RIP Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Nimoy, Spock of ‘Star Trek,’ Dies at 83
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Although he did have a (somewhat embarrassing) musical career, it is really his role in Star Trek that affected generations of musicians, science fiction lovers and those who tried to make the world a better place. Sad to see him go all too early.

recommended gigs

Thursday Feb 26 - the All Togethers at Eye Candy Lounge at Mandalay Bay
Thursday Feb 26 - Whiskey Breath at Triple B

Friday Feb 27 - the New Waves at Hop Nuts Brewery

Saturday Feb 28 - HR (of the Bad Brains) with Fuzz Solow, Roaches in the Kitchen and more at the Dive Bar
Saturday Feb 28 - the All Togethers at the Pioneer Saloon with the Bourbon Brothers

Wednesday Mar 4 - the Sloths at the Bunkhouse with the Astaires

Thursday Mar 5 - The Biltmore Boys, Bourbon Brothers and Erik Alesi at the Beauty Bar

Friday March 6 - The Swamp Gospel with The All Togethers at the Huntridge Tavern
Friday March 6 - the Delta Bombers at Triple B with Big Sandy

Saturday Mar 7 - Cheap Trick at Fremont Street Experience
Saturday Mar 7 - Water Landing, Alex and His Meal Ticket, Ossum Possum - Triple B

Sunday Mar 8 - Thee Swank Bastards at Pussyrama at the Bunkhouse

Wednesday Mar 11 - Prophet Greene with Fuzz Solow and Charlie Overbey and the Broken Arrows at the Dive Bar

Friday Mar 13 - the All Togethers CD release party at Forge in Boulder City
Friday Mar 13 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Saturday Mar 14 - The Two Tens at the Dive Bar

Sunday Mar 15 - Anvil at Adrenaline Sports Bar

Tuesday Mar 17 - the All Togethers at the Backstop Sports Pub

Wednesday Mar 25  - The Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Sunday March 29 - Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band with the All Togethers and Ditch Diggers at the Beauty Bar

Thursday April 2 - the Delta Bombers at Viva Las Vegas

Friday April 3 - Scoundrels at the Double Down

Saturday April 4 - the Coffin Cats with the New Waves and Dead at Midnight - the Dive Bar

Sunday April 5 - the Sonics at Viva Las Vegas - Mardi Gras Ballroom

Friday April 10 - the Mapes, the Maxies and Alan Six - Atomic Liquors

Saturday April 11 - Haunted Garage, the Time Crashers, Tartar Control, Radioactive Chicken Heads, Alexander the Terrible, Child Endangerment, Caliban and the Witch, Plague Doctor, the Rifleman and Firewater Folklore at OMD

Saturday April 25 - the Swamp Gospel at the Double Down with Thee Fourgiven and the Psyatics
Saturday April 25 - the All Togethers at the Mormon Fort - 6:00pm

Sunday May 31 - the Astaires with Sharks From Mars at the Double Down

What have I forgotten? Lemme know!

a very old review of Sonics' Rendezvous Band in Chicago in 1977

And here's my never-before-published review of Sonics' Rendezvous Band in Chicago in 1977! I believe that I thought that my ex-girlfriend (who went with me - and who previously took photos for the Gizmos) was going to publish this in some magazine that she was involved in, which I think I mention (again, I haven't actually re-read this, so forgive my writing), but she never did. I'm glad that I have something to remember it by. Certainly an unforgettable night! Wish I had known more of their songs at the time and wish I had a camera (image from the internet above)!

The night I met Fred "Sonic" Smith

I've often wondered what happened to this - my typewritten memory of meeting Sonic Smith at a Sonics' Rendezvous Band in the Chicago area in 1977. Click on the images to enlarge. I haven't actually re-read these, but be kind - I was young and even less of a writer than I am now! Only wish that I had photos!

cool story - will have to check this out

'That Blew My Mind': Raiding The Lead Belly Vault 
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recommended gigs

Thursday Feb 19 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Friday Feb 20 - the All Togethers at Willow Creek Assisted Living
Friday Feb 20 - the Unwieldies at the Dillinger

Saturday Feb 21 - Green Jelly with 3d6, the Mentors, Lambs to Lions and more at the Dive Bar

Wednesday Feb 25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Thursday Feb 26 - the All Togethers at Eye Candy Lounge at Mandalay Bay
Thursday Feb 26 - Whiskey Breath at Triple B

