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
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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].
Got to run. Rock on. Love yas…
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