Damn, That Was Stupid / Nine Amazing Shows I Missed - by JCE

May 21, 2019 Ricki C.

I recently had plans to go see Watershed play the Slim’s 30th Anniversary show in Raleigh, NC. The show was a little over four hours from my home in Virginia, so my wife booked us a hotel just three blocks from Slim’s and we had a plan. I have been contributing here on Pencilstorm for over two years now, so I was looking forward to meeting the guys behind it, and finally seeing a band I have followed since 1994. Unfortunately, a family emergency arose and I had to cancel. Nothing I can do about that. But here are nine shows I could (and should) have gone to that I still kick myself about. In chronological order:

U2 – The Bayou, Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

U2 released the album “Boy” in 1980. I was still in high school but I was regularly seeing shows at Georgetown clubs. All ages shows weren’t really a thing back then, but it was easy getting into places. U2 came to the very small Bayou. It was their second show ever in the United States! I could have gone, but I had not heard the record and I wasn’t sure if I would like them. Only a few weeks later I had “I Will Follow” blasting several times a day. Damn, that was stupid.

The Clash – William & Mary Hall, Williamsburg, VA.

In late 1982, The Clash played at the College of William and Mary. I was a couple of hours away at the University of Virginia. Somehow, I didn’t know about the show until the last minute, so me and three friends decided to jump in a car and drive down there. We had no tickets but we were pretty sure we could get some. We headed down Route 29 South. The driver (not me) missed the exit onto Route 64 without realizing it and we just kept driving, almost to Lynchburg. At that point, we were way out of the way, time was running out and we had no tickets, so we just decided to drive back to school and drink a bunch of beer. It was the “Combat Rock” tour, but still… I never saw The Clash. It was my future wife’s very first concert (we had not yet met). She was 16 years old. Damn, that was stupid. Extra stupid.

The Lords of the New Church - The Bayou, Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

I loved the Dead Boys, so when Stiv Bator teamed up with Brian James from The Damned to form the Lords of the New Church, I was all in. I bought the record and loved it. I was away at college in Charlottesville when I saw an ad for upcoming shows at the Bayou (clipping attached to ticket below). I bought a ticket ($5, wow that’s cheap!) and was so psyched for this show. About two days before the show I found myself faced with a massive architecture project due and I had done next to nothing. The project was due the morning after the show. All-nighters followed and I bailed. Damn, that was stupid. I did eventually get to see both the Dead Boys and the Lords of the New Church, so this one is a little less painful. By the way, I never became an architect.

Oasis – WUST Music Hall, Washington, D.C.

My wife and I got three tickets to see an Oasis show at WUST Music Hall. WUST was a radio station before it became a music venue, and then later it became the new 9:30 Club that is still there today. The radio broadcast tower still stands on the roof of the club. Anyway, our friend who had dibs on the third ticket got held up at work. We waited for him. And waited. Finally, we hit the road for the hour and a half drive and got to the club around 9:40. We prayed that they would start late, but as we pulled up, the club was emptying out. Show over. Damn, that was stupid.

Marvelous 3 / Eve 6 – Trax Nightclub, Charlottesville, VA

In the late 90’s, there was a slew of “alternative rock” coming from everywhere. My wife and I went to three of the huge WHFS music festivals at RFK stadium in D.C. DC101 was the radio station of choice. Two of my favorite bands from that particular era were the Marvelous 3 - which was led by musical genius Butch Walker - and Eve 6. They played together one night at Trax in Charlottesville, a mere 45 minutes from my house. I still don’t remember why I didn’t get off my ass and go. Damn, that was stupid.

Watershed – The Pit, Kill Devil Hills, NC

My wife and I used to go to the beach on the Outer Banks of North Carolina two or even three times a year. On one particular trip, we had reached the end of our week-long stay. We packed the car and headed out for the five hour trip home. On the radio comes “Small Doses” by Watershed. The DJ says, “Great band, go see them tonight at The Pit,” (in Kill Devil Hills, NC---the Outer Banks!). I wasn’t even out to the highway yet. I was in town for God sakes. We had dogs to pick up from the kennel, and other stuff to get back to, but we could have made it work. I kept driving. Damn, that was stupid. (editor’s note: Not to make John feel worse, but I roadied that gig, and it was a GREAT show. That WAS stupid. - Ricki C.)

