Sunday, October 14, 2007
Oh yeah, I know what I forgot. Saw Planet Terror and thought it was a hoot. A lot of love and obsession went into that for sure. Don't understand why it got panned at all. One gripe is that the jumping and faux print quality is a bit of a pain but other than that. I'd like to see it be turned into a series. Really. Also, as I consider how to tackle this pile of stuff to share with you, I'm listening to the soothing strains of Home Blitz. Have you heard "Hey!"? Well you need to but it's not on their page, "Stupid Street" is though. This furthermore confuzzles me as to what year it is. More about that later though, meanwhile check this out, the fatties are gonna make the earth spin off its axis, that's the subtext, right? Is it April 1st? I just don't know anymore. maybe it's a peculiar dream. If it is then I must attempt to find out what I ate that brought it on. One thing is for sure, news ain't what it used to be.
So yeah, the ancient one made it. Stayed up after midnight and caught some fine r*ck action in the process. The Beatsville scene was made and The Thanes took the stage to limber up for their forthcoming nuptials with The Sonics in NY. The spirit with which Lenny and his crew crank it out is as pure as this stuff gets. There's a casual gleam about these nuggets and a vast trove to draw on. There's something poet-ic about how fate has delivered them to this position. Lenny Helsing has been a rock'n'roll evangelist for way to long to be able to do anything about his condition. He's made his bed and he'll have to shake, rattle and roll in it. Not with it.And The Primevals returned to the East Coast after more years than any of us might care to remember. They're just about to drop a great new album and this set proved that they've still got it in spades. The Rotterdam Rumbles of this world would do well to consider them for their next jolly. They never sounded like they were from Glasgow and it sounded even less like it tonight. Mixing it up with new and old. Present and correctamundo. There's a gig at Blackfriars tonight so if you can then get down there. Full details on the album and where to get it will be coming at you right here soon. I'm perfectly willing to agent the supply of this fine music to those who need it. And to top of the set, they delivered a smoking version of "Screamin' Skull". A version of which will appear on the upcoming Dirty Water Fleshtones tribute release. It was also mooted that this woulkd be available from Larsen on vinyl. Have to investigate that.
And to cap off a perfect, if disorienting evening, there's the news that Suzi Y Los Quattro are about to go into the studio to fashion a chunk of rock'n'roll that will be stopping traffic in due course. All is well in this corner of the universe. For now at least....
Saturday, October 13, 2007
The Skeletons should require no introduction to regulars but there seem to have been some newbies dropping by lately so maybe they’ve yet to have the pleasure. Well, this is the greatest band on earth. At least that’s what you’ll reckon when you clock the contents of “Alive In The Nineties”. The latest labour of love by the Almeron imprint. Recorded between 1990 and 1995, this has exactly the gamut of styles that seemingly barred them from the bigtime. Record execs were flummoxed. How dare a band display an ability to cover the length and breadth of all music made before or since, and in such an entertaining fashion. This collection contains familiar and rare material including their take on “Rockaway Beach”. If this stuff don’t move you then you’re probably beyond saving. Write to Tom Taber and pledge your allegiance. Forget Radioheid, direct your Paypal surplus at tomtaber_14411@yahoo.com
And, staying in the environs of the Ozarks proximity, you might care to check out Flower Tattoo by Jenny Vinyard who has enlisted the aid of some Skele alumni (DCT, Joe Terry Esq.) to pitch in this, her debut album. It’s a groovy wad of pop and blues and her voice reminds me of Amy Rigby sometimes. You know that’s a good thing. Produced by the great J. Wunderle, the opening track "Wanna Be" is sod all to do with the Spice bisoms and everything to do with evoking The Georgia Satellites. You can hear it at her myspace. Friday, October 12, 2007
It's that time on a Friday night. No plans, "Harlem Shuffle" playing on CAKE cyberspace radio and no work tomorrow. Not planning on spending too much more time at this tonight but a coupla things to keep you keyboard jockeys and jockettes informed...
If you're out this way then The Primevals are hitting the cobbles for shows in Edinburgh (tomorrow @ Henry's with The Thanes 11pm - 3am) and Glasgow Blackfriars (Sunday with The Fnords).
If you're in the Tri-state area... (thanks for the reminder Duano)...
At the Southpaw show on Sat nite - WFMU FREE MUSIC SERIES - Oneida, Simply Saucer, Alan Vega (of Suicide), Old Time Relijun - 8 pm doors/8 pm show
"This will also be a book release party for Dave the Spazz's new book entitled: The Best of LCD: The Art and Writing of WFMU, copies of which will be available at the show. There will also be two floors of WFMU DJs trading sets all night long, so come early and stay late! There are no advance tickets for this show, admission is first come, first served. Southpaw is located at 125 5th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn." - (Cheers for this info Ben)
and finally (what is this the Two Bloomin' Ronnies), where would we be without Sweat?
If you're out this way then The Primevals are hitting the cobbles for shows in Edinburgh (tomorrow @ Henry's with The Thanes 11pm - 3am) and Glasgow Blackfriars (Sunday with The Fnords).
If you're in the Tri-state area... (thanks for the reminder Duano)...
At the Southpaw show on Sat nite - WFMU FREE MUSIC SERIES - Oneida, Simply Saucer, Alan Vega (of Suicide), Old Time Relijun - 8 pm doors/8 pm show
"This will also be a book release party for Dave the Spazz's new book entitled: The Best of LCD: The Art and Writing of WFMU, copies of which will be available at the show. There will also be two floors of WFMU DJs trading sets all night long, so come early and stay late! There are no advance tickets for this show, admission is first come, first served. Southpaw is located at 125 5th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn." - (Cheers for this info Ben)
and finally (what is this the Two Bloomin' Ronnies), where would we be without Sweat?
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
So far, so good with heading off the fallout from the sneezing and snottering that's going on all around. Not so good with the ISP connection as the signal has been weak, however I don't fancy spending hours on the phone to Delhi or wherever. It would be useful also to back stuff up to see if that helps the general lethargy. But that would depend on there being time and these past evenings, that has been in short supply for one reason and another. Last night it was a thumping napper. But that's my problem. Hey, there might be a couple of postal deliveries between now and Monday. How positive is that? Anyway, time to ship out into the darkness yet again. Negotiating the roadworks and fog at 7am, now that's living... alright?
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
The SIT & Die Co. Thursday Tour continues this week, with a special 10/11 party at Teneleven -- and with a Baby on board! The East Village's recently opened bar Teneleven celebrates 10/11 (as in October 11th, naturally) with yours truly along for the festivities, joined on stage by that naughtiest of gypsy singers, The Baby Maria! Strictly for adults only.THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11th / TENELEVEN /
With THE BABY MARIA /
171 Avenue C (between 10th & 11th Streets in Manhattan, NYC / Two big & bawdy shows, from 9:00 sharp until 11:00 / No cover! /
Yours truly,
Michael
Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co.
"Ballads, Boogies & Blues"
http://www.SITandDieCo.com
http://www.myspace.com/sitanddieco
Monday, October 08, 2007
NORTON NEWS • AUTUMN ALMANAC
Dig out your goggles and mops, kids, cause this here newsletter is action packed! Scorchin' fall wax is OUT NOW plus blasteroos blow forth on a nightly basis. Read carefully and follow all directions for optimum results!
• RIBS N' BRISKETS! Shows, shindigs & ballyhoos!
• RUBBER BISCUITS! New wax has landed!
• GOODBYE BILL PEITSCH & DOUG MEECH -- two drummer pals are gone!
• TUES OCT 9 MARY WEISS WITH JOE BELOCK ON WFMU!
