Sarah Borges: "Together Alone"

 

   I have enjoyed Sarah Borges’ music for years, and gave a very positive review to her “Diamonds in the Dark” CD with the Broken Singles way back when Val and I had our BuffaloRoots.com web site. So I was very happy to see she released a new album. “Together Alone," on Blue Corn Music. Even better is that I’m not disappointed; this is a great album.

     “Together Alone” frequently focuses on life just before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as its aftermath (no, not end), not only how all parts of life have been affected, but how the loneliness, hurt, longing, fun and need for others, while worsened during the pandemic, existed beforehand, continue and will always be there. Borges’ music includes punk and power pop to basic rock and roll, country, blues, Americana and pop.

     She and the musicians (producer, guitarist and occasional co-songwriter Eric “Roscoe” Ambel stands out) start flexing their muscles from the start on “Wasting My Time,” bluesy Americana rock basically describing life during the new wartime, COVID-19, fighting through the loss, loneliness and death. Just living and even making mistakes are worth it and Borges’ choices. The driving rock of “Lucky Day” follows, on which Borges seemingly hopes a relationship will get better while pretty much knowing it won’t, like one’s chances playing the lottery. “Wouldn’t You Know,” chugging blues and rock, comes to the realization that she never really got to know this guy despite them having fun.

     Despite the seriousness of most of the songs Borges maintains her sense and need for fun on the rocking “You Got Me on the Boat,” the story of she and her band’s great experience on the xM Satellite Radio Outlaw Country Cruise #5, the last thing they did before COVID-19 changed the world. “She’s a Trucker” describes the jobs Borges took to get by during the pandemic, way more than just as a musician, again with Ambel leading the band through some driving rock.

     Borges and company leave the title song to the end, a thoughtful, jangly tune recalling life before and during the pandemic. Trying to stay in contact with lovers and friends will always be different and vital; nothing is the same any more, broken hearts, death, separation and loneliness all have more causes and longer lasting pain. Things don’t and won’t get magically better when COVID ends and relationships won’t continue or improve because people realize their faults and mistakes. Borges sounds mournful, slightly hopeful but also uncertain. 

     Not wanting to over categorize things, but this album is really good rock and roll for grownups while still remaining youthful at times. Here’s to hoping Borges and band will stop in Buffalo soon supporting “Together Alone,” because it’s been way too long since I last caught them live. Borges can be contacted at Blue Corn Music, at www.sarahborges.com and on Facebook and Twitter.

Ray Wylie Hubbard - Co-Starring Too

    Musical collaborations can be dicey; just because two artists admire each other’s work or till similar fields, doesn’t mean working together will produce a good song. The prospect of an album full of collaborations runs a gauntlet, and a second such album almost invites them. So, it is very good fortune that Ray Wylie Hubbard’s new recording, “Co-Starring Too,” on Big Machine Records, is a really good album.

     The 11 songs avoid the pitfall of sounding disjointed; you can’t tell at times that these are 11 different collaborations. It sounds like the songs were conceived to be on an album that just happens to have different musicians on most songs. It doesn’t hurt that Hubbard lends his gravelly, swampy vocals and sound to some fine musicians, starting off with “Stone Blind Horses,” sharing lead vocals with Willie Nelson on a stately, slightly battered country flavored song where they acknowledge approaching the end of their earthly existence and hope they’ve touched the lives of people well and maybe been appreciated along the way. There’s some nice accordion and Lloyd Maines plays his usual excellent steel guitar.

     Hubbard and friends kick up some serious dust on several songs (possible credit to his son and excellent guitarist, Lucas Hubbard, part of his father’s touring band. who appears on several songs). “Only a Fool” is a great, rough rocking tune where Hubbard and the Bluebonnets strongly assert that one would disrespect women at their serious peril, with angry guitar supplied by Eve Monsees and/or Kathy Valentine (yes, that Kathy Valentine). “Naturally Wild,” featuring Lzzy Hale of Halestorm on vocals and guitar and John 5 (currently with Rob Zombie, formerly with David Lee Roth, Marilyn Manson and k.d. lang) on guitar, warns the listener not to expect them to calm down or ease up. “Texas Wild Boys” has some fuzzy guitar illustrating hard living but decent people who aren’t like the police, politicians or corporate crooks, with a tough solo by (apparently) Tom Lukovac.

     On the swampier, more soulful side, “Groove” is a slinky, funky song about where the groove started, crediting many places and influences but certainly leaving the listener to think soul, funk, blues, gospel, rock and other styles combined in various ways. Kevin Russell and the Shiny Soul Sisters add great gospel vocals. On the country rocker “Hellbent for Leather,” Hubbard and Steve Earle sing of returning to Oklahoma from Los Angeles, having had enough of the bright lights. “Pretty Reckless” is a humorous story of ending up on a night out in Austin with someone as crazy and, well, reckless as yourself. Wynonna Judd duets with Hubbard while Charlie Sexton and Gurf Morlix (the former Buffalonian who also played bass in Hubbard’s band for a 2022 Austin City Limits performance and previously produced Hubbard) provided smokey, bluesy guitars and bass.

