In Worcester Magazine, March, 2005
If you can manage “The Sleeper,” that will ultimately lead to bigger and better tricks. Beginners master that, along with stuff called the “UFO,” “Rock The Baby,” “The Jamaican Flag” and “Creeper.” If you’ve got those down, it’s time for dazzlers like the “Ripcord,” “Drop in the Bucket” and “Atomic Bomb.” The advanced can handle the “Plastic Whip” or the “Leg Wrap Trap,” but an expert can show him up with “Seasick.”
It’s all part of the climb to greatness in the world of yo-yoing.
And there is a growing segment of people, especially kids, intent on climbing this ladder. Read more..
In Worcester Magazine, September 2004
Public speaking scares the bejeebies out of most people. To a certain degree, the idea of standing in front of a group of people, their eyes piercing what feels like their very soul, is enough to make a stomach do a triple flip.
Toastmasters was established to erase that fear. A national group, the Central Massachusetts branch is based in Worcester and holds its meetings Wednesdays at the Regency Suites Condos.
“I heard about it on a commercial,” says Omar Williams, who joined in 2003 and does PR for the group, “and I wanted to work on my public speaking and learn to deal with people one on one.” Read more..
Originally ran in Worcester Magazine, 2003
Musical beauty is in the ear of the listener, and I certainly don’t mean to belie that notion.
But as a fairly consistent complainer about certain songs (many of which don’t qualify for this article), the editor of this section asked me to spin my whines into words – and create a little roundup of tunes that are begging to hit “out of print” status. Unfortunately, these are not songs that are going to go away any time soon, as they are some of the most popular cover tunes and wedding reception songs out there.
I’m in a cover band (let’s get that out of the way), and I occasionally argue that we teeter on the fence between doing good songs and just songs that people think
they need to hear. I write this article, yet some might protest that because my band includes “Play That Funky Music,” “Bad Case of Loving You,” “Son of a Preacher Man” and “Brick House,” it disqualifies me from being an authority. So be it. It’s still fun to complain.
And we all cave sometimes.
Below please find, in no particular order, the ultimate bad wedding reception and cover songs list – a group of numbers that should be stuffed into a flimsy piñata and bashed to a pulp. It is a compilation that must be photocopied and faxed to every deejay in the country, so they can promptly weed it from their collection.
“Wonderful Tonight” – This song is hardly wonderful tonight, or any night – even the eve of your high school prom (80 percent of you can claim this one). Clapton’s droning, flat voice only mucks up further this dull melody. One really bad song on an otherwise great album.
“Crocodile Rock” – Too goofy. And what the hell is “Crocodile Rock” anyway? This one was in close running with “Only the Good Die Young.”
“Some Kind of Wonderful” – The bass line is some kind of awful. Like that nauseating “Black Velvet” (or even “I’m The Only One” by Melissa Etheridge), the bass tedium just hangs out nakedly to annoy and assault the listener for a good three and a half minutes. Grand Funk stunk.
“Paradise by the Dashboard Light” – Picturing all the feathered-hair cheesies and mullet-heads pointing at one another yelling “stop right there!” is hysterical. But when the entire song is dramatized in front of us – from Meat Loaf swearing he’d love that girl ‘til the end of time to sleeping on it to praying for the end of time, we’re praying for the song to end.
“Mustang Sally” – Does this one really require an explanation as to why it ought to be recalled? Does not everyone hate this song?
“Old Time Rock ‘n’ Roll” – Just take this old record off the shelf, and throw it in the garbage. Usually the “party starter” at most weddings, the opening piano riff is meant to bring us to our feet, but instead sends us to the bar for another shot.
“Brown Eyed Girl” – I feel bad sometimes about damning this song to death. Van Morrison is a monster songwriter, and one of the most soulful white singers on the planet. However, this tune has entered a stage where if I hear one more band break into those easy chords, I’ll – well, I’ll stay and play pool, but I won’t like it.
“Celebration” – End this song some time, come on! There is so much better out there in the disco/dance category that we shouldn’t have to bear this weak entry by Kool and his Gang. “Ladies Night” would be much more welcomed.
“Mony Mony” – Hey you? Hey what? … get Raid… this sucks! Let’s spray this drunken bug of a song-chant along with the “So good, so good!” in “Sweet Caroline.”
“Love Shack” – If we had some separation for awhile, this one might not be so bad. But as with the “stop right there!” during “Dashboard,” it’s just hard to deal with the “tin roof … rusted!” theatrics on the dance floor.
“YMCA” – We’ve all proven we can form those letters (though everyone makes the “M” a little differently). Let’s shelve this baby for awhile.
That “Shout/Twist” medley – Now waiiiiit a minute. This pesky mix does makes us want to shout, at the deejay, to turn it off and put on something superior like “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” or “Best of My Love.”
