Interview by: Jon
The Motorettes are an anomaly. They are a “cover” band that can mix, mingle, and kick the crap out of “regular” bands (i.e. “bands that write their own music and take themselves oh so seriously). The Motorettes specialize in Motown and 60’s soul music…therefore managing to appeal to everyone with a radio. I’ve seen them three times and they always kill!
We sat down with Jen, one of the front ladies for the band, to see how they gets things done…
TF: How long have The Motorettes been playing out and how did they get together?
Jen: Kathleen and I lived together for a few months and used to nerd out over old Motown songs together in the car or living room- she’d sing the high parts and I’d take the lows or vice versa, just messin’ around-we both grew up with the music so we already knew every harmony and every word to any song you can think of. My dad played sax in a soul band called Terry and the Uptights in the 50’s and they opened up for a few big names like James Brown, and Kathleen’s dad was in a very similar band playing around the same time. I strongly believe if you have musicians for parents you’re doomed to become one yourself. Anyway, we knew Aran, Jd and Pat would be into the idea (we were all probably in each other’s previous bands at one time or another) so from the first time we got together and practiced, we sounded great and everything just fell into place.
TF:What are some of the other bands your members are/were involved with?
Jen: God, there’s been too many to list but I’ll try… Pat’s has been in and or is currently involved with The Beatnik Termites and The Pro-Teens and runs the label Insubordination Records. Aran was in The Poisonaires and is currently in a totally awesome hip-hop duo called AK Slaughter. Kathleen’s main band is Thee Lexington Arrows but she’s played for countless other bands around town, Andy was in Malt Liquor, JD is currently in Entertainment system, Survivors of Camp Crystal Lake and Rare Candy and was involved in the greatest punk rock joke band to ever exist- Thee Shittens-with yours truly. And I’ve also been involved in more crappy high-school sounding bands than I’m far too embarrassed to even admit.
TF: The band is six members strong; do you find it hard to play some of the smaller sized venues in the city? Do you have to adjust your set or instrumentation to suit the venue?
Jen: Luckily, JD plays on this crazy small drum kit called a “Rhythm Traveler”. It looks like he stole it from an eight-year old- its hilarious. We thought it especially awesome because hes such a big guy and he plays drums like a beast, so the smaller sound evens him out perfectly, its small-stage-friendly, and he looks ridiculous playing it. Plus, I think we all like each other enough at this point to rub elbows a little up there if we gotta.
TF: Unlike most cover bands, The Motorettes play a lot of gigs around Baltimore generally reserved for bands that write originals, making you the Baltimore version of The Detroit Cobras which is great company, but does anyone ever give you shit for it?
Jen: Y’know, I’m kinda surprised but we really don’t get any shit at all for it. I think that people are generally so stoked to hear any of these songs live again that we rarely get any negative words at all. I think it strikes a heart chord with younger people even in the punk or rock scene because they also grew up on Motown and have the same appreciation for it.
TF: Have you found that you are based in a certain “scene” in Baltimore, or do you play wherever, whenever with whomever?
Jen: We are whores. We’ll play anything. We love being the curveball in a rock ‘n roll set and we don’t say no to playing a paying wedding gig either.
TF: Have you played a Bar Mitzvah yet?
Jen: Hah, we were supposed to. We even started learning Hava Nagila. The kid ended up going with a DJ in the end. I guess the parents were probably the ones pushing for Motown anyway.
TF: All of you are (or have been) members of other local bands over the years, and wrote tons of music I’m sure. Now that you are covering some of the greatest music ever written do you find yourselves writing anything and inserting it into your sets…just to see if anyone notices?
Jen: You never know…
TF: Do you ever indulge the “Play Freebird!” guy?
Jen: Fuck that guy. Bands that pander to that guy always end up looking like total dicks anyway because no one can play freebird like Skynyrd.
TF: Do you ever get a “Play Stop In The Name Of Love!” guy?
Jen: We play Happy Hour at the Sidebar every second Friday of the month, and if you know anything about the Sidebar you know that before it become a punk bar at 8pm, it’s a hang out for all the local state’s attorneys. Those guys are amazing- they sing every word, dance and get shit-faced by seven. They usually like to yell out a few requests but we’re happy to play ‘em if we got ‘em. Yeah, we’re a real hit with the drunk lawyers.
TF: What’s been your favorite show moment thus far?
Jen: We just played with one of Kathleen’s and my all time favorite bands, The Dirtbombs. It was a fucking great show- we got to open up for them and also play with another great local rock duo, The Expotentials. We killed it that night and Mick Collins (lead singer of the Dirtbombs and countless other amazing rock bands) personally thanked us on stage.
TF: I noticed you have a few recordings on Myspace. Have The Motorettes ever considered recording a proper record?
Jen: We have an EP out right now that we mostly use for press kits and promotion- I mean, if the demand goes up for a full album of our covers, I think we’d definitely consider it. I think that if we ever do write originals we’d be in the studio in a heartbeat.
TF: Who are some of the other local bands you would recommend?
Jen: Sooo many. I’m so proud of local music right now. Obviously all our other bands. Let’s see…The Mishaps, The Expotentials, The Hall Monitors, The Ambitions, Payola Reserve, Lazlo Lee & The Motherless Children, The Garnet Hearts, The Sick Sick Birds, Ratsize, Hollywood, The Squaaks and soo soo many more. Don’t take my word for it, go see their shows! Also, dance around a little. Enjoy yourself. I’m so sick of the kids that pay to get into a show and then act like they don’t wanna be there.
TF: You are also the owner of Patterson Perk Coffee Shop and co-founder of Catfight! Photography. Is it hard juggling all the ventures at once?
Jen: Holy shit…hard is an understatement. I should be committed for actually thinking that I could do all this and still have a social life. Although, I must admit, there’s nothing better than working for yourself and saying “fuck you!” to The Man on a daily basis. I just never though being so punk would involve this much fucking work.
TF: What’s up next for The Motorettes?
Jen: We are super busy. We’ve got weddings and private parties booked (horray for catering and open bar) and we’re booking more shows around town and on the East Coast. And we’re gonna keep doing the Happy Hour thing at the Sidebar until we wear out our welcome. So, plenty of opportunities for people to come out, have a drink and get down with the Motown Sound.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
The Acyd Test August 2008
Walking through Cambridge on 8/9 was, for the most part, an enjoyable experience. Everyone I nodded to on the sidewalk either stared or looked away, but I get enough of that from family and friends not to really notice. And the girls in the Palace Family Restaurant gave me a new appreciation for Greek culture--or genetics, at least.
And when we parked across from Scoop Station on Muir Street, we met some more of the town's finest. Before I had time to finish my cigarette, a friendly police officer advised me not to loiter, and looked longingly at my Jeep, longing to search it, no doubt.
As punks and other local music fans gathered on the corner, a flock of cops gathered across the street, one or more of which sauntered around peering into parked cars. Those with a lot of bumper stickers received the most attention. Apparently no one left anything in plain view, because there were no searches, but it must have galled them to know that, most assuredly, a stash of drugs and alcohol lay right under their noses.
Is this usual behavior in Cambridge? Or is it, as I suspect, an example of stereotyping? We dress differently. Most smoke and stare blankly at the cops with contempt that can't be concealed. The dangerous element is there, the demeanor, not of sheep being led to slaughter, but of wolves, wolves that would eat the pigs.
