CAll it A Night

The Grandsons are at JV's in Falls Church tonight, Sunday, from 5- 8 and won't be playing locally again until late November. This is a fun swingin' band with lots o' horn power, and JV's is a great old joint. For all those that have to get to work or school on Monday, you can have a bite, see a band, and be in your jammies by nine. How responsible.

Thursday Night

As Josh Arnson puts it-the Titanic is going down, and DC Honky Tonkin vowed to play until they lie with the fishes-It's their last gig at MY BAKERY Thursday night, September 27 in DC's glowing Glover Park. And if honky tonk ain't your thing- Dan Hovey's other incarnation, Bad Daddy is appearing at good ole JV's in Falls Church, Virginny at 9 p.m. No cover for either show...

Or you could flip a coin...

Hey Kids It's 10:00. Do you Know Where Your Parents are?

(Bucket and Hayley of Deadbeat)

The NIRS affair took me back in time-back to when you showed up at at somebody's house, and their parents weren't home, and the basement was a party/band room, and a band was playing... no, four bands are playing, and in the case of Tru Fax and The Insaniacs, the DAD of the house is in the band, and in the case of Deadbeats, the daughter of the guy in the next band is in her own band. And so it went on until no one knew or cared what time it was. (Maybe it had something to do with the Ukranian hootch that was going around) Then and now were all mixed up and topping it off -The Beatnik Flies- Diana Quinn-Mark Noone finale extravaganza.

Oh And Josh Arnson (former Insect Surfer)


and Ruth Logsden of Ruthie and the Wranglers were there, too.

(Joe Dolan cracks up Ruth Logsden)


(Diana Quinn and Mark Noone just before they joined the band)

Maybe it was all a dream. Good party though.

Let's GO!!!!!!!!

So big weekend: Saturday night there's the NIRS party (see below) and Friday night it's what might be the cutest boy band to come out of Richmond ever, not to mention they all can SING and play music, none other than-Prabir and the Substitutes- at the Velvet Lounge which is an experience in itself- just picture yourself watching a band at the old 9:30 club-only it's much much smaller, and when you jump up and down the floor moves - it actually reminds me of an old elevator I was in once on the VCU campus in Richmond of all places which just goes to show you - life is a circle after all.*

*Forgive the stream thing -- my book club is reading ULYSSES. Say no more

Honky Tonk Alerts

From Josh Arnson of DC Honky Tonkin -

"It is true, My Bakery & Cafe will be closing their Georgetown location, but we have been given two weeks notice on our shows, so, just like the Titanic, The Band Will Play On!
Please join us for our swan song shows on Thursday, 9/20 and 9/27. We may resume under new tutelage/ownership in the future, so we'll let you know!"

Also please note that the beloved institution, Chick Hall's Surf Club's last day is Saturday, October 13. Get there while you can- and especially try and catch Chris Hall's band, Heros And Friends.

Come One and All

This Saturday, September 22, there's a benefit/ hullabaloo for NIRS (Nuclear Information and Resource Service) The party starts at 4 p.m. at Michael and Tanya's house at 3708 Webster St, Brentwood, Md
Expect to eat drink and be merry: there'll be food, beer and wine, and live entertainment including: The Beatnik Flies, Tru Fax and the Insaniacs, Dead Beat and Dollar Bin.

NIRS is working to prevent the construction of new nuclear power reactors at Calvert Cliffs, Maryland (on the Chesapeake Bay) and North Anna, Virginia (on Lake Anna) and for that matter, everywhere else.....more on NIRS at www.nirs.org. Bring a checkbook or a credit card or even dear ole cold cash, and give what you can- whatever you think you'd pay to see four bands- plus food, plus refeshing adult beverages. (Not to mention all donations are tax deductible)

GHZ-Underattended but Over The Top

Everybody who did not show up to the GHZ gig because it rained should just crawl under the covers with regret. You missed an amazing show Friday night. They rocked the joint like it was sold out until 1 a.m., and they were even better than I remembered if that's possible. Dan Hovey is one of the few people I know who can make his guitar sound like a human voice- and he played until his tendons were on fire. Scott Giambusso, an iron solid bass player, gave everyone a strong backbone to play off of, and John Zidar punctuated the air with exclamations points of drumming that you don't see coming, but are just perfect. All three astounded the crowd, and even each other sometimes, and it's a great thing to watch a band this tight- doing what a band needs to do-play together. (It's not as simple as it sounds.)
Anybody who doesn't come see them play in November should have a doctor's note. Make the effort. These guys sure do. I predict GHZ will sell out the Capitol Center one day. It's just a matter of time. Mark my words.


