Tom Petty: A Real Highwayman's Farewell - by Ricki C.

January 23, 2018 Ricki C.

(editor’s note/reader advisory: Ricki C.’s first blog in awhile on Pencilstorm contains strong language, which, truthfully the Pencisltorm Editorial Board chose not to edit, because we’re all a little afraid of Ricki, so we don’t like to screw with his copy. Consequently, you might wanna keep the kids from reading, or at least monitor the new words they learn.

Also, the Editorial Board HAS detected the vaguely suicidal leanings in the piece, but Ricki is, after all, a West Side Rocker, so we all think he’ll be okay in the long run, but we ARE monitoring the situation.)

It’s not exactly a state secret that I haven’t been writing for Pencilstorm for the last few months. Long story short: my sister Dianne died at the end of November, 2017, after losing a two-year battle with cancer, first slowly, then suddenly (to quote a Watershed tune, I just realized) and I was staying with her at her house in Grove City for her last six weeks while she was in hospice care. I fully realize that thousands, if not millions, of people have lived through that situation: caring for a loved one in hospice, and I'm not presuming to speak for anyone else here, just for myself, but I have to say - it’s not noble, it’s not life-affirming, it doesn’t offer a loving sense of closure, it’s just sad and heartbreaking. (I don’t know how hospice care nurses – all of whom, Mount Carmel nurses in my particular case, were wonderful & caring – do their jobs. I only had to do this once, they do it dozens, if not hundreds, of times.)

Plus Mike Parks – the fucking GENIUS lead guitarist of Colin’s League Bowlers band – lost his bout with stomach cancer a couple of weeks ago.

And right before all that Tom Petty died.

Tom’s back in the news this week, because it seems he didn’t die of heart failure at 66 years old as was initially reported, he died of an accidental opioid-related overdose. Myself, I will turn 66 in 2018, and I’m already on my second cardiac pacemaker (got my first before I turned 50), so I wasn’t all that elated about the “dead of heart failure at 66” news reports about Petty. It’s oddly comforting to me that Tom died of an overdose, and truthfully, I’m not at all sure it was all that accidental. It might be comfortable to his children and loved ones to believe it was an accident, but I like to think that Petty took stock of his situation: “I’m 66, I just finished an extensive Farewell Tour with what I thought was just a bad hip, which now turns out to be a fully broken hip that will pain me for the rest of my life, this just might not be a bad time to check out of this existence for good. I’ve had a long life, I rocked for upwards of 55 of the 66 years I resided on the planet, I made millions of people happy with my rock & roll, in the immortal words of Robert Johnson: I believe it’s time to go.”

I can’t say I blame him.

I consider an overdose death from Tom Petty after a long & fulfilling GENUINE Farewell Tour a more fitting conclusion to a Rock & Roll Life than many other rockers – Gene Simmons of KISS and Don Henley of the fucking Eagles leap immediately to mind – are ever going to attain. And Pete Townshend is NEVER going to leave this mortal coil with as much integrity as Tom Petty did. I find myself wishing at this point that Pete HAD died before he got old. (And just so our loyal readers don’t find that sentiment a little TOO harsh, I might wish it for myself too.)

Mr. Petty, I salute you for a Real Highwayman’s Farewell………

"just junk all all across the horizon, a real highwayman's farewell"

- Bruce Springsteen, 1973

Axl Rose: Political Activist - by Wal Ozello

January 22, 2018 Wal Ozello

After a decade of being out of the limelight, Front Man Axl Rose has been rebuilding his resume. He filled in for Brian Johnston as the lead singer for AC/DC in 2016 and then started touring with core members of Guns N Roses again in 2016 and 2017. But as of lately, Axl can add Political Activist to his resume.

A Recap of TV Party Tonight! Season One: January - March 2017, Episodes 1-10

January 20, 2018 Colin Gawel

Congratulations! If you are looking to kill about 300 hours of time watching music videos, you have come to the right place. Each TV Party Tonight! episode is designed to be a launching point for your own never-ending rabbit hole. We set 'em up and you knock 'em down. Below is a summary of Season One, which is sure to keep you up past your bedtime and leave you bleary-eyed the next day. They also make for fine conversation starters with people you disagree with on Facebook. Enjoy!!! - Colin G.

TV Party Tonight Part One: A George Martin Rehearsal with Queen by Colin Gawel

Part Two : Friday's by Scott Carr. (featuring The Clash, Devo, Stray Cats, KISS and more)

Part Three: My Inauguration Rabbit Hole. Colin goes on a post-election bender and takes you along for the ride. (Featuring RATM, Dylan, Prince, 3 Doors Down, Buddy Miller, The Hives and many more. Seriously, he was on a bender.

