OEDIPUS RAM
A Toon Tragedy
inspired by Sophocles' Oedipus Rex
inspired by Sophocles' Oedipus Rex
Directed, Staged and Written by
DC Hampton Jacobs
Original Characters and Archie Fan Art Images
Created and Drawn by
Stuffed Animal
THE PLAYERS:
Donna Dante, the wife
Saddam Sharma, the father
Haslam Bey, the manager
Hillary Joon, the mistress
Jeff June, the youngest son
Xerxes Ng, the remix engineer
Hilo Herbie, the college buddy
Puddy Tat Tambo, the other college buddy
Roxanne Venegas, the daughter
Vijay Sharma, the eldest son
Gynger Ming, the keyboard player
and the legend . . .
Ramsay Khalid Sharma
THE PLAYERS:
Donna Dante, the wife
Saddam Sharma, the father
Haslam Bey, the manager
Hillary Joon, the mistress
Jeff June, the youngest son
Xerxes Ng, the remix engineer
Hilo Herbie, the college buddy
Puddy Tat Tambo, the other college buddy
Roxanne Venegas, the daughter
Vijay Sharma, the eldest son
Gynger Ming, the keyboard player
and the legend . . .
Ramsay Khalid Sharma
SYNOPSIS:
It is the year 2082. Ramsay Khalid Sharma, a top Asian Pop star of the 2060s, has died. A highly gifted singer, actor, dancer, arranger, composer and multi-instrumentalist, he first knew fame as a member of The New Archies. After the group disbanded, he found success as a Bollywood soundtrack producer. He transitioned into a stellar solo singing career; later, he won critical acclaim as an indie film leading man. Ram Sharma was a unique recording artist in that his Retro Pop songs were often sung from an explicitly female viewpoint; women responded most strongly to this innovation. From 2065-72, he scored a string of top-selling albums and dance club downloads. Ram also became a major sex symbol during this period; his nude images proliferated on screen, in print and online. Drug abuse halted his ascent in the 2070s, but dude roared back up the charts @ decade's end with a new club hit. A highly-praised TV role and a smash comeback album followed in quick succession. His cocaine-related death came on the eve of a sold-out comeback tour. Ram committed suicide, but that fact is kept from the public by his grieving widow, singer and actress Donna Dante.
CONCLUSION:
JOY
Vox 82-393847
Every Ounce Of Strength (Cropper, Hayes, Porter)
w/Chutney Rose
w/Chutney Rose
Dody (Crewe, Gaudio)*
Gonna Get Along Without You Now! (Milton Kellem)*
Different Drum (Michael Nesmith)
w/Chutney Rose
On The Beach (Marvin, Richard, Welch)
w/Clitoris Club*
Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing (Linden, Raleigh)
Baby, You’re My Kind Of Woman (Foxx, Williams)
w/Puppy Posse
Baby, Be Mine (Barry, Greenwich, Venet)
w/The Cabaña Boys**
Stoney End (Laura Nyro)
w/The Carmines
Alternate Version: The House Where Love Died
Alternate Version: The House Where Love Died
(Baker, Felder, Harris)
Last Chance To Turn Around (Bruno, Kahan, Millrose)
Last Chance To Turn Around (Bruno, Kahan, Millrose)
w/Chutney Rose
I Wish I'd Never Loved You - Parts One + Two
(Hawker, Raymonde)
w/Chutney Rose
Alternate Version: Gimme Some Lovin’
w/Chutney Rose
Alternate Version: Gimme Some Lovin’
(Davis, Winwood)***
I Won’t Tell (Crewe, Gaudio)*
Shining Star (Bailey, Dunn, White)
w/Prism Bytch****
The Lights Of Night (Crewe, Weiss)*
All The Hits!!!
Ram
A QZ Production
Produced by Ramsay Khalid Sharma
*Produced by Chaiwat
**Produced by The Cabaña Boys
***Produced by Quincy Zen
****Produced by Avis Poindexter
Sound Produced by Xerxes
Project Coordinator:
Coco Hoyas
released in Asia
2082
The scandal surrounding Ram’s death won’t die down for months. It will fuel sales of a hits compilation released, amazingly, on the same day he dies! Vox Sound + Image executives will be accused of exploiting his demise, but they are in fact blameless; the release date is pure coincidence.
