Colors wrote a new version after their father died. So it goes.
Now, The Colors Tribute Band perform the 1981 version of the song [see ‘So It Goes (We Were, The Colors 1963)] featuring the trumpet, trombone and tuba of Sam Golding.
Then, After Alex's father's death, the family could not afford to keep the record shop. Some of The Colors' rare recordings which were stored there were mistakenly sold. When Alex discovered this he destroyed the remaining recordings and checked himself into a mental hospital, while Isaac went to do a gig on a cruise ship. Isaac promised Alex that he'd be back within the year with a new band and enough cash to record an album. In the hospital Alex continued to draw and make graphic scores. He used other patients to perform these pieces that he'd started working on years earlier.
Now, Comatone recreates his version of the musical occurrences in the hospital.
Then, when Isaac returned from his cruise ship gig he also returned with a new lover called Scott McTavish, a new look, and a new style of pop. 'I See You Dancing' was about how the new couple met on the ship. 'Crazy Pineapple' was about the medical complaints, or odd fetish, of their new bass player Jorge Estaban, also from the ship. Only the lyrics for these tunes remain.
Now, The Colors Tribute Band perform these original lyrics with music by Alon Ilsar and horn arrangements by John Hibbard.
Then, Alex reacted very dramatically to Isaac's new collaboration with Scott McTavish. Alex's psychiatric nurse, Juanita Johnson, accused Alex of being homophobic. Alex claimed that that had nothing to do with it, and explained it was the music that he couldn't comprehend. Juanita told him that the only way to deal with this was to write in the same style. Alex said he would only do so if she agreed to sing the song. He even made an illustration for 'I See You Dancing'. She agreed and ended up singing ‘It's Monday Night’ in all its glory, with new dance moves at their failing Monday night residency in New York. The tune was only ever performed live. Scott McTavish, renowned for being easily agitated, was insulted by Alex's sincere music-therapy creation, and stormed off after singing the song's lyrics begrudgingly.
Now, The Colors Tribute Band perform this song from the original score featuring Eden Ottignon on bass and the vocals of Jonathon Desmond Miller and Donné.
Then, with Scott gone, the band was left again without a vocalist, but at the same time Isaac rediscovered his love for politics and songwriting, 15 years after Hugh Jean O’Reilly’s death. He wrote ‘That's The Way They Get Ya’ but never recorded it since no one in the band could sing.
Now, Eddie Perfect and the Renovators perform Isaac's lyrics with Eddie's original music.
Then, Alex dealt with sounds in his head by trying to recreate a wall of sound from the band's surf phase. Scott returned to the band when he heard Jorge Estaban had fallen ill. Alex started to play bass to cover for Jorge The Colors refuse to ever record again and never even note down this tune, though the lyrics do been handed down.
Now, The Colors Tribute Band perform the lyrics of this tune to original music by Alon Ilsar.
Then, this song was written by Scott McTavish about his Scottish homesickness and difficulty with having to leave Isaac. Isaac was left broken hearted. At this point, Jorge's life came to end, so it goes. Isaac also found out that Scott and Jorge had had an affair before he and Scott met. Scott recorded this song by himself and sent it to Isaac from Scotland, as a parting gift, which actually offended the brothers even more, since it broke their no recording ban. They wrote the tune out and threw the tape away.
Now, The Colors Tribute Band play a full band version of this tune featuring the layered vocals of Jonathon Desmond Miller.
Then, The Colors hung out at a place called the Spliffamatic, where they met Mr Speaker, a Nostradamus-like Australian poet. They wrote a tune about this cafe with him, like they did for every venue they played, and even delved into what is now considered early hip hop, with Mr Speaker making predictions on climate change and politics. Bill Spades had set up a small recording studio there, and convinced Alex to leave all the current Colors' tapes there for remixing and dubbing. Alex again began to draw and luckily took his pieces home, as later in the year the Spliffamatic was burnt to the ground and everything was gone.
Now, The Colors Tribute Band play the instrumental version of John Maddox's homage to the Spliffamatic. Lyrics do still exist for to this tune.
Then, The Colors agreed to attempt to record one last track with Bill Spades, itself being about never recording again. They continued to focus on their Colors Interactive Show, and Alex starting to make the album cover of the faces of various band members of the band over the years. While mixing the track, Bill Spades died of a heartattack. So it goes. The mixing was never completed.
Now, The Colors Tribute Band perform the original music and lyrics from the 1981 score.