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Five Man Trio, the quartet (yeah) comprised of Bay Area luminaries Brian Merrill (Barely Pink), Andy Feldman (Hourglass Garden), Mike Hammer (Hourglass Garden), and Bob Massicotte (Elston Gunnn), played their local debut show at the Neptune Lounge this past Saturday. Had I been there, I might tell you that they melded catchy alt-pop with old school power chordage and a touch of Floyd-esque psychedelia with considerable aplomb. Of course, I wasn’t, but I’m sure that’s exactly what happened. You may remember that these four gentlemen originally convened for the purpose of contributing tracks to an upcoming Who tribute disc, one based upon the legendary Britrawk mavens’ The Who Sell Out concept LP. It seems the chemistry was right, and after a one-off appearance at Gainesville’s Florida Theater, the foursome decided to make a go of the side project. They’re currently at New Port Richey’s Adelaide Loop Studios, working on a debut full-length for release early next spring. Look for additional shows in the near future, should be interesting. www.fivemantrio.com
…while 5MT was in all likelihood thrilling the throng at Neptune’s, I was down at Sarasota’s Monterey Deli, checking out a band from south of the Skyway called Screwface. They’re a four-piece who successfully mash punk, grease-rock, Motorhead-style pummel and just a touch of Southern-fried redneck charm into some surprisingly melodic songs. It’s pretty good shit. Coincidentally enough, the ‘face has a Neptune Lounge show coming up in November; those of you into stuff like The Gotohells and Loose Ends might do well to make the trip…speaking of The Gotohells, word has it that their recently completed disc, tentatively titled Rock N’ Roll America (their second for Vagrant), quite simply rules. Release is slated for January…and speaking of Loose Ends, they’ve got a couple of good St. Pete shows coming up, one at Goldstar (formerly The Tamiami) this Friday, October 27 with Thunder Bay Rockers and The Standing Shadows, and another at The State on November 4 – the rarely-spotted Jackie Papers will headline that one, and Orlando’s Evidents (featuring former members of The Hate Bombs), will be in attendance as well…Club More will celebrate its third anniversary on Friday, November 3, and Saturday the 4th, with a couple of stellar bills featuring The Hazies, Harry Dash, and The Gita on Friday, and The Beauvilles and insurgent country legends The Silos the next evening. Expect energetic, high-quality sets, cold, high-quality beer, and many slurred, dubious tales about what may or may not have happened there over the last three years (mine involves a purloined jug of wine, a surly staff member, and lots of running and hiding). Congratulations to Flash and company, and thanks for providing a great venue for local original music…The Beauvilles have sold out of the excellent, smart, slightly jangled 3-song EP Virginity. We swear, guys, a review’s coming soon. But fret not, because more are on order. Sample streaming audio and get in touch for bookings through www.thebeauvilles.com …The Gita has also snagged the opening slot for Aussie four-hit wonders Men At Work at Jannus Landing this Sunday, October 29… Orlando-by-way-of-Gainesville grit-pop outfit Slack Season was forced to push back the release of their new CDEP, Highway Firecracker, for a couple of weeks, but at press time the disc was thought to be available as of last Tuesday, October 24. It’s available through direct mail order from the band’s site, www.slackseason.com , but you might want to wait a couple of days because the quartet is currently in the midst of an east coast tour that will include appearances in Athens, NYC, Philly, and Hoboken (?), among others. For some reason, they haven’t appeared around here in awhile – the closest dates are back in O-town, one at Will’s Pub on Friday, October 27, and the obligatory CD release extravamaganza at The Sapphire Supper Club on November 10. They’re definitely worth the trip, though…hey, Halloween is scary again! Death metal misanthropes Deicide will fill The State with evil, grindage, growls, and (more than likely) several pounds of meat and innards on Tuesday, October 31. At press time, the support slate had not been announced, though Gorguts have been mentioned. Don’t worry, there will be at least three bands with singers who sound like the Cookie Monster on hand for your unholy edification…of course, if you hold true