Real Kids Rule, OK?

  Yes, we are approaching the end of the 40th Anniversary, but fear not. I plan to keep updating you in the future with content as I make my way through the vast archives.

  One of the surprises of this year was the release of  a gig that helped solidify the scene, The Real Kids, Live at Circe's Bar 1978. Thanks to the Folks at Crypt Records in Germany(!), the tape I recorded that weekend had been in a drawer for 40 years when I was contacted by Tim Warren asking if he could put it out as an LP and CD series he was working on with John Felice. I did not hesitate for a second and sent the files over to him. The Circe's gig is just one part of the group of demos and live recordings now available. In case you're not familiar with The Real Kids, they were a staple of Boston Rock in the late 70's and 80's with the release of a self produced 45 and LP on Red Star Records. Throughout their career, there were many lineup changes, but John Felice and Co. always remained popular with the fans they picked up along the way. Record releases came from Norton Records here in the US and New Rose out of France. They continue to release recordings to this day with new products from Ace Of Hearts Records in Boston.  Don't let you collections suffer without these any longer. Make 2019 rock with your own copies.

FOUND! Crazy Jack, Lost Track

Crazy Jack, Wormtown's answer to Iggy Stooge, had a career that started out like a skyrocket, and exploded just as big. His real name was Mike Rizutti, and  I met him through a friend named Ray Gagne (whom I sadly just found out passed in July) and the group of kids who use to hang around the Thompson Pond area, out in the boondocks of Spencer. He was just like the rest of us, living our version of "That 70's Show", drinking, smoking and listening to Rock n Roll. His idols were Mick Jagger, Steven Tyler, and he always wanted to be the lead singer in his own band. Along came punk rock and everyone could do it, so he did.He formed Crazy Jack and Heart Attaxs along with Preston Wayne of Hooker, and Cathy Peters, now Cah, and David Iacovelli who played bass and drums in The Blue Moon Band. He went on to make a name for himself with wild shows that often ended in total chaos. The Heart Attaxs disbanded due these incidents and he quickly recruited some young talent in brothers Steve and Paul Aquino, and went on as the Auotmatics. This is about the time I lost touch with him. Let's just say he had ego problems and leave it there. There were more stories of  wild gigs, in Boston were he "Smashed Glass" outside Cantone's one night,  more arrests, jail time, and that's were the career ended. The last time I saw him was a chance meeting in 1991, married with children, cleaned up and sober, not missing his former notoriety. This song I have no information about, except that it features Bob Peters and David Iacovelli from the Blue Moon Band. It was found on and old cassette tape I've had for 40 years with other Crazy Jack songs recorded at rehearsals.  At one point he took these tapes from me and wouldn't return them . I had to trick him into getting them back by having a mutual friend ask to borrow them. Otherwise I don't think they would have survived to this day. The song is raw, over modulated and like nothing else he did. You'll either love it or hate it, but listen to it a couple times and it'll be stuck in your head for days.

Listen HERE! CrazyJack, Dynamite Disco

Sweet Pie, Naked and Famous

There was a time in Worcester, we were starved for any entertainment that wasn't "normal".  We'd seek out strange and interesting acts when they hit town. If ever. Well, one night, at a non nondescript bar on Park Ave, I got wind of performer who billed himself as "the world's only nudist boogie-woogie pianist". Paul Winer, aka Sweet Pie was an old hippie looking dude who did just that. For the next two hours this guy regaled us with tunes and jokes that had us glued to our seats. On a cold winter night he tore up the keyboard stomping and singing about his life and times of being a naked artist in a clothed world. I came upon this old booklet he handed out at the show and thought I'd share it.                       

           

And, believe it or not, the guy is still around today as an owner of a bookstore in Arizona, Readers Oasis Books, and performing live!

Also had a documentary produced about his career. 
Paul Winer NYC Hoochie Coochie Man from Pierce Cravens on Vimeo.

Wormtown 35th Annivesary

It's been a while, what with summer and all, but here we are at the end of my posts of The Wormtown Anniversary Shows! This one was held on May 11th, 2013 at Ralph's Diner. This show had its own little drama with The Numbskulls canceling day of show and Bottlefight graciously stepping in last minute to fill their spot. It was again sponsored by Narragansett Beer, the OFFICIAL beer of Wormtown! (except no substitutes). The crowd was hot, and the bands even hotter. As you may know, there have been no plans for a 40th anniversary celebration, as of now, so enjoy this last time we all got together under the Worm Flag !

