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This page is for chronicling notable live gigs...whether they're mine, or anybody else's, famous or improbably obscure...because onstage is where the sparks fly for most bands, creating the moments that people remember forever. So relax, pull up a chair, and proceed accordingly.
Some interesting crowd action&#39;s going on here, as you can see in this photo -- if nothing else, a Subhumans show is a study in constant motion. ...for all you collector types out there, and those who want to keep tabs on the Subhumans&#39; history. <br /> A screen grab from Don&#39;s video, as Dick introduces &#34;Work Experience.&#34; One of the two clips that he shot, along with &#34;Point Of View.&#34; The veteran guitarist, caught chop-chop-chopping away during &#34;Work Experience,&#34; as only he can do it!
BACK IN THE USA: THE SUBHUMANS, LIVE @ THE COBRA LOUNGE (CHICAGO, IL, 5/28/23)
by Don Hargraves (Words/Images)
May 4, 2025

"Most people who are working, they're treated like shit, and they're paid shit, and they're doing stuff that they don't need to do, nobody needs the fucking result of it.

"If we all went on strike, and simply got paid for doing something decent, for decent money, then, well... Who knows what would happen? Stand up for your fucking rights, basically!"

Vocalist Dick Lucas, introducing "Work Experience"

On May 28th, 2023, the Subhumans made it to Chicago for the twelfth time in the band’s existence. A friend and I had tickets to the concert they had planned for late March of 2020, sadly that concert was cancelled due to COVID – a disease, which my friend, having avoided the shots because of their issues, is still being a bit cautious about three years later. I decided that the concert was worth the risk, and so I went.

The doors opened at 6 p.m., so when I showed up in 6:30, I expected to have missed a bit of the first band (Cop/Out), but it turned out that the concert didn’t start until 7:00. Cop/Out had a tight set, as did Canal Irreal, and while the crowd showed up for both bands, there was a definite increase in the crowding before the Subhumans took the stage.

The Subhumans started out blistering from the start, with "It’s Gonna Get Worse", "Evolution," and "New Age," then went to "Businessmen," "Work Experience" and "Apathy," before hitting the most recent release with "Fear and "Confusion." And so went the rest of the set – covering pretty much the full range of the catalogue.

There was plenty of the new stuff in the set along with the old – along with "Fear and Confusion," and "Terrorist In Waiting" from the Crisis Point album (which I think has a bit of the EP era spirit, even as the band showed its age a bit), they played "Internal Riot" and "Point of View' off the Internal Riot release from 2007; and at one hour, the band ended their set with the couplet of "Work, Play, Rest, Die," and "Religious Wars."

You said you'd look for another job
Well try it sonny you won't get far

Do as you're told and stop complaining
Being conned is part of the training
Crash course - learning how to lose
<"Work Experience">

The band gave a spirited show throughout, with Dick Lucas (the lead singer) only beginning to look a bit tired towards the end of songs towards the end of the set. Nothing against that, though – at 62, he was a lot more active than I, given my commentary, when the mosh pit finally let loose three-quarters of the way through the set: “The 28-year-old me would have joined in, the 58-year-old me has chosen to stay back here.”

There were a couple other signs that the older age of some of the fans was taken into account. With the concert actually ending at Nine Thirty, there was plenty of time for the attendees to make it home and go to bed early, if that’s what they felt like doing. Plus, while the venue was loud enough, I noticed no noticeable increase in the sounds in my ears afterwards – something that I DEFINITELY remembered from some other concerts in the past, and which I know has ruined the enjoyment of others at other concerts.

So overall, I had a great time listening to a band which I had been a fan of since the '80s, and given how steady their touring schedule has been I can see the chance of me and my friend going to the gig together the next time they make it through.

Permalink
CHERIE CURRIE+YER HUMBLE NARRATOR ...After the show, as you can see from the figures working in the background, tearing down the equipment. Kapsanis wowed the Acorn Theater crowd with instrumental versions of &#34;Paint It, Black&#34; (Rolling Stones), &#34;Redemption Song&#34; (Bob Marley), and &#34;Soul Sacrifice&#34; (Santana), among other songs, anchored by his percussive tapping and fingerpicking techniques. <br /> SETLIST FOR THE ACORN SHOW Cherie (second left), Brie and band rock the Acorn crowd during their 11/24/19 show there. The set focused on songs from the album, &#34;Their Motivator,&#34; which features versions of &#34;Do It Again&#34; (The Kinks), &#34;Get Together&#34; (The Youngbloods), &#34;Gimme Shelter&#34; (The Rolling Stones), and &#34;Something In The Air&#34; (Thunderclap Newman). Here&#39;s how the view looked from stage right at the Acorn. The pair also thrilled patrons with two of their originals, &#34;I&#39;m Too Good, That&#39;s Just Too Bad,&#34; and &#34;This Is Our Time,&#34; from their new album, &#34;The Motivator,&#34; along with a couple of standbys from the Runaways era, &#34;American Nights,&#34; and &#34;Cherry Bomb,&#34; which closed the show. Cherie Currie signs the concert poster for Yer Humble Narrator after the show. I think the camera was moving here, ever so slightly, but...you get the idea. <br />
"TAKE YOUR PLACE, AND EARN IT": CHERIE CURRIE & BRIE DARLING: THE FULL RUNDOWN (11/24/19)
May 8, 2023

 

"Back in the day" probably ranks among the most abused phrases on the planet, next to similar well-worn expressions we'd rather not hear again (or similar gems like "at the end of the day," "put in a bucket," "unpack," and so on).

But when my thoughts turn to pioneers like these two women, Cherie Currie and Brie Darling, I can't coin a better phrase to describe my own feelings about their contributions that they've made in their respective bands, The Runaways, and Fanny, two trailblazers that should find room in anyone's record collection.

Because, back in the day, rock 'n' roll culture as we knew it -- and popular general, in general -- worked way differently than it does nowadays. Sure, there was no lack of dross, especially in the Top 40, but it's also easy to forget how the same decade that produced the likes of "Undercover Angel" and "The Night Chicago Died" also gave us the first stirrings of punk, rap, and yes, Fanny and The Runaways, the first notable all female rock bands.

I first became aware of The Runaways' influence at record shows, where I specialized in selling live tapes. My top sellers, the ones that always went first, were a live Misfits compilation -- a pretty watery-sounding one, but apparently, with several versions of songs you couldn't find anywhere else -- and Bad Reputation, the first notable Joan Jett bootleg, which captures a 1981 show from Long Island, with plenty of blazing guitar to stroke your earlobes. Needless to say, I played that tape a lot back then, and still pull it occasionally now. 

Where the Runaways lived and breathed, Fanny didn't fall too far behind, as I discovered on my semi-regular trips to our local township library, where I discovered The Butts Band's self-titled debut, Electric Music For The Mind & Body (Country Joe & The Fish), Hall Of The Mountain Grill (Hawkwind) -- and Rock 'N' Roll Survivors, Fanny's final album.

Let that sink in for a minute. A library record rack, a cassette box at a record show -- if that's not some kind of deep cultural footprint, what is? Actually, I'll add one more, because I also remember the excitement at going out to the mall and getting Neon Angel: The Cherie Currie Story (1989), right when it came out, another all-American moment, if you want one.

Nowadays, there's plenty of markers to let everybody know what they missed the first time around, whether it's The Runaways biopic, the Fanny documentary, or all the CD reissues and new releases.

But back then, or back in the day, their work didn't get the respect it deserved, having already been filed and forgotten as curios from another area. With no Internet to suss out what you were getting, you had to scour bookstores, record shows, and relevant shops -- the hippest ones, always way out of town -- and put together the relevant puzzle pieces yourself.

It was an often tiring pursuit, but a strangely exhilarating one, at the same time, because you only appreciated your success all the more, when those proverbial dominoes or puzzle pieces finally fell together in the right way.

So when I found out last fall that Cherie and Brie were coming the Acorn Theater, and had released an album, The Motivator (Blue Elan Records), my excitement rose by several notches. How could I turn down the chance to talk to them, and catch their show? Thankfully, I got to do both, including an advance story for The Herald-Palladium, but inevitably, I only had so much room. 

What follows, then, is the longer version of my interview with Cherie and Brie, as it unfolded for them in Los Angeles, and I, back here in Michigan. Pull up a chair, and remember...we still don't give a damn about our bad reputation.

"I WAS READY TO THROW IN THE TOWEL"
CHAIRMAN RALPH (CR): Reading the (recent) story in Rolling Stone, I was really amazed to find out that, even though you guys are part of the same era, you never met until 2017?

CHERIE CURRIE (CC): That's right.

CR: So how did that come about, and lead to the momentum for this record that you have just done?

BRIE DARLING (BD): I was making a record with two of the girls from Fanny, and I had had this idea to call in some of the women from girl bands – from all different times. We had girls from the Go-Gos, and the Bangles, other members of Fanny that weren't involved in the record yet. And, of course, the Runaways.

Patti Quatro introduced me to Cherie, Cherie came in, and just blew me away. I loved her, from the second she walked in the door, and I had to know her better. And that's what happened. We never got a chance, the girls in Fanny, to go out and support that record, because Jean, the bass player, had a stroke, right when it was released.

Cherie and I, meanwhile, had become friends, and found that we had a lot in common. And the rest is kind of history. Cherie, you can take it from there. 

CC: Well, for me, I was actually putting my house on the market for sale. I was in escrow for some land up north. I was throwing in the towel with that damn music business (laughs)!

BD: You'd had it, right?

CC: Yeah, just kind of had it, and I felt like, I was at the end of whatever I was going to be doing. And I was asked to come on in and sing on Fanny Walks The Earth. I don't know if you've heard that record.

CR: I haven't – I've heard of it, though. I know of it.

CC: Oh, you should listen to it, it's great. I'd heard the songs, and I was being asked to back (them up, vocally) – and I thought to myself, “Who is this singer?” I mean, first of all, I'd known of Fanny since I was a kid. I mean, I was, “Why isn't she a big star?”

And I was so intrigued by the songwriting, by the production, I just wanted to do this project – and then, when I met Brie and her husband, Dave Darling, who's a six-time, Grammy-nominated producer, I mean, something clicked with all three of us.

Now I'm not selling my house, and here, I've got a record out with Brie, we are getting ready to go on tour, and it's really exciting.

BD: Yeah, we're pretty excited about it.

 

"I'M A HAPPY CAMPER"
CR: So then, how did you guys – since these are mostly duets, right – how did you decide to divvy up the vocal parts (on The Motivator)?

BD: Well, Cherie, you've got a good sense of this one, because she kind of made this happen, so you go ahead.

CC: Yeah, when we decided to test the water a little bit, of course, Brie had thrown “Gimme Shelter” into that, which was a song – basically, Dave just wanted to hear what we sounded like together, was more the idea.

But then, when we really loved how we sounded together – I think Dave's first idea was that, I would do a few songs, and Brie would do a few songs, we'd back each other up.

Brie was doing scratch vocals on all the songs, “The Motivator” happened to come around, and Dave had made up his mind that I was going to sing lead on that song. But I had a completely different idea.

I heard her on that second verse. I mean, it's clear as a bell, and it wasn't until I got in the studio – she, being the team player that she is, even though she really loved the song, she loved singing the song, she was going to let me have it, being the cool chick that she is (BD laughs).

CR: Right (laughs along).

CC: And the thing is, is that I just turned to Dave, Brie had excused herself from the studio, and I said, “I'm telling you, this has to be a duet.” And I said, “Please put her scratch (vocal) in that second verse, and hear it.”

And he did, and he just said, “Wow.” And so, the fact that we brought her in... To see the look on her face, when her vocal came in on the second verse – and we just really realized, we just make each other better.

So why not share these songs, really capitalize on what this union is, and make it a joint recording, because our voices just sound great, when we do duets?

The thing is, is that we're a team, and this is what this whole project is all about.

BD: Plus, I really loved singing in the studio with Cherie right there. It makes me sing better, and she inspires me. She does something, I hear something, and it's not like I copy her. But she inspires me to step up my game, and I love that. I love being pushed.

And it's a real support thing between us, in a lot of ways. Not just the singing, but in our making decisions about the band, what we do onstage. It's really a great team, and it's my favorite thing I've done so far. So I'm a happy camper.

 

"ONE FOOT IN THE BUSINESS, AND ONE FOOT OUT"
CC: It's a breath of fresh air in a business where women are usually a little cutthroat, and always jealous, and always afraid of someone else's talent. To me, it's just why I'd had enough.

BD: Not just women, men, too, men can be...

CC: Yeah, most all people. Well, I guess you have to be somewhat narcissistic, to be in this business, anyway – but the thing is, that I'd reached an age where I was just not gonna play (laughs). I'm not gonna play the game anymore.

CR: Yeah, I understand.

BD: It's heartbreaking. When you're in a band, you have this hope that you're having a family, and you want it to be this beautiful thing. And sometimes, it hurts, really bad, and it's disappointing. So far, we're two years in, and we're having a ball. And hey, we have our struggles, too.

CC: Yeah, Brie, but we're just having a great time.

CR: What I've found, in interviewing a lot of folks, and trying to play with folks, as a musician, is... This business attracts a lot of people who have a lot of talent, but they often seem to have something missing.

CC: Interesting. Me bringing up the whole narcissistic thing – I mean, I'm not exactly sure that's the right word, but you have to develop some sort of it (narcissistic quality), to even survive in such shark-infested waters.

And not just this business – Wall Street, it's the same kind of mentality, I believe. I really felt like, I just didn't have it in me. I mean, sometimes, you have to just give up the fight, because it's just not worth it.

It's not worth the heartache, when you can't be a loving person, or be a supportive person in this business, without, in the end, getting stabbed in the back, is what it felt like, to me.

I guess I've always had one foot in the business, and one foot out. I could never fully engulf myself in just the cruelty of it all.

 

"IT REALLY WAS OUR WORLD"
CR: But, to go back to your record, how did you go about picking these songs? Because one thing that strikes me on hearing (the duo's versions of) “Gimme Shelter,” or “For What It's Worth,” they seem to be more current now, than they did at the time.

BD: Isn't that crazy how that happens? Sometimes, a good song, a real song, written about what's really going on in the world – and I think that, really, maybe things never really, really changed. Human beings, we go through the same struggles, over and over and over again. So we find ourselves experiencing some of the same things.

For me, a lot of things like “Get Together,” is talking about, what's really important in life? Loving one another, and making that effort, and that speaks volumes, to me.

It's a period of time – like, when Fanny had the last album out, The Runaways were coming up. And I actually did go to see her (Cherie) perform, in the mid-'70s. I didn't meet her, but I saw her perform, at SIR Rehearsals.

It was like, we were handing over the torch, without having met. There was some music coming out, ending right around that time, but that was part of our reference in life, that music, that we listened to.

CR: So it was part of the soundtrack of your life, as it were, I guess.

BD: There you go.

CC: Oh, absolutely. I mean, these songs made us feel good as kids. I mean, you know, a natural high, that euphoria. If you can grab that, and hold onto it, then every time I hear these songs, the original – still, I go back to better, simpler times. And Brie and I really wanted to pay homage to people who have written such outstanding songs, that changed, and mattered, to our lives.

BD: Yeah. And Cherie's younger than me. And for me, I don't know if that was the time, when I first started listening to music, when it was simpler – with the Vietnam War going on, and everything – but it was still a time when music really spoke to the young people.