Joe Dolan and John Stone of The Beatnik Flies made it.
(Turn around, John)
So did Kim Kane of The Slickee Boys...
Where were you?

P. S . Here's JOHN ZIDAR"S 2 cents on what Scott wrote above:

"I whimsically beg my daughter Rachel to change her name to Ginger on a regular basis because my other two kids HAPPEN to be named Eric and Jackie. The point of all that should be obvious ….

A small technical correction, I only appear to have 3 rack toms if you’re very, very drunk (SCOTT!!). Before the Ginger Baker fans out there explode with “Ginger only has two rack toms and two floors”, I want to clarify that that is my precise setup. I have made the set more ergonomic by putting the largest drum on the left so I don’t wrench my back playing “Sunshine”….. hey, WAKE UP, I’m laying out some drum shop talk here!!"

The Back Story of GHZ by Scott Giambusso

"One Tuesday in June, I walk in the back room of the Half Moon, and who is on stage working the gig with Dave Kitchen, but my old pal, Dan Hovey whom I don’t think I’d seen since the early 80s. We had played a few gigs about 25 years ago, and he and John Zidar used to come to my basement apartment, and we would attempt to play Chick Corea tunes and other some such jazz . Somehow, after spending years in New York, Dan moved to Kensington, Maryland, one mile away from my home in Wheaton. Back on the DC rock scene, he quickly became the most- in-demand freelance guitar player, and now here he was, playing my local watering hole.
I joined Dave and Dan on the stage, and we proceeded to tear the blues into little pieces. The energy was great and the grooves were strong and Dan’s soloing got better with each chorus. Since we were jamming, we tried to pick tunes we all knew. Just for yuks, I think I suggested "Sunshine Of Your Love" by Cream. Dan's eyes lit up as he had learned every lick Eric Clapton ever played or even thought of playing. We kicked it off and rocked down the house. What a riot! The next week I called him and suggested we get together for grins and play a bunch of the old Cream tunes and maybe some Hendrix and Led Zepelin.
But who would be the right drummer? Dan immediately knew that John Zidar was the only choice. I did not know that John was a huge fan of Ginger Baker and had studied every beat Baker had ever played. And that was just at age 14. After getting his degree in percussion at Maryland, John Zidar made the rounds in just about every circle in the music biz. John is so into Cream that he has been trying to get his daughter, Rachel, to change her name to Ginger. He is a meticulous player and a total octopus on his immense DW drum kit with the same setup as Baker's with 2 bass drums 24” and 22,” a snare, 3 mounted toms, 3 floor toms, I don’t know how many cymbals and a cowbell. John Zidar was the only drummer that could make Gigahertz a reality."

That's an excerpt from bass player, Scott's GHZ Diary...Thanks, Scott.

See the reality rock the Out of the Way Cafe tonight in dear ole wherever it is, Derwood, MD.
( Get yer google maps fired up.)

GHZ's Time Machine

Do you remember when your friends used to get together and cover "Sunshine of your Love"
in somebody's basement or at a party? Maybe they murdered it, or maybe they were actually OK. Well, what if they had been practicing for thirty years or so, and got really, REALLY GOOD ?

The band GHZ hasn't been formally together for that long, but they play like they have, and all three, Dan Hovey, Scott Giambusso and John Zidar have been playing professionally for over 30+ years with the likes of people from Charlie Bird to Root Boy Slim. (combined that's 180 dog years) What really matters is they rock.

Catch them this Friday, September 14, at Out of the Way Cafe (you can say that again)
(No, really- it's worth the trek) at 17503 Redland Road in Derwood, MD.
Revisit 1968.

Or you can see Dan and Scott play an acoustic set from 8-11 this Thursday night, September 13, at 100 King Street, a joint with the same name and address in Old Town Alexandria.

Update on dc space Benefit for Tom Terrell(from those that put it on)

Greetings!

We thought you'd like to know that together we raised nearly $12,000 for our friend Tom Terrell at this outstanding event.

If you want to make a further donation to Tom, or know someone who does, his sister has set up a benefit fund for him. Here's the donation information, please feel free to pass this on to anyone who wants to help:

Tom Terrell Benefit Fund (Check should be written out to)

c/o Bevadine Z. Terrell

1839 Otis Street, NE

Washington, DC 20018-2713

Bittersweet SHow @ 9:30 Tonight

The posters that were all over town some 20 years ago are back- only this time they're in color. 9353 at the 9:30 Club. It's not deja vu; it's actually happening. If the posters read "with Black Market Baby," you'd KNOW you were dreaming, but that's sort of happening, too, in the guise of Rustbuckit. King Giant is also on the bill. They all played in July at the dc space reunion, and they all rocked. Twenty years or not.

