Pencilstorm Browns contributor, Big $ hits the Big Room Bar this Thursday evening with his new band, along with special guests Quinn Fallon (of X-Rated Cowboys fame) and Nat Hagey (of Wing and Tusk). Cover is $5.
The band name's origin story:
Day Drinking and Late Night Drives with Chris Isaak - by Colin G.
Chris Isaak is finally back in Ohio this week with shows at the Rose Music Center Tuesday July 12th and Hard Rock Live in Northfield Wednesday July 13th. Great tickets at a reasonable price are still available and I know because I bought some.
The first time I heard the song "Wicked Game" I was sitting alone at the Out R Inn bar in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Twenty seconds into the tune I was completely entranced and felt like I, too, was some sad character drinking the afternoon away in a David Lynch movie. On my request, the bartender played the song three or four times in a row. I tipped him well and immediately walked two blocks down the street to purchase my very own copy of Heart Shaped World at Used Kids Records. Or Johnny Go's. Or World Record..
Around that same time, Watershed was playing any gig we could get and eventually ended up landing a semi-regular gig at Rockafellas in Columbia, SC. Every six weeks or so, we would make the 10-hour drive through the night to Columbia so we could check into the Red Roof Inn on Two Notch Road and then sleep all day before the gig. I would usually take over driving somewhere along the West Virginia turnpike. As I piloted the van through the mountains in the darkness, Heart Shaped World and other Chris Isaak records became my personal soundtrack to I-77.
Those dark, lonely rides listening to Chris are still some of my favorite memories of playing in a band. I saw Chris play the Newport once around that time and was blown away. If you stopped in the coffee shop anytime in the year 1995, there is a good chance the record Forever Blue was playing. I swear I played it over and over for six straight months.
Eventually, I sort of burned out on Isaak and lost interest..
Until, we were camping on Lake Superior in September 1998 around a couple of shows Watershed was playing in Duluth, Minnesota. I had to find a record store because KISS was releasing Psycho Circus, their first original line-up record in 20 years. While waiting in line and taking the very last copy of the KISS record before a 12 year old kid could get it (sorry, kid) I noticed a new Chris Isaak record called Speak of the Devil and got that too.
Of course, I played the KISS record first and, of course, it pretty much sucked. For some reason I held off on playing the Isaak record for a few weeks or so. I guess I figured I had kind of heard the best of what Chris could do and didn't need anything new. Eventually, I got around to spinning it on another late night drive through Iowa or somewhere, and I fell in love all over again. God, I loved that record. I still do. Listen to this! Wanderin' from Speak of the Devil.
Anyway, there isn't much point to this other than to get on record I am a huge Chris Isaak fans and encourage everybody to check out his records. I'm driving up to catch him at the Hard Rock Live in Northfield tonight. Visit ChrisIsaak.com for all the info on his new record Here Comes the Night
KISS Returns to Boise Rock City - by Nick Jezierny
I saw Kiss for the 10th time. I’ve now seen them in eight cities on nine different tours, dating back to 1978. The most recent show was Thursday night at Boise, Idaho’s own Enormo Dome, otherwise known as Taco Bell Arena.
Those of us who have seen multiple Kiss shows – especially in recent years – know what to expect:
• Gene Simmons is going to spit fire and blood and “fly” to the rafters.
• Paul Stanley is going to jump on a pulley and make his way to the back of the arena and sing “Love Gun” for those in the cheaper (not cheap) seats.
• Confetti and streamers will fill the arena during the encore and anthem “Rock and Roll All Nite.”
All of that happened Thursday night, as well as an abundance of fireworks, flames shooting from the back of the stage and plenty of fog machine smoke.
And even though I saw all of it coming because I’ve seen this (Psycho) circus before, it was entertaining and pretty awesome. I’m a die-hard fan and Kiss always delivers what I expect.
“Detroit Rock City” and straight into “Deuce” was the start of the show. It was pretty much the same set the band played on the first night of the tour in Tucson, except we got a few extra songs. “Flaming Youth” was the lone surprise. The only non-makeup era tune was “Lick It Up” and the 1998 release “Psycho Circus” was the “newest” song included in the set. (Click here to see entire setlist)
There was something a little bit different about this show, and it was my “a-ha” moment as to why the band pretty much sticks to the classics. It came during some of Stanley’s between-song banter that has helped his reputation as one of rock’s great front-men.