 The Performers

The Commandos

Musclecah

The Time Beings

Bottlefight

Celebration Continues! Wormtown 30th!!

Ten years ago we took over Ralph's Diner for a big two night party celebrating 30 years of Wormtown . People came from far and wide to support the scene, and catch up with old friends.  Here are all the bands, unedited, as it happened.

The Odds

The Performers

Black Rose Garden

Prefab Messiahs w/ Bob Trimble

The Commandos

The Numbskulls

Classic Ruins

The Pathetics

Love It, Hate It, Eat It

The 40th Anniversary date has come and gone, but we're still celebrating. Worcester Mag finally weighed in after all the hype, coming out for it?, I guess? Hard to tell. Hank Stoltz had a poll on his "Talk of the Commonwealth" page, where the haters won by 14%.

Over the years, the detractors helped popularize the moniker just as much as the proponents did. Former Mayor Jordan Levy still doesn't get it, but we never thought he would. The Worcester Telelgram and Gazette thought it was over back in 1982 after the Centrum opened and that building was going to revitalize Downtown. How'd that work out for you?

Now with Worcester on it's latest rebirth, people want to move away from it screaming "WOO!" all the way. It may not be as prevalent as it was in years past, but shows no signs of going away. Thanks to all who fly the flag of  Wormtown!  And for those who don't, long may you squirm!

Wormtown 40th in the News....

As you may have seen, our anniversary made the local media rounds this week. Even though there is no official celebration party planned as of now, the folks who inform wanted to know what the hoopla was all about. Well, most of them anyway, still crickets over at Worcester Mag, as it was when we celebrated the 35th, they showed no interest. For those who do care, here's the links in case you missed them.


Worcester Telegram and Gazette

Talk of the Commonweath with Hank Stolz, WUTY, Unity Radio, 102.9fm

...and here's the link to the WURN "Wormtown 40th" show I did recently with all the local classics I could fit in 3 hours.

WURN on Podomatic

Wormtown Day, May 2, 2003

As we continue to celebrate the Anniversary the City of Worcester never asked for, we remember a  period of time when we had a friend in City Hall back in 2003 in then Mayor Tim Murray. He was dubbed "the  Boy  Mayor" by the media and being the young, forward thinking person he was he embraced Wormtown as a positive for the city, something that had never been done before at 455 Main St. Former Mayor Jordan Levy was known to have a distaste for the moniker, which only pleased the fans more. But Tim was different. He stopped down to WDOA for an interview without hesitation even though we were not perhaps them most legitimate radio outlet at the time. And when it came around to the 25th Anniversary of our scene, he had an Official City Proclamation drawn up to recognize our efforts. He stopped by Ralph's Diner later that night to read it to the crowd and join in the celebration. He mingled with the crowd a awhile and had a great time with everyone. After his term as Mayor was over, Tim went on to serve as Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts under Deval Patrick, and now is the current President and CEO of The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. Things went back to the way they used to be with City Hall. I was once introduced to the current Mayor, Joseph M. Petty at a function held by Hank Stoltz, he seemed unimpressed. Wormtown, I'm sure, is not part of their current plan to revitalize Worcester.

photos by Mike Malone

Happy Anniversary Wormtown 40th!!

It all started 40 years ago today when the Wormtown Punk Punk Press Issue #1 hit the streets. The delivery method was either at a gig at Circes Bar and Grill on Franklin St. or via Paperback Booksmith in the Worcester Centah. It was crude, hand written, 1 sided sheet documenting the burgeoning scene in Worcester, and the name stuck like a piece of ABC gum to the bottom of your shoe. The city hated it, the media shunned it, the kids loved it. Along the next 40 years we had our ups and downs, bands used it as a rallying point to further their careers, the rest of the world took notice and it turned up everywhere from the Boston Globe to Village Voice. It waned slightly in the mid 80's only to come roaring back with a new crop of bands in the 90's. Nowadays, it resides in nostalgia and a brewery that shall not be named. No matter what the powers that be tried to counter with, it has stuck around and is not going away anytime soon. So Happy Birthday Wormtown, go buy yourself a Narragansett Beer, the OFFICIAL beer of Wormtown!

