Stardust and Reed

Monday holidays always leave me slightly disoriented, and the thunder of a limb falling in the alley woke me this morning. The concussion sounded like a distant bomb so I was happy to see that it was raining, and that we were not at war. Then I'm foggily thinking about trash day being Friday not Thursday when I suddenly remember that notable shows this week are happening well before the weekend!

I am not the biggest fan of cover bands, but tribute shows jammed with talent are another rock n roll animal. "Ziggy and Lou" happens tomorrow- Wednesday -at Gypsy Sally's, and  the list of players is impressive including Desson Thomson, Cal Everett, David Kitchen and the Duskwhales.

The next evening Jumpin' Jupiter opens for Southern Culture on the Skids at Hill Country BBQ. Front man and long time chef Jay Jenc will be smoking in the kitchen as well as on stage. 

Finally, it may not be a five o'clock world anymore what with telecommuting and flex time, but Billy Price will rock the Sculpture Garden on Friday. Say good-bye to the work week and the month of May from 5 p.m. until 8:30. Free.

Enjoy the Flight

Welcome to Washington, DC. The local time is relative, and the temperature is balmy. I got off an airplane this week just in time to see our local hero Nils Lofgren play the Birchmere last night. Nils, who has almost as many good stories as he does songs, played two of my most favorites "Like Rain" and "Goin Back." That was thrilling, but the way the audience is jammed in, I felt like I was back on the plane. Every time I go to the Birchmere, I think never again.  I don't like sitting still for music much less jammed cheek by jowl in a place that serves mediocre overpriced food to the captive masses who must arrive early to get the best seats. That being said is there a better venue to see the Seldom Scene this Friday? The answer is probably not.....and this is why I keep going back.

If you are still in a homey- country type mood on Saturday, Dee Dee and the Doo Rights will be over at Takoma VFW where the drinks are cheap, and you are free to move about the cabin. On the other hand,  if you are in a "Hell, no!" sort of mood, Kill Lincoln thrashes up things at the Black Cat on Friday.

 The veteran players of Lunch with Bob hit Villain and Saint on Saturday. And no need to put those tray tables up yet.... Sunday is the new Saturday this holiday weekend with the Chuck Brown Band at the Hamilton and Oh He Dead at the Pub and the People. 

Postcards from Roads Less Traveled

DC ROCKS is on a bison tracking, grave haunting, roots seeking, musical kind of ramble and will return next week if all goes according to plan. In the mean time here are a few postcards from.....
guess where......

green photo-bomber on inadvertent heart

I could stand in the middle of this town and....

DON'T MUTE DC

photo by Alan Kresse

Bit by bit the Washington we know slips away.  People's Drugs, Woodward and Lothrop, and Little Tavern are long gone.  We once shopped for groceries at a DGS, went for ice cream at Gifford's and bought shoes at Hahn's. The establishments we grew up with seemed like institutions, but turned out to be dinosaurs.

Last week the oldest Safeway on the East Coast abruptly closed down in my neighborhood. People shopped there all their lives.  As the stock wound down to nothing, you could see the empty shelves from the street. I was extremely proud when a local horn band formed a second line and snaked through the semi- deserted store at the good-bye party.

Last month an uproar ensued when the crew at a Metro PCS store in Shaw received a noise complaint about the go-go music spilling out of speakers on the street. The objection was a bit surprising considering the playlist has been part of the store's atmosphere for 24 years. Or perhaps not so surprising when we consider the upscale development just down the street. Here's the full story and links from the Washington City Paper.

Thanks in part to the powers of social media,  the music is back... for now... but the issue remains. DC's rapid gentrification is spawning a major identity crisis, and not unlike the saga of "Alice's Restaurant," this could become a movement, people. Consequently a "Don't Mute DC" conference is happening this Saturday as part of the  DC Funk Parade schedule.

On the brighter side, the U Street scene has seen a slow but steady revival since the Cardozo Metro Station opened in 1991, and the Funk Parade/ Music Festival, now in its 11th year,  has now become part of the effort to save DC's soul. Music happens all afternoon and and deep into the night.

