Joe Vig's First Impressions - magical, musical thoughts: 2005

Friday, February 18, 2005

New Writings by Joe Viglione

Kinnie Starr Published 3/05 AllMediaGuide
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:2r6omps09f7o

Joe Viglione writes round the clock! His work for COUNTRY CLUB MERCHANT MAGAZINE out of Florida is a nice contrast to his being a correspondent for THE MEDFORD TRANSCRIPT,
and his ongoing work for the prestigious ALL MEDIA GUIDE.

Joe's writings can be found on VH1.com, Djangos Music.com, Amazon.Canada, eBay, Barnes & Noble.com - dozens of sites utilizing his essays for http://www.allmusic.com

WMFO's Coffee 'n' Smokes Published 3/17/05
http://www.townonline.com/medford/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=204224

PJ Shapiro Published 2/16/05
http://www2.townonline.com/medford/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=185860

Medford Transcript > Arts & Lifestyle
Medford resident P.J. Shapiro recently performed in a live concert venue Feb. 10.
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P.J. Shapiro performs at Avenue C's

By Joe Viglione/ CorrespondentThursday, February 17, 2005

Songwriter P.J. Shapiro, who moved to Medford from Newton in the year 2000, was the featured performer at Avenue C's Thursday night open mic on Feb. 10. Of course a mini snowstorm hit a few hours before and during show time, but that added to the ambiance of the gig at the elegant new Malden nightclub located at 166 Eastern Ave., between Ferry Street and Eastern Avenue, at the Route 60 split.

Shapiro has an appealing voice and interesting lyrics - "Who knows which way the magma flow," he sings in "Continental Drift." When music fans hear the letters "P.J." they may first think of female singer P.J. Harvey or the band 40 Ft. Ringo's P.J. Farley, but Shapiro has something different to offer - a series of dark rolling essays accompanied by a folk guitar, which he manipulates in creative ways.

Live at the Avenue C showcase he set the mood by applying those subtle dynamics, kind of like a progressive rock band without the bombast. It's an interesting concept that demands attentiveness and was embraced by the ever growing crowd at organizer Jeff Munro's Thursday evening get-togethers.

The event itself was impressive, a guitarist named Randy coming all the way from the South Shore, other participants sometimes showing up from New Hampshire or other parts unknown to the local Medford/ Malden/ Arlington region.

After author Rushworth M. Kidder (from Maine) was interviewed for a cable show at around 8:45 p.m., singer Donny Schultz began the open mic - Schultz requesting to open for P.J. Shapiro, which shows the respect fellow musicians have for the performer.

The featured artist then took the staging area in front of a fireplace and black drape backdrop and began his set. The only "cover" song performed by Shapiro was Joss Whedon's theme song to the sci-fi TV show "Firefly." It's available only in secret places on the Web, one of those little treats performers put out for the world to hunt down and cherish.

Another song, "Justice," doesn't appear on the singer's 12 track "I Know What You're Made Of" CD from 2001, but it has the same style and flavor as the excellent material on that disc. More information about the CD can be found on http://www.pjshapiro.com/

The singer was thankful that the crowd would "brave the elements; hope it's been rewarding" he said. The applause in response was sincere - the other musicians in attendance seem to have a camaraderie which spills over to the non-participants, those just walking in for a beer or some of the excellent food served at the club.

Promoter Jeff Munro is also the station manager at Arlington's Comcast Cable station. He's been putting open mics together for at least six years and has a handle on bringing like talents together for what was one of the more fun nights this jaded writer has experienced in quite some time.

Kevin McQuilken appeared after Shapiro to play instrumental versions of songs ranging from The Police to the 60s hit "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" as well as the 1970s gem "Loving You" by Minnie Ripperton.

The level of musicianship was surprisingly very high for a suburban showcase, higher than many similar events found in Cambridge and Boston.

A pretty gal named Marissa showed up with her friends to join the event in a jam after songwriter David Munro played an excellent albeit brief collection of his tunes. This club is something special - opening Labor Day weekend 2004 it has a New York-style decor that adds to the legitimacy of the artist mix. In other words - it's a classy place!

