How Kiss Can Save The End of The Road Tour - by Nick Jezienry

Here is an idea for Kiss to salvage its End of the Road Tour, assuming Paul Stanley’s voice doesn’t make a miracle comeback. (For the record, I’m hoping it does recover and this has a happy ending). Click here for Nick’s review of KISS 2/2/2019

Here’s my idea: A Trip Down Memory Lane

This should be Kiss’ victory lap celebrating a Hall of Fame career and a long list of successful albums. If the band played one song off every studio album, it would be the same number of songs in the current set-list. This also would do two things:

• GIve the band a legitimate excuse not to play 11 Paul songs (which is what they did for the start of the tour).

• Satisfy the fans who crave deeper tracks and not just the hits. Though Kiss has said it’s all about the hits, so the true deep tracks will be just a few, but more than the current list of songs being performed.

Consider this potential set-list (listed by order of release, not the order they should be played):

Kiss: Deuce. A solid choice, though Black Diamond is tough to leave out. If the band was willing to do more than 21 songs, both could be played and Paul wouldn’t have to sing. He could smash the fake guitar, though.

Hotter than Hell: Let Me Go, Rock and Roll. It’s in the current set-list. No problem here.

Dressed to Kill: Rock and Roll All Night. A no-brainer.

Destroyer: Probably the toughest album. Detroit Rock City (Paul) would be the one, and Beth, with Eric on piano/vocal, would be the encore.

Rock and Roll Over: Calling Dr. Love. Personally, I’d prefer Ladies Room but Kiss likes to play the hits when possible.

Love Gun: Love Gun. Paul needs his rap. It’s tempting to have Tommy sing Shock Me, but I’ve got a better idea to get in his two vocals.

Dynasty: Dirty Livin’ with Eric on the mic. A true deep track!

Unmasked: Talk To Me, Two Sides of the Coin, or Torpedo Girl with Tommy on vocal.  Since nothing ever gets played from this LP, one of the three Ace songs makes sense.

The Elder: Escape From the Island (instrumental). Paul can’t do the falsetto vocals. This is my cop-out to allow the two songs from Destroyer, or maybe two from the debut album.

Creatures of the Night: I Love It Loud. Or War Machine. But again, Kiss picks the hits.

Lick It Up: Lick It Up. Gene was worthless in the ‘80s after Creatures, so here comes a steady dose of Paul.

Animalize: Heaven’s On Fire. Tempting to go Burn Bitch Burn, but I’m trying to be serious in my suggestions.

Asylum: Tears Are Falling. I think this is the worst Kiss album. Carnival of Souls may argue, especially “side two.”

Crazy Crazy Nights: Crazy Crazy Nights or Turn on the Night, whichever is easier for Paul to sing.

Hot In The Shade: Hide Your Heart. It’s in the current set-list and is somewhere between a hit and a deep track.

Revenge: Unholy or Domino. Gene can take his pick from this record.

Carnival of Souls: Hate. Gene could spit blood here.

Psycho Circus: I love the title track, but Paul can’t sing it anymore. I’m going with You Wanted the Best. All four guys sing which helps save Paul’s voice.

Sonic Boom: Say Yeah. It’s in the current set list and Paul did OK with it.

Monster: Outta This World. A song that Tommy sings on the record. It’s a strong song, one of my faves from the CD. Tommy can emerge from Ace’s shadow – sort of – for a brief moment.

There you have it. A set-list with eight songs each by Gene and Paul, plus two apiece by the hired guns, and an instrumental. The option to add Black Diamond would make it a 22-song set, and Eric would jump to a third vocal.

The only real downer would be missing Shout It Out Loud.

This idea also allows Kiss to showcase its whole career and would be a welcome detour to the End of the Road tour.

KISS Army Radio on Sirius XM: Not One Good Song.......Yet - by Ricki C.

“Congratulations for only being 15 years behind everybody else technology-wise now, instead of 40 years behind.” Thus spake Michael “Biggie” McDermott in July 2017, the first time I was enthusing to him over getting Sirius XM radio in the new (used) car I had just bought. I was over the moon picking up Underground Garage, the Tom Petty station and Bruce Springsteen radio after moving up from a 1992 Toyota Camry that still had a cassette deck in it. Biggie was less than impressed.