to an entirely different idea of fright, don’t forget about Prom-O-Ween at Budious Maximus, where McCord will spin all those great synthed-out heartbreak tunes from the Eighties while everyone scampers around dressed like Ducky from Pretty In Pink…even more terrifying is the knowledge that another Guavaween is upon us. Personally, the idea of thousands upon thousands of common sense-impaired bingers set loose upon the streets of Ybor City in search of things to drink, punch, and nail kind of makes Universal’s Jack the Killer Clown look like Raggedy Andy, you know? It gives decadence a bad name. We don’t know exactly what the Bay area’s radio stations have in store as far as entertainment goes, but given the formats, we’re pretty sure it’s not, you know, very good. Head on over to Orpheum and check out Greed Engine, Mr. Bella, and Ten Second Drop for a measly buck, brave the current for Crossbreed, and Neurotica’s annual early set on the 98Rock stage, and then get the hell out of there. I don’t know, hole up at The Hub or Tiny Tap and wait for your friends to arrive with ribald stories of cracked skulls and gunfire… taking into account our rigid publishing schedule and crack distribution team, you’re probably reading this just a little too late to make it to last night’s ultra-hip Pedro The Lion/Death Cab For Cutie gig at Orpheum. We’re not worried. You were there. Anyway, at least we’re in time to inform you of this Sunday’s Isotope 217 gig, which features members of Tortoise, 5ive Style, Chicago Underground Duo, and other envelope-shredding ensembles, brought to you by WBUL and aestheticized. Eight bucks, all ages, nine p.m. at Orpheum. Oh, and don’t forget about The Waxwings and Thinking Day Rally on November 2, or The Slackers on November 4…Jack Spatafora’s upcoming New World Brewery shows include electronic weirdness from German sound scientists Phonem and San Francisco’s Safety Scissors on October 30, and El Secondhand and The Tim Version on November 5…In other WMNF-related news, National Public Radio (NPR) shocked a bunch of pirate radio pundits last week when it officially sided with the National Association of Broadcasters in opposition to opening up the FM radio band for low-power neighborhood stations, in effect endorsing the FCC’s corporate lobby-funded stranglehold on America’s airwaves. While NPR claims that localized ‘free radio’ transmissions may interfere with its humanitarian broadcast services (such as reading to the blind via radio), the FCC itself has already addressed the technical and procedural aspects of this issue, and believes that it wouldn’t be a problem. HMMMMM. Wonder how much of NPR’s funding comes from where…the following cryptic transmission came in from Dawnzig: “Hey all ya’ll in bandland, if you’re not playing and don’t have plans on Friday, October 27 there’s an interesting happening developing in our little locale. A “rock and rave”, so to speak. Built up on a field, through the trees and into the woods, but it’s not grandma’s house. A stage, a haunted trail, and DJ booths in trees, not to mention a makeshift cemetery, homemade rides, larger-than-life spider webs and lots o’ florescent and blacklight-able Halloween art ‘n aliens. Not even a street address but, it’s on the north side of 41, catty-corner to Outerlimits in Bradenton, behind the Citgo (just before IHOP) on the dirt path. Starting at 6 p.m., five bands will play on the main stage, in this order: Sledge Wound, Sudden Death, Glue 252, Struggle, and Tao; DJs start spinning at 6 p.m. too, in the haunted cottage and tree stand, in order: Zan, Haze, Johnny Rockstar, Madam Butterfly, Spliff, Yoshi, Gabe Fu, Kris Stylz, Legend, Mission, Simple, supposedly Mojo, and a bunch more who’ll take over the main stage, when the bands are done and go until whenever. 18 and up, must have ID, $10 minimum donation.” Excellent… Sir Millard Mulch and some guy named Harold will play an acoustic set at Sarasota’s Brownstone Sandwich Shop (510 Central, downtown) this Saturday, October 28, beginning around 9 p.m. This gig will be recorded for possible inclusion in an upcoming Brownstone compilation disc; it really depends on how confused and angry SMM makes the crowd, and their degree of retaliation. And, on that note, we are proud to announce -
SIR MILLARD MULCH POLISH-AMERICAN BOWLING ASSOCIATION WINTER TOUR 2000
12/15/00 Dotties St. Pete, GA
12/16/00 St. Pete, GA
12/17/00 Birmingham, AL
12/18/00 Mermaid Lounge New Orleans, LA
12/19/00 Dallas, TX