However, that won’t stop them profiting big-time from monster sales! By now, Vox has purchased Ram's back catalog; the price is hefty, but the company will recoup its investment several times over. ALL THE HITS!!! tops the Pan-Asian Pop Album chart for twelve weeks, stays lodged in the Top Ten for eleven months, and won’t drop off the Catalog album list until the year 2110! It will be the most successful Asian album release of the 21st century. Most of its 16 selections go into heavy rotation on Retro satellite radio, and they’ll remain on the oldies playlist for decades.
The day before Sikh funeral rites are held, Donna Dante receives an unexpected telephone call: It’s from Saddam Sharma, her husband’s estranged father! At first, she is chilly to him; after all, he shunned his son and daughter-in-law for decades. However, upon finding Saddam genuinely grief-stricken and contrite, her attitude softens.
“I pushed my son away,” he confesses. “I saw him and everyone else through a fundamentalist haze. It took many years for me to see clearly, and to confront my own failings as a husband and father. My wife left me, and my son fell prey to drug addiction. Now both of them are gone . . . it’s too late to make amends!”
“I pushed my son away,” he confesses. “I saw him and everyone else through a fundamentalist haze. It took many years for me to see clearly, and to confront my own failings as a husband and father. My wife left me, and my son fell prey to drug addiction. Now both of them are gone . . . it’s too late to make amends!”
Saddam Sharma will have settled in Spain. In 2078, he renounces radical Islam and joins a progressive mosque. With help from his new Muslim community, Saddam finds a living wage job and lifts himself up out of homelessness. After two more years of struggle, he learns to manage his alcoholism and HIV status. By the year 2082, dude will be a changed man!
During Ramadan, he meets a half-Jewish Muslim @ an iftar dinner: Haslam Bey! His son’s ex-manager is now living in Barcelona. Saddam is shocked to the core: "How does a Jew become a Muslim?" Haslam smiles @ the well-worn question and replies: "I never wasn't a Muslim. I was born to mixed-faith parents and grew up learning both faith traditions."
"That must have been . . . interesting," the former radical jihadist muses. "I couldn't begin to tell you!" Haslam laughs. "But when I was old enough for Bar Mitzvah, my parents let me choose which path to go forward on. I knew Islam was the right one," he sighs, "but acceptance from my Muslim brethren has never come easy."
"That must have been . . . interesting," the former radical jihadist muses. "I couldn't begin to tell you!" Haslam laughs. "But when I was old enough for Bar Mitzvah, my parents let me choose which path to go forward on. I knew Islam was the right one," he sighs, "but acceptance from my Muslim brethren has never come easy."
Haslam is curious about Saddam's surname; inevitably, they learn that they have Ramsay Khalid Sharma in common. The two men agree: "We must have been destined to meet!" They become friends and much to the elder Sharma's surprise, they begin dating. A year later, they’re living together!
With Haslam’s encouragement, Saddam finds courage to finally come out of the closet. “Here I am in my eighties,” he marvels. “A former fundamentalist imam, now a progressive Gay Muslim in love with a younger man of Jewish heritage. Me, the ex-terrorist! And would you believe I’ve never been happier?”
With Haslam’s encouragement, Saddam finds courage to finally come out of the closet. “Here I am in my eighties,” he marvels. “A former fundamentalist imam, now a progressive Gay Muslim in love with a younger man of Jewish heritage. Me, the ex-terrorist! And would you believe I’ve never been happier?”
After learning of his son's drug problem from Haslam, Saddam will want to reach out to him; but like everyone else who seeks Ram in the late '70s, he'll have no success. Dody invites the elder Sharma to join her and the children @ Antam Sanskaar, the Sikh burial service. With a huge lump in his throat, Saddam assists in setting the funeral pyre alight. Sikhs don't mourn death: They celebrate the end of life, but he can’t hold back the tears as flames reduce his son’s body to ashes!
