King Soul Rules @ Jackie's This Saturday

On King Soul what Lyn2 has to say is- "You have not had fun until you have had it with King Soul. Period."

$8 cover includes live music and little Tommy Clifford as your Soul driven deejay.

Soul on Sunday

This Sunday is fraught with choices what with the Takoma Park Street Festival  and St  Bernadette's Fall Festival  happening on the same day. Both are good choices, but St Bernadette's has something Takoma Park doesn't have: pony rides!
They will also have food, games, beer and live entertainment. 
And best of all (besides the pony thing) if you didn't have time to get to church, King Soul will be there to help you feel all spiritual again. You can catch their groove from 1-4. Ambitious types can hit both Takoma and Silver Spring for a full day of free entertainment. Takoma runs 10-5. St Bernadette's 1-6.
St. Bernadette's is located at 80 University Blvd. E. just outside the Beltway in Silver Spring .

Troubadours Gots Soul

The Rhodes Tavern Troubadours got together about ten years ago, and quickly became a regular fixture at the Half Moon Barbecue in Silver Spring which featured great pulled pork up front and a tiny sometimes too hot sometimes too cold but much beloved space in the back where the bands played, but when it got too hot in there- they'd open the door to the back alley, and you could see a car go by now and then behind the band.*

But Time Marches On.

Now the Half Moon is gone, and the Troubadours' days are waning as all four members have fallen into different projects. Gigs are rare which is why the IOTA show with King Soul last December sold out EARLY- by 9 p.m. So heads up my fellow music lovers- this Saturday the band will be back at IOTA with original member/guitar hero Dave Chappell on board.

And you get your money's worth with the eight piece outfit that is King Soul. Way out front man, Tom Clifford is committed to looking after each and every one of y'all's soulful needs, as are those Troubadours turned soul men- Jake Flack and Mark Noone.(At least they didn't go far.) Chris Watling, Tom Ruggieri and Vince McCool (his real name) on horns and Arif Durrani on keyboards. Hula Monster Ben Holmes keeps the beat. Get there early-have a bite to eat and relax. Show starts at 9.

*That first run on sentence was brought to you in honor of Bloomsday- June 16th- when this article was actually written whilst contemplating Rockville and whether or not it was going to rain. Please pass the Guiness.

Out of This World Rock Show Monday

Mark Noone - Slickee Boy, Troubadour, King Soul man, Hula Monster is coming out of the basement (and his clothes closet) with his newest incarnation the Yachtsmen this MONDAY night at Galaxy Hut- one of my favorite tiny haunts thanks to former owner and long time ethereal rocker Alice Despard who will also be playing this extraordinary double bill. It might be a Monday, but this show is a must see. Local rock history will be made before your eyes-don't miss it. Starts early -9 p.m.- so you can hit the pillow, too.

Local Soul Delivery

(photo by Tom Clifford)

Soul food feeds the spirit as much as the body, and soul music does much the same thing, but without the calories. I'm not sure what the equivalent of soul food is in Thailand, but I do know that the all powerful King Soul will deliver Memphis Stax to Bangkok Blues in Falls Church this FRIDAY night. The Cravin'Dogs a long time, upstanding roots rock type group will open.

Show starts at 7. $7 All ages.

Eat, drink and groove, baby.

Make 2009 Count -Rock the Year Out All Week Long

Holidays tend to throw every one off schedule, but the week between Christmas and New Year's has always been a good one for goofing off, and if your New Year's resolution was to go out and have more fun this year- there's STILL time to make that happen right now starting with the Rosslyn Mountain Boys reunion Monday night at JVs in Falls Church.

The Rosslyn Mountain Boys used to be a household name around these parts many moons ago. You could see them live all over town or hear their songs on the radio. (WHFS, of course)
Nowadays the "boys" have gotten involved in other projects, but every blue moon or so they get back together and boy, do they rock. The last time I saw them it was great fun since these shows reunite the fans as well.

And on Tuesday night another don't miss reunion will be taking place at IOTA when The Rhodes Tavern Troubadours get back together with original member-guitar slayer, Dave Chappell. True Troubadour appearances are far and few between since they lost drummer Jack O' Dell to Bill Kirchen so this will be an extra special event. Plus Troubadours are opening for one of my new favorite bands- King Soul - an eight piece uber talented crew including two Troubadours- Jake Flack and Mark Noone- as well as extravagantly effervescent front man Tom Clifford whose personal mission is to make sure that everyone in the room has a blast.

