Yes, Virginia, There Is a Maryland

It's a native thing. If you grew up in Virginia you think that Maryland is a scary place to navigate. Conversely, if you grew up in Maryland, it's Virginia that confounds the GPS of the mind.(Washington natives can go either way although sometimes a rare bi-state phobia will set in resulting in a fear of leaving the block.)

For those of you who have managed to triumph over panic-or perhaps own a phone with the equivalent tracking skills of Sakagawea- there are two shows- one in each state to ponder this Friday.

First off Roaddog (not your father's cover band) will be rocking the doors off El Puento de Oro in Wheaton, Maryland.
If the thought of  Wheaton makes you weak at the knees, then check out Clare and Don's Beach Shack in Falls Church, Virginia. The Black Muddy River Band brings the Dead back alive, and that's gotta be better than those Red Rock cassette tapes some of you still have hanging around.

Either way, don't let bi-state phobia get the better of you. Get out and support our local music scene whether it's to the East or West...just remember DC is best.

Rock Trivia

If you find an old flyer lying around the house for the 9:30 Club when it was on F Street, chances are both the Fleshtones and the Slickee Boys will be on it. Both bands hold the record of playing 9:30 the most, although the Slickees are well in the lead on this one having had the shorter commute. 

Head on over to IOTA this Thursday night and relive those heady days of yore when The Yachtsmen (which includes Mark Noone from The Slickee Boys) open up for The Fleshtones- live and in the flesh once more. 

9 p.m. / $15

Cowboys Hit Town

DC Rocks received a rave review this week about Hill Country Barbecue  Market from someone who is well aquainted with good food and Texas. Hill Country is located on 7th and D NW and features real Texas chow- including sausage flown in from the source in Lockhart,Tx and live local music six days a week. This TUESDAY get your boots on and check out this spot and our own brand of Western swing-the Oklahoma Twisters.

Ahoy Eastport

There's a place to the East of here not so very far, but some would say a world away called the Maritime Republic of Eastport. It doesn't matter to them that Mardi Gras has come and gone; they are bound and determined to do things their own way. Fortunately one of the things they like to do the most is to throw a great party with great food and music. So this weekend check out their Ambassador's (Other) Ball: Little Red and the Renegades will be there, fortified by Chris Watling and Alan MacEwan of The Grandsons. Check the poster above for all the details, and prepare for something completely different.
Rock On, Eastport

Scene Slugging Nunchucks

Nunchucks have been slugging away at the DC music scene for some time now, and last time I saw them they were doing just fine. Can't wait to see what they've come up with now that they have a new CD to flog. Check them out this Saturday night at the Rock and Roll Hotel down on H Street- right around the corner from Horace and Dickie's where my favorite fish sandwich lies waiting to be born in the deep fryer. Nunchucks share the bill with Cobra Collective, Loose Lips and Honey House.

$10. 

All ages up all night.

Revolution 9 This Friday

Sometimes you need to lose yourself in the moment, and sometimes you need to lose yourself in the past. The Vi-Kings are experts at taking you deep into those long gone days of flower children and psychedelia. The year 1968 was a leap year, the year of the White album and Hot Wheels, Hawaii 5-0 and Laugh In. And how about this factoid: the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" premiered right here in Washington D.C.

Whatever your memories are, check out the Vi-Kings' trip this Friday night at Clyde's in Chevy Chase. Bands play downstairs where there is plenty of room and a big bar. And no cover. To quote Joe Dolan: "Everyone is on the guest list."

Get A Rope

Remember that old ad for Pace Salsa when the cowpokes yell "New York City!?" (Full disclosure: I remembered the punch line, but not the product, but I have to say Youtube is just crazy amazing sometimes.)
Anyway, this new place in town- Hill Country Barbecue- specializes in Texas barbecue via their only other location- you guessed it, New York City.

DC ROCKS has no quarrel with the pedigree of this new venue for live music mostly because it is IN DC, and because someone there had the sense to hire none other than our own guitar slinger, Dan Hovey. (Not to mention they must be doing something right to survive New York- and there's NEVER enough barbeque my life.)
The Dan Hovey Band will be at Hill Country this FRIDAY night from 9:30-12:30.
Dan is a veteran of both DC and New York music scenes
so maybe he can figure this place out.

Surf's Still Up

A few years back, when Chick Hall's Surf Club went on the chopping block to be sold, its demise seemed imminent. There was a series of farewell events, and lots of rumors flying. No one wanted to see it go. Happily as it turns out, neither did the new owners. James Byrum and his father decided to try and keep this place a music venue which was truly an act of of courage. They eventually had to cut back on bands every weekend to keep the ship afloat, but live music and dances are back- on Thursday nights and have already included events from the DC Blues Society to the Nighthawks.

Rose Ledet's show was cancelled this week, but keep an eye on the schedule. There's plenty of room on the dance floor, and it's a great place to see music.
Have fun and help keep a honky tonk alive.

Irish Is As Irish Does

St. Patrick's Day in Washington, D.C. mostly involves a lot of movie set type Irish bars advertising corned beef specials and green beer. My Irish roots were overshadowed by my Greek background here in Washington- mostly because the Greek side of the family was louder. But once a year when March 17th rolled around my mother would quietly mention her ancestors and wave her arm vaguely across the ocean.

