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The BGN News Archive
Jeff “Monoman” Conolly has passed away. We got an email one minute after midnight Saturday. Such a tragic loss to the music scene….and to many people as well. Jeff was a musical genius! As he told me once, in an email in all caps, that he wrote every part of every song and knew exactly how he wanted it played. He told every band member exactly what to play…and every song was a complete and total gem, Just the sound we expected from Jeff and a tune that would stay in our heads long after hearing it, even for decades they were so good.
Jeff was SO respected musically even The Seeds wrote about his passing!: “Goodbye pal. We all just heard. . Daryl and all us present day Seeds will sure miss you! . Daryl and Paul just talked. Daryl was taken back . “ Jeff was the real deal..” . Daryl LOVED some of the stories of Jeff Paul would tell him . . He Will be sharing some of those later I know. .. Paul and Jeff were tight . .. Talked weekly right up till the end. Just two days ago! Fuck!! Didn’t see this coming so fast. .. Sad no more of those calls. Paul says he will never forget those conversations . Know that your music Jeff .. both Lyres and DMZ ..will live on for generations to come . You are a LEGEND brother ! You will not be forgotten! Sure ..Going to miss you .. You CRAZY Diamond! Thanks for the FANTASTIC music and being our friend.” Here are some other quotes: Peter Greenberg (DMZ) – “Jeff was one of a kind and the most talented musician I ever played with. When he was on, there was nobody better. I'd do it all over again and will miss him.” Linda Viens (Girl With a Hawk) - “Some of the wildest, freest moments of my life have been spent dancing in front of the Lyres, lost in the music he and his bands created, free to be ourselves and think about nothing else but the sound coming off the stage.”
Lynda Madolyn (Tiger Bomb): Jeffrey Conolly, a complex person, but he had a gift beyond measure. When I saw Jeff perform here in Portland, I knew I was witnessing something so one-of-a-kind and unique. It gave me chills, and I was mesmerized. A musical anomaly. Thank you Jeff for the music and the complements.” Peter Prescott (MiniBeast, Mission of Burma): “the influence jeff conolly has had on my life..... … one of the first "local" boston bands i ever saw, was the explosive dmz and instantly remember being amazed by jeff. then mission of burma were labelmates with the lyres on ace of hearts.i admit, i didn't quite get the lyres truly subversive approach to garage rock; after the insanity of dmz], at first, but boy, did i get it later! saw many shows where the soul shouter/eccentric wildman persona slayed me. then, i worked with him for a few years at mystery train, where he drove us all crazy and kept us constantly amused with his diabolical sense of humor...........sometimes genius isn't easy to deal with. but that doesn't mean it is not genius. rest in peace, jeff. i won't ever forget you.” Jim Janota (Lyres, The Bags, Upper Crust): Jeff, he orchestrated all the drum parts and I played exactly what he told me to play. The crazy “falling-down-the-stairs” drum fills in this song? His idea. Listen to Jeff’s singing. His phrasing, his notes, everything. That, folks, is the real fucking deal. As good as anybody. Greatness, in fact.” And “I last saw Jeff a few months ago when he dropped by my house, unannounced, for what he called a “Janota wellness check”, his second one in as many months. …. Basically we had rekindled our friendship in the wake of his benefit concert at the Middle East. “We used to hang out a lot when I was in Lyres (Jeff insisted the band was called “Lyres”, not “The Lyres”), but after an acrimonious split in ‘96-ish? we had barely crossed paths until that benefit show. Hanging out again, we picked up right where we left off; talking about rock music and listening to rock music. And with Jeff, that meant he did most of the talking and you did most of the listening, because Jeff Conolly knew exponentially more about rock music than you did, that I can guarantee. And he owned every rock record worth owning, many of them so obscure that you woulda never even known they existed if he hadn’t pulled it off the shelf and said, “listen to THIS!” .... and it also sounded AMAZING because Jeff was an audiophile who spared no expense when it came to building his stereo system. “Besides being a human encyclopedia of rock music with a jawdropping record collection, Jeff was also a truly