And it did make me feel like, there was a place in my head and in my heart, that I could go, and I could express myself, and I could play with my rock 'n' roll band, and be a person, have my own brain, and get away from some of the things that were, that I couldn't understand, when I was a teenager, because I started playing when I was 14. I don't know if Cherie was born yet (laughs).

CC: Was!

BD: She was. I'm kidding (laughs). But yeah, it's pretty incredible, what music means to young people, or at least, from our day. It really was our world. And yeah, soundtrack of our lives, for sure, like you said.


"WE'RE JUST GETTING STARTED"

CR: So how you might see this evolving, then, for the next record? Because that's always the million dollar question.


CC: Yeah, I think Brie and I, just going out on tour together, I think we're going to write songs together, obviously – and probably take our experiences, and turn them into music. We'll always want to put a couple songs from our past, covers, on the record.

We've got a four-record deal, but we're just looking forward to getting out onstage together, getting our sea legs, and having fun, and being able to see the fans, and all that good stuff. It's about fun. This isn't about going out there, and... We're not planning on taking over the world, like we did, when we were kids.

CR: Right.

CC: It's about really, truly enjoying what we've done in our lives, and what brought us to this point, yeah.

CR: For sure.

BD: The originals on the record, the three originals, we wrote those while we were doing the record. So we were just getting to know each other, and we clicked so well, that these ideas – those are brand new songs that just came out, while we were actually working.

So if that's the kind of stuff that we can create, in just those couple of months, I'm going, “Wow, I mean, we need to come up for air here,” because we've just been slamming, getting ready for this tour, and all this stuff following the release of the record.

But yeah, once we get out there, and we're driving in the van, I'm sure there's going to be some things that we get to share, because the songs that we wrote are about real situations, and real feelings.

So I think that we're going to experience those things together. We're just getting started. We got a whole lot to learn about what we have to say together. I'm so looking forward to that.

 

"FOR ME, THAT'S THE MAGIC"
CR: Well, I really enjoyed those too. I think it seems like it was a natural evolution, and will continue to progress. It's also nice to see guys in your situation committed to doing new stuff, not just relying on the glorious past to get you a passing grade, if you will.

CC: Yes, absolutely! And we've both been songwriters throughout our lives. And it's just so neat, to actually have someone to work with.

BD: I know! I love it.

CR: Yeah. And bounce ideas off of, as well.

BD: Both of us are inspired by things that we've thought together, or loved together. And, for me, that's the magic. But there are a couple of songs, like Cherie mentioned, and I was, “Oh, my God, we got to do that on the next record!”

So there's a couple that poked their heads out after the fact, that we'd loved to do, too, so... But I'm not going to tell you what they are.

CR: Well, we'll have to wait to be surprised by the next one, I guess.

BD: That's right.

 

"LET SOMEBODY ELSE KEEP TRACK"
CR: How do you guys feel, when you look on your respective back stories? We have the Runaways movie, the Fanny documentary, the Rhino boxed set that came out, some years back.

So you finally have your place in the culture after, what, 40 years? Does that feel a bit bittersweet, that the acceptance took this long? I mean, how do you look at that?

CC: You know what? To be honest, I'm pretty amazed, that in our current society, that anyone even took the time. All I know is that I'm just so happy I grew up in the time I did, before social media, and all this craziness that is kind of hard for me to wrap my head around. But I never thought that the Runaways – I thought we were all but forgotten.

I thought that, 22 years ago – and for almost 20 years, I didn't even listen to our music. And it wasn't until I started looking at videos, listening to the music again... I went, “Wow! We really were trailblazers.”

We were following in the footsteps of Suzi Quatro. I think that the Runaways wouldn't have existed, had it not been for her. Big shout out: I hope she gets in the Rock 'n' Hall of Fame – please!

BD: Yeah.

CC: Hey, I'm just glad that the people do remember Fanny, the Runaways, and Suzi Quatro, and women that really worked hard, to kick the door open.

BD: It's a funny thing. Instead of looking back at the past, I've always looked at, what am I gonna do next? And I'm just discovering, that that's how I've looked at it, all my life.

Right now, I'm looking at some things – because we've got this event that's coming up, that Cherie and I are gonna do – I'm looking at some of the things I've done in the past, I'm going, “Wow, did I do that?”

I mean, I'm not even aware of listening to the records. I want to keep moving forward. I'm excited about what I'm going to do next. I'm good with somebody else keeping tabs on the past.

CC: I like that a lot, Brie!

BD: But I wanna do it with you, girl. I like that. Let somebody else keep track of the past.

CR: Let somebody else keep the flame, I suppose, right?

CC: Yeah. And you know what? Thank you for that, by the way. If it wasn't for people like you, we would have been all but forgotten.

BD: Well, I appreciate it. I'm just not doing that anymore.

CR: I understand that you want to keep on keepin' on. Conversely, what do you think accounts for that turnaround.

Because, I've got to say, when I was preparing for this – I looked, for instance, at some of the old music press things of the Runaways, like in CREEM – and there was some horrible kind of stuff written, and said. Even by publications you'd think would be on the cooler vanguard really fell down, in that respect. So what accounts for that turnaround, you think?

CC: Well, I guarantee you, that most all of them were written by men.

CR: Yeah.

CC: Sometimes, men like to dig their heels in, and not give women a chance, especially teenage girls. And Brie, her whole experience, I think, also, with Fanny – I mean, the music was different. These chicks really know how to play. I mean, they were superb musicians.

The Runaways were more of the three-chord crunch, in your face, or like, as Joan would say, just kick you in the face, from an attitude. But, I mean, we evolved. It had to happen. It was going to happen.

Now, I mean, as you can see, it's almost like a tidal wave, at this point. And of course, women and their feelings, on the subject, I should say – which I don't care to get into.

CR: Yeah.

CC: But it is a tidal wave now, of women's unhappiness with the male dominating type, the world we live in. So I think it'll all burn itself out, and maybe we'll have something a little more (favorable) afterwards, I guess.

BD: For me, I guess I've always felt blessed in doing what I love, playing drums and singing, and if somebody gave me a hard time around upon it, I don't remember it so much, as to how much I enjoyed doing it. 

CC: I think you got really good reviews, Brie (laughs)!

BD: I'm sure it got done. But to be honest with you, I didn't give a fuck. I just really enjoyed, I loved doing what I loved doing, and I just didn't let it get in my way, I don't think. And if somebody didn't like it, it was their problem, and not mine.

And today, I think, if you want a place, take your place on that stage, or in this business, just be freakin' good at what you

"Back in the day" probably ranks among the most abused phrases on the planet, next to similar well-worn expressions we'd rather not hear again (or similar gems like "at the end of the day," "put in a bucket," "unpack," and so on).

But when my thoughts turn to pioneers like these two women, Cherie Currie and Brie Darling, I can't coin a better phrase to describe my own feelings about their contributions that they've made in their respective bands, The Runaways, and Fanny, two trailblazers that should find room in anyone's record collection.

Because, back in the day, rock 'n' roll culture as we knew it -- and popular general, in general -- worked way differently than it does nowadays. Sure, there was no lack of dross, especially in the Top 40, but it's also easy to forget how the same decade that produced the likes of "Undercover Angel" and "The Night Chicago Died" also gave us the first stirrings of punk, rap, and yes, Fanny and The Runaways, the first notable all female rock bands.

I first became aware of The Runaways' influence at record shows, where I specialized in selling live tapes. My top sellers, the ones that always went first, were a live Misfits compilation -- a pretty watery-sounding one, but apparently, with several versions of songs you couldn't find anywhere else -- and Bad Reputation, the first notable Joan Jett bootleg, which captures a 1981 show from Long Island, with plenty of blazing guitar to stroke your earlobes. Needless to say, I played that tape a lot back then, and still pull it occasionally now. 

Where the Runaways lived and breathed, Fanny didn't fall too far behind, as I discovered on my semi-regular trips to our local township library, where I discovered The Butts Band's self-titled debut, Electric Music For The Mind & Body (Country Joe & The Fish), Hall Of The Mountain Grill (Hawkwind) -- and Rock 'N' Roll Survivors, Fanny's final album.

Let that sink in for a minute. A library record rack, a cassette box at a record show -- if that's not some kind of deep cultural footprint, what is? Actually, I'll add one more, because I also remember the excitement at going out to the mall and getting Neon Angel: The Cherie Currie Story (1989), right when it came out, another all-American moment, if you want one.

Nowadays, there's plenty of markers to let everybody know what they missed the first time around, whether it's The Runaways biopic, the Fanny documentary, or all the CD reissues and new releases.

But back then, or back in the day, their work didn't get the respect it deserved, having already been filed and forgotten as curios from another area. With no Internet to suss out what you were getting, you had to scour bookstores, record shows, and relevant shops -- the hippest ones, always way out of town -- and put together the relevant puzzle pieces yourself.

It was an often tiring pursuit, but a strangely exhilarating one, at the same time, because you only appreciated your success all the more, when those proverbial dominoes or puzzle pieces finally fell together in the right way.

So when I found out last fall that Cherie and Brie were coming the Acorn Theater, and had released an album, The Motivator (Blue Elan Records), my excitement rose by several notches. How could I turn down the chance to talk to them, and catch their show? Thankfully, I got to do both, including an advance story for The Herald-Palladium, but inevitably, I only had so much room. 

What follows, then, is the longer version of my interview with Cherie and Brie, as it unfolded for them in Los Angeles, and I, back here in Michigan. Pull up a chair, and remember...we still don't give a damn about our bad reputation.


"I WAS READY TO THROW IN THE TOWEL"
CHAIRMAN RALPH (CR): Reading the (recent) story in Rolling Stone, I was really amazed to find out that, even though you guys are part of the same era, you never met until 2017?

CHERIE CURRIE (CC): That's right.

CR: So how did that come about, and lead to the momentum for this record that you have just done?

BRIE DARLING (BD): I was making a record with two of the girls from Fanny, and I had had this idea to call in some of the women from girl bands – from all different times. We had girls from the Go-Gos, and the Bangles, other members of Fanny that weren't involved in the record yet. And, of course, the Runaways.

Patti Quatro introduced me to Cherie, Cherie came in, and just blew me away. I loved her, from the second she walked in the door, and I had to know her better. And that's what happened. We never got a chance, the girls in Fanny, to go out and support that record, because Jean, the bass player, had a stroke, right when it was released.

Cherie and I, meanwhile, had become friends, and found that we had a lot in common. And the rest is kind of history. Cherie, you can take it from there. 

CC: Well, for me, I was actually putting my house on the market for sale. I was in escrow for some land up north. I was throwing in the towel with that damn music business (laughs)!

BD: You'd had it, right?

CC: Yeah, just kind of had it, and I felt like, I was at the end of whatever I was going to be doing. And I was asked to come on in and sing on Fanny Walks The Earth. I don't know if you've heard that record.

CR: I haven't – I've heard of it, though. I know of it.

CC: Oh, you should listen to it, it's great. I'd heard the songs, and I was being asked to back (them up, vocally) – and I thought to myself, “Who is this singer?” I mean, first of all, I'd known of Fanny since I was a kid. I mean, I was, “Why isn't she a big star?”

And I was so intrigued by the songwriting, by the production, I just wanted to do this project – and then, when I met Brie and her husband, Dave Darling, who's a six-time, Grammy-nominated producer, I mean, something clicked with all three of us.

Now I'm not selling my house, and here, I've got a record out with Brie, we are getting ready to go on tour, and it's really exciting.

BD: Yeah, we're pretty excited about it.

 

"I'M A HAPPY CAMPER"
CR: So then, how did you guys – since these are mostly duets, right – how did you decide to divvy up the vocal parts (on The Motivator)?

BD: Well, Cherie, you've got a good sense of this one, because she kind of made this happen, so you go ahead.

CC: Yeah, when we decided to test the water a little bit, of course, Brie had thrown “Gimme Shelter” into that, which was a song – basically, Dave just wanted to hear what we sounded like together, was more the idea.

But then, when we really loved how we sounded together – I think Dave's first idea was that, I would do a few songs, and Brie would do a few songs, we'd back each other up.

Brie was doing scratch vocals on all the songs, “The Motivator” happened to come around, and Dave had made up his mind that I was going to sing lead on that song. But I had a completely different idea.

I heard her on that second verse. I mean, it's clear as a bell, and it wasn't until I got in the studio – she, being the team player that she is, even though she really loved the song, she loved singing the song, she was going to let me have it, being the cool chick that she is (BD laughs).

CR: Right (laughs along).

CC: And the thing is, is that I just turned to Dave, Brie had excused herself from the studio, and I said, “I'm telling you, this has to be a duet.” And I said, “Please put her scratch (vocal) in that second verse, and hear it.”

And he did, and he just said, “Wow.” And so, the fact that we brought her in... To see the look on her face, when her vocal came in on the second verse – and we just really realized, we just make each other better.

So why not share these songs, really capitalize on what this union is, and make it a joint recording, because our voices just sound great, when we do duets?

The thing is, is that we're a team, and this is what this whole project is all about.

BD: Plus, I really loved singing in the studio with Cherie right there. It makes me sing better, and she inspires me. She does something, I hear something, and it's not like I copy her. But she inspires me to step up my game, and I love that. I love being pushed.

And it's a real support thing between us, in a lot of ways. Not just the singing, but in our making decisions about the band, what we do onstage. It's really a great team, and it's my favorite thing I've done so far. So I'm a happy camper.

 

"ONE FOOT IN THE BUSINESS, AND ONE FOOT OUT"
CC: It's a breath of fresh air in a business where women are usually a little cutthroat, and always jealous, and always afraid of someone else's talent. To me, it's just why I'd had enough.

BD: Not just women, men, too, men can be...

CC: Yeah, most all people. Well, I guess you have to be somewhat narcissistic, to be in this business, anyway – but the thing is, that I'd reached an age where I was just not gonna play (laughs). I'm not gonna play the game anymore.

CR: Yeah, I understand.

BD: It's heartbreaking. When you're in a band, you have this hope that you're having a family, and you want it to be this beautiful thing. And sometimes, it hurts, really bad, and it's disappointing. So far, we're two years in, and we're having a ball. And hey, we have our struggles, too.

CC: Yeah, Brie, but we're just having a great time.

CR: What I've found, in interviewing a lot of folks, and trying to play with folks, as a musician, is... This business attracts a lot of people who have a lot of talent, but they often seem to have something missing.

CC: Interesting. Me bringing up the whole narcissistic thing – I mean, I'm not exactly sure that's the right word, but you have to develop some sort of it (narcissistic quality), to even survive in such shark-infested waters.

And not just this business – Wall Street, it's the same kind of mentality, I believe. I really felt like, I just didn't have it in me. I mean, sometimes, you have to just give up the fight, because it's just not worth it.

It's not worth the heartache, when you can't be a loving person, or be a supportive person in this business, without, in the end, getting stabbed in the back, is what it felt like, to me.

I guess I've always had one foot in the business, and one foot out. I could never fully engulf myself in just the cruelty of it all.

 

"IT REALLY WAS OUR WORLD"
CR: But, to go back to your record, how did you go about picking these songs? Because one thing that strikes me on hearing (the duo's versions of) “Gimme Shelter,” or “For What It's Worth,” they seem to be more current now, than they did at the time.

BD: Isn't that crazy how that happens? Sometimes, a good song, a real song, written about what's really going on in the world – and I think that, really, maybe things never really, really changed. Human beings, we go through the same struggles, over and over and over again. So we find ourselves experiencing some of the same things.

