Karen Booth
First things first, Tommy Keene’s new album “Behind the Parade” hits stores and the interwebs on August 30th. I’ve even heard mention of limited edition vinyl, so keep that in mind when you’re squirreling away your allowance. In the meantime, Tommy agreed to tackle the RNRHS questionnaire. He’s the first of my many respondents to mention having seen Roxy Music live and I must say that I am more than a little jealous, perhaps even green with envy. (And how about this groovy RM photo I unearthed? Bryan, you are rocking the white suit as only you can do.)
Tommy Keene
Walter Johnson High, Bethesda MD, Class of ’76, Currently: I have a new record coming out Aug. 30 called Behind The Parade, on Second Motion Records and we’re doing eight shows in Sept. The 6th in Los Angeles, Silverlake Lounge, 9 Arlington VA- Iota Club and Cafe, 10 Brooklyn NY-The Rock Shop, 11- Boston MA-Church, 13 Cleveland OH-The Grog Shop, 14 Milwaukee WI-Shank Hall, 15 Chicago IL-Schuba’s and St. Paul MN-The Turf Club
Band and/or song that reminds you the most of high school: Kind of too numerous to mention, some stand outs would be David Bowie-Ziggy Stardust, Roxy Music-Siren, Be Bop Deluxe-Sunburst Finish and many others!!!
Favorite piece of music memorabilia (poster, t-shirt, etc.) in high school: I bought a poster of The Who at the Quadrophenia show at The Capitol Center in 1973 that had all their faces on the mirrors of a mod scooter that I had on my bedroom wall for a long time.
Band that you hated that everyone else at school seemed to love: That is a tie between The Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers. I saw the Allman’s early on with Duane in the band. I was so bored I wandered around the concourse for an hour and a half. Two drummers and endless, long noodly jams that went nowhere, plus they looked like dirty hippies.
Best show or concert you saw in high school: Hands down, Roxy Music at Lisner Auditorium Dec. 75 during the Siren tour.
Optional bonus question: Best high school make-out song: I really don’t have one but I remember in Jr. High- seventh grade at my first make out party, they turned the lights down low and everybody started getting to it. I put the album “Tommy” by The Who on the stereo and was having a Keith Moon air drum moment when the girl I was supposed to be making out with turned to her friend and said, “He’s just so flipped out on music”.
Tommy Keene’s latest is Behind the Parade. You can learn more about Tommy at tommykeene.com.
Here it is the dead of summer and such is the life of the writer and blogger that I just don’t have the energy to hound people for their Rock N Roll High School Q&A. You know who you are. So, in the interest of fun and not wanting to break a sweat, I’m running a “Best Of RNRHS”, this week starting with the question: “What is the band or song that most reminds you of high school?”. If you are one of my past participants and I didn’t pick one of your answers, don’t get your undies in a bunch. There are four more questions to go, plenty of time to “lobby” me with free drinks.
Stuart Nichols, Money Wrangler at Universal Pictures
New Order. Specifically, the release of the double cassette (!) version of Substance seemed to perfectly synch up with my time in high school. I spent a lot of time on Boy Scout trips, family vacations, and school road trips with the headphones on during my glum teenager phase. My favorite song was probably “Procession”- How could any morose 16-year-old resist these lyrics:
“At night it gets cold and you’d dearly like to turn away
An escape that fails
Makes the wounds that time won’t heal alone
Alone, alone, alone”
Combine this with the fun Ian Curtis backstory and you’ve got yourself a recipe for good times!
Jim Wilbur, I work from the back of a used bookstore and play rock music with the Superchunk band
The indie/punk rock canon of the mid 1980′s was core to me. I’m talking about the Minutemen, Husker Du, The Replacements, Minor Threat, you know, those guys…. but I was also totally into Bruce Springsteen and Steely Dan. I didn’t see it as blasphemy to worship from different pews. Still don’t.
Kerry Cantwell, College Success Instructor, Drummer for Actual Persons Living or Dead & Scene of the Crime Rovers
High school, to be brief, sucked. I disliked the school, I disliked the students, I disliked my friends, I disliked everything. My only saving grace was my own self-imposed melancholia. I think the song (and album, frankly) that reminds me the most of high school is probably “Black Celebration” by Depeche Mode. It encapsulated the gloominess I believed I was experiencing. The worst part is that I was a good kid: didn’t drink or smoke or sleep with people. I just sat in my room with my candles and my white Christmas lights and wrote ridiculously tortured poems and listened to Depeche Mode all the time. Geez, even I think that’s so boring!