12/20/00 The Starlight Fort Collins, CO
12/23/00 Midvale, Utah
12/24/00 San Francisco, CA
I’ve been to the Mermaid Lounge, and am breathlessly awaiting the video… Boney Fiend has parted ways with More Better Promotions. Their press release is fairly telling – “now we start the task of attempting to repair relations with the bands and venues in our little scene”. The band will celebrate Halloween at Keegan’s Clubhouse in Sarasota, where mayhem of the beer-soaked ‘Monster Mash’ variety will undoubtedly ensue. Oh, and there’s a costume contest, as well, so dig that eight-foot plaster phallus out of your parents’ garage, and commence hollowing… On November 11, Club More will host a benefit for The Lisa McPherson Trust. The organization exists, as far as we can gather, to debunk Scientology by exposing those aspects of the ‘religion’ which allegedly violate its members’ civil rights in general and federal law in particular, and to help those who wish to leave the fold do so safely. Several of its board members are former Scientologists themselves, and the group claims to be the victim of constant harassment by the ‘religion’, which, of course, claims to be the victim of constant harassment by The Lisa McPherson Trust. Lisa McPherson, you may remember, died at Clearwater’s Fort Harrison Hotel in 1996 after 17 days of what Scientology called “seclusion”, and almost everybody else called “being held against her will”. The evening will be hosted by poet Jamie Kennedy, great-grandson of L. Ron Hubbard as well as an outspoken and highly visible critic of Scientology. In addition to guest speakers, cult experts and video presentations, entertainment will be provided by The Hazies, Crizzy & The Punx, Fornikulture, Low2theleft, Undecided, Wicker God, Trocar, Shiver, The Outpatients, Boney Fiend, The Gotohells, and ACK Records’ Tranceboy. For more information, please visit the Trust’s website at www.lisatrust.net …Shiver will host their CD Release Party this Friday, October 27, at The State. I forgot to ask what the new disc is called, and they forgot to tell me. It just kind of slipped by, you know? Anyway, Low2theleft, Strict-9, and Dreadknot will also perform. Doors open at 7:30, and the cover’s five bones…Who says liquor only does bad things to musicians? Jim Beam recently awarded Bay area outfit Undecided a $2,700 grant, as part of their B.E.A.M. (Benefiting Emerging Artists in Music) program. An additional perk comes in the form of Smithereens singer/songwriter Pat DiNizio, who serves as chairman of the B.E.A.M. advisory board, and will lend advice to Undecided and other beneficiaries, at least until he gets tired of answering the phone at 3 a.m. to talk about what the knob marked ‘Presence’ is for. Those folks at Jim Beam are pretty canny; by funding musicians, they know they’re sure to recoup a considerable chunk of their investment by way of sales…The Ringling School of Art in Sarasota will host its annual Oompa Loompa outdoor festival/concert on November 4. Swallowed, The Strangeways, Punchline and Zoot are scheduled to appear…The Spoils dropped us a line requesting that we thank Seminole Music, Baby Boomerz, Mob Boyz Productions and everybody else involved with Seminole Music’s recent Showcase 2000. The band copped awards for Best Vocalist (Kole Kruger), Best Guitarist (Mike Norcia), and Best Bassist (Brent Baker), and an overall prize in the open division…The Women Musician’s Alliance will hold the next installment of their Shifting Sands Concert Series on November 4 in the Fellowship Hall of Woodlawn Presbyterian Church (2612 12th Street North, St. Pete). Things kick off at 7, with Ally Smith and Cyd Ward providing the tuneage. Call Donna at 727.895.2316 or email wma@inklein.com for information and reservations…also on the benefit tip, that whole dealie which kept one or two of the usual dimwits scrolled off of the coffeestain.com message board for a couple of days is shaping up to be a reality. Rock For Research will be held at The State on December 2, to benefit several local and national diabetes education and research foundations. Puddin’ Hogs, Mr Bella, Cocktail Honeys, Closure, Flat Stanley, Low2theleft, E3, Lo, and The Beauvilles will perform; while not all of the artists who expressed an interest and showed up for the meetings could be accommodated with a slot (one night, one stage, there’s not a whole hell of a lot that could be done), this is shaping up to look like the first of a series, so hopefully