By Hannah Zaic

As fans, judges, and musicians, anxiously await the start of the show in the Hard Rock Cafe’s dimly lit dining room, the mood is excited, perhaps even optimistic. Patrons, expecting just dinner with a side of rock & roll relic, are pleasantly surprised by a bonus concert by some of Philly’s best country and folk artists.

Tonight’s leg of the city-wide battle of  PHL LIVE Center Stage will be judged by three of the most influential figures in the Philadelphia music scene: That Mag publisher, Brian Cronin; Executive Director of the Philadelphia Folksong Society, Justin Nordell; and WXTU Music Director and Radio Personality, Mark Razz.

Before shifting their full attention on the PHL LIVE country and folk finalists, the judges could be found socializing at the marble slab bar, catching up with fans, friends, and other individuals, sipping drinks, and trading war stories from the grueling music industry. The finalists performing this night were Man About a Horse, Ami Yares, Alex Mery & the Townsmen, Jessica Graae and Black Horse Motel.

You can log onto iRadioPhilly to see the highlights and to listen to the performances.

Our master of ceremonies is the illustrious Jennifer Logue of Rock On Philly. Logue is the first talent to take the stage before our finalists join her one-by-one for a discreet and organized mic check.  

It was a great night to be in Center City and regardless of the competitive nature of the event, everyone in the room was eager to show why our arts community is unlike any other in the world. Simply put, fans, judges, and musicians came for a friendly competition, but also stuck around to cheer each other on.

This display of mutual respect between artists, to and from the fans, is right in line with what PHL LIVE’s creator, Philadelphia Councilman-at-Large, David Oh, first imagined for the contest. During its second run, the multi-venue, genre-crossing event series is bigger and better than ever and shows no sign of slowing down.  

That Mag was lucky enough to sit down and talk with the councilman between acts. Otherwise, for most of the evening, he could be found at one of the tables near the stage, enjoying great music, as well as a few jokes told by our finalists and MC.

You wouldn’t think that a Republican Councilman would be inspired to create a music events series as successful as PHL LIVE. However, after attending a film festival, Councilman Oh was inspired and wondered if his music series should be structured similarly to the film festival.

Unlike most inaugural music festivals, adding a competitive spin would attract a fair amount of local, independent artists who are actually paid for their work. Since 2011, Councilman Oh has been bringing his notoriety (and cash) to local artists, while also serving as our city’s first Asian-American elected official! How cool is that?!

The culmination of 2017’s contest is going to be the PHL LIVE Awards Show held at the Trocadero, tonight, December 15th. For those of you looking to get involved next year, there are ten genres you could compete in for the grand prizes, which are as follows:

ANNOUNCING PHL LIVE CENTER STAGE

Coor’s Light Presents PHL LIVE Center Stage: 2017 Prizes

Grand Prizes for each of the 10 music category winners and the People’s Choice winner:

1. $1,000.00 for each of th 11 winners (total of $11,000.00 in prize money)
2. City Council Citation awarded to each of the 11 winners at the Awards Show in December at the Trocadero Theater
3. Resolution presented to the group of 11 winners in City Council

(You can find more information about PHL LIVE’s 2017 finalists, terms, conditions and prizes at www.phllive.org.)

Since the finalists are beating out so many other acts to play for a judge’s panel of industry heavyweights, the concerts held around the city at stellar venues like Milkboy #1 & #2, The World Cafe Live and The Hard Rock Cafe are guaranteed to be Philly local talent at its best. Better get out there and see them play before they aren’t so local anymore!

Here is to another epic year with PHL LIVE and to many, many more to come. Onwards, to the Trocadero!

Look through the Teenage Bottlerocket catalogue and the first glance already tells you these guys are consistent. You see a series of covers using the same skull-and-arrows logo with changing colors – Warning Device uses the familiar yellow of hazard symbols, for instance, and the horror-spoofing They Came From the Shadows has a black and slime-green scheme straight out of Tales From the Crypt. Underneath the different shadings they like to stick to the basics. Fun catchy hooks and hard-rocking grooves are the order of the day, mostly at just the speed & volume that mindless headbanging was made for.

They stick to the pattern with the latest offering Tales From Wyoming (due March 31), borrowing the red and blue of their state flag for the cover, but life behind the scenes is a little different this time. This is the band’s first release with Rise Records – a partnership aimed at giving them a further boost and reaching more new audiences to convert.

“Rise has been great!” bassist Miguel Chen enthuses about the newest step. “We’re super-stoked about working with them so far. Bill brought a lot to the table as a producer – he helped push us harder and we were really happy with how the record turned out!”

That would be Bill Stevenson (of Descendents and Black Flag), the first outside producer the band has gotten to fully man the console after at least partly producing every previous recording themselves. That pushing has helped refine their reliable strengths and add the right dose of variety (a small one). “There are a couple curveballs, but nothing too crazy,” Chen says about the newest disc. It’s still a solid half hour of silly fun, whether they’re singing about relationships, werewolves or their favorite pizza place.

Another fun twist in the life of a punk rocker: he’s been developing an interest in Buddhism and yoga in recent years. “I got into meditation and Buddhism to sort of deal with the loss of my mother and sister,” he explains. “I had a lot of sadness for many years because of that, and eventually a friend of mine gave me a copy of Dharma Punx. That book changed my life.”