great musician, both in the recording studio and especially on stage. We did lots of shows in America and Europe and he always gave the audience everything he had. And, believe me, that was a lot! The guy’s talent was off the charts. “Jeff was a rock star in Europe. Women would throw themselves at him and men would compete to buy him drinks. Lyres fans would line up outside our dressing room after the shows, stacks of records in hand, waiting for Jeff to come out and autograph them. Hell, I even remember a gig in Norway where the audience was chanting “Conolly is god” between songs. R.I.P. Jeff Conolly. You were one of the greats.” Robert Post has superior Jeff Conolly photos. He has posted many this week on his Facebook page. RIP Monoman - one of the greatest... Vinny Straggas gave the Boston music scene a few exciting nights in 2026 with the showings of his movie Life On The Other Planet about the scene. The sold out showing at the Regent was a scene unto itself. The high production values that Straggas brought to the film uplifted the whole project and made the story more accessible to a wider audience. The film is still in its rolling out phase. John is upfront about drug use and revels that “Just Like Darts” is a song about drugs disguised as a love song. John tells the story of the first show at Cantone's. John is sharp and his answers don’t ramble. This is the first interview. In the future there will be Willie Loco Alexander, Steve Cataldo and is working on getting David Minehan. The Life On The Other Planet website.
Hold on as we tell you about some landscape changes to the scene....
The building that houses the Somerville Theatre/Crystal Ballroom is for sale. The owner of the building also owns, and is selling, the Capitol Theatre in Arlington. Now, everyone is wondering if that means the Somerville Theatre/Crystal Ballroom could be leveled. We all know that developers are trying to put taller building in Davis Square. There’s reasons why it might not happen, but… you know. Some more info in the Cambridge Day.
Also on the move is Woolly Mammoth studio. It’s been quietly moving north to Apple St in Essex, MA. Sir Minehan has dropped an update report on the building schedule. Looks like lots of things are in process but he’s thinking booking bands can begin in August sometime. He also entices with legendary fried clams nearby. One promising development is K-Bok the Korean restaurant in Union Sq Somerville. They open a few months ago (the food is awesome! BTW) and have a few karaoke and DJ nights there. (Their goth night is popular) They are working on getting a PA and stage set up so they can have local bands playing there. Follow them on Instagram for upcoming happenings.
WRPS the Rockland station 88.3FM is having their third WRPS-tival on August 22 at 7pm. Acts are Screw Cart, The Wynotts and Frankie Sinn & the Confessions. DJ Rocco will be the emcee. This is happening at the Players Sports Bar & Club in Rockland The Boston Globe had an article on the Modern Lovers Live album (released 1977). Reporter Mark Shanahan made some good points. Right off he makes the distinction that the original Modern Lovers album was proto punk. The Live album was a different animal. Like a lot of people he first thought it was ‘goofy’ but came to love it.
Mark uses the adjectives ‘simple’ and ‘sunny’.
Jonathan was trying to be real. He was, and continues to this day, to
glorify the quotidian, the everyday. It can be seen as a gamble, but
it really was an act of courage, or he just HAD to follow his feelings.
If Jonathan had continued the punk path he would be an interesting punker
but being pure Jonathan has given us an historical musician whose immense
influence will be all from him – not a movement.
According to the article the store was running on ‘vapors’ around 2015 but worked its way through. Their secret is to keep everything in stock. We hope that store never closes. Again if you can get by the paywall. It only took 40 years but now SS Decontrol has a website - well, here it is!! They have photos, videos and media (podcasts and articles) They have photos of Al Barile’s group after SSD called Gage. It looks like they may be adding to this as time goes on. Jennifer Finch the bassist for L7 has died. She was 59 years old and was fighting aggressive brain cancer. L7 has lots of fans in Boston. We see the band has a show at the Wilber in October. L7’s big song was “Pretend We’re Dead”. Here it is on YouTube. More about Jennifer in Paste magazine.
VIDEOS......
