…and God said, “Let there be attitude.” Before rock ‘n’ roll’s bloody birth somewhere in the deep, dark jungle; before some savage with a bone in his nose started beating the drum; there was attitude. It’s this primordial moxie that makes a band stand out, over and above their prowess, their message, their appearance. […]
Frank De Blase
Posted inMusic
Worth the Waits
“The blues has always been the traditional underpinning of all American pop,” says John Hammond via telephone from his Phoenix hotel room. Hammond has been playing traditional folk-blues for more than 40 years. He’s now reaching even deeper, teaming with Tom Waits, whose oddball-troubadour Americana underpins the blues. Hammond’s latest album, the Waits-produced Wicked […]
Posted inMusic
Live fast, die young
New York City madmen/legends Simon And The Bar Sinisters completely blindsided the unsuspecting punk element at Monty’s Krown with an intense set of rockabilly, punk, and frank, Bowery boy self-deprecation. With just drop-tuned guitar and drums, Simon dared the audience to stump the band and boogie. Also in the “we don’t need no stinkin’ […]
Posted inMusic
Get well, Casz
Not too long ago, if your sorry-ass band needed a sorry-ass bar to play in front of more sorry-asses guzzling Cream Ale, you needed to look no further than Friends And Players (corner of South Clinton and Goodman). And the only reason your rock ‘n’ roll racket ever made it in the door in the […]
Posted inMusic
Hitler’s Mustache
You know, sometimes you’re lucky enough to find a disc that perfectly suits where you’re headed: the dry cleaners, the clinic, Wegmans, hell, etc. With my evening errands complete, I recently found myself driving ’round and ’round the inner loop, circling our modest skyline to the sounds of the King of Soul, Solomon Burke’s, new […]
Posted inMusic
Polish boy, monkey man
Anyone who remembers The Resisters (“Slut Rock,” “I Like Her Ass”) or Dog’s Life (“Dog’s Life,” “Queenie Gots a Pinworm”) will remember the odd-ball, sea-foamed Strato-twang of one Lee Chabowski, a nice Polish boy from Dansville. Both aforementioned groups proved to be tragically ahead of their time and comfortably out of place in a past […]
Posted inMusic
Me,me, me
I’ve always admired Rochester women for their fortitude, their pulchritude, and their attitude. After a recent break-up, a friend of mine pawned all the jewelry she’d gotten from the ex and bought a stack of Charles Bukowski books. She’s available, and soon she’ll know all our secrets. “Be a model or just look like […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Tow job
The tail-end of a night on the town. It’s 2 a.m. Love is in the air, the air that now occupies the space where you left your car hours before. Towed! Your ride has been dragged to an unfamiliar industrial zone somewhere on the north side. Your evening out, wrecked. You finally find […]
Posted inMusic
Stain Removal
You can always count on The Reverend Horton Heat for a good time. In the sweaty Water Street chapel, the Rev sanctified and satisfied the sinnin’ and grinnin’ faithful with the rock ‘n’ roll of ages. Openers Nashville Pussy easily performed their best show yet. They are simply amazing, and no, I’m not just saying […]
Posted inMusic
The new crack
Of all the new releases I’m fired up over, there’s none more exciting than Peter Pan’s new Honey Roast Peanut Butter. This could be the new crack. If the church replaced communion wafers with this goo, maybe I’d go back. Buy this for a date as opposed to the obligatory Alabama slammer. Deee-licious. Usually […]
Posted inMusic
Party of one
Here’s a mild-mannered guy with super-hero potential: an unassuming individual of shy opulence with a keen willingness to share nonetheless. No heart on his sleeve; nothing up his sleeve, for that matter. You might mistake him for a doctor, a lawyer, an Indian chief: anything but a musician. You probably wouldn’t expect to read about […]