The man Dody begins calling Dada (Punjabi for "grandfather") ends up staying in Mumbai for a month; he and his daughter-in-law become close, making up for lost time. Gradually, Saddam Sharma also bonds with his grandchildren, Vijay and Roxanne. When he and Haslam Bey marry up a year after Ram’s death, the extended family he once disowned attends the wedding. Thirteen-year-old Roxanne will give her Dada away!
Like most stars who succumb to drug addiction, Ramsay Khalid Sharma will leave behind substantial debt. What creditors don’t claim is divided between his wife and his (known) children. Hillary Joon gets something, too, but she’ll be far from happy with the amount!
During Ram’s disappearance, Donna Dante will have quietly made child support payments to his mistress. From the time he returns home until four years after he dies, Dody will maintain cordial relations with Hillary; but in 2086, the baby mama markets a tell-all book about her five-year affair with the Rad Asian Manchild.
I Got Rammed! will paint a highly unflattering portrait of the star; confirm his love of BDSM sex; publicly disclose his HIV status for the first time; and aim several vicious barbs @ his wife. "Dody was an evil c*nt!" Hillary writes. "Ram never loved her; how could he? She's half-Nigerian, not beautiful like Asian women are. He told me he regretted marrying a Black girl. The two of them were like oil and water, but we were a perfect match! I certainly never tried to control him like she did." The star-f*cker will make a mint off her book, but the price she pays is complete ostracism from the Sharma family!
Happily, such will not be the case with Geoffrey Joon, Hillary's son with Ram. Geoff bonds with his stepmother, and in a strange parallel to her relationship with his father, music is the tie that binds them. Vijay and Roxanne Sharma both sing, but Geoff inherits the lion’s share of musical talent: His baritone voice is almost identical to Ram’s!
On the 10th anniversary of his death, satellite channel Wavelens India will air a dramatization of the star’s life. The vocals heard on the soundtrack belong to his youngest son. Donna Dante will produce that soundtrack, which launches Jeff June (Geoffrey’s professional name) on a long career as a session musician.
On the 10th anniversary of his death, satellite channel Wavelens India will air a dramatization of the star’s life. The vocals heard on the soundtrack belong to his youngest son. Donna Dante will produce that soundtrack, which launches Jeff June (Geoffrey’s professional name) on a long career as a session musician.
Ramsay Khalid Sharma will reclaim stardom at the end of his life. After his demise, the process of becoming a legend begins. Suddenly, his name and image are everywhere: On T-shirts, baseball caps, posters, computer wallpaper. Cars begin sporting “Asian Pride” and “It’s Healthy 2 B Sikh” bumper stickers with Ram’s picture. In major Asian cities, graffiti artists scrawl the phrase RAM LIVES far and wide! The first of many Ramsay Khalid Sharma biographies is issued and sells faster than hot griddlecakes.
Vox Sound + Image licenses out several Ram ringtones for download. The most popular parade balloon @ Mumbai’s Pride 2083 displays Ram's image: The huge latex figure wears nothing but a turban, jock briefs and cowboy boots as he did in his most popular Scopie video. Beneath the effigy is a parade float carrying three tiers of topless drag kings; all sporting Ram's familiar goatee as well as colorful Hawaiian garb, the butch Lesbians wiggle and sway to his 2070 hit "Baby, Be Mine."
That same year, Bollywood honors its one-time soundtrack king with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Accepting on his behalf, Donna Dante steps to the podium of Sivaswamy Auditorium to warm applause. When she identifies herself as “Mrs. Ramsay Khalid Sharma”, the capacity crowd roars its approval and gives her a thunderous five-minute standing ovation!
That same year, Bollywood honors its one-time soundtrack king with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Accepting on his behalf, Donna Dante steps to the podium of Sivaswamy Auditorium to warm applause. When she identifies herself as “Mrs. Ramsay Khalid Sharma”, the capacity crowd roars its approval and gives her a thunderous five-minute standing ovation!