Local’s Fatal Flaw has such wonderful power pop songs of their own that we hate to post a cover... but this is so well done. They cover “Let’s Go” by the Cars. This was filmed at Sinclair in February of 2025. The vocals are so close and the singer just seems like he’s singing in his normal voice. The drums have some nice moments. It seems like the guitarist is playing the Greg Hawks' synth lines.
We featured a video by Canada’s Doghouse Rose a few weeks ago. “It Gets Worse” is the second video/song from their upcoming album Born To Break Even. The band has a polished skate punk and pop mix that should have wide appeal. We like it because the pop doesn’t come at the expense of the hard guitars. The singer has lots of personality and that makes the lyrics and video click. The video doesn’t get complicated but has a nice gloss.
We reviewed some pre-released singles from Canada’s Among Legends a few weeks ago. Now that album Lose My Grip is out and they have a video for the song “Go On”. The group has a lean punk sound and you can see that they are a trio in the video. They are compared to the Alkaline Trio and they have some of that extra something that marks that group. The songs have a feeling that emanates from the lyrics and a close coupling with the music. You never feel like you are getting fluff or filler, this is substantial. We have the excellent album embedded below.
Yet more from Canada, this is a snotty punker. How can we let that go by. It’s raw and snarly and that voice – it’s classic punk. Wine Lips are from Toronto and on Stomp Records which we have come to know as a sign of something we're going to like. They kept the video simple. It’s a stylized performance video. It has fast cuts and that overall brown color cast which is subtle and somehow tasteful. Their album TV Diner will be out August 28. Here it is on Bandcamp.
Tom Livingston who does the Radio Warfare podcast, which we feature periodically, also is a musician. He is part of the Albany NY punk scene. Early on he was part of Albany’s first punk group the Morons from 79 -82. Later he was in The Last Conspirators. That group has a large 50 cut compilation. This video is from the song “Fortune Teller” on that album. The song is moody and they get a lot of play out of the Fortune Teller imagery. We can hear a bit of “Kashmir” in the main riff. RADIO......
It turns out he has three albums currently in the works. One has 28 songs on it. Try to keep up with this guy. We have the interview below with some songs off Super 8 and some songs done live.
The Rising show is on WMFO 91.5 FM on Tuesday at 7 to 9pm. To listen to past shows go to the WMFO webpage and hit the show listing on Tuesday 5/19 at 7pm and then hit ‘archive’. PODCASTS.....
Both Steev and Linda had a lot to say about the new generation of groups. Both have ears for new music. Only then did they get to the new GWAH album Regenesis. They talked about the lyrics to “Way With Words”. You have to have a thick skin to be in the entertainment industry. Linda revels that “Shine On My Bother, There Is No Other” is about Dale Hawkins and how David Grol must have felt when he died. There was also insights into how Boston has been very provincial in relation to local group careers.
Next, it was a 1981 song rereleased in 2007. The song was “Mommi, I’m A Misfit” by the Tragics from Albany, NY. The group was originally named The Misfits and changed the name for the obvious reason. The song sounds like an X-Ray Spex tune. Hear it on YouTube. That was followed by Tyranna (info) from Canada singing “Back of Baby” from 1979. The set ended with Wilma & the Wilbers doing “Tiger Beat” from 1981. We have The Tragics and Tyranna from the show embedded below.
You can hear the Sonic Overload past shows on the web blog. Al has logged all the shows since 2009.
There was the new glam songs you can’t believe are not from the 70s like: Sir Prize and the Twomorrow Knights/ “Hilltop High”, Weird Bloom/”Don’t Stop Movin’”, Julez and the Rollerz/”I Need Love” and Silver Glam/”Spark Plug” Sethy then played some Junkshop Glam which is glam that was ignored and ended up in the bargain bins. They were Jook, Cardinal Point and Funny Thing. Then there was The Raspberries with “Overnight Sensation” because why not? This was a particularly good show. Time to check out the new glam in 2026. On the 1/17 Elastic Glam show Sethyspice played “Beautiful Things” by Donnie Vie. Donny was the singer for Enuff Z’nuff. Donny has a solo career and the album titled Beautiful Things is soon out on Wicked Cool. There was a set of classic glam with Mud, Showaddywaddy and Hello. Then The Hollywood Stars doing the new “All the Kids On the Street” which sounded very comfortable in the set. To hear that show go to the Mixcloud website.