For me, a lot of things like “Get Together,” is talking about, what's really important in life? Loving one another, and making that effort, and that speaks volumes, to me.

It's a period of time – like, when Fanny had the last album out, The Runaways were coming up. And I actually did go to see her (Cherie) perform, in the mid-'70s. I didn't meet her, but I saw her perform, at SIR Rehearsals.

It was like, we were handing over the torch, without having met. There was some music coming out, ending right around that time, but that was part of our reference in life, that music, that we listened to.

CR: So it was part of the soundtrack of your life, as it were, I guess.

BD: There you go.

CC: Oh, absolutely. I mean, these songs made us feel good as kids. I mean, you know, a natural high, that euphoria. If you can grab that, and hold onto it, then every time I hear these songs, the original – still, I go back to better, simpler times. And Brie and I really wanted to pay homage to people who have written such outstanding songs, that changed, and mattered, to our lives.

BD: Yeah. And Cherie's younger than me. And for me, I don't know if that was the time, when I first started listening to music, when it was simpler – with the Vietnam War going on, and everything – but it was still a time when music really spoke to the young people.

And it did make me feel like, there was a place in my head and in my heart, that I could go, and I could express myself, and I could play with my rock 'n' roll band, and be a person, have my own brain, and get away from some of the things that were, that I couldn't understand, when I was a teenager, because I started playing when I was 14. I don't know if Cherie was born yet (laughs).

CC: Was!

BD: She was. I'm kidding (laughs). But yeah, it's pretty incredible, what music means to young people, or at least, from our day. It really was our world. And yeah, soundtrack of our lives, for sure, like you said.

 

"WE'RE JUST GETTING STARTED"
CR: So how you might see this evolving, then, for the next record? Because that's always the million dollar question.


CC: Yeah, I think Brie and I, just going out on tour together, I think we're going to write songs together, obviously – and probably take our experiences, and turn them into music. We'll always want to put a couple songs from our past, covers, on the record.

We've got a four-record deal, but we're just looking forward to getting out onstage together, getting our sea legs, and having fun, and being able to see the fans, and all that good stuff. It's about fun. This isn't about going out there, and... We're not planning on taking over the world, like we did, when we were kids.

CR: Right.

CC: It's about really, truly enjoying what we've done in our lives, and what brought us to this point, yeah.

CR: For sure.

BD: The originals on the record, the three originals, we wrote those while we were doing the record. So we were just getting to know each other, and we clicked so well, that these ideas – those are brand new songs that just came out, while we were actually working.

So if that's the kind of stuff that we can create, in just those couple of months, I'm going, “Wow, I mean, we need to come up for air here,” because we've just been slamming, getting ready for this tour, and all this stuff following the release of the record.

But yeah, once we get out there, and we're driving in the van, I'm sure there's going to be some things that we get to share, because the songs that we wrote are about real situations, and real feelings.

So I think that we're going to experience those things together. We're just getting started. We got a whole lot to learn about what we have to say together. I'm so looking forward to that.

 

"FOR ME, THAT'S THE MAGIC"
CR: Well, I really enjoyed those too. I think it seems like it was a natural evolution, and will continue to progress. It's also nice to see guys in your situation committed to doing new stuff, not just relying on the glorious past to get you a passing grade, if you will.

CC: Yes, absolutely! And we've both been songwriters throughout our lives. And it's just so neat, to actually have someone to work with.

BD: I know! I love it.

CR: Yeah. And bounce ideas off of, as well.

BD: Both of us are inspired by things that we've thought together, or loved together. And, for me, that's the magic. But there are a couple of songs, like Cherie mentioned, and I was, “Oh, my God, we got to do that on the next record!”

So there's a couple that poked their heads out after the fact, that we'd loved to do, too, so... But I'm not going to tell you what they are.

CR: Well, we'll have to wait to be surprised by the next one, I guess.

BD: That's right.

 

"LET SOMEBODY ELSE KEEP TRACK"
CR: How do you guys feel, when you look on your respective back stories? We have the Runaways movie, the Fanny documentary, the Rhino boxed set that came out, some years back.

So you finally have your place in the culture after, what, 40 years? Does that feel a bit bittersweet, that the acceptance took this long? I mean, how do you look at that?

CC: You know what? To be honest, I'm pretty amazed, that in our current society, that anyone even took the time. All I know is that I'm just so happy I grew up in the time I did, before social media, and all this craziness that is kind of hard for me to wrap my head around. But I never thought that the Runaways – I thought we were all but forgotten.

I thought that, 22 years ago – and for almost 20 years, I didn't even listen to our music. And it wasn't until I started looking at videos, listening to the music again... I went, “Wow! We really were trailblazers.”

We were following in the footsteps of Suzi Quatro. I think that the Runaways wouldn't have existed, had it not been for her. Big shout out: I hope she gets in the Rock 'n' Hall of Fame – please!

BD: Yeah.

CC: Hey, I'm just glad that the people do remember Fanny, the Runaways, and Suzi Quatro, and women that really worked hard, to kick the door open.

BD: It's a funny thing. Instead of looking back at the past, I've always looked at, what am I gonna do next? And I'm just discovering, that that's how I've looked at it, all my life.

Right now, I'm looking at some things – because we've got this event that's coming up, that Cherie and I are gonna do – I'm looking at some of the things I've done in the past, I'm going, “Wow, did I do that?”

I mean, I'm not even aware of listening to the records. I want to keep moving forward. I'm excited about what I'm going to do next. I'm good with somebody else keeping tabs on the past.

CC: I like that a lot, Brie!

BD: But I wanna do it with you, girl. I like that. Let somebody else keep track of the past.

CR: Let somebody else keep the flame, I suppose, right?

CC: Yeah. And you know what? Thank you for that, by the way. If it wasn't for people like you, we would have been all but forgotten.

BD: Well, I appreciate it. I'm just not doing that anymore.

CR: I understand that you want to keep on keepin' on. Conversely, what do you think accounts for that turnaround.

Because, I've got to say, when I was preparing for this – I looked, for instance, at some of the old music press things of the Runaways, like in CREEM – and there was some horrible kind of stuff written, and said. Even by publications you'd think would be on the cooler vanguard really fell down, in that respect. So what accounts for that turnaround, you think?

CC: Well, I guarantee you, that most all of them were written by men.

CR: Yeah.

CC: Sometimes, men like to dig their heels in, and not give women a chance, especially teenage girls. And Brie, her whole experience, I think, also, with Fanny – I mean, the music was different. These chicks really know how to play. I mean, they were superb musicians.

The Runaways were more of the three-chord crunch, in your face, or like, as Joan would say, just kick you in the face, from an attitude. But, I mean, we evolved. It had to happen. It was going to happen.

Now, I mean, as you can see, it's almost like a tidal wave, at this point. And of course, women and their feelings, on the subject, I should say – which I don't care to get into.

CR: Yeah.

CC: But it is a tidal wave now, of women's unhappiness with the male dominating type, the world we live in. So I think it'll all burn itself out, and maybe we'll have something a little more (favorable) afterwards, I guess.

BD: For me, I guess I've always felt blessed in doing what I love, playing drums and singing, and if somebody gave me a hard time around upon it, I don't remember it so much, as to how much I enjoyed doing it. 

CC: I think you got really good reviews, Brie (laughs)!

BD: I'm sure it got done. But to be honest with you, I didn't give a fuck. I just really enjoyed, I loved doing what I loved doing, and I just didn't let it get in my way, I don't think. And if somebody didn't like it, it was their problem, and not mine.

And today, I think, if you want a place, take your place on that stage, or in this business, just be freakin' good at what you do. And that way, if you're the best one in the group, nobody can push you off that spot. So take your place, and earn it. Be good at it.

That's one thing, that when I look at the old tapes of Cherie doing what she's doing, she was just – she owned that spot! And nobody was pushing her off it. And I love that. I get goose bumps talking about it, because her voice, her presence, her performance, everything about her was so commanding... In that day, she owned it 1,000%.

CC: Welcome to it! This tour is just you out front with me, so...

BD: I love it! I honestly love it.

MORE INFO:
https://www.blueelan.com/artists/cherie-currie-brie-darling/

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JAKE @ THE MIC Stiff Little Fingers, left to right: Ian McCallum, Steve Grantley, Jake Burns, Ali McMordie. <br /> Left to right: Greg Ingraham, Penelope Houston, David Bach, Hector Penalosa, in all their glory, at the Bottom Lounge. And yeah, it&#39;s a bit blurry, but that&#39;s rock &#39;n&#39; roll, isn&#39;t it? You get the idea! Again, a little on the blurry side, but we&#39;ll call it an art shot, and call it a day! :-) This ain&#39;t a classical concert. :-) <br /> DAVID BACH @ THE DRUMKIT Here&#39;s that most precious of totems -- the set list, for Stiff Little Fingers&#39;s portion of the show. I was too tired to scoop one up myself, but somebody else was nice enough to let Don snap theirs.
"HERE WE ARE, 40 YEARS LATER...": SLF & THE AVENGERS GATECRASH CHICAGO (10/16/19)
by Words: Chairman Ralph
May 7, 2023

Stiff Little Fingers/The Avengers
The Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL (10/16/19)

When I first heard about this pairing, I probably needed, what, all of five seconds to decide: "Yeah! Gotta  go, gotta catch this one!" What feels more inspired, you may ask, than seeing a reconvened Avengers -- still anchored around original vocalist Penelope Houston, and guitarist Greg Ingraham -- with one of the most explosive Class Of '77 members, Stiff Little Fingers (SLF), long led by singer-guitarist Jake Burns, and also boasting one other original, in bassist Ali McMordie...especially when you realize that the world of songs like "The American In Me" ("Ask not what your country can do/What's your country been doing to you"), or "Suspect Device" ("They play their games of power/They cut and mark the deck/They deal us to the bottom/But what do they put back?"), to name two respective examples, is (sadly and unfortunately) more relevant than they were back in the day, given all the crap that we're expected to keep on swallowing, economically and politically?

The Bottom Lounge itself is your standard issue neighborhood bar, not terribly fussy nor fancy, much like the bands themselves, I suppose. (Which is another way of saying, it's standing room only, literally -- I see one barstool in the corner that some punter has already commandeered for the night, leaving me pogoing on the balls of my feet for two hours. Such is life, I guess.)

The Avengers take the stage first, as Houston, decked out in black, recalls with a knowing laugh: "Last time we played here, it was, like, 92 degrees in the sun at Riot Fest. I thought I was gonna die, I thought it was gonna be our last set ever! Anyway, we're the Avengers, in case you didn't know..." And with that preamble out of the way, we're off to the races, as the band counts off and barrels through "Cheap Tragedies," "Thin White Line," and "Teenage Rebel," that still throb with all the meaning and menace that distinguished them when the band emerged in San Francisco, in 1977.

Ingraham proves deft and effective throughout the set, wringing feedback-laden leads as the mood requires -- from the faster efforts, like "We Are The One," to the midtempo one-two punch of "Corpus Christi" and "Uh Oh," and the night's lone slow burner, "The End Of The World," whose lyrics seem eerily apropos, in light of the Australian fires that ravaged their country ("Look down, your shadow's on fire/This day will blot out your past"). Houston describes it as "another one of these 40-year-old songs that is still applicable, sadly, today." 

The rhythm section of bassist Hector Penalosa (The Zeros), and drummer David Bach -- standing in for respective cohorts, Joel Reader and Luis Illades, of Pansy Division, who couldn't make this tour -- keeps the proceedings crisp and tight, without getting in the way. Houston's voice remains gutsy and strong as ever, a must for putting across the emotional terrain of songs like "Desperate" ("Gotta get out of here, there's nothing here for me"). She's up to the task, and then some.

A lighter mood makes itself felt, too, as Houston notes, when she introduces "1-2-3" as "an easy song to sing along to, if you can count to three." Steve Jones and Paul Cook ended up reworking it for their own band, The Professionals, after the ex-Sex Pistols guitarist produced some sessions for the Avengers. It's not hard to see why they found it attractive, once the song's punked-up Chuck Berry drive kicks in -- serving as a reminder of the band's strong singalong melodic instincts. 

The set ends with a romp through "Paint It, Black" (The Rolling Stones), emerging from a flurry of feedback-drenched howls and moans that Ingraham evokes so effortlessly, and "The American In Me," whose questioning of media and power structure priorities makes for a truly chilling counterpoint, coming after almost 20 years of imperialist wars that have driven our country into the red  ("It's the American in me says it an honor to die/in a war that's just a politician's lie"). Only "We Are The One" would have offered as strong, or even stronger closing note ("We are not capitalist industrialists/we are not communists/we are the one"). Either way, Penelope and company have made their mark, and their point, tonight.

So how do you follow that type of set? By keeping the temperature up, as Burns and his merry men -- McMordie, who rejoined in 2006, plus longtime drummer Steve Grantley, and guitarist Ian McCallum, who've held those spots since 1997 and 1993, respectively -- demonstrate with an opening salvo of songs from the Nobody's Heroes/Go For It era. At first, the sound levels hover near the underwater mark, though Jake's trademark rasp and Les Paul-driven leads cut through the murk admirably. 

By the third song ("Just Fade Away"), however, the soundman seems to figure out the balance, and it all comes together, in a flurry of downstroking, and rat-a-tat-tat drumming, driven along by the McMordie undertow. The audience responds with its own bursts of energy, one that leads Jake to describe the Windy City -- which has always boasted a fervent SLF following -- as "a bit of a hometown gig for me."

Officially, tonight's agenda focuses on the Inflammable Material album, released in 1979, which ranks among punk's unlikeliest success stories. Released by Rough Trade, SLF's debut became the first indie release to enter the UK chart, peaking at #14, and selling 100,000 copies -- a remarkable achievement for a band that had just been dropped by the major label who'd courted them (Island Records). (The affair inspired a key track on the album, "Rough Trade," which surely ranks alongside the Sex Pistols' "EMI" as one of the best anti-record label blasts ever committed to vinyl.)

As Jake notes, when introducing "Rough Trade," SLF had no expectations going into the recording, since "every record company on the planet had turned us down," he tells us. "So this was just make sure we had something to play to our grandkids, when we got old: 'This is what I did when I was young, and fuckin' stupid. Here we are, 40 years later, playing the same songs!" (Except for the last track, "Closed Groove," that is, for which Jake has always expressed disdain, and it's not hard to hear why -- as it's built atop a clunky, repetitive riff that had more common in post-punk, than SLF's full-blooded major chord blood and thunder.)

What's remarkable about Inflammable Material, once the band digs into it, is how well it stands up -- even its minor songs, like "Here We Are Nowhere," SLF's stab at Ramonehood, of which Jake cheerily says: "If this next one lasts more than a minute, we've done it wrong." They don't. So while its best-known tracks, like "Suspect Device," "Wasted Life," and "Alternative Ulster," are rightfully celebrated, lesser-known efforts like "Law And Order" and "State Of Emergency," deserve the same plaudits.

The band's 10-minute rumble through "Johnny Was" (Bob Marley) remains an equally noteworthy melding of rock and reggae, just as the Clash did, for instance, with Junior Murvin's "Police & Thieves," on their own debut album. I've also had a soft spot for "Breakout," which kick-started a tradition of escapist songs -- understandable for someone who grew up in Belfast, and the Catholic-Protestant conflict that racked the city -- and gets a suitably giddy reading here.