So, instead of thinking…"Ah! A gathering of the city's youth at a musical event! It's simply smashing that they're out on a Saturday night exposing themselves to some culture!"…our cop friends see a criminal class. Vagrants. Trouble-makers. Wild dogs that need to be caged. They watch, hoping to spot one wrong move, and when it doesn't come, the group migrates a few blocks to Dunkin Donuts, most likely. Or one big blue-shirted circle jerk, for all I know.
Otherwise, the show at Scoop Station with Press Black, World Class Defects, Napalm in the Mourning, and a few others, was outstanding and a great way to spend a summer evening. Scoop Station is shaping up to be one of the best local venues, especially for underage bands. Check it out, buy some ice cream, and enjoy a local music act. Just try to avoid The Man across the street.
Chris Acyd
And when we parked across from Scoop Station on Muir Street, we met some more of the town's finest. Before I had time to finish my cigarette, a friendly police officer advised me not to loiter, and looked longingly at my Jeep, longing to search it, no doubt.
As punks and other local music fans gathered on the corner, a flock of cops gathered across the street, one or more of which sauntered around peering into parked cars. Those with a lot of bumper stickers received the most attention. Apparently no one left anything in plain view, because there were no searches, but it must have galled them to know that, most assuredly, a stash of drugs and alcohol lay right under their noses.
Is this usual behavior in Cambridge? Or is it, as I suspect, an example of stereotyping? We dress differently. Most smoke and stare blankly at the cops with contempt that can't be concealed. The dangerous element is there, the demeanor, not of sheep being led to slaughter, but of wolves, wolves that would eat the pigs.
So, instead of thinking…"Ah! A gathering of the city's youth at a musical event! It's simply smashing that they're out on a Saturday night exposing themselves to some culture!"…our cop friends see a criminal class. Vagrants. Trouble-makers. Wild dogs that need to be caged. They watch, hoping to spot one wrong move, and when it doesn't come, the group migrates a few blocks to Dunkin Donuts, most likely. Or one big blue-shirted circle jerk, for all I know.
Otherwise, the show at Scoop Station with Press Black, World Class Defects, Napalm in the Mourning, and a few others, was outstanding and a great way to spend a summer evening. Scoop Station is shaping up to be one of the best local venues, especially for underage bands. Check it out, buy some ice cream, and enjoy a local music act. Just try to avoid The Man across the street.
Chris Acyd
Pete Yorko The Sidebar, Baltimore MD, Aug 1, 2008
D. Van Skiver
If you’re a musician, you typically spend the hour before your set wishing these other guys would hurry up and finish, even if it’s a band you like. I mean, sure, they’re doing their thing, and you’d never take that away from them even if they suck, but come on, you’ve been waiting all week to play this show. As soon as their guitarist finishes showing off his spin kicks or his “fucking badass metal dude” moves, you can finally get your stuff heard.
Not so when the night’s billing includes Pete Yorko.
He was billed as a “one man band”, which conjured up unpleasant warnings in my mind. His setup consisted of two kick-pedal drums and an electric guitar. I thought to myself, “this could go one of two ways…”
It went the right way. Sure, the drums didn’t sound like John Bonham – how could they? But they weren’t all just boom-tap, boom-tap either. Yorko actually managed to make them interesting, while playing guitar, while singing, and, most impressive of all, while maintaining a good stage presence. And that was just what I noticed first…
His guitar playing took a while to announce itself to my brain. It was adequate, but about halfway through his set, I realized that this kid was better than that. He was GOOD. He didn’t show off, he didn’t play lead, but as someone who’s always appreciated rhythm over flash, his playing was exactly what I like to hear. And the way he played, I’d be willing to bet he’s capable of the flashy shit too.
Yorko can sing as well as anyone, but when the moment calls for it, his scream can put them all to shame. It’s a standard punk rock rule that at least 40% of all vocals must be yelled. All too often, though, singers take the easy way out by just trying to make it as sonically unpleasing as possible while counting on the theory that those “in the know” will get how artful it is. And while that may have been true the first 400 times, punk is 30 years old now, and the genre, along with its screaming, has been butchered by about 20 years worth of bad bands. The reality is that a good screamer is able to do it within the context of the song, not outside of it. He doesn’t distract from the music or cover it up; he enhances it. Yorko gets this, fully understands it, and delivers it flawlessly.
So what does he sound like? More good news for me… his influences are the same ones that made Uncle Tupelo and The Reverend Horton Heat what they are, but Yorko mixes this with the raw energy and loud, open chords of the early days of punk. He covers both Woody Guthrie and Hank Williams, but there is none of the laughter that one usually hears from a punk crowd when the band performs their token “cross-genre cover song”. Yorko conveys an honesty about him that tells you instantly that he’s covering these songs because he understands their connection to the “DIY” ethics of punk, because he disregards the genre-labels that so many fans use as a crutch, and most importantly, because he loves these songs.
He finished and we took the stage, but if he'd wanted another half-hour, I'd have gladly waited.
If you’re a musician, you typically spend the hour before your set wishing these other guys would hurry up and finish, even if it’s a band you like. I mean, sure, they’re doing their thing, and you’d never take that away from them even if they suck, but come on, you’ve been waiting all week to play this show. As soon as their guitarist finishes showing off his spin kicks or his “fucking badass metal dude” moves, you can finally get your stuff heard.
Not so when the night’s billing includes Pete Yorko.
He was billed as a “one man band”, which conjured up unpleasant warnings in my mind. His setup consisted of two kick-pedal drums and an electric guitar. I thought to myself, “this could go one of two ways…”
It went the right way. Sure, the drums didn’t sound like John Bonham – how could they? But they weren’t all just boom-tap, boom-tap either. Yorko actually managed to make them interesting, while playing guitar, while singing, and, most impressive of all, while maintaining a good stage presence. And that was just what I noticed first…
His guitar playing took a while to announce itself to my brain. It was adequate, but about halfway through his set, I realized that this kid was better than that. He was GOOD. He didn’t show off, he didn’t play lead, but as someone who’s always appreciated rhythm over flash, his playing was exactly what I like to hear. And the way he played, I’d be willing to bet he’s capable of the flashy shit too.
Yorko can sing as well as anyone, but when the moment calls for it, his scream can put them all to shame. It’s a standard punk rock rule that at least 40% of all vocals must be yelled. All too often, though, singers take the easy way out by just trying to make it as sonically unpleasing as possible while counting on the theory that those “in the know” will get how artful it is. And while that may have been true the first 400 times, punk is 30 years old now, and the genre, along with its screaming, has been butchered by about 20 years worth of bad bands. The reality is that a good screamer is able to do it within the context of the song, not outside of it. He doesn’t distract from the music or cover it up; he enhances it. Yorko gets this, fully understands it, and delivers it flawlessly.
So what does he sound like? More good news for me… his influences are the same ones that made Uncle Tupelo and The Reverend Horton Heat what they are, but Yorko mixes this with the raw energy and loud, open chords of the early days of punk. He covers both Woody Guthrie and Hank Williams, but there is none of the laughter that one usually hears from a punk crowd when the band performs their token “cross-genre cover song”. Yorko conveys an honesty about him that tells you instantly that he’s covering these songs because he understands their connection to the “DIY” ethics of punk, because he disregards the genre-labels that so many fans use as a crutch, and most importantly, because he loves these songs.
He finished and we took the stage, but if he'd wanted another half-hour, I'd have gladly waited.
Pete Yorko - “The Bigger Picture”
By: C. Beaz
Sometimes you don’t get what you expect. When I saw Pete Yorko perform earlier this month my first impression was “Great, a one man band…a guy who is so untalented that the only person that will play with him is himself!” But, what I got was a guy that was extremely talented. So talented in fact, that he didn’t need a band at all. He played a set of songs that were instantly memorable. I know this is true because when I got home and listened to the CD, “The Bigger Picture”, I knew the songs from his set the night before.