     The only complaint I have is that the credits are really hard to decipher. While the insert prints the song titles, singers, writers and lyrics, the musicians aren’t listed there but are found on the packaging under where the CD goes, in small print that goes line by line without arranging them song by song. I hope I didn’t mess up any credits in this. article.

     Hubbard can be contacted at Wylieworld Music, PO Box 2706, Wimberley, TX 78676, at www.raywylie.com, and Hubbard occasionally graces Twitter and Facebook with his comments. Big Machine Records can be found online at www.bigmachinelabelgroup.com.

Music Is Art Festival: Just as the Name States

My lovely wife Val at her photography booth ay MIA

     The 20th annual Music Is Art Festival, the brainchild of Goo Goo Dolls bassist Robby Takac and company, was another great time and success at Riverworks September 10. I don’t want to write, and I doubt most people want to read, a straight narrative of the 13 or so hours my lovely wife Val and I were there manning the Val Dunne Photography booth, watching bands and so on, or the two-plus hours setting up the day before, so I’ll try to illustrate my highlights and one or two hopefully interesting takes/observations.

Soul Butchers Allan Uthman and Justin Rowland

     Let’s start with the band I’ve been wanting to catch live the most for a year or so, the Soul Butchers, who I did witness this day; simply amazing. The band delivered an intense, thundering set of punk rock and hard rock led by the scorching guitar of Allan Uthman and the insanely powerful vocals of Justin Rowland. Despite having to perform on the Ganson Silo back stage, possibly the hardest to find or most remote stage to get to, the band attracted a crowd and more than made it worth our effort. Using his voice on its own and with a megaphone on occasion, Rowland’s singing makes you feel like the guy in the chair of the classic Maxell cassette tape commercial.

     Tension/Wicked Tension also performed a memorably strong, aggressive set as the band celebrates its 40th year (I still have my four-song 45 featuring “Recruits,” and Tension was one of the first bands I professionally interviewed more than a few years ago) as Buffalo’s best hardcore punk band. Vocalist Tymn Tension, original drummer Tony Ferro, guitarist Troy Messio and bassist Mark Giuliano were energetic and solid, and Tymn’s dark but accurate sense of humor always adds some fun. The Enemies also sounded pretty good and provided an interesting moment. During part of their set, Terry Sullivan (vocalist for the Jumpers, the Restless, Terry and the Headhunters and many more) came over and said hello. As we spoke, the Enemies started playing “I Wanna Know,” a song Sullivan sang with the Restless on its only Mercury Records album. Sullivan laughed, smiled and said, “wow, this is just surreal for the both of us.” “Really for you though,” I replied, and he said back, “no, really, for both of us.” It had struck me that way, but seemed much more for Sullivan. He then went to the front of the stage to wave to guitarist Guy Pelino who also played with the Restless for a time.

The Clockers may have played to their first sit-down audience.

      For me, the strangest and somewhat funniest part of the day involved one of the hockey rinks Val’s booth was located between. In recent years, the rinks have hosted youth karaoke and talent contests for bands and individuals from young kids through high schoolers. This year, the rink nearest the front of the property hosted the youth battle of the bands, which featured some seriously good talent. But this year, at about 4-5 PM, a halfpipe was set up and punk bands played from the stage of one rink, a pretty good idea. But when I looked in during the Clockers’ set, much of the crowd was sitting in the two metal bleachers set up in front of the stage and I could not see any moshing. I suppose as a 61-year-old heart attack and massive open heart surgery survivor, I somewhat understand, but it was still funny.

     I walked in and out of several performers on the main GCR stage inside, mostly while on my way to elsewhere but to at least catch a bit of music. Tom Stahl and the Dangerfields sounded in good form and like they were having fun; not sure Stahl has ever performed a down show. Peelander Z, a flashy punk, “comics” and whatever they throw in the mix band from Japan, received an amazingly enthusiastic response from the crowd for what seemed to be formulaic, upbeat cutesy punk. The Pillagers wiped off

Tom Stahl & the Dangerfields

about a decade or so of dust to play an enjoyable rocking set. I also caught parts of sets by several bands and performers I had no wish to find out their names or subject myself to much of their music; they shall remain anonymous.

     There was much enjoyable work from artists on display; certainly, I am lucky to be married to my favorite photographer, Valerie Dunne, and spent much of the day helping at her Val Dunne Photography booth. We has Jess Pfohl create a painting of Rick James across the hallway from us, and Chris Main also created a cool painting outside near the water. There were many other artists not only displaying their work but creating on site.

Jess Pfohl painting Rick James

     Music Is Art has become an established highlight of Buffalo’s summer, not only as a great outlet and living, breathing site for music and art, but for people to get to see friends they may not have recently been with, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Admission remains free, while parking is difficult and at a premium (and private businesses charging money for the parking, none going to MIA). Takac and his group of committed volunteers deserve a lot of credit for continuing this festival, from its modest beginnings on Franklin Street in Allentown to its time at Delaware Park and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery to the present.