No, that doesn’t quite mean he’s been adding Asian motifs to the songs or perhaps leading the other guys in morning Zen meditation on the bus (as fun as that may be to imagine). “I think the music hasn’t been affected, but doing yoga definitely helps keep me in shape on the road.”

They’ve got a lot of road ahead of them, currently tearing around the US and Europe straight through the start of summer. “I don’t believe we are going anywhere new this time around,” Chen says, “but it should be a really fun tour! I would like to play one show in South Africa. So far we’ve done shows in North America, South America, Australia, Europe and Asia, so having one show in Africa would be amazing!”

When it comes to other artists they’d love to share that stage with in the future, he simply says Metallica – probably no surprise to anyone who noticed the dozen or so references to that band squeezed into the new single “Nothing Else Matters (When I’m With You)” in the span of three and a half minutes. Still, if they’ve reached the point where legends like Bill Stevenson and NOFX have become colleagues, who’s to say what partnerships are still to come?

Teenage Bottlerocket comes to the Trocadero tonight!

2014 was a breakout year for the crooning British singer Sam Smith to say the least. Last year’s debut album, In The Lonely Hour, has produced hit after hit. The record has also earned Smith six Grammy nominations, including album, record and song of the year, as well as best new artist.

Perhaps the best example though of his raise to fame is the difference in venues for his first two headlining shows in Philadelphia. Back on March 21st of last year, Smith played his first show at Boot and Saddle. On Tuesday he made a stop at Temple University’s Liacouras Center, jumping from a capacity size of just over a hundred to a few thousand.

The opener for the evening was hard rocker George Ezra. With earlier than normal door times and a heavy flow of traffic getting to the arena we, along with much of the audience for that evening, missed Ezra’s set. Ezra will be back, though, come March, playing shows at the Trocadero Theatre and The Electric Factory.

The night began for Smith when the house lights shut off and all that could be seen where the drawn outlines of two faces on a large backdrop. As the roar of the fans quickly grew, the backdrop fell, revealing Smith standing high on a podium. His backing band were on their own raised platforms, with each performer having their own. As Smith belted out the beginnings to his first song, “Life Support”, slowly his platform lowered until it met the crowd stage.

Smith performed most of In The Lonely Hour, included a few bonus cuts on the album. Hits like “Lay Me Down” and “Like I Can” were mixed with deeper cuts such as “Together” and “Leave Your Lover”. In between songs, Smith opened up to the crowd, sharing tidbits on the songwriting process or personal stories that were the basis of the songs. This, paired with his humbleness and gleaming smile, turn a massive arena show back into a small and subtle encore at Boot and Saddle again.

Along with tracks off his debut album, Smith threw in a few surprises for the crowd. One was a delightful take on Hal McIntyre “My Funny Valentine” that didn’t quite hit with his younger audience, but nonetheless sounded incredible. The other was his collaboration with Naughty Boy, “La La La”, one that the crowd instantly knew. Smith ended the set with one of his first singles, “Money On My Mind” and included parts of CeCe Peniston’s “Finally” as one last surprise for his fans.

After a brief break, Smith and his band came back out for a three song encore. Starting off with the song that gave most of us our first taste of him and his voice, Smith performed a stripped down version of Disclosure’s “Latch”. With the moving dance beats taken away, Smith’s voice was left almost naked and bare, but gave the crowd a real taste of just how powerful it is. Following that up was “Make It To Me”, a bonus cut off In The Lonely Hour that Smith co-wrote with one half of Disclosure, Howard Lawrence. Smith finished off his evening with “Stay With Me”, arguably his biggest and most well known single.

Smith admitted to the crowd that Tuesday night was just his second headlining arena show, and the nervousness and butterflies that came with that. He proved that night that he is more than capable and ready to take things to the next level. Don’t be surprised to see him playing the Wells Fargo Center next time he’s in town as things are only looking up for the young British star.

On December 2, 1984, two young bands entered what we know as the hallowed-halls of Maxwell’s in Hoboken, New Jersey.  One band, Antietam, a powerful trio led by a female guitar player, was scheduled to play their second gig.  Another band, Yo La Tengo, a trio featuring an equally talented woman, was to make their first official performance.  Thirty years and four days later, at The Tracodero in Philadelphia, the two bands were together again for a well-deserved celebration and to support YLT’s release of their 30^th anniversary album – Extra Painful.  It would be cool to report that I had attended both shows – but I was only ten years old in 1984 and busy listening to Van Halen, Springsteen and Prince.  However, I am now forty years of age and had the good-fortune of being at The Troc for the show on Saturday evening.

Antietam emerged from the backstage-cave at 8pm with what seemed like the energy and purpose of an army hell-bent on providing shock and awe.  The trio consisting of Tara Key (guitar/vocals), Tom Harris (bass/vocals) and Josh Madell (drums/vocals) pumped a sound that resonated like an armored tank brigade.  Key’s guitar playing was two-tons heavy and filled the 1200-person capacity theater with power-chords, melodies and solos that would make any teen-aged and male-gender guitarist shake with envy.  In a press-release a few years ago, Harris said this of Key’s playing: “Tara asks that you dig a little deeper to discover something for yourself in a way that I can only describe as female.  Oh, she is fierce alright…she doesn’t play gently into the night like an old-school woman player…”  I would agree with that assessment.

Antietam (all photos by Peter Brizick)

Harris and Madell were locked-in from the very beginning of the invasion, providing solid support to the raging guitar licks and a driving tempo that warmed-up the crowd, the sound-system, and the atmosphere on a cold, dreary Saturday evening in Philly.  This should be no surprise considering that this incarnation of Antietam has been together since 1991.

