New Year's Again?

Is it me or is New Year's Eve rolling around more quickly than it used to? I feel like I just got used to writing 2019, and now I have to move on to a whole new decade? Tomorrow?!

When I was little, the New Year's Eve plan was to write up solemn resolutions. One year, when I was about twelve, I wrote my list in what I thought was very fancy (albeit almost illegible) script promising myself to feed the dog without being told, watch very little TV, and rise with the sun.  (I don't know what I was thinking with that last one, but none of those things ever happened.)

Later in life, New Year's Eve activities became more of a quandary. Have a party?  Go to a party? Which party? Would anyone come to my party if I did have one?  Where would everyone be at midnight ? Ugh.

This posting wishes all you resolution breaking, commitment averse, procrastinators a very Happy New Year, and for anyone looking for a last minute party,  King Soul comes to the rescue with a no cover gig at Clyde's.

Murry Christmas

Even though my father religiously paid his dues to St Sophia's, we never attended church on Christmas Eve or anytime for that matter. Instead our routine was to stay at home with family and friends, have Greek soup, and trim the tree. Dad also had his own private rituals. He would slip into the family room before it got too late to make a few prank phone calls, snickering to himself while he dialed. Once his victims were on the line, he would bellow "HO! HO ! HO!  This is SANTY CLAUS! Pause. "I'm calling FROM the NORTH POLE! Have you been GOOD this YEAR?" Sometimes the child would delightedly answer his question, but more often than not, they would just yell back. "I KNOW THAT'S YOU, PAPOU! You can't fool me!"

"NO IT'S NOT!" he'd yell even louder, as if volume made the difference.  "IT'S SANTY CLAUS !" Then he'd add a few more HO HO HOs to drown out any protest, and roar on about reindeer and the North Pole before hanging up. I loved listening in- especially since he had no qualms about calling kids who were old enough to shave. No matter what age, it was the same treatment. "Hello. Is this Stacey? HO! HO! HO! THIS IS SANTY CLAUS! HAVE YOU BEEN A GOOD BOY?"

"Why yes, I have, George. Could you bring me a fire truck? A real one?"

"HO! HO! HO! George?! George who? THIS IS SANTY CLAUS!!!! MURRY CHRISTMAS!" He'd yell, with his DC accent slipping through.

 On Christmas Day, he would put on a fake white beard and goofy hat, and argue with grandchildren insisting he was not Papou until they finally gave up and went along with the program.

I'm grateful for all the goofy memories I have of my father. He inspired the zany in everyone. For anyone looking for fun this holiday week, JV's, which, by the by, is owned by a very busy Greek woman, is open with live music both on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Murry Christmas, every one.

Ancient Tribes and Troubadours

First page of Teddy's photo album

I spent part of last summer packing up an old friend from 930 F Street days. It was a strange and sad mission because he was on his way out of this world and would not be returning to Adams Morgan where he had lived for over forty years. I met Teddy when he was bartending at the 9:30 Club in the 1980s - after he finished divinity school at Georgetown.  He had a commanding presence, an eloquent voice and biting wit. He never stopped educating himself and everyone and anyone who walked into the bar. We used to call him "Father Ted."

Bookcases lined the walls of his two bedroom apartment on Lanier Place. I knew Teddy loved to cook and garden, but as I boxed up his things, I learned he studied every religion under the sun, including astrology.  He loved wind chimes and unicorns and magic. He kept every piece of paper his life generated, all liquor promotion swag, plus lots and lots of match books. Here we are stuffed in his apartment for one of his infamous Russian New Year's parties.

Our 9:30 tribe is scattered now, but the weird and arty people, which populated what was once an outpost for the arts in a semi-abandoned downtown, are still in my life, and I suspect they always will be- at least as long as we are on the planet.

Tribal rite with corn. 

I wonder if there's still that camaraderie behind the scenes as live music venues come and go nowadays, but I do know that my DC music scene is made of interlocking components stemming from a tightly knit community.

Thursday night, for example, The Rhodes Tavern Troubadours will swap out drummer Jack O' Dell (who has a gig with Arty Hill) for Ben Holmes (of King Soul and The Hula Monsters.) Arif Durrani's absence on keyboards will be filled in with the horns of Chris Watling (of King Soul and The Grandsons) and Chris's high school buddy Derek Huston who is up visiting from New Orleans where he is a kick ass sax player.  Feeling confused? Just make sure you're get to the Takoma VFW.  Show starts as soon as you get there (round 7:15) and rocks 'til 10 pm sharp.

