The Plasmatics
Pro Reviews
EXPERT RATING: No Rating
http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Metal%20Priestess:1921459804
From AMG Reviews
This six-song EP is even shorter when any Plasmatics fan realizes that the four new songs recorded by Svengali manager Rod Swenson and producer/engineer Dan Hartman are augmented by live versions of two songs from the previous 1981 release, Beyond the Valley of 1984. Guitarists Richie Stotts and Wes Beech set a solid, crunchy tone behind Wendy O with two new drummers: Tony Petri on the two live tracks, "Masterplan" and "Sex Junkie," and Joey Reese on the studio material. Keep in mind that's four drummers in the two-year span between Stu Deutsch on New Hope for the Wretched and Alice Cooper drummer Neal Smith on the studio material on Beyond the Valley of 1984 (that 1981 album's two tracks recorded live in Milan don't identify if the drummer is one of the four -- and if you add the drummer from the Capitol Records debut in 1982, the Coup D'Etat album, it brings that total to five). Chris "Junior" Romanelli replaces Jean Beauvoir, whose image and musicianship was pretty irreplaceable. Still, Dan Hartman does a great job of capturing a solid hard rock sound and Wendy O is truly significant as a more-than-competent metal vocalist. It's a transition from the previous attempts at punk and smart reinvention. Beauvoir would come back five years later with his excellent solo project, Drums Along the Mohawk, followed two years later by Jacknifed. His presence and musicianship could have added to these four studio sides, though they hold up well on their own. There's not much difference between Wendy O's snarling on the doomsday song "12 Noon" or "Doom Song," which is yet another doomsday song, this one with Richie Stotts' brilliant, slashing guitar lines. The metal arena gives Stotts a chance to shine, and he is an underrated talent, as was Wendy O. The combined energies of these individuals always took a back seat to Swenson's imagery and public relations. The material by Stotts and Beech is fun and fits the bill, though a separate live album would have been preferable to the cutting and pasting. Still, Metal Priestess holds up and is a worthwhile addition to the small but influential Plasmatics output. It was later combined on CD with its sister release from 1981, Beyond the Valley of 1984.
- Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
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medford transcript writings and some AMG
COFFEE 'N' SMOKES March 17, 2005
http://www2.townonline.com/medford/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=204224
Medford Transcript > Arts & Lifestyle
Herald Interactive Tools
Coffee 'N' Smokes is on the air
By Joe Viglione
Correspondent Thursday, March 17, 2005
A fixture on Medford's 91.5 FM for nearly eight years is the program called "Coffee 'n' Smokes" hosted by DJ Alex. It currently airs the first and third Monday nights of each month from 8-10 p.m.
The show features, according to the jock's ever present e-mail promos, "new and vintage garage/punk, surf, psychedelic, rockabilly, pop obscurities and a little bit o' greasy R&B here and there where it fits."
Along with broadcasting on the public airwaves at the aforementioned 91.5 frequency people can tune in around the world via the show's Web sites, which include http://www.wmfo.org and http://coffeensmokes.freeservers.com.
The host also lets those in foreign countries know when to tune in - 5-7 p.m. Pacific Time, 2-4 a.m., Tuesdays in Paris/Rome and Amsterdam, 3-5 a.m. for Athens, 10 a.m. to 12 noon Tokyo time, a clever little promo tool which, no doubt, gets results on the Web.
"Coffee 'n' Smokes" originally aired on Saturday mornings from 6-9 a.m. and in September of 2002, the time slot changed to 7-10 a.m. On Jan. 15, Alex vacated that period noting, "There were many conflicts with my kids' sports activities. I was awarded a slot on alternating Monday nights from 8-10 p.m. which better fits my new schedule."
As a guest, Alex's voice graced the very popular "On The Town with Mikey Dee" from March 2000 through December 2002, hosting 40 broadcasts. He returned to the guest-hosting roster this past December and makes himself available on an as-needed basis.
His start in radio?
"Way back in 1981 in the Broadcasting Club at Middlesex Community College. It was a closed-circuit affair the broadcasted to the captive audiences in the cafeterias and student lounges. I got the bug to broadcast out of frustration when WBCN refused to play my requests for "No Surfin' In Dorchester Bay" (a song by Richie Parsons of the band "Unnatural Axe). Back then they used to brag about all of the records they had in their archives and that they had no playlists but it wouldn't be long before I found that to be a, um...falsehood. I transferred to Salem State College in 1982 and held a spot at their campus station WMWM for a few semesters but gave it up to work to pay for rent, beer, etc., heh heh..."
