The BGN News Archive

Welcome back to the Ape Hangers!!!

Bandcamp has a notice up about tariffs. There are still exceptions for digital media that includes vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, books and sheet music which keeps them free from any tariffs. Other physical objects like shirts and tote bags could be charged. If you are selling or buying overseas it’s best to take an extra step or two and find out what the situation is.

The Flashcubes new song “Reminisce”, on their tribute album Make Something Happen: A Tribute to the Flashcubes, was a Coolest Song in the World on The Underground Garage.

Peppermint Kicks have a song on that album. They cover “Muscle Beach”. That song celebrates the beach and the whole summer experience. The song packs in all the surf beach song trappings and the Kicks dive in with glee. You can hear it now on the Big Stir Records website.

There’s an interview with Flashcubes bassist Gary Frenay and drummer Tommy Allen with some embedded Flashcubes music to enjoy at the Crazy on Classic Rock website.

Casket Rats have an interview in the Metal Interviews Worldwide website. They talk about the Boston scene being a big influence on them. There is also a half hour live video from a show at Ralphs on 10/13/24. You can also see it on YouTube.

Punk makes it into the biggest movie of the season. That’s according to NPR.
There’s a scene in Superman where Lois and Superman are getting acquainted and the scene goes, “Wondering what he sees in her, she calls herself "just some punk rock kid from Bakerline," to which he indignantly responds, "I'm punk rock!”.

Then NPR make the point, “it resurrects one of rock's fundamental debates, one that echoes beyond music borders. "Are you a real punk?" was a question some voiced from the genre's very start, reflecting the confrontational nature of a determinedly anti-establishment movement. ”
True enough that thought was thrown out there all the time at the beginning and through the years. You don’t hear it these days as much because there’s not enough status in being a punk.

The big point is that the issue is in such a high profile movie. We guess there must be some residual status in being a ‘real punk’ even today. “What’s that in the sky? A bird? A plane? No, it’s Superpunk!” The article on the NPR website.

VIDEOS......

The New York Hardcore Chronicles have a short video in their 10 Questions series featuring SSD bass player Jaime Sciarappa (and now of The Long Wait). Jaime is very straight forward and his answers are very specific. He says the David Minehan of the Neighborhoods inspired him to be in a band. He is surprised at the resurgence in interest of SSD and gives credit to Trust Records and their reissue of the SSD catalog. See video above left.

Next in the 10 Questions series was Mark McKay of The Long Wait and Slapshot. His favorite gig was Minor Threat, SSD and Jerry’s Kids at the Channel, June 12,1983. His punk drummer influences include Topper Headon from the Clash, Lucky from the Circle Jerks and Brian Betzger of Jerry’s Kids. Is Hardcore dead?, he’s asked. Not if you go to shows and see the enthusiastic audience, he replies. See video above right.

David Bieber of the Bieber Archives did a talk about early alternative journalism. In Boston that becomes all about The Boston Phoenix pretty fast. David shows the original copies of 1966’s Boston After Dark (four pages) that became the Phoenix in 1969.

The history involves the Cambridge Phoenix and the Real Paper. The early punk scene relied on the Phoenix between the club listings, the classified ads where lots of bands found their members and Cellars by Starlight by James Isaacs where we all got scene updates.

David goes further back talking about early rock critical journalism with Crawdaddy (1967 by Paul Williams), Broadside and the Village Voice. The discussion happened in the refurbished Out of Town Harvard Square location hosted by the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism.

This is just serendipity but the group Melonball from Germany has a hardcore rager titled “Garbage Day“ and we have a garbage strike going on in some parts of the state. We like to think it could be the soundtrack for those frustrated people with garbage pilling up on the sidewalk.

In reality it’s about wishing racism and bigotry could be thrown out with the trash and they make it a powerful message. It’s a swift stab of hardcore at 1:16.

Every now and then we just give in to the ska beat. Here we have Montreal, Canada’s The Planet Smashers.
Even though the ska beat compels you to dance and this song comes off the new album (their tenth) On the Dancefloor “Things You Do” does not verbally urge you to dance. It’s about someone leaving and the singer hopes ‘to forget you”. Alas, the beat still urges you to move.

The bands have friends, on the album is guests Neville from The Specials and Charley ‘Aitch’ Bembridge from Selecter. You can hear the whole album on Bandcamp.

RADIO.....