The Damned / The Briefs – Black Cat, Washington, D.C.

I saw The Damned back around the era of The Black Album, but I love The Damned, and I haven’t seen them for a long time. So when Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible got together recently and went on tour, I should have made an effort. I saw they were coming to the Black Cat, and the openers were The Briefs, who make great punk songs, short and fast like the Ramones. After being lazy, whining that it was a Sunday night and not going, I looked up the set list. It was amazing. I should have gone. Damn, that was stupid.

The Biters / Wyldlife / Frankie and the Studs – Voltage Lounge, Philadelphia, PA

The Biters have been pretty much my favorite overall band for about four years. My favorite band changes almost daily, but The Biters keep coming to the forefront. After The Biters, next might be Wyldlife. So when they play together, well you can’t miss that. I mentioned the show to my wife and daughter. It was three and half hours away, and the Philly hotels are damn expensive, but look at this double bill in a small club. YOU. HAVE. TO. PULL. THE. TRIGGER. YOU HAVE TO. I did not. Now The Biters have called it quits. I did see them once. I still haven’t seen Wyldlife. Damn, that was stupid. Really F*cking stupid.

Supersuckers / Upper Crust – The Broadberry, Richmond, VA

I love both of these bands. The Supersuckers are just great ragged punk ‘n’ roll with a little country thrown in. The Upper Crust are from Boston. They play hilarious but excellent rock with a theme and great costumes. I’ve heard it called costume rock, but it’s not goofy at all, it just rocks. One of the members of Upper Crust recently hurt himself and they are on indefinite hiatus. I suspect I may never get to see them play live. This show was in Richmond, an hour and a half away. I was getting up early the next morning to leave for a family vacation. I didn’t want to be tired for the long drive the next day. I did not go. Damn, that was stupid.

Maybe you also have made some bad decisions that haunt you.….feel free to share in the comment section below.

Click here for a Spotify playlist for this story.

Ricki C. and JCE (John, to his friends & family) first bonded over their shared mutual love of Boston's Finest Sons - The Neighborhoods - and everything extended out from that rock & roll ripple. JCE lives in Culpeper, Virginia with his wife & daughter, and he & Ricki are STILL waiting for the long-rumored NEW Neighborhoods record to be released. Maybe in 2019.

Owen Finally Checks The Hives Off His List - by Colin Gawel

May 17, 2019 Colin Gawel

One byproduct of my wife & I both running small businesses is that our son Owen never spent much time in day-care or after-school programs. We had combined flexibility to cover his schedule most of the time. While this is surely a blessing, on occasion it could feel like a curse (i.e. the morning after a gig). Parenting a young child is hard work and requires mental toughness along with physical energy to get through the day.

One of the preferred tools in my parenting toolbox was rock n roll. Starting at a very young age, whether with bootleg KISS VHS tapes playing on the TV or music blasting while we threw baseballs in the yard, music was ALWAYS playing. I capitalized the word always because I’m serious. Ask Owen, I cannot do anything without music playing in the background. Everything goes on pause until the tunes start back up.

The upshot of all this is that Owen became a very knowledgeable rock n roll fan at a very young age. In pre-school, when he wasn’t singing along and the teacher asked him why, he said he didn’t like the song. She asked, “What songs do you like?” He answered, “I like Cheap Trick songs.” Once I told him if he wanted to be a real Aerosmith fan he should be able to name what song was on which album and I started quizzing him. Eventually, I couldn’t stump him: “Critical Mass?” Owen’s answer, Draw the Line.