Valentine Slim will liven up the Wheaton Legion on Friday - straight up no subs, but on Sunday  Thrillbilly/ Troubadour Jack O'Dell will be playing honorary DC denizen/ex- Commander Cody guitar slinger Bill Kirchen's special holiday show at the Birchmere with Junior Brown. 

The Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun

Welcome December and your solstice driven traditions which serve to brighten the gloom of late afternoons. Celebrations like Saturnalia have not changed much through the ages. The fields are empty, the harvest is in, and it's time to convert those fermenting fruits into festive party drinks.

We are copying the Romans when we bring evergreen things in the house. The Vikings also admired the conifer and decorated them in order to encourage their spirits through the darkest days. Mistletoe was revered by the Druids and seen as a sign of life and peace in the bare branches of winter forests. It even grows here in DC so keep an eye out for it when walking through the woods.

Those were the days, my friend, when sun worship was not associated with Florida or Coppertone. People fought darkness and depression with parties, gift exchanges and Yule logs. And light-lots of light- which is a lot easier to produce since Mr Edison came along.

At one time or another Saturnalia, Sol Invictus and the sun god Mithras's birthday were all associated with December 25th until Christians misdirected the date to mark the birth of Christ. The tradition of gift giving was then assigned to the Magi, and eventually devolved into an excuse to buy pajamas for the cat.

May I suggest slightly saner, local alternatives ?

Farmers markets are full of ideas as is the DC Holiday market which has live music through December 23. If you prefer to shop from bed, don't forget local authors like Mark Opsasnick. His new book Rock the Potomac "provides a comprehensive history of popular music in the Washington, D.C. area..."  (And believe me, anything Mark writes is comprehensive with a capital "C.")

Another great choice comes from former WHFS deejay, Cerphe Colwell. His "musical memoir" Cerphe's Up includes interviews and stories of cosmic connections made with Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Frank Zappa, Little Feat and many more.

Finally take your friends and family out and make sure those starving musicians get something to eat while we await the solstice which is December 21st at 11:19 pm in the District of Columbia.

DECEMBER

5

A Shrewdness of Apes/ Color School/ Noe  @ 7Drum City

Thrillbillys @ JV

6

Bob Band @ New Deal

Atomic Mosquitos/ Killers From Space @ Hill Country 

The Super Chargers @ Velvet Lounge

Eastern Standard Tine @ Union Stage

7


The Delarcos/ Apollo 66/etc @ Sliver Spring Legion

District Boat Parade @ The Wharf

Rock A Sonics @ Glen Echo

The Super Chargers/ One Way Out @ Velvet Lounge

8

The Nighthawks @ New Deal

11

 Swingin London Tribute @ Gypsy Sally's

12

RTT @ Takoma VFW

13

Valentine Slim @ Wheaton Legion

15

Bill Kirchen @ Birchmere

19

Thrillbillys @ JV

Flower Ave @ Takoma VFW

21

The Yachtsmen @ Dive Bar

Valentine Slim @ Takoma VFW

Solstice!!!

22

Daryl Davis w/ Patsy Stephens and the Hall Bros @ JV

23

EU and Sugar Bear @ Haydees

Caustic Casanova/Eat the Cake /Queen Wolf @ Pie Shop

25

Jimi Smooth @ JV

26

Dave Chappell Band @ JV

Thrillbillys @ Takoma VFW

27

Tommy Lepsom @ JV

28

Punk the Capital screening @ Black Cat

29

Nighthawks @ JV ( 4:30 pm)

31

Sugar Bear and EU @ Bethesda Blues

Oh He Dead @ Pearl Street

King Soul @ Clyde's Chevy Chase

First Night Alexandria w Grandsons and more...

Navigating the Madding Crowd

According to wikipedia "non-human species associated with stampede behavior include zebras, cattle, elephants, blue wildebeests, walruses, wild horses, and rhinoceroses." In the District of Columbia, a trip to the grocery store the week before Thanksgiving puts us right up there with the wildebeest. Woe betides the weak minded member of the pack who innocently strolls into Giant to stock up on necessities. She senses danger upon entry and soon finds herself in line behind a woman racking up $400 worth of provisions which include a giant foil roasting pan full of root vegetables while the clueless one behind her is buying paper towels and laundry detergent. And a chocolate bar.