There was a super surfy tune titled “Slingshot” by the Preston Wayne Four. L.B. Worm says it is new and on vinyl. There’s not a lot of info out there but the record is listed on Discogs. you can get it off that page. We wish there was more info on that somewhere.
NEW MUSIC/CD's ......
It’s not just a song, it’s history. “Weekends” is the very first demo that the Dogmatics recorded in 1982. The song was written by Paul O’Halloran. It’s so early the drummer is Dan Shannon, not Tom Long. The song is one of the punkiest Dogmatic’s songs too. Right off the bat Paul’s bass comes on strong and fast. The rapid fire beat never slows down. The chord progression is very garage and the guitar solo fits nicely in the fast pace. The lyrics work out the big difference between working during the week and the weekends. This fills an important beginning to the long running group that is still making new history record by record, gig by gig. Paper Tigers are releasing East-Coaster a new album which is their first in three years. The group started in the midst of the Covid Times. Things were hard and the group took it all on. We saw them in a video in a Midway live stream in September of 2020. The group have gone through some changes and are reconfigured. The song writing core is Michael Medlock and Bjarki Gudmundsson. The early teaser single “Go Out” revels a more techno base to the music. It’s a busy and meaty sound and the vocal , which is familiar with Michael’s delivery, works over the top. Despite the title the song is about not going out. The repeated refrain, “No I don’t want to go out” is very catchy. It works for us. The East-Coaster album comes out on August 12. Here is their Bandcamp page.
Sal Baglio is getting plenty of attention with his Super 8 album. It is eight songs reveling in early rock ‘n roll. The two leading songs were good choices. “Rock N’ Roll Riot” had the raw sound and the subject of (innocent) riots gets the blood moving. We loved the twelve string sounds of “A Song Called Sha La La” which also displays Sal’s fluid song writing. One genius move was aping “Louie Louie” with “A Girl Named Chop Suey”. It proves the point that you can’t deny the visceral power of primo garage rock. Points for playing the solo close to the original too. Sal isn’t just copying the old music. Every song has arrangement twists. There’s more sophistication than is usually in some of the songs he recalls. The lyrics have the benefit of hindsight along with nostalgia. On Bandcamp there are two extra songs. One is a remix of “Hot Wax” from the album. The other is “Deuce Machine” where Sal lets it get raw and dirty. In 1973 (just a few years from the birth of punk) American Graffiti looked back at the rock days of 1962. Now when Sal evokes the same era he’s casting his eyes 64 years into the past. Linnea's Garden latest EP is Get Heard. Linnea Herzog definitely wants to be heard. She has lots of issues and they all make for good songs. In this EP the group gets louder and that’s working for them. “Stop Condon” is the song that sticks out not just on the EP but overall for the group. It’s loud and the group sounds unfettered. The way Linnea sings “the weight of the world” she owns the phrase by the end. It’s liberating because as much as she sings about the burden on of the weight of the world she sounds free and ready to take it on. The video is fun to watch on this. "Grrrl on Guitar” is another amped up song. In the first verse she makes reference to The Runaways, Cindy Lauper and Wet Leg. She seems to be taking on or joinig in with the competition. She sings, “The bar is in hell when you’re a girl on guitar/I’m walking my walk/You walking your walk?” To prove her point she plays the guitar as loud as she wants. In “Her” there is reflection as the lyrics recall someone not around anymore. Still the guitar blasts its way through a few sections. “Sell Yr Love” seems to be about using art to make a mark. Which of course what Linnea is doing very successfully on Be Heard.
