Tony B is a self-professed 38-year-old half-Italian, half-Persian. His
specialty seems to be discussing bar culture and its denizens. It is not all that this release is about, but enough
of it that it could have alternatively been titled just that.
Day drinking…I can’t relate. I have hung out at bars to hear live
music, but even then, well, nah, which made it a bit difficult for me to identify and get those a-ha moments. As a comedian, of
course, who would perform in comedy clubs across the US, Tony would be more
familiar with the environs. And at least the first half of the album is about just
that.
Even other topics are viewed through this lens, and some of it is
actually quite accurate (from what I understand). While it doesn’t pander to
that audience, it certainly acknowledges it. For example, when he talks about aging,
he weighs in on choosing either food or women.
This leads to the most solid section of this half, where Tony posits
the attitudes of women over 30 out with friends vs. their social media content,
and wiped-out married men in the same situation. This was both funny and pithy
at the same time, as he presents some personal examples that he has seen,
including while telling these very jokes.
When he breaks out of the barroom for a few minutes, he talks about why
he loves dogs over kids, which may make you smile. Though when he told a story
that substituted the term “Mildred” over the f-word/gay slur, which he seemed to
like even though it was directed at him, I understood what he meant, but wasn’t
impressed.
Other topics did, however, touch the a-ha funny bone, such as discussing the infamously Trump-level University
of Phoenix, and especially his piece about the attitudes of cabbies and Ubers
(not that it matters, but I still use cabs; keep the money local, I say). Amusingly
enough, this brings us back to the bar culture tale of Tony getting a DUI in
college, a story reminiscent of Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant” soliloquy.
Overall, the tone of the release is adult without being vulgar (I can’t
recall a single cuss word). I did enjoy it. And appreciating the bar culture? Must
be nice.
Paul Conyers announces right off the bat that he’s 6’7” tall. Man,
that’s a Joey Ramone-level of height. And this has nuthin’ ta do with nuthin’,
but he was born in 1985, ten years after the first time I saw the Ramones play.
A coincidence? Irrelevant, yes, I know.
Paul’s shtick (not the Biblical Paul) is to jump on PC terms and twist
them around, playing with them like a cat with a toy. Be it short people (“anyone
under 5’11’’, he jokes), Feminism and gender politics, woke culture, or veganism,
these are just some of the topics just towards the beginning bits.
Whether you are offended by the poking or not, know that this is more jab
in the ribs than lambasting, in most cases. He tends to touch on the topics
rather than hounding them for any extended length of time. He doesn’t go too
deep on any subject, but grazes over them like a surfer shooting the tube.
From the Bay area, Paul likes to tell a lot of stories about places, such
as California and strip clubs (discussing “tits” – his word – that can-and-did break a man’s nose), but he also discusses family, such as his sister and fiancé.
Paul relies a bit too much on non-PC language just for the shock value.
He’s not like a shock-jock, but he does not hesitate to use words that have,
over time, become dog whistles for the Right, and trigger words for the Left.
Do I think he’s Right leaning? No, I genuinely believe he is just trying to get
a laugh and a reaction. Despite that, he doesn’t rise (fall?) to the level of a
Sam Kinison or Andrew Dice Clay, though there is that touch of using uncomfortable
words and ideas that are meant to trigger.
What I like most about Paul is that he tells stories and describes events,
and builds his jokes from those, rather than just relying on negative
one-liners. I definitely got a few laughs out of this collection.
Sudden
Signs of Grace is the fourth solo album by guitarist/songwriter Tom Guerra. It
follows American Gardenin 2018, Trampling out the Vintage in 2016, and All of
the Above in 2014. Guerra is also known as a collaborator of the world’s
greatest band, The Yardbirds and for his tastefully name rock‘n’roll band, The
Mambo Sons.
“It’s
All In The Skies” is a singer/songwriter plus alternative country amalgam like
Tom Petty writing for Old 97s. There is something about the lovely, wistful
vibe that brings the Hummingbird Syndicate to mind. In fact, when the
quarantine lifts, Jon Macey and Tom Guerra should book a show or tour together.
“Lonely
No More” is an uplifting ballad about “being back amongst the living.” Guerra
says in the liner notes: “Everybody starts out lonely, and with luck and grace,
we find ourselves, and then each other.” Matt Zeiner paints this number with
warm washes of color, using piano and Hammond organ.
