Remembering Pat DiNizio - by 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.

From Smithereens 2011. 24 years after their debut.

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.

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.

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. 

 

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

 

Keep On Rollin' - RIP Gary Richrath - by Matt Walters

 

"We're very lucky in the band in that we have two visionaries, David and Nigel, they're like poets, like Shelley and Byron. They're two distinct types of visionaries, it's like fire and ice, basically." - Derek Smalls, "This Is Spinal Tap"

It's no secret that most of my favorite bands feature multiple songwriters, each with distinct personalities. I usually blame Donna Knappie for this. 

Donna was my 16-year-old babysitter in 1977, solely responsible for brainwashing 3-year-old Matt by placing a brand new copy of KISS' Alive II in his hands. Upon opening the gatefold LP, the sight of the larger than life pyrotechnics of the Love Gun version of this band firing on all cylinders completely mesmerized me. I had never seen anything like this, and it completely terrified me. Naturally, I immediately led my parents to the nearest Sam Goody in order to demand that they purchase a copy of the LP Destroyer before I could bring myself to go to sleep that night. 

I have obsessively followed KISS for the subsequent 38 years of my life. 

Thanks, Donna. 

Truthfully, blaming Donna is just a cop-out. You see, I had also convinced my parents to buy me another album earlier in that same year, Queen's News of the World. This album also featured a larger than life iconography, in the form of a large robot killing the members of Queen. The inner gatefold was an illustration of the same robot descending on the rest of the people in what would be Queen's audience, through a torn-out hole in the pavilion. I was utterly horrified, and I couldn't possibly look away, or stop listening. 

It turns out that toddler Matt was highly suggestible to bizarre imagery in music. 

More important to my formative musical philosophy, beyond the visual cues, was that each of these two bands featured multiple songwriters/vocalists, each contributing their own brand of songwriting and style to the mix. In Queen, Mercury's whimsical folly complemented the hard-edged crunch of May's power. Deacon's plaintive delivery and calculated structure mirrored the visceral spontaneity and emotional guts of Taylor's rage. In KISS, Stanley's Raspberries conjurings matched Simmons' summoned Beatles, and Frehley's distilled Hendrix counterbalanced Criss's Faces-by-way-of-Krupa. You get the idea. I became hooked on this formula of music, and I've responded to it in many other bands I've followed. 

I digress.

I'm writing this article because we lost someone big in the rock and roll community last week, but you didn't hear about it. 

We lost Gary Richrath. 

Gary Richrath was the lead guitarist and one of the primary songwriting forces in REO Speedwagon during the first 20 years of their professional career. He was a blistering player that had a knack for songwriting and often played by instinct, probably a much more important trait than anything anyone ever got with a formal education in music. In the formative years of the band, he was the glue that held it all together, often while the band barely made ends meet on their live reputation, largely built on Richrath's prowess. He wrote their biggest early hit, "Ridin' the Storm Out," while the group itself rode the storm out of three lead vocalists in three consecutive albums.   

Eventually, the band settled on Kevin Cronin in front, and never looked back after that lineup finally clicked. Ironically, the band had already hired Cronin for their sophomore slump of an effort dubiously titled R.E.O./T.W.O., and immediately fired him after realizing what they needed in a lead vocalist resembled an extra in the film Dazed and Confused, rather than the Least Photogenic Guy In Rock History. It turned out they were wrong, and Richrath had the balls to admit this. He asked Cronin back after three more tepid albums (Side note: the studio version of "Ridin' the Storm Out" features Dazed and Confused on lead vocals, while the later, more popular live version features Cronin).  

I digress, again. 

You see, the above quote by our friend Derek Smalls has a rather large grain of truth to it, like most other things in the brilliant mockumentary by Rob Reiner. Tufnel and St. Hubbins complement each other in a way that creates undeniable chemistry, just as Simmons, Stanley, Criss and Frehley did, just as May, Mercury, Taylor and Deacon did. 

