If You Don't Like This Band, You Don't Like Rock N Roll: Two Nights With The Hangmen - by JCE

editor’s note: Occasionally, at the end of summer vacations, copy gets “mislaid” here at the Pencil Storm offices, especially in election years when we add a political desk (actually a card table in the corner by the water cooler) to the mix. This JCE piece about The Hangmen actually somehow wound up in Sports editor Jeff Hassler’s in-box, and it took him OVER A MONTH to figure out that The Hangmen were not a team in either the NFL or Major League Baseball and forward it to the music department. (Personally, I have never been certain that that “medical marijuana” card Hassler is always flashing around the office is legit, since it seems to be printed on the back of an old Van Halen press release, from when Sammy Hagar was still in the band.)

Our apologies to JCE and to The Hangmen for the delay.

I was sitting at the bar in a club called The Broadberry in Richmond, VA all the way back in May.  I was with two friends waiting for a band called The Dirty Nil, who would be followed by the excellent Glorious Sons.  Behind the bar, there they have a big video screen showing food items and upcoming shows.  I glanced up and saw an announcement for a double bill of the Supersuckers with The Hangmen.  I almost jumped out of my skin.  I bought the self-titled debut record by The Hangmen (Capitol Records) in 1989.  I thought then, and still believe, it is one of the best records on the planet.  I have religiously followed the band’s career ever since, which is no small feat given their ups and downs.  They are pure rock n roll through and through.

The Hangmen were dropped by Capitol and picked up by Geffen, but their second record, which would have been called Suicide Doors, was never released.  Finally, a good ten years later we got the sophomore release called Metallic IOU.  Good God it was worth the wait.  The line-up went through changes but has been pretty stable since that 10-year layoff.  The constant is Bryan Small, one of my all-time rock n roll heroes.  Loteria followed in 2004, In The City was 2007, East of Western was 2012 and finally, the brand-new 2019 release called Cactusville.  Every one of them is absolutely stellar.  I had never seen The Hangmen play live.  I had never seen them come to a city anywhere near me.  I was like a kid waiting for Christmas from that night in May right up until the show on September 10th.

So I bought tickets and waited with anticipation.  In the week leading up to the show I told my amazing wife over and over that I wanted to meet Bryan Small and get a picture with him.  I am not normally such a super-fan, but I had been waiting 30 years to see this band.  I should digress for a minute and say that I also love The Supersuckers.  I had never seen them before either, but they were second fiddle on this bill for me, even though they were the headliners.

September 10th was a Tuesday. The show was going to be at a tiny club called The Camel (sister club to the larger Broadberry). I left work early and my wife and I headed for Richmond, which is a two hour trip. There were not many people in attendance, so I immediately met Eddie Spaghetti, main Supersucker.

JCE & Eddie

It wasn’t long after that I got to meet Bryan Small and talk with him for awhile. During our conversation I learned that Suicide Doors was not really the lost treasure I always figured it would be. It was a bad time for Bryan and he said the best songs on it made it onto Metallic IOU anyway. He was disappointed that the vinyl version of Cactusville had been delayed so they didn’t have any to sell. We talked about the set-list that was coming and the hairs stood up on my neck: it was perfect. I told him I had no idea how they had eluded me for 30 years, and if I understood him correctly, he said they had never played the East coast. He was extremely nice. They hit the stage soon after we talked, and I was in rock n roll heaven for 45 minutes. The set-list covered all of the records and every song was so f**k’n great that I won’t bother picking highlights.

JCE & Bryan

The Hangmen rocking The Camel Club in Richmond, VA.

signed set-list

We watched The Supersuckers of course, but after The Hangmen, well….  I had grabbed a set-list so I got Bryan to sign it for me and we headed for home.  A two-hour drive after a show like that one is no problem at all.  Shows like that can keep me energized and happy for days. 

The next night, still sizzling from an amazing show and so happy to have met one of my heroes, my beautiful & amazing wife and I hatched a plan to go see the same bill a few days later, Saturday, September 14th in Harrisonburg, VA at the Golden Pony. Our friend Kim came along to be indoctrinated into the rock n roll nirvana that is The Hangmen. We arrived to a similar, very small club with a small crowd. As I had hoped, the Cactusville vinyl had finally caught up with the band, so I bought one right away, ripped it open and got it signed by everyone. Bryan remembered us and was super gracious again. We also met the rest of the band: Angelique on bass, Jimmy James playing some smoking guitar and Jorge Disguster pounding the drums. The setlist was the same, which was fine with me. The Hangmen blew the roof off again and - for me at least - should have been the headliners.