And lastly, we line ‘em up: Bring back the “Alley Cat!” Thoroughly revive “The Hustle!” “The Electric Slide,” the “Chicken Dance” and the “Macarena” have become sad attempts to pluck wedding guests from their assigned seating. Usually, however, three or four women and a guy or two fumble through the steps enough to annoy that one person who knows the dance by heart – their “Achey Breaky Heart,” a song we’d welcome back over many on this list.
And a few suggestions from the staff: “Lady in Red,” “I Will Always Love You,” “Always and Forever,” “December 1963 (Oh What a Night)” and “Wind Beneath My Wings.”
Worcester Magazine
A&E Feature
Don’t ever get a tattoo when you’re drunk, too young or blindly in love.
Don’t you know these things are permanent (unless, of course, you consider the costly laser removal surgery a sufficient corrective)? It may seem brilliantly cool to brand “Mary, My Muse” on your ass today, but it might cause some tension between you and your next girlfriend. And statistics support that you most likely will have a next girlfriend. Oh, the needle and the damage done.
Those are a few things frowned upon by Scott Alderman, one of the founders of the second annual Massachusetts Tattoo Festival, which inks up the Centrum this weekend. But done right, and with some thought, he considers the tattoo one of the most interesting art mediums. There’s a lot more out there than anchors and “mom” these days.
“We’re not about giving people their first tattoos,” says Alderman. “This is to see what a good shop looks like, what good artists are all about and to educate people so if they get one they’ll be informed. If some 18-year-old comes to our show to get his hand tattooed, it won’t happen. It’s not something you should rush into.”
Alderman himself, who is not an artist but a self-proclaimed aficionado of the tat, didn’t succumb to the needle until he was 30, and sober. He now boasts 30 on his body. “My left arm is just about done,” says Alderman. “I got my first one in 1990. I went to graduate school in Berkeley and I met all these really freaky people out there. I was from New York, and I had thought I had seen freaky people, but San Francisco was really over the top.”
His friends out there chided him about having no tattoos, and jokingly gave him a copy of the book Modern Primitive, in which Alderman was struck by a tribal design out of the Philippines. That became his first tattoo. “It wasn’t to commemorate anything,” says Alderman. “In ’98 in a hotel room in Berlin is when it got out of control. I was up to the upper bicep by then, but that’s when it started to go down the arm. No, I don’t regret them. It’s almost like, if you regret one, you have to regret them all.”
And he doesn’t regret starting the Massachusetts Tattoo Festival in Worcester. Debuting last year, to coincide with the legalization of tattooing in the state, he and Paul Booth (who is an artist sitting in the upper echelon in his field, his work recently celebrated in Rolling Stone) organized it on the heels of their tour called “Tattoo the Earth,” which visited 18 cities. “That was really a heavy metal tour with a few tattoo artists,” says Alderman. “That’s not what we wanted.” Now that the Massachusetts show was so successful, they consider it a template for other similar ones, which were already held in Chicago and Oakland this summer.
“Hell yeah, I regret a lot of mine,” says Corey Kruger, and adds with a chuckle, “Hopefully you get something you can live with. Everyone gets the tattoo they deserve.” Kruger’s barely got an inch of blank slate to work with, but says that he’ll probably lighten up a few of his regrets with laser surgery so he can add some new stuff. He’s also an artist, who works at a tattoo parlor in Clinton called What It Is, and has been involved with Alderman and Booth’s festival since it was the Tattoo the Earth tour.
Though he hates to pigeonhole himself, Kruger says he performs custom work with a lot of Asian influences, and high-energy modern approaches. When we spoke, he had just finished stringing Hindu-style rib panels from the top of a guy’s knees to his armpit – on both sides. Makes you wonder if there’s a limit. “Well, I won’t tattoo anybody’s face,” he says, “or if I think it will impact their lives negatively, I won’t do that. Like, ‘white power’ or something … “
Kruger will be one of 200 artists, from more than 20 different countries, setting up shop at the show. Attendees can choose from a variety of styles, from traditional hand tattooing from Borneo or Japan to henna. Last year, Alderman estimates that about 10,000 attended, and artists punctured the skin of a couple thousand throughout the weekend. But, he emphasizes that the event is for everyone, even those who choose to keep all of their skin plain.
“It’s bigger than Gladiator,” says Alderman. “It’s a show that basically incorporates all the things that are associated with tattoo culture. That includes, obviously, tattooing, but we also have an art gallery, photography, film and music. There are bands playing over at the Palladium and a film festival at the Bijou. Just everything that’s emblematic of the culture. Even if people have a parenthetical interest, they will find something interesting.”
There will also be lectures, piercing booths, performance art, collaborative tattooing and more.
“There’s a certain preconception people have about tattoo art,” he continues. “A lot of people who have never been to this show said they had no idea of the diversity of the audience, the diversity of the artwork and the levels. They’re blown away.”