Friday Feb 27 - the New Waves at Hop Nuts Brewery

Saturday Feb 28 - HR (of the Bad Brains) with Fuzz Solow, Roaches in the Kitchen and more at the Dive Bar
Saturday Feb 28 - the All Togethers at the Pioneer Saloon with the Bourbon Brothers

Wednesday Mar 4 - the Sloths at the Bunkhouse with the Astaires

Friday March 6 - The Swamp Gospel with The All Togethers at the Huntridge Tavern
Friday March 6 - the Delta Bombers at Triple B with Big Sandy

Saturday Mar 7 - Cheap Trick at Fremont Street Experience

Sunday Mar 8 - Thee Swank Bastards at Pussyrama at the Bunkhouse

Wednesday Mar 11 - Prophet Greene with Fuzz Solow and Charlie Overbey and the Broken Arrows at the Dive Bar

Friday Mar 13 - the All Togethers CD release party at Forge in Boulder City
Friday Mar 13 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Sunday Mar 15 - Anvil at Adrenaline Sports Bar

Tuesday Mar 17 - the All Togethers at the Backstop Sports Pub

Wednesday Mar 25  - The Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Sunday March 29 - Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band with the All Togethers and Ditch Diggers at the Beauty Bar

Thursday April 2 - the Delta Bombers at Viva Las Vegas

Friday April 3 - Scoundrels at the Double Down

Saturday April 4 - the Coffin Cats with the New Waves and Dead at Midnight - the Dive Bar

Sunday April 5 - the Sonics at Viva Las Vegas - Mardi Gras Ballroom

Friday April 10 - the Mapes, the Maxies and Alan Six - Atomic Liquors

Saturday April 11 - Haunted Garage, the Time Crashers, Tartar Control, Radioactive Chicken Heads, Alexander the Terrible, Child Endangerment, Caliban and the Witch, Plague Doctor, the Rifleman and Firewater Folklore at OMD

Saturday April 25 - the Swamp Gospel at the Double Down with Thee Fourgiven and the Psyatics
Saturday April 25 - the All Togethers at the Mormon Fort - 6:00pm

Sunday May 31 - the Astaires with Sharks From Mars at the Double Down

What have I forgotten? Lemme know!

Rachel Sweet - Fool Around

I grabbed the white vinyl Stiff Records version of this when it came out in 1978 and always dug the girl-group vibe and catchy pop tunes (written and produced by Liam Sternberg). Surprisingly, this record, while a critics' fave, never really caught on, even after her tour with the band, the Records, backing her up. Still, this is a classic poppy/new-wave record.

It opens with a cool, laid-back groove in "Just My Style", which shows off Sweet's younger-girl, Lolita-esque, vocals - she can really sing and has a sultry edge, which is almost disturbing, as she was still a teenager at the time! Carla Thomas' "B-A-B-Y" follows and is a terrific update on the tune, mixing a modern feel with a fine Stax-like horn section. "Who Does Lisa Like" is a nice, guitar-oriented new-waver with some round-like vocal trade-offs with fellow Stiffs Records artist Lene Lovich followed by a string-laden ballad, "Wildwood Saloon" - still strong, even though a slower number - really cinematic string arrangement and melodic guitar solo. Another keen cover is "Stay Awhile", showing off Rachel's girl-group style (aided again by Lovich) and then a slightly off-kilter new-waver, "Suspended Animation", with its especially lascivious double-entendre lyrics.

An additional oddity is "It's So Different Here", with combinations of Caribbean melodies and new wave/pop sounds, before we get into the weirdest one of them all, "What's in the Cuckoo Clock" - a high-energy bit of wackiness that is pretty much impossible to describe (maybe marginally like Ian Dury), but still works. The guitars are brought up a bit more for the country/rock/pop of "Pin a Medal on Mary" and goofiness reigns supreme in "Girl With a Synthesizer". I always favored her version of Elvis Costello's country tear-jerker, "A Stranger in the House", where pedal steel guitars meets honking saxes for an album closer.

The American version of the album had a couple of different cuts - one more 60's number, this time Peter and Gordon's "I Go To Pieces", along with a cover that I'm not familiar with, "Sad Song", with vaguely country touches.

Crossing 60's girl-group sounds and 70's new-wave, this is an excellent release of cool pop!