A highlight of Antietam’s audio-assault was a newer song called “Right Between Your Eyes” and that’s exactly how it felt to experience their brand of hard-rock.  The remainder of the material was taken from their catalog of eight studio albums, the most recent being Tenth Life which was released in 2011 on Carrot Top Records.

Prior to the show, I stood in line waiting for the Troc’s doors to open and their security-staff to frisk me and review my credentials.  It was on this line where I met Pete and Jeff, two gentlemen who have been following Yo La Tengo for over twenty years.  They shared stories about shows, Hannukah parties, albums, and YLT’s connection with Sun Ra Arkestra.  A few others chimed-in with their own recollections of the same sort.  It didn’t take long for me to realize that this is what the evening was all about.  This is why they released, on December 2nd, the double CD/double LP, Extra Painful.

Yo La Tengo

In an interview I conducted with James McNew, YLT’s multi-talented bass player, posted here last week, McNew shared “Our long-term fans have stuck with us because we have stuck to who we are and what we do.  New followers seem to just find us and appreciate that we always approach what we do on our terms.”  In listening to the stories and memories as told by their fans while waiting in line, it was evident that they really do appreciate YLT’s snubbing of musical convention, stylistic fads, and “well-researched” industry wisdom.

These sentiments are apparently shared by the young and young-at-heart alike.  Pete and Jeff, who climbed the steps to the balcony area, were roughly in their mid-fifties and early-sixties, respectively.  I made my way to the front area of the stage where I was met by a group of teenagers, dancing away and enjoying the benefits of an all-ages show.  Every demographic-group was represented by the crowd of roughly eight-hundred by my guess.  They were treated to a show worthy of their stories, memories and devotion.

Ira Kaplan

Yo La Tengo: Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, and James McNew celebrated on stage, opening with an interesting arrangement featuring drums and two electric guitars; no bass and no keyboards.  For anyone attending a YLT show for the first time, the raging guitar and histrionics by Kaplan would lead one to believe that they were in for an all-nighter of heavy indie-punk.  That conclusion would quickly become corrected.

Over the course of the show, the trio traded instruments, shared vocal duties, featured psychedelic-style keyboard parts and additional percussion pieces.  They unwaveringly navigated the oceans of punk, pop, folk, jazz, blues, classic-rock, and other material I would classify simply as art-music.  Imagine that – the words “art” and “music” as ingredients in the same definition assigned to material that would probably prefer to be left undefined.  In a rather touching moment, the band performed a couple of pieces from 2009’s Popular Songs which were dedicated to the great jazz-composer, Richard Evans, who had written string arrangements for the album.  Evans had responded to the band’s out-of-the-blue efforts to incorporate his style into a few songs and he accepted to opportunity.

For Yo La Tengo and their fans, the night was an absolute success.  Old friends bumped into each other. Some, like me, made new friends.  Old material was re-born and new arrangements tasted vintage like fine, aged wine.  Stories, pictures, and memories were shared.  Mr. Keating, as played by Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society, would say – “Not a bad way to spend an evening, eh?”

(photo by Shanna Fisher)

When Brooklyn-based folk-pop duo Oh Honey hit The Trocadero this Saturday fans can expect a cup of catchy beats, a dash of beautiful harmonies and a swirl of sweet, sweet sunshine.

“We’ve always had really great shows in Philly,” says guitarist/vocalist Mitchy Collins. “We played Festival Pier this summer with The Fray and Neon Trees and it was an amazing show. The crowd was so energetic, which always makes for a fun time so we’ve really been looking forward to coming back.”

Forming in 2013 after meeting through mutual friends, Collins and vocalist Danielle Bouchard have quickly ascended the ladder of commercial success. Their single “Be Okay” was prominently included in the 100th episode of Glee and Oh Honey recently toured with James Blunt on his U.S. leg of his Moon Landing World Tour.

Currently on the road with American Authors after playing large outdoor amphitheaters all summer, Collins says they’re excited to be performing at small venues again. “It’s easier to connect with the audience and hang out with fans afterwards. Detroit was probably the best show for us so far, but Minneapolis on Halloween was a lot of fun, too. We dressed up as Peter Pan, Tinkerbell and the Lost Boys-it was a pretty cool night.”

Oh Honey released their debut EP, With Love, in November 2013 and their second EP, Sincerely Yours, just came out on Atlantic Records. The band’s feel-good single “Be Okay” has been a constant top 25 radio hit, but it took awhile for the tune to work itself out.

“The chorus was an idea that we kicked around for awhile that stemmed from a quote that goes ‘I hate to spoil the ending for you, but everything is going to be alright’,” says Collins, “it made its way in and out of different ideas for songs, but never really felt right, until one day it just did and “Be Okay” was born.”

Several tracks on Sincerely Yours were written at the same time as With Love, but were recorded differently. “When we were recording With Love Oh Honey was just an idea so we had nothing but time Sincerely Yours was recorded in between tours and in different studios whenever we had a free moment. It’s a darker album than our first one. The songs are definitely moodier, but we still kept the optimistic twist of With Love.”

Collins and Bouchard know that life isn’t always easy, though. “It honestly really sucks sometimes, so we explored the darker side of life and relationships in these songs, while maintaining the idea that there is always hope. That’s what we want everyone who listens to our music to know, that no matter how bad things can get, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s easy to lose sight of that, so this is our reminder, to our fans and to ourselves.”

