Monday, April 23, 2018

friday 20 april 18, granite street cafe, quincy, was Joey Fingers birthday; he and Greedy Geezer had played in a lot of Quincy joints as The Sloppy Joes in the '80s (Geezer was also in The Rule, whom recorded at radiobeat studio, kenmore square!). So I think i walked into Bayou Orchestra, always fun zydeco of course. Notes: "Next Lindsay and Masa". Masa is a damn fine guitarist, Lindsay, ditto, vocals, opened with Journey's "when the lights go out in the city" which I swear Ron Robin gave me as a promo rock 45 in '78! sure I was going nightly to cantone's but I DID give first Journey album (two ex-Santana!), a good review in WIUS Tipsheet (Indiana university's WMBR or WTBS if you prefer or even WZBC!); reason; covering a Beatles toon! Doug MacDonald went on next, loving his frenetic Bo Diddley style guitar. Sat with my homeboy Drew of the Derangers and besides Bills Backers of Boston, we discussed lots of Rochester NY classic rock concerts: we both saw Black Sheep! singer was some gates NY bloke Louis GRAMMatico.....?.......Drew got up and jammed with Tokyo Tramps, I guess he'd produced them? So instead of straight booze, he AGREED with me that Satoru was channeling Robin Trower through the Strat he didnt usedta use. My notes say DT was Here; Drew jammed on "have you ever loved a woman" him and Satoru tradin' off leads like John Dawson Winter III and Rick Deringer on Kenne Highland And Live! Joey Fingers' band had him on keyboard, a bassist, Satoru from Tokyo Tramps and Al Hendry drummed his THIRD set of night. Joey's had three new oldies: "sisssy strut" by meters; William Bell, 1961 Stax "you dont miss your water" and blind faith "cant find my way home". Granite street cafe quincy SO close to Blowfish and Brian Young WMFO and we WILL be back! as for Kenne Highland Front and Center: Ken, Q and Al (mike quirk-bass; al hendry-drums). opening with a frenetic "crosstown traffic" with drunks either falling off stools or dancing; my kinda crowd! "drunk and disorderly"--the shirkers, washington DC 1978. a couple Grand Funk covers, mein doppelganger Chip Langille hollering for "mississippi queen"; 31 dec 73 i saw Stooges, the Gruberger Brothers saw Leslie West, so I hope Jay Gruberger was happy from rocknroll heaven! ("Ken, Leslie West always forgets the words too!" as we listened to Mountain's Twin Peaks, 29 avenue W, Brooklyn, 1974!, april!). brought up Satoru and Joey Fingers for fleetwood mac's "rattlesnack shake" and brought Yukiko for "goin' down" but fucken Joey Fingers! (retired post office, Blowfish!) fucken channelin' max Middleton like that fucken orange Jeff Beck record...i fiddled with my toggle switch to do "wierd bendy things" like Beck is known for; besides "chicken getting run over by a steamroller" or "having the guts squeezed out of you for 2:28"....yep, great fun, rahki (albanian schnapps) only $5! and we WILL be back!".....

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

"on my facebook wall is a picture of John D. Morton, x blank x, posing by Mount Brydges, canada. I met his lovely wife carla, gizmos/x-blank-x, Cleveland, 2014; she'd traveled from canada for show! "have love will travel"! well OF COURSE, post-gig parking lot, I bored her with my dad's canadian ancestry and I keep goin' "his grandmother was from Mount Brydges, Ontario". So she and John traveled there for his favourite windmill cookies and he says he's doing a Midnight Cowboy pose. also of note, my great-grandmother's great-grandfather was born born exeter RI, kin to Rebel Puritan Herodios Long plus vampire Mercy Brown but died there in canada. let's give a shoutout to Whatwave dave in London ontario, posted 1986 photos of Plan Nine who DID travel south county RI to ontario like my loyalist ancestor who wrote "Canada First". I do also tell Mr and Mrs John D Morton that Dad's canadian granny married a Yank who was her CUZZIN through our Spencer line from east greenwich RI, which one passes through to get to mercy brown's grave. lastly ("oh boy!") may '75, dad's mother dies: "panic in detroit", Ma drives through Ontario, packed in car was my 1966 baby blue Fender Mustang (Gizmos: demos/rehearsals, gulcher), NO passports then! visited some my Canadian cuzzins, then drove through Windsor, grandma's funeral (post-funeral photo in South Lyon of us Highlands on Julie Highland Cogger's farm). ma drives me to downtown Detroit, ole cripple blues guy playing outside Greyhound (Future/Me, right now?) and took bus to Bloomington, Gizmos guitar in hand! That ole Giztar could tell some tails but glad John D. Morton was to Mount Brydges! Now if i marry one my canadian cuzzins, i wouldnt need a passport"......