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Band debuts while lead singer moves

By Joe Viglione/ Correspondent
Thursday, January 27, 2005

http://www2.townonline.com/medford/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=171309

A debut performance of the band "Slop" at an established Cambridge hotspot, the All Asia Bar in Central Square, proved to be lead singer/vocalist Matt O'Connor's final show as a resident of Medford.

The local landscaper who is also a singer/songwriter is moving outside the Worcester area, but will continue performing with the Boston based Slop.

The all-ages show on Dec. 11 contained an interesting blend of originals and music by some of the group's heroes, from Jimi Hendrix to Bob Marley, and what they lacked in proficiency this new group certainly made up for with heart.

Belmont's Pierre Ratzki is lead and rhythm guitarist for Slop with his friend Joey Jebari handling the bass guitar. They met O'Connor on Sept. 18, 2004 at a festival in Boston where O'Connor performed solo to approximately 200 people.

Slop formed shortly after that meeting when O'Connor emerged from the recording studio at the end of summer 2004, putting to tape music by his friend from Los Angeles, the late Greg Zera.

O'Connor's travels have taken him from Worcester to Woburn to Spokane, Wash., eventually leading him to Los Angeles. He became friends with Chris Poland of the group Megadeth and taped an interview with Poland for his TV show, The Rehearsal Space, when Poland played Johnny Ds in Somerville.

When Zera tragically passed away in Los Angeles, O'Connor made it a mission to get some of his musician friends songs put to tape.

O'Connor moved to Medford in January of 2004, where he worked for a local landscaper and found musicians to help him bring the new music to life. The Deal, another band which recently exited the city, loaned their drummer, Peter Kelly, to the sessions.

After the recordings O'Connor began looking for people to play with on a more regular basis.
Encountering Jebari and Ratzki at the festival led to a quick friendship and thus "Slop" was born, an old school blues sound fused with hard rock that began by playing a mixture of songs composed by O'Connor with instrumentals from Joey, Pierre and an earlier drummer.

A bassline from Jebari led to "The Slop Anthem" when O'Connor and Ratzki put additional music to it. O'Connor added lyrics later.

Drummer Jake Staley came on board after being introduced to O'Connor through a friend from college. Staley is a sophomore at Berklee College of Music majoring in Contemporary Writing and Production. His solid beats keep the Slop boys organized.

Staley takes private lessons from Casey Scheurell and cites Led Zeppelin's John Bonham and session musician Vinnie Colaiuta as his influences. Born in Silver Springs, Md., the 19-year-old Staley now hails from Toledo, Ohio, though the pull of Berklee College brought him to New England and this unique and creative quartet.

Joey Jebari is a self-taught musician who hooked up with Ratzki at Belmont High School around April of 2003. His musical tastes range from blues to jazz to 60s rock and indie music to techno. Born in Cambridge, the Jebari family moved to Morocco from 1988 to 1995. They returned to Massachusetts setting up residence in Belmont.

Joey has owned his bass since 2000 and joined a local pop band with other Belmont High musicians James Green and Geoff Wright. That group, Suburban Legends, performed at the 2004 Belmont Talent Show at Belmont High Auditorium.

The final gig with "Suburban Legends" was on May 19, a celebration for the passing of the same-sex marriage bill. At that event Jebari jammed in public for the first time with Pierre Ratzki.

Ratzki commented on his friend's skills: "Joey's basslines often become the backbone for songs, and if I introduce a song I've written, I know that his bassline will complement the guitar perfectly. We feel very comfortable playing together, and I don't think either of us would have as much fun in a band without a good friendship, which is what we have."

The guitarist went on to explain the composition of their own material: "The way we write originals, there's no set method. Joey will start with a bassline, and I'll come up with a guitar part, and Matt will do something over that, while Jake brings it all together, etc. But it could start with any of us, and most of the originals we will be playing at (upcoming shows) were created on the spot like that, and refined later. We just jam a lot in practice, which helps fuse a band and make them communicate well together. You can't just throw four guys together and expect them to be tight on the first song, you have to jam first. Plus, jamming is awesome. So far, Matt has written all of the lyrics, but I hear that Jake has a bunch of originals he will soon be introducing to the band."

