For Bad Penny, or I'm Really Sick of Obituaries

Bad Penny and Jax/Courtesy Chris Fertita-Miklasz

      In the end, there is no way you can accurately predict when someone who allegedly lives life to the edge or pushes the envelope, etc., will die, and when someone who is so well known and is actually irreplaceable to a certain community dies, no, we didn’t really expect it and no, we are definite not ready for it.

     Thelma Lee Ballard, known to many more people as Bad Penny, was found last weekend in the West Side home where she was house sitting. While she lived hard and turned some people off with her boisterous honesty, she appreciated what life had to offer, grabbed it with two hands and whatever else she could use, and didn’t waste a moment on this realm.

     She was best known for her living in and breathing life into Buffalo’s original music community, love of conspicuous consumption (food, alcohol, dancing, etc.) and for being herself, even when she herself was known by two names. You never had to wonder where you stood with Penny (usually a bit back when you first met her). Strong willed, strong opinions, strong action; people often recall a slug to the chest, arm, shoulder or balls a part of their initiation to Penny, but she was truly a caring person. Caring wasn’t a passive emotion with Penny.

    I remember her basic whirling Dervish/Tasmanian Devil self, as many people first did, through the community of musicians, DJs, promoters, writers, fans and other ne’er-do-wells from clubs such as the Continental, Nietzsche’s, Club Utica, Essex Street Pub, Mohawk Place and a few others. She was at the major shows, tons of the shows we’ve all forgotten and just as many house, yard and street concerts, loudly showing her approval and appreciation to the bands. It is hard to recall a Jack Lords or Steam Donkeys show at which Penny was not present. I was officially introduced to Penny in the early 1990s at a birthday party on Connecticut Street with her apartment mate, the late artist Jack Drummer. My lovely wife Val and I drove by that apartment/studio earlier today, at Connecticut and Plymouth, and it still looks incredibly like we remember it from almost 25 years ago.

      But a couple of memories of what some people might consider a softer Penny, which was really just another part/side of the actual Bad Penny/Thelma Lee Ballad life force. One morning, about 15 years ago, at one of her Allentown apartments, she hosted a crepe breakfast during what might have been one of the days of the Allentown Arts Festival. A large crowd spilled from her apartment to the balcony, the driveway and lawn below, having a great, rather mellow time and eating what were some amazing crepes.  Penny was often happiest when she as busy and able to channel her energy, and she got the biggest kick that day when she was repeatedly told how good the food was. I realize she had help that day, but the brain cells have taken a bit of a beating over the years, even with the lack of intoxicants for years.

     Penny also had a couple of interests that kept her calm, busy and happy, animals/pets and flowers/gardens.  While she was a cat lover and shared space and feelings with them, she also liked dogs, and she was always asking about Harold and our previous dog, the late Walker. She also did gardening as a job and worked on some nearby gardens, including one at the end of our block at Norwood and Bryant. She was obviously enjoying herself, but took the garden quite seriously and concentrated as if she realized that every act to beautify by working with Nature was important and creative, which of course they were. She would ask for my opinion on her work as I walked Harold or Walker by, but you could see she was continually processing the work and results and figuring out her next move,

     Not that everything was peaches and cream; you noted I referred to drinking and other use and abuse, and they did crop up, as even her best friends readily acknowledge. I won’t repeat in depth the story I’ve written about before on how Val, Penny, Mikel Doktor, Marty Boratin and I drove from Buffalo to Austin to attend the South by Southwest 2001 conference. She was a true road warrior and drove her segment without mishap, but after basically being told by one of us that if she didn’t shut up after hours of drunken yelling in our shared room at the Austin Motel the first night, because some people did not want her to accompany them in the state she was in, that they would, well, enforce that sentiment. She took her stuff and stayed with friends after the first night, but she joined us for the drive home and again did her share, as if the first night’s incident had never occurred,

     Interesting but not too surprising, for every story we in the Buffalo music/Penny community could tell, there was at least one that members of the Austin communities could tell, as we found out that conference, as well as stories from when she lived in Los Angeles, which we also heard there.

     It is going to be difficult, nay, surrealistic, to realize and acknowledge that Penny will no longer be at shows and events and picnics when you get there, nor will she come through or under the door after you get there. On the other hand, she will always be there, never missing one of them. I hope you find and enjoy your peace, Penny, if that’s what you’re looking for, but I bet it won’t be quiet.

Remembering Tom Connolly

The amazing Tom Connolly, recently at WBNY studios.
                                                               Photo by Andrew Kat

     This is going to be a tough one.