As
far as “Lover’s Time,” Guerra and I aren’t on the same page – we are on the
same word! I have always thought a guitar – especially a twelve-string guitar –
and a male voice were beauty personified. Guerra says that he has “always
enjoyed twelve-string, poppy tunes,” like similar tunes in his songbook, “Here’s
Tomorrow” and “Tell The World.” For me, this is in a Dave Edmunds/Nick Lowe
mode: multi-layered harmonies and driving power chords on a pleasant wave of
nostalgia, all delivered anthemically.
“Sudden
Signs Of Grace,” the title track, features Kenny Aaronson on fretless bass. If
Aaronson’s name sounds familiar, it may because of his association with Bob
Dylan and George Harrison. Guerra wrote this after a walk in the woods on New
Year’s Day. It is delivered in a world music mode.
When
Guerra heard Eddie Money was ill, he recorded one of his favorites by Money and
sent it to him. “Gimme Some Water” takes me back to high school days when the
Southern Rhythm and Blues of the Allman Brother ruled the radio. I am hearing a
pastiche that includes The Eagles, Jackson Brown, and Steve Miller.
“The
Greatest Show On Earth” was inspired by a Syd Barrett quote: “I’ve got a very
irregular head.” Something about the line, “Welcome to the greatest show on
earth!,” is deflating. Guerra, here and throughout this recording, captures
happy/sad ideas and emotions. That dichotomy sums up our conflicted times.
Being on the edge of a cliff is exhilarating because the joy of life is
the strongest at the moment when it is all at the most risk of being ripped
away.
“Just
Like The Sun” is a thirty-year-old lyric that Guerra discovered and resurrected
to put to music. It features Matt Zeiner and Morgan Fisher of Mott The Hoople
and Queen on keyboards, giving the song an exalted, hymn-like power. Aaronson
crafted the strings and string arrangements on “Inspiration Memories,” which
Guerra dedicates to his father. The sense of the weight of the passage of time
is emphasized intermittently through percussive sounds that represent a ticking
clock. (Or maybe a ticking bomb considering our current political landscape!)
“Down
The Farm” sounds like an unholy union of Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis. A Rainbow
Coalition collaboration on an alternative plane. It is transporting to hear
“Streets Of Baltimore.” Whether you are Team Bare or Team Parsons, Guerra
delivers the best musical theater since Scott Walker took Jacques Brel to a
whole new level with “Amsterdam” and “My Death.” I can’t help but envision the
angel wings of Chet Atkins embracing Guerra and the musical soulmates here.
“The Sleep Song” closes this bittersweet, nuanced recording with a cool
instrumental that is both mellow and majestic.
Every decade seems to have some nostalgia for
twenty years or so earlier, especially when it comes to music. The ‘70s had American
Graffiti (1973) and “Happy Days” with a resurgence of early rock and roll, for
the ‘80s it was for the British Invasion and ‘60s garage sounds, the ‘90s was looking
back at the First Wave punk, the early 21 Century saw a resurgence in hardcore
and bands like the Sex Pistols reformed, and now we’re looking back at grunge
and Indie rock, with bands like the Pixies, Soundgarden, and even the Dictators
coming back for reunion tours. And that’s where this release starts to take
off.
The imaginary band in question in this dramedy
is the titular The Incoherents, an Indie band that had some friction back in
the 1990s, released an album that had some cult-level fans, and then the
reality of family and responsibility of employment started to kick in, with he
band dissolving into some-normal lives filled with “coulda-been” dreams.
That’s when the nostalgia plays its hand. The
ex-bandmates are all in their forties at this point; their rock stardom
aspirations, like so many, have fallen to the wayside, such as vocalist and
rhythm guitarist Bruce (lefty Jeff Auer, who also wrote the film and co-penned
the songs), lead guitarist Jimmy (Alex Emanuel, who is the other half of the
songwriting), bassist Keith (Walter Hoffman) and drummer Tyler (Casey Clark).
And like the Blues Brothers, they decide to put the band back together
again.
Bruce is working as a paralegal drone in a law
office (a job Auer actually once performed), Tyler in a wedding band, Keith as
a city planner who is vegan (and everything that it stereotypically entails), and
Jimmy runs the Lucky 13 bar in Brooklyn (as an FYI, Josephine Blownaparte, lead
singer of punk band Chesty Malone and the Slice-‘Em-Ups, who I’ve seen a few
times, was a bartender there at one point). Other venues shown include Boston’s
The Middle East and the late, great Maxwell’s in Hoboken (during its later “Tavern”
days).