Soul Butchers - Landfall EP

  

    Soul Butchers is a band I’ve been meaning to listen to, live or recorded, pretty much since it came out and had several people who I trust recommend them. But between my writer’s block and COVID-19 hitting, as well as my forgetfulness, I hadn’t until I recently purchased the band’s 2020 6-song EP, Landfall. Well, I deserve a bit of a snack to the head, because it’s really fucking good.

     The sound is a snarling, angry mix of punk, rock, metal and blues led by the soaring, pissed off vocals of Justin Rowland and wailing guitar of Allan Uthman, supported by the rhythm section of bassist Rob Bernette and drummer Joe Peluso. It seems Soul Butchers are a bit of a mystery or secret; the band does not have a web site and its Bandcamp page does not list band members or print any lyrics.

     But it’s no mystery how good the music is from the start; “Crawl” features Uthman going from rough and bluesy to churning punk/metal, while Rowland urgently sings of an apparent power/domination situation he does anything he can to leave. “Have to Die” has a hilarious but ominous singalong chorus after a cool bass and guitar intro that turns into punchy, rough punk, and Rowland sees only one over-the-top way to fix things. After the mid-tempo crunch of “Landfall,” Uthman in particular ups the voltage, with blazing riffs on “Nervous” illustrating Rowland’s apparent frantic attempts to interact with people, and the hammering punk of the almost out of control “Pills,” where Rowland shows the effects of amphetamine abuse, eventually losing control. “Trail of Blood” ends the EP with a heavy metallic guitar riff and Rowland trying to get out from under a person, government or system that bring out violent tendencies in him and other people. Sadly, he sees no way out and no fewer victims.

     The one issue I have with some of the EP is that the vocals occasionally get a bit buried by the music, which may not be too bad to some with Uthman’s supercharged playing, and I should admit that I have been diagnosed with a bit of high frequency hearing loss (40 or so years planted much too close to speakers will do this to a person). Soul Butchers can be found on Bandcamp, Facebook and Instagram.

The Return of the Prodigal Reviewer Son

 

No column logo, so a new Mask-R-Aid music notation selfie will do.

                                                   
     Thank you to those who have recently reached out online or asked me in person if The Hosey Report has returned/started to cover music again. The answer is yes and I am very excited about it.

     This blog had sadly swerved away from music coverage in the last few years, especially following my heart attack and massive open-heart surgery in late 2017. On top of that, suffering from a painful, sometimes almost crippling case of writer’s block for several years didn’t help, and this blog went much too infrequent for my liking. Things picked up in frequency for an unfortunate reason, as the COVD pandemic hit and I addressed nothing but that issue for about two years. In that time, I did start taking photography much more seriously, and am heartened by my progress as a photographer, being able to express myself artistically and politically, as well as the generously warm response from you fine people.

     But I need to be sure that I do not forget that I am a writer at heart, in talent, calling, vocation and art and any other way it can be referenced. Having been a newspaper reporter and editor for more than 18 years and a freelance writer for more than 35 years, it gets in your blood, just like the ink we used to print with not so long ago. Slowly, the urge to write about music returned, and a few bands and musicians (Monkey Wrench in particular) reached out to me about writing about new musical releases, etc., and I started buying some music, at Bandcamp and elsewhere, with much of it making me want to write about it.

     It has also led me to look for some interesting, off the beaten path type photo mini-essays, such as the one I published on the guitarist playing serious metal favorites outside Starbucks on Delaware Avenue in the middle of a workday. I’m finding some really good music, my lovely wife and by far the better photographer in our marriage Val Dunne and I are going to more shows and I feel an enthusiasm for all of this I haven’t felt in years. Most of my new reviews have been either CDs or digital recordings, and those will continue, and I will also review the occasional live show and conduct a couple of interviews.

     It’s good to be back, and performers wishing to contact me can email me at kjhosey@roadrunner.com or comment here; email me for my mailing address if needed.

Brandon Delmont: Soul of a Delmont

 

       Brandon Delmont may be best known as the talented drummer for girlpope, but the composer and multi-instrumentalist has been more than busy since that band ended its career. He has and/or still performs and writes for bands including the Lindbergh Babies, A House Safe for Tigers, Odiorne and the underrated A Son of the Sun.

     This year, he released a new 7-song recording, “Soul of a Delmont,” for NocturnalSol, and it is simply wonderful. Melding jazz, pop, soul, funk and rock. the all-instrumental recording allows Delmont to stretch out and work with some fine musicians, while apparently playing much of the music, from drums to other instruments. “It’s McLemore” starts things with horns, guitar and organ leading a smooth but soulful song with some swing and 1970s feel, and adds a real cool organ solo from Janes “Jamie” Burgess, who supplies most of the trumpet and trombone here. “”Way of War” is a bit more mellow, with the horns swelling to a stronger trumpet lead and more funky rhythm guitar.

     My two favorite songs come in the middle of the recording: “926” is basic, majestic jazz and soul with some bluesy heat and slower tempo, while “Sort of Blue” sounds a bit like a tribute to Miles Davis’ classic “Kind of Blue,” with moody lead trumpet and a smokey backing band. Elsewhere, “Now and Ben” blends 60s pop, rock and soul while swinging organ and trumpet both take leads and Joey Tosto plays a sweet guitar solo; “Ready, Set, Go!” Is another slice of pop and soul, and “Casi En Casa” is regal jazz, soul and pop well mixed.