Owen is just finishing his freshman year of high school so his hardcore rock n roll days are behind him for the time being: Hip Hop/Rap, or what have you, are what the kids are into these days. Sure, some of the songs make me throw up in my mouth a little. Okay, maybe most of the songs have that effect but I understand. I’m pretty sure my parents weren’t too jazzed about the song “Lick It Up” or when I needed a ride at 4 am to wait in line for Iron Maiden tickets. Parents aren’t supposed to like what the kids are listening to. That ruins all the fun.

However, along the way Owen and I managed to catch a bunch of great rock n roll shows:

Cheap Trick x 6

KISS x 3

Aerosmith X 2

Bruce Springsteen X 3

The Who

The Rolling Stones

Foo Fighters

AC/DC

That pretty much covers every band Owen was ever obsessed with for any period of time except for…..The Hives. Unless The Ramones come back from the grave, this is the last big-time band Owen really wants to see. It’s the end of an era.

So, finally…..The Hives are coming to Columbus, Ohio for the Sonic Arts Festival and we are planning on being there. When I asked if he wanted to go, he gave an enthusiastic, “Yeah, I guess that sounds okay.” Which is actually a ringing endorsement coming from a teenager. And to be honest, I dread going to this stupid festival with my computer-activated wristband and $25 parking fee, but I digress. I am truly excited to watch The Hives, one of the greatest rock n roll bands of all time, even if just for a 40 minute set from the bleachers. And sharing it with Owen makes it even better.

Colin Gawel plays rock n roll both solo and in the band Watershed. He wrote this at Colin’s Coffee in Upper Arlington, Ohio. To learn more click Colin tab at the top of the screen.

Come On! - 00:00:00 Main Offender - 00:01:42 Walk Idiot Walk - 00:03:50 My Time Is Coming - 00:07:50 Hate To Say I Told You So - 00:10:21 Wait A Minute - 00:14:36 Go Right Ahead - 00:17:48 Tick Tick Boom - 00:20:30

Finding a Lost Gem! Mick Medew & the Rumours - by JCE

May 10, 2019 Ricki C.

Holy Crap! Talk about being late to the party. This record is ten years old! Let me give you some background:

In the mid-1980’s, I discovered what are still my favorite bunch of bands, ones that are nearest and dearest to my heart: The Neighborhoods, The Outlets, The Godfathers, and - from Australia - The Screaming Tribesmen. The Screaming Tribesmen were formed and led by Mick Medew on lead vocals and lead guitar. Their first two ep’s included songs like “High Time,” “Igloo,” “A Stand Alone,” “Ice” and “(I Wanna) Mess With You.” Every one of those songs continue to be some of my favorite songs ever. After those initial ep’s, albums followed, and some of them (Top of the Town, Bones & Flowers) were truly excellent, but as time moved by they seemed to become less awesome. By the time they put out Blood Lust in 1990 and Formaldehyde in 1993 they really weren’t feeling like the same band to me anymore. At that point I guess I lost touch. Wikepedia says Mick Medew took a sabbatical from the music industry at about that time.

My ticket stub and a guitar pick from the first and possibly only Screaming Tribesmen U.S. tour.

(Thirty-one freakin’ years ago!)

I took down a poster off the wall at the 9:30 club and went down to the basement dressing room after the show to get it signed. The band members were good dudes.

Fast forward to 2008: Mick Medew forms a new band called Mick Medew and the Rumours. They released the record All Your Love in 2009. I totally missed it. Never hit my radar screen at all. I assume it was more well-known in Australia, but not over here in the States. I was thinking about my love for The Screaming Tribesmen the other day, so I looked up Mick Medew. (The internet is awesome, isn’t it?) Anyway, I found this record readily available to listen to on YouTube. There are nine songs here, one of which is a cover of “Another Girl, Another Planet” by the Only Ones, which happens to be in my top ten favorite songs of all time. It’s a fantastic cover. It’s close enough to the original, but different enough to be interesting. The other eight songs are just absolutely excellent. They all sound like vintage Screaming Tribesmen tunes, which for me is the best I could have hoped for. This will be my favorite record for a couple of weeks, I can tell already. I cannot believe it’s been around for ten years. There is a more recent effort by Mick Medew called The Mesmerisers which is decent, but it’s not close to All Your Love by Mick Medew and the Rumours. I encourage you to check it out no matter what, but if you ever liked the Screaming Tribesmen and you haven’t heard this, then you’re in for a treat.

