The 1981 Listening Post - Donnie Iris - King Cool

 Donnie Iris - King Cool

#360

August 1981

Donnie Iris

King Cool

Genre: Rock

3.75 out of 5

Highlights:

Love is Like a Rock

That’s the Way Love Ought to Be

Broken Promises

Let’s talk about Mark Avsec. 

Who?

Exactly.

Avsec is a musician who co-wrote or wrote just about everything on Donnie Iris’ albums, of which he was a member. He’s a keyboardist and plays other instruments but what I most wanted to address is that he is a copywright attorney. 

He became an attorney because he was “sued frivolously for the song "Ah! Leah!" He won the lawsuit but lost all of the royalties defending himself.

Today Avsec has a successful practice specializing in intellectual property law based in Cleveland, Ohio, having graduated from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1994 magna cum laude.”

Avsec’s bio is on his alma mater’s site and I will post the link. 

Imagine writing that catchy a song, a bona fide hit single, and then losing all the royalties cuz some asshole decided, “Hmm…I think you stole that from me.” After he was exonerated I have to wonder what happened to the litigant. 

Avsec started with Iris in Wild Cherry. Then they went and wrote a bunch of songs together.

Knowing that stuff about Mark I wonder if that plays into the Iris albums only being available from, ironically, illegal rips on YouTube.

Look, I can’t get my shit together to cross blog these reviews on my personal site let alone collect the reviews into book form. Or even write my memoir, which I’ve threatened to do for 14 years. Avsec writes songs, litigates lawsuits, teaches law, produces Donnie Iris records, among other things. 

What I’m trying to say is, Fuck Mark Avsec but also, all hail Mark Avsec. 

The album is chock full of good tunes, although I would say that it’s not as demonstrably excellent as the debut.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8dGFo5vC5c

https://www.csualumni.com/stay-connected/fascinating-alumni-2015-2016/mark-avsec/

The 1980 Listening Post - Donnie Iris - Back on the Streets

Donnie Iris - Back on the Streets 

#294

July 15 1980 LISTENING POST DISCOVERY

Donnie Iris

Back on the Streets

Genre: Rock

4.75 out of 5

Highlights:

Ah! Leah!

I Can’t Hear You

Joking

Agnes

You’re Only Dreaming

She’s So Wild

Oh, Donnie Iris. A name I’ve heard and never explored. Thankfully we get a chance to fix that. This thing starts off so damned strong, that big Power Pop New Wavy goofball of a post-Knack song the Knack should have followed up Get the Knack with; “Ah! Leah!”. A remarkable song. It’s the Nick Gilder track. You know the one. A song that, once it’s fired up, calls back all sorts of memories and yet, you can’t name the singer if there was a gun to your head. 

And then you learn that he was in Wild Cherry when they hit big with “Play That Funky Music” and that he’s freaking 77 now and is still playing concerts with Donnie Iris and the Cruisers. 

This album plays like The Tubes fronted by Jonathan Richman. At other times he gives Jim Steinman a run for his money…while singing like Jim…which is to everyone’s detriment (“Back on the Streets”).

I would say that the album is front loaded but then Side Two kicks in with “Agnes” and I start to wonder…is this one of the great unknown rock records of the 80s? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuL1XbcVUYY

The 1985 Listening Post - Donnie Iris - No Muss...No Fuss...

Donnie Iris - No Muss...No Fuss...

#15 

January 30 1985

Donnie Iris

No Muss…No Fuss…

Genre: Power Pop

4 out of 5

Highlights:

Injured in the Game of Love

Follow That Car

Headed for a Breakdown

Oh, man…I didn’t think anyone was gonna ever write guitar rock aimed at roller skate rink Saturday Nights ever again. It’s a truly moribund style at this point and Donnie doesn’t really do much more than write the songs and sing the songs and play the songs. 

You know that almost anonymous flat 80s sound that Bleachers mined so well a couple years ago? That’s this record. Iris could be anyone (except that singing is really not his forte) and anyone could’ve sung these songs. 

Instead of sounding like his own man, Iris comes across as a John Cafferty wannabe, which means he’s a carbon of Southside Johnny who patterned himself after Springsteen. “Riding Thunder” and “You’re My Serenity” are prime examples of the Springsteenian style. Perfectly fine but it’s not like you wanna fire up the Mustang and take to the roads. You don’t even wanna unplug the EV for Donnie. 

Poor Donnie. 

It’s when he really lets loose and finds his inner Waybill on “Follow That Car” that the album really rips and it just takes off from there. 

Iris is good at what he does, I’m just not sure there is an audience for this, either in 85 or now. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlBcpZmkrtw&list=PLYmiWpmQzpNP_DqulLWR1MYnUs941DBkn&index=1