     Brandon Delmont and NocturnalSun can be found on Bandcamp, Delmont also on Apple Music and both he and several of his bands can be found on Facebook and other social media.

The Greg and Jim (and Cathy and Jim) Band at Duende

 

   In some ways, Thursday, August 11, 2022, could be called a virtually perfect day. The weather was a wonderful sunny 75-78 degrees, there was a bit of a breeze and the Greg and Jim Band performed two sets of original roots rock, Americana and country and western to a large, appreciative crowd at Duende at Silo City.

     The pretty much all-star band of Greg Klyma on guitar and vocals, Jim Whitford on bass and vocals, Cathy Carfagna on keyboard, accordion and vocals and Jim Celeste on drums and vocals performed songs from Klyma’s various solo recordings and from Whitford’s songbook from the Pine Dogs and solo work. Whitford has played on several of Klyma’s recordings and Klyma was a member of the Red Liners, basically the last invocation of the Pine Dogs; Celeste is the original/sole Pine Dogs drummer and Carfagna and Whitford have performed together in several bands and setups.

     The band performed some great Pine Dog tunes including “Everybody Looks So Down,” “Whiskey Voice,” “Moving Pictures” and “Good Luck, Money and Gasoline,” as well as Whitford’s solo songs “Mr. Money Man” and “Crash All Night.” Among the notable Klyma songs were “Still No Silver Linin’,” “Jane,” “Kristofferson” and “Davidson County Beauty Queen.” Throughout the two sets, the musicians played well off each other, with no one trying to steal or overstay their welcomes in the limelight, a testament to both the quality of musicianship onstage plus the experience both in general and playing together live and in the studio. Solos were never too long, no preening was on display and the musicians showed honest appreciation of each other’s talents, occasionally injecting some humor. The audience enjoyed the band, danced along and even sang at times, and Duende’s laid back setting and atmosphere/vibe gave the show and evening a fine groove. (Also, not paying $100 or more for tickets and no charge for parking helped.)

     Finally, if you haven’t caught these musicians either solo or with their respective bands, do yourself a favor and do so, and the same for anyone who hasn’t had the chance to catch a show at Duende. Besides a rather extensive beer/wine list, they have a pretty decent appetizer, sandwich and dinner menu.

Matt Smith's Nervous System - Close Down the Dream

      Matt Smith never stopped creating music after playing for years in some of Buffalo’s relatively best known and most successful bands, first Scott Carpenter and the Real McCoys/the Orbits before that, and with The Headhunters led by Terry Sullivan. Smith later basically created his own studio, produces and records his own music and other performers and plays out live again.

     Now recording and performing as Matt Smith’s Nervous System, accompanied by Colin Pratt on bass and Roddy Potter on drums, Smith released an absolutely wonderful album in 2021, “Close Down the Dream.” I could take the easy route and say that the album features 11 songs of Smith’s guitar playing (10 originals, one cover), as well as Matt singing and the rhythm section doing a fine job, and be done, but I am a rock writer, and well…

     The recording starts with “Downer,” a basic drums and bass rhythm before Smith comes in with spare, funky, bluesy guitar that gets more stinging and echoey; while there’s a bit of singing, this is a virtual and winning instrumental. “Everything Isn’t Anything Anymore,” beginning with stripped down, rumbling guitar, has Smith wondering whether or not his work, music or life is good enough or when do you stop trying, themes he returns to often. With this recording released in 2021, no doubt much of the writing and recording went on during the worst of the COVID pandemic, possibly causing some introspection. “A Regular Thing” sounds hot and atmospheric with slower guitar; Smith comes to grips with everyday life and the good and bad of repetition, while his guitar sounds bluesy and even happy at times. “Teardrop Avenue” has an upbeat Motown sound and great guitar work.

     Songs keep excelling in the same mode, and after a cover of the Rolling Stones’ ”Child of the Moon,” “Reality” charges out with a riff endearing to us Stones/New York Dolls fans while Smith seems to sing that people should keep more of their BS to themselves. Some of the best songs are saved for the second half, including pretty much the guitar magnum opus of “Chasin’,” where Smith muses over trying to not fall behind creatively, socially, romantically and so on. The more than 7-minute song features about five minutes of Smith’s guitar rocking, ringing, soaring, scratching and feeding back, a bit like his “Marquee Moon.” Pratt and Potter stay out of Smith’s way while upping the intensity. “Until It Fits” takes the much quieter route, spare and fever dream like (some keyboards nicely accent Smith’s guitar), where the love of a person, vocation and substance seem to blend or at least are compared.

     I’ll stop but believe me, this is one REALLY good recording. Matt Smith’s Nervous System’s music is available on Bandcamp, the band’s website is www.mattsmithsnervoussystem.com and the band also has a Facebook page.