Signed cover of green vinyl Cactusville record, Bryan’s guitar pick from the Harrisonburg show.

JCE w/ Angelique and Jimmy

I was so happy to get to see The Hangmen twice while I had the chance, so happy to get to meet some heroes, so happy to get the vinyl record, so happy----you get the picture.  These two nights were bucket list material for me.  Thanks for reading and letting me share my joy, and if you don’t know The Hangmen, check them out!

Bryan Small at The Golden Pony Club: JCE, JCE’s beer, and JCE’s wife stand front and center.

HELL YEAH.

Angela Perley Lets Go to Produce Solo Debut '4:30' - by Anne Marie

Angela Perley has been tracking sales of 4:30 like a proud parent monitors a newborn’s growth, curious whether the 70% male audience so far for the album will hold, whether the sale demographics will translate into tour audiences, and eager to glean whatever other information she can. She says she feels she’s been working on the album “for years,” but in a good way. It’s clearly been a labor of love.

Perley says that Angela Perley & the Howlin’ Moons had fulfilled their two-record deal with Vital Companies with 2014’s Hey Kid and 2016’s Homemade Vision, and she knew it was time to put what she had learned to work. Perley had been watching the recording process closely, taking detailed notes, and felt she “knew how to do it to keep costs as low as possible” while “maki[ng] it in a way to be true to her.” Perley and former Howlin’ Moon guitarist Chris Connor co-produced 4:30, named for her bedtime. Perley says she feels most creative once the world quiets down. She wrote the songs late at night and would bring them to Chris to lay down an electronic drum track. She and Chris would then try them out live with Jake Levy on drums.

Perley and Connor poured their own funds into 4:30 and that got them close, but not quite to the finish line. Perley realized she was approximately $13,000 short of what was needed to complete the final production and post-production work on the album and made the decision to crowd-source the remainder through Kickstarter. The all or nothing approach of Kickstarter’s funding platform made her “nervous” but she did her research and ended up exceeding her goal, raising more than $15,500.

Perley’s careful research and attention to detail can be seen in the amazing musicians she found to bring out the richness of her songs. Friend Patrick Sweany had raved about Nashville keyboardist Robbie Crowell (Kesha, Diamond Rugs) and it “just happened to work out” that the “one time” Crowell had free in January Perley, Connor and Levy were able to travel to Nashville to record. Perley also convinced Andy Carlson (R.E.M., Billy Bragg) to add strings and took the suggestion of Mike Landolt (Maroon 5, O.A.R.) - who mixed the record - to have Dave Collins (D’Angelo, Bruce Springsteen) do the mastering.

4:30, released August 2nd, appears to be getting the praise it deserves. Perley graciously accepts congratulations for the write- up and video premiere of single “Let Go” on Billboard. That article appeared under the tag “Country” and the author Gary Graff described her music variously as “psychedelic garage pop to melodic pop and heartfelt country and Americana.”  When asked how she would describe her sound, Perley says she mostly thinks of her music as “rock and roll,” but acknowledges that “it has country elements in there.” She says that she and Connor played at the AmericanaFest the past couple of years in Nashville and “she identifies with that term, too – somewhere in between.”

Perley is less willing to define her songs.  When asked about the story behind “Don’t Look Back Mary,” a slow, sad, achingly beautiful poem of a song, Perley will accede only that while there’s “a little of herself in it,” it was “inspired off of a couple of people” and that she “knows a lot of Mary’s”; women who are “a bit broken by some sorts of abuse over the years but still have a beauty and a strength.”

Photo by Mitchell Multimedia

A video for “Don’t Look Back Mary” by Columbus local Amber Thompson will soon be out. That video will join the existing video for the upbeat, rocking song “Let Go,” which Perley admits is her “favorite of the moment” – a “mental check for her to let go of some of the expectations of the music industry and her career.” That video by Dawn Aquarius uses full-on 70’s era Scooby-Doo style psychedelic animation to depict, in a wild tumbling visual feast, a girl listening to the song spin on vinyl, Perley and Connor playing guitars, rabbits spinning, butterflies emerging from chrysalises, and the lyrics “what a wonderful feeling, what a wonderful feeling” spiraling.

