In 1979 The Buttons Opened for Judas Priest; It Didn't Go Well - by Ricki C.

(editor's note: Ricki C. wanted to follow up Scott's Judas Priest blog with his own first-hand Priest story.)

Click here to read Scott's story

Sometime in early 1979 Willie Phoenix’s then-current band The Buttons opened for Judas Priest at the Agora Club here in Columbus, Ohio.  (I tried to find the exact date utilizing the InterWideWeb, but couldn’t locate it in Judas Priest tour logs.)  I was working as a roadie for The Buttons when that show took place.  It was a bloodbath.  For the uninitiated, it was roughly like The Raspberries (Eric Carmen’s pride of Cleveland, Ohio power-pop assemblage) opening for Black Sabbath in 1972 or so.  (I guess in more contemporary terms it would be like Columbus’ The Whiles opening for Metallica.)

My job at that point on the road crew of The Buttons – at least when they played The Agora, which had a first-class lighting rig – was to run lights.  Willie’s reasoning was that I knew all the songs, knew when the choruses, bridges & solos were going to come up and could do the most to highlight those changes.  I was no Marc Brickman with Bruce Springsteen, but I have to admit (and simultaneously pat myself on the back), I became a pretty good lighting guy.  

When the opening slot for Judas Priest came up, pretty much NOBODY on the band or crew were crazy about the idea. True, The Buttons (and Romantic Noise, the previous incarnation of The Buttons before a name change at the end of 1978) had become the go-to local Columbus band to open Agora shows.  Previously Willie & the guys (Greg Glasgow on bass, John Ballor, lead guitar & drummer Dee Hunt) had opened shows for The Ramones, The David Johansen Group, Squeeze and a coupla others that slip my mind.  (Later, after Dee & I left the organization they did a TRULY STUNNING opening set for Talking Heads at Mershon Auditorium.  I witnessed that performance from the audience and DESPERATELY wished I could have been a part of it.)

But I digress……Did I say NOBODY in the band thought a Judas Priest opener was a good idea? No, WILLIE thought it was a good idea.  Willie was a force of nature at that time (as he still shows flashes of to this day).  He had a truly charismatic stage presence and a KILLER band to back him up.  He knew no fear, no goal he set was unattainable, he admitted no limits.  BUT – and this is a big but – opening for Judas Priest was another beast entirely. Playing in front of The Ramones’ or David Johansen’s crowds was a natural fit for the punk-edged power-pop of Romantic Noise and The Buttons; the Judas Priest mob of metalheads, quaalude-kings and West Side reprobates I had grown up with and amongst were another animal entirely.  (My use of the word “animal” in this context borders more on the literal than the figurative.)

From my catbird seat at the lighting board up in the Agora balcony I could tell there were gonna be problems from the very beginning.  When I brought the stagelights up after the Buttons had positioned themselves onstage there was this kind of low murmur of disapproval at the sight of five-foot two, black, dreadlock-sporting, left-handed Willie Phoenix center stage in some kind of Sgt. Pepper jacket.  

Boos were starting before they played a note, but Willie cut ‘em off by counting in the first song of the set.  After the first tune, not one person clapped. There were probably 750 people in the 1300 capacity Agora that night (this was well before Rob Halford’s arena days) and not one person clapped.  In fact, nobody made a sound.  It was the quietest I had ever heard that club.  (One night in spring or summer 1978 Romantic Noise had played a no-publicity, virtually-unannounced Wednesday night show at the Agora and only SEVEN people showed up.  And THAT audience was noisier than the Judas Priest crowd.)        

Things never got better.  By the end of the second song loud, sustained booing started ringing out.  During the third tune the crowd started throwing stuff at the stage: cups, beer bottles, coins, sandwich wrappers, pieces of pizza (the Agora served food back in the day) began raining down on the band.  Mid-set a CRUTCH flew out of the crowd and crashed into Dee’s drum-kit.  (Three or four years after that night I was telling this story in a West Side bar and the guy who THREW that crutch was sitting at the table. “Hey, that was ME!” he slurred, “I had banged up my knee on my Harley and Security wouldn’t give me my crutch back.  My buddies had to carry me out that night.”)    

Partway through the set, Steve Sines – the lead singer of local band The Muff Brothers (later simply The Muffs) – sat down next to me at the lighting board.  He’d been hired by the Agora to run lights that night for Judas Priest, who didn’t even carry their own lighting guy at that point.  “Your boys are havin’ a rough time up there,” he said, lighting up a joint and offering it to me.  “Yeah, I noticed,” I replied, declining the joint, feeling like I shouldn’t be enjoying myself up in the balcony as debris and boos washed over my employers down on the stage.  I was nothing if not fiercely loyal to Willie & the guys. 