Part Four: The Dictators and The Neighborhoods by Ricki C.

Part Five : Mark Linkous of The Dancing Hoods and Sparkle Horse by JCE

Part Six: Random Stuff from Great Rock Docs by Colin Gawel

Part Seven: Powerful Political Music for President's Day (featuring Staple Singers, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and more) by Anne Marie

Part Eight: Generation Axe (featuring Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and more) by Wal Ozello

Part Nine: Gulity Pleasures (featuring Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears, Aerosmith, Van Halen, The Bangles and more) by Jeremy Porter

Part Ten: Bands I've gotten mail from. (featuring The Dictators, The Pop, The Atlantics and more) by Ricki C.

January, 1981: April Wine Releases The Nature Of The Beast - by Scott Carr

January 19, 2018 Scott Carr

April Wine The Nature Of The Beast Released January 1981

After a decade of releasing albums, Canada's April Wine made their commercial breakthrough with The Nature Of The Beast in January of 1981. April Wine formed in Nova Scotia in late 1969 and soon relocated to Montreal. The band signed their first record deal with Aquarius Records and released their self titled debut album in 1971.

April Wine continued to release records and tour throughout Canada during the 70's. By 1977 lead vocalist/guitarist Myles Goodwyn was the only member that remained from the band's original lineup but the band seemed to be settling in to a stable configuration. During 1977 April Wine played a charity concert at the El Mocambo Club in Toronto opening for The Cockroaches. The Cockroaches turned out to be The Rolling Stones playing under a secret identity, but it was a fairly well known secret and the event drew a huge crowd. April Wine recorded a live record at the El Mocambo show and the Stones also recorded their set and used some of the recordings on their Love You Live record.

April Wine toured the United States for the first time in 1977, including some dates with The Rolling Stones. The band also added a third guitar player during this time which gave them a harder edge and would be the final piece to complete the band's classic line up.

1978's First Glance album was the first to feature the new three guitar version of April Wine and was the bands first significant commercial success outside of Canada. The album featured the FM rock radio staple "Roller" which became a Top 40 hit in the US and gave the band their first gold album outside of Canada. Harder Faster followed in 1979 and featured another hit with the song "I Like To Rock" and also included a great cover of King Crimsons "21st Century Schizoid Man." Harder Faster also went gold in the US.

With two radio hits under their belt and touring that had taken them around the globe, the time seemed right for April Wine to achieve major success. The band delivered their 9th record, The Nature Of The Beast on January 12th, 1981 and from the first note it feels like this is the one.

The Nature Of The Beast opens with "All Over Town" and "Tellin' Me Lies," two upbeat rockers that set a tone for a record that is near perfect. Up next is one of the two big hits from the record, "Sign Of The Gypsy Queen." This song is actually a cover of a song released in 1972 by a Canadian singer/songwriter named Lorence Hud. April Wine gave the song an overhaul and made it completely their own and it became a huge hit on radio and MTV. I remember seeing the video on MTV almost every time I turned on the TV. This was the very early days of MTV and most of the videos at that time were live performance videos, which was the case with the videos taken from The Nature Of The Beast.

Next was the album's biggest hit, the power ballad "Just Between You and Me." The song has all the signatures of a great power ballad ....a delicate vocal, catchy chorus, a blistering lead guitar and for good measure one line sung in French. This song also received heavy play on MTV and was the band's highest charting single, hitting No. 21 on the Billboard singles chart. "Just Between You and Me" could be compared to REO Speedwagon's "Keep On Loving You" but I think April Wine would win the battle of the power ballads.

The rest of the album is nothing but wall to wall ROCK! The real star of this record is the guitar. This is a guitar record - or better yet - a three-guitar-attack record. Highlights include "Crash and Burn," "Future Tense," "Wanna Rock," "Big City Girls" and "One More Time".

The Nature Of The Beast was recorded in England in 1980 just after the band finished up a tour of the UK and made an appearance at the Monsters of Rock festival. The album was co - produced by Mike Stone, who had worked extensively with Queen and had also mixed Paul Stanley's 1978 Kiss solo album. Stone managed to capture April Wine's live energy and helped them construct an album that still sounds great 37 years later.

The Nature Of The Beast is one of those records were everything seemed to go right: it sounds great, the performances are amazing and all the songs are winners. I have a short list of other records that also fall into that "everything seemed to go right" category: REO Speedwagon's Hi Infidelity, Billy Squier's Don't Say No, Blue Oyster Cult's Fire Of Unknown Origin and a few others. Not saying they are the most important records ever made but if I am having one of those days were it seems like there is nothing to listen to, I can pop on one of those records and think, "Yeah, this is a great record!"

