Ralph's Diner 40th Anniversary

What can we say about Ralph's Diner. For forty years they have offered the Worcester area diverse shows spanning every genre you could imagine. Beginning with the man himself, Ralph Moberly, you were offered food and drink and eclectic music. That carried over to a run by his wife Carol, who then turned it back over to to Ralph and eventually sold it to Vincent Hemmeter. The anniversary show held on October, 19th and in two parts .I only made the afternoon portion of the show which featured Wormtown  Legends The Performers and the newly resurrected version of The Ballbusters along with the Sonomatics. The crowd was scarce but the spirit was high.  Here are some songs that afternoon.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Sleepy LaBeef, Live from Wormtown, May 2005

Sleepy LaBeef is defined as a true Legend. Born in Arkansas in 1935 he has been a staple on the Country/Rockabilly scene since the 1950's working besides such names as Elvis, Johnny Cash, and a host of other artists. He made his name with his deep sounding voice and six foot plus stature all over the world. This performance and interview was recorded for my wdoa.com show at Rox's Roadhouse in Oxford, MA during a stop in 2005. Sleepy had played Worcester previously at The Plantation Club and Johhny D's in Somerville many times over the years. Still touring today, if you ever get the chance to see him, do not hesitate!

Sleepy LaBeef, Live From Wormtown  

Punks Not Dad, WURN.net

Here's something from July 2012 that's a little different. Punks Not Dad are a band I discovered back in 2009. They were four older gentlemen who loved Punk Rock and had disdain for how the young people were representing it at the time. This inspired them to start a band some 30 years after the initial punk explosion and show them how it should be done. Going by the names of Sid Life Crisis on vocals, Johnny Cardigan on guitar, Joe Strimmer on bass, and Adrian Viles on drums, they performed music that related to their everyday life. After hearing such songs as "In Me Shed", Man Flu", Banned from the Barfly" and "Gaye Adverts Eyes," I had to try to contact them to see if I could get the whole story. As it turned out Mr. Life Crisis agreed to do a phone interview from his home in Cardiff, Wales. He spoke of the bands roots, reasons for forming this group and releases they had both past and future. They had two recordings out at that time "Allen Key in the UK" and "We are the Dads" and had plans for future releases. They also released a video for their song "Monkey Boots" featuring some famous faces known in the UK to rave reviews. After hearing his story, I too joined The New Dads Army and have been a proud member ever since. 



Punks Not Dad on wurn.net 

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Carbon/Silicon Live TT the Bears w/ Mick Jones, Tony James Interview

   Here's one from the lost and found files from April 5, 2008 at that infamous club in Cambridge. This was recorded just before we celebrated the 30th Anniversary of Wormtown for air on WURN.org and somehow it got pushed aside and forgotten until now. Myself and radio partner Jeff Worm made our way to Mass Ave. on a cold and dreary day to take in the show. I was determined to get some kind of interview with this  band formed by Clash and Big Audio Dynamite Guitarist Mick Jones and his band mate Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik Bassist Tony Jones. Formed in 2002 they released "MPFree" as their first single. They would go on to record thirteen "albums" from 2006-2009 and give them all away free for download from their website. As Mick says in this interview, "we didn't need the money". Somewhat similar  to BAD, they used samples and loops in their early work but progressed on to a more traditional sound of a rock and roll band. They had five more commercial digital releases from 2010 to 2013 and are still listed as an active band.
   The show was very well received by the crowd with the band rounded out by Dominic Greensmith on drums and Leon "Easykill" Williams on bass. After the performance Mick stuck around to meet fans and sign autographs. As for the interview parts of this recording, Jeff and I were wandering around before the show and noticed a fancy tour bus parked behind TT's and knocked on the door. Tony James invited us in for a talk while Mick opted to do his interview after the show. So that's how I left this recording for your listening pleasure.

 Carbon/Silicon Live TT the Bears w interviews

MORE Carbon/Silicon here

The Balls, Live From Wormtown

This time we examine the Russian influence on the Wormtown Music Scene with an interview of The Balls from March of 2003. Yes, long before the election scandals, Worcester was infiltrated with a Russian operative by the name of Andrei Krutov, aka The General. Formed in 1999 along with Brian Hoffman/drums, Chris Kanaracus/guitar, and Charles Respess /bass, almost on a dare, they burst onto the stage of the Lucky Dog to sing songs about Relationships, Life and Sex. Soon, they built a fan-base on the merits of Krutovs' stage antics which consisted of disrobing throughout the set and eventually ending up almost completely naked. In 2004 they recorded a CD at Tremolo Lounge under the control of Roger Lavallee. It gave us such timeless classics as "Sucky Laundromat", "Shiny Nipple" and "Swedish Fish" to name a few.  Over the years there have been a few line up shifts and adding of additional band members, Wayne Winslow, Jon Ho and Lovina to give them a fuller live sound. They still get together every year or so to the delight of their followers and always pack the house.