The song on the new EP that truly stood out for me as a gem amongst diamonds was “Cracks In The Floor Of Heaven”. The imagery of “the cracks in the floor in heaven are the stars on the sky” is hauntingly beautiful and the duo admit this is a special song for them. “It’s simply about wondering if this is all there is, wondering where our loved ones go after all of this and asking if maybe we are just one floor down from heaven or in a better place if you don’t believe in heaven. Just making the most of life.”

After their tour ends, Oh Honey will be looking forward to spending quality time with their families over the holidays. Then, they’ll be heading back to the studio to begin work on the next two EPs to complete their ‘Postcards’ series and hopefully plan to hit the road to start off the new year with a bang.

Head on over to The Troc this Saturday to catch this fabulous duo then follow them on Twitter and Instagram at @ohhoneymusic. A bit of honey never tasted so sweet.

Saturday night local hipsters will fill the Trocadero to be mesmerized by Irish singer-songwriter Andrew Hozier-Byrne, better known to most people as just Hozier.  Did you get a ticket? No? Too bad. The show sold out long before his debut album, Hozier, was even released in the US.  Okay, so you’ll catch him in March when he’s back in Philly at the Electric Factory.  Guess what? That show sold out pretty quickly too.

“It’s cool,” you think, “I’ll just go on Stubhub”…WRONG! 0, that’s ZERO, tickets left for Saturday’s show. If you want to see him in March you’re looking at around $87 (more than double the face value). And guess what else? Hozier doesn’t want you paying that much.

“I hope no one ever has to pay that much to see me perform,” he says, adding, “I’m still processing it.”

If you haven’t heard his break out hit song, “Take Me to Church”, you’ve probably been living under or a rock, or maybe you just woke up from a coma.  With over 500,000 video views on YouTube, over 15 million streams (more than “Drunk in Love” by Beyonce, Pharrell’s “Come Get It Bae”, and T.I.’s “No Mediocre”), invites to SNL, Letterman, and Ellen, the soundtrack for the latest Beats commercial featuring Kobe Bryant, and even a testament of praise from the one and only Taylor Swift, Hozier has been an extremely busy artist.  So when I finally heard the words, “Andi, you’re on with Hozier, you have 15 minutes,” I was beyond thrilled.

Headed to his next show in Colorado, Hozier’s not 100% sure where he is. “Somewhere in Idaho,” he guesses, “I think, a lot of green and trees.” Sounds like a familiar scene for a lad from Wicklow, Ireland (who was also born on St. Patrick’s Day).  Since his arrival in May, this has been his longest tour in the States so he must be getting a little homesick by now, right? “I do miss Irish butter.” It’s the little things in life, and honestly even his speaking voice is hypnotic. So while I’m making small talk and chit chatting, my 15 minutes is dwindling away.

It’s shortly after his appearance on Saturday Night Live, and he looked to be a little freaked out.  “It was a dream come true,” he says. Hozier goes on to explain that they give you a dress rehearsal and then about an hour later, “It’s live-live, I was completely freaked out!”  It was a great opportunity for him, and his performance was flawless with both “Take Me to Church” and “Angel of Small Death & the Codeine Scene”.

As powerful and poignant as “Take Me to Church” is, Hozier has an album full of amazing songs; each one just as gripping and spellbinding as the next. Growing up in Ireland, Hozier was exposed to a lot of traditional folklore and music which is evident in his songwriting style. A big influence for him was Tom Waits. “I just thought he was coolest,” he says. Many would agree, but Hozier also adds that he grew up listening to Irish singer/songwriter Paul Brady. A 70’s artist whose songs, Hozier says, have “lovely guitar playing.”  

“I listen to a lot of old music,” he says. “It’s amazing to see how a song remains relevant and that something can exist a lot longer than you do.” #Chills, and the end of my 15 minutes.

For you lucky skunks that got tickets to his upcoming shows in Philly, enjoy the excitement of seeing him in these semi-intimate venues, because his next visit will be to the stadiums.  The rest of us will have to get our Hozier fix via the intimate solitude of our headphones.

The original hardscrapple, Tennessee outlaw Hank Williams III aka Hank3, is back and it’ll be a “hell on wheels” kind of show at the Trocadero tomorrow night, so get your lighters ready because shit’s about to get real. The grandson of Hank Williams, Sr. and son of Hank Williams, Jr. spent his early years playing drums, but is a multi-instrumentalist in every sense of the word. He’s a virtuoso on the guitar, bass, banjo, vocals and most recently you can add mandolin to that roster of awesomeness. Basically, if Hank3 ever became a personification of Orphan Black, he could form his own band, he’s that damn talented.

“At first, I thought I would just be a drummer,” says Wiliams, “but as time went on, I just rotated with other instruments and things happened in life that I had to deal with. So as time went on, I came out from the drums and was a bass player/screamer in a band, then a guitar player/screamer, but I was slowly getting into the acoustic side of music and trying to sing more than scream.”

Williams explains that he never felt forced into a music career like his dad was, but had a very normal childhood that included attending an Adam Ant concert in 1984 that proved to be very inspirational. “That made a big change in me because he always had two drummers and his music was very rhythmic, which I could identify with. I was listening to country and new wave stuff and finally found punk rock when I was listening to an Atlanta radio station which just took me to a whole new level.”

Queen also played a big role in William’s musical education; he was first introduced to Roger Taylor’s drumming when his artist/drummer babysitter would come over playing Queen tunes while sketching Taylor’s drum kit. “They taught me how to play drums quite a bit,” says Williams.