RIP Lesley Gore

Lesley Gore, Famous For Her Song 'It's My Party,' Has Died 

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Lesley was a talented singer/songwriter even as a teen and had a string of hits and even an appearance on Batman, which caused me to have a majot crush on her. Here's the Clip.

Alan Six, Autumn in Stitches - Dive Bar, Friday Feb 13, 2015

Hadn't had a chance yet to see our pals Alan Six, so headed out to the Dive Bar this fine Friday night to check out their early set.

Of course, as these things happen, another band got their even earlier than A6 and set up on stage so they became the opening band by default. Autumn in Stitches is a quite young (too young to hang out in the bar area) group mixing punk/emo/whatever (with the singer ironically wearing a t-shirt that said "I'm So Emo" backwards) with a female member switching from bass to keys. Not my cup of tea musically, I'm afraid, but, seeing as I am at least old enough to be their father, if not grandfather, I probably shouldn't dig what they're doing!

Alan Six is a simple, Ramones-y punk rock band with red-faced Dave Post (Boy Scout guitarist for Thee Mapes) on drums, his lovely wife Adrienne on bass and lead vocals and guitarist Lance. Unfortunately, I was too busy drinking to take any notes, but they are fun, Adrienne can really sing and they are damn nice people. Check 'em out!

RIP Sam Andrews

Big Brother Founder Sam Andrews Dead
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It was probably the Monterrey Pop movie that first turned me on to Big Brother, but wow, what a terrific, crazed, beautifully noisy, psychedelic, hard rock band - and the singer wasn't bad, either. But man, I loved the guitar interplay between Andrews and Gurley - truly over-the-top madness that completely worked. We lost another great one today...

recommended gigs

Friday Feb 13 - the Super Zeros at the Hard Hat
Friday Feb 13 - Paper Tigers, Silversage , Bravo Delta, Beau Hodges Band , Strange Mistress at House of Blues
Friday Feb 13 - Stagnetti's Cock, Swamp Pussy, Geesuz Cryst and Free Beer, 3d6 at the Double Down
Friday Feb 13 - Alan Six, Dreamkiller at the Dive Bar
Friday Feb 13 - Thee Swank Bastards at Hop Nuts Brewing

Saturday Feb 14 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down with the Psyatics, the Pluralses and more!

Monday Feb 16 - Jinxy Bear at Artifice

Tues Feb 17 - Piratefest at LV Country Saloon with the Time Crashers, Alestorm, Dreadcrew of Oddwood, Firewater Folklore, Caliban and the Witch
Tues Feb 17 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Brooklyn Bowl with the Suicide Sirens for Mardi Gras Burlesque

Wednesday Feb 18 - Eddy Bear and the Cubs with Paige Overton at the Griffin

Thursday Feb 19 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Friday Feb 20 - the All Togethers at Willow Creek Assisted Living
Friday Feb 20 - the Unwieldies at the Dillinger

Saturday Feb 21 - Green Jelly with 3d6, the Mentors, Lambs to Lions and more at the Dive Bar

Wednesday Feb 25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Thursday Feb 26 - the All Togethers at Eye Candy Lounge at Mandalay Bay

Saturday Feb 28 - HR (of the Bad Brains) with Fuzz Solow, Roaches in the Kitchen and more at the Dive Bar
Saturday Feb 28 - the All Togethers at the Pioneer Saloon

Wednesday Mar 4 - the Sloths at the Bunkhouse with the Astaires

Friday March 6 - The Swamp Gospel with The All Togethers at the Huntridge Tavern
Friday March 6 - the Delta Bombers at Triple B with Big Sandy

Saturday Mar 7 - Cheap Trick at Fremont Street Experience

Sunday Mar 8 - Thee Swank Bastards at Pussyrama at the Bunkhouse  

Friday Mar 3 - the All Togethers CD release party at Forge in Boulder City

Friday Mar 13 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Sunday Mar 15 - Anvil at Adrenaline Sports Bar

Tuesday Mar 17 - the All Togethers at the Backstop Sports Pub

Wednesday Mar 25  - The Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Sunday March 29 - Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band with the All Togethers and Ditch Diggers at the Beauty Bar

Thursday April 2 - the Delta Bombers at Viva Las Vegas

Friday April 3 - Scoundrels at the Double Down

Sunday April 5 - the Sonics at Viva Las Vegas - Mardi Gras Ballroom

Friday April 10 - the Mapes, the Maxies and Alan Six - Atomic Liquors

Saturday April 25 - the Swamp Gospel at the Double Down
Saturday April 25 - the All Togethers at the Mormon Fort - 6:00pm

What have I forgotten? Lemme know!

