Rita & Lolita – Sept

DEAD RECKONINGS 

Rita: Although I’m not sure what your occupation du jour is today honey, in the past I know you’ve made feeble attempts at becoming a musician. Lolita: I certainly am the more talented of the two of us. Rita: Ha, You are a fabulous free loader. Pick up any dictionary and look up the word dead-beats and there’s your ugly puss next to the information and explanations. But you give me the perfectly parasitic  idea for this month’s Question of the Month: Tell us about a person connected to the music scene who is no longer with us, and what they did for the scene. Let’s first ask our favorite funky blues guitarist WILLIE J. LAWS JR (The Willie J. Laws Band): I think that local greats like Shirley Lewis, KD Bell, Mighty Sam (who I saw but never met) brought great authenticity to the local blues music scene. I performed with Shirley Lewis a number of times and KD Bell once or twice. I also recorded one of KD’s badass songs “Something’s Wrong” on my CD Cornbread Moan. I really miss their presence in the local scene. *** HARRY SANDLER (Music Museum Of New England): I knew Charlie McKenzie since 1964. He was the consummate hustling promo man, promoter and all around guy trying to help musicians.  The first time I met Charlie McKenzie was when he was promoting college/high school mixers. He hired my band The Mods to play at the Italian American Club in Forrest Hills. It was  up the stairs and into an old, very old hall that many a wedding had taken place in over the years. His mother and brother worked the door collecting money from the local kids wanting to dance to the 25 three chord songs that all the bands learned in those days. Over the years Charlie went from mixers to record promotion looking for the big score. It happened in 1977 when he heard a demo of the band Boston and brought it to another West Roxbury boy out on the coast, Paul Ahearn and their fortunes were made. We stayed in touch over the years. Out for dinner, a pop here and there and until his untimely passing, he always looked out for bands; trying to help them build the legacy that he built so well. *** CAT WILSON (Cape Cod Broadcasting Media/ The Cheap Seats): I miss my friend Mikey Dee. I met Mikey through my Sunday night music show, The Cheap Seats. Weekly, I would invite different people from the music scene to come to the Cape to co-host the show with me live. Co-hosts were required to bring along CD’s from New England area bands they liked and had stories about. Mikey always had new bands and new stories to tell. Mikey was my go-to guy for new music. He was also my go-to guy for information about each band around Boston. There was something about the way Mikey loved music. It went beyond just liking to listen to music – he knew every member of each band and how they were connected to other bands. He didn’t follow the “trendy” bands as much as he liked to uncover new bands or musicians who were doing their own thing and their own style of music. Mikey had his own radio show and wrote for The Noise which ensured every band who deserved a little attention actually got airplay or ink.  But I remember the impact he had on the musicians who would visit him at Spaulding for impromptu private concerts to cheer him up. He was like the pied piper of indie music in the Boston scene. *** WENDY SOBEL (Girls Night Out Quartet): There are so many incredibly talented musicians who have left us over the years that it’s difficult to pick out just one. However after much thought I realize that I need to speak out about one in particular who influenced the music scene  tremendously and who certainly influenced me. That person is Etta James.  Etta James passed away in 2012 at the age of 74. She had a life fraught with difficulty and hardship. So much of that hardship was driven by the racism and misogyny that was, and still is, so pervasive in our culture and in our music business. However, Etta had a toughness and tenacity that drove her. She also had an amazing voice that reflected that toughness and tenacity. There was never any doubt that she meant every single word she sang. Her songs told stories and those stories were everyone’s story. She was real. She was recording back in a time when recording was basic. There was no auto tune, no Pro Tools and nothing digital. An artist had to bring it to the recording session. Etta brought it every time. She set a high bar and continues to do so after all these years. She is truly one of the reigning queens of r&b. *** JOE DONNELLY (Wiki 3): In 1997 we lost Bobby Chouinard, originally from