The BGN News Archive

Cheetah Chrome at Once    Ian King at C Note

Ugh another week and more bad news to report.....

Cheetah Chrome (Eugene O’Connor) died on September 13, he was 71. The Dead Boys posted the news on Instagram and Facebook that same day:
“We are incredibly sad to announce the news of the passing of our beloved friend and bandmate Cheetah Chrome,’ the post read. “Cheetah was a true original, an architect of the punk rock movement, a one-man hurricane tearing up the musical landscape with his feral guitar riffs and manic energy. Beyond all that Cheetah was also just a really sweet guy that loved rock-roll. We extend our deepest condolences to Cheetah’s family, friends and fans around the world.”

Cheetah came from Cleveland and was in Rocket from the Tombs in 1974. They broke up in ’75 and he started a band called Frankenstein with Johnny Blitz, after that he formed the Dead Boys with Stiv and Johnny.
After the Dead Boys, Cheetah lived in New York City and had a couple bands and some guest appearances at gigs and recordings. He came to Boston for a gig at Jumping Jack Flash and met Stella (then a waitress at the club) and stayed here with her. Later he lived with Jordan Kratz on Mission Hill. After that he moved to Nashville.  

Of course is best known for The Dead Boys. Their two albums were two of the best in punk rock, no question and Cheetah’s guitar work was a large part of that fame.

Ian King, guitarist for The F.U.'s since 2015, died September 12. He was in Brooklyn, NY at the time.

The F.U.'s wrote: "It is with a profound sadness and disbelief that we announce the loss of our dear friend and bandmate, Ian King. He was an amazing all around person and his talent and enthusiasm earned him friends all over the world. He was our rhythm guitarist and backup singer and songwriter but, he was also a great friend and father.

He was a font of knowledge regarding the history of music, movies and everything else. He was also a great storyteller. He wrote a bunch of new songs that we will be recording by the end of the year. He was truly one of a kind and we will miss him dearly. Rock on friend"

He was kind of a quintessential punk. Hanging out in "The Pit" in Harvard Square as a kid. But as you will read in his obit he was also big into theater and film. Most of all Ian was a sweetheart. The outpouring of love for him in social media is truly touching. He leaves his son Rowan who he had just left off at college in Scotland. He was only 56 years old. You can read his obit here. His funeral will be held on Friday, September 25, 2026 at the Murphy Funera Home, 85 Federal St, Salem.

The 50th Anniversary of Punk is being celebrated glogally this month. The Goethe Institute sponsored Alle gegen Alles. Punk@50. Here is Boston they had the Berlin band CAVA at The Midway, in SF they had NO PUNK. NO FUTURE exhibition, in the UK there was the film 50 Years Of Punk, directed by Mark Sloper that debuted att he 50th Anniversary of the 100 Club and The Slickee Boys are represented in a 50th anniversary of punk exhibit at The Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. ... CBGB's is working to open again with a CBGB's Fest this week! and that's just some of the action!

Film maker Danny Garcia just premiered his new film Vive Le Punk at The Regent Theater last Thursday Sep. 17th. The Regent has shown most of Danny Garcia's movies through the years. For punk fans this one was very rewarding. The documentary spotlights four bands that were present at the beginning of punk in the UK and are still performing: The Boys, 999, The Ruts (now The Ruts DC), and Sham 69.

In the film Garcia gives each band's early history, their current touring and gets plenty of quotes on how punk has informed their music and life. All the band members have lots to say and all are very happy with their current situation…except for Jimmy Pursey but he's Jimmy Pursey.

Garcia makes sure most of the songs you hear are from the group's latest albums. He was so right on that because we are going to get some later The Boys and The Ruts material based on what we heard. The interviews show the band members very much engaged and inspired to write new material. The results are vibrant new songs.

We were nodding in agreement all the way through the movie when the band members talked about the power of punk, then and now. The movie gave us close up looks at Jimmy Pursey and Nick Cash that exposed their personalities like you don't get anywhere else.

