Ross The Boss

Ross The Boss, axeman supreme for The Dictators (among other bands), is revered by heavy metal fans for his shredding days as part of Manowar. I personally prefer his work within a more melodic structure, where he’s power-chording rhythm until bubbling over into a solo (that’s how most Dictators tracks work – think “Stay With Me” or “Science Gone Too Far”, for starters). Seeing his name in the credits on an album is always reason enough to listen.

I was never a big fan or the heavy metal efforts, but when he did return to crunching rock with The Spinatras, that was fun. Most Dictators fans I know weren’t even aware of the band, so I figure that has to qualify for an Under The Radar status. Here’s my original review from ten years ago as it ran in PopMatters…

Ross The Boss is the guitar player in this band. What, you’re still here? Get to the store now!

I would love to get away with writing a review like that, and I guarantee you that most of the fans of his work in The Dictators already went looking for their wallets. But for those of you still reading, Ross Friedman a.k.a. Ross Funicello a.k.a. “Ross The Boss” is one of the tastiest fret-meisters strutting this mortal coil, and “strut” is no idle adjective. Although his tenure in Man’O'War treaded the ponderous boards on occasion, with The Spinatras, he returns to basics — fun and rock and roll. As in air-guitar, head-bobbing songs with titles like “Dog” and “Ketchup”. Okay, so it’s not lyrically brilliant like Shernoff’s gems for The Dictators. Just play the damned thing loud, okay?

That’s not to say that they don’t sometimes bury topics in wads of Pearl Jam; the title track takes on Internet chat rooms, and “Anti Depressant” can get a little whiny if you don’t have much patience for vocals with a little grunge on the side. But right alongside them, there’s the absolutely unbridled pop SCHWINNGGGGGG of “Michelle” (an ode to blond Goddess Pfeiffer), the harmonic bounce and blistering guitar of “Comfort Zone,” the generation gap opus “Guess Again” and a walloping cover of “My Back Pages” (Bob Dylan, The Byrds) that sounds like an urban Jason & The Scorchers. In other words, when they don’t take themselves too seriously, they rock! And isn’t that what it’s all supposed to be about in the first place?

Brian Corley has that oh-so-snotty snarl down to a science. The rhythm section is no slouch, manned by forceful drummer Richie Fazio (is that a New Yawk name or what?) and fluid bassist Ron Giordano. Extra props to Giordano; there are no show-off bass solos, but you’re always aware of what he’s doing. And Ross The Boss is the guitar player. In case you forgot, Ross rules.

Trivia: @midnight.com was the first album title with “@” in it.

Listen/buy here.

The Dictators are playing on Potrero Hill.
It’s hot. I go and stand out back.
The only other person out back is a tall young guy.
Heavily tattooed and scarred and he’s smoking a cigar.

What’s your favorite number? he asks me.
Seven.
He holds up his middle finger.
There’s a seven tattooed on it.
He drives a cab.
He’s well read.
I guess he had a lot of time to read in jail.
Armed robbery, he says.
I don’t say anything, just stare at the busines card he presses in my hand.
That’s my beeper number, he says, you know, if you ever need a cab. Just put in the number seven. I’ll know it’s you.

Back in North Beach. 2:30 am, I’m at the bar in my pyjamas and a big sweatshirt that says Brooklyn on it that I stole from that one band’s dressing room. The bar is closed and we are locked in, drinking until dawn, except that I’m drinking coffee. I smoke super slim 120 cigarettes and don’t realize that they make me look like an asshole. I don’t talk to anyone. The woman sitting next to me sleeps gently with her head on the bar, hand still clutched around a glass of Green Chartreuse. I close my eyes. Everyone is on coke and green chartreuse. They sniff and talk:

Sometimes, when you’re out at sea for a long time, and you don’t see anybody or anything, strange things happen. Like, there’s a man who stands at the edge of my boat, looking at the horizon at night. He usually comes after I’ve been sailing for a while. I call him Captain Kirk. You want more coffee?
There’s a sniper on the roof in Chinatown.
What?
There’s a sniper on the roof in Chinatown!
I’m NOT drunk. Seriously.
Are you gonna stand there like a fucking idiot, or are you gonna play some goddamn dice?
I am psychic, you know. I can see your aura.
Whose bright idea WAS this?
I hate having to say goodbye every fucking time I leave somewhere. Why can’t I just fucking leave?
I was born a neurotic Jew.
But you’re not actually Jewish.
That’s just not the point.
That ticket I got today is more than my fucking god-damned rent.
Does my hair look O.K.?
He threw the gun up on the roof.
Why?
I don’t fucking know. Maybe he didn’t know what else to do with it.

