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September 28, 2002 - Harry's Nightspot, Northampton, MA The Final Aloha Steamtrain Concert

A Memo from Lord Russ:

Dear Northampton,

I've been haunting your establishments and entertaining your patrons for seven years and I've never seen such an eclectic mix of lovely, gentle and peaceful people..cynical people....lonely people....sweet and sexy drunks...alcoholics......poser rock stars......and phenomenal musicians. Your diversity is astounding! Scraggly street urchins rubbing shingled shoulders with fake Vietnam vets collecting money for make-believe causes from wax-faced, blue-shirt-tan-pants tourists. Oohoo, Northampton stew!!!

Oh, how I love your music and your camaraderie. I hope all my friends become famous.

Now I must pack up my gear and carry my beautiful young bride over the rainbow threshold of paradise.

Love, Lord Russ

p.s. Please tell The Aloha Steamtrain I love them
p.p.s. Y'all should spend a little more time at the Smith Botanical Garden.

BRIAN: Well, well. We love you too, Lord Russ. Thank you for all the gifts your very being has given us.

And now to sum up, from my perspective, one last time, an Aloha Steamtrain show. As I write this, it's noon on the day after. My right ear is ringing and ineffective, my limbs are tired and my head is swirling with images from last night; I'm trying to distinguish which really happened. Most of my dreams were continuations of last night, and last night was surreal enough to be a dream, so the line is blurred.

Here's one image I dreamt: The entire crowd, completely silent, in a circle, with a single light shining on a single copy of Girl Planet.

OK, with the aid of coffee, and a shower, it's coming back to me. And it's still beautiful. It was a lovely fall day, just about perfect as late September in Northampton can get. I was walking around town with Andrea and noticed lots and lots of posters advertising the last show. Everywhere I looked "Aloha Steamtrain....final......FREE!". Meanwhile, I was just in search of a new pair of sunglasses, since I stepped on, and crushed mine a couple days ago. I couldn't find a decent pair, wouldn't you know?

From there, it was to a Steamtrain practice. I know, we NEVER practice, but I'd coordinated a practice to re-learn some of the real, real oldies; Cynical Mayor's Son, Three Little Babies, When the Booze is Gone, Loaded Gun, Easy, what have you. We shaped them up in to a medley, like a chicken puck, so we wouldn't have to relearn entire songs. It took a lot of prodding from Henning to get Russ to relearn these nuggets, but it worked and it was rewarding.

Russ now is really a different guy than the one who wrote these odes to the raunchy life back in 1996-7. And playing these after 6 years, I could spot just how I've improved as a drummer--always a life-affirming thing. We also touched up on the Beatles "And Your Bird Can Sing".

So that was that, and soon I was back with Andrea, eating Pad Thai at Siam Square. Dee-licious! We went home and I was very tired. I was going to put on the beautiful new BECK album, "Sea Changes", but decided it'd lure me to sleep, so I put on "The Who Sell Out". Guess what? Before I knew it, I was being woken up, "Brian, it's 8:45!". Christ, I fell asleep anyway. Seems to be a new thing for me, falling asleep before gigs.

Before I knew it, I was grabbing the eyeliner and heading out the door. Found a good parking space, and was amazed that at 9pm, there were already people at Harry's, waiting for the show to begin. There were 50 balloons on the dance floor, blown up by Russ and Amanda earlier in the day. Bruce was setting up the sound, and the new BECK album was playing over the PA.

When more people began showing up, and while I was setting up the drums, the music switched to The Beatles "Magical Mystery Tour". Folks kept filing in, and I remarked to bartender Kevin O'Rourke, "tonight should pay for your trip to Europe".

Ning met a poor 19 year old UMass student who took the bus to Noho, only to find that it was a 21+ show.

We wondered when Ken would show up, since he'd been in upstate NY, playing a wedding with the Mammals. But he showed in time, and soon I was applying eyeliner in the bathroom, quickly, while a grumbling, urinating Rolling Stones fan had his back to me. While applying the make up I acknowledged that yes, I know "Far Away Eyes" and yes, it's a great song, but no, the band does not play it. No, really, we don't. I'm sorry. He was drunk and displeased, but was still at the urinal, so I got outta there in a hurry.

The music on the PA was now the Dukes of Stratosphere's 25 o'clock. The start was minutes away. We were preparing and throwing glow sticks (courtesy of Zeke Fiddler) out in to the crowd. It felt like a rave. I was not on any illegal drugs, but looking back, I feel like I was.

Various folks from the Steamtrain history came to wish us luck, and I imagined them, and the whole crowd, to be members of the Simpsons cast, which Henning thought was funny. Joan Holliday, Zip Cody, Josh from Boston (my personal fave), the U Conn Steamheads, Loren Landis, Ken of the flute and beard variety, Rick of Group DeVille and wife (and co-worker of mine) Sarah, Kevin D'Arcy and more.

Russ, Ning and I are all surrealists at heart, who've always felt humor to be next to holiness, so in fact, looking back on the Steamtrain experience, it all seems like 7 seasons of a great series, with impeccable casting and/or animation.

Then followed 3 solid hours of playing the ass out of the drums, with one 15 minute break. It was hot in Harry's. We began with the old Funnilingus/ early, early Steamtrain version of the Zombies' "She's Not There", which segued into "Many a Wonderful Thing". My hair was in my eyes most of the time, so I viewed the night mostly through bangs.

It felt very powerful, like The Who at their late 60's peak. I always felt one of the several strengths of the live Steamtrain was the ability of me and Russ to achieve a Townshend/Moon symbiosis on stage, if that is the word I want to use. One of the other strengths was the Smothers Brothers symbiosis of Russ and Ning. Then of course is Joe and Ken, who always brought forward all the musical possibilities of each song, and who made me feel like I had to play better.

So, we begin. The first set is off to a running start. After a few songs, I begin to be a little distracted by one young lady, who seems intent on doing nothing but throwing balloons at us, drinking Russ' beer and sitting on the stage and putting the sound equipment in peril. We are all slightly distracted, if not annoyed, and so we have Head of Security Seth Tripp perform one last noble act. Soon, she is replacing Russ' beer which she drank (and the crowd booed her when this was noted). And soon after that, she is gone. I don't know what happened.

We are absolutely rocking full throttle, and I look forward to taking a break. Little do I know, there will be no break! The one time I felt emotional was playing "Last Week" which I'll remember as our anthem. That was the one song where I relaxed, looked around the stage and in the crowd and everything converged; past, present, much of my 20's, life changes, dreams, plans, all of it.

Kevin D'Arcy, who played a big part in our history, was there with many beers and shots of tequila for the band, so that had to suffice in place of taking a break. Russ and Joe got a break when we did a 4 song School for the Dead interlude. It was a sort of passing of the torch, as Lord Russ told his subjects to now follow School for the Dead like they've been following the Steamtrain, and to now worship Henning, for he is "the greatest songwriter on the planet". Ning was flattered, I think.

So, Tony and Max came up, and we did 4 School for the Dead songs. They kept the mood happy and energetic and got great responses. School for the Dead is in great shape these days, having just played the Iron Horse, and poised to play there again Nov 1. Still no break for me, as Russ and Joe got right back on stage to start our next set.

But I was being called to the front of the stage by another young lady. As Russ and Joe were tuning up, I got up to see what she wanted. She lunged at me, attempting a full on kiss, but I turned my head, so she just got me on the cheek. The rest of the show she alternated between dancing with Josh from Boston and calling my name between songs and waving and winking.

This set featured the dance mix, with 5 songs in a row playing with no break in the rhythm. I just kept it going, yo. We finally did take a 15 minute break. I escaped to meet and greet, attempt to get some air (unsuccessful), hang with Andrea, get another beer. I spoke to people, some of whom related their favorite memories.

One woman told me how we gave her and her loved ones strength after 9/11 and personal tragedies. This was very touching and reinforced my belief that violence, war,weapons, can only end in misery. Music and art in general are the godsend. It is just as noble, in wartime, to be among the people who entertain and create. And it made me think how, at the start of the Steamtrain era, any comment about politics, war, etc seemed so irrelevant and far away.

Back to the show. We had about 45 minutes left. We came back, and Ning had recruited a cute blonde in a Price is Right t-shirt (she'd been in the audience, up front all night, with my fan ) to film the rest of the show-- and she is a film major at Emerson, so presumably she did a good job.

We did the oldies medley (which I previously told Connolly Ryan was for him) and it was a trip playing those songs live again. "You Showed Me", the Turtles song was fucking epic. Joe assumed his JB3 persona and directed who was going to take a solo when. Ken, Russ, Joe. Ning held it together, and I brought the intensity up, down, up down, waves and climaxes.

The first bits of fatigue were coming, but this was not a time to take the easy way out, to paraphrase "Here We Go". From where I was I could make out so many friends, Philip and Debbie, Matt Audette and Matt Woliver, Thane and Trace, Dave and Kelsey, Amanda (who, tonight, was the only woman Russ sang to), Phil Straub from WRSI, and of course, of course, Donal B. Rooke.