We thought immediately after the movie ended that we wanted to see Vol. 2 and Vol.3 of Viva La Punk. This should be a series!! There could be groups from other countries. We'd love to see a US version. We have the trailer above to the left. On the right is the music video Garcia did for The Boys song "Never Mind the Botox" that was done a month ago.

Everyone goes to the clubs at night, but what is going on in the clubs during the day? Not much says O'Brien's in Allston. They admit that and will now utilize that free time by offering a daytime networking space.

Says the club: "Starting September 22, O'Brien's will be open Tuesday through Thursday from 11am to 4pm. We'll have reliable Wi-Fi, shared tables, coffee and snacks. Bring your laptop, meet a collaborator or finally finish whatever you've been saying you'll finish for the past three months." They are going to give 90 days for this experiment to see if it is being used. Quite a concept and an excellent one! There's no reservation, you just show up.

Woolly Mammoth has opened up their new studio Essex MA. "Now it's in a beautiful 1770 Farmhouse with a massive barn!" More info on their Facebook page

Common Groove Records is opening a brick & mortar store in Bridgewater Center (50 Central Square) soon. "Common Groove started as a pop-up concept in the South Shore. Through rotating markets, events, and setups, they've been bringing the record shop experience directly to the community, one crate at a time.

This fall, all of that gets a permanent home... stocked with new and used vinyl across every genre. Same fair prices, same obsessive eye for a great pressing, now with a front door and regular hours." Check out their pages on Instagram and FB.

BOOKS......

We've been reading Ralph Fatello's (The Vinny Band) self-published book Don't Ever Buy a F-king Monkey. He writes in such a relaxed conversational style that it's easy to get through the tome pretty easily, despite its 600 pages. Ralph's is unquestionably an entertaining story teller and he has a LOT of entertaining stories to tell!

Ralph has experienced a lot of insane things...and he's done a lot of insane things too. LIke? ....like buying that crazy monkey!... like teaching naughty kids on a golf course a few lessons...run ins with huge motorcycle gang leaders, the band's tour of South America....He talks about being in Vietnam as a Marine but spares us the atrocities of war which he definitely experienced himself.

The book also includes a bunch of photos and the history of his various bands and surfing ...lots of surfing...did we say SURFING? Ralph says "surfing heals all wounds" You gotta read it! You can get it on Amazon, in hard cover on Ebay, and Thrift Books

The Wall Street Journal has a review of the book Rock by Chuck Klosterman. If you can get by the paywall, it's here. It's the story of an alternative universe where the album The Velvet Underground with Nico was a huge success and affected the arc of rock to follow. The Velvets become the biggest rock group of all time and The Beatles fade away quickly. Klosterman then plays up all the twists for humorous and satiric effect. The book is out September 22. You can get it on Bookshop.org.

PODCASTS......

On Al Quint's 9/14 Sonic Overload show he had songs in memory of the 911 tragedy. He started with "The Greatest Trick the Devil Ever Played" by Holding On who were on Bridge Nine records. That was a blistering set of hardcore.

Al played four Dead Boys songs for Cheetah Chrome. Later there was a remembrance for Ian King RIP of the FU's.

In preparation for the students moving in there was Toxic Narcotic's "Allston Violence". The first line in the song sums up the group's vision of Allston, "Allston's nothing but bars and drunks/College kids and lotsa punxs". Then there's the violence, "Coughin up blood, spittin up teeth/Got beat up walkin down the street/A bunch of jocks calling us freaks/This shit happens every week". We have that song embedded below.

Another local group I.C.B.M. has a four song EP titled Eyes of the State that was released in July. This hardcore has some pointed lyrics. It hits current politics straight on. They rebel against the rich and politics where they see there effects in everyday life. The lyrics are on their Bandcamp page. This is a sharp piece of work.

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

If you do a glam show then a Marc Bolan show, that should be a boffo show. That's what The Elastic Glam show did on their Marc Bolan Remembrance Show on 9/18. It starts with the transcendent "Cosmic Dancer". Marc duets with Gloria Jones for a cover of "To Know You Is To Love You".