Inevitably, there’s new Ram vinyl to buy. In 2084, Donna Dante approves the release of an album titled Sharmante. "Aside from a couple of duets we cut for his albums," she notes, "this is the only document of my husband and I as a performing duo." The new album's contents are the long-forgotten demos they cut in 2058-9.
Performing on stage, the pair would come across as a novelty act, evoking the likes of Sonny + Cher or Ike +Tina Turner. As a live act, Sharmante won't have an identity of its own; but that identity finally emerges on the LP. Ram and Dody together are a unique synthesis of Punk, Folk and Adult Pop influences. Their edgy renditions of 1970’s and ‘80s classics like “Because The Night,” “Instant Karma” and “Keep It Confidential” draw rapturous reviews!
Performing on stage, the pair would come across as a novelty act, evoking the likes of Sonny + Cher or Ike +Tina Turner. As a live act, Sharmante won't have an identity of its own; but that identity finally emerges on the LP. Ram and Dody together are a unique synthesis of Punk, Folk and Adult Pop influences. Their edgy renditions of 1970’s and ‘80s classics like “Because The Night,” “Instant Karma” and “Keep It Confidential” draw rapturous reviews!
Vox 84-20843
Timothy (Rupert Holmes)
Red Wine + Whisky (Kimberly Rew) - Donna Dante
Because The Night (Smith, Springsteen)
The Last Time (Jagger, Richards)
The Hardest Part (Harry, Stein) - Donna Dante
Goodbye, Charlie (Burton, Sawyer) - Donna Dante
In The Winter (Janis Ian) - Ram
Never-Ending Song of Love (Delaney Bramlett)
And I Betcha (Barnes, Clinton, Lindsey)
In The Dark (Billy Squier) - Donna Dante
Dressed In Black (Gormann, Michaels, Morton) - Ram
Instant Karma (John Lennon) - Ram
Keep It Confidential (Foley, Greenwich, Kent)
Daniel (John, Taupin) - Ram
The Sharmante Album
Sharmante
A QZ Production
Music Supervision:
Donna Dante
Music Directed by
Ramsay Khalid Sharma
Sound Produced by Xerxes
Recorded @ DALEKtable Sound Studios,
Bangkok
Remixed @ Zen Studios, Casablanca
Executive Producers:
Coco + Quincy Zen
worldwide release
2084
There are solo performances among the demos as well. Donna Dante bears down on Katrina + The Waves' “Red Wine + Whisky,” scorches a path through Blondie’s “The Hardest Part” and kicks mucho ass on Billy Squier’s “In The Dark.” Even though @ this early stage Ram hasn’t yet claimed his own voice, his imitations of David Lee Roth, Bruce Springsteen and Barry White are amazing! Critics also marvel @ his masterful way with ballads five years before distinguishing himself as a balladeer. Ram's heart-rending version of Janis Ian's "In The Winter" is posthumously nominated for a Best Male Vocalist Pan-Asian Pop Award.
His chilling remake of The Shangri-Las’ “Dressed In Black” gets as much attention: It will be prominently featured in a Turkish revival of “Dark Shadows”, the famous gothic American soap opera. "In The Winter", "Dressed In Black" and the other demos are remixed to a glossy sheen by Zen Studios' audio wizard, Xerxes Ng. Sharmante lodges firmly on critics' Top Ten release lists for the year 2084; it becomes a best-seller in Europe, and also proves to be Ram's breakthrough album in the USA.
Early in 2085, Vox releases two previously-unheard Asiacore remixes by Ram and Avis Poindexter. They feature on a new remix collection called ARCHIE: R*LOADED! Six of Ram's HITS OF THE SIXTIES productions are included as well.
Of ten GET IT ON TODAY! album tracks he'll plan on remixing in 2082, he only finishes "Hey, Boy (The Girl's In Love With You") and the title track. After his comeback album takes Asia by storm, the project is put on indefinite hold; but three years later, those forgotten mixes surface alongside newer ones by cutting-edge deejays Jed Blues, Heather French and Nyna Sixa Kloxx. ARCHIE R*LOADED! tops catalog album charts around the world, threatening to unleash a second wave of Archiemania more manic than the first!