Today my lovely wife Debbie returned from an early Saturday morning trip to the Worthington Farmer’s Market and greeted me at the door with, “Did you replace my Billy Joel channel on Sirius with the KISS Army Radio channel?” “No, I did not,” I replied, alarmed at the accusation, “why would I POSSIBLY do that?” For the uninitiated, in the Ricki C. Rock & Roll Universe, going from the Billy Joel channel to the KISS channel is the DEFINITION of going from the musical frying pan into the (pun intended) fire. (Or, the pyro, as it were.)

Debbie and I traded key fobs at the door as I left for my Saturday errands and the first song I heard on KISS Army Radio was Cheap Trick’s cover of “Ain’t That A Shame.” “Hey, this is pretty cool,” I said to myself as I cranked the volume to a pain threshold, “we might have something here.” Then, after Cheap Trick, Sirius started playing KISS music and for the rest of the 35-minute drive to Giant Eagle and Colin’s Coffee (where I was dropping off CD’s), they didn’t play ONE MORE SINGLE GOOD SONG.

Debbie had said to me on my way out the door that morning, “You can certainly see where the Watershed boys were influenced by KISS.” THAT statement (and it’s not the first time I’ve heard it) has always confused me, because I’ve never – from the very first time I saw Colin & the guys in 1990 when they were still called The Wires – heard ONE NOTE of KISS influence in Watershed. “KISS were the ones who made us want to pick up guitars and play,” Colin said to me when I related that idea to him. “We never would have been a band without KISS. They were possibly our biggest influence.”

I suppose that quote might be true, Colin really has no reason to lie to me. In that instance I just find myself thanking my God that Joe Oestreich and Colin Gawel learned to write good – in fact, GREAT – songs for Watershed along the way, something I have no recorded evidence on my KISS Army Radio channel to be true of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. Here’s a random sampling of the tracks I heard in that first 35-minute drive: “Domino,” “Rocket Ride,” “I Just Wanna,” “Every Time I Look At You,” “Let’s Put The X In Sex,” a Paul Stanley solo track called “Tonight You Belong To Me” (that Colin seemed particularly galled that I included in the NOT ONE GOOD SONG list), and “Deuce,” among others.

So here’s my premise: I am going to put KISS Army Radio on in the car (I’ll have to move it to MY tier from Debbie’s tier, she ain’t havin’ it anymore) and when I HEAR a good song I will get back on Pencilstorm and call everyone’s attention to it. I’ll talk to you on down the road……… - Ricki C. / February 9th, 2019

Concert Review: KISS "End of Road Tour" / Tacoma Dome 2/2/2019 - by Nick Jezierny

It hurts me to write this. It really does. My decision to attend Kiss’ “End of the Road” tour on February 2 in Tacoma, Washington, was a mistake.

Kiss is my favorite band, and the previous 10 times I’d seen them (list below), the band (whether it was Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, Peter Criss, Eric Carr, Eric Singer, Bruce Kulick or Tommy Thayer), delivered a very good or great show. I can’t say that about what I witnessed last weekend. This isn’t about the setlist or the lack of two original members. My dissatisfaction stems entirely from Paul Stanley not being able to sing like Paul Stanley. And it was evident right away.

Detroit Rock City. The first song, my favorite song of all-time. This is going to be perfect.

And then it wasn’t.

Instead of “I feel uptight on a Saturday night,” Paul chimes in a half a verse late and he only got out “radio’s the only light” and it was rushed and my jaw dropped in disbelief.

What? How does this happen? According to setlist.fm., Kiss had performed Detroit Rock City 2,021 times prior to taking the stage that night. And on the third show of their final, final tour, Paul botched the opener, and then every other song he sang.

It also took at least three songs for the sound crew to dial in the sound. I’m told the Tacoma Dome isn’t known for acoustics, but “Shout It Out Loud” and “Deuce” sounded like they were performed in a tin can.

I pondered walking out at this point. Seriously. Did I really want my last time seeing my favorite band of all time to be this? I talked myself out of it, mainly because I flew from Boise to Seattle, navigated the bus system to Tacoma and hiked up and down a monster hill from my AirBNB to get to the show.

I’m glad I stayed as the sound improved, even though Paul did not. Gene sounded fantastic. Eric Singer’s drum solo was pretty good (I’m not a drum solo or any solo fan – I’d rather hear another song or two). Tommy Thayer didn’t wow, but he did his thing but didn’t get to sing an Ace song like he’d done at previous shows I’ve attended.