The show at the All Asia is the first since Ratzki's return from a trip to Paris, France, where he has relatives. And for such a young group of - - O'Connor in his 30s, Jebari, Ratzki and Staley in their late teens, it is amazing the amount of traveling they have all done, Morocco, Paris and Los Angeles contacts can only help the group in obtaining some kind of tour schedule or CD release outside of the Massachusetts area.

Ratzki commented on the importance of the band's newest member, drummer Jake Staley: "Jake is the key ingredient to the band, because he is sort of like the director. He brings the songs up or breaks them down, and has complete control over dynamics. Without him, we sound thin and lacking. It's humbling to play with someone from Berklee, especially someone with as much musical talent as Jake. He can play faster and louder than any drummer I have ever heard, but he can also play soft and jazzy."

Prior to the formation of the band lead singer O'Connor, the group's most veteran member, found himself on the Cambridge Central Square music circuit, performing solo at the All Asia Bar, The Zeitgeist Gallery as well as the Cantab. The decade before he found himself in both the Seattle and L.A. music scenes, ultimately recording a two song tape on 24 track tape resulting in the tunes "Errand Boy" and "The Barking Dog Band."

When he returned to the Boston area, landing on Garfield Avenue in Medford, he began hosting a television program, The Rehearsal Space, which featured interviews with The Supersuckers, Audrey Ryan Band, former Medford residents Pat O'Hara and his group "The Deal" and Chris Poland of Megadeath.

Where Slop will go in the music industry is anyone's guess, Pierre Ratzki hoping the band will continue to be part of the Boston Music scene, "...especially during the summers. If we could get a record deal, sign me up, but right now its just about jamming and having a good time."

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More links to Joe Viglione's work:
http://www.visual-radio.net

http://community.webtv.net/TheMadFaxer/rockjournalistjoe

http://www.joeviglione.com

TOMMY JAMES SONG REVIEWS

Assorted Song Reviews by Joe Viglione on AMG

9 JEFF BECK SONGS REVIEWED BY JOE VIGLIONE

Thursday, January 06, 2005

Reviews on E Music.com 1/07/05

Rick Berlin
http://www.emusic.com/album/10816/10816492.html

Pousette Dart Never Enough
http://www.emusic.com/album/10788/10788101.html

Upcoming Reviews on AMG January 8, 2005

Frank Sinatra Show with Ella Fitzgeraldhttp://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:08qog4gxtv1z

89 Live In Japan Quiet Riot
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:8wabqj7eojka

Spencer Davis Live In Manchester 2002
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:1jdjvwpwa9tk

Genius Of Lady Day Billie Holiday
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:igae4j177wav

The Legendary Nat King Cole
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:71q67ul040jd

IS IT LIVE OR IS IT MEMOREX???

O.J.'s Bastard Daughter: Ramblings about the Music Biz

by Rock Journalist Joe Viglione

Laurence Fishburne continues to ask us the burning question "What is real?"- or as the Architect in Matrix II might say "...Concordantly, while your first question maybe the most pertinent you may or may not realize it is also the most irrelevant. ...

That revision of the age-old query - "Is it Live or is it Memorex?"

Watching Ashlee on the web (my, how the world has changed from Madonna on MTV!) - "La La" and "Shadow" - this writer finds her a tolerable creation - vocals with enough soup on them to pair her with Marilyn Manson at some point in time - like Liza Minelli showing up on an Alice Cooper album, the alleged "culture clash" is no clash at all, it's just the fame game - if you got a name, we'll slap you on the disc. On "Pieces of Me" she looks like Courtney Hole's little sister with an unholy concoction of Three Dog Night when they covered a Dave Loggins tune back in 1972 meets Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner". It really does sound like "Pieces Of April" with the "Tom's Diner" melody - Sue, Suzanne, Sue!