Check the DC ROCKS calendar for more musical suggestions which help keep our local music scene alive and kicking. Here's just a few of the things happening this weekend:

9

Rhodes Tavern Troubadours @ Takoma VFW

10

Ex Hex/ the Messthetics/ Clear Channel @ 9:30 Club

Spirit Plots/ The Effects/ Erotic Killers @ Slash Run

Rock-A-Sonics @ JV

11

DC Funk Parade

Seldom Scene @ Black Rock

"Blue" and "Blood on the Tracks" Newmyer Flyer Tribute @ The Hamilton

Takoma Porch Fest

12

Thrillbillys @Villain and Saint

May Day on the Roadway

DC rush hour 1964 /Library of Congress

According to the Inrix Global Traffic Scoreboard,  Washington has once again taken a non-coveted second place for the worst traffic in all of these somewhat United but generally fractious States of America.  (Perennial favorites New York and Los Angeles remain in the top ten, but Boston knocked off  L.A. for the number one spot, and Chicago claimed number three.) Our little town in second place to these giants?

I'm feeling it, people.

Who remembers when the Beltway emptied out by 7:30 and became our own personal Daytona Speedway? Anyone else remember dirt roads near Tyson's Corner or Gaithersburg?

Dulles Access road construction 1960 near Tyson's Corner

Ok. That's all ancient history, but it wasn't so long ago that I used to defend our fair city proper as somewhat traversable except for that lethargic part of K Street near the White House and Independence Ave during cherry blossom meltdown.  Now I have to remind myself to break out the GPS Lightsaber no matter what time of day. There's even a wiki-how page on how to avoid DC area traffic, but it doesn't mention the zen of happy hour. As a possible silver lining, commuters have plenty of time to hoist a beer, enjoy a hot wing and sober up again until the worst of the "rush" is over.  Better yet- stay out and watch a band who just got howling lost in Virginia or was recently in tears on 495, but still managed to show up on time for you.

Planning ahead for May distractions, don't forget that big Switchblade reunion this weekend!

Here's a few more:

2

Thrillbillys @ JV

3

Switchblade Reunion Weekend w/

Rhodes Tavern Troubadours

4

Switchblade w/ Rock-A-Sonics

Little Red @ JV

Sister Ex/ Fallout Shelter etc @ Pie Shop

Ubangis/ Apollo 66 @ American Legion Silver Spring

Vintage #18 @ Hamilton Loft

8

Strawberry Sleepover/ The Beginner's Mynd @ DC9

9

Rhodes Tavern Troubadours @ Takoma VFW

10

Ex Hex/ the Messthetics/ Clear Channel @ 9:30 Club

Spirit Plots/ The Effects/ Erotic Killers @ Slash Run

Rock-A-Sonics @ JV

11

DC Funk Parade

Seldom Scene @ Black Rock

"Blue" and "Blood on the Tracks"= Newmyer Flyer Tribute @ The Hamilton

Takoma Porch Fest

12

Thrillbillys @Villain and Saint

17

Desperados/ Wax Museum Reunion w/ NRBQ and Skip 

Castro Band@ Birchmere

Jelly Roll Mortals @ Takoma VFW

18

Ruthie and Wranglers/ Billy Coulter @ Villain and Saint

21 / 22

Nils Lofgren @ Birchmere

22

The Duskwhales @ Evening Star Cafe

23

The Duskwhales/ The Young Birds/ Maddi Mae @ Songbyrd

The Delarcos/Taciturn/ We Capillaries @ Pie Shop

24 

Kill Lincoln @ Black Cat

Seldom Scene @ Birchmere

Capitol Ska and Reggae Review @ Songbyrd

25

Dee Dee and the Doo Rights @ Takoma VFW

26

Chuck Brown Band @ The Hamilton

29

Ziggy and Lou Tribute @ Gypsy Sallys

31

Punk, Funk and Pies for the People @ The Pie Shop

Vintage #18 @ The Hamilton

A Very Green Day

A  riot of tulips and storms of cherry blossoms have made this a magnificent Spring in Washington so far.  Now those loud mouthed azaleas are having their day in the sun.  I feel lucky not to be allergic to this profusion of pollen which turned DC (and my car) a vivid green overnight.