I didn’t just recognize them, I KNEW them! Maybe because songs like “Pennsylvania Line” and “Reno Café” have been written before. They were re-written standards. I don’t like the word generic, it sounds too much like an insult. Although I did seem to know where each song was going before it went there.
This all sounds like criticism, but the familiarity is exactly what I love about it! It’s GREAT. Get it, put it in your stereo and spend about an hour singing along to songs you’ve never heard before.
www.peteyorko.com
Sometimes you don’t get what you expect. When I saw Pete Yorko perform earlier this month my first impression was “Great, a one man band…a guy who is so untalented that the only person that will play with him is himself!” But, what I got was a guy that was extremely talented. So talented in fact, that he didn’t need a band at all. He played a set of songs that were instantly memorable. I know this is true because when I got home and listened to the CD, “The Bigger Picture”, I knew the songs from his set the night before.
I didn’t just recognize them, I KNEW them! Maybe because songs like “Pennsylvania Line” and “Reno Café” have been written before. They were re-written standards. I don’t like the word generic, it sounds too much like an insult. Although I did seem to know where each song was going before it went there.
This all sounds like criticism, but the familiarity is exactly what I love about it! It’s GREAT. Get it, put it in your stereo and spend about an hour singing along to songs you’ve never heard before.
www.peteyorko.com
My Olympic Wrap-Up
By: C. Beaz
The 2008 Summer Olympics were a thrill to watch. There were so many moments that had me on the edge of my seat. It makes it hard to pick the highlights. Let’s do a top ten:
10. American swimmer Michael Phelps wins his first gold medal of the 2008 games.
9. Michael Phelps wins his second gold medal of the 2008 games.
8. Coca-Cola releases limited edition collectible Coke cans.
7. German gymnast takes wicked spill off the high bar.
6. Michael Phelps wins third and fourth gold’s.
5. I finally had a reason to watch MSNBC.
4. China’s women’s gymnastics team discovers the cure for aging.
3. Bob Costas.
2. Michael Phelps shocks the world by continuing to decimate the competition.
1. Knowing that eating McDonald’s is the American thing to do.
Especially if I charge it to my Visa.
The 2008 Summer Olympics were a thrill to watch. There were so many moments that had me on the edge of my seat. It makes it hard to pick the highlights. Let’s do a top ten:
10. American swimmer Michael Phelps wins his first gold medal of the 2008 games.
9. Michael Phelps wins his second gold medal of the 2008 games.
8. Coca-Cola releases limited edition collectible Coke cans.
7. German gymnast takes wicked spill off the high bar.
6. Michael Phelps wins third and fourth gold’s.
5. I finally had a reason to watch MSNBC.
4. China’s women’s gymnastics team discovers the cure for aging.
3. Bob Costas.
2. Michael Phelps shocks the world by continuing to decimate the competition.
1. Knowing that eating McDonald’s is the American thing to do.
Especially if I charge it to my Visa.
An Interview with Baltimore’s Vincent Black Shadow
by: Cody
TF: Where does the name come from?
VBS: the Vincent Black Shadow is a mythically powerful motorcycle (1000 ccs) made in the late 40s and early 50s that, tested by Hunter S. Thompson, led him to reach the conclusion that "If you rode the Black Shadow at top speed for any length of time, you would almost certainly die".
TF: You guys recorded "More Deeper" to 2" tape it says...What were the pros and cons in comparison to recording on say, a computer?
VBS: Lord Baltimore Recordings needed a two-inch tape machine to make this record happen, so we broke into Inner Ear Studios, burned all of the Fugazi master reels, and stole their machine, then sprinkled it with ashes from Felix Pappalardi's grave. The whole experience gave the recording the fucked quality we were looking for.
TF: What's the best way to get a hold of one of your music without getting it from you guys at a show...Mailorder? Digital Download?
VBS: The record can be ordered from www. heartbreakbeatrecords. com, revolver/midheaven distribution, MVD distribution, and our Myspace page has links to the digital download site run by Thrill Jockey records. Envelopes of cash and/or hard drugs can be mailed straight to us for some sort of response.
TF: What label are you on, and what other stuff are they putting out?
VBS: The label is HEARTBREAK BEAT, out of New York, run by our dear friend Francesco. He's put out a number of Baltimore bands like Beach House (LP) and the New Flesh, as well as a few other bands. He's currently mulling over options on future releases as he recuperates from several broken bones sustained from borrowing money to fund “MORE DEEPER”, the new album, which went $75,000 over budget.
TF: Any side projects or previous bands worth checking out?
VBS: Dave makes religious noise with PASTURES and on his own. Dirck and Adam have a black metal project called CEMETERY PISS. Adam did guest vocals on the upcoming HOLLYWOOD record. Dirck is playing bass for a death metal band called MARROW. I'm replacing Scott Weiland in Velvet Revolver. There are other projects that have yet to be named.
TF: If I’m not mistaken, you guys played with Be Your Own Pet a few months back...they are a great band, how was that show?
VBS: They're friends of ours that we met through playing with Turbo Fruits, (their side project who do a vicious cover or MC5's "rambling rose"). The BYOP show was a fantastic rager, they're great folks who appreciate loud rock music as much as we do. Hopefully our paths cross again soon.
TF: Where can we see you live in the next few months?
VBS: We're playing on September 5th at a spot called the NOWAREHOUSE in pigtown with VALKYRIE from Central Virginia, and DEATHAMMER from Baltimore.
October 20, we're playing with our 10-4 good buddies MONOTONIX from Tel Aviv, Israel, and DMBQ from Tokyo, Japan at the Ottobar.
TF: Any music you guys listen to on your free time that people wouldn't expect based on what VBS sounds like?
VBS: We go all over, but probably listen to everything you would expect. Dave enjoys his KISS records, freak-folk and hippie cult rock. Adam has an extensive 80s and 90s hip-hop collection. Dirck likes satanic death metal and black metal, as well as King Sunny Ade. Rufus is forced to listen to house music through the walls of his apartment thanks to his lame cafe neighbor. Me, I spell summertime V-A-N H-A-L-E-N.
TF: Are these the most generic, boring ass interview questions that you've ever been bothered with?
VBS: Eh, at least you didn't ask about some band from Canada.
TF: Where does the name come from?
VBS: the Vincent Black Shadow is a mythically powerful motorcycle (1000 ccs) made in the late 40s and early 50s that, tested by Hunter S. Thompson, led him to reach the conclusion that "If you rode the Black Shadow at top speed for any length of time, you would almost certainly die".
TF: You guys recorded "More Deeper" to 2" tape it says...What were the pros and cons in comparison to recording on say, a computer?
VBS: Lord Baltimore Recordings needed a two-inch tape machine to make this record happen, so we broke into Inner Ear Studios, burned all of the Fugazi master reels, and stole their machine, then sprinkled it with ashes from Felix Pappalardi's grave. The whole experience gave the recording the fucked quality we were looking for.
TF: What's the best way to get a hold of one of your music without getting it from you guys at a show...Mailorder? Digital Download?
VBS: The record can be ordered from www. heartbreakbeatrecords. com, revolver/midheaven distribution, MVD distribution, and our Myspace page has links to the digital download site run by Thrill Jockey records. Envelopes of cash and/or hard drugs can be mailed straight to us for some sort of response.
TF: What label are you on, and what other stuff are they putting out?