Williams released his latest creations this past October- a double country album entitled Brothers of the 4X4 and a blazing punk rock record called A Fiendish Threat. This was no easy feat since Williams sang and played both guitar and drums. He also engineered, produced, mixed and mastered all the songs within four months out of his home that he fabulously calls the Haunted Ranch.

“I’m just doing it while I can,” explains Williams, “I don’t know how long I can keep up with that kind of schedule. If I wake up at 5am and want to start singin’ and playin’, I can. Plus, and this is nothing against engineers, but after two to three weeks of working on a project with a new engineer, people usually start getting lazy and for me, I just like capturing the moment while I’m in the moment.”

He continues, “I try to have as much of a foundation laid out as possible before I bring in the other players. It’s intense- back when I was doing the four records that came out at the same time and then I had two more after that- the repercussions of what might happen can get pretty intense. I might work on a project for four to five months and then will barely be able to get out of bed for the next two months, so it’s a create/destroy process with the way I make records. I get so obsessive over it until my body is saying screw you, you can’t do this anymore. But I care about my art and so I put a lot into it.”

Listening to the tracks off of Brothers of the 4×4, I found two songs that stood out as feeling very old-timey, almost like attending a hootenany in a holler. “No doubt,” Williams agrees when we’re discussing the song “Gettin Dim”, “part of the reason you’re hearing the mountains in that song is that was my first time playing a mandolin, plus there’s a clawhammer banjo in the background. With the high twangy, nasally voice, the distortion and the grit on the vocals, it kinda makes you go back to that time.” Williams’ pit bull mix rescue dog Royal walked in while he was recording that song and decided that he wanted to kick it off, so that’s “not an edit, that’s just how it went, that’s the dog in the front of it.”

Another tune that caught my fancy is the quirky and unique ‘Possum In A Tree” which Williams says was written specifically for a clawhammer banjo player named Leroy Troy. “He’s more of a purist in his style and is an amazing banjo player and mountain shouter/singer. He has a lot of picking parties here in Nashville and that song is a true story. I was going out in my field, laying down corn at night with my dogs and sure enough, there’s a possum up in a tree. Leroy has done a lot of possum songs and is very funny, so it was a good fit for him. That was also the first time I played the lap steel guitar; I went out to his place and we recorded it there live and on the fly.”

On this tour leg, Williams is trying to hit every place he wasn’t able to get to in 2013, which includes an east coast run, Florida and New Orleans. “It’s always a challenge to see how much I can deliver,” Williams says, “I’m still all across the board, trying new things, but I just try to give the best performance I can day after day and hope for the best, playin’ for the worst; it’s been a little while and it’s time to get the crew back and just do it 150%.”
Hank3 shows are legendary for their length and intensity, averaging three to four hours, starting with about two hours of The Damn Band during the country/Hellbilly set, then a 1/2 hour of the Punk/Rebelcore music, some Doom Metal, then ending with the 3Bar Ranch/Cattle Callin’ set. There won’t be an opening band for the show at the Troc, so be sure to get there early to enjoy a little piece of Dixie and a whole lotta hellfire.

I seriously miss the 80s, with the exception of stirrup pants, shoulder pads and floppy discs. It was hot. White hot as Andi Walsh (Molly Ringwald’s Pretty In Pink character) would say. The Psychedelic Furs were instrumental in shaping the sound of new wave/alternative rock in the 80s and bringing it to an international audience. In preparing for my interview with co-founder and bass guitarist, Tim Butler, I riffled through my vinyl and found a ’45 of The Fur’s “Pretty In Pink” that I bought at Ames in 1986 for $1.77 (I know this because it still had the price tag stuck to John Ashton’s face). Listening to this and my Furs CD collection brought back a lot of memories of dancing to “Love My Way” in an old church-turned dance hall on Thursday nights in Fredericksburg, Virginia. And it was epic.

Founded in London in 1977 by brothers Richard and Tim Butler, The Psychedelic Furs emerged while the British punk scene was in it’s heyday. I asked Butler if the story about the Furs naming their band after The Velvet Underground’s “Venus In Furs” was true or a myth. “It’s a myth. We were getting drunk in a pub one night and were thinking of all of the punk band names we liked, such as The Clash and The Sex Pistols. There was an interest in the psychedelic and ‘Furs’ just fit,” he says.

But The Velvet Underground was very influential. Butler recalls the first concert he attended- Lou Reed’s solo show at the Rainbow Theater in London in 1974. When I asked if there were any bands out there today whose music he enjoys, he cited The Killers (okay- kick ass choice). The Furs played some shows with them and about half-way through one set, singer Brandon Flowers told the audience “if it hadn’t been for The Psychedelic Furs, this next song wouldn’t have been written.” The Killers then asked if they could perform “Pretty In Pink” with the Furs onstage. “It makes all of your hard work pay off,” Butler says, touched by the sentiment.

The Furs eponymous debut album was released in 1980 and produced by Steve Lillywhite, who began his career in 1977 and has since gone on to win five Grammy Awards. When asked what it was like to work with such iconic producers such as Lillywhite and Todd Rundgren (who produced the Furs’ hit single “Love My Way” and is a local boy, hailing from Upper Darby, PA), Butler has only praise and fond memories. “My favorite album was the one Todd produced (“Forever Now”). If anyone could be called a musical genius, I think Todd is. Steve is, I think, one of the best producers around. And he was just starting out when he produced our album.”