“Ice” by the Screaming Tribesmen

“Igloo” by the Screaming Tribesmen

“Another Girl, Another Planet” by Mick Medew & the Rumours

“Spinning Wheel” by Mick Medew & the Rumours

Spring Jam 2019 Chesterfield, MO, featuring Ace Frehley/Angel/Starz and Enuff Z' Nuff - by Scott Carr

May 8, 2019 Scott Carr

A New Design - Made with PosterMyWall (3).jpg

Wow, what a line up for the 2019 Spring Jam in Chesterfield, Missouri.

This show was announced earlier in the year and I really wanted to go but wasn't sure I could make it happen. Then a good friend of mine from Midland Texas, Nic Hartley contacted me and said "Dude, you gotta meet me in St. Louis for this show." Nic and I have been online music pals for well over 10 years, so we figured this would be a perfect setting for us to meet in person, since we are big fans of every band on the bill.

I headed to St. Louis Friday morning from Ohio and Nic headed in from Texas. We met up at our hotel, which luckily enough ended up being right next door to the Chesterfield Amphitheater where the concert would be held on Saturday. The first thing on the agenda was a quick lunch at the legendary Blueberry Hill Restaurant and then record shopping at the equally legendary Vintage Vinyl Records right down the street. Turns out St. Louis is an amazing record store town and we also hit the Record Exchange on Saturday. Could have spent days in both spots. I will be returning to St. Louis for more record shopping at a later date.

Friday evening we hit up the Paul Stanley/Gene Simmons-owned Rock & Brews Restaurant. This was my first trip to a Rock & Brews and I was pretty impressed. Great rock and roll atmosphere, good food and excellent staff. The walls were full of images of Kiss and other classic rock artists. They even had a Kiss Pinball machine!

It had been a long day so after a couple "Love Gun" IPA's, it was time for some sleep to prepare for the epic show that awaited on Saturday.

Saturday morning we headed downstairs for a quick breakfast before getting ready for the day’s events. As we were waiting for the elevator to take us back up to the ninth floor, the doors opened and an Angel appeared! It was Punky Meadows, who was staying at our hotel. Punky stepped out of the elevator and greeted us with a smile and a handshake. He is a super nice guy and one of my favorite guitar players. He pretty much went into retirement after Angel's original run came to an end in the early 80's, so this was a pretty big deal to have this moment with him.

We soon figured out that all the bands on the Spring Jam bill were staying at our hotel! More on that later.

We had purchased a meet & greet with Angel, so we headed over to the Spring Jam around 3pm to make sure we were there in time for the event. Once inside we checked out the merch tables, grabbed something to drink and headed to the meet & greet area.

ANGEL MEET & GREET

The Angel meet & greet started a little late but it wasn't a big deal because there were so many cool people hanging around to talk to, it made the experience really fun. People had come in from all over the country to see this show. We met other people from Texas and Ohio as well as people from Illinois and Tennessee. This line-up was a real dream come true for a lot of people.

Our turn to meet Angel came up midway through Enuff Z' Nuff's set, which kinda bummed me out but not really. We could still hear Enuff Z' Nuff rocking out

All the members of Angel were there but everyone was focused on meeting Punky Meadows and singer Frank DiMino as they are the only two original members in this current line up. Punky and Frank were both very inviting to fans, took several photos and signed autographs for everyone.

During my time at the meet & greet I mostly talked to Punky. I told him that Sinful was my favorite Angel album and he replied with a very enthusiastic "Mine too!" but he also said that he was very fond of White Hot, and technically you can't wrong with either one. I told him Sinful connected with me the most because it is pure power pop with crunchy guitars and he agreed. Very cool guy, who seems genuinely excited to be back out doing these shows for the fans and he also said they are almost done with a new record. Very exciting news!