VBS: The label is HEARTBREAK BEAT, out of New York, run by our dear friend Francesco. He's put out a number of Baltimore bands like Beach House (LP) and the New Flesh, as well as a few other bands. He's currently mulling over options on future releases as he recuperates from several broken bones sustained from borrowing money to fund “MORE DEEPER”, the new album, which went $75,000 over budget.
TF: Any side projects or previous bands worth checking out?
VBS: Dave makes religious noise with PASTURES and on his own. Dirck and Adam have a black metal project called CEMETERY PISS. Adam did guest vocals on the upcoming HOLLYWOOD record. Dirck is playing bass for a death metal band called MARROW. I'm replacing Scott Weiland in Velvet Revolver. There are other projects that have yet to be named.
TF: If I’m not mistaken, you guys played with Be Your Own Pet a few months back...they are a great band, how was that show?
VBS: They're friends of ours that we met through playing with Turbo Fruits, (their side project who do a vicious cover or MC5's "rambling rose"). The BYOP show was a fantastic rager, they're great folks who appreciate loud rock music as much as we do. Hopefully our paths cross again soon.
TF: Where can we see you live in the next few months?
VBS: We're playing on September 5th at a spot called the NOWAREHOUSE in pigtown with VALKYRIE from Central Virginia, and DEATHAMMER from Baltimore.
October 20, we're playing with our 10-4 good buddies MONOTONIX from Tel Aviv, Israel, and DMBQ from Tokyo, Japan at the Ottobar.
TF: Any music you guys listen to on your free time that people wouldn't expect based on what VBS sounds like?
VBS: We go all over, but probably listen to everything you would expect. Dave enjoys his KISS records, freak-folk and hippie cult rock. Adam has an extensive 80s and 90s hip-hop collection. Dirck likes satanic death metal and black metal, as well as King Sunny Ade. Rufus is forced to listen to house music through the walls of his apartment thanks to his lame cafe neighbor. Me, I spell summertime V-A-N H-A-L-E-N.
TF: Are these the most generic, boring ass interview questions that you've ever been bothered with?
VBS: Eh, at least you didn't ask about some band from Canada.
The Bands of Think Forward Show 2
The Living Wrecks
www.thelivingwrecks.com
The band formed in late 2006 in Baltimore with Shane Wreck, Kevin, Jack,
and a revolving lineup of bass players. Feb 07 sees the addition of our
newest member Alex (one big ball of energy) on bass. They released the
Get Wrecked EP in March, 2007 and are currently working on their
new release, Cheap Heat. They will conquer the world or at least
The Sidebar with their brand of stripped down, fast, loud punk rocknroll…
Thee Lexington Arrows
www.myspace.com/theelexingtonarrows.com
Formed in the winter of 2004 by Kathleen Wilson on lead vocals/rhythm guitar (former keyboardist of the Shakedowns), Alex Fine on lead guitar(former guitarist of the now defunct Alphabet Bombers), Curt Schmelz on bass (also formerly with the Alphabet Bombers), and Matt Pie on drums, Thee Lexington Arrows blend a unique style of surf rock, rockabilly, and garage rock coming from each of the member's eclectic influences.
OmegaBand
www.omegaband.net
Indie rock, Alt-Rock, Metal, Punk, Garage, Hard Rock, Black Rock, Glam, Psychedelic...The list of subgenres is both never ending and constantly morphing while rock and roll in its orginal definition was something much more basic and primal.
The word rock had a long history within the English language as being a metaphor meaning "to shake up, to disturb or to incite". The word roll was also a popular metaphor which meant having sex as in "roll in the hay" and so on.
Though the variety of influences is infinite, the realm of OmegaBand is within the context of this definition. And while the aim of our message is most definitely to shake up the snow globes of minds that surround us, it is in our live performances that we are most able to illustrate these ideals with the unrestrained passion and sensuality that comes straight from the soul.
Originally formed in 2005, OmegaBand currently consists of Alpha Betts on lyrics and microphones, Kirk Waldroff on bass and Bala Harper on drums. Recently we've had the good fortune of adding Kristin Arant on percussion and background vocals and James Reeves on guitar.
Rainy Day Cacophony
www.myspace.com/rainydaycacophony.com
Hi! Rainy Day Cacophony has always been and always will be a musical project featuring the musicality of my friends and i. This congregation of like-minded musical souls has been going on since 1999 and has been documented with various tapes and a couple of cd’s. I took a hiatus with this project due to my involvement with other bands (Guys in the Van and Showcase.) Since 2006 I have been back into it and have been writing a few songs. The first batch is featured on an album called Chainsaw Pop. Which was a solo effort due to crazy work schedules, existential crisis, and life in general. Ask and you shall receive (the album, that is.) Currently Justin Maynard has been playing bass and writing songs with me (Tim Sutton the Korean guitar player responsible for this mess.) Thanks goes to all the awesome bands that have shared a stage, all the kind people that have taken pictures, come out to shows, or just had some encouraging words to say. You know who you are. More events will take place as this project unfolds....
Royal City Riot
www.royalcityriot.com
Formed on Long Island in November 2006, comes a band that plays a wide variety of music that Long Island hasn't heard in years. With ex-members of The Flaming Tsunamis, Stealing Jane, and The Vagabonds and borrowing members from Spider Nick & The Maddogs, Royal City Riot brings a new sound, something fresh. Combing a traditional ska sound fused with a new two-tone edge, then mix with some reggae and rocksteady beats, and out comes Royal City Riot. The band has enjoyed support from a loyal fan base in despite its young age, and also shared the stage with national acts as Big D and the Kids Table, Westbound Train, Whole Wheat Bread, Brain Failure, The Toasters, The Slackers, Satori and The Pietasters. RCR just finished up their first full length album and will embark on an east coast and midwest tour in support of it this summer and fall. So keep your eyes open, and your ears listening…
www.thelivingwrecks.com
The band formed in late 2006 in Baltimore with Shane Wreck, Kevin, Jack,
and a revolving lineup of bass players. Feb 07 sees the addition of our
newest member Alex (one big ball of energy) on bass. They released the
Get Wrecked EP in March, 2007 and are currently working on their
new release, Cheap Heat. They will conquer the world or at least
The Sidebar with their brand of stripped down, fast, loud punk rocknroll…
Thee Lexington Arrows
www.myspace.com/theelexingtonarrows.com
Formed in the winter of 2004 by Kathleen Wilson on lead vocals/rhythm guitar (former keyboardist of the Shakedowns), Alex Fine on lead guitar(former guitarist of the now defunct Alphabet Bombers), Curt Schmelz on bass (also formerly with the Alphabet Bombers), and Matt Pie on drums, Thee Lexington Arrows blend a unique style of surf rock, rockabilly, and garage rock coming from each of the member's eclectic influences.
OmegaBand
www.omegaband.net
Indie rock, Alt-Rock, Metal, Punk, Garage, Hard Rock, Black Rock, Glam, Psychedelic...The list of subgenres is both never ending and constantly morphing while rock and roll in its orginal definition was something much more basic and primal.
The word rock had a long history within the English language as being a metaphor meaning "to shake up, to disturb or to incite". The word roll was also a popular metaphor which meant having sex as in "roll in the hay" and so on.
Though the variety of influences is infinite, the realm of OmegaBand is within the context of this definition. And while the aim of our message is most definitely to shake up the snow globes of minds that surround us, it is in our live performances that we are most able to illustrate these ideals with the unrestrained passion and sensuality that comes straight from the soul.
Originally formed in 2005, OmegaBand currently consists of Alpha Betts on lyrics and microphones, Kirk Waldroff on bass and Bala Harper on drums. Recently we've had the good fortune of adding Kristin Arant on percussion and background vocals and James Reeves on guitar.