I like that they don’t talk down the viewing audience.
For example, when Keith reminisces, “Remember the first time we played CBGBs,
and I realized I was standing in DeeDee’s spot…” They don’t feel a need to explain
who or where, they just go with the flow and assume the audience is astute
enough to know. I mean, if you’re into Billy Eilish, Toby Keith, or Drake, I’m
going to guess that you’re not going to be watching this film anyway. There are
so many name drops, both mainstream and obscure, that there are plenty of a-ha
moments guaranteed to make you smile when you make the connection. Make sure
you check out the tee-shirts that are worn by the cast throughout, which range
from mainstream (like AC/DC) to the obscure. Of course, there are multiple CBGB
shirts of various hues.
What is nice is that so many of the people
involved in this film are also related to the music business in one form or
another, including cameos by the two relatively big acting names: Annette O’Toole
won an Oscar as songwriter (for A Mighty Wind), and Amy Carlson, who is recently
known from Blue Bloods, has her own music label (Frenchkiss Records) and
has been in a grunge band or two. Then there are the occasional musical cameos,
like Chris Barron, the vocalist of the Spin Doctors, Richard Barone (The
Bongos!), Fiona Silver, and Joe Hurley.
And how are they as a band? Well, it’s kind of
grunge pop that was popular in the ‘90s without the hard edge of the Seattle
sound, mixing in harmonies with crashing guitars, and no riff that will
necessarily stick in your brain with an ear worm beyond the song (a general flaw
of rock’n’roll in that time period, in my opinion), but they are okay. The
musicianship is fine, as they play their own material, which I respect. The sound
is palatable for any general audience that would be watching this (again, not
necessarily fans of mainstream pop or some other genres).
A couple of musical aspects that impressed me
is how the film also showcases some other bands as well as this one, and that
the characters feel real, rather than like cartoons (e.g., Sid and Nancy,
Bohemian Rhapsody, Room 37: The Mysterious Death of Johnny Thunders, and especially
The Dirt).
While the story follows a bit of a “history of
a band” formula – the band (re)forms, woo-hoo exciting moments as things start
to go well, and then (old) resentments (re-)arise within the band. But this
also plays around with it, giving it more texture and history, with the
addition of family and work responsibilities of 40-something-year-olds, and
those lives clashing with the backstage antics of sex, drugs/alcohol and the
temptation of groupies. Yes, even for those in their 40s. Rather than
overwhelming the audience with excess like they did in the telenovela
version of the aforementioned The Dirt, this is more realistic for bands
at this level of (burgeoning?) fame.
Whether you like this genre of music or gave
up on it by the time grunge came around in the early 1990s, the story is still
compelling and the sound is not offensive (i.e., not Top 10 sonically flattened
and auto-tuned). Even though it hammers home the truth about the mixture of
music, business and the overabundance of social media in today’s scene, it is a
good story, with pithy moments and above average acting.
Speaking of nostalgia, this review is dedicated
to Little Richard, who passed away the day it was written.
Text by Count Joseph Allen Salvatore Viglione / FFanzeen 1977-1978
Introduction by Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2020
Images from the Internet, unless indicated
These articles were originally published in FFanzeen, issues 2 and 3, dated October 1977 and Winter-Spring 1977-1978,
repectively. It was written by Joe Viglione, a Boston-based musician, band and
record promoter, and scenester. His bands have included the Count, Auguste
Phenomenon and Dimension 10. Currently, Joe still manages a bunch of bands/musicians,
books clubs such as the Cantab, and has a podcast called “Visual Radio” where
he interviews some pretty big named acts that is worth checking out.
For a few years, mainly in the early 1980s, I would go stay at Joe’s
house on Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends, and tour around Boston, seeing
multiple bands at the Ratskeller (aka, the Rat), the Paradise, Chet’s Last Call,
etc. In this way, I got to meet so many great people, like Kenneth Highland,
Donna Lethal, Rocco Cippilone, JoJo Laine, and one weekend even Stones’
producer and fellow Brooklynite, Jimmy Miller. However, I got to befriend Joe
earlier thanks to my ‘zine and his, Varulven. We had a
pen-pal correspondence going until I drove up there…I believe it was 1980.
