No News Is What It Is

It's been over a month since I heard the news. Any news. Normally I am a bit of a NPR junkie flipping on an audio trail of radios all over the house from the time I wake up until I can't take it anymore around 7 p.m. Traveling overseas completely severed this routine except for one morning in Paris when we woke up to an inordinate amount of helicopter noise. I jumped on the internet just to make sure nothing major had happened near the Eiffel tower where we staying, but the only 'breaking news' I could find centered on a vacationing couple who had inadvertently left behind their three year old  in a rest stop en route to Marseille.

In Greece, I didn't hear any news, but, despite the overwhelming financial problems there, my cousins were very worried about Donald Trump being elected. I had to reassure them that this was only a vuvouzela chorus of pre election weirdness. (And as my good friend Anne would say, babies not even conceived of yet will be born before November 2016)

And so my little self imposed boycott goes on. I remain not woefully but deliberately ignorant for now, listening to music instead, and since DC ROCKS rarely offers riffs on the news, the lack of breaking updates in my brain should make no difference here.

That being said this weekend's forecast is sunny and musical. Check DC ROCKS' side bar calendar for bands playing everything from pool parties to night clubs starting with Dave Chappell at JV's Thursday night to an early gig with Goin' Goin' Gone, Ruthie and the Wranglers and more this Sunday afternoon at Sligo Cafe.

Return of a Native

photo by Mark A Noone

Greetings Readers

After flying all day from the future which was morning in Paris through a time warp somewhere over Greenland to what I think is six hours in the past here in Washington DC, I think I am back..
(at least my body is here- just don't ask me what time it is)

Where is everybody?

Hello? Anyone there?

I know where you are.

Places like Maine, Ocean City, the mountains- anywhere but here in town. But it's nice in DC with so many people gone away- especially all those pesky politicians and their minions, and, as long as you don't venture down to the tourist spots, we're left with lots more places to park. Hard to believe that in   about a week the DC schools will be back in session, and traffic will snarl anew.

For those of you still hanging around, Chip Py, occasional DC ROCKS photographer, has a gig tomorrow evening at Martin Luther King Library about his adventures in the go-go world which include documenting the sadly late but always great Chuck Brown.

DC ROCKS AWOL

Dear Readers

Sorry to abandon the ship, but transmitting from overseas is proving to be a technological effort beyond my ken resulting in colossal futility. Watch this space for things returning to something akin to normal sometime in mid-August. Until then, hang in there DC. Try to stay cool without me... (Ha!)

Let's Go Honky Tonkin Round This Town

Roadhouse. Tavern. Honky Tonk. Dare I say dive? These are the places where DC ROCKS feels most at home. This Saturday night Ruthie and the Wranglers will be throwing it down with The Thrillbillys at the new and improved but still small enough to rub elbows with everyone JV's  in Virginia. This show is sure to be a hoot- a revved up rocking version of a hootenanny.

Not to be outdone, over in Maryland, Hank Dietle's Tavern now has Curley-S Q BBQ's truck in the yard (check their website for time) with Monsters from the Surf and Jumpin' Jupiter in the house to work off that pig.

When We Go to the Beach

One of the great things about living in Washington, D.C. is our sweet spot location between the mountains and the shore. However, judging by the traffic on Route 50 every weekend, I think the beach "wins" by a long shot, and always has. Many of my summer memories go way back to an old hotel in Ocean City, Maryland called the Del-Mar which had a dining room, rocking chairs on the double decker porches and beds with sunken mattresses.  My brother and I shared one bed which was okay except we tended to end up in the exact same space, and then a lot of kicking ensued. Remember that "I Love Lucy" episode when they all slept in a cabin by the railroad tracks? Fred and Ethel had the bunks, and Lucy had to tuck Ricky into their bed with a tight fitting sheet so they both wouldn't roll down to the middle... It was like that.

