THE PERFECT GIFT
Rita: December is here and it’s time to think about gifts for others. At The Noise we like to think of it as a time to focus on our advertisers. If you read The Noise, we’d appreciate it if you choose our advertisers to do business with. Support local businesses who in turn help support what is going on around you. Lolita: We don’t have a fundraising period that stops the rhythm of our support of local music. We ask that you choose to advertise in The Noise when you have something you want others to know about. It’s a double win for those who advertise—they support the local arts and get their name and graphics in our pages—the equivalent of small billboards for people to take notice of what is offered. We thank the wonderful businesses that choose to advertise with The Noise. Rita: Let’s find out what local mom & pop businesses are fancied by our readers…
MOM & POP BIZZES
Lolita: Step right up here Ken and lean into the mic. Tell me about a mom & pop-type business that you frequent. KEN FIELD (Revolutionary Snake Ensemble/Birdsongs of the Mesozoic): Cambridge’s Central Square, where I live, is full of them! A few that I love are Classic Graphx, a great copy, printing, and graphic design shop whose owner, Ann, has been a constant supporter of the neighborhood for decades; Toscanini’s, my (and many other people’s) favorite ice cream supplier—owner Gus is a big music fan and is always interested in helping local non-profits; and Thelonious Monkfish, my go-to restaurant in the Square, and a great and relatively recent addition to the local landscape. And of course there’s the Middle East, a beloved family and neighborhood business if there ever was one, and a huge community supporter. *** MR. CURT (Fun Era Fifty): Life cycles are always amazing. I met Lisa Di Pietro when she worked with Wunderkind [later November Group]. Once did a gig with her because she owned some new device called a Linn Drum. Many many years passed and she pops up in Roslindale with her wife, Lisa, as a business owner of the coolest pet shop in the area—Pet Cabaret. For over thirteen years, we have been proud customers and friends. Meow! *** LINDA VIENS (Kingdom of Love): The day we moved into our Winter Hill, Somerville neighborhood we met Jerry, the owner of the Thurston Street Spa on the corner of Thurston and Medford Streets. This cozy little breakfast/ sandwich corner store shop has been in business for over 50 years. Jerry could not have been kinder or more friendly and it continues to be our favorite place for a breakfast sandwich or delicious sub. He gives Ruby a Christmas gift every year, having known her from birth. It’s where she hangs out to wait for the bus when it’s cold and the bus is late. We love Jerry and we love supporting small businesses! *** CHUCK U. ROSINA (WMBR/ WMFO): I used to frequent J.P. Licks way more then I do now. The reason for less frequent visits have to do with my diet. I still believe the ice-cream is the best in town, and Vince, the owner, supports many community ventures, including Wake Up the Earth and WMBR. Once, in his early years, when he only had the J.P. store, and that was the neighborhood I lived in at the time, he jokingly told me that I was two percent of his business in the winter months. *** LIZ FRAME (Liz Frame & the Kickers): One of my favorite places to shop in Newburyport is Dyno Records. Richard Osborn, the owner, is knowledgable and very supportive of the local music scene. It does my heart good to show the love back! Everyone should choose small, local businesses over the chain stores! *** JIM COUNTRYMAN (Lovewhip/ Erin Harpe & the Delta Swingers): My fave mom & pop restaurant is just a pop restaurant, no mom. It’s called the Belmont Vegetarian Restaurant in Worcester. Run by one Jamaican guy who makes the most delicious veg food with a distinctive island flair. $10 is all it takes to be super stuffed, IRIE! *** NICK ZAINO (solo): I moved to Lynn several years ago. Before then, I was convinced there was no great pizza (not gourmet) in this town. But there are several smaller places in Lynn we order from now. Enzo’s just opened up, and they have good fresh pies and thick crust slices. Alfredo’s Italian Kitchen is very tasty and their bread is fantastic, as well. And a Lynn classic, Fauci’s, has good sauce, and though I can’t really have it often anymore, they’ll do a double crust. The North Shore in general is a great place for pizza, but Lynn is the epicenter of my own slice-quake. Lolita: Maybe the city of Lynn can get that popular undignified rhyme changed to “Lynn, Lynn, city of scintillating slices.”
