Record Store Day At Lost Weekend Records, by Scott Carr

Record Store Day 2015 is happening this Saturday April 18th. If you are not familiar with Record Store Day, it is a day set aside on the third Saturday of April every year to celebrate and bring attention to independent record stores all around the globe. Over 400 exclusive releases will be available for this year's Record Store Day, many of them in very limited quantities. Some of the most anticipated are releases from The White Stripes, Grateful Dead, Foo Fighters, The Doors, Bob Dylan, The Decemberists, Metallica, David Bowie, Brand New, Father John Misty, Public Enemy, The Flaming Lips, The Kinks, Jeff Beck, The Dead Milkmen, Johnny Cash, Gov't Mule, The Lemonheads, Lydia Loveless, The Replacements and the list goes on and on. There will be something for everyone.

I will be working at Lost Weekend Records along with owner Kyle Siegrist for this year's Record Store Day and to quote Kyle "It's gonna be huge!".  Lost Weekend Records will be open at 8am Saturday morning and we will be ready to get the music to the people. We will have tons of Record Store Day Exclusives including one that you will only find at Lost Weekend Records, the new Psychic Wheels 7" released on Lost Weekend Records own record label. 

Besides all the great music that is being released for Record Store Day this year, Lost Weekend Records will have tons of other fun stuff going on including Sticky Fingers Food Truck, PromoWest Productions will have a tent in the parking lot with cool stuff and Alison Rose will be doing custom screen-printed shirts and record bags while you wait. The first 65 people in line at the store Saturday morning will receive a swag bag full of great stuff and we will also have a drawing you can enter to win some great prizes including a signed Blackberry Smoke LP, tickets to see Styx at The LC, weekend passes to Nelsonville Music Festival, a test pressing of Columbus Blood LP and more. Also there will be a big 4 day sale beginning on Friday April 17th, see the flyer below for all the details.

As an avid music lover and collector I consider myself lucky to live in a city that is so rich with record stores. At last count Columbus has upwards of 12 or 13 independent record stores and they all have something different to offer. Most of the stores will have special events going on for Record Store Day, so I would suggest making a day of it and hit as many as you can. 

I started buying records at a very early age, I always spent my birthday money on Kiss and Cheap Trick records and not much has changed over the years. I was recently recognized at a Stevie Wonder concert and this lady walked over to me and said "aren't you the vinyl guy?", I kinda laughed and said "yeah, I work at Lost Weekend Records". She had been in the shop a few weeks back with her son who was spending his birthday money on records. We talked for a few minutes and she told how much her son loved coming to Lost Weekend Records and couldn't wait to get home and play his records. 

For me record store day is everyday but it's nice to have a day that brings so much attention to independent stores that really need the support. It will be a fun day and the hope is that we will make some long lasting relationships with people who have never been to our store or a record store at all. 

Hope to see you this Saturday April 18th.........

Hey, notice the sly Cheap Trick reference!

Scott Carr is a guitarist who plays in the Columbus, OH  bands Radio Tramps and Returning April. Scott is also an avid collector of vinyl records and works at Lost Weekend Records. So...if you are looking for Scott....you'll either find him in a dimly lit bar playing his guitar or in a record store digging for the holy grail.

Psychic Wheels Record Store Day release only available at Lost Weekend Records.

People waiting in line at Lost Weekend Records last year for Record Store Day...........

A Picture of Robin Zander, Bun E Carlos and Bon Scott Drinking and Shooting Pool?

Why Isn't Cheap Trick in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? is playing two FREE shows this weekend. Click here for info.

 Click here to purchase your very own, limited edition "Why Isn't Cheap Trick in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame?" T-Shirt to help the cause. 

I ranked every single Cheap Trick song with links and videos. It takes five hours to finish. Call off work and then click here to see that.    

Click here to hear me on Ken Mills' very cool Cheap Trick podcast discussing Why Isn't Cheap Trick in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? 

and..       #inductcheaptrick   

Now, have your rock 'n' roll loving eye-holes got a load of this…..You are welcome. - Colin G.

              How cool is that? The bands were very tight and big fans of one another. I think Robin just talked some trash.

Reelin' and Rockin' @ the Gateway: "Revenge Of The Mekons" by Ricki C.

The Mekons have been around since 1977, and yet I don’t really know that much about them: which is why I’m really happy that Colin and Brian Phillips are bringing the documentary feature “Revenge of The Mekons” to the Gateway Film Center this Wednesday, April 15th at 8 pm as this month’s Reelin’ and Rockin’ @ the Gateway presentation.  