Brockton, Mass. He was one of the greatest rock drummers to ever come out of the Boston music scene and as his career developed arguably one of the greatest ever. You may not recognize the name, but if you have ever heard any tracks from rock legend Billy Squier, most likely today on WZLX 100.7, then you have heard Bobby Chouinard… songs like “The Stroke” and “Everybody Wants You” feature his amazing solid grooves with nary a drum fill in sight… all just big fat grooves reminiscent of one of his biggest influences, John Bonham of Led Zeppelin. His early career in Boston in the ’70s included most notably stints with the great and grossly underrated Duke & The Drivers and James Montgomery. Soon thereafter he moved to NYC to pursue bigger fish to fry, and his resume is too lengthy to even begin to recount here, but included a stint with Alice Cooper in addition to his work with Squier. I had the honor of appearing on 2 tracks that were added to a record that the always busy Chouinard didn’t have the time to record, by a band from NYC called  The Lost (not to be confused with the band of the same name of Willie Alexander). I was asked to play on the rented kit that Bobby played since everything was all set up, mic’d up and ready to go. I went out to the main room at the Record Plant and saw exactly what I had imagined what I had heard on the Squier records, 8″ deep metal snare, 14″ rack tom, 18″ floor tom, and 26″ kick drum (for non-drummers BIG drums and big cymbals)… and listening back to the tracks he recorded had his HUGE signature sound – all groove, very few simple fills, and that snare drum tuned down so low that you could feel the head flapping every time the stick hit it. Through mutual friends (we had only met briefly) I know that he was a lover of life, music and most importantly playing the drums. He has always been a big influence on my playing and is greatly missed.

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NOTABLE NOTABLES

Rita: How about some fall factoids? Now is the perfect time to spread the word about what’s going on in the New England music scene. Lolita: I hate when you make sense. DAVE STEPHANELLI drumming on GODSMACK guitarist SULLY ERNA‘s new album Hometown Life due out this month. *** JON BUTCHER recently played the national anthem before a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. Jon: “When forty two thousand Red Sox fans make a sound all at once you can feel it.” *** Check out MARY LOU LORD’s daughter  ANNABELLE LORD-PATEY‘s new release Polaris. “Oxytocin, Serotonin, and Me” is the hit. *** HIRSH GARDNER played a solo gig on the U.S.S. Massachusetts. This Vets benefit was put on by JIM QUINLIVIAN. His set included songs from his first solo CD Wasteland For Broken Hearts and new songs from his upcoming release My Brain Needs A Holiday. Hirsh: “They fired off the six inchers which was amazing and very  loud.” His band NEW ENGLAND is playing The Spire Center For The Arts in Plymouth the first week of November. This is not a reunion show but is part of their ongoing 2016 tour. The band is also releasing New England Live At The Regent Theatre internationally around the same time. GARY SHEA, JIMMY WALDO and JOHN FANNON are better than ever. *** BOB NISI is in a new band called BLACK TOURMALINE with MARYBETH CAHILL and MIKE WEIDENFELLER (Babaloo). Their first album will be called Final Vengeance, their second will be called There Will Be Blood, and the final in the trilogy will be called Strike. *** Wyatt is the third release in the book-CD combination format by KRISTIN HERSH (Throwing Muses). It follows her previous solo album Crooked and Throwing Muses’ 2013 release of Purgatory/Paradise. Wyatt will be released by Omnibus Press on November 11 while Kristin tours the UK and Ireland. *** THE JOHNNY RAY BAND includes JOHNNY RAY, JOHN and JAICE FOERTNER and DOUG SUTLER and they play every Saturday at Bocce’s Italian Grill in Wellfleet. Bocce ball, dancing, a full bar and a great band outside. *** COME’s THALIA ZADEK has a new release Eve on Thrill Jockey Records. The hit is “All I Need.” *** Club Passim presenting their annual folk/ country/ Americana Labor Day Campfire Festival the first weekend in September. Over the past fifteen years this cool event has become the biggest way the club develops new talent and celebrates the area’s magnificent music scene. This year’s show has a ton of talent including: ANNABELLE LORD-PATEY, LAY LOW MOON, THE RIVERBONES, THE WOLFF SISTERS, LIV AND LET LIVE, THE NEW MILLENIUM, SPARROW BLUE, THE LIVING ROOTS TRIO, GRETCHEN AND THE PICKPOCKETS, DEAR