There are a lots of T Rex covers. Bauhaus/"Telegram Sam", Pixies/"Mambo Sun", Violent Femmes/"Children of the Revolution", Rod Stewart/"Born To Boogie", Smithereens/"Slider", Michael Des Barres & Powerstation/"Get It On" and more. Get in there and enjoy.

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

Spiller has a new song "Valentine". It's the flip side to their digital single with "Queen of the May" which we reviewed in our 8/24 BGN. Spiller's sound is so full and hard that you tend to not think of the pop sensibilities that their songs are constructed of.

"Valentine" could be a nice smooth love song, but that would make it conventional and Spiller isn't going there. Even when the lyrics quote a nursery rhyme , "You and I setting in a tree/ k-i-s-s-i-n-g" the guitars are roaring. Another line is, "you say, you are mine/and I can see Emily play". We love that early Pink Floyd reference. This is one of the things that separate Spiller from the pack.

Perennial! whose latest album is titled Modernism, are a Boston group that are a combo of Mod and Art rock. It's not something that seems obvious but that's exactly what they are. Their song "Ready Steady Go" doesn't have jangly guitars but the drums and bass do the job. The vocals are more post punk. They have fuzzy guitars though out and they play loud with intensity and the tempos are fast.

Live they must deliver the goods. They just had a release show for this album at Deep Cuts in Medford. We give them extra points for having a song titled "Emma Peel". The band has been around since 2015. They were more electronic at the beginning and they sang about art a lot. Check out their Bandcamp page.

New band alert!! We checked out locals Orange Whip which we saw mentioned in Providence's Rag Mag is week. They are hardcore/garage/punk with some art rock in the mix too. There songs are mostly less than two minutes each on this five song EP. This is the band's debut. Everything feels a big loose with this band and in a good way. They are skirting genres and making their own music, it seems. Even Henry Rollins thinks they are "worth checking out"…quotes the Bandcamp page. All the songs have a punk edge that we like a lot. "Fake Ghost Video" is bass heavy which makes it stand out. We would love to have the lyrics we can't quite catch enough just by listening.

The Twin Cities citizens were inspiring during the ICD clampdown on their populace. One person that it had an effect on was Run Bar Records Cindy Lawson. Her 4 song EP titled Long Live the Resistance! is a fiery response to the injustice she saw. On the EP she takes names and gives receipts. Some people complain, "where's the protest music?" look no further.

The lyrics targeting the injustice is one thing, the band's uncompromising performance and the burning outrage in Cindy's voice are another. Cindy's at the top of her lungs here, and the ferocity fills you with hope and empowerment.

We sensed the anger and power in the bands performance when we heard the first pre released single "The Reckoning" but it means so much more in the context of the whole EP. The line "karma's a bitch, but so am I" jumped out from the song when we first heard it. When you hear "Burn" it puts it all in focus. This is a rant against one person, a "rapist, con man, pedophile". Now who could that be? With everything in her voice she can muster she proclaims, "Minnesota fights against fascism".

Cindy and the band have more venom for the well healed in "Eat the Rich". By the forth song you expect a change of pace by letting up on the rage a bit - no way. "Howard Zinn Died For Your Sins" is more direct and even angrier. "I hear you talking and it's all bullshit" go the lyrics. Subtle no, but maybe the time for subtlety is past? We didn't get the import of this EP till we heard the whole thing. We suggest you do that too.

Another Rum Bar release Electric Johnson also opens up more when you hear the other songs on the 7 cut album. A lot of what we heard on the teaser single "Magic Button" is reinforced and expanded in the rest of the album.

The first song "Frankenstein Island" has the same pop culture fun and roller coaster rush as "Magic Button". Leader Paul Johnson has recorded bands including the Fleshtones and you can understand why when you listen to the instruments and the way they pop out in the mix. We love that guitar fuzz tone he gets. Things don't get more serious, but maybe more grown up, with "Alcohol Train". If you could get drunk from listening, this would do it.

There's yet another change of tone with "Foodbank Girl". It's serious and touching when the singer yearns for the girl that distributes his food needs. This is our favorite tune. "Babydoll Gets A Free Ride" slots into the same feeling. There is a horn arrangement in the later part that ads interest.