RIP Ed Honeck & Thanks for Having My Back

      Damn, it seems that I have yet to catch up with remembrances, as I need to pause and remember Edward Honeck, the former publisher of Buffalo Night-Life Magazine, the first professional publication for which I wrote and the home for more than 15 years of this attempt at musical opinion and mental clarity, The Hosey Report. Honeck died May 27, 2022.

     I wrote for Buffalo Night-Life Magazine from 1985-2001, originally brought on board by then-editor and author Rick Falkowski. People who read me years ago may recall that I did not exactly hold back on my opinions, good or bad, for bands, clubs, radio stations or promoters in the Buffalo music community. It was thought to be refreshing at first, but of course, when I criticized certain bands, stations, clubs, etc., perceptions of refreshing turned to wrong, stupid, hurtful, uninformed, vile and worse, and calls for my disciplining, up to and including firing, came up frequently and in print, as well as in telephone calls to Honeck and others. NEVER, not once, did Ed come to me and ask me to change my approach or content, change an opinion, kiss anyone’s ass or apologize.

     This includes one of my more famous, infamous or notorious articles and processes. In 1988, Buffalo Night-Life Magazine was hosting the Buffalo Music Awards at Manikin’s on Niagara Falls Boulevard in Tonawanda. As usual, cover bands and tribute bands of all sorts were receiving lots of honors, making lots of nauseating speeches and braying like mules about how good they were for the Buffalo music scene. It’s no surprise that as a more than 5-decade supporter of original Buffalo music, I did not take to this well, including in print. At one point at the ceremonies, Robbie Takac threw a bottle at the podium and speaker and the Goo Goo Dolls were ejected. My article, printed in the December 12, 1988 edition of Night-Life, criticized the awards, radio stations and the entire stinking system in my blustery opinion; the reaction included two weeks of pages of letters on my article (and more trickling in later), some agreeing, many not, some generally opining and several calling for my either reining in or firing; Buck Quigley was kind enough to defend me in print. Buck himself had been tossed off the stage after he had some fun and accepted awards for other bands before handing them to the actual winners and criticizing the actual award concept while accepting the best new music band award for the JackLords.

     While Buffalo Night-Life Magazine was sponsoring the awards, Ed stood by me, never telling me to back down, never threatening my status as a writer for Night-Life and not telling me to apologize or change anything. The incident barely came up again and when it did, after he assured me that Night-Life didn’t lose any readers or advertising from my articles (both good and bad, I suppose), the reaction was raised eyebrows, a hearty laugh from Ed and a shared drink. I left Night-Life over financial considerations, but more than 20 years later, I have one gift Ed gave me, a black hooded sweatshirt with Night-Life sewn on the chest. It’s a great sweatshirt I still wear, but if I didn’t, I’d keep it anyway. Thanks, Ed, and RIP.

Dave Palumbo: Another Buffalo Music Community Loss

  

    Sadly, here we go again, another remembrance post, this time for Dave Anchovies, known to his family as Dave Palumbo, who died July 19, 2022, and whose love of music led him to operate a great record store, perform as a musician and support other musicians/the Buffalo music scene.

     Palumbo operated Spiral Scratch Records, a great independent music store which supported original Buffalo music in many ways, from featuring their music on sale at the store, first on Delaware Avenue and later, after a destructive fire, on Bryant Street near Elmwood Avenue, to hosting performances by many local bands and artists, especially on Record Store Day. Spiral Scratch Records closed in 2015, leaving a hole in both the independent record store community and Buffalo music community overall.

     A cool DJ at WBNY 91.3 FM from his student days at Buffalo State College, Palumbo later hosted an excellent Saturday night show as an graduate/alumnus on WBNY, the “Scratch n Sniff Radio Programme,” where one was likely to hear just about anything, particularly with a sinister edge, whether style, sound, lyrics or recording quality. As a musician, Palumbo was probably best known as guitarist for the Trailer Park Tornadoes.

     Our paths crossed in almost entirely musical ways, from both being WBNY graduates who seemed to be remembered for playing loud, obnoxious music and sometimes hoped listeners/detractors were offended. We both did what we felt was best to support Buffalo/WNY musicians, although you might say that Palumbo really put his money and heart where his mouth was. It was also nice to live less than two blocks from Spiral Scratch Records when it was on Bryant Street, getting to go there for bands or to shop, as well as frequent dog walks past the store with Harold. Strangely, Dave and I never had a real long conversation, no comparing of notes or ideas or anything (naturally, no photos of him); the nature of seeing someone while bands were playing or one of us was running their business precluded really long talks, but I would have loved to have had time to talk about things further. Sadly, none of us will have that opportunity, and Dave will be missed more than any of us can imagine.

Support Your Local Musician - At All Levels

 

     I was taking one of my lunchtime walks about a week ago, basically 1:30-2 PM, on one of my main routes, from the Rath Building to Delaware Avenue to Tupper Street; Babeville and Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center are at the intersection. Typical weather: hot, sunny and a bit humid.

     Early on the opening part, I walked on the opposite side of Delaware Avenue from where, at the intersection of West Chippewa Street, stand Spot Coffee, Starbucks Coffee and Bocce Club Pizza. Almost a block away, I heard unaccompanied electric guitar playing Black Sabbath’s “Electric Funeral.” A shirtless guy, with white facial makeup covered with black highlights near the eyes and mouth, much closer to King Diamond than Kiss, and leather half-sleeves was playing a Flying V replica through a small amp on the sidewalk at the corner.