The Balls, Live From Wormtown 

Sasquatch and the Sick A Billys, Live from Wormtown, 2003

From September of 2003 we hunt down and capture the legendary Sasquatch and his Sick A Billys. Hailing from Providence I first saw this man, real name David Podsnap, at Vincent's. He was unlike any performer I'd seen prior. The buzz was heavy about this guy who played like a possessed demon, wildly strumming his guitar, screaming into the mic, howling at his audience. His shows often left both club owners and fans awestruck. Sometimes from the music and sometimes from his antics, which eventually led to a ban from Ralph's Diner Stage. Undaunted, he found other clubs in the city that would allow his band to perform namely The Lucky Dog on Green Street where he layed out his cards for years afterwards. He released numerous recordings on CD over the years since this interview and now can be found at his Nightclub/restaurant in Warren RI called Galactic Theatre. A little more reserved than he was in his early days, you can still see him perform today at occasional gigs but when the music starts, you'll see the side of him that made him a legend.

 Sasquatch and the Sick A Billys, Live From Wormtown

                                          With Harley Davidson of Deadbolt
MORE Sasquatch for you here.

Bottlefight, Live From Wormtown

This episode comes from 2003/4 with Bottlefight from Athol, MA. They blew on the scene with their hard driving music like a storm. Steve Cummings on Guitar/Vocals, Aaron Barnes on Bass/Vocals and Craig O'Brien on drums came calling on the Wormtown scene and were welcomed into the action. All the fans who stood in amazement of their fast paced, screaming sounds which they described as "Dirt Rock". They recorded and released a CD in 2003 entitled "Glorious Dirt" which is long out of print. Later on Craig was replaced on drums by Christopher Lewis formaly of The Numbskulls. Steve also went on to become a member of Musclecah, who fit his style perfectly.  Bottlefight still play around today so if you ever see them listed Go!

Bottlefight, Live from Wormtown 

The USM, Live From Wormtown

  This week we head into obscurity with an interview from August 15, 2002 with Boston band The USM (United State of Mind). Formed around 2000 in The UK by Rocco Antonelli, they put out a 45 called "United State of Mind" and a CD entitled "4 Star Deparados". Upon returning to his home in Boston, Rocco enlisted the talents of Bob Kadlec and John Stone formally of Meat Depressed and Mike Gurley from Darkbuster to create the American version of the group. Many line up changes occurred before they stopped performing and now Rocco resides in Florida. Bob went on to form The McGunks who are still active today. Described as Melodic Rock with a touch of punk, they played around Boston area and beyond before they disbanded.  They had a couple of reunion gigs in the 2010's and haven't been heard from since. This band also holds the record for most beer consumed during an interview at WDOA.com where they made quick work of a 30 pack of Bud.

 The USM, Live From Wormtown  

Photos by Carrie Jo

Willie Alexander and the Boom Boom Band, Live From Wormtown

 This is a real special one. We left wdoa.com in Wormtown to head to Gloucester to visit with Willie and the Boom Booms who were rehearsing for an upcoming reunion show at the Middle East in Cambridge. I've known Willie since 1978 and have interviewed him many times, but this was the only time I sat down with the entire band. Their careers together started mid to late 70's, playing around Boston and recorded the infamous "Sperm Bank Babies" album live on air at WERS.  Then they went onto record two LPs for MCA Records and tour the US with The Cars, and Elvis Costello. Willie's career goes all the back to the 1960's where he was a member of The Lost, The Bagetelle and even briefly with The Velvet Underground. He then hooked up with Billy Loosigian, Sev Grossman, and David McLean to form one of the Boston areas favorite bands of the early Punk era. They split shortly after the release of their second album but reunited in 2002 to record "Dog Bar Yacht Club" produced by David Minehan. Willie is still recording and releasing music now with his new band The Fishtones and his latest is available online on Bandcamp.

Willie Alexander and the Boom Boom Band, Live From Fishtown