The guys from Starz were also hanging around during the Angel meet & greet and were gracious enough to take pictures and sign stuff for fans that asked. Very nice guys as well.

ENUFF Z'NUFF

I missed some of Enuff Z' Nuff's set due to hanging with Angel but I did manage to see a good portion of it.

They opened their set with "Metal Heart," a song from their latest album Diamond Boy. Bassist Chip Z'Nuff and the band looked and sounded great. I was excited to see guitarist Alex Kane back in the line-up. Alex spent some time in Enuff Z'nuff back in the 80's before they got signed. Alex is an excellent player and great showman.

Before heading back to the meet & greet, I got to hear "Kiss The Clown" from the band’s 1989 debut album and the title track from Diamond Boy.

As the Angel meet & greet was winding down, I could hear the band launching into probably their biggest hit "Fly High Michelle," so I started making my way back around to the stage area. Starz singer Michael Lee Smith was sitting in a chair in the backstage area singing every word to "Fly High Michelle”! I stopped to say a few things to Michael but he continued to sing "Fly High Michelle" right to me, lol. He followed with "such a great song " and it is.

Made it back to my seat for the band’s other big hit and set closer "New Thing." Props to lead guitarist Tory Stoffregen for nailing the solo in this power pop gem.

Pretty short & sweet set for a band that has a bigger catalog than probably all the bands on the bill put together but they made good use of the time they were given.

I spoke with Chip several times throughout the day, including back at the hotel after the show. Chip is a cool dude that I first met way back in 1990 and he has always been amazingly cool to me and full of great stories. I could talk to him for days.

Enuff Z’ Nuff Set List:

Metalheart

Kiss the Clown

Diamond Boy

In the Groove

Baby Loves You

Fly High Michelle

New Thing

STARZ

After a quick set change Starz hit the stage.

I've been a huge Starz fan pretty much all my life. They were managed by Aucoin Management who also handled Kiss. When I was a kid any band that had a Kiss connection was cool in my book.

Starz released four albums on Capitol Records and scored a Top 40 hit with the song "Cherry Baby" from their album Violation. The band split up in 1979 after leaving Capitol Records and have reformed with different line- up’s throughout the years.

The current membership up of Starz includes three original members, Michael Lee Smith on vocals, Richie Ranno on lead guitar and drummer Joe X. Dubé. Alex Kane from Enuff Z' Nuff joined the band on second guitar, which was a cool surprise.

Starz played a solid set of fan favorites that leaned pretty hard on their self- titled debut album. "Detroit Girls," "Tear It Down," "Pull The Plug" and "Live Wire" all made an appearance in the set. They also played their big hit "Cherry Baby" followed by one of my favorites, "Violation".

I wish their set would have been longer because there were so many great songs they didn't have time to squeeze in, but hopefully I will be seeing them again very soon.

If you don't know who Starz are and you love classic 1970's rock & roll, do yourself a favor and go seek out their records.

Starz Set List:

Live Wire

Tear It Down

Detroit Girls

Rock Six Times

Violation

Cherry Baby

Where Will It End

Coliseum Rock

It's a Riot

ANGEL

Another quick set change and it was time for Angel!

By this time Nic & myself had made some great new friends and managed to get a seat upgrade to the third row, which eventually turned into the first row. Angel has an amazing die-hard fan base and they showed up in St. Louis ready to rock.

Angel is another band that I've loved for decades and they also have a Kiss connection. They were label mates with Kiss, both bands were on Casablanca Records.

Angel were sort of portrayed as the "anti-Kiss." Kiss were "the demons" of rock, while Angel were "the angels."

Angel had a pretty elaborate stage show featuring lasers & fog and the band members dressed all in white, making them look very angelic.

I saw Angel on April 5th, 1978 in Huntington, WV, on the same bill with Blue Oyster Cult and The Godz. It was during their White Hot tour, which was the commercial peak for the band. White Hot was the band’s fourth and most popular album but they never really had a breakout hit in the US. They followed White Hot with one last studio album Sinful and the live album Live Without A Net in 1980.

