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R. A. M. (Random Access Memories)

Notes From EasyTown USA

by Tim Easy

Banooba recently hosted a memorial jam at Purple Haze in Rockville Centre, in honor of the late Kevin Kershko; the arpeggio master. He'll be greatly missed and fondly remembered by everyone whose lives he touched with both his positive energy and his soulful guitar-playing. Blake Ian is flying high on the wings of his new CD ("Alchemist") and he recently advanced to the Munchaba open mic finals (in Levittown) which will be happening this month. Bricks For Shoulders is becoming increasingly awesome, and Stevie D is writing all sorts of great new stuff these days. Gina Cutillo has a big show coming up at the Crash mansion, and her new music is incredibly strong. Greyscale recently wrapped up a successful string of shows in the New York area, including a tremendous party at The Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale. Half Circle Drive is making maves in the big apple and we're looking forward to seeing them in action on Long Island again soon. The Kelly Project is writing some amazing new material and their percussionist Benny Arocho is also keeping busy with some very interesting "world beat" projects in the city. Jake Incao is really clicking on all cylinders and his shows at The Bitter End are quickly becoming the stuff of legend. Johnny B.Hive is rocking Las Vegas with Fritz O'Hara and we're hopeful that they'll be swinging through Long Island sometime soon. Puertorock is heating up Brooklyn with their latino-flavored hip-hip and reggaeton, and they'll be making their Long Island debut soon. The Blue Waves are making all sorts of good stuff happen these days, including a big Woodstock tribute night at The Blue Parrot in Massapequa on June 4. The Rory Lowe Band recently turned in a wonderful performance at The Crazy Donkey (Patrick is one of the best young rock guitarists around). The A-Life wowed the crowd at Ultrasound in Levittown and we hope to be seeing more of them in the coming weeks. Submersible Unit Crew has been visiting Jedfawnland again, and the results are stupendous. Theo & The Skyscrapers recently raised the roof at Ultrasound and they're gearing up for a big tour that will rock this great nation of ours. Tripside raised their own jerseys up to the rafters with a farewell concert at The Crazy Donkey and they were joined by Jon Middleman of Greyscale at one point during an especially poignant send-up of their classic song "Tomorrow". All good things must come to an end, and while we're saddened by the demise of Tripside, we look forward to keeping up with the members and seeing where they'll go to next.

Hot act on the rise? Puertorock! Funky fresh from the mean streets of Brooklyn, and coming soon to a party near you, these cats are currently finishing up their debut album which should be available later this year. I had the privilege of catching them in action at one of Brooklyn's coolest recording studios (Hipbone, in Red Hook) and they're music is infectious and it hits you right between the eyes every time. Puertorock is MC Drew, Eli, Chizzy Chiz, Little Tek, Jimmy Newtrax, Sugarfresh, and Ray G. Rapp One. The music is all original, with the occasional jacked beat from classic rock dinosaurs, and the energy level is off the charts. Their song "Clippity Clap" pokes fun at 50-Cent, and their song "You Don't Wanna Know Rusty" reminds us to watch our step or we might get knifed, tetanus-stylee. Don't be surprised if you see Puertorock all over the place in 2006, and remember that you read about Puertorock first right here in Aural Fix!

What's new in Easytown? Life is grand! Suck It Easy performed a concert on Willie Nelson's birthday at Munchaba (April 30th), and we served up a complete rendition of Willie's Tougher Than Leather LP, which also happens to be the most creative concept album ever written by a country&western star. Kenny Horgan did an amazing job in the team captain's role, and the band was rounded out by Dan Mintzer on drums, Jeff Rubenstein on harmonica, and Russ Rogers on pedal steel. Highlights included a soulful send-up of "My Love For The Rose" during which Kenny Horgan appeared to really become the protagonist of Willie's tale. The performance also marked the first time Suck It Easy ever attempted to perform a polka song ("Beer Barrel Polka"). All in all, it was fine show, and Willie would have been mighty proud of us I think.