The man who kept us freaks in line, kept us from breaking up and wandering into oblivion after 6 months, the man who taught us the ropes of the music biz, who introduced us to lots of interesting folks, took us to interesting places, who taught us how a start-up business is run. He treated us like friends, and also was a bit of a father figure too. Because of the latter, we often acted like total brats. He did his best, we gave all we could. Thank you, Don, we love you.

So, soon, Bruce came through the monitors: "one more, fellas". Good ol' Bruce.

Of course, the last song has to be "All My Juices". Of course, this has to be the climax of all climaxes. And it was. Loud. Hyper. Did I say it was loud? Full of passion. And loudness. I was drenched in sweat and had brushed my hair, once and for all, away from my eyes so I could see it all. The ending was perfect, Russ knelt in front of my drums bongo-ing on the toms, one of my favorite traditions. The Price is Right girl was on stage most of it, filming. Last note, I'm ringing on the cymbals, eyes closed, when suddenly, "crash, blammo,", the young lady (my fan) from before was lunging over my drums, determined to get that kiss, and in the process, knocking over 2 of my cymbals. We'll see how the video tape shows it. It was a chaotic 5 seconds.

So, that was that. Hilarious, surreal, the last song of the Steamtrain. The most surreal part was the first 2 minutes after the show. The crowd was going insane, calling for more. The five of us were sitting, drained, on the side of the stage, and I was looking up at all these people looking back at us, sweaty, smiling and shouting for more. Russ came up and made an impromptu speech, which ended in a chant of something like "Henning rules" or something. I had a mic in my hand. I don't know why. It was slow motion, it was distorted, it was a dream, it was a movie. But it wasn't. It was the end of a big thing. The end.

HENNING: Now that I have been playing in School for the Dead as a sort of front man, I have realized why playing in The Aloha Steamtrain has been so enjoyable over the years. In my existance as bassist and back-up singer, I always positioned myself off to “stage right” and slightly further back than Lord Russ. From this vantage point I could turn to face my fingers on the fret board and beyond them I could watch Brian, Ken, Joe, and Russ. I could turn to face forward and watch the crowd, and I could turn to the right and stare at a wall.

While performing in The Aloha Steamtrain, I was able to be a part of the show while at the same time watching the show!

I used to go to see the Figments play shows all the time. They have great songs and are an excellent band, but whenever I would start to zone out I could always entertain myself an extra amount by watching Brian play the drums. Not only is he my favorite drummer to listen to, he is also my favorite drummer to watch. You can see the music coursing through him. His groove is full body. Some drummers concentrate like student drivers behind their kits. Some drummers are unbearable to watch because of the horrifying pained expressions on their faces. Some drummers look out at the crowd with super-ego cocky attitudes. Brian often smiles, his body sways back and forth, occasionally he twirls a stick or stands slightly, and he always plays the exact right thing for the song. I could watch him for hours, and I often have done so during our shows. I don’t get to watch him during School for the Dead shows like that and I will miss it.

For slightly less years, Ken has been entertaining me, too. He always has something going on back there. If he’s not playing the keyboard, he’s got a tambourine shaking, or he’s singing harmonies, sometimes he even does little dances. Ken joined the Steamtrain after years and years of us arguing over whether or not to get a keyboardist. Don and Russ were constantly pushing for it, I was always hesitant because we could never think of the right person. It’s so hard to find a keyboardist who can and will play like Ken does. Now that Ken has been playing with us, it’s impossible to think of it any other way. It seems like everything he touches musically becomes better. The amount of stuff that came out of that keyboard during a typical Steamtrain show was remarkable, I don’t know if anybody else noticed but he was constantly slipping little riffs and hooks from other songs into the Steamtrain set. And I got to sit back and watch it all. I don’t get to watch him during School for the Dead shows like that and I will miss it.

Further to my left, just beyond the flailing arms of Lord Russ, stood Joe Boyle. And I mean stood. Joe stood like a tree, thin and tall and immovable. He stood there looking down or occasionally tilting his head up slightly sideways and staring at me with a completely blank face. He stood and he played guitar like nobody else can. It’s unfathomable to recognize the kind of stuff that is going on when Joe plays, his musical brain and fingers are so far beyond where most of us exist. He and Ken both, though they come from different schools they both have discovered levels in music that I will never get to see. It made me proud to play in a band with Joe, to glance in front of me and watch the people gaping at him, to see folks with their eyes closed trying to take it in, to observe the other guitar playing guys out there scratching their beards or shaking their heads and thinking about giving it all up while simultaneously being inspired to practice more. It was only in the last year or so of the Steamtrain, when we no longer had any new material to play, that Joe really started to step forward and let people see what he was really made of. The JB3 created a monster, a beautiful, mind-blowing monster. I will see Joe play occasionally here and there but I will certainly miss watching him perform his craft and I will especially miss feeling like I was somehow a part of it.

There was one other guy on the stage, too, I just can’t seem to recall…oh yeah Lord “Russ”. Let’s face it, the Aloha Steamtrain was really Lord Russ. Granted we all played a huge part in it, we became a really together band, and we learned over the years to be exactly what Lord Russ needed behind him. But, the fact of the matter is, this was Russ’ show. Hell, he could be up on stage with a thousand other great performers and it would be his show. In fact, ever since I’ve known him, it’s been Russ’ show, whether it is him dancing alone in Veronica Jessico’s basement while the rest of us nerds just watched and laughed and shook our heads at how funny he could be, or whether it was him at the Student Council Elections with a ukulele, making all the other candidates look like soulless animatrons. It’s always been Russ’ show, and I’ve almost always played the straight man. This is not to say that Russ is a stage hog, it’s just that attention falls on him like gravity makes bricks fall on the earth. He glows.

So, I could stand back at shows and watch him. Whether he was singing a simple ballad or whether he was hanging upside down from the rafters. Over the years we’ve come to take for granted all the loops that Russ jumps through during a typical Steamtrain show. Not only is he an exceptional guitarist, a great song-writer, and an unforgettable singer, but who else do you know that can go into a completely up-tight restaurant / bar, full of 100% strangers in baseball hats and scrungies, and strip-down while balancing on the back of a bar stool , dancing, and singing like a Las Vegas veteran? Who do you know that can do the things he has been doing 2 or 3 times a weeks every week for the last 6 or 7 years? We never once played a show where Russ was not exhausted afterwards – he always gave everything he had to whoever would watch. Look out Hawaii.

…That’s the stuff that would watch from my perch safely behind the microphone. Most of the time, however, I looked straight ahead at the audience. They were almost always smiling. They were almost always beautiful. We played our share of ill-attended shows over the years, we’ve performed for 3 or 4 people before and we’ve performed to huge crowds at places like the Pines Pavilion, The Calvin Theatre, and The Academy of Music. We’ve played on giant outdoor stages at the Taste of Northampton, Celebrate Holyoke, Hampshire and Mount Holyoke Colleges, Biker Conventions. We’ve played in ultra-hip rock venues like CBGB’s. Arlene Grocery, the Luna Lounge, the Milky Way. We’ve played in intimate acoustic settings like the Montague Book Mill, the Living Room, and Fire and Water. We’ve played in countless bars like the Amherst Brewing Company, Sully’s, Toad, and the Mole’s Eye. We’ve played multiple weddings and private parties from the rolling hills of Vermont to haute Manhatten Hotels to a tiny apartment in Washington DC. We’ve played in festivals like NEMO and NMF. We’ve played at our own local haunts like the Baystate and Harry’s. We’ve played up and down the East Coast and at every one of our shows I stood back and just watched the people in the crowd. I wish there was someway I could preserve the memory of all their faces. Just how many people have I seen watch us play after all these years I wonder? Thousands upon thousands... how weird. …

So, that’s what I did this final night here at Harry’s. I stood and watched the guys in the band and I stood and watched the people in the room. It felt like a movie, of course. More over, it felt like the end of a sitcom where all the characters come back one more time. As the disco ball spun around madly, it flashed tiny specks of light over the crowd. Each burst of light was about the size of a human face and so as I looked out over the room-full of people, man there were a lot of people there, these little flashes of lights illuminated face after face, like some kind of surreal back-flash montage.

I don’t know if it was visible, but I was smiling the whole time.

September 7, Jamie's, Marshfield MA

BRIAN: Had this been our final gig, we could have said, "AST 1997-2002, Monson to Marshfield".

WAIT!! THIS SHOW WASN' TADVERTISED ON ANY WEBSITE OR EMAIL LIST!! We know. We didn't let anyone know about it, because who the hell wants to go to Marshfield? I should have told my Uncle Joel, he lives in Weymouth, but I thought this place was gonna be a loud, mean Rock Club.

It wasn't. It was like a Ground Round. Family restaurant, then after 9, it's a bar for the locals to come and mingle, watch sports, COPS and Fox News paranoia-inducing 9/11 stories. There was a huge banner outside reading "Friday: Nineteen--a Steely Dan Tribute. Saturday: Aloha Steamtrain". Why didn't we get a picture of it?

So, all 5 of us went, and we played all night, 3 sets.

The ride up was groovy, and long. Ken brought some CDs and we listened to Sloan, Beechwood Sparks and Of Montreal. All extremely good.

Ken and Henning just wanted some FOOD and though they ordered 3 times, only Ken in the end got his fries. Henning had to just steal a roll from the salad bar. Oh well, they were paying us well. But can't you see Henning is a thin man?