....and if Cronin, the talented pianist/guitarist/vocalist, was one of those visionaries of REO, the relatively unheralded, less remembered Gary Richrath was, in equal part, the other. Richrath was the fire, with the steely bite of his Les Paul cutting through any song, combining all the swagger of every '70s band put together in his effortless mastery of the fretboard and mercurial songwriting. Cronin, on the other hand, was the ice, the calculated pop songwriter who delivered melody in measure, carefully crafting arrangements and finding just the right blend of soft rock with pop sensibility to skyrocket the band into rock and roll's stratosphere. 

It was the combination of these two men together that guaranteed unparalleled success for REO. Although Cronin wrote many of the biggest pop hits of the day, including "Keep on Loving You," and "Don't Let Him Go," it was Richrath who matched him step for step with "Take It On The Run," and "In Your Letter." All four of these songs struck top 40 gold on Billboard's charts in 1981 as singles from the band's smash hit Hi Infidelity, an LP that went on to sell over 10 million copies and became the single best selling album of 1981. Not bad for a bunch of kids from Champaign and Peoria. 

Perhaps the most fitting and infamous tale of their partnership is in the details of the most famous song of these four, "Keep On Loving You." Hi Infidelity's recording marked a departure point for the band, one in which a definitively more pop approach would be incorporated in the songwriting over the band's previous pure hard rock leanings. Richrath was particularly resistant to this change, especially when Cronin brought in a last-minute piano ballad to add to the record. As Cronin played the track for the rest of the band, Richrath became increasingly agitated, especially as he stewed over the lack of room for his trademark tobacco-burst Les Paul. When it came time for him to track, he was riled up enough to turn the distortion all the way up on his amplifier, in order to emphasize his distaste, but also to make a point about the lack of room for his style within this new approach. 

Richrath plugged in. The tapes began to roll. He reached for the volume knob on his guitar....

....and as soon as the rest of the band heard the dirge-like guitar over the rest of the track, they knew they were hearing magic. This contrast of tone, this juxtaposition of gentle, delicate piano and a yearning lyric set to a maelstrom of distortion created a desperate longing.

The band immediately knew they had their hit single. 

REO had a few more hits after Hi Infidelity, but never quite reached those stratospheric heights again in album form. Cronin continued to push them into a pop direction, and a disillusioned Richrath eventually retired from the band in 1989. He made a few more appearances sporadically, taking solace in solo work where he could, but the last 25 years of his life were largely spent out of the limelight. REO became Cronin's band, and eventually they rested on the laurels of their previous legacy like so many other Classic Rock juggernauts. 

However, those magical years of fire & ice shouldn't be forgotten, and Gary shouldn't be forgotten either, and that's why I'm writing this. Gary was great; Gary was legendary. From the moment he plugged in, he was ferocious. Every time I hear the lead guitar work in "Roll With The Changes," a shiver goes down my spine, no matter how many times I've heard it before. Come to think of it, I think I'll dial it up again. 

Keep on Rollin', Gary. Rest in peace. 



Is the 8th Time the Charm Against USC? Baver Answers Colin's Questions

Colin: Strictly talent wise, how do USC and OSU stack up?

Baver: USC will be the most talented team Ohio State has played this year. They have at least 8 guys that have a shot of going in the first four rounds of April’s NFL Draft, and that of course includes QB Sam Darnold, who could be the overall #1 pick. Do they have as much talent as Ohio St? I don’t think so. If you look at the starters on each team, it’s pretty close, but Ohio State is deeper.

Colin: Ok, as with all other non-playoff bowl games, which team is more motivated to win this game?

Baver: That’s the million-dollar question. Ohio St was probably more disappointed than USC when they didn’t make the playoff, but I’ll certainly take Urban Meyer over Clay Helton as a motivator. I am guessing Urban is hammering his guys about redeeming themselves after last year’s embarrassing loss to Clemson. And Ohio State has lost 7 straight against USC dating back to the 70’s. You can bet that Urban is pounding that point home as well.