The stage was cool, the pyro was right. There were no real surprises as for new gimmicks. But then again, when Paul asked how many people were seeing Kiss for the first time, most of the arena went bonkers and told them they were in for a treat.

Had I purchased an $11 beer, I’d have gagged at that point.

“Say Yeah” was next and probably the biggest surprise (unless you looked at the previous night’s setlist like I did). Yes, Kiss played more songs from “Sonic Boom” than it did from “Rock and Roll Over” on its final tour. With a 200-plus song catalog, they were going to miss some of my favorites and I told myself I would accept whatever the band played.

I assumed they would play those songs well. The ones by Paul didn’t hold up, including “Love Gun,” and “Psycho Circus.” I can only hope that Paul was feeling off – maybe a cold or flu – because he sounded much, much better in 2014 and 2016.

And, of course, I have my memories of that first concert back in 1978 or sitting in the third row in 1985. The reunion tour, the 3-D show in LA, and the first farewell tour when Kiss was hitting on all cylinders.

That’s how I am going to try and remember the hottest band in the world, because the end of the road just doesn’t sound as good. - Nick Jezierny

My Kiss Concert History

Jan. 28, 1978 at New Haven (Conn.) Coliseum w/The Rockets

Dec. 21, 1985 at New Haven Coliseum w/Black ‘n Blue

Dec. 19, 1987 at New Haven Coliseum w/Ted Nugent

June 6, 1990 at Ohio Center w/Little Caesar and Slaughter

June 12, 1990 at Cincinnati Gardens w/Little Caesar and Slaughter

July 19, 1996 at Gund Arena w/The Nixons

Oct. 31, 1998 at Dodger Stadium w/Smashing Pumpkins

March 14, 2000 at Pan American Center (Las Cruces, NM) w/Skid Row and Ted Nugent

June 23, 2014 at USANA Amphitheater (Salt Lake City) w/Def Leppard and Kobra & the Lotus

July 7, 2016 at Taco Bell Arena (Boise, Idaho) w/Caleb Johnson

February 2, 2019 at Tacoma Dome (Tacoma, Wash.) no opening act

Click here for 12 more KISS stories on Pencilstorm. Or just google Kiss Pencilstorm.

Uploaded by BadCompanyttdid on 2019-02-03.

Six Albums That Changed My Life - by Scott Carr

The Albums That Changed My Life series on Pencilstorm was conceived and launched by our Virginia correspondent JCE (John Egertson to his friends & family) last November, and will continue as our regular Sunday feature until we run out of submissions. To view the complete series, click on the Music heading on the Pencilstorm home page.

Albums that changed my life? Man, that's a tough one.

I always struggle when it comes to making "best of" lists. I've been a music fan since my pre-teen days and there has been so much music in my life, it's not easy to whittle that down to just a few choices.

Along the way there have been records that have had a bigger impact than others, so here are some that could be considered "life changing"....

KISS - ROCK AND ROLL OVER (1976)

Kiss in the ‘70's without hesitation had the biggest influence on my musical journey.

You could insert any Kiss album from the decade here (yes, even Dynasty) and I would not argue.

Rock And Roll Over for me is Kiss sounding like Kiss. Bare bones, no frills Rock N Roll. I love the songs on this record and Eddie Kramer’s production captures Kiss at their best. Another highlight for me on this record is Ace Frehley’s lead guitar work, amazing! Ace was in top form on this release. I only wish he had been confident enough to supply a lead vocal on the record but in all honesty, I would not change a thing about it. Plus that cover artwork is probably my favorite Kiss album cover of all time.

Rock and Roll Over on most days is my favorite Kiss record. I don't know if I can pick one Kiss album as life-changing but I would just say experiencing Kiss in the ‘70's changed my life forever. According to my mom I first saw Kiss on television on the Midnight Special. She pulled me and my brothers out of our slumber to witness the spectacle, I have no solid memory of that event but I'm told I was present. I do remember seeing Kiss for the first time on the Destroyer tour and from there on the rest is Kisstory.

IRON MAIDEN - IRON MAIDEN (1980)

After Kiss, my next big evolution in music was "metal." Kiss really weren't metal, so I wasn't really sure what "metal" was. I had heard some Sabbath records but Sabbath didn't really feel like my band. I love Sabbath but they felt like they were a generation older than myself. When I was a kid I was told by older kids that Black Sabbath created Heavy Metal and I was like, "Cool."