At one point, Stanley said “We know you want to hear some modern stuff, but how many of you want to hear some older stuff?” Of course, the arena exploded, thereby justifying the omission of newer material.
But the more telling moment for me was when Stanley asked one simple question:
“How many of you have never seen us before?” I couldn’t believe the number of people who responded with a roar. The noise definitely was more substantial than when he asked about the older material.
That’s when the lightbulb came on. Kiss will continue to play the hits because, at least in Boise on Thursday night, that’s what the majority of fans wanted to hear. While I would love to hear more obscure songs – anything from “Unmasked” or “Music From The Elder” would be awesome – I am not the majority. Kiss does a cruise (or is it Kruise?) for fans like me, when classics are dusted off and that’s what the audience expects.
With that being said, having the two non-original members – drummer Eric Singer and guitarist Tommy Thayer – sing songs written by former members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley still feels wrong.
I love the new lineup. Singer is a beast on drums, and I loved Thayer’s band Black ‘N Blue (who opened for Kiss in 1985 when I saw the Asylum tour in New Haven, Connecticut). But I don’t need to hear Thayer sing “Shock Me” and then rip off Frehley’s patented solo from Alive II. If Thayer is going to sing, I want it to be “Outta This World” off Monster, which is a great song and ultimately his.
“Beth” is another tough one. It’s arguably the band’s second-most known song (behind Rock and Roll All Nite) so there are people who want to hear it, but do they want to hear it from Singer? I didn’t. That made for the perfect bathroom break.
Those are the only knocks on the Freedom To Rock Tour that is coming to a smaller, out-of-the-way city near you. This tour is hitting places Kiss hasn’t played in years or at all. For example, the last time Kiss played Boise was 2000 on the Farewell Tour. I moved here in 2001, so I didn’t have the opportunity to see them unless I wanted to drive to Portland, Seattle or Salt Lake City (which is where I saw the 2014 tour).
Kiss still delivers the expected. And Kiss still delivers it well. That’s hard to do. It proves you can be entertained by something that you know is going to happen – you don’t need any surprises.
Kiss has figured this out. And I’m thankful.
Nick Jezierny really likes KISS He also once ranked every single song by the band Watershed. Click here to check that out.
Pencilstorm has a bunch of KISS related stories. Click here to see a list of the 12 best KISS stories (both good and bad), that you will ever read.
June 30th, 1980 Queen Release The Game - by Scott Carr
Queen began the 1980's on a high note with their eighth studio album The Game released on June 30th, 1980.
Like all their previous albums, Queen explored different musical styles but in the end made them all sound like Queen. The Game produced two of the bands biggest pop hits with the funky "Another One Bites The Dust" and the rockabilly flavored "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." The success of both singles pushed The Game to the number one position on the Billboard album charts, making it Queen's only US chart topper. The album sold 4 million copies, which tied sales figures of their 1977 release New of the World.
The album opens with the very majestic and classic Queen-sounding track "Play The Game." Written by Freddie Mercury, "Play The Game" is as good as anything Mercury had written on previous Queen records and I would say is a very underrated song in their catalog. "Dragon Attack" follows and is one of Brian May's funkiest guitar riffs ever. Amazing guitar work from Brian is all over this track. Next up, two contributions from bassist John Deacon and they couldn't be more different from each other. "Another One Bites The Dust" is a funky disco- infused romp that became a worldwide success and the band's first number one single in America. "Need Your Loving Tonight" is Queen's attempt at power pop, maybe one of their catchiest tunes ever. John Deacon's importance in Queen is often overshadowed by the other three songwriters in the band but he wrote some amazing songs that have stood the test of time. Side one closes with a song that Mercury claimed to have written in five minutes, "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." This rockabilly tip of the hat to Elvis Presley would become the albums second number one single.
Side two of The Game does not feature any hits but has some shining moments. The best song on side two would have to be Brian May's "Sail Away Sweet Sister." Brian takes lead vocals on this one and it sounds like something right off Queen's 1975 masterpiece A Night At The Opera. Mercury's "Don't Try Suicide" is another highlight on side two and probably one of the cheeriest anti-suicide songs ever recorded.