The Nature Of The Beast is a GREAT record!

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.

Subscribe to Cherry Red Records: http://bit.ly/CRSubscribe APRIL WINE i like to rock 14 all over town One of the most successful rock bands ever to come out of Canada, April Wine were formed in 1969 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, home of founder member Myles Goldwyn.

APRIL WINE i like to rock 01 big city girls One of the most successful rock bands ever to come out of Canada, April Wine were formed in 1969 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, home of founder member Myles Goldwyn.

APRIL WINE i like to rock 02 crash and burn One of the most successful rock bands ever to come out of Canada, April Wine were formed in 1969 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, home of founder member Myles Goldwyn.

APRIL WINE -FUTURE TENSE-

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group Just Between You And Me (2002 Digital Remaster) · April Wine Classic Masters ℗ 1981, 2002 Capitol Records, LLC. All rights reserved. Digital Remastering Engineer: Robert Vosgien Producer: Mike Stone Producer, Conductor: Myles Goodwyn Composer: Steve Lang Composer: Brian Greenway Composer, Arranger: Myles Goodwyn Composer: Gary Moffet Auto-generated by YouTube.

Uploaded by Mac Pattaya on 2016-05-28.

From: The Nature Of The Beast 1981 I do not own the rights to this for entertainment purposes only enjoy. -Video Upload powered by https://www.TunesToTube.com

Check out our website for more Unidisc content: http://geni.us/BnsAGB Shop for Vinyls, CDs, Merch and More: http://geni.us/UAcik © Unidisc Music Group Follow on Twitter! http://twitter.com/UnidiscMusic Join our Facebook http://on.fb.me/1HqHDqN Quintessential Canadian Rockers April Wine to be inducted to Canadian Music Hall of FameThe Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) is pleased to announce the induction of hard-rock band, April Wine, to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

April Wine performs their smash hit cover of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man" at the University of Reading in Reading, Berkshire England, for a 1980 BBC telecast of "Rock Goes to College". Lead vocalist/guitarist Myles Goodwyn states in this telecast that it's April Wine's very first concert in Great Britain...

Three Songs in My Life with Nada Surf, Part Two: "Blizzard of 77" - by Colin Gawel

January 18, 2018 Colin Gawel

Three Songs in My Life with Nada Surf, Part Two: "Blizzard of 77" - by Colin Gawel

Click here for part one.

January hadn’t been that cold, but February turned brutal. Ohio can land on either side of the jet stream and that particular month we might as well been on the shores of Hudson Bay. It didn’t get above 10 degrees for weeks at a time, and the mood at home was even colder. My car had broken down and I didn’t have the money to fix it. Adding insult to injury, I had recently blown out a tire on my bike too (a ten-speed). Not that biking to work was a serious option at this point.

The coffee shop opened at 6am and if I left my house at 5:20am, I could make it there on foot by 5:59. Down the hill towards the river, cut behind the strip mall, through the woods past a small graveyard behind the Speedway gas station and to the Golden Bear Center where the newly named “Colin’s Coffee” was located.

Business wasn’t good. But I guess that was to be expected considering the previous owner couldn’t find a buyer and was prepared to close the shop even though he still owed 18 months on the lease. At the last minute, I stepped in and he basically handed the keys and said, “It’s your problem now. Good luck.”

Oh, and I didn’t know anything about running a coffee shop except how to serve coffee, be friendly and clean the bathrooms. The learning curve was steep.

However, I was running low on options at that point and the coffee shop offered flexible hours allowing my wife and I to avoid using day care for Owen. That was like a salary in its own way and we got to be hands-on parents. I looked at that as a hidden blessing, though it didn’t much feel that way on a day to day basis.

The Fifth of July Tour had ended after eighteen months, and despite our best efforts, over a hundred shows, two singles, and endless promo....we were back home and ass-out. Pretty standard stuff for rock n roll, but this time my actions had a deeper effect. About twelve months into our tour, my wife confessed that she couldn’t take anymore of this. She was working full time, taking care of our two year old son and I was mostly gone, without making any money.

I reminded her that I had promised to see this through to the end. We had talked and agreed that it would get tough, but we would see it through.

We had both agreed.

“I know we agreed, but I just can't do this any more. I need you to stop touring."

“I’m sorry. I know this isn't fair. But I can't stop until the date I agreed to. I can't stop. I'll make it up to you."