Back to what is pertinent: Ashlee Simpson gets booed at Halftime - see this Orange Bowl clip:
http://www.comcast.net/providers/fan/popup2.html?v=25751911&pl=25268692.xml&config=/providers/fan/config/music.xml

She is just so awful awful awful! Has it really come down to this? Bobby Sherman may have annoyed us in his younger days, but now he's a sheer delight to watch onstage - and the songs have punch. But can you see Ashlee Simpson prancing out on stage in her 50s and 60s? To what - the booing of the Orange Bowl performance onscreen behind her?

What about taking care of artists that matter, artists who have creative genius? Has the music industry morphed into a cereal manufacturer? -now there's a rhetorical question - as long as the Wheaties and Led Zeppelin are on the grocery shelves, consumers ARE George Romero's creatures in "Dawn Of The Dead".

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That old adage "any press is good press" seems to have gone by the wayside after O.J. Simpson's knife cut through his ex-wife and some alleged gay guy - hey - I personally think O.J.'s son did it, which would almost make O.J. a hero except for those 911 tapes...Ashlee imploded on Saturday Night Live, and paid the consequences at the Orange Bowl - because at the Orange Bowl her voice is horrifying, and not the tolerable entity it is on her recordings.
...as this story is being written Jessica Simpson suddenly pops up on the video under this e mail (technology is so amazing!) doing Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" from Top Gun! Disco wizard Giorgio Moroder must be pleased (did you know that Martha Davis and The Motels actually cut the demo! - and was it really 1986 when Tom Cruise swept himself and Berlin into the mainstream consciousness - "I'll be your wingman, anytime" - a gayer movie was never spawned - so sayeth "homoeroticism.com) --- I mean we have to digress - some webpages blow Ashlee and Jessica off the map, check out Television City without Pity:

\http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=518801&st=45

ICE: I guess I owe you one.
MAVERICK: You don't owe me anything. We're on the same team.
ICE: You saved our lives. You did it!
MAVERICK: We did it.
ICE: You're a hell of a flyer. You can be my wingman any time.
MAVERICK: No. You can be mine!
ICE: Whatever you say, Commander.
Take my breath away indeed. ;)
I'm happy to report that Smallville's glorious S1 is currently running in Germany - sponsored by some body care company. They inform you in big & bold letters right before and after the show that Smallville is "a man's business". Coincidence? I hope not.
========================================================================== I did NOT write the above - call me late for dinner but don't call me Globe's resident plagiarist Jeff Jacoby - do a google on "I'll be your wingman anytime" - it ain't only me! That really "grabbed" people - and with a friend named "Goose"...oh well...

Now the web is spinning Britney Spears doing Bobby Brown, "MyPrerogative", so I guess we'll have to get back on track - what is real? And was that really 1989 - GAWWWDDDDD we're all getting so much ... wiser! The older the grape, the sweeter the wine... Britney's "Toxic" is justdownright annoying - melodies and electronic drums with visuals - what has happened to music like I heard Julie Devereaux on WROR spinning yesterday at noontime or so - (well she's not actually SPINNING the stuff, I think a computer touches the discs now, come to think of it...) Carole King singing "So Far Away" and Rod Stewart with "You Wear It Well" - which he allegedly wrote for Jo Jo Laine. Rod asked me what I thought of his set one night after a Tweeter Center gig - "Rod, you know I ADORE your old stuff" - skirting the question - and he laughingly said "Joe, I can't play for you and the 20 other critics in the audience" - so I handed him a copy of Jo Jo Laine's "I'm Into Something Good", a cover of Herman's Hermits that Jimmy Miller & I conjured up.

We were at the Four Seasons with Jo Jo (he was cool enough to go out and play soccer with her son the next day - the son that was conceived about two months after Jo Jo exited from Rod (or vice versa) and moved on to Denny Laine from Wings (Wingman, anytime?). Rod said "He has my shoe size!" Jo Jo replied "But of course!" I said "Laine is Denny's kid".Jo Jo said - "you're right, but with all the money Alana (Hamilton)'s getting..." Good old Jo Jo - always going for the gold.