 Take advantage of this weekend's delightful Spring temperatures and get the hell out. The intimate musical venues on DC ROCKS' radar kick off with a very busy Thursday.  Dave Chappell will tear up JVs where there is no such thing as a green room.  In Silver Spring, musicians and fans alike come together at Bump n Grind for a singer/songwriter night with Billy Coulter and Bill Williams. Look for Ty Braddock and Ruthie Logsden sitting in. Meanwhile  The Thrillbillys will be roaring at the Takoma VFW where there is no back stage unless you count the hall to the men's room.

 Friday the cool cats of Lunch with Bob will also play the VFW.  Here is a picture of some of those dudes back when they had way more hair.

And on Saturday round off the triple header at the VFW with Valentine Slim's honky tonk kind of thing after the Takoma Park Art Hop. Also on Saturday is the opening of "Visualizing Fugazi" at the Lost Origins Gallery. This is a cool, very local art project brought to us in part by the Smithsonian Folklife people.



Or you could spend the afternoon and/or evening with the now grown up wunderkind Jon Carroll who will be back in town for a songwriting workshop and an evening concert. Details here.

If  louder things appeal, the Breakin' Even Fest at the Pie Shop is happening all weekend long. Here's the line up although 3 day passes are also available.

Punk rock and pie.

What could possibly go wrong ?

By the by Sunday is also Greek Easter, another punk rock event in my book. Don't be alarmed if you see tribes of people doing battle with bright red eggs.

Where the Waldos Are

When I was in the fifth grade, my best friend told me to drop everything and read Harriet the Spy. She also told me to get a black and white composition book and to start thinking about a spy route.  I was in.  As soon as I finished the book, we got together to begin our new lives in espionage.  I firmly wrote KEEP OUT on the cover and PRIVET. My friend then dictated the rules which had to be written on the first page.

1. Never let anyone see this book no matter what.

2. Practice writing metholy.

3. Write everything in this book.

4. Use also for spy route

I asked her how to spell that inscrutable word in rule number two, not wanting to admit that I didn't know what it meant. I never did find out. Despite my confusion, I forged ahead with a spy route made up of five neighbors and loosely the whole fifth grade.  And then the sixth grade.  And so on.

I soon realized that keeping my thoughts in a notebook was an excellent way to relieve crushing boredom at school, work, or even a Grateful Dead concert. (Sorry, my dear deadheads, but in my defense, I was sober.) I became a voracious eavesdropper, yet somehow I got through most of my life without ever hearing about 4-20. According to one notebook, I did partake in high school.  (ha ha. high school,  get it?)  WHFS always used to play that inspirational anthem "Rainy Day Women #12 and 35" on the radio, and we wouldn't go in to school until the song was over.

But I digress.

Although the expression was once credited to followers of the Dead, the real story happened at a school far away from my own in San Rafael, California. In the early 1970s, an informal smoking crew called "the Waldos" used to meet at 4:20 after school to discuss all things cannabis.  (Man, the internet is like one giant notebook, isn't it? ) The Huffington Post has the full story.

San Rafael High School paper

Celebrate the foggy legends of 420 with Better Off Dead and the Black Muddy River Band at Gypsy Sally's on Saturday, of course. 

If that's not your thing, The Luce Unplugged concert series is happening on Friday at the American Art Museum with one of my favorite bands We Were Pirates. Art, music and libations all together in one beautiful room.

Black Holes and Gravity

Yesterday we Earthlings were treated to the first known photograph of a black hole in outer space.  The event sparked manic joy in the scientific world, but this dark matter, molecule ripping, suck station is not my favorite example of a black hole. I would say that honor belongs to a much smaller orifice found in the middle of a vinyl disc.

Once upon a time in a galaxy not so far away called Rockville, Skip Groff opened a record shop in an otherwise banal shopping center appropriately named Sunshine Plaza. This seemingly ordinary store produced a mysterious gravitational pull which sucked kids like Henry Rollins and Ian MacKaye right out of DC and into Yesterday and Today Records. Sunshine Plaza was never the same.