In 1993, an old friend of Alex's was visiting from England and he brought along a demo cassette of his band. Upon leaving he asked the DJ if he could pass it around to the local college stations in the area.
"One of my stops was WMWM and in a wave of nostalgia I asked if there was room on the schedule for an alumnus," he said. "I would go on to revive (with Zippo Raid's Joe Kelley) the local rock show there as well as co-host jazz and blues broadcasts until May of 1997.
"I moved to WMFO in Medford in April of 1997. I was awarded the early morning Saturday slot and thanks in part to the Internet and Internet broadcasting, the show became fairly popular, attracting notice in that time from the likes of Little Steven Van Zandt and the late Greg Shaw and I've been able to use it as a vehicle to help promote local bands that I dig like The Downbeat 5, Muck and The Mires, Triple Thick, The Crybabies and The Charms among others.
"My annual Coffee 'n' Smokes Benefits for WMFO have raised a couple thousand for the station and another is planned for Sept. 24."
Though born in Cambridge, raised in Arlington and currently residing on the North Shore with his wife & kids, Alex keeps Medford radio fans happy with his eclectic blend of music that has a truly devoted following.
The Internet broadcasts are streamed live when Alex does his show from Medford, but he's working on a way to archive old "Coffee 'n' Smokes" shows on his PC at home to post to the Coffee 'n' Smokes Web site.
===================================================================
P.J. Shapiro performs at Avenue C's
By Joe Viglione
Correspondent
Thursday, February 17, 2005
http://www2.townonline.com/medford/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=185860
Songwriter P.J. Shapiro, who moved to Medford from Newton in the year 2000, was the featured performer at Avenue C's Thursday night open mic on Feb. 10. Of course a mini snowstorm hit a few hours before and during show time, but that added to the ambiance of the gig at the elegant new Malden nightclub located at 166 Eastern Ave., between Ferry Street and Eastern Avenue, at the Route 60 split.
Shapiro has an appealing voice and interesting lyrics - "Who knows which way the magma flow," he sings in "Continental Drift." When music fans hear the letters "P.J." they may first think of female singer P.J. Harvey or the band 40 Ft. Ringo's P.J. Farley, but Shapiro has something different to offer - a series of dark rolling essays accompanied by a folk guitar, which he manipulates in creative ways.
Live at the Avenue C showcase he set the mood by applying those subtle dynamics, kind of like a progressive rock band without the bombast. It's an interesting concept that demands attentiveness and was embraced by the ever growing crowd at organizer Jeff Munro's Thursday evening get-togethers.
The event itself was impressive, a guitarist named Randy coming all the way from the South Shore, other participants sometimes showing up from New Hampshire or other parts unknown to the local Medford/ Malden/ Arlington region.
After author Rushworth M. Kidder (from Maine) was interviewed for a cable show at around 8:45 p.m., singer Donny Schultz began the open mic - Schultz requesting to open for P.J. Shapiro, which shows the respect fellow musicians have for the performer.
The featured artist then took the staging area in front of a fireplace and black drape backdrop and began his set. The only "cover" song performed by Shapiro was Joss Whedon's theme song to the sci-fi TV show "Firefly." It's available only in secret places on the Web, one of those little treats performers put out for the world to hunt down and cherish.
Another song, "Justice," doesn't appear on the singer's 12 track "I Know What You're Made Of" CD from 2001, but it has the same style and flavor as the excellent material on that disc. More information about the CD can be found on http://www.pjshapiro.com/
The singer was thankful that the crowd would "brave the elements; hope it's been rewarding" he said. The applause in response was sincere - the other musicians in attendance seem to have a camaraderie which spills over to the non-participants, those just walking in for a beer or some of the excellent food served at the club.
Promoter Jeff Munro is also the station manager at Arlington's Comcast Cable station. He's been putting open mics together for at least six years and has a handle on bringing like talents together for what was one of the more fun nights this jaded writer has experienced in quite some time.
Kevin McQuilken appeared after Shapiro to play instrumental versions of songs ranging from The Police to the 60s hit "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" as well as the 1970s gem "Loving You" by Minnie Ripperton.