Supporting actors included Jim, the polite, professional, portly soundman. He was smiling through most of the show, and seemed to be the one person who understood where we were coming from. Also there was Bobby. Bobby had had a few, and was sitting with his friends. All he wanted was a drumstick signed by all 5 of us. We complied (see picture). He said his rock and roll highlight was once partying with the Jason Bonham band 'till 5 am.

Here's how I can break down this show:

Ist set: sober, professional, some older folks dancing, good energy, good humor. Our charming best. (note, there was an old man watching me intently. after this set, I overheard him saying to someone, "see that drummer? she could really play!! wow!"

2nd set: a round of drinks is bought for us. Russ suppliments this with one or two more. This set is less wedding-band like, more bar band like. "You Showed Me" was epic. Joe left the stratosphere, and I took the opportunity to finally teach myself the famously-sampled beat to James Brown's "Funky Drummer". Same beat as "I am stretched across your grave" by Sinaed O' Connor. After 10 years of trying, it finally came to me!!

3rd set: I've stopped drinking, because it's a long ride home but Russ had not. The crowd seems to be losing interest, and we are all getting tired. Russ decides to get their attention. He walks out in the crowd, serenading both men and women (professionals out for a night on the town) shirtless, singing seductive lyrics. The folks seemed to be mildly amused. So the next trick was to climb up on this sort of platform and hang upside down on the ceiling beams, while still singing. impressive and funny as hell. But the manager or someone walked by him and whisled, which could have been taken as approval, but from the look on his face, I think he meant "get the hell down!" because then he went and spoke to the soundman.

Well, we finished, loud, rocking, sloppy, tired, with a "who gives a fuck, who are these people?" and the crowd felt exactly the same. In fact, after our last song, there was not one clap or whistle. People just kept talking, watching TV and drinking.

The way home was nice. Russ was passed out, and Joe and I (before Joe dozed off) had a nice long chat about our post-AST plans.

HENNING: Sorry that I didn't write anything for the last two entries. I am just so busy and my hands hurt. They were however two really wonderful shows so I hope to go back one day and fill in the blanks. Come to think of it, that Mole's Eye show was one of my all time favorites.

This howerver, was not a wonderful show. In fact, I doubt I will remember anything about it in a couple more days. The one thing about this show was, for the first time in the six years that the Steamtrain played, I was actually just waiting for the night to be over. Never before have I experienced that sensation with this band.

By the end of the night we were Funnilingus all over again - except that the people in the "bar" didn't care.

The whole show wasn't bad, it was fun watching Russ dangle from the ceiling and I liked watching the old guy ask the young beautiful girl to dance, especially when she accepted.

August 31,2002 The Mole's Eye, Brattleboro,VT

BRIAN: A Psychological Study As we look forward to the future,we celebrate the past in the present. You see, we in the Steamtrain are not tense-ist.

The Aloha Steamtrain's last go round at what may end up tied for first (with the Baystate) as "best venue". I anticipated perhaps a big party, and it was, albeit one that I drove to and from alone. Oh, lonesome me! Well, the ride there was fun; I had new Ken songs on a CDR to learn for our surprise Harry's show. I also had one of the CDs from that big John Lennon boxset, which I borrowed from Tony. It was a gorgeous dusk.

Upon arriving, there were signs that Ning and Ken had been, but they weren't there. No one was there. In fact, even the staff had changed. Weird. Then, a sign of life as Bruce showed up. All was good.

I set up my drums and ordered a coffee and a dessert of the night: Creme Caramel. Then in quick succession everyone started walking in. Ning, Ken and Lesa; Russ, Joe and Alexis. Good times.

Susie the booking woman had told Ning that folks had been calling all day asking if we were really playing (there was a false alarm 2 weeks before, a cancellation that never made the papers).

Well, there was three solid sets of manic playing. I felt "on", and it was perhaps for the very reason that we've not been playing that many Steamtrain shows, and because I've been spending more time playing and creating drum parts for Lo Fine and School for the Dead, I've increased the subtlety and accuracy of things. Thus, I was approaching these well-worn Steamtrain songs with a fresh approach. Where a lazy flam used to suffice, I'm now going for the quick roll. My discipline is improving, to offset my lack of haircut.

We did all the favorites, and a host of happy faces were pressed up front to dance the night away!! There was a mini four song School for the Dead set which went very well. A girl in plaid pants who was definitely out of her head (E?) provided interpretive dances. I think I saw her talking to Henning afterwards. Or maybe it was the ceiling fan.

Dr. Loren Landis told me where the term "The whole 9 Yards" comes from . It's a WW1 term dealing with the length of ammo belts. They were 9 yards long.

Ulla thanked us for the years, and we thank her back.

I accidentally spilled a beer on Russ' shirt, which was laying right next to my full beer and flailing arms and elbows.

As the show came to a close, I was as drained as could be. Ringing ears, exaustion and driving home alone. A great depression set in, and I was sent back to the Red Barn, North Andover, 1990-91, when I would be in the exact same state, wondering where the money and girls were? Well, the money is there, and so is the girl. I'm just melodramatic. "It's the Great Depression..." the world needs to hear Ken's new song.

On the way home, I didn't feel so all alone. For 100 yards ahead of me was Brian and Elizabeth, and 200 yards ahead of them was Ken, Lesa and Ning. Dr. Landis, I have fear of alienation, which may come from my family leaving K Mart without me when I was 5, and not realizing it until they were 10 miles in to the ride home. True story. I trust no one. Thus it turns on itself and becomes a defense mechanism showing itself as a discomfort in social situations. "well I don't need you either!"

In any case, in the big picture, re entering Northampton, The Shins' beautiful song came on the radio, I was at the same red light as Ning Ken and Lesa, and soon I was home in bed with girl and cat.

Recommendation: The Seuss Museum in Springfield!! Plus, Art and Science all in the same Quadrangle! Only $6!! Free parking!

!

August 27, 2002 TRANSPERFORMANCE; LOOK PARK, FLORENCE, MA

BRIAN: To begin, I'll quote what my entry for us was in the official program:

"The Aloha Steamtrain as The Guess Who--The Aloha Steamtrain return for their fifth (and final) Transperformance. The Guess Who weren't a particularly pretty or fashionable outfit, so why do the always-head-turning Steamtrain want to tackle such a band? Just listen, babies, and follow the howl of the wolves, the glow of the Northern Lights, the chill of the Arctic wind, the smell of the bacon".

What they edited was my thank you to Bob Cillman for being so supportive, and in hindsight, for braving this storm of enormous budget cuts. The two things I'm involved with most--the arts and libraries, were two of the biggest victims of the cuts. Well, color me a non-corporate fan of the underdogs! Everyone has continued to show big hearts love for what they do. Now pardon me while I do my hourly portfolio check. Anyway, here's a full report, as far as how "these eyes" (ho ho) saw them.

Well, the week was one of cramming. I was in 3 outfits: Patty McGill as Joni Mitchell, The Figments as Leonard Cohen and AST as the Guess Who. No one wants to suck at Transperformance, but we're all such pros that I think I had only 2 short-ish rehearsals with each of the outfits.

I had been interviewed the week before for the Brattleboro Reformer, musing about Canada and Canadian music. The day was picture perfect. I wanted to be there by 3:00, and arranged to pick up Kevin O'Rouke (Lo Fine) who was doing a truly bizarre performance piece at the start of the show: Michael J Fox as Glenn Gould. Basically, they put on a Glenn Gould one minute piece, and Kevin sat in a chair staring at the crowd for that one minute. No one got it. But it was great. Andrea understood the concept, but she couldn't be there to witness it. Freakin' sophisticates!

Back tracking a bit, Kevin and I picked up a 6 pack of Red Stripe lager (Canada, Jamaica, whatever) before heading to Look Park. That feeling of showing your performer's pass, that drive 355 degrees around the perimeter of the park, all the memories were coming back. It was great. Last year I wrote this entry 2 hours after wisdom teeth extraction, and I was very high still. This morning I am only high with the fervor for writing, and extreme hunger because I should be eating breakfast, but I wanna do this first. I also need some coffee.

I had brought a psychedelic shirt, a black shirt, striped pants and black pants. For Joni Mitchell, it was psychedelic shirt, black jeans and big sunglasses, borrowed from Kevin. First just Patty and Ken Maiuri did "All I Want" from the Blue album. Then me and Adam Greenberg came on to help out on "Big Yellow Taxi". I was very proud of my triangle/bongo ensemble, but Ning told me it was inaudible. Then we got Mr. Weeks on tenor sax, Joe Boyle on guitar and Scott Hall on keyboard and did a rousing, totally 70's sounding "Raised On Robbery". It was awesome.

I hung out some more, watched things like Ware River Club as Bryan Adams (gruff voice, meet gruff voice!) and Miranda Brown as Alanis Morrisette (and she had 10 year old girls seeking her autograph afterwards, she was so good).

I changed into my black shirt, only to find lots of cat fur on it. I spent a stressful few minutes getting it all off, nearly skin-burning my hand in the process . By The Figments slot, the crowd had almost doubled. The Figments doing Leonard Cohen still sounds exactly like the Figments. Frank Padellaro was in the crowd chuckling, realizing this.

