Author Archives: Salvi C.

by Salvi C. | February 10, 2010 · 2:01 pm

Feb. 1981: 8 Days of Triumph and Mayhem

Photos courtesy of Mike Frigerio, nuclearjackalope.com

Mid-February marks the anniversary of a triumphant week the Dictators spent in 1981. This was the apex of their “reunion” era, and it was celebrated with 4 gigs in an 8-day span.

The run of shows kicked off at My Father’s Place on Lung Island on Feb. 3rd. It was a relaxed, loose gig. Mark the Animal was in the house, and much of HDM’s banter
for the night centered on the entourage of beautiful women Mark brought with him. He of course joined the band for the encores of “Two Tub Man” and “Search and Destroy.” The public debut of “Loyola” also took place this night.

The week continued with a high-profile gig at Club 57 on St. Mark’s Place on Saturday, Feb. 7th. Huge crowd, total mayhem, a great night. A large chunk of this show made its way to a Manhattan cable TV show called Paul Tschinkel’s Inner Tube. Here’s a link to the first couple of tunes from the show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-3yTsF1KeQ.

Gig #3 was on the following night at the Fast Lane in Asbury Park. These pics from that gig are courtesy of our good pal Mike Frigerio. Check out the rest of his great photos and toys at www.nuclearjackalope.com.

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Doing the Manitoba with Red Fox Motel

It’s the dance sensation that’s sweeping the nation. Our favorite trio of Walpole High students, CJ Romeo, Pat Maloney and Casey McGuill, continue to garner good press for their recent tribute song about the King of Men.

We had hoped to scoop the world and run their first-ever interview a couple of weeks ago, but had to postpone due to time constraints on the band — they had to study for mid-terms. Since then, the accolades have been rolling in, and they have aced this interview with the Walpole Times, which suspiciously asks almost the exact same template of questions we were going to ask! (I’m not saying they stole our material, but there was a power outage at DFFD headquarters, and Tyler, the guard dog, did wake up the next morning with the scent of chloroform and Liva Snaps on his breath. I’m just sayin’.)

The song is available on iTunes, and you can catch the band on the last Friday of every month at Newbury Comics on Route 1 in Norwood, Mass.

Here’s a clip of them doing their “smash hit single” at the store last Friday night.

— Salvi C.

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Filed under HDM, Interview, Video

Tagged as Covers, Interviews, Videos

by Salvi C. | January 6, 2010 · 11:27 pm

Review: Solo Songs and Stories With Shernoff

Andy at Café Nine in New Haven, Conn., on Jan. 5, 2009 Photo by Matt Friedlander

It can sometimes take digging to find silver linings in the cloud that is the Dictators’ current break from playing together. One positive by-product is the recent blitz of solo product and live appearances by band members. Most recently, we’ve been gifted by the rarest of the rare — solo acoustic gigs by Andy Shernoff. There were four hush-hush affairs at the Lakeside in November and December, one snow-delayed show at the Brighton Bar on New Year’s Day, and then last night’s show at Café Nine in New Haven, the first “official” road test. The DFFD brain trust have been lucky enough to catch three of these gigs, his first solo shows ever.

If you have ever been to the Lakeside — or to Café Nine — you know that it’s in your best interests to arrive early for two reasons: 1, there are maybe three good places to sit in front of the bandstand before you end up standing in the obstructed views, and B, to take maximum advantage of the 2-for-1 drink specials.

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Filed under Adny, Live Review

Tagged as Concert, Music, Review

by Salvi C. | January 2, 2010 · 11:32 am

1/2/87: They Were Really Rockin’ in Boston

The Channel was a low-ceilinged warehouse near the South Station Postal Annex, accessible only by several pitch-dark alleys. I feared for my life every time I went there. This show was in a huge snowstorm, which closed many roads, and left me doubting whether or not the band would make it, or if any other fans would brave the trip. No problems on either front — the place was banged out, 800 strong in attendance!