This summer you don't have to fight traffic to experience the seashore. The Building Museum has got our backs on this with its own version of "The Beach" - a 10,000 square foot space devoted to the illusion of sand, sea and light. Admission (which includes access to the entire museum) seems a bit stiff at first - $16 for adults and $13 for kids, but maybe that's because I am spoiled rotten having grown up with the Smithsonian Institution. Today, and every day, the weather at "The Beach" is 70 degrees with no chance of rain, and when you think about it, the entry fee is not much more than a movie. Plus one million translucent balls don't come cheap.

photo by Christine Hansen Martin

Crazy Cat Round Up

Imagine herding cats. (aka musicians)  How many could you get on a stage for one evening? Take your typical rock band which has 4 or 5 people involved, odds are one of them forgets to check their email on a regular basis, one travels for work and yet another is in two other bands. Now add a bath tub on that stage because there is always going to be some kind of extra problem about getting there or parking or not having all your cables and mike stands.

Enter Herschel Hoover, cat wrangler extraordinaire from Chess Club Romeos, who dreams big. He wanted The Romeos to play on a bill which would feature his eclectic taste in music and his favorite bands- hoping to turn people on to all kinds of music in one fell swoop. The result is euphonX -eight bands playing at IOTA this Saturday. Yes, eight bands doing half hour sets starting at 6 p.m. and running all night.  Just twelve dollars for a lot of crazy cats.

Come Outside DC

Now that we are deep in the heart of summer, the Fort Reno Concert Series is back in business starting tomorrow at 7 p.m. and happening Mondays and Thursdays through out the month of July.  If you've always wondered why that little stage is there- set seemingly at random in a park on the highest hill in Washington, then now is the time to find out. Tomorrow's bands are East West Hwy, Sara Curtin and The Fuss. I'll be there for a lot of the shows, but will sadly miss Jack On Fire July 27 so somebody please let me know how that goes.

Comin' Comin' Back

Goin' Goin' Gone hasn't been around for a long long time, but now the band is back, back back with  members whose names will be familiar to people who have been in the DC music scene for a while: David Goodfriend, Russ Beeker, Nick Ruggieri and Mitch Mitchell. GGG has already had a few gigs under its new belt, so they are ready to go, go go. See them live and in person Saturday night at Hank Dietles on da Pike, and bring bring back some memories.  Here is the scoop from David Goodfriend:

"Late last year Russ and I talked about putting the band back together, and I knew he was ready to do it.  Mitch Mitchell, who played bass in GGG for over a decade, and I have been playing together for the last 5 years.  Both he and Nick Ruggieri, who played drums in GGG for a few years, were up for another go round.

It's the four of us for now. We will add a 5th piece when we find the right one.  We really miss being onstage and rocking,and Russ and I have gotten much better at writing through the years.For now we have a few originals in the mix including one I just wrote.  We've gone through old set lists and brought back the songs we thought were our best.  

While it is of course a reunion, we look at it as more of a continuation.  We'll do some of the old tunes we know people dug and add lots of new ones as we go along."

It's All In How You Look At It

I like rock and I like stars, but the last time I went to a super star rock concert,  I wondered why am I paying all this money to sit in the back of a sports stadium and look at a gigantic screen?

Instead, for a mere $10 I can see four hard rocking working bands including The Beatnik Flies this Thursday at the Tree House Lounge- a joint not even big enough to hold a jumbo-tron.  The Flies are a hard act to catch these days, and they never fail to knock me out.

By the by- speaking of knock-outs-we get two full moons this month. Moon Number One will be working its show all night long tonight- literally from sunset until sunrise. (none of that sneaking up during the day biz here) The "once in a blue moon" will be happening July 31. Watch them both alive and in person if you can.

Experiment

The Split Seconds have a history of the DC music scene wrapped up in their new project of original music. Lead singer Drew grew up listening to Discord bands and seeing DC players out and about. You can check their sound out here, but better yet- go see them. Live music is always an experiment so get in the laboratory with these guys and see what happens at Wonderland Ballroom Thursday with The Long Knives and fellow DC group The Prahns.

