Basement Transmissions Records
Tsunami Relief Show - Friday, January 28th, 2005:

On January 28th local label Basement Transmissions Records got together to put on a show at Forward Hall in Erie, PA that would benefit Tsunami Victims.

With the help of five BTR bands, some local artists who kindly donated their work for auction, and a private donor, Basement Transmission Records was able to raise over $2000.00 to give to UNICEF towards aiding the victims of this tragic event.

Thanks to all of you that came to the show to support a good cause, and to Forward Hall for letting Basement Transmissions have the show at their venue. Below are some photos of the event, enjoy.

Black Rose Diary




Like Braille To The Blind




Pegasus Unicorn
 (featuring Jeff from BRD as the Unicorn)




telefonics




Village Of Dead Roads




Who Bleeds




The Barstool Hooligans

Hard Rock of Pittsburgh Battle of the Bands - Finals

LINE UP:
First Band - Super No. 7 - Erie, PA
Second Band - Further Down - Pittsburgh, PA
Last Band - Raising Pilate - Pittsburgh, PA

I haven' t seen Super No. 7 play since playing with SEETHER at Sherlocks. (the night of the blackout) I always enjoyed watching them play but back then I thought that they needed to mesh their talents together as a band instead of individuals. Tonight I was so impressed on how much they have matured as a group.

There were many obstacles that they had to overcome . First of course the dreadful position of playing first. They also didn' t have their own sound man. That made for more problems of sound management and microphone difficulties The other two bands Further Down and Raising Pilate were from Pittsburgh and drew a large group of supporters.

They opened with " Loaded Gun". Keith and the band showed outstanding showmanship and talent throughout their 45 minute set.. The show they put on tonight was outstanding and they knew what they needed to do to win this contest.

Further Down was up next. Their 45 minute set was great with their keyboard included sound.

The final band to play was Raising Pilate. They had a unique sounding front man and outstanding mobile bass player.

Voting of this contest was broken down as:

40%- Judges opinion
60%- Hand written ballots from the crowd. (Upon entering the club individuals were given 1 ballot a piece to vote with)

After the last band played.....I looked at my husband and said, "Super No. 7 played awesome but I don' t know how they can win without the homefield advantage like the other two bands" I took a good look around and the Pittsburgh bands had at least 500 plus fans. I then made the comment, " If this contest was held in Erie.......how many of those 500 plus fans would have driven 2 1/2 hours to support these bands" ?

Super No. 7 had a group of 60 plus supporters come down from Erie on a Thursday night to support them. That in itself says a lot. Talent alone does not ensure you a loyal fan base. A band needs to connect with people. This type of connection has been achieved by Super No. 7 and is a part of their success tonight.

When all was said and done...the announcement was made.

SUPER NO. 7 Won!!! ( CHEESE N CRACKERS!!!!-THEY DID IT!!)

Needless to say.....the only cheers were from the Erie Fans.....
The others just stood there for a moment to let it all sink in.

Then...............the Pittsburgh fans started with the booing, shouting, accusations of the contest being fixed.

The air outside of the club was comparible to a loss at Heinz Field. Both bands were surrounding the announcer and pounding him with the same question over and over: How could an Erie band win......????

Numbers aside.......Super No. 7 came to the stage and delivered. Not just with their music but their hearts. It was great to see a band that didn' t just stand in front of a microphone and sing, but perform. When I pay to see a performance...that is what I expect. Performance, action, movement on stage and most of all a connection with the people.

It was great to see an underdog win................Too bad YINZ weren't there to see it. - photo & review by Jennifer Buhite

Music & Art - Art Museum Annex - June 13

Weirdo Theatre & J.D. & Sons of Rhythm

Improvisation was the intention on Sunday afternoon, as both Joseph Allen Popp's Weirdo Theater and J.D. & The Sons of Rhythm played a free show at the Erie Art Museum Annex. The two groups played to a collection of 20-30 people, who alternated between listening to the music and perusing an eclectic collection of artwork hung just for this show. Most of the pieces were done by the musicians themselves, from Joe Popp's intricate collage work to J.D.'s vaguely fractal paintings. Several of Mike Ohm's pieces could be viewed either on the walls or on the covers of some of his CDs available for sale at the show. Both ensembles premiered new CDs that afternoon..