Next year Clueless hopes to have the foresight to stock up on non- perishable items in advance and avoid this soul crushing experience. And for those avoiding all things grocery, home, and hearth on Thanksgiving Thursday, JV's will be open by 4 pm for dinner with the Dave Chappell Band hitting the stage round 8:30 pm. See one of DC's best players for no cover and, surprisingly,  no stampede.

Friday catch the venerable Nighthawks at the stately State Theater, and on Saturday, Little Red and the Renegades will be throwing down their New Orleans vibe at New Deal Cafe.

If that's not your thing, Lunch with Bob fires things up at the Takoma VFW, or dare to split the herd and go to both.

Whatever the case, keep your wits and humor about you like the chaps in the photos above, and have a very happy thanksgiving!

Gavel to Gavel Coverage

Richard Nixon's impeachment hearings commenced on television in May of 1973, but  I wasn't paying a lot of attention even though one of the Watergate burglars lived right next door.

I was more tuned into his son's rock band which practiced "Smoke on the Water" almost every day after school.  I was also thinking that I needed to get my ears pierced.

 In 1998, when Bill Clinton was facing the music, I had two small children and missed a lot of that drama while hanging out in circles of hell such as DC Stoddert soccer games, play grounds, and birthday parties. Those were blurry days full of sugar highs, low crimes and misdemeanors.  Once I intercepted my five year old trying to smuggle a croquet ball out of a party in his goody bag.

Fast forward to now. Impeachment number three for me in DC. Living in a world of multiple media sources makes living here even more of a fishbowl, but we also have many sanity saving distractions. Here's a few suggestions:

 #1
Tune into online old school radio and reconnect with deejays we grew up with like Cerphe's Music Planet Radio, and Weasel live on WTMD on Fridays and Saturdays and WOWD on Sundays. Plus Milo's on WOWD on Wednesday mornings. I also love WPFW Saturdays.  Good for your groove.

#2
Stare at art. We have a lot of it from tiny galleries to Smithsonians including the newly updated Anacostia Community Museum which reopened last month. Good for the brain.

#3
Get out of town. Even for the day. Massive amounts of water like the Chesapeake Bay and views from Sugarloaf Mountain are good for the soul. Barring that, wander down to our rivers and sit yourself down on Roosevelt or Kingman Island.


#4
You guessed it, dear readers.  Live music. Preferably in a bar without a tv. Good for whatever ails.
See  DC Rocks' calendar for a subset of options.

Reel Music

I didn't even know you could listen to music on a reel to reel contraption until I moved into a group house on Dickinson Avenue in College Park. The year was 1979 and thank god, my house mate Alan had similar musical tastes which were basically eclectic and WHFS driven. Those were the days when friends would drop by around 12:30 a.m. to see if anyone was up, the drinking age was 18, and we spent an inordinate about of time at the Varsity Grill and Italian Gardens.

Back then bands like NRBQ were in heavy rotation on Alan's magic machine. NRBQ has weathered many a roster change throughout the years, including founding member Joey Spampinato bringing in his younger brother Johnny which brings us to a story from Ruthie Logsdon of Ruthie and the Wranglers:

"I booked my band and The Spampinato Brothers for Bill Starks’s 1st CD party at Bethesda Blues and Jazz several years ago. Joey and Johnny knew the NRBQ song "I Got A "Rocket in My Pocket" was written by my cousin Jimmie Logsdon so we had a rockin’ hootenanny of a finale with that song. Joey has been ill and unable to tour so I invited Johnny back to DC to play with us, and we finally found a date that worked at JV's. To make the trip from Cape Cod worthwhile, I suggested Johnny as a guest artist for the Last Waltz tribute as well. Johnny did a call in with Weasel last week and has just returned from a string of dates in Japan. Gonna be a busy weekend with JVs on Friday and the Hamilton Saturday!"

Kudos for wrangling this guitar slinger for the JV party, Miz Logsdon, and congratulations to Lorraine for keeping the doors open for 72 years, and for hosting live music pretty much 365 days a year which is tantamount to running a chicken circus.

Meanwhile the Last Waltz Tribute at the Hamilton has become a Thanksgiving tradition round these parts, and the ticket price includes a turkey dinner in a mason jar. The show usually sells out so get your tickets in advance. This year's line up includes our old friend Eric Brace who is on that two gig-economy-tour bandwagon and is also playing Friday night with Peter Cooper at Jammin Java. And, for something completely different, I'm liking Color Palette at the Pie Shop- also on Friday. 