     My walks are very important to me and my continued post-medical fun long-term recovery, so I continued, but quickened the pace, hoping to get back on the other side for more of his playing before he was asked to leave or escorted away. Happily, he was still grinding away when I came back, this time ripping some riffs from a couple of songs from Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” album. I smiled and nodded when I approached him and he smiled back. I asked if he would accept a donation; he smiled and said yes, so I handed him a couple of dollars. He took it and said, “Thank you so much, man,” and when I told him to keep up the good work, he smiled even wider, said “You bet I will, partner,” and went back to playing. His playing finally subsided in the background as I closed in on work to again take on my Erie County duties.

An Unexpected but Deserved Tribute to Sara Rogers

 

     Harold (Val and my 11-year old pit bull blend) and I were taking our typical Sunday afternoon walk on Buffalo’s West Side when we turned a corner and came to a house we frequently notice because there is often a dog water dish in the walk and a humorous but serious sign about the occupant’s dog,

     There was also a sign that took my breath away for a moment, a drawing/painting of a young woman playing an acoustic guitar with the legend “Welcome to Music with Miss Sara. Music for All Ages and Abilities.”  It was sadly obvious this is a sign advertising the skills and vocation of Sara Rogers, who was killed in June when she was hit by a car while riding her bicycle on South Park Avenue in Buffalo at only age 29.

     I did not know Ms. Rogers personally, but I was aware of her professionally and have read many wonderful thoughts and words about her on social media as well as pieces in the Buffalo News and Buffalo Rising. A jazz and acoustic music guitarist, singer and songwriter, she had earned her bachelor’s degree in music, worked as a music therapist and was known for her enthusiasm and commitment to helping all people, but it seems especially younger people, find and experience the joy and wonder of making music, art and living life. She touched many people in apparently profound ways and certainly made lives better, something we would be grateful to achieve and should always strive to do.

     There are many musicians and artists in Buffalo and Western New York who touch others in these memorable ways but may fly under the radar, and our music and artistic communities should be proud that Ms. Rogers was one of them and will no doubt leave her mark and influence on others for a long time. I find no adequate words to thank Ms, Rogers for her spirit and accomplishments nor those of proper condolence to her friends and colleagues.

MonkeyWrench - Sasquatch Gold CD review

   

  In about 35 years, you can drink a lot of beer, play a lot of loud, fast rock and roll and punk music, make friends, work jobs, drink beer, write songs, move apart, reunite and face yourself, if you’re smart or fortunate, maybe both. On their newest 5-song CD “Sasquatch Gold,” Monkeywrench does all of this.

     For a time one of Buffalo’s best musically and hardest drinking bands (yeah, a bit of my opinion with some fact), Monkeywrench, made up of Timo Walikis on guitars and lead vocals, Schmidty on lead guitar and vocals, Scotty James Dio Maruscak on bass and vocals and Marc Yonkers on drums and vocals has released several albums, 45s, tracks and so on. After Walikis moved to California, the members went their separate ways, performing in other bands, most notably Schmidty in the very good and very underrated country rocking Flatbed. Happily, Walikis moved back and the band reunited. It shouldn’t be forgotten that the band’s alter ego, the Vinny Barbarino Experience, gained an unexpected popularity playing revved up 70s and 80s covers of all genres, and is playing occasionally again.

     I have been a big Monkeywrench fan from the start, and noticed from the start that the band kind of walked a high wire with the drinking thing (this was during my drinking days as well). Social drinks were frequently called for from the stage, shots were accepted and the legendary Piels helmets became famous, but as many of us discovered, there are holes and blanks that the booze doesn’t fill, things change too fast, life in general starts coming in and it isn’t always fun or sensible.

  

     Monkeywrench has addressed these things in songs for years, but faces them head on on “Sasquatch Gold.” The CD starts with “That Would Be Great,” a kick ass rocker with Walikis noting it’s almost a surprise the band made it here kind of intact, or at least functioning, and that “you can only hate so much until you just let go.” “Beat the Feel” also blazes along as Walikis drinks alone, gets more drunk, realizes he’s lied to himself about life as it moves on. “Fucked Up Better” pulls the throttle back slightly to a melodic rocker; Walikis points out his drinking hasn’t improved much and may have prevented him from failing more spectacularly: “Should have fucked up better…was never much of a plan.”

     The all leads to the CD ending mid-tempo country rock “Drinking of Me,” an amazingly mature reassessment of the life of a punk rocker who put his music and maybe drinking first and his now-ended relationship second. Walikis knows things are over and it’s mostly his fault, and eschews bitterness and nastiness for understanding, reflection and appreciation of what his ex went through and the effort she made. He tells her “I hope to God you’re not with someone like me,” and of course, sends her off with the title toast. 

     “Sasquatch Gold” can be obtained through Bandcamp or Apple Music, and Monkeywrench has pages on Facebook and Instagram.