When you come to "Final Sleep" you realized the album has changed tone from wacky fun to musing on death. The song is slow and serious. The last song is "Quarantine Blues" which is a humorous blues song about the plaque. Holy moly.

The album Beyond Stupidity must have been a labor of love for Sweden's Stupidity and it's a treat for us. It's eleven of their favorite songs and they have good taste. Their leading single for the album was The Bags' "Spread It Around". They pumped it up and made it sound new and fresh and that got them a Coolest Song In the World trophy.

We then sped down to some fave songs like Nick Lowe's "Heart of the City" where they add horns to spice it up. Julian Cope's "World Shut Your Mouth" is jacked up and fuzzed out and again a shot of horns. "Ghost In My House" was a 1967 recording by R. Dean Taylor and a hit in England. We know the Yachts' version from 1980. Stupidity ride the descending fuzzed bass line through the song which is the key to the song for us too.

Another great pick was "Innocents", the 1977 song by John Cooper Clarke. "Get Out Of My Pagoda" is also from 1977 from Chris Speeding's Hurt album. Here and else where they always manage to nail the riff that makes the song click.

Other groups they cover are Flash in the Pan, the Who and Fleshtones. One of the rocking best covers is "Carolina". It's by Jesse Hector and the Gatecrashers and we thought is was an older obscure tune but it's from 2014. Hector is an English musician who has a long history. They rev up Solomon Burke's "Stupidity" (hear it on Youtube) to the point you can hardly catch the tune below the fuzzed out guitars. Lots of fun.

Mod Mayday 79 was a UK compilation album released in 1985 that a lot of us Mod fans have. On that album were Secret Affair, The Mods, Squire and more. In 2023 Sharp Pins from Chicago released a cassette tape called Mod Mayday 23. That had 11 songs from Secret Affair, The Mods and Squire. They are all recorded in the lo-fi manner which is what Sharp Pins does. It's nice to have this on Bandcamp now. If you're a Mod fan you will want to hear this spirited salute to Mod.

One of our favorite pop groups is the Lolas from Alabama. Somehow we missed one of their releases "Summer Smog" when we were listening to their newest song "Colors of the Heart, Bleeding".

"Summer Smog" has an air of regret about it. This is not a typical happy summer lyric. What we love here is the simple comfortable groove and the easy strumming of some treble rich chords. The vocals and melody just exude 70s power pop.

"Colors of the Heart, Bleeding" ups the tempo and the guitar is more muted in tone. There's more urgency in this. We have "Summer Song" embedded below. You can go to Lolas Bandcamp page and comb through their catalog of pop delights.

Spread Joy are from Chicago. They don't just play post punk rock, they embody it. The rhythms as very jerky and he guitars are strummed extra fast. The temps are swift. We actually like when they slow it down for one song "Avoiding the Issue" to give us a chance to soak it in. The vocals are talky and yelling, a lot like Poly Styrene.

We continue to be amazed at these groups that play the old styles we loved like this with authority.

When we heard the riff in a song by The Loose Lips from Australia we thought we remembered it. Then we got it… "Tired of Toein' The Line" originally by Rocky Burnette (son of Johnny Burnette of "Train Kept A-Rollin" fame) in 1980. That was a massive ear worm then. The Loose Lips suitably beef it up to make it sound modern. It holds up next to the original.

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

September 26, 2026 (Saturday) Suitor, Black Beach, Mae Flux, Whyte Lipstick at O'Briens

September 26, 2026 (Saturday) Platorum & Bootleg Dan Presents, White Dynamite, Muck and the Mires, Dogmatics, $20/$25 at Deep Cuts Medford

September 27, 2026 (Sunday) Kenne Highland's Air Force, Crow Follow, BILL at O'Brien's FB page

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

September 30, 2026 (Saturday) Social Distortion, Descendents, The Chats at RoadRunner TIX

October 1, 2026 (Thursday) Bootleg Dan presents The BickerSins, Girl With A Hawk, The Glimmer Stars (from LA) at The Parlour, Providence

October 2, 2026 (Friday) Punk, hardcore, and metal shows are back at Jacque’s Underground in Back Bay - first night has Battery March, Tension Scale and The Angry La's...music startes at 8PM.

