In the grand history of Kansas City music, Titan Records, “The House of Rockin’ Pop,” may be the shortest chapter that meant a lot to so few people.
In 1978-81, Mark Prellberg and his partner, Tom Sorrells, documented the small but fervent clique and cult of power-pop bands and performers that sprouted in Kansas City and around the Midwest: the Secrets, Gary Charlson, Gems, Millionaire at Midnight, J.P. McLain & the Intruders, the Boys.
Titan Records and its owners issued nearly a dozen recordings in that time, including “Just Another Pop Album: The Titan Sampler LP,” which documented the labels bright, bouncy sounds – music that Prellberg admits was decidedly un-hip at the time.
But times have changed. In conjunction with the Numero Group, Titan Records is the beneficiary of a revival: the release of “Titan: It’s All Pop!” a two-disc, 42-track anthology that includes liner notes with loads of photos and an exhaustive history of the label, its bands and performers and the music scene in Kansas City.
Saturday afternoon, Prellberg is throwing a listening party for “It’s All Pop!” at the RecordBar, 1020 Westport Road. Many of his labels former band members and their fans expect to attend. The Star contacted a few of them and asked for some recollections of this small but memorable scene.
Mark Prellberg, co-founder of Titan Records: I definitely didn’t think this day would ever come. It has been in the works for about 15 years to tell you the truth. My partner (Tom Sorrells) had been working with another indie label in Pennsylvania for years. Nothing ever got worked out.
Numero Group contacted us about a year-and-a-half ago. I’d never heard of them. They got in touch with me through a mutual friend in Texas. Right off the bat I was impressed with Ken Shipley, impressed with his knowledge of the business and how serious he seemed to be about doing this. He had our sampler album and one of our 45s and was a fan based on those, but was not aware of our other releases …
We just wanted to be involved in the music business. Gary Charlson played a song for me and a light went on. It was a lot of work and we probably should have devoted more to the business end. I look back on it as something we tried as novices and pretty much failed at, but I’m glad we did it. …
It was really exciting to hear the music again. I hadn’t gone back and visited the music for all these years. It all got buried away, most of it on reel-to-reel. I didn’t have it on cassette or on record form so all I had were the memories. Once we pulled out the reels and transferred them and I heard it for the first time in about 25 years, I thought, “Wow. The material is strong; the musicianship is excellent; and it really holds up.
Norm Dahlor, the Secrets ( and now the Elders): We’d play these college bars all over the Midwest. It was a lot of fun. There was a whole gang of Titan fans in Kansas City. Some of them called themselves the Lowell Street Gang. There were lots of parties. There’d be a whole dance floor of people. It was the late 1970s and early ‘80s: Buttons, ties, people pogo-ing and sweating to the same beat all night long. I’m not sure it’s like that anymore.
Brent Hoad, the Secrets (and now the Elders): I thought it was so cool to get into Chuck (Chapman’s) studio down in the River Quay. Back then you couldn’t have state-of-the-art equipment in your bedroom. I remember he had this big white piano but you had to get to it quick. You could beat it out of tune in five minutes.
The music – if you could list the Prellbergs’ perfect bands it’d be Badfinger and the Raspberries. And Cheap Trick third. That’s the kind of music it was. …
The Secrets’ first gig was in living room. That was a major deal. About 40 people would squeeze themselves into somebody’s house. Most of them ended up in the kitchen. … I remember back then we didn’t have a phone, so we’d go down to the old Wornall Restaurant for band meetings. We’d book our gigs on their phone.
Corky Carrel, co-owner VillageRecords.com: The thing I most remember is that it was the first time I saw someone from my own age group and demographic involved in putting out a record. I had been in the music business for a few years at that point and it seemed impossible that people I knew could do the same thing that Columbia and Warner Brothers were doing. Mark and Tom certainly worked a lot harder than some of my major label reps at the time when it came to getting their music in the shops.
Perhaps the most refreshing aspect was the music itself though. The sounds were breezy and pop-oriented and not the guitar laden jams that we had come to expect from the Midwest bands of the day. For my personal taste none of the other acts came close to what Gary Charlson was doing. I had sold him records for a few years and knew that his sound was essentially the sum total of everything he ever bought. He was chameleon-like in his approach and from seeing his various groups I knew he was capable of just about any style of pop or straight rock. His singles were just what radio needed. Too bad radio didn’t notice. I was also there when they recorded the live record. It was further proof that Kansas City had a “scene” and some local heroes of our own.
Mike Webber, Caper’s Corner legend (and now founder/owner of Webber Air Cargo): I’m 44 and all those guys are just enough older than me to have been more of that scene, which I could only mostly peer into from the outside. I was 16 when “Real Live Gary” came out on New Years 1981 and even younger when Charlson’s 45s hit our racks at Capers. I’ve filled Steve Wilson in on the fact that, at that age, I was somewhat in awe when Steve and the guys from Thumbs would come in because my whole world revolved around my record collection and these guys actually had put out vinyl. Sales and distribution were completely besides the point to me. These were gods to a junior high ninth-grader. Charlson seemed to come into Capers almost every day, and back then he looked a bit like your man Nigel Tufnel from Spinal Tap. But probably one of every two days he’d be wearing his Joy Division “Love Will Tear Us Apart” T-shirt. Funny the things I remember.
Steve Wilson, manager of Kief’s Downtown, musician and music critic: I’m reminded of the line from Bob Dylan’s song “Mississippi”: “I got nothing but affection for all those who sailed with me.” Back then, my band Thumbs was the mangy kid brother to the polished sounds of Titan. … Mark’s power-pop stable sought to entertain and did. Thumbs were kinda troublemakers by comparison. We got labeled ’punk’ all the freakin’ time, which was not the point, but when I listen to these tracks (“It’s All Pop”) now I can see why people reached for that dichotomy. In other words, I guess we were all friends and rivals at the same time. All I can say about Mark Prellberg is that he’s a friend, a good man and he documented an important aspect of the scene from that period. Good on him.
SATURDAY: The listening party for “Titan: It’s All Pop!” is from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the RecordBar, 1020 Westport Road. Some of the proceeds from the sales of “It’s All Pop!” will benefit Apocalypse Meow, a benefit for Abigail Henderson.
Didn't know anything about this mini-scene until this comp was announced. I enjoyed reading these memories.
Posted by: DLC | November 05, 2008 at 02:34 PM