    

     I’ve written remembrances before, here and elsewhere, and I’ve written way more obituaries than I can remember from my journalism days, but it is different when you are writing about a friend, a good friend, a longtime friend and a great person and friend to so many people. It is neither fun nor easy to say goodbye to someone like this, nor to say goodbye to parts of your life, actually or symbolically.

     But I am writing about Tom Connolly today, a friend for more than 30 years who without coincidence was part of some very big and very good parts of my and so many other people’s lives. Tom died about a week ago, and there have been several good remembrances and obituaries written about him, so I am going to reflect on my memories and experiences of him, to make sure people realize just what a great, kind, caring, intelligent, helpful and modest person Tom was and will always be.

     I don’t believe I can write a deserving, comprehensive obituary/life story of Tom, but Tom is best known for his involvement at WBNY 91.3 FM and other activities at Buffalo State College, his mentoring of so many broadcast and print journalists over the years, his work at clubs like Regan’s and his longtime producer/night host work at WBEN 930 AM.

     I first encountered Tom (although pretty much everyone knew of Tom within a few days of getting on campus) in 1981, as a Buffalo State College freshman of sorts who already had an associate’s degree under his belt. I was active in student politics and media first through my writing at the Record, and eventually came to his attention through my activism. But my two best memories of Tom occurred in 1984-1985, my senior year.

     The first was WBNY’s coverage of Election Night 1984, which included races from

local and city to the re-election of President Ronald Reagan. Tom was basically the leader of it all, serving as producer, on-air anchor/reporter and encourager of us all. Despite Tom’s amazingly easy going nature, he stressed on all of us to make this the most professional sounding new program that we could, from our news gathering, writing and on-air presentation. We used on-site reporting (Dave McKinley among others) from various places, repeated checks with local campaigns and the Erie County Board of Elections (among many sources), and we treated this as serious as any news media activity any of us had been involved in, whether print or broadcast.

     I covered elections and politics professionally for more than 18 years as a print reporter, and basically organized and edited the news coverage of the newspaper chain I worked at and I can say without a doubt that our coverage of Election Night 1984, due to Tom, Dave, Randy Bushover, David Debo, Carla Julio, Gabe DiMaio, Rita Tarnofsky, Barri Falk and so many other people was the most professional, and really the best, political team coverage I ever was proud to participate in and be part of. I apologize to anyone who worked so hard on this that I didn’t name them, but 32 years has affected a few brain cells.

     As many people know, Tom was an avid, nay, master trivia player; as a member of the 1977 Lancaster Central High School It’s Academic team, which won the entire championship, and captain of the 1978 team, which finished second overall, I found a virtual match to my trivia skills and someone who also approached these matters with humor. The 1985 WBNY team that entered the College Bowl competition was made up of Randy Bushover, David Debo, Tom and me, and I guess you could say we did rather well. We won the Buffalo State College tournament basically going away, with every game a romp, and Tom and I were among the four students as top individual tournament scorers named to the team that would represent Buffalo State at the regional College Bowl tournament at Ithaca College.

     While Tom would find a way every time we spoke afterwards to remind me of my correcting the proctor asking the questions when she mistook “paramilitary” for “parliamentary,” then answering the question correct, the quote all four of us, as well as those watching and on other teams during the Buffalo State tournament, would remember came from Tom. Every time the proctor asked us if we were ready to start, Tom, in a now hilariously reverent voice, would dedicate our match to the memory of Vic Tayback. Somehow, the four of us kept from bursting out laughing, and we received some classic looks of confusion and compassion from the other teams and officials. Sure, we all respected the acting of Mr. Tayback, particularly from “Alice,” but Vic was still alive and acting until 1990.

     I starting writing about music, mainly local original music, in 1985 after graduating, and a few years later, Tom became the editor of Buffalo Night-Life Magazine, where I had my main gig, The Hosey Report, for about 15 years. Many of you may recall that I am rather opinionated and strongly expressive of that opinion when it comes to music, and it often got me “in trouble.” Club owners, booking agents, band managers and musicians often got annoyed at what I wrote and/or how I wrote it, and more than a few, including some air personalities at various stations, took shots at me and asked that either my writing be heavily edited to exclude such criticism or that I be either suspended or fired from Buffalo Night-Life. Tom always stood up for me and stood up to these assholes and never placed restrictions on what I wrote or what topics I covered. On the other hand, we did have several strong conversations on what seemed to be my lack of concern over the effects of my columns, with Tom once calling me a “loose cannon” without a smile.

     Every example I cited above, and hundreds of not thousands of other interactions with Tom, were conducted with humor, intelligence and respect. He was bigger than life and never hesitated to accept a challenge or to do something, instead of just talking about it. Tom never forgot WBNY, the friends and colleagues he met and made there, and the mentoring he conducted with many people, as well as the programs he recorded, hosted and produced.  There are so many of us, including those who live here in Buffalo/Western New York, who didn’t get to see Tom often enough and are sad that we never go to say goodbye.

