DC History Rocks

( 7th Street NW circa 1921)

Washington D.C. has seen its share of important events, and a lot of people have come here to make history, but not a single president was born here. Marvin Gaye was born here as was Duke Ellington, but they found their fame in places like Detroit and New York. I think the award for true Washingtonian has to go to Bob Berberich who was not only born in Washington, but the Berberich family has been here longer than anyone I know- including my own clan.
And Mr Berberich has been rocking this area for quite a while- his drumming days include gigs with The Hangmen and Grin. (Check out this link for a great little piece by local film maker Jeff Krulik) But Bob is still a powerful force on the music front and is now in the transfixing trio known as Ottley! with ex-Slickees' master of guitar, Marshall Keith and slayer singer, Martha Hull.

Be part of it. You can watch history in the making THIS FRIDAY night when the "Birthday of the Dead Celebration" takes place at the always intimate Velvet Lounge. The line up includes Ottley! as well as the venerable Beatnik Flies -a band with its own history and staying power around here- four musicians that can still deliver the goods and how. Plus Pup Tent will round out the bill bringing on more psychedelic garage band kind of brain-rock.

(Note to self and readers: Do I ever write about jazz or country or easy to label music?
Answer: No.)

Skip Sixty Minutes

And to finish up this weekend with a bang- look at all the folks gathering at Jammin Java Sunday for the equivalent of a DC music old home week punk style rock family reunion extravaganza kicking off with The Beatnik Flies EARLY at 7:30 and rocking on until the last band is hear from. If you don't recognize some of these bands you will recognize a lot of the players from groups like Government Issue, Black Market Baby, Minor Threat and The Slickee Boys. Bring the kids and show 'em how it's done.

Due to my son's sixteenth birthday TODAY this will be short and sweet:

Two shows Saturday night- Beatnik Flies and gang at Velvet Lounge

and the Buddy Holly Tribute with a veritable galaxy of local stars at The Surf Club.

At least won't tip the boat over if we divide ourselves up between shows.

Long Ago Around this Time Of Year A Child Was Born. His Name Is Bob

Tuesday Night December 22 it's the birthday bash of the year, and Bob Berberich's bringing it home with The Rosslyn Mountain Goats- a band which always draws a veritable who's who crew of our local rock 'n' roll world to The Quarry House in Silver Spring. Ottley! will also be appearing. (Perhaps they'll slip into the celebrity phone booth to change.)
Every show I've seen (and I'm not sure that I've missed one) has been different and marvelous thanks to the ever revolving gang of guest stars. Last time I saw Mark Noone (Slickee Boys) do a set that couldn't be beat until Joe Dolan (Beatnik Flies) got up and did something completely different, but equally crazy good. With all that talent in the room, it's all good.
The time is 8 sharp. No cover. Three jamming sets. It'll be over around 11 so the working man can drink a toast to Bob and still hit the hay at a reasonable hour. Any and all donations will go to benefit Jr Cline.

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. 

Put Down That To Do List and Get OUT!!!!!

I am having a busy week and part of that is due to too many great local bands playing and to my wanting to see them all. What a problem to have. On Friday night downtown at The Red and The Black, The New Standard, Sister Ex, Ottley, and Lisa Said are playing-in that order. With the exception of Lisa Said who hails from Tennessee, that's a whole lot of DC's home town talent and history crammed into one upstairs room. It's unbelievable how much great music you can see here, from here and for so little money.
Also- get your beauty rest Saturday for the big Beatnik Flies/Rambling Shadows show at historic Hank Dietles' Tavern this Saturday night. I'm so busy I can't write more, but I will try to go. That's because it really matters when we show up. Please come, too, and help these folks play to a full house. You can make all the difference in a local band's life. It makes them do it again. It keeps the scene going. It could all be up to you. ( yeah, you!)

penned by LYN2

DC Rocks Turns ONE

I began writing DC ROCKS a year ago today. I started this whole thing in an effort to get away from my family. I love my family, but overgrown teenager that I am, I needed another place to go. I didn't know what I wanted to write about, but I wanted it to be about something else -something besides the DC/family stories that I was working on. My first posting was mostly about junking, but almost immediately local music and musicians began to creep into the format. Still I had no idea what a Godzilla of a theme this would turn out to be. Next thing I knew though the Fort Reno concerts were starting up so I wrote about that- then the Beatnik Flies had their first reunion concert, and I wrote about that. Soon music was filling the page.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I've always been a music fan. I got a guitar when I was ten. I sneaked into bars like Mr. Henry's to see bands. I thrived in college group houses where stereos were as necessary as air, and where The Back Room at The Varsity Grill was in staggering distance. Then came the 9:30 Club and dc Space. (I hung out there so much I once married a bartender, but that's a different story.)