The Figments covering Gang of Four would still sound like the Figments. But it was great. We did "Suzanne" and "Bird on a Wire". "Suzanne" grooved like ''Feel the Fields" and "Bird on a Wire" grooved like "American Trash". It got a good hand. Then Thane introduced "The rest of the Cohens" and the Young At Heart chorus came on to do "Everybody Knows" while we watched in the wings.

The next few hours are a blur. It was that exciting mix of mingling backstage, and going out into the crowd to watch. Mingling highlights included hiking up the hill behind the stage with Thane, Mike Flood and Max. Also, a great conversation with Ray Mason which began with him asking me about Alyssa, my sister. I told him about her new baby Josephine. Then I sung the Yardbirds tune "Goodnight Sweet Josephine". Then Ray said he had that song on 45. Then he told the tale of meeting Jimmy Page in1968 at Riverside, talking guitars with him, then asking Peter Grant if the Yardbirds tour bus could give Ray and his friend a ride home (note: Peter Grant, in the 70's as Led Zeppelin's manager, was known to bloody people who pissed him off). I wanted to hear the rest of the story, but I had to rudely interrupt Ray, because I saw the rest of the Aloha Steamtrain on stage, ready to go.

They turned on the smoke machine, and Ning, Joe, Ken and I took our positions. The crowd had doubled again. It was packed!! We began with the famous riff of "American Woman". Russ rode on stage on his motorcycle, and we began the first song, "No Time". We also did "Undone" and lastly "These Eyes". It all went by very quickly. "These Eyes" was a lot of fun. I was getting all jazz fusion on the chorus. Russ rode off stage on his motorcycle and we were gone!!

There were two final highlights: Philip Price with Spanish for Hitchhiking as Neil Young and Crazy Horse. Philip looked and sounded SPOOKILY like Neil, circa mid-70's. It was un-friggin' real. They did "When You Dance", "Cinnamon Girl"and something else. It was the best thing all day. Gold Medal, boys. Well done!!

And of course, the Drunk Stuntmen as The Band. This was scaled down compared to their mammoth productions of the last few years, but no less effective. Scott Hall singing the "Crazy Chester followed me" verse on "The Weight" was PERFECT.

OK, who knows what will happen next year? I have a feeling I'll find my way into these productions as long as I'm living in the area. It's all so much fun.

AFTERMATH: 1)I realized after it was all over that I came home minus my relatively new, nice black Levi's jeans. I think when I was changing out of them and into the striped jeans, I left the black ones on top of my car, and either someone swiped 'em or I drove off with them on top and they landed somewhere between Look Park and my place. Calls to Look and to the Arts Council were fruitless.

2) Channel 22 news filmed the Steamtrain playing and played it on the local news!! Anyone besides Rick from Group DeVille see it?

3) The Springfield Union News used a large photo of the Figments playing at Transperformance in their piece the next day.

Super cool pictures by Jim Weeks:

August 11, 2002 The Taste of Northampton

BRIAN: Our third to last gig. This was our 5th Taste of Noho, and probably my favorite one, if not second favorite one.

Perhaps the gig diary can fade out like it faded in, with short, concise entries.

Well, many of us had visible sweat stains after this show. We played at 3:20, for over an hour. There were lots and lots of people there, many of whom were friendly. The sound was excellent. The stage manager was coked out, or so it seemed. And after not playing a gig or practicing for several weeks, we did this gig, and it was tons of fun.

Lord Russ proved why none of us will ever probably work with a more effective front man like him again. Ning got the crowd going "Yee!". I beamed with pride. Ken showed up straight from work, and went straight back to work.

All the girlfriends were there, and so were Ning's parents and brother and nephew. Wonderful clan, the Ohlenbusch's. Afterwards, I got ziti and meatballs from Mulino's and California Roll from Teapot. I spent a total of $5. Both were extremely large helpings. An hour or two later I fell asleep from being full.

A few hours after that,Andrea and I were at Philip Price's (Maggies) birthday party in Easthampton. It was a small but lively gathering. There was dancing, there was whiskey, there wer a lot of talented people, and the last thing that happened was a play about Philip's life. Henning assigned everyone roles. I wore a straw hat and was Arlo Guthrie. I did a 5 minute improvised story about Philip. It was long, drawn out and insipid like Alice's Restaurant. I don't remember much of what I said, for I'd had whiskey. Henning had to heckle me to make me stop.

PS; LORD RUSS IS GETTING MARRIED NEXT MONTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YYEEEEEE!!!!!!!

HENNING: Hot hot hot. It was at least a month since we played wasn’t it? It’s amazing how easy it is to slip right back into things.

This was a really good show. Despite the oppressive heat and sun the audience stood in a parking lot for over an hour watching us. The ladies came up from Connecticut, a good chunk of my family was there, including my little nephew Zane who fell asleep while we played.

I didn’t have a single Taste of anything this year at the Taste. I didn’t miss it. Highlights of the show for me: Russ and I standing back while the rest of the band wowed the crowd. The guy standing way up on the balcony on top of an apartment building watching from far far away. Singing “Fernando” a capella for a few seconds

.

July 6, 2002 Lisa's Birthday Party, Goshen, MA

BRIAN: I remember Lisa, I remember Hans. I remember the guy who showed us around when we first got there. It's just, at the moment, I can't remember his name. I remember Hans telling us at the start that pretty much every guest was in the publishing business in some way, and that later, he'd tell us who they were. That never really happened, but it was great to know that we were playing music for the good guys. It's probably good it wasn't pointed out to me who was who, because I probably had a book proposal for some of them. "Hey, get a load of the drummer who thinks he's JK Rowling meets Lester Bangs!".

Lemme back track. I was having a great summer afternoon, looking at antiques with Andrea, then BOOM I bring my hummus sandwich home and they've put it on a damn raisin bagel. I get over it, then BOOM, I find the transportation plans have been mixed up. Christ, the only thing that will pacify me now would be a house in the woods with a Roman Bath-looking swimming pool in the back yard, lots of figures from the publishing world, 2 sets of Aloha Steamtrain music, folks cheering emphatically after each song, a stage area made of many colored lights, a dinner buffet of salad, ham, carrots and macaroni, and lastly access to lots of Red Stripe beer. And all my wishes came true.

Yeah, there was mosquitoes. BUT THERE WAS OFF! Yes, the temperature dropped suddenly about 10 degrees and it began raining out of nowhere and our equipment got wet, etc, BUT IT STOPPED! I heard about 5 comparisons to Woodstock, one of which was mine.

It was the whole gang. Joe,Ken, Bruce, etc. Russ took a dip in the pool. It was picturesque and beautiful and the people were as nice, if not nicer, as can be. There were months the size of your couch. They scare me. They are out of control. They did not get the grace of god that most other animals got. Whatsamatter with you, MOTH! Why can't you be graceful like your other flying cousins! "That's what makes me beautiful!", replies the moth, narrowly missing a heatlamp, bouncing off a human's neck and landing in a pool to its death.

HENNING: 2. Walking to town through Pulaski Park (something I do at least once a day) with Lesa Bezo Friday evening, I came across a boy and mother who had trapped their basketball in one of the tiny twisty trees. All I had to do to help them was jump up about one foot off the ground and reach the ball. But, when I did, I ended up somehow landing wrong and messing up my left foot. I limped the rest of the way to the Tea Pot and after ordering made my way to the restroom to take a look at my injury. There were no visible markings but strangely, when I left the restroom there was another limping man there waiting. We passed each other in the hall like we were heading down a hospital wing. The pain got worse, we rented Gosford Park and went home and my toes were all swollen up. Sheesh, it’s always something with this guy.

So, Ken was nice enough to drive to our gig and to carry the heavy instruments across the back yard and out to the pool.

What a lovely home. I love playing this kind of thing. This was our first ever show where people were swimming while we played. I wonder what it sounded like underwater.

There was a lot of video taping going on. We were being filmed from all sides. At one point during “You Showed Me” I went out in front of the band and watched Joe and Ken playing through the screen of one of the video cameras. That was pretty cool.

Also, there was a giant blue moth.

June 29, 2002 - A Celebration of Holyoke.

BRIAN: The parking lot behind Nick O'Neil's. In Holyoke. Massachusetts. I'm feeling Massachusetts. Remember that Juliana Hatfield song? Can we celebrate Hatfield? I work in Hatfield. Our friend Dennis just moved to Hatfield. But now, this was not Hatfield, Haverhill, Hinsdale or Hanover. It was, and will always be Holyoke! The Paper City!!

Lovely old architecture in Holyoke. Just a bit of a tarnished image. That's why they're celebrating it. The 4 hours we spent there were the longest I've ever spent in said town. Except, I think I had a co-birthday party there in Holyoke when I turned 26 or something, along with a friend who had the same birthday. But hey man... The night before this show, Lord Russ had done a solo show in Easthampton, at a hip place called Capo's. He said it was a lot of fun.

Tonight's show was part of a Summer Concert Series. We were this week's feature. Our pals the Drunk Stuntmen were last week's performers. This was a 2-5 show (2 sets, 5 guys). Paul Bissex was there. We played from 7-10 PM.

I drove Ken, Ning drove with Lesa, and Joe drove Russ and Alexis. Alexis (Joe's lady friend) has been taking tons of photos at our shows lately. Lest she be sans due credit!! (is that what's written on the back of american dollars?)