And, while the overall muzzle velocity remains uptempo, cranked up to 10, Jake's got the storyteller touch, as he periodically pauses to explain the inspiration behind certain songs, like "White Noise" -- an anti-racist song that "kind of backfired," he admits, because "we used the violent, disgusting language we could think of, to point out out the error of their ways, of these fucking knuckleheads."

The song's subsequent release on Inflammable Material prompted the city of Newcastle to bar the band from playing there, even after the local paper printed a photo of SLF "playing in front of this huge fucking banner that read, 'Rock Against Racism,'" Jake laughingly recalls. "There it is." The audience howls back its delight.

Jake's explanation of writing "Safe As Houses," from Go For It, is equally priceless -- a song that the band essentially stopped playing, because "I stupidly wrote in a key that was too fuckin' high for me to sing," he recounts. "Now, I know what you're thinking: 'But Jake, any fuckin' decent musician will tell you, 'Just drop it a key, and sing it in that key.'" He pauses for the punchline. "That presupposes that we were decent musicians!"

Of course, Jake Burns and company are decent musicians -- well, way better than that, actually -- but such stories showcase a charming side. (This is the band, after all, that wrote, "No one is a nobody/Everybody is someone.") At times, the mood turns pensive, such as Jake's introduction of "My Dark Places," a song that tackles his struggles with depression. He notes that in the UK, 4,500 men take their lives every year, which amounts to one person every three hours ("It's pretty fucking terrifying, when you think about it in those terms"). It's one of the highlights from the band's last release, No Going Back (2014), which ranks among their best efforts.

Other highlights include the as-yet unrecorded "16 Shots," about the police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, which makes an apt lead-in for the Inflammable Material songs, and one where Burns pushes his vocals to the emotional limit: "You got 16 shots, nine in the back/16 shots on a Chicago night/16 shots ended a young man's life!"

I can definitely relate to this song, having lived in Chicago during the mid- to late '90s, and saw how the Mayor Daleys and Emanuels of the world were already leaving entire neighborhoods to rot from malign neglect -- linguists, please withdraw the phrase "benign neglect" from the dictionary, as there's no such f#cking animal -- as they trampled each other to throw their city's huddled masses under the proverbial bus, in favor of those shadowy men behind the curtain (no women, because they're never invited to join that particular club). 

A one-two punch encore of "Tin Soldier" and "Gotta Getaway" powers the set to a close, and sends the crowd home happily across the finish line. But, as songs like "16 Shots" demonstrate, tonight's show isn't only a celebration of the band's history, "it's also a celebration of the future, and looking froward," as Jake notes. On this evidence, both SLF and The Avengers have plenty more to say. Catch them if you can, miss them at your peril.

SET LISTS
THE AVENGERS: Cheap Tragedies/Thin White Line/Teenage Rebel/Corpus Christi/Uh Oh/Desperation/We Are The One/I Want In/The End Of The World/1-2-3-4/Open Your Eyes/Car Crash/Paint It, Black/The American In Me  <https://www.penelope.net/>

STIFF LITTLE FINGERS
Roots, Radicals, Rockers, Reggae/Nobody's Heroes/Just Fade Away/Strummerville/At The Edge/My Dark Places/Safe As Houses/16 Shots/Suspect Device/State Of Emergency/Here We Are Nowhere/Wasted Life/No More Of That/Barbed Wire Love/White Noise/Breakout/Law & Order/Rough Trade/Johnny Was/Alternative Ulster/ENCORE: Tin Soldier/Gotta Getaway
<https://slf.rocks/home-base>

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MY GIG REVIEW HERE
May 7, 2023
This area will serve as a placeholder, so I can move content around more easily.
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KIM THAYIL MARCUS DURANT LETS IT ALL HANG OUT  BRENDAN CANTY  THE DETROIT COBRAS IN ACTION
"I GIVE YOU A TESTIMONIAL": MC50 IMPRESSIONS (20 MONROE LIVE, GRAND RAPIDS, MI, 9/22/18)
by Words: Chairman Ralph/Images: Don Hargraves
Apr 21, 2022
"Brothers and sisters, the time has come for each and every one of you to decide...whether you are gonna be the problem, or you are gonna be the solution!" 

The lights dim. The crowd steels itself, stirring at the familiar words ringing out over the PA system, spoken above an undertow of hand clapping that crackles with an impatient momentum all its own.

If you've bought a ticket, you know them well, as the opening spoken blast of Kick Out The Jams -- rapped out with apocalyptic gusto by JC Crawford, MC for those two nights of recording (10/30-31/68) that resulted in Kick Out The Jams, the MC5's audacious live debut album. 

"You must choose, brothers! You must choose! It takes five seconds! Five seconds of decision! Five seconds to realize your purpose here on the planet!"

In the darkness, the musicians begin taking their places onstage. A ripple of drum sticks here, a stray power chord there. We're almost underway. Tonight's openers, The Detroit Cobras, just wrapped up, having roused the audience with their own stripped down brand of rock 'n' roll, filtered through the Detroit attitude of old.


"It takes five seconds to realize that it's time to move! It's time to get down with it! Brothers... It's time to testify, and I want to know: Are you ready to testify? Are you ready?"

Now it's time for the main event, MC50, billed as a celebration of the MC5's music, in particular, and the incendiary spirit it embodied, in general. (Hence, the billing, to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Kick Out The Jams, and the searing year in which it arrived, in February 1969.)

Hearing Kick Out The Jams as a 16-year-old marked one of the happiest times of my life, one that inspired two questions. What kind of shock politics is this, I wondered, and why does all this Top 40 stuff sound so turgid and slow, by comparison? The minute I heard it, I didn't look back, and I didn't want to settle. 

"I give you a testimonial! The MC5!"

A full-throated roar greets the arrival of "Brother" Wayne Kramer, lead guitarist and next to last MC5 member standing, plus lead guitarist, Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), bassist Billy Gould (Faith No More), drummer Brendan Canty (Fugazi), and vocalist Marcus Durant (Zen Guerilla). (Drummer Dennis Thompson, the MC5's other remaining original, declined to take part in this outing, as Kramer noted on his Facebook page.)

No matter. Kramer and company waste no time getting down to business with the one-two punch of "Ramblin' Rose"...der-der-der-der-der, der-der-der-der-der-der... And we're off to the races with "Kick Out The Jams," whose intro ("It's time to -- kick out the jams, m#therf#ckers," not, "Mother Superior") got the band in so much hot water so long ago. Kramer wrings fast, yet precise, volleys of notes from his red, white and blue Stratocaster -- really, how can Rolling Stone rank him 92nd on its 100 Greatest Guitarists? -- which Thayil answers with a thunderous authority of his own.

And that's how the next 45 minutes unfolds, more or less mirroring the original album running order -- save for "The Motor City Is Burning," which unexpectedly pops up as the third song in the set -- barreling along with the full-throated roar that you'd expect, without losing command of the groove, something that writers don't always seem to appreciate in lauding the band today.

It's worth recalling that R&B ravers like "I Believe To My Soul" and "I Put A Spell On You," from Ray Charles and Screamin' Jay Hawkins, respectively, were staples of the MC5's set at the time, yet didn't make it onto Kick Out The Jams, for space reasons, presumably-- c'mon, Elektra, let's see an expanded CD edition with those leftovers. I can't imagine they're doing us any good, sitting on the shelf somewhere, taking up space in a vault!


The MC5 also regularly dipped into the well of free jazz, via their original guiding light and manager, John Sinclair, which "Starship" allows tonight's lineup to revisit, gloriously, complete with Durant squonking on clarinet -- you and Patti Smith, I remind myself, you and Patti Smith -- as you might have expected to hear them do at the time. Few bands navigated such different worlds, and lived to tell the tale, but that mixture of free-form exploration and sure-footed rock is an equally crucial aspect of the MC5's chemistry, and is no less so here tonight.

Durant proves the night's biggest surprise, managing to channel his inner Tyner -- as in Rob, the MC5's lead singer, who died in 1991 -- without merely copying him. It's a fine line to walk between tribute band, and finding space to interject your own personality on the proceedings, but Durant walks it well, between blasts of his own skilled harp playing.

The other big surprise is how Kramer and company apportion the remainder of the set, which leans heavily on Back In The USA ("Call Me Animal," "High School," "Let Me Try," Looking At You"), the MC5's controversial middle period album, and skimps on its swan song, High Time, save for a restrained, almost folky version of "Shakin' Street," and the fierce funk-rock protest anthem, "Future/Now." MC5 partisans undoubtedly split down the middle, in terms of their affections for this record or that, but the production issues often cited as a reason for not loving Back In The USA are nowhere nearly in sight here; that's the beauty of live music, which can turn the stiffest album filler into a performance for the ages.

That's definitely true of "Let Me Try," a rare ballad that Durant handles with soulful aplomb, indeed, and a turbocharged romp through Van Morrison's "I Can Only Give You Everything," another unexpected highlight that induces plenty of head bobbing and fist waving action among the crowd. (Not for nothing did Michael Davis, the band's late bass player, cite those early self-released 45s, of which "Everything" is one, as his favorite recorded MC5 moments, when I interviewed him for my massive 1995 DISCoveries feature.)

The strangest aspect of the night is the half-full house that makes up in fervor what it lacks in numbers. The diehards, presumably, are pinching their pennies for the two-night Detroit stand that closes out this particular tour (10/26-27/18). "

I'm tempted to blame the ambience of 20 Monroe, which seems designed by a sadist -- one who made sure to charge 10 bucks for drinks (and plenty more for anything else), stick the bathroom on the second floor (so you're either hiking up a long flight of stairs, or waiting for an elevator), and leave no place to sit on the main floor. (Only afterwards do I learn that some chairs had been discreetly tucked away, off to the side...isn't that how it always works?) 


In some ways, though, the half-full head count makes the perfect metaphor for an underdog status that doesn't always ring the cash register, nor register on the official radar of approval (Madonna's in the Hall of Fame, but the MC5 isn't? Go figure, as they say). Yet it's impossible to imagine the darker, heavier strain of today's punk and metal without the declamatory blast that the MC5 harnessed to such devastating effect. It's a spirit that can't be copied or copped so easily, either, another quality that lifts kindred spirits like the New York Dolls, the Stooges and the Velvet Underground to greatness, right along with the Five. What do all these names have in common?

As the oft-quoted cliche goes, they didn't sell records by the gross, but most anyone everyone who heard them formed a band. It's the reason, I suspect, that Kramer seems genuinely moved by the reception he gets, as he notes slyly, at one point: "I'm 70 years old, man. Believe me, man, I'm glad to be anywhere!" So am I, and so are we. Kick out the jams, indeed.

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MY GIG REVIEW HERE
Apr 21, 2022
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MY GIG REVIEW HERE
Apr 21, 2022
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I brought my copy of KINK -- plus AFLI-3603 -- for Dave to sign after the gig. When security told us that we&#39;d only be allowed one item, I opted to have Dave sign the book. (Photo by Ralph Heibutzki) Rebecca Wilson makes her entrance onstage (left) as the band launches into &#34;The King Of Karaoke.&#34; (Photo by Don Hargraves) Left to right: Dave Davies, Tom Currier (bass, keyboards) and Dennis Dikken (drums)...this moment came after the keyboard intro on &#34;Strangers,&#34; if memory serves me correctly. (Photo by Don Hargraves) <br /> Promotional ad for AFLI-3603. (Source: http://www.kindakinks.net/) <br />
"I'M NOT LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE": DAVE DAVIES VS. THE WORLD (CITY WINERY, CHICAGO, IL, 11/13/14)
Oct 8, 2015

Let's face it: Kinks fandom isn't a faint-hearted pursuit. I learned as much in the spring of 1997, when I interviewed founding guitarist Dave Davies for an extended cover story in DISCoveries magazine -- which focused on Kink, his autobiography of the time, but also covered what he'd done lately with the band.

The catch? He was only available on my lunch hour. Not only that, I had to cover for someone else -- so there I sat at my desk, talking on the phone with the man whose riff launched so many other bands (altogether now: 1-2-3-4, "You Really Got Me" starts something like this: DAH-DA-DA-DA-DAH, DAH-DA-DA-DA-DAH), while the other resident Kinks fan in our office literally hovered near my ear, trying to hear the discussion.

Needless to say, all concerned had a grand time. It also helped that my bosses were on vacation.

Few outfits in rock are so influential, or so underrated, yet command such a dedicated fanbase. The band has remained on hiatus since 1996, following its final show in Oslo, Norway. However, the absence of any official breakup announcement hasn't slowed the interest, let alone the never-ending stream of will-they-or-won't-they reform stories that continue to pop up lately (mostly in the UK, but we've seen a fair amount of them Stateside, as well).

In hindsight, however, the path to Ray and Dave's separate creative lives began 35 years ago. In July 1980, Dave stepped away from the group with his first solo album, AFLI-3603 -- so named, apparently, because he couldn't think of a proper title -- on which he played all the instruments (except four tracks that feature Nick Trevisick and Ron Lawrence on bass and drums, respectively).

I'd just gotten into the Kinks via Misfits (on the strength of a thumbs-up from People magazine, of all places), so how could I miss this one? I naturally went out and got my hands on AFLI-3603 right away, and -- like just about everyone else who did -- wasn't disappointed. Then and now, it's one of my all-time favorite records.

The silver-and-black futuristic sleeve art set the right tone, as did the cover -- which featured a bar code replacing its reluctant star's face.(Rolling Stone undoubtedly had this bit of social commentary in mind in reviewing the album as "howling anarchic couplets that rail against big government, 'science and money,' and other instruments of oppression.") And that's before we got to the contents. This record has it all, from thunderous heavy rock blasts ("Where Do You Come From," "In You I Believe," "Move Over"), to pointed commentary ("Doing The Best For You"), glistening pop-rock ("Imaginations Real"), and affecting ballads ("Run," "Visionary Dreamer"). Honestly, I can't think of a single track that I dislike: for anyone who listened, AFLI-3603 made an eloquent case for Dave Davies as the rock 'n' roll heart of the Kinks.

Those same qualities have characterized subsequent efforts, like Bug (2002) and I Will Be Me (2014), though Dave's stroke in the summer of 2004 naturally left his creative future open to speculation. By the summer of 2008, however, he'd recovered sufficiently to walk, talk and play guitar -- so, naturally, when Dave's latest solo tour called at City WInery (Chicago, IL, 11/13/14), I had to drop everything and make my way down there.

The tour coincided with the Kinks' 50th anniversary, which passed without a flicker of movement on those will-they-or-won't-they-reunite stories -- and, naturally, set much of the night's agenda. Of course, we got standards like "All Day (And All Of The Night)," "Dead End Street," "The Death Of A Clown," "Tired Of Waiting," and "Where Have All The Good Times Gone" -- could any Kink, past or present, leave a venue alive without playing those songs?, I asked myself -- delivered with the scrappy, take-no-prisoners authority, as only someone like Dave Davies can dish out.

Mind you, there are limits. A couple times, Dave asked if we had any requests, which prompted a woman sitting near Don and I to shout for "Come Dancing"...even to the point of humming the opening riff. "I don't think we're gonna get that one," I laughed to myself.

Overall, Dave's playing seemed robust and self-assured; I've been asked numerous times about that issue, but he's definitely back up to par...on the same level, certainly, from the last time I saw him (House Of Blues, Chicago, 1997). His voice sounded darker, huskier -- and a bit strangled, at times -- which is only to be expected, after his health struggles of 2004, but also suits the world-weariness of many Kinks songs, as well.