Angel were a great concert draw during their original run but just couldn't seem to make a dent on the sales chart with their records. In a perfect world they would have sold millions.

They took to the stage in St. Louis with a little less fanfare than they did in 1978, but they were once again wearing their all-white outfits, Punky Meadows is back on guitar and Frank DiMino was center stage singing like a day hadn't passed since the 70’s.

Like Enuff Z' Nuff and Starz before them, Angel had a shorter set but managed to give the crowd a solid roster of fan favorites and a couple surprises.

The biggest surprise of the night was the inclusion of "Mirrors," a song from the band’s second album Helluva Band. Considered a deep cut by fans of the band, it was quite a treat. The set also included signature songs such as "Can You Feel It," "Don't Leave Me Lonely," "Feelin' Right" and "The Tower." The highlight of the night for me was "Wild & Hot," a song from the band’s 1979 album Sinful (my personal favorite).

Even though Angel currently only has two original members , it doesn't really seem to matter. The new line-up that Punky & Frank have put together sound great and really capture the vibe of their music. The coolest thing is watching how much fun Punky & Frank are having. They really seem to be having as much fun as their fans.

Angel Set List:

On the Rocks

Mirrors

Can You Feel It

Wild and Hot

The Fortune

Don't Leave Me Lonely

Feelin' Right

Tower

ACE FREHLEY

Ace Frehley doesn't really need much of an introduction. I'm sure if you are reading this, you know he is the one and only original Spaceman of Kiss!

Ace is out supporting his latest studio album called……… Spaceman, although he only included one song from that record in the set.

His set started with "Rip It Out" from his 1978 Kiss solo album. The rest of the set was a mix of Kiss classics and select solo tracks. No super-rare deep cuts but he did do "Hard Times" from Kiss' 1979 album Dynasty, which I had never heard him do before. He also did "Rock Soldiers" from the first Frehley's Comet record, a song he had dropped for years.

The Spaceman was in great shape and sounded great, both on guitar and vocals. Ace has an all-new backing band that he picked up last year and I can't say enough good things about these guys. They are also Gene Simmons’ touring band when he does solo shows. These guys hail from Nashville and they know the Kiss catalog better than Kiss does. Ace's shows really benefit from having these guys on stage with him. They are all great players and singers. I think it gives Ace a bit more confidence to be playing with such talented musicians. There are certain parts in the set I could tell Ace was focused on delivering a good vocal while the other guitarists were picking up the guitar parts.

Probably one of the best Ace solo shows I've seen in a long time.

Ace Frehley Set List:

Rip It Out

Parasite

Hard Times

Watchin' You

Rockin' With The Boys

Rocket Ride

Snowblind

Strange Ways

Rock Soldiers

New York Groove

Shock Me

Cold Gin

Detroit Rock City

Deuce

THE AFTERMATH

And just like that, the night came to an end.

We headed back to the hotel not really sure what we wanted to do. We were exhausted but still ready to roll if something came up.

We ran into Joe X. Dube from Starz in the hotel lobby and chatted with him briefly. After milling around for a bit we noticed that Chip from Enuff Z' Nuff was hanging outside having a smoke, so we went out to say hello again and we ended up chatting for over an hour. As we were talking with Chip a van pulled up and Ace Frehley got out along with a couple of "his guys." For some reason he looked over at us, about 15 feet away, flipped us all off and shouted an expletive our way. I'm sure it was just Ace's way of being funny, no offense taken.

We said goodnight to Chip and decided maybe we would try to say hello to Ace, wasn't looking to bother him for a pic or an autograph , just a hello and we'd be on our way. He was in the lobby with "his guys" and as we approached one of them turned and said to us "Don't do it guys, just don't." I'm not sure what he thought we were going to do but he didn't want us to do it. During this time Ace never looked our way once. The guys ushered him into the elevator and they were gone.

It was kind of disheartening in a way but mostly I thought it was funny. Ace is a cool cat and I know he's not always down for social interaction. I get it, I understand. I'm only sharing this because I see the humor in it, not to take a stab at Ace.