I do know this much about The Mekons:

1) Their 1989 album “The Mekons Rock ‘n’ Roll” is one of the most fiercely intelligent punk-rock records of all time.  For those of you scoring at home, the Ricki C. acid test for whether something is genuine punk-rock is if it makes me wanna break stuff when I listen to it real loud, and – by those standards – “The Mekons Rock ‘n’ Roll” is right up there with The Clash’s first record Elvis Costello and the Attractions’ “This Year’s Model.”  (Also, I find it cool and appropriate that The Mekons fall right beside The MC5 in my vinyl collection, speaking of fiercely intelligent rock & roll.)  

2) I saw The Mekons live at Stache's in 1989 when they were touring that record, and talk about packing A LOT of magic into a really small space: Langford, Timms, Greenhalgh & company blistered the paint off Dan Dougan's walls.    

3) I know that The Mekons’ “Ghosts Of American Astronauts” (see video below) showcases one of the most subversive lyrics and simultaneously one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs in all of rock & roll; from a punk band.  Go see the movie.  Make a new friend, love an old band.  – Ricki C. / April 11th, 2015   

Reelin and Rockin' @ the Gateway admission is $5 (CHEAP!) and  benefits CD102.5 For The Kids children's charity; happy hour begins at 7 pm in the Torpedo Room bar, "Revenge of The Mekons" follows at 8 pm.

Colin Appears on Cheap Talk with Trick Podcast. Bucket List Complete. Listen Here!

There have been some big moments in my life: seeing the birth of my son, hearing one of my songs on the radio for the first time, and winning my second fantasy baseball championship are just a few highlights that jump to mind. But it will be hard to top what happened this week, I was finally a guest on the popular Cheap Trick Podcast, "Cheap Talk with Trick." 

Click here to listen. I come at 21 minutes     

Sure, it would have been nice to spend an hour or three discussing side two of "Woke Up With A Monster" or Tom Petersson's solo cassette release, "Another Language" but host Ken Mills was kind enough to invite me on an episode asking.....

Why Isn't Cheap Trick in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? 

Beggars can't be choosers and as a founding member of the band of the same name, I suppose it does make sense. Anyway, give it a listen, I think it turned out pretty darn well myself.  And....make sure to join Why Isn't Cheap Trick in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? at one of our upcoming shows April 17th & 18th. Click here for details on the gigs and the cause.   

Thanks to Ken once again and remember  #inductcheaptrick  - Colin G.

Why Isn't Cheap Trick in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Drops Indiana from Tour

For immediate release: Following the lead of our rock n roll brothers in Wilco, Why Isn't Cheap Trick in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? will also not be performing any shows in the state of Indiana this year. The rest of the tour remains unchanged. 

For further details and ticket info please click here.

Why Isn't Cheap Trick in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? is a band in addition to a damn good question. 

A Ramones Primer: By The Book by Nick Taggart

A RAMONES PRIMER: BY THE BOOK
by Nick Taggart

Hey, ho, have you seen Marky Ramone recently?  He’s been turning up in all kinds of interesting places, including NPR’s radio program, “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” where he successfully answered trivia questions about another famous Marky (Marky Mark) and was generally amusing and entertaining.  Not only is he peddling his own brand of pasta sauce (Marky Ramone’s Brooklyn’s Own Marinara Pasta Sauce.  At $88 for a case of 12 jars, it’s a steal!  But by whom?) but he’s also keeping alive the memory of the Ramones with his new autobiography, Punk Rock Blitzkrieg: My Life as a Ramone. 
 

I’ve always been a fan of Ramones songs.  What’s  not to love about hard and fast, short and catchy tunes containing juvenile lyrics about sniffing glue and abductions by white supremacist groups?  I was never disappointed when I saw them in concert, but I knew little of the band’s background beyond the most sweeping of summaries.  You know, stuff like: “American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1974”; and “…often cited as the first band to define the punk rock sound.”  (Thank you, Wikipedia.)  I figured Marky’s book would fill in some factual holes as well as provide some colorful commentary.