"Don't try suicide, Nobody's worth it, Don't try suicide, Nobody cares
Don't try suicide, You're just gonna hate it, Don't try suicide, Nobody gives a damn"
Drummer Roger Taylor delivers two strong tracks with "Rock It (Prime Jive)" and "Coming Soon," the latter sounding like a New Wave Beach Boys. Brian May's "Save Me" closes out the album and is a true Queen classic.
If I were ranking the Queen catalog, The Game would be very close to the top. Mercury and company never really made a bad record from their 1973 debut through to The Game. They covered a lot of ground during those years and always came out sounding like Queen. The Game is probably the last classic Queen record as a whole. While they definitely had some great material after The Game, the records became much less consistent.
Queen were a band in the truest sense of the word, every member vital to the sound that made them so unique and The Game finds them at their peak.
If anyone is interested, here are my Top Five Queen records......
1. A Night At The Opera
2. The Game
3. News of the World
4. Queen
5. Sheer Heart Attack
Scott Carr is a guitarist who plays in the Columbus, OH bands Radio Tramps andReturning 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.
Attention Watershed Superfans: It's the Return of The League Bowlers, Sunday, June 26th, Noon @ Comfest
If you have read Joe Oestreich's acclaimed Watershed memoir, "Hitless Wonder", you know attaining status of a "Superfan" isn't easy. It requires deep pockets, a reliable mode of transportation, the lack of any sort of peer group and a healthy liver. It also requires you to know everything Watershed has ever released. Did you hear Todd Baker on the NPR story requesting the song "Freedom"? See, Todd KNOWS his Watershed history. If you missed the story on Weekend Edition, click here to check it out.
The League Bowlers "Some Balls" is the lost Watershed Alt-Country CD
Watershed has had only one official side project, The League Bowlers. Formed in 1994 by Joe, Herb, myself and Paul Lansford Beltz III, the Bowlers were a way for us to play Georgia Satellites covers and take more than the regular amount of stimulants & depressants without soiling the good name of Watershed. Our debut gig was at Bernie's Distillery and our flier claimed that original RUSH drummer John Rutsey would be performing with the band. It never crossed our minds that anybody would believe this until 200 RUSH fans showed up carrying the debut RUSH album hoping to get it signed by John himself. Whoops. Man, did they HATE the Bowlers after that....anyhoo--
The band eventually "evolved" into the classic Bowler line-up of myself, legendary drummer Jim Johnson (Willie Phoenix), current Bones bassist and 4 String Brew-master Dan Cochran (Big Back 40), and guitar virtuoso Mike Parks (The Godz). We would don our Bowling shirts and play local hot spots such as Bernie's, The Dolphin Lounge, The Library Bar, Route 33, and an occasional SCI-FI-BI-MON convention or tent festival in Wapakoneta. We spent many a Thanksgiving Eve performing at Andyman's Treehouse as Andy himself would usually close the night singing a tequila-fueled version of "Suspicious Minds" as an honorary Bowler.
At the same time all this was happening, Watershed was chugging right along recording and writing WAY too many songs. The songs on Some Balls were mostly written for Watershed but eventually deemed too "po-dunk" for inclusion on a Watershed release. This island of misfit Alt-country songs were eventually recorded by the League Bowlers and produced by Rick Kinsinger, Jim Johnson and myself in Rick's small, sweaty basement studio. Mixed by Joe Viers in one 6 hour session, the CD is not flashy but has a personality and more than a handful of memorable tunes: "Pretty in a Slutty Way," "Kids Down South," and "Half of Me" to name a few. Scrawl vocalist Marci Mays even contributes vocals to "Here I Am."
While I am proud of the music, Mike "Biggie" Mc Dermott really out did himself with the artwork. One reviewer even claimed people should buy the CD just for the cover. Click here to read the review.
Not much footage of the Bowlers exists as nobody came to our shows and the ones that did were too broke to own anything more that a $1.00 draft beer, let alone a camera, video or otherwise. Somehow Eric Broz managed to film a little bit of the League Bowlers last show, Friday August 1st, 2008, at the old Thirsty Ear. In the tradition of all great rock bands, we broke up onstage. Too bad he didn't film that.
