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Vincent Straggas Director of Life On The Another Planet at the Regent 10/16

This week we went to the first screening of The Life on the Other Planet, the documentary about the Boston music scene in the 70's, by Emmy® Award winning Filmmaker Vincent Straggas, It's billed as "a definitive history of the greatest era, in Boston's Rock 'n Roll, the mid 1970's through the 1980's, Boston was at the forefront for producing some of the country's greatest bands and music!"

It's certainly one of the most professionally done docs we've seen yet. It's a great ride and it keeps you fully engaged every minute of the 2 hours it runs. Straggas knows how to put a film together, the editing is stellar.

Kelly Knapp + David Bieber

David McLean + Steve Cataldo

Tim Jackson, Robin Lane + Billy Loosigian

Of course there's Jim Harold (RIP and what would Boston rock be without Jimmy!!!???) Vincent interviewed him before he died in August of 2022 and it was so good to see him in the film.
David Minehan delivers some great one liners!, then

Mach Bell + Miss Lyn

there's The Nervous Eaters, Tom Hauck, Frank Rowe, Richie Parsons, Mr. Curt, Peter Greenberg, Kelly Knapp, John Felice, Rick Berlin, and of course Willie Alexander, The BGN is in there, Robin Lane, Mach Bell, Clint Connelly, Rich Gilbert.

There were pictures of some stage diving but no mention of/or representatives for hard core bands  because the focus of the film is really the 70s. But the film does give a a broader look at the music with people like The Stompers, Jon Butcher and Girls Night Out.

One of the other notable things about the film is snippets of interviews with real Bostonians in the 70's and it sets the scene for the gritty real world of Boston at that time, the combat zone, Kenmore Square, the old T trolleys etc. If you were around then, this will take you back to those times, if you weren't it's just great to see some of the bands on stage and hear what it was like from the people who were there.
It's a fun trip back in time and worth the trip now to the Regent to catch it.

It plays this Friday October 24th at 7PM and Tickets are available on the Regent website.

VIDEOS......

TJ Welch and the Wasted have a video for the song “A Thousand Paper Cuts” off their latest self-titled album. That album has lots of fine songs. Many of them come from learning life’s lessons and managing to stay alive long enough to use the wisdom. They capture that voice of experience in this song/video and that’s what makes it special. The guitar solo by PJ Dionne is gritty and tasteful.

The Peppermint Kicks’ song “Gigantor” is about a Japanese movie monster. To make a music video they just put the song to some of the movie clips. Made to order really. Sal Baglio and Dan Kopko give themselves a cameo in there to add to the fun.

Astral Bitch has a lyric video for their song “Seeds of Hate”. The lyrics are a serious political statement, the avalanche of sound the band unleashes matches what they say. The band asks a lot of its audience. Give it attention and you will feel the power of this video/song.

We talked about The Mendozaz from Toronto a few weeks ago. Their album The Completely Fictional History of This Great Nation of Canada is coming out soon. Now they have a video "An American Werewolf In London, Ontario".

It's a simple live performance in a small space. That gives you the chance to see the group in action with no frills. We loved hearing and seeing the drummer. That’s a show right there. The idea of the song is that the Werewolf is afraid that his killing spree in Canada will get him deported so he can’t see his Canadian love. The song is a pop punk nugget and it’s less than two minutes long.

RADIO......

On Skybar’s 10/164 Rising show he had The Gypsy Moths on. They talk about their 25 song double album which is a lot to talk about. It's on Rum Bar and when Lou Mansdorf asked what was going on with the band they said we have 25 songs. Lou never missed a beat. “No one does double albums anymore, lets do it”, he proclaimed.

The group has been releasing a song a day on their Bandcamp page. Get in on the fun and check that out. In the end there will be a release of the whole thing. Skybar has the band talk about some individual songs and then play a few live. We have the interview below.

To hear the Rising show listen on WMFO on Tuesdays from 7 to 9pm, or go to the WMFO schedule page and hit Rising show on Tuesday at 7pm and then hit archive.

WORM did a live set on On The Town With Mikey Dee on WMFO on Wednesday 10/15. They played many songs from the new album Slave Driver. “Eye In The Sky” and “Media” where played early.

The group is sounding very tight these days. They played “Sawed Off Pool Cue” which is an different sort of song for them, it’s more traditional, and they had no problem nailing that. “Misery” is a hardcore song that expresses sensitive feelings and need without being emo. That’s a novel approach that we think they should pursue.