SIDEBAR:
Tit for tat: some quickies on Scott Alderman:
Favorite tune on The Stones’ Tattoo You: “Start Me Up”
Among his 30 tattoos: The Stones’ “tongue,” which is the only logo included in his ensemble
How he’ll feel about his tattoos when he’s 80: “When I’m 80, nobody should be looking at me anyway. I won’t even look at it. I’ll remove my mirrors. I won’t even go to the beach.”
The only letters found on his body: ”Show me” on his right wrist.
Rule of thumb: “If you insist on tattooing someone’s name, you should do it in a foreign language so people won’t know.”
DETAILS BOX:
What:Massachusetts Tattoo Festival
When:Saturday, Oct. 12 through Monday, Oct. 14.
Where:Worcester’s Centrum Centre (still known as The Centrum to people who live here)
Cost:$17.50 per day, $45 three-day pass
Visit www.masstattoofestival.com for schedule.
Minus the corporate crap, and Carry The Zero
Nothing personal against Adidas, but Carry the Zero intends to prove that you need not be “macho” or a “goon” who sports that three-striped sportswear to rock.
Echoing our recent article about Miss Fortune, Carry the Zero seconds the cynicism about big conglomerates and label presidents who know squat about music – ruining, or at least tainting, the industry with buckets of boy bands and fist-pumping pseudo rap-infused hardcore.
It’s such a common cry from bands that you wonder how the biz, with very few true supporters, got to its present state. Could it be ….. Satan! Nah, it’s probably just money.
Nevertheless, rock bands like Carry the Zero vow loyalty to their craft, and hope to usher back an age where it meant something (other than looking great with a belly-button ring) to make it on the cover of Rolling Stone.
“The radio bothers me a lot,” says Matt Erhartic, Zero’s guitarist. “It’s just that I used to do work at a record label that will remain nameless, and a lot of people there just didn’t know – they might as well have been selling diapers or baby food. They just have no passion for music whatsoever so it jaded me in some way, and I didn’t want to do that anymore. I quit there, but I got to know all the A&R guys just in case.”
But they wouldn’t sign if it meant too much of a compromise in style.
“I don’t want to be a puppet,” says Erhartic, “but at the same time I want to make a living. I don’t want to end up like Harvey Danger, where there is no career development and then you’re yesterday’s news.”
Today’s news is that for months, Carry the Zero has been knocking around Tremolo Lounge studio with Roger Lavallee, the person they affectionately hail “New England’s answer to Phil Spector.”
“Roger is a total popsmith, if you will,” says Erhartic. “He knows when to pull the plug and say, ‘guys, that sucks.’”
Tentatively titled Rev ‘Em Up (a song that details the discontent with big label crap), the band will celebrate the seven-song debut with two shows this month (see below).
It has apparently been tough to find the right mix of characters. Erhartic is the 11th guitarist in this trio, which has undergone 22 lineups. Erhartic, in fact, joined as second guitarist at the time, when the band also had a trumpet player aboard. Veering off the highway from Gas, Food, Lodging, Erhartic complements Zero’s founding members Ed Paquette (bass/organ) and Bill Gaudette (drums). All three sing.
With an older EP (Television Theme Songs) and some rough demos (namely the supposed title track) out of Tremolo to light our way, it’s safe to assume that Rev ‘Em Up has a full tank.
The band describers itself as “left-of-the-dial indie/pop with a stylistic mix of your dad’s old Kinks and Stones records.” The Stones/Kinks cues certainly don’t dangle out there nakedly in
Carry the Zero’s songs, but in trying to zone in on the comparison, the listener can detect an element of classic rock stylings that serve as an undercurrent. “Bad Intentions” does bring thoughts of “Paranoia” to mind. Lovin’ those creative keys on “Apologies,” where the band’s Elvis Costello references finally make sense.
Carry the Zero is bursting with promise. As a young band, they are young sounding, and seem to still be finding its niche. At once, it can sound pure rock ‘n’ roll, hardcore, alternative and indie. When the three have got time behind them, all of these ideas they incorporate into tunes like “Running on Empty” will be smoothly sculpted (and probably will be on the new release). Hopes run high for this debut by a talented, spirited trio.
“Even though we’re a three-piece,” says Paquette, “I think we come across as a lot bigger.”
“We’re looking to take it as far as we can,” says Erhartic. “We understand that it’s not the hottest stuff – it’s not rap rock or candy pop, it’s kind of in between. It’s almost for the people who have been alienated by all of the crap on the radio. I don’t think we’re breaking any new ground, but it’s an alternative to Dope and Slipknot.”
DETAILS:
What: Carry the Zero
When: Jan. 19 and 26
Where: Ralph’s Chadwick Square Diner and the Lucky Dog Music Hall (respectively)