Seeing Judas Priest open for Kiss on the Dynasty tour really opened my eyes to a new breed of metal that would soon be invading American shores.

In 1980 the New Wave of British Heavy Metal was taking shape and Iron Maiden led the way. I bought their first album just based on the cover artwork alone. The music on the vinyl sounded exactly the way the cover looked. It was heavy and raw. I loved everything about it. This started a new chapter in my musical journey. At that point I started buying all kinds of European metal by bands like Diamond Head, Motorhead, Saxon, Def Leppard and the list went on and on. From 1980 to 1985 or so, I was a total metalhead kid.

RAMONES - RAMONES (1976)

I discovered the first Ramones record from going through my uncle’s record collection. He had moved away and left all his records at my Grandma's house. He said I could go through them and take whatever I wanted. His collection was mostly hippie stoner rock records, which I didn't appreciate at the time. I left lots of cool stuff behind, but I did take all of his Budgie records.

One of the cool records I found in my uncle's collection was the first Ramones record. I had no idea what it was but seeing those four guys leaned up against a brick wall wearing leather jackets and ripped jeans and the bold RAMONES logo above them really caught my attention.

When I put it on the turntable for the first time, I felt like I was listening to something from another planet. I had never heard anything like it before. All the songs were fast and under three minutes long, I think the longest song on the record is maybe two and a half minutes long. Again, another album that sounded exactly how the cover looks. They looked like punks and sounded like punks.

I never became a full fledged punk rocker but this record certainly struck a chord with me and I've been listening to Ramones records for decades now.

CHEAP TRICK - CHEAP TRICK (1977)

Still my favorite Cheap Trick album to this day.

I saw Cheap Trick in 1978 opening for AC/DC and soon started buying their records. At the time I was only aware of In Color and Heaven Tonight.

My first exposure to the band’s debut album was on the soundtrack to the movie Over The Edge. Back in those days there was no quick resource like Wikipedia to look up a band’s discography, so you just kinda discovered things by mistake. In July of 1979 I took my birthday money to the record store to buy some new records and while looking in the Cheap Trick section, I found a copy of their debut album. I clutched onto it like I had found the Holy Grail. I rushed to checkout counter and gave the clerk my birthday money and ran home to put the record on my turntable.

The whole album is perfection. I think it's really the only Cheap Trick studio album that accurately captures their raw power-pop energy. They have other great albums, but this one is their best in my book. Again, like Kiss, you could put any ‘70's Cheap Trick album in this spot and I would not be upset.

THE KNACK - GET THE KNACK (1979)

Just like Cheap Trick's 1977 debut album, Get The Knack is pure power-pop perfection from beginning to end.

The Knack really had their own thing going, they weren't really new wave and they weren't punk but they fell somewhere in the middle of both genres.

This is definitely one of my all-time favorite albums.

I wrote about it in a past Pencil Storm piece and you can check it out here

JELLYFISH - SPILT MILK (1993)

An unlikely masterpiece of an album that came out during the fall of glam metal and the rise of grunge.

Jellyfish were equal parts Queen, Beach Boys, The Beatles and a pinch of The Partridge Family.

During the early ‘90's I was a bit lost musically because everything was changing and I had been knee-deep in the MTV Glam Rock scene. By that time glam metal was becoming pretty disposable and even bands like Guns N Roses seemed like their time had come and gone. I wasn't in tune with the Seattle stuff. I liked the sentiment of it all, but it just really didn't strike a chord within me.

Jellyfish was like breathing new life into my floundering musical journey. Their first album Bellybutton came out in 1990 and spawned a minor hit with the single "Baby's Coming Back." Almost two and half years later the band returned with an album that leaned more towards their Queen influences and is way more adventurous than their debut.

Sadly Jellyfish did not last long after this record. They were gone in a flash but with just two albums they gained a fan base that hopes one day maybe we will see album number three.

So, I think I will leave you with those six uniquely different records. If I look at my choices too long, I will probably rewrite this entire thing. I think that covers the bases pretty well for me, though: Rock, Metal, Punk and Power Pop.

_____________________________

Honorable mention: I don't know if these albums qualify as "life changing" but they are albums that I consider near-perfect ear candy and are go-to albums I listen to when I feel like there is nothing to listen to.….