So let's review-Monday and Tuesday you rock; Wednesday you rest. Thursday you do what you gotta do to say good bye to 2009. Then it's back to our regularly scheduled programming. If we don't see you out and about-happy 2010 from DC ROCKS.

Snowbound with Slickee Boys

Thank you local film maker Jeff Krulik for bringing your camera to the  Slickee Boys show at Black Cat last summer. The bad news is this is the closest thing to a Slickees show anybody is going to get this year so check out Jeff's clip and put in your two cents on the 50 Year Olds Slam Dancing  concept. 

The only other recourse is to mark your calendars for December 29th at Iota when Slickee Boy Mark Noone will appear in the line up of both the Rhodes Tavern Troubadours Reunion Event (including Dave Chappell) and King Soul- eight fairly white boys doing solid Memphis stax.  

Sunday's Got Soul

And Papa's got a brand new bag! Congratulations to Vivian and Chris Watling on the arrival of the newest hippest rocker in town Coleman Jet Watling. Chris missed two gigs - one with the Grandsons and one with King Soul for this Blessed Event, but as far as we know Chris 'll be back in the sax saddle again when King Soul plays Iota this Sunday evening.


With three horns, keyboard, drums, guitars and the irrepressible Tom Clifford leading the charge, the stage will be packed with talent.

DC homie Colonel Josh will be kicking off this conveniently early show so there's no excuse even if you do have to work on Monday. Doors at 7. King Soul around 8:30.

King Soul and "Colonel" Josh Arnson put on a great show last Friday night to help celebrate Surf Club's re- reopening. Chip Py caught this rare shot of Tom Clifford and Josh's duet.

King Soul Grants Audience to Surf Club

King Soul's a big band. It's so big that chances are you're going to know one of these guy's names from the local music scene, if not from a local high school: Jake Flack-Guitar & Vocals; Tom Clifford-Vocals & Harp; Nick Ruggieri-Drums & Vocals; Mark Noone - Bass & Vocals; Arif Durrani-Keyboards & Vocals; Chris Whatling-Baritone Sax; Tom Ruggieri -Tenor Sax; and Vince McCool-Trumpet. If no one sounds familiar- don't worry- chances are that Tom Clifford will come sit at your table and introduce himself in the middle of a song. That's what makes local music much more fun than those big ticket names. And at a fraction of the price to go to the Verizon or whatever they are calling it nowadays Center.

Opening for King Soul is Colonel Josh Honky Tonk which will bring on that rootsy kind of music in true keeping to Surf Club's road house roots with plenty of room for dancing, playing pool or just hanging at the bar. Show is this Friday night at Surf Club starting at 9.

From Two Women Who Don't Stay Home To Wash Their Hair: Girl Talk

LYN2: Hey what are you doing on Saturday night? I can't wait to see Sister Ex, 7 Door Sedan and Beatnik Flies all in one show at the Velvet Lounge.

LYN1 Yeah-all of them in that tiny space? I love it! You can stand close enough to the bands there to start a revolution or something. On the other hand that new band King Soul is playing at the Surf Club. They need bodies.

LYN2: I wish more people would check out the Surf Club. It's old-school honky tonk feel makes me feel like Patsy Cline.

LYN1: Yep-The Surf Club is great- plenty of room to dance or you can play pool or just chill at the bar. But you can't beat the Velvet Lounge for tiny rock dive intimacy- sort of like those night clubs in old movies except without the cool tables and chairs and waiters and just about everything else.

LYN2: Atmosphere aside, I can't believe how much I look forward to seeing two bands that didn't even exist a year ago-7 Door Sedan and Sister Ex just get better and better. As for the Beatnik Flies, their three decade history has defined my life! I really like their version of the Beatles' "Every Little Thing She Does!"

LYN1: King Soul hasn't been around very long either although all of their members have been in or are still in a ton of bands like Chris Watling from The Grandsons or Jake Flack of the RTTS-speaking of which The Troubadours will be there, too, and they don't play out much anymore. 

LYN2: I saw King Soul at the Takoma Street Festival, and it was a wall of talent and fun. As for the Rhodes Tavern Troubadours- it will pain me to miss that. They rock.

LYN1: It'll pain me to miss you! 

LYN2: So it sounds like one of us might be in DC and one of us might be in Maryland. Let's meet up for a 2 a.m. breakfast!  

LYN1: Amen.

P.S. We heard VL has made a number of improvements including the bar being open upstairs during the bands. Links to all the bands and bars mentioned above can be found in the sidebar of DC ROCKS.