Ace escaping into the elevator with his guys. You can’t see him but he’s in there.

Hard to find the words to sum up my whirlwind trip to St. Louis to see this epic event. Mostly I'd like to thank my friend Nic Hartley for asking me to go along with him and for sharing this amazing experience with me. It almost felt like we were attending the World Series of Rock and it was 1978 all over again.

I guess the best way to end this is with a quote from my new friend from Nashville…….

"Wow.....what an incredible night. Music is my soul food and tonight I was fed well." - Juanita Copeland

Enuff said....

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.

Check out some pics and videos of the event below…………

Cool picture of Chip and Ace backstage at Spring Jam 2019

Nic and myself just prior to the concert starting.

One last meal together before we headed back home.

Met someone that a copy of the elusive Bad Publicity album from Angel. I got to hold it for a few minutes. — Met someone that a copy of the elusive *Bad Publicity* album from Angel. I got to hold it for a few minutes.

Enuff Z' Nuff - New Thing - Chesterfield, MO 5-4-2019

Starz - Violation - Chesterfield, MO 5-4-2019

Angel - Wild & Hot - Chesterfield, MO 5-4-2019

Ace Frehley - Hard Times - Chesterfield, MO 5-4-2019

In Memoriam: John Ballor, 1956-2019 - by Ricki C.

May 3, 2019 Ricki C.

I have a heroically garbled cassette tape from 1978 of Romantic Noise, Willie Phoenix's best band EVER, playing a song called "I Feel New." John Ballor, the lead guitarist of Romantic Noise, sings lead on the tune and it is, quite simply, one of the most gorgeous, heartfelt tunes I have ever heard in my rock & roll life.

The quote above was the first paragraph of The Ballad of Willie Phoenix part one / Romantic Noise and The Buttons, 1978-1980 in 2013, from my old blog, Growing Old With Rock & Roll. John only sang lead on about three tunes in Romantic Noise: the aforementioned “I Feel New,” another great power-pop tune called “Holly” and a raver called (I think) “Politician, Politician” that only got played once when I saw the band. (Songs came & went pretty quickly in those days, Willie was CRANKIN’ out the tunes, most of them good, many of them great.)

Colin wrote me yesterday and said that he read John had passed away. From what I can piece together with my rudimentary computer skills, John died peacefully in hospice care in Ann Arbor, MI, from complications of MS and cancer.

I’m not really gonna get into all that, though. I’m gonna remember John to the stage right of Willie, spinnin’ out great concise lead guitar lines & solos (Willie didn’t start playin’ lead guitar until The Shadowlords in 1982) and adding backing vocals along with bass player extraordinaire Greg Glasgow in Romantic Noise and The Buttons. You can check out all the stuff I said about those bands by following that link above if you like, but let me just say this: Willie Phoenix has been a genius musician since the first week we met in 1978, but those two bands – Romantic Noise and The Buttons – with John & Greg and successive drummers Dee Hunt and Jerry Hanahan were Willie’s best bands EVER, largely on the strength of the musicians involved in those bands. (On the other hand, Willie was writing SUCH great songs in that halcyon late-70’s era it’s possible that the quality of the tunes improved the musicianship of the band.)

John went on to play with a lot of other bands after The Buttons broke up in 1980: The Amenders, Civil Waif, The Waifs, etc. I think one of them even got signed to Arista in the 1990’s, but I’m not sure which one. I am sure of this, though, my favorite post-Buttons story about John involved that band. In the early ‘90’s Willie was playing with The True Soul Rockers; Kozmos on bass, Mike Parks on lead guitar and the rock-solid Jim Johnson on drums. One weekend the TSR was playing at Chollie’s, a little dive bar in the Graceland shopping center that was formerly a Long John Silvers. (You could still smell the fried fish in that place.)