Classic Blues Artwork from the 1920's: 2015 Calendar (+CD)

I'm really late on this one, but I've been picking up these blues calendars for several years now and

am never disappointed with either the calendar of the fantastic CDs that are included. Great photos of classic early blues artwork, some good stories, and birth and death dates for many blues artists.

The CD includes such amazing tunes as Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe's original "When the Levee Breaks", cool gospel blues like "I Want to Live so God Can Use Me" (Son Bond and Hammie Nixon), ragtime like Blind Blake's "Dry Bone Shuffle" (with bones used as percussion), Charley Patton's "Spoonful" (very different than versions we know today), Cannon's Jug Stompers' take on "Walk Right In" that the Rooftop Singers had a hit with in the 60's, and lots more from artists like the Mississippi Shieks, Roosevelt Sykes, Tommy Johnson, and others who are lesser-known but still plenty amazing.

This is something that I look forward to every year. Love the artwork and the music is always high quality, and sometimes extremely rare. Well worth it!

Thee Swank Bastards and the Swamp Gospel at the HardHat Lounge Saturday Feb 7, 2015

For the first Swamp Gospel revival of 2015, we returned to the Hard Hat Lounge and brought along swingin' surf combo Thee Swank Bastards. The fine members of our congregation came out in force early and we had a stompin', sweaty, strychnine-drinkin' time!

This evening the Bastards included drummer-about-town Courtney Carroll (Clydesdale and too many others to name) and dancer Ivana Blaze (who went through a couple of costume changes during the set), along with their fearless leader Jesse del Quadro and bass meister Jeff Murphy. I couldn't tell you the names of their tunes, since they almost never introduce them (though there seemed to be a couple juvenile-ly dirty titles like "Just the Tip"), even if they always have time for some dirty jokes, but they were all fun and rockin', with a groovy beat for Ivana to dance to. Jeff and Courtney lock in together solidly (Jeff is also a stellar guitarist in the Bitters) and Jesse's playing includes all the Dick Dale tricks you love about surf, with plenty of his own flash'n'style - this is truly one of the more talented bunch of players in instrumental music today - right up there with the Black Widows and the Boardwalkers. Always more fun than shootin' the curl - whether or not you get the added bonus of a hotsie-totsie shakin' her stuff in front of the gang!

The Blasters, the Yawpers, The Delta Bombers and Eddy Bear and the Cubs at Backstage Bar & Billiards

Every once in a while there is a show in Las Vegas that has smokin' bands from start to finish and so ya just gotta go, even on a work night!

Opening the evening was a devil-hatin' duo outside on the corner of the club! Highly entertaining - even more so than the HUGE Imagine Dragons video shoot that blocked off Fremont Street and filled the entire neighborhood with smoke!

Got there just as local faves Eddy Bear and the Cubs hit the stage. I know, I know, I rant'n'rave about them all the time here, but they are always a great time and tonight was even better than usual! The sound was much improved from last week though no fiddle player this time out. Lots of super tunes, like "Turn It Up, Turn It Loose", "Lost and Found" (Wade showed off some pedal steel-styled licks along with some bluesy riffs), the fast rockabilly of "Got You On My Mind", slowed down a bit for "Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound" - I like the trade off vocally between Eric and Larry, and their cool harmonies - fast git-pickin' on "Ooh Las Vegas" (Wade continues to impress me every time I see him), "I Lie When I Drink", "Thunderstorms and Neon Signs" and, of course, "I'm the Bulge in Satan's Pants". Fine, fine set, everyone was totally on - I'm hoping that this drummer is more-or-less permanent as he sounds terrific with them and locks in with Davis' hot-slappin' stand up - so if ya dig real country played by real players, get on down and see 'em!

More faves and top notch people are the Delta Bombers, local rockabilly/blues monsters who have been taking over the world with their raw take on the retro sounds of the 50's. No nostalgia act here though as the cats launch into 2 high energy rockabilly numbers to start the set, showing off singer Chris' rough'n'tuneful vocals and cool stage presence. His acoustic opens a number or two and gives a cool addition to the sound (BTW, the soundman had the acoustics dialed in this evening) and his drunken demeanor (whether he actually is or not), gets the crowd to drinkin' and brings 'em into the fray - and they even moved up closer to the band when he asked! Nice lifts from songs like "Little Sister" and "Ghost Rider in the Sky" (at least that's what my ears heard!), cool covers of George Jones' "White Lightning" and CCR's "Run Through the Jungle" before the up-tempo finale that brings the bands to their knees! Really dig the new tunes a lot and the band just keeps getting better'n'better - great rhythm section that I believe is relatively new, as well. Another band to see!