GEORGIANA and loads of other solo artists, duos and trios. *** Dream Girl is the new music from JULIET SIMMONS DINALLO. Nashville county meets Memphis soul. The songs are co-written with MICHAEL DINALLO who also co-produced the CD with DUCKY CARLISLE. *** GRETCHEN BOSTROM just released Silvertone and Ms. G an acoustic collection of covers this very talented artist sings along with SILVERTONE STEVE on growling guitar. Tunes by Muddy, The Stones, and The Gershwin Brothers mixed with two SILVERTONE STEVE originals “Nobody’s Home” and “Tattoo Remover.” *** TIM MANN (The Greg Hawkes Uke Trio) gigging solo with LAURENCE SCUDDER on viola, JOE KLOMPUS playing bass, DAVID RIZZUTI on guitar and pedal steel, and ARI EL pounding. *** MAYOR MARTY WALSH‘s August Friday Afternoon Concert Series started in July, and every week has a different emerging and talented local band play live from twelve to two in Sam Adams Park, directly outside Faneuil Hall. For free. Mayor Walsh: “We are lucky to live in a city with so much musical talent.” Past performers: ACOUSTIC ROADSHOW with CHRIS LEDBETTER, MICHAEL PAYETTE and DANIEL WEBSTER, singer/ guitarist ERICA RUSSO, BULLDOG a five piece jazz rock band formed in Amhearst and now in town, and HELENA RUFFEN who you might recognize as a Downtown Crossing/ Back Bay subway performer from the nineties to the present. *** Fun fact: Guitarist JAY GEILS from THE J. GEILS BAND lost a court battle over the name usage since he is no longer in the band. Current band listings show THE JAY GEILS BAND, not to be confused with THE J. GEILS BAND, gigging at smaller, more intimate venues. *** Young metal rockers RYSE debut EP From Peace To Pieces coming soon. *** Also appearing on the horizon is a film documentary on JAMES MONTGOMERY called A Man In Blue and featuring BONNIE RAITT, STEVE TYLER, KATE TAYLOR, HUEY LEWIS, BILLY SQUIRE and BARRY GOUDREAU. Created and Produced by JOHN IPPOLITO and directed by ROBERT SCOTT BUTTON. *** RANDALL GIBSON III has a new band called THE STIGMATICS. They just had a perfect performance with MOTO at The The Tavern at the End of the World in Charlestown. *** Noisewriter JULIA R. DESTEPHANO has a new book of poems called Leave Everything with a nice photo of York Beach, ME, on the cover. *** PAT McGRATH is reopening LOONEY TUNES in Allston, MA (16 Harvard Ave. – the space where Store 54 stood). The record store is on track to open mid-September. *** A new CD from singer and piano player LINDA MARKS released at Sculler’s the first of this month. Check out Coming Full Circle. *** DIABLO GATO hosting and playing The New England Shake Up Weekend Car Show in Sturbridge the third weekend this month. *** Listen for local singer/ songwriter CHRIS MORENO. His band includes ROD MCCARTHY drumming, JIMI ZIMMARDI on keys, HARRISON MCCLAIN playing guitar and DAVE BRIDEAU on bass. The band released their first EP Start Over last year and are working with DAVID MINEHAN at Woolly Mammoth for their  upcoming release. They are a pop/ rock band heavily influenced by nineties alt acts like GOO GOO DOLLS and GIN BLOSSOMS but with a modern twist with a bit of country mixed in. The CD’s first single “Finally Free” and a video were just released. *** BIM SKALA BIM touring this month to promote their new music and to celebrate thirty years touring with the same five crusty guys. *** Great gig in Marshfield: The 2016 North River Blues Festival with VINNIE SERINO and THE BOSTON BAKED BLUES BAND, CURTIS SALGADO, BRANDON STANTINI, GRACIE CURRAN AND THE HIGH FALUTIN’ BAND, CHERYL ARUDA AND DIRTY BLONDE, and THE TIM GARTLAND GROUP. *** KENNE HIGHLAND and his band THE GIZMOS launch their fortieth anniversary world attack bash in Bloomington, Indiana in a few weeks. *** WARD HAYDEN’s band GIRLS GUNS & GLORY had DUKE LEVINE (The J. Geils Band) in Zippah Studio for a few days completing a stripped-down version of “Un-Workingman’s Blues” a tune on the band’s upcoming release. *** Teenage blues guitar phenom QUINN SULLIVAN just added to The Grammy Foundation’s star-studded salute to B.B. –“Icon: The Life And Legend of B.B. King,” a tribute concert the first day of September in Beverly Hills with SUSAN TEDESCHI and THE JOE LEWIS WALKER BAND – with local bass icon LENNY BRADFORD representing New England. *** THE MIDDLE EAST recently hosted the two day 2016 Fuzztival with a slew of great local bands. LYRES, THE MONSIEURS, MR. AIRPLANE MAN, CREATUROS, DENT, NICE GUYS, QUILT, DOUG TUTTLE, MINI DRESSES, MAJOR STARS, GHOST BOX ORCHESTRA, PAINTED ZEROS, BLACK BEACH, BOYTOY and too many more to list here. A great gig!

