1/23/2017

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Club Linehan a go go Photo: Frank Langille

there is no better way to celebrate willie loco's birthday than on Mass. Ave. at out of the blue gallery! (and the pre-party at phoenix landing!). opening Mike Lyons who does the Glen Buxton part in alice highland; he and a friend did acoustic folk/electric guitar mix somewhere between the Byrds and Jethro Tull (a LOT of English folk influence, all from that Fairport era, fingerpicking etc.). Club Linehan-a-go-go again rockin' the house; Mike Lyons was up for velvets "run run run" and MC5's "black to comm" by which then Georgianne Skinheads Must Die had dragged people from Lyres at Middle East (though when the Charms played my 2002 O'Brien's birthday with Mister Airplane Man White Stripes played acrost town). I did a Kenne Highland clan set with John Keegan sax and otherwise it was a Quirk/Burns rhythm section doing hits from gemini on a full moon and be more flamboyant. we brought up Mike Lyons AGAIN for alice cooper's "under my wheels" and Alice Highland covered Cooper toons I did with either O. Rex or my lil sister: to wit: under my wheels/be my lover/18/dwight frye. lettuce not forget that 11 feb 17 I am on crash course for the Ravers coz that's 40 years of Ken Kaiser WMFO THEN out of the blue gallery for MJ Quirk birthday! see y'all there!"...

Thursday, January 19, 2017

sunday 14 Jan 17: english breakfast at crossroads, beacon street, boston, folks walkin' 'round in Manchester united gear, then onto Kendall Cinema for Kendall movie roulette (passes from work: cheap, i'll watch ANYTHING!) So 345 pm Moonlight it is, growing up black, poor and gay in florida projects in '80s. the review in the New Yorker says it ALL, so i'll focus on when the two boyhood friends reunite and Barbara Lewis's "hello stranger" comes on. an early '63 hit, I DONT remember it from first grade clyde irwin school, jacksonville, NC BUT do remember "baby i'm yours" up on state street, brockport NY. wikipedia says Barbara Lewis born 1943, Salem, Michigan, population 1100 so DOES she connect to the Highland family? answer.....yes!!!! There's a free black Lewis family left alexandria, virginny, then went to Ohio, then SALEM MICHIGAN coz of undeground railroad, then into Canada. Barbara's possible ancestor was in US Coloured Troops and liked Salem so much he moved there in 1879 from Canada; war injuries meant he could only be a barber. looking at senses (and takin' leave of my census!) my English Brexit great-great-great ancestor is Thomas Hyland in 1850 Salem, Michigan and is still there 1860/70/1880 when Lewis moves to Salem 1879. my great-great charles thomas highland was also around then (born 1855), so these farmers surely woulda known the Lewises. last but not least Barbara Lewis was the ONLY afro-american in south lyon, michigan school where all the Highlands and Jacobusses were buried at methodist church. in fact i think great-grandma Highland was a domestic in 1940 south lyon so she may have known Barbara Lewis's folks? either way she's still livin', damn good singer and a Wolverine like us Highlands!"....

Grandma's funeral Detroit 1975 Photo: Frank Langille

Friday, January 20, 2017

Matt Burns Photo: John Keegan

to end the week I woulda reviewed with Gee Julie new Almodovar or a French cultural center film but instead news of James Matthew Burns in hospital! "Give me my flowers while i'm living"-slim and the supreme angels and let's go "in the beginning....in the beginning" coz "Tomorrow NEVER Knows"....2 april 85 jumping jack flash ("dead boston clubs") Mark Mayhem (RIP) doing sound for a post-Beachmasters/Hopelessly Obscure (though they were in audience); Mayhem says "Kenne can you turn down?" Me: "no". "way to go Kenne"; this was in Whack the Cat and Bat Droppings....a few (few?) beers later at Johnny D's Allston I DID ask V's drummer: "was that you?" (what wrote that)..Matt just did his lil laff and I decided friend, not foe....as opposed to other members of the Afrika Korps SOME of whom are now dead!)...also, miracle, in 32 years and MANY lineups as drummer, I NEVER had a beef with him! NOBODY has a beef with Matt Burns! (now as for that beef I got against your brother)....Why the HELL did I ever join the Pee-cocks? Fort Apache was paid for and I got to record with Matt Burns! (early '90s?)...but first gig was Whack the Velvets (whack the cat folks cover Velvets), I told Matt "just bring a snare" and unlike Tommy Bonham he did! My Rat balcony Velvets cover set inspired by J. Richman/D. Sharpe. Matt Burns has NEVER overplayed and learnt to drum off Grand Funk's Red Album! (recorded in cleveland!) Maybe the BGN was interview him as he currently is in "hospital bed/rocknroll nurse going to my head". Last tyme I seen Matt Burns last week we did some Kenne toons and an unrehearsed set of Alice Highland for NO money: Matt: "it was fun Kenne". So visit him this weekend, I am!" (Matt thankfully was released from the hospital Friday afternoon and spent the weekend with his brother in NH-ed.)

Hopelessly Obscure - Matt in the Middle

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Sunday 15 Jan 17, Gee Julie and I decided to finally leave The Bear's Lair and catch Julietta at Kendall theatre with my $8 tickets from work and we WERE the "winner by elimination"! My first Almodovar movie was at the Orson Welles Theatre, had a male hustler in it? and Linda Garreau had VHS and we all had went to many of his films....So let me quote Gee Julie kinda....this film wasn't as funny, but more sad, dramatic, a woman and her estranged daughter who decides at age 18 to cut contact with the mother, going to a retreat which MANY are saying had overtones of lesbian conversion camp....When the lady first meets the father of the child, he was a fisherman, she gets points for blonde '80s hairdo and sweater dress! She teaches Greek classics so there's overtones of Ulysses in here i think...all this conversation was with Ken and Gee Julie at Punjabi Dhaba! otherwise, Almodovar has those flamboyant colours and just looking at the scenery in Madrid etc., it does look sunny and nice like And God Created Woman.....so either way, go see it, if I stayed awake it musta been good!".....