Rainy Day Cacophony
www.myspace.com/rainydaycacophony.com
Hi! Rainy Day Cacophony has always been and always will be a musical project featuring the musicality of my friends and i. This congregation of like-minded musical souls has been going on since 1999 and has been documented with various tapes and a couple of cd’s. I took a hiatus with this project due to my involvement with other bands (Guys in the Van and Showcase.) Since 2006 I have been back into it and have been writing a few songs. The first batch is featured on an album called Chainsaw Pop. Which was a solo effort due to crazy work schedules, existential crisis, and life in general. Ask and you shall receive (the album, that is.) Currently Justin Maynard has been playing bass and writing songs with me (Tim Sutton the Korean guitar player responsible for this mess.) Thanks goes to all the awesome bands that have shared a stage, all the kind people that have taken pictures, come out to shows, or just had some encouraging words to say. You know who you are. More events will take place as this project unfolds....
Royal City Riot
www.royalcityriot.com
Formed on Long Island in November 2006, comes a band that plays a wide variety of music that Long Island hasn't heard in years. With ex-members of The Flaming Tsunamis, Stealing Jane, and The Vagabonds and borrowing members from Spider Nick & The Maddogs, Royal City Riot brings a new sound, something fresh. Combing a traditional ska sound fused with a new two-tone edge, then mix with some reggae and rocksteady beats, and out comes Royal City Riot. The band has enjoyed support from a loyal fan base in despite its young age, and also shared the stage with national acts as Big D and the Kids Table, Westbound Train, Whole Wheat Bread, Brain Failure, The Toasters, The Slackers, Satori and The Pietasters. RCR just finished up their first full length album and will embark on an east coast and midwest tour in support of it this summer and fall. So keep your eyes open, and your ears listening…
“Under the Radar” August 2008
by: Cody
Scratch Acid - "The Greatest Gift" (1982-1986)
Frantic, Grinding, Far-out, truly terrifying Texas punk rock...chances are you will never hear anything quite like Scratch Acid. The Greatest Gift is the bands complete catalogue on one CD (Two EP's and one full length). The material consists of some sort of whacked out psychedelic punk reminiscent of early Butthole Surfers and maybe a touch of Mr. Bungle thrown in but not really like either of those bands at all if that makes any sense because any comparison is far fetched honestly. This music scares me not in a cheesy ass Michale Graves-era Misfits kinda way (for the record Michale Graves-era Misfits are too cheesy to be anything but laughable)...There are songs about human incineration, cannibalism, mold taking over someone's house, and a cover from the "Jesus Christ Superstar" soundtrack all on the same album...That shit keeps me up at night...Get it on I-tunes or Amazon, good luck finding it in a store...
Scratch Acid - "The Greatest Gift" (1982-1986)
Frantic, Grinding, Far-out, truly terrifying Texas punk rock...chances are you will never hear anything quite like Scratch Acid. The Greatest Gift is the bands complete catalogue on one CD (Two EP's and one full length). The material consists of some sort of whacked out psychedelic punk reminiscent of early Butthole Surfers and maybe a touch of Mr. Bungle thrown in but not really like either of those bands at all if that makes any sense because any comparison is far fetched honestly. This music scares me not in a cheesy ass Michale Graves-era Misfits kinda way (for the record Michale Graves-era Misfits are too cheesy to be anything but laughable)...There are songs about human incineration, cannibalism, mold taking over someone's house, and a cover from the "Jesus Christ Superstar" soundtrack all on the same album...That shit keeps me up at night...Get it on I-tunes or Amazon, good luck finding it in a store...
And So It Shall Be
Issue #3 of this zine…or pamphlet…depending on who you talk to…has been a bit more of a labor of love than the first two. Mostly because we were just winging the first two, whereas now we’ve a bit more structure (meaning we have regular articles month to month…) so it takes a little more effort to make sure everything is as it should be. We wanna thank Dan, Pat, Steve, & Chris Acyd for joining up! It’s the contributions from others that have made this worth while. No one wants to hear our thoughts and opinions over and over. Therefore if YOU want to say anything or show anything within these wonderfully copied pages, just let us know! We’re always looking for more.
We’ve begun work on issue #4 as we speak, so hopefully that one won’t be quite as late as this one. This month we’ve featured “The Bands of THINK FORWARD part 2”, as well as three local bands NOT playing “Think Forward part 2”. So I guess we’re well rounded? I dunno. We also have the return of “Crime Dog” from Issue #1! So stay tuned we have plenty more in store.
~ Us here at Think Forward ~
We’ve begun work on issue #4 as we speak, so hopefully that one won’t be quite as late as this one. This month we’ve featured “The Bands of THINK FORWARD part 2”, as well as three local bands NOT playing “Think Forward part 2”. So I guess we’re well rounded? I dunno. We also have the return of “Crime Dog” from Issue #1! So stay tuned we have plenty more in store.
~ Us here at Think Forward ~
A different point of view...
by: D. Van Skiver
In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit. Hobbits are short people, similar to, but smaller than dwarves, who love peace and quiet and good-tilled earth and never go off on adventures or buy any music that isn't safe or any art that doesn't have pictures of ducks in it. They're content with their simple, boring lives in a land called The Shire, where there are no traffic lights and nothing of serious consequence ever happens. In fact, hobbits are very similar to those nosy old women in small, middle-class towns who are completely oblivious to the fact that there are homosexuals, other religions, and non-whites out there in the real world.
This particular hobbit's name was Bilbo Baggins, and he was named after a Leonard Nimoy song. One day he was visited by a Wizard named Gandalf Magneto and thirteen dwarves (no relation to Dopey or Sneezy), who fast-talked him into accompanying them to a faraway mountain to rid them of a dragon who they claimed had stolen their home and their treasure. Along the way, the dwarves and the hobbit had many small adventures, including a nearly fatal encounter with some incredibly stupid trolls and some equally stupid giant talking spiders.
One night while crossing some mountains, they decided to do some breaking and entering into what they swore they had no idea was the back door to the goblin kingdom, and to for some inexplicable reason, the goblins weren't happy about it at all. While trying to outrun the goblins, Bilbo slipped and fell into a crevice and met a charming little fellow named Gollum, who, rather than demand to know why Bilbo had invaded his home, proved himself a very good host by sitting down and playing games with him. Little did poor Gollum know that Bilbo, always the keen theif, had stolen his most prized possession, a golden ring that makes you invisible. After the exchange of a few riddles, in which Bilbo blatantly cheated, he used Gollum's ring to sneak away, leaving his host alone in the dark with no protection against the goblins that would surely kill him if they ever found him there. For, you see, our friend Gollum was a squatter who had set up his meager home in the basement of the goblins' caves, after being driven away from his home for being different and ugly. Coincidentally, Gollum's family were also hobbits.
Bilbo met back up with his friends and, after setting fire to the goblins' dogs, they traveled through Mirkwood forest, where they trespassed yet again, this time on the home of the wood elves, who are pretty good at flipping shields upside-down and riding them down stairs like skateboards. The elves detained the dwarves, but not Gandalf Magneto, who had mysteriously abandoned his friends just before things got really dangerous, and not Bilbo, who used his stolen ring to escape. After that, instead of rescuing his friends, Bilbo spent a month wearing his stolen ring and hanging out in the elves' houses, eating their food, drinking their beer and wine, and probably scaring the piss out of them every time he made a sound. Eventually, he liberated the dwarves and packed them into barrels like they weren't living fucking creatures with souls, and then he rode the barrels like a raft down the river in what was just about the most degrading and undignified rescue in the history of action/adventure rescues.