For me, the highlights came from hearing such lesser-aired prizes as "Creeping Jean," "Suzannah's Still Alive" -- an athem to a lost love, which Dave explains at greater length in his book -- and "Strangers," whose distinctive opening and closing drum intro/outro emerged after an extended keyboard solo. It's a haunting song that, once you hear it, isn't easily forgotten ("Where you going to, I don't mind/I've killed my world, and I've killed my time").

"Strangers" is also one of two Dave contributions to the clunkily-titled Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part I (1970) -- the album that gave us "Lola," and kicked off the Koncept Era, as it's often called.

Dave and company also treated the Winery crowd to an extended take on "See My Friends," which he dedicated to those no longer among us: "This song is for all absent friends, dear, departed loved ones, and those that may be in the spirit world." It's a song that also preceded the raga-rock boom that swept the decade, even if the Kinks don't necessarily reap the credit...but still sounds as fresh and relevant as it did at the time.

Now and then, Dave sneaked in the odd later-period song -- including "Living On A Thin Line," whose blast against the 1 percent is as timely as ever, sadly -- and "The King Of Karaoke," from I Wll Be Me, which gave his partner, Rebecca Wilson, a chance to strut her stuff onstage.

He did play "Little Green Amp," which I missed, unfortunately (having consulted setlist.fm to check that inclusion) -- but it's one of I Will Be Me's major highlights. The lyrics recall Dave's combustive start as a musician, over a riff that reworks "You Really Got Me" to cunning effect -- I laughed at the audacity, myself, when I first heard it. Presumably, we'll hearmore of these newer songs when Dave makes it back to town.

Fittingly enough, the show closed with the one-two punch of "I'm Not Like Everybody Else," and "You Really Got Me." Like many of those classic early songs, they've been covered by countless outfits -- even posi-core bands like Seven Seconds, if I recall correctly, have taken a stab at "Everybody Else," which summarizes Dave's artistic posture as well as any interview: "Do everything that you want me to/There's just one thing I will say to you..."

Thirty-five years ago, the notion of dueling Davies albums and tours would have sounded far-fetched. The Kinks roadshow seemed ready to roll indefinitely, for as long as audiences seemed willing to hear it, while Dave -- apart from a handful of singles, and the odd burst of songwriting contributions to the group's output -- seemed reluctant to go beyond those confines.

Indeed, as Ray himself once noted in Hit Parader magazine, Dave seemed more focused on capturing the technical side of the group's music at Konk than putting himself forward as a songwriter: "He's started recording, but I might even have to get a contract with him and says he's got to deliver a [solo] album. It may be the only way he's going to record is at gunpoint."

Judging by the guitar blasts that powered those last two songs across the finish line, Dave isn't feeling all that tentative or reluctant anymore...and he's all the better for it. So are we.

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NIGEL BENNETT (IN CLOSEUP) JC CARROLL WORKS THE BASS... ...AND NICK CASH THROWS DOWN ON THE DRUMS As they say, one picture says a thousand words...yep, this is a punk rock crowd, all right! CHAIRMAN RALPH (+FAN) WITH SIGNED MEMBERS POSTERS POGO A GO GO (RED LINE TAP STYLE) THE VIEW FROM THE BACK (RED LINE TAP)
THE MEMBERS: ONE SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE RED LINE TAP (CHICAGO, 9.06.14)
by Chairman Ralph (Words)/Don Hargraves (Photos)
Jan 8, 2015
"We shall Rock them on the beaches, we shall Rock them on the landing grounds, we shall Rock them in the fields and in the streets, we shall Rock them in the hills; we shall never surrender."
--Prime Minister JC Carroll

Rock 'n' roll thrives in these kinds of places: neighborhood bars that time forgot, passed over by the professional brigade in its never-ending quest to airbrush the hell out of whatever it touches.

No such fate has befallen the Red Line Tap, located just down the block from the Heartland Cafe. There's not a whiff of pretense about its soft red neon facade and basic-beyond-basic interior.

You've got a raised deck in the back -- for easy observation -- plus a boxlike main floor for the tribe to gather, in front of a small stage that reminds me of many that I've seen in Britain (where many bands tread the boards in postage-stamp-sized territory, it seems).

But that's where the Members are plying their trade on this particular night in Chicago (9/06/14), as part of their first USA tour in 31 years -- a lifetime ago from the band's brief rotation on MTV, when "Working Girl" gave them a new lease on life here.


BACK IN THE USSA...MEMBERS-STYLE
Of course, show biz has its share of hiccups, as singer-guitarist Jean Marie ("JC") Carroll explains by phone from California -- where we first touched base near the end of August, about a week after the "Operation Overground" tour kicked off in California (8/22). (Note: The tour officially wrapped up this week on 10/04 after returning to several cities in the West/Southwest, including Midland, TX; Phoenix, AZ, and Las Vegas, NV.)

With four days to go before the kickoff date, longtime singer-bassist Chris Payne broke two bones in his hand -- so the Members reverted to a trio, with JC getting reacquainted with the bass, flanked by Nigel Bennett and Nick Cash on lead guitar and drums, respectively.

And that's how -- on this particular night in Chicago -- JC winds up holding down the fort on six-string bass, which “was definitely a 'show must go on' moment,” he says, laughing. “It's just another chapter.”

Mishaps aside, Carroll looks forward at getting reacquainted with the band's American fanbase.

“I started working with the band seriously again in 2006, doing shows in England – we started going all over Europe. It's just a natural progression, really,” Carroll observes. “I also went to Australia and New Zealand last year, and there's still quite a strong demand for what we do.”


"THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING HERE"
For those who haven't kept score, the Members formed in 1976 as part of the British punk explosion that produced the Clash, the Damned, the Jam, and the Sex Pistols, and numerous other bands.

Carroll became aware of the punk revolution's impact when ordinary-looking youth – not “hip inner city guys,” as he calls them – started coming to Members gigs.

“I said, 'There's something happening here – they want this,' so I came up with 'The Sound Of The Suburbs,'” Carroll recalls. “In a funny way, punk rock is a suburban kid thing now, still – it's a way of escaping what might be your drab surroundings, and rebelling. We were very lucky with that song.”

With Carroll leading the songwriting, the Members gained attention for a fiery mix of punk and reggae – and topics that ranged from corporate greed (“Offshore Banking Business”), to social isolation (“Solitary Confinement”), and ordinary peoples' lives (“The Sound Of The Suburbs”).

All of these songs get an airing at the Red Line Tap, and they sound as vital and powerful as ever. On the flipside, that means all of the nasty and noxious evils that punk rock aimed to slay during its certified Year Zero moment (1976) -- corporatized pop music, ever-rocketing costs of living, and unresponsive bureaucracies, to name three -- seem stronger and more vigorous than ever. But we'll get to that shortly...


"IT WAS JUST TOO MUCH"
Although only thee guys are onstage, the sound is muscular and crisp tonight -- much of that factor comes down to Bennett, who plays enough for two people by himself.

Fluid, yet unfussy, he puts all the right notes in all the right places, while Cash whacks out the beat behind him -- stretching out, naturally, on the reggae sections, where a percussive comment or two isn't out of place -- and Carroll keeps the proceedings moving on his newly adopted instrument.

Just behind Don and myself, two color TVs beam "Saturday Night Live" out over the main floor, but nobody cares a whit -- all the action's down on the main floor, where plenty of cameras are popping (cellphone-related or not).

In particular, I notice a blonde woman click-click-clicking away. At first, I think she's some kind of pro shutterbug...one dressed to kill in knee-high boots and black hose, kitted out with some top of the line pro camera.

Eventually. I muster the gumption to ask er, between songs: "Excuse me, are you the band's official photographer?"

She smiles, and laughs, "No -- no, darling, I'm a friend of Nigel's."

"Oh, OK -- right, I got it now!"

The band rip-roars through "Working Girl," which gave them new life commercially, after the original punk scene had tapered off -- giving the Members a big American hit when they needed one most. Thanks to the fruits of those labors, the band expanded to a seven-piece entity with a three-piece horn section.

However, that new lease on life came with a price, as JC explains: “We were literally touring around America for four months at a time – it was just too much. We burned ourselves out, basically."

There's no smell of burnout hanging over the proceedings here, though, as the band powers through "Baby Baby" -- the signature number of the Vibrators, with whom Bennett toured many times in America -- and "The Sound Of The Suburbs," which closes the show on triumphant note.


"IT JUST SOUNDED GREAT"
Funnily enough, Nigel's friend isn't the only person slinging a camera tonight. In fact, it's been awhile since I've seen so many flash bulbs pop-pop-popping...although, as JC recounts afterwards, he's played some gigs where the front row is literally nothing but iPad and iPhone City, where he can't see the faces of the people concerned.

It's a strange phenomenon that only today's techie-driven times could produce, he notes, "though you look at what they post on Youtube, and you say, 'Christ, no, please take it down'..." He smiles, knowing that no such occurrence is likely.

A generation ago, people swapped color pics to stick into yellowing photo albums; nowadays, they're saving them on their phones. Call it a sign of the times, if you like.

After the band's breakup, Bennett, Carroll and Payne focused on raising families and various solo projects.

JC decided to re-form the Members after celebrating his fiftieth birthday, “and I tried to get all the bands I'd ever been in together – and it just sounded great,” he said.

Since then, the Members have steadily built on that momentum, by virtue of steady gigging -- "It's not unusual to get Scotland on a weekend," as JC notes -- although, unlike the old days, it's not strung together as a steady drumbeat of one-nighters.

Unlike many contemporary pundits, though, JC doesn't mourn the record industry's demise, especially when he considers the alternative. "Back then," he observes at the merchandise table, "you really couldn't make any money -- because there were so many other people ahead of you."


"IT'S TIME FOR SOME MORE RADICAL MUSIC"
The Members return to Britain in October, after which Carroll expects to start on the band's fifth album – for which he's already worked up four or five songs.

“It's got the Members' (types of lyrical) themes. We're going to make little videos for them, or big videos – and we'll be touring in Europe, doing what we do,” he says.

As Carroll notes, today's headlines seem perilously close to the world on which he and his bandmates cast such a critical eye back in 1976 – though he believes that it could stand a better soundtrack.

“We're very much in a manufactured pop music world – nobody's really speaking about how they live. It's definitely time for some more radical music, I think,” he says.

YOUTUBE VIDEO LINKS FROM THE GIG (JUST CUT 'N' PASTE INTO YER BROWSER):
"Offshore Banking Business":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgAZK2_gd98

"New English Blues, Part 2":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMDpT7xfCM4

"Solitary Confinement":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbJ0pOyizwc

"The Model":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq49EUv2jME

"Baby Baby":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyTtzjUZLwA

"The Sound Of The Suburbs":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyTtzjUZLwA


MEMBERS BIO, INFO+LINKS
2013 was a Fantastic Year For The Band taking us to lots of exciting places, Ireland, Ukraine, Holland, New Zealand, Scotland and Australia, where we were re-united with Rudi Thomson, our old Sax Player. We made lots of new friends in the UK also.

Original Member Nigel Bennett has rejoined the Band, along with Drummer Nick Cash. Nigel spent many years touring and recording with Punk Legends The Vibrators and released and toured a solo Album (TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES) in 2013.

Little known Facts: Nigel played Bass with Julian Lennon and Guitar with Tom Robinson in the '80s.

Nick Cash is no stranger to the Members, having Played on 3 of JC's Solo Albums as well as performing with The Members from 2007 to 2009. Nick is Famous for opening the World's first Ever Punk Punk Clothes shop and playing with Fad Gadget, Prag Vec and The Lines as well as auditioning for an early version of the Sex Pistols.

Rat Scabies Stepped down from the Members Drum seat after three great years at the end of a Hugely successful Australian and New Zealand Tour. We wish Rat lots of luck with his exciting new recording projects.

JC's Record Label, AngloCentric Records, is up and Running Now with Releases by Members Producer David M. Allen, and Brentford Mad West London Band, The Magic Sponge...check out the Tracks here:

http://www.anglocentric.co.uk/musicstore.html

Also due is a Compilation album Featuring Billy ShinBone, The Brompton Mix, Cheyne Pride, The Fab Mods and The Indicators, as well as deep Cuts from the Archives.

If you want information on booking the The Members it can all be found on this Document:
http://www.themembers.co.uk/2014_EPK/Members_2014_offers_WEB.pdf

Please keep in touch with the band by visiting the official Website:
http://www.themembers.co.uk/

...or join the Facebook Fan Pages:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Membersfans/
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...AND SYLVAIN, NEAR THE BEGINNING SYLVAIN+HATTIE (THE PLURALS) DURING "FEMME FATALE" GLEN MATLOCK TAKES OFF: "SOMEWHERE, SOMEHOW" STRUMMIN' FOR HIS LIFE, 'E IS, MR. MATLOCK... GLEN MATLOCK+HATTIE (THE PLURALS) DURING "PRETTY VACANT"
"THEY MADE THE BURNING SOUNDS FOR ME": SEX DOLLS (GLEN MATLOCK, SYL SYLVAIN) (THE LOFT, LANSING, MI, 3/19/14)
Jan 8, 2015
How often does a former Sex Pistol hold the door open for you? Well, that's exactly what Glen Matlock – ever the soul of politeness – does on this frigid Lansing night, though perhaps the question needs rephrasing. How often do you get to see two punk's original vanguard, live and unplugged?

That's exactly what we get with this inspired pairing of Matlock and New York Dolls guitarist, Syl Sylvain – up close and personal, armed with nothing more than their acoustic guitars, a few stories and a generous dipping through their bands' respective back pages (hence, the Sex Dolls billing).

Sylvain emerges as the more outwardly animated performer, but his wit and showmanship make tonight's under-attended mid-week outing – there can't be more than 40 people here tonight, give or take – feel like an outing at Radio City Music Hall (which the Dolls played, incidentally, supporting Mott the Hoople).

When it comes to the art of crowd response, Sylvain doesn't miss a trick. “It was a long way from fuckin' Cleveland – c'mon, Lansing,” he cracks after his opening one-two punch (“Teenage News,” “I'm Sorry”), which earns a bigger response. For a slow-burning “Femme Fatale,” he calls on the help of Hattie Danby (drummer for tonight's opener, the Plurals), and leads a girls-against-boys singalong battle on the chorus.

While introducing the Bo Dilddley song, “Pills” – which the Dolls covered – Sylvain recalls the night that he and his cohorts got booted from My Father's Place, where the song's author was performing. “We're yelling for 'Pills,' Bo Diddley's onstage – he's getting really fuckin' pissed off, right? He calls the security guys, and has us thrown out of the fuckin' place for selling drugs!” Sylvain recalls, amid roars of amusement. “You can't make this shit up.”

The same thing happens on the Dolls classic “Trash,” which Sylvain pauses to deconstruct via Eddie Cochran – because that's where its central riff originates, he asserts. “Mark my words, we wouldn't have a fuckin' punk revolution without that fuckin' riff – I'll show you why,” Sylvain says, before playing snippets of “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker” and “God Save The Queen” that sound a bit familiar. “I just wanted to tell you, I fuckin' ripped it off first, OK?”

All jokes apart, Sylvain's approach shows why the other Dolls/Thunders songs that he whips out (“Great Big Kiss,” “Jet Boy,” “You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory”) still stand up today. Often dismissed during their heyday as undisciplined noise merchants, the Dolls' influences actually owed a great deal to their '50s and '60s heroes – only cranked up to ten, with grittier overtones than the glossy nostalgia of, say, “Happy Days.” You get the idea.