BLUE OYSTER CULT - FIRE OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN

BILLY SQUIER - DON'T SAY NO

REO SPEEDWAGON - HI INFIDELITY

APRIL WINE - NATURE OF THE BEAST

DEF LEPPARD - HIGH N DRY

ALICE COOPER - FROM THE INSIDE

ENUFF Z NUFF - STRENGTH

THE POSIES - FROSTING ON THE BEATER

QUEEN - A NIGHT AT THE OPERA

THIN LIZZY - BLACK ROSE

Scott Carr is a guitarist who plays in the Columbus, OH  bands Radio Tramps and Returning April.  Scott is also an avid collector of vinyl records and works at Lost Weekend Records. So...if you are looking for Scott....you'll either find him in a dimly lit bar playing his guitar or in a record store digging for the holy grail.

I own no content. Posted for fan based channel for comment and discussion only !

Show de 1980 com Paul Di'anno

Ramones performing blitzkrieg bop at CBGBs circa 1976....

Cheap Trick - He's A Whore - Night Gallery 1977

Мои предыдущие каналы (My previous channels): https://www.youtube.com/user/NoMadU55555/videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuK71d5hQd9F5DQLyO_d2aQ/videos

Spilt Milk tour, en vivo en Munich, Alemania 1993

10 Albums That Changed My Life - by Jon Peterson

The 10 Albums That Changed My Life series on Pencilstorm was conceived and launched by our Virginia correspondent JCE (John Egertson to his friends & family) last November, and will continue as our regular Sunday feature until we run out of submissions. To view the complete series, click on the Music heading on the Pencilstorm home page.

10 RECORDS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE - by Jon Peterson

1.    AMERICAN GRAFFITI / (various, 2 LP Soundtrack).

I started collecting records in 7th grade after my brother Jim took me to see the movie.  A total mind-blower in seeing the power, beauty and splendor of ‘first generation rock n roll.’  My life would be forever changed.  Collecting Art Laboe’s OLDIES BUT GOODIES LP collections and seeing the Broadway play GREASE would soon follow.  I was a 98-pound ‘greaser’ in a hair-down-to-the-shoulders world!

2.    JIM CROCE / “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim” 

My brother Jim also gave me his Yahama acoustic guitar around this time, so ‘folk rock’ would be my next step.  And Croce was my man.  Song for song, I’ll take his first three ABC records over many of his peers.  His writing was perfection.  And what colorful characters: folks like Speedball Tucker, Rapid Roy, and a woman who was "built like a 'frigerator with a head"!  With all the lyrics printed on the LP’s inner sleeve, I learned every word, too!

3.    NILSSON / “Son Of Schmilsson”  

Again, my brother Jim’s influence.  He started managing a State College, PA musician named Terry Beard, who was a Harry Nilsson freak, so I started collecting all the Harry LP's I could find.  They all were powerful…but for a 9th grader…singing “I sang my balls off for you, baby” and “You’re breaking my heart, you’re tearing it apart / So ‘fuck you!’ made me feel pretty damn cool.  Beatles in disguise Richie Snare and George Harrysong played on it too!

4.    BEACH BOYS / “Pet Sounds”  

This was it.  The Holy Grail.  I was collecting the early BB’s LPs before this… and PS was not a ‘one listen’ record.  But the more and more I listened, the more I became aware of importance of everything on a record: the writing, arranging, production, playing, singing…and sequencing.  I had an unrequited high school love, too…so PS certainly became my ‘go-to’ pillow to cry on. 

5.   THE WHO / “Who’s Next”  

This was the record that got me out of my oldies and folk rock period…and taught me the difference between rock ‘n’ roll and rock.  Learning about PT’s use of a Lowrey Berkshire Deluxe TBO-1 organ, looped on the intro to ‘Baba O'Reilly’ and juxtaposing that against crashing power chords with Moonie’s pounding rolls taught me there was much more to life than a rushed 'flat four' rhythm. So did driving around with Joe DiLazzaro with quarts of Yuengling singing “Teenage Wasteland!” and “I'm going mobile... beep beep!”

6.    BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN / “Darkness On The Edge Of Town”  

Although I had Bruce’s three LPs before this one ...'Darkness' was my first ‘real time’ Bruce record.  It was also his best, IMHO…because it combined the ‘literate Bruce’ with his ‘inner rocker.’ No more “Mary Queen of Arkansas” and swallowing the dictionary…the string zoom on “Badlands” took things into the stratosphere! In fact, my crew loved this record so much that my buddy Vern Brennan felt compelled to go down to a billboard on the Minersville-Pottsville highway…and spray-paint “Prove It All Night” on it!  I also learned that it was okay to fall in love with a prostitute named Candy. (editor’s note: I discern ZERO evidence in the lyrics of this Springsteen tune that Candy is anything more or less than a lovely young girl, let alone a prostitute. I’m just sayin’.)