Join the effervescent Joe Belock as he hosts the Three Chord Monte radio show with Mary Weiss on tap for chat, wax and calls! Don't miss! 12-3 PM on WFMU, 91.1 FM/
• TUES OCT 9 BLACK LIPS ON LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN
Check local listings to catch the incredible Black Lips for real on TV!!
• FRI OCT 12 MARY WEISS ON STAGE! The posh velvet curtain at Brooklyn's fabulous Southpaw nitery never had it so sweet! Welcome Mary in this exclusive appearance as she hits the stage for an unforgettable evening! Mary turned in a stellar performance to a jam packed crowd at Brooklyn's Atlantic Antic last Sunday and her new album DANGEROUS GAME is getting reviews like, "Worth the wait. Weiss has the same brash attitude she had more than forty years ago. Let's hear it for the girl." (Rolling Stone) Getcha tickets now! See you in Park Slope at 125 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY (718) 230-0236 http://www.spsounds.com
• SAT OCT 13 WFMU LCD BLAST @ SOUTHPAW! Our favorite radio station's house organ gets the hi/lowbrow treatment with a gloriously gargantuan compendium called BEST OF LCD and a bevy of boss jocks will be spinning all night long at the Southpaw to celebrate its arrival at a bookstand near you! Details at wfmu.org! Doors at 8. See ya there and also just down the road apiece at the Lyres show! http://www.spsounds.com
• SAT OCT 13 LYRES @ MAGNETIC FIELD! What a weekend! Mary on Friday, Lyres on Saturday-- these are the "good old days"! The Lyres trek down from Boston to blast away as no other can! See ya there! Magnetic Field, 97 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn NY
http://www.magneticbrooklyn.com
• THURS OCT 25 MIRIAM LINNA WITH SPAZZ ON WFMU! Okay, it's me blabbing about being on MUSIC TO SPAZZ BY, blasting the upcoming Norton wax and recent finds. Keep the aspirin handy, there are some traumatizing sounds on tap plus super scorching new and upcoming stuff and maybe a few hints of proects in da works! 8-11 PM on WFMU, 91.1 FM/ http://www.wfmu.org
• OCT 25 THE KING KHAN AND BBQ SHOW Tony Montana Bar, Bushwick, Brooklyn This hot spot is so exclusive that it's Google-proof. Check the KK/BBQ myspace and see if they want you to know where they're at!
• OCT 26 THE KING KHAN AND BBQ SHOW Cake Shop, 152 Ludlow St., NYC Back waddlin' around on our shores!Don't miss new 45s on Norton and Crypt!
• OCT 25-28 BUDGET ROCK VI (Oakland Calif) Join the Real Kids, Trashwomen, Flakes, Knights Of The New Crusade and mo' at this wild-ass rockin' affair at Oakland's Stork Club! And be sure to let Tina tease and tame yo' mane Down at Lulu's Place while you're lurking in O-town! http://www.myspace.com/budgetrock
• NOV 2-4 WFMU RECORD FAIR It don't get bigger than this, friends! This is the biggest, best record convention in the country with lots of great things going on during the swapfest. Norton will be there with a ton of new stuff, old stuff and advance gunk galore! This is a supreme holiday stock up event! Start ya engines-- the countdown is on! Metropolitan Center, NYC Info at http://www.wfmu.org/recfair
• NOV 2-4 CAVESTOMP FESTIVAL! Cavestomp returns with their biggest bang yet, geared up for the same weekend as WFMU's record fair so don't plan on getting any sleep! Norton stars the Sonics, Alarm Clocks and Wildebeests will be on tap representing the Northwest, the Midwest and the ... Moors! Lots of cool garage bands in the 3-day roster! MC'ing Friday and Saturday will be the Fleshtones' Peter Zaremba and MC'ing Sunday will be Link Cromwell.. I mean.. Lenny Kaye! Norton twin-spinners Billy and Miriam will DJ on Sunday night! Did anybody say LUG NUTS? Scope out digs right now- the NYC Marathon will be happening this same weekend and loads of people will be running-- hopefully direct to Brooklyn's greatest kielbasa and pierogi haven, the Warsaw where CS is set to happen! See you there! http://www.cavestomp.com
Email us for Sonics/Alarm Clocks/Wildebeests press releases!
• SAT DEC 15 NORTON RECORDS HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR! Yes, kids! We have the date set for Brooklyn's fab Southpaw so ink in ya calendars and get ready for a whompus deluxe! Norton stars upon stars! Info to follow in upcoming newsletter!!! See-ya-there!!
• APRIL 28-29 2008 PONDEROSA STOMP! It's still a couple blizzards away, but PONDEROSA STOMP is set for APRIL 28 & 29 in New Orleans with their biggest
showcase weekender yet! So far, we're free to blast about Roky Erickson, the Collins Kids, Ronnie Spector, the Green Fuz, and Syl Johnson ... with lots of supah-stars to be added!!!! Details as they develop at http://www.ponderosastomp.com
NEW NORTON RELEASES HAVE ARRIVED... RUBBER BISCUITS, ANYONE?
• Norton 322 THE ROCK-A-ROUND Hair-raising 1958-60 rock n' roll from the vaults of Atlanta's National Recording Corporation. Detailed liners, unreal photos and some of the wildest sounds you'll ever hear! Paul Peek The Rock-A-Round/Joe South I'm Snowed/Four Mints Wolf/Chuck Wiley I Love You So Much/Ric Cartey Scratching On My Screen/Shades Strollin' After Dark/Little Jimmy Dempsey Bop Hop/Tommy Roe and the Satins Caveman/Joe South Baby That's All Right/Rod Willis The Cat/Sweetie Jones Baby Please Don't Leave/Paul Peek Sweet Skinny Jenny/Shades Splashin'/Rod Willis Will Travel/Night Owls You Shouldn't Oughta Done It/Wayne Cochran The Naughty Coo/Joe South Chills/Link Wray and the Raymen Vendetta
• Norton 324 LUIS AND THE WILDFIRES - BRAIN JAIL Luis and his gang go for
broke on their savage debut album! Recorded in LA's legendary Wild Records garage studio and issued to worldwide acclaim on the red hot WILD label on CD, the album makes its vinyl debut on Norton with two exclusive bonus cuts! Includes the dance floor monster hit Let's Party.The Wildfires blend together such influences as Johnny Carroll and Slim Harpo with a garage whomp and a solid nod to their Mexican musical heritage with a cover of Tony Casanova's Yeah Yeah Come Another Day. The Wildfires continue to tear it up on stages at major rock n' roll festivals from Spain to Japan. After witnessing their insane show, astute talent scout Todd Abramson was led to remark, "I've just seen the new Los Locos Del Ritmo!" The band was recently nominated for an AVN award for Best Porn Soundtrack to Vivid Video's THE REBELLE ROUSERS. Dance In The Rain/Wild In The Head/Gonna Leave/Yeah Yeah Come Another Day/I Hear Voices/Genie In A Bottle/Wildfire/Let's Party/That's Love/Under Your Spell/Cast Iron Arm/Come On Over Baby/Mouth Hug/Goodbye
• Norton 325 BOBBY FULLER - ROCK AND ROLL KING OF THE SOUTHWEST
We heard your call and we're heeding the needy- here comes Bobby Fuller and the Fanatics on black wax full lengths -- all recorded in his garage studio on Album Avenue in El Paso, Texas. Dig our obsession with the Bobby and with the great teen stomp combos of the Southwest with our wax series on the scene, starting right here! I Fought The Law/Shakedown/Unreliable Irresistible Girl/Summertime Blues/Fool Of Love/Pamela/Only For You/Saturday Night/King Of The Beach/Rock House/You Made Me Cry/Keep On Dancing/Nancy Jean/Nervous Breakdown/A New Shade Of Blue/I Fought The Law
• Norton 326 BOBBY FULLER LIVE!!! Bobby Fuller was making records, running a night club, and dragging a professional recording deck to his shows in Texas years before he made any records outside of his home state. Check out this astonishing sampling of live sounds and prepare yourselves for another upcoming volume of mayhem from West Texas! El Paso Rock/Angel Face/(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care/Night Train/It's Love Come What May/Miserlou/Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On/Peggy Sue/Pamela/2000 Lb. Bee/Wine Wine Wine/Louie Louie/Farmer John/Jenny Lee (Do The Jerk With Me)
...MORE FALL NORTON RELEASES ARE DUE IN NOVEMBER- ONE KILLER CD PLUS A TON OF WAX!!!!