I saw the Yawpers once before, opening for Nashville Pussy, so they seem to be getting on some high-profile tours, and they have a cool, bluesy sound, with two acoustic guitars and big, full drums. The guitars vary in tones, with effects and distortion at times, giving it all a heavy, Led Zep/White Stripes kinda sound. Really dig the slide work from the lead player, though covering "Ace of Spades", even though it's always a crowd pleaser, is a little over-done these days. Regardless, some cool ideas here.

Of course, the Blasters are always a blast and sound great the last time I saw them, so had to make it out again for the cool cats from Downey. Phil seems to have completely recovered from his illness and his amazing voice is still there, although his hands seem to have to stiffness so his playing, while still solid, isn't as fluid as before. But the original rhythm section of Bill and John are as tight and rockin' as ever and "new" lead guitarist Keith, while different from Dave, of course, is a talented player and is highly animated. "American music", "Crazy Baby", "Border Radio", the swingin' "I'm Nervous", and several that I wasn't familiar with, but all hot'n'cool and the crowd diggin' it all the way. A jazzy number, a CCR-soundin' tune, a cover of Johnny Cash's "Get Rhythm" that Phil apparently started in the wrong key, givin' the rest of the guys a laugh, and Phil did even pull off some bluesy leads on a new one.

Had to leave before they finished, but still a fantastic time with these guys. Still well worth seeing - not quite the old days, but damn good!

 

Franks'n'Deans Weinie Roast with the Gentlemen of Four Outs - Double Down Saloon - Wednesday Feb 4, 2015

Franks and Deans is a local punk-pop band that covers older songs, often those made famous by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. They currently have a monthly variety show at the Double Down that includes a special guest band (this week is was the Gentlemen of Four Outs, who I play guitar for), at least one DJ (Prof. Rex Dart kicked out the proverbial jams with an excellent selection of garage, soul and ravin' rock'n'roll), a comedian, strippers and whatever else they can come across that week.

 

This week the Gentlemen opened the evening and had a fine time warming up the crowd for the night.

(Gentlemen photo by Nikki Ruffing) 

Franks'n'Deans had the people up and movin' right from the start with their upbeat take on Bobby Darin's "Dream Lover", that moved into songs such as Sammy Davis Jr.'s "Candy Man", "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime" and a mash-up of "King of the Road" and "Blitzkrieg Bop". Tight musically and really good vocals all around, with plenty of harmonies. Fun concept!

 

Unfortunately, due to it being a weeknight and having another show to go to tonight, I didn't stick around to see what other mayhem ensued, but this is definitely a show to check out when you're up for a good time on a Wednesday night! And, free hot dogs!

recommended gigs

Thursday Feb 5 - the Blasters and the Yawpers at Triple B with the Delta Bombers and Eddie Bear and the Cubs

Friday Feb 6 - the Delta Bombers at Triple B
Friday Feb 6 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Bunkhouse
Friday Feb 6 - 3d6 at the Artistic Armory with lots more
Friday Feb 6 - The Toasters with the Scoundrels, Frank and Deans, Mustard Plug and Tiki Bandits at the Dive Bar

Saturday Feb 7 - the Swamp Gospel and Thee Swank Bastards at the Hard Hat

Saturday Feb 7 - the All Togethers at the Container Park
Saturday Feb 7 - Bow Wow Wow, Midnight Clover, Unwieldies, Water Landing - Adrenanline Sports Bar

Tuesday Feb 10 - Water Landing and Teach me Equals at Artifice

Friday Feb 13 - the Super Zeros at the Hard Hat
Friday Feb 13 - Paper Tigers, Silversage , Bravo Delta, Beau Hodges Band , Strange Mistress at House of Blues
Friday Feb 13 - Stagnetti's Cock, Swamp Pussy, Geesuz Cryst and Free Beer, 3d6 at the Double Down
Friday Feb 13 - Alan Six, Dreamkiller at the Dive Bar
Friday Feb 13 - Thee Swank Bastards at Hop Nuts Brewing

Saturday Feb 14 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down with the Psyatics, the Pluralses and more!

