A Little Live

Hip-O is about to come out with all of Emitt's ABC/Dunhill releases. Highly, highly recommended if you like Beatle influenced pop or tragic genius stories.

been passing the dutchie on the left hand side since my freshman year in high school -

You never really escape the prison that was high school, even if you move away and age some twenty plus years. Ever since the media learned that nostalgia is a cash cow as big as Paul Bunyan's Babe each succeeeding generation gets bombarded with products designed to make you long for Planet Of The Apes action figures, Transformers, Starland Vocal Band's "Afternoon Delight", parachute pants, flannel, poodle skirts, and more always more even if I am still waiting on the big Micronauts revival.

So some of the above list is more accurately junior high or perhaps even elementary school, but I still would have liked a Dr. Zaius doll (action figure) in high school. If the media wasn't enough we are all, absent of some tremendous blow on the head, carrying around our memories of those days. You never know what will set off these little ticking timebombs of remembrance. It might be a phone call from somebody you weren't really friends with in high school. Note: those phone calls are almost always about money. Perhaps you'll hear a song on the radio so indelibly linked to those days that it circumvents any other interpretation. The Gap Band's "You Dropped A Bomb On Me" is like that for me always evoking sophomore year at Riverdale since it was used as the homecoming theme.

You can try and wipe out years and still they come poltergeisting back. The one year I wouldn't mind pulling an eternal sunshine mind move on would have to be the year of hell I spent at Oakland High School. Maybe it was your standard freshman year experience and things would have gotten better if I hadn't moved and switched to Riverdale, but I doubt it. I had just moved back to Murfreesboro after spending a year in Smyrna and most of my old Murfreesboro friends were attending Riverdale. So I was one lonely dude.

Just a few of the bad memories I'd like to forget: having my favorite baseball cap stolen and thrown on top of the school's roof by a thug who outweighed me by a couple hundred pounds, being spit on by a classmate, enduring Mrs. Overton's study hall right after her algebra class, slicing my right index finger open with a band saw blade, and being forced to sell candy bars. It was such a bleak year I didn't tell my parents when it came time to order a yearbook.

There were only a couple of things that weren't cruddy about that year. One was that I had a steady girlfriend. Of course, she attended Riverdale. She happened to be the first girl I had ever worked up the courage to call on the telephone a few years earlier when we were in 7th grade. I didn't give up on her until she was mine and then I treated her like crap until we broke up. I guess my karma balanced out since I didn't have another girlfriend until after high school ended. The other decent thing about my freshman year was just a ticking memory timebomb until just the other day.

I live next door in Smithville to a metal head named Mello who happens to be from Princeton, Indiana. This is rather strange and mysterious to me due to the fact that one of my customers in the automotive manufacturing world is located in Princeton. It's also amazing to me that he plays guitar and likes many of the same bands I did while growing up. Sure, Van Halen, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, and Kiss were massively popular, but it's not often that I run into people around my age that worshipped at this mighty altar of rock and roll like I did and still do. My neighbor doesn't really appreciate punk rock like I do, but nobody's perfect.

I was over talking to him the other day and he mentioned that he was in a cover band with the rather dubious name of Atomic Trunk Monkeys. They play shows around Murfreesboro and I believe they will open for a revamped Dokken soon. I wondered if the players in the band were around our age. Mello said they were so I asked who was in the band. It was a long shot, but there was the slim chance that I might know them. It turned out I knew one of them. You guessed it. I was led back to that horrible freshman year at Oakland.

Lunch time was the absolute worst. I had nobody to sit with or talk to for the half hour. I'd wander the halls eating my peanut butter sandwich and then buy some candy to sneak during my afternoon classes. Then one day I ran into a kid I vaguely remembered, either from Central Middle and/or Mitchell-Neilson Elementary named Neal. Maybe I was wearing my Molly Hatchet shirt or maybe he was wearing a Kiss one, but for whatever reason we started talking to each other. Lunch break was now the highlight of the day. We'd talk about the bands we hated and the bands we'd like. I'd given up on Kiss by this time and Neal couldn't let that happen so he made me a tape of Music From The Elder when it came out. I had that cassette for years.

Funny how I had forgotten that good memory until Mello had told me the name of the singer/rythym guitarist in the Atomic Trunk Monkeys was Neal. I haven't seen or spoken to Neal, but he did confirm the story to Mello. So maybe I'll catch one of their shows sometime and see what kind of recollections Neal has about our freshman year. Long may the bad memories be repressed and more good ones found.