Colin: Are there any players leaving early for the NFL or conflicts of interest that may impact the outcome?

Baver: Urban says no one on his squad is sitting this one out. Now that doesn’t necessarily make it so. We shall see. The word is that Denzel Ward is practicing, and with Ward probably being OSU’s top draft choice come April, I would have thought he was the most likely to sit. I have heard nothing about any USC guys sitting out.

Colin: Can OSU finally beat the Trojans and if yes how can they do it? 

Baver: The biggest advantage that Ohio State has is their D-line against a USC offensive line that has struggled at times protecting Sam Darnold this year. Pressuring Darnold will be key.

And this might sound like a broken record, but JT is going to have to find the open guys and hit ‘em. I think USC is going to score their points, so Ohio St can’t waste opportunities. This is a USC defense that has struggled defending the pass, as they rank 98th nationally in passing yards given up. Now USC does have a ferocious pass rush, but when his O-line protects him, JT has to make the throws.

Colin: What about USC should concern the Buckeyes?

Baver: USC’s balanced offensive attack. They rank 15th nationally, averaging 489 yds per game on offense. They can pound the ball with Ronald Jones, and Sam Darnold can certainly beat you through the air. The Trojans do have some problems translating good drives into 6 points, and they will have to be more efficient in that regard if they want to beat Ohio State.

Colin: So what’s your call on the outcome?

Baver: I think the USC defense will have problems keeping the Buckeyes under 35 pts. The So Cal D has given up a truckload of big plays this year, and OSU’s offense can certainly make big plays. I think Urban will have his guys up for this game, as least in comparison to Clay Helton’s USC team. Helton has never impressed me, and I will take the better-coached, deeper Ohio State team. I like Ohio State 38-28.

Colin: What other Bowl games will you be keeping an eye on? 

Baver: I am not sure I would lay 3 pts against Clemson, but I like Alabama in a spot where they are being doubted. Bama is much healthier now than they were against Auburn. And Alabama is in the revenge spot this time around. I like the Tide to advance to the title game. In the other semi, I wouldn’t want to bet against Baker Mayfield. He may be a punk, but the kid is a flat-out gamer. I think that one will be close, with Mayfield making the difference.

In the other New Years Six games… I think Wisconsin will be too much for the ‘Canes. I think Washington-Penn State is a toss-up and too close to call. And I like Auburn to win convincingly against UCF.

As for your Nat’l Champ, I hope I am wrong, but I think Bama has the best shot. But any of the 4 playoff teams can win it.

 

 

 

 

 

In Conclusion: The Movies of 2017 - by Rob Braithwaite

Watching 366 movies last year kind of broke me. I only watched 104 movies this year. Here are some highlights. [Law and Order noise]


OPERATION: DYNAMO

I don’t know how or why but there were three movies this year that featured the rescue from Dunkirk in some fashion, and they fit together so well that I suspect Kevin Feige orchestrated it all.

Darkest Hour

World War II is in its dawn when the unpopular English Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain is replaced by the not-as unpopular Winston Churchill. Churchill is almost immediately pressured to reach out to the Germans to ask for mercy. It is a concept so foreign to him that even his body rejects the notion of nothing short of victory in the face of the rising fascist force.

The movie has a few classic biopic trips when information and backstory need known. But there are stunning scenes and sequences. The makeup work on Gary Oldman is nothing but award winning, as is his performance.

The drama of Darkest Hour is political and personal. The rescue at Dunkirk is an element of the story, however it isn’t seen. Thankfully, there’s…

Dunkirk

I expected this to be a three hour movie in which the first hour was filled with clunky get-to-know-them-so-you-care setups. Nope. Just two hours of action and tension. It’s amazing. The dogfights especially.

