Kris Thompson from Prefab Messiahs Live From Wormtown

This week from 2003, as we prepared for the 25th Anniversary of Wormtown, Kris "Trip"Thompson stopped by wdoa.com to discuss the history and upcoming performance of The Prefab Messiahs. Formed at Clark University in 1982 with Xeth "Xerox" Feinberg and Mike "Doc" Michaud  they joined together to play an updated version of Psychedelic music for the 1980's. Along with their Casio unit called Ringo, they played gigs at Xit and Ralph's and live on the airwaves of WCUW for a fund drives. A recording of songs both live and in studio released on cassette quickly sold out at shows. Disbanding around 1983, the members all moved onto other careers. Then they returned with a vengeance in 2012 releasing an LP of recordings entitled "Peace, Love and Alienation". Catching the ear of Burger Records, they went on to release "Keep Your Stupid Dreams Alive" on 10" vinyl and CD in 2015 and "Psychsploitation Today " CD in 2017 to rave reviews. They also have a vast catalog of videos to accompany their recordings available on YouTube. They continue to record to this day and hopefully will have a new disc out soon.

Kris Thompson, Prefab Messiahs, Live From Wormtown 

Classic Ruins, Live From Wormtown

Legendary band Classic Ruins stopped by wdoa.com on May, 17th, 2003. One of the original Boston groups from the punk explosion of the late 70's, founder Frank Rowe on Guitar along with Carl Bianucci, on Bass, Jeff Crane, Guitar and James Matthew Burns, drums is the incarnation of the band in this meeting. The Ruins have a long and varied career as one of the longest lasting groups out of the scene, and are still active today. Their debut 45 on Ace of Hearts records is still in demand today as are their two LPs "Ruins Cafe" and "Lassie Eats Chicken".  They also released an LP on Italian label Rave Up Records "Room Starts Spinning"and re-released "Lassie" on CD with extra material. Also have played all over the US and Europe building a vast fan base. Along the way they have recruited local Worcester musicians Dave Kowalchek and Joe Sheehan to manage the drumming duties, and the aforementioned Jeff Crane, who has been interviewed on this show with three different bands. You can search the web to find copies of their recordings, and, by all means, go see them when they are in your town.

 Classic Ruins, Live From Wormtown

, by all means, go see them when they are in your town.

The Valentines, Live From Wormtown

This time wdoa.com went international with a group from Bologna, Italy. Rick Blaze invited them to the US after meeting them on tour of Europe. Members include JJ, Matt, Valentina and Mars Valentine. This was their first time playing in another country, and had gigs lined up at Lucky Dog, Ralph's, and live on WCUW. Formed around 2000, they went on to recording three CD's and played many shows and festivals in their homeland. Then, sadly in 2014, lead singer Valentina passed away unexpectedly leaving the rest of the band shocked and saddened. Their shows here were well attended leaving legendary memories behind. I am grateful to have had the chance to meet and talk to these folks, and pull the discs out every now and then to remember what a great talent Valentina was.


The Valentines, Live From Wormtown 

Ballbusters, Live From Wormtown

  The Ballbusters, without Rick Blaze, stopped by wdoa.com back in 2001 to promote their new disc, "Peoples Republic of Rock and Roll".
Jeff Crane, Cathy (Peters) Lillyman, and Dave Cuneo represent. They all had been veterans of the local scene since before the inception of Wormtown . Jeff with The Commandos, Cathy of The Blue Moon Band and Dave an accomplished solo artist with many recordings of his own, along with Jimmy Buscarino on drums, also was not present for this interview. Rick was born in Worcester, moved to NYC to fulfill his Rock n Roll dreams and had an extensive career between the two cities befriending people like Walter Lure and his hero Johnny Thunders. Sadly Rick passed away in 2011, and Dave Cuneo also passed not long after that in 2013. Recently the surviving members staged a reunion at Ralph's Diner, and here's hoping there is more to come from that.

  Ballbusters, Live from Wormtown

The Dummies, Live From Wormtown

  This time we visit with The Dummies who stopped by wdoa.com circa 2003. Formed in the early 2000's we have Dirty Walter, (Walt Lab) on vocals /guitar, Johnny O...Bass, Ian Hickey, on drums, Dan Hickey on Guitar. Influenced by The Ramones and The Queers, they played true straight ahead Punk Rock. Shortly after gaining attention, they changed their name to The Brainless Wonders when they discovered another group called The Dummies, and didn't want any legal hassles. An all time favorite in the city, they played along side all the Wormtown Bands gaining a loyal following. They released two CD's as BW via Average Day Productions that are long since out of print. As was the case back then, they disbanded and left the fans wanting more. Walter went on to form The Flicks, played along side Joe Queer for a while, returned to the scene as a member of After the Blackout and now currently playing with Dirty Walter and the Smelltones who perform punk rock cover versions of classic 50's & 60's hits.


The Dummies, Live From Wormtown 

 photos from Jeff Worm


MORE from The Brainless Wonders! 

 Dirty Walter and the Smelltones

Joe Strummer, Live From Wormtown

  Well, what can I say about this? The most famous person I've interviewed of my career. The one and only Leader of The Clash. I had been in touch with his US record company during the week of October 2001 leading up to his show with The Mescaleros at The Palladium to no avail. I decided to bring my micro cassette recorder along just in case. The show was fantastic and it looked like I wouldn't get the chance to talk with him afterwards. Then I ran into Scott McLennan, who was there covering the show for The Telegram and Gazette. I told him of my plight and he handed over his backstage pass and I was off to the dressing room. I was told to wait a few minutes while Joe relaxed after the set. I could smell the district aroma of Marijuana drifting out from behind the curtain and then was invited in to talk.  The interview only lasts about six minutes and as you'll hear, the room became filled with band members, roadies and others and quickly turned into an after show party. We had a few drinks, a few smokes, and then made our way out into the night. All in all an experience I'll never forget.


Joe Strummer, Live From Wormtown
 

photos by Skip West

SBGB Live from Wormtown

  This time around at WDOA.com we were visited by Wormtown Punk Legends, SBGB, recorded sometime around 2003. They consisted of  Gerry Cardinal, guitar, Jim Hilton, guitar, Jay (John) Barney, Drums and Keith Hast, bass, and lead singer Andy Farrel, who was not present for this interview. Formed by Gerry and Andy around 1996, they had members come and go and at this point had released their debut CD "Ate Your Pizza" on Average Day Productions label. A popular band with the locals, their show's were known for frenetic pace, fast songs, and getting the crowd worked up into a pit of swirling bodies that would grow in intensity as each song progressed.  They played all the regular clubs in Worcester that allowed this type of music, and played a show at the infamous Station Nightclub in Rhode Island shortly before the fire tragedy that hit there. They went on to produce a two disc set entitled "Everything, Anything and Nothing..." that was never issued commercially, but if you're lucky enough, you could get copies from the band members. To this day the mystery of what "SBGB"stands for is still alive. Look them up on their Soundcloud page for more music.


SBGB, Live From Wormtown
 

 photos above: Carrie Jo