Motley Moose – Archive

I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in “Cheers & Jeers”. For example …..

MOTHER-DAUGHTER? – singer and film star Liza Minnelli and filmmaker and TV star Lena Dunham.

   

OK, you’ve been warned – here is this week’s tomfoolery material that I posted.

ART NOTES – an exhibition of works (in oil, water and acrylic paintings, photographs, etchings, pyrography, sculptures, and pencil) entitled Artistic Expressions in Nature is at the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art in Salisbury, Maryland through September 8th.

HAIL and FAREWELL to the German businessman and International Olympic Committee member Berthold Beitz – and one of the few Germans (another was Oskar Schindler) to be honored at the Holocaust memorial in Israel (by protecting hundreds of Jewish workers from deportation to concentration camps by inventing jobs he claimed were essential to the war effort) – who has died at the age of 99.

I recall reading of him years ago in William Manchester’s book The Arms of Krupp – about his years as CEO of the KruppThyssen conglomerate after WW-II. He was something of an Amerophile; known in the company as “Der Amerikaner”. He responded to project requests favorably by writing “OK”, unfavorably by writing “KO”, and once said this about his mother: “Meine Mutter ist ein tough baby!”

THE OTHER NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary, and with the 2013 Newport Jazz Festival held this past weekend …. I focused on the festival’s legendary 1956 concert …. and how the live recording of Ellington at Newport changed the fortunes of Duke Ellington …. due in no small part due to a tenor saxophone solo-for-the-ages by Paul Gonsalves.

THURSDAY’s CHILD is a Utah kitteh was rescued by firefighters from a house fire … and who were able to revive it with a special cat-sized oxygen mask.

THIS OCTOBER the nation of Ireland will hold a referendum on whether to abolish its Senate – and move to a unicameral government.

FOR A LONG TIME the nation of Germany has been known for its efficiency, punctuality and engineering prowess. However, its Stuttgart 21 rail project is so badly behind schedule that it might not see trains until 2023, and the new Berlin airport was scheduled to open in 2010 … but is being indefinitely delayed.

SIGN of the TIMES – during the summer months while driving in residential areas, I have learned to leave an extra space between myself and the vehicle in front of me ……. as they are prone to jamming on their brakes upon seeing the ubiquitous “YARD SALE” sign.

BRAIN TEASER – try this Quiz of the Week’s News from the BBC.

FRIDAY’s CHILD is Taz the Hero Cat – a Pennsylvania kitteh who awoke a sleeping family (whose smoke-alarm batteries were dead) from a smoke-filled house fire …. earning a Humane Society Pets of Valor award nomination.

FILM NOTES – in the upcoming film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical “Jersey Boys”, director Clint Eastwood has cast Christopher Walken as the mobster who takes Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons under his wing. But …. will the film need more cowbell?

FOOD NOTES – in northern Italy, the little flag of a special new place called Portobello is flying on top of what may just be the world’s first “free” supermarket.

END of an ERA – later this month, the 50-year tenure of a famed Boston restaurant, Anthony’s Pier 4 – which served not only celebrities, but also everyday people seeking a waterfront, white tablecloth special night out – will be closing, due to declining business as a result of waterfront commercial development.

Especially sad is New England’s emigrant community from Albania (with yours truly having 1/4 Albanian ancestry) as restaurant founder Anthony Athanas – who died in 2005 – was an Albanian emigrant himself. His restaurant became a virtual ‘hiring hall’; offering his fellow countrymen their first American job and – because Athanas loved Cape Verdean immigrants almost as much as Albanians – they learned how to get along with people who were different from themselves.

DIRECT DESCENDANTS? – the late Dick Shawn (as Lorenzo St. Dubois in “The Producers”) and Patrick Stewart – in a gag Rogaine advertisement.

   

…… and finally, for a song of the week …………………………………… if you ask people about their favorite New Jersey rock band: most will respond with the E Street Band or Bon Jovi .. and a few may reply Southside Johnny or the Four Seasons (especially after “Jersey Boys”). But my choice is the power-pop band The Smithereens – not exactly my style of music, but a band whose sound and songs speak to me in a personal way more than any of their better-known compatriots. And their ability to persevere against the tide of music industry trends speaks well of their love for the music.