With the album’s successful release in the rearview mirror and these promotional efforts underway, it certainly must be a wonderful feeling!

Rev. Todd Baker’s Picks for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2020/2021 (Uncensored!)

Rev. Todd Baker’s Picks for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2020/2021

Well, it’s that time again. Every October I wait for Rolling Stone to list the new RRHOF nominee’s and every year I get more pissed off at their choices. First of all, FUCK Jann Wenner! I for one am glad he is “retiring.” He has always been a self-centered, arrogant douchebag who likes to hold grudges against people based on his personal opinions. Although, I’m not too thrilled that the head of I-Heart Radio is replacing him. Could it possibly get any worse? Now, I have had a problem with the whole nominating process for over two decades. Mainly for the fact they stopped inducting artists based on chronology! For the first ten years or so they strictly followed rock and roll’s timeline, but somewhere things went askew. That’s how we got such undeserving members as Madonna, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Janet Jackson and Radiohead!

I also feel “THEY” need to do a better job of choosing who gets to induct the lucky winners. Is it too much to ask for a presenter with even an inkling of connection to the artist being honored? How many times is Kid Rock or Tom Morelli going to give another speech? Even worse, some up and coming band the Hall felt the need to promote. Fuck that! We need better presenters, preferably current/future members of RRHOF! And what ever happened to the big JAM at the end? That idea seems to have faded away. These people aren’t dead. Well, many aren’t. Get them on stage! Ace Frehley and Joe Walsh jamming with Eddie Van Halen and Slash! Hell, why aren’t these bands touring together for fun? Mix it up! Springsteen opening for Cheap Trick!

Obviously, this whole selection process is subjective, as are my opinions on the topic. However, I am basing my choices (mostly) on hard, cold facts: Can you name three hits? Did they have a platinum record? Are they still performing or on the radio? Groundbreakers are different. They get a pass on hits and sales. My goal here is to correct several obvious snubs made on the part of RRHOF and Jann Wenner specifically. It is time to stop letting the New York music critics cock block the rock and let the PEOPLE have their say. In that spirit, I would like to submit my list of 25 bands, sidemen, producers, solo artists and singer/songwriters who deserve to be inducted NOW. Unfortunately, these days the dummies running this joint can barely induct five bands each year. They USED to induct a dozen or more…bring that back. I think all 25 could be inducted in two classes! So, here is my list of worthy members. Fuck Kraftwerk, The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, Blink 182 and especially Biggie Smalls until THESE bands are in!

 
 Class of 2020 and their presenters

1)      The Meters: (Inducted by Trombone Shorty)

Considering “Sissy Strut” has been sampled by nearly every wanna-be d.j. in the history of hip hop, 

there should be NO more rappers until THESE guys are inducted!

2)      The Swampers/Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section: (Patterson Hood)

They backed up Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Staple Sisters, Paul Simon and more. 

       Skynyrd sang their praise. The Stones and Bob Seger recorded at their studio.

 

3)      Jim Croce: (A.J. Croce) Accepted by his wife Ingrid

Died too soon. Plane crash. Like Otis, had his biggest hit after his death.

Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, Time in a Bottle, Don’t Mess Around With Jim

 

4)      Ted Nugent: (Kid Rock---Hey, He DESERVES this intro)

Yes, when it comes to politics, he is bat-shit crazy but you can’t deny him. He meets all the criteria and even at his age Ted is still a bad-ass guitar player. The Nuge belongs in! Cat Scratch Fever, Stranglehold, Wango Tango, Great White Buffalo, Free For All

5)      Blue Oyster Cult: (Will Farrell—More Cowbell!)

Huge in the 70’s! KISS opened for THEM. STILL on tour and the radio every day!

Godzilla, Burnin’ For You, Don’t Fear the Reaper, Cities on Flame, Joan Crawford

6)      Judas Priest: (Axl Rose)

Breaking the Law, Living After Midnight, Screaming For Vengence. Boom!

Created the “Heavy metal look”. First band to be sued for killing their fans.

 

7)      Ozzy Osbourne: Solo Artist (Sharon Osbourne)

If Ringo Starr is in for his solo work, Ozzy deserves to be for his!

“Crazy Train” is now in car commercials and played at every NFL game.

