A Belated Public Thank You

A friend and former colleague, Barbara Cattrall Wallace, died March 16, after a long battle with cancer at age 61. We worked together for years at Bee Newspapers, and she later worked at the Internal Revenue Service and served as a lay commissioned pastor at several Presbyterian churches.

Barbara was also a U.S. Army veteran and journalist for the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service, including in Germany. This is where the musical portion of the story connects. Barbara purchased a good number of vinyl albums in Germany during her service there, and eventually, she stopped listening to some of them. One day at work, knowing my musical geekdom and writing, she asked me if I wanted some of them, some of the more rock-oriented albums, making sure I knew that none of them were too recent (this was the late 1980s). I said of course I would take them.

A couple of days later, she brought a bag with about 10-12 albums in it to my desk and told me to enjoy them; I thanked Barbara and barely waited until I got home to check them. There were several Rick Wakeman albums, then a Bebop Deluxe album (cool), and the last two I pulled out of the bag were "Autobahn" and "Radio-Activity," both by Kraftwerk. There were two copies of "Autobahn," one in German and one in English, as well as the English version of "Radio-Activity," despite its German print on the cover. I profusely thanked Barbara the next day, and later thanked her again when she left Bee Newspapers.

But despite my writings over the years, I don't think I properly thanked Barbara, because I have enjoyed the Kraftwerk albums in particular an awful lot, and hold them as rather prized items in my larger than I ever expected vinyl collection. That was the kind of person Barbara was, doing good, kind things for other people because they were good acts and made people's lives a bit better.


Barbara is survived by her husband, Sherman C. Wallace Jr.; a son, David Cattrall; a daughter, Deanna Wallace, and three sisters, as well as many friends and colleagues who were kindly touched by her presence.

The Continental Reunion Party 2013

            Let’s not try to use too many clichés, such as gathering of the tribe, reliving old glories for one more night, or getting together the old gang again.

            That being said, the Continental Reunion Party 2013, celebrating what many would say is Buffalo’s classic punk/new wave club formerly located at 212 Franklin Street downtown, will be held Friday, March 15, at the Town Ballroom, 681 Main Street, Buffalo. Doors will open at 8 p.m., and the bands and DJs will start right away (ahem). Bud Redding, Hard Management and Mammoth Recording Studio are producing the Continental Reunion Party 2013, which will foremost be an evening of fun, friends and great music.

Tickets are available at tickets.com, or The Town Ballroom box office, (that’s where I bought mine) open every day from 12 noon till 5 pm.  The cost is $10 presale, $20 the day of show.

The show will feature these legendary Buffalo bands: The Fems Fatale (former Fems members-plus), the Irving Klaws, Terry Sullivan (featuring music of The Celibates), The Old Toys, Nullstadt, Funk Monsters & Woman, and Bobo. New bands Garda and Rustworm will also perform, satisfying the crowd’s need of new music.

The following original Continental DJs will also perform:  Andre’ Frazier, David Hall, Ken Cox, Arca Tek, Matt Hatten, Karl S, and Oldskool, and the futuristic Nekrotique. The bands and DJs are intended to cover the spectrum of the club’s eras, from 1980 till closing in 2006.

            I was able to ask Redding several questions; Bud is one of the people who may have seen every side of the Continental short of ownership, having been a fan, onstage performer, DJ, booker and virtual manager, and he took some time from arranging the show to answer.

KJH: How did the idea for a Continental reunion come to be? Were you surprised at the interest?

BR: The idea of a Continental reunion has been being floated around for awhile, and there were some half-hearted attempts to do it, but I wanted to do it right, and to really recreate the vibe from the club (i.e., needed a venue that could simulate the upstairs/downstairs feel), The Town Ballroom was the only venue in town that would work. I wasn't surprised at the interest in the show; I thought that if it was done right it would succeed. Facebook and this Continental page that Jennifer Shanley Clark started made it possible. I have tried hard and timed this to make it work.

KJH: Why do you think the Continental holds such a strong spot in many people's hearts after so many years?

BR: Good question - tough question. The club was so much for so many people, all with different reasons; music, friends, music, DJs, bands, friends, the staff (Marty, Dale, Mikey, etc), the variety of music (punk, wave, electronic, metal, grunge, weird...) and the girls and guys! It was a great place to hook up. I met my wife there, grew up there. It was the first club that many people snuck into with fake ID...it was the birthplace of the Goth scene in WNY...girls dressed sexy...boys dressed like girls...the music was different and usually original...it felt like Buffalo...we went there even when it was snowing like a bitch.

