“My Baby, She’s Alright”

One of my personal favorite bands from the 1980s was Boston group Scruffy The Cat. Sort of retro, sort of rockabilly, kind of twangy, with some very catchy tunes, the band was a WUSC favorite around that time, too. In 1986, the same night REM played the Township Auditorium, Scruffy was set to open a show at Rockafellas for an REM-like band from Athens, Dreams So Real. A group of us from WUSC that went to the REM show actually left early so we wouldn’t miss Scruffy’s set–I’ve never regretted it. Here’s a video of the single from their Tiny Days album, “My Baby, She’s Alright”:

While Scruffy is no more, singer-guitarist-songwriter Charlie Chesterman is still kicking, playing and recording a number of solo albums that are mellower takes on the same simple rock ‘n’ roll riffs of his original band.

Scruffy The Cat Website
Charlie Chesterman Myspace

Boston Rocks

With my beloved Boston Celtics back in the NBA Finals for the first time in a long time, it seems like a good time to remember that Beantown is almost as good a rock ‘n’ roll town as is is a basketball town. In my perfect sports world, Boston would sweep the Lakers in four games (though I’m enough of a realist to know that they probably will take at least five games). Here, then, are four quick reasons that Boston rocks.

1. Aerosmith — Not the watered-down, Diane Warren infected version of the later period, but the early years of drugs and debauchery when they seemed just a little nasty, not like parents of other famous people. “Toys in the Attic” is a classic in anyone’s book, and even their Run DMC collaboration on “Walk This Way” is pretty cool, though it did usher in the unfortunate phenomenon of rap-rock.

2. The Neighborhoods — The greatest band to not quite make it out of Boston, I’ve commented on this band’s legendary live performances before, so I’ll just leave it at this:

3. Boston — If they’d stopped at the first album, Boston would still be remembered fondly by a generation of teenagers raised on what we now call “Classic Rock.” It’s not cool as a music critic to like this band, but the original band, and that debut, rocked. Check out this clip from 1979 for proof:

4. Mission Of Burma — One of those, “influential” bands that not many people heard when they were together but tons of bands list as a primary influence, Mission of Burma harnessed the energy of punk with machine-like precision and some great, great songs. They are also one of the few bands to get back together after a long, long hiatus and not make albums that suck.

Ten Words Not To Use In Your Band’s Name

1. Project – this not only makes it sound like a school assignment, it’s also oddly popular with anything remotely related to prog rock. Example: Alan Parsons Project

2. Group – if you have to explain that the small ensemble of people you have on stage with you is called a “group,” then your fans aren’t very smart and neither are you. Example: Michael Schenker Group

3. Experience – Only Jimi Hendrix is badass enough to use this, sorry. Once somebody that good takes on a descriptive name like that, nobody else should even think of ‘borrowing’ it.
Example: Jimi Hendrix Experience

4. Band – As in, “The Joe Smith Band,” and so on. If you’re good enough to put your name on the band, just pitch it as a solo act and let the other guys be your backing band without having to explain that you are a band. Example: The Dave Matthews Band

5. Having a person’s name when that person isn’t in the band – If I go see the Joe Smith band, there better be a guy named Joe Smith in the band. If there isn’t, whoever the lead singer is will forever be referred to as Joe Smith anyway, regardless of his real name. See Darius Rucker, who’s forever getting referred to as, “Hootie.” Example: Marshall Tucker Band, Freddy Jones Band

6. Numbers – It was Bob Seger who sang, “Feel Like a Number,” but there are too many bands with only numerals for names, and even more that use numbers in part of their names. If you can’t think of a good enough sequence of words to name yourselves, throwing in a number seems like a good idea, I guess. Examples: 112, Sum 41, Matchbox 20

7. Geographical destinations – If you name your band after a continent, country, state, or city, chances are you suck. One look at the track record is all you need. Examples: Asia, Atlanta, Boston, Europe, etc.

8. Sentences – not the word “sentences,” but a name that is actually a sentence. This is most common in the irony-riddled world of indie rock. Save the prose for your songs, not the clear, concise front that you want people to remember after the gig. Example: When People Were Shorter and Lived Near The Water, This Bike is a Pipe Bomb, …And They Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead.

9. Crew – Unless you’re in a rowboat or on a naval vessel, you and your garage band are not a “Crew.” Usually this is used by rappers, however, not rock bands. Example: The Rocksteady Crew, 2 Live Crew.

10. Any Color – Like numbers, colors can be used as a crutch to make the band sound more interesting than they are—it’s also a conceit that’s been used way too much over the years. This one’s tougher to judge, but about half the time if there’s a color in the name, the band sucks. Examples: Blue Murder, Green Day, etc.