Of ten GET IT ON TODAY! album tracks he'll plan on remixing in 2082, he only finishes "Hey, Boy (The Girl's In Love With You") and the title track. After his comeback album takes Asia by storm, the project is put on indefinite hold; but three years later, those forgotten mixes surface alongside newer ones by cutting-edge deejays Jed Blues, Heather French and Nyna Sixa Kloxx. ARCHIE R*LOADED! tops catalog album charts around the world, threatening to unleash a second wave of Archiemania more manic than the first!
A batch of Ramsay Khalid Sharma soundtracks drops in time for the 2085 holiday shopping season. These maiden reissues are for films he appeared in; his Bollywood scores will resurface later in the ‘80s. Bonedaddy Beach, Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing and the legendary flop Bitter Tea of General Yen come tumbling onto the market one after the other. Much to everyone’s surprise, Bitter Tea scores the most downloads; but all three generate healthy sales!
Vox 85-111978
Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing (Linden, Raleigh) - theme
Sweet Ride (Lee Hazlewood)
- theme, w/Chutney Rose
Barbarella (Crewe, Fox) - theme*
Ride The Wild Surf (Berry, Christian, Wilson)
- theme, w/The Cabaña Boys**
Lila (Jeff Barry) - from Kitten With A Whip,
w/Lexxideath***
Hurt So Bad (Hart, Randazzo, Weinstein)
- from Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing
Baby, Be Mine (Barry, Greenwich, Venet)
- from Bonedaddy Beach,
w/The Cabaña Boys**
On The Beach (Marvin, Richard, Welch)
- from Wonderful Life,
w/Clitoris Club*
The Look Of Love (Bacharach, David)
- from Casino Royale,
w/Chutney Rose
Baby, The Rain Must Fall (Bernstein, Sheldon)
- theme, w/Chutney Rose
The House Where Love Died (Baker, Felder, Harris)
- from Chez Mort d'Amour,
English version****
Bitter Tea (Dawn, Dusk, Sharma)
- theme, duet w/Donna Dante****
Wasn’t It You? (Goffin, King)
- from Kitten With A Whip,
w/Lexxideath***
The Corrupt Ones (Garvarentz, Kaye)
- from The Peking Medallion,
w/Chutney Rose
(Theme from) Hawaii 5-0
(Hilton, Stevens, Tambo)
(Hilton, Stevens, Tambo)
Hawaiian vocal w/The Cabaña Boys**
Greatest Movie Songs
Ram
A QZ Production
Produced by Ramsay Khalid Sharma
*Produced by Chaiwat
**Produced by The Cabaña Boys
***Produced by Lexxideath + Andy Yoshida
****Produced by Hillary Joon
Album Compiled by
The Cabaña Boys
Sound Produced by Xerxes
Remastered @ Zen Studios, Casablanca
Executive Producers:
Coco + Quincy Zen
released in Asia
2085
Vox Sound + Image augments these releases with a compilation of movie hits: Not only selections from Ram’s movies, but also songs he cut for albums and singles that originated in movies, like “The Look Of Love” and “Barbarella.” Two of four unreleased sides The Cabaña Boys cut with him in 2072 feature in the track lineup; so does “Baby, Be Mine”, their earlier production from Bonedaddy Beach. Hilo Herbie and Puddy Tat Tambo will compile the GREATEST MOVIE SONGS collection, and its liner notes overflow with warm memories of their late friend.