We also attracted folks like Pattie, Jason Simon, Ken's parents, and a few more very familiar folks from where I can't remember. That attractive blonde couple? Hanging out with Paul Bissex? Who are they? How do I know them? Paper City Brewing was a co-sponsor of this event. They gave us free beers. But I had to pay for my water. How's that?

During soundcheck, we saw a nuisance of a man (in his 40's, overly animated) get ejected from the premises. He refused to leave. The bouncer hailed a passing police car, which was followed by 3 more police cars. Each of the officers greeted the nuisance like he was their little brother. He taunted and touched each of the police men, and they just smilingly told him to get out of the area. And he did. I wonder what his story is?

Ning got a hot dog which he eyed questioningly but duly ate. We played a long, long time. Folks danced. There was a metal/hippie in a tie dye who took a shine to Henning and Lesa and recited a poem about seeds and stems. Big heart, that man. I wore a Who t-shirt in memory of John Entwistle, who died a couple days ago. Though I've always been a Townshend and Moon man, I'm obviously still very sad. On his web diary, Townshend says they're still going to do their summer tour, mostly out of commitment and love of playing music, though he's not convinced John would have wanted it that way. Big Al from the Equator bar, we send our condolences.

My tribute was singing a verse of Boris the Spider during the dream sequence of "Misty Paradise". I just remembered a line from a song I wrote: "I haven't puked since I saw the Who". It's funny, because it can be taken a few ways. It's true, however. But a boring story. It was 1989 and I had a stomach virus ,which I then blamed on eating a Rice Dream ice cream bar. I blamed my sister for making me eat something healthy. Then I almost had to miss the concert. I wish it had to do with whiskey or something. But I was still many years away from drinking.

Speaking of dying prematurely, Russ decided to tell the crowd on this evening that many of them were overweight and had drinking problems. Oh really? A keen study of demographics? Perhaps only implied was the fact that many of them also have addictions to cigarettes and drugs? Gambling and sex? Either folks didn't hear him, or they are are numb to being told what their problems are.

Well, so what else happened? Songs, songs. There was Astroturf to dance on. Diana Riddle took full advantage. As did the old lady with the little dog. I mostly kept my eye on the street, the passing cars, the pedestrians, the kids on bikes. Lots of cars with that purple neon light underneath. One little girl (like 8 or so) was with her grandpa, who didn't seem to wanna stay, but she was insistent on playing air-drums for 3 full songs. It was cool. A lot of cars slowed to a crawl then resumed. I saw a cop stop and watch Russ doing "Without You" for a while. His face remained expressionless and he moved on. Holyoke cops need to be tough.

Now, there are a very few Aloha Steamtrain shows remaining. Playing these shows over these years have been among the most blissful things I've experienced ever. We will try and finish this final album, with the mixing help of Frank. I wanna hear it, Russ, Ning, Joe, Ken and Don wanna hear it, and I think there are probably umpteen of you out there that want to too. Have a great summer and we'll see you at the Taste of Noho.

HENNING: 3. The first person I spoke to upon arriving at Nick O’Neil's was a hippie-ish guy named Michael who took one look at my Jack O’Lantern shirt and warned me that folks might try and smash me on the sidewalk. I told him, though that had happened often, it wasn’t nearly as awkward as when they tried to put a candle in me and set me out on their front porch. The point is, this whole evening was spotted with these small conversations with Michael.

“Saturday In The Parking Lot it’s almost the Fourth of July”. Strange scene there, with folks in their lawn chairs sitting in the hot sun on the pavement. Just sitting there, occasionally rising to get a hotdog (um….I had one of those….um….) and a drink. Just sitting there for three hours watching the Aloha Steamtrain. What’s up with that?

Entertainment for most people also took the form of the few dancers. Diana and the local crazies. Love that band. A woman danced with her dog to Animal Farm. A couple of nutso guys tried to entice Lesa and Alexis to dance with them. Joe and I were both ready to throw down our guitars and run to their rescue. And during the last song (80 Degrees) a pretty good group of people finally put the Astroturf dance floor to use.

After the show, and after getting some dinner with Ken, I went by Harry’s to check out the Drunk Stuntmen show. I wasn’t really in the mood for it but as soon as I walked in the door that all changed. CLASSIC ROCK screamed at me from the stage. These guys are really remarkable and Alex Johnson was amazing. More amazing then ever. The energy that they played with is just really hard to explain. I have great respect for that band.

June 22, 2002 - Amherst Brewing Company

BRIAN: One day after the Summer Solstice, the Aloha Steamtrain, as a band, bid farewell to one of their favorite places to play, a place that had us back again and again over the course of the last three years; The Amherst Brewing Company.

As opposed to writing this entry a day or three after the fact, I'm actually beginning it (not completing it, however) the same night of the show. Why? Because my damn ears are ringing after the racket we made during the last song! But, you know what? This entry will suffer if tired, buzzed Brian writes anymore. I probably more than burned off the dinner I had tonight (at Siam Square on Pleasant St, Noho. Try it!!) at tonight's show. OK, good night, resume tomorrow.

OK, it's the day after, and it's hot and muggy. Just finished Siam Square leftovers. So, it's a bit funny. A couple of weeks ago, Andrea and I went to the ABC to have a couple margaritas and watch the Drunk Stuntmen. Apparently, something happened and they ended up being banned. I s'pose we could have done something bad too, seeing as this was our last time. But, we're just good, good folk. So we didn't break the rule of drinking pre-show.

But our waitress more than made up for it, by bringing us beer like every 5 songs. Five piece tonight. Joe had a busy day, having played with Reid Foehl at the Taste of Amherst. HEY! Steven Desaulniers is in that band too, so he was at half our show. Then he left to go see SPOUSE at Harry's. Who else was there as a special guest? Amanda. Alexis. Timmy Timmy T. Timmy Timmy TT Timmy TT Timmy Timmy TTT. And so on.

We divided the show up like at the Mole's Eye: Steamtrain, a little School for the Dead interlude, then a last long, crazy AST set. We came out hot to trot, because, well hell, partner, there was a huge-ass crowd there from the get go! And they danced to everything. You'll dance to anything by the Aloha Steamtrain. You'll dance to anything by School for the Dead. You'll dance to any beat that Brian seems to play.

We screwed around a lot, musically and I think Russ got miffed because during I Want You (She's So Heavy) Ning played his bassline double time, and I couldn't resist. I went double time, it threw off Russ and what resulted was 3 measures of chaos, but we recovered. If we were more punk (like the mid 60's Kinks), I would have got a guitar across my skull. But Henning would have been the one who deserved it, so he would have gotten a cymbal stand on one of his sun burned areas. Why, oh why can't we be more violent and angry?

I went for my first massage, and I was encouraged to let out anger. But I'd have to say anger doesn't figure in my life nearly as much as confusion. I'm too confused to be angry, and that really makes me.... more confused.

Lots of great moments (I love "You Showed Me", Band of Gypsies style--go Joe!!) lots of fun, and the loudest and best All My Juices (encore) in a while.

PS--send positive thoughts so that we may open for LOVE if they come to town.

Hey! Three boss things I just remembered about the ABC show, so maybe Ning will be bitchin' enough to put these foxy things down!!

1) a gentleman requested that we do "Winter Wonderland"! He said he loved my performance of it 2 years ago at the Calvin Theater. That was a big night. I didn't have my saxophone, so that was one of the several reasons we couldn't do it.

2) Joe interchanged the riff for "Curious Attraction" with XTC's "Stupidly Happy" throughout the song.

3) we all drank a special ABC concoction called "Graduation Ale" all night.

HENNING: 4. Through the sting and the tightness of a stupid sunburn I managed to enjoy one of the all-time best Aloha Steamtrain shows. That morning I had woken up at the Pilgrim Springs Hotel. Just outside of Provincetown, it’s a nice no-frills, clean, hotel with excellent prices, I recommend it. Breakfast in Provincetown with Ed, Kelley, Alexis, and Lesa led to a short walk on the breakwater. Gradually, the short walk turned into a 3 hour long trudge in the sun and sand.

It was a beautiful hike. I found two sand dollars. Yee!!

On the drive home, the sunburns started kicking in. We stopped at a WallMart and picked up some Aloe Vera stuff. Sweet. We drove three hours in the car feeling salty and singed and got home just in time to change and head over to the ABC. Haggard and exhausted I gingerly pulled some socks over my tender feet and ankles and packed up my stuff.

“How am I going to play a show?!?” I asked the passing countryside on my drive to Amherst, but like all shows, the pain went away as soon as the microphones went up. This was such a great night. The people there were really really there. Dancing and beaming and laughing and singing. We played enthusiastically and with inspiration. “You Showed Me” was a real stand out, like Brian said. The crowd agreed.

Doing the School for the Dead set was wonderful, too. Bruce requested Screen Door which was flattering. It’s a whole different animal singing lead and standing up front than playing bass and standing back watching the band. Time goes by a lot faster, and the lack of eye contact with Brian is still frightening. But it is super cool.

June 8, 2002 - Mole's Eye Cafe, Brattleboro, Vermont

BRIAN: Our favorite home away from home. You cannot help but feel welcome at the Mole's Eye. Weird night. Fun night.