The 47 minute set showed Worm has real depth and that they are on well-rehearsed outfit. After the set they did an interview. We have the set and the interview below. They have Slave Driver on CD now and are selling that at shows.

On The Town With Mikey Dee has been bringing local music to the airwaves for a long time. The show is on Wednesday at 9 to 12pm. To listen go to the WMFO webpage and hit the show listing on Wednesday at 9pm and then hit archive.

PODCASTS......

Blowing Smoke with Twisted Rico has Blame It On Whitman in for an interview and then there is a four song acoustic set the band recorded in their practice place.

Blame It On Whitman have changed a lot since we first saw them in 2017 at the Midway. A lot of the changes have been in just the last few years. Steev gets into those changes which came to fruition on two EPs released in 2023. They talk extensively about how the songwriting progresses with band member collaboration. Steev directs comments to individual songs and that’s all revealing.

You can hear the new album titled Blame It On Whitman on Spotify.

Amidst all the new and old glam on the 10/10 Elastic Glam show a live version of “Solid Gold Brass” by Sweet shows that the group is still hard to beat. Sethyspice played the main names in current neo glam that we became familiar with because of his show: Gysai, Bobby Dazzle, Art d’Ecco and The Voltz.

The song that turned our heads around this show was “Venus” by Royale Republic. That’s the old hit by Shocking Blue. Royale Republic dirty it up by putting some metal in the backing music. Even better is the video which shows they have a sense of humor. The group has face painting to make themselves look like a sad and mad version of Kiss.

Tune in to WKKL at 9pm on October 31 for an after Halloween party with Sethyspice. That should be wild.

On Sonic Overload 10/6 show Al Quint played “Power on Top of Power” by newer local group The Massacred. The song starts drilling from the get go and then just pummels for two and half minutes, quite a performance by any standard. We have that embedded below. This cut is available on the 100 Punks for Palestine album which also has locals: Impulse Control, Phagocyte, Ancient Filth and Mooseknukle.

Al played a set with songs from albums released 45 years ago from Killing Joke, Teardrop Explodes and Psychedelic Furs. Yes 1985, we remember it well. You can hear the Sonic Overload shows on their web blog. Al has logged all the shows since 2009.

We always enjoy the Radio Warfare podcasts for the choice music selections that Tim Livingston comes up with.

This week he drew our attention to Thommy Price, a drummer who played with a wide range of notable acts: Billy Idol (that’s Thommy on “Rebel Yell”), Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Psychedelic Furs, The Waterboys, Tom Waits and Mink DeVille. That’s amazing. Tim does a seven song set including most of those artists.

He also played two songs by a group set up by Price called Downtown Phantoms. The first song “Living With Your Ghost” was written by Boston’s own Greg Allen. The track listing for the show is on Tim Livington’s Facebook page.

We saw later that Blowing Smoke rebroadcast an interview done with Thommy Price in 2022. We have that below.

Mike was the DJ on the 10/6 Wormtown Underground Radio show from Worcester. It's always an adventurous listening experience. It has the punk but then hits the sixties for some garage and rockabilly.

This show had some Big Stick, we haven’t heard them in years. Mike played our favorite vampire song “Date With a Vampire” by The Screamin’ Tribesman. That’s was followed by Jonathan Richman’s “Vampire Girl”. The list goes everywhere: Sham 69, Records, Soupy Sales, Pixies, Wet Leg, Kinks and the Ronettes. They have a playlist.

NEW MUSIC/CD's ......

Screwcart just did what Duck & Cover did a few weeks ago. They collected all the singles they've put out since 2021 into one nine cut album titled Cthulupalooza. The H.P. Lovecraft allusion is appropriate. Screwcart live in the real world ... but at the edge where it gets creepy.

A “Road Trip” turns into a hellscape, a “Stoll” is a dance with a demon, the “Bug Out Bag” triggers thoughts of everything that can go wrong and the “Mudroom” sounds like it could be fun rolling around but what is this Legion of Doom that must be joined?

The band plays punk and hard rock. It never goes to metal. You never get the idea that they are trying to fit into any genre, they just do their thing. There’s some great guitar, drum, and bass work to enjoy all through the songs. Then there’s Mark Kennedy’s menacing pronouncements that send shivers up the spine.

Brad Marino's a new album Agent of Chaos on the way. Right now there's a new single available in digital and vinyl. The orange vinyl single is limited to 200.

The a-side is “Voodoo” which is the right subject for Halloween times. It's about a woman who always seems in control. The songs swings along swiftly as Brad effortlessly throws out his barrage of riff magic. The group sounds so good as it always does.