 

8)      Randy Rhoads: Sideman (Ozzy Osbourne)

Played in Quiet Riot before joining Ozzy. Still considered one of the greatest.

 

9)      Bob Ezrin: Producer (Alice Cooper)

Produced ALL of Alice’s greatest hits: I’m 18, School’s Out, Billion Dollar Babies… 

      Lou Reed: Berlin, KISS: Destroyer (and The Elder), Pink Floyd: The Wall and more.

 

10)  Warren Zevon: Singer/Songwriter (Jackson Browne) Accepted by Jordan Zevon

LONG overdue. Musical genius. I miss him nearly every day.

FINAL JAM: Jackson Browne / Bruce Springsteen / Bob Dylan / Bonnie Raitt / Stevie Nicks / Joe Walsh / Don Henley / Waddy Wachtel / Patterson Hood 

                                    NO Werewolves! Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me>Play it All Night Long>Keep Me In Your Heart

                                                                        Not a dry eye in the house.

                               

  CLASS OF 2021 (Classic Rock and 80’s Metal)

 

11)  The Doobie Brothers: (Cheech and Chong)

They deserve to be in for the name alone. Plus, their episode of “What’s Happening”. 

      China Grove, Black Water, Listen to the Music, Jesus is Just Alright

 

12)  Foreigner: (Rod Stewart)

Headknocker, Hot Blooded, Urgent, Double Vision, Cold As Ice, Juke Box Hero

Classic rock, mega hits, still touring, unlike Rage Against the Machine!

 

13)  Pat Benetar: (Neil Gilardo) Although, he will probably demand to get an award, too. 

      Female Rock Pioneer. Heartbreaker, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Fire and Ice, You Better Run

 

14)  Joe Walsh: (Jimmy Bufffett)                                                                                          

      James Gang. Coolest member of Eagles. Should have been President in 1980!            

      Turn To Stone, Rocky Mountain Way, Life’s Been Good, The Confessor

 

15)  The Runaways: (Rodney Bingenheimer)

Groundbreakers! First female rock band launching Joan Jett/Lita Ford.

Cherry Bomb (RIP Kim Fowley), You Drive Me Wild

 

16)  Bad Company: (Jimmy Page)

Paul Rogers on vocals. First band Zeppelin signed to Swan Song Records.

Bad Company, Feel Like Making Love, Moving On, Good Loving Gone Bad

 

17)  Meatloaf: (Jim Steinman)

Bat Out of Hell sold 43 Million copies!  Only Back in Black and Thriller sold more.   

      Two out of Three Ain’t bad, Paradise By the Dashboard Light, I Would Do Anything..

 

18)  Boston: (Todd Rundgren)

Two big records with half a dozen hits that are STILL on the radio every day!

More Than A Feeling, Rock and Roll Band, Peace of Mind, Don’t Look Back, Smokin’

 

19)  REO Speedwagon: (Neal Schon)

Kinda lame now, but in their day they ROCKED! Once Gary Richrath left it was over.

Riding the Storm Out, Roll With The Changes, Keep On Loving You, Take It on the Run

 

20)  Styx: (Rick Neilson)

Very similar story to REO, which is why they tour together so often. Can’t deny the hits.

Babe, Lady, Crystal Ball, Come Sail Away, Blue Collar Man, Renegade, Mr. Roboto

 

21)  Twisted Sister: (Alice Cooper)

Paid their dues the hard way, eventually got their hits and made a career out of it.        

     You Can’t Stop Rock and Roll, I Wanna Rock, We’re Not Gonna Take It.

 

22)  Quiet Riot: (Eddie Trunk)

Technically, two big hits, but they were pioneers of early L.A. metal and deserve a spot.

Metal Health, Cum On Feel the Noise, Mama Weer All Crazee Now

 

23)  Motley Crue: (David Lee Roth)

Bad Boys of 80’s metal. Took rock decadence to a new level. Retired before they died.

Shout at the Devil, Looks That Kill, Home Sweet Home, Girls-Girls-Girls, Dr. Feelgood,

 

24) Motorhead/Lemmy: (Scott Ian)
Groundbreaker. Only one big hit, unless you count the cover of Louie Louie, but c’mon. He was a legend. There will never be another

Lemmy. Ace of Spades.

25) Ronnie James Dio: Solo Artist (Ritchie Blackmore--How BAD-ASS would that be?)