7.    ROLLING STONES / “Some Girls” 

Prior to this, I was just a ‘Hot Rocks’ man…much preferring the Beatles, Who and Kinks to Mick & Keith.  But this record was so perfect…how could I not love it?  From a country parody to a Motown cover, to Mick doing his thing as perfectly as it gets…to Keith singing “Gonna find my way to Heaven, 'cuz I did my time in Hell.”  The Stones have been trying to ‘top this one’ for the last 40 years! And I’m still lovin’ it! 

 8.    ELVIS COSTELLO / “This Year’s Model”   

This was another game-changer for me.  After hearing this, I was no longer interested in sensitive singer-songwriters.  I wanted writers who also rocked hard…and sneered!    The sound of those keyboards.  This was ’96 Tears’ on steroids.  I would look away from my more mainstream and folksy-wolksy influences…and never look back.

9.    THE RAMONES / “End of the Century”  

Although I would like to tell you that I was cool enough to have owned the four prior Ramones LPs, this was the first one that I actually bought.  Elvis Costello was my ‘gateway drug’ into Punk…because much of the early punk stuff turned me off: not because it rocked hard…but because it was poorly recorded and/or produced.  With Phil Spector production, this was sonically brilliant.  And with ‘Do You Remember Rock N Roll Radio?’ on it, I finally felt vindicated for loving doo-wop in high school, while everyone else was digging Uriah Heep.

10. THE SPECIALS / “The Specials”  

I guess I bought this record because I saw that it was produced by Elvis Costello, but quickly learned to love it for many other reasons.  It was funny, it was silly, it talked about ‘relationship trouble’…and a world where Black & White musical influences and friendships were forged over pints and fights.  It would also teach me how to love the basics of world-beat music.  From reggae-styling drumming to Rico Rodrigues’ trombone…this LP became my ‘gateway drug’ into ska, reggae, and Afro-pop.  In the years that followed “Club Ska ’67” and Paul Simon’s “Graceland” would move me further along.  When things started getting shittier by the mid-1980s, this was the record that took me underground to expand my musical vocabulary.  

When I re-emerged on January 1, 1991… I now had the ears and a wide enough sphere of influences to start Radio Free Columbus on WCBE and SHAKIN IT RADIO from 2006 to the present. (more at www.shakinitradio.com). 

11. BONUS TRACKS / (boiling under but certainly there!): THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO - “self- titled” /  AL STEWART - “Year Of The Cat” / KINKS - “Something Else” / BILLY JOEL - “Cold Spring Harbor” / JONATHAN RICHMAN &THE MODERN LOVERS - “Jonathan Sings!” / THE JAM - “Setting Sons” / JOE KING CARRASCO & THE CROWNS “Party Weekend.”

What Columbus Means To Me: My History In Ohio's Biggest City - by Jeremy Porter

Jeremy Porter and The Tucos will be performing at the Rumba Cafe in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday, January 19th. Doors 7 pm. Jeremy and the band are on at 8 pm. Colin Gawel and the Bowlers follow. FREE SHOW.

Growing up in northern Michigan, far from Ann Arbor and that great rivalry, Columbus wasn’t even on my radar. We knew about Cincinnati because of WKRP and the stampede at that Who concert, we knew Toledo from M*A*S*H, and we knew that Cleveland was a place, but not Columbus. Then I moved downstate in the fall of `88 and overnight Columbus was a thing to be hated, in November at least. A few years later, the guy who ran our record label turned me onto a band from there called Scrawl, who did a cover of Cheap Trick’s “High Roller” that he knew I’d like, and I’d been hearing about a band called Watershed too, that was supposedly cut from the same cloth as I was, but I didn’t pay that any mind.

October 21, 1995 I was playing in a punk band from Detroit called SlugBug. We had just come off a couple years of playing a ton of shows, a couple Midwest and east coast tours, and a lineup change. We weren’t getting along all that well at the time and it was cold. We drove down to Columbus for a one-off at a place called the High Street Downunder. We thought it had to be a cool place because Scrawl had recently played there. Maybe it was, but you can’t even find it on Google today. I remember I was under the weather, and after load-in I had to go #2 (sorry, TMI) and there was NO WAY I was doing that in the disgusting men’s room, so our bass player’s girlfriend stood watch outside of the much more presentable ladies room for me. If memory serves, we played to a decent crowd but didn’t get paid, the other bands weren’t very nice, and it was a long, cold, depressing drive home though the frozen Ohio night.