Keep both ears to the ground for rumblings on these primo November releases that are plainly gonna mess with ya mind!
• Norton 319 DICTATORS - EVERY DAY IS SATURDAY (CD/double LP)
"The all-true adventures of the Dictators, from pre-punk shenanigans to the sound of Young America to the death of rock n' roll!" Unissued demos and rare tracks from the vaults, from pre-Manitoba 1973 recordings (from master tapes!) up through DFFD outtakes! Photo filled package includes liner notes by Scott "Top Ten" Kempner, Handsome Dick Manitoba, Andy Shernoff and crew chief/soundman Rich Nesin! Weekend/Backseat Boogie/Master Race Rock/California Sun/Fireman's Friend/Whisky Radio Spot/America The Beautiful/Sleepin' With The TV On/Eugene Radio Spot/Faster And Louder/Minnesota Strip/Baby Let's Twist/What It Is/Borneo Jimmy/I Stand Tall/No Tomorrow/Stay With Me/Bloodbrothers Radio Spot/16 Forever/Loyola/Laughing Out Loud/What's Up With That? #2/16 Forever #2/Owensboro Radio Spot Double LP adds a cover of the Ramones' I Just Want To Have Something To Do
JUSTICE IS SERVED! Norton delves into the vaults of North Carolina's legendary Justice label for three vinyl sets - straight up reissues on the garage classic SPEAKING OF THE TEMPOS and THE PHANTOM RAIDERS - NEW SOUND '67, a big in demand teen genius nugget and for the first time ever, THE BEST OF JUSTICE RECORDS culled from the label's nearly two dozen ultra rare albums! You'll be pounding the gavel for more-more-more Justice once you get a lobeful so get all three while court is in session!
• Norton 329 PHANTOM RAIDERS - NEW SOUND '67 (LP) Steppin' Stone/Stick Shift/Gloria/Day Tripper/Devil With A Blue Dress On/New Sound '67/Walk Don't Run/I'm A Believer/Pipeline/Last Kiss/Wipeout
• Norton 330 TEMPOS - SPEAKING OF… (LP) Two Timer/Last Time/You're Not Here/Wipeout/You're Gonna Miss Me/Money/You Got Me Goin' Out Of My Mond/Pardon Me/Heartbeat/I've Got A Girl/To Conquer This Whole World/Baby It's You
• Norton 331 VARIOUS - THE BEST OF JUSTICE RECORDS (LP) Tempos, Fugitives, Tony Lane and the Fabulous Spades, Mod and the Rockers, Skip and the Creations, Stowaways, Barracudas, Phantom Raiders, Rockets Combo, Speckulations and the Turks
…plus eight new seven inchers!
• Norton 138 BLACK LIPS - CHRISTMAS IN BAGHDAD/THE KING KHAN AND BBQ SHOW - PLUMP RIGHTEOUS Holiday mayhem from today's top merry makers! Don ye now your gay apparel and dig these new festive favorites!
• Norton 139 ZODIACS - THE PRIMITVE INSTRUMENTAL SOUNDS OF THE ZODIACS Norton's downstairs neighbor turns up an acetate of his crude 1960 combo and joins the team! Blintz/Jungle Beat/Caravan/The Caterpillar Crawl - a scratchy blast!
• Norton 140 EGYPTIANS - THE PARTY STOMP/INKSTER BOOGIE Pounding 1960 R&B stomp instrumentals from turban clad Detroit racket squad! Two solid sides of hoof shakin' frenzy!
• Norton 141 MARY WEISS - STOP AND THINK IT OVER/I DON'T WANT TO KNOW Fan fave from former Shangri-Las lead singer's DANGEROUS GAME album b/w stunning Greg Cartwright original unavailable elsewhere! Backed by the Reigning Sound!
• Norton 9658 BLOODSHOT BILL - HIGH AND DRY/ROCKIN' ENOCKY - MOTHER'S LITTLE HELPER Battle of the one man bands as they wail on two Stones classics! Canada vs. Japan! Donuts vs. sushi! Hockey vs. sumo wrestling! You be the judge, papa san, eh?
• Norton 871 C.J. & THE CASUALS - STUDY HALL/ZOMBIE Over the top deranged
newly discovered obscuro single! Leering JD vocals and torrid instro! Truly bent!!!
• Norton 872 TURNER MOORE - I'LL BE LEAVING YOU/JACK AND THE KNIGHTS - ROCK THE BLUES AWAY Two mega rare rockers on one platter! A frantic four minute party!
• Norton 876 LITTLE VICTOR - PAPA LOU AND GRAN/UPSETTERS -WHERE YOU GOIN' THERE, SAPPHIRE? Screamin' new Orleans rocker ("That fight was so good/Police couldn't even stop it!") b/w a wild unissued workout by Little Richard's band!
RED ALERT! DECEMBER 4 IS THE DAY THAT HELL FREEZES OVER!
NORTON WAX GOES DIGITAL!
I HATE CDs: NORTON RECORDS 45 RPM SINGLES BOX SET VOLUME ONE Face it, we're about as analog as you can get here at Norton. And we'll always be that way. So long as PVC is free to be, we'll keep punching out rubber biscuits like no tomorrow. And when the last oil well runs dry and vinyl becomes an exhorbitant commodity, we can go back to shellac and solve the world's cockroach problem at the same time. However, in recent years, we've been hounded by rock n' roll fans who've moved into the future, shedding their record players (and records... shudder!). These poor souls have been unable to hear the full cacaphony of Norton talent due to the simple fact that much of our catalog has only been available on 45 RPM. On December 4, the hills will finally be alive for everyone with full spectrum Nortophonic sound!
I HATE CD'S is our first time ever collection of 45 RPM singles in a digital-only box set format. The set will include tracks from Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Kid Thomas, Mary Weiss, Herbie Duncan, Ramones, Hasil Adkins, 5.6.7.8's, Esquerita, Legendary Stardust Cowboy, Don Covay, Doug Sahm, Link Wray, Shades Of Night, Jerry McCain, Big Star and mo'! This is Volume One with more to come so as our hero Ed Norton would say, "Official space helmet on, Captain Video!" Our rubber bisuits are blasting into orbit! Send one of these salamis to your
boy in the army on Dec 4 at Amazon Digital Store and iTunes (top 2 players).
GOODBYE TO A COUPLE OF REAL GONE TUB MASTERS:
BILL PEITSCH AND DOUG MEECH
Hannibal called a while back, morose as could be about sad news that had reached him about one of his drummers "from the day" passing on. I comiserated with him, as we had just heard that original Chesterfield Kings beat-man Doug Meech, too, had retired from this sphere. Hannibal immediately noted that there would be a third, and soon. Now I know why he wears the turban. Han was too right. We all lost Bill Peitsch of the Church Keys on September 21-- Bill, who Han called "the red headed drummer boy".