They came at last to the lonely mountain, where Bilbo once again commited home invasion, this time stealing a jewel from atop a mountain of treasure that he could not prove the dwarves had ever owned, except by the word of the dwarves who had tricked him into travelling with them in the first place, and who had a lot to gain by driving this dragon out of his home... namely, his home and his treasure.
The dragon was justifiably pissed about this little theft, and took it out on the men of a small village just beside the mountain, called Dale, who he probably trusted to be good neighbors and watch his back as he would certainly have watched theirs. The men of Dale brutally murdered the dragon, and the dwarves, who had really not had to do much of anything through this entire adventure except walk and listen to Gandalf Magneto's boring stories about the old days and how these kids today don't appreciate anything, just stepped in and claimed the mountain hall and its treasure as their own.
This pissed off the men of Dale, who, as the dragon slayers, had slightly more legal claim to his horde, and it also pissed off the wood elves, who insisted that they be compensated for their barrels and for the public embarassment of being outsmarted by a puny fucking hobbit. Adding to the hostilities was the arrival of the goblins, who are just generally grumpy and pissed off all the time anyway, but who in this case had every right to be mad at the dwarves and wizard who had broken into their home, refused to answer for themselves, and killed several goblins out of sheer spite while escaping before setting fire to their pets. Before it was all said and done, a bunch of talking eagles had shown up out of the blue and the bloodbath that ensued was known as "The Battle Of Five Armies". When it was over, the goblins were all dead and the dwarves made peace with the men and elves.
Bilbo went home, stopping to visit one of those hermit-type men with a really hairy back on the way, you know the type... they live in a house they built themselves, they mistrust everyone, they have a big, bushy beard, they collect weapons, they read Soldier Of Fortune magazine, and they're likely to snap at any second and become completely irrational.
When he got home, Bilbo discovered that his neighbors, being the untrustworthy hobbits that they are, were ransacking his house and selling off his belongings. He chased them away and lived happily ever after, until he got old and decided to run off to live with elves and get his innocent and unknowing nephew involved in what only turned out to be world war fucking three, while he sat around writing poetry and talking about old times. But that's another story..
In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit. Hobbits are short people, similar to, but smaller than dwarves, who love peace and quiet and good-tilled earth and never go off on adventures or buy any music that isn't safe or any art that doesn't have pictures of ducks in it. They're content with their simple, boring lives in a land called The Shire, where there are no traffic lights and nothing of serious consequence ever happens. In fact, hobbits are very similar to those nosy old women in small, middle-class towns who are completely oblivious to the fact that there are homosexuals, other religions, and non-whites out there in the real world.
This particular hobbit's name was Bilbo Baggins, and he was named after a Leonard Nimoy song. One day he was visited by a Wizard named Gandalf Magneto and thirteen dwarves (no relation to Dopey or Sneezy), who fast-talked him into accompanying them to a faraway mountain to rid them of a dragon who they claimed had stolen their home and their treasure. Along the way, the dwarves and the hobbit had many small adventures, including a nearly fatal encounter with some incredibly stupid trolls and some equally stupid giant talking spiders.
One night while crossing some mountains, they decided to do some breaking and entering into what they swore they had no idea was the back door to the goblin kingdom, and to for some inexplicable reason, the goblins weren't happy about it at all. While trying to outrun the goblins, Bilbo slipped and fell into a crevice and met a charming little fellow named Gollum, who, rather than demand to know why Bilbo had invaded his home, proved himself a very good host by sitting down and playing games with him. Little did poor Gollum know that Bilbo, always the keen theif, had stolen his most prized possession, a golden ring that makes you invisible. After the exchange of a few riddles, in which Bilbo blatantly cheated, he used Gollum's ring to sneak away, leaving his host alone in the dark with no protection against the goblins that would surely kill him if they ever found him there. For, you see, our friend Gollum was a squatter who had set up his meager home in the basement of the goblins' caves, after being driven away from his home for being different and ugly. Coincidentally, Gollum's family were also hobbits.
Bilbo met back up with his friends and, after setting fire to the goblins' dogs, they traveled through Mirkwood forest, where they trespassed yet again, this time on the home of the wood elves, who are pretty good at flipping shields upside-down and riding them down stairs like skateboards. The elves detained the dwarves, but not Gandalf Magneto, who had mysteriously abandoned his friends just before things got really dangerous, and not Bilbo, who used his stolen ring to escape. After that, instead of rescuing his friends, Bilbo spent a month wearing his stolen ring and hanging out in the elves' houses, eating their food, drinking their beer and wine, and probably scaring the piss out of them every time he made a sound. Eventually, he liberated the dwarves and packed them into barrels like they weren't living fucking creatures with souls, and then he rode the barrels like a raft down the river in what was just about the most degrading and undignified rescue in the history of action/adventure rescues.
They came at last to the lonely mountain, where Bilbo once again commited home invasion, this time stealing a jewel from atop a mountain of treasure that he could not prove the dwarves had ever owned, except by the word of the dwarves who had tricked him into travelling with them in the first place, and who had a lot to gain by driving this dragon out of his home... namely, his home and his treasure.
The dragon was justifiably pissed about this little theft, and took it out on the men of a small village just beside the mountain, called Dale, who he probably trusted to be good neighbors and watch his back as he would certainly have watched theirs. The men of Dale brutally murdered the dragon, and the dwarves, who had really not had to do much of anything through this entire adventure except walk and listen to Gandalf Magneto's boring stories about the old days and how these kids today don't appreciate anything, just stepped in and claimed the mountain hall and its treasure as their own.
This pissed off the men of Dale, who, as the dragon slayers, had slightly more legal claim to his horde, and it also pissed off the wood elves, who insisted that they be compensated for their barrels and for the public embarassment of being outsmarted by a puny fucking hobbit. Adding to the hostilities was the arrival of the goblins, who are just generally grumpy and pissed off all the time anyway, but who in this case had every right to be mad at the dwarves and wizard who had broken into their home, refused to answer for themselves, and killed several goblins out of sheer spite while escaping before setting fire to their pets. Before it was all said and done, a bunch of talking eagles had shown up out of the blue and the bloodbath that ensued was known as "The Battle Of Five Armies". When it was over, the goblins were all dead and the dwarves made peace with the men and elves.
Bilbo went home, stopping to visit one of those hermit-type men with a really hairy back on the way, you know the type... they live in a house they built themselves, they mistrust everyone, they have a big, bushy beard, they collect weapons, they read Soldier Of Fortune magazine, and they're likely to snap at any second and become completely irrational.
When he got home, Bilbo discovered that his neighbors, being the untrustworthy hobbits that they are, were ransacking his house and selling off his belongings. He chased them away and lived happily ever after, until he got old and decided to run off to live with elves and get his innocent and unknowing nephew involved in what only turned out to be world war fucking three, while he sat around writing poetry and talking about old times. But that's another story..
1975
“I don’t need to be forgiven . . .”
~ Pete Townshend
My best friend and I walked into the warm beach night, finally granted a little freedom at the advanced age of 12. Those were simpler, less apprehensive times, for my parents to have allowed us to cross several blocks to the short boardwalk at Bethany Beach.
I wore an Elton John t-shirt with the cover of his ’74 Greatest Hits ironed on to the front. Paul, my friend, wore Jethro Tull, a sort of orange and black silhouette of Ian Anderson in all his glory, one leg up, wailing on his flute. Yep, the flute.