Some didn’t like Dunkirk because there is too little context or they didn’t care enough about the people. I disagree. But, for context there’s Darkest Hour. For the personal touch, there’s…

Their Finest

England is very much the WWII mix now. Their troops are back on the front lines, and their citizens are adapting to routine air raids. Morale is low. Here come the movies to make everyone feel better!

The Ministry of Information decides to make a film about the heroic deed of two sisters who stole their father’s boat to rescue soldiers from the Dunkirk shore. Problem is, their boat never made it to Dunkirk. Catrin Cole, still seeing their heroism, fights to tell the sister’s story as it happened. And yet, the propaganda machine continues to distort the truth.

Maybe the most interesting thing about Their Finest is that as myth takes over the sister’s truth, the myth of the romantic comedy genre is exposed as propaganda itself.

Ignore the forgettable title. Ignore the terrible trailer. Ignore the awful poster. See this little gem.


THIS SEASON ON SUPERHERO SHOWDOWN

Franchise moviemaking has got me down more than ever. It all feels like TV programming now, especially superhero movies. I don't get event anticipation anymore. Still, because I do like them, I see them.

Never mind the comic book source, Logan is a great movie. I got a little misty at the end.

Wonder Woman proves DC can make a great superhero movie. After seeing Justice League, I’m convinced they can’t. I’m sure Wonder Woman succeeded because no one at the studio thought much about it (“Oh, let them have their Wondering Woman.”), and Patty Jenkins & company went largely unchecked.

I’m not going to shit on Justice League. The movie does a great job of that on its own. But I would like to laugh at some horrible and frustrating product placement in it.

Bruce Wayne has successfully recruited Barry Allen. They both get into Bruce’s expensive car. Bruce says the “because I’m rich” line from the trailer and then the movie cuts to his hands gripping the steering wheel. The fingers of his right hand stretch out to pull up on a small lever. The car starts up, and the movie cuts to his expensive car driving toward the camera for all to see which brand had this ingenious feat of engineering.

I wasn’t expecting anything to happen -- they weren’t in costume or in any danger -- but it seemed like something was about to happen. Turns out they were just going… Where were they going? Jesus! They weren't going anywhere!

Spider-Man: Homecoming is fun. I like Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 more than the first one. I’m in the minority opinion of Thor: Ragnarok. It is mostly pointless and too jokey, I say. It would have been an amazing surprise had no one known Hulk was in it.  


IN OTHER FRANCHISE NEWS

There are parts of The Last Jedi that I love. And there are parts of The Last Jedi that I ignore. If you’ve seen it once, you could miss the first 45-60 minutes forever and enjoy it even more.

War for the Planet of the Apes closes out the rebooted property. Easily one of the best series of the 21st century.

Transspotting 2 and Blade Runner 2049 prove a quality sequel can be made decades after the original. My fingers are crossed for Remo Williams: The Adventure Continues.

John Wick: Chapter 2 raises the stakes on the hitman world built in the first one. I couldn’t be looking forward to Chapter 3 more.

Alien: Covenant balances its philosophical and action elements better than Prometheus did. There’s a great middle sequence and final moment.


REST MY WEARY EYES

Enough blockbusters. Give me a movie set in a natural and practical environment where people interact with each other.

Lady Bird is a wonderful movie. I’m afraid it’s going to take away some attention from The Big Stick in the mind of people who give awards to things. Both are worth anyone’s time. The Big Sick does not let itself off the hook with an easy ending. Lady Bird will go down as one of the best director debuts, as will Jordan Peele’s debut, Get Out. He set the bar incredibly high for himself and his next movie.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri takes a brutal look at festering rage.

Marjorie Prime should probably be avoided if a loved one recently died or is suffering from dementia. Even without the recent experience of those things, this examination of memory and legacy is like a mule kick.

It Comes at Night and mother! both have trailers that misrepresent what really happens. I wouldn’t recommend mother! to many people, even though I do like it. It Comes at Night is an excellent story of how isolation can breed mistrust and paranoia.