If you ask Butler which songs their fans request most often at their concerts, the list is pretty easy to guess: “Love My Way”, “Heaven” and “Pretty In Pink.” I told him that my favorite song is “The Ghost In You”, which is such haunting, beautifully written ballad- “Angels fall like rain/ and love, love, love is all of heaven away”.

“We would write songs together. I would start playing a riff and if a particular riff caught Richard’s fancy, he’d start writing lyrics and then go from a riff to a chorus. I remember that song came together very quickly. Richard would write lyrics on napkins or pieces of paper; they’d be falling out of his pockets!” Butler fondly remembers the times his brother would call home when he had an idea for a lyric and leave them on his answering machine to collect later.

DC singer/songwriter, Patrick Hawkins, who regularly performs a lovely version of “The Ghost In You” had something to say about his adoration for the song. “I discovered All of This and Nothing in 1989. My older brothers worked at a record store and brought home a copy. After a few spins, “The Ghost in You” clearly emerged as the stand out track. l had a crush that summer who never returned the affection. I’ll never forget playing and re-playing the track, my pre-teen heart breaking each time. Richard Butler plead “don’t you go, it makes no sense/ when all your talk of supermen/ just take away the time…” To this day the song is my personal anthem of the bittersweet agony of adolescent love, and my chest tightens every time I hear it play.”

Hawkins treasures well written songs more than anything in life and believes “The Ghost In You” is the soul of beauty. “One of the hallmarks of a great song is that it stands up well when re-interpreted. The song shines with a spare guitar/vocal arrangement.  Stripped down to its essential elements – lyric and melody. It is timeless, beautiful and just as relevant and astonishing as it was 25 years ago.  The fact that the original 1988 recording is so perfect, and that the song is equally as good when sung solo is, I think, the single biggest testament to it’s greatness,” Hawkins says.

Columbia Records released The Furs follow-up album Talk Talk Talk in 1981 which included the hit single “Pretty In Pink.” The song’s theme is actually a metaphor for nudity and about a rather promiscuous woman, then John Hughes turned it into a movie anthem whose main antagonist was a red-headed, innocent teen in an unfortunately colored prom dress. The Furs had not screened the film, nor did they know the plot when they agreed to let the song be used for Hughes’ “Pretty In Pink”.

“Molly Ringwald was a fan of the original song and she asked John Hughes to write a movie based on the song, but I don’t think he read the lyrics. He didn’t want to use the original song because he thought the guitar sounded slightly out of tune [the song was re-recorded for the film]. We saw a rough cut and thought Oh my God. What does he think this song is about?” Butler chuckles.

Talking to Tim Butler is like talking to an old friend you haven’t seen in years. He is charming, gracious, down to earth and full of humorous stories, telling them as if he was sharing them for the first time. One of my favorite stories that he shared was playing a party full of art school students in England when they were first starting out. They set up in one of the house’s rooms and started to play. “When we started playing, people started to leave and they shut the door behind them.” Their loss is all I can say.

The Psychedelic Furs will be playing Awesomefest’s kick off party at The Trocadero on Friday the 14th. Hughes’ Pretty In Pink will be screened at Parx Casino on Saturday. Butler recalls the band playing The Troc in the past “It’s a great venue with a great vibe and we’re really looking forward to playing there. Philly audiences are amazing!”

Be prepared to hear some new songs at the concert. They are working on new material and hope to have an album out by next year. By the way, since we’re on the subject of Awesomefest and all of the awesome 80s movies that are being showcased, here’s a bit o’trivia for you: Butler’s favorite 80’s movie is John Carpenter’s The Thing. Good choice, that movie scared the bejeebus outta me.

So thank you, Psychedelic Furs, for giving us music that is as relevant and inspiring today as it was when I had a bad perm, banana clips and a Jason Patric poster in my locker. Y’all rock.

It was 1989 at North Stafford High School in the boonies of Stafford, Virginia. Our prom theme was “A Night To Remember”, which would have been cool, except it also happened to be the name of a book and film about the sinking of the Titanic. I wore a fugly pink dress with lace galore, but it was the prettiest dress I had ever seen at that point. High school in the 80’s was all about big hair, jelly bracelets, stirrup pants and Wham! It was in a word, awesome. Because my siblings have the same wacky sense of humor as I do and we grew up with these films, I enlisted their help to write this article. I  know I never get tired of watching Wesley say “Drop. Your. Sword.” And one of my favorite movie lines of all times is “Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues.” So sit back, pop a Tab, put on some Falco and enjoy!

Pretty In Pink
Sat, 06/15/2013 – 8:00pm – Sun, 06/16/2013 – 2:00am
Parx Casino
80’s themed prom to follow along with crowning of a prom king and queen to give you the chance to relive your high school days when you were a total loser. Yep. I have seen this movie in different transitions of my life; pre-teen, young adult, and adult.  I don’t have too many memories of seeing the film as a teenager other than the obligatory pre-teen desire to want to be Molly Ringwald.  In my early twenties I recall my transformation of fawning to frustration with Miss Ringwald as Andie Walsh when she chose to be with bland Blaine, (“That’s a major appliance, that’s not a name!”) rather than the charismatic, fun-loving and ever loyal Duckie. I have realized now upon re-watching Pretty in Pink in my adulthood that this is the crux of the film.  Love is found where you least expect it.  The interweaving of various cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds doesn’t have to be a sexist Cinderella story where the Prince saves the Princess, but rather in Pretty in Pink, the Princess saves the Prince from his narcissistic, snotty peers and mundane expectations.  This theme works for Duckie as well when he  is noticed  by the attractive pre-Buffy Kristie Swanson, who eyes him up and down with a silent but resounding and definite ‘Yes!’