Weirdo Theatre

Joe Popp joined his band mates Rob Gray, Rick Lopez & Ken Cornelius for the first two sets. While names like Zappa & Captain Beefheart are frequently tossed in their direction, I always feel inadequate trying to describe Weirdo Theater's performances, as they aren't exactly like anything else. I did note that the stuffed bears mounted on sticks in front of Gray's theramin podium looked a bit forlorn, as if they longed for the Shen & Bones dancers to...um...love them as they did at the Blue Cat Cubed performance. Still, the sets were filled with much madness, my favorite tune being the manic "Jack the Cat." As I have said with past reviews, I think Weirdo Theater's greatest strength lies in the contrast of Rob's voice-of-gods/demons-channeling with the relatively traditional rhythm section. Rick's set playing has to be among the tightest in the area, Ken's bass line laid the foundation for a number of modal grooves & Joe's stringed creations led him to solo ground I had not heard from him in earlier gigs.

review by Karen Williams
photo by Rick Dibello

J.D. & The Sons of Rhythm

J.D. Hopkins' crew followed, with J.D. & his two sons playing percussion, joined by Frank Singer, Mike Ohm & Sheldon Peterson on guitar, & Tony Stefanelli on bass. What followed were two sets of completely improvised music, tunes that unfolded spontaneously as the players explored their shared time & space on stage. As the Showcase promotion pointed out, the ensemble has no need for a set list, as the tunes do not exist until they are created..

review by Karen Williams
photo by Rick Dibello

 

 

Bill Cotter's 50th B-Day Bash- May 28

BC-4 + The Shrugs + The Bedrocks

The annual Bill Cotter Birthday Bash was a staple in the 90's. Lots of bands and lots of fun! There are less bands than usual performing at this party but, these acts have been out of the spotlight for so long that it makes Cotter's 50th a rare treat.

BC-4

BC-4 (Bill Cotter Four ?) opened the evening's festivities with a set of 60's pop. From Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart to The Beatles and everything else in-between. It was the shirts! The shirts say it all. These guys are straight out of the Tom Hanks film "That Thing You Do".

This is Bill Cotter's newest project and . . . just like other gear sluts or fashion slaves. . . it's his excuse to play a Fender Mustang and a Gretch through a Vox amp!. I'm told that their Nehru jackets were on backorder.....
photo and review by Rick Dibello

The Shrugs


The Shrugs haven't been around with this lineup in a long while due to the self-imposed retirement by drummer Tony Krasinski. How did they get him out of the house?

As garage rock goes . . . these guys are the best! Eddie Sanford's original tunes are treasures . . . perfecrly executed by Tony, Brad Harrington and Willie Cotter. (Skillet Willie to his adoring fans)

Hooks. You ever hear the term "Hook" ? and I don't mean the movie. Way back . . . back before internet . . . back before Americon Idol . . . back before satellite tv . . . back before cable television was the music business phrase "hook". That was the part of the song that lured you into spending your cash. Today's music is predominately devoid of hooks or catchy choruses and instead just rambles on and on . . . can you spell DRONE. Like a bad Andrew Lloyd Weber tune (are there any good ones?). No catchy phrase, no melody to remember.

Not so with The Shrugs! An abundance of catchy tunes to shake your whamboozie stick at!

Excellent.

This version of the Shrugs almost seemed to have a common gene or telepathy . . . . or maybe they just shared one brain. Hard to determine. At any rate, I think they should hit the streets again . . . for everyone's benefit.

photo and review by Rick Dibello

The Bedrocks

The Bedrocks finished up the evening. An anxious crowd awaited their first appearance in over a decade? I'ts been so long I can't remember. These guys are almost single-handedly responsible for the original music scene in Erie.

Ever hear of Norb's Bar? Well . . . Tony & Dave Krasinski happen to be Norb's offspring. So, at some point in the early 80's they talked him into letting their band play every Friday night which snowballed into a very groovy original scene.

The Bedrocks sounded better than I've ever heard them. Heavily influenced by early U2 . . . with lean rythms and driving beats, they had the crowd rockin'. I was never a fan of U2 . . . . ok . . . I'll admit . . . I did like their first album . . . but that was it. The Bedrocks used that influence as a springboard to launch a unique sound all their own. 20 years later and it still sounds fresh. WILD!

And . . .like I said earlier about the Shrugs . . . . The Bedrocks should also hit the streets again!

photo and review by Rick Dibello

 




Previous Reviews