The same sound and groove spills over to “Between Planets”, a Jesus and Mary Chain cover. Here you can see how Brad tweaks the song to make it his. The big improvement (to us) is that Brad has a drummer while the Jesus and Mary Chain had a drum machine. If you need an illustration of what a drummer brings to a recording, here it is.
Brad also shortens the song by 30 seconds that makes it a compact hit. There is a surf/hot rod music element that Brad brings out. We love the sound of the recording so much we even relistened to the last 20 seconds a few times where the band is just coasting and enjoying the groove.

Cold Expectations have a new song with a message. “The Fight” was inspired by the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Singer Steve Prygoda was raised with a Ukrainian upbringing. The song is to inspire people to fight. The word fight is in the lyrics 32 times. We need our resolve to be bolstered more than ever and this song fills the bill.

The drums are commanding throughout, sometimes they are march like, other times depicting thundering resolve. All the instruments are bathed in reverb. There are points where there are sonic shards that seem to float in the aural space and add a feeling of chaos. This works on all levels. There is also a video on their Bandcamp page. The group is shown in domestic scenes at the beginning, by the end they are in fatigues committed to the fight.

The Chelsea Curve also want to inspire with their song “Rally ‘Round”. They want to rally the faithful. These songs aren’t just happening by chance, the times are alarming to a lot of us and the music is responding.

The “Rally Round” does stir up the comradery while Tim Gillis has guitars ringing like five Jam tunes playing at the same time. We love when they give the drums space to do some Keith Moon fills. And how did we live before we had Linda Bean Pardee’s voice to brighten our days?

Those Cold Expectations and Chelsea Curve songs are on The Sound Cove label. It is included on the new 16 cut sampler The Sound Cove Super Sonic Showcase, Volume 1. It hasn’t taken Sound Cove long to get an impressive lineup. On the Showcase is Happy Little Clouds, Speedfossil, Cold Expectations, The Chelsea Curve, Figures on a Beach Glowbox, Daylillies, Fireking, Corin Ashley and more.
Go to the The Sound Cove Bandcamp page to check out some of the videos too.

The latest split single in a series by Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin is a collaboration with locals The False Positives.

The song “Caveman” by the False Positives was part of an album of demos. It's a fun romp about a rocking caveman. Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin play it loose and go to town with the song. There’s a riffing guitar on the verge of feedback wailing the whole way. That’s by Clive Wright of Broken English and other bands. They throw in Fred Flinstone’s name and that seems appropriate. The band floats in a noisy haze as a coda. It seems like they don’t want it to end.

The False Positives cover “A Rocket Ship to You” from the Rob Moss Skin-Tight Skin album Now With More Rockets. The False Positives brands the song with a hard rock garage attack that reminds us of the MC5. The stinging guitar adds to the impression. Like the Skin-Tight Skin they seem to take the project as a chance to let loose. Rob Moss’ songs have been a fertile ground for bands in this split single series.

We perked up when we saw DMZ and Lyres alums Peter Greenberg and Michael Lewis’ names on a new release. Later Peter was in The Customs and Barrence Whitfield & The Savages. Michael went on to The Zantees, A-Bones, Yo La Tengo and The Schramms. You know with those guys you are going to get primo garage wonderfulness in whatever project they are in.

The band is called Starrs and the Czars, the album is It’s the Bad Times. Jack Starr, the guitarist/singer was in the group Adam West. That title track is streaming on Bandcamp now.It's not loose banging garage, it’s tight and assured playing. The vocals are commanding and have attitude to spare. Half way through the song the guitars take over the show. There’s a super cool gnarly rip ass solo.

You can hear two more songs that are embedded on the Chaputa Records website. “Falling Back to Me” is a simple 1-4-5 progression but that doesn’t explain why we had to hear it five times in a row. I think we will revisit this when the whole record is dropped on November 21.

Bashford are from Madison, WI. Their album Wanabee is out on November 7. Now they have a single “Rage Bucket” out now. They have a garage/grunge sound. They recall Mudhoney and Nirvana to our ears. You can hear some Cobain’s phrasing in the vocals. The singer is at the far end of his vocal chords and the band is loose and pounding it out with energy. It ends with a squeal of feedback. Very enjoyable.

We love everything about Huck 2s new song “Reunion”. It was recorded at Woolly Mammoth by David Minehan and you can mark another score for Minehan on this. One of the reasons the song works is because of the guitar sound and way the tone of the vocal is captured and presented.