And to make matters worse, I was having the time of my life. Not like it was a non-stop party, it was a ton of work. But my days and dreams of being a semi-relevant touring artist were numbered. I truly had an appreciation for each gig and the chance to play the songs we wrote together one more time.

I agreed with everything she said. She was right to be upset. It wasn’t fair. She asked me to call off the tour and come home. I said no. She said if I didn’t call off the rest of the tour it would do irreparable damage to our relationship and possibly threaten its very existence.

Six months after that phone call, the tour was finally over, Watershed had failed by any reasonable metric and I was home for good. For better or worse. It wasn't exactly a homecoming. My wife was still understandably upset and I wasn’t sure if I could change that.

But just like that Watershed tour, I dug in. I put my head down and made that long cold walk to the coffee shop every morning in the dark. I knew I had to figure out a way to pay some bills and for her not to spend every night sleeping with her back to me. I owed her for her patience and support.

I had no answers and no quick fixes. I retreated to my default setting of optimism. I would just do the best job I could every single day. I would control what I could control, i.e: my effort. I would apply it as a business owner, as a husband, and - most importantly - as a Dad.

Just like that cold dark morning walk, it was an exercise in faith. I could not see clearly where I was going, I just knew I had to keep walking and eventually, somehow, someway, I would get our family to a better place. Or maybe I wouldn’t. Things could fall apart. It happens to well-meaning people all the time. Certainly I was no exception.

Anyway, February was cold. I slept in my long underwear to save time dressing with my 5:10 am alarm. The stars were bright and my breathe was frozen. Every morning on that walk, the first song I played was Blizzard of 77.

Nada surf - Blizzard of 77. 1st track of the album "Let go", out on 2002. Hope you like it :)

And I played this song every morning too.

Nada Surf Album: Let Go 2003

Remembering Pat DiNizio - by Colin Gawel

January 2, 2018 Colin Gawel

Remembering Pat DiNizio - by Colin Gawel

I remember the night I first met Pat DiNizio. In 1995 Watershed played the Cubby Bear in Chicago and our A&R man for Epic records, Frankie LaRocka, was flying into see the show. This was odd for two reasons, we never played the Cubby Bear before or after that night and there was really no reason for Frankie to fly from New York to see this gig. Our album Twister had been out for a couple of months and there really wasn't much going on. His job was more or less done. But Frankie was a rock and roller's rock and roller and so he looked after us long after other corporate executive types would have quit caring.

“Hey, Biggie, tell these guys not to suck tonight. I’m bringing somebody to see them. It might lead to something, it might not, so don’t make a big deal out of it. But don’t suck either”.

During the show, despite the cold temperatures outside on Addison St, I remember sweating profusely on stage. I was consciously thinking, “Is it just me or is it really hot up here?”

Turns out it wasn’t just me, early in the gig Biggie accidently spilled a beer into the Cubby Bear light board he was manning. The good news is that it didn’t short out. The less good news is that every light locked on into full brightness for the entire show. However, other than that, nothing about the show was noteworthy. I suppose we must have played OK because after the show Frankie invited us over to a booth in the back of the bar and said, “Fellas, I want you to meet my friend Pat DiNizio from the Smithereens.”

Pat said hello and asked, “How would you feel about going out on tour to open for the Smithereens?” I can only assume our jaws dropped open as we nodded in the affirmative. “Great. Biggie, go get some more drinks for my new paisans.”

We sat and bullshitted into the late hours and I remember at one point our good pal Lou Brutus, who was working in radio in Chicago at the time, pulling me aside and saying “I cannot believe I am sitting in a booth drinking with fucking Pat Dinizio and Frankie Larocka.” I was surprised by how excited Lou was. Being a major DJ, he had met practically everybody in rock n roll. Hell, it’s wasn’t unusual for him to field a call from Gene Simmons while having breakfast on a Tuesday morning.

But for Lou, spending an entire night boozing with Pat and Frankie was just one rung below partying with Springsteen. Lou was born and raised in New Jersey. These two are rock royalty in his world.

Anyway, when we told everybody at Epic and our agents at Pinnacle the good news, they were decidedly lukewarm. “Why would you go out with those guys? They are washed up. You should hold out for something better.”

Hold out for something better? Ever since we had signed with a major booking agency, our dates had dwindled to nothing. It was the classic major label tale: “No reason to go out until something is going on. Be patient.”

We came at it from the opposite view. We had always been DIY from the beginning. So our attitude was, "We need to get out and make something happen.”

We fired our agent and took the Smithereens tour. It was the best decision we ever made.