The Buttons had stopped even pausing between songs in the set, powering right through from one song to the next, to not give the crowd time to catcall and throw beer.  (I figure the whole thing was pretty much like when Watershed opened for The Insane Clown Posse, but with a lot less Faygo; and this was just one show, not an entire TOUR.)  I give ‘em credit, they finished the 40-minute set.  They never backed down for a minute.  They battled that Judas Priest crowd to at least a stalemate.

During the last song, Willie took off his prized Les Paul Junior and bashed it to kindling on the Agora stage, Pete Townshend-style, giving his all to do ANYTHING to get a rise out of that audience, to salvage that set.  “Can he AFFORD that?” Steve Sines asked, wide-eyed, the joint paused in mid-air as he took in Willie’s six-string destructo finish.  “No, he cannot,” I said back to Steve, “no, he CAN NOT at all.”  I would’ve walked off that stage after five songs.  I wouldn’t have given that mob the time of day; Willie gave them his Les Paul.  That is why Willie Phoenix is a rock star and I am a Pencilstorm writer.  Willie, I salute you. – Ricki C. / February 26th, 2017

The Buttons / 1979

The Buttons / 1979 / "Hot Beat"

Judas Priest / 1979 / students, compare & contrast…….

     
 

TV Party Tonight! Part Eight: Generation Axe - by Wal Ozello

Colin let me take over this week's TV Party. When this was first pitched at Pencilstorm’s Editorial Committee meeting, we all started visiting each others' You Tube feeds to check out what each other was watching.

Much to the surprise of most of the staff, mine wasn’t filled with Journey, Bon Jovi, Queen or dozens of those tenor rock vocalists. When I go deep diving on Youtube, it’s all about the gods of guitar. And not those bluesy, riffy guys like Keith Richards or Slash.  I like the pure distorted rapid neoclassical sounds of what’s known now as Generation Axe. 

So sit back, relax and prepare to have your mind blown. Remember all this stuff is LIVE. Engage rabbit hole… NOW.

We start with the man who broke the ceiling with rock guitar virtuosos and I'm not talking about Eddie Van Halen (snooze), I’m talking about the one and only Steve Vai.

 

You can’t listen to Vai without his contemporary, Joe Satraini.  While Satriani has dozens of amazing songs, here’s a gem I found.

 

Eric Johnson is another amazing guitar talent from this generation.  It’s hard to mention Vai and Satriani without Johnson.  Here’s his most famous.

 

Europe gave birth to this neoclassical heavy metal guitarist, Yngwie Malmsteen. Wow. Just wow.

 

There are some people out there who can do on four strings what others do on six. Here is bassist Billy Sheehan and guitarist Paul Gilbert doing an amazing duet.

 

And speaking of duets… make sure to watch this completely. At first, it’s just Joe Satriani playing his signature, “Always You, Always Me,” but half way through Steve Vai joins him on stage and it’s just mind-blowing to hear two masters go at it together.  It's like watching Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo paint together.

 

Pencilstorm contributor Wal Ozello is the lead singer of the Columbus Hairband, Armada, and the author of several time travel books.

TV Party Tonight! Part Seven: Presidents' Day edition - by Anne Marie

Protest Music

I’ve noticed that Colin often kicks off these Saturday TV Party Tonight! Rabbit Holes with the exhortation to “forget politics” and listen to some music.  But I’m having a difficult time shaking politics from my mind lately and it got me thinking about some powerful music that may not even exist if the music itself were not a political statement.

My daughter Caitlin and I were at Nelsonville Music Festival a couple of years ago and experienced watching Mavis Staples perform as we waited for the Flaming Lips to take the stage.  Caitlin asked me who Mavis was and I was able to offer only the briefest sketch of the Staple Singers and their involvement with civil rights before consulting Google to fill in the gaps.  Martin Luther King attended a Staple Singers concert in 1963 and, after the group met with him backstage, they were inspired to dedicate all of their songwriting efforts to the civil rights movement for the next several years.

I dive down the rabbit hole and listen to  "Freedom's Highway," about the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery marches, "Washington We're Watching You," "Long Walk to D.C." and "Why Am I Treated So Bad," in honor of the Little Rock Nine.

(formerly, "NINA SIMONE- Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood") Wrestling for the soul of America. I grew up in the South and Midwest during the civil rights years and their aftermath. It challenged everything about my world and changed my perception of life.

From "City in the sky", the last album released on STAX Records by The Staple Singers. A Bad and funky message to the Capital.