No clever title today; clear the snow/ice off your sidewalks

     

I know this photo of the sidewalk in front of our house and property on Norwood Avenue
 looks ridiculous posted like this, but Blogger won't let me move the image or wrap text around
it for some reason. I'll try to resolve this soon, but the image should do the job for the moment.

     Been using this blog for some COVID posts for the past two years or so, with just one non-pandemic post, but Buffalo's winter has been a pain in the ass for several reasons, and one that just won't go away/get better despite apparent reasons how it could.

   Buffalonians/Western New Yorkers, especially us natives, often like to think we're too tough to be bothered by winter weather, and handle it in such a good fashion that many often laugh when other parts of the country report they are at standstills when they receive way less snow than our normal amounts. But as well as a lot of whining after serious snowfalls and sub-zero temperatures starting about a month ago, the response of both private homeowners and residents and the official City of Buffalo "efforts" in clearing streets and pedestrian areas have been woefully lacking to the point of incompetent and almost dangerous. Way too many side streets did not get plowed for days, if not weeks, and a much higher percentage were not sufficiently cleared. Sometimes, the snow was cleared off streets onto sidewalks (Buffalo does not clear snow from sidewalks unless official city property, and even then...) and bus stops, the responsibility of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, were either unplowed/shoveled or plowed in. I must say, as an employee of the Erie County Department of Social Services, I am lucky because the snow clearing/removal operations at the Rath Building in downtown Buffalo, where I work, have been excellent. But you can read more about this from the news media and social media; I don't want to be repetitive.

     But Saturday, February 12, 2022, when I took our dog Harold on our walk, I got as mad as I can recall for years back, because the conditions of the sidewalks, intersections and elsewhere remain atrocious,  verging on the dangerous. We were fortunate not to fall on the walk that took us from Norwood Avenue near Bryant Street down Norwood to West Utica, then to Richmond, down Richmond across West Ferry to Breckenridge, back to Norwood to West Ferry, to Ashland back to Bryant to home, about 1.5 miles through Buffalo's Elmwood Village/West Side. Every street brought us at least one or two amusement park-like scares and thrills, except they weren't entertaining, but degrees of danger. Whole properties of sidewalks were uncleared, and not just of snow, but of inch or more thick, slippery ice, and many intersections either had paths barely cleared or foot worn down or none at all. This ran the gamut from owner occupied homes and rentals to facilities and development projects such as the former church at West Ferry and Richmond (which I took photos of during the week). Some of these paths hadn't been plowed or shoveled of snow in weeks, and had foot paths worn in them so that the ice was quite smooth and slippery; despite wearing hiking boots, I had to grab onto fences, rails, cars, garbage totes and even Harold to keep from falling. Whether any kind of salt or deicer had been used on so many of these properties is unknown but doubtful.

     Before anyone tries to make too many excuses, remember this: despite suffering a heart attack in October 2017 and undergoing massive, life-saving open-heart surgery in November 2017 at the Cleveland Clinic, I cleared 2-3-inch thick ice from our driveway, sidewalk and path to our porch using a garden shovel, some deicer and the great repair work from the Cleveland Clinic medical staff over several days. I have been fortunate to have received a lot of help removing the snow, but I took it upon myself to clear the ice, as well as shovel out the ice chunks the street plows left. Also, we own the lot next door to us, so I have been shoveling ice from a double wide berth. So, unless you've undergone more surgery than me or have other medical reasons, or you own larger sidewalks/properties than us, I have little patience with excuses for not clearing walks at this point. Sadly, this also feeds into the City of Buffalo "Mayor" Byron Brown's administration's opinion that residents' poor parking/snow clearing efforts are at least partly to blame for the city's inadequate response.

     The city workers themselves are themselves putting out admirable efforts, but no apparent snow clearing plan, a patronizing attitude from the mayor and his administration on just about everything and suspicions of favoritism (including possible instances of less than full committal to clearing areas of the city that backed India Walton during last year's mayoral election), combined with truly crappy weather in heavy snows and brutally cold temperatures, have left streets and sidewalks in poor shape and citizens, both property owners and those who don't, with little confidence that the Brown Administration has the competence or will to properly clear the snow. Sadly, too many people are also falling into the no hope/don't care trap and not clearing their own sidewalks and driveways of both snow and ice. Clearing your own walks not only make them safer for other people to traverse, they are safer for you to go about your business outside. It's not like we have suddenly forgotten how to do this or know that it works.

     I believe the city needs to start looking into buying smaller plows that can be used on sidewalks, even as a pilot program or for certain neighborhoods with needs such as large numbers of senior citizen residents. This would entail Buffalo Common Council members to engage the public and advocate for change, and yes, increased spending at first. But if this was an issue to possibly increased the funding of the police department, in personnel and/or equipment, there would barely be a question of if but of how much and how soon. This is a matter of public safety and needs to be addressed now; it isn't going away, will be back next winter if not again this winter, and will get worse. Hell, on the micro level, I have noticed that Harold, our 11-year old (next month) pit bull/mastiff blend, has adopted his walking gait to the snowy and slippery sidewalks, often mirroring mine. If he knows there is a problem, there's no way city officials, even the clown car of our mayor and his administration, don't know there is a major problem that needs to be changed, if not solved. 

