Thoroughly Enjoyed Thanksgiving « Coolgrrrls

Thoroughly Enjoyed Thanksgiving

Posted 13 December 2001 boston@nite

Hi grrrls and guys…

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is almost done with their holiday shopping. I’ve been swamped at work and can’t wait to have a few days off from the daily grind. New England weather is whacked as usual; it was over 60 degrees on December 1st and now they’re predicting a snowstorm… go figure. Okay, enough small talk, let’s get to the rock…

Yee Haw….

Excuse me for the outburst, must be left over from the 5^th Annual Redneck Festival which took place Nov. 7-10, at different venues across the city. How did the Redneck Fest get started, you ask? You didn’t? Well, I’m going to tell you anyway… the way I heard it, local rockers, Quintane Americana, decided they wanted to put together a big rock show… and it grew and grew, into what it is today. Sorry, it’s not much of a story after the build-up (ha, ha). It is now the great undertaking of Marc Schleicher (bass player for Quintane, frontman for Cracktorch as well as Coke Dealer and guitarist for Liquor Tricks… whew!).

I have to confess that I missed the first two nights of the Fest. It’s tough when I have to be at my day job at 8 am… sigh. Anyway, the nights I missed were quite rockin’, at least that’s what I heard… Wednesday night at the Abbey Lounge featured The Humanoids, Destruct-a-thon, Three Day Threshold and Random Road Mother. Thursday’s bill, upstairs at The Middle East, was Liquor Tricks, Quitter, Lamont, Ghetto Thunder, Placer and Caged Heat. Friday night’s show began with Kill Everyone Now, Beef and The Confidence Men. Ken and I arrived at The Middle East in time to catch the obviously Guns n’ Roses influenced, Shake Dog Shake (the frontman even sported a Guns n’ Roses t-shirt) and the always rockin’ Rock City Crimewave. We ventured out to The Linwood on Saturday night, only to spend 20 minutes waiting in line, which is a rare thing (the place was so packed, it was filled to capacity.). We could hear Cracktorch playing from outside. Cash Monies and the Jetsetter and the band Give played earlier that night. We were finally let in when The Humanoids emerged from the club (they weren’t playing that night, just hanging out), making room for us. Unfortunately, we completely missed Cracktorch’s set, but made it in to catch Scissorfight and Quintane Americana. Both bands played truly rockin’ sets.

Now, This is a Rock Band… Quitter’s Record Release Party

What do you get when you meld two of Boston’s finest rock bands, Roadsaw and Milligram? You get the return of the “total rock star”.

Thursday, December 6^th…

Upstairs at The Middle East was packed as psychedelic swirling colors filled the stage wall. The sound of soulful, sleazy rock, laced with a 70’s vibe, enveloped the room when Quitter took the stage. The audience moved to the music. It was an awesome set. Quitter is my new favorite local rock band. The band is the baby of guitarist extraordinaire, Ian Ross, with Hari Hassin on vocals, Bob Maloney on bass and Craig Riggs on drums, Quitter are Boston’s new rock stars. They’ve got the talent, the style and the vibe. The songs speak for themselves, due to the combined efforts of Ian and Hari. You can hear the band’s signature single “Black Box” and check out their untitled CDEp at www.tortugarecordings.com.

More music-related stuff…

Who’s in the studio, new line-ups, new releases, touring and more…

Right here at home…

David James Motorcycle are recording their first 7-inch. If you dig bands like Oasis and Hurricane #1, you should definitely check out them out. You can find more information about the band at djmotorcycle.tripod.com/davidjamesmotorcycle. Also in the studio, default Outfit, are working on their first full-length CD. If you like Better Than Ezra and Semisonic, chances are you’ll dig these guys too. Learn more about the band at www.defaultoutfit.com. Girl-powered, punk/pop band, The Decals recently released their first full-length CD entitled “Drive-by Kiss Off” (Fork In Hand). Check out the band and their music at http://www.thedecals.com. EEE Adams of Rock City Crimewave recently told me that the band has a Japanese fan site and the band is also getting some airplay in Japan. How cool is that? Now, if I could just locate the site. Interested in hearing some of the local bands I write about on this page? You can download mp3’s at www.curveoftheearthrecords.com. Bands you’ll find on the site include Rock City Crimewave, Cracktorch, Quintane Americana, Lamont and Medea Connection.

Elsewhere in the universe…

Florida’s pop-punksters, The Dollyrots, are working on a new disk. You can listen to some of their songs (my faves are “Boom Boom” and “Motorcycle Boy”) on their website http://www.dollyrots.com. Seattle’s Cookie is working on a new full-length disk. Cookie’s sound is pure rock n’ roll with a dash of country thrown into the mix. The band describes frontwoman Sabrina RockArena as sounding like the illegitimate love child of Joey Ramone and Patsy Cline. You can visit Cookie at http://www.cookiefactory.com. Karen Neal of Detroit’s Queen Bee informed me that they’ve added Broadzilla’s Rachel May on guitar, contributing to the band’s already killer sound. You can check out Karen’s band at http://www.QueenBee.ismad.com. Martin Brett of London’s Dollshouse recently told me the band is planning to do a few gigs in NYC and possibly Boston this coming Spring. Martin was a founding member of the now disbanded Voice of the Beehive. You can learn more about the band at http://www.dollshouseband.com.