September 27, 1997 I became obsessed with Keith Richards and The Stones in the late `80s and by `97 I was all in. I bought tickets in Ann Arbor, but for the Columbus show. I didn’t have to wait on line, because the Detroit show’s tickets had gone on sale an hour earlier. Seventh row center, right between Keith and Mick. I remember the marquee at Taco Bell on High Street said “Free Taco for Mick Jagger” and I loved that. I was feeling great as my wife and I walked across campus into the Horseshoe, and all the way down front. It was a beautiful evening and they were the best band on the planet that night.

November 9, 2003 I was playing in a powerpop band called The OffRamps. We got added to a show at Small’s in Hamtramck, MI being promoted by my friend Brian, supporting a band I really liked from Texas called Grand Champeen. Brian’s band Porchsleeper was playing too, but it was a Sunday night, so it was bound to be a disaster. Still, I was happy to play with both of those bands. A few days before the show a band I’d seen at The Elbow Room in Ypsilanti a couple of times called Two Cow Garage was added to the bill. That really annoyed me. I didn’t really like them much, and I hated the idea of a fourth act being added to a Sunday night show. But Brian said it was kind of a done deal because they were touring with Grand Champeen, so I went along with it….but they were playing first, dammit! After soundcheck their bass player went out of his way to sit next to me at the bar, extend his hand, and introduce himself as Shane. “Goddamnit,” I said to myself, “they’re really nice dudes too.” That was equally annoying. I had to begrudgingly admit that they were good that night, better than I’d given them credit for. Channing, the singer for Grand Champeen, was sick as hell, there was no one there, and it was otherwise a fairly miserable night. A few months later, Two Cow Garage released their second record, The Wall Against Our Back, and I got completely sucked in by the stripped-down production and balls-out execution of amazing songs that just completely resonated with where my musical mindset was at the time.

They’ve put out better records since, but I still have a soft spot for that one, and take some joy in prodding them even today to pull out one of those tunes occasionally (they never do). Over the next 16 years, I’d go see them when they came within an hour of Detroit, eventually weaseling my way onto most of their Detroit shows, and becoming dear friends with Micah and Shane (and Murph, Vanessa, Todd, George, and Jay), and I just think...God I was an asshole back in Hamtramck that November.

June 28, 2012 For a few years I wrote for a now-defunct Detroit blog called Motor City Rocks. I was asked by a friend, Sue Summers, to do a book review for a new book by Watershed’s bassist Joe Oestreich. Sue was an early champion of my music around these parts, she knew Watershed early on, and she’d been telling me I need to hook up with those guys since I’d met her in 1990. The book really connected. The opening scene takes place in Small’s (the same bar we played at with Two Cow Garage nine years earlier), one dude is playing Cheap Trick deep cuts on the jukebox while another is washing down Percocets with PBR. Next thing I know, the protagonist is pulling giant bong hits with the guy who was currently producing our first record at the time. To say the book hit home is an understatement. So on this night, June 28, 2012, Watershed was playing Small’s (same bar, again) after a book reading. I couldn’t make the book reading, but I made the show, met Joe for the first (and only) time, and enjoyed the set.

April 4, 2013 Jeremy Porter and The Tucos play Columbus for the first time, at The Tree Bar, a cool little place down a scary, dark alley that looks more like back-woods Mississippi than the middle of Ohio’s biggest city. I don’t remember much about that night, but I remember Roni was our bartender and had a heavy hand. I know that we’ve played there a bunch and none of the shows were amazing but they were all fun, and there were always good people around.

February 26, 2014 The Tucos opened the first night of Columbus-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Lydia Loveless’ tour for her album Somewhere Else at a sold-out, converted Ponderosa restaurant in Pontiac, MI. Trust me when I say that “The Tucos” and “sold-out” rarely appear in the same sentence, plus I was completely mesmerized by that record, so it was a big deal for us. I said hi to Lydia and we talked about Shane and Micah for a minute, but I kinda hit it off with her guitarist Todd May, who was digging our set, and hit it off even more with her bassist Ben, who was selling merch next to us at the end of the night. We’d play with her again in 2016, when she was supporting Real (my #1 record of this decade so far), again up in Pontiac, and I’ve been completely mentally immersed in her amazing music for five years now.