A lot of the bands mentioned in this piece are still amazing when one
looks back on their catalog. When these articles came out, I wasn’t familiar
with many of them, but would do so, over time. – RBF, 2020
Photo by RBF
PART I: Issue 2 (October 1977)
Boston: 8-15-77
Contrary to popular belief, Boston is
more than just an album and group on Epic Records. Boston is also a city. The
capital of a state! Massachusetts, in fact. Boston also churns out a great deal
of real good Rock & Roll. There’s lots of people here and these people like
to rock out! This is a vampire’s eye view of the Rock and Roll Universe…
There are three good ways of hearing
your favorite bands in this town, or finding out about new ones. One is “clubbing”:
hitting the local nightspots which house rock music, or the parties where a
band is at, or a boat cruise featuring a decent band. I put these under the
heading of clubbing obviously erroneously ‘cause what I mean is live music, but
who cares. I’m the Count and royalty can do whatever it wants.
Willie Loco Alexander at the Paradise (photo by RBF)
We used to have only the Rat and the
Club to frequent with occasional good bands at K-K-Katy’s (across the street
from the Rat) ‘till it went disco; and dynamite bands (like Third Rail, Willie Loco, myself, the Bonjour
Aviators, etc.) at a place called Dummy’s, which was an incredibly large
club with wax museum figures for décor and plenty of breathing space, and a
beautiful stage and a beautiful sound system, and it only lasted about 3
months. That’s life in the big city, so they say, but now a new club has opened
its door to R&R, so things are looking up again. Cantones, in the Financial
District, hosts the Real Kids, Willie Loco, La Peste, Baby’s Arm and
many more really special people, and the Rock & Roll audience is responding
very well to this new venue.
The Rat still reigns as the place to go even though no one
really likes it all that much. It is a dive; one would think an excellent place
for the Count to hang out, but I do consider myself a bit sophisticated and would
really rather hear rock within the antiseptic confines of something like the
Playboy Club. The Rat is a cellar: smoke and bad air is as plentiful down there
as fish in the sea, so why does everyone go, you ask?? Despite the atmosphere,
people still flock to this demonic camber so there is the friends aspect of it,
and the music is good, for the most
part.
This weekend we caught the Cars at Rat City. The Cars are one of the very best bands
in Boston. They have taken the place which once belonged to Susan (since Susan split to New York) as the best band who plays in tune, sings
on key, got a lot of great songs and excellent musicians, not to mention management
which wants to get them to the top. The
Cars feature Ric and Elliot on guitars, Ben on the bass, Dave on the drums,
and Greg working on various assortments of instruments from synthesizer to saxophone
and rhythm guitar. Songs like “Just What I Needed,” “You’re All I’ve Got
Tonight,” “Come Back Down,” and so many more, are becoming big underground hits
via live performances and the studio tapes floating around local radio
stations.
Baby’s Arm is
another new band which is causing some excitement. Frank Rowe writes the songs
and plays a nice lead guitar with some very original work. Richee Johnson is
the undisputed star of the band and slams away at the drums (he’s known as Sam
Slam in certain circles of Boston rock); Billy Cole plays rhythm and sings the
Lesley Gore tunes; and John Schriver rounds out the band on bass guitar. John
is the third bass player to join this young band, replacing McGregor McGee
(bassist on Peter Vallis’ single, “Marrying
for Money”) who replaced Randall (ex-Auguste
Phenomenon 4, which lasted all of 2 months). He also played bass on the
record Randall sang on, “The Fury in Your Eyes” b/w “Boston City Limits” by the
Bonjour Aviators, being a member of
that band from its inception. Randall is now in a new band called Rawk.
John Felice of the Real Kids at the Rat (photo by RBF)
Easy Action
features KC Lindstrom on guitar, Mike Johnson on drums, Bob Papalado on bass,
and Chas on lead vocals. They’re busy gigging around town, having just
completed four songs in the studio, may do more studio work, and like Baby’s Arm, have a record in the
offing.
Third Rail
features the great Richard Nolan on vocals. Richard is one of the most original
front men of all Rock. He can mesmerize by just standing and staring. His voice
is soft, deep and distinct. Chilling may better describe it. It’s no coincidence
that they played with the film Night of
the Living Dead last Sunday (8-8-77) at the Rat. Fred Pineau (from the Count and Bonjour Aviators’ records) does the lead guitar along with Gary Soprano
(now engineer on the Count’s
upcoming LP). Rick rocks out on the drums, and TB Pleyer is the bass player.
