Boston Groupie News - Kenne Highland @ Large

5/13/2018

Monday, May 6, 2019

Sunday 28 April 19; dress rehearsal for Mad Painter gig at C-Note Hull Massachusetts. I SHOULD mention practice was 6 pm coz drummer Flynn Young does Club Elektric, all '80s podcast radio show. in fact, JUST to go on a tangent, his '80s records are SO (to me) Hopelessly Obscure that all I recognise was Flying Lizards, which was a ken kaiser fave (after striking out with power-pop on Hello World, we were looking for something New! Improved! that wasnt Blue Cheer)....turns out Kenny DID have a Flying Lizards album! NOT too late for the KENZ to make a comeback doing Flying Lizards covers!"

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Monday 29 april 19 highlight of Glider rehearsal was Cal Cali found a "new" kenne kover; "that's cool i respect you more" by Gizmos! written in November '73, it's a Scorpio song about a Scorpio! (THAT not planned!). Al got my guitar part first take, Cal noted how off-beat was Gizmos drummer (which he was!) and Captain Easychords does this Willie loco-cum-Scotty Thurston right hand piano trill that echoes Stooges "rich bitch" off Metallic KO! So with my Iggy vocal, I am quite happy with THIS version tho Cub Koda using JB Hutto's New Hawks Inn Square Men's Bar '81 with Silvertone Steve might remain THE version! (Miss Lyn as my witness, Silvetone Steve pointed to ME as I was Dylan watching the Byrds cover my toon,ala MANY a Slickee Boys gig!). cant escape from singing "that's cool", a "signature" song!"...

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

THOR'S day 2 may 19. Pontoon palace WMBR playing Donovan's "young gurl blooze" off Mellow Yellow lp (which i bought in '69, MONO!) complete with surface hiss! LOVED it! Also a GLiDER (hope i spelt that right) practice where the lads were ending everything like Afrika Korps Live at Cantones (Gulcher). In every band, ALWAYS summon up the ghost of grubergers past, since O. rex is where i "cut my teeth:,age 17,1973...."My Head's In '73"! (O. Rex double cd on Gulcher; "somebody help me move my product"..

Thursday, May 9, 2019

Friday 3 may 19. woke up 9 pm in rock star hotel Hull Mass; walked past a pizza joint as some young lady and electric piano sang bad Company's "rocknroll fantasy", then past a taco place with solo acoustic doing the Dead's "Sugar Magnolia" THEN a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee to the C Note. Met a buncha high school kids through Michael Weddle whom thanked me for writing up their band in Boston Groupie News (I even heard that I STARTED the 'zine, but truth be told, (I did not Misds Lyn did!!) but back in '72, Big Al Baase said "Highland weer gonna start a fanzine")....I counted 100 paying customers, all high school kids that had to leave early for their SATs but I was VERY impressed with The Fringe, 17 year old lead singer acting like 17 year old Ken Highland after he saw the Stooges 31 Dec 73 (Kiss was opening act: "dear Ken, eat shit, Gene Simmons"). Aerosmith, mosh pitting, stage diving, Sabbath's "Paranoid"....same covers almost I saw high school bands do OR Rich Coffee's CERBERUS! (HIGHLAND,Indiana!). Mad Painter (more pics below!!)took the stage and from the first note MY "rocknroll fantasy" of In Concert/Deep Purple Made in japan and Uriah Heep Live was realised. Bee gees "to love somebody' was a vanilla Fudge/There are But Four Small Faces mashup and "the bee gees cover made it worth it"-Michael Weddle, quoted in a magazine I didnt start. After fond adieus, I was "Stranger on the Shore" (my parent's album) and fucken high tide/black waves, total fucken goth lp cover taken with the camera in my mind versus "Playground in my mind" (my age AND IQ!)

Friday, May 10, 2019

RunHideFight

saturday 4 may 19. June Millington of Fanny had played sally o'brien's in somerville, now tyme for her daughters to rock (FOUR female-fronted bands that ROCK!). RunHideFight; like them on facebook! "raucous garage rock"; the ONLY kind! One cant take one's eyes off the singer with her Elvira hairdo, playin' like Poison Ivy (another garage GodMutha fo' ya!) and black leather skirt screamin' like John Spencer's Blues had exploded. Geets Romo, micelf and Mitch of Triple Thick discussed the guitarist from the Original Sins ('80s Philly garage, I guess back when EVERY band was THEE Hopelessly Obscure). Glad to see something new and non-Boston that i like! maine was up next, thought turns out Lynda Mandolyn was from same county as where all the Highlands are buried in Michigan, only we's half hour due west. What impress me most was Chris Brood sounding like mid-80s Ken Highland doin' yardbirds licks and one song even aping my hoarse garage rasp slightly; I DO want them to cover "cryptic" and "best bette"; These Gurls live in the garage! also of note (and proof that, like Lil Richard, they all stole from me!) young, blonde drummer, looked like Jordan Cook, played like gaye hathaway; this was the 1985 Bats/hopelessly Obscure merger which played Geno's in Portland a lot with the brood. DARE I (Original)SINuate that they could cover the Hopelessly Obscure's Arf Arf e.p.! ($20 on ebay maybe!). ALso representing Oakland county Michigan (TOO many Highlands buried there, lotsa 1800s infant mortality) was Justine and the Unclean. First toon had same feel as Sonic rendezvous's "City slang" and it had THAt kinda feel rest of set. Should one Kick out the jams or give Iggy the peanut butter? (if i were still smokin' a spliff with Toots maytal sunday 30 nov 75 before watching the Who (stoned), I would give it the ole proverbial "wow' but NOT laugh at Kunte Kinte's different size socks! Discussing a Future, gig, right/Now with geets Romo, I merely "heard" Carissa Johnson, but sounded good; more attention WILL be paid and "welcome to the Jungle"! (her new club; I only say this coz Gee Julie gave me a Guns and Roses t-shirt, which i shall wear onstage with GLiDER, thus, let it be said, going onstage in wimmen's clothes.....after watchin' these ladies rock, so would YOU!!!!".