Greenwich Avenue and I sit on the floor in my room. At night I listen to talk radio shows where people call in to talk about anal sex. I like talk radio because it makes me forget that I am sitting around in a room with posters and pictures and newspaper cuttings and books and over-turned orange-crates as furniture and no bed. But right now I’m listening to Weezer. The first album, the blue one. It’s been playing for a while. Every time it stops, I lean forward and press play again. Afternoon sun plays havoc with tired eyes.

Columbus Avenue. I sit on one side of the bar and Tim stands on the other side. He gives me free coffee and free food and we just stare at each other. We do this every day and I don’t even know how it began. We’ve never said more than two words at a time to each other, but now he looks at me and says,
I loved the sunflower you gave me.
Good.
I’m going to plant it in my backyard. They grow real tall.
It’s fake, I say after a while.
What?
It’s fake. The sunflower. It’s made of plastic. There’s an off/on switch on the bottom and when you turn it on it sings You Are My Sunshine and dances a bit.
Oh.
So you can’t plant it.
Oh.
In your backyard…my voice trails off. We go back to staring at each other silently.
You didn’t notice the off/on switch? I can’t help saying it. Now we both know he is stupid. My face doesn’t move an inch. Tomorrow we will act like it didn’t happen so that I can have free coffee and food and somewhere to sit where I feel safe and he can have someone sitting there opposite him that doesn’t say anything and looks OK because all the other customers are pricks and he’s sensitive to it.

Green Street. I buy cigarettes at the Korean place. I go to the other bar that I rarely ever go to. I’m still in my pyjamas. The dust motes hang in the air, almost motionless. Almost. A man sits down next to me. I don’t look at his face. I see his hands. The number seven on the middle finger. I push the bowl of pretzels toward him. I say,
Have a pretzel. Do they have pretzels in jail?

Greenwich Avenue. I sit on the floor in my room with posters and pictures and newspaper cuttings and books and over-turned orange-crates as furniture and no bed. I take my asthma inhaler and smoke my asshole super slim 120 cigarettes. When the record stops, I lean forward and press play. After midnight I switch to talk radio.
All I’m saying is that I got my fist so far up his ass that I was massaging his heart, it says to me.

.
The first decade of the century is gonna be over in 2 months; I think Grabbag is the only band that’s putting something out between now and then, so it’s safe to assume that the best punk records of the decade have been released already. I’m not putting any Stza Crack/Casualties bullshit in here either. I know that will raise some eyebrows, because this blog is based in Jacksonville. The asshole of culture

30.  The Delaware Octopus(2009)-House Boat
An album made by 30 year olds for 30 year olds. Grath Madden continues his attack on working life, false hope and girls in here and it makes for the most depressing but catchy album you’ll ever hear. Check out Grath and Ace’s old band, the Steinways, if you’re into this. You can follow the different stages of depression they’ve gone through for the last 5 years with the entire discography.

29. Hanging Out(2008)- Kepi Ghoulie
Divorcing his wife and breaking up the Groovie Ghoulies may have saved Kepi Ghoulie’s career.

28. Sex, Love and Rock n Roll(2004)-Social Distortion
I’m trying not to put too many “nostalgia picks” on here, but Mike Ness can still lay it down like he could when he made Mommy’s Little Monster. Except instead of writing about youthful rebellion and drugs he writes about his mid-life crisis.

27. On the Move(2007)-The Leftovers
I would’ve ranked this higher, but Ben Weasel produced this album. Fuck that guy.

26. S/T-Tragedy
There is no new age d-beat band better than Tragedy.

25. Ain’t it Funny…-Pretty Boy Thorson and the Fallen Angels
I had my country/folk punk pick narrowed down to to the F’n A’s and Johnny Hobo, but I flipped a coin and landed on PBT. Just kidding. I don’t listen to anyone as gay as Johnny Hobo.

24. Total Entertainment(2003)-Pansy Division
East Bay queercore at its finest, Pansy Division is still corrupting America’s youth after some 20 odd years. The only reason I’m involved in punk is the hope that I’ll get them to play “He Whipped My Ass in Tennis (Then I Fucked His Ass in Bed!)” while opening for Lynyrd Skynyrd at Freebird one day.