Uploaded by NevilleMatheson71 on 2011-10-27.

Uploaded by selim anac on 2015-01-20.

Mavis Staples and Bob Dylan were an item for seven years until she declined his offer of marriage. Dylan, of course, more than held his own in the protest music arena, with songs against the Cold War, the Vietnam War and racial injustice.  I start with the venerable “Blowin’ in the Wind” (“How many times can a cannonball fly / before they're forever banned?“) and then listen to his songs telling the story of true events, “Oxford Town,” “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” and “Hurricane,” but framed in a way that the newspapers of the time were not framing them – exposing the underlying racism and social injustice.  I find an intense 1972 cover of “Oxford Town” by Richie Havens, a Steve Allen Show performance of “Hattie Carroll” in February 1964 following an insanely uncomfortable interview of Dylan by Allen, and a 1975 version of “Hurricane” with Emmylou Harris on background vocals:

Song written by Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan performs "The Lonesome Death Of Hattie C." on the Steve Allen Show from February 25, 1964.

Emmylou Harris - background vocals for this take but mid-tour, of The Rolling Thunder Revue, Dylan wanted to rerecord the song and used Ronee Blakley, who was doing background vocals for the tour, as the background vocalist for the final take that was released on Desire.


While lyrically Dylan was an amazing poet (and this has been officially confirmed now that the Swedish Academy awarded him last year’s Nobel Prize for literature), the political protest song that packs the most powerful lyrical punch in my view is Neil Young’s “Ohio,” written in reaction to the May 4, 1970 killing of 4 and shooting of 12 other students at Kent State by the National Guard. The students had gathered to protest President Nixon’s announcement of the invasion of Cambodia and expansion of the Vietnam War. Neil uses sparse prose, “soldiers are cutting us down” over a relentless beat to drive home that it is time to stop the madness and asks, “what if you knew her and found her dead on the ground?”  In that one chilling question I think he cuts to the heart of it all – what if you knew her?  What if you were not behind those gas masks and riot gear so that you were removed from, and thus dehumanized, those students?  I am deep down this depressing rabbit hole and play different versions of the song, but share a raw, live version from Toronto in 1971.

© 2007 WMG Ohio [Live At Massey Hall 1971] (Video)

But for all the underlying darkness that spurs their creation, the upside of protests songs is they drive positive change. “Ohio” may have been shunned by popular radio but it got airplay from underground FM stations and became an anthem for the anti-war effort, helping to lead to the withdrawal from Vietnam. 

I was too young to protest Vietnam, but I got my chance to see a protest song in action when I was in college. In 1986, I was President of the Boston University chapter of Amnesty International. On the morning of November 17th, Amnesty joined eighteen other campus groups to stage a walk out of classes in protest of BU’s decision to award Chief Buthelezi, a political rival of then jailed ANC leader Nelson Mandela, an honorary law degree.  Nearly 500 of us crowded onto Marsh Plaza to demand that BU divest of its investments in companies doing business with the apartheid-supporting government of South Africa. We awarded a mock honorary degree to Mandela and marched down Commonwealth Avenue singing the “Free Nelson Mandela” song and chanting “Amandla … Ngawethu.” 

I search for Little Steven’s “I Ain’t Gonna Play Sun City” and, as I watch, I take heart in the fact that less than four years later, Mandela was free and Boston was one of the first cities in the US to divest of investments in South Africa, which economic pressure led to the dismantling of apartheid.

Artists United Against Apartheid was a 1985 protest group founded by activist and performer Steven Van Zandt and record producer Arthur Baker to protest apartheid in South Africa.

I think about the protests that have taken place over the past few weeks and the fact that more citizens seem engaged in our democratic process than in any period during my adulthood.  News reports have described the “tsunami” of calls that have flooded legislators’ offices since Trump took office, jamming phone lines for hours and days at a time. 

I turn next to some new Run the Jewels.  While my music tastes are fairly eclectic, rap and country are usually where I hit my limits.  But Killer Mike cuts to the heart of issues in an unsettling way. If you are up for the challenge, watch “Reagan” (but know that he was already dead, this was not inciting).  This is about using strong imagery to express protest.  It is freedom of expression through music and it definitely pushes buttons.  I find a recent Run the Jewels Tiny Desk Concert, which ends (starting at 8:10) with the song  “A Report to The Shareholders” (“You talk clean and bomb hospitals / So I speak with the foulest mouth possible“). Click here to listen

Finally, I find videos of the protest song “Quiet” by the artist who goes by MILCK and Fiona Apple's "Tiny Hands" that went viral at the recent post-election Women’s Marches.   IMHO, it is a good thing that people are not quiet and complacent in a Democracy and that protest music is not just a relic of the ‘60s.  I look forward to the protest music that is sure to flourish as we enter month two of this administration and artists continue to offer resistance through song. #DissentisPatriotic 

Video courtesy of Alma Har'el. The #ICANTKEEPQUIET Choir features members of both the GW Sirens & Capital Blend. Huge thanks to both organizations! #ICantKeepQuiet #OneWomanRiot Song: "Quiet" by MILCK. www.milckmusic.com


AML
2/4/17

TV Party Tonight! Part Six: Random Stuff from Great Rock Docs - Colin G.