For those who want to slipstream back in time, "Punk the Capital,"will be screening all weekend  at AFI with multiple Q and A panels brought to you by members of Chalk Circle, Black Market Baby, The Slickee Boys, Tru Fax and more.  Check AFI's website for details. Plus Eric Felten will be up at Glen Echo on Saturday celebrating Veteran's Day with a canteen dance. Vintage attire encouraged.

Trick or Teeth

Halloween is usually one of my favorite days of the year, but today I woke up filled with dread. I had an appointment with the dentist.

After spending a terrifying and tortuous forty-five minutes getting my teeth cleaned, I would like to send out a big thank you to Brian Eno who got me through the worst bits which felt more like dental extraction than hygiene. The tiny masked sadist who waged war upon my gums was armed with razor sharp objects, but I, open mouthed and ear plugged, dis-engaged from her torment with my small but mighty iPod blasting “Here Come the Warm Jets."  The perfect sound track with occasional distracting plinks of a seemingly random piano kept me in the chair and off the ceiling. 

I escaped with my life only to walk down a dreary K Street devoid of any indication of Halloween pending or the Nats' splendiferous World Series triumph last night which is why people get a bad impression of this town. So drab and buttoned up. That's not us!!! Georgetown still celebrates Halloween with a crazy street party which should be especially exciting this year due to the stormy forecast, and The Thrillbillys will be carrying on at JVs while Go Mod Go and Apollo 66 rock the Pie Shop.

Here's November's calendar of amusements and musical distractions... A list which is always incomplete so please step up all my fellow freaks and dentophobes and write me with your hyper-local suggestions:

2

Billy Price /Shirletta Settles /Jodse Ramirez /Afterdark Fundraiser @ Pearl Street Warehouse

3

Los Straightjackets @ Pearl Street

5

Robert Gordon w Chris Spedding/ Jumpin Jupiter@ City Winery

8

Ruthie and the Wranglers @ JV

Eric Brace and Peter Cooper @ Jammin Java

8-10

Mary Chapin Carpenter @ Birchmere

9

Last Waltz Tribute @ The Hamilton

9-11

Punk the Capital Screenings w/ special guests @ AFI

14

RTTs @ Takoma VFW

17

Azalea City CD Release Party @ El Golfo

23

Billy Coulter Band @ New Deal

30

Little Red and Renegades @New Deal

Pretzels and Pumpkins

I confess. I don't have a pumpkin on my porch for the first time in decades. It's not that I can't find one. I just got back from Safeway where  I managed to face down an entire wall of orphaned squash.

I enjoy carving pumpkins as much as the next guy, but I never did like scooping out their guts. Even if I used a large spoon those slimy strings and seeds would climb up my arm.

I still love the season. I've got skeletons, a spider, a black cat, and a witch.

And a bat.

Not to mention an extra large bust of Edgar Alan Poe which always comes in handy this time of year.

I just don't like pumpkins. Or giving out candy. Or being humiliated for giving out pretzels that ONE time.  (Yes, I was that person.)

Halloween parties this weekend might be overshadowed by our beloved baseball team, but for non-sports fans, DC's own Count Gore De Vol will present a director's cut of that crazy feel good film about a little girl with satanic issues on Saturday night at AFI. "The Exorcist" was set in Georgetown because the film was based on a story about a possessed boy who lived right here in Cottage City. His parents supposedly brought him to Georgetown Hospital so the Jesuits could take a swing at extricating his demons. If you go see the movie, don't forget to sleep with your light on!

Avoiding baseball and scary things? Catch Bill Starks on Sunday at JVs. No beds levitating here, just a fun night and a new CD.

Finally, a very cool thing is happening on Monday. Two stars from the Slickee Boys will appear low in the sky at the Galaxy Hut when Marshall Keith opens for The Yachtsmen. I promise it'll be a stellar event with plenty of beer, but no pretzels or pumpkins.

Home Run

Congratulations Nats! What a week it's been. Our baseball team is the talk of the town, and yesterday I heard a well meaning fan on WAMU talking about how excited he is, and how this event will bring people together "especially in a city as transitory as Washington, DC where everyone comes from somewhere else."

Wait, what?

Of course yours truly has something to say about that.