Ian MacKaye with the luminary Skip Groff@ 9:30 Club 1984

The mystery was solved a few weeks ago when a cosmic cloud of local talent gathered to pay their respects to Skip who left us in February.  He was the star that pulled customers into his realm and shed light with his encyclopedic knowledge of music and his sympathetic ear.  Henry Rollins flew in from LA to say goodbye. Both Henry and Ian spoke of the many legendary trips in a beat up car from DC to Rockville just to talk to Skip and see what was new. Both attributed their musical careers, which include bands like Black Flag and Minor Threat, to Skip. Ian started Dischord Records. Mark Noone of the Slickee Boys remembered his visits to the store:

"I met Kim Kane there before I ever considered that I might some day be in Slickee Boys. My buddy Mike Dignan drove me there to get the materials that I would need to practice so I could audition for Slickee Boys. We used to go up there before that just to see who would be there. It was a church; a shrine. Skip Groff changed lives, including mine. He believed in people. He validated the thing we did and encouraged us to want to do it."

This Saturday is Record Store Day, and although Skip is gone, his comrades remain. Please support our local record stores. Joe's Record Paradise is having a listening party from 3-6 p.m. Here's a link to more choices brought to you by DC 101, but a field trip to Frederick would have to include local musical stars Bob Berberich and Martha Hull's shop Vinyl Acres. Plus the punks from Snubbed Records are putting on a free show with live music at the Pie Shop starting at 4 pm.

Make Me Rock

"Ratso." Eddie Angel. Johnny "Shock" Castle. Jim Dougherty. Any of those names sound familiar? Once upon a time, children, back in the eighth decade of the last century, there lived amongst us a bad ass rock band called Switchblade.  Though short lived, this band kicked up the DC music scene and spawned many a would-be musician who came away from their shows inspired by the roar of our own local rock and one especially high octane pompadour.

And now, stay tuned if you will,  for the Switchblade reunion is coming up on the first weekend of May at Villain and Saint, a somewhat intimate club perched on the edge of Bethesda. DC ROCKS is giving you the heads up now because both of the shows will probably sell out. 

No April Fool. 

In the mean time, here's the easily amendable calendar for

APRIL

1

American Television/ Alright/Late Bloomer @ Galaxy Hut

4

Thrillbillys@ JV

6

King Soul @ Takoma VFW

7

Chill Parents/ Ryan Harvey/ Conrado Music/ Company Calls 

@ Slash Run

11

Rhodes Tavern Troubadours @ Takoma VFW

Heavy Pets/ Suga Grits @ Gypsy Sally's

12

Little Red and Renegades @ Haydees

Karl Stoll/ Mojo Nixon @ JV

13

Record Store Day show free @ Pie Shop

Crooks and Crows @ Takoma VFW

On the Bus/ Ron Holloway @ Villain and Saint

14

Dave Chappell and Tommy Lepsom @ JV

Thrillbillys @ Villain and Saint

18 

Thrillbillys @ JV

20

District Funk Fest @ Pie Shop

Better off Dead/ Muddy River Band @ Gypsy Sally's 

22

Alex Parez and the Hell Rojos/ Lost Fox @ Galaxy Hut

25

Dave Chappell @ JV

Thrillbillys @ Takoma VFW

26

Lunch with Bob @ Takoma VFW

26-28 

Breakin Even Punk Fest @ Pie Shop

27

Valentine Slim @ Takoma VFW

Play Ball

Since today is Opening Day for the Nats, I have a story about both music and baseball. Last spring I met Hank Thomas at a tribute to Billy Hancock.  We must have crossed paths in the past. Hank used to manage Poseurs and the Psyche Delly. We had a brief conversation, but what with Washington being the small town that it is, I soon realized that our grandfathers were acquainted with each other.  I even have a letter from his grandfather to mine and an old photograph of the two of them moldering away in a family album.

I don't know how Roger Calvert met Walter Johnson, but I'm sure he was fan. Walter Johnson played ball for the Senators for 21 years back in the day when your home team actually meant something, and players weren't traded away like baseball cards. I also learned a lot about Walter Johnson from Jake Flack's song "Big Train" which should be on every baseball fan's play list.

As far as music this weekend Friday there's a free rockabilly show with the Flea Bops and Aaron LeBeau at the Pie Shop on H St NE. This might be my new favorite venue. Great sound, a nice space both indoors and roof top, and PIE! Also on Friday,  Crooks and Crows are honky tonkin' at the Takoma VFW which is always a fun place. 