Before diving into tonight's TV Party, I'd like to shout out Pencilstorm movie critic Rob Braithwaite for successfully watching and reviewing 366 movies in a single year. If you haven't checked it out, click here for a starters guide, and click here for his and Ricki C's top ten movies of 2016. Great stuff. Please share it with your movie-loving friends before the Oscars. 

Along those lines, this week's TV Party will focus on great moments from the best rock docs. I'm no film expert but CD1025 Brian Phillips and myself did host a three year rock n roll movie series at the Gateway Film Center called "Reelin' and Rockin," so I have a little background in the area.  Click here for a recap of the first two years   

Still, thanks to everybody who chipped in with ideas online to knock the rust off my brain. I couldn't always find the scene I was looking for but I gave it a good try. Whatever, it's late, I've had beers, it's time for a TV PARTY!!!!!!!!!! Engage rabbit hole.... NOW.

So let's start with the best. "Hail, Hail Rock n Roll" is a must watch. And the behind the scenes footage is ESSENTIAL viewing.  The League Bowlers used to recreate the moment below before playing Oh Carol. I think the crowd thought we were really fighting. Ah, good times. 

Good thing the guys in Brian Jonestown Massacre never backed up Chuck. "You broke my sitar, motherfucker." I think I have a pretty good idea where Mr. Berry would have broken that sitar. 

A part of the movie "Dig!" by Ondi Timoner. Anton Newcombe is on stage with his band, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, when they start to swear and fight... to finally leave the stage. KEEP MUSIC EVIL.

Pretty dark stuff, which obviously takes us to the darkest scene from the darkest rock doc ever. I recently finished the book Altamont. and it's the perfect companion piece for Gimme Shelter. Lots of things went wrong. Oh, and could somebody please get that dog off the stage? 

At the start of "Under My Thumb". Some of the Hells Angels got into a scuffle with Meredith Hunter, age 18, when he attempted to get onstage with other fans. One of the Hells Angels grabbed Hunter's head, punched him, and chased him back into the crowd.

But Gimme Shelter wasn't all bad doses and pool cue beat downs at the hands of the Hells Angels. There were fun moments too. I LOVE this scene. Just another band loving their brand new song.  

Fragmento del Documental "Gimme Shelter"

Moving on.. I couldn't find just one good scene from this Ramones doc. but it's one of my favorites. Put a camera on Johnny, Dee Dee, Joey or Tommy and it's always cinema gold. 

Ramones: The End of the Century   Watch it now..

End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones (2003) Official Trailer #1 - Documentary Movie HD Subscribe to CLASSIC TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/1u43jDe Subscribe to TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/sxaw6h Subscribe to COMING SOON: http://bit.ly/H2vZUn Like us on FACEBOOK: http://bit.ly/1QyRMsE Follow us on TWITTER: http://bit.ly/1ghOWmt The story of the punk rock band The Ramones.

Speaking of pure gold, Keith Moon is the gold standard of pure cinema gold. Again, I couldn't find just one good scene from The Kids Are Alright (the movie of the same name mucks things up) but this is a really great compilation of Moon stuff with many from the famous Doc. 

Interviews by Keith Moon - drummer of British band The Who

And thinking of dysfunctional but talented people..  This scene of the late, great Jay Bennett and Jeff Tweedy trying to finish a mix is cringe-worthy and brilliant.  I thought the editing process in this flick was unfair to Jay. I wrote about it once. Click here to read When Wilco Stopped Being a Band and Became a Brand.  Great movie though. 

This movie and the Dylan auto bio "Chronicles" made me a bigger fan of Bob than his records ever did. The guy was fearless. 

More from Spitfire - http://bit.ly/1eM7XPi Renowned director Martin Scorsese's documentary No Direction Home: Bob Dylan chronicles the career of the singer and songwriter during the tumultuous years between 1961 and 1966. Dylan allowed Scorsese to have access to hours of footage that had never before been made public, including a number of live performances, and footage of Dylan in the recording studio.