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Suck It Easy also recently made their Lynbrook debut on May 13th (Friday the 13th, ooh scary!) with a jazz-rock freakout at Canno's Swiss Tavern, and team captain Chris Randazzo assembled a crackerjack squad of jazzy jammers for this one. Jeff Rubenstein joined us on stage with electric guitar, and it was a night of hot improv. I was on stage for all of ten seconds, to introduce the band to the audience, and then off I went to shoot pool for the remainder of the evening with Justin Gunther, Mike Carlo, and Hacksaw. Two-thirds of the Tactical Assault Team were in attendance (Melissa Tortorici and Amy Esposito), and Chris Kling made an appearance as well (drummer for Theo & The Skyscrapers, and the true founding father of Suck It Easy). The band jammed away, and Justin Gunther kept the Amstel Light flowing for us while I shot some hot pool. It was great to spend a night rocking out in Lynbrook. Having spent a good chunk of my life growing up in East Rockaway, Lynbrook was always like a second home to me, and in all my years of making music it was the first time that any of my bands actually gave a performance (even if I was only just shooting pool).

May 21 found Suck It Easy performing at Ultrasound in Levittown, in honor of Bob Dylan's birthday. Team captain Michele Anderson sang "It's All Over Now Baby Blue", and Kenny Horgan rose to the occasion with some excellent renditions "All Along The Watchtower", "When I Paint My Masterpiece", and "Maggie's Farm". The Ultrasound club is one of the best clubs to play at, and their audio engineer (Stevie D, of the band Bricks For Shoulders) is one of my favorites. The stage is roughly 10' x 10' and the monitor speakers are simply amazing. Any band that performs there will absolutely cherish the experience.

May 28 found Suck It Easy performing a night of Creedence Clearwater Revival music at Munchaba, in honor of John Fogerty on his birthday. Team captain Roger Silverberg really shined and there were too many highlights to list here. We hope that you can join us at The Blue Parrot on June 4 for the Woodstock tribute concert, as arranged by our good friend Allan Spielman of The Blue Waves. Our team captain for that event will be the incredible Jeff Rubenstein, and we'll be performing the music of Cream (in honor of their reunion shows which are happening at the Royal Albert Hall in London this summer). I always felt that Cream would have been a perfect band for the original Woodstock festival, and they might have played there if Eric Clapton hadn't run off with Stevie Winwood to get his jollies in a very short-lived band known as Blind Faith. And so, in our own little abstract way, Suck It Easy strives to restore balance to the music universe.

In DVD news: I recently had a chance to relax with Balls Deep and Crunchy and we watched a sharp "screener copy" bootleg DVD of Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge Of The Sith, and I absolutely must give it two thumbs up. George Lucas is a master filmmaker, and John Williams is a master composer, and Ewan MacGregor is an awesome Obi-Wan Kenobi. While I didn't much care for the performance of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker and I think that everyone else's strengths more than made up for his shortcomings. Muchas gracias to SirPsychoPeePee for the hook-up. I also recently caught Balls Deep and the right reverend Monkeypants watching a copy of the uncensored Team America World Police DVD, and, while I haven't yet seen the film, I was really impressed by the amount of bonus extras that are on there. I got to see some of behind-the-scenes stuff, and the quality of explosions was really breathtaking. Recently I went to visit Hot Skates in Lynbrook for like the first time in 20 years or so. I was there for my little sister's 9th birthday party, and it was amazing to see how little that place has changed. The only thing that changed is the arcade games. While it was painful hearing the DJ spin Lindsey Lohan songs, it was also great fun seeing Michele Rizzo, Donna Smith, eRin Connolly, and Amy Esposito skate around the rink in vintage four-wheelers. I was tempted to lace up a pair of skates myself and give it a try, but I wasn't offered enough money for it to happen. I think places like Hot Skates would make a great venue for all-ages shows with live bands. To my knowledge, it hasn't been exploited yet. Logistically speaking, it's probably a bit of a nightmare, but it's a good challenge and I'm already tipping my cap to the promoter with enough stones to give it a whirl.

And that's all the time we have for this month's installment of Notes!

This is Tim Easy, signing off until next time.

Mike, let's crack open some cold ones.

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