The Pathetics, Live From Wormtown 11/27/02

   In honor of the recent Big Rock Fest in the boondocks west of Wormtown, this week we visit with The Pathetics. Formed many years before this interview was took place, these four guys have a penchant for punk rock with whip smart lyrics. Consisting of Dave Strandberg on Vocals / Guitar, Rich Lorion on Bass / Vocals , Jim Bain on Guitar / Vocals, and  Jeff Starltare on drums they have three CD's under their belt with a fourth long awaited recording due this year.  Practically the house band at the old Dinny's on Lincoln St. their shows are always fast, loose and send the crowd into a frenzy. They've toured up and down the east coast hoping to build a fan base for those who appreciate the finer things in life. Namely beer, whiskey, and fun. Catch them next time they play in your town!


The Pathetics, Live From Wormtown

photos by Jeff Worm

The Independents, Live From Wormtown

  This week we go back to April 11, 2003 and our first meeting with The Independents. Evil Presly, Willie B., and their band-mates come from Florence, South Carolina, and were on tour promoting their latest album and playing a show at Ralph's Diner along with Angry Johnny, whose interview we aired earlier. Classified as Horror Punk Ska, they don't look like your average good old boy from that part of the country.  Formed in 1991 they have numerous albums out to this point, and along the way they ended up befriending Joey Ramone, who went on to produce their "Back from the Grave" LP. Since this show they have been back to Worcester many times, and made a few friends including our own favorites The Pathetics, who ended up doing a few shows with them on a small tour.
Note: Evil now goes by the name of Vincent Karloff.

The Independents, Live from Wormtown

The Performers, Live From Wormtown

    Since last week we featured The Commandos, it's only right we turn to their arch nemesis, The Performers. The band was formed in 1979 consisting of brothers Doug and Sibley Geer on Guitar and Bass along with George Bosnakis on Drums. While still in their teens, they quickly become favorites on the radio via WCUW.  Playing sporadic gigs throughout the late 70's and early 80's, they also recorded a split 45 with The Commandos for Beast Records. It was tough to get gigs back then, but they persevered into becoming local legends with shows at Ralph's Diner, Sir Morgans Cove and Xit. This interview was recorded April 19, 2003 at wdoa.com while they were getting ready to play a Wormtown Anniversary show and features songs from their compilation CD "Bullets, Bombs and Protest Songs", wearing their Clash influences proudly on their sleeves. They continued to play gigs up until the 2000's and could probably be talked into another round if the time was right.



The Performers, Live from Wormtown 

The Commandos, Live From Wormtown

    The Commandos came from the earliest days of the scene. Starting out as teenage punks in the suburb of West Boylston, they formed their own all ages club in their parents basement due to the fact they and thier fans were to young to hit the clubs. They recorded a hit 45 that to this day sells for hundreds of dollars on the internet. Along the way there were numerous line up changes, (see insert below) more recordings for Beast Records, reunion shows, gigs in Canada, allegedly stealing the guest register from Howard Johnson's in their hometown while The Clash stayed there for the Clark University show, and finally seeing their collected recordings released on  Rave Up Records in France. This interview comes from 2008 as they were preparing to play the Wormtown 25th Anniversary show at Ralph's. It Features Brian Hopper, Jeff Crane, and Sue Gillies. Jeff and Sue are still active in the music business, Brian will pour you a beer or make sure you don't step out of line at Ralph's.


The Commandos, Live From Wormtown

The Crybabies, Live From Wormtown

 This time around it's the first Super Group of the Wormtown Scene, The Crybabies. All the members of this band paid their dues in the early days of the scene. Artie Sneiderman on vocals started out as the doorman at Worcester's most notorious Punk Club Xit 13 on Millbury St. Didn't take long before he was onstage fronting The Slumlords. Along the way were They Actions, The Belmondos and a few others. Steve Aquino on guitar started out with Crazy Jack and the Automatics, moved on to the Odds, The Actions, and has for the past several years handled the duty with Boston Garage legends Lyres. Jeff Crane  on guitar got his start with The Commandos, teamed up with his then wife Cheryle Crane to form The Surreal McCoys, and with Rick Blaze as The Ballbusters. Along with many European friends has played with acts from France to Italy and beyond. Cheryle Crane on the bass, herself grew up in a rock and roll family and most recently was a member of current faves Michael Kane and the Morning Afters. Missing fro the interview is Joe Sheehan, formerly from Sheeze Late, also part time gigs with another legendary Boston Band, The Classic Ruins. The Crybabies recorded their debut disc, "How the Other Half Lives" at Tremelo Lounge under the assistance of Roger Lavallee. To this day the CD is is rotation on Little Stevens Underground Garage station on Sirius XM.


The Crybabies, wdoa.com

Photos by Carrie Jo
 

The Numbskulls, Live from Wormtown

  One of Worcester's most popular bands throughout the first decade of 2000's were The Numbskulls. Starting out as a three piece, the band changed line ups over the years keeping the core of Alex Nagorski and Lysie Rossi. Along they way assisted  by three different drummers, Adam, heard here, John Barney, and Chris Lewis, and Guitarist James Keyes. They produced several CD's and won consecutive local Music Polls as they played to their devoted  fans across the northeast and beyond.

  This interview is from there early days, when they were just starting out to conquer the world!


Live from Wormtown, The Numbskulls Interview

                                                  2010

                                                    2009

                                                    2012

Live From Wormtown Revisited

   Back in the post WDOA 89.3fm days, after the MAN shut us down, we switched to an online platform, one of the first stations in Worcester to have an internet presence. We called it WDOA.com. Brilliant, right? I came up with the idea to have local bands in to talk and perform live. These shows only ran once and were never heard again, until now. In the future I'm going to feature as many of the shows as I can dig up, and we will start with this one. Angry Johnny and The Killbilles, are a western Massachusetts that quickly became a favorite. Featuring Angry, Goatus T. Ovenrude and Sal Vega, it was recorded April 11th, 2003.

Enjoy and watch for more!!

Live From Womrtown Mixcloud