Along those lines, I was never a big Metallica fan until I saw this movie. Still not sure I count as a real fan of the band, but I am a fan of Lars Ulrich after watching this. Actually, the book of the same name explains how Lars had final cut, and he left in the less flattering stuff, much to the dismay of the band's management who were afraid it would hurt the band's carefully-crafted tough guy image.  Who wants to watch a metal band go through therapy together? Turns out, everybody.  Mucho respect amigo.  

Uploaded by metallivideo on 2010-10-31.

Ok, I'm trying to find the scene from Tom Petty Running Down a Dream where Tom curses out some sleezy A&R guy trying to get a song placed on the Roger McQuinn album he is working on. I don't seem to have the skills to find it, but here is the trailer and the whole flick is fantastic. And how the hell did they get all that early film footage? I don't have video of my son's last birthday. 

© 2007 WMG Runnin' Down A Dream DVD Trailer

To wrap up, shout out to Biggie on this one. The Making of Pump by Aerosmith was released only on VHS before reality TV became a thing. Watershed watched it in the van many, many times back in the day. Part 3:  It's fascinating watching a band as big as Aerosmith still battling their company-man producer who is obviously only interested in turning out profitable product under budget and on time.  "I think we should focus on the A list..." 

http://z13.invisionfree.com/Mama_Kin_Bootlegs/index.php

Part 4: I miss this Steven Tyler. 

http://z13.invisionfree.com/Mama_Kin_Bootlegs/index.php

              Colin Gawel has to go to bed now. He has to open Colin's Coffee in the morning.

 

 

 

TV Party Tonight! Part Five: a YouTube Rabbit Hole w/ Mark Linkous of The Dancing Hoods and Sparklehorse - by JCE

Click here for TV Party Tonight Part Four: The Neighborhoods.

I thought about a film I had heard of which was going to be about Mark Linkous, who is best known for his band Sparklehorse, but who I loved because of his earlier band, the Dancing Hoods.  I also had a connection to Mark from way back due to some mutual friends.  The film I was searching for is called “The Sad and Beautiful World of Sparklehorse” but the film is not available on You Tube. The movie trailer looks interesting:

Undeterred, I searched for all things Mark Linkous and this is where my rabbit hole got deep.  Before I proceed, if you don’t know, Mark Linkous took his own life in 2010 after some substance abuse issues and a long battle with depression.  His death saddened many people, as he was a gentle soul to be sure.

Mark Linkous was originally from Charlottesville, Virginia.  One of my best friends from my days in Charlottesville was an early member of the Dancing Hoods with Mark, but he was not in the band for long.  I believe the Dancing Hoods relocated to New York or somewhere and that is where they found some limited success.  I got to meet Mark a few times.  Once was when he was back in town after the Dancing Hoods released the amazingly good record “Hallelujah Anyway,” which was their third release on Relativity Records.  Mark actually stopped by my house with some other mutual friends.  I got to talk to him about my love for the Dancing Hoods and he signed my cd for me.  He was a very introspective guy, quiet and humble.  I recall not looking at what he signed until after he had left, and it said, “John, I saw her standing at the art room and I said have a nice baby.  Be happy, live. I’m an old man already.  Love when u can.”  


It was an odd collection of words, but it fit Mark and what I perceived as his mood at the time. 

My Mark Linkous rabbit hole included a bunch of songs that I really love, starting with “Torn Away” played live on this appearance on a show called The Cutting Edge.  Does anyone recall this show?  I don’t.  Mark is the guitarist on the left:


My favorite track on Hallelujah Anyway is called “Baby’s Got Rockets”:


Finally, my favorite Dancing Hoods song from my favorite Dancing Hoods record, their second record, 12 Jealous Roses, is called “Pleasure.”  You need to listen to this song by watching one of the other YouTube posts of the song which is just good quality audio.  This video was apparently taken by pointing a camera at MTV back in the day.  I like that it shows you the actual video they created, but the audio is horrible.  “Pleasure” is an excellent song, trust me.

After watching too many Dancing Hoods videos, I moved on to Sparklehorse, still completely lost in my Mark Linkous rabbit hole.  Sparklehorse made some very bizarre and atmospheric music that people loved, but to a large extent, it is not my cup of tea.  I do absolutely love two Sparklehorse songs from the record Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot.  Those two songs are “Someday I Will Treat You Good” and “Rainmaker.”

Mark Linkous had some other bands as well.  One I recall was The Johnson Family, who I saw play in Charlotte, NC when I lived there.  I have a demo cassette of a great song he made with my friends in Charlottesville.  I didn’t know him well, but I know he was a good person and a brilliant musician, so my TV Party is a tribute to Mark.  - JCE