ENCORE: Man on the Silver Mountain / The Mob Rules / Rainbow in the Dark

CLASS OF 2022 and Beyond

Iron Maiden, Rainbow, UFO, Scorpions, Ratt, Poison, Ministry/Trent Reznor, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Tool, Rage Against The Machine, Pantera, The Replacements, Big Star and Devo.


After THAT you can let in Sonny & Cher, The Monkees, The Carpenters, Peter Frampton, George Thorogood, Foghat, Bachman Turner Overdrive and Kansas. (And I fucking HATED Kansas)



After THAT you can let in Chic, Todd Rundgren, Kraftwerk, Puff Daddy and whatever lame-ass douchebags the people who run I-Heart radio deem worthy. My work here is done. Discuss. - Rev Todd.

Album Review: Angel / Risen - by Scott Carr

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST - LISTEN WHILE YOU READ

Friday October 4th was a big day for fans of 70's Glam/Prog rockers Angel. The band returned with their first new album in nearly forty years featuring original members Punky Meadows and Frank DiMino. Early reports seem to indicate that members of the Angel Earth Force Fan Club feel it was well worth the wait.

A little history on Angel before we dive into the new record. Angel was formed in Washington D.C. by guitarist Punky Meadows and original bassist Mickie Jones. The original line up was rounded out with vocalist Frank DiMino, Drummer Barry Brandt and Keyboardist Gregg Giuffria. Angel were discovered in a club by Kiss bassist Gene Simmons and were eventually signed to Kiss' label Casablanca Records.

Angel had a big theatrical stage show and dressed in all white stage costumes. Some looked at them as the anti-Kiss. Meaning Angel were the Angelic Rockers while Kiss were the Demons of Rock. Seemed like this would have been the ultimate touring package but it never happened. I’m guessing once the Kiss team saw the Angel stage production along with their music, it made them a little nervous to share the concert stage with them.

Angel's debut album was released in 1975 and featured the signature song "The Tower". Four more albums followed with 1978's White Hot being the most successful. In 1979 the band released their final studio album Sinful followed by a double live album Live Without A Net. By this time the band felt like their "all white" image was holding them back and wanted to go for a more streetwise image. Unfortunately Casablanca Records was going through a lot of turmoil at the time and the band lost their deal with the label. For a short while the band tried to continue but soon splintered.

Original Angel line up during the 70’s.

During the decades following the break up, various members stayed active in different projects but guitarist Punky Meadows pretty much retired from performing and recording to focus on other ventures outside of music. Vocalist Frank DiMino attempted an Angel resurrection in the late 90's with the release of a new record called In The Beginning but many fans felt the album lacked the spark and energy of the bands classic 70's albums and didn’t feel like an Angel album. Original drummer Barry Brandt was also featured on the album. Keyboardist Gregg Giuffria had the biggest post Angel success with his bands Giuffria (who briefly used the Angel name) and House Of Lords. Giuffria eventually retired from music and became involved the casino gaming business.

In 2015 Punky announced that he was coming out of retirement and would be releasing an new album called Fallen Angel. Around this same time Frank DiMino also released new music. Frank appeared on Punky’s Fallen Angel album and the pair also released a three song EP together. Things evolved quickly and the duo decided the time was right for a full blown return of Angel and once again wear their "all white" stage outfits.

The revamped version of Angel signed with Cleopatra Records in 2019 and began recording a new record.

Risen hit record stores October 4th and it is quite a triumph. Punky and Frank are the only original members from the classic 70's line up that appear on Risen but the record has many of the elements that made Angel such a special and unique band. It's a musical journey that should please most of Angel's die hard fans.

Songs like "1975", "I Don't Want You To Go", "Turn Around", "Tell Me Why" and "Desire" would sound at home on White Hot or Sinful. Very poppy guitar driven songs with hooks that immediately stick in your brain. The band doesn't embrace their prog rock side that some fans of their first album were hoping for. The prog influence is there with some keyboard interludes and some arrangements but for the most part this is a guitar heavy record. I’ve always been a fan of the band’s melodic pop songs, so this album connected with me as soon as I dropped the needle.

Speaking of guitars, Punky Meadows really shines on this record. He has such a distinctive style and tone. Like I said earlier, this is a heavy guitar record and it reminds me a lot of the bands second album Helluva Band from 1976. Songs like 'Under The Gun", 'Over My Head", "Shot Of Your Love", "We Were The Wild", "Our Revolution" and "Slow Down" may be some of the heaviest riffing the band has ever put to vinyl.

