T MAX

TOP TEN ARTISTS I GIGGED WITH IN 2015

1. Bird Mancini

2. Julie Dougherty

3. Doug McDonald Band

4. Willie Alexander

5. Andy Pratt

6. Kier Byrnes (Three Day Threshold)

7. Ed Moose Savage

8. Charlie Farren

9. Jim Trick (MASU All Stars)

10. Randy Black & the Heathcroppers

More than Honorable: Eric Martin/Steve Morrel, Mr. Curt, Allen Estes, Kenny Chambers, Jay DiBiasso, Mosey Greams, Kyle Morgan, Scrambled Eggs, Christine Baze, Kristen Miller, Tree House Charlitans, Cosy Sheridan, Lynne Taylor, Glenn French, Deb Hardy, Ric St. Germaine, Bradley Royds, Jake Pardee, Molly Pinto Madigan, Sam Bayer, Janice Fullman, Will Hunt, and Amy Lohman

…

FRANCIS DiMENNO

TEN BEST RELEASES OF 2015 (and ten strong contenders)

1. Chandler Travis and David Greenberger: Bocce and Bourbon: The Comfortable Songs of Chandler Travis and David Greenberger

2. The Red Telephone: Places You Return

3. Will-R: All in My Head

4. Butterscott: Presents the Slick Overproduced Commercial Pop Thing™  5. Telamor: 3 

6. Los Goutos: Rained Out at the Ruth Gordon Ampitheatre: Los Goutos Live

7. Honky Gabacho: We’re Alive  

8. Reverened Freakchild: Hillbilly Zen-Punk Blues

9. Melvern Taylor & His Fabulous Meltones: The Old New Stuff

10. Derek Astles: Chili-House Pay Phone

Honorable mention:

1. Arthur Nasson: The Emperor’s New Sound

2. Squeezebox Stompers: Roots and Branches

3. Love Love: Love Love

4. Kyle Morgan: Starcrossed Losers

5. Carissa Johnson: For Now  

6. New Pilot: The Great American Tooth

7. Telamor: Straight Shots 

8. Kier Byrnes & Friends: The Best Days of the Summer

9. Uranium Daughters: When Pigs Fly

10. The Almighty Buck: So Long

…

KIER BYRNES

TOP TEN (PLUS THREE) 3DT DRUMMERS

In the spirit of our long time drummer “retiring” from Three Day Threshold after his show on New Years Eve with us at Soundbites in Ball Sq, Somerville, MA, Here is my list of top thirteen musicians who are no longer in Three Day Threshold (in no particular order).

1. Johnny Ransom

2. Chad Mellen

3. Sam Reid

4. Gina Rebelo

5. Jack Morris

6. Jason Warne

7. Zac Taylor

8. Emily Holman

9. Colt Thompson

10. Johnny Stump

11. DA King

12 Eric Austin

13. Mike Baldino

…

A.J. WACHTEL

TOP TEN (PLUS FOUR) PERFORMANCES I SAW IN 2015

Listed in chronological order

1. Barrence Whitfield (with Bruce Bears, Mark Texeira of Duke Robillard Band, and Jesse Williams) at The Menotomy, Arlington, MA  on 1/29

2. Booker T. Jones at The Larcom Theatre, Beverly, MA on 2/21

3. The Smithereens-Johnny D’s-Somerville-3/20

4. D.K’s Full House (D,K’s Birthday Party) at The Red Parrot, Hull, MA on 3/17

5. James Cotton at Sculler’s, Cambridge, MA on 6/5

6. Sleepy LaBeef’s 80th Birthday gig with Andrea Gillis/Marc Pinsky, Roy Sludge Trio at Johnny D’s, Somerville, MA on 6/20

7. Greedy Geezer’s Granite Rail Cookout with Tsunami of Sound, Tokyo Tramps, The Cyclones (10 Foot Polecats’s Jay Scheffler’s hootin and hollarin band), Yucca Flatts (Scruffy The Cat’s Dan McLennon’s group), Oklahoma’s Brian Cagle, Bayou Boy Orchestra, and Geezer Deluxe. (note: five different washboard players at this show) at Geezer’s Backyard-Stoughton on 7/22

8. The J. Geils Band and Ian Hunter (WZLX 30th Anniversary gig) at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion in Boston, MA on 7/27

9) The Happy Together Tour with The Cowsills, Flo & Eddie, The Association, and Mark Lindsey (Paul Revere and the Raiders) at Lynn Memorial Auditorium, Lynn, MA on 7/31

10. Arlo Guthrie at Berklee Performance Center, Boston, MA on 9/9

11. Bobby Whitlock and CoCo Carmel (from Derek & The Dominos with a Johnny A cameo) at Johnny D’s, Somerville, MA on 9/23

12. Joe Ely at Passim’s, Cambridge, MA on 11/17

13. Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters with Diane Blue at The Regent Theatre, Arlington, MA on 11/21

14. Danny Bedrosian’s Secret Army (from PFunk) at Opus, Salem, MA on 12/20

…

HARRY C. TUNIESE

TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2015 and some honorable mentions

1. Courtney Swain:  Monstre

2. Birdsong At Morning:  A Slight Departure

3. Brian Carpenter & The Confessions:  The Far End of the World

4. Goli:  This is Not a Love Song

5. The Grownup Noise:  Stewing

6. T Max:  The Portal’s Rhyme

7. David Greenberger & Chandler Travis:  Bocce & Bourbon

8. Bonnie Gordon:  This Modern World

9. Michael Chorney & Hollar General:  Shameless Light

10. Terry Kitchen:  The Post-American Century

Honorable mentions:

Kingsley Flood:  To the Fire/ To the Wolves/ The Good Fight  (3-EP releases)

Willie Alexander:  All Things Go

Jud Caswell:  Watch the Fall

Steve Baker:  The Last of the True Romantics

Men & Volts:  Honeymoon Luggage Box Set

…

ERIC BAYLIES

TOP TEN BANDS IN NEW ENGLAND (in no order)

1. 6 Star General – Consistently good for over a decade, punk psyche influenced by college rock circa 1986.