KJH: You make what I think is a smart point of noting that there were people who were upstairs, dance and DJ-oriented fans, there were downstairs people, mainly there to hear bands, and that many people moved back and forth between the two. Why did this come about?

BR: To me, this was the best part of the club, and what set it apart from all others. The alternative scene had two diverse parts - Dancing to the music from London, NYC, Berlin, and other points, plus the local original alternative bands. The layout of the Continental made that cool, fun, different, and exciting. (Owner) Bud Burke supported the local scene to the max, brought in some great touring acts (999, Billy Idol, The Bangles, etc.) and pushed the DJs to bring new music to the upstairs. When I started booking the bands (around 1990, I tried to do the same thing - I was very selective about touring acts, but tried to really push and nurture the local scene...I brought in KMFDM, Pigface, and a few others, but concentrated on local and regional stuff, or bands out on their first tour that would fit at the club. The DJs always brought in great new music and many people came just to dance. I loved (when I wasn’t working) to go back and forth between the two scenes, as I was both a local musician and a DJ. If it got boring downstairs, you went upstairs, or visa-versa. The stairs were tough at 3 am!

KJH: Between DJing, playing onstage, booking and virtually managing the Continental, you did just about everything there. Was there anything you didn't do or didn't want to do, and what did you take from it? Was it difficult to lessen your role there?

BR: I do not like to brag, it's not my thing, but I know I was the only person to play in a band, book the bands, and DJ at the club. And yes, during a tough time at the club, after Bud Burke died, I did kind of manage the place. The only thing I didn't do was schedule the bartenders and order the liquor! There was nothing that I didn't get to do that I wanted to, except for buying the place...if only I had the cash! When I left the club, they owed me a LOT of money (which I never got) and I was working 18 hours a day for a local NHL team as the Building Services Manager - doing major concerts like Metallica, Neil Young, Justin Timberlake, Rush, Phish, etc, as well as getting the arena ready for 40 NHL games, indoor soccer, lacrosse, and wrestling events...I really didn’t have time to go to the club, and only stopped in there on the rare occasion...I did miss it, but was so busy that it just didn’t matter. In 2003 I bought some new recording equipment and got back into the local music scene. (Bud sings, plays keyboard and write songs for Cowboys of Scotland.)

KJH: How far away are people planning to come from for the Continental reunion? Are there people you were surprised to hear from? What should people expect?

 

BR: There are people coming from California, Texas, NYC, Connecticut, and Florida, and that is just the ones I know of!! Yes, there were a few surprises in that list - I am so excited and grateful that people are going through so much to come to this party!! I am planning on making a donation to the Wounded Warriors Project after the event, so all this enthusiasm and support is much appreciated!! People should expect music, friends, drinks, the beautiful people, and a few surprises!!! (Just like the Continental!!)

(In addition to everything else he did, Bud Redding is a United States Marine Corps combat veteran.)

The band and DJ schedule is:

Band Schedule (Town Ballroom Main Stage)

8:00 pm – Garda

8:45 pm - BoBo

9:30 pm - Old Toys

10:15 pm - Nullstadt

11:00 pm - Terry Sullivan (With a Special Performance by The Celibates)

11:45 pm - Funk Monsters & Woman

12:30 am - Irving Klaws

1:15 am - The Fems Fatale

2:00 am – Rustworm

DJ Schedule (Town Ballroom Banquet Room)

8:00 pm - DJ Karl S

8:30 pm - Paul Hojnowski "DJ Oldskool"

9:00 pm - Matthew Maingley "DJ Matt Hatten"

9:30 pm - DJ Ken Cox

10:15 pm - DJ David Hall

11:00 pm - Andre' Frazier "DJ Brother Dre"

11:45 pm - Amy "DJ Nekrotique"

12:30 am - Jeff Naughton "DJ Arca Tek"

1:15 am - DJs Andre', David, and Bud

2:15 am - Jeff Naughton "DJ Arca Tek" till close...

            I’m not going to turn this post into a maudlin, here are my memories post; that will be saved until the reunion itself and my review of the show. But I will thank Bud Redding for his cooperation, as I did so many times over the years at the Continental, and mention that it is no coincidence that my wife, Val Dunne, and I spent so many years at the Continental, shooting and writing about bands, drinking and living our lives.