A songwriter writes about what he sees. Thus lately, we see a lot of songs about ICE. Nick and the Adversaries give us “Rah Rah Rah” which is their take on ICE arrests. The song is a mix of rock and ska. They have some Clash like chords that mark the verses. The lyrics are not that far from a news report. The group is realistic and say straight out, “Who’ll get justice or accountability?/Sadly the answer is not in this song.” There is a lyric video for this on YouTube. The backdrop is the Immigration Detention facility in Burlington, right here in good old Mass. Darryl Jenifer was the bassist, songwriter, and founding member of legendary hardcore band Bad Brains. He now has a new instrumental album titled The Weather Channel. It’s a bit of a shocker if you are expecting a blast of Bad Brains. This is a very quiet jazz album. “Sacred Love II” sounds nothing like the original “Sacred Love”. It’s a cool jazz groove, at the 1:45 minute mark the melody of the song comes in and it’s pretty neat to hear it in that context. We have that embedded below.
Here’s another punk piece of art that spews out “fuck you” to someone/somebodies. Australia’s JJ Speedball does one thing different. The title of the song is actually “Far Queue”, as that’s as clever as it gets. But hey, he didn’t have to get cute (or queue-te) with us, we love the calls of F.U. Bart and the Brats are a French group that have been together since 2021. They've put out a lot of material in that time. Their last album was a 16 cut collection of previous material. The group is actually one guy: Bart De Vraantijk. He plays all the instruments. To get a taste of the group you can listen to their latest four song EP titled Brats Being Brats. They play a Ramones style punk. Listen to the massive bass in the song “This Is A Hold Up”. The song is shaking the walls even before the guitars come in. It’s all very simple but it works. The music just blasts out of the speakers despite this being a one man show. To get more rifle through the Bart and the Brats Bandcamp page.
Scroll If You Love the Devil was a cassette release by Heather the Jerk. Heather Sawyer is one half of the Wisconsin group The Hussy. The album is a lo fi pop punk gem. The song writing is excellent. Even though the songs are two minutes max they still feel fully developed. A few have some neat supporting background vocals. This could be a heresy, but we think several would sound just fine with some sympathetic production. “Dumb Blonde” and “Said What I Said” would be even more amazing with advanced recording. This was put out on a cassette release. Now, they are going to have a vinyl version with four extra songs (out on August 27). One is “Write A Letter” which comes with a colorful cartoon video. We featured Sweden’s Psychotic Youth last time in the BGN with a political song. With “Girls” they are back to more familiar territory for them which is surf, fun and girls. The group goes back to 1984 but this song style is a remake of sixties zeitgeist. It has a swirly organ high in the mix as they go ecstatic over girls on the beach. Does it still work in the 2020’s? You be the judge. Nobro are from Quebec. The song “Doomtown” came out last November. The song’s protagonist is in an existential terror. They wonder if they get old and “remember nothing” will anyone be there. Over half the song is a panic cry of “Where’d Everybody Go?”. We think they have captured the idea here and it’s haunting. Here's some good shows coming up ....
July 28, 2026 (Tuesday) Criminal Kids, Fool’s Gold, Freakphone, Whyte Lipstick at O'Brien's July 31, 2026 (Friday) GANG GREEN: 40th Anniversary (18+) F.U.'s, SPECTACLE, The Promised End, Worm at The Brighton Music Hall 6PM show!! TIX!! July 31, 2026 (Friday) Jonee Earthquake, In Shreds, BAABES, Typhoid Mary at Koto Salem July 31, 2026 (Friday) The Swamp Roots and Wray-Ons at Husky's Pub on Park Ave in Worcester MA 8 PM to closing July 31, 2026 (Friday) Gossip Collar, Cigarette Camp, The Chip Rockers at The Cut, Gloucester, MA 7PM show August 1, 2026 (Saturday) Satch Kerans Band, Hotel Saturn, Roxy & the Crisis at Underbones