Otherwise my Irish experience mostly boils down to wearing green to school, and the hours I spent with my friend Dan at Kelly's Irish Times, down near Union Station. When we were at the University of Maryland, Dan would swear he could hit all green lights all the way back to College Park thanks to luck of the Irish. (fueled by the power of Guiness) Later when Dan was in the Merchant Marine, he would call me from "his office" the payphone in the back of the pub- to let me know that he was back in town. We were never in that bar for St Patrick's Day that I can remember- it was wild enough when they had a band playing, and all of the players were friends of Dan's.

I can't recommend going out on St Patrick's Day, but I learned yesterday that traditionally the Irish didn't go out either. They stayed home eating dinner with their families- more like Thanksgiving than anything else. If you missed it, WAMU's Kojo Nnamndi had a great show yesterday on both Gaelic culture, food and the old Irish neighborhoods in Washington.

Have a stout and check it out.

Happy St Patrick's Day DC ROCKS' readers.

And Happy St Patrick's Day, Dan.

Digging the Past

 

Mark Opasnick, our local author and guru of DC rock history has an interesting request on that networking phenomenon many of us have a love/hate relationship with- Facebook:

"Hey Folks! - Do me a favor (if you see fit) and click on the "Like" option for the Hart Junior High page. Hart is in SE Wash DC, and I hope to contact some of the old 1950s-60s Hart alumni for some of my future projects. A lot of great musicians came out of there, including a bunch from the Cherry People. This page will be a great source of info, but it needs some "likes" to get it up and running."

My Dream Show This Sunday

This Sunday night at the Galaxy Hut. Marshall Keith, Alice Despard and 7 Door Sedan. Be there. And to quote Forrest G. "That's all I have to say about that."

Stock Wilson wants you to know this about The Loggers: "The boys are out of their long winter slumber and ready to do some serious wood chopping."

Stock is a solid musician and a veritable fountain of old DC rock stories. Come out to Bangkok Blues this Saturday to see The Loggers in action and get a story or two in between sets.

An Education and a Plan for Friday by Mark Noone

Are we aware that we have a Garment District in the District of Columbia? 


Well, we do! But it’s not like the one in that metropolis north of here, where one can see people wielding wheeled racks of brand new pristine clothes through the grimy streets and puddled alley-ways. This is a different more civilized place; a work/performance/art space. One may take classes in design, or in creating articles of clothing. Or better yet, witness some of Washington DC’s stellar talent.

This Friday evening Garment District will be providing Cigarbox Planetarium for your space-age-bachelor-pad music fix. They have a wonderful new CD. 

Dress sharply; this is an early show- 7p.m.
No cover and all ages.

It's Tuesday

Happy Mardi Gras from DC ROCKS in New Orleans. Eat, drink and especially be merry today until midnight.

If You Can't Be There- Be Here

If you aren't lucky enough to be in New Orleans for Mardi Gras this year, you don't have to let it be just Tuesday tomorrow. Glen Echo and Dancing By the Bayou will bring the party to you. Head over to the Spanish Ballroom for a dance event featuring Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco RoadRunners. Dance lesson at 8, music at 8:30. Beads and prizes, too.

DC ROCKS on Location in New Orleans

Flambeaux by Kiki Walker Huston

Blackbirds Brighten Bethesda

Driving around Bethesda you can sometimes spot the bones of a small town which, in it's day, had two or three great little music spots like the Psyche Delly and the Red Fox Inn. They were very local dives that produced almost legendary memories for some of us yokels.

Although Bethesda is no longer the same, you can still find good live music to counter act the shadows of those towering tributes to ugly on Wisconsin Avenue. This Wednesday Blackbird Sunset - a very young and talented duo - will be bringing their soulful acoustic sound to Parker's American Bistro.

9 p.m.

Hungry for Mardi Gras?

Have you ever had King Cake for breakfast?
Or a crawfish picnic in somebody's front yard that you didn't really know?
Have you ever gotten emotional over a coconut with a painted face?
If the answer is yes, then you are probably longing for Louisiana right about now.
(And if the answer is no, then it's about time you got on the band wagon.)

Here's one way to get your Mardi Gras fever on: support up and coming DC musicians at Hungry For Music's Louisiana Dance Party at the Torpedo Factory this Friday night with DC's own Squeeze Bayou and the Junkyard Saints. Dance instruction will be provided by rhythm lovers Ben Pagac and Debbie Shaw-plus King Cake and beads for all.
Hungry for Music is all about giving musical chances away to those in need so if you have a guitar catching dust under a bed or a horn propping open a door, bring them along and put them to better use.

$15 in advance and  $20 at door. 
Say yes to art and let the good times roulez.

Last Week Sunset Brought Out the Stars

The Sunset Grille is the kind of place where you can rub elbows with just about everyone- musicians and fans alike. Check out Chip Py's picture above. The room might look big enough, but see the couple in front of the band? They are actually standing at the bar-just beyond the dance floor which expands and contracts depending on the mood of the crowd.

The Grille may be small in size, but it is big on music. Just last week brought not only David Kitchen's all star line up, but also a rare glimpse of Slickee Boy Mark Noone sitting in with the band,  shredding guitar. And as if that wasn't enough, Eddie Angel showed up after his Los Straightjackets' gig and did two songs including Tex Rubinowitz'"Bad Boy" which might still be on the juke box at Tastee Diner in Bethesda. (This is deep D.C. area music history - even if we were in the wilds of Annandale.)

David Kitchen is back at the Grille the next two Thursday nights.
Things might lean towards the predictable at home, but you never know what might happen if you venture out.