Music has always been the landscape wherever I lived, and though I've scorned DC in the past, I am amazed now more than ever at the wealth of all kinds of talent here. I'm not an expert- in fact I pretty much rank myself as an advanced beginner in almost everything I've tried to do. But there are no rules here. I get to make this up as I go along, and it's been really fun to fall into it head first.

I want to thank everyone- my readers and friends for reading, encouraging and putting up with me.

You all make DC Rock.

D DAy Rocks At The Quarry House

Beatnik Flies, one of DC's long lasting bands, are at it again this Friday night at The Quarry House with more songs both new and old, but the same groovy high energy they've always had. These guys work hard to put on a great show, and time after time they don't disappoint. See The Flies do their thing, plus Dollar Bin, the opening band for only $6 ! $10 for a couple. Being the mellow operation that they are- any two people can qualify for the couple discount so if you are on a budget walk in with just about anyone. As the ever wise Joe Dolan says- it's as much fun as you can have with your clothes on.

(Flies gearing up for a show at Dietle's last winter)
.

Count 'em

(prabir and the boys)

I didn't know it was happening until the middle of the last band's set Sunday night when my faithful companion turned to me and said- you've seen eleven bands this weekend. Eleven bands. In this order: Honkytonk Heart, Reverb Galaxy, Beatnik Flies, Atomic Mosquitos, The Flea Bops, Thrillbillys, The Rhodes Tavern Troubadours, The Grandsons, Ruthie And The Wranglers, Prabir and The Substitutes, and Greenland. I went to JVs out in Falls Church- a tiny dive with a bar and booths. I went to The Surf Club which has yet to change from the honky tonk road house it has always been out on Kenilworth Avenue, and I went to The Black Cat downtown- a staple of the DC rock scene since back in the early nineties. I heard all kinds of music- from seasoned rockers to young punks and except for a $20 benefit none of the shows were over $8, and all of them were good if not excellent.

There's plenty on the calender this weekend starting with GHz Thursday night at Bangkok Blues. John Zidar-drummer and the zee in GHz writes: In case some of you still don’t know, Bangkok Blues was remodeled last year and looks better than ever, with a lighted stage and a great house sound system. The place is now owned by an excellent sound man, Darrell Taylor, and he has turned BB into a great place to see and play music, which is why we have selected this venue to record our first live album! Darrell’s also a great guy who treats musicians well, and we want to support any venue that runs its business the way he does.

The last time I saw GHz there, Mary Ann Redmond-local songstress- sat in for a number or two- no extra charge. That's the great thing about local shows.

(GHz w/Mary Ann Redmond)

Try it. Just see one band.
(At least it's a start.)

And if you go Thursday please say happy birthday to John -the guy banging on the drums.

Catch the Buzz

I used to go see the Beatnik Flies "back in the day." But that's not why I have been enjoying their re-emergence so much. It's because they totally rock. It's like all the creative juices got concentrated. It's no wonder they won Little Steven's Battle of the Garage Bands a few years ago. Check out Black Diamond Halo at Beatnik Flies' Page . You too can get drunk on incense at the Velvet Lounge this Friday night, February 15. It's a multi-generational celebration. Loadrunner and Repelican will join the line-up to celebrate Haley's birthday – she's the daughter of Flies Frontman, Joe Dolan and a fine musician in her own right.

The order is Loadrunner, Beatnik Flies, Repelican. Things usually start between 9:30 and 10 down there. Do it.

Lyn2 (sitting in for the fabulous Lyn1)

And The Answer Is...