The Dics were obviously psyched to be making an extremely rare road trip, their first Boston show in almost nine years. The show had an unusual intro: They opened with “Science Gone Too Far,” and each band member took the stage individually as his part was called for. Rich Teeter began alone with the thunderous drum roll, then Andy came out and rumbled the bass line, then Scott threw the rhythm guitar on top, then RTB, and finally Manitoba brought the energy level off the charts with his entrance. t was a very exciting beginning, and it never let up. Band members were hopping around like jumping beans, and Manitoba gave unprecedented love to Boston for being so loyal. I almost fainted when he yelled out, “Boston is effing GREAT, and I MEAN IT!”

— Salvi C.

[Note: Photos, set list and ad reproduced courtesy of the Cincotta Archives.]

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Filed under Archive, Dics Pix, Dictators Assembled, Live, The Cincotta Archives

Tagged as Anniversary, Archives, Boston rock, Music

by Salvi C. | December 17, 2009 · 1:02 am

Fingers and Steel, Baby! Our Picks for the Top 10 Ross the Boss Solos

CBGB, New York City, Dec. 5, 2003

We here at DFFD are used to doing impossible things every day. Yesterday, we made a dodo egg omelet for breakfast. Today, we attempt something even more ridiculous: We’re rating the top 10 Ross the Boss solos. What’s that you say? “Outrageous!! It can’t be done!! It’s like going to the Louvre, and declaring this Da Vinci is way better than that Da Vinci over there!’” Well, pooh-pooh and hubba hubba, we laugh at your concerns, bwahaha. We’re doing it anyway.

Ground rules:

1. Dictators + MWK material only. The “best solos in Manowar” post will have to wait for another writer on another day. Fans of Shakin’ Street, Heyday or the Spinatras will also have to wait for their time to shine.

2. Since no 2 RTB solos are ever the same, we’re restricting things to studio or live albums, otherwise we’ll be here all week. Maybe you have time to go through 100 bootleg versions of “Two Tub Man” to find the best one, but I sure don’t.

3. No technical jibber-jabber is allowed. It either rocks or it doesn’t rock.

Without any further ado, show us where you live, Ross:

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Filed under Lists, Ross the Boss

Tagged as guitar, guitar solos, Lists, Music

by Salvi C. | December 6, 2009 · 2:45 pm

Ross Le Boss et Shakin’ Street: Zee Albums

In 1979 and 1980, the period between the end of the Dictators’ original reign and the birth of Manowar, Ross the Boss did yeoman duty as the guitar god for the French band Shakin’ Street. It’s time to give them a fresh listen.

The logical starting point is their self-titled 1980 album on Columbia. Singer Fabienne’s English as a Second Language vocals don’t always work, and there are points where the material doesn’t keep up with the playing. But RTB is killer throughout, and there are high points tune-wise, with “Solid as a Rock,” “No Time To Lose,” “So Fine” and especially “Susie Wong.” “Susie Wong” is easily the best thing here, a beautiful tune with a nicely structured arrangement that winds its way to RTB’s best bits on the LP, where he’s sympathetic and muscular all at once. It’s simply a great song, and one of the best non-Dics things he’s ever played on. The highs more than compensate for the lows here, and overall this is a pretty solid album. Continue reading →

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Filed under Music Review, Ross the Boss

Tagged as Music, Music Review

by Salvi C. | November 25, 2009 · 1:03 am

CD Review: The LP Ain’t Dead Yet

Gin N' Roses

Drummer jokes. We all know at least a couple. “Why is a drum solo like a sneeze? You can tell it’s coming, but you can’t do anything about it.” What does it mean when the drummer drools out of both sides of his mouth? It means the stage is level.” Well, you can take the drummer jokes and cram ’em with walnuts, because J.P. “Thunderbolt” Patterson has defied them all with his CD The LP Is Dead, now out on No Fun Records.

My first reaction when hearing about a drummer making an album is “are the songs just excuses for him to show off his chops?” Nothing could be farther from that with this album. J.P. has come up with a collection of catchy, punchy, up-beat tunes. There isn’t one wanker moment here, the songs always come first. And what a batch of songs!! Funny and optimistic, with melodies and choruses that just don’t quit. Patterson proves more than once that Andy Shernoff isn’t the only Dictator who can come up with rock anthems. Give one listen to the title track, or to “One Beverage,” and you’ll find yourself singing the refrains for the rest of the day.
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