The Cherry People are at Jammin' Java. Yes, The Cherry People. I had to read that twice myself. The Cherry People were a local sensation during the swinging sixties and seventies of the last century. This performance is billed as a final show with original players Chris and Doug Grimes and Jan Zukowski. 

And on Sunday you can catch King Soul livening things up after the game at the Bull Pen.  A very cool way to finish off the weekend with both baseball and music.

Cobwebs and Strange

Staring at the ceiling wondering what to write about this week, my eye falls on those pesky cobwebs I keep meaning to knock down. I think what the heck are those things anyway and what exactly is a cob?  A quick tour of the web comes up with everything from magical fairy creations to a slightly more rational theory concerning sticky abandoned spider webs. I also find out that a "cob" is translated from the Middle English "coppe" meaning spider which seems like a stretch to me, but, as my Greek grandmother used to say " there you go." I look for a video and find Cobwebs and Strange  an aptly named little piece by The Who featuring a lot of drums and a small scream from Keith Moon. (Crank this baby up full blast to wake up your comatose teenager.) Speaking of moons, tonight is the last of the Three in a Row Super Moon Set of 2019. Look for this moon rise a little before 7 pm, just an hour after Official Arrival of Spring at 5:58 pm aka the Equinox.

Get on your fairy helmets- it's going to be a witchy kind of evening and a perfect one for "Sweeping Cobwebs off the Moon."

O.K. I'll stop now.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming. There's a lot of music this weekend from Dead covers to...well,  the sky's the limit. Ok, stopping now. For real.

Support our musical tribe, DC!

Here's some suggestions for budget conscious rock n roll animals:

22

The Nighthawks @ Pearl St Warehouse (free!)

King Congo's Birthday Party @ Comet Ping Pong

The Hall Bros. @ College Park Legion

23

The Outpatients @ JV ( 4 pm)

Split Seconds @ Dangerous Pies

Cravin Dogs @ Red Bear Brewery

Riverbreaks/ Suspect Class/ Beanstalk Library @ Union Stage

The Oklahoma Twisters @ College Park Legion

Elikeh @ Gypsy Sally's

Shout Out to the Inimitable Boz

This week brought long anticipated Spring weather to our area with bright sun and mild temperatures, but Charles Dickens said it best:

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold:  when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. "

Flowers are so ready to bloom that I swear a clump of daffodils opened while my back was turned filling the bird feeder. 

surprise

Enjoy our little town this weekend. It may be the last before the mosh pit of cherry blossom pilgrims arrives. Speaking of mosh pits,  St Patrick's Day is upon us or, as professional bartenders like to call it, "amateur night." I would say celebrate at home with corned beef and cabbage, but, like many St Patrick's Day celebrations, that custom is an American thing. Back in the old country, lamb was a more traditional dish.

Another reasonable alternative to dying your hair to match that chartreuse beer might be the early (4 p.m.) Sunday show at Villain and Saint with Suga Grits and Surprise Attack.  You can be home a half an hour before the devil knows you left. 

You Turn Me On

Sometime in the late 1980s, I turned to WAMU to get away from commercial radio. WHFS had been my go-to station for years, but the price of becoming increasingly popular was taking its toll with more and more commercial interruption as they say in the biz. Now I have a hard time listening to WAMU's supposedly commercial free broadcast. The bombardment of pre-recorded mini commercials masquerading as a list of sponsors is driving me bonkers. Yes,  I understand that programming is expensive because they tell me so every few minutes and 3 or 4 times a year with endlessly annoying fund raising campaigns. Such is the price of success.

That being said, I realize I am an eccentric old whiner. I do think public broadcasting is very important. I just wish NPR and the like could come up with a more creative fund raising plan.

When I can't take the professional drone of WAMU anymore, I am grateful for old school and very local WPFW. Just yesterday I heard a strange melange of sound bites about incarceration punched up by 10 seconds of Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," a short bout of dead air, and a real person apologizing for hitting the wrong button. I love that. Even their fundraisers are low key, and I smile when I hear the deejay call out new members by hitting the kind of bell I associate with summoning bell hops in old movies.



WPFW keeps DC real for me. And so do local musicians playing original music in funky little places or a one of a kind film fest brought to you by fellow local eccentric Brian D. Horrorwitz.