Wormtown 20th Anniversary

This week we revisit a show 20 years ago at Ralph's Chadwick Square Diner, and this time it's LIVE video thanks to Mike Malone, head honcho over at WURN.net, our still functioning radio platform.
It features The Commandos, The Crybabies, The Time Beings, The Blue Moon Band, The Odds and The Prefab Messiahs, who, by the way are now back with a brand new album you can buy on their website!!! Although somewhat crude, the video it is nonetheless an important window into the scene as it was in 1998. So sit back, grab a beer and spend a few hours with these goodies.

Wormtown Anniversary Festival 1993

Today installment in the History of Wormtown comes from a Benefit show for WICN 90.5fm held at Tammany Hall on Pleasant St. celebrating 15 years of the scene. Two of the bands at that time featured husband and wife teams along with Dave Kowalchek on drums. The band that started it all, The Blue Moon Band, Featured Bob and Cathy Peters (aka nowadays Cah). Next up were The Surreal McCoys, Jeff and Cheryl Cranes outfit,  then The Link Bros, who featured Paul and Steve Aquino, their set is short due to the original file missing, and lastly the "Wormtown" debut of Angry Johnny and the Killbillies, who had played Worcester before at WAG I think, before we knew of him. The night ended with a bang and a boom as the Killbillies tore up the stage and could not play an encore. Follow the links below to experience it for yourself.

The Blue Moon Band
The Surreal McCoys
The Link Bros.
Angry Johnny and the Killbillies

The Nebuas Live

Another lost tape transmogrified for your enjoyment. The Nebulas were on the scene in the early 80's in Wormtown and soon built a loyal following wherever they played. This tape comes via a friend who thought he was recording one of my early WICN shows, but was actually tuned to Brian Goslows'  "Wormtown on the Rocks"show on 91.3fm. A happy accident that allows us the opportunity listen to this wonderful group all these years later.

Listen Here

Boom Boom Ga Ga!

It was forty years ago when I first met Willie Alexander. I was heading to The Rat in Kenmore Square when he approached us looking for some spare change. "But you just came off tour for your MCA debut album!" I stated. "Yeah, but we already spent all the advance money." Willie replied. How could that be, I thought. When you get signed to a major label, you made it to the big time. That's when I began to learn about the major music business and why punk rock was needed. Things had to change. Over the years I saw Willie change too. From The Boom Boom Band, to playing with The Neighborhoods and Confessions backing him, and his solo recordings, he was the Godfather of Boston Rock n Roll for a reason. Now all these years later he still a vital artist who has maintained his cool throughout. Last weekend we saw a reunited Boom Boom Band performing in Beverly, MA for the screening of "Boys From Nowhere; The Story of Boston's Garage and Punk Uprising" by BFN Film and Chris Parcellin. Although the theater posted signs everywhere saying "No Video", I had to sneak in a couple, otherwise I wouldn't be me. That's part of the reason I was there as I contributed some Real Kids footage to the film. So, here you go. Enjoy!!!

Radio The Way it Used to Be

While going through archives of Wormtown related things collected over the past 40 years, I came across this article published in The Echo, the Wachusett Regional High School newspaper, where a student visited the studios of WICN radio back in May of 1992 for a visit with Mike Malone during his broadcast. Also present for the interview were Myself, Mike Marley, and Joe Provo. An interesting look back at a time when WICN had a full staff of rock programmers seven days a week.

The 40th Year of Wormtown!!

Yes, you read that right! We're back and ready to celebrate. Forty years ago the seeds were just starting to sprout. The scene was at Circes on Franklin Street, which is now a Noodle Bar?!? The music was blasting out of the radio tuned to WCUW and Brian Goslows Saturday afternoon program. We were younger, now older and wiser we will go forward while remembering the past. One way to start is to revisit the show put on July 26, 1992 at Tammany Hall. Wormtown Radio Festival:On That End 2! Follow the link and hear the best we had to offer back in those days, and stay tuned for more!!! On That End 2