Rita & Lolita

A WOOLLY WINTER

Rita: Wow—we in New England are glad to be rid of February—it delivered more snow than ever before. The snow hurt a lot of businesses and people in New England, while helping only a handful—like snow plow drivers. Let’s hope March will act more like a lamb than a lion.
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LET IT SNOW

Lolita: I grabbed a handful of musicians and asked them what they had to say about that beautiful fluffy stuff that magically falls from the sky. LINDA VIENS (Kingdom of Love):  The extreme snow and cold of this winter so far has made me think a lot about humans in the even not so distant past who figured out how to keep warm and survive without all of our modern amenities. I just watched the HBO series John Adams and the very first shot is John Adams riding up a hill in Quincy on horseback during a blizzard—sobering—and very very humbling! *** JIM SULLIVAN (Jimsullivanink.com/ Boston Rock/Talk on XFINITY on Demand): I changed my Facebook profile picture to Jack Nicholson in The Shining. That’s all you really need to know. *** JON MACEY (Fox Pass):  I will let you know when I dig out. *** CHRISTINE OLHMAN (…& Rebel Montez): We who are closer to NYC have not been hit nearly as hard as Boston, but when the first blizzard on February 1 approached, I was in L.A. along with another New Yorker, drummer Liberty DeVitto. We watched in amazement as NYC announced a citywide travel ban and, wonder of wonders, the closing of the subways!  Of course our flights were cancelled.  I called my dear friend Leah Kunkel who is now back in L.A. after many years in Northampton MA, and Leah and I spent an L.A. snow day. Leah drove me up and down the fabulous hills of Topanga Canyon, all through Malibou, up and down Mullholland Drive. It was an amazing day, and one that I’d never have had were it not for… the snow! *** VANCE GILBERT (Vance Gilbert): I haven’t seen so much white since… (wait a minute… I play folk music for a living…) since last Friday. *** PETER RINNIG (QRSTs): The snow—I love the snow and cold. In college, when everyone went on exchange for a semester to places like Spain or France, I went to University of Alaska in Fairbanks. The first day I got there is was minus 20 degrees. When I left in June it was about 50 degrees and felt like summer! *** ERIN AMAR (rockerzine.com): You know what’s crazy? The explanation otherwise sane people give as to why they have attacked car that has parked in a parking spot they shoveled out is “I don’t know what happened. The snow made me crazy.” And we understand it at some level—”oh yeah, the snow, that’s why they slashed someone’s tires/ shoveled five feet of snow on top of someone’s car—yeah, it made them crazy.” But that explanation should sound like a crazy person defense. But it no longer sounds like one.  It just sounds plausible. AND THAT’S CRAZY. *** OEDIPUS (x-WBCN): Here in Bangkok the snow looks so pure and pristine as viewed from the live cameras on my house in Massachusetts. *** MR. CURT (Fun Era Fifty):  Well now, here’s something comparable to the snow of ’78. So far, it’s given me a buncha days off, though driving around in a school bus is most daunting. But, with grim gridlocks, rudely parked cars, or constant traffic lines with stops and starts, has allowed me time for inspiration—grab that pen and notebook—whooosh!!  Here comes a new idea: “Condition One (Mother Nature Lowers the Boom).” Let’s see how this tune snowdrifts into consciousness. *** MICHAEL J. EPSTEIN (…Memorial Library): Good news! There was too much snow to park our car under the carport before it collapsed under the weight of the snow. *** MARK KAYE (Hear Now Live): The snow has engulfed my life, house, work, mind, body, and spirit. I am over it entirely and next year will set up shop in a warmer state.  Never thought I would feel this way but this year it just won. *** JON BUTCHER (The Jon Butcher Axis): SNOWBLIVION: Living by the sea is normally wonderful, a gift. But winter 2015 brought another groove to this newly minted North Shore seacoast resident. Without exaggeration, my street/ neighborhood looks like Antarctica, and not the good parts of Antartica  Snow over the windows, snow up to the roofs, snow over the cars—we’re snowblivious. And at some point the snow mountains we shovel paths around are going to melt. It all has to go someplace. Not holding my breath for city snow haulers, I’m expecting vast floods of snow melt. Deep surf-riding, hang-gliding rivers of snow melt. All of it looking for a way into our basement. So this Spring don’t look for me at the usual spots, I won’t be there. I’ll be standing vigil, a sleep deprived hollow-eyed sentry, mop and pail my shield and staff. I’ll be running up and down the basement stairs checking for leaks, lest the gaggle of guitars I have down there drown. I’ll do this hundreds of times, in the morning, late at night, with a flash light, without socks, from dawn to dusk. Bolting upright in my bed in the middle of the night, cold sweat, images of guitar cases as canoes. Oh Snowblivion 2015, I will remember thee.
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THE MUSIC NEWS OF NEW ENGLAND