2. Extinction Machine – In a world where punk meets metal, Extinction Machine will bring you the brutal truth to power.

3. I Am Become Death – When Tom G. Warrior rides into Valhala, this is the band that will be blasting on the headphones beneath his viking helmet.

4. Gaskill – Reunited and it feels so good. Hardcore with a singer who can croon or scream.

5. Hector 3 – Krautrock in English.

6. [the] Viennagram – Life is a punk rock cabaret, old chum!

7: Jealous Fuck – Mostly instrumental post rock with metal and jazz solos.

8. David Carradine – If a punk is lucky, they will see this band. Do you feel lucky, punk?

9. John Surette – Boy’s Life veteran still making the magic happen.

10. Holy Hands – Dischord style punk.

…

R.J. OUELETTE

TOP TEN BACK IN THE DAY FAVORITE PLACES TO PARTY

I have been waxing nostalgic about the good old days a lot lately. Why not? They were some of the best times ever. It’s said,”The more things change, the more they stay the same.” I disagree. They just don’t make them like these any more. Happily, a few are still with us. Not the first time that these places have been mentioned, but anything this good bears repeating.

1. The Rat, Kenmore Square, Boston, MA (Sighs… one of a kind)

2. Bunratty’s, Allston, MA (Many great times!)

3. The Paradise, Boston, MA (Many incarnations, another venue for great times)

4. The Channel, Necco St., Boston, MA  (Wow.. the bands!)

5. The Middle East, Cambridge, MA (Awesome place, and still kicking!)

6. Jonathan Swift’s, Cambridge, MA (So BIG for such a tiny place!)

7. Plough and Stars, Cambridge, MA (Another tiny venue for big time fun!)

8. Ken’s Pub,  Brighton, MA  (Just plain fun)

9. The Black Rose, Boston, MA  (Fun a la Irish style, and still with us.)

10. Casino Ballroom, Hampton Beach, NH (Still with us – it has been a long time for me!)

…

SHAUNA ERLBAUM

TOP TEN LIVE BANDS IN NEW ENGLAND for 2015

(I can’t vouch for any recordings by them)

1. Jerusalem Witch – the founders of stoner prog!

2. The Schizophrenic Hum – the sister flagship of stoner prog!

3. Princess Multivitamin – bodypainted opera-singing busker!

4. Armored Cars – as fun as metal-covers of CARS songs sounds!

5. Grusome & Gruesome – irresistable “bubblegum noise” power-duo!

6. Fisted Sister – idiotic a capella doosh-rock!

7. Chocolate Sunday – instrumental uke virtuosos decompose Sabbath songs! (THINK about their name)

8. Supercancer! – electronic storms from Moog trio-meets-performance art?

9. Burger King Crimson – “a Mac Sabbath parody,” I kid you not!

10. Marvin’s Gay – three bassists and a drum machine? WOW!

RUNNER UP: The Sugarettes – bikini surf-pop girl trio with sweet smut lyrics.

And my fave new venue is Out of the Blue Gallery in Cambridge!

…

DR. SWIG McJIGGER

TOP TEN NON-ADVANCERS FROM THE PAST TWO ROCK ‘N’ ROLL RUMBLES

2014

5. Vary Lumar

4. Z*L

3. The Life Electric

2. Guillermo Sexo

1. Summoner

2015

5. Dan Webb & the Spiders

4. Psychic Dog

3. The Rare Occasions

2. Raw Blow

1. Mercury on Mars

…

LINDA WERBNER

TOP TEN SHOWS IN 2015 (minus three)

* Caravan of Thieves with Bird Mancini 9/11/15. These bands kicked off

the Me & Thee season and there was just something intoxicating about

this performance. Maybe it was the sad-mad-delirious energy on the

anniversary of this tragedy but that little old UU church in

Marblehead felt like Paris in 1913 when the Rites of Spring was

performed only the audience wasn’t hissing and booing and storming the

stage, they drank the wacky Kool-Aid and followed these fantastic

musicians down the cosmic rabbit hole.

* Peter Mulvey and his crack band at Passim on 10/30/15 performing Tom

Waits’ Rain Dogs in its entirety. An orgy of brilliant and offbeat

broken down demented circus music with Mulvey’s very own spin.

Unforgettable.

* Tigerman WOAH on 11/20 at the Lynnway Sportscenter in Lynn for a

Bernie Sanders Rally. These proud and bearded sons of Lynn make

demented hillbilly punk heavy metal. Somewhere in punk heaven, Lux

Interior is smiling down upon these brothers.

* The earthy, ethereal-voiced, deliriously talented Anais Mitchell at

the Me & Thee on November 6. She performed tunes from her

Broadway-bound Hadestown among others. Always a transporting

experience.

* Salem’s Black Dog Brother (aka Dan McGinn and his insane posse of

Gypsy rock jazz punk communards at the Gulu Gulu Cafe in Salem on New

Year’s Eve 2014 which stretched into 2015.

* The soulful Mary Gauthier whose songs are so good that even Dylan

covered one of ’em  at Me & Thee on October 16.

* Austin’s Robert Earl Keen brought his laid-back and wry Texas sound

to the Wilbur Theater in Boston on November 11 to a smallish but

wildly passionate bevy of fans. The road goes on forever, the party

never ends….