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MORE DEAD RECKONINGS

Rita: Enough gossip. Let’s ask another local legend who they remember as gone but not forgotten. BOB CENCI (Rockin’ Bob Punk Band/ Jerry’s Kids): A person connected to the local music scene, no longer with us and what they did for the Boston music scene?? Well this is a tough question, but one person who comes to mind who passed 15 to 20 years ago by natural causes and had a great influence on most to all members of Jerry’s Kids back when we were all still in high school. The person who comes to mind had been a chef at IHOP Quincy, MA. and exposed us all to anti mainstream music since we all had jobs there one time or another as dishwashers and/ or cooks. I can remember working there most weekends and listening to his own made cassette after cassette from a sizable odd record collection of mostly punk, obscure, mind bending music that was new or seemed to be as sharp as a blade but never heard as far as I knew.  Although this person did not have any major influence on Boston Rock scene of the mid to late ’70s, he did participate as a set of eyes and ears into new sounds that had edge as well as what sounds were emitting from the local dive bars and clubs of the time. We heard stories of bands and venues mostly defining what we thought was early punk in Boston. Being young musicians in high school still learning how to play, we then started to look away from what was conventional rock music, turned all the knobs up on our amps and created and blended from what was then slap in the face influences. Charlie Kelly thank you for exposing us to music that seemed to take us by surprise with a strong grip as from our playing we discovered that we could be simple, re-invented and be loud. Growing up is a struggle and an outlet is important especially when things are tough at home. God bless Charlie and thank you for widening our ear canals. *** BOB LEGER: Let me tell you about my friend who is no longer with us. Wiley Crawford. Bux Band, Uncle Skiff, Daddy Warbux, maybe the most talented musician I ever played with. He was a keyboardist with the voice of an angel. Wiley hailed from Brockton and he played in a local band called Mocha Chip. Look up Bux Band on Wikipedia. And my band mates from Daddy Warbux Jimmy Newlon along with Ralph Mormon. Ralph and Jimmy are no longer with us. *** DANIELLE MIRAGLIA: Michael Troy with his Fall River accent, his kind smile and dry sense of humor always felt like home to me.  He was what many folk/ Americana singer/ songwriters contrive themselves to be. He had been a mill worker, a fisherman and lived a whole other life before becoming one of the most gifted songwriters I’ve ever known.  To the bone truth in every line, finger-picked guitar lines that harmonized beautifully with his gritty vocal melody.  Someone who’s truly lived it is a rare find. The local music scene lost a piece of it’s heart when he left us. *** CHRIS MARTIN (Jon Butcher Axis): Okay, here goes – first person I think of is Michael Hill, a renowned road manager, musician, journalist and all-around fabulous guy. Micheal was beloved by many, many people from the era I came up in. He was a ladies’ man, a raconteur par excellence, and probably the funniest guy most of us ever met. Taken from us cruelly young. Didn’t burn out, but neither did he fade away.

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INSIGNIFICA

Lolita: Back to babbling. All year long SARAH & THE WILD VERSATILE have been working on their debut album. SARAH SEMANSKI, ERIC REARDON, STEVE BURKE, DEREK DUPUIS and DEREK HAYDEN  are hoping for an October release. A great voice and hard pop sound “Fall From Grace” is the hit. *** DAN MCLELLAN is the driving force behind YUCCA FLATS and he’s also done the cover artwork for WILLIE ALEXANDER‘s last two albums Azotemia and Willie A And The Fishtones. *** PAUL WILLIAMS  closed down his home’s nightclub The Brickhouse in Scarborough, Maine after sharing his house for five years and almost 50 shows. Thanks for supporting your local scene Paul! *** The TOKYO TRAMPS have a new drummer  TAKAKI NAKAMURA. This band really rocks. *** Monday night is Blue Monday at Toad. Go see THE WHITE OWLS with DENNIS BRENNAN, TIM GEARAN, JIM HAGGERTY, ANDY PLAISTED, STEVE SADLER  and DAVID JOHNSTON. *** RICK BERLIN turned us on to another great band from Connecticut but it was too late for our story. JAVIER & LOS DISHDOGS. Lead Vocals and guitars by JAVIER CANALES. Backing vocals by JACKIE BROWN and ANDREA BARLEY, with STEVE SANTORO on bass and JOHN TEARDO on drums.  Their sound is a lil’ bit of Ramones’ punk guitar with a Cure influenced drum beat, a bit of Benjamin Orr vocals, another add of Stereolab backup vocals with a Hall & Oats hooky bass line. We absolutely love their song “Pissballs The Clown” from their debut album No Breakfast ’til Pleasure. Sorta like a scoop of Faith No More, a scoop of Motown, a scoop of The Cars, dressed with Zappa walnuts and a David Bowie cherry on top. *** Ex-VELOCITY guitar whiz JOHNNY PRESS now in THE JOHNNY PRESS MESS. He’s from Southbridge, MA. but the rest of his band is from Connecticut. He plays on seven cuts off metal bassist JOE BLACK‘s new release Blackenstein. CHARLIE FARREN also sings on a track. JOHNNY PRESS MESS includes: ED PEABODY on vocals and harp, NED PEABODY  on drums, LARRY PARQUETTE on keys, TONY CARMINATTI playing bass and Johnny on screaming licks. These cats are a real musician’s band and you usually see many off night artists in the audience. Fasten your seatbelts. Catch them with JOHNNY A (The Yardbirds) and THE JAMES MONTGOMERY BAND during Labor Day weekend at the Sober In The Sun concert in Rutland, MA. *** Somerville club Once hosted Rock Fete Des Femmes with ABBIE BARRETT singing, THE OTHER GIRLS, STARS LIKE OURS and ERIN HARPE AND THE DELTA SWINGERS. Joining Abbie’s great vocals and guitar work are MIKE ORAM on guitars and vocals, ED VALAUSKAS playing bass and Farfisa, and JOSH KIGGANS on drums. “Take It In Stride” is their hit.*** Rhode Island blues rockers NEAL & THE VIPERS opening for Dick Dale, the King of surf guitar at The Ocean Mist in Matunuck, Rhode Island the first week of the month. *** Last year’s Amourasaurus was so cool the organizers expanded it to two days at the end of last month. At the beautiful Pines Amphitheater at Look Park in Florance, MA Amourasaurus is curated by band LAKE SHORE DIVE who also performed and closed out both nights of the festival. A Five K run with teams led by LAKE STREET DIVE band members also took place. People could even sign up to run with different band members.and each team wore a different colored shirt.  RACHAEL PRICE‘s team wore light blue, MICHAEL CALABRESE‘s team wore purple and BRIDGET KEARNEY‘s team wore pink. FLORA REED  from Signature Sounds wont tell us what color shirts her team wore. *** Check out Bossa Nova band ORDINARIO with BOB NISI, BRUNO MOLTO and  MIKE WEIDENFELLER. Check them out at The Milky Way with PRIMO CUBANO in the middle of the month. *** Is ROY SLUDGE the most under-rated band in Boston? Roy, JIMMY SCOPA, and JOHNNY SCIASCIA  just rock.Their recent gig at The State Park Bar in Kendall Square in Cambridge shook the roof off it’s foundation. *** INCREDIBLE CASUALS god-emperor CHANDLER TRAVIS tells us about the