On Joanie Lindstrom ‘s 7/31 Late Risers Show she played the title song from the new Bottle Rocket album “Ready to Roll”. That’s a real rocker. The album’s release date is September 12. There are four songs on Bandcamp now.

“She’s the Shit” (great title) The singer loves his woman even though “she doesn't know shit about Indiana Jones or Star Wars”. They take postpartum depression and turn it into “Post Mortem Depression” which is about feeling dead now that his love has left him. “Hi Speed Yoga” is so hard that the instructor is Satan and the EMT team is onsite, just in case.

It’s all funny and rocking like crazy. Typical Teenage Bottlerocket.

To hear Joanie’s Late Risers Show go to the WMBR archive page.

PODCASTS......

Blowing Smoke with Twisted Rico has the Ape Hangers in for an interview. They're having a second life in 2025 with a new three song EP on Rum Bar Records. We have it reviewed below.

Rico had Dennis McCarthy, Bob Kiah and Pete Sjostedt in the studio. They tell their origin story. They actually met in LA and have lots of LA stories, it gets complicated. Their demo was played at a record store and got attention. Eventually things worked up to a record deal. They have some great stories of recording at the A&M studios. Soon, they moved back to Boston.

It’s a lively conversation and Steev has a lot of record label insights. The Ape Hangers played the last day of the Rat with Gang Green.

Steev Ricardo got Mikke Worm of Worm in for an interview on Twisted Rico. We always think of Mikke as a South Shore person but he was born in Hyde Park. As Steev tracked his early days and career it becomes obvious that he was not just influenced by punk but very much Boston punk. He’s played on bills with many of the groups through the years. Mikke talked about recording the latest Worm album at Galaxy Park studios with Richard Marr. We had an interview with Mikke in 2018.

On the 8/11 Sonic Overload show Al Quint played “1945” by Social Distortion to mark the 80th anniversary of the occasion of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He ended the show with OMD and their song “Enola Gay”. Al has the gift of finding the perfect songs suitable for these anniversary markings. We have the song below.

In the New York Hardcore Chronicles (see videos above) we heard Mark McKay of the Long Wait site early Boston hardcore band Leper as the first Boston hardcore band he saw. Al played the Leper song (demo) “Visiting Grandmother” , so we got to hear what they sounded like.

There was an early punk set with Generation X, Alternative TV, Doctors of Madness and Rikki and the Last Days of Earth. We have “1945” and “Visiting Grandmother” embedded below. To hear the full show of excellent hardcore go to the Sonic Overload blogspot page.

On the 8/1 Elastic Glam show they started with the regular T Rex song opener. It was “20th Century Boy” followed by the group named 20th Century Boys playing “Rumble at the Dance Hall”. The new Rum Bar signed group Vibeke Saugestad Band fit in seamlessly with “Hey Sunshine”. There was more Rum Bar related music with the Peppermint Kicks with “Radio Wham Bam Boom” and the wonderful Slamdinistas singing “Rock ‘n Roll Clown”.

Then there was the Rodger Wodehouse & Chelsea Telegram going on and on about the “Sex Canoe”. Rodger has been voted Britain’s sexiest man – and woman alive. Why stop there? You really have to see Rodger and gang giving the canoe a once over. See the video. There was some classic seventies glam with Blackfoot Sue playing “Dancing in the Road” and Space Waltz with “Out on the Street”.

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

The new one by Little Billy Lost is a killer!! They channel a lot into “Tonight” and with a band like theirs, that means something.

The sort of ‘trick’ they use is to mark the end of their melodic line with an identifiable two note interval on the words “time” and “tonight”. Jim Melanson’s voice is staunch. This vocal realization of firmness elevates the whole song. Later they change the two notes to three, and then echo those notes in the guitar solo done by Melanson. It’s subtle layer upon layer.

The song also has a notable bass work running through it by Pat Moynihan. You can notice it more when they change pace and down shift at the 2:15 mark. This is veterans showing how it’s done. There is a video for this also.

We have “Tonight” on our Top Ten Songs.

Back in USA after a few gigs in Europe The Chelsea Curve celebrate home coming with a new single. “Never Come Down” is all about the momentum. It rocks but the unrelenting rolling marks the tune.

It sounds different than a lot of other CC songs because the main singing is a group vocal. That adds to the excitement of the lyrics that are about pumping up group positiveness. Tim Gillis adds a short and deceptively simple guitar riff that is both melodic and adds to the drive.