No Blizzards In Smithville

I guess he just couldn't wait for the drive-thru to be open. Luckily nobody was hurt.

Rock And Roll Flyer Week Ends With A Whole Lotta Jack

First a little surf action. Man Or Astroman? always put on a great show.















Not gonna say much since I'm on the road, but Teen Idols and Jack were two of my favorites from back in the day.















Another great Lucy's Record Shop bill.


















My band Dragula and Jack both did two sets that night for our drunken friends and rednecks.














One last flyer...hit the road Jack.

More More More Rock And Roll Flyers

There used to be a dingy rock and roll club formerly a strip club named variously Pan's Starship / Pantheon and I loved that joint. I played many shows and saw several gigs there before it became a parking lot - I think this is the Superchunk gig where Mac had shaved his head so it inspired me to do the same – what an awesome live band










Bedlam Hour gig was sparse but fun with their bassist in a cow suit and they threw food at the audience – Their song “Grey Sweater” is a classic - I believe this is the gig where I donned a blond wig and imitated Kurt Cobain on a cover of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” - Soon we would be Michael Landon's Ghost no more changing our name to Pipebomb. Toby and Ratfink made these posters








Letch Patrol were cool guys – my band did “Sonic Reducer” at sound check and the lead singer dude said “We do that song in our show” so I said we wouldn’t do it and he went, “nah, go ahead and play it too” A good afternoon of prime punk rock that only a select few witnessed.










Unrest – I liked the flyer, but still to this day don’t “get” Unrest - Crop Circle Hoax are one of my faves - I shared the bill with them on the last weekend of shows at Lucy - Myself, Brett and Jimmy from Jack played a set - we were called The Most in honor of Donnie Most - I didn't have a clue that Les Shields of numerous Nashville local bands had once been in a band of the same name with a single release to their credit








Jawbreaker – who would have thought they’d be so damn emofluential – I thought they were good not great - but truly anybody who was somebody whatever etc played Lucy's Record Shop back in the day

More More Rock And Roll Flyers

The Dislocated Jabbs gig – my band our first show ever in either March or April 1989 - I was shaking when I got on stage – these girls untied my Chuck Taylors – played a couple of Living Color songs, Descendents, S.O.D., Black Flag, the audience was walking out and we launched into Sabbath’s "Hand Of Doom" and they stuck around for more - Gonz and I hung out with the drummer's father before the gig drinking beer after beer - Gonz made the poster - what a night







Summer of 89 Dance – this was a battle of the bands and we won – ditched many of the covers and played mainly original stuff - first time I ever met Shrub who later became our bassist – had mad skate session at Memorial Heights later












Dinosaur Jr. – Green Mind was the album of the year for me so far but Urge Overkill were the highlight for me – their cover of Hot Chocolate’s “Emmaline” really moved me – Dino Jr were loud, very loud













Jack and Brancuzzi’s – wasn’t at this one, but Jack were/are the Replacements south – drunken and disorderly with fistfights and passouts or just pure rock and roll junkie adrenalin ramshackle Faces style – either on or off they put on a pure rock and roll show












Bad Brains – this handbill (dig how it was not cut right) came from a Danzig gig at the Cannery the singer dude Clay from F.U.C.T. was handing them out – I missed the show..I think I was out of town or out of something












Bonus: Not a flyer, but an actual Teenage Fanclub setlist – 328 Music Hall gig Afghan Whigs opened - actual set list I grabbed off the stage at the end of the show (they had access to a copy machine obviously) – Fannies were great soccer ball kicking like a Rod Stewart 70’s concert

More Rock And Roll Flyers

Aaaah..."Skankman" in all his glory! January of 86 right before Cantrells bit the dust – just a handful of punks at the show – a group of them drove up in a car slathered with spray paint graffiti with loudspeakers on top of the car – leather jacket skinheads who looked like Circle Jerks mascot “Skankman” they were frightening to behold – hung out near the back with Zander Schloss while PMS performed – they were good – they ate at the Wendy’s behind Vandy after the show one booth over from us – the Jerks were great lots of fun with such a sparse crowd compared to a year or so later when they played Exit/In.




Jason and the Scorchers – I believe this was the kickoff for their Still Standing tour – man that album blew chunks now Jason is a kiddie music star














Fireplace Whiskey Calendar – I would have liked to have seen the Let’s Active and Alex Chilton shows...saw them both a year or so later at different shows














JFA – afternoon gig was great – I bought a shirt that later got me a date