Sylvain ends his set with a flourish by reprising his 2012 single (“Leaving New York”) as he walks strumming through the crowd – there he goes, right past our table! – having gotten the evening off to a rousing start, indeed. By contrast, Glen doesn't talk quite as much – eternal English reserve, eh? – but showcases an equally biting wit.

For example, when he's introducing “Ambition” – a slow-burning ballad that Iggy Pop recorded on his 1980 album, “Soldier,” and one of Matlock's best-known post-Pistols tracks – he recalls feeling thrilled, until he heard the end results.

“He (Iggy) said, 'You got any songs?', and I played him a few ideas...I was lucky enough that he chose one of my songs to do,” Glen explains. “But he didn't make the best job of it.” Amid a few nervous laughs, Glen repeats the point: “Well, he didn't. I'm gonna kind of try and improve on it now.” And he does, with a self-assured delivery that helps him make his case.

Like Sylvain, Glen's not above the odd crowdbaiting trick or two himself – such as on the Sex Pistols' standard, “God Save The Queen,” when he seeks to incite a mass clapalong: “I ain't got a drummer at the moment, but I got all of you guys, so it'd help me out if you do this...” He pauses to demonstrate. “It keeps your hands warm!”

And, also like Sylvain, Glen's songwriting bears the '50s and '60s imprint – not only in music, but also in sentiment, whether he hails the era's anything-goes spirit (“A Different World”), voicing his disdain for the bullshit quotient of modern life (“On Something” -- as in, "Wish that I was..."), or giving a two-fingered salute to self-indulgent figures shucking and shimmying into the public's good graces (“Yeah Right”).

As these tunes suggest, Glen's an accomplished songwriter – the bar's got to be high, indeed, when you're responsible for classics like “Pretty Vacant” and “Ghosts Of Princes In Towers,” which also get an airing tonight. He deserves more than being seen as the product of a glorious revolutionary past – which is probably why he seems genuinely surprised that John and I express delight at his announcement of the Rich Kids' song, “Burning Sounds.”

However, it's one of the highlights of Glen's set, which finds him dipping into the Kinks (“Dead End Street”), and a couple standbys from the Pistols days – “Pretty Vacant,” and “Stepping Stone,” which he dryly introduces as a song “by one of the first boy bands in existence”. Perhaps he's feeling a bit weary of that whole subject, though the song actually hails from the Monkees – an original '60s boy band (so to speak) Hopefully, experiences like this tour will show audiences the greater depth to Glen's back story.

The evening ends on a triumphantly casual note, as Sylvain, Glen and Hattie join forces for some loose, extended romps through“Bang A Gong” (T. Rex), “Money” (Barrett Strong), and “Personality Crisis” (New York Dolls) – three non-originals that provide an appropriate snapshot of the spirit on display. Or, as Glen explains before he unleashes “Burning Sounds”:

“To me, when you're 15 and 16 years old, and you start checking out rock bands, you hear something that makes you think, 'There's got to be a bit more to it than what they tell you.' I like the Kinks, and the Beatles, and stuff like that – and they made the burning sounds for me.” Let's hope these guys team up again, and treat us to a few more burning sounds like we heard tonight – because, if you didn't make it to this outing, you definitely missed something special.
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Apologies for the quality, but -- as you can see -- there&#39;s a bit of reflection coming from the drumkit (!), and we could have been a little closer, but, anyway: L-R: Ben King, Andy Mitchell, Jim McCarty, Dave Smale, Anthony &#34;Top&#34; Topham. (Photo: Don Hargraves) <br /> I think this was during &#34;Five Long Years,&#34; if memory serves me correctly... (Photo: Don Hargraves) ...and a moment later, the whole band cuts loose, in classic fashion! (Photo: Don Hargraves) <br /> Released by Trademark of Quality in 1975, this album is really a pirate, not a bootleg -- since it rounded up previously issued material that had been out of print or tough to find. However, the album broke new ground -- representing the first release of a group that wasn&#39;t a superstar (like the Beatles, for example, or the Rolling Stones). <br /> <br />Longtime fan William Stout designed the front cover (shown here). He&#39;s said that the wolf represents producer Mickie Most, whom he considered guilty of steering the Yardbirds toward watered-down, commercial pop -- instead of the gutsy blues and R&amp;B that had become the group&#39;s trademark. The success of GOLDEN EGGS prompted Trademark Of Quality to issue the logically-named MORE GOLDEN EGGS -- which mixed some of the best-known Yardbirds singles (&#34;For Your Love,&#34; &#34;Shapes Of Things&#34;) with obscure B-sides (&#34;Psycho Daisies&#34;), alternate versions and solo singles from Keith Relf (&#34;Shapes In My Mind&#34;) and Jimmy Page (&#34;She Just Satisfies&#34;). <br /> <br />Once again, William Stout stepped up to provide the front cover art -- but, since I haven&#39;t found a decent quality image, we&#39;ll have to make do with the rear cover. However, Stout played a role in that exercise, too, as it consists of an interview with Keith Relf. Stout happened to live near the late singer, so he hit on the idea of playing the material, and getting his reactions to it. Relf agreed, on condition that he get help with his rent money...on such exchanges, greater projects are born. ...which marked my first extensive introduction to the Yardbirds&#39; output at length...and my brain hasn&#39;t been the same since! Don&#39;s got his own signed ticket stub (left). I&#39;m holding onto my MAKING TRACKS DVD (right), which Don was kind enough to buy for me...the photo was snapped by another patron who saw us fooling around with the camera, and suggested doing the honors on this occasion.  Thanks again -- as they say in England, &#34;yer a geezer.&#34;
HAVIN' A RAVEUP (AND THEN SOME, 21ST- CENTURY STYLE): THE YARDBIRDS (ARCADA THEATRE, ST. CHARLES, IL, 9/13/13+6/27/14)
Sep 1, 2013
What are the odds of one band – let alone the same local stomping grounds – producing three of the world's most acclaimed and influential rock guitarists? That's what happened to the Yardbirds, who are best remembered – in casual fans' minds – as the musical proving ground for Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page to refine the guitar maneuvers that made them internationally rich and famous.

But that perception only tells half the story. The Yardbirds boasted one of the '60s' deepest talemt benches, with bassist Paul Samwell-Smith carving out a successful production career, while late vocalist Keith Relf and drummer Jim McCarty launched several folk and progressive bands (Renaissance, Illusion) to varying degrees of success.

Fewer still know that McCarty co-authored a good many of the lyrics – not a talent that's often associated with the band's chief beat-keeper. Then again, he probably never foresaw himself as the last original member standing, after the stroke last year that (sadly) has curtailed bassist/rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja's playing days for good. (Frontman Keith Relf died in 1976, from an accidental electric shock; his spirit is celebrated in fine style on “An Original Man,” off the band's last album, Birdland.)

Going into this show – one of three dates on this year's blink-and-miss-it US excursion – it's natural to question how this lot could carry the Yardbirds flag, especially in light of its illustrious alumni's absence...not to worry, however, as Anthony “Top” Topham has returned to the fold, after a mere five decades of downtime! What a coup, indeed, since it's not commonly known that Topham preceded Clapton, only to exit due to circumstances beyond his control...as he makes clear in a brief Q&A session with McCarty, before the show.

And, though he takes some time to warm up – it's only his third gig, after all, as McCarty points out – Topham quickly shows that he's not there just to take up space...as he and his impossibly youngish-looking guitar sparring partner, Ben E. King, swap licks on the slower blues numbers (“Five Long Years”), and the more urgent showcases (“Smokestack Lightning”), to appreciative roars from the crowd. Clapton may have been the more advanced player (as Topham notes below), but he has a distinctive style, in his own right. Vocalist Andy Mitchell acquits himself quite well, too – even when his harp fights for air in the mix, at times – while bassist Dave Smale keeps the proceedings at a brisk, no-nonsense clip.

Naturally, “The Traain Kept A-Rollin'” opens the night's proceedings in fine style, and the Yardbirds bench doesn't waste much time asserting itself; while not as flashy as some of the era's better-known beat-keepers, McCarty's touch proves deft as ever, with no fuss, and no muss, just the way that we're used to hearing it, thank you very much.. (His high harmonies are pretty noteowrthy, as well.)

Of course, this being a '60s legend in action, you get all the hits, present and correct (“Heart Full O'Soul,” “Over, Under, Sideways, Down,” “Shapes Of Things”), the odd obscurity (“The Nazz Are Blue,” featuring a rare vocal by Beck), and faves that the masses might not know, but the diehards definitely understand (“Back Where I Started,” which featured on McCarty's mid-'80s project, Box Of Frogs, and also, the closest that we came to a proper reunion at the time).

From my perspective, the real payoff comes near the end, with a medley of “For Your Love,” “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago,” and – lastly, to close the circle – “Dazed And Confused,” whose reworking (shall we say) by Page for Led Zeppelin has remained the source of great controversy, then and now (which McCarty slyly references as “that other band”; ironically, the opening act is Kashmir, a Led Zeppelin tribute band, who get a resounding thumbs-up from the patrons sitting in front of me.)

In any event, this 15-minute, three-song mini-epic finds King truly rising to the occasion here. Anybody should feel nervous about following Those Other Three Guitar Gods, but King doesn't show a trace of hesitation. He sticks to the overall blueprint, but isn't shy about adding his own distinctive coloration on “Happenings” – and then cuts loose with some gloriously unhinged leads, as the band navigates the inner angst of “Dazed And Confused.”

The song shakes and shudders with a primal voodoo that's bubbling under the surface of Jake Holmes's original, but often got smothered in Zeppelin's half-hour-plus marathon versions (oh, well, it was the '70s, eh?). It's pretty heady stuff, indeed – urgent and unyielding, pulsing with the peaks and valleys that made the original band a can't-miss proposition during its '60s heyday.

Had the night ended here, we'd have gone home happy, but naturally, there's a brief encore to round out the proceedings – it's “I'm A Man,” which the band reworked to such brash effect so long ago, and sounds no less taut tonight, with Mitchell sounding every inch the swashbuckling blues rooster referenced in the original lyrics.

Like much of the sounds dished out tonight, this last number's raw energy is a reminder of what made the Yardbirds so potent – even if their 1968 breakup reflected more slings and arrows than Shakespeare's outrageous fortune. In many ways, though, that doesn't really matter. They didn't always collect the rewards that they hoped to see coming, and their pioneering spirit frequently fought for air, amid the demands of producers – but, long after the tinkerers' names are forgotten, this music still lives and breathes...which is all we need, on this night, or any other.

YARDBIRDS (SLIGHT RETURN: ARCADA THEATER, 6/27/14)
Fast forward a year later, and those "five live Yardies" are sharing the bill with ex-Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson...ensuring a double-barreled night of blues-rock for true believers. That term only scrapes the surface of what both acts in question do, given all their various stylistic diversions...but as a shorthand description, it works well enough.

In the Yardbirds' case, tonight's set showcased the band's bluesier side -- as demonstrated by a churning 10-minute-plus version of "Smokestack Lightning," and an equally extended "Five Long Years," which frontman Andy Mitchell belted out with gusto. His gutsy harmonica work also shone through, loud and clear -- unlike last time around, when it struggled to make itself felt through a murky sound mix.

Top Topham also sounded more fully integrated into the band, too, as he peppered the bluesier songs with robust slide guitar lines -- and dove right in to swap licks with Ben King when the song required it. For the poppier hits, like "Heart Full O'Soul," he naturally stuck closely to the original imprint, though his rootsier approach is unmistakable.

McCarty, as ever, drove the bus without fanfare. His emphatic, chugging style doesn't always land him on those endless "'X' Number Of Greatest This 'N' That" lists that music mags churn out with tick-tock regularity -- but it's impossible to imagine these songs without them. His style is truly the heartbeat of the Yardbirds, without a doubt.

As in 2013, we got the same closing medley ("For Your Love"/"Happenings Ten Years Time Ago"/"Dazed And Confused"), which reached a frenzied peak on the last song's extended psychedelic section. This is a band, after all, that built a reputation for not playing the same song twice, which makes it fun to compare the nuances involved.

Chris Robinson's approach is equally rootsy, and unapologetically jam-oriented. Not being familiar with his solo material, I didn't know what to expect, but the opening chunk-a-chunk-a-chunk of "I Know You" made the drift quickly apparent. Robinson played with aplomb throughout the night, electing to mostly fingerpick his leads -- amid many, many guitar changes.

Some major highlights of his set included a 15-minute medley of "From A Buick 6," "I Cylinder" and the Velvet Underground's "Foggy Notion," on which the band eagerly -- and continually -- circled back to its "Do it again!" refrain like a shark eyeballing its target.

The one-two encore punch of Humble Pie ("The Sad Saga Of Shaky Jake") and another lesser-known Velvet track ("Oh! Sweet Nothing") proved equally delightful to hear, as well. I'd definitely investigate his work in more detail to see what other gems might be happening there.

All in all, tonight's pairing provided an illuminating reminder of what both acts do so well -- it was a shame to see a third full house, though there's no doubt that everyone left well satisfied with the proceedings. Turnouts vary for lots of reasons, although in the Yardbirds' case, it'd be nice to hear a new album with Topham abooard.

As one listen to the recently-departed Chris Dreja's "My Blind Life" will suggest, there's plenty of vitality left, and new musical ground to explore, so let's cross our fingers and see what happens...if nothing else, the Yardbirds always had a trick or two tucked away up their sleeve.

Q&A WITH RON ONESTI, JIM McCARTY & TOP TOPHAM:
ARCADA THEATER, ST. CHARLES, IL (9/13/13)

RON ONESTI (RO): Welcome! Gentlemen, this is so cool, I can't believe it – gentlemen, welcome to the Chicago area...It's amazing how the roots of the Yardbirds, and the Stones, and so much of the British Invasion that came here had their roots in Chicago blues. Where'd it start for you?

JIM McCARTY (JM): Where'd it start? Well, it was Paul Samwell-Smith, who was at school with me – and we bumped into each other, and he played this record, [from] Jimmy Reed...and then, we learned from there. And I heard more and more of this sort of music, and really loved it.

RO: You know, Top – it's 1963, you are 15 years old...

TOP TOPHAM (TT): That's correct.

RO: Fifteen years old – and, again, you have this passion for blues. And not just blues – and I'm lovin' it, because it's Chicago blues. Where does your passion come from?

TT: I think it actually, probably and originally came from my father – who was in America during the war, in Mobile, Alabama, and bought records, and took them home. In the latter part of the '50s, we actually got an electric record player [laughter], and started buying some of the very few British records that were available in those days.

But a lot of those records were starting to come over [from America]: Big Boy Arnold, Snooky Prior, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed...and I think the bands of that time were really people that had a passion for that music, and wanted to learn to play it, and do it together. And that's how it started.

RO: The Yardbirds, obviously, kicked off the careers of [Eric] Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck. How did that transition happen, and what was the feeling of the Yardbirds, as the [Led] Zeppelin experience began to happen?

JM: By the time we broke the Yardbirds up, we'd sort of had enough of it, this whole thing of touring. We'd done five years, full on, and people were really tired – we were all sort of fairly dead, more or less [crowd laughs heartily]. We had to start over. That was the only way we could survive. I think, at that particular time, we'd had enough, and we all were quite happy to leave.