Much has changed since that fateful night all those years ago. The Thirsty Ear became Woodland's Tavern. With Watershed on a hiatus, I formed The Lonely Bones and recently released a compilation of all that music. Click here to check it out.
With Bones members Herb Schupp and Rick Kinsinger currently also playing in Watershed, the time seemed right for a League Bowlers reunion at Comfest, and maybe a few songs and some new music beyond that. Stay tuned at Pencilstorm.com
My Days & Nights as a Pinboy for The League Bowlers - by Ricki C.
(editor’s note: For our younger readers who have no idea what a pinboy is, ask your aged grandad in the nursing home, or Netflix & Chill with that 1984 Nicholas Cage/Sean Penn flick Racing With The Moon. Good movie.)
I guess I would have first witnessed the rock & roll assemblage that is The League Bowlers back in the 1990’s at The Library Bar just north of Lane Avenue on High Street. Colin may have to correct my faulty memory, but it seems to me they only used to play once a year – like maybe the night before Thanksgiving – and then later it seems I remember them opening for themselves at Watershed shows. That was back when Colin & Joe Oestreich both played guitar, Herb Schupp was on drums and Paul Beltz III on bass.
I can’t quite recall the first time I saw the “modern incarnation” of the band – the one that recorded Some Balls – that featured Colin, Dan Cochran, Mike Parks and Jim Johnson, but it might have been at a bar at Easton that also featured video games for the kiddies. I later became the de facto "road manager” of that band, and detailed the night they broke up onstage at the old Thirsty Ear on Third Avenue in Grandview. (You can read all about that night – one of the Top Ten Best in my career of being a roadie, by the way – here at my old blog, Growing Old With Rock & Roll: The Friday Night Massacre: The League Bowlers Roll a Gutterball and Break Up Onstage.)
A couple of weeks after that blog first appeared back in 2012, I was handling guitars & merch sales for Joe Peppercorn’s band The Whiles at a gig at the old Kobo on High Street. While we we were loading out gear at the end of the night Joe’s brother Matt and the other Whiles’ guitarist, Jake Remley, started asking me why I used Colin’s – and other people’s – real names in the League Bowlers blog, when it was obviously a fictional story.
“That wasn’t a fictional story, all of that happened just like I said,” I replied. “The band ACTUALLY BROKE UP ONSTAGE?!?” Matt asked incredulously. “Yes, I didn’t make up one word of that piece. It may have actually been WORSE than I wrote it.” Jake and Matt just looked at me in the dark, dumbfounded; I could tell they were trying to comprehend just HOW BAD things would have to get to have that happen to them. Those Whiles boys are WAY too nice to each other; deep down they really aren’t rockers, they’re folk-rock guys. (Although I did once witness a pretty good blow-up between the Peppercorn brothers just before a Comfest gig one Sunday afternoon in the 2000’s. It was hardly an Oasis level/Gallagher brothers or Kinks/Davies brothers slugfest, but it was an impressive sibling dust-up nonetheless.)
My other favorite League Bowlers memory was during a happy hour show at the Rumba Café. I was onstage handing Mike Parks a guitar when a discussion ensued about whether to debut the Bowler’s then brand-new cover of The Faces' “Maggie May” as the closer of the second set, or to save it for sometime in the third set. (It should be noted at this point that "Maggie May" was probably the most, let's say, challenging tune in the Bowler's repertoire.) That was when the future founder of Four String Brew – Mr. Dan Cochran – spoke up between swigs of the beer in his hand and said/slurred, “If we’re gonna play “Maggie May,” we better play it RIGHT NOW, because in two more songs’ time I am not gonna BE ABLE to play it.”
I don’t think I have ever seen a more honest – or more self-aware – moment from a musician onstage. Drink on, League Bowlers, drink on. – Ricki C. / 6/13/2016
The League Bowlers will be reuniting onstage at Comfest, at noon on Sunday, June 26th, on the Off Ramp Stage. I look for them to break up again right afterwards, so you might wanna catch the show, and the band, while you can.