THERE ARE NO PUBLISHING COMPANIES OUT THERE DOING THEIR JOB!
This regurgitation is not as much fun as retro! Would you rather hear a cover of "My Prerogative" or Britney Spears tackling "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night"...hmmm, on second thought, let them rip the disco/funk stuff all they want, leave sacred territory alone!
To be continued

Joe Vig First Impressions 1:25 PM day before David Presley's birthday.
An Elvis Bowie Production

Willie Loco on 971zht!
http://www.971zht.com/iplaylist/album/554504/

Loco Live 1976
Willie Alexander & The Boom Boom Band Released 2001 on
Captain Trip
Available on: CD

Willie "Loco" Alexander
Main Performer
Willie Alexander and the Boom Boom Band signed a three-album deal with producer Craig Leon and MCA records back in the '70s, but the group imploded after tracking just two albums which failed to capture their magic. Decades later, the Tokyo-based Captain Trip records has seen fit to issue this single CD, which includes portions of two live shows and a bonus 45 rpm. It achieves what the major-label releases did not. The CD begins with material engineered by Jesse Henderson at Boston's notorious nightspot the Rat on August 27, 1976, exactly one month before the recordings this band made for the Live at the Rat album (September 27, 28, and 29 with Jesse Henderson as well). "Pup Tune," "At the Rat," and "Kerouac" sound much clearer on this CD, a better mix than what was released on the legendary double LP from the nightclub, and three more songs to boot. The performances are excellent. Eight additional titles were recorded in May of 1976 at the Club in Cambridge by Erik Lindgren of the band Moving Parts. Dramatically different than the Rat recordings, this earlier tape is muddier -- bootleg quality, but that doesn't stop the power from seeping through. These are historic concert tapes of the band performing "For Old Time's Sake" (aka "Cause I'm Taking You to Bed"), "Garbage Man," and a rare live version of "Gin," the single that landed Willie Alexander his post-MCA deal with New Rose/RCA in Europe. The woman in the audience talking at the prelude of "Garbage Man" is totally annoying, and it is a sin marring what is a fine performance. This is a slow, very nasty version of the sexual escapade that is "Garbage Man" -- as close to the sound of Alexander's former group, the Velvet Underground, as the Boom Boom Band cared to get. This song, along with "Dirty Eddie," caused much controversy in the "Loco" camp. Reportedly, the band became afraid of letting Alexander be Alexander on MCA, but the whole reason they got signed was because of his ability to write great ock & roll with no inhibitions. Hearing this CD will thrill as well as infuriate the devoted followers of Willie Loco because it preserves the power of his performance, and proves that producer Craig Leon and the members of the Boom Boom Band should've just let loose in the studio and allowed the artist the opportunity to do what he does best. The demos that secured the deal with MCA were brilliant, and there was no need to re-record them except in a live setting. "Mass. Ave." is an all-out rocker on this CD, the May performance one of the Boom Boom Band's earlier shows boasting a raw energy and enthusiasm resulting in total artistic expression. "Rock 'n' Roll Lick #76," a masterpiece of song construction, is sublime and, along with "Rhythm a Baby," reveal how cohesive and extraordinary this ensemble was. People say that Barry & the Remains were a live phenomenon which studio recordings failed to capture. That could be said of the Boom Boom Band as well. However, this disc, and the long out-of-print Sperm Bank Babies live radio broadcast from 1976, are able to set the record straight. This is primal Willie "Loco" Alexander with his Boom Boom Band before the politics and the recording industry did a number on them. What it lacks in production is more than made up for with the spirit and energy that sizzle in these CD grooves. The two bonus tracks at the end were released on Somor records and are outtakes from the MCA sessions recorded by Craig Leon. "Dirty Eddie" was perhaps the finest single tune produced for MCA and was rejected for being "too dirty." The band, the label, management, and the producer attempted to "refine" Willie Alexander, and in doing so, stifled him and derailed their gravy train. "She Wanted Me (Nazi Nola)," a live eggae track recorded in the studio, is completely raunchy, and half trying, obliterates the other recordings that were released on the two MCA Boom Boom Band albums. France and Japan revere Willie Loco Alexander for the genius that he is, and this album, despite the jarring caused by the three different tape sources, is very powerful and lots of fun. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide