The Noise : Rock Around Boston. – Cover Story

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The Ongoing Story of JIMMY RYAN:
Killing is a Mortal Sin, but God Damn that Mandolin…

by Kier Byrnes
 

Jimmy Ryan is one of my all time favorite musicians. I was introduced to his mandolin stylings back in college when I was listening to an old Morphine album that he sat in on. I was immediately hooked. It’s a few years later, but Jimmy is still kicking ass like no other. If you’ve never seen or heard Jimmy play with his band, Hayride, I strongly advise that you put this magazine down immediately and go see them. The sheer instrumental talent in that band is staggering. Remember that sense of awe that you got when you were a kid in a toy store? Every time I see them play I get that same feeling. And well, if you aren’t the kind of person that admires complete instrument virtuosity and mandolin acrobatics, well, no worries. Mr. Ryan, also has a hell of a voice and a penchant for writing some damn fine songs. Anyway you look at it, Jimmy is the man.

Noise: Mr. Ryan, how are you doing today?
Jimmy: Damn fine!
Noise: I’m having a beer. What is your drink of choice?
Jimmy: Depends on the time of day. French Roast in the am, Barry’s tea in the afternoon. Jameson’s Irish whiskey in the pm, and always drink lots of water throughout the day!
Noise: Good call. Got to stay hydrated. When did you start playing the mandolin and how did you choose that particular instrument?
Jimmy: In high school we all jammed on guitars we’d grab out of the pile of instruments. No one ever grabbed the mandolin. I’m always attracted to the underdog so I thought I’d take it up. Also, I’ve often wondered about the “rebellion” that is rock ’n’ roll when all the bands have had the same instrumentation for the last 50 years.
Noise: How the hell did you get so good?
Jimmy: It’s all I’ve ever done. Considering that, I should be a lot better.
Noise: Where are some of your favorite places to play locally?
Jimmy: I don’t have any super favorites but there are a bunch of really good places. I like Atwood’s; they treat you very well. Also there is the Lizard and Toad. Plough & Stars has gotten a lot better. I like T.T.’s too. They only let me play there about once a year but I like that place. I like places with professional sound—anywhere I don’t have to bring a lot of stuff.
Noise: So let’s be honest, you really got into mandolin because it was the easiest instrument to lug to the gig, wasn’t it?
Jimmy: Ha, yeah. No but my dad was psyched. Before mandolin, I got my start playing bass and had this huge bass rig.
Noise: You were born in Birmingham, New York. How does a hillbilly rock ’n’ roller like you end up in Boston rather than Nashville or Austin?
Jimmy: I guess I’m not that smart. I have hung out a fair amount in both places and have a lot of friends in each. I’m from the Northeast. I married a Medford girl. I enjoy all the overeducated people around here. I mostly play around here and in New York these days. Plus we got the ocean and the mountains and complete sentences.
Noise: What made you choose to play the “A” style mandolin, which has the basic teardrop shape as opposed to the flashier “F” style mandolin?
Jimmy: Dude, I’m a lefty. You don’t find left-handed “F” models in your local music shop. An “A” style is easy to make lefty. It’s a right-handed world.
Noise: Who are some of your favorite mandolin players?
Jimmy: Bill Monroe. Jesse McReynolds, U. Srinivas, and lots of others. That Chris what’s-his-name (Thile …Ed.) is good too. Locally, John McGann, Howie Tarnower, Matt Glover are incredible.
Noise: My first introduction to you was on “In Spite of Me” off Morphine’s Cure for Pain album. How did you meet Mark Sandman and what was it like working with him?
Jimmy: Mark was in “Treat Her Right” when I met him. We’d get together and jam a lot. There were a bunch of musicians coming and going and he recorded everything. We didn’t discuss the songs. He just start and we’d jump in. Most of the time you’d forget all about the song until he’d play you the finished mixed version. That was the case with “In Spite Of Me.” We always had a good time. Very chill and musical.
Noise: Your old band, the Blood Oranges, is often credited in the same movement along with Uncle Tupelo and the Bottle Rockets for starting the alt-country movement. How did the Blood Oranges form and what were they all about?
Jimmy: I started that band with drummer Ron Ward (singer in SpeedBall Baby and Size Queen). We were in competing new wave/ska bands in Vermont and ran into each other at one of Boston’s long gone punk rock joints and decided to start a band that mixes the rocking with the picking and the lonesome.
Noise: What was the inspiration/catalyst for re-releasing the Blood Oranges Corn River album?
Jimmy: I guess Hi-N-Dry thought it would be cool to put it out now that a genre exists for it, alt-country/americana. When it first came out it was just weird and I’m very proud of that.
Noise: You have gotten to share a stage with tons of amazing performers. You’ve also worked in the recording studio with some amazing folks like Warren Zevon, Boiled in Lead, and Catie Curtis. What were some of your highlights?
Jimmy: Recording with Laura Cantrell a couple years ago at the BBC’s Maida Vale studio where the Beatles had their radio show. Recording with the Beacon Hillbilles on some Japanese pop dude’s record at Onkyo Haus Studios in Tokyo. Recording for three days in Nashville with Steve Earle on Cheri Knight’s record was a trip. Recording up at Hi-N-Dry was always a pleasure. I miss that place already. I recently played on the Rex Complex’s recording of the Stanley Brother’s “Stone Walls and Steel Bars.” Fucking intense.
Noise: What have been some of your most memorable shows?
Jimmy: I got to open for Bill Monroe a few times when I was a lad and living in Vermont. My old Vermont band, the Decentz, played some shows with the Ramones and English Beat. Blood Oranges used to play at CBGB a lot. Always a toxic blast. We did some shows with the Oak Ridge Boys a few times. Wooden Leg got to play on most of a Morphine tour. That was quite fun! Playing in Europe with Catie Curtis and Laura Cantrell is fantastic. My band Hayride is something I wish I could do more often. Duke, Beardo, and Mazzone are ninjas!
Noise: You’ve been around the scene long enough to pick up a few things—any advice for musicians starting out in this business?
Jimmy: You’ve got to play for the love of it. The business stuff will follow.
Noise: You can rock out harder than just about anybody I know on the mandolin, yet you are deeply rooted in the folk scene, which at least seems a lot quieter and tame on the surface. How did that happen?
Jimmy: I’ve always enjoyed putting the mandolin in different musical contexts, hence the rocking. Mandolin is traditionally a folk instrument so it’s only natural there.
Noise: Rumor has it that you also teach mandolin classes. What makes someone become a good musician, what makes someone become a good mandolin player?
Jimmy: Well my stock answer is “quit school, quit your job, smoke pot and play all day long, then play a gig at night. Barring that approach, buy a mandolin and get in touch with me. I’ll have you playing “Wild Thing” like there is no tomorrow within an hour.
Noise: I know mandolin is your primary instrument, but you can rock on a ton of different instruments. In addition to being one of the best session guys around, you play mandocello in a band called Little Guitar with Sean Staples, another great mandolinist. What’s that like?
Jimmy: That is a ball. I play the mandocello, kind of like the bass in that band. Sean and I try to write a new song for every gig. We are going to play Atwood’s every Wednesday. That’ll be cool.
Noise: Who are some of your favorite people to check in the Boston music scene?
Jimmy: I mostly just hangout in Cambridge/Somerville for my musical needs. Tim Gearan, Dennis Brennen, Miss Sarah Borges, Seamonsters, Christian McNeill, Rex Complex, Klezwoodz, Duke Levine, Lyle Brewer. I’m just a name-dropper at this point.
Noise: You aren’t just a great player but a great songwriter as well. Does it bother you or honor you when someone covers/butchers one of your songs?
Jimmy: I’m always glad to have my songs rendered by others. It’s very kind.
Noise: Good ’cause I’m going to butcher “Face Up” on our next album. Man, I love that song of yours. Where do you see the future of music headed? Are you worried? Are you optimistic?
Jimmy: Music will always take care of itself. We don’t matter all that much. We juggle it for a while and then pass it on.
Noise: That’s a cool way to look at it. How long do you think you’ll keep on juggling music? What’s in the future for Jimmy Ryan?
Jimmy: I think I’ll keep on doing it until I’m dead. Ha! I don’t know how to do anything else! Ha! In the mean time, I hope to record a new album with Laura Cantrell this summer. Co-writing songs with folks has been fun lately… and you can always find me at Atwood’s.

THE INSIDE SCOOP ON ELI “PAPERBOY” REED & THE TRUE LOVES

by Andrew Leader

Eli “Paperboy” Reed seems out of place at the 2007 Boston Music Awards.  The event, held at the Orpheum Theatre in December last year, is mostly dominated by pop-punk, metal, and hip-hop acts.  Reed and his blues buddies, including the likes of James Montgomery, David Hull, Johnny A, Barrence Whitfield, and George Leh, share the stage midway through the evening.  Reed sticks out like a sore thumb; he must be one of the only guys on stage below the age of forty.  He takes his place downstage, waits for his cue, and lets it rip.  A voice one would never expect from this conservatively dressed, clean-cut kid.  He’s got a cry straight from the analog days of James Brown or Little Richard.  Steadily leading the crowd through his growing intensity, it’s not long until every head in the crowd is turned and focused on his every move.

    Unfortunately, Reed’s performance was an exception in his genre in this town. While Reed highlighted the blues portion of the show, the theater seemed half-empty throughout fellow soul/ R&B singer Bobby Brown’s set, which seemed to take up half the night.  Having grown up in Boston, birthplace of such blues-based acts as the J. Geils Band and Aerosmith, a city with a rich R&B tradition but shrinking modern blues scene, Reed found that in order to gain his voice as a performer, he had to search abroad.

    Born Eli Husack, the Brookline native’s source of music was his father’s record collection.  His favorites included gospel and blues groups the Swanee Quintet, Dixie Hummingbirds, and Swan Silvertones, singers such as Bobby Bland and Johnny Adams, and Robert Johnson’s blues guitar.

    “In high school,” said Reed in an April interview, “I was really into a lot of soul, some R&B, blues and gospel.  Of my friends, I was the most into music, and I exposed my friends to that kind of stuff.”  In high school during the early-’90s, Reed had less interest in the styles that were popular at the time.

    By the end of high school, Reed had not yet decided that his future would be in show business.  After relocating to the Mississippi Delta region, Reed looked forward to a career in radio.  “I went down to Mississippi for an opportunity to work at a radio station.  The opportunity fell through, but even then, I still didn’t think about being a frontman or songwriter.  I didn’t go to Mississippi to be a performer.”  In Mississippi for a total of nine months, Reed spent his time soaking in the rich music culture of the Mississippi Delta.  Having only the experience of Harvard Square street performances under his belt, Reed received mentoring from blues drummer Sam Carr and strengthened his vocal performance, learning to please a crowd night after night, performing multiple sets each evening.  There, he was nicknamed by the other musicians “Paperboy” for the old-fashioned paperboy-style hat that he wore.

    The following year, Reed found himself enrolled in college in Chicago where he continued to build his gospel and blues performance foundation.  In addition to disc jockeying for his college radio station, Reed was the musical director at a new black Baptist church, working closely with singer-turned-preacher Mitty Collier.  A Jewish kid from Brookline found that he was very comfortable in this new setting.

    “You have to separate your religion from the cultural experience,” said Reed.  “The black church was a very welcoming and open place.  It was a very small congregation, no more than one hundred people at a time.”  Returning to Boston after only one year in Chicago, Reed continued to play in gospel quartets and in churches in Dorchester while spinning soul records at local clubs. 

    Upon his return, Reed began to assemble the True Loves.  “As soon as I got back to Boston, I called up Emeen Zerookian (the Sterns, Mass Hysteria) and some other friends.  The band took shape around that.”  Reed said that the key to maintaining his back-up band is that “every member of the band is as important as I am.  Initially, [I constructed the group with] people who I thought were better musicians than me.  They would take my ideas and make them a little bit more polished.”  This was approximately four years ago.  Since then, twelve different True Loves have backed up Reed.  The band now includes Ryan Spraker on guitar, Mike Montgomery on bass, Andy Bauer on drums, Paul Jones and Ben Jaffe on saxophones, Patriq Moody on trumpet, and Zerookian on guitar.  Only in the last year, however, have “Paperboy” and his band acquired national attention, appearing at the 2007 South by Southwest festival and rising ever since.  The band also recently signed on with Q Division Records.

    Reed told the story of how his relationship with Q Division began: “I knew Noah Rubin who was in Furvis [now called the Dead Trees].  They had worked with Q Division, so Noah brought me to the Q Division barbecue where I got up and sang a song.  Then, Ed Valauskas [The Gentlemen, Graham Parker, Juliana Hatfield] invited me to work with him and do some recording”

    The product, Roll With You, came out on April 29.  “This was the first album we put a lot of time into… Q Division has been very helpful.  We were able to use a good amount of studio time.  We recorded in analog.”  Also, “Q Division has been very supportive with good publicity.”  Reed’s favorite track off the 11-song all-original record is the ballad “(Am I Just) Fooling Myself.”  The record was hailed by Rolling Stone as “your favorite Motown and Stax Records livened up for the Winehouse era” and won “Best Local Blues/R&B” in the 2008 WFNX/Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll, winning Reed and his band a slot at the Best Music Poll concert at the Bank of America Pavilion, opening for Death Cab for Cutie.  “The guy from Death Cab (Ben Gibbard, lead singer) is a big fan [of my band]” Eli let me know.  “He likes us a lot.”

    This past spring, Reed and his band embarked on a U.S. tour, criss-crossing the nation for a number of months.  The itinerary included dates with Bonnie Raitt, Nicole Atkins, and Nick Lowe, to name a few.  “This is my first real long tour.  It’s not that bad, but we do have some long-ass drives,” said Reed over the phone while driving in the middle of Colorado.  “It’s hard, but [my band mates and I are] close that it’s easier than I expected.  Also, getting great responses from the different audiences really helps.”  Reed said that his favorite thing about performing “is that I get to express myself…. When you do it right, you have this command over the audience; they want to hear what you have to say.” Reed’s favorite song to play live is the early-Temptations-esque “Take My Love with You,” another cut off his new album.

    Reed explained that although based in Boston, he tries to avoid being labeled a “Boston artist” as much as possible.  When he plays in other areas of the country, he said, people can’t tell where he’s from.  “I don’t want to have a regional identity.  I just want to sound like me.  Where you grow up doesn’t necessarily make you who you are.”  Reed finds, instead, that his varying experiences and the different skills he has learned over the years have all helped him in different ways to express what he tries to get across to the audience in his performance.

    The tour included a number of dates with the emo/punk group Say Anything.  Reed explained that, “we have the same booking agent… I guess he played them our stuff and they liked it.  They’re really really sweet guys.”  As one might expect, this combination made for an interesting show dynamic.  “The crowd usually liked us.  They had no idea who we are or anything about the kind of music we play.  It kind of set us apart.”

    As for other contemporary music and the future of popular music, Reed looks to find more honesty in music as opposed to any specific change in the popularities of different genres.  “I want to avoid genre distinction.  More live, pure, emotional, rhythm… I’ve noticed the trend of irony in music.  A lot of music is very detached emotionally, and it’s like a big joke.  Make music that’s true to where you’re coming from.  Play music that’s honest.  It doesn’t matter what style.  No bullshit.”  Some of Reed’s favorite contemporary artists include Knarles Barkley, Amy Winehouse, and Dr. Dog.  Reed also finds himself listening to a lot of country.  “I like Alan Jackson a lot.  I think [contemporary country] is emotionally direct and expressive.”

    While some may look at Eli “Paperboy” Reed & the True Loves and consider them old-fashioned, a mere throwback to the early days of rock ’n’ roll, Reed doesn’t see his band in this way at all.  He plays what he likes and what he feels, and believes that so long as musicians and performers incorporate their true emotions into their art, what results will always be something new and exciting.

www.elipaperboyreed.com

 

by Shady

Here’s something different: a rock band that is more concerned with the roll than the rock. Out of the ashes of the Collisions, Bo Barringer (guitar and vocals) scrapes together a pop band with soaring melodies and a dual guitar attack that is also less concerned with the attack. Rounding out the line-up is Jen Grygiel (guitar and vocals) and Jason Marchionna (drums). Don’t worry kids, they have a bass player; he or she is just TBA. Me & Joan Collins are that rare breed mixing porn and Brit-pop with classic glam sensibilities and girl-boy vocals. I mention porn because it dominated a bit of the conversation that the boys and girl of Me & Joan Collins and I had at the cozy confines of the Independent in Union Square, Somervillle. The atmosphere lends itself to intimate conversation of porn collections—found or otherwise—and other less sex-inspired discussions. When we met up the band had unfortunately just been eliminated from the opening round of this year’s ’BCN Rumble. Despite this event, they seemed high on the direction and future of the band. They are in the midst of recording a full-length disc with Dave Westner at Woolly Mammoth and plans of touring regionally are in the offing.

Noise: For some reason I want to talk about hunting.
Bo: I would like to experience the emotional hell that it would put me through. I’ve never been so it would be something interesting,
Jason: I’d love to go hunting; that would be a pretty wild thing. Maybe bow hunting would be cooler though
Noise: Okay, never mind. Let’s move on to nicer subjects. How did the band get together?
Bo: Well, it pretty much came after my last band, the Collisions, imploded. We had a good run but we went trough a lot of line-up changes and I sort of got sick of teaching new people the old songs—plus I was playing guitar way too fucking loud in that band anyway. [laughs] Then again we still do play pretty loud. Although, we’ve kind of gotten away from that and moved into more a pop vein.
Jen: Our clothes are way louder now.
Bo: Well, that’s definitely true. I wanted to wipe the slate and start fresh. So I started doing that with a guy that I had been working with on the last couple of Collisions shows. It was just time to write new songs and we were taking it in another direction, rolling a little bit more than rocking.
Jen: I got involved when you were advertising for Brit-pop and I had spend some time in London in college and I was a huge anglophile. So I figured I needed to meet up with this boy.
Bo: We talked a bit and met up for a drink and decided that if nothing else we would each have a new drinking buddy. [laughs] I bring up the other drummer because the best rhythm section that I could put together at the time. The problem was that it involved guys that were friends but that were already in other bands. Jim Collins was our original bass player. Our current drummer is in another band with Gene Dante but we are trying to lure him away—don’t tell Gene though. [laughs] Just kidding, he’s a good guy.
Noise: How the hell did you come up with the name for this band?
Bo: I mentioned Jim Collins for another reason, because it came full circle with him. When I was sort of re-conceptualizing the band I saw a friend that I hadn’t seen in a while and it was at a loud show at the Middle East. She was talking about her new boyfriend and I thought that she said, “Joan Collins.” I was like, what? Your boyfriend is Joan Collins? She said, “Oh, yeah, me and Joan Collins.” I thought that was an awesome name for a band and it stuck.
Jen: Well, the only bad thing is that Bo was completely obsessed with Joan Collins for a while.
Noise: I have a bit of an odd Joan Collins story. My friend had an aunt that was Joan Collins’ roommate in the ’50s.
Bo: Really? That is awesome. What was she like?
Noise: Well, I guess the aunt said, “She was a total bitch.” Of course, my friend’s aunt was an alcoholic, so who knows. So Jason, we haven’t heard much from you since the hunting discussion. How did you get hooked up with these guys?
Jason: Well I was looking for something new to do. I was previously in Fluttr Effect and I was kind of in limbo taking some time off, but still wanted to do something and Jen’s roommate knew me and we just sort of got together.
Noise: There you go—now you are in the Rumble.
Jen: You mean, we Rumbled [laughs].
Noise: Ouch! I mean…
Jason: Well, we still have the wild card.
Bo: And we’re the wildest card out there. Wait a second—is this the part that we trash other bands now? [laughs]
Noise: Yes, I’d love to get some nice dirt.
Jason: Well, they can trash us, but we aren’t trashing them.
Noise: Well, besides the trashing of other bands, how did the Rumble go?
Jen: We had fun.
Bo: C’mon, we were out for blood. People loved it—the judges just didn’t seem to. Hey, you never know we could get the wild card.
Jen: I saw Liz Borden at the Middle East and she was telling me that she was in the Rumble in like 1986. It’s cool to see how much history there is with this. I think she was in the Rumble when ’Til Tuesday won the whole thing.
Noise: Now that you have done the Rumble, you have to break up you know—that’s the deal.
Bo: Yeah, we are breaking up right after this interview. Actually, we are working on a new record at Woolly Mammoth. Then with any luck we will hit the road a bit.
Noise: That sounds pretty exciting. So you must be working on some new tunes. What is your writing process like?
Bo: So far it’s been me bringing in the material and we have a backlog of new material. When we started the band I just had all of these songs and brought those to the table. Jen and I have pretty much been playing the same songs over the last year and we have that stuff down pretty well. Now that we have Rumbled we will have more time to work on new stuff. I’m sure the process will evolve now, which I’m really looking forward to.
Jason: Hey, you never know. We could get the wild card.
Bo: By repeating it multiple times we will assure ourselves of that. Plus it’s good to have the never-say-die attitude.
Noise: You mentioned that you aren’t from around here. Where did you grow up?
Jen: I grew up in upstate New York.
Bo: Yeah, me too.
Noise: Then how did you make your way to Boston?
Jen: I got a job offer and just had to get out of there.
Jason: I went to Berklee.
Noise: Oh, a Berklee guy, did you graduate?
Jason: [laughs] I actually did.
Bo: Wow, I’m impressed!
Noise: Yeah, there are a hell of a lot more people that went to Berklee then have graduated from Berklee.
Jason: Yeah, I learned a lot. But I’m not going to say anything else about it.
Bo: He got really jaded there too.
Noise: What did you guys grow up listening to?
Jason: A lot of hardcore and metal.
Noise: I could tell that about you.
Jen: I grew up a closeted lesbian.
Bo: So did I.
Noise: You were a closeted lesbian? I didn’t have to be, I was a full-fledged lesbian.
Jen: Weren’t we talking about how I got to Boston?
All: [laugh]
Jen: Well, I came to Boston and started a psych rock band that was fascinating.
Noise: How so?
Jen: Well, we were an all-girl band, and I dated someone in the band.
Noise: Ohhhh, no that’s never usually a good thing. How did it end up?
Bo: Well, you could do all of the band members.
Jen: Yeah, that’s true. Well, we broke up and so did the band. It was really fun though and we got to open for some great bands and learn a lot too.
Noise: You know we never got to what Bo liked listening to growing up.
Bo: Oh, yeah. Well, like a lot of people; Nirvana and the Beatles. A lot of ’60s pop and garage rock. Lot of ’70s glam gock, there’s a lot of great stuff happening today, like Spoon. They seem to stand out among all of the others today. We saw Spoon in December and it was all ages so there were all of these 17-year-old girls there. Jen and I were both like, oh yeah! In fact I think Jen was even more interested than I was.
Noise: [laughs]
Bo: I learned my lesson with seventeen-year-old girls a long time ago—I stay far away from them and politics.
Noise: What about sports?
Jason: I like to go running. It’s good and healthy.
Bo: If you count pornography as a sport, I know that Jen and I are both big fans.
Jason: Yeah, and you can check out the same stuff. Jen has a big collection.
Bo: Oh, I forgot about that.
Jen: It’s not a team sport though. When I moved into my place there was a big stack of porn there. I guess the guy who lived there before me was getting married so he left them. I was like, thanks.
Noise: Well, that’s when he might need it.
Bo: You’re married though—can we borrow your collection? We used to play visual stuff behind us when we first started playing. It wasn’t really porn, but it was a bit racy and it covered up the fact that we weren’t that good yet. I think I might have been on to something. Then it got all side tracked with this music bullshit. Maybe we should just get a couple of go-go dancers that look like Joan Collins; now that would be really different.

 

 

 

 

THE ANDWUTZ by Kier Byrnes

The Andwutz aren’t your ordinary rock band. Hell, nothing about these girls is what I’d call ordinary. Four devastatingly cute chicks who can rock the hell out of their instruments is something you don’t see every day. Also, this Waltham-based band recently released a new CD called Project 4 am to much critical acclaim and even won a national contest hosted by Curly Grrlz Skateboards in recognition of their music. The band starts off with the adorable Karen Pino behind the drums with a glass of wine, followed by the equally beautiful and talented Lauren Mangini wielding a guitar and some Coors Light. Next up is the gorgeous Michelle Philbrick, who delves out both sarcasm and guitar licks equally well. Holding it all together is the lovely Lili Bellini, who supplies the bass guitar and lip-gloss. Each one of the girls can not only rock, but also sing.

Noise: What does the band name mean?
Lili: We used to say “and what!” all the time just to be jerks and kick each other out of the band (which didn’t even exist at the time). It’s like another way of blowing someone off or saying “whatever.” It only made sense to call ourselves that since that’s all we’d ever say to each other. It’s justified to have attitude sometimes right?
Noise: How did the band get its start?
Lili: Our friends booked a show in Billerica in April of ’05 and forced us to play. We were like, “what the hell are we gonna do?” We had only been playing our instruments for like six months and could only fill about 20 minutes. It was so worth it though because we haven’t stopped since.
Noise: What makes the Waltham music scene such a special and unique subset of the Boston music scene?
Lili: Music is shared with everyone. That’s what most of the Waltham musicians are about. There are always collaborations going on and new bands forming. We’ve had the Morgan Knockers, Primary Others, Haloburn, the Peet Golan Disaster, Graveyard BBQ, the infamous Mike Mangini, Gain 211, A Cold Reality, and Favorite Atomic Hero all play a set with us at one point or another.
Lauren: It’s a pretty tight knit community.
Michelle: We’re a large group of friends who have friends and friends of friends that play in bands or always go to shows. There are always people to spread the word and support what you’re doing. Also, just about everyone in the Waltham scene supports music outside of that scene, which has led us to meet so many awesome and talented people.
Karen: I feel the band Waltham really opened a lot of doors for the bands that come out of Waltham! I love being a part of a town surrounded by fellow musicians that support each other all the time and step outside the box and support bands from all over! The people of Waltham are like a huge dysfunctional family yet the strongest family ever!
Michelle: Frank Pino and Pino Bros. Ink have really helped us out a lot. Frank recorded Project 4 am with us in one weekend, almost 48 hours straight (no kidding). Frank is a huge part. He’s been behind us all the way.
Karen: The Pino brothers [Dave and Frank] have always supported us individually as well as with the Andwutz. They have an amazing support system with their folks and it’s definitely rubbed off on them. To have two of the most talented rockers of Boston support and encourage you has been huge!
Michelle: Plus they gave us places to practice or extra gear when we needed it.
Lili: Frank is like my Yoda of the music business. He’s helped me so much. If he pops into a practice, we make him listen! We respect his opinion. Shit, but don’t tell him I said that ’cause he’ll bust my ovaries for like a month!
Noise: Where are some of your favorite venues in Waltham?
Lili: Well, the options are pretty limited. You either got the Skellig, Jake and Earl’s Dixie Roadhouse, or Franco’s. That’s pretty much it. All three places treat their musicians very well though. The Skellig is probably my favorite place to play and see a band.
Karen: Paul Chiasson [from Primary Others] does sound there and makes it sound kick-ass. The whole place has a good vibe. I love it there!
Michelle: I think my favorite is the Skellig as well. The staff there has always been super cool to us and the place always gets packed. We’ve always had fun playing there.
Lauren: It’s too bad the Wal-Lex isn’t still around though. I always thought it would’ve been cool to have all-ages shows there.
Noise: That will be one tough period of time. Not many girls —and some guys—are strong enough to load in guitar stacks, bass rigs, and drum kits on their own. But I’ve seen you do it. Who would you say is the toughest in the band?
Lili: You know this is gonna cause a fight right? Karen does kiss her “guns” at practice, but I am the Tetris master getting all that gear in my truck. You gotta work that much harder being a female band. Little is expected, yet you got more to prove. It’s all good. We have a fun whether people dig it or not. I guess that’s what makes us tough.
Karen: We have been around bands for so long that we figure carrying our own gear was just what comes along with the job!
Michelle: This whole band thing has toughened us all up. You know the situation: it’s pouring and cold, we gotta load gear in heels and skirts, but we suck it up with minimal whining.
Lauren: We can definitely hang with the guys. But I’m not gonna lie—if a guy wants to carry my gear, I wouldn’t see a problem with it.
Noise: So who’s then is the wimpiest in the band?
Lili: You really are trying to get us to fight aren’t you? I think it’s a tie between Lauren and Michelle. They both whine a lot. Hahaha! Sorry girls!
Karen: Hahahhaha, I won’t go there!
Michelle: Pass! No, wait… Lauren. No, wait, pass!
Lauren: My first response to this would be Michelle, but I’m not gonna say that.
Noise: How is it playing in a band with family? Are there ever any good catfights?
Karen: I love that my sister is one of my bandmates. Lili and I have always been attached at the hip; being able to share a stage with her is such a bonus! Lauren is my girl and we always have each other’s back, no matter what. Michelle keeps me laughing all the time—I love that girl. All of these girls are my sisters and I would do anything for them. As far as catfights? Hahaha, yeah, Lili and I get into it sometimes, but after a glass of wine and a scream fest, we forget what the hell we were fighting about and end up making fart noises by the end of the night. Just girls being girls!
Lili: It’s the best thing ever. We’re all best friends. As sisters we can fight and be over it in a second. Lauren and Michelle are family to me as well. I love them bitches!
Noise: In the Bangles it was Susanna Hoff. In the Four Non Blondes it was the brunette. Which girl gets the most groupies in The Andwutz?
Michelle: When most people see us play for the first time they don’t really know what to think, so they don’t approach us.
Lili: Usually though it’s our merch girls that get hit on, though we’ve had both guys and girls hit on us though. Sometimes guys just stare at us and don’t know what to do or say. I guess it can be a bit intimidating. I signed a boob at our CD release party though! I bragged about it for weeks!
Karen: I would have to say our merch girls as well. They’re hot, and just stand in the back and everyone ends up talking to them!
Noise: I heard a rumor. Did you guys really meet Ozzy Osbourne?
Karen: Yes… Lili did at Ozzfest in 2006! She was recording him talking with her phone backstage and his bodyguard almost tackled her. She got two sound clips out of it anyways. Haha! Andwut! She met Sharon too and got front row tickets after that. Lili must have had a horseshoe up her ass that day!
Noise: I was in a department store a while back and saw a First Act acoustic guitar for sale. On the packaging, there was a girl who looked suspiciously like one of the Andwutz. Was that one of you?
Karen: Yes! Lili again! First Act had her pose with some of their new guitars and stuff! She also got on one of their electric guitar boxes too! Yet another horseshoe!
Noise: Which would you rather have happen; get flown to a beautiful Caribbean island for a modeling deal or be forced to hang out and record an album full of kick ass music in a stinky basement with no windows?
Karen: Well, as much as I love the Caribbean, I hate taking pictures and always seem to make faces every time I do. I’m gonna have to go with the album full of kick ass music that was recorded in some subterranean basement.
Lili: How about recording in a basement on a Caribbean Island surrounded by models. Can you make that happen?
Noise: Your CD debut, Project 4am, has done well and received a lot of critical acclaim. What’s the significance of that album title and what’s next on your agenda?
Lili: Thanks. Everything we do is till at least 4 am. We even call Lauren “LuLu 4 am.” We love the vibe on that disc! We’ve been working on some new tunes and revamping some of the older ones. We recently went from a five-piece to a four-piece and somehow managed to write new songs and make the old ones better… Andwut! We already recorded one of our new tunes with Alex “the Greek” at his “Old Folks Home Recording Studio” in Medford. It sounds amazing and we can’t wait to share it with everyone!
Noise: Where do the Andwutz see themselves in five years?
Lili: Selling out arenas, touring all over the world or ya know what? I wanna play at a mall! That’s what I want a mall tour!
Karen: Hopefully doing some touring and playing on a new kit! I would really love to see how us girls would do in Europe or, maybe I just need an excuse to take off and go to Europe.
Michelle: Back from our tour in Japan sleeping in our mansions. Just kidding. That’d be cool though.
Lauren: Maybe on that island you mentioned, except we’ll be modeling as spokeswomen for an elderly home or something.
Noise: “Andwutz” up next on the Andwutz radar?
Lili: Our next show is Saturday, April 19 at the Middle East upstairs in Cambridge MA. It’s a benefit for Mass Cann/NORML. Check in with us at www.myspace.com/theandwutz or join our email list for updates by emailing us at
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We’ll keep you posted! Andwut!

 

 

 

SALVATORE BAGLIO:
THE EVOLUTION OF AN ARTIST
by Robin Umbley

What do you do when you’re in a rock ’n’ roll band, gain a little bit of national prominence, have lots of fans, a run of success, and come to realize that the creative direction you are heading in isn’t the same road that everyone wants you to follow? Then what happens when your band has run its course but you still have music in your head, heart, and soul, and just need to keep at it as your creative outlet? If you’re Salvatore Baglio, you evolve as a solo artist.

I saw Sal perform recently quite by accident at The Cantab. I had no idea he was playing, or even if he still played at all, but I did recognize the name as one from a band that was part of my high school soundtrack, The Stompers. So of course I took notice. He went onstage alone with an acoustic guitar. I half expected him to play warmed over Stompers tunes (and hoping, just hoping, I wasn’t going to hear the pathos of “One Heart for Sale” done “unplugged” as if all he had to rely on were his hits from years ago). To my delight—and relief—he presented us with something completely different: poignant, dynamic, subtle, sometimes lyrical and sweet, sometimes reflective, sometimes rockin’, but always personal songs sung with an astonishingly flexible and expressive voice. This was nothing like what I expected. And I was captivated. 

On his website, his bio is noticeably void of details and includes only general, and somewhat cryptic, information. He posts just three quotes; one in particular from film director Francis Ford Coppola sums up his present evolutionary and artistic state: “…part of being an artist who wants to look at new areas [is knowing that] it will take awhile for people to be familiar with it.” Sal explains his inclusion of the quote this way: “I think a lot of artists share that. I think some of the …off the top of my head, who have gone up against what they’ve done in the past to where they’re going is John Lennon when he did his first solo record. Can you imagine trying to shake THAT [The Beatles] off. …When he did that solo album, it turned a lot of people off. But you know, he forged ahead. Dylan did it a bunch of times. Think of all the times he put out a record, so-called spiritual records, when he went from acoustic to electric. He changed music forever…and they booed him!”

Sal adds, “Of course, we’re talking a different scale here at home with what I did with The Stompers and what I’m doing now. I’ve come up against the same thing. The people from that era have no interest in my new music. It’s all new people.”

For the most part, Salvatore Baglio is a solo artist but he does play with a band of sorts. He says that there are advantages for him that he can’t get with being in a traditional rock band: “I play a lot of solo shows. I like the freedom. I can go anywhere I want to with the song. I do have a trio [upright bass, drums]. That’s also very different than what people associate me with. I just find more freedom in playing solo and with a limited trio; the drum kit is very small, I have the bass player playing a lot of bow, so it may be limited in comparison to a rock band, it also works out that you can get special tones and a feel. There’s a lot of that on my new record… even though I played everything myself.” Categorically, Sal refuses to label his music as if to do so would hinder artistic development. “Once you give it a name, you put borders on it,” he says.

As you might imagine, a man who eschews musical borders has diverse influences. His list includes jazz/swing/Vegas lounge performer extraordinaire Louis Prima, “hallways with good echo, [the year] 1966, the cool of the subway in the summer,” and a host of characters from his life. Of Prima, he says, with reverence: “A Sicilian cat from New Orleans. Amazing. I loved his music and stage presence.” But sound influences don’t always come from performers. Sometimes being in a big old building does the trick: “Where I grew up—East Boston—those hallways sound amazing. We’d sing, yell, bang things…”

Basically, Sal isn’t just using musical influences in his creative process; he is influenced by everything around him. Sal adds, “There were characters, too, which is a big part of my new record. Everything that I see and hear and experience all translates, to me, as music, as songs, as lyrics. Everything. I was sitting here earlier before you came in and I was observing different people come in, different characters, faces, and it’s an idea for writing. It’s ALL available.”

Sal, then, writes songs organically. Authenticity is a requirement for him; he says he’s incapable of having a topic assigned to him, so to speak: “I couldn’t sit down and write a song about [he pauses briefly to think of an example]…a broken heart. If I sat down to do that, it wouldn’t happen. For instance, [the Nashville music writing industry] is a totally different writing process than what I respect. I can’t write a song about my grandfather’s truck because he didn’t have one. [makes up lyrics] ‘Grampa had a truck… and we went down these dirt roads…’ I didn’t experience that and although most of the people writing those songs didn’t have that experience, they give themselves license to write about them. I’m not comfortable with that. I’d feel uncomfortable singing the lyrics. I’ll tell you one thing, on occasion we do a Stompers reunion. Sometimes it’s very difficult to sing the lyrics. I have to get my head in a position like I’m doing a cover song for a reason.”
In other words, his own older material seems foreign—and somehow inauthentic—to him now. He explains, “I was young, I was trying to find my voice—my writing voice. I’ve been writing songs and making stuff up since I was a little kid. I did it all in the form of music. There was music all over my house. Even though some of [what I wrote] made no sense, I kept on doing that. Sometime during The Stompers, I started to develop… I probably always kinda knew my voice but a lot of times, I put it aside, probably because of some kind of fear. A writer needs to be fearless. You cannot gauge your work on what other people are going to say. Otherwise, you end up like Pete Hamm, of Badfinger [who committed suicide]. Seriously. You end up dead. So somewhere along the way, I was beginning to see how I was going to be writing. And the more it was coming to be, the harder it got to be sometimes, it was starting to be a pain. By the time it was over—and it probably should have been over a couple of years before it was…” he pauses, and doesn’t finish the thought, “having said that, I’m grateful for the experience. And the people enjoyed it, for whatever reason, it’s quite a thing after 30 years. But what I’m doing now is the most important thing.”

So what do all the influences and creative process do for Salvatore Baglio? Well, they give us his new 12-track CD, Memory Theatre. One song, “Lime St. Revisited,” is in itself a take on his creative process influenced by his disappointment with the bands he saw on a trip to Liverpool. Sal explains: “It’s an alternate version of ‘Train to Liverpool,’ which was on a previous record. I wrote it when I did my first trip to Liverpool [2002] and basically, it’s about taking a train from London to Liverpool, getting there and playing some shows, and there were a bunch of bands that just copied The Beatles… the suits, the haircuts, the guitars… and playing songs that they’ve written, and thought, this is not a way of paying respect to the music of The Beatles. To truly pay respect to your influences is to experience it, toss it around inside of your brain… and your heart… and THEN have it come out with YOU in it. That’s truly that way, ’cause we all can write ‘Penny Lane.’ It’s been done. Anyone can come up with those chords and just write something. Maybe it’s because I was there for it the first time around. You know who did a good job of taking the Beatle-esque sound and making it their own? XTC. You know it’s coming from there but it doesn’t it doesn’t sound like any song. That’s really… that’s how you pay respect.”

But all of this really sounds too analytical and complicated. Salvatore Baglio can talk at length at what makes one musician great, or wax nostalgic about an eccentric old Sicilian man entertaining the kids with his homemade sparklers in a schoolyard in his old East Boston neighborhood, or why he thinks he uses different vocal expressions on certain songs, but if you ask him what he’s doing these days, he’ll just respond, “makin’ music.”