Vox 02-934889-4
Everything Under The Sun (Crewe, Knight, Sharma)
- Thai version, w/Donna Dante
Gonna Get Along Without You Now! (Milton Kellem)*
Love Is A Rose (Neil Young)
w/The Carmines
Every Ounce Of Strength (Cropper, Hayes, Porter)
w/Chutney Rose
Stoney End (Laura Nyro) w/The Carmines
Lila (Jeff Barry) - from Kitten With A Whip,
w/Lexxideath**
Angel Of The Morning (Bon Soir, Gorgoni, Taylor)
- Vietnamese version,
w/The Carmines
Up And Over (Crewe, Knight)*
Sweet Ride (Lee Hazlewood)
w/Chutney Rose
And When I Die (Laura Nyro)
w/The Carmines
Beach Girl (Johnston, Melcher)
w/Clitoris Club*
María Elena (Tony Hazzard)
- extended version,
w/The Utah Symphony
02-9348890-4
Different Drum (Michael Nesmith)
w/Chutney Rose
Baby, You’re My Kind Of Woman (Foxx, Williams)
w/Puppy Posse
I Can’t Let Go! (Gorgoni, Taylor)
w/Chutney Rose
I Found Someone (Bolton, Joon, Marlette)
- Korean version
Dody (Crewe, Gaudio)*
Keep On Tryin' (Van McCoy)
w/The New Archies***
Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing (Linden, Raleigh, Yoshida)
- theme, Japanese version
If I Never Get To Love You (Bacharach, David)
w/The Utah Symphony
Solitaire (Clemenceau, Warren)
Try A Little Kindness (Austin, Sapaugh)
w/The Carmines
Teardrop By Teardrop (Bob Halley)
w/Chutney Rose
Help Me, Rhonda (Brian Wilson)
- vocal version,
w/The Cabaña Boys****
02-9348891-4
I Wish I’d Never Loved You - Parts One + Two
I Wish I’d Never Loved You - Parts One + Two
(Hawker, Raymonde)
w/Chutney Rose
Last Chance To Turn Around (Bruno, Kahan, Millrose, Sharma)
- Punjabi version,
w/The Utah Symphony
I Won’t Tell (Crewe, Gaudio)*
Shining Star (Bailey, Dunn, White)
- unreleased live-in-concert edit
w/Prism Bytch*****
He’s Got Something (Lynch, Samwell)
w/Chutney Rose
Baby, Be Mine (Barry, Greenwich, Venet)
- unreleased club mix,
w/The Cabaña Boys****
Barbarella (Crewe, Fox) - extended version*
Ghost In My House (Dozier, Holland, Taylor) - live in Tokyo
Baby, The Rain Must Fall (Bernstein, Naluai, Sheldon)
- Tahitian version,
w/Chutney Rose
Gloria (Bigazzi, Tozzi, Veitch)
Gimme Some Lovin’ (Davis, Winwood)
w/Scramble******
Wasn’t It You? (Goffin, King) - from Kitten With A Whip, w/Lexxideath**
Goin’ Back (Goffin, King)
w/Chutney Rose
02-9348892-4
The Flim Flam Man (Laura Nyro)
w/The Carmines
Don’t Worry, Baby (Christian, Wilson)
w/Clitoris Club*
On The Beach (Marvin, Richard, Welch)
w/Clitoris Club*
Spanish Eddie (Cochran, Palmer, Swansea) - Filipino version
Angélique (Mann, Weil)
The Lights Of Night (Crewe, Weiss)*
Secret Asian Man
(Barri, Bunyasam, Sharma, Sloan)
A Long, Long Time (Chan, Huong, White)
- Chinese version,
w/The Carmines
Hurt So Bad (Hart, Randazzo, Wilding)
- extended version, from Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing
There’s No Livin’ Without Your Lovin’ (Harris, Kaufman)
w/The Utah Symphony
Baby, Don’t You Know? (Kaye, Verdi)
w/Chutney Rose
Watch Where You Walk (Crewe, Gaudio)*
Dance The Night Away! (Van Halen)
w/The Cabaña Boys****
Rad Asian Manchild
A Musical Celebration
Ram
A QZ Production
Produced by Ramsay Khalid Sharma
*Produced by Chaiwat
**Produced by Lexxideath + Andy Yoshida
***Produced by Lana Suzuki
****Produced by The Cabaña Boys
*****Produced by Dancing Squirrel
******Produced by Quincy Zen
Album Compiled by
Vijay Sharma + Roxanne Venegas
Sound Produced by Xerxes
Remastered @ Zen Studios, Casablanca
Project Coordinator:
Mohandas Flynn
Executive Producer:
Coco Zen
released in Asia
2102
Other posthumous releases of note include the all-instrumental LOVE SHINE DOWN, an aborted follow-up to Ram’s 2065 Dusty Springfield tribute; LIVE IN LIVERPOOL, a disappointingly mediocre document of his Punk Rock years; and RAMSONGS, which will be hailed as his first vocal album with all-original material. Unfortunately, it’s a collection of weak 2074-5 song demos co-written by Bitter Tea lyricist Vanessa Dusk. Vandanna the Witch’s long-ago prediction will be proven wrong on just one count: Pop songwriting is a creative endeavor @ which Ramsay Khalid Sharma will never excel.
