Even Reston Rocks

Chip Py got his start in rock photography right here in the trenches of DC ROCKS, and I have to say he has got it down. (check out the poster above) And David Kitchen is as good as Chip Py makes him look so by all means get out and see him this Friday night.  He'll be playing at the M & S Grill somewhere in the wilds of Reston. There's no cover charge, and it's a new CD release party to boot.

By the by- from the horse's mouth- David says:

"I'll have some incredible players with me Friday night: Ariel Francis- bass, Larry Ferguson- drums, Dan Hovey- guitar, Mookie Siegel - keyboards. Yikes! I'm pinching myself."

Everybody's Waiting For Prabir

Prabir and the Substitutes- that young Richmond band I've been raving about- that both wild women and grown men have been swooning over- is hitting this town once more. All Music Guide just gave their new album Share a great review. And like a good restaurant, they've never disappointed every time I've seen them. They'll be at at the 9:30 Club this Friday night, January 11th, when they open for the Japanese Beatles tribute band The Silver Beats. Their similarity to the Beatles got them this gig, but Prabir's music is original and definitely has a sound and joyous fury of its own. Go see for yourself this Friday.


Chip Py-my rock photographer extraordinaire-got the shots for this posting during their gig at The Black Cat last week.

It's Not Completely Too Late

Slickees at the Surf by Chip Py


If you weren't there- you missed a great night. The Slickee Boys show at Chick Hall's was a blast. All three bands- The Slickees, The Beatnik Flies and Prabir wowed the crowd. Look for more pictures of last night's show taken by Chip Py, DC ROCKS own indefatigable photographer, coming to this site soon.

And Slickee fans - you can still get 'em while there hot at The Ottobar tonight in Baltimore.
Tonight's bill also includes The Howling Mad ( Ex- Razz) Chelsea Graveyard and the Screams at Midnight (the band with the world's longest name) AND Jukebox Zeros. Doors at 8 - all ages venue.

Other Birds Seen Around Here Besides Turkeys

I told someone I was going to go see The Nighthawks at the Kensington Armory Thanksgiving "town dance" last Wednesday, and they said, "Are they still alive?"
Well, yeah.
And it was great.
And here are the pictures to prove it from my senior staff photographer, Chip Py:



The show sold out.



Johnny Castle



Keith Grimes



Paul Bell



Mark Wenner



and Dan Hovey sitting in.

Something Fishy in Silver Spring?

Silver Spring. For years it thrived - for years it died. When I was a kid, I used to spend Thanksgiving night with my oldest brother and his wife so I could go to the big Silver Spring Christmas parade which was always held the day after Thanksgiving. I don't know when they stopped having it, but most people I ask don't remember one. Silver Spring faltered- I guess sometime in the seventies. Then came years of speculation of how to revive the failing downtown. One idea was a Mall of America. At least THAT fell through, but in its place is a sort of faux Main Street- or Same Street- chain after chain store. It's so much a mall that my friend, Chip Py was told in no uncertain terms not to take pictures, as it is private property, thus spawning the Great Silver Spring Photographer's Anti Massacre Movement. (O.K. I borrowed that from Alice's Restaurant. Remember when WHFS used to play that EVERY Thanksgiving day ? But I digress) Anyway the new developpement seems to be a whopping success. So many people come there now you need a freight elevator to get them out of the parking lot. And that huge expanse of astro turf is often covered with frolicking patrons.
But not all of Silver Spring has turned over by any means.
The Silver Theater now houses the AFI, and little places are holding on like Dale Music, Crisfield's, Vincino's and The Quarry House. The Tastee Diner was saved and moved. The Acorn Gazebo (circa 1850!) which presides over the silver spring, is still there- though the park is tiny. And check out Jackie's Restaurant. She took over an old car parts shop and made it her own amazing spot.
Maybe all these big places are helping the little ones stay for now, or maybe it's the calm before another storm of mega chains which could include a totalitarian corporate music venue as The Birchmere deal fell through. Last weekend, however, I suddenly found myself marching down Georgia Avenue- not in a protest but in... a parade. I don't live in Silver Spring so I had no idea, but the Thanksgiving parade is back. It didn't look like anything I remembered, until I spotted a bunch of well worn plastic reindeer pulling a suspiciously familar float. Someone must have held onto that old stuff-stored it away just in case- just like someone held onto the theater and the diner and the acorn. Old Silver Spring still lives. Change can be good. Change is helping Silver Spring to thrive, but hold on, everybody - just in case.

The Quarry House Holds ON

I've had some odd jobs in my life, but one of them was painting the steps that lead down to the Quarry House in Silver Spring which is still a hold out from the infringing new and improved Silver Sprung. I met friends in a bar last week in the newer section and after parking on the fourth floor and squeezing into a freight sized elevator with a gazillion people, we unloaded into the now infamous, formerly forbidden, photography zone- otherwise known as the new pedestrian mall. (I have to stop here and thank Chip Py for squawking about this no photo thing, and actually doing something about it.) Anyway a band was playing, and lots of new chain stores have happily attracted throngs. Not exactly my cup of tea. So I'm glad that Jackie bought the Quarry House and left it relatively unscathed so far. A basement bar- it can only be described as a hole in the wall with tater tots and now an extensive (and can be expensive) beer list, but it's still a dive, and I like it like that. The Rhodes Tavern Troubadours are playing tomorrow night. Check it out.