MUSIC NEWS
Rita: Here now the news that is not full of the worst tragedies we could muster up to scare you from participating in life. First of all—December 2014 is our 33 1/3 anniversary! *** ERIN HARPE & THE DELTA SWINGERS won the Boston Blues Challenge and will be off to Memphis in January for the International Blues Challenge. Good luck! *** DAN MILLEN says his new venue Thunder Road (located where Radio Bar stood—379 Somerville Ave, Somerville MA) will probably open in January or February. The space has been gutted and a big stage and PA are in the remodeling plans. *** Legendary Salem, MA, singer songwriter JULIE DOUGHERTY has shortened her long white mane to a pageboy. Check out the new look on Christmas Eve (4-7pm) at her 32nd Annual Carol-Sing at the historic Hawthorne Hotel (Salem, MA). *** ANDY SANTOSPAGO ends his 12-month Boston Singers Project that features one of his original songs each month being sung by a different singer with Boston ties. December’s song “Lean” features MICHAEL HAYES (Vinyl Skyway/ Lemon Peeler). *** After suffering a massive stoke in October, bassist RICK O’NEAL (Delta Generators) returned to the stage on November 22 at the Larcom in Beverly, MA with what has been a miraculous recovery. *** Members of THE BREW have launched a new outfit called COLD ENGINES. Catch them at a benefit for Our Neighbors Table on 12/5/14 at Steeple Hall in Newburyport, MA.*** Keep Safe Boston compilation to benefit Planned Parenthood includes 50 tracks from Boston-based artists. The downloadable tracks are by THE RATIONALES, PARLOUR BELLS, ALOUD, HALLELUJAH THE HILLS, OLDJACK, PETTY MORALS, CORIN ASHLEY, APPLE BETTY, JOHN POWHIDA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, and more. *** In the Christmas spirit, THREE DAY THRESHOLD and friends will be releasing 12 tracks as part of their own Twelve Days of Christmas to their fans. The 12 songs will be released one day at a time, in a special online presentation that will feature some local Boston music celebrities alongside the band. Check out Three Day Threshold’s Facebook page for more info. *** Photographer ANNE REARICK (Willie Alexander’s wife) was chosen and awarded by a distinguished South African jury to exhibit her 10-year-in-the-making photo essay titled South Africa—Tales of a Township. *** What Cheer? in Providence is celebrating their 15th anniversary with an in-store party on Sunday, December 21 from 11am to 7pm. *** Though we like to focus on the positive, sometimes tragic things happen that we feel we should report: While in route to Dallas/Fort Worth airport on November 16 the DROPKICK MURPHYS tour bus fatally struck a pedestrian who suddenly ran across the highway. Police suspect a suicide. *** PREACHER JACK’s health has forced him to cancel future dates until he is back in shape. Well-wishes are in the air.
WHO’S THIS GIFT FOR?
Rita: Okay, without saying who the person is, describe someone (besides your significant other) that will be getting a holiday gift from you. JEN D’ANGORA (Jenny Dee & the Deelinquents/ The Downbeat 5/ The Dents): Who will be getting a gift from me besides my spouse: a very special little drummer girl who likes to play with Hot Wheels, baby dolls, and Beatles figurines. And some very talented musicians. *** TRISH DECAPRIO (Wild Maple): This dearest friend and companion has soft, shiny, short, jet black hair and big bright eyes. She is approximately 10 inches tall. Although her size is small she has the biggest heart and the most gentle soul I know. She is very social and always greets me with excitement. She supports my creative music process by attending rehearsals and clearly lets me know when a songs arrangement is just right by her approving stretch up my leg. Her favorite meal is pheasant, her favorite pasttimes are nature watching, hide and seek, cuddling, and napping. *** KIER BYRNES (Three Day Threshold): If you like Christmas music put together by some kick ass local musicians, you may be getting a nice holiday gift online from Three Day Threshold and friends this year.