We took two cars; Ning's (Ning and Lesa and gear) and mine (Ken, Russ, Andrea, me and gear). Lovely late spring night, with Route 91 north spreading out vast, hilly and green. Listened to David Bowie's "Low". Speaking of which, I'm thinking about getting his new one when it comes out. Or at least hearing more of it. Speaking of which, is "We Are All Made of Stars" by Moby the best early summer single in years or what? (I was going to say since "Raspberry Beret" but Ning hates when I exaggerate.)

So, we gets there, and, well, Bruce Tull couldn't make it. His ankle's almost all better, but he was attending the wedding of Ware River Club's Bob Hennessey. So we got the boys of Soundstream, who did a fine job, after nearly evacuating the place during set up by blasting it out with feedback. And more feedback. That bullet-through-your-eardrum, he-never-saw-what-hit-him, can't-I-enjoy-my-food-here type of feedback.

Speaking of erring, I realized I didn't have my snare stand. I'm still not sure where it could be. Luckily, oh so luckily, Lesa's co-worker has a 15 year old nephew who's the drummer in Brattleboro's finest, The Thumbless Scums (did I get that right?). He was kind enough to lend his stand. And hey, li'l fella, if you keep on practicing, maybe, just maybe in 15 years YOU will be playing at the Mole's Eye!!

I became rather hyper after eating the dessert of the night; Espresso Cake a la mode. I had a microphone, so I could say all the stupid things that came into my head. THIS was an odd show. Like when the Jeffersons would take up a good chunk of All in the Family. See if you can understand my point; This was the Aloha Steamtrain's penultimate gig at the Mole's Eye. It's no secret now that we will no longer be a band come late summer/early fall. Lord Russ is moving away, doodilly doodilly dipplyee day. Henning's School for the Dead will be playing a lot more. Some of the same people, it is (Ning, Ken, me) and some other folks (Tony and Max). But whatever combo it is, it's playing Ning's songs, and it's School for the Dead.

On this night, Lord Russ felt it was a good idea to introduce our Brattleboro fans to Henning's brand of songwriting. It ain't no Steamtrain, that's for sure, but still, folks were dancing up a storm. We did 7 songs, I think, to break up the Steamtrain sets. Lord Russ guest starred on camera, backing vocals and tambourine. Have you seen Stop Making Sense? The Tom Tom Club do a set between Talking Heads sets. Presumably so David Byrne could change costumes and blow a few lines. There was none of that going on. Jonathan Demme wasn't there either. But there was a good, happy crowd. And we played energetically, loosely and, well, say what you will, I had fun.

It had been the Heifer Cow parade earlier that day (led by a drag queen, if my facts are correct. Heifers are black and white cows that have produced no offspring) and some folks were having a black and white theme party. Ah, Vermont.

Ulla promised that she'd get all her friends to come to our last Mole's Eye show. That will be a special, special event.

HENNING: 5. “Lovely Rita Meter Maid.” I had no real reason for writing that. I was sitting here thinking about what to write about the Mole’s Eye show and that song popped into my head. I don’t know why.

Speaking of not knowing, I just walked passed this office in my building and noticed it was dark inside although there were people in there working. Why is that? Because, it’s a hot day out. They seem to think that keeping the lights off makes it cooler. I could waste my breath telling them another million times that fluorescent lights do not give off heat, but it wouldn’t matter. There are certain things that certain people can not understand. That is one of them. Even if I took one of them and forced their face up against the bulb to show them that it is not hot, it wouldn’t matter. There is no possible way to communicate that to them. It’s a simple, almost obvious concept that they will never ever understand. It puts me on edge.

Speaking of being on edge, that’s exactly where I was at the beginning of this Mole’s Eye show. Trying to set up the lights with crazy horrible feedback screeching at me was enough to send me screaming into the night. Almost.

What a nice show, though. Of course, that’s not a surprise at the Mole’s Eye. It’s always a nice show. Our School for the Dead set was great. People were singing along to songs they had never heard. And they were dancing like mad. Beautiful.

May 26 - The Kain Residence; Eastham, MA (Cape Cod, upper forearm),
The Reception of the Wedding of Chris Johnson and Erin Kain.

BRIAN: Chris Johnson is a friend I've had since my second year at UMass. My first vision of him was at the coffee machine in Butterfield. First I noticed the Velvet Underground t-shirt. Then I noticed the similar hair. To this day, folks confuse us. Strange situations, some unrepeatable, have resulted from people confusing us.

But Chris, originally from San Diego, currently in San Francisco, soon to be in DC, has been a great person to know. Always a very stimulating presence. The old days recall late nights in his room with The Replacements, Elvis Costello, The Minutemen, Rolling Stones and Husker Du playing on the stereo. The recent past has been sporadic visits, me to CA or (mostly) him to MA, and catching up on stuff. He's doing very well being involved in labor union research projects. His new wife, Erin, is very sweet, lovely and great for him. I wish them all the good things for a long time.

We were honored to be asked to play at their reception. Rain was forecasted, but it never happened. We arrived shortly before everyone left to go to the ceremony. The Kains were very helpful in making the setting up of stuff easy as possible.

Bruce Tull is still recovering from his broken ankle, so he was cool enough to let his protegee, Kevin O'Rourke (singer songwriter, LoFine) do the job. Kevin and I took one car. We listened to the Byrds, Monkees, Stones, Elvis Costello, and more, I'm sure. Ning and Russ took another car. Joe and Ken another. The ride was smooth. Set up was smooth.

Then came a wait while people arrived. They arrived, and we mingled a bit, feeling like Distant Cousins (tm). Ken Murphy (great to see him after a long time)! Matt Waugh! How did a guy from San Diego end up with so many friends from Andover, MA?

Dinner was great. Half the sea kingdom was consumed. Everyone had to sing for their supper. Many toasts. The ones about Chris were dead on. And when Chris stood up and spoke, hearing him incorporate the phrase "standardized ritual" into a wedding toast was classic. Very Chris.

It was time to play at about 7:15. We did 60/40 in favor of covers to originals. Between the sets, we were the live soundtrack to fire performers. They twirled, they ate, they breathed, they mocked fire. And (this was only planned 2 hours beforehand) we improvised, musically interpreting what they were doing. Ning did repetitive drone-y stuff on bass, Ken did Phillip Glass keyboard stuff, and I pounded the toms and cymbals, setting the tempos and rhythms, depending on what I thought the movement of the fire was telling me. Those kooky San Franciscans. It was awesome.

They were really nice people, too. Everyone was nice. Erin's folks, Chris' folks, etc etc. They had arranged for us to stay at a guest cottage, but fate and logistics dictated that we go back that night. Less traffic being the most inviting factor. Kevin and I had a long, mellow drive through the night, ending up back in Noho at 3am.

HENNING: 7. Well yes, driving. Russ and I rode together there and back mostly listening to the radio (there's a great oldies station near the cape that plays oldies that most oldies stations don't play. And WROR was the bestest.) and to one side of a tape of some of my very old 4-track songs - some of which featured Russ as well.

We drove. My old days of driving to the cape every weekend came back to me and I knew all the right roads. Zen.

The wedding reception was nice, the toasts were amazing. It was a group of people that I felt I really would enjoy spending time with. We sat scrunched in a crowded corner of a tent eating pasta salads and fish, surrounded by the beauty of Cape Cod's ecology. My chair kept sinking into the sandy soil. We were beneath enormous high tention power lines but I didn't even notice for hours, until Matt Waugh pointed them out.

We played and played and played a long set. Maybe 2 and a half hours? I'm not sure.

Kevin did a good job on the sound.

When Russ and I got back in the car "And Your Bird Can Sing" was on the radio. I picked up a couple of toothpicks, jammed them between my eyelids and we drove back to the mainland000000.

May 4 - Harry's Nightspot, Northampton, MA

BRIAN: The first great spring weekend of the year. The first one that felt like we earned it, the first one where the temperature and color of the leaves and flowers all matched. Here's an answer to a trivia question: TW Walsh and Reed Foehl.

I'd spent the day a bit hung over for the first part. The night before, The Figments had played in Amherst at the Alehouse, and I let the owner talk me into a shot of Jager Meister at the end of the night. It kind of put me over the top. I had not had that stuff since UMass. I never liked it so much.

But after a slow start, Andrea and I packed some unwanted stuff into the car and went on down to Henning's Tag Sale! Yeeee!!! The hour or so we spent there was very nice. Full of sunshine, dogs, friends and babies. We witnessed the meeting of Connolly+Maryellen's boy and Tony+Shelley's girl. And most of my stuff was sold. I made $6+change.

Later, A+I went to her friend Louise's art opening above Thorne's, and later joined all her old Smith pals at the Brewery. I had the Billy Club and a Golden Lager. Then it was home for a nap. When Andrea woke me up, the last thing I wanted to do was play a show. Could she call my understudy? I was just cozy and content and wanted to leave a perfect day alone. Not tarnish it with rock and smoke.

Alas, within 10 minutes I was in rock star clothes, and looking for a parking space outside Harry's. Not an easy thing to do. One's fragile spirit can be completely broken on the walk from the Eastside Grill parking lot to Harry's. 1) the light was on inside the former Baystate, and I could see what was once my second home ripped apart, with a few chairs and parts of the bar recognizable. 2) the obnoxious folks outside Pearl Street and the leering cop-like demeanor of the door guys. 3) "Pour Some Sugar On Me" being blasted from City Cafe, with a few people inside dancing to it, poorly, and a few more patrons yelling at girlfriends outside. Good Grief! What is this world? I feel as antiquated as a Vaudeville performer. Then I went inside Harry's and saw the Howard Fishman Quartet, and everything was alright again. They charmed, they soothed. They reminded me that things are always going to get better.

I also ran into someone bringing in an amplifier who introduced himself as Howard. My girlfriend's father's name is Howard. I really enjoy Howard Stern in low doses. Howard Cunningham owned a hardware store and did a fine job raising his kids every Tuesday night. But this was Howard of the band Red Lady 21, our old friends from Richmond, VA. It'd been a while, so reintroduction was necessary.

The trivia question is, who were Ken and Joe playing with on this evening, making us a 3 -piece? Our first 3-piece Noho gig in a while?

Red Lady 21, particularly Howard, was making friends and selling the band to the Noho crowd. They played very well. I feel they've evolved into the pop-rock category, with interesting, textural, almost prog-rock jams sprinkled in.

Wisher, the other out of town band, cancelled. I don't know why. Karma?

So's then we take the particular stage. Again I had a mic, but I wasn't comfortable until about half way through. Ning said "don't aim it at the monitor". I looked at him like he'd just said "don't eat steering wheels". What am I, completely challenged? At the end of the show, it was pointed out to me that halfway through the set, my monitor was turned down by Tom, the soundman. Why? Oh, I'd adjusted the mic so that it was aiming right at the monitor. I hear Japanese cars are better for your cholesterol, but Mercedes go great with sauerkraut and Heineken.

Our show was fun and more fun. It was full of weird extended dance versions. And GOOD OL' JOSH, BLESS HIS CRRRAAZZZY ASS was leading the dancing. Sometimes shirtless. He apologized to me for not getting everyone to dance for every song. He only got half the people to dance to a quarter of the songs. That's still a lot of dancing. I was not disappointed. But the evening sure did end on a disappointing note for Josh, a huge Pavement fan and one of our top 5 fans. We're sorry.

Bruce Tull can work those crutches fast! Wooh! I wonder if Ning took a photo of the infirmary, Kevin and Bruce? The war vets? Anyway. Don said he forgot how fun it was to watch me play. That was nice. I try to entertain from a distance. But get up close, and I am one of the most dull people around. Stay away.

HENNING: 8. Well yes, Josh. Good stuff. Nice gig diary entry, Brian. Now why don't you tell the folks about your awesome new song. You know the one. Yep, the one with the guys in it. And all that stuff.

This was my second night in a row at Harry's. I had done the sound the night before for Drunk Stuntmen. They are back from their huge tour. They put on a wonderful show. Good on ya.

Schmim schmim. I got nothin'.

There we were the original three piece band. As we were only a few blocks away at the now legendary Baystate Hotel in 1997. Playing songs and what have you, you know the drill.

There we were again, Ken and Joe absent and missed. Their parts still playing in my head even though nobody could hear them.

Here's a picture or two:

April 26 - The Mole's Eye, Brattleboro

BRIAN: The countdown begins.

Ooohh! Have we ever played the Mole's Eye as a trio? Has it ever been this cold on April 26? Have Ning and Russ ever hallucinated on stage while completely sober? Have I ever had a microphone so I could join in the between song banter? Have I ever posed with a large group of elderly people who weren't related to me? Have we ever seen so many police lights half a mile ahead on route 91, making it look like a UFO may have landed? Have I ever had such a delicious and welcome Irish Coffee before a show? Has Bruce ever missed a Mole's Eye show? Has Bruce ever broke his ankle on the stairs at Harry's? Has Soundstream ever failed us when we needed them? Is there a better band to listen to on a wet April day than The Smiths? Is it really so strange? What difference does it make? How soon is now? Ask me. The answer is no, a bunch of times. And then the answer is none. Then I'll let Ning answer the last one.

HENNING: 9.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, maybe, no, no, yes, yes, yes, no, no, plenty, very soon.

April 20 - The Sports Page, Hartford, CT

BRIAN:The FDA, for the longest time, has refused to have anything to do with "alternative" medicine. However, they just recently disclosed the findings of an extensive study. Who knows who funded it, in whose interest these studies are, what's more powerful, the mind or a pill, etc.

But they found that 1) acupuncture doesn't really work. Apparently some folks just had needles stuck in random places and said they felt better. I've never had it, but some of my closest friends have, and say it works. 2) herbs like St. Johns Wort and Kava and Valerian don't really work. Placebos had the same effect. Now, I swore by St. John's Wort for about 2 or 3 winters. I often get winter depression. This year I took none at all and had the best winter in a long long time. So, it's all situational. I'll go with that. And all I know about Valerian is that it makes the back of my throat itch. Possibly, drug companies funded this and are saying, "hello! Valium and Prozac will NEVER FAIL!!"

In other news, HEY!! DID YOU FEEL THE EARTHQUAKE?? This morning, there is a little brother and sister blowing bubbles across the yard, and some of the bubbles are reaching my window. Yesterday morning, at about 6:45 I woke up thinking the neighbors were having another deck put in or something. I looked at the clock, "Christ almighty! Why? Why so early?" Hey wait! There's something weird about this. We're going back and forth. Rocking. I sat up in bed and Andrea thought I was just spazzing out from a bad dream or something. But no! "That felt like an earthquake!" "ZZzzzzzzzzz" "Yeah, maybe it waZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

The Sports Page. Ol' 84 East never looked better. On the way we listened (again) to the new XTC box set "A Coat of Many Cupboards". I wanted Ning to hear an amazing drumming thing on a live track ("Crowded Room". Terry Chambers does the most amazing thing).

Arriving at the"Page", we reckoned we'd been there before. Had we? But, why wouldn't we remember? I don't remember.... YES!!! SEPTEMBER 18, 1999!!!!!! Look at the Gig Diary, 1999! There it is!! You can read why we didn't remember. Besides, I can say now, I was in the midst of the most turbulent year of my short life. There's probably a lot I don't remember.

So, now we're back. We were a trio then, and we were a trio tonight. And we enjoyed watching the best CT band we've ever played with: The Screwdrivers. Great songs, harmonies, etc. Check them out, CT fans. You'll soon need a new band to dig. Let it be them. They're very nice.

I was wearing an English Beat T shirt I'd got from my bro-in-law John. It's from the early 80's, and in fact I've seen photos of both Sting and Andy Partridge wearing the same shirt. Ning forgot his camera, so I can't prove I was wearing it.

I had a couple Heinekens, and wondered what it'd be like to play the 7 piece drum set, with lot of cymbals. Turns out it was a ball. I totally Stuart Copeland-ed several songs. Splash cymbal off beat accents, the whole bit. Ning broke a bass string. That's as rare as an earthquake in New England, or 5 planets lining up in the sky. We had a good time. 45 minute set. Some of the Sully's crowd was there and that was great. Gina the hairdresser and Haji the sound guy. It was like The Equator and Sully's meeting in the middle. The ride home was fun. Lots of singing. And yelling. And laughing. All in all, the night had a resounding HAPPY ENDING. Tee hee.

cIt’s a little bit of a downer to have a show at a place called, “The Sports Page”. The name makes it pretty clear what kind of bar it is. It’s probably a sports bar. When your in a band and you are trying to seem professional and someone asks you where you are playing you don’t want the word “sports” be part of the name, and you usually try to avoid “page” as well. But, the Sports Page in this case was ok, I guess. They had a little stage there and after I turned down the TV that was showing “COPS” the place was starting to resemble a performance area.

Luckily, the band Switchdance was kind enough to bring their PA and run it for the evening. Last time we played at this place (and I can’t believe there actually was a last time) we had one mic stand and no monitors. So, thank you, Switchdance, even though you probably hate us because we took off to get back to Northampton to catch the end of our band mate Ken’s performance with his other band The Maggies leaving you with three less audience members. Also, thank you Al and Bill for having us and treating us very nicely.

I’ve been playing the bass now live for about 5 years and this was the second time I ever broke a string. This was also the second time I ever put a string on a bass. I did ok. Now, I have to remember to bring a new set of spare strings in case it happens again. I blame the earth quake.

So, yes, I enjoyed the Screwdrivers. They had these wonderful poppy songs that I really dug. It’s rare I tell you, for me to really enjoy a band. Occasionally they played some darker, louder, less poppy stuff that lost me, but when they played their hits it was great.

I apologize to everyone for forgetting to bring the camera. It upsets me deeply. Deeply I tells ya.

April 12-13: NEMO Music Industry Conference, Boston, MA. Swissotel in the Financial District; Copperfield's, near Fenway Park.

BRIAN: April 12, 10pm--Gig at Copperfields. Well..let me put my bags down and I'll tell you it all right from the start..... NEMO: Boston's version of CMJ, South By Southwest, etc. In essence, a ton of bands playing at many clubs; and informational panels held during the day, hosted by industry folks.

We were glad to have been selected, and I very much looked forward to the experience. I'm glad we went for what I learned, saw and heard. Ning, Manager Don and I were a team for 2 days. Russ, Joe and Ken came for our showcase on Friday Night, then split before I could say goodbye.

Friday morning we had planned to start bright and early. 7:30 am. Yes, that early. It was Don's idea. Ning convinced me I was throwing the whole operation out of whack when I called to tell him I was running 20 minutes late. I called Don, but no answer, and I assumed he was in the shower or out getting breakfast. Nope. He was still sleeping, we found out after I knocked on his door, then picked up Henning, wondering "has Don called you?". Back to Don's, Ning knocked loudly and persistently. Woke him up, then Ning and I headed for Bruegger's to give Don some time.

A lovely time at Bruegger's. We saw Sean Glennon there, and I told him "In some ways, Bruegger's IS the Pioneer Valley to me." I had that revelation as I flashed back to my first solo venture to visit my sister in Northampton in 1990. My first Bruegger's experience. My first Veracruzana experience too, I believe. The world was becoming bigger. We met Don and took off.

It was a pleasant journey to Boston. A beautiful, warm day. We listened to "The Wichita Train Whistle Sings", Mike Nesmith's over the top project from 1967, but no one particularly dug it--or it was just the wrong time of day to be listening to screaming jazz horns giving way to country guitar licks giving way to samba done by a marching band. So Ning selected The Apples in Stereo.

Boston was looking good, and after an illegal U-turn on Washington street, we were parking in the vast garage of the Swissotel. It was all very exciting. Ning and I were like kids vacationing with Dad. Don had booked a room, which turned out to be on the 16th floor. We used that as headquarters. A lovely room, with a lovely view.

We went back downstairs to the registration desk and got our official badges, and silver bags full of 25 pounds of junk (magazines, brochures, CD samplers, ads). I think I kept about 2 pounds of it. We went back to the room to sort through the stuff and devise a plan. We'd go to some panels, have dinner, go to the gig, meet Joe, Ken and Russell there, then play the gig. Ning and I decided to stick together, and Don (who has a few NEMOs under his belt) was going to schmooze (already, random folks were saying "Hey, Don!") and float between panels.

Ning and I first went to "The State of the Music Industry". The folks on that panel included "The guy that signed Beck to Geffen"(Mark Kates,CEO of Fenway Records) and "The Guy who Wrote 'I Want Candy'", Richard Gottehrer, who actually has done many more important things, like started Sire Records.

Oh, boy.. They talked about how major market radio is becoming more and more narrow minded, how you need to sell more records to make any money, how some bands are labeled "downloaded bands" so they have much less of a chance to get signed (because their potential market are more into downloading than buying music). They also gave helpful advice on how and when to approach a music lawyer to shop your product, for example.

We regrouped, then went to "A&R: Who's Signing What?". More bad news. Ning and I didn't stay the duration of this one. We viewed four slightly frightened looking A&R folks for major labels. They spoke of the downsizing of the major labels, how buyout after buyout is happening and they don't know where they're gonna end up, and how (once again) free music on the internet is screwing them, so they desperately gotta find a way to make money from it! These folks have their hands tightly on their wallets and their thoughts on Mercedes' and yachts.

Lastly, we went to Eddie Kramer's Demo Derby. Eddie Kramer; Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Beatles, Kiss, Traffic......he's produced or engineered them. These giants of innovation, and now he's working for the man, saying "don't bore us, get to the chorus" and "this intro is too long". Well, he's just playing Devil's Advocate, because he knows that 99.6% folks aren't writing the next "Stairway to Heaven" or "Low Spark of Hi-heeled Boys" Actually, it was great to hear most of his opinions. I wish I could talk to him for like 3 hours, frankly. He was very cool.

Analysis: Everyone said things along the line of "times have changed". That's how these folks have survived in this business. They're second guessing the public, and the artists are second guessing them. You have to change to survive. That's only if you want to sell out and do as you're told.

Don went to an all indie panel, which sounded more optimistic and artist-friendly. Ning and I were hungry and bummed out, so we went and looked out the hotel room window, watched "Chicken Run" on the TV and finally went to D'Angelos for dinner, after briefly meeting back with Don. On the street, I ran into Sara Williams, an old friend from college. We posed for a picture.

We were both feeling quite cynical about the industry. How can something so beautiful and fun as music have such...I'm not going to finish that sentiment, because I KNOW the answer, I've always known, I've read a million quotes by a million artists and they all say the same. You just need to let the sleazy folks do their job, and try to keep your love of music and creative instincts intact. You don't have to choose to make a living from it.

We saw a lot of folks have their "moments of genius inspiration" shot down by industry folks: "Get a new drummer" "this would never sell" "radio would never play this" "I'm sure someone out there likes this" "this kind of music is over, and is not coming back". Survival of the fittest. Why doesn't the band "Survivor" go on the show "Survivor"?

So, then we met back up and drove towards Fenway Park for our show at Copperfields. It was great to see the other guys. I watched the rest of the Sox/Yankees game. They won and afterwards, the streets were like the running of the bulls. Some came into Copperfields.

Whack played aggressive music before us. It was getting hotter and hotter in the club. I didn't see any A+R people at the club. The pipes were dripping. I was sweating before note 1. We played 40 minutes. Much more and someone would have passed out.

But we played well, and made some fans from Minnesota. They write for a music magazine and marveled at how backwards and unenlightened the Boston scene is. They said we were the only decent band they'd seen. They were expecting a very hip scene, as seen at South By South West or something. They were nice, and invited us to Minnesota.

The other guys left right after, and Ning thought he lost his bass (he didn't). Don went back to the hotel, Ning and I drove to Martha (yes, that Martha) and Jared's (her husband) place in Brookline. 6 minutes from Fenway, and it's rabbits, birds, crickets. Beautiful houses. They have a sweet deal.

We stayed up 'till 3 drinking white wine from the wine cellar (belongs to the upstairs neighbors), listening to music, and telling stories. We fell asleep to "Cable Guy" on the VCR. The next day, I was up before the others. I heard some snoring. I heard some father/son playing catch outside, I saw lots of sunlight. I felt a slight headache. Soon, everyone was up. We drank coffee, played Disney Tetris, and sang a few of Journey's greatest hits. Love those friggin' songs!! Streetlights, people!!

After finding our intended destination too full, and with a 45 minute wait (it's a very popular Jewish diner that Darren has painted a mural for), we opted for Brueggers. Again. Don was calling, trying to get us back to NEMO, but we were still recovering from the day/night before. We needed more sun, good company and good vibes and optimism. And ice cream. We all enjoyed an ice cream from Lotsa Licks or something (what was it?). Then the call of responsibility got the best of us, and we were back in the Tracer, after a sad goodbye to Martha and Jared.

Our trip was delayed about 40 minutes by Boston Marathon-related detours. Finally we got back, and Ning, Don and I attended another "Demo Derby" which ended with a raffle. This demo derby was with a panel, so it was more democratic. I was sitting right next to Candice Avery, who runs NEMO, and I didn't know. I wish I did. The panel included folks who have worked with Aerosmith, John Lennon and Sunny Day Real Estate. In the end, at the raffle, Ning won a little book and Don won software.

Don was awesome enough to buy us dinner and drinks at the expensive hotel bar. We ran into fellow Northamptonites "Big Ugly Wrench". Then we took off into the dusk.

Upon approaching the Springfield Mass Pike, we heard the attendant (a balding man in his 50's) say to someone on the phone ".....no, no it's on the album 'Face Dances'". note: "Face Dances" is The Who's 1982 album. note: that man was put on this earth to rock. note: I was not.

HENNING: My Adventures at NEMO, a music conference. The Aloha Steamtrain payed our 30 bucks to be considered for a showcase at NEMO, the yearly music industry conference in Boston. This year we were actually selected, which is pretty good considering thousands of bands apply. What does a showcase show mean exactly? Well, in our case it means playing in a crowded sweaty Red Sox-fan-filled club with a sketchy sound system and a stage beneath a series of pipes dripping some kind of cool liquid on my forehead, let's just hope it was condensation water. It doesn't mean that you perform in front of a panel of record executives or that the crowd is filled with talent buyers. We knew that beforehand, but I thought I would just make it clear in case anyone had any higher hopes.

The truth of the matter is we had a really fun show despite the fact that the majority of the crowd was not in the least bit interested in hearing a band. There were a few music fans there who appreciated us and there were a couple of cute girls who worked for a Minneapolis Newspaper that seemed to really like us. But, for the most part it was just another show at an indifferent dive.

However, since we were chosen to play, that meant that the members of the band were given free access to the rest of the NEMO conference. That's why Manager Don, Drummer Brian, and myself, Bassist Henning, were speeding towards Boston early on a warm Friday morning. I was in the back seat trying to convince myself that I would be strong and confident and for just a few days be able to play the part of an alpha-male, easily starting up conversations with strangers and selling myself with pride. Yeah right.

The conference was taking place at the Swissotel in the financial district of Boston. After parking at the 25-dollar-a-day lot we rode the quiet elevator up to the quiet lobby of the fancy hotel. We were informed that the Nemo conference was taking place on the fourth floor by a quiet concierge. We quietly returned