I’ve always had trouble keeping track of who’s who in the band.  I knew the names, but would have been hard pressed to attach the name to the correct face.  While I waited for my reserved copy of Punk Rock Blitzkrieg to come in at the library, I went back and read a couple of other Ramones autobiographies.  These helped with my identification problem.  
Back in 2000, the bass player, Dee Dee Ramone, published Lobotomy: Surviving the Ramones.  Dee Dee always reminded me of the actor Larry Storch, best known for his role as Capt. Agarn on TV’s F-Troop.  I learned that Dee Dee was responsible for writing many of the band’s songs as well as taking the most drugs.  As his book indicated, he did indeed survive the Ramones, but just barely.  Less than three months after joining his bandmates for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Dee Dee was found dead from a heroin overdose.

In 2012, the posthumous Commando: the Autobiography of Johnny Ramone was released.  Johnny was the one with the haircut resembling the knit cap pulled down over the face of Dumb Donald on Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.  He was the focused one in the group who kept the Ramones train running on time.  His military schooling may have been partially responsible.  His goal was to accumulate $1 million in savings before kissing the Ramones gravy train goodbye.  He succeeded, but didn’t live long to enjoy it, dying in 2004 after a battle with prostate cancer.  Johnny was also the politically conservative one of the foursome who admired Ronald Reagan and who preferred to listen to Rush Limbaugh on the tour van radio; sometimes just to piss off Joey, the liberal singer.

Even if he wasn’t the de facto front man, Joey would have stood out for his looks: 6’ 6” tall, lanky, bespectacled, and holding onto the microphone for dear life.  His autobiography might have been the most interesting had it ever been written, but Joey was the first Ramone to die, succumbing to lymphoma in 2001.  He suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder, which manifested itself in so many frustrating ways, as detailed in his bandmates' books.  For example, tour departures were delayed while Joey exited and reentered his apartment multiple times; or he would return dozens of times to the bathroom on a trans-Atlantic flight to tap the soap or touch the seat.  The closest thing we have to a Joey autobiography is the 2009 book, I Slept With Joey Ramone: a Family Memoir, written by Joey’s brother, Mickey Leigh.

There have been other members of the Ramones, including the original drummer, Tommy, who traded in his sticks after two albums to concentrate on producing the band.  There were also Richie, Elvis, C.J., Sneezy, and Tito (I may be wrong about a couple of those.  Elvis doesn’t sound right.), but they came and went and rarely appear in photos, so no need to commit them to memory.

By the time I got my hands on Punk Rock Blitzkrieg, I felt a little more grounded in Ramones lore.  I still liked and appreciated the music, even if I had learned the band members weren’t the kind of folks I’d lend money to or want to watch a presidential debate with.  With Marky’s book, though, I discovered a band member who was, dare I say, somewhat normal. Oh, he had his problems with alcoholism and the like, but he comes across as likeable.

The book caused a bit of a kerfuffle on Amazon concerning the accuracy of Marky’s stories.  The only time the Ramones had to cancel a show was in Virginia Beach in 1981 when Marky was a no-show.  According to his book, the band had a couple days off after playing Cleveland and he planned on getting a ride to Virginia with a fan, but the ride was a bust.  According to an online reviewer from Columbus, the show was actually in the capital city (confirmed in Johnny’s book) and Marky had planned on flying to Virginia all along, but missed his flight after two days of drinking and partying at Crazy Mama’s and a local “punk house” (which still exists, according to another reviewer).

Reading the Ramones autobiography canon prompted me to go back and watch the 1979 movie, Rock ‘n’ Roll High School.  Wow, is that film dated!  But the viewing was worth it purely for the appearance of the Ramones and their spectacularly amateurish “acting” and brief memorable lines.  (“We’re not students, we’re the Ramones,” and “Things sure have changed since we got kicked out of high school.”)

A much better DVD option is the excellent 2005 documentary, End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones.  Most of the key players were still alive at the time of its production, so were available for informative, revealing, and funny interviews.  Two thumbs up!

More importantly, the books encouraged me to go back to my CD collection and listen once again to all those fun, rocking Ramones songs.  I tend to forget just how many great ones there are.  The debut self-titled album alone contains “Blitzkrieg Bop,” “Beat on the Brat,” “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue,” “53rd and 3rd,” and “I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You,” among others, all clocking in at 2:35 or under.  Gabba Gabba Hey, indeed!

So, can we believe the stories Marky tells in his book?  Can we believe Dee Dee or Johnny or Mickey Leigh?  I’m sure they all had their own agendas, but they’re all like the sightless guys in the parable of “The Elephant and the Blind Men.”  The individual perspectives might not capture the entire animal, but together they bring into focus the pachyderm in torn jeans and leather jackets that is the Ramones.

Learn more about Nick Taggart and other Pencilstorm contributors by clicking here.