Talk:Mendelson Joe/draft
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Canadians first encountered Joe Mendelson as a professional folk musician in Calgary in 1964. Mendelson continued his career in Toronto folk clubs, mostly around Toronto, for the next few years. Then, in 1968, guitarist Mike McKenna placed an advertisement in a Toronto newspaper for musicians to start a band, and Mendelson applied. "McKenna Mendelson Mainline (featuring Tony Nolasco on drums) quickly established a reputation as a brilliant live act specializing in blues-rock music coupled with often bizarre lyrics. In the summer of 69 the group traveled to England to record their first official album "Stink" (on Liberty Records) which contained material completely written by Mendelson, and which quickly became legendary in Canada, Australia and parts of Europe. The group also released their first 45, "She's Alright" and it became a minor hit. In 1970 a bootleg was released "McKenna Mendelson Blues" (on Paragon Records) which although undeniably powerful, was nothing more than a rehearsal tape that had been stolen. Also around this time, Mendelson left the group for the first time, only to later return; often when he left, Mendelson was replaced by King Biscuit Boy, a brilliant blues harpist. In 1971, "Mainline" as it was now known, released their second album, "Canada, Our Home and Native Land" (on GRT Records) which immediately hit the charts and produced a hit single "Get Down To"; “Canada” was perhaps the first album to display Joe’s unique musical vision, which at the time he said had “…evolved into something very political and very weird.” In 1972, the group played as the support for professional strippers in a famous Canadian establishment known as "The Victory Burlesque Theatre", which was actually a beautiful but run-down vaudeville house from the 1920s. The live album that resulted (“Mainline bump & Grind Revue”, on GRT Records) became a cult hit, featuring hard blues-rock tinged with jazz, and several photos and posters of the dancers. In 1973, Mendelson left the group again and released his first solo album "Mr. Middle of the Road" (on Joe’s ‘Nobody Records’ label). "Mr. Middle of the road" remains the benchmark of his career, the first album on which he was totally and completely himself, an album on which he played everything (including guitars, bass, drums, harmonica, foot)and which contains a stunning variety of material: jazz, blues, rock, country, folk, romantic, sexy, political, comedic, and admixtures of all of them. Joe had finally, completely, irrevocably become himself. He started touring in both North America and Europe, and late in the year re-united with Mainline for another Bump and Grind show at the Victory. In 1974, Joe worked on his second solo album "Sophisto" and Mainline played their 3rd and final Bump and Grind show which was televised, live and uncensored, by TVO on New Year's Eve, and which featurd the band in drag and some of the last of the old-style strippers doing their stage shows. "Sophisto" was released in early 1975 (on Taurus Records"), and it also featured Joe on the cover in drag. The album was recorded with a band, so on many songs sounded very much like Mainline. Joe was also one of the pioneers of rock video, and he often made bizarre and wonderful videos of his songs, usually for Moses Znaimer at City TV in Toronto. Then in 1975 Mainline reunited yet again for a tour and an album (“Grand Reunion” on Taurus Records); in peformance, the group comfotably moved between Mainline and solo Mendelson material, and exhibited a wonderful interplay between the guitars of Mendelson and McKenna, something not present on the album; in addition, Tony Nolasco, also not present on the album, reappeared for the public performances. Still, in 1976, frustrated by the music business, Joe decided to become a professional painter, and held his first show in Toronto at the Isaacs Gallery. His painting (which is done in the "primitive" self-taught style, and which focusses on portraits and landscapes)was an immediate success, and he has supported himself with it since that time; He also went to L.A. in 1976 for about three months to try and get an American record contract, but was unsuccessful; he did, however, return with some good paintings. He continued to write songs and in 1979 released his 3rd solo album “Not Homogenized” (on Boot Records) which, like Sophisto, was recorded with a group of professional musicians, and which featured one of his paintings on the cover, as would all future releases. He now called himself “Mendelson Joe", because (as he told one interviewer) he wanted mail from the government to print his name in the write order. He followed up with his romantic “Jack Frost” album in 1980 (on Boot Records) and a very controversial album “Let’s Party” in 1981 (also on Boot Records), which featured a painting of a group of people partying in an apartment, all with anuses in place of faces. Joe pictured himself in the corner of the room, arms tied and with no legs, but with a regular face. His next album, “Addicted”, was an even harder album, featuring such songs as “Cockroach”, but his record company (Boot Records) decided they had had enough: they refused to release the album, and cancelled Joe’s contract. Now, for the first time truly marginalized by the industry, Joe decided to release his own home-made album on cassette, hand-delivered to the record stores by Joe himself. This album was “Not Safe” and it featured Joe playing everything, just as he had done on “Mr. Middle of the Road”. Somehow the extreme no-budget limitations produced an inspired work which features hard blues, soft sweet songs, instrumentals and Joe's lyrics, totally uncompromising and uncensored. Joe continued to play shows and paint, and in 1984 he released a best of album “The Name of the Game ain’t Schmaltz”, on the Stony Plains label. In 1986 Joe released his second home-made self-distributed album, “Fragile Man” (on Joe’s ‘Health Records’ label), an album with only Joe and his guitar, and no overdubs; the album could be purchased at Joe's performances or directly from his storefront apartment. In 1988 Anthem Records released Joe’s “Born to Cuddle” album, which featured the Toronto saxophone-based group the Shuffle Demons as his band, and to some extent returned to the musical territory Joe was experimenting with back in 1971 on the "Canada: Our Home and Native Land" album: the mixing of saxophones with a modern rock and roll/blues band, topped off with Joe's unique lyrical sensibilities and harmonic/melodic/rhythmic quirkiness. And in 1991 Anthem released his long suppressed album “Addicted” on CD (the album which had ended his Boot Record contract in 1982). Nevertheless, after 1991, Joe entered a long period where no record company would release his music, so he decided to record his albums privately and release them on cassette, as he had done with “Not Safe”. He released “Women are the Only Hope” in 1992, “Humans Bug Me” in 1997, “Spoiled Bratland” in 1998, and “Everyone needs a Pimp” in 1999. All four albums are professionally recorded, mixed and mastered, and feature several wonderful musicians accompanying Joe on some of his best and most beautifully arranged songs ever, yet until recently he could find no company to distribute them. In addition to music, Joe continues to support social and political causes (such as “Artists Against Racism, and fought for many years for the banning of smoking in bars and clubs) and paint, and he moved up north of Toronto to Emsdale where he still lives on a small farm in a log cabin. Recently several albums have become available on CD, including “Blues”, “Stink”, “Canada Our Home and Native Land”, “Bump and Grind Review” as well as Joe’s solo album “Everyone Needs a Pimp”; all are distributed by EMI. Joe has written an autobiography "A Man and His Philosophy" (formerly "A Man and His Penis) but he couldn't find a publisher, so in 2000 he released a combination autobiography/oral biography called “Alien”, and since then has released three books of his paintings: “Working Women” in 2004, “Joe’s Toronto” in 2005, and “Joe’s Politicians” (2008); all four books have been published by ECW Press. And Joe has never stopped writing songs: BMI lists 279 work titles. Mendelson Joe has been one of Canada’s most unique, uncompromising and talented artists for 40 years; he is a free voice in a world which often does not value the free thinker. He is a Socratic “gadfly”, an invaluable resource for any democracy, and he is fearless. Perhaps one day all of his work, in music, in video, on disc, his paintings and his autobiography, will be available for anyone to peruse; to miss him is our loss.
