The BGN News Archive

Just when you think things couldn’t get worse, then we get this week ... the Capitol gets stormed and Covid is running more rampant than ever as the vaccines are slow in getting to the populace. We want to acknowledge the situation, we are not ignoring it.

We are moving ahead as well as we can and we can see people around us, in the Boston music scene, doing the same thing. Last week’s year-end review proved there’s a lot still going on.

Try to help others if you can. One thing out there is the New England Musician’s Relief Fund that you can give to: https://www.nemrf.org/

Ralph Fatello announced on Facebook that he has tested positive for Covid 19!! UGH!! We wish him the best and we’re not going to feel better till he gets through the next couple of weeks.

There was one good piece of news this week. On Wednesday January 6th Once got a $25,000.00 grant from NIVA (National Independent Venue Association). That will allow ONCE to continue as a Virtual Venue and set itself up to reestablish itself after the quarantine is over. They are in fact looking for a new location now. They may also get a grant from the Save Our Stages program in the future. The full story on the WBUR website.

Mikke Worm (Wreckless Wreck Chords) is putting together a compilation album called Save The C Note. It's WWC's first comp and its because they feel there really is a need! Mikke’s got a new cover by Dave Tree. Here are the bands added just this week: The Dogmatics, Far Above The Ground, The Pint Killers, Diablogato, The Stigmatics, The Thigh Scrapers, Zombii, The Blue Liners, The Neon Hookers and The Mother Boys....In the end there are going to be 40 bands!!!

From The C Note: "The C Note has tirelessly applied for grants & relief loans and as a result we ended at the bottom of an endless & not very promising wait list. We are not a restaurant. We are a music club who has been a major supporter of local musicians and national acts, as well as numerous benefits for local charities. The C Note has been an integral part of the community. The demise of this venue would be a loss not just for the business, but also for its staff and the musicians who have been struggling through Covid19 pandemic."

From Wreckless Wreck Chords: "We are rallying with some great bands to put together A Comp with all proceeds going to raise money for the C Note. So, It can Continue to pay its overhead until the state passes phase 4 allowing it to reopen. So we will all have a place to play on the south shore right across from the beach when it reopens this year. Help Us Help them up Tha Punx! "

Until the comp is out you can donate here to Save The C Note!!

The next Back Porch Carousel live stream will be Sunday Jan 17 at 7PM. The proceeds will go to Right Turn, an organization run by Woody Geissmann who will also be in the lineup along with guests Sarah Levecque, Eric Martin and Peter Zarkadas Donations go to: www.right-turn.org. The live stream will happen on the Back Porch Carousel Facebook page.

Duck & Cover bassist Rich Hoss is moving to the UK and the new bassist will be Michael Dominguez who was formerly in Taxi Driver and Quiggs. Duck & Cover on FB.

We saw Worcester’s Waiver Wire at the Midway in June of 2019. Their genre was hard to peg and they like it that way. The band members have different influences and they let the sound be whatever it is. We liked what we heard when we saw them. Now they are on the brink of a new album. We've heard a few of the new songs and they hit hard. We are so hungry to hear them live but even in their recorded form they have a hefty punch. Give a listen to this songs called “Semtex” CLICK TO LISTEN.

We will be on the lookout for the released album. Meanwhile you can also check out their Bandcamp page.

Smitt E Smitty has created a video for his song “Big Bad Boy”. He’s got his whole band in there, that is one fun loving crew. The video has quality production which is usual for Smitty a professional illustrator. The video is on YouTube: Big Bad Boy.

Brian Young was doing his A Crash Course for the Ravers show two days a week (Sat and Sun) but is now back to just his original Saturday 1 – 4 pm slot. We always have a banner below that has a clickable link in it so you can always find it. A Crash Course for the Ravers has been a quarantine staple for us. He has a confluence of new, old rock and local punk along with some out of left field gems.

We just came across this YouTube video of Patti Smith receiving the 2020 PEN Award. The PEN Awards are given to, “celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible”. Bono and Joan Baez give two short introductory comments. Patti Smith accepts the award and then does a version of “Peaceable Kingdom”, from her Trampin’ album. The stripped down live version only deepens the emotional depth of the composition

The video is only ten minutes long, the song comes in at the five minute mark. Watch the video here.