I know what he thinks he means. Yes, the District is a place where Congress and the like sweep in and out, but underneath that shifting tide, people like car mechanics, teachers, and bus drivers quietly slog out a living here. Politicians are the migrating sharks; DC natives are the coral reef.

Yes, Virginia, there really is such thing as a DC native. I offer this photograph as evidence. There's my mom with her little brother and cousin and their grandfather at Griffith Stadium in 1933, the last year a Washington team made it to the series. (I'm betting they probably couldn't get tickets to the game.)

This weekend while we all take a break from baseball, there's plenty of things to do both new and with history. Tonight check out the cool sounds of DOGO at the Bossa Cafe and Lounge.

On Friday The City Paper is hosting a conversation on the history of go-go at Public Bar which happens early. Afterwards catch the Dave Chappell Band at the New Deal Cafe.

Saturday drop by WOWD's fundraiser at the Takoma VFW. WHFS veterans Weasel and Milo both host shows at this tiny but important station. Please help keep truly local radio alive.

DC Libraries Rock

DC Ax slinger Dan Hovey 

Last Sunday the Takoma Park Street Fest featured more bands than a person could possibly catch in one afternoon. The event showcased how lucky we are to have so many musicians prowling around this burg. They shred, jive, and wail- just like the politicians Washington is famous for, but with much better results.

Our library even has a punk rock archive which is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a party this Saturday at the Georgetown Library up there on Book Hill, one of my favorite places in DC. If anything jazzes me up more than music, it might be having a library card, and DC has better borrowing terms  than a used car lot in Detroit. Check out up to fifty books for twenty-one days, and, if there are no holds, renew them up to ten times. What? That's gives a person 210 days get through Go Dog Go or War and Peace. And there's a 30 day grace period on top of the due date so technically you can keep a book for about as long as it takes to have a human baby.  And if you act now, you can also borrow DVDs, CDs and LPs. The librarians will even show you how to use the digital collection which includes audio books, movies, newspapers and music. Did I mention magazines?

I will stop now.

The open house runs form 2:30-4 p.m. Here's the low down from DCPL:

Selected materials from the DC Punk Archive collections will be on display in the Peabody Room, the punk archive's temporary home during the renovation of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. Read zines, view rare concert footage, and learn about how the collections have been used by researchers over the years.

Outdoor Celebration 2:30-5 p.m.

Exhibition of photographs by Antonia Tricarico, author of Frame of Mind: Punk Photos and Essays 1997-2017

DIY merch: Make a button and stencil your own posters and t-shirts! Paper will be provided, but you must bring your own t-shirt

Music by Les the DJ at 2:30 p.m. and CORIKY (Amy Farina - Ian MacKaye - Joe Lally) at 4 p.m.

And celebrate DC's first Indigenous People Day holiday weekend with live music, and too many choices starting tonight with the Rock-A-Sonics at Pearl Street and The Rhodes Tavern Troubadours at Takoma VFW where the Bold Deceivers and Jelly Roll Mortal will be on Friday, which competes for our attention with Little Red and the Renegades up at Haydees, and last but not least, King Soul reigns over the Takoma VFW on Saturday leaving me to award the folks at "Hell's Bottom" with "The Little Engine That Could" award for great music this weekend.

Villains, Saints and the Death of a Rock Club

The Cravin' Dogs and The Yachtsmen will not be at Villain and Saint this Saturday due to lack of venue. 

The club was badly laid out with a long aisle and a miniature dance floor. A massive bar forced patrons into a narrow aisle between booths on one side and bar stools on the other. Still, Villain and Saint was one of the few live music venues in Bethesda, and the staff, as well as musicians, worked hard to make this a fun place.

In the end the villains outweighed the saints here. Employees found out the club was closed when the locks were changed on Monday morning. Coming development has been blamed, but negligence from the top is mostly at fault.  Club owners can't seem to understand that a live music venue is not an instant cash cow without proper promotion and curating. They ignored expert advice, and doors closed.

The good news is the fire damaged Hank Dietle's Tavern will literally rise from the ashes next spring thanks to the collaborative and herculean efforts of local music lovers Thomas Bowes, his wife Sarah Bonner and music photographer Alan Kresse. The new crew hopes to bring both national and local acts to a restored and updated historic roadhouse.

photo by Alan Kresse

Meanwhile we still have music to support this weekend. Please note the Little Red and the Renegades show at New Deal Cafe has been postponed until November, but Valentine Slim will be at the Takoma VFW, Color School is at the Vinyl Lounge, and the Euphon-X folks always produce a cool gathering of interesting bands...this time at Slash Run. All these events are on Saturday.