The pace of Logan Lucky is unlike usual heist movies. It’s a little slower and not as flashy but no less engaging. The wealth of the community of characters reminds me of the comic Southern Bastards.

I’m a sucker for movies set in a single location. Ben Wheatley double downs on that idea with Free Fire by making a movie-length shoot out.


THE LESS YOU KNOW THE BETTER

Movie trailers don't respect you. You should pay them little mind. This year I tried not to watch trailers online. Very rarely has a trailer completely ruined a movie for me, but wouldn’t it be nice to see something in a movie you aren't expecting? If you trust me, watch these five movies without watching the trailers or reading more about them: 

Brigsby Bear. A 20-something guy is obsessed with a children's program. Co-written by and starring Kyle Mooney and directed by someone else from Saturday Night Live.

Better Watch Out. Christmas horror/comedy.

Colossal. A woman returns to her home town to get her life in order.

Good Time. Robert Pattinson received rave reviews in this crime drama.

The Girl with All the Gifts. Horror/thriller. I wish I could have seen it with that much information.


SOME OTHERS I LIKED A LOT

Split, Raw, Life, It, Murder of the Orient Express, The Disaster Artist, The Shape of Water.


THE OVERLAP

There are a few movies that open in select cities at the end of the year to be eligible for award season. They will receive a wider release in January. I, Tonya and Phantom Thread are the two I’m most interested in.

Here’s to movies in 2018!

My Favorite Christmas Movie - by Wal Ozello

Before I shut off the lights at the Pencilstorm office on Christmas Eve, I have one last assignment to finish: this year’s Pencilstorm Christmas blog.

While past years I’ve talked about telling my kids the truth about Christmas, that rock musicians make the best Santas or gratitude, this year I’d like to share my favorite Christmas Movie: Star Wars.

No, not the recent one, the original.  And by original I mean A New Hope.

It’s the perfect Christmas movie!  There’s gifts (Luke gets a lightsaber), a sleigh (Millennium Falcon), Christmas Magic (the Force) and even a Christmas Miracle (destroying the Death Star with a direct hit to an exhaust vent).

But to me, the most Christmasy part of the movie is when Luke Skywalker is standing over the burned down farmhouse of his uncle and aunt on Tatooine.  Right there is when he decides to be a Jedi and commit to making the universe a better place.  He has nothing at all but he decides there’s hope for a better tomorrow and he wants to be the catalyst for it.

Hope.  Christmas is about a new hope. Hope that tomorrow will be better than the current moment and the days past.  And with the year we’ve all had in 2017, can’t we use a little bit of it?

Ugh.  What a terrible year we’ve had!  Nazis. Sexual misconduct. Collusion with Russians. Major hurricanes. Wildfires. Mass shootings: Vegas, a Texas Church, a California school and lots others. Bombing at the Ariana Grande Concert. Train derailments. Ohio State Fair accident.

We gained President Trump and lost Tom Petty.

I’ve had some personal struggles, too, in 2017, as I’m sure many of you have had as well.

But here’s the thing: if some fictional character can stand over the fresh grave of his foster parents and somehow still having the strength to think he can save the world from evil, maybe I can stand over the grave of 2017 and vow to make 2018 a better time to live in.

So this Christmas, after dinner, I plan to sit down with the family and watch the best Christmas movie ever - A New Hope. When I’m done, I’ll figure out what I can do to make next year turn out better. And if everyone who reads this commits to making the world a better place for everyone, then maybe we can spread hope everywhere. (A rebellion against the evil empire, if you will.)

From all of us here at Pencilstorm, to you and your families, we wish you a happy holidays and hope that 2018 brings you everything you need.

Wal Ozello is a science fiction techno-thriller novelist and the author of Assignment 1989 ,  Revolution 1990, and Sacrifice 2086. He's the lead singer of the former Columbus rock band Armada and a frequent customer at Colin's Coffee.