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

"Sonntag 22 april 18, Ken and Gee Julie met Harry Vee, der sanger von der Broken Jug von Bamberg, Deutschland at south station. waiting for train reminded me of the 1964 burt lancaster film The Train, which i think i saw in early '65, strand theater, brockport NY. How long ist Harry Vee, I know him? Rich Coffee, Gizmos, touring europe, unclaimed, made cassette copy of the broken jug covering hopelessly obscure "rain of death" (youtube) on Burning Down the Neighborhood; Harry says he got that Majestic e.p. in 1987. He reminded me also we were on the Bomp list; he was a record distributor etc., knew Greg Shaw; thank you Greg, post-humous, mentioning my fanzine in crawdaddy '73, i meet carl biancucci, bob richert....hmm....johnny, jumper cables, gizmos....the gift that keeps on giving! Harry's layover was supper in chinatown as i learnt EVERY curse word i could in Deutsch! only I said "smoking" in Dutch, but my great-great grandmother Highland was a Jacobus, great-grandma Highland: ein Fischer! one Harry Vee photo has me ringing up Gee Julie that the Allemani wikipedia) brothers were here: "right side of the Rhine/all the Barbarians baby!"-to satirise the Angry Samoans. Gee Julie took ourr photo for silver line to airport; glad I have met him and will see more of him und Frau Vee, jah?"......

Thursday, April 26, 2018

for some krazee-ass reason I had a Royal Guardsmen ear worm the other day; "snoopy's christmas" maybe? Curiosity killing the cat, yes, me and my chesterfield kings homeboy Greg Prevost like the Royal Guardsmen facebook page. Barry Winslow, who sang "snoopy versus the red baron" IS on facebook, sent friend request ("another close personal friend of yours!"-Blowfish, 1978). plus Billy Taylor of band. Ok, so WWI bi-plane, German-speak, Bo Diddley covers.....hmmmm.....Afrika Korps ten years after? tho I shant be there, sunday 29 april 18, 1600, the palladium at st petersburg college, F.L.A. is: the royal guardsmen live! If Barry Winslow ever friends me I can say: "Panther's Den Brockport NY!". BUT the gig i WILL be at is club linehan-ago-go, friday 18 may 18, if you LIVE ON THE SOUTH SHORE, granite street cafe, granite street quincy is place to be for Greedy Geezer Garage Night. 11 pm for club linehan, tyme to answer email from Mailman Mike Quirk (no relation to Mailman Carl, whom i met the once at a charlie dont surf gig) and see what PINUPS favourite toons he wants to cover; and it IS a BGN night coz John Keegan on sax!"......

Friday, April 27, 2018

so my latest "kick" has been Royal Guardsmen b-sides on youtube. looking at their singles discography, it was let's milk that Snoopy thing to death on the a-side, but the b-side is QUITE a melange of different styles, like Club Linehan-a-go-go (or even The Hangmen doin' "the hits of the day!" but back in '65, EVERY hit was good!). So, ok everyone knows "snoopy versus red baron" with the German speaking like Music to Kill By and three modulations like "gotta be pretty" on Hello World, but my OLDEST pre-Kaiser Jersey friend, age ten (lived in Brockport NY for a spell) (uncle was NFL commissioner) had the Snoopy 45 but he only liked the hits, the b-side "sucked/piece of shit", other expletives. 51 years late, NON-lp track by Royal Guardsmen, "Snoopy" b-side is "I Needed You", what a GREAT r&b ballad! channels "well maybe" off Be More Flamboyant plus Janis's "maybe" and a bit of "time is on my side" (the probable, REAL influence; by late '66, i think the Stones were "Painting it black".....also worthy is first Paul Revere and Raiders album "sometimes", i think was first song, side B, r&b ballad and vocal is kinda Mark Lindsay (my facebook friend!) on this cut with the Keef "time is on my side" guitar fills....I may do deeper review of first Snoopy album, but suffice to say, there's enuff Kingsmen kovers to make one realize that frat-rock of the pacific Northwest DID reach F.L.A. plus the middle eight in "Snoopy" in G, they quote "Hang on sloopy" and "louie louie".....further proof that EVERY rock lick EVER has been played, lissen to Yoko Ono with free jazz musicians for something groundbreaking".....