Their story begins with a tale some of you may have experienced: a chance encounter between two Carteret High School classmates over a rock magazine photo. Guitarist Jim Babjak – who had been in two bands previously and was losing interest – had a photo of The Who’s Pete Townshend from “Hit Parader” magazine in the early 1970’s. Dennis Diken commented on the photo and the two began a friendship, with Diken (on drums) joining Babjak as a duet. They eventually added another classmate (Mike Mesaros) on bass and performed together, but felt something was missing.

That something came in the form of someone living 25 miles away: singer/songwriter Pat DiNizio of Scotch Plains. He placed a 1980 ad in a music paper seeking musicians influenced by “Buddy Holly, Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello and the Clash”. And they chose their name after Yosemite Sam always threatening to blow someone to “smithereens”.

They performed valiantly at places such as Kenny’s Castaway’s in Greenwich Village (and when that venue closed in 2012, they were the final act to perform there). But back-in-the-day: after six years of relentless touring (including opening up for Otis Blackwell) and with each member circa age 30: they were considering doing something else; DiNizio’s family, for example, could offer employment in the garbage-hauling business. And then fate intervened again: a tape wound its way to Enigma Records, who signed the band. Thus began a six-year rise: perhaps not to stardom, but at least success. Their Don Dixon-produced album Especially for You featured their mix of British Invasion guitars and pop melodies.

Pat DiNizio’s brooding lyrics – on a tune such as Behind the Wall of Sleep – helped the band to a major deal with Capitol Records after the album reached #51 in the charts. And having famed New York DJ Scott Muni in your corner helped, as well. The 1988 next album Green Thoughts became a favorite at college radio stations, …. with the song Only a Memory reaching #92 on the pop charts. Demonstrating their affinity for pop culture, the next album title of 11 in 1989 represents – depending upon whom you talk to –  either Spinal Tap (turn the amps up to “11”) or the original “Oceans Eleven” film (or both).

Their decision to drop producer Don Dixon in favor of a heavier sound from Ed Stasium helped generate their best-selling single: A Girl Like You – with the Go-Go’s Belinda Carlisle on backing vocal – and which led to a 1990 Saturday Night Live appearance.  

But others felt their power-pop sound had been compromised, and the album didn’t sell as well. Then the 1991 follow-up release Blow Up had the misfortune to come out after Nirvana’s “Nevermind” …. and the entire grunge movement ate into the Smithereen’s audience big time.

From then, they’ve not enjoyed big success – and have taken time off periodically to live – but have a devoted following larger than a “cult” status (especially on the East Coast). They’ve recorded tribute albums to some of their influences: Meet the Smithereens in honor of The Beatles, and Tommy as a nod to The Who. There is also a Best of album that is an excellent place for anyone discovering their music to begin.

In recent years: Pat DiNizio joined Ross Perot’s Freedom Party and made a quixotic bid for the US Senate in 2000 from New Jersey. Bassist Mike Mesaros (far-left in 1st photo below) left the band in 2006 after becoming the father of two kids, and was replaced by bassist Severo Jornacion (far-right in 2nd photo below). The band’s most recent album from 2011 is named, appropriately enough … 2011 …… with all new, original material.

Above all, The Smithereens are devoted to their fans. As Pat DiNizio says of people attending their shows, “They’re looking into a mirror seeing what they might have done – we look like them, act like them and talk like them”.

The Smithereens celebrated their 30th anniversary last year, and begin their latest tour with some West Coast shows (beginning with a show in San Francisco this coming Friday.

   

Just as The Doors’ third album was entitled Waiting for the Sun but the title track did not appear on album until two years later: my favorite Smithereens tune is Especially for You – which was the name of their debut album but did not appear until their third album. A more mellow ballad than much of their material, it still has the trademark DiNizio brooding lyrics – and below you can listen to it.