I don't think Doug and Bill ever met, but they would have been friends, I can warrant that. Doug was out of the Kings many moons ago, yet he sent a Christmas card every year, a traditional card with a short message that basically spelled out, I'm here, I'm okay, see you later. Doug was an unassuming guy, and a tremendous drummer. Bill was great trapsman as well, and he was an even better full capacity friend.
I first met Bill when he came to work at the Strand Bookstore in 1988. I was working personnel, a ten year vet myself of our beloved Strand at that time.
We became friends instantly. He and his gal Michelle, whom he would wed the following November, were cut from a rare old school bolt of friendship and an even rarer code of action, one that dictated DO IT, NOW! It was a privilege to
know Bill. He was an amazing individual. When we were all sitting around
reminiscing this week, there were so many repeated moments discussing his generosity, his kindness, his sense of responsibility. Still, some hilarious moments up time and again. I remember when the James Brown FUTURE SHOCK TV shows were found in some film vault in Atlanta some years ago, and we were all watching the tapes, which included some pretty funky dance contests. Bill's favorite was a male dancer who was acting out a tourist bit with his flight bag over his shoulder. The bizarre dance ended with the dancer pulling his bag over his head and flapping around wildly. If any of you have seen FUTURE SHOCK, I know you're laughing. Well, not long before the World Trade Center came a-tumbling, local lads the Fleshtones played a wild show at the top of the towers, in this very suave night club. Maybe it was Windows of the World.. Whatever, it was at the top and it was a nutty night. Billy (Miller) and I went with visiting Michael Lucas of the Phantom Surfers in tow, and we met up with Bill Peitsch and some
stray Finnish rock n' roll tourists up there. At one point, we were looking out the windows and reminiscing about seeing the Fleshtones in divey spots way down below, and it was one of those haunting, happy, crystal clear evenings when all the lights of the city were sparkling below and here we were, grotty overgrown teenagers dancing to a band from Queens in a grand sophisticated bom-booom room high above the streets of New York City. At the time, my handbag of choice was a TWA flight bag, which ended up, emptied of its scraps and upside down on dancing Bill Peitsch's head, completely engulfing his entire noggin, FUTURE SHOCK style. It was one of the most wildly surreal, hilarious moments in my life, Bill on the dance floor reenacting a James Brown moment that only made sense to a handful of lunatics who had been privy to the reel. I laughed then, until I cried, I've laughed hundreds of times since then just thinking of it, and I laugh now, but it's all tears. Gee we're gonna miss you Bill.
Everybody sends their love.
Your friend always,
Miriam
Bill's obituary
This too-brief obit neglects to mention of the fact that Bill worked continuously at the best bookstore in the world, the Strand, for just shy of 20 years, and that he was a Norton recording artist of merit, and that he appeared in several films, including Bruce Bennett's SHIRTSLEEVES, Dan Rose's WAYNE COUNTY RAMBLIN', and Christopher Frieri's I WAS A TEENAGE MUMMY. Let these things, too, be known.
BYE BYE BILLY
BILL PEITSCH (1962-2007)
By Billy Miller
I first met Bill and Michelle shortly before Miriam and I got married twenty years ago. They'd just moved to town from Detroit and the four of us instantly became inseparable best friends. Bill really was the guy you'd want around if you were down. I sure am down now, but quite honestly, I can't muster up maudlin words and I don't think Bill would want me to get overly gushy in his memory.
One thing about Bill, he always put his friends and family first. He'd be sure your car was running right even though he always drove old beaters ("Never spend more than 500 bucks on a car," he'd advise). He once put a new alternator in my van and called me ten minutes later to come and give his car a jump a few blocks away.
Bill could make anyone laugh, even in tragedy. His apartment once had a pretty serious fire (his cat tipped over a lit cigarette) and when I got there to help, I just couldn't stop laughing. His sofa had a hole in it burned about two feet wide and looked like a prop from the Three Stooges.
He even cracked Ike Turner up. We were watching Ike play one night and one of the modern Ikettes launched into a Whitney Houston ballad. Just as the song peaked and hit a pause, Bill hollered out a request for his favorite Turner classic - the Sly Fox's Hoodoo Say. "Hey Ike, " Bill howled, "What did the Hoodoo say?!" Ike doubled over and was laughing so hard. It was perfect.
After an Andre Williams gig at Coney Island High, Bill offered to chauffer Mr. Rhythm to JFK Airport for a 6AM flight to Los Angeles. Bill and Andre bar hopped their way through three counties and were none the worse for wear when they arrived at the curbside check in. Andre was fumbling with his check on pimp hat cases and would just laugh at every security question the frustrated attendant would ask. She finally got some semblance of a satisfactory answer out of Andre and turned to Bill and asked, "Are you flying as well?" "No, ma'am," Bill replied. "I'm just here to drop off my dad!" He said the lady nearly fainted.
Once at Rye Playland, Michelle and Miriam were arrested for attacking Freddy Cannon onstage. The girls had given Bill and me their purses a second before the impromptu attack and subsequent squad car ride down to the precinct the street. Bill and I walked into the police station where he loudly bellowed, "We're here for our womens!" with both of us holding ladies pocketbooks.
Bill attended hundreds of shows, each made better by his presence. It really didn't matter if he was on stage with any one of his bands (the Church Keys, Gowanus Canal Boys, Clams or Purple Wizard) or firing on all pistons from the audience, Bill could always be counted on to shake up the house. Lenny Kaye called Bill "a shining light" and that hits it on the head.
Chuck Berry was Bill's ultimate hero. "The farther it is from Chuck Berry," he once said, "the less I have any use for it." There was a time where I was between cars and Bill would let me borrow his truck. I'd swing by his job at the Strand and get the keys. There must have always been fifty cassettes scattered around the car, but every time I turned on the ignition, Chuck Berry started playing. Every single time.
There are so many shared wiggy memories that included conga lines, hot dog stands, pre-dawn living room jam sessions, wrestling matches (Bill was honored with a birthday cake in the ring at the Arena Puerto Rico), karate chopped watermelons, White Castle hijinx, all night Bingo with blue haired ladies in Vegas, doorbell ringing at all hours (the best was his "Your hedges are crooked. I could fix that" prank at 5:30 AM) that it's hard to figure just where one incident ended and the next one began. It's impossible to even fathom how Bill packed such an upbeat life into just 45 years. We had great times roaring through Virginia listening to Chuck Berry, roaring through Texas listening to Chuck Berry, roaring through Maine listening to Chuck Berry, and don't get me started on the New Jersey Turnpike in the wee wee hours…
My father taught me that the single greatest virtue a person could possess is loyalty. Bill Peitsch epitomized that. If you were his friend, he would never let you down. He was the most genuine cat I have ever known. There was definitely nothing phony about Bill. He was generous, smart, strong (it's true, he did drum an entire set with a girl perched on his shoulders) and lived his life by an admirably noble set of rules. And for bringing Speedo, our beloved pooch of 15 years into our home, I could never be able to thank Bill enough.
To all of Bill's family and friends, I offer my deepest heartfelt condolences.
We have lost Bill, but we've all gained so much from knowing him.
Bill Peitsch attended his last rock n' roll show just a week before his passing. He got to see Chuck Berry play Johnny B. Goode one last time.
See what's new at Norton
Dig out your goggles and mops, kids, cause this here newsletter is action packed! Scorchin' fall wax is OUT NOW plus blasteroos blow forth on a nightly basis. Read carefully and follow all directions for optimum results!
• RIBS N' BRISKETS! Shows, shindigs & ballyhoos!