debut of his new band THE INSCRUTABLE CASUALS, a Casuals tribute band that features actual Casuals including in this case JOHNNY SPAMPINATO, STEVE SHOOK and himself along with ‘boy drummist’ SLAMMY WOOD. *** Vineyard jam band ENTRAIN at the Third Annual Funk and Jam Out the second week of this month at the Newburyport Brewing Company. A tour  beer – and great music. Plan ahead. *** Rocking REVEREND KERRY KEEFE playing his Gibson Firebird guitar, bassist WOLF GINANDES, drummer PAUL McCLUSKEY  and guitar slinger BRETT LOW are working on Keefe’s blues tribute album  Over The Influence. *** Remember singer/ guitarist JOEL GRAMOLINI on the circuit? He now gigs in New Hampshire as JOEL CAGE and he’s still a great performer. *** DAVE ROBBINS is aka The Kosher Kid on Connecticut’s music scene and he is in the super tight quartet THE INCREDIBLE AMPLIFIERS with RYAN NEWMAN on guitar, MARK HENNESSY  pounding and Rhode Island’s premier upright bassist PAPA DICK SOUZA. Dave also gigs with THE ORB MELLON TRIO and produces The Northeast Harmonica Showcase and The Northeast Blues Summit. *** Blues guitar legend RONNIE EARL sitting in for a few tunes with The Fabulous Thunderbirds at a Blue Ocean Music Hall gig right on the beach in Salisbury. The opening set was by CHARLIE FARREN. *** Singer/ songwriter LINDA MARKS had her record release party at Sculler’s on the first of the month for her first CD Coming Full Circle. Her jazz/pop sound integrates originals with favorites by Carol King, Gordon Lightfoot, Karla Bonoff, Anita Baker and more. Musicians on the release: DOUG HAMMER on piano, DAVID LANDONI  on bass, DAVE BIRKIN blowing the sax and flute, GEOFFERY WADSWORTH on sax, JUNKO FUJIWARA plucking the cello, JERRY SMITH playing guitar, MIKI MATSUKI drumming and special guest vocalists thirteen year old CLAIRE MCFARLAND and LORI DIAMOND. *** Downbeat Mondays residency at The Plough and Stars in Cambridge. Live. Space-fuzz. Twang. MATTHEW STUBBS AND THE ANTIGUAS. Psychedelic projections and beer. Enough said. *** JAY ALLEN also has a Sunday night residency at The Plough and Stars called Jay Allen’s Sunday Night Mess. Jay tells us “we keep making a mess and they keep inviting us back.” His band includes JUSTINE COVAULT and CHRIS DEBARGE. Get dirty with them again there in the middle of the month. *** The Midway Cafe just hosted FRANK ROWE’s (Classic Ruins) sixty fifth birthday. THE HOPELESSLY OBSCURE, STOP CALLING ME FRANK, THE DOGMATICS, THE RICHIE PARSONS BAND, THE CLASSIC RUINS and THE STIGMATICS all played. *** Check out THE BOSTON PUB ROCKERS who started practicing in guitarist DUTCH UITERWIJK‘s Charlestown basement. He called DOUG BEVILLE for keys, TONY CONSTANTINO for the drums, and JIM DIXON for bass. They play classic rock, blues, and a couple of new country songs and you can catch them mostly on The North Shore. *** JOE GRAHAM who invented The New England Music Awards also has a residency of New England Nights with CHRIS ROSS and SARAH BLACKER on Friday nights at the Zorba Music Hall in Lowell. Joe also works at The Bull Run in Shirley, MA.*** Sign up for the belly dancing classes at The Spotlight Tavern right away. *** REVEREND JOSEPH FAGAN‘s band HIGHWAY CHAPEL play classic rock ala Cream, The Who, The Stones, and Led Zep and they just had a great gig at The Cantab’s Club Boho. The Rev plays guitar and sings, LAUREL BLANCHARD plays drums and sings, and AUSTIN POWELL on four strings. Old school blues and rock and roll. *** Another great tribute classic rock band is the all girl group GUNPOWDER GELATINE. They are a Queen cover band with BETHANY HANLEY on vocals, JULIE PERRON  on guitars and vocals, ALLISON SIGRIST playing bass and singing and KATE DOBROTH on drums. Their name comes from the second line in the chorus of the song “Killer Queen” and you can catch them at the Boston Roller Derby Championships in Wilmington the third week of Rocktober. These grrrls emulate the feel of a live Queen show.

FINAL DEAD RECKONINGS

Rita: And now for the last of our answers. DAN MCLELLAN (Yucca Flats): I would have to say that Arthur Fiedler is my pick for an influential musician from Boston who has passed on to that big sound check in the sky. July tenth is still known as the day punk died in Boston. Arthur, or Artie as he was known on the streets, was the first to wear combat boots. The first with a mohawk. He was a punk rock symphony. I can still see him leaning up against the front of The Rat with his beery grin. *** TIM JACKSON (Robin Lane & The Chartbusters, The Band That Time Forgot): Nelson who was the lyricist and lead singer of the art punk band Vas Deferens. He died of ALS about five years ago. He was a brilliant lyricist and his life was a work of performance art. Songs like “Cut Us If You Dare,” about birth control, “In Praise of Older Women,” “Dress For Success,” and “Fouling The Nest,” an early punk song about ecology were great.  Another person I should mention is Reeve Little, Paul Revere’s direct descendant. Kind and scholarly, big-hearted and a wonderful folk singer. He was a seminal folk singer for the legendary Club 47 in Harvard Square when Bonnie Raitt and Livingston Taylor used to play there; and then when Jack’s was a hot spot for all kinds of music. *** A.J. WACHTEL (The Noise): Mickey O’ Halloran is the person who started me on my long career as an entertainment journalist. I had just moved to Allston and was going for my M.B.A at Boston University’s grad school when my dad died suddenly and I started to drink more heavily to deal with my grief and began hanging at Bunratty’s where he was the manager. Little by little he nudged me to start writing for The Beat magazine. He would drive us all over New England to cover the local scene. Three or four clubs a night and always back to Buns for closing. Seven nights a week, twelve months a year, for a decade. I met a lot of artists during these days who I am still supporting and writing about today. When he left the fanzine, I took over writing his gossip column too. We came out with four compilation albums with more than seventy local bands doing covers on Boston Does The Beatles, BoTown Does MoTown, Boston Gets Stoned produced by Rolling Stones producer Jimmy Miller and after his death; Boston Gets A Grip. He also taught me the difference between right and wrong during Boston’s incredible music scene thirty years ago and I owe much to him and by extension all of you owe him a lot too because I’m still here helping all of you spread your word. *** LISA MARIE (Lisa Marie & All Shook Up, Juke Joint 5):  I’ve been trying to come up with someone who is no longer with us (that’s the tricky part) and the one person who came to mind was Fran Dagostino, and the scene he created was in a small area out in the Metro West, at Acton Jazz Cafe. He was a wonderful guitarist, teacher, friend, and beautiful soul who I miss dearly. He recorded with artists around the globe (through MacJams) and created a beautiful Tuesday night music series at AJC, bringing together blues, r&b, soul, and rock musicians from all over New England as featured guests with his house band. *** BROOKS YOUNG (The Brooks Young Band): Here’s my reply to your question: For me it would have to be the late and great B.B. King. I had the honor of opening for him many times and if it wasn’t for him I’m sure I wouldn’t be where I’ve been over the years with my music career. He was a kind and humble man and always had time for me to talk with him before and after the shows. He did this for many  up and coming musicians over the years and I don’t see that happening anymore these days with other artists helping each other rise to the top. I’m very grateful for being able to say I ever opened for B.B. King as he was the gatekeeper of the blues and not only that but for guitarists worldwide! *** Rita: Great answers. Sounds like a good time to end the column.  Lolita: Come back and see us again for our next column posted on October 1!