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Spiller at Players Sports Bar in Rockland.

We went to see the Dogmatics at the Players Sport’s Bar. Alas, the Dogmatics also had a porchfest in Dedham so they went on first and we missed them. We did get to see Spiller who we have wanted to see for a while.

The background of the band members covers Jerry’s Kids, Gang Green and Underball, so there’s a lot of expectation there. Dave Fredette was playing guitar for them this night. Their long time accomplishments give them a calm assurance on stage. After the first song the sound man told the band to turn down. After the second…same thing. Third…same thing. We didn’t even think they were that loud. Seems like the club is not used to the punk.

Their sound defies genres, it hits hard without straining and has a melodic center. The band’s playing is a joy to take in. Take a look/listen at the embedded videos to appreciate that. We love those drums! The video on the left is their song “Go Go Girlie”.

They covered two songs by The Oysters (Fredette was in the Oysters). They ended with a cover of a Mung song. They seem like they can play anything and their recording of “Hocus Focus” proves that point. Their originals are what we really loved. This band is only a few years old now they have a lot more to give. Spiller Bandcamp page.

After Spiller was Fur Coat Judy. They come from nearby Whitman, as does Blame It On Whitman. For a small town, Whitman has it going on. They were a quirky alternative band that was constantly edgy. You get a taste in the video. They don’t sound like anyone that we can nail down. The guitar playing is also out of the box in places. Here they are on Spotify.

Lynda Mandolyn of Tiger Bomb is no longer part of Tiger Bomb!! There were no problems, just time to move on. You can see that Lynda has had some solo shows. The next one is at the Village Social Club in Brookline on August 8.

We got word from both Gary Soprano and Joe Marino that Gary will be playing guitar for Reddy Teddy in a few shows this year. That was a double surprise.

First, Reddy Teddy is gigging again! They were one of the original Boston punk scene groups along with Willie Loco, Boize, Fox Pass, Real Kids and Third Rail. They came out with the first album on the scene and are beyond 50 years of existence now. Second, Gary is filling in!! Gary was at ground zero too, with Third Rail. He’s a brilliant player being melodic, yet having a bite, and tone to die for. Later he played with Cadillac Hearts and Billy Corners groups. It’s a perfect pairing. Also, Brit Paul Kendrew will be on bass replacing Scott Baerenwald.

Their first show with the new line up is at the Rockport Country Club on Saturday July 18. There’s a link on the Facebook event page to buy tickets. There’s also a private party and then a gig at the Rhumb Line in Gloucester on Labor Day week end September 5.

Roger Miller's new album The Green Man, on Giovanni Records, is out very soon titled . It's solo material where he uses some recorded loops. His band from 1969 Sproton Layer that included his brothers will have their second album out. Another group Roger was in named B-Mez have a gig in Brattleboro VT on July 20 celebrating the Moon Landing. Tickets here. The Anvil Orchestra which performs live soundtracks to silent movies has five shows coming up, some in VT and NY. Check his summer schedule for dates and locations.

Stop Calling Me Frank’s “MB Anthem (The Market Basket Song)” was awarded the Best Local Anthem in the latest Boston Magazine's Best of Boston. It could also be the Feel Good Song of the Year or the Funniest Song of the Year, the Most Boston Song of the Year or the Only Song That Is About Real Everyday Life Concerns.

The seventh Rock the Lot concert in Marshfield on Saturday July 25. It’s outside the WATD station and it’s free. This is run by the 80s Alternative show on WATD 95.9 FM with Chris Atwood. Bands are: Dark Crushes, A Sort of Homecoming, Far Above the Ground and Warthog. The concert goes from 3 to 8 pm.

RPM Fest is happening in Western MA (Montague) on Labor Day weekend September 4-6. There are 40 bands playing including Miracle Blood, Grip Bite, The Dwarves and the Prozacs. It’s which is about two hours from Boston. Get tix on the RPM Fest website.

Mickey Bliss has put out the word that there will be a Club Bohemia by-the Sea event on August 8. Playing will be the Rollo Tomasi Quintet and some open mic acts. It all starts at 1 pm at 140 Taft Ave in Winthrop which is right on the beach! There will be food and BYOB. Bliss says that he is still lining up other shows with the KLYAM team in the future.

BOOKS......

Ralph Fatello is a real Renaissance guy.. and now we can add Author to his long list of accomplishments. His autobiography, Don’t Ever Buy a F-ing Monkey: The Autobiography of Ralph G. Fatello, is up on Amazon.
Those accomplishments? They are listed as: surfer/photographer/videographer/blogger/artist (like our BGN button!!)/musician/singer/songwriter/outdoorsman.

Even the four paragraph summery of the book has so much info in it that we can’t begin to encapsulate it. The book is 600 pages. We won’t say that Ralph is bigger than life because he’s very much about life and living it to the full. We’re looking forward to reading this!!

VIDEOS......

The Bags have another video from their show at the Crystal Ballroom on 3/21/2026 . The song is “Dr. LB”. The video is nice clean shots and sound is excellent. It’s way better than most live videos.

Glenn Gardner and Joe Corey are credited for shooting the video. We thought they even might be pros, but the Bags say the Glenn has just been shooting the Bags for 40 years and Joe helped in this case. Great job guys.

WORM is doing a lot of gigs these days. Want to know what they're like? Check out this video for “Life is Short” which is the leading song off their album Slave Driver from last year. Part of it is them playing live at the C Note.

We featured the faster punk rocker song “Price of Gas” by Chicago' s Cel Ray a few weeks ago. “Toxic” is the next song off their upcoming album Cel Rayzer and comes with this video.

This group is having punk fun. The song is a self-depreciating rant. They boast, “I am a toxic moron, incapable of change” and “Don’t trust me with your car”. It revels in being out of it. They must be 'lazy sods' too!

PODCASTS......

Steev Riccardo had Drew Stone from the NYHC Chronicles on the show on 6/29. Drew actually asked Steev when Steev’s band Incendiary Devices played the Midway recently.

Drew’s father was in the movie business in NYC. He won an Oscar working on the film The Critic with Mel Brooks. Inevitable, maybe, that Drew ended up making movies. Drew went to Emerson and that eventually leads him into the Boston hardcore scene. He talks about his first show at the Media Workshop seeing SSD’s third show and those very early hardcore days. Drew has been in bands since then and he tells that story.

Later Drew was involved in many music videos, like Run DMC, Sick of It All and Agnostic Front. Then he began the documentaries. His first was the All Ages film on the origins of Boston hardcore. That’s a major work for the Boston music scene. His next film was Who the Fuck Is That Guy? The Fabulous Journey of Michael Alago where he interviewed Johnny Lydon.

Go to Drew’s Wikipedia page to be amazed at volume of work he has done. Then it was talk about the NYHC Chronicles podcast. It was first just a Facebook page. That podcast has become the most high profile interview shows all from the boundless persistence of Drew. It’s been going for six years now.

Al Quint’s 6/29 Sonic Overload was his annual Salute to America. This is straight undeluded feelings about the American situation from those not in power. Even the one song “I Am An American” by locals Phagocyte has so much in the lyrics that you should brace yourself. Hear the show on the Sonic Overload page.

You can hear the Sonic Overload past shows on the web blog. Al has logged all the shows since 2009.

X Ray Spex were the feature on the 6/23 Punks in the Garage (from WAIF in Cincinnati) podcast. They played three songs as usual: “Identity”, “Oh Bondage, Up Yours!” and “I Live Off You”.

They started with a dynamite ’78 LA punk tune “This Generation’s on Vacation” by Shock. There was more punk with “I Can Cope” by Protex and songs by Eddie and the Hot Rods, The Vibrators.

They add some fine garage picks for a very listenable mix. There is a playlist on the Mixcloud page.

The Elastic Glam Show on 6/26 was their Summer Threefer Madness Show. That means it started with three T. Rex songs. The first was Bolan’s salute to summer “Celebrate Summer” (1977) the bands last song before Marc’s death. Then it was three by Julez and the Rollerz a new LA band. You can check out their new album Dirty Little Rock ‘N’ Roller on Bandcamp.

The Amplifier Heads got their threefer treatment beginning with the new “Rock ‘N’ Roll Riot” and Sethy had to play “GlamOrama”. The final group was Rum Bar’s Hollywood Stars.

DJ L.B. Worm had a Summertime Celebration on his 6/28 Wormtown Underground Radio show. It was songs from all of rock that had a summer theme. One of the best was Wormtown’s own Comandos doing “Salisbury Beach” which has a “Pipeline” section inserted in it.

L.B. also played “Lonely Summer” from Tiger Bomb’s new album 15 Super Hits. There was also Unnatural Axe’s “Summertime”, The Gremies with their cover of “No Surfing In Dorchester Bay”, “Lido Beach” by Voodoo Dolls, “Cocoa Beach” by Muck and the Mires” and Evil Felipi’s “Summer Rain”.

We didn’t know the Monkees (surviving members) did a song titled “You Bring The Summer” in 2016 that was written by Andy Partridge of XTC. There’s lots of surf music. Bruce and Terry’s “Summer Means Fun” is an all-time classic. It’s two hours of good listening.

NEW MUSIC/CD's ......

Locals Fiddlehead’s song “Baby I’ll Change” stopped us in our tracks. As we listened the first time through we got drawn in. It was the simmering steady flow of the first minute and how the singer delivered the desperate import of the lyrics. The tension releases after that, the song then resets and builds again.

It's a confession, from someone with nothing left to lose, to their loved one and is being left on an answering machine. It’s a last plea to save the relationship. One line, “I just need a place to stay. In 21 days I’ll be so straight.” The vocals capture the soul baring pain.

The musical background is not the usual bed of blasting guitar. At the beginning the guitars have an alternative rock ring steeped in loops and echo. Later, near the end, they seem almost like they are screeching, sounding pain in sympathy with the singer. In the notes on the Bandcamp page they say the song was inspired by local hardcore legend Jimmy Flynn. The other two songs on this EP “The Dogs” and “Porchlight” are in a similar sonic territory.

We talked about Boston group Invisible Rays a year ago. Their last album Sequin Dreams was recorded at Woolly Mammoth. They have another album Blame It On The Rays out now. Even though this current album was recorded at New Alliance it has a song named “Sir David Minehan”.

The group has written the song to sound like the Replacements and Neighborhoods. “Alex Chilton” phrasing in vocals and guitar throughout tweak the brain cells. We wish we could catch more of the lyrics. One line is, “he’s the prettiest boy making noise”. There’s a sound bite drop in with Minehan (pretty sure) on stage saying “we’re from Boston”. It’s a wonderful salute to Minehan and an accomplishment in writing and recording in its own right.

The group tags influences Lemonheads and Teenage Fanclub which will give you an idea of line of pop they play. They have some nice moves. We like “Disco Denial”, “Landmine” and “Kill the King of Rock and Roll”.

“Rock N’ Roll Riot” is the second teaser single off The Amplifier Heads new album Super 8. It looks like Sal Baglio is mining the early delinquent image of rock in roll in the early days. We know punk didn’t invent the bad boy actions in rock.

Sal has said that the song was inspired by the riot at Moondog Coronation Ball in Cleveland in 1952. He also mentions October 1958 in the lyrics, which was the occasion of a rock riot in Berlin at a Bill Haley and the Comets show. There was a lot of rioting incidents in 1958 including in Boston.
The recording quality is raw and in your face which is appropriate. The loud drums do some major pushing.

Rum Bar Records has been doing a slow reveal for the Hollywood Stars album Hey! LA! They have three songs pre-released and streaming on Bandcamp now. Hearing one of those songs “I Survived 27” on the Elastic Glam show (see the Podcast selection above) triggered our attention to that song. It’s about the 27 Club that 's all rock musicians that died at age 27. The song starts with an economical reference to the deaths of Brian Jones, Kurt Cobain and Hendrix. The chorus is a chest thumping loftily announcement of “I survived 27, I survived 27, I survived 27 years”. The singing in the chorus has an almost patriot fervor. People always blame the rock lifestyle for the 27 Club phenomenon and we imagine the singer/band feeling that too and that informs the spirit of the chorus. It’s an inspiring anthem for those that have gone through the rock and roll mill. We celebrate the survivors as we think of the many punks we’ve known that have passed, before and after 27, and that sobers our thoughts.

The Cheap Cassettes who had some releases on Rum Bar Records have split up. Chaz Matthews from the group now has a single out on his own. The sound is pop and rock and still fits into the general group sounds on Rum Bar Records.

“She Don’t Mind” has an elaborate video. Chaz has tied the song’s theme into some found footage of the 1918 film "Salome" starring Theda Bara. You can see that on YouTube. Both “She Don’t Mind” and “Waiting for the World to Explode” have a neat guitar crunch and a scruffy immediacy in the recording that has a big appeal for us.

Sound Cove records has released another Figures on a Beach song. That last one was “Play” off the Sound Cove Sampler.

“First the Kiss, Then the Fireworks” was written by Tony Kaczynski after a tour trip to the West Coast in 1989. The title was inspired by a Tim Thompson book. The lyrics do have a literary bent. There are details throughout that give color and depth to the lyrics. Tony’s voice adds so much. It hits like a meaningful memory that shimmers like blurry film imagery. The music is of its time but now that just adds to the effect.

Fabcom Records always has interesting releases. Their latest is Rising from New York band Shrubs, a garage band (started in 1994) with a big indie element and that makes them a worthy listen. This music sounds like it’s come from the bedroom not the garage. The group also has a connection with The Feelies, who had them open shows on tours. The Shrubs founder Jay LoRubbio passed away in 2018.

This release is comprised of two songs begun in a studio for a new album (and produced by Glenn Mercer of the Feelies) and then songs from two radio studio live performances on WFMU. “Lou Place” is the gem here. It is a tribute to Lou Reed. It has the “Roadrunner” chords. It’s amazing after all this time to see how Lou Reed/Velvet Underground still inspires and influences. We can remember listening to the Velvets at parties in 1967 and we love them more than ever now. The guitar solo is abrasive in Velvet fashion.

There’s some dirty fuzzed guitar solos strewn through the songs. One juicy one is at the 3:50 mark in “Did You Ever See Me”. There’s a few covers: “Find a Way” by the Feelies, “Through the Hedge” by Bevis Frond and “Work for Food” by Dramarama.

“A Man Needs Love” is a sweet tune. One should never be so jaded to not take a song like that in. “London Town” has a catchy lilt to it. We have “Lou’s Place” embedded below. You can hear the whole Rising album on Bandcamp.

We posted the video for “Secret Handshake” by Montreal’s Taxi Girls a while ago. Now their album Static with that song, is out. This is the group’s first album, they only formed in 2022.

They have a sound that's punk but not raw punk. There is lots of attention given to the vocals, some low in the mix keyboards and the guitars add some garage sounds. All that should make them appealing to almost any rock fan.

In “So Quaint” they dial back the punk power chords and get more poppy. That works great too. They sing about the glories of the “Midnight Mixtape” as they are driving in their car. Here's the video. What car has a cassette player these days? (I hate my new car, it doesn’t even have a CD player just a USB plug.)

They even go down to one acoustic guitar for “Other Heart”. It’s almost a throw away tune. They feel so secure that they could do that and I think they were right. We were playing this and going back and forth between songs and it just seemed they were all equally good. This has got to get them some attention. Get to know them now before your friends. It’s the debut of the year.

Drunk Dial Records has Volume 3 in their series Drunk Dial: Fakes. This is the series where real punk bands play covers of songs by fake bands in the movies and TV. Most of these are on the short side.

Noodle Brain do “Sugar and Spice” from The Archie Show and keep it bubblegum sticky. Sex Mex from San Antonio do “Listen to the Flower People” from Spinal Tap and do their own thing with it. It’s fun finding the songs you don’t know. We didn’t know “Somebody Kill Me” a funny song by Adam Sandler that he sang in the Wedding Singer. Here The Chuggs do it. “Let’s Go To the Mall” was a song in Season Two of How I Met Your Mother. The Spells do “The Thermos Song” which is from The Jerk.

Getting into it and finding the originals and comparing to the new versions is also part of the fun. Here’s an example, the Serfers do “I Got Something To Shout About” and it’s from an episode of Stingray. Here’s the video.

Xray Xeroxx is a lo-fi group from LA. Their latest single includes “I Just Wanna Have Fun With You”. It’s a mere 1:39. To complete the title line as it is in the lyrics “…since we’re doomed” explains the gist of the song. There is a litany of disasters like climate change and collapsing democracy but the singer just wants to have fun.

Swedish band Psychotic Youth started back in in 1984 and have a large back catalog. Their latest single is titled “It’s Time to Wake Up”. As a power pop band they usually keep things fun and light. This single has a political message. It rings true to us even though it’s specifically about Sweden. These problems are universal. It’s a nice punch of power pop in any case.

Here's some good shows coming up ....

July 6, 2026 (Monday) Marc Alan Prince, CE Skidmore, Coffin Salesman at The Silhouette Lounge

July 10, 2026 (Friday) Cape Crush Record Release Show! with One Fall and Good June at Deep Cuts - FB page.

July 10, 2026 (Friday) Worm, Old North End, Never Gonna Make It, Spectacle, The Stressballs at The C Note - 7:30 doors 21+

July 11, 2026 (Saturday) Vinto Van Go (Chicago), Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones, Galaxy Cake , Mad Painter at The Midway - 7:30PM SHOW

July 11, 2026 (Saturday) TREE, 99 Shots, Eight Foot Manchild, Catching Hell, Pledge of Allegiance at The Brighton Music Hall 6.00PM Show TIX

July 11, 2026 (Saturday) Carnivorous Bells, Cartoon, P.V., Clacker at OBrien's

July 11, 2026 (Saturday) The Stress Balls, Lukas Kochansky, Couchboy are playing the Cambridge Porch Fest, at 286 Broadway, next to Lamplighter - 12 Noon

July 12, 2026 (Sunday) Doll Spirit Vessel, Devin Music, Nemarca, Gr8 Dogs at O'Brien's

July 17, 2026 (Friday) Most Modern, In A Darkened Room, Ghost Painted Sky at O'Brien's

July 18, 2026 (Saturday) PUNK ROCK PICNIC with The Grommets, The Relegated, Kermit’s Finger, Grimly Pleased - Bar and food truck on site at at the Pavilion at Heritage Hall in Milton!Doors at 3 - Music 5-9. $10 cash cover - Ample parking! MBTA: 215 Bus, or 20 min walk from the Cedar Grove stop on the Mattapan Trolley (red line). FB event page for more info

July 18, 2026 (Saturday) Stop Calling Me Frank, The Spackles, The Haymakers at The Midway

July 18, 2026 (Saturday) Stage Light (inaugural show), Black and Grey, The Mail at The Square Root

July 24, 2026 (Friday) Hambone Skinny, Darling Effigy, Double Star, Torch Red. at The Square Root - $10 cover and music at 8pm.

July 24, 2026 (Friday) The Downhauls, Hammered Saint, Whyte Lipstick at Koto, Salem, MA

July 24, 2026 (Friday) The Wray-Ons are at Pinecroft Dairy (summer concert series 6-8 pm) West Boylston MA

July 25, 2026 (Saturday) Baabes, Joudy, Parachute Club at Deep Cuts Medford TIX

July 25, 2026 (Saturday) Grub Sweat and Beers Night ONE at O Brien's check out the O'Brien's page for bands

July 25, 2026 (Saturday) Grub Sweat and Beers Night TWO at O Brien's check out the O'Brien's page. This one is a 2PM MATINEE!!

July 30, 2026 (Thursday) Punk Night at Ralph's with Still Sedated, Meat Depressed, Mass Spy, Bob Cenci’s Orange Guitar - at Ralph's Rock Diner Worcester 8PM

July 25, 2026 (Saturday) The Stress Balls, Grub Lord, Fecto Glen , Frogs at The Glue Factory, Somerville -7pm show

July 25, 2026 (Saturday) Rock the Lot in Marshfield with Dark Crushes, A Sort of Homecoming, Far Above the Ground, Warthog. 3 to 8 pm, outside the WATD station (130 Enterprise Drive, Marshfield, MA 02050) and it’s free.

July 28, 2026 (Tuesday) Criminal Kids, Fool’s Gold, Freakphone, Whyte Lipstick at O'Brien's

July 31, 2026 (Friday) GANG GREEN: 40th Anniversary (18+) F.U.'s, SPECTACLE, The Promised End, Worm at The Brighton Music Hall 6PM show!! TIX!!

July 31, 2026 (Friday) Jonee Earthquake, In Shreds, BAABES, Typhoid Mary at Koto Salem

July 31, 2026 (Friday) The Swamp Roots and Wray-Ons at Husky's Pub on Park Ave in Worcester MA 8 PM to closing

August 8, 2026 (Saturday) J PROZAC, Jay Allen and the Arch Criminals, Still Sedated at The Midway for a 3PM Matinee

August 8, 2026 (Saturday) Cheater Slicks, Puke Pistols, Lupo Citta at the Middle East Up

August 8, 2026 (Saturday) Lynda Mandolyn is doing a solo show at The Village Social CLub in Brookline.

August 15, 2026 (Saturday) White Dynomite, Bastard Leg, Black Wolf Goat at O'Brien's

August 15, 2026 (Saturday) The New Frustrations, The Wynotts, Thee Associates, The Spackles at The Midway for a 3:30PM Matinee

August 22, 2026 (Saturday) Putt Putt Punk at Trombetta's Farm with Cold Hard Cash, The Stress Balls, Cheryl’s Boys, Tommy Ready, Addy: 655 Farm Rd, Marlborough, MA Show at 6PM, music at 7PM- and...your ticket gets you a full round of mini golf woven directly into the night’s mayhem. What is Putt Puitt Punk you ask??? Check it out here.

September 9, 2026 (Wendnesday) Social Distortion, Descendents, The Chats at RoadRunner TIX

September 12, 2026 (Saturday) Putt Putt Punk at Starland Sportsplex & Fun Park in Hanoverwith The Stress Balls, Sean Griffin of the Ruffians, Junk Punk, Tommy Ready . Addy: 637 Washington St, Hanover, MA Show at 6PM, music at 7PM- and...your ticket gets you a full round of mini golf woven directly into the night’s mayhem.

September 25, 2026 (Friday) Muck and the Mires, The Sharp Class, The Chelsea Curve, Dj Sherman at Deep Cuts Medford

September 28, 2026 (Monday) The "Sex Pistols" at The Royale

October 16, 2026 (Friday) The Damned at The Royale

CONTACT US AT....misslynbgn@yahoo.com
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