August 3, 2026 (Monday) Static Friction, The Sleights (CO), Goners (UK), Autumn Astronauts at The Midway August 5, 2026 (Wednesday) Smirk, Gossip Collar, Orange Whip - Deep Cuts, Medford August 8, 2026 (Saturday) J PROZAC, Jay Allen and the Arch Criminals, STiLL SeDAtED at The Midway for a 3PM Matinee August 8, 2026 (Saturday) Cheater Slicks, Puke Pistols, Lupo Citta at the Middle East Up August 8, 2026 (Saturday) Lynda Mandolyn is doing a solo show at The Village Social Club in Brookline. August 13, 2026 (Thursday) Pearl Sugar, Plant Fight, Though Partner, Wedding Gift at O'Brien's August 14, 2026 (Friday) Komrads, Snowbeasts, Killing Dream, Big Time Kill at O'Brien's August 15, 2026 (Saturday) The New Frustrations, The Wynotts, Thee Associates, The Spackles at The Midway for a 3:30PM Matinee
August 15, 2026 (Saturday) American Ocelot, The Haymakers, Devil Love at The Square Root August 15, 2026 (Saturday) Bootleg Dan presents The BickerSins, Dan Lilley and the Keepers, The Cynz at The Parlour, Providence August 20, 2026 (Thursday) Makeout Palace, Evil Felipe, Coby Conrad at O'Brien's August 21, 2026 (Friday) Doom Service, Duck & Cover, Downhauls at O'Brien's August 22, 2026 (Saturday) Putt Putt Punk at Trombetta's Farm with Cold Hard Cash, The Stress Balls, Cheryl’s Boys, Tommy Ready, Addy: 655 Farm Rd, Marlborough, MA Show at 6PM, music at 7PM- and...your ticket gets you a full round of mini golf woven directly into the night’s mayhem. What is Putt Puitt Punk you ask??? Check it out here. August 22, 2026 (Saturday) Big Pizza Fest Presents: Blame it on Whitman, Jerrys Got Jokes. Care For, Stop That Man at The Midway August 23, 2026 (Sunday) Soundhound, Saltclouds, Mad Painter, Stage Light at The Midway for a 3PM matinee
August 29, 2026 (Saturday) Kenne Highland's Air Force, STiLL SeDAtED, The Stigmatics, Hambone Skinny at The Jungle 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm TIX HERE August 30, 2026 (Sunday) The New Frustrations, The Wynotts, The Associates, The Spackles at The Midway - 3PM Matinee! August 30, 2026 (Sunday) The Murder Junkies, Psycho, Frenzy Of Tongs, Typhoid Mary at Alchemy in Providence TICKETS!! September 5, 2026 (Saturday) Bootleg Dan presents The Black Souls, TBA, Haymakers at Under Bones, Davis Square September 12, 2026 (Saturday) Big Pizza Fest Presents: Vicegrip, Aces High, Billy, Divorce Cake, Neponset Monastery at The Midway for a 3PM matinee September 12, 2026 (Saturday) Putt Putt Punk at Starland Sportsplex & Fun Park in Hanover with The Stress Balls, Sean Griffin of the Ruffians, Junk Punk, Tommy Ready . Addy: 637 Washington St, Hanover, MA Show at 6PM, music at 7PM- and...your ticket gets you a full round of mini golf woven directly into the night’s mayhem.
September 25, 2026 (Friday) Muck and the Mires, The Sharp Class, The Chelsea Curve, Dj Sherman at Deep Cuts Medford September 28, 2026 (Monday) The "Sex Pistols" at The Royale October 1, 2026 (Thursday) Bootleg Dan presents The BickerSins, Girl With A Hawk, The Glimmer Stars (from LA) at The Parlour, Providence October 2, 2026 (Friday) Bootleg Dan presents The Glimmer Stars, Girl With A Hawk, Peppermint Kicks at The Square Root
October 16, 2026 (Friday) The Damned at The Royale October 17, 2026 (Saturday) Bootleg Dan presents Cold Expectations, The Cynz, Stop Calling Me Frank at Under Bones, Davis Square November 14, 2026 (Saturday) Bootleg Dan presents Glowbox, Girl With A Hawk. TBA at Under Bones, Davis Square December 5, 2026 (Saturday) Bootleg Dan presents Tom Springer Band, Spackles, Amanda White Band at Under Bones, Davis Square CONTACT US AT....misslynbgn@yahoo.com Send us your gig listings, your anything else you've got!! You want your CD reviewed?? Contact us for that too.
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