everyone will get a chance to play at some point. However, all of you who wanted to get in on things are still encouraged to submit a song for the accompanying compilation CD. More on this as it develops… Resin were the victims of a malicious, but admittedly amusing, prank last week. It seems that they forgot to blind carbon copy their mailing list a while back, and some devious bastard recently sent out a missive announcing the band’s breakup. Not so. You can usually catch ‘em at least once a month down at the Emerald on Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete…while waiting for Theologian Records to get around to putting out their split CD with Down By Law, the gentlemen in Pseudo Heroes began messing around with some new demos. They’re now about two-thirds of the way done with a full-length disc, and the split hasn’t even come out yet. It’s expected soon, though, and the upside is that after you’ve become addicted to their hooky, iconoclastic more-than-punk, you won’t have to wait as long for new material…all-femme rock trio Honey, who themselves have been the subject of much coffeestain.com conjecture and cyber-leering, are heading into Polysound Studios early next month to work up a four-song EP; mp3’s will be available at www.honeyrocks.com as things progress…Grin recently laid down about two hours of live-to-tape material at Polysound, but don’t go looking for a release just yet – the band plans to use the good stuff for promotional purposes only, for the time being…Polysound will be handling the mastering duties for the Rock For Research comp, so send your unmastered trackage (wav, SDII, AIFF, DAT, or CD, please) to:
Polysound Studios
210 Ridgewood Avenue
Brandon, FL 33510
Avoid your annual Guavaween beating by heading over to Gasoline Alley on October 28 to check out Harry Dash, Cling, and SMO…The Flapcats will spend a little time in self-induced exile, as guitarist/singer Michael Burger recovers from hand surgery. Look for the ‘cats to get back to it before November’s end. www.flapcats.com …more news from the Seminole Music Showcase 2000 front – Chrome Yellow (the band, not the makeup) took top honors in both the Outstanding Performance and Best Guitar categories…the recently-abbreviated Chase Theory hasn’t slowed down a bit since becoming a trio; the band will be at The Lost Kangaroo in Bradenton on October 29, Barbarella’s in Orlando with the amazing My Hotel Year on November 3, and The State in St. Pete with Cocktail Honeys, Crizzy & The Punx, and E3 on November 11. They’ll return to O-town on November 18 for another show with My Hotel Year, who will still be amazing, at The Kit Kat Klub…good shit just seems to happen to Bobby DeVito. It makes you feel good for him, but at the same time, it kind of makes you want to hit him in the face with a shovel, too. Since heading west, making his way to a songwriting retreat in Northern California, he has been filmed for a Levi’s commercial, performing a little ditty he wrote for ‘em. He was filmed for a documentary on street performers. He was tipped by Parker Posey and Shannon Tweed while playing in Santa Monica; Madonna stopped to listen, but couldn’t be bothered to lay out some change. He also had some writing sessions with the former bassist for Alice In Chains, but claims he was deterred by the musician’s heroin use. What did you do? You sat at home, in your tighty whiteys, and posted something derogatory about Boulder Village at coffeestain.com… Jerry Outlaw and his band of similarly-crazed musical cohorts will once again descend upon Jannus Landing for yet another installment of Zappaween. Napoleon Murphy Brock will again join forces with Bogus Pomp. Somebody will win a brand new guitar. Nobody will grab either side of your face and go “whoooooooooooooooooo!”. This will be The Pomp’s last performance this year, so attendance is mandatory. The gates open at 7, and tix are fifteen bucks…Book of Shadows is no more. What’s more, they vehemently deny the breakup is because some Hollywood suits lifted their name for the Blair Witch sequel. The last BoS gig was October 14 at The Mug, so you die-hards have already cried yourselves out, I’m sure, but the band would like to thank everyone who supported ‘em during their all-too-brief run. Best of luck in future endeavors, kids.( If you look closely in the club listings you might see BOS listed for a Pirate Radio thingy in November)
Weakfish@compuserve.com
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