All of Ram’s studio albums are reissued, and there’ll be any number of compilations over the years. However, the most significant releases won’t appear until after the year 2100. That’s when Asian fans will be treated to RAD ASIAN MANCHILD, a four-record box set of Santi Music club mixes, album tracks and rarities; while North America sees the first legitimate release of HOT STUFF, documenting Ram’s acclaimed 2074 Burning Man concert. Avis Poindexter does the remixing. Ram’s grown children by Donna Dante, Vijay Sharma and Roxanne Venegas, will help produce both of these gems!
Gone Music GSC-2135
Hot Stuff (Bellotte, Faltermeyer, Forsey)
No Time! (Bachman, Cummings)
Long Cool Woman (Clarke, Cook, Greenaway)
You May Be Right (Billy Joel)
Shining Star (Bailey, Dunn, White)
Rock The Casbah (The Clash)
Magic Carpet Ride (Kay, Moreve)
Runnin’ On Empty (Jackson Browne)
Rhythm Nation (Harris, Jackson, Lewis)
Last Chance To Turn Around (Bruno, Kahan, Millrose)
The Lights Of Night (Crewe, Weiss)
Hot Stuff!
Live @ Burning Man
Ram with Prism Bytch
A Burning Man Production
Music Direction:
Ramsay Khalid Sharma
Sound Produced by Dancing Squirrel
Additional Production + Remix:
Avis Poindexter
Avis Poindexter
Album Project Consultant:
Roxanne Venegas
Recorded @ 2074 Burning Man Festival, Black Rock City
Remixed @ Archie Sound Studios (ASS), Mamaroneck
released in North America
2102
By then, Dody will have joined her husband in the great beyond! In the year 2094, she’ll suffer a serious fall in her home and never recover from it. Preceding her in death will be other New Archies alumni: Lana Suzuki in 2087 and Mal Hypster in 2091. Long-departed members Garcy Briseño and Frankie Fujiyama will both bow out in 2093. Rikki Ninja will survive them all, living to the ripe old age of 106! However, Donna Dante will live long enough to see Ram win the honor she most wanted for him: Election to the Pan-Asian Pop Hall of Fame!
It happens in 2089 @ a gala ceremony held in Bangkok, the city of his birth. Some of the world’s greatest musicians and performers of Asian heritage attend the event. No small number of those stars cite Ramsay Khalid Sharma as either an inspiration, an influence, or both. The youngest of them rock newly-renovated Thailand Cultural Centre to the beat of his big hits: “Different Drum”. “Dody”. “Last Chance To Turn Around”. “Gimme Some Lovin’”. “Gonna Get Along Without You Now!” Yet it’s aging diva Gynger Ming (Ram’s one-time keyboard player) who tears the roof off with her superb rendition of “I Wish I’d Never Loved You”!
Just before Ram is officially inducted, three musically-gifted members of his family take center stage. They perform a medley of hits: Dody takes the first lead vocal on “Tonight, You’re Gonna Fall In Love With Me.” The crowd goes wild! Vijay Sharma then does the honors on “Baby, You’re My Kind Of Woman”. Despite a singing voice very different from his dad's, he delivers a Rock-solid version of this club favorite. The finale is sung by none other than . . . Saddam Sharma!