• RUBBER BISCUITS! New wax has landed!
• GOODBYE BILL PEITSCH & DOUG MEECH -- two drummer pals are gone!
• TUES OCT 9 MARY WEISS WITH JOE BELOCK ON WFMU!
Join the effervescent Joe Belock as he hosts the Three Chord Monte radio show with Mary Weiss on tap for chat, wax and calls! Don't miss! 12-3 PM on WFMU, 91.1 FM/
• TUES OCT 9 BLACK LIPS ON LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN
Check local listings to catch the incredible Black Lips for real on TV!!
• FRI OCT 12 MARY WEISS ON STAGE! The posh velvet curtain at Brooklyn's fabulous Southpaw nitery never had it so sweet! Welcome Mary in this exclusive appearance as she hits the stage for an unforgettable evening! Mary turned in a stellar performance to a jam packed crowd at Brooklyn's Atlantic Antic last Sunday and her new album DANGEROUS GAME is getting reviews like, "Worth the wait. Weiss has the same brash attitude she had more than forty years ago. Let's hear it for the girl." (Rolling Stone) Getcha tickets now! See you in Park Slope at 125 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY (718) 230-0236 http://www.spsounds.com
• SAT OCT 13 WFMU LCD BLAST @ SOUTHPAW! Our favorite radio station's house organ gets the hi/lowbrow treatment with a gloriously gargantuan compendium called BEST OF LCD and a bevy of boss jocks will be spinning all night long at the Southpaw to celebrate its arrival at a bookstand near you! Details at wfmu.org! Doors at 8. See ya there and also just down the road apiece at the Lyres show! http://www.spsounds.com
• SAT OCT 13 LYRES @ MAGNETIC FIELD! What a weekend! Mary on Friday, Lyres on Saturday-- these are the "good old days"! The Lyres trek down from Boston to blast away as no other can! See ya there! Magnetic Field, 97 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn NY
http://www.magneticbrooklyn.com
• THURS OCT 25 MIRIAM LINNA WITH SPAZZ ON WFMU! Okay, it's me blabbing about being on MUSIC TO SPAZZ BY, blasting the upcoming Norton wax and recent finds. Keep the aspirin handy, there are some traumatizing sounds on tap plus super scorching new and upcoming stuff and maybe a few hints of proects in da works! 8-11 PM on WFMU, 91.1 FM/ http://www.wfmu.org
• OCT 25 THE KING KHAN AND BBQ SHOW Tony Montana Bar, Bushwick, Brooklyn This hot spot is so exclusive that it's Google-proof. Check the KK/BBQ myspace and see if they want you to know where they're at!
• OCT 26 THE KING KHAN AND BBQ SHOW Cake Shop, 152 Ludlow St., NYC Back waddlin' around on our shores!Don't miss new 45s on Norton and Crypt!
• OCT 25-28 BUDGET ROCK VI (Oakland Calif) Join the Real Kids, Trashwomen, Flakes, Knights Of The New Crusade and mo' at this wild-ass rockin' affair at Oakland's Stork Club! And be sure to let Tina tease and tame yo' mane Down at Lulu's Place while you're lurking in O-town! http://www.myspace.com/budgetrock
• NOV 2-4 WFMU RECORD FAIR It don't get bigger than this, friends! This is the biggest, best record convention in the country with lots of great things going on during the swapfest. Norton will be there with a ton of new stuff, old stuff and advance gunk galore! This is a supreme holiday stock up event! Start ya engines-- the countdown is on! Metropolitan Center, NYC Info at http://www.wfmu.org/recfair
• NOV 2-4 CAVESTOMP FESTIVAL! Cavestomp returns with their biggest bang yet, geared up for the same weekend as WFMU's record fair so don't plan on getting any sleep! Norton stars the Sonics, Alarm Clocks and Wildebeests will be on tap representing the Northwest, the Midwest and the ... Moors! Lots of cool garage bands in the 3-day roster! MC'ing Friday and Saturday will be the Fleshtones' Peter Zaremba and MC'ing Sunday will be Link Cromwell.. I mean.. Lenny Kaye! Norton twin-spinners Billy and Miriam will DJ on Sunday night! Did anybody say LUG NUTS? Scope out digs right now- the NYC Marathon will be happening this same weekend and loads of people will be running-- hopefully direct to Brooklyn's greatest kielbasa and pierogi haven, the Warsaw where CS is set to happen! See you there! http://www.cavestomp.com
Email us for Sonics/Alarm Clocks/Wildebeests press releases!
• SAT DEC 15 NORTON RECORDS HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR! Yes, kids! We have the date set for Brooklyn's fab Southpaw so ink in ya calendars and get ready for a whompus deluxe! Norton stars upon stars! Info to follow in upcoming newsletter!!! See-ya-there!!
• APRIL 28-29 2008 PONDEROSA STOMP! It's still a couple blizzards away, but PONDEROSA STOMP is set for APRIL 28 & 29 in New Orleans with their biggest
showcase weekender yet! So far, we're free to blast about Roky Erickson, the Collins Kids, Ronnie Spector, the Green Fuz, and Syl Johnson ... with lots of supah-stars to be added!!!! Details as they develop at http://www.ponderosastomp.com
NEW NORTON RELEASES HAVE ARRIVED... RUBBER BISCUITS, ANYONE?
• Norton 322 THE ROCK-A-ROUND Hair-raising 1958-60 rock n' roll from the vaults of Atlanta's National Recording Corporation. Detailed liners, unreal photos and some of the wildest sounds you'll ever hear! Paul Peek The Rock-A-Round/Joe South I'm Snowed/Four Mints Wolf/Chuck Wiley I Love You So Much/Ric Cartey Scratching On My Screen/Shades Strollin' After Dark/Little Jimmy Dempsey Bop Hop/Tommy Roe and the Satins Caveman/Joe South Baby That's All Right/Rod Willis The Cat/Sweetie Jones Baby Please Don't Leave/Paul Peek Sweet Skinny Jenny/Shades Splashin'/Rod Willis Will Travel/Night Owls You Shouldn't Oughta Done It/Wayne Cochran The Naughty Coo/Joe South Chills/Link Wray and the Raymen Vendetta
• Norton 324 LUIS AND THE WILDFIRES - BRAIN JAIL Luis and his gang go for
broke on their savage debut album! Recorded in LA's legendary Wild Records garage studio and issued to worldwide acclaim on the red hot WILD label on CD, the album makes its vinyl debut on Norton with two exclusive bonus cuts! Includes the dance floor monster hit Let's Party.The Wildfires blend together such influences as Johnny Carroll and Slim Harpo with a garage whomp and a solid nod to their Mexican musical heritage with a cover of Tony Casanova's Yeah Yeah Come Another Day. The Wildfires continue to tear it up on stages at major rock n' roll festivals from Spain to Japan. After witnessing their insane show, astute talent scout Todd Abramson was led to remark, "I've just seen the new Los Locos Del Ritmo!" The band was recently nominated for an AVN award for Best Porn Soundtrack to Vivid Video's THE REBELLE ROUSERS. Dance In The Rain/Wild In The Head/Gonna Leave/Yeah Yeah Come Another Day/I Hear Voices/Genie In A Bottle/Wildfire/Let's Party/That's Love/Under Your Spell/Cast Iron Arm/Come On Over Baby/Mouth Hug/Goodbye
• Norton 325 BOBBY FULLER - ROCK AND ROLL KING OF THE SOUTHWEST
We heard your call and we're heeding the needy- here comes Bobby Fuller and the Fanatics on black wax full lengths -- all recorded in his garage studio on Album Avenue in El Paso, Texas. Dig our obsession with the Bobby and with the great teen stomp combos of the Southwest with our wax series on the scene, starting right here! I Fought The Law/Shakedown/Unreliable Irresistible Girl/Summertime Blues/Fool Of Love/Pamela/Only For You/Saturday Night/King Of The Beach/Rock House/You Made Me Cry/Keep On Dancing/Nancy Jean/Nervous Breakdown/A New Shade Of Blue/I Fought The Law
• Norton 326 BOBBY FULLER LIVE!!! Bobby Fuller was making records, running a night club, and dragging a professional recording deck to his shows in Texas years before he made any records outside of his home state. Check out this astonishing sampling of live sounds and prepare yourselves for another upcoming volume of mayhem from West Texas! El Paso Rock/Angel Face/(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care/Night Train/It's Love Come What May/Miserlou/Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On/Peggy Sue/Pamela/2000 Lb. Bee/Wine Wine Wine/Louie Louie/Farmer John/Jenny Lee (Do The Jerk With Me)
...MORE FALL NORTON RELEASES ARE DUE IN NOVEMBER- ONE KILLER CD PLUS A TON OF WAX!!!!