The Ape Hangers heyday was 1995, now they return as a working band and Rum Bar Records is there to serve up their new This Is It EP. The Ape Hangers have an unusual history for a Boston group. You can get the story on their Blowing Smoke with Twisted Rico interview. They had their moment when their “I Don’t Want To Live Today” was the opening song to the Empire Records movie.

In the first two songs on the EP the band sounds unleashed, but their pop sensibilities still make the tunes. We used to go crazy listening to drummer Dennis McCarthy in The Prime Movers. Listen to him in these first two songs and you will hear what he can do. The third song “Bombay” starts calm. Here you can easily catch the superior pop song writing. There are so many twists in the dynamics and arrangement to enjoy.

In “Bombay” and the final song “Think About Me” we think of all the classic pop rock artists to compare The Ape Hangers to. Marshal Crenshaw even comes to mind. Time for this band to get their due.
We have “Bombay” on our Top Ten Songs.

Spiller garnered a lot of attention with their first self-titled EP over a year ago. The group arrived with a good reputation because of its members history that included time in Gang Green, Underball, Jerry's Kids, Northern Skulls and Green Magnet School. A new three song EP What Have I Won just came out.

Spiller has a massive band sound. That works well in all their songs. The song “December” is enveloped by it. The wall of sound floods in right off. Then you notice the bass which has a perfect sonic space in this song. Your ear is always aware of its melodic character and the assured momentum it gives the song. The song goes into a holding pattern at the 2:30 mark. When it gets in gear again it has a different feel and the repeated line “it’s not you it’s me” marks some regret.

It’s hard not to like “Game of Pricks”/”Hocus Focus”. The group rearranges the Robert Pollard/Guided by Voices song. The “Better Off Dead” intro steal is a siren song for locals. The agile singing on top of the heavy group sound is a winning pairing. How they ever got to add “Hocus Pocus” by Focus onto the end of this? It works but one doesn’t know why.

Huck 2 from Salem have a digital single out this week, “Let’s Have a Ball”/”Sign of the Times”. Huck 2 songs have some sharp insights. They are very tuned into the zeitgeist.

“Sign of the Times” has a bleak outlook. Politics and the rich to poor divide mark the lyrics. There’s no sugar coating here. The song was recorded at Woolly Mammoth with David Minehan.

“Let’s Have a Ball” song sounds upbeat but even here it’s a case of whistling past the graveyard. On Friday, September 5 Huck 2 will be playing Koto Underground in Salem, MA with Bob Cenci and His Orange Guitar and The John Hovorka Band. On Saturday, September 13 they will be playing Plumfest on Plum Island.

We’ve loved all the new Power Pop music coming our way. Top of our list now is Glowbox’s new album Bland Ambition. They have three previous singles on the album and they were pure pop delights.

They begin the album with the best of those - “No Place Like Nowhere”. They change up rhythms and styles to keep things varied. The song “Doesn’t Mean That Much” that gallops along like a Slade tune is an example of that. The way they mix up acoustic and electric guitars remind us of the Who, as well as the busy drumming in spots. Examples of that are “Wait and See” and “Horizon”.

There are in the pocket guitar solos that are highlights all the way through. For the best Power Pop everything has to sound perfect and Glowbox make well crafted recordings. We love all the vocals. The background vocals are worth a listen all on their own. We have “No Place Like Nowhere” on our Top Ten Songs.

Today Junior have another stellar single out with “Coastlines”. It's in advance of their next album. The lyrics are about following your dreams and they capture that spirit.

Today Junior have an indie feel to them but avoid all the pitfalls of that genre. They always mark surf music as an influence and that color is in their songs. Even there they duck surf guitar clichés.

We have “Coastlines” on our Top Ten Songs.

The juggernaut that is Rum Bar Records rolls on with a huge 34 cut album Summer School Sampler. What other label anywhere is pumping out the rock like Rum Bar? We’ve reviewed most of the bands on this sampler.

Just a few highlights. It begins with Brad Marino’s “Hamburger U”. A pitch perfect Ramones styled tune. The father is shamed the son can only graduate from Hamburger U, a trade school.

We get some Boston history with a cut from Quest for Tuna and “Clam Plate” where Jay Allen sings about the best clam plate in the world on Revere Beach. Our mind immediately goes to Quest’s “Toaster Oven”.
We got a better appreciation of Cretonix, a side project by Murph of The Cretins. “Let’s Go” has treble ringing guitars piled up on top of each other serving a pop punk ditty.