This wasn’t like 5 shows. It was a bunch. Off the top of my head-- DC / Baltimore / Raleigh / Greenville / Wilmington / Charleston / Louisville / Detroit / Indy / Chicago / Memphis / Vinton / Little Rock/ Houston / Dallas/ Amarillo / San Antonio / El Paso / Phoenix / LA / San Diego / Vegas.

I’ve never had so much fun. Really. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had. Every show was a blast. I enjoyed the Smithereens every single night. It never got old. And the 'Reens guys and crew, Ira and Chopper, were all like big brothers to us. I don’t know how other tours work but we would hang out together, stay in the same hotels and they would even invite Watershed guys to ride on their bus between some shows. It was a nice break from the van to sit up front in the bus watching Chinatown with Pat and the fellas. I’m pretty sure most headliners don’t do that for the opening act. By the end of the tour we had a bit during "Blood and Roses" where Jim walked into the crowd, and I would grab the guitar and take over the lead part as a “random fan,” (ala Bill Black from the Scotty, Bill and Elvis years) The crowd loved it. Like I said, it was fun every night.

Needless to say we got to know them pretty well. If they were a group of family siblings Pat was the brilliant, entitled first born. He was the ringleader, which has its pros and cons for any family. Next was Jim. The Dave Davies-esque hellraising younger brother to Pat. Dennis was the studious one. You could always count on him. Steady as his tempo. And Mike was the firery and athletic baby bro. Sick of taking shit from his older “brothers,” there was an aura of danger around him. But he brought fire to the stage every night. I liked all of them very much.

Sometime after the tour, Pat was doing a solo thing and asked if Watershed would back him up at a show at Ludlow’s in Columbus. Hells yeah we would. So Herb, Joe and myself along with our pal Andy Harrison boned up on the material and the show was a smash. What an honor to stand next to Pat onstage playing all those great tunes. It was also the night I met my lifelong friend Brian Phillips for the first time.

We would stay in sporadic contact with Pat through the years and it was always a pleasure when we would reconnect. And he never lost his ability to write a catchy song and sing it in his distinctive style. Go play any Smithereens record today and you will find that it would sound great in any decade. Nothing sounds dated. It sounds fresh and classic and the same time. How rare is that?

And don’t sleep on their last studio release, the amazing 2011. Produced by Don Dixon and recorded by Mitch Easter. (WOW!) It sounds as cool as any in their amazing catalog.

We lost some big names in 2017, but nobody touched me like Pat Dinizio. I am forever in his debt for writing those amazing tunes but more importantly, inviting a little band like Watershed into the world of the Smithereens. It was an honor. - Colin Gawel (click here for Colin page)

Below are a couple of Smithereens tunes for your pleasure.

The first Smithereens song I heard or more likely saw on MTV. Always crushing.

Recorded from Channel 4's The Tube I make no claim to the copyright of the music or the artist's visual appearance(s). If the copyright owners would like this video removed, please contact me. Thank you.

From Smithereens 2011. 24 years after their debut.

"One Look At You" is the brand new single from The Smithereens '2011' record produced by Don Dixon - "One Look At You" video produced by John Rokosny and Andriette Redmann for NewYorkMVP.com - Pat DiNizio: vocals, guitar - Dennis Diken: drums, vocals - Jim Babjak: guitars, vocals - Severo "The Thrilla" Jornacion: bass, vocals.

A Date with The Smithereens is my favorite Reen's record. It didn't hurt that this is the tour we did but I still think it's their most consistent top to bottom. Dig this little gem.

Provided to YouTube by Sony Music Entertainment Long Way Back Again · The Smithereens A Date with The Smithereens ℗ 1994 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment Released on: 2016-04-01 Harmonica, Vocal, Composer, Lyricist: Pat DiNizio Producer: Don Dixon Co- Producer, Recording Engineer: Lou Giordano Assistant Engineer: Joe Warda Editor: Mark Avnet Vocal: Jim Babjak Guitar: Lou Reed / 路瑞德 Drums, Percussion, Vocal: Dennis Diken Bass Guitar, Vocal: Mike Mesaros Auto-generated by YouTube.

This clip shows off the diversity of Pat's songwriting and the Smithereens. And it's always fun to see Belinda Carlisle of The Go Go's.

This full show from MTV catches the band in all their young garage band glory. Early hits with a dose of Surf , Kinks and The Who. Wow.

From VHS

The awesome Blood and Roses. It was breathtaking every time they played it. This clip was filmed around the time we were touring with them. This is how I remember The Smithereens. RIP Pat DiNizio.

Stereo] The band perform on late night USTV.

Colin Gawel founded Pencilstorm, plays in the band Watershed and fronts The League Bowlers.

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