(Dead Milkmen 1983)
So that common denominator of the bands playing The Velvet Lounge tomorrow night- the one I threw out as a challenge in the last posting that started with P ? Kind of a trick question because it's actually two words in my mind-Psychedelic and Punk. We've got Joe Talcum, once in The Dead Milkmen. Mark Noone of the Hula Monsters, once a Slickee Boy, and Haley Dolan of The Ex Invisible Husbands, daughter of Joe Dolan of The Beatnik Flies.
If that ain't a psychopunkic thread, I'll eat my hat. (Emphasis on thread- it ain't a rope that's for sure)
Free beer for everyone tomorrow night at The Velvet Lounge that submitted the right answer here in triplicate.


(Slickee Boys-mid 80s)

And The Bands Played On

Here's just a tiny sample of the great bands that
turned out for Tom Terrell and the dc space reunion
Sunday night. As promised the performances started
in the late afternoon and ended around 1:30 a.m.-
running over time only about 25 minutes.
It was unbelievable efficiency in action.
Hats off to the crew at 9:30!



The legend that is ... Chuck Brown.



As promised Tiny Desk Unit virtually reunited
with Michael Barron on the West Coast. Bob Boilen
is playing and working a tiny Mac, while Susan Mumford
sings.
How cool is that?




The Howling Mad with Michael Reidy who can still
deliver a band with energy from outside this universe.














The Beatnik Flies and Mark Noone played together like
they've been doing it forever (which they kind of have
though not with each other)

I'm leaving tons of people out because I was too busy yacking.
If anyone has good pictures- send 'em to me.

All present gave their all- and all were proof positive
that you're never too old to rock this town.

Ra Ra X- Husbands

The Velvet Lounge had a lot of energy going on Saturday night, and it was packed when The X- Husbands played, and even more packed for Ra Ra Rasputin. Us old folks in the audience had to line up against the knee wall, so we wouldn't get knocked over, but Joe Dolan, of The Beatnik Flies (aka Daddy- O) went up there and rocked with the X-Husbands- playing drums for them which made us fogies proud. (Some of us ain't dead yet.)




And it was all hands on deck when they were joined by Hayley's sister, Theresa on maracas and one of the Rasputins. To everybody that missed it- you gotta get out more. Later this month, catch the Beatnik Flies at the 9:30 Club's
DC Space Reunion- July 29th.

It's A Family Affair

See all that hair flying in front of Joe Dolan? That's his daughters rocking out to Daddy-o last Saturday night at the Beatnik Flies show in Takoma Park. The Ottleys opened with Martha Hull singing her heart out in an office chair- her broken ankle propped up in front of her, but that didn't slow her or the rest of the band down a bit. The only problem was the beer (and there was good beer, too) ran out early, but the bands played on. By the way, age before beauty is a beautiful thing when it adds up to musical talent like these guys have in spades. (Somebody stop me before I mix up a Molotov metaphor)

All I meant was- it was a great show, and all these cats still rock and how.

Who Let the Flies Out?

(The scene last night at Sangha; photos by Mark Noone)

Ottley/Beatnik Fly Alert

Sangha on Westmoreland Avenue in Takoma Park is an unusual space- part store-part somebody's living room- and furthermore, it's a really fun place to see a band. Two blasts (and I don't use that word lightly) from our area past will be there this Saturday. Slickee boy legends, Marshall Keith and Martha Hull make up two out of three members of Ottley- a self described garage band. And Bob Berberich, the other member, was the original drummer for Grin and the Hangmen. The Beatnik Flies have been together, well, since dinosaurs roamed the Earth, but they played Sangha a few months ago, and it was great. It's amazing what this town can cough up in the way of talent.
So here's the scoop from Joe Dolan, spokesman Fly:
"The doors open at 8:30. Ottley will go on about 9:30 for a one hour set. The Beatnik Flies will start at 10:50, and will play until we can't play no more. We are planning on about 20 songs.
THIS SHOW WILL ROCK.
We especially encourage young people to check us out, cause they
usually dig us once they do. Is it our girlish hairdos and dandyish cloths? We don't know.
People should try to get there early, 'cause I don't know how many people this place holds. Admission is
$10 or $6 with student ID. A portion of the proceeds
will be donated to "HUNGRY FOR MUSIC" a charity that
provides musical instruments to kids that cannot afford to buy them.
Also we will be celebrating two birthdays: Martha Hull
(legendary singer of Ottley) and Jennifer (the hard
working lady who runs Sangha Cafe/Sangha Peace
Project. So lets rock!"

Yep, let's go!