I Survived 9:30 and Lived to Tell About It

For those of you who wonder where the heck the writer of this blog came from- I'd have to say it all started with a bizarre little haunt down on F Street called the 9:30 Club. I grew up wandering Georgetown listening to street musicians and going to concerts in little places like the Pour House Pub or big ones like Constitution Hall and the Capital Centre, but the 9:30 Club was … well, different. It drew a certain kind of a person- crazy, creative, passionate people. Current co-owner Seth Hurwitz called it "the Island of Misfit Toys."

I couldn't agree more.

 And I couldn't make these people up. They are my friends.

I was in college when Dody DiSanto and John Bowers turned a decrepit building into an art venue. My first show sometime in the early '80s was Kurtis Blow although I had no idea just where we were headed or what we were going to see the night a bunch of my Maryland housemates and I decamped for F Street in a Ford Falcon station wagon. It was such a cool place that I was surprised they let me in.

Thanks to my friend and music muse, Peter Alsberg, dc space and the 9:30 Club became the places we wanted to be, and that in turn led to meeting a lot of local artists and musicians- many of whom worked in bars. (Imagine that.) Some of you might remember Mark Hall with his black cap, black jeans (black pretty much everything) serving drinks and video dee-jaying behind the bar during happy hour Wednesday through Friday.

Music videos were the rage, and Mark's taste ran from Dear God by XTC to Run-DMC's Walk This Way with Aerosmith. At the end of his shift,  Mark would chase customers away with strategically quiet classical music while the doormen extracted cover charges from patrons wishing to stay for the show.  Quite a few bands like Troublefunk, Tru-fax, Insect Surfers and Beatnik Flies are still playing- giving me fodder to write about.

A lot of art and music erupted from that tiny hole in the wall, but no film or book has yet to fully capture this "place and time."  While we are waiting for that project to happen, "Salad Days"  (showing again tomorrow at AFI) gives a nod to that community, as does the recently re-released book Banned in DC. A must for any DC punk rock lover.

Round Up with Wranglers

Big big dance party alert at Bethesda Blues. Beat the Sunday blahs with music brought to you alive and kicking courtesy of ace pianist Bill Starks, Ruthie and the Wranglers and The Spampinato Brothers.

What is Hip?

I can't be. I don't know what one is. I hear the word bandied about; I also hear that hipsters are annoying. My high school aged son tried to explain it to me, but he had to give up. He did tell me a few jokes which shed some light:

Q: How many hipsters does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 
A: You wouldn’t know, it’s kind of an obscure number.

Q: How much does a hipster weigh?
A: An instagram. 

Q: How many hipsters can you get into a phone booth? 
A: One, any more and it would be too mainstream. 

Plus this: Two hipsters walk into a bar. The first one did it before it was cool, and the second one did it ironically. 

Ok

Where does that leave me who loves funky old dives and walked into a bar (without irony or an ID) way before most hipsters were born? Now that I think about it, I must have waded through crowds of hipsters in the front bar at the Quarry House Saturday nights on my way to the back room where the bands play. Oh, and good news on that front- I saw Jackie a few weeks ago, and she is confident the Quarry House will reopen in its original digs. In the meantime the bar life is malingering across Georgia Avenue at the now defunct Pirate Bar. And the music? The Saturday night music scene has temporarily shifted to Hank Dietles on the Pike- not a place hipsters are likely to stumble upon, but definitely the spot for the motley crew of musicians I know and love.

Look for Marshall Keith (ex Slickee) and Ubangis up to bat this Saturday. Definitely hip not square.

ffff

Go for That Rock and Roll Music

 

The Art of Summer

Into the Woods with James

 Summer sure sank its teeth into Washington this week. I'm not sure what happened, but I think a high pressure system puts its feet up on our coffee table and is refusing to budge. Suddenly fledglings are out of the nest, and bugs are on the move. (Even as I write I am being distracted by the occasional ant which seems to be popping out of my laptop. Oh oh. This may stem back to the Icing Incident that happened a few months ago when the computer was sitting on the kitchen counter.)