“Reunion” is about (we figure) how a class reunion triggers thoughts of time’s effect on people. We hope they print the lyrics when this does get on their Bandcamp page. The simple observation “you are older and I’ve changed” which is repeated a few times just sits on one’s mind and resonates. It later turns to “we are older and times changed”. There are other remarks that pile up as the song goes on.

The song captures some nostalgia and wisdom from living a longer life. Not everything is made for teenagers. Dan Lundergan of the group wrote this. Good work Huck !
Huck 2 will be playing a matinee show at The Jungle in Somerville on Saturday, November 1! Also playing are Double Barrell and Truckers Atlas!

When we first heard “Sleepwalker” by local group Dr. Vet and the Dead Pets we thought it was a Halloween song but it's deeper than that although it does sound like a 60s song from a Halloween sampler.

The second verse reveals what’s going on: “I stay inside 9 to 5/write another paycheck to keep me satisfied/I just wanna walk out but work is keeping me alive”. Work is making the person a zombie. The first verse is about people (tired bodies) walking to work. That reminds us of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land where observing working people walking over London Bridge he writes: “I had not thought death had undone so many”.

The weekend is time to sleep. You can dream but not think: “to think is treason when thought is dead”.
The guitar interludes are so different. The guitarist gets a whipping back and forth effect that is very distinctive. The group's earliest recording on Bandcamp is from 2024. “Sleepwalker” is from their current album release Bete-Machine. “Warm Skin” is another song that was notable.

Strange Passage is a band with members split between Boston and New York. They started in 2016. Right now they have A Folding Sky, a six song EP coming out. Two songs are currently streaming. We have “Golden Rule” embedded below which gives a good example of their sound. They have an indie feel but also lots of psych going on.

The major thing we like is the pronounced use of 12 string guitar. This actually is even more evident on their last album Shouldn’t Be Too Long from 2019. We’d be hard pressed to find a recording with quite as much in your face 12 string action and it’s almost all rhythm work. If you like the 12-string sound, like we do, this is the album to check out. That album was recorded at Dead Air Studios in Amherst and they did a good job.

Here’s an album by The Karens from Pittsburg. The songs go full bore with Karen complaints. We were laughing through: “I Wanna Refund”, “Where the Fuck’s My Fucking Discount”, “You Forgot My Drink”, “You Stole My Mail” and “My Husband Shot His Balls Off at Lowes”. It’s hardcore punk so you know there's yelling, lots of repeated yelling - like any Karen.

We took a liking to this group quickly; Shame are from England and their album Cutthroat. They have one song streaming, “To and Fro”. They describe themselves as punk but their sound isn’t stereotypically punk.

They're doing something different with the guitars. You can see in their video that at times the guitarist is bearing down on the strings and doing super-fast strumming – that’s the sound you're hearing here. That, along with the singing, really draws you in. You can also see on the video that the singer has an interesting outfit; no shirt but does have suspenders and a priest's collar.

Here's some good shows coming up .....

October 21, 2025 (Tuesday) Sorry Safari, Peach Creek, Stop that Man, Garlic at O'Briens

October 24, 2025 (Friday) The screening of Life on the Other Planet by Vincent Straggas with The Nervous Eaters after the film is at The Regent Theater. TIX!! 7:30PM

October 24, 2025 (Friday) Mopar Stars, Disket, Adult Learners, Perfectly Lethal at O'Briens

October 24, 2025 (Friday) Tigerman Woah, Real Beaut, Duck & Cover at Faces Malden

October 24, 2025 (Friday) BumbleBee Radio 5th Anniversary with The Peppermint Kicks, Beck Black, Jennifer Tefft & The Strange, and Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones at The Crystal Ballroom Porter Sq Somerville. FB ewvent page with TIX info

October 24, 2025 (Friday) Tree, Sadplant, Wire Lines at Alchemy, Providence, RI

October 24, 2025 (Friday) Wreckless Wreck Chords Presents Wreck-0-Ween '25 - TWO Nights Friday: WORM, Rocket Gods, Far Above the Ground, Ragz To Stitchez(NH), Screw Cart, The Wax Skulls at The C Note in Hull - FB page.

October 24, 25 & 26 2025 (Friday, Sat & Sun) Jonathan Richman with Tommy Larkin on drums at the Somerville Theater TIX HERE

October 25, 2025 (Saturday) The Annual Wreck-0-Ween '25 - Night two with WORM as The Misfits, Cry Havoc, Witches Tears, Dogs in the Woods, The Ungraded, The Woods, Cheryl's Boys, The Angry-Las at The C Note in Hull - FB page.

