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.