On the bright side there's a lot of free music and movies around in the Great Outdoors this summer. Here's a handy music list the Washington Post compiled, and here's the outdoor movie line up from Thrillist. One item that didn't make their list, however, was the Doug Dupin Film Festival last week which featured his latest short "Into the Woods with James."  Check it out. Art is a wonderful thing to find where you least expect it.




p.s. to email subscibers- apologies for that January posting being sent out by feed burner. That was some kind of cyber fluke.

Surf Is UP

I don't usually post twice in one week about a band, but Monday's Insect Surfers' show was so energetic and so much fun that I want to make sure people know they will be back playing IOTA tomorrow night before winging their way back West.  (Also I can never resist a poster by the theremin master of the Atomic Mosquitos and artist extraordinaire Stephen Blickenstaff. )

Monday night was a love-in throwback sort of affair with long standing DC musicians and music fans  coming out for the show and the camaraderie. And speaking of love-ins , if you haven't yet, check out Insect's fearless leader David Arnson's article about "Georgetown," a nostalgic walk back in time that he wrote for my other site "Washington, DC My Hometown."

This show will be different from Monday's with surf oriented Atomic Mosquitos opening as well as the high energy SuperSwank.

Stay Tuned to Your Favorite Local Station

Thursday. Probably the best night of the week to go out. Not too crowded, and they don't call it casual Fridays for nothing. But where to go?
Two excellent choices come to my mind. The Traveling Wilburys Tribute at IOTA or The Staying Put Thrillbillys at JV with special guest -the guitar wielding wizard that is Dan Hovey)

What's the Buzz?

Two more old timer punk ass rock shows to report. The Denizens of Washington, 7 Door Sedan and Sister-Ex are all lined up at the Black Cat back room tonight. I don't want to do the math here, but there's about 100 years of experience going on between band members of all these acts including  tomorrow when the Insect Surfers, The Yachtsmen and Col Josh invade Jackie's Side bar in Silver Spring for a rare show indeed this side of the river. (Virginians be on the look out for Insect Surfers to swim over your way when they infest IOTA next Friday.)

All Stacked Up

King Soul. Eight guys in shiny suits and vintage ties seem to belong in an upscale night club with little candles on the tables and a dance floor. There isn't a bad apple to be found in this Memphis Stax based soul band of pros. One night only- this Saturday at Bethesda Blues and all that Jazz.

Remember the Time?

What does it mean that this is the first time Last Train Home has played since 2013? It means that band leader Eric Brace felt like putting on a show, and where better than at Iota, where as Eric puts it "the whole thing kind of got started back in 1987 with B-Time."

1987?

Good grief. Has it been that long? The eighties once stretched out like an endless sea of time for me. I was at University of Maryland at the beginning, lived in California in the middle, and got married on the other end. One common thread through it all was my pal Peter Alsberg who was part of a motley crew of housemates on Guildford Road in College Park….

who drove out West to visit with another buddy when I lived in San Francisco,

and served as best guy in my wedding.  (He cleaned up well, didn't he?)

A lot of other fuzzy stuff happened in the middle at 9:30 Club where Pete and I met many a life long friend, but I digress.

Coming full circle, Pete is the one who introduced me to Alan and Eric Brace back in that magical year of 1987 when I convinced him to have an old fashioned cocktail party like our parents used to have.  (We were way ahead of our time.) Check back for a picture of that event.

We saw B- Time and Last Train Home many times before Pete moved on to another plane.  Otherwise he most likely would be coming to this concert which will be one of those congenial reunion type affairs featuring long standing (and outstanding) band members and guests like Jimmy Gray, Scott McKnight, Kevin Cordt and Dave Van Allen.  Also, Evan Pollock, the original drummer for B- Time will be playing with LTH for the first time! These guys ( including now Nashville based Eric) will be coming from near and far, so come join the party this Friday at Iota. Invite your friends, buy them a drink, and enjoy the evening.