     So, I won’t say goodbye, because I don’t want to forget what Tom did or what he meant for so many of us, I don’t want others to forget, and I want people to come to see what kind of good person can walk and interact among us. But I will ask Tom to explain the dedication joke to Vic Tayback; I’m sure he’ll enjoy it like we did.

"Death Or Glory: Election Year Edition" & Some Thoughts from a Grizzled but Grateful WBNY 91.3 FM Alumnus

    

Your humble host, "Death or Glory" 2015
Photo by Val Dunne/Barkloud Productions

I was again fortunate to take part in the WBNY 91.3 FM Alumni Weekend April 15-17 with my annual “Death or Glory” show; this time “Death or Glory: Election Year Edition,” from the always friendly studios on the Buffalo State College on Elmwood Avenue here on Buffalo’s West Side.

 

     For the past several years, station alumni wishing to take part offer shift bids, with the amounts they bid going to the WBNY Alumni Association to assist the station. I was once again able to get a prime slot, 6-9 PM Saturday, April 16; I have been able to acquire this timeslot for 3 of the past 4 years. I am fortunate because one of the WBNY shows I still listen to religiously, “What You Need” by Robin Connell, runs from 4-7 PM Saturdays, and since we share many musical tastes and dryness of verbal approach, we might share some audience.

Here is my “Death or Glory: Election Year Edition” play list:

 

     6 PM – “Death or Glory,” The Clash; “Heart of the City,” Nick Lowe; “Buena,” Joe King Carrasco and the Crowns; ”God Save the Queen,” the Sex Pistols; “Gloria,” Patti Smith; “Love Comes in Spurts,” Richard Hell and the Voidoids; “See No Evil,” Television; “Little Bit More,” Rosie Flores; “Done Gone Blue,” Los Lobos; “Jack of Diamonds,” the Tarbox Ramblers; “2 AM Tragedy,” Scott Carpenter and the Real McCoys; “Reincarnation,” Nullstadt; “JJ,” Oui73.

     7 PM – “Ether,” Gang of Four; “You Burn Me Up (I’m a Cigarette),” Robert Fripp (with Darryl Hall on vocals); “Poptones,” Public Image Limited; “Soul Love,” David Bowie; “Do the Strand,” Roxy Music; “Intruder,” Peter Gabriel; “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” the Stooges; “Roadrunner,” the Modern Lovers; “Heart Attack and Vine,” Tom Waits; “Baby Doe Rules,” Decay of Western Civilization; “You Make Me Want to Love You,” Pegasonics; “When You Find Out,” the Nerves.

     8 PM – “Showroom Dummies,” Kraftwerk; “From the Air,” Laurie Anderson; “Sex Bomb,” Flipper; “Vol au Vent,” Chris Knox; “12XU,” Wire; “Gigantic,” the Pixies; “Down in the Park,” Gary Numan; “Why,” Steve Wynn; “Order,” the Fems; “Boxcars,” Joe Ely; “Up the Neck,” the Pretenders; “Turn on the News.” Husker Du.

     Some people may wonder why, 32 years after my first DJ shift at WBNY, I (and others) am still so excited and moved by being able to play music mainly from my time at the station and the decade or so after it. It shouldn’t be surprising that music has meant and still means so much to me.

    Yes, I was one of those virtual clichéd kids born in 1960 who got to listen to the Beatles, Supremes, Kinks, Who, Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin and much more music on first AM radio, including sneaking my old boxlike transistor radio under the covers with me until I fell asleep. Then, the 1970s turned into FM, longer, more complicated and darker songs and then, at least for me, the liberation of punk, new wave and affiliated music, groups, radio stations and publications. Along with this liberation, I felt a responsibility to spread the word on this and other styles of music, something I have now done in print, online, etc., for more than 35 years.

     But while I immensely enjoy and cherish the opportunity to comment on music, spark discussions and hopefully open people up to new, “good/great” and often challenging music, there is a certain creativity to being a DJ, whether live or prerecorded on the radio, programming icloud or web casts, parties, dance clubs, etc. Yes, creativity; a good DJ knows and works on creating anything from moods and patterns to emotions, sounds and human experience. It is so many things, from what music you play, how you present and describe the music, not only what artists but what specific songs you play by the artists, how you group songs together, what artists you play and play together, and many other situations. I am an amateur college DJ who fortunately had some very good training and mentors, an educated audience and a love and thirst for knowledge of music.