The level of musicianship was surprisingly very high for a suburban showcase, higher than many similar events found in Cambridge and Boston.
A pretty gal named Marissa showed up with her friends to join the event in a jam after songwriter David Munro played an excellent albeit brief collection of his tunes.
This club is something special - opening Labor Day weekend 2004 it has a New York-style decor that adds to the legitimacy of the artist mix. In other words - it's a classy place!
Bulldog's "NO"
Produced and played by drummer Dino Danelli and guitarist Gene Cornish of the Young Rascals, Bulldog's debut in 1972 opens with a heavy version of the Bobby Day number two hit from 1958, "Rockin' Robin," a performance which displays the strength and weakness of this ensemble. Bassist/lead vocalist Billy Hocher is a cross between Bob Tench of the Jeff Beck Group, Ian Lloyd of Stories, and Ralph Mormon of Savoy Brown. Read more here:
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gzftxql5ldfe
Blogging For Newbies
BLogS ?
A friend asked me a question about "Blogs" which got me thinking, as much as they are a rage and impacted the presidential campaign (or at least the reporting of it), it's time I wrote an article on the subject.first part of the article, stumbling into the blog worldsecond part of the article: how to effectively use blogs (an ongoing process)
The "B" Log (BLOG) Investigationby Joe Viglionejanuary 9, 2005 2:32 PM
This is from the perspective of someone jumping in feet first and figuringit out later.
What the heck is a BLOG or "B" Log? While searching forsome script from
THE MATRIX that I wanted to post on a woman named
Erin's blog:
http://tracie1828.blog-city.com/read/995707.htm
and found the dialogue on this site:
http://www.uppity-negro.com/archives/001338.html
by doing a google search on Persephone and a bit of the dialogue, it came up.
====================================================================
On abasic level, B-Logs are a great place for me to archive mysongwriting and pull together my various articles, where they arerepublished, and articles reviewing my own work. The first B-Log I wentto was
http://www.blogspot.com and created these two blogs:
http://therealcount.blogspot.com
http://visualradio.blogspot.com
Then I lost my password and e mail address! I figured out it was my homeComcast account http://by10fd.bay10.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?curmbox=F000000001&a=444f691e7d825f1da1676e6b1a8182d1&mailto=1&to=writer2005@comcast.net&msg=MSG1105301119.8&start=1299549&len=9767&src=&type=x Once you remember your e mailthey will send you a new passcode, but even though I foundTheRealCount it was impossible for me to find VisualRadio.blogspot.comguess what?It was a blog within a blog! Blogspot allows you to create multipleblogs inside the same account! So now I have about ten blogs:---songwriting---varulven retail catalog---my AMG biographiesetc. etc. etc. all within the same "B" Logthat makes archiving and organizing very simple.on http://therealcount.blogspot.com - along with my songwriting -
I have a little Blog directory of my own:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Hi Everyone - and welcome to The Real Count Directory of Blogs
Joe Viglione's writings:
http://joevigfirstimpressions.blogspot.com
http://therealcount.blogspot.com
is The Real Count - it is part of
http://visualradio.blogspot.com
but Visual Radio also has its own blog:
http://vrtv.blogspot.comwhere you can read about our guests
http://buzzylinhart.blogspot.com buzzylinhart@sbcglobal.net
http://bobbyhebb.blogspot.com hebb_project@yahoo.com
http://joetortelli.blogspot.com joeyrome@yahoo.com
http://mattoconnor.blogspot.com mattoconnor7@yahoo.com
http://jeffland1.blogspot.com jefflandpr@yahoo.com
and our political ramblings!
http://nudgereport.blogspot.com/ NudgeTheDrudge zeusipuss@yahoo.com
http://cowieharr.blogspot.com TheMadFaxer@hotmail.com
http://impeachgeorgew.blogspot.com/ visualjoe2002@yahoo.com
Now the "Nudge Report" was interesting because there was another Nudgereport that kept coming up. I was making sport of Matt Drudge, of course,but "Nudge" is a Jewish word it seems and there was a Jewish politicalactivism site. My Nudge seems to have bumped it out...oops...I waswilling to change my name but Blogspot seems to have given me the greenlight - oh well...