Tues Feb 17 - Piratefest at LV Country Saloon with the Time Crashers, Alestorm, Dreadcrew of Oddwood, Firewater Folklore, Caliban and the Witch
Tues Feb 17 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Brooklyn Bowl with the Suicide Sirens for Mardi Gras Burlesque

Friday Feb 20 - the All Togethers at Willow Creek Assisted Living
Friday Feb 20 - the Unwieldies at the Dillinger

Wednesday Feb 25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Thursday Feb 26 - the All Togethers at Eye Candy Lounge at Mandalay Bay

Wednesday Mar 4 - the Sloths at the Bunkhouse with the Astaires

Friday March 6 - The Swamp Gospel with The All Togethers at the Huntridge Tavern
Friday March 6 - the Delta Bombers at Triple B with Big Sandy

Saturday Mar 7 - Cheap Trick at Fremont Street Experience

Friday Mar 3 - the All Togethers CD release party at Forge in Boulder City

Sunday Mar 15 - Anvil at Adrenaline Sports Bar

Sunday March 29 - Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band with the All Togethers and Ditch Diggers at the Beauty Bar

Thursday April 2 - the Delta Bombers at Viva Las Vegas

Friday April 3 - Scoundrels at the Double Down

Sunday April 5 - the Sonics at Viva Las Vegas - Mardi Gras Ballroom

Friday April 10 - the Mapes and the Maxies - Atomic Liquors

Saturday April 11 - Haunted Garage, Time Crashers and tons more at the Artistic Armory

Saturday April 25 - the Swamp Gospel at the Double Down
Saturday April 25 - the All Togethers at the Mormon Fort - 6:00pm

What have I forgotten? Lemme know!

Playground - Paul Zone with Jane Austen

When the Fast arrived in Los Angeles in 1979, I think I first caught them performing at a clothing store in Westwood, which makes sense since singer Paul Zone was immersed in the NYC fashion and clothing scene, as well as the music scene - hell, he even made the zebra coat my then-girlfriend was wearing! But the music that the Zones - Paul and his brother Miki (guitar) - made with a powerful rhythm section fused punk energy with Who-styled pop sensibilities and just plain r'n'r coolness. Silliness abounded, as well, especially when Miki pulled out a couple packs of pencils and, besides playing guitar with them, stuck them in every available orifice. Good, clean fun. I saw them every chance that I could and even hung out briefly with them here & there.

What I didn't know was the the Fast had been together in one form or another for a 1/2 dozen or so years already and had been involved in the NY scene since the early days of the New York Dolls and before! Unfortunately, they were passed over by the record labels that picked up their friends (Blondie, Ramones, Dead Boys, etc.), at least partially due to bad management, and never received the accolades and notoriety that they deserved. What I also didn't know was that Paul & Miki went on to become a gay/electronic/dance duo that had huge hits in Mexico and Europe. And I didn't know what happened to them after all of that, but that is a story for Paul to tell.

And he tells is quite well - he and Austen provide an entertaining tale of one of the most exciting times and places of modern rock'n'roll from his personal point of view as he hung out - and photographed - many extremely famous (now) and legendary artists. His story has innumerable ups and downs, as do all too many musicians, and it is one that any lover of rock'n'roll should read.

Along with this tale, Paul includes pages and pages of photos that he took of the NY scene, starting with bands like the Dolls and Kiss in the early 70's, though the hey-day of the punk landscape.

This is a terrific book - highly, highly recommended! Thank you Melanie for this fab Xmas present!

The Ca. Feetwarmers at the Chandelier at the Cosmo

I had been meaning to get to the Chandelier at the Cosmo for some time now, since they have been having a lot of fun, old school lounge acts here and finally made it for this combo, calling their style "hobo-jazz". Utilizing a great horn section of clarinet, trumpet, trombone and tuba (for the bass), along with banjo, acoustic guitar, washboard and bass drum, their take on old school dixieland jazz was spot-on and truly enjoyable.

The bar was packed with people there specifically for the band along with many passers-by who stopped to enjoy the sights and sounds. The setting is great, though we heard rumors that there might not be live acts here in the future, which would be too bad.

In any case, if the Feetwarmers come your way, warm your feet by dancin' the night away with these gents. A good time, for sure!