     A DJ can spend hours preparing for their shows or performances, and make their show sound either prepared in a good way or bad way, or effortless, or even make a lack of planning sound part of the entire experience. My once-a-year WBNY Alumni Weekend shows normally sounds pretty frantic, fresh, and at first ragged, until, as my lovely wife Val Dunne not only points out but convinces me to do, I calm down and get into a rhythm. Of course, this all takes place over three hours, so it feels breathtaking in good and bad ways and a bit frightening.

     But I wouldn’t have it any other way; I absolutely love to present the music I grew up and became an adult with, music that changed my life for the better and still serves as a release, joy and catalyst. I hope over the years I have been able to present some of this excitement, great music and sense of life to my listeners, and I look forward to next year’s WBNY Alumni Weekend and thank the staff of WBNY, WBNY Alumni Association President Andrew Kat, the other alumni who participated and everyone else who took part.

Night Slaves to Perform at Mohawk Place February 5 - David Kane Speaks on Creativity, Collaboration

David Kane and John Toohill:
Happy to be the two parts of Night Slaves

      David Kane is a musician who has no plans to slow down or stop creating new music and ways to present it, live and recorded.

     This shouldn’t be surprising for this Buffalo Music Hall of Fame member who has played and written music with and for Mark Freeland. Electroman, Trek W/Quintronic, Nullstatdt, David Kane’s Them Jazzbeards, Decay of Western Civilization, Celibates, Erectronics and Terry and the Headhunters, among others

     The two-person industrial group in which he provides keyboards and sounds for John Toohill’s vocals, Night Slaves, will perform a cassette-release show (you read that correct) as part of a four-band slate with Cages, VWLS, and Flatsitter Friday, February 5, at Mohawk Place, 47 East Mohawk Street, Buffalo. Admission is $5.

KJH: One very basic/elementary question: Why a cassette release party? Why a cassette?

DK: Why cassette? Because we could not put it out on 8-track. WTF!?! It does include a download.

KJH: Can Night Slaves’ sound/approach be described in a few words? Is Night Slaves a true working duet between you and (vocalist) John Toohill, and is the creativity/labor split between music and lyrics?

DK: Night Slaves Approach/Sound: The NS approach might best be described as a lack of. We never set out to be like or take a certain genre and try to emulate it in any way. We certainly talk about things we like but do not set out to be like that. It seems to be a true collaboration of efforts. I handle the music duties and John the lyrics and vocals. He gets what I am doing and I get what he is. So yes, we seem to have hit on a pure collaboration of two artists where the sum total is way greater than the two parts. Lots of these could exist as instrumentals but when I am working on music for NS I am always thinking, Can't wait to hear what he will do with this one. He manages to meld his lyrics and vocal lines right into the music as if it were another instrument, Some of the best moments are when we listen back and look at each other and say who is doing that part? Our third ghost member I guess. I can't begin to tell you how pleasing that is. I like the duo aspect because it seems to make you work a little harder and it stays so personal. Unlike my other projects I do not have to take other instrumentation into consideration. I love that approach as well, but I already have a couple bands like that. No point in repeating myself or doing more of the same.

I think the NS sound might be the aural equivalent of walking through fog at night where images sort of slowly evolve as you approach them. Sometimes blurry around the edges, sometimes clearer, sometimes almost disappearing but always sort of there in varying degrees of clarity. Sometimes being completely enveloped in the denseness of the fog itself.

KJH: Do you create the soundscape for Night Slaves with an idea in mind for where the lyrics will go, do you receive lyrics to work out a sound or is it more collaborative? Do you ever present a sound live and have the vocals or music go off where they may?

DK: I will call what we are putting together songs, though in most cases they do not follow what might be regarded as traditional song structure. Our material seems to be many layers deep and these layers do not really necessarily move or change with each other. I can appreciate when I play these things for John that he can notice a new element and say I'll call that the chorus where that noise comes in. Our music seems to evolve rather than change. I can be a fairly prolific writer and it pleases me to work with some one equally so. It is a pleasure to get together, put on a new idea see him get happy, take his coat off, get out the pen and notebook and start writing away. In the course of a few hours we have a new one. I appreciate the spontaneity. I work that way as well. Sometimes things that were meant to be actually do happen. We create and have a lot of fun during the process. You might like NS if you like David Lynch and Evan Williams.

The NS sound has been described as:

A collaboration of Depeche Mode and John Carpenter on acid

Provocative, layered, complex, and requires reflective listening as it pulls you into its spell

Cerebral electronic garage

 Dark

 Dark Squared

Bowie, Eno, Low with Iggy

A more layered Suicide

Says the band-"Weird, it makes us really happy"

Where are we headed? Right back to the basement for more. We are well into our third release, which includes an 18-minute soundscape tone poem sort of thing. Sorry, you can't stop us.....

     For more information on Night Slaves, visit www.davidkanek-9.com/night-slaves.