July 14, 2015 Somehow I was asked to play guitar and lend some backups on two songs Watershed had recorded but not finished for a summer single. On this day I drove out to The Loft in Saline, Michigan (where they’ve done most of their recording) to add my parts over their songs. I came prepared, and Tim Patalan (reference the bong hits above) seemed excited as we tracked. I tried to act cool, but I was just beside myself to do it. The songs, “Best Worst Night” and “Hey Lydia” happen to be my favorite songs they’ve ever done, but I am biased. Damn, that was fun.

July 21, 2015 I was surprised to wake to an email from Colin Gawel - Watershed’s singer/songwriter/guitarist - thanking me for playing on the songs (I’d had no direct contact with the band about the session, and I hadn’t met Colin yet) and complimenting me on my work. I was still in awe that they’d asked, and to this day I’m super proud of it.

September 17, 2015 Another sparsely attended but heavily imbibed show at Tree Bar on the 17th, memorable only because Two Cow’s then drummer Murph and his girlfriend Erin were there.  We traded war stories with him all night, and Erin and I bonded over our love of hair metal, and I told her all about the Saxon concert Gabe and I had just attended two nights prior in Detroit. She requested a W.A.S.P. song during our set, which sadly we couldn’t deliver, and I may or may not have promised to learn “Love Machine” next time through. (Please don’t hold me to it this time!)

September 18, 2015 The next morning The Tucos stopped at Colin’s Coffee for a triple espresso on our way to Louisville. We traded coffees for a record, had a good long chat, mostly about Cheap Trick, and have since become good friends, albeit mostly through email, text, and rock & roll. After that we stopped at The Starliner Diner in Hilliard, strongly suggested by Murph, and that’s been a priority every single time since. Possibly my favorite breakfast spot on Earth.

March 11, 2016 This was the last time we played Columbus, at The Tree Bar, to about five people. We were on a run with a band from Lexington and a band from Cincinnati and I don’t think there was a local on the bill. We ate at a nearby sandwich shop before the show. Our then-bassist Patty and I got tomatoes on ours, drummer Gabe didn’t. Patty and I would spend the next 16 hours climbing over each other in and out of the bathroom of that horrible Motel 6 room. Goddamn tomatoes.

September 7, 2016 My first article for Pencilstorm, the Columbus-based blog that Colin runs, was published. It was a review of a fairly forgettable Ace Frehley concert in the parking lot of a Harley dealer in suburban Detroit. I’ve since written a bunch for the blog, participated in a KISS Non-Makeup-Era Song fantasy album draft, gotten photo passes for a Steve Earle concert, typed up a Grant Hart obituary, and more. It’s a thrill to be on the roster.

December 9, 2017 I played a small, sold-out solo acoustic show with Two Cow Garage’s Micah Schnabel and his partner Vanessa Jean Speckman’s pop-up art show at the AirB&B Loft above PJs Lager House in Corktown, Detroit. We couldn’t find a venue worth doing, and PJ saved the day with a great idea. It’s the only show they’ve had up there, and was the perfect setting. I wanted to bring my little amp up but Micah talked me out of it, and it was the right call. No amps, no PA. Solo acoustic shows can be hit or miss, to put it generously. This was a special night and I was so happy to be a part of it. (photo credit: Marlissa Shwarz, in front of Vanessa Jean Speckman art on the door to the Claddagh Loft at PJ’s Lager House, Detroit, 12/9/2017.)

This coming Saturday, January 19, 2019, we are playing at the Rumba Cafe with Colin Gawel & The League Bowlers. We are on at 8 sharp and it’s pay what you want. That means it’s cheap and you can go to bed early. It’s our first show with our new bass player Bob, who’s never been to Columbus before. I can’t wait for him to meet you all and take him to the Starliner Diner for breakfast. We’ll be avoiding tomatoes. Come and make this our best Columbus show yet. I’ve paid my dues here. Xo

Jeremy Porter lives near Detroit and fronts the rock and roll band Jeremy Porter And The Tucos.     
www.thetucos.com

Follow them on Facebook to read his road blog about their adventures on the dive-bar circuit.
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Twitter: @jeremyportermi | Instagram: @onetogive & @jeremyportermusic

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