"I love every song my son recorded," Saddam tells the crowd, "but this one touches my heart more than any other. I know I can never do it justice, but with your permission, I'll try. May I sing for you?" The strains of “The Lights Of Night” fill the massive hall, and there are gasps of awe as Saddam’s sonorous bass voice begins to resonate:
"I love every song my son recorded," Saddam tells the crowd, "but this one touches my heart more than any other. I know I can never do it justice, but with your permission, I'll try. May I sing for you?" The strains of “The Lights Of Night” fill the massive hall, and there are gasps of awe as Saddam’s sonorous bass voice begins to resonate:
Turn on the lights of night! Every star above,
Lead me from wrong to right.
From darkness to your love,
Turn on the lights of night.*
The source of the Rad Asian Manchild’s stellar singing talent is finally known to the world.
RAM LIVES!
The artwork of OEDIPUS RAM was inspired by:
Roy Crane, creator of "Captain Easy"
Chester Gould, creator of "Dick Tracy"
Clarence Matthew "Matt" Baker,
the first known Gay comic artist, graphic novel pioneer,
and cheesecake artist extraordinaire
Jiraiya, Ebisubashi and Tagame,
erotic manga artists extraordinaire
the first known Gay comic artist, graphic novel pioneer,
and cheesecake artist extraordinaire
Jiraiya, Ebisubashi and Tagame,
erotic manga artists extraordinaire
Michael William Kaluta,
the best artist ever to draw "The Shadow"
Nick Cardy, the best artist ever to draw "Teen Titans"
Harry Lucey, Archie Comics artist extraordinaire
the best artist ever to draw "The Shadow"
Nick Cardy, the best artist ever to draw "Teen Titans"
Harry Lucey, Archie Comics artist extraordinaire
Bob Montana, co-creator of "Archie"
Reed Crandall, Lou Fine and Mort Meskin
master craftsmen from the Eisner/Iger Studio
master craftsmen from the Eisner/Iger Studio
Technicolor Processes 2 + 3 (1922-30)
vintage pulp magazine cover art
vintage pulp magazine cover art
and color cartoons produced under the supervision of
Max + Dave Fleischer
Max + Dave Fleischer
This serialized cartoon tragedy is dedicated to the memory of the great Stanley Robert "Bob" Crewe: Songwriter, producer, music business entrepreneur, LGBT icon and visual artist. Dude was so much more than just producer for Frankie Valli + The Four Seasons! Ramsay Khalid Sharma topped the charts with a fanciful album full of his classic Rock songs, but it's easy to imagine a recording artist doing that in real life. The photo below appears courtesy of George Showerer, Crewe's longtime sound engineer.
The working conditions under which OEDIPUS RAM was conceived are as tragic as its storyline: The writer/artist is a homeless man (not by choice!) with few work spaces and no storage space available to him. Most of the original artwork for this graphic novel no longer exists; it was either lost or destroyed. All of the drawings you see were done either in Boston homeless shelters or @ public libraries in Boston, Chelsea and Cambridge, Massachusetts.
OEDIPUS RAM wouldn't have been possible without moral and sometimes financial support from five generous people: Phil X. Milstein, Dr. Lester E. Blue, Jr, Nancy C. Coleman, Shirley Fickett and Michael V. Skeen. DC Hampton Jacobs would also like to thank Chuck Tackett, Roderick Mack and Dr. Jerry Maneker for moral support.
OEDIPUS RAM wouldn't have been possible without moral and sometimes financial support from five generous people: Phil X. Milstein, Dr. Lester E. Blue, Jr, Nancy C. Coleman, Shirley Fickett and Michael V. Skeen. DC Hampton Jacobs would also like to thank Chuck Tackett, Roderick Mack and Dr. Jerry Maneker for moral support.
*Excerpt from “The Lights Of Night”,
words by Bob Crewe, music by Larry Weiss.
Ⓒ Copyright 1969 EMI Longitude Music (BMI).