But King Giant has an especially hard row to hoe tonight as they have lost their lead singer, Bob Dotolo. Shortly after the reuinon, a bunch of us found ourselves back at the 9:30 Club- only this time it was for bOb's wake. It was a rude awakening indeed. A lot of us don't see each other anymore, and bOb was definitely among the missing in many circles. It was good to see him again, and it's hard to know that that was the last time. BOb worked at the club way back when, and he was always a friendy, I want to say gentle guy- even though he was a door man. He smiled a lot. Even though so many hadn't seen him in so long, I think he would be surprised at how much he will be missed- and remembered. Tonight will be no exception there.

At Least We Still Have Rodman's

With all the construction going on up there in Friendship Height's, it's comforting to me to see Rodman's still going strong on Wisconsin Avenue. It started in 1955 as a drugstore; today it's a landmark, an institution, I'd even call it a phenomenon. As Arlo Guthrie said in Alice's Restaurant- "You can get anything you want," but there is a minor drawback or two.

The first problem with going to Rodman's is getting out of there. You might go in for one quick thing like LU's Cinnamon Sugar Biscuits which Safeway doesn't carry anymore, but there, just as soon as you walk in, are fireworks at the door- 30 percent off now right next to the BBQ sets and the Toblerone bars. This is the back entrance which is a narrow, one-cart aisle created by stacks and stacks of food: jars of tomato sauce, olives, chutney, baby clams, BBQ sauce, wine, vinegar, sardines, curry paste, Parmesan cheese and stuffed peppers-(wait is that a topping or a side dish?) jams, marinated artichokes, and olive oil. OK, now I'm actually IN the store and officially past "the entrance".

The second problem is which aisle to run to first- the beer? Wine ? Snacks? Look- there's those Italian cookies- the ones in the big red tins- Lazzaroni's- they have the wrappers you can light on fire and make a wish on when they rise to the ceiling. And those weird chocolate cigar type cookies someone bought for us in Greece once, not to mention digestive biscuits, whatever they are, and those cinnamon things I just remembered I came in here for.

Oh, and they have Lady Grey Tea. Safeway doesn't seem to stock that anymore either. Fritos, Doritos and crystallized ginger. I don't what to do with it, but I'm intrigued. Squirt bottles of Kalamata olive puree under a sign that says "dessert toppings". (whoops) And something that looks like shrunken heads over there in the produce aisle turns out to be celery root. Celery root? Lemons- what a deal. Does anyone need a scratch off ticket? A baguette would be good for later. And do I have enough tuna?

Over in the beverage aisles, I was befriended by DC native, "Hoppy Dave" who educated me as best he could on the amazing variety of beers he stocks-a happily bewildering experience that almost involved me getting a second cart. (Warning-one cart is bad enough in there- something akin to navigating a Hummer through the back streets of Georgetown.) By the time he was finished with me, my cart was full of stuff I'd never heard of, but couldn't wait to try-including Bell's Batch 8,000, a commemorative ale which only gets made every 8,000 years. ( I might be wrong there, but my head only holds so much info.) He also filled me in on my high school teacher, Bob Tupper who went on to produce Tupper's Hop Pocket Ale, an excellent adult beverage courtesy of Old Dominion Brewery which, Dave tells me, has been bought now by Budweiser. What? That's why there was no Tupper's in sight as The Tuppers have decide to find a new brewery. Meanwhile, the customers ran in and panic bought all the stock.

Now I've solved the problem of leaving Rodman's. My cart is full, and so is my head. But I didn't even make it downstairs to the other floor where the household products are, the small appliances, toys, school supplies, and oh, yeah, it is Rodman's Drug after all. Don't forget the pharmacy and the vitamins....next time.

Thanks, Dave.

Lots of Music Last Weekend

The Hula Monsters played a great hour as promised on Friday out in the park. If you missed it, you can catch them again this Friday at 6:30 pm outside the municipal building in Hyattsville.

And I caught a bit of The Cutaways at the Quarry House which was a lot of fun though
I probably shouldn't have gone for somebody's left over tater tots that late at night.

Go down under at The Quarry House

Dan Hovey's playing tonight with The Cutaways in one of my favorite dives, The Quarry House in Siver Spring. ( a downstairs dive at that- on the corner of Bonifant and Georgia Ave)
A hellatious beer list and tater tots on the menu.
If you saw my early rave about Dan, you'll know he's worth seeing.