Willie Loco
is, along with the Cars, the best band in Boston at the moment.
Willie is a true Rock & Roll genius. Period. His performances are striking,
always entertaining, and abundant in Rock & Roll revelations. His records
are treasures, and the tapes of studio work current circulating prove beyond a shadow
of a doubt that this man encompasses everything that is Rock & Roll. There
is a bootleg album of a performance recorded in December of 1976 about to be released
on Varulven Records. This is the ultimate Rock & Roll concert. Willie & the Boom Boom Band (Billy,
Dave and Sev) go through nine of their big numbers, including a super triple medley
of “Hit Her Wid de Axe,” “You Looks So Pretty When,” and “Hair.” It’s called The Sperm Bank Babies, featuring Al Lorenzo Drake, and will be available
as soon as the money is got together... All proceeds go to Willie and the band
after pressing and mailing costs. There will only be 300 of the first pressing
released [yes, I still have mine – RBF,
2020] so act now!!!
A guest appearance on this LP is made
by Thundertrain. They do an old
Chuck Berry number called “Around and Around,” and you can hear Mach Bell, infuriated
by the injustices of the industry in Boston overheating to the maximum. Mach
Bell is one of the best front men in all of Rock and Roll. Really. Thundertrain is a superb live band; one
of the few bands around that can crank up and get everyone excited. Their
performances are events with Steven Silva blasting the walls apart with frantic
leads, and Mach swinging from the ceiling like a Rock & Roll Tarzan.
PART II: Issue 3 (Winter/Spring 1977-1978)
Reddy Teddy,
along with Thundertrain, is my fave
live band. They create an excitement few other bands can ever hope to achieve. Their
performances are superior excursions into Rock & Roll, which don’t quite
carry over onto their records (like Thundertrain).
We need these guys on a 3-D film. Till then, make it a point to catch them in
concert!!! When Matt & John Rose start doing their simultaneous leaps,
watch out!
Fox Pass has
just re-emerged and is also up there with the elite “best” bands. Jon Macey,
Mike Roy and John Jules, along with new members Steve Couch and Max Camfield
create some of the best Pop Rock songs this side of the Hollies if they were
infected by a severe case of Rolling Stones and Velvet Underground. Their record
is a classic.
The Count, at the Rat (photo by RBF)
There are many more bands, also superb,
some not as suburb, some actually awful, but you find that everywhere. If I
missed a good band, sorry ‘bout that. It’s about 3:30 AM, so you can see why it’s
getting hard to think.
I was talking about ways of hearing your
fave bands. The second method employed by Rock and Rollers in the ‘70s is the
homemade record. After slamming my music against empty walls for too many years
I got the inspiration to put out an EP and viola,
instant infamy. My fave local records are Pastiche’s
“Flash of the Moment,” Fox Pass, Willie Loco, Thundertrain, Marc Thor,
Reddy Teddy, some stuff on the Live at
the Rat EP (Susan, Willie, Marc Thor and Thundertrain,
to be specific), the Avatars, and
you can be sure there will be many more soon. Inside info tells me Lord Manuel got a great EP due very
shortly, and comedian Paul Lovell
got Blowfish in the New Wave (EP) due
shortly on Varulven Records.
The third formula for getting
underground music into your head is via the Rock & Roll radio show. The
best underground station in the Boston Rock Nation now is WCUW-FM in
Worchester. These guys play underground stuff like it’s the only music in the
word (well, it is, isn’t it??). Main
New Wave DJ Brian Goslow is the guy to send your records and tapes to. The
Count does a half hour radio show called “Auguste Hour of Destruction” for WCUW
each week, as does Paul Lovell with his “Boston Groupie News Report.” Brian’s
show is called “My Generation PSV (Patti Smith Version)” and is incredible.
[This paragraph redacted]
Leslie got the Boston Beat on WCOZ,
Boston’s best rocker. Her show leans more towards the folk side of things, but
on good nights you’ll hear the Atlantics, Fox Pass, the Cars, the Count, Piper and
what more could now ask for? Debbie Frost has a great show on WHRB during the school
year, and Peter’s got a very fine program on WBRS. WERS (not to be confused with
WBRS) has recently begun playing New Wave and are publishing their Top 10 New
Waves on a chart.
A good way for out-of-towners to keep
up on the Rockin’ side of Boston is via the publications produced by many
devoted people [aka fanzines – RBF, 1977].