The Gypsy Moths have undeniable sixties appeal with the 12 string against acoustic guitar backdrop and smooth songwriting and singing in “And I Know You Do”.
We have the pop punk maven himself, J. Prozac, doing a cover of Dire Straights “Walk of Life”. We don’t think that’s available anywhere else. That was a treat we didn’t expect.

“Low Tide Society” by The Carnivals (Jittery Jack side group) sounds like a Freddie Cannon sixties romp but with the innocent fun replaced by a revel in the low tide society. There’s lots of brand new local releases by Chelsea Curve, The Hi-End, Ape Hangers, Duck & Cover, Rick Barton and The Spackles.

We were listening to a group named Badterms. They have a new song “Special Kind of Crazy”. The song was rocking hard like they didn’t mind being labeled kind of crazy themselves.

We saw on the Bandcamp page that one of the songwriters was Florczak. Could that be Curt from The Hi-End and Fringe Religion? It turns out it is, which was confirmed aurally by listening to the blazing solo on the song. We should have known then.
In Badterms Curt is joined by Hans Molnar from Arizona. They joined up during the Covid shutdown. There’s more coming with the eventual release of a whole album, Panic Age.

We received a new 8 song EP from a new Boston punk/hardcore group Osis. All the songs are hard hitting.

There were times like in the songs “Spy” and “It’s a Joke” where the guitar had a post punk Gang of Four like sound and we really liked that. The singer Katie Ghoulish has a very strong voice and gets up some nice screaming.
We have the song “You Tell Me” embedded below because that has a notable vocal performance and the band shows their power. The full EP is on Bandcamp.

We have “You Tell Me” on our Top Ten Singles.

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

September 5, 2025 (Friday) Tension Scale is playing their FIRST SHOW (members of Downhauls, Brix'n Mortar, and many, many more). They're joined by friends Neigborhood Shit and SkyTigers!

September 5, 2025 (Friday) Bob Cenci's Orange Guitar, John Havorka Band, Huck 2 at Koto Salem - FB page

September 5, 2025 (Friday) TJ Welch and the Wasted, Iron League, Ungraded, Strikeout Boys at O'Brien's FB page

September 5, 2025 (Friday) Tough Luck Festival (2 days!) Day One: Slow Joy, Trophy Wife, Actor|Observer, Exit 18, 5Ever, Sophie's Body - Brighton Music Hall TIX

September 6, 2025 (Saturday) The Long Wait, Sonic Bomb and Warthog  at Wakefield Porchfest - see FB page for address & Times

September 6, 2025 (Saturday) Tough Luck Festival (2 days!) Day Two: Great American Ghost, Move, Euclid, Blood Tithe, Survive The Sun, Sevalynn - Brighton Music Hall TIX

September 6, 2025 (Saturday) Lonely Leesa & Lost Cowboys, Crow Follow, Thalia Zedek Band, Daylilies at The Jungle

September 6, 2025 (Saturday) TREE, Incendiary Device, Catching Hell and Motomags will be playing outside in the parking lot at Ralph's Rock Diner. 8pm 21+ $15

September 6, 2025 (Saturday) Peacbreaker, The Promised End, Already Dead, WarGraves at Bad Brgr Manchester, NH - FB page

September 6, 2025 (Saturday) Former Misfit Bobby Steele hits the stage with his legendary New York punk band The Undead,with The Port City Saints, Max Boras, and Dirty Rogers at The Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St, Ogunquit, ME. This is an EARLY show - music at 6:30!! See more and TIX here.

September 7, 2025 (Sunday) Rock and Roll Yard Sale in Somerville Union Square FB page for more info vendors etc

September 7, 2025 (Sunday) Martin / Morell / Fredette, Hummingbird Syndicate, The Starlings at The Midway 3PM matinee

September 12 & 13, 2025 (Friday & Saturday) Moon Over Salem Festival - At Moon Base One on Friday 9/12: Rebuilder, In The Meantime and others.

September 12 & 13, 2025 (Friday & Saturday) Moon Over Salem Festival - Saturday 9-13: At Moon Base One -10 Bands including Evil Filipe, Vivid Bloom At Cinema Salem 10 bands including Tiger Man Whoah, Choke Up and Oh The Humanity! - more info

September 13, 2025 (Saturday) The Del Fuegos will be playing the Belforge Art Center (Medfield) on Saturday September 13 at 3 to 7pm. Tickets are $30.00.