Speaking of Blaine’s snotty friends, I must admit my secret Pretty in Pink crush has always been on James Spader as Blaine’s “richie” best friend Steff.  His longing glances towards Andie are enough to wet any girls pants (can I say that?).  My ardor for James Spader as Steff has spanned through the decades but my understanding of his character has changed.  He seemed, in my youth, as the stereotypical yuppie villain of many teen dramedies of the 80’s with his fluffy blond hair and fondness for white pants,  but his performance has more depth than other characters of this ilk.  John Hughes’ writing lends the possibility for a more profound bad boy and Spader takes the possibility and runs away with the film, adding to the message that (before matches were scientifically crafted on internet sites)  affections can  lead  to unlikely pairings that may lead to taunts but ultimately may  benefit our lives. That is the beauty of the movie in its simple message of the pains of life and love.

Rewind This!
Mon, 06/17/2013 – 8:00pm – 10:00pm
Philadelphia Premiere at The Trocadero
Director Josh Johnson and producer Carolee Mitchell in attendance
This new documentary, premiering at Premiered at the 2013 SXSW Film Festival, looks at how home video changed the world. When VCR and Beta-Max machines came out, it was the best thing since sliced bread. People tried to up their social currency by owning as many videos as possible and watched them slowly start to disintegrate over time. I remember when my dad bought our first VCR machine in the early 80’s. It cost about $1000 and the VHS tape of Xanadu was $100. Let me repeat that. We bought a Xanadu VHS tape for $100. Don’t judge us.

Revenge Of The Nerds
Thu, 06/20/2013 – 9:00pm – 10:30pm
Drexel Park
I was thirteen when this movie came out and I didn’t get most of the dirty jokes (I do now! Wink wink!) Booger is my favorite character. I love it when Stan says to him over the fence “What are you looking at, nerd?” Booger waves, smiles and says to himself “I thought I was looking at my mother’s old douche-bag, but that’s in Ohio.”
This film about a group of college outcasts starting college and being bullied until they band together and kick those jerk’s asses! It’s an inspirational movie, for sure. When director Jeff Kanew met with the film’s producers for the first time, they asked him what kind of movie he could make this into. He replied “One I would be embarrassed to have my name on.” He was hired.

The Princess Bride
Fri, 06/21/2013 – 9:00pm – 11:00pm
Liberty Lands
If you haven’t read William Goldman’s book which this film is based on, do so immediately. It is humorous, fun, exciting and a wild romp. The film respects all of which this book is about, probably because William Goldman also wrote the screenplay. Buttercup’s (Robin Wright) love, Wesley (Cary Elwes) disappears after his ship is attacked by the Dread Pirate Roberts. Years later, Buttercup is set to marry the unfortunately named Prince Humperdink (Chris Sarandon). I had the biggest crush on Cary Elwes when this movie came out. I was sure he would be the next big action star. Oops! My bad. Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles this movie has it all. And you’ll always remember that one of the famous blunders of all time is “never get involved in a land war in Asia.”

Child’s Play
Sat, 06/22/2013 – 9:00pm – 10:45pm
25th Anniversary Screening Director Tom Holland in attendance!
Parx Casino
This film is messed up, but that’s what makes it cool. A single mother (Catherine Hicks) gives her son, Andy, a doll for his birthday, which turns out to be possessed by the spirit of a serial killer. Way to go, mom!  The killer used a voodoo spell to transfer his soul to this creepy doll and now needs to escape by trying to take over Andy’s body. Oh, yeah, lots of body counts in this horror classic (which, by the way, also stars Chris Sarandon who is on a roll of films on this list).

Fright Night
Sat, 06/22/2013 – 11:00pm – Sun, 06/23/2013 – 12:30am
Director Tom Holland in attendance
Parx Casino
This is one of my favorite vampire films ever (sorry Twihards!) Released in 1985 it had some of the coolest special effects at the time. In fact, Fright Night was the first vampire film to spend one million dollars on special effects. Tom Holland (who also directed Child’s Play) made his directorial debut with this film. It follows teen Charley Brewster who is convinced the new neighbor (Chris Sarandon- hello!) is a vampire after certain creepy things happen in the house, which Charley notices Rear Window style. Roddy McDowell is fabulous as vampire hunter Peter Vincent and I thought Stephen Geoffreys played a much better Evil than that kid from Super Bad (he also went on to star in a bunch of hard core porn films, but that’s beside the point). My favorite line is when vampire-next-door Jerry Dandrige stands on the stairs and says “Welcome to Fright Night. For real.” A fun personal fact I have to throw in here is that my sister (Anne Roser) was the stand in for the lead actress of the 2011 remake of Fright Night, which was shot in New Mexico and stars Colin Farrell as Jerry.

Downloaded
Mon, 06/24/2013 – 8:00pm – 10:00pm
Director Alex Winter in attendance
Philadelphia Premiere at The Trocadero
Actor Alex Winter (The Lost Boys, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure) directs this new documentary which explores the rise of online music downloading service Napster and the impact it made in cultural media, as well as how it affected the music industry in general. Look for appearances by Henry Rollins, The Beastie Boys and Oasis. AOL purchased the film at SXSW and intends to make it available for streaming on it’s on.aol.com later this year.

