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High Falutin’
Well boys and girls, this special holiday/season finale of Focus wouldn’t be complete without the what went on, what went wrong commentary of Taffy and Cotton (we’ve even broken it down into easy to follow categories for your reading enjoyment).
So here you are...
#1-”Scenesters”:
Ok, first of all what the hell happened to James No Loves? Even his wacky friend from Clearwater was asking about him at the Fishbone concert. Truth is we just don’t know - every once in a while somebody will mention that they’re starting a band with him but we haven’t seen him out in forever. Then there’s the downfall of Tommy 69’s Nofoes productions - he peaked at his Jannus Landing birthday party in July, now we only see him tending bar there. The Treasure Island Fun Center guy wasn’t in the news as much this year, but his column is still going strong - and look out, he’ll be on TV soon. On the bright side, Professor Pyramid got an award from the Weekly Planet and was hot and heavy at new wave dance night. Miss Amy Payne never slowed down this year; despite breaking her foot and almost dying in a fire, she was crowned King of Prom-o-Ween (her better half Evil Jackie was queen) and best female Karoake singer. You go Girl! Rudy (LMS promotions) broke out of his “haze”, switched to alcohol and is fun again. We can even look forward to some LMS shows. Our favorite bartendress and personality Kim Dicce quit her day job, so she could have pink hair, no, really so she could manage the Orpheum and get shit straight at the State Theatre while Dave H. buys beat up old stereos off of e-bay. She worked hard through a lot of personal crisis. Keep on truckin’ lil’ Kim. The Vitale Brothers helped merge the music and art scenes with their hyperactive series. Those were some wacked-out shows. Oh and one last thing, Pete Delong no longer has an ad in “musicians wanted” he found some suckers to join his new project.
#2- “Clubs”:
R.I.P- Voodoo Lounge/Utopia - don’t hold your breath waiting for something cool to open there. Lightpainter Gallery - Sarasota just wasn’t ready for it. Don’t feel bad John, that town is nothing but Jaguars and puff paint shirts, you’d have to open a gallery with condo art and smooth jazz to make a living. Resurrected - Budious Maximus, thank god for the new partners and new wave night. The Refuge which persevered through all that crap with the city, and despite having to move to a much smaller location keeps on rockin’ and spreading the word. The infamous old Big Catch was torn down, but they seem to be doing better up the road. The Tamiami got an overhaul and a new name. Yes Jack, we love the bathrooms, but you gotta have something going on there besides techno. We’ve given up on your new wave night, at this point we’d settle for heavy metal night but we heard Tuesday night fight club is a big contender. And finally, after the sucess of the Star Booty Christmas party last year the Emerald transformed itself from a sleepy old man bar to a viable venue for bands. Thank you George. Remains the same - The trusty State Theatre rocked out (‘member Hank III , Supagroup and the Get Up Kids), had some lulls, and is rumored to be getting a couple of pool tables (not from e-bay we hope). The Camel Club found it’s groove with the techno crowd and the pharmacy at 1901 is still alive and kickin’, go figure. Then, of course, there’s Mastry’s where everyone still knows your name and the drinks rock.
#3- “Bands”:
Up for a “Where are they Now” special - Gunburner, The Scams, Leonard Croon Band, Spacious International, and the Amputees
Still rockin’ like Dokken - Loose Ends and Car Bomb Driver (once again our personal favorites), Blue Flame Combo (with label interest ), the Gotohells (and their new side project Sloe Head featuring the world famous Evil Don), Mike Whittaker and his new thang Thunder City Rockers, Slow Belly, the worst punk band on earth, For Your Girlfriend steadily building a hardcore following, Cocktail Honeys, Mojo Gurus, they’ll outlast everybody, Sparky’s Nightmare, and Barely Pink who recently contributed to the favorably reviewed Gene Clark tribute album, “Full Circle”, and have a new CD on the way.
Until next time, don’t be surprised if someone comes up to you and says “smile, you’re in High Falutin”
oooooxxxxx
Taffy and Cotton
SPIFFY
Heavy metal Joe reached his goal of seeing 100 plus shows in one year (and he still has December to go). ROCK ON JOE!
New Wave karaoke at Budious Maximus - check the local flyer racks for the next date
New CD’s by Southern Culture on the Skids, Ryan Adams (of Whiskeytown), Mark Mothersbaugh’s Christmas disc, and Loose Ends
Cassanova leaving the ABC (4th St.) - it’s safe to shop there again
Requiem for a Dream (from that dude that directed Pi) - totally intense, man
The Christmas House, it’s like Rocky Horror - see how many times you can go in one season
IFFY
The Pelican Pub looking like a prison recreation yard lately (did we see ol’ sparky in the corner?)
Baywalk and Muvico - we warned y’all months ago. It’ll be an indoor flea market sooner then we thought
Centro Ybor rejecting the subculturalist - Hey they were there first! It makes Tyrone Mall look “underground”.
The election - it’s like that shark thing, our relatives up north keep calling us to find out what’s going on. As if we care.
The new Grinch Who Stole Christmas, why did they have to mess with a classic?
THE END
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