September 13, 2025 (Saturday) DnA's Evolution, The Spackles, Screw Cart, Iron League at The Midway 3PM matinee FB event page

September 19, 2025 (Friday) Brad Marino , Chelsea Curve, Glimmer Stars at The Burren

September 19, 2025 (Friday) Boston Fuzztival - Line Up TBA = save the date!! at Arts at the Armory - FB page to check

September 20, 2025 (Saturday) Party In Salem with Silver Screams, Yes Nanny, Sonic Bomb and Linnea's Garden at Koto Salem.

September 20, 2025 (Saturday) Punks for Pets with Sourpunck, Soapbpx Saints, Daen Cabral, The Underwires, Stone Nobles, Musclecah, Hope Anchor at Nick A Nee's - check the FB event page for wish list items to bring!!

September 21, 2025 (Sunday) The Courettes and Pangs are at Warehouse XI in Somerville

September 21, 2025 (Sunday) Your Friends in Hell, Lenny Lashley, kcuf at The Jungle - EARLY show 5-8:30PM

September 21, 2025 (Sunday) Shonen Knife, Pack AD - All Ages at Sonia

September 23, 2025 (Tuesday) Bad Idea USA, Kids On Fire, Mk Naomi, Autumn Astronauts at The MIdway 7:30

September 27, 2025 (Saturday) Futon Lasagna, Skaleton Crew, Threat Level Burgundy, So Many Dangers for a 3M matinee at The Midway

September 27, 2025 (Saturday) The Angry-Las play one of two final gigs before their singer departs for California!! Angry-Las, In Shreds, Gozerian, Letterik at The Midway The Angs play 3rd of 4 bands. FB page

September 27, 2025 (Saturday) Kingpin, The Long Wait, Wire Lines, DJ Vivid Oblivion at Deep Cuts FB page

September 28, 2025 (Sunday) Allston Village Street Fair Festival - On Harvard Ave, Six blocks of entertainment. Music all day - noon to 6pm. Bands include Blindspot, Zip Tie Handcuffs and Children of the Flaming Wheel. All bands and tiems listed on website Facebook page.

September 28, 2025 (Sunday) Coffin Salesman, Daphne Blue Underworld, Connor Storms & His Bouquet for a 3PM matinee at The Midway

October 4, 2025 (Saturday) Soraia, The Cocktail Slippers, River City Rebels, The Chelsea Curve at The Midway 8PM

Next Plymouth Market October 4 https://www.facebook.com/events/1499749961383951/ At the Mayflower Brewery Plymouth.

October 11, 2025 (Saturday) Lyres, Mal Thursday Quintet, Tiber Bomb at VFW 6859 in Portland, ME check FB page for location directions

October 16, 2025 (Thursday) Moving Targets celebrate the release of their new LP and are hitting the road with Atlanta based melodic punkers in Billy Batts and the Made Men, with special guests Spiller 

October 18, 2025 (Saturday) Al Barile Day at Roadrunner All proceeds to benefit Dana Farber Cancer Institute ... info coming...

October 19, 2025 (Sunday) The Sound Cove presents the first ever Super Sonic Showcase with The Chelsea Curve, Cold Expectations, Speed Fossil, Happy Little Clouds, Corin Ashley and Eric Barlow at The Burren this is an EARLY show 2- 5:30PM. FB page.

October 25, 2025 (Saturday) The Annual Wreck-o-Ween hardcore/punk/thrash fest.at the C-Note, Hull Angs are playing as part of the annual Wreck-o-Ween hardcore/punk/thrash fest. More details TBA

October 25, 2025 (Saturday) An International Garage Rock Shakedown with Stupidity, Muck & The Mires, The Chelsea Curve, Pop!, at The Stone Church Music CLub, Newmarket, NH FB page.

October 26, 2025 (Sunday) Galaxy Cake, Pleasing Terrors, American Ocelot at The Jungle EARLY show 5-8PM

October 30, 2025 (Thursday) Stupidity, Chelsea Curve, Little Billy Lost, at The Burren

Saturday, November 1 at The Jungle in Somerville! A Special Matinee Show! Doors at 4PM. More details to follow.

November 1, 2025 (Saturday) The Barstool Preachers, The Last Gang at Deep Cuts -CANCELLED!!!

November 14, 2025 (Friday) Steve Conte, Muck & the Mires, Gene Dante & the Future Starlet, Pink (acoustic) at Deep Cuts in Medford FB page.

January 24, 2026 (Saturday) Hooligan Holiday Boston with The Oppressed - ALL AGES showat The Middle EAST 7PM doors. FB page

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