Vocalist Frank DiMino also delivers a stunning performance on Risen. His vocals sound like he could have recorded them in 1978 at the bands peak. His voice has never sounded better. I got a chance to see Angel twice earlier this year and hearing Frank sing all those classic Angel songs was a treat, the man is a powerhouse.

One thing that strikes me about Risen is the cohesiveness of the new line up. They really sound like a band, it doesn't feel like guys trying to sound like Angel. They do have that classic Angel sound but there is an energetic vibe that gives this line up it’s own voice. .

Rounding out the new Angel line up are Charlie Calv (Keyboards), Steve E, Ojane (Bass Guitar), Billy Orrico (Drums/Backing Vocals) and Danny Farrow (Guitar/Backing Vocals). Guitarist Danny Farrow played a big part in the revival of Angel and he co-wrote most of the songs on Risen with Punky and Frank.

The album ends with a nod to the bands past with a rerecorded version of their best known song "The Tower". The band delivers a solid performance on the new recording of "The Tower" but they didn't need to add this track because the new material can stand on it's own.

I've been a fan of Angel since 1978 when I saw them open for Blue Oyster Cult in Huntington, WV. I remember leaving half way through Blue Oyster Cult's set because I thought they were kinda boring after watching Angel and opening band The Godz. I went out and bought all the Angel records I could find and had magazine clippings of Angel all over my bedroom walls along with my Kiss posters of course. Sadly that was my one and only time seeing the band during their original run but it was enough to make me a life long fan.

Hopefully Risen is the beginning of a new chapter for the band and we will hear more new music from them in years to come.

Risen is a strong contender for “Album of the Year” . Yeah, it’s that good!

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.

Me with Punky and Frank earlier this year in St. Louis.

Me purchasing Risen on vinyl the day it was released. Photo taken by Brett Ruland (Spoonful Records).

Hey, I’m Spinning Records at Woodlands Tavern - by Colin Gawel

I so wanted to title this “I’m spinning vinyls at Woodlands” but didn’t have the guts to go through with it. Anyhoo, Woodland’s Tavern on 3rd Ave is starting a new series hosted by Floorwalkers frontman Jon Elliott and I’m joining him for the debut show on Tuesday, October 8th. 7-9pm. Free. 

The idea is pretty simple. A couple guys play a bunch of records and tell stories and hopefully a bunch of folks drink beer and sorta listen. Since I know some real record collectors, I don’t consider myself an actual record guy, but I suppose I probably have 200 or so scattered around my house and maybe once owned closer to 500? Or 700?

See, growing up in Worthington, OH, myself and the other Watershed guys started riding the COTA #2 bus down to the campus record stores at a young age to blow our paper route money on used records. It was a weekly ritual from about 6th grade until records got replaced by CDs. When people ask me why I got into writing songs and playing music, I give all the credit to the #2 bus and the campus record stores. 

We almost never paid full price for a record unless it was something brand new from Cheap Trick or The Kinks and we just had to have it NOW. But other than that, we would just comb the bins every Saturday weighing quality versus quantity. I’ve still got price tags on some of my records including an excellent condition Born to Run from Used Kids Records for….$1! And I got the double record The River for $2. Folks, that’s what I call value. Obviously these records were priced before Jerry DeCicca started working there. 

A couple other random memories off the top of my head:

Asking Ron House what Bob Dylan record I should buy, “Highway 61 would be good for someone like you.”

Purchasing Rush - Grace Under Pressure at Singing Dogs, stepping onto High Street and barfing. I had chicken pox and summer was just starting. Oof. Not cool when you are 12. But at least I had a new record.

Johnny Go showing me an Aerosmith album I HAD NEVER HEARD OF. That’s right, pre-internet it was possible to discover a record by one of your favorite bands that you never even knew existed. In this case it was Night in the Ruts. Oh Chiquita!

I bought Styx Cornerstone and never listened to it once.

I asked Captain what Jerry Lee Lewis record I should get. “If you like Jerry, they are all great, if you don’t like Jerry they all suck.” Turns out I like Jerry.