Kimberley Jaeger's "Common Ground" information needed to have a site so Icreated http://kimberleyinterviews.blogspot.comEric Linter, the Astrologer, needed a site, so in about 60 seconds or 120seconds I zapped up http://ericlinter.blogspot.comamazing.Now be careful what you post. One friend wrote on his blog how he, ofcourse, is "straight" but that he has gay friends like Count Joe. Great.I would like to out myself when ready, thank you. Google grabs the pagesand has them "cached", so even though he took that "some of my bestfriends are gay" post down, it is STILL up on Google.OK, so I'm openly gay, but I cringe when looking through Google for myreviews and interviews and find something totally irrelevant about myprivate life forced upon me because someone was rambling stupidly on theirBlog. The guilty party actually crashed at our house last night, yep, thestraight guy slept in a room in between two gay guys, and he wasinstructed how to remove the CACHED stuff from Google. It is good to knowthat these things stick on the web like glue.keep in mind there are tons of BLOG companies which pop up on my Alexatoolbar http://www.alexa.com is now part of Amazon.com - they got theirclaim to fame when they had the Ken Starr report ready for people to readwhen it was released. My Alexa Toolbar shows other areas to go to on theweb - and when I'm in Blogspot.com other Blog companies pop up like this:Blog-city.comBlogstudiocamblogbloghornblogeasyBlog DepotBlogged upblogHarborhttp://www.antville.org/Interblogdiarylandcafelog.comxanga(Jo Jo's son Bozzie uses Xanga WEBSITE: www.xanga.com/bostonkaneo )BlogmeBlogger.comFree-ConversantDigital ExpressionshatelifeOpendiarynotifylistblurty journalsDear DiaryRememory.comMy Dear DiaryDiarylandit's ridiculous, isn't it? YIKES.So I created two with Blog-City.comhttp://thecount.blog-city.com/http://saltwatersummers.blog-city.com/You can learn a lot about them by reading the Mission Statements of eachcompany. Blog-City.com is supposed to be "easier". It isn't. But it iseffective - my Blog-City sites like "The Count" showed up immediately in asearch engine. Amazing. Maybe it was pure luck or maybe they arepositioned on the web to move up the ranks?WHAT IS A BLOG:http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&oi=defmore&q=define:Blog+--+(weB+LOG)My search on Google says: define BLOG and lots of stuff comes up, amongthem:Definitions of Blog -- (weB LOG) on the Web:A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activityof updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a"blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allowspeople with little or no technical background to update and maintain theblog. Postings on a blog are almost always arranged in cronological orderwith the most recent additions featured most prominantly.www.matisse.net/files/glossary.htmlFrom "Web log." A blog is basically a journal that is available on theweb. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps ablog is a "blogger." See also: WWWwww.mitsol.co.za/help_glossary.htmOK - what are the best blogs out there that I've seen so far?Danny Goldberghttp://www.dannygoldberg.com/He's the record executive, of course, with Artemis (Peter Wolf, CindyBullens, etc.)Check out MusicOfAmerica Blog which I found looking for Danny Goldberg'shttp://www.musicforamerica.org/blogTim Riley of NPR, the Beatles author, is great:http://www.artsjournal.com/riley/very effective. Tim returned to Visual Radio a couple of weeks ago, he'sbeen on the show twice.So this is the first draft of a real look at BLOGS. As I work them morestuff will be revealed. For me, they represent a big upgrade over myexpages:
http://www.expage.com/visualradio
http://www.expage.com/jvbiographies
http://www.expage.com/summerwindsoundtrack
http://www.expage.com/joeviglione
http://www.expage.com/varulvenmagazine
Band on Boston RR #20
http://www.expage.com/varmints
Eli Stover
http://www.expage.com/elibio
Eli linked a stack of Expage material together; but B-Logs make thatobsolete.
Expage - something Morgan Huke showed me which he seems to haveremoved:
www.expage.com/mofoinfo
http://www.geocities.com/morganhuke/ seems to be more efficient for him.
Morgan did create this:
http://www.expage.com/livingblueschart1200
Not mine, but pretty cool on the Werewolf
http://www.expage.com/varulven
Expage is obsolete! It is stingy with the webspace, not as easy to loginto, and will disappear on you if you don't keep logging back in.So that's part 1 on my story!