Jill (Tomlinson) Mango, Independent Music Publicist, mom of 3
Definitely Wang Chung’s “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” — not because I was a fan, but because they were the first rockstars (using the term loosely, here folks) I ever met. Wang Chung came to my Junior Prom in 1987. They played a show in Providence and were returning to the Biltmore Hotel, scene of my prom, when a friend of mine spotted them in the elevator and convinced them to come up to the ballroom. I recognized them instantly (the DJ was also playing every single Wang Chung record he had with him), ditched my date and ran up to have my photo taken with Wang or was it Chung?
Celia Rivenbark, Syndicated Humor Columnist and Author of six Books including “You Don’t Sweat Much for a Fat Girl” coming out in August
Derek & the Dominos/Layla. I bought the album for fifty cents from the cutest boy in high school because he was starving and wanted to buy two ice cream sandwiches. I had wanted the album forever but it was too pricey for me. Paul Dixon, wherever you are, thanks for a sweet deal for us both. Best. Album. Ever. Honorable mention: Traffic’s Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys. Delicious. Still listen to it at least once a week when I’m ridin’ around.
Thomas Juliano, Guitarist for Seven Mary Three
“The Spirit of Radio” Rush. I know, I know. Shut up! Don’t judge me!
Amy Barefoot, The Boss of Me at Barefoot Public, Inc.
The hair metal bands of the 80’s were really unavoidable for me. For some reason I morphed from worshiping the British pop darlings of Duran Duran to discovering the beauty of the Psychedelic Furs and Echo & The Bunnymen on the Pretty in Pink soundtrack to landing straight in the middle of a big heap of neon spandex, eyeliner and lots of hair.
I once made a banner for Bon Jovi from a queen-sized sheet that I then strategically placed up my acid washed jean miniskirt along with a roll of duct tape to enter Greensboro Coliseum. I had been told security would confiscate all banners and they would be checking purses. I’m pretty sure I looked like I was seven months pregnant but the crowd cheered as me and my friends unfurled our homemade love letter on a sheet. It was worth the trouble in the end because Jon Bon Jovi mentioned how much he liked it three times during the show. The crowd ripped it to shreds and I actually saw someone walking out with the part of the sheet that had my name on it.
Chris Phillips, Self un-employed musician
I want to say “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers because of the heavy story and hard hitting music. But I bought that at the local grocery store in grade school. So let me fast forward. Hmmmm…just thought of Journey, but thats more like junior high school. Still fast forwarding…wait a minute…Ive got it!
Clarence Carter – “Strokin” !!!! I think we can all agree that this poet merchant of love really tapped into a universal feeling here. He exploded beyond the bounds of Top Ten radio with this one. And what teenage high school student wasn’t singin’ this one in the hallways? Didn’t matter if it was girls or boys, jocks or preps. We were all just finally united against the man and singin’ that song! It was a song of Freedom and revolution. Or was that “Six Pack” by Black Flag that united us against the man?
Sam Stephenson, Author, “The Jazz Loft Project”
“Dirty Laundry” by Don Henley. I grew up in a town of nine thousand people in coastal N.C. (Washington) and we relied heavily on two local pop radio stations – WITN Rock 93 out of Washington, or Chocowinity to be exact, and WSFL 106.5 out of Bridgeton/New Bern. This song was in heavy rotation 1983-84 and I hated it. When I heard its first notes on one of the two stations I’d switch to the other one. Whenever I hear it today I’m taken back to the 1978 Pontiac Firebird that was passed down from my brother to me and suddenly I’m driving out to the mall on a cold, dark winter night, and I’m hitting the radio preset buttons as fast as I can to get to a different tune.
“Union of the Snake” by Duran Duran. During summers, holidays, and Saturdays I worked at Moss Planing Mill, which was a lumber and building supply company. A slightly older co-worker named Sammy Corey had a Buick Regal two-door sedan with a T-top and I remember jumping in his car one day to go to Hardee’s for lunch. He threw in a cassette with this tune cued up and he said, “This is some bad jam,” and we cranked it over to Hardee’s. That sticks with me bigtime.
