Alt-Nation: WBRU Memories and Biltmore’S Biscuit
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Alt-Nation: WBRU Memories and Biltmore’s Biscuit WBRU – Post-End of the Century Rock ‘N’ Roll Radio The news in recent days is that WBRU is possibly up for sale subject to a wider vote from their student council. This isn’t new, as it has been tried before, but the bids were approximately $14 million short of the desired asking price. I can’t control what happens when a bunch of 20-year-olds who watch YouTube and listen to Spotify are voting. Hey, the world changes — I get it. What I am going to talk about is what WBRU meant my teenage self. WBRU meant everything. I would sit by a cassette tape recorder hoping to catch my new favorite tune that I didn’t have the money to buy. WBRU pushed me over the edge to be a fan of The Rolling Stones by virtue of playing the 1989 single “Mixed Emotions.” It’s kind of a weird way to get into the Stones, but I’m sure Keith Richards has a better story on how he got into Muddy Waters. The point is, it was before the grunge explosion in 1991 when battles lines were drawn. You were friends with anyone wearing Doc Martens. WBRU has brought so many great and shitty bands to town over the years. It is easy to focus on the shitty ones, but I’m stuck on the great ones that changed my life. I don’t know how much the expense is to run a radio station these days and these kids are bred to make money. Maybe selling the station is the business practice they are there for. I lack a vote when it comes to the table, but want to emphasize how this station has meant so much to so many over the years. There would be a huge loss of shows without WBRU sponsorship. In the last few years, WBRU has provided unprecedented exposure to local bands. In the grunge revolution of the 1990s, the lines between corporate radio and BRU got muddled. Both the Clear Channel controlled 94 WHGY or whatever they want to call it — I Heart Radio, sure — spent half their day playing Pearl Jam’s first two albums and Nirvana, but the difference is WBRU mattered. The last disturbing trend is even WBRU’s annual Rock Hunt has been moved online. In a weird event, one can vote for past Rock Hunt Champions The Wandas among others. They suck. I have emails to prove their whiney ways. But what do I know? I’m the only one who writes an honest opinion. My opinion on WBRU is that we still need you. Biltmore – Revolutions & Romantics I don’t know if naming one’s band after an iconic hotel is weird or the most Rhode Island rock ‘n’ roll maneuver. If another band pops up called Dean or Omni I’m going to trash them, so don’t even think about it. For now, let’s discuss this biscuit, Revolutions & Romantics, from Biltmore. It is heavier on the latter than the former in the title. Biltmore fit into the alternative pop guitar genre. My first impression is that this is one smooth-sounding and lush record. Biltmore fall somewhere on the spectrum between the shimming reverb guitars of U2 and the pop instincts of American Hi-Five minus the humor. “Temper Temper” has a subdued Foo Fighters vibe. “Dirty Pillow” has a Killers covering R.E.M. vibe. “Glitter (Dance All Night)” doesn’t really make me want to dance all night. Does that make the song a failure? I don’t know because it really isn’t a bad song. “Thank You for Bringing Me Home” has a definite Springsteen vibe if the E Street Band was formed in 2002 instead of 1972. Maybe it is my inner degenerate gambler, but for some reason I’m always partial to songs that mention Las Vegas. If you want a good review from me, just insert “Vegas” in a line in the song and I’ll probably like it, which is all the more weird because I don’t like casinos. The only time I was in Vegas I slept something like a total of five hours over four days, so when singer/guitarist Phil Ayoub sings about “seeing her eyes at 5am in the Vegas Blue” on “Las Vegas Blue,” of course it hits home for me. Even if I put my own biases aside, the tune itself is really a beautiful, wistful number, probably my favorite here. “Going Out” is another rocker that hits home as I’m prone to paralyzing internal debates on whether to go out. Biltmore even nail the I-really-don’t-want-to-but-what-if-I-miss-something sentiment. Biltmore nails the satellite ballad quota with the broken-hearted “Stars in the Attic,” although I can’t help but picture someone doing slow interpretative dance moves in a room with glow-in-the-dark stickers on the ceiling. This is another thing that I may or may not do. So what have we learned here besides the similarities between Biltmore and my life? Revolutions and Romantics is chock full of dreamy rock ‘n’ roll with lyrics that set the scene. Biltmore was selected to compete in the annual Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble in Boston and as soon as they have the date, I’ll be tweeting them out or you can just go here: wzlx.cbslocal.com/category/rock-and-roll-rumble. Good luck to them as I don’t think a Rhode Island band has won the Rumble since the Amazing Royal Crowns’ triumph in the late ’90s. And unlike The Wandas, Biltmore don’t suck. Email music news to mclarkin33gmail.com Alt-Nation: The Sinister Sounds of the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, and beyond… An Evening with Lol Tolhurst, Founding Member of The Cure I’ve been a fan of The Cure for almost 30 years and don’t recall anything remotely related to them ever happening in Providence. That is part of what makes this a special night as co-founder Lol Tolhurst comes to town to promote his new book, Cured: A Tale of Two Imaginary Boys, which chronicles his time in the band as well as his lifelong friendship with Robert Smith who he has known since they were 5 years old. Tolhurst played drums and keyboards on such staples as Boys Don’t Cry, The Head on the Door, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, and Disintegration, among others, before leaving the band in 1989. For this event, Tolhurst will do a meet and greet where one can get a signed copy of Cured: A Tale of Two Imaginary Boys and you can ask him all those burning questions like why do Cure songs go from manically depressing to manically giddy, what Robert Smith’s preferred brand of lipstick is, and why Tolhurst left the band when they finally attained mass commercial success. In addition to the book signing, there will be dancing as Tolhurst and John O’Leary hit the decks to spin some new wave goth salsa for the soul. Advance tickets are going fast, so don’t snooze and lose. Midday Records and Alchemy present an evening with Lol Tolhurst, founding member of The Cure, which will go down at Dusk on February 18. Sha Na Na Watching Sha Na Na’s television show as a kid was one of the first things that got me into rock ‘n’ roll. While I can’t say I’ve followed anything they’ve done since, other than maybe part of an episode that was on a Ramones DVD, I’ve always respected that ’50s greaser throwback shtick. Sha Na Na did not invent nostalgia, but for the past four decades they have made a career out of celebrating it. From Grease to Woodstock, Sha Na Na has been there. This is a night to put on the black leather jacket, slick back the hair and cut loose to the sounds of the ’50s. Sha Na Na a Rock & Roll Celebration comes to the Greenwich Odeum in East Greenwich on February 18. John Doe Co-founder of the legendary ’70s Los Angeles punk band X, John Doe comes to Newport to get his troubadour thing on. Whether it is performing with X or solo, Doe has always been a voice of reason amidst the chaos of the world. Doe’s voice is arguably needed now more than any other time in his career given the polarizing times. I caught Doe solo several years ago at the old Jake’s, and he is one of those transcendental performers who just takes you places. I bought everything off his merch table, which, judging by my CD collection, amounted to thee albums. I’m sure he has more now. It isn’t X, rather more stripped raw blood and guts. It isn’t really all that far from later day X material like “See How We Are” and “4th of July” in reality. As an added bonus, also on this bill is Lenny Lashley of Darkbuster fame and Aquidneck Island legend Bob Kendall in what promises to be a night that will make memories for a lifetime. John Doe, Lenny Lashley, and Bob Kendall, Sammy Kay will rock the Café at the Parlor in Newport on February 24. Blue Oyster Cult I saw Blue Oyster Cult was coming and was first suspicious in a “is this like when The Temptations tour with their grandkids’ next door neighbor performing as the band” way.