But, of course, they were all fresh [in Led Zeppelin] – Jimmy had been with us about a year or so, and the rest of the guys were very fresh. And they didn't have to...The whole market changed between single records, and albums, and Zeppelin didn't have to record a single – 'cause we were always trying to get the next hit single, all the time, in the '60s. And everything changed at the end of the '60s, and the '70s, and [bands] made albums, before you know it.

RO: Now, Top, you had left in '63. Again, you're 15, 16 years old – why did you actually leave the Yardbirds at the time?

TT: Why did I leave? Well, I think were probably a number of reasons – Jim might have a different version. From my point of view, I had studied art, and was fortunate enough to be very talented. I got into an art school when I was 15, and had no qualifications, which was just what my parents wanted.

The idea of playing music in those days was just an unknown thing for them – it was something that they couldn't really comprehend, and they didn't agree with it, and they actually made life quite difficult for me...so I really had to. Plus, Eric – who we all knew, and I went to school with – I think he was a more advanced player, at that time, than I was. And, for that time, he was the right guy for the job.

RO: Clapton was actually at that school?

TT: Yes, Chris Dreja, Eric and myself were all at school together. Eric used to come round on Saturday mornings, and bring records – the latest Robert Johnson, or Blind Boy Fuller, or something – 'cause we were listening to country blues a lot in those days. And, when we had the new record, we had to listen to it, over and again [to learn the songs].

JM: Well, Eric was more ambitious than you, wasn't he?

TT: He was.

JM: He really wanted to make it big...

TT: That is true.

RO: Now, Jim, you were very, very involved in these other bands – what was the driving force with all these bands?

JM: Well, Keith and I formed Renaissance [strong applause from the audience]. The keyboard player was John Hawken, who's down in New Jersey now. He's a fantastic rock 'n' roll pianist, started in the Nashville Teens, and then, went on to Renaissance. He played with the Strawbs, as well, which was a great band – and then, we had another band called Illusion, and then, of course, Box Of Frogs, which was like another Yardbirds.

RO: Now, 1992: very big year for the Yardbirds, right? Tell me about that experience – that had to be something. Tell me about the phone call first – how'd you find out you were being inducted [into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame]?

JM: I think we'd been put out before, you know, suggested – I think it was the third time we'd been nominated, and then, finally, we got in there, and it was great, you know.

RO: What was the night like for you?

JM: Well, it was good fun. We met all these people that were our heroes, you know, Johnny Cash, and B.B. King – Jimi Hendrix, obviously, wasn't there, but his father was there...and Sam and Dave. It was great fun.

RO: What's the chance – everybody wants to know, what's the chance of Jeff Beck coming [and sitting in] tonight, or Jimmy Page, or Eric...

RM: I don't think he's here tonight [laughter from the audience]!

RO: You never know – you never know! [Introduces Byrd, from WDRV 97.1: The Drive, to ask the last question.]

BYRD: Oh, yeah, good to see you – well, I actually have one and a half questions...the real question is, you did a great album just a few years ago – does anybody have it, it's called BIRDLAND? [Some notable claps in response] Are there any projects that are coming up, maybe some new material, or maybe some re-releases of some of the classics, that you'd like to tell anybody about?

JM: Well, there's a fiftieth anniversary this year, round about now – I think there might be something happening this year, in terms of a big boxed set coming out – and we're actually doing a UK tour with the Animals, and the Zombies [NOTE: This outing begins in January 2014].

YARDBIRDS OFFICIAL SITE:
http://www.theyardbirds.com/

JIM McCARTY INTERVIEW ON SONGWRITING:
http://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/jim_mccarty_of_the_yardbirds/

ABOUT THE ARCADA THEATRE:
http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/music/17442826-421/happiness-is-a-full-house-for-the-showman-of-st-charles.html
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MIKE PETERS IN ACTION BRUCE WATSON (UP CLOSE 'N' PERSONAL, 7/20/13) DEREK FORBES PATRICIA SHOWS OFF HER DRUMSTICK MIKE PETERS+CHAIRMAN RALPH When I asked Jaime afterwards if he felt nervous about his role in the current lineup, he responded, &#34;No...I&#39;ve been playing with these guys since I was 11!&#34;  Great answer, and his playing definitely didn&#39;t show any hesitancy! Someone else was nice to hand Your Humble Narrator the setlist -- and, if you&#39;ll bump it enough -- you&#39;ll see that &#34;Porrohman&#34; was on it, but they didn&#39;t play it (presumably due to time restrictions).
I WAITED 20 -PLUS YEARS FOR THIS DRUMSTICK: BIG COUNTRY TOUCH DOWN IN NEW BUFFALO (7/20/13)
by Chairman Ralph (Words)/Don Hargraves (Photos)
Sep 1, 2013
Mention that you're going to see Big Country, and you'll probably get two stock responses from the casual listener: “Oh, yeah, 'In A Big Country,' I loved that song when it came out...”, or, “Wow, they're still together?” (The hipper among us might nominate “Harvest Home,” which bottomed out at #91 UK – but introduced the band to the British public, and peers like the Jam, whom they supported on their farewell tour.)

As any musician can tell you, that's the beauty – and curse – of being seen as a one-hit wonder. On one hand, you're guaranteed an eternal residency in the pop cultural memory bank; on the other, you struggle to convince people that there's more to the story. Like many '80s-era bands, Big County benefited greatly from the rise of MTV. However, once the bloom fell off that rose, Big Country's Stateside profile shrank accordingly – though the band made plenty of music that was as good, or better, than their breakout LP, THE CROSSING (1983).

So what to make of the notion that Big Country are returning for their first extended American tour in 20-odd years? Well, there's no shortage of excited people; as one fan named Patricia informs me afterward, she missed the 1993 US shows, “so some of us have actually been waiting for 30 years.” On this night, the occasion is a free concert at the Hard Rock Cafe – at the Four Winds Casino – surrounded by the standard issue sea of autographed rock star guitars, picks, drum heads, and things of that nature. (The row of oversized Kiss pinball machines lined up outside is a nice touch, though – but we'll return to the setting shortly.) `

However, nothing about this night proves ordinary, as we quickly surmise from Mike Peters's surprise cameo to sing a duet (“We Are The Light”) with the opening act, Ruffin, (a Chicago-based folk-pop singer-songwriter whose own fare is well-crafted). We're then left to wait on the darkened main floor, as the ritually lengthy equipment changeover proceeds – then, gradually, a martial fife-and-guitar intro rings out for several minutes.

Bit by bit, however, a series of guitar arpeggios make themselves heard in the mix, and before you get to react, BANG! The band seamlessly launch lift off into a new song, “Return,” driven by the guitar tag team partnership of Bruce Watson, and his son, Jaime – and a punchy chorus whose sentiment (“I'll be there, I'll be there, I'll be there when you return”) is well in keeping with the Big Country ethos of faith, hope and commitment.

What's remarkable here is how revitalized the band sounds; who could have imagined a way forward, after founder-frontman Stuart Adamson's suicide in 2001? Yet that's what's happening onstage, as the Watsons effortlessly switch off lead and rhythm roles – sometimes, in the same song – without missing a beat, while the kilt-clad Derek Forbes (ex-Simple Minds) proves a more than capable successor for his departed predecessor, Tony Butler. (He even gets his own “muso-ey” interlude – in this case, a flanged bass solo that leads into “Home Of The Brave,” another notable entry from the new album, THE JOURNEY.) Drummer Mark Brzezicki, as always, pushes the proceedings along at a brisk pace.

Singer-guitarist Mike Peters is the linchpin in this effort, of course. To some degree, his band, The Alarm, trod similar territory to Big Country during the '80s, so when his name surfaced as the new frontman, the choice shouldn't have surprised anyone. His voice and stage presence suit the wide-screen imagery of songs like “Harvest Home,” or “Inwards,” which sound big and grand in this small space, as well. When not inciting massed singalongs – such as on “Look Away,” Big Country's biggest UK hit – Peters periodically bounds offstage, and sings directly to whoever's facing him. The enthusiasm that he displays is contagious, and never lets up for a moment.

On first hearing, the other new songs (“Another Country,” “Broken Promise Land,” “Last Ship Sails,” “The Journey”) seem to be harking back toward the epic era – big songs about big things – aired to such powerful effect on THE CROSSING, STEELTOWN, and WONDERLAND They fit in seamlessly alongside warhorses like “Chance,” and the hard-hitting pairing of “Wonderland”/”Fields Of Fire.” Of course, “In A Big Country” is the last song to send everybody home happily across the finish line, driven home by Brzezicki's martial thunder. (One-hit wonder or not, ignoring the song started it all is a definite in-concert no-no.)

In some ways, however, the real highlight occurs after the encore (“Last Ship Sails”/”In A Big Country”), when the band unexpectedly troops back onstage, and take turns thanking the crowd for its support. Fittingly, it's Bruce Watson who makes the most memorable comments – which focus on a certain guitar that he holds briefly aloft, for everyone to see. Then, he gives the rundown:

“Imagine my surprise – I've traveled thousands of miles, and I came to this venue, and I found this guitar. This guitar belonged to us. Stuart had it made in 1985, and used this guitar exclusively on the 'Seer' album. You may have heard this guitar on a song called 'The Teacher.' It just reminds me of happy times, and I've had a great time tonight, thank you so much.”

Time will tell how the band's chemistry progresses in the studio, but if this show is indicative of the overall tour, they're off to a flying start; hopefully, Patricia and company won't have to wait another 20 years for the next U.S. tour. Not everyone gets it, of course, for voices like Popshifter, the burning question seems to be: “But is there still a market for big, fat, meaningful rock?” Based on this outing, the answer seems to be a resounding “yes.”
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THE SENTIMENT OF THE EVENING JASON TAKES THE MIKE... THE VIEW FROM THE REAR: WAITING FOR THE BAND THE WALL OF STICKERS CHECK OUT WHO'S PLAYED HERE IN THE PAST...
JASON NEWSTED'S HOMECOMING (PLANET ROCK, BATTLE CREEK, MI, 5/15/13)
by Chairman Ralph (Words)/Don Hargraves (Photos)
Aug 10, 2013
Never let anybody convince you that the visual aspect in rock 'n' roll doesn't matter, because – in some instances – that graphic shorthand is all you have to go on, when the day of decision arrives (am I buying into this band's spiel, or not?). So it was the Clash, and Metallica, to name two bands that won me over, without even playing a note – because the look was compelling enough to catch my attention.

In Metallica's case, my attraction focused on their down-to-earth dress sense. Cliff Burton's ensemble of choice – those perennially ripped jeans and worn punk T-shirts that he's sporting in nearly every photo session made a powerful statement during the early to mid-'80s, when bands were encouraged to think of themselves as gods from another planet.

Either way, the minute I saw those images – typically, while leafing through the pages of Kerrang!, which covered Metallica extensively during its earlier days – I figured, “We're gonna get along beautifully...now it's time to buy the record.” Burton's tragic death in 1986 signaled another game-changing quest – which his successor, Jason Newsted, ably carried off over a 15-year tenure. Now, he's back with a band named after himself, aw the primary songwriter, and frontman; suffice to say, Mr. Newsted is in charge.

So, on this night, it's only appropriate that Newsted's Battle Creek hoecoming takes place at Planet Rock – whose stated capacity (335) puts the “mini” back in mini-bar! All jokes apart, however, it's an ideal setting to see someone of Newsted's stature...sweaty, thunderous 'n' unrelenting , and only a matter of inches from your face.

Jason and his merry men – Jesse Farnsworth (guitar), Mike Mushok (guitar, formerly of Staind) and Jesus Mendez Jr. (drums) – respond with 75 minutes of meat-and-potatoes old school metal of the kind that doesn't get airplay, but never fails to inspire frenetic air guitar flourishes. The sounds being cranked out here may not be trendy, but if you're not whipping your head around like everybody else, you're the odd one out here, got that?

A good snapshot of this approach makes itself felt on the night's third song, “Soldierhead,” a graphic account of warfare from the soldier's point of view (“ Never quite ready/It just becomes your turn/Every time steady/No more light to burn”), and one of the standouts from the METAL EP. It's fast, brutal and to the point, driven home by Mushok's peerless lead work, and Mendez's churning double bass drums (as Newsted notes, later in the show: “You can't go wrong without Jesus on the drums back here!”)

If you're thinking, “Black Sabbath and Judas Priest pick up all your favorite obscure New Wave of Heavy Metal combos for a drink, and take 'em for a chat,” you'll know what's happening musically on METAL, and Newsted's debut album, HEAVY METAL – to which the bulk of tonight's show is dedicated.

As far as the newer material goes, the standouts include “As The Crow Flies” – a midtempo cruncher that wouldn't sound out of place on MASTER OF PUPPETS, or AND JUSTICE FOR ALL – and “Long Time Dead,” whose punchy chorus recalls the tragedy that propelled Newsted towards his destiny (“Live while you're living. because you're a long time dead!”). Other new songs, such as “Godsnake,” and “Nocturnus,” carry more of a slow-burning doom metal vibe.

Like many smart musicians, Newsted knows that intensity doesn't come from tempo alone, but any number of contributing factors, such as the overall vibe of the song. The latter quality rings loud and clear on “Skyscraper” – whose martial tempo offers a thrash metal summary of the human condition (“As the giant chokes in the mud/Ashen street soaks up the blood/Disappears, it never was/Wheel spinning, just as it does”).

For all the seriousness of the subject matter, and the dark, churning drive of his band, Newsted is a surprisingly casual. As a frontman, he seems relaxed, happy, and in his element, whether he's recalling former triumphs (“last time I played in Battle Creek, we set the attendance record in Kellogg Arena...it's just good to come home”), or dedicating “King Of The Underdogs” to his sister (“ it's a lot to ask of you, to come and listen to a lot of new music, and enjoy it with us like this, give us positive vibes back...I really appreciate that, I really fuckin' do!”).

One measure of Newsted's confidence is the lack of reference to his former band. Other than a brief foray through “Creeping Death,” the only nod to the past comes late in the show, when Newsted slyly introduces “Whiplash” by saying, “I didn't write this one, but I did bring it some life over its life.” The crowd's clearly caught off guard, at first (“Wow, dude, he played somethin' from KILL 'EM ALL? No way!”), but the hammerhead tempo quickly gets arms and heads flailing in unison.

The casual mood continues with the first encore of “Spider Biter,” and “Skyscraper,” which finds Newsted switching to guitar. “This one's got a couple extra strings on it – don't worry, I only use the little ones, anyway,” Newted cracks. However, not even the crisp, no-nonsense aura of this song is enough to satisfy everyone, so the band comes back out again, to deliver “one more for my good friends,” as Newsted puts it – “We Are The Road Crew,” Motorhead's classic ode to the touring life.

“I've been playing this song for a lot of years, man...I used to do it in every band, I think,” Newsted notes, but however many times he's done it, there's no denying the ferocity on display, as the band barrels through a clenched-fist delivery that leaves nothing to the imagination. By the fall, Newsted should have 70-80 shows under its belt; with a band this strong, it's tempting to think how much sharper – and tighter – they'll sound.