We walked the boards, wondered what drinking a few beers might be like, and gawked at a blonde pizza server, who might have been all of 18, a virtual adult in our young eyes. I bought a chrome cigarette lighter with a Budweiser emblem on the side.
It was sometime during that week at the beach that I had my awakening. Rock and roll, in those post-Beatle years, was in full bloom. Disco was still a year or so away from the mainstream (sex and drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, disco sucks and so does soul), and punk was unheard of.
We had no MTV or computers. My ill-used record player wasn’t spinning much in those days, aside from 45s of such hits as Bad, Bad Leroy Brown and The Monster Mash. More often I had my cheap AM radio on the windowsill playing Please Mr. Postman and Dark Lady.
Not to knock Boris Pickett or Cher, but what I found that week in the pages of a magazine called CREEM nearly made me forget the blonde pizza girl!
Sure, I’d heard of The Rolling Stones, but not given them much thought. Yet here they were in black and white and cheap color. Shockingly, my dad – my dad – sat down on the porch of the beach house to thumb thru CREEM, and there’s Mick Jagger commandeering this giant inflatable phallus. Nice one, Mick (it was a stage prop for their ’75 tour). But we would see more great things from the Stones. As I came of age in the years ahead, the Stones - re-energized with Ron Wood - went on the release Some Girls and Tattoo You (by then I was in my college dorm room, cranking Slave with those delicious Keef licks). But that was light years away. In ’75, I had barely cracked puberty.
Surely the biggest impression left on me that summer was an article in CREEM about a New York band called KISS. KISS was like nothing I’d ever seen or heard before. Taking some cues from Alice Cooper, KISS wasn’t just one character like Alice, but four masked personalities – something for everyone, or something for you alone, depending on your mood. Feeling a bit reserved, but coolly astral? Spaceman Ace. How about a stomping, blood-drooling biker from hell? Demon Gene was your man.
KISS was a hard rockin’ band ready to blow your doors down. This was a couple years before the KISS Army was infiltrated by elementary school children, and the band had traded in the bomb attack of songs like Deuce for gum wrapper discards like Christine Sixteen.
My friend Paul had some of the inside scoop. His older brother had been a KISS fan for at least a year, and already had his room papered with photos. He even owned a pair of platform boots. The platforms were not high by KISS standards, nor did they have spikes or other accoutrements, but they did have some sort of lightning bolt design on the sides.
Before the week was over, we managed to locate a hidden stash of Playboys in the one of the beach house’s closets. Some friends of my parents came to visit one afternoon, with their own teenage daughter, but we were all too shy to interact. I lost a Frisbee in a tangle of thorny shrubs at the property’s edge (no doubt bulldozed decades ago – are there any thorny shrubs left at the beach?). Paul and I remained loyal to Elton and Tull and vowed to make album purchases before summer’s end.
Oddly, despite our t-shirt choices, I was the one who bought Minstrel In The Gallery, while Paul bought Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. Paul got the better deal. One of Elton John’s most anticipated releases, Captain Fantastic came with a poster, lyric booklet, and comic book, all in a wildly artistic package. From The End of the World To Your Town . . .
Ian Anderson and crew’s Minstrel in the Gallery seemed a bit lackluster in comparison. Aside from the lengthy title track, nothing resonated like some of Tull’s earlier works.
But our musical quests ended early that fall, when KISS released Alive! One look at the cover photo summed up all KISS had to offer: smoke, guitars and black leather. A color booklet of photos revealed the band in action. The music wasn’t bad, either. In fact, listening to it today, I am struck by how listenable the hook-laden tunes remain.
My Dad still looked at some of my magazines on occasion. Noting the Gene Simmons picture on my bedroom wall, he asked, “Why didn’t you hang this up instead?” holding open a page to Suzi Quatro.
I dunno. Suzi just didn’t breathe fire or spew blood for me like Mr. Simmons did. Lust for rock ‘n’ roll never felt so good.
Copyright 2008. Steve Saulsbury
~ Pete Townshend
My best friend and I walked into the warm beach night, finally granted a little freedom at the advanced age of 12. Those were simpler, less apprehensive times, for my parents to have allowed us to cross several blocks to the short boardwalk at Bethany Beach.
I wore an Elton John t-shirt with the cover of his ’74 Greatest Hits ironed on to the front. Paul, my friend, wore Jethro Tull, a sort of orange and black silhouette of Ian Anderson in all his glory, one leg up, wailing on his flute. Yep, the flute.
We walked the boards, wondered what drinking a few beers might be like, and gawked at a blonde pizza server, who might have been all of 18, a virtual adult in our young eyes. I bought a chrome cigarette lighter with a Budweiser emblem on the side.
It was sometime during that week at the beach that I had my awakening. Rock and roll, in those post-Beatle years, was in full bloom. Disco was still a year or so away from the mainstream (sex and drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, disco sucks and so does soul), and punk was unheard of.
We had no MTV or computers. My ill-used record player wasn’t spinning much in those days, aside from 45s of such hits as Bad, Bad Leroy Brown and The Monster Mash. More often I had my cheap AM radio on the windowsill playing Please Mr. Postman and Dark Lady.
Not to knock Boris Pickett or Cher, but what I found that week in the pages of a magazine called CREEM nearly made me forget the blonde pizza girl!
Sure, I’d heard of The Rolling Stones, but not given them much thought. Yet here they were in black and white and cheap color. Shockingly, my dad – my dad – sat down on the porch of the beach house to thumb thru CREEM, and there’s Mick Jagger commandeering this giant inflatable phallus. Nice one, Mick (it was a stage prop for their ’75 tour). But we would see more great things from the Stones. As I came of age in the years ahead, the Stones - re-energized with Ron Wood - went on the release Some Girls and Tattoo You (by then I was in my college dorm room, cranking Slave with those delicious Keef licks). But that was light years away. In ’75, I had barely cracked puberty.
Surely the biggest impression left on me that summer was an article in CREEM about a New York band called KISS. KISS was like nothing I’d ever seen or heard before. Taking some cues from Alice Cooper, KISS wasn’t just one character like Alice, but four masked personalities – something for everyone, or something for you alone, depending on your mood. Feeling a bit reserved, but coolly astral? Spaceman Ace. How about a stomping, blood-drooling biker from hell? Demon Gene was your man.
KISS was a hard rockin’ band ready to blow your doors down. This was a couple years before the KISS Army was infiltrated by elementary school children, and the band had traded in the bomb attack of songs like Deuce for gum wrapper discards like Christine Sixteen.
My friend Paul had some of the inside scoop. His older brother had been a KISS fan for at least a year, and already had his room papered with photos. He even owned a pair of platform boots. The platforms were not high by KISS standards, nor did they have spikes or other accoutrements, but they did have some sort of lightning bolt design on the sides.
Before the week was over, we managed to locate a hidden stash of Playboys in the one of the beach house’s closets. Some friends of my parents came to visit one afternoon, with their own teenage daughter, but we were all too shy to interact. I lost a Frisbee in a tangle of thorny shrubs at the property’s edge (no doubt bulldozed decades ago – are there any thorny shrubs left at the beach?). Paul and I remained loyal to Elton and Tull and vowed to make album purchases before summer’s end.
Oddly, despite our t-shirt choices, I was the one who bought Minstrel In The Gallery, while Paul bought Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. Paul got the better deal. One of Elton John’s most anticipated releases, Captain Fantastic came with a poster, lyric booklet, and comic book, all in a wildly artistic package. From The End of the World To Your Town . . .