LET ME STAND NEXT TO YOUR FIRE
Lolita: Let’s move on to a question with a little more bite to it. Jason, get over here and tell us a story about fire. JASON DUNN (The Luxury): Wen I was about three, I set a candle on the back of our living room couch. One of the most badass things I’ve ever seen was my 23-year old mom stamping out the resulting wall blaze with her bare hands. Looked boss. *** DAVID SIMMONS (Girl On Top): A friend of a friend left for work. They had a wood stove. His wife went to the store and left the wood stove burning. When he came home from work the entire house was burnt to the ground. He lived in the woods and had built the house out of pallets. So then he built another identical one. *** MARK LIND (The Warning Shots/ Ducky Boys): When I was 13 someone fire bombed the house next door to ours in Charlestown. The only thing that saved our house from burning down was a 12 inch firewall built between the adjacent buildings. In either the weirdest coincidence ever or a well planned attack, the arsonist returned exactly one year to the day later and fire bombed our house with a molotov cocktail. The fire spread rapidly because of the excellerant. If my brother Rob (Blood for Blood/Ramallah) wasn’t awake reading The Exorcist then I wouldn’t be here today. They never caught the arsonist. Needless to say, some people associate St. Patrick’s Day with everything from drinking to Irish culture to Dropkick Murphys. I’ll always associate it with the anniversary of the day I almost died…. very close call in 1991. Not quite as close in 1990. *** IAN CLARK (Quiggs/ Razors in the Night): When I was about 11, my friends and I lit a fire in a cooler in the woods and were spray painting on rocks. I threw the can of spray paint in the fire and forgot about it. We were all huddled around this fire smoking butts and being derelicts when the can exploded throwing us back about five feet and burning my eyebrows off. To be a kid again. *** NIKI LUPARELLI (Niki Luparelli & the Gold Diggers/ Strip Zeppelin/ The Steamy Bohemians): Back in my witchy college days at URI, I was attempting to make some candles with a double boiler in my dorm apartment. Yeah, you’re totally supposed to remember to put water in the bottom compartment. So, FIRE. Quick thinker me, I knocked the top portion off which contained the melting wax as I attempted to spray it with the little sprayer hose in the sink. Bad idea. Kitchen fires and water are like a hair dryer in the bathtub. Soon, the entire kitchen was filled with noxious smoke and the whole stove area was on fire. Needing to save my illegal pet bunny, I grabbed the fire extinguisher, (read the instructions for 30 seconds because I have no effing idea) and put out this shit like backdraft. Then I called the campus fire department to let them know what went down, but that it was fine. I hear some commotion up my steps about 30 minutes later, open the door and a student fireman was about to chop me in the head with a friggen axe. Fire’s over dude. They do a little snoop and tell me “If you wanted to clean this up, you could use a sponge.” Thanks, Martha Stewart. I never would have thought of using an absorbent cleansing thing to clean up the yellow fire extinguisher crap everywhere. Then, they noticed I had a huge pile of Valentine’s Day heart lollipops on my table. It was April. My grandmother is a super saver shopper, what can I say? Anyhow, they thought The lollipops were like ecstasy or something and tried to report me. Sorry, no. Just two-month-old candy from Job Lot. But don’t look in the weed drawer! *** JAY DIBIASIO (Three Day Threshold/ Spacecramp): Grandpa Bob and I shared a love of blowing things up. As a small child in Indiana, we gathered after Grandma’s funeral, and he needed to let off some steam. In his yard that evening, he went through just about all the fireworks he had… a formidable lot. Cannon shots for each decade of her life, along with bottle rockets, buzz bombs, and mortars exploding roused the dormant suburb. Several assumed duds and smoldering refuse were recklessly tossed into the garbage can residing in the garage. To my childish amusement, the receptacle burst, and dead fireworks came to life like a glorious, angry trash can volcano! A raging fire nearly took the house down! My dad put the conflagration out. Catharsis indeed. *** JOHN DAMROTH (Planet Records): Fire bad. Lolita: John, come on now—take off your Frankenstein Halloween costume and stop doing the monster mash. There are other holidays coming up to celebrate.
Rita: Have a great holiday. We’ll have an online issue posted in January and be back in print in February 2015. So we’ll see you next year!
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R.I.P.
Mayor TOM MANINO served as the 53rd Mayor of Boston, MA, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city’s longest-serving mayor.