Jon Wurster, I hit people in the ear with rock and in the stomach with comedy
Two songs that come to mind right away are “Urgent” by Foreigner and “Heat of the Moment” by Asia. I liked neither. Whenever the former comes on the radio I’m transported back to my older brother’s Honda Civic in the winter of ’82 on our way to school. I still think there is nothing crueler than making a teenager get up at six AM to brave freezing winter weather to go to school. I barely graduated and I turned out great. I mean, look how good I right.
When I hear the Asia song I’m back in my friend Matt Thorn’s powder blue Rabbit the following year. We’re bound for the mall to see what exciting new wave LPs have made their way into Music Scene since we visited last week. I play along with Carl Palmer as he does that Ronettes beat but I hit the dashboard too hard and knock out a portion of the Rabbit’s humble stereo system. Matt is rightfully upset with me.
People often assume that I chose high school and music as a recurring topic for my blog because I have a “thing” about high school. Sure, I have a “thing” about high school just like I have a “thing” about old boyfriends and Steely Dan. No–I chose the topic because it’s a universal theme. No matter who you were at that time in your life–Muffy or Biff, burnout or brain, punk-rock girl or priss–you get it. When you hear “that song”, it takes you there. Today’s RNRHS from my good pal Steve Foxbury is a great one, chock full of icons from many musical eras, clearly a fully realized step back in time.
It’s a bit complicated, but in the interest of time, my name is Steven Foxbury
Bishop Moore, Orlando, FL, Class of ’91, Currently: Failed Life Coach (ed’s note: also in an amazing band called The Battle Sigh–check them out here)
Band or song that reminds you most of high school: I’ve always loved music on a very deep level, but not necessarily cool music. My wife has always had a knack for liking cool music, her marriage to me excepted, but me? Not so much. For instance, I absolutely thought that Toad the Wet Sprocket was going to be considered the band of my generation – my generation being the one that came of age in the midst of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, et al. Though these choices may result in my permanent banning from the cool club, these made up the soundtrack to those blissful, pimpled years.
Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd: This was the first song that I learned to play on guitar. My friend, Todd, taught me the intro lead and to this day, it’s one of maybe three lead guitar parts that I know. The theme to the Andy Griffith Show might be one of the others. I’m sure that by now, most readers have moved onto something far more interesting.
Over the Hills and Far Away: Holy shit, did I love Led Zeppelin! The late 80’s are not counted among music’s many golden eras, so I found myself turning to classic rock during that hour of need. So enamored was I with Led Zeppelin, that I drew a giant Icarus mural on my bedroom wall and swore to have it tattooed on my left arm the day that I turned 18. Luckily, that tattoo would have been around $300 and I think that I was 25 before I had $300 at any one time and by then, I had changed my position on this matter.
Stream of consciousness Honorable Mentions: Fishbone, Party at Ground Zero, U.G.L.Y. | The Smiths, pretty much all of it | Roxy Music, Avalon + To Turn You On | Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mother’s Milk | Jane’s Addiction, Nothing’s Shocking | REM – wow, I can’t believe I’m only now getting to them. They were gods to me in high school. I think I’ll stop now.
Band that you hated that everyone else at school seemed to love: Bobby Brown is the only guy that leaps to mind. I dated a girl who was really into him and it just never made sense to me (neither did Kirk Cameron for that matter). He had a song where I think he called girls Roni’s? What the hell does that even mean?
Best show or concert that you saw in high school: Lenny Kravitz and The Cult playing for free in Gainesville. Lenny Kravitz was the opener. He had a broken arm and still put on a better show than most of the able bodied performers I’ve seen. I had to play a show once with a broken elbow and felt about as lively as Bing Crosby on his farewell tour. I don’t remember much of The Cult’s performance except for a vague feeling that they were pretty great as well and that security kept coming on over the PA before their set to say that, “The Cult will not play until everyone in the crowd takes five steps back.” I guess they were worried about Gainsvillieans being trampled due to their awesomeness.
Best high-school make-out song: Hands down – “Somebody”, Depeche Mode: I drove a 1981 white Ford Econoline conversion van in high school, which meant that as a 16 year-old, I would pick up dates in a 1981 white Ford Econoline conversion van. It had corduroy seats, wood paneling and wall to wall to fucking ceiling shag carpeting. Fathers made well-conveyed eyeball threats as I led their daughters away from their homes and their childhoods.