Keep both ears to the ground for rumblings on these primo November releases that are plainly gonna mess with ya mind!
• Norton 319 DICTATORS - EVERY DAY IS SATURDAY (CD/double LP)
"The all-true adventures of the Dictators, from pre-punk shenanigans to the sound of Young America to the death of rock n' roll!" Unissued demos and rare tracks from the vaults, from pre-Manitoba 1973 recordings (from master tapes!) up through DFFD outtakes! Photo filled package includes liner notes by Scott "Top Ten" Kempner, Handsome Dick Manitoba, Andy Shernoff and crew chief/soundman Rich Nesin! Weekend/Backseat Boogie/Master Race Rock/California Sun/Fireman's Friend/Whisky Radio Spot/America The Beautiful/Sleepin' With The TV On/Eugene Radio Spot/Faster And Louder/Minnesota Strip/Baby Let's Twist/What It Is/Borneo Jimmy/I Stand Tall/No Tomorrow/Stay With Me/Bloodbrothers Radio Spot/16 Forever/Loyola/Laughing Out Loud/What's Up With That? #2/16 Forever #2/Owensboro Radio Spot Double LP adds a cover of the Ramones' I Just Want To Have Something To Do
JUSTICE IS SERVED! Norton delves into the vaults of North Carolina's legendary Justice label for three vinyl sets - straight up reissues on the garage classic SPEAKING OF THE TEMPOS and THE PHANTOM RAIDERS - NEW SOUND '67, a big in demand teen genius nugget and for the first time ever, THE BEST OF JUSTICE RECORDS culled from the label's nearly two dozen ultra rare albums! You'll be pounding the gavel for more-more-more Justice once you get a lobeful so get all three while court is in session!
• Norton 329 PHANTOM RAIDERS - NEW SOUND '67 (LP) Steppin' Stone/Stick Shift/Gloria/Day Tripper/Devil With A Blue Dress On/New Sound '67/Walk Don't Run/I'm A Believer/Pipeline/Last Kiss/Wipeout
• Norton 330 TEMPOS - SPEAKING OF… (LP) Two Timer/Last Time/You're Not Here/Wipeout/You're Gonna Miss Me/Money/You Got Me Goin' Out Of My Mond/Pardon Me/Heartbeat/I've Got A Girl/To Conquer This Whole World/Baby It's You
• Norton 331 VARIOUS - THE BEST OF JUSTICE RECORDS (LP) Tempos, Fugitives, Tony Lane and the Fabulous Spades, Mod and the Rockers, Skip and the Creations, Stowaways, Barracudas, Phantom Raiders, Rockets Combo, Speckulations and the Turks
…plus eight new seven inchers!
• Norton 138 BLACK LIPS - CHRISTMAS IN BAGHDAD/THE KING KHAN AND BBQ SHOW - PLUMP RIGHTEOUS Holiday mayhem from today's top merry makers! Don ye now your gay apparel and dig these new festive favorites!
• Norton 139 ZODIACS - THE PRIMITVE INSTRUMENTAL SOUNDS OF THE ZODIACS Norton's downstairs neighbor turns up an acetate of his crude 1960 combo and joins the team! Blintz/Jungle Beat/Caravan/The Caterpillar Crawl - a scratchy blast!
• Norton 140 EGYPTIANS - THE PARTY STOMP/INKSTER BOOGIE Pounding 1960 R&B stomp instrumentals from turban clad Detroit racket squad! Two solid sides of hoof shakin' frenzy!
• Norton 141 MARY WEISS - STOP AND THINK IT OVER/I DON'T WANT TO KNOW Fan fave from former Shangri-Las lead singer's DANGEROUS GAME album b/w stunning Greg Cartwright original unavailable elsewhere! Backed by the Reigning Sound!
• Norton 9658 BLOODSHOT BILL - HIGH AND DRY/ROCKIN' ENOCKY - MOTHER'S LITTLE HELPER Battle of the one man bands as they wail on two Stones classics! Canada vs. Japan! Donuts vs. sushi! Hockey vs. sumo wrestling! You be the judge, papa san, eh?
• Norton 871 C.J. & THE CASUALS - STUDY HALL/ZOMBIE Over the top deranged
newly discovered obscuro single! Leering JD vocals and torrid instro! Truly bent!!!
• Norton 872 TURNER MOORE - I'LL BE LEAVING YOU/JACK AND THE KNIGHTS - ROCK THE BLUES AWAY Two mega rare rockers on one platter! A frantic four minute party!
• Norton 876 LITTLE VICTOR - PAPA LOU AND GRAN/UPSETTERS -WHERE YOU GOIN' THERE, SAPPHIRE? Screamin' new Orleans rocker ("That fight was so good/Police couldn't even stop it!") b/w a wild unissued workout by Little Richard's band!
RED ALERT! DECEMBER 4 IS THE DAY THAT HELL FREEZES OVER!
NORTON WAX GOES DIGITAL!
I HATE CDs: NORTON RECORDS 45 RPM SINGLES BOX SET VOLUME ONE Face it, we're about as analog as you can get here at Norton. And we'll always be that way. So long as PVC is free to be, we'll keep punching out rubber biscuits like no tomorrow. And when the last oil well runs dry and vinyl becomes an exhorbitant commodity, we can go back to shellac and solve the world's cockroach problem at the same time. However, in recent years, we've been hounded by rock n' roll fans who've moved into the future, shedding their record players (and records... shudder!). These poor souls have been unable to hear the full cacaphony of Norton talent due to the simple fact that much of our catalog has only been available on 45 RPM. On December 4, the hills will finally be alive for everyone with full spectrum Nortophonic sound!
I HATE CD'S is our first time ever collection of 45 RPM singles in a digital-only box set format. The set will include tracks from Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Kid Thomas, Mary Weiss, Herbie Duncan, Ramones, Hasil Adkins, 5.6.7.8's, Esquerita, Legendary Stardust Cowboy, Don Covay, Doug Sahm, Link Wray, Shades Of Night, Jerry McCain, Big Star and mo'! This is Volume One with more to come so as our hero Ed Norton would say, "Official space helmet on, Captain Video!" Our rubber bisuits are blasting into orbit! Send one of these salamis to your
boy in the army on Dec 4 at Amazon Digital Store and iTunes (top 2 players).
GOODBYE TO A COUPLE OF REAL GONE TUB MASTERS:
BILL PEITSCH AND DOUG MEECH
Hannibal called a while back, morose as could be about sad news that had reached him about one of his drummers "from the day" passing on. I comiserated with him, as we had just heard that original Chesterfield Kings beat-man Doug Meech, too, had retired from this sphere. Hannibal immediately noted that there would be a third, and soon. Now I know why he wears the turban. Han was too right. We all lost Bill Peitsch of the Church Keys on September 21-- Bill, who Han called "the red headed drummer boy".
I don't think Doug and Bill ever met, but they would have been friends, I can warrant that. Doug was out of the Kings many moons ago, yet he sent a Christmas card every year, a traditional card with a short message that basically spelled out, I'm here, I'm okay, see you later. Doug was an unassuming guy, and a tremendous drummer. Bill was great trapsman as well, and he was an even better full capacity friend.
I first met Bill when he came to work at the Strand Bookstore in 1988. I was working personnel, a ten year vet myself of our beloved Strand at that time.
We became friends instantly. He and his gal Michelle, whom he would wed the following November, were cut from a rare old school bolt of friendship and an even rarer code of action, one that dictated DO IT, NOW! It was a privilege to
know Bill. He was an amazing individual. When we were all sitting around
reminiscing this week, there were so many repeated moments discussing his generosity, his kindness, his sense of responsibility. Still, some hilarious moments up time and again. I remember when the James Brown FUTURE SHOCK TV shows were found in some film vault in Atlanta some years ago, and we were all watching the tapes, which included some pretty funky dance contests. Bill's favorite was a male dancer who was acting out a tourist bit with his flight bag over his shoulder. The bizarre dance ended with the dancer pulling his bag over his head and flapping around wildly. If any of you have seen FUTURE SHOCK, I know you're laughing. Well, not long before the World Trade Center came a-tumbling, local lads the Fleshtones played a wild show at the top of the towers, in this very suave night club. Maybe it was Windows of the World.. Whatever, it was at the top and it was a nutty night. Billy (Miller) and I went with visiting Michael Lucas of the Phantom Surfers in tow, and we met up with Bill Peitsch and some
stray Finnish rock n' roll tourists up there. At one point, we were looking out the windows and reminiscing about seeing the Fleshtones in divey spots way down below, and it was one of those haunting, happy, crystal clear evenings when all the lights of the city were sparkling below and here we were, grotty overgrown teenagers dancing to a band from Queens in a grand sophisticated bom-booom room high above the streets of New York City. At the time, my handbag of choice was a TWA flight bag, which ended up, emptied of its scraps and upside down on dancing Bill Peitsch's head, completely engulfing his entire noggin, FUTURE SHOCK style. It was one of the most wildly surreal, hilarious moments in my life, Bill on the dance floor reenacting a James Brown moment that only made sense to a handful of lunatics who had been privy to the reel. I laughed then, until I cried, I've laughed hundreds of times since then just thinking of it, and I laugh now, but it's all tears. Gee we're gonna miss you Bill.
Everybody sends their love.
Your friend always,
Miriam
Bill's obituary
This too-brief obit neglects to mention of the fact that Bill worked continuously at the best bookstore in the world, the Strand, for just shy of 20 years, and that he was a Norton recording artist of merit, and that he appeared in several films, including Bruce Bennett's SHIRTSLEEVES, Dan Rose's WAYNE COUNTY RAMBLIN', and Christopher Frieri's I WAS A TEENAGE MUMMY. Let these things, too, be known.
BYE BYE BILLY
BILL PEITSCH (1962-2007)
By Billy Miller
I first met Bill and Michelle shortly before Miriam and I got married twenty years ago. They'd just moved to town from Detroit and the four of us instantly became inseparable best friends. Bill really was the guy you'd want around if you were down. I sure am down now, but quite honestly, I can't muster up maudlin words and I don't think Bill would want me to get overly gushy in his memory.
One thing about Bill, he always put his friends and family first. He'd be sure your car was running right even though he always drove old beaters ("Never spend more than 500 bucks on a car," he'd advise). He once put a new alternator in my van and called me ten minutes later to come and give his car a jump a few blocks away.
Bill could make anyone laugh, even in tragedy. His apartment once had a pretty serious fire (his cat tipped over a lit cigarette) and when I got there to help, I just couldn't stop laughing. His sofa had a hole in it burned about two feet wide and looked like a prop from the Three Stooges.
He even cracked Ike Turner up. We were watching Ike play one night and one of the modern Ikettes launched into a Whitney Houston ballad. Just as the song peaked and hit a pause, Bill hollered out a request for his favorite Turner classic - the Sly Fox's Hoodoo Say. "Hey Ike, " Bill howled, "What did the Hoodoo say?!" Ike doubled over and was laughing so hard. It was perfect.
After an Andre Williams gig at Coney Island High, Bill offered to chauffer Mr. Rhythm to JFK Airport for a 6AM flight to Los Angeles. Bill and Andre bar hopped their way through three counties and were none the worse for wear when they arrived at the curbside check in. Andre was fumbling with his check on pimp hat cases and would just laugh at every security question the frustrated attendant would ask. She finally got some semblance of a satisfactory answer out of Andre and turned to Bill and asked, "Are you flying as well?" "No, ma'am," Bill replied. "I'm just here to drop off my dad!" He said the lady nearly fainted.
Once at Rye Playland, Michelle and Miriam were arrested for attacking Freddy Cannon onstage. The girls had given Bill and me their purses a second before the impromptu attack and subsequent squad car ride down to the precinct the street. Bill and I walked into the police station where he loudly bellowed, "We're here for our womens!" with both of us holding ladies pocketbooks.
Bill attended hundreds of shows, each made better by his presence. It really didn't matter if he was on stage with any one of his bands (the Church Keys, Gowanus Canal Boys, Clams or Purple Wizard) or firing on all pistons from the audience, Bill could always be counted on to shake up the house. Lenny Kaye called Bill "a shining light" and that hits it on the head.
Chuck Berry was Bill's ultimate hero. "The farther it is from Chuck Berry," he once said, "the less I have any use for it." There was a time where I was between cars and Bill would let me borrow his truck. I'd swing by his job at the Strand and get the keys. There must have always been fifty cassettes scattered around the car, but every time I turned on the ignition, Chuck Berry started playing. Every single time.
There are so many shared wiggy memories that included conga lines, hot dog stands, pre-dawn living room jam sessions, wrestling matches (Bill was honored with a birthday cake in the ring at the Arena Puerto Rico), karate chopped watermelons, White Castle hijinx, all night Bingo with blue haired ladies in Vegas, doorbell ringing at all hours (the best was his "Your hedges are crooked. I could fix that" prank at 5:30 AM) that it's hard to figure just where one incident ended and the next one began. It's impossible to even fathom how Bill packed such an upbeat life into just 45 years. We had great times roaring through Virginia listening to Chuck Berry, roaring through Texas listening to Chuck Berry, roaring through Maine listening to Chuck Berry, and don't get me started on the New Jersey Turnpike in the wee wee hours…
My father taught me that the single greatest virtue a person could possess is loyalty. Bill Peitsch epitomized that. If you were his friend, he would never let you down. He was the most genuine cat I have ever known. There was definitely nothing phony about Bill. He was generous, smart, strong (it's true, he did drum an entire set with a girl perched on his shoulders) and lived his life by an admirably noble set of rules. And for bringing Speedo, our beloved pooch of 15 years into our home, I could never be able to thank Bill enough.
To all of Bill's family and friends, I offer my deepest heartfelt condolences.
We have lost Bill, but we've all gained so much from knowing him.
Bill Peitsch attended his last rock n' roll show just a week before his passing. He got to see Chuck Berry play Johnny B. Goode one last time.
See what's new at Norton
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Caught the tail-end of the Rotterdam Rumble fest last night. Alice 'n me entered the Waterfront rather late as a quick meal in a nearby restaurant turned out to be a coupious four course dinner with appropriate wine samples.
Anyways, we were just in time for Radio Birdman. After seeing them in London a couple o' years back, there was no real need to re-acquaint ourselves, but what heck, this is Radio Birdman!
Suffering from a rather weak mix (Dennis Tek's guitar being notably absent most of the time) and a handful of new songs (I understand the necessity for the band to keep things interesting, but from my p.o.v. coming up with something as great as 'D.F.F.D.' is a on/off that hardly anybody can pull off. 'Zeno Beach' is OK-ish at best) That aside, there's really no way knocking a band that has a back-catalogue like these guys. 'Murder City Nights', 'Do The Pop', 'Burn My Eye', 'Dark Surprise', you name it. Topping it off w/ a grand finale of 'You're Gonna Miss Me' and 'New Race' even I couldn't resist punshin' the air and shoutin' "Yeah Hup"!
Closing the Rumble were the Rip-Offs who's sole LP I completely wore out at the time, but who failed to impress last night. In-audioble vocals by the drummer and a barage of "fuck you's" and "you're all gay" references took the wind outta their sails from the git go. Juvenile behaviour is cool as long as it's by actual teenagers. Thirty somethings tryin' to do likewise only end up lookin' stupid, just like the people they're supposedly rebelling against...
Like the more garagey Primitive fests these Rumbles are turnin' out to be a cool tradition and the Waterfront is turnin' out to be my favorite venue in Holland right now (the view outside over the river Maas is amazin'!) Roll on the next edition!
(youtube link 1, 2)
We finished our stay in Rotterdam with a visit to the VIP's gallery that's currently hosting a cool exibith of pictures by Bob Gruen (w/ lotsa cool pics of the Dolls, Ramones, and the pre-Blondie Stilettos) that's well worth checkin' out if you're in the neighborhood.
Anyways, we were just in time for Radio Birdman. After seeing them in London a couple o' years back, there was no real need to re-acquaint ourselves, but what heck, this is Radio Birdman!
Suffering from a rather weak mix (Dennis Tek's guitar being notably absent most of the time) and a handful of new songs (I understand the necessity for the band to keep things interesting, but from my p.o.v. coming up with something as great as 'D.F.F.D.' is a on/off that hardly anybody can pull off. 'Zeno Beach' is OK-ish at best) That aside, there's really no way knocking a band that has a back-catalogue like these guys. 'Murder City Nights', 'Do The Pop', 'Burn My Eye', 'Dark Surprise', you name it. Topping it off w/ a grand finale of 'You're Gonna Miss Me' and 'New Race' even I couldn't resist punshin' the air and shoutin' "Yeah Hup"!
Closing the Rumble were the Rip-Offs who's sole LP I completely wore out at the time, but who failed to impress last night. In-audioble vocals by the drummer and a barage of "fuck you's" and "you're all gay" references took the wind outta their sails from the git go. Juvenile behaviour is cool as long as it's by actual teenagers. Thirty somethings tryin' to do likewise only end up lookin' stupid, just like the people they're supposedly rebelling against...
Like the more garagey Primitive fests these Rumbles are turnin' out to be a cool tradition and the Waterfront is turnin' out to be my favorite venue in Holland right now (the view outside over the river Maas is amazin'!) Roll on the next edition!
(youtube link 1, 2)
We finished our stay in Rotterdam with a visit to the VIP's gallery that's currently hosting a cool exibith of pictures by Bob Gruen (w/ lotsa cool pics of the Dolls, Ramones, and the pre-Blondie Stilettos) that's well worth checkin' out if you're in the neighborhood.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
You'll have to excuse the fact that there's no real post today. This is because work on my screenplay for "Haggis In A Black Leather Jacket" has taken precedence. This is a gaelic homage to the first John Waters film and will play out like a cross between "Whisky Galore" and "Pink Flamingos". Also, even although there's a postal strike - when I happened by the collection office this very am - my copy of SWEAT was there. It had snuck in just before the old industrial action swung into play. No deliveries until next Thursday at the earliest but the upside of that is that there'll be no bills either. Ok so let’s see there’s a bunch of things here to distract you from what you ought to be doing, starting with…Vera Peppermint version of the ACC chestnut “John Cassavetes”.
A Roky/Elevators tome (info courtesy of Dr Hesske)
Groovy new find (by Amy Allison)… Nicole Atkins
And there was more but I've just lost the document that it was all cut and pasted on... this is obviously a sign, so see ya...
Friday, October 05, 2007
Sometimes it seems as though the world has gone all Christopher Guest. Like we're, or I rather, might be living out some big spoof. Where somehow a band circumnavigating a record label and an utter balloon making a speech without notes is news? Here in this particular bubble, importance lies with the fact that Säkert! is doing shows in Sweden and it's unlikely that I'll be able to attend. There's just too much going on plus there's the flat out broke scenario to contend with. Life being the proverbial b-ii-atch and all that. This postal strike looks like it'll disrupt things majorly too, I was kind of hoping for a stay of execution on that. For my own selfish ends you understand, not for the greater good. Anyway, it's Friday, the grind is over momentarily and this blighter about to be switched off for the evening. Happy trails.
(Thanks to Mr Hägred for the Säkert! info)
(Thanks to Mr Hägred for the Säkert! info)
Thursday, October 04, 2007
I just got this incase any of you are interested...
"We can exclusively announce UK punk legends, THE SEX PISTOLS, have just confirmed their first Scottish show in 12 years at Glasgow’s, SECC on Sunday 18th November.
As a GigsInScotland registered user (That's me!) - this is YOUR EXCLUSIVE OPPORTUNITY to buy tickets for this incredible show. Don’t miss this unique pre-sale chance to ensure you get your ticket to see The Sex Pistols live!
LIMITED PRE-SALE TICKETS available HERE as of FRIDAY 5th OCTOBER 9AM
GENERAL RELEASE TICKETS available HERE as of SATURDAY 6TH OCTOBER 9AM"
Ticket price appears to be 35 quid, probably plus a 4 quid booking fee, but if you're so inclined...
At least they're coming north to fleece us direct...
"We can exclusively announce UK punk legends, THE SEX PISTOLS, have just confirmed their first Scottish show in 12 years at Glasgow’s, SECC on Sunday 18th November.
As a GigsInScotland registered user (That's me!) - this is YOUR EXCLUSIVE OPPORTUNITY to buy tickets for this incredible show. Don’t miss this unique pre-sale chance to ensure you get your ticket to see The Sex Pistols live!
LIMITED PRE-SALE TICKETS available HERE as of FRIDAY 5th OCTOBER 9AM
GENERAL RELEASE TICKETS available HERE as of SATURDAY 6TH OCTOBER 9AM"
Ticket price appears to be 35 quid, probably plus a 4 quid booking fee, but if you're so inclined...
At least they're coming north to fleece us direct...
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Fret not, we won't be breaking out the ol' five-stringed banjo -- just all the more reason to come join Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. this week for our first ever appearance at Banjo Jim's! Two big shows are in store, from 8:00 sharp until 10:00, and there's not only no cover charge, but no banjo, either. Sweet, yes?THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4th / BANJO JIM'S / 700 East 9th Street (on the corner of 9th Street and Avenue C) in Manhattan's "East Village", NYC / Two sets, from 8:00 sharp until 10:00 / Followed at 10:00 by the expectedly well-cooked Swamp Cabbage /
No cover charge!
Remaining banjo-free, as always,
Michael
Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co.
"Ballads, Boogies & Blues"
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