Punk Turns 30

There is NOTHING like seeing a living rock legend up close and personal. NOTHING! Living in Nashville, where so many records are made and where so many musicians live, we almost take it for granted, just like when I grew up in LA and when I lived in NYC for 20 years... you can't spit without hitting a famous person, so you take them in stride, and soon they become "that guy in the Porsche at the red light by the Beverly Hills Hotel" (although for me, that guy was mostly always Paul Newman. ) Right now, a small faction of the USA is enjoying what the UK just did -- Cheetah Chrome and Syl Sylvain on tour with their Batusis . These guys are living legends of rock n roll. They're the pioneers of both glam and punk rock and they are touring together in support of their EP. As such, you get to hear the entire EP in their set and you get to hear the Dead Boys and New York Dolls songs they wrote and made infamous. Best of all, on this tour, Batusis are doing quite a...

There's a new read in town that will, pardon the pun, which is intended - SLAKE your cultural thirst. It's called SLAKE. From their website, here's a little bit about them: This summer, a fresh voice takes root in Los Angeles with the debut of SLAKE , a new quarterly journal co-founded by former L.A. Weekly editors Laurie Ochoa and Joe Donnelly. SLAKE is devoted to the endangered art of deeply reported narrative journalism and the kind of polished essay, memoir, fiction, poetry and portrait writing that is disappearing in a world of instant takes and unfiltered opinion. SLAKE marks a return to storytelling. Designed with an artist’s eye and published in a full-color, perfect-bound format, SLAKE sets a new template for the next generation of print publications — collectible, not disposable; destined for the bedside table instead of the recycling bin; and so seductive in its looks and content that readers will find it irresistible. Online, SLAKE stories will be...

Hard to believe that it's been 19 years without Johnny Thunders. I remember spending his 30th birthday with him and Stiv Bators on my very first visit to NYC's Lower East Side. I remember bumping into him in Paris on a cold grey morning, where he was the most brilliant sight for any eyes, in his fuchsia coat. That was in the 80s. In the 70s, Johnny and his band mates in the New York Dolls were the faces that launched thousands of ships. In the odyssey that is rock n roll, The Dolls combined their love of girl groups, glam, roots rock and blues and came up with the music that paved the way for punk. Last night, when I saw the opening night of the Batusis tour, Cheetah Chrome and Syl Sylvain tore through a couple Dolls songs: Jet Boy and Trash as well as Cheetah's great contribution to the punk rock songbook: Sonic Reducer . Afterward, when chatting with Cheetah about the set, he said that he had always been a fan of the Dolls... their music informed the songs he...

Not so long ago, a handful of punk rock legends convened in Nashville, TN to make an EP. Cheetah Chrome (Rocket From the Tombs, Dead Boys) and Syl Sylvain (New York Dolls) collaborated on songs, and their pals, The Black Hearts rhythm section of Thommy Price and Enzo Penizzotto provided some rock n roll anchorage. The result? The Batusis rock so hard they will hurt you and you will love it. Now, Cheetah and Syl are taking the show on the road. It kicks off tonight, in Cheetah's current home town of Nashville, TN. Tour dates are below - and note, these fellas are doing some indie record shop in-stores, which are free - so don't miss those either! Last night, Cheetah and Syl performed a few songs at Grimey's, much to the delight of local punk rock fans. We also got a taste of a tribute to Syl's former band mate in the New York Dolls, the late Johnny Thunders in the form of the Batusis acoustic performance of "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory," Joh...

Frank Secich I first met Frank Secich in 1979 when he was working with Stiv Bators . Frank was a member of what I call The Latter Day Dead Boys. That band morphed into the group some people call The Stiv Bators Band, and that I refer to as the Disconnected Band, as they were the group that recorded Stiv's solo album of the same name. They also all contributed to the songwriting. It would be Stiv's third (mostly) Ohio super-group. Come to think of it, Stiv only ever was in Super Groups (Frankenstein, now legendary, became the Dead Boys. Stiv then joined Sham 69 when Jimmy Pursey went AWOL, forming The Wanderers, and took a Wanderer with him, together with The Damned's Brian James and The Barracudas Nicky Turner to form Lords of the New Church. In between, there was work with Dee Dee Ramone and with Michael Monroe of Hanoi Rocks.) But the Stiv Bators / Disconnected Band was the one that laid the groundwork for a lasting pop contribution from one of punk rock's lo...