Eventually, Watershed moved down High Street to campus and combined most of our records. Instead of a bus before record shopping it became bars before shopping. The picture on the cover of this story captures that vibe. It is interesting to note that Biggie, Joe , Herb and I had somehow had five copies of Blue Oyster Cult - Some Enchanted Evening. So someone bought it twice. It must have been really cheap because it’s really not very good. As records went out of style and we moved apart, we cherry-picked the stuff we wanted to hold on to. “Hands off that Billy Squier, asshole.” 

Anyway, I don’t quite have the cash flow to keep buying records every weekend but I still love hanging out in record stores and when I can justify it, buying a new record. My son asked for a record player for his 16th birthday so I’ll take that as a sign that it's time for me to pass the obsession to the next generation. - Colin G.

Colin Gawel founded Pencilstorm and wrote this while ignoring customers at Colin’s Coffee. He plays in the band Watershed and solo with The League Bowlers.

Record Review: The Replacements / Dead Man's Pop - by Jeremy Porter

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST - Listen while you read!

In early 1989 expectations were high for The Replacements as they were about to follow up two major-label commercial misses with their third record for Sire, Don’t Tell A Soul. They’d always been under-the-radar, under-appreciated, and under-achieving, but there was a buzz in the air that this might be the one that breaks the curse. The album would live in infamy as their best-selling, highest charting and most polarizing release. What hasn’t been said about Don’t Tell A Soul? It’s got some great stuff on it, but the dated, murky, reverb-and-chorus drenched 80’s production has haunted its legacy ever since the grunge movement gave us a kick in the pants and a harsh reminder that albums were better when they sounded like they were made by real bands playing real instruments.

Still – they were going for it, for better or worse. They were on TV, there were magazine covers, posters in record stores, a big-time summer tour opening for Tom Petty, and even [gasp] a real video. Where it went from there is, well, depressing. Many see DTAS as the beginning of the end (though I might argue that moment came when Bob Stinson was fired in 1986). Their 1991 swan-song follow-up All Shook Down, while more organic and loose sounding, lacked the teeth of any of their previous records, and they limped to the finish line, sounding tired and sober, promoting a record that was decent, but more or less a Westerberg solo album from the start.

I’m in the “like the album, hate the production” camp when it comes to DTAS. I missed Bob, but I liked Slim, and I understood even then that bands evolve and why they made that change. “Talent Show,“ “I’ll Be You,“ “They’re Blind,” and the under-rated “Back to Back” stood out to me, and I think “Achin’ to Be” is up there with Paul’s best. I hated the trying-too-hard-not-to-try tracks like “Rock and Roll Ghost” and “I Won’t.” The rest is somewhere in the middle – it’s no ”Let it Be” but God knows I played the hell out if it that summer and saw them three times on that tour. (Read about a couple of those times here.) While I struggled with the fact that they weren’t “my” band anymore, I was happy to see them getting some of the attention they deserved. Like everyone else I watched with a big smile when they played “Talent Show” on the International Rock Awards that spring, flanked by performances from Keith Richards and The Bangles while Matt Dillon watched and smiled, one of the few in the building that “got it.”

Over the years the legacy of the album took a beating. Only the most loyal and biased fans claim the album as a favorite and the production as an asset. There were always rumors of an original mix, the one the band wanted, but not the one that the label released. The story goes that Paul hated the final mix, and that’s probably a part of why I hated it too. Hearing what the band had in mind for these songs has always been at the top of hard-core fans’ wish lists, right along with a live DVD (that we’ve yet to see) and a proper live album (which we got in 2017 with the incredible For Sale: Live at Maxwell’s 1986). 

Then, earlier this year came word about Dead Man’s Pop – a 4CD/1LP and limited edition cassette release. This is the holy grail we’ve been waiting for, from the post-Bob era anyways. As excited as I was about For Sale two years earlier, I’d been listening to a great bootleg recording of that show for 30 years. This was different – a ton of stuff no one’s ever heard, a sweet package, and hopefully the redemption that material deserves.

Disc One is the Matt Wallace mix of the album. This is a new mix, but one that recalls the original that the band had in mind before the label got involved. Gone is the polish and spit-shine that muddied up the sound. The backup vocals are louder, the guitars are more present and clear, and the drums sound more natural, just like we'd hoped. The takes are mostly the same, but the performances shine. They sound like what they were - a band struggling to bridge their rambunctious past with their more-focused present, while not letting either get too close or too far away.