October 25, 2025 (Saturday) Tommy Stinson's Cowboys In The Campfire, Bob Logan, Chris Amaral at Faces Brewing - TIX

October 25, 2025 (Saturday) The Thigh Scrapers and Richard Mirsky and Bill Bracken at The Magic Room

October 25, 2025 (Saturday) Mall Ratz, Melt, Black Hoss at  The Jungle 

October 25, 2025 (Saturday) An International Garage Rock Shakedown with Stupidity, Muck & The Mires, The Chelsea Curve, Pop!, at The Stone Church Music CLub, Newmarket, NH FB page.

October 26, 2025 (Sunday) Galaxy Cake, Pleasing Terrors, American Ocelot at The Jungle EARLY show 5-8PM

October 29, 2025 (Wednesday) Your Friends in Hell, Thou Merciless Grave, Minusworld, Alec Sullivan, Squallie Greenthumb at  Midway Cafe

October 30, 2025 (Thursday) Stupidity, Chelsea Curve, Little Billy Lost, at The Burren

October 30, 2025 (Thursday) FOLK PUNK HALLOWEEN! at Faces TIX and info

November 1, 2025 (Saturday) Torch Red, The Grommets, The Cretins, J Prozac at  Midway Cafe all ages 3PM matinee

November 1, 2025 (Saturday) STAFFY FEST - Celebrate the life of Staffy with all of his friends. Sing songs that meant a lot and mean a lot more now.- with The Marvels w/ Guest Singers, Duck & Cover, The Black Cheers at Faces Malden TIX here -

November 1, 2025 (Saturday) Warthog, Tj & The Wasted, Gloomy June, The Spots at The Midway 8PM show

November 2, 2025 (Sunday) City Mouse (from LA) Bad Idea USA, Weird Fear at Faces Malden

November 5, 2025 (Wednesday) Ravagers, Speed Teeth, The Ghouls at Deep Cuts Medford, MA

November 6, 2025 (Thursday) GBH, Slaughter House, The Mainliners at Brighton Music Hall - FB page TIX link

November 7, 2025 (TFriday) Minibeast at Deep Cuts Medford, MA

November 8, 2025 (Saturday) The Dogmatics and The Carnivals (Kevin Patey's new band) at the Boston Harbor Distillery (Dorchester) FB event page for more info

November 8, 2025 (Saturday) Badterms, Impact Driver, Poor Impulse Control, Battery March, The Workers at O'Brien's

November 8, 2025 (Saturday) The New Frustrations, The Fatal Flaw, The Instamatics at The Jungle

November 8, 2025 (Saturday) Oneida, Thalia Zedek Band, Bong Wish at Deep Cuts | Medford, MA

November 8, 2025 (Saturday) The FU's, Psycho, Execution Style, and D.O.D. - Ralph's Diner, Worcester, MA

November 9, 2025 (Sunday) Oh The Humanity!, In the Meantime, On The Cinder, Addalemon, Static Friction for a 3PM matinee at The Midway

November 13, 2025 (Thursday) MDC, Scumbari, Urban Waste, Grip Bite at Alchemy (Prov, RI) FB page

November 14, 2025 (Friday) Steve Conte, Muck & the Mires, Gene Dante & the Future Starlet, Pink (acoustic) at Deep Cuts in Medford FB page.

November 14, 2025 (Friday) Zagnutt, Hixx, The Peasants, The Guilloteenagers at The Midway for a 3PM matinee show

November 15, 2025 (Saturday) Zagnutt, Hixx, The Peasants, and The Guilloteenagers at Midway Cafe all ages 3PM matinee

November 22, 2025 (Saturday) Rama Lama Ding Dong Fest: Johnnie and the Foodmasters, Film and Gender, Lithophanes, Germ House, Devil Honey at O'Brien's

November 25, 2025 (Tuesday) Isles, Adulting, Lovewell, Blame It On Whitman, Dear Maryanne at O'Brien's

December 4, 2025 (Thursday) Agnostic Front, Raw Brigade, Violent Way at The MIddle East Down

December 19, 2025 (Friday) Holiday music party with Amanda Palmer and Friends at The Magic Room TIX

January 24, 2026 (Saturday) Hooligan Holiday Boston with The Oppressed - ALL AGES show at The Middle EAST 7PM doors. FB page

CONTACT US AT....misslynbgn@yahoo.com