Sunday enjoy the fall weather, food, and music at the Takoma Park Street Fest which features eighteen bands on three stages including The Half Smokes - a new WHFS cover band which has got to be a hoot for all us geezers who grew up with "homegrown radio."  Hit the link for a full schedule of bands.

Only Love Can Bring the Rain

RAIN.  Please. Washington DC has not had more than a trace of rain since August 7th, and yes, I've been counting the days.  Now my yard crunches like Rice Krispies when I walk across what used to be a bunch of short green plants masquerading as grass. 

Now even the weeds are withering while the sun is acting as if it were mid-August, not almost October. And the dog next door won't stop barking. Irrelevant, perhaps, but annoying just the same. 

Please rain.

Please.

A thunderstorm does not count.  What we need is an old fashioned Cat in the Hat kind of long, gray, rainy day . 

Or a Singing in the Rain kind of night. The sleeping with the windows open and the curtains damp with mist kind. 

Preferably....both.

There are more than a few rain dances coming up in October. Please get out and support local music rain or shine: 

.

OCTOBER

3

Thrillbillys @ JV

5

Little Red @ New Deal

Valentine Slim @ Takoma VFW

Cravin Dogs/ The Yachtsmen @ Villain and Saint

EuphonX @ Slash Run

Color School @ Vinyl Lounge

7

Takoma Park Street Fest

9

Trupa Trupa/ Tone @ The Pie Shop

10

Jamie McClean/ Rock-A-Sonics @ Pearl Street

RTT @ Takoma VFW

11

Bold Deceivers/ Jelly Roll Mortal @ Takoma VFW

Little Red @ Haydees

12

King Soul @ Takoma VFW

17

Thrillbillys @ JV

18

Dave Chappell @ New Deal

23

Stiff Little Fingers/ The Avengers/ The Split Seconds @ Black Cat

24

Dave Chappell @ JV

27

Bill Starks CD party @ JV

28

The Yachtsmen @ Galaxy Hut

31

Go Mod Go @ Pie Shop

Thrillbillys @ JV

Miscellany Redux

There's a fine, discretionary line between collecting, and, Ok,  I'll say it: hoarding.  Sometimes I wonder which category I fall into. I like cool old things, but I don't want to end up like the Craig's List Cautionary Tale of Too Many Salt Shakers. Once upon a time an Arlington woman started a salt and pepper shaker collection. She was six years old, and it seemed like a harmless activity, but when she died, her sister had the sad task of selling about ten thousand pairs.  Three thousand were enough to fill shelves lining the entire second floor of a bungalow and then some.  I thought the collector-woman should have opened a museum, but her sister told me one already exists in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Recently on a fun filled vacation in Pittsburgh I visited a couple who justified their fascination with things macabre by turning their home into a museum. Trundle Manor, where the Addams Family meets steam punk, features grisly displays of abandoned prosthetics, skeletal remains and lots of cleavers.

The occupants within curate all things creepy...

and create personal touches themselves like a human size chute jutting out the second story as well as a robotic man to guard the kitchen.

They also have a penchant for taxidermy which doubles as a leisure activity.

Back here in DC, local musician Al Sevilla solved his passion for musical instruments by opening a shop called Big Al's Trading Post which used to be in Silver Spring by Crisfield's. Al closed the store after a few years, but he never stopped collecting, and his current cherished accumulation will be up for sale at Atomic Music- just in time for their 25th anniversary event.

Atomic is the bomb for musicians looking to sell or buy gear, and their honest reputation has brought them great success through the years though marketing may not be their strongpoint. When I first watched the video advertising the anniversary sale, I thought I was back at Trundle Manor.  The frowny Pinocchio-like marionette jittering about gave me the impression he was hopped up on speed as he flitted between drums and amps waving one spastic arm, but then I realized I forgot to turn up the volume.  It's amazing the difference a sound track makes. With a falsetto narrator and comical horns blaring, a maniacal puppet turns into a benign little tour guide with a slightly filthy mouth.

Atomic's sale/anniversary party runs all afternoon and includes live music from five bands and refreshments. Congratulations Luis and Eric!