Notes on the Racketeers, Dreamers Wanted, and Who Shot Hollywood
By JIM SULLIVAN | July 30, 2007
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When Dana Stewart left the AMAZING ROYAL CROWNS, he decided that with his next group he wanted “something more authentic” — something that would home in on the sound of the prime rockabilly era. For him, that was 1954-’56, and the music of Gene Vincent, Billy Lee Riley, and the Johnny Burnette Trio. Stewart formed the RACKETEERS, and they ran from 1996 to 2001, during which Boston experienced a mini-rockabilly revival. It ended for the Racketeers, says singer/drummer Stewart, “with everybody growing old, moving off, joining different bands, self-combusting. We kind of pulled the plug.” But not permanently: Stewart, upright-bassist Spike Katz, and guitarists Tom Umberger and Jon Porth are reuniting for a gig this Saturday at T.T. the Bear’s Place. They’ll be joined by fellow rockabilly enthusiasts the RAGING TEENS, the BOURBONAIRES, and JOHNNY CARLEVALLE. What still resonates for Stewart is “1-4-5 rock and roll that anybody from punk-rock/ska kids to people in their 60s can dig. It’s energetic, raw, rebellious. And it comes quite naturally. Like an old automobile, we start it right back up and it’s as easy as it ever was.” Stewart, who works at the Plough & Stars, will also step out from behind the bar on August 7 to play music in the vein of “early Wilco, later-day Replacements.” . . . NOISE publisher T MAX created the Dreamers Wanted project — a slew of singers and a 13-piece band — to record his tune “End War Now.” It’s hit #5 on Neil Young’s anti-war-song list at www.neilyoung.com/lwwtoday. And Max says he’s currently writing more anti-war songs. He’s also hoping to organize a rally and concert. . . . The local band WHOSHOT HOLLYWOOD shot part of the video for “The House on Telegraph Hill” in an Amherst woodland stream. It’s posted at www.whoshothollywood.com. . . . And ROBIN LANE, the former Chartbuster who now teaches music therapy to abused kids, is working on her autobiography.
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Topics:
New England Music News
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