8

Color School @ Gypsy Sally's Vinyl Lounge 

Cravin' Dogs/ Trophy Husbands @ Villain and Saint

Hall Brothers @ College Park Legion

9

King Soul @ Villain and Saint

10

The Bob Band @ JV

The Thrillbillys @ Villain and Saint

11

Psych Out Cinema @ Slash Run

Marching In

The lions of March have stomped into our town with an icy mess today, but Mardi Gras is coming. I just returned from New Orleans where, even on an ordinary day, a simple walk outside can turn up a rooster guarded intersection, a man riding a horse down Mystery Street, and a white wading bird wandering down the sidewalk.

photo by Derek Huston

This year I will miss waking up Mardi Gras morning with Kiki and wandering down to Lorelei's place in the Marigny, but I did see a really big car last weekend which is how crewe royalty rolls.

Here are a few picture postcards to get you in the mood for those of you who "know

 what it means

to miss New Orleans."

Muses by Derek Huston

Back here in D.C., the Wharf has a free Mardi Gras party going on all Saturday afternoon including a free show with the Grandsons early and The Crawdaddies later at Pearl Street Warehouse. Also  look for Little Red and the Renegades throwing it down at the New Deal Cafe.  On Tuesday, Clarendon still does its parade, and although I don't usually mention out of town bands, Hill Country is hosting Eric Lindell and Cowboy Mouth which might be the best place to be if you can't be you-know-where.

MARCH ON

1

Nighthawks @ Takoma VFW

2

Little Red @New Deal Cafe

5 

*Happy Mardi Gras*

Eric Lindell/ Cowboy Mouth @ Hill Country

7

Thrillbillys @ JV

8

Cravin' Dogs/ Trophy Husbands @ Villain and Saint

9

King Soul @ Villain and Saint

10

The Bob Band @ JV

The Thrillbillys @ Villain and Saint

11

Psych Out Cinema @ Slash Run

14

The Rhodes Tavern Troubadours @ Takoma VFW

17

Suga Grits/ Surprise Attack @ Villain and Saint

22

King Congo's Birthday Bash @ Comet Pingpong

23

Split Seconds etc @ Dangerous Pies

27

Surfer Joe/ Hall Monitors/ Atomic Mosquitos

28

The Thrillbillys @ Takoma VFW

31

the Very Small / Neuro Farm @ Rock n Roll Hotel

Lists

I used to make a lot of lists when I was bored in high school. And I was bored most of the time. Travel lists. Lists of books to read and books I'd read. Lists of songs I liked and lyrics I admired.

I made a list of what I hoped my life would be like. A farm. A bunch of kids, dogs and livestock. Writers and musicians would hang out at my house.

What?
It was the Seventies.

I took life drawing and sheep keeping in college. I lived in a place we called the Dog House. My housemate Alan Kresse documented the scene.

The farm never happened, although the artists and musician did stay in my life. Sometimes whole bands show up at my door.

 I feel lucky that so many of my friends have hidden or out right talent in the art department of life, but, like my old pal Alan, most of them are undercover agents.  They work in coffee shops, libraries and construction.  They are teachers, bartenders, gardeners, and housekeepers. One of my oldest friends had both carpentry and gardening skills. His art was working with stone and making beautiful paths, but after he was gone, I found piles of drawing pads full of beautiful sketches under his bed.

This week the D.C. scene lost a very important someone who helped countless undercover and underground artists find both their tribe and their music. Skip Groff was a local deejay as well the proprietor and sage of Yesterday and Today Records. When he opened the store in 1977, he may have single-handedly saved Rockville from a bad case of banality. Plus the ever nurturing Skip produced a panoply of local talent on his own label Limp. Bands on the list included Minor Threat, The Slickee Boys, Velvet Monkeys, Black Market Baby, Tommy Keene, Nightman, The Nurses, and (the) Razz.

Although Skip has left us, his legacy will surely live on.

Skip @ WMUC 1967 from his archives

Thank you, Mr Groff. For everything.                                                                                                                  

Bands to consider this weekend include Bold Deceivers and Jelly Roll Mortals at the Takoma VFW Friday night,

or these folks at Comet Ping Pong,

and a rare 4 p.m. matinee with The Thrillbillys at JVs on Saturday.