And oh, what mix-tapes would sound from the van’s many, many speakers. The mix-tape roster was a fickle beast, but Somebody by Depeche Mode always made the cut. I made my wife a mix-tape a couple years ago for Christmas and you can bet your sweet ass that Somebody was on it.
Visit the website for Steven’s band The Battle Sigh at: reverberation.com/thebattlesigh.
Sometimes it’s a good idea to shut up and let someone else do the talking. Today is one of those days–I’m so pleased and honored to have Jody Stephens, founding member of legendary band Big Star, grace my humble blog that I’m at a loss for words, which almost never happens. Ask anybody. Jody fills us in on everything he’s been up to lately, (including the newly released Big Star Live 7″ featuring Jon Davis of Superdrag ) before tackling the high school highlights, so I will gladly step aside and allow him to take the much-deserved reins.
Jody Stephens
Overton High School, Memphis, TN, Class of ’70
Currently: I work along side of John Fry managing Ardent Studios. I also help out with our little indie label Ardent Music. We have a roster of one: Star & Micey. We also have a new Big Star EP release out on 7” vinyl. The three songs on the EP include John Davis on guitar and lead vocals and were recorded live during Big Star’s tribute to Alex Chilton at the Levitt Shell here in Memphis, May 15, 2010.
Chris Stamey has produced a few Big Star’s Third Live shows that have been incredible to be a part of. We plan to do more of them.
Golden Smog comes calling every now and then. We just played a couple of nights at the Fine Line in Minneapolis. GS is like a traveling medicine show…it’s good for what ails you.
And, while we used the name Big Star for the last time at the Levitt Shell show last year, it’s kind of hard to give up playing those songs together. So… Jon, Ken and I joined up with JB Meijers in the Netherlands this past April to play a few dates featuring Big Star songs. We were billed under our own names and had a few wonderful Dutch artists join us.
Song that reminds you the most of high school: “Aquarius.” While I was a senior in high school my brother Jimmy (bass) and I (drums) got picked to be part of the University of Memphis production of the musical Hair. The song “Aquarius” opened the play. I was 17 years old at the time and my eyes were opened to paraphrase a lyric from the play. It was controversial for its time and definitely a life changing experience for me. It also was the catalyst for my reintroduction to Andy Hummel and, via Andy, my introduction to Chris Bell, John Fry and Ardent Studios.
Favorite piece of music memorabilia (poster, t-shirt, etc.) in high school: I didn’t hang on to much from high school but I do still have a program from Hair.
Band that you hated that everyone else at school seemed to love: I started thinking about this one and realized that, amongst the people I knew at Overton, I was pretty much a loner when it came to being into music. I would hitch hike in to mid-town and hang out with guys that had the same interest in music. We were all into The Beatles, Stones, Kinks and the music coming out of Stax.
Best show or concert you saw in high school: The first thing I thought of…The Zombies was potentially the best concert, but I don’t remember it. I was shy, but I did have a date for this. In pursuit of a solution for being shy, I somehow obtained a 1/2 pint of Old Charter (a confidence builder)…such a mistake. I had too much “confidence” and wound up “sleeping” through the concert. Lesson learned. I went to see Led Zeppelin a year later, no date, no alcohol and was completely blown away.
Optional bonus question: Best high school make-out song: I didn’t date much in high school. Paper route money didn’t go very far and what I had went to things like buying records, drum stuff and going to see bands. When I had a couple of girlfriends in college, music’s role was more important to the healing part of breaking up. David Pomeranz’s New Blues and Time To Fly were good albums for that.
Here’s the skinny on the new Big Star Live 7″ released yesterday, with a personal account from Jody Stephens. There will be a digital release to follow, but you’ll have to wait a few weeks for that.
For our last performance as Big Star, Jon, Ken and I had some very good friends join us to celebrate the music and lives of Alex, Andy and Chris on May 15, 2010. The performances really tell the story of what happened and how we all felt about that evening at Memphis’ Levitt Shell. The idea of trying to release the show in its entirety was overwhelming in the sense of time and effort needed for all performance clearances. So I thought, first artist first: John Davis was the first of many wonderful guest artists to join us on stage. He wailed on three songs: “In The Street,” “Don’t Lie To Me” and “When My Baby’s Beside Me.” These were just the right amount songs (and time) for an EP release. So with mastering engineer Larry Nix and Big Star’s engineer, John Fry, and our Neumann cutting lathe all residing in the Ardent Studios building how could we not cut vinyl? We hope to release more of the show down the road.