The Village Voice will be coming back. The New York paper was a favorite in pre-punk days. The quality of the writers elevated it to must read status. It helped that it was based in NYC the center of all arts. The new owners sound like they respect the old newspaper and will try to bring it back to its former glories. It will be digital first. Later in 2021 they plan on having quarterly print issues. More info on the Brooklyn Vegan website.

Short Circuit: Live at the Electric Circus is both a seminal and influential compilation recorded live at the Electric Circus on in October 1977 by Virgin Records to mark the last two nights of the North Manchester Punk venue before it was sadly closed down for good almost 1 year after it first opened. That’s where we first heard John Cooper Clarke! Also on the record were Joy Division, The Fall, the Buzzcocks.

The Electric Circus Archive Release Campaign wants to get the recordings (which are currently kind of lost) from the original two nights and make them available. We’re all for that!! Read more on their Facebook page here.

If you wanna be a punk you have to wear punk clothes right?? If you are a running punk you better prove it by buying a tiny t-shirt (for $123) with Joe Strummer on it!! But wait, is it punk because it has Joe Strummer on it ... or because it's "moth eaten"?? Seriously??? Their slogan is “Run Punk Run” ...but we would say run before you pay in this case!! Here's the website called Satisfy. Ironic how all this punk stuff is so expensive 40 years later!!

Videos to watch....

We mentioned a couple weeks ago that The Shang Hi Los released their second video “Skipping Records”. We’re chomping on the bit to hear the whole Shang Hi Los EP. The first chance will be on Skybar’s show Rising on WMFO on Tuesdays at 8pm. You can listen on the WMFO website

The Buy Me Boston book launch did a live show that is now all lined up on a webpage in the Dig. Because the show went on for almost two hours they have it divided up into three sections. It was filmed at the David Bieber Archives in Norwood. In the beginning you get to see the set up and it is impressive.

In the third section they talk about the BGN for a short while. For that you can go to this link. The BGN talk is at the 39 minute mark. The Dig page with the whole show can be accessed at this link

We saw the group Rebuilder way back in 2013. After Covid hit Rebuilder did a live stream in April which was notable because it was one of the early shows with a full group playing loud. Later they released a song with a message called “Monuments”. On Jan 1 they set a a New Year's Day concert. They invited bands they liked. Those groups contributed their video clips. Rebuilder did some work. They thought out what they wanted to do and got some sponsors and latched up with One Worcester, a nonprofit that helps local artists.

There is an interview on New Noise website explains some of the prep work they went through to do the show: "Rebuilder go ‘Live From 2021’ on New Year’s Day" (newnoisemagazine.com) With that help they set up a space and must have gotten some quality recording equipment because their set sounded clear and powerful. The vocals were up front and the harmonies solid on key. There was no overload distortion on the guitars or drums.

They ended with their excellent “Monument” but their penultimate song was “Roadrunner” – that knocked us out.

It’s going to be hard to go back to the raw feeds after seeing and hearing how things could be. Congrats to the band!! They worked for this and it panned out. This was a paid event. As far as we know it’s not available online but we hope they do post their set at least at some point.

We came across this vimeo video that Adam Sherman did nine months ago. It’s a twenty minute video where he takes the opportunity to mix some thoughts about his artistic life and ideas along with the songs. It’s very simple and well done. You can see it here.

There’s a very good interview with Evan Shore on the website Ratboy 69. It’s about the new Muck & The Mires album Greetings from Muckingham Palace and the history of the group. Read it here!!

Corin Ashley - Gargecast

Linda Bean Pardee

Linda's Garagecast took a hiatus for two weeks over the holidays ... and we miss it. To hold us over there are three videos of outtakes. Watch 'em here: Outtakes one .... Outtakes two ..... Outtakes Three. Linda Bean Pardee promises that new episodes will happen soon.

Live streams coming up......

On Saturday January 16th there will be a live stream on Once Virtual Venue of Set Fire, Kind, Inhalement, Friendship Commanders. Event page is here.

We saw Kind in January of 2020 and thought they did a show that was a little different and interesting.

Again ... it’s Linnea Herzog!! She's doing a live stream show with Crow Follow. Linnea says: “Our next virtual show features *Brand New* videos, smokey vibes, and a new collaborative track from Linnea’s Garden and Crow Follow.” Now, what’s that going to sound like? Watch it on the Once Virtual Venue on Wednesday January 20th. Here’s the event page.

CDs/ Music....

The Dogmatics have put their entire early catalog on Bandcamp. They call it Est 81. Before this collection was called Dogmatics 1981-1986.

There are 21 cuts including “Thayer Street” and “XMass Time (Sure Doesn’t Feel Like It)”. With everything in one place you can hear the consistant quality of every song. They are one of Boston’s finest bands!!

Brix n’ Mortar covered INXS song “Don’t Change” and posted on Bandcamp. They even covered the cover – meaning they made the Bandcamp image look like the INXS art on the paper sleeve. Brix n’ Mortar put their own brand on the song. We love the solid mass of bass that anchors the recording and makes the song sound big. They bring out more of the darkness of the lyrics than the original. Things get real when the voices go screamo at the four minute mark. We’ve always expected a lot from this group ... and we continue to get it!! We have it on our Top Ten Songs

Lynda Mandolyn of Tiger Bomb has two ultra-dreamy pop songs of unattainable love. They were both recorded this year up in her Portland Me invirons. All this is working up to a whole album…we hope.

It looks like you need to buckle up for another year of a Rum Bar roller coaster ride of record releases. There’s Haley and the Crushers who are power pop/punk/rock. There’s only two of six songs playable now on Bandcamp but one imagines they all click like the catchy two you can hear now.

Rum Bar’s The Cheap Cassettes have some sixties garage magic in their song “ Lil’ Bit Everyday” of their See Her in Action EP. We love the verbal stuck-in-a-groove chorus. We have it on our Top Ten Songs.

If you look at the video, the on-screen lyrics reveal a song with a message which you might not guess when listening to the bouncy tune. The video.

Rum Bar has set up a very interesting split single. It has three cuts. The first is Genya Ravan (with Nile Rodgers (Bowie etc. ) is on guitar.) singing a cover of “I (Who Have Nothing)” that epic cry of self-effacement originally by Terry Knight and the Pack and later by Tom Jones.

The second is the Shang Hi Los’ “Sway Little Player” which is everyone’s favorite song of 2020!

Then to top it off there a third digital cut of the old blues song “I’m Shakin’” done Yardbirds style with the vocals switching between Genya Ravan and Jen D’Angora. That was a genus idea!! Those two voices have so much character individually and yet they mesh trading back and forth. This is one of those unexpected treats that people will share in the future by saying…”Did you ever hear this?”.

Chris Brokow has a new album coming out on January 15th called Puritan. He has released a single song on Bandcamp as a teaser: “I Can’t Sleep”, is a smooth and swift one minute and twenty eight seconds. Chris has an impeccable reputation and it only grows as time goes on. We saw him put in a stunning set at the Hong Kong in September of 2019 All the songs seemed deep and meaningful. You can order Puritan on Chris’ Bandcamp page.

Telamor logs another song extoling the glories of love in the uplifting optimism that is the Telamor trademark. It’s titled “Hello Love”. He’s one of a group that have shown that they can get new material out on a regular basis during this pandemic period.

Coming up.....

Virtual/ Streaming/Online Events.....

well if we can't have music we have some cool film events.....

Thursday January 14- 8 PM - The Coolidge Corner Cinema hosts Virtual Seminar: Blue Velvet with Beatrice Loayza - FB page.

Saturday January 23- 9-11.30 PM How cool is this?? Watch The Evil Dead with live commentary by Bruce Campbell!! "Have you ever dreamed of watching your favorite movie with the star from that flick? Now is your chance to hand over the remote control to Bruce Campbell and let him guide you through The Evil Dead like you have never experienced it before. Relive the movie through the eyes of the star - pausing the action to explain scenes, tell unknown stories about the action, or provide funny tidbits of trivia... straight from the source. Bruce Campbell, legend, actor, producer, writer, director, best-selling author…cult hero." FB event page.

CONTACT US AT....misslynbgn@yahoo.com Send us your gig listings, your anything else ya got!! You want your CD reviewed?? Contact us for that too.