Stripping the production down exposes more than just the sounds they were making - there's an exciting spontaneity and beautiful vulnerability present now, offering up that elusive element in great music that we love but can't often define. The differences between these mixes and the originals are present throughout, but less obvious in songs like "Achin to Be" and "I'll Be You," and more so on "They're Blind," "Darlin' One," and "Rock and Roll Ghost." Even my least favorite song on the record "I Won't" sounds like it should - pissed off and ornery, more like "IOU" from Pleased to Meet Me and less like some aging punks trying to sound half their age. The guitar solo on "They're Blind" is one of my favorite moments on the original release, but the alternate solo here might be even better. This is the record it was supposed to be, and had it been, we can only wonder how history would look back on it.

Disc Two is a collection of outtakes, demos, alt-mixes, and a few tracks from the session with Tom Waits that produced the "I'll Be You" B-Side "Date to Church." While this stuff is solid gold to a dork like me who's been waiting to hear it for 30 years, it's more typical of a deluxe-edition package for real fans rather than a cohesive, flowing collection. Still there's great stuff to digest. The up-tempo, solo-acoustic take on "Rock 'N' Roll Ghost" is maybe the most honest of all the versions. "Talent Show" and "We'll Inherit The Earth" are significantly more rockin' than any other renditions, and the stripped down "They're Blind" is a more intimate take than heard on the album. The greatly restrained "I'll Be You" is interesting, but pales against the Wallace mix or even the original release, and might have fit better on the equally restrained All Shook Down. A couple previously unheard songs "Last Thing In The World" and "Dance on My Planet" are welcome, as is any unheard song written and sung by Paul Westerberg, but do little to dispute my long-standing opinion that bonus tracks more often than not didn't make the album for a reason.

The Tom Waits tracks are a novelty, and as a huge Waits fan, I take no joy in saying that with the exception of a few brief moments, they'll likely have little staying power and don't add much beyond a document of a drunken night in LA. To hear Waits croon "If Only You Were Lonely" or Westerberg sing "Ol' 55" with some real effort would have been diamonds here, but the former is a sloppy, half-assed struggle and the latter was sadly left off the collection. Of the Waits tracks, the full-band version of "We Know The Night" is easily the standout, and drives home the fact that the rehearsal take that preceded it could have been excluded. The Wallace remix of "Date to Church" is refreshing, fits perfectly with the first disc, and reminds us that something productive and worthwhile actually came out of that session. It's safe to say that disc two will get the fewest spins of this collection, but this is material that deserves to be heard, belongs on this collection, and is far from a wash.

 Discs three and four are a live recording from the 1989 Milwaukee show that produced the "Inconcerated" promo EP. While it's not the gloriously raw and in-your-face explosion that For Sale: Live at Maxwell's is, it's a spirited, up-tempo, energetic and abrasive document of that tour. They can't be accused of phoning it in this night. This was Slim's second tour with the `mats and his presence is felt - his lanky figure meandering around stage left, goofy smile, crazy hair, and tasty riffs. It's the best version of "Talent Show" that there is - studio or live. "We might even win this fucker, ya never know." Paul sings, ad-libbing like he did better than anyone when he felt like it. His vocals lead the way throughout, often going up when he stayed level on the record. There's warts too - Slim's amp shorting and squealing throughout "The Ledge" has Paul agitated, tuning issues ruin “Little Mascara” and “Can’t Hardly Wait”, and “Here Comes A Regular” suffers as both rushed and lazy at the same time, but they left them in, as they should have. It's imperfect, it’s fun, it's raw, it's rock and roll, it's The Replacements.

The box set delivers - it's a fantastic package that covers what should have been, the journey there, and the live culmination of that demo-record-tour cycle that is such a big part of this bands legacy. It takes a miss and makes it a hindsight-hit. There's a dose of healthy nostalgia here too, talking me back to Ann Arbor, March 10, 1989 on the opening night of that tour. They say there's plenty more in the vaults, but I'm not sure anything could match this due to the sheer NEED for the redemption that "Don't Tell a Soul" deserved alone. It's Christmas time, Replacements fans. Drink it up.

Jeremy Porter lives near Detroit and fronts the rock and roll band Jeremy Porter And The Tucos - www.thetucos.com

Follow them on Facebook to read his road blog about their adventures on the dive-bar circuit -
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Twitter: @jeremyportermi | Instagram: @onetogive & @jeremyportermusic

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