Ian Anderson and crew’s Minstrel in the Gallery seemed a bit lackluster in comparison. Aside from the lengthy title track, nothing resonated like some of Tull’s earlier works.
But our musical quests ended early that fall, when KISS released Alive! One look at the cover photo summed up all KISS had to offer: smoke, guitars and black leather. A color booklet of photos revealed the band in action. The music wasn’t bad, either. In fact, listening to it today, I am struck by how listenable the hook-laden tunes remain.
My Dad still looked at some of my magazines on occasion. Noting the Gene Simmons picture on my bedroom wall, he asked, “Why didn’t you hang this up instead?” holding open a page to Suzi Quatro.
I dunno. Suzi just didn’t breathe fire or spew blood for me like Mr. Simmons did. Lust for rock ‘n’ roll never felt so good.
Copyright 2008. Steve Saulsbury
This Month In History August 2008
By: Pat Moffett
August 24 79 A.D.
Mount Vesuvius erupts and buries Pompeii and Herculaneum. Everybody died because they were cold chillin and not even tryin to worry bout no pyroclastic flows of hot ass liquid and gaseous rock. Today Mount Vesuvius is still active, and there are roughly 3 million people living in its blast vicinity proving once again that we, as a species, are all morons.
August 15 1911
Proctor and Gamble Company introduced Crisco vegetable shortening. This lead to extreme obesity, which lead to the extreme consumption of Crisco saturated products, which lead to even more extreme obesity. Fortunately there is a plan to slowly eliminate this symbiotic force. Every weekend remove all the food from Wal-Mart, have a blowout sale and then lock all the doors. Those stuck inside will eat each other until only one person is left, and he or she will not be able to fit out the door and will starve to death. Shop Smart, Shop S-Mart, YA GOT THAT!!!!
August 8 1876/August 31 1887
Thomas Edison patented the mimeograph machine/ Thomas Edison invented the Kinetiscope giving birth to motion pictures. If anyone ever asks you who invented something just say Thomas Edison and two thirds of the time you will be correct. This is no joke, Thomas Edison invented two thirds of everything that has ever been created. That makes him a full third cooler than God and almost as cool as the Old Guy Joe Cabot in Reservoir Dogs.
August 16 1948/1977
Major League Baseball legend Babe Ruth dies at the age of 53 of a rare case of having a hot dog lodged in the left atrium of his heart. 29 years later to the Day Elvis Presley dies at the age of 42 of an even rarer case of sour cream in the lungs.
August 29 1957
Strom Thurmond ends the longest filibuster in US Senate history after speaking for over 24 hours against a civil rights bill. The bill passed and Strom Thurmond died six years later at the age of 112. Despite his death he continued to serve South Carolina in the senate and held a part time job as the Crypt Keeper for two movies and the length of the HBO television series "Tales From The Crypt". Strom Thurmond is currently dead but he may be back as early as January of 2009 to oppose the election of a Black President of the United States.
August 10, 1977
Postal employee David Berkowitz aka Son of Sam was arrested for shooting a bunch of people because he was told by his neighbors demonically possessed Labrador retriever that some folks needed to to die. The insanity defense is awesome and should be used at all times when people need to die. Just kill them and figure the rest out later.
Movie of Month: Army of Darkness.....You say you wanna kill me... now you wanna kiss me...Blow
You tube: Bubb Rub
Music: The Kinks
Internet Rip off: www.thepowerofcash.com
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There are no guarantees of any kind that you will receive any money – and the success of other TOCS members is no guarantee that you will be successful. Your own personal results may vary, and you could receive more (or less) than the figures specified in the featured TOCS member testimonies within this website. Any hypothetical incoming cash examples within this website are for illustration purposes only, and are not intended to imply or promise any monetary results. Success in any program is a result of consistent effort, time and a variety of other factors.”
August 24 79 A.D.
Mount Vesuvius erupts and buries Pompeii and Herculaneum. Everybody died because they were cold chillin and not even tryin to worry bout no pyroclastic flows of hot ass liquid and gaseous rock. Today Mount Vesuvius is still active, and there are roughly 3 million people living in its blast vicinity proving once again that we, as a species, are all morons.
August 15 1911
Proctor and Gamble Company introduced Crisco vegetable shortening. This lead to extreme obesity, which lead to the extreme consumption of Crisco saturated products, which lead to even more extreme obesity. Fortunately there is a plan to slowly eliminate this symbiotic force. Every weekend remove all the food from Wal-Mart, have a blowout sale and then lock all the doors. Those stuck inside will eat each other until only one person is left, and he or she will not be able to fit out the door and will starve to death. Shop Smart, Shop S-Mart, YA GOT THAT!!!!
August 8 1876/August 31 1887
Thomas Edison patented the mimeograph machine/ Thomas Edison invented the Kinetiscope giving birth to motion pictures. If anyone ever asks you who invented something just say Thomas Edison and two thirds of the time you will be correct. This is no joke, Thomas Edison invented two thirds of everything that has ever been created. That makes him a full third cooler than God and almost as cool as the Old Guy Joe Cabot in Reservoir Dogs.
August 16 1948/1977
Major League Baseball legend Babe Ruth dies at the age of 53 of a rare case of having a hot dog lodged in the left atrium of his heart. 29 years later to the Day Elvis Presley dies at the age of 42 of an even rarer case of sour cream in the lungs.
August 29 1957
Strom Thurmond ends the longest filibuster in US Senate history after speaking for over 24 hours against a civil rights bill. The bill passed and Strom Thurmond died six years later at the age of 112. Despite his death he continued to serve South Carolina in the senate and held a part time job as the Crypt Keeper for two movies and the length of the HBO television series "Tales From The Crypt". Strom Thurmond is currently dead but he may be back as early as January of 2009 to oppose the election of a Black President of the United States.
August 10, 1977
Postal employee David Berkowitz aka Son of Sam was arrested for shooting a bunch of people because he was told by his neighbors demonically possessed Labrador retriever that some folks needed to to die. The insanity defense is awesome and should be used at all times when people need to die. Just kill them and figure the rest out later.
Movie of Month: Army of Darkness.....You say you wanna kill me... now you wanna kiss me...Blow
You tube: Bubb Rub
Music: The Kinks
Internet Rip off: www.thepowerofcash.com
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Thursday, August 21, 2008
THINK FORWARD part 2! Sunday August 24th BRING 2 CANNED GOODS!!!!!!!!
Sunday, 8/24/2008
doors @ 3:00 PM, show starts around 3:30
located @ Dance Harrison Street
Harrison Street
Easton, Maryland 21601
Cost: $7.00 or $5.00
with a donation of 2 canned goods for benefit of MD Food Bank!
ALL AGES!
Featuring:
Press Black (Easton);
Living Wrecks (Baltimore);
Thee Lexington Arrows (Baltimore);
World Class Defects (Greensboro);
The International Jet Set (Easton);
OmegaBand (DC);
Royal City Riot (Long Island, NY);
Rainy Day Cacophony (Cambridge)
see ya there,
The TF Crew
doors @ 3:00 PM, show starts around 3:30
located @ Dance Harrison Street
Harrison Street
Easton, Maryland 21601
Cost: $7.00 or $5.00
with a donation of 2 canned goods for benefit of MD Food Bank!
ALL AGES!
Featuring:
Press Black (Easton);
Living Wrecks (Baltimore);
Thee Lexington Arrows (Baltimore);
World Class Defects (Greensboro);
The International Jet Set (Easton);
OmegaBand (DC);
Royal City Riot (Long Island, NY);
Rainy Day Cacophony (Cambridge)
see ya there,
The TF Crew
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