At least the BLOGS gives me the option of "Blogs Within Blogs"
http://jvmiscellaneous.blogspot.com is where this page is located!
http://radioessays.blogspot.com
http://jvlinernotes.blogspot.com
http://jvbiographies.blogspot.com
http://jvreviews.blogspot.com
http://coversandlovers
http://jvlaunch.blogspot.com
http://varulvenrecord.blogspot.com
http://joevigtop40.blogspot.com
The Joe Viglione Song Catalog
http://Varulven.blogspot.com
http://countradio.blogspot.com
Keep on blogging
joe viglione781 874 0485
http://varulvenrecords.blogspot.com/
Safety Of Pets
The Safest Place For Pets is Home Sweet Home
By Joe Viglione
President Bill Clinton's dog "Buddy", a chocolate Labrador, was a three month old pup in December of 1997, was named after Clinton's great-uncle Henry Oren "Buddy" Grisham, who had passed away six months prior to the dog's arrival at the White House. Early January 2002 "Buddy" was killed by a 17 year old driver on the busy two lane street outside of the Clinton's cul-de-sac Old House Lane in Chappaqua, New York. Six months later The Clinton's brought home the great nephew of their beloved dog, a puppy born about a month after Buddy's passing, and named him Seamus (pronounced Shay-mus). Born at the same time as Seamus was a cloned cat in Texas named CC (for Copy Cat). The ability to "resurrect" your pet is impractical, the wild dreams of the 81-year-old financier,John Sperling, who is behind "cat cloning", making the fantasy from Arnold Schwarzenegger's "The Sixth Day" movie a reality. "Copying" a pet is a perfect solution for careless owners who aren't concerned about their companion's well being in this world of Feline Leukemia, teenagers speeding in cars while on cell phones, or natural predators like hawks and alligators. The modern world is fraught with danger for our four-legged friends making home sweet home a heavenly concept for owners who want to give their pets the best chance at longevity. The horror a friend or colleague feels when they run over someone's pet is compounded by the fact that events like that wouldn't happen if people kept their pets inside a loving home. Cats and dogs can also bring diseases into the household when their natural predatory instincts have them going after moving - living - objects that are better off left in the wild. There's an excellent webpage http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/ titled "Cats Indoors! The Campaign for Safer Birds and Cats" which explains how cats were "domesticated in Egypt around 2,000 BC... (and) were introduced to North America when European settlers arrived. In the 1960s this writer recalls the next-door neighbor distraught that he had just killed "Richie", their cat. The memory of how it shook up the twenty-something fellow next door remains to this day - his words "I killed Richie." "The Campaign For Safer Birds and Cats" also states how "Domestic cat predation on wildlife is a serious conservation issue, particularly in California, Florida and Hawaii." Another site is the "Keep Your Cat Indoors" webpage hosted by the Champagne County Humane Society of Illinois. http://www.cuhumane.org/topics/indoor.html It states that "Although cats are smart, alert, and adroit, they are no match for the many perils that await them outside. That's why the average outdoor cat lives only a third as long than the cat who's kept safely inside." The page goes on to list dangers such as poisoning, the threat posed by other animals, becoming lost or trapped, diseases, people and - the big killer -cars. Yet another web page, http://teched.vt.edu/TE/StudentWebSites/SPCA/Cats.htm , provides "Pet Care Tips" noting: "The average lifespan of an outdoor cat is only 2-3 years. Wouldn't you like your pet to be around longer than that? An indoor cat's average life span is 12 to 15 years or more." The site also reminds us that because mankind decided to domesticate felines "Cats are no longer wild animals that fit into an ecosystem, but are dependent on us, receiving the things they need to live from us." At one time we had seven wonderful strays making the transition from living in the cold cruel world outside to finding a warm and loving home where they have each other as well as us, the humans who take care of them. Country Club Merchant Magazine publisher Ava Cannie actually drove Zsa Zsa and Duffy all the way from New Jersey to Boston after the two littermates were found under a house in New Jersey. Zsa Zsa lived to eleven, having developed a thyroid problem. She was a rambunctious little ball of energy who loved scampering on the lawn only under the supervision of her daddy. And as smart as she was, she would have been no match for a car. The thyroid problem eventually led to complications and her passing left a void, but we cherish the eleven years she spent with us, years we might not have had if she were allowed to zip in and out of the house and face the constant dangers presented by the outside world. At least two of our cats were killed by cars in the mid-1980s which made this writer determined to keep these precious little personalities inside the safety of home sweet home.
http://www.countryclubmerchantmagazine.com