It was summertime & hot and Mike Parks & I were hangin’ around outside during one of the set-breaks when a big-ass white limousine pulled into the parking lot and stopped in front of Chollie’s. Mike & I just looked at each other and Mike said, “Well, this guy’s gotta be lost.” The back door of the limo opened and out stepped John and his wife & Civil Waif band-mate Laura. (John just MIGHT have been wearing a white suit to match the limo, but my memory’s a little hazy on that.)

“Hey guys,” John smiled brightly, shaking Mike’s & my hands, “how’ve you been?” I laughed, fixed John with a stare and said, “John, you hired a fucking LIMO to make an entrance at CHOLLIE’S? Arista must be paying you a LOT of money.”

John just switched on that little-boy grin of his at my calling him out, and we went in and caught the last set. I think that might have been the last time I ever saw John, and I treasure that memory to this day.

Check out the picture below, and make no mistake: John Ballor was the PRETTIEST lead guitarist I ever changed a string for. – Ricki C. / May 1st, 2019.

ROMANTIC NOISE / 1978

Concert Review: Ex Hex / The Loving Touch, Ferndale, Mi. / April 8, 2019 - by Jeremy Porter

April 23, 2019 Jeremy Porter

Photos by K.D. Bodnar. Do not share or use the photos elsewhere without permission.

On the Weeknight Brutality Scale (WBS), Monday nights fall just short of Sundays and just above Tuesdays as the worst night of the week to play or go out. But sometimes a record just grabs ya by the privates, drags you out to the garage, puts you behind the wheel, and sends you down Woodward Avenue to get out for some rock. That’s what happened to me. I really liked the last Ex Hex record Rips, but the new one – It’s Real – really sunk its claws in deep. It’s got all the hooks and guitars and clever songwriting, but all notched up into what is so-far my album of the year. I wasn’t going to miss the show, even after one bud bailed (out of town with wife), then another (too much going on), then another (“Gotta pass, man.”).

There was a good Monday night crowd at The Loving Touch, a one-time massage parlour converted into a great music venue in a hip suburb just north of Detroit, for Moaning’s direct support set. We did our best to stay engaged, but the mix was muddy, reducing the bass to low-end sludge and too dominant a presence in the sound. There were some interesting reverb-drenched Tele licks here and there, but it was a bit shoe-gazey and just didn’t keep our attention. Sorry guys. Come back to Detroit and we’ll give ya another chance.

Ex Hex came out looking every bit the part in leather and spandex pants and line checked their Gibsons, Fenders, and Koll guitars. I hadn’t even heard a note but I loved them already and was feeling the sting of regret about missing their past Detroit shows. A few minutes later the lights went down and “Breakin’ The Law” by Judas Priest played over the PA. What followed was an hour of smart and hooky pop-punk-surf-metal (heavy on the pop-punk, light on the surf-metal) that sounded familiar and consistent, but kept reinventing itself throughout the set. Singer Mary Timony (Ex-Helium) led the way, providing vocals on most of the songs and playing most of the leads, but Betsy Wright stepped in to break it up a bit every few songs with some different vocal flavors and some solos that fell just on the other side of KK Downing. Laura Harris laid down a powerful and steady back-beat and lended a beautiful layer to the harmonies that give them such a great, deep sound. Touring bassist David Christian stood back and stayed in the pocket, but wasn’t disengaged or reduced to a hired-gun role on stage. Just when you started to think it was getting a little samey, they pulled it back to a slow roll for a song, teamed up for some killer guitarmonies, incorporated some unexpected slap-back effects, or pulled out the Flying V for some heavy riffs that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Holy Diver outtake.

It’s probably not PC to say, but I love women-led bands. Always have. Juliana Hatfield, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, The Avengers, Bangles, The Go-Go’s, and more recently Best Coast, Bleached, The Muncie Girls, and Ex Hex. There’s an element to the female voice that adds a deeper layer to the “pop” in power-pop, a distinction that magnifies even further the dichotomy between melodic vocal lines and layered harmonies and loud, overdriven guitars that define the genre. Ex Hex have it down – a REAL rock show that was every bit as raw and dirty as it was melodic and beautiful. As good as this record is and that show was, I can’t wait to see what they do next.