Dispatches from the Time of the Virus XIV: When It Seems to Come for You, Or Why We Wear Our Masks

     While at work at about 3:45 PM Monday, December 27, I felt my cell phone go off in my pocket recognizable as a text message. I was scanning several items, so I figured I would check the message when I got back to my desk. As I sat down at my desk, my cell phone rang, or at least produced its incoming ringtone. I checked my phone, which read that the call was coming from my wife Val, who is working from home due to the COVID pandemic.

     As I answered the phone, “Hi, hon,” I went to my text list. “Get home now, dear,” my wife said in a rather urgent voice, “X (our nephew) just tested positive for COVID.” As I heard this, my heart dropped, and when I looked at the text message, it was also from Val, stating, “Sit down, sweetie. X tested positive.”

     And so, with the call no one wants to receive, the adventure begins. Actually, the adventure began Christmas Day (Saturday). Val and I went to my sister-in-law Y’s house for a brunch get-together with X, Y, Y’s friend and my mother-in-law. My nephew actually arrived from his father’s house a few minutes after Val and I got there at about 12:30-1 PM, and the boyfriend arrived a bit after that. It was a very nice, relaxed, enjoyable gathering, as nice as holiday gatherings can be during a pandemic, which caused this brunch to be a mask-wearing affair for, with occasional laxness by some. Eventually, my nephew returned to his father’s house and the brunch ended.

     Sunday went by normally, as did returning to work at my Erie County Department of Social Services job; Mondays are typically busy, and we were with mail/payments, clients and usual tasks. Or at least until I received the telephone call and texts from my wife. I immediately finished the task I was on, notified my supervisors, checked on the protocols, swiped out at 4 PM and went home. Val and I started checking where, when and how we could get the testing done as soon as possible, as well as receiving results. Val came across CTS, found their testing site at the Buffalo Grand Hotel (formerly Adam’s Mark Hotel) on Church Street, and while appointments weren’t 100 percent necessary, they were recommended, and we got one for 4:25 PM Tuesday, December 28. The rest of the day was spent notifying work representatives (in my department and personnel) what was happening, how my job responsibilities were looking for the next couple of days, and worrying. Worrying about what what I/we would do waiting for the results, what would happen if either one of us or both of us tested positive and we had to quarantine, and so on. The way our house is set up, we have an unfinished attic and basement, and the bedroom is upstairs, next to the computer/media room, and the next room is Val’s studio/computer room; the shower is also located upstairs, so how Val and I would quarantine from each other if one of us tested positive is unknown.

     Having at least a couple of unexpected days off from work doesn’t thrill me. I take pride in my job, a job/situation where we had a 25 percent personnel cut a few years ago, allegedly temporary but it’s been two years or so. When one person left to go to another position (she did a great job with us), it took almost 2 months to replace her, and the new person started two weeks ago. Also, the other person in my office is, shall we say, technology and hard work challenged and could retire today with a full pension; when I am out, they often panic. But I left the messages that I wouldn’t be in along with work instructions, and they basically got by; yes, my return was met with work that should have been done, but it was expected.

     Tuesday went by in fits; Val continued to do her job from home, I slept in a bit but got up to feed and then walk our dog, Harold, and wanted to start writing something like this piece, but found I couldn’t concentrate and didn’t feel like commenting on it on social media just yet. So I ended up showering, doing a lot of reading and hoping the clock would quickly get to the time we could go to get our tests. 

     We got to CTS at exactly 4:25 PM; except for one couple of guests, the only people we saw were two staffers behind the desk and the CTS setup just off the main lobby, with three workers and a few clients/patients. We had to scan something to get to the registration page, and after a few minutes we handed the additional forms back to the first worker, and we waited with a few other people for the rapid response and PCR COVID tests. The testing seemed rather easy and harmless; for each test, a swab was placed in my nostrils, went back a bit/a lot, swirled a few times and that was it. We were told to go back to the waiting/lounge area and wait for our rapid response test results, and about 15 minutes later, we received our cards with the results on them, handed to us individually and face down. While I had shown no symptoms and felt fine, I hadn’t relaxed since learning of my nephew’s positive status, and it felt like the proverbial weight was taken off my back when I flipped the card and saw the negative status. I smiled as I showed Val the card, and she smiled as she waited for hers, which also came back negative a minute or so later.

     Because our COVID protocols did not read like they clearly allowed return to work without a negative PCR test, I contacted the personnel department COVID email address to ask about it; they got back to me checking on my vaccination, booster and symptom status. Because I was fully vaccinated (Pfizer) and boosted (Moderna), had no symptoms and had not tested positive, I could return to work the next day, Thursday, masked as all Erie County employees at the Rath Building are, and I did. Val and I await our PCR test results, but as of 5:30 PM New Year’s Day, we remain symptom free.

     Postscript: my nephew is feeling OK, and my sister-in-law and my nephew’s father both tested positive for COVID, had some symptoms and are feeling better. All are vaccinated and boosted.