October 2, 2026 (Friday) Bootleg Dan presents The Glimmer Stars, Girl With A Hawk, Peppermint Kicks at The Square Root

October 2 & 3, 2026 ( Friday & Saturday) The Amazing Royal Crowns along with Boss Fuel (reunited!) and Lenny Lashley's Gang Of One at Alchemy in Providence - 5PM doors!! TIX for Friday TIX for Saturday

October 4, 2026 (Sunday) Bad Static (NYC riot grrl), Swanyx (Swamp punk/riot grrl from Florida), The Stress Balls (old-school Boston Punk Rock) and Vintri Hill (Punk/grunge from Troy, NY) 5PM at the Cambridge Community Center All ages, 15$

October 4, 2026 (Sunday) Hummingbird Syndicate, John Hovorka Band, Martin Morell Fredette at The Midway for their matinee Music at 4PM

October 8, 2026 (Thursday) Beware The Dangers of A Ghost Scorpion, The Chip Rockers, Nervous Guys, G. Gordon Gritty at The Cut, Gloucester, MA [7PM]

October 9, 2026 (Friday) URGH A Music War is playing at Mass Art with Hugo Burnham as guest speaker. Buy Tix Here!

October 10, 2026 (Saturday) Soraia, The Downhauls, Bad Idea USA at The Midway

October 10, 2026 (Saturday) The Long Wait, Farewell Drugs, 99 Shots at Faces Malden.

October 10, 2026 (Saturday) Woburn PorchFest - check out Still Sedated and Johnny Plankton& The Seamonkeys at 7 Marion Ave Woburn.

October 10, 2026 (Saturday) Another awesome Scurvy Dog Mega Parking Lot show with Miracle Blood, Silver Screams and more...check the FB page for the list of bands (2PM start)

October 14, 2026 (Wednesday) Roger Miller Release Show, Tanya Donelly + Chris Brokaw . at Deep Cuts, Medford, MA

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

October 17, 2026 (Saturday) Bootleg Dan presents Cold Expectations, Dogmatics, The Cynz, Stop Calling Frank, the doors 6pm. $20 Calling Me Frank at Under Bones, Davis Square

October 17, 2026 (Saturday) WOW!! Punktoberfest at Thirsty First in Lowell...tons of bands including Farewell Drugs, Tension Scale, Cittizens, The Damaged, Beantown Boozehounds, Michael Kane & The Morning Afters... and MORE!!

October 18, 2026 (Sunday) Screeching Weasel & The Queers at The Middle East 7PM.

October 31, 2026 (Saturday) Punkoween round two. hardcore and punk bands covering Bad Brains, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, and Slapshot. Pink Cream — opening the night with a full mixtape set. Every genre, no rules. A true mix. Mad Brains — celebrating 50 years of Bad Brains, played by Milo’s Syndicate, Flack Blag — members of The Bags, Blood of Saturn and Catching Hell scream the hits from Hermosa’s Beach’s finest. Black Flag. Charbroiled Nuns — covering the Dead Kennedys. You know them as ChumHuffer, DK comparisons since 2021. Tonight they borrow their name from a lyric in “Bleed for Me.” Slapnot — closing the night with Slapshot songs, played by the actual Boston hardcore legends who helped write them. Born at Slapshot’s 35th anniversary show, they’re also known as The Long Wait when they’re not covering their own legacy. At The Middle East FB page for tix.

November 6, 2026 (Friday) Sweeping Promises at Deep Cuts

November 13, 2026 (Friday) Another chance to catch the film Life On The Other Planet with the Nervous Eaters performing too!! at The Spire Center for t he Performing Arts in Plymouth. FB page for info & tix.

November 14, 2026 (Saturday) Bootleg Dan presents Glowbox, Girl With A Hawk. Anne Husick and Interstate Johnson at Under Bones, Davis Square

December 5, 2026 (Saturday) Bootleg Dan presents Tom Springer Band, Spackles, Amanda White Band at Under Bones, Davis Square

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

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