As Newsted has acknowledged, he wouldn't have gained the freedom to explore his current path without his Metallica experience – but, unlike many former members of big league bands, he already seems to have worked out how to establish his own identity, without the “ex-this/that” suffix dogging his name. Like the old saying goes...here's looking at you, kid.
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...but Ian remembered that Hammersmith Odeon show, which was the last time that I saw him.  And he thanked me for writing that major GOLDMINE retrospective about Mick Ronson, which came out that same year he died (1994).  It felt good mentioning, in person, that I&#39;d written that story -- still one of my favorite pieces that I&#39;ve ever done. If I recall correctly, we had a lot of blue lighting to work with that night, as Don went click-clicking on his iPhone... ...and the same story&#39;s true here, as well, but hey, we&#39;ll just it a &#34;punk rock art&#34; photo, and call it a day! One of the better action shots from this show, although that glossy City Winery sign was a bit of a pain (from a photo perspective) Guitarist Mark Bosch (left) prepares to put his John Hancock down on the inner sleeve booklet of my newly-purchased copy of the latest CD, WHEN I&#39;M PRESIDENT. This photo was part of the after-gig action, as well -- then Steve (left) signed my CD. It&#39;s amazing to think that he played arenas with Wings, and here, you could walk right up and talk to him -- but he&#39;s a great guy, and a gentleman, like all the fellows in the band.  Thanks, Steve, for the autograph and picture! And here&#39;s one more shot from that after-gig conversation, in which Ian (left) mentioned his current favorite reading matter -- a book on Redd Foxx (I&#39;m assuming that he means the recent bio, BLACK + BLUE: THE RED FOXX STORY).  Earlier that day, he did a CD signing at Planet Of Sound (Chicago, IL), which I didn&#39;t make, but he had to leave, &#34;because they ran out of CDs,&#34; one Hunter diehard told me -- to which I replied, &#34;A nice problem to have, given the state of this economy...but good to hear.&#34;
JUST ANOTHER NIGHT WITH IAN HUNTER (CITY WINERY, CHICAGO, IL, 9/29/12)
by Chairman Ralph (Words)/Don Hargraves (Photos)
Jan 28, 2013
Don and I hadn't been sitting long at our table, when the gentleman across from us asked: “You think he'll do 'Boy'?”

“I don't know,” I shrugged. “It's almost eight minutes long, and there's plenty of lyrics involved...we'll just have to see, I guess.”

As it happened, we didn't get “Boy,” but it wasn't an issue – when you're Ian Hunter, your box of tricks doesn't know any limits. With seven albums from his former band (Mott The Hoople) to consider, plus 20 solo efforts, there's definitely plenty of room to do some cherry-picking.

Then again, being spoiled for choice is a nice problem to have. Unlike many artists from his era, Hunter never got the chance to gather moss on classic rock radio – the odd chart-topper aside, like “All The Good Ones Are Taken” – and, therefore, doomed to having his career reduced to those Handfuls of Hits that they'll never stop hammering through the ground.

While many of his peers are struggling to plug the nostalgia gap – as the wiseguy line goes, new albums are just souvenirs for the inevitable comeback tour – Hunter feels confident enough to air eight of the 11 songs from his latest album, When I'm President, sprinkling them evenly among the obvious (“Once Bitten, Twice Shy,” “All The Way From Memphis”) and less obvious (“The Moon Upstairs”) touchstones that have defined his career.

The opening one-two punch of “Comfortable (Flying Scotsman)” and “Once Bitten” set the tone for what was to follow – two hours of unapologetic, no-frills rock 'n' roll, ably driven home by his long-standing all-star combo, the Rant Band. Guitarist Mark Bosch played with economy and flair, providing the right textures that each song required, while multi-instrumentalist James Mastro bounded from guitar, to mandolin and back again – and Steve Holley, the former Wings drummer, rode shotgun on the backbeat. (The whole band worked together quite well, actually; these were just the folks who stood out, to these ears.)

With such distinctive players, it's hard to put a foot wrong, but there'd be something missing without the unflinching emotional directness of Hunter's lyrics – which is one reason why those of us who've followed the man for this long continue to revisit them. One of the most obvious examples came about halfway through the show, with “Michael Picasso,” Hunter's tribute to his late guitar partner, Mick Ronson, who died in April 1994.

The song's opening lines (“How can I put into words, what my heart feels/It's the deepest thing/When somebody you love dies”) cut to the heart of what it's like to experience such sorrow and loss. As “Michael Picasso” wound down, scattered voices in the crowd shouted about how much they missed Ronson – to which Hunter responded, simply:“We still do.” Those who saw him – as I did in early '90, at London's then-Hammersmith Odeon – have never forgotten the man's impact.

But that was just one high point among many. The show rocketed up a notch when Hunter moved to the piano, which he pounded as his life depended on it through rousing back-to-back versions of “All The Way From Memphis,” and “All-American Alien Boy,” plus a searing, slow-burning romp through “Isolation” (John Lennon) – one of two covers on this occasion, besides the ever-statutory “Sweet Jane,” but a welcome surprise, all the same, and a good showcase for Hunter's raw, world-weary vocal style.

“When I'm President” sounded punchy and self-assured, propelled by a bristling, Stone-ish guitar attack, and a chugging keyboard figure that owes a little debt to the Who's “Won't Get Fooled Again” (at least, to these ears – ask me again in a couple of months). Given the paralysis that's gripped Capitol Hill in recent years, the lyrics may remain true to life for some time to come, but we'll stay tuned (“You hold those truths to be self-evident/When you become president/'Cause something happens to you up on the hill/It's business as usual/How do you want to buck the system?/Welcome to the Pit and the Pendulum”)/.

The show ended with a roughly 15-minute medley that wound through the lesser-heard pastures of Mottdom (“Roll Away The Stone,” “Saturday Gigs”), followed by “Life,” a gem that closes the new album (“Hope your time was as good as mine, you're such a beautiful sight/I can't believe, after all of these years, you're still here and I'm still here/Laugh because it's only life”), and then, the band sprinted across the finish line, with “All The Young Dudes” (as often as this number turns up, does he sing it in the shower?).

Not one for resting on his laurels, Hunter never sounded more relaxed and confident than he did here, hammering his guitar for dear life on this summit of the old and the new, as the crowd sang along with gusto. All in all, a perfect ending to a perfect night, one that passed fast and furious with nary a word from the man – except for a sly joke, just before he launched the encore: “That's the trouble with being good...you've got to come back.”

By all means, Ian, please do – with outings like these, you're welcome any time.
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PAUL "GENERAL" DAVIES (LEFT) + FRED HULCE STEVE BLEVINS L-R: RON HAMRICK, DAVE WALENGA, STEVE BLEVINS DAVE WALENGA BEHIND THE KIT THE SCENE DURING THE LAST NUMBER, "ROCK & ROLL WITH ME" TONIGHT'S SETLIST... ...AND TONIGHT'S SOUND ENGINEER, ASHLEY HAMRICK
THE SIXTH GENERATION RETURN TO ST. JOE (8/31/12)
Oct 31, 2012
The end of August invites the onset of darkness just a little bit earlier – in this case, around 8:30 p.m. On this Friday at the John E.N. Howard Bandshell, it's not hard to feel summer's presence trying to stick around against the odds, amid temperatures that hovered all day throughout the mid- to late 80s.

The Sixth Generation's members busy themselves with the routine of tearing down – rolling amplifiers, keyboards and miscellaneous equipment to a truck and trailer that waits nearby, on Port Street. Fans stand in clusters, waiting for some face time with this legendary Berrien County band – who reunited in 2010, after 40 years apart.

The band have just finished a rousing, hour-long set for a packed crowd that mixes well-known '60s nuggets (“I Saw Her Standing There,” “Proud Mary,” “You Really Got Me”) less obvious fare (“Expressway,” “Love Potion No. 9”), and a handful of originals (“Glad I Didn't Die Before I Got Old,” “Rock 'N' Roll Me,” “That Was The Time”) that suggest another chapter waiting to be written.

From keyboardist Ken Hamrick's perspective, the new CD, THAT WAS, THIS IS – which will be released locally on October 13, at the band's CD release party at Orchard Hills Country Club, in Niles – offers the ideal chance to tell a different story. “We've had a lot of articles about our history, the whole 40-year hiatus – but we haven't really had anything from the perspective of our music,” Hamrick says. “Obviously, we have a lot of Baby Boomers, but also notice that the music is also enjoyed by teens, young adults, twenty something and little kids. We had some folks up here in their eighties.”

Singer Fred (“J.J.” or, “Jumpin' Jack Flash”) Bachman – who still lives in Michigan, with bassist Paul “General” Davies, and keyboardist Fred Hulce – seconds that emotion with quiet confidence, saying, “We have a lot to write about, because we have all these life experiences.” (Hamrick, drummer Dave Walenga and guitarist-saxophonist Steve Blevins live in Maryland and Virginia.)

A hallmark of that approach is “That Was The Time,” which Hamrick sees as the beginning of an untapped genre in “Boomer Music.” The title is a direct nod to “This Is The Time,” which Hamrick and Bachman co-wrote in 1967 – and, until now, remained the band's sole recorded original. “When we got back together a couple years ago, I decided it would be really nice to have a song about us,” Hamrick says. “It's basically autobiographical, but I didn't want it to be just about us. Any Baby Boomer can identify with the lyrics.”

For Bachman, his former band's return puts an exclamation mark on a story interrupted in 1970 – when real life just couldn't be fended off any longer, and everyone had to go their separate ways, after coming close to breaking out nationally. “We're probably one in a million bands out there, but we are not one in a million '60s bands. There aren't many people who are gonna write in our style, or the words that we write – so that takes us a little bit out of the crowd,” he says.

Guitarist-saxophonist Steve Blevins agrees. He replaced original founder John Dale, who retired last fall, after the initial reunion activities. “In a way, it's a good time for this sort of band,” Blevins observes. “People can look at it ['60s music] again, see it in a different perspective, or be nostalgic about it, if they like. We're getting a lot of response from younger kids, too.”

There were numerous signs of that phenemonon on this particular night, which unfolded to a packed crowd stretched as far as the eye could see in the curved, bowl-like area of the Bandshell.

At certain points -- such as during "Rock 'N' Roll With Me" -- an all-ages conga line broke out, with no other agenda beyond surrendering to the beat, and losing themselves in the sound as they clapped their enthusiasm aloud.


“What We Been Waiting For?”
Once they separated, the Sixth Generation's members kept music in their lives to varying degrees. Davies, who still lives in Niles, would periodically take out the bass – minus the amplifier that he didn't have anymore – to see what kinds of sounds he wanted to make.

Bachman – who grew up in Niles, the home of yet another '60s favorite son, in Tommy James – manage to blend music and teaching without missing the proverbial beat. “In fact, always played the guitar for the kids,” he recalls, laughing. “We had our own songs that we wrote. Music's always been a part of my life. It's in me. I can't not do this.”

Even so, nobody could have seen reforming on the back of a conversation between Davies and Walenga.

“Dave and I kept close over the years, because he still had family in Niles, and he was there fairly often,” Davies recalls. “One day, we were shooting the breeze about the good old days, and my daughter said: 'Well, why don't you guys get the band back together?' Whoever heard of such a thing?”

Once the word went out, nobody waited to answer the call. “I said, 'What we been waiting for?' Literally, that was the first words out of my mouth,” Hamrick says. “All of us, to the man, were in it all the way.”

Bachman looked forward to finding a new creative outlet – having written numerous songs over the years, “and sending them to different people,” he recalls. “I had a decent amount of attention, but never got a hit to anybody that was able to do it.”

“That's the thing that I'm actually having the most fun with, discovering that I'm a songwriter,” agrees Hulce, who has already co-written five tunes with Bachman. “I'd always noodled around on the piano. Part of that is just that the technology is so much better now. If I get an idea, I can just hit a button on the synthesizer, and it's not lost. Back in the day, we were hauling around a 450-pound Hammond organ.”


“Still – There Was Something There”
Since their return, the Sixth Generation have gotten plenty of reminders – as if they needed them – that other people are interested, too. For this particular night – which closed out St. Joseph Today's summer concert series – a circle of longtime fans made the trip out from Marcellus, and Niles.

Another sign came at the first full band rehearsal, in South Bend, as Davies remembers. “Nobody was supposed to be there, 'cause it was our first time getting together – there were about 25 people!” he laughs. “I don't know how they found out about it, but they were there. They said, 'Well, you guys are not bad...' Obviously, it was rusty, but still – there was something there.”

Blevins joined after reading a Craigslist ad entitled, “'60s Music,” and figured his ship had finally come in. Four years ago, Blevins moved from New York to Maryland, but had only played in three bands. “I wrote and said, 'I think the '60s was the most creative decade in pop music.' They were inventing it as they went along, really,” he says.

The first rehearsals with Hamrick and Walenga proved “a little frightening, because I stood out a lot more, and made a hell a lot of mistakes,” Blevins smiles. “But we practiced in Ron's house, in Virginia, and they said, 'Yeah, why don't you come back?' I said, 'What?' I wasn't expecting that.”

After a few full band rehearsals, Blevins felt surer about his contributions, and the potential that lies ahead. “They're some of the best musicians I've ever played with, maybe the best, as a group,” Blevins declares. “The original tunes that I've heard are damn good. Ron, Dave, J.J. and Fred Hulce are writing all the time. I'm hoping that I can get a tune or two of mine in. We'll see how it goes.”


“This Is A Golden Opportunity”
Walenga, who's focused himself until now on packing away the remains of his drumkit, stops to interject with a joke: “I don't know if he told you about the practices, but they're insane! We'll start at 10 in the morning, and get done by six o'clock at night.”

Blevins returns the punchline. “That's one that bugs me – these guys like to get up real early: 'What the hell is this?'” he laughs.

“Dave and I are up in the morning,” Hamrick nods. “We're probably texting by seven, seven-thirty in the morning – [having] had five cups of coffee by then.”

“People hate morning people, because we're just as good at night as in the morning,” Walenga jokes. “We just keep on a roll, we're like the Energizer bunnies.”

As far as what happens next, nobody's getting into the Muhammad Ali-style prediction business tonight – but, suffice to say, the creative energy has been buzzing sufficiently to generate material for a second CD. What started as a chance to reignite the old camaraderie has grown into a determination not to rest on any laurels – why think about coasting now, when there's so many more worlds left to conquer?

By Walenga's reckoning, the band hadn't even seen St. Joseph's confines in almost 45 years, after faring well in a “Battle Of The Bands” competition at the old Shadowland Ballroom – which now lives and breathes again, only a stone's throw from Silver Beach County Park, in an impressively refurbished white building of its own.

Obviously, with band members living in two major regions, some logistical compromises are necessary, but anything else is fair game, to Hamrick: “We want to take this thing as far as we can take it. I am a CEO of a corporation, so I have a lot of background in how to run a business. We are promoting ourselves everywhere we can.”

“Of course, we'd like to play to more and more people, have people enjoy our music,” Bachman agrees. “But, you know, money isn't the object. It never was. It was the people. Do we enjoy it? Are they enjoying it? That's as good as it gets, because the money means absolutely nothing.”

As far as Hulce is concerned, the strength of those long-standing ties helped the band pick up from where it last left off, so long ago – and why he's eager to see what happens next.

“We really came to conclude afterwards that we'd all been waiting for that phone call for 40 years,” he laughs.

“I think we all had pretty much the same idea: 'This is a golden opportunity we've been handed. Let's not squander it,'” Davies agrees. “Things haven't changed in 40 years...it's been very enjoyable.”

The Sixth Generation celebrated its new CD on October 13 with a release party at Orchard Hills Country Club, in Niles, MI. For further details (and future shows), visit: www.thesixthgeneration.com.
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