Rita: I rescued this New England news that was buried under 10 feet of snow. MARTIN SEXTON covered One Direction’s “Story of My Life” on a dare from his 16 year old daughter, Devon, who was shocked to find that HARRY STYLES (One Direction) followed her dad on Twitter. *** MUCK & THE MIRES spent most of February and March touring Italy. *** In the midsts of the winter snow storms with 30 inches of snow on the ground, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER took off to Pawling, NY, to play at Daryl’s House. That’s DARLY HALL from HALL & OATS. Once just a TV show, now Darly’s House is an open venue. *** The 71st annual New England Folk Festival (NEFFA) will be held on April 24-26 in Mansfield. Club Passim (Cambridge) holds a preview show of some of the talent on Friday, March 20. *** Billed as Boston’s biggest battle of the bands, Hard Rock Rising will be held at Hard Rock Boston Cafe’s Cavern Club on 3/20, 3/27, 4/2 and 4/24. The winning band will then compete regionally for a chance to perform in Barcelona this summer. *** YUKIKO FUJII and SATORU NAKAGAWA (Tokyo Tramps) celebrated their 10th anniversary by having the wedding ceremony they never had—in Hawaii! *** WALTER SICKERT and EDRIE (Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys) became parents on 2/23/25 when WEDNESDAY ALICE AGNES EDRIE arrived a little early and as healthy as a squid. *** PETE LINDBERG of Gloucester, MA, headed down to Nashville, TN, joined the band CALE TYSON and ended up with an opening slot on a bill with WILLIE NELSON!
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STRANGE INSTRUMENTS

Lolita: You’ve seen the Yamaha pyramid amp from the ’60 for sale in the pages of The Noise. We want to know what else out there is that may be a little outrageous. So I asked around about strange instruments. Here are my findings… KEN FIELD (Revolutionary Snake Ensemble/ HONK! Festival): It was a while ago, but I had a chance to borrow a King Cleveland Slide Saxoprano for a few weeks and play it on a Birdsongs recording.  It didn’t sound very good. *** KIER BYRNES (Three Day Threshold): Sam Margolis from one of the best live bands around, Comanchero, and the guys at Riverview Studios have a sweet collection of instruments. My favorite are these sweet guitars made out of oil cans. *** KEN BONFIELD plays a mutant double neck acoustic guitar with five bass drone strings on the upper neck that incorporates an extra body. And on this guitar he plays instrumental fojazzical music. It’s something worth catching if you see Ken playing out. *** We watched a video from RUSSELL CHUDNOFSKYplaying a hybrid guitar/pedal steel made by MSA Pedal Steels in the early ’80s. His review of the instrument isn’t glowing. *** JAY DIBIASIO (Three Day Threshold/ Spacecramp): Strangest instrument I’ve seen lately goes to my innovative bandmate, Randy Creasi, who recently introduced me to a way cool guitar/ bass hybrid he designed. He took a sleek, black 5-string rock bass of his, and after some of his own test jobs, had John McGuire Guitars mod it up for him.  The axe has one single bass string with an independent pick-up on the bottom, and four baritone guitar strings with their own pick-up on top (Tuned low-high E E A D G). Each pick-up has it’s own input jack, so with two amps you get this cool, bass from one side, guitar from the other effect that sounds like two people playing. Rocking fingerstyle, he can pedal a bass pattern while jamming guitar chords and riffs on top. Oh yeah, and he’s a lefty who plays a flipped righty guitar… pretty badass! Rita: If you have any strange instrument that you’d like to show the public, post them on the Noise’s Facebook page—Facebook The Noise Boston.
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WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN THESE PAGES?

Lolita: We’re always interested in knowing what people would like to see covered in The Noise. If you want to add your two cents add a comment at the bottom of this column. Here is some feedback that Rita and I gathered. JAKE PARDEE (Mamadou): I’d like to read about Bim Skala Bim, the classic Boston ska band because the dudes have been playing for so long and are great. Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Big D & the Kids Table… in fact a whole issue about the history of Boston ska is in order. *** MIKE BARRY (Pooka Stew/ Super Genius/ Mickey B/ Babyland Studio): The band Lily Black from Cambridge should be written about in The Noise because they’re amazing. ***DOUG MACDONALD (Doug MacDonald Band): Tsunami of Sound. They are great surf music instrumental band. A lot of instrumental bands don’t get enough credit. *** DAVE PINO (Waltham/ Andrew W.K./ Ppl Mvr): I would love to see a story on The Appreciation Post. They have been on all my playlist for the past year, and I think Jim Keaney is a huge talent both in songwriting and production. I’m not buddies with these guys either. I’ve met Jim once or twice in passing, and recently met Allan Arakelian in a casino on a cruise called Shiprocked. I admire these guys from a distance, and would love to get answers to questions from these guys. To me, they are a very Boston sound, along with The Sterling/ Space Shots… actually that’s ANOTHER guy I would love to see get a feature too… Patrick Emswiler!! Actually, can I do the interview? Rita: All you need do is ask, Dave. We would be honored to have you write about another New England artist. If all goes right, you’ll be reading DAVE PINO‘s interview with PATRICK EMSWHILER in the April issue of The Noise.
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FAN MAIL

Lolita: Here’s a letter I personally received from that hunk of a man who fronts THREE DAY THRESHOLD. I can sense that this guy is an extremely intelligent specimen of the human race by his choice of closing words.

Dear Lolita,
I want to say a sincere thanks for including me in your Noise Top Ten List last issue. It was a true honor to be acknowledged alongside a group of outstanding individuals like Will Dailey, Roget Miller, Linda Veins, and Nabil and Joseph from The Middle East. Secondly, I just wanted to add, Rita has nothing on you, babe!   Kier Byrnes – Three Day Threshold