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
Mon, 06/24/2013 – 10:00pm – 11:45pm
Actor Alex Winter in attendance
The Trocadero
Who hasn’t seen this most excellent film about two bumbling high school teens Bill (Keanu Reeves) and Ted (Alex Winter) trying to pass history class? When this film came out, I remember it was all the rage. Sort of like the first Hangover movie, but better. It was genius on the writer’s part to come up with the idea of a phone booth (remember those?) as a time machine, although in the original script, it was a 1969 Chevy van, but the filmmakers thought that had too many shades of Back To The Future. I guess the filmmakers hadn’t seen any Doctor Who episodes yet. As much as I adore this film, it did sadly give rise to the annoyingly overuse of the word “dude”.

Prince Avalanche
Tue, 06/25/2013 – 7:30pm – 9:00pm
Philadelphia Premiere
In Partnership With The Philadelphia Film Society at The Ritz 5
This new film stars Paul Rudd, Emilie Hirsch and Lance LeGault (Oh my God! He played Alamo Joe in 1988’s cheesy, but awesome TV series “Werewolf”! This film’s fabulousness just went up a few notches on the totem pole). It follows two road workers during the summer of 1988. Isolated and away from their families, this bromance follows their time spent bonding and bickering and probably completely bored out of their minds.

Computer Chess
Tue, 06/25/2013 – 9:30pm – 11:00pm
Philadelphia Premiere at The Ritz 5
In Partnership With The Philadelphia Film Society
Set in the 1980’s and following a weekend man vs. chess tournament, this new film explores a subculture of a budding technology. I’ve read mixed reviews of this film, but since I prefer checkers over chess, it may be awhile before I actually succumb to seeing this one.

Escape From New York
Wed, 06/26/2013 – 7:30pm – 9:30pm
Philadelphia Premiere of the brand new DCP restoration at The Ritz East
It’s the future and Kurt Russell plays Snake Plissken, a former soldier now convict of a super prison on the penal colony of what used to be New York City. Snake has a bad ass name and only one eye, so you know he’s going to win no matter what the bad guys throw at him. This includes being implanted with a bomb that will explode in 22 hours unless he rescues the President of the United States (Donald Pleasence) whose plane was brought down by terrorists inside the prison. Written and directed by John Carpenter in 1981, I saw this film only recently because I felt I ‘had to’. Snake has the best recurring line “Call me Snake.” and for those of you 80s nerds who remember, Lee Van Cleef (Bob Hauk, who runs the prison) was also the star of the 80s TV flop “The Master” about an aging American ninja looking for his daughter with a drifter while keeping one step ahead of other ninjas sent from Japan to kill him. Honestly, they just don’t make them like this anymore.

Adventures In Babysitting
Thu, 06/27/2013 – 9:00pm – 10:30pm
Drexel Park
In many movies the story is revealed in the opening credits. It’s true. Test it out. One of my favorite scenes in Adventures in Babysitting is the opening credit scene with Elisabeth Shue as Chris Parker dancing with delight to the 50’s classic “Then He Kissed Me” by the Crystals while gussying up for her much anticipated date. This scene introduces the charm and talents of the central character and her strong intention to be deeply in love with a handsome young man and spend a romantic evening in his presence. This sets up a potential conflict and reveals the resolution through the song all in one scene. The story of Chris Parker, in essence, may be told but we have yet to go on the journey with her and upon being in her intimate presence, we know it is a journey we want to take.

Robocop
Fri, 06/28/2013 – 9:00pm – 10:45pm
Liberty Lands
I saw this film several years ago, but it was a bit of a muddle of a film and my memory of it is muddled, too. I do recall thinking that Peter Weller looked seriously crazy, however. Released in 1987, Robocop is set in the crime ridden city of Detroit in the future (some things never change) and stars Peter Weller as a cop who is killed in the line of duty and then reanimated into a cyborg super machine cop (ewwww!) Robocop captures criminals and then starts to remember traces of his old life and finds that some things are not as they seem to be. Writer Edward Neumeier came up with the idea for this film after working on “Blade Runner”, which makes a lot of sense, actually. Director Paul Verhoeven is a master of sci-fi, futuristic style films (“Total Recal”, “Starship Troopers”), but thank goodness he didn’t stick with stripper films (he also directed the stinker “Showgirls”)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Sat, 06/29/2013 – 7:30pm – 11:30pm
25th Anniversary Celebration Charles Fleischer (The Voice Of Roger Rabbit) in attendance. Special standup comedy set.
Parx Casino
When Who Framed Roger Rabbit came out in 1988, it was the “Avatar” of the 80s, a huge feat in cinematic history and a ridiculous, yet charming film. When toon Roger Rabbit is framed for murder, a washed-up cop who hates toons (Bob Hoskins) is his only hope for clearing Roger’s name. Jessica Rabbit (voiced by the sultry, and uncredited, Kathleen Turner) is the real star of this film and gets the best lines “I’m not bad. I’m just drawn that way” and “I’ve loved you more than any woman’s ever loved a rabbit.” Terry Gilliam was the producer’s first choice for the film’s director, but he declined saying it was “conceptually inauthentic to use the Looney Tunes genre as a springboard for a variation on the Howard The Duck story.” Well said, Terry. And by the way, Howard The Duck is also being screened for Awesomefest on August 2.