23. Hospitals(2006)-Off With Their Heads
I usually don’t put EPs on these kinds of lists, but there is just too much awesome packed into this one.

22. Learn the Hard Way(2008)-the Copyrights
Fast, aggressive and melodic from start to finish, this is one of those albums that makes you feel like you’ve been working out for 45 minutes when it’s over.

21. Bedroom Disasters(2004)-The Reatards
Jay Reatard was basically punk rock Jesus before he sold his soul to Matador for coke money.

20. S/T(2008)-The Dopamines
The hit on this album is a love song about a dog. No further explanation necessary.

19. Versus God(2000)-Dillinger Four
Erik Funk can do things with melodies that John Lennon could only do tripping on acid. This band completely changed punk when all we had was NOFX/Rancid/Weasel ripoffs.

18. Missed the Boat(2006)-The Steinways
So many nerd and dork anthems on this album. Music’s consumed by ego and these guys have none. Something as carefree and fun as Missed the Boat is really refreshing in an industry this full of shit.

17. Goodbye Cool World (2006)-Bomb the Music Industry
I’d call it the ska album of the decade, but Jeff Rosentock branches out too much for this to be a ska album. It’s the punk rock, not-gay White Album.

16. S/T(2003)-Limp Wrist
Definitely my favorite hardcore album of the last 10 years. If you don’t like this album, you are a closet homosexual who’s doing anything and everything to curb suspicion. The Nile isn’t just a river in Egypt.

15. Too Much Guitar(2002)-The Reigning Sound
Greg Oblivian is one of those rare revival artists who can make every garage rock band from the 60’s sound like the Strokes.

14. What’s For Dinner?(2006)-The King Khan and BBQ Show
Same can be said for Mark Sultan. If you wanna make pop-oriented, melodic garage rock and have no idea where to start, get this.

13. Mutiny Pop(2007)-The Copyrights
Hopeless trailer park trash and punk anthem after hopeless trailer park trash and punk anthem. It’s a shame they don’t play much fo this album live anymore.

12. Dream Homes(2009)-Dear Landlord
The long awaited debut album of this punk rock supergroup lived up to the hype. Anthem after anthem for everyone who drinks too much, works too little and wonders where the fuck they went wrong in life.
 
11. Sultanic Verses(2007)-Mark Sultan
Did I use the John Lennon/Acid analogy already? I’m too lazy to think of another one.

10. Don’t Worry About Me(2002)-Joey Ramone
Who would’ve thought the guy who wrote all those fun, catchy pop songs in the Ramones could put out something as dark and touching as this?

9. Gorilla Marketing(2008)-The Steinways
The Steinways took the light hearted, free spirited, fun formula they had with Missed The Boat and built on it in Gorilla Marketing. Shame they broke up a few months after the release, they were really finding their niche.

8. Situationist Comedy(2002)-Dillinger Four
You notice how all those bands that sound like Dillinger Four came out after 2002? That’s not a coincidence.

7. Upstairs/Downstairs (2008)-The Ergs!
The Ergs! are probably the most musically talented punk band I’ve ever heard. They were experimenting on this album and, while it’s a great listen, it shows.

6. D.F.F.D.(2001)-The Dictators
After the Ramones did “Too Tough to Die”, all of the CBGB era bands kinda fell into mediocrity. When everyone thought that scene was finished, the Dictators reunited and put out their best album. This is probably the last landmark album this generation will ever put out.

5. Blood Visions(2006)-Jay Reatard
Jay broke up the Reatards, stopped screaming, started singing and started listening to the Adverts a lot. It was actually a pretty good idea. I haven’t found anything as original as Blood Visions released in the last 10 years.

4. Time Bomb High School(2005)-The Reigning Sound
Probably the defining garage punk album of the decade. It has the raw, lo-fi sound the original garage rock bands, the aggressiveness punk added to it, and the melody-oriented sound of the newer generation.

3. Dorkrockcorkrod(2003)-The Ergs!
This album changed pop punk. Mikey Erg could’ve put out complete shit for the rest of his life after this album and he’d still be recognized as one of the greatest songwriters to ever grace us ingrates.

2. C I V I L W A R(2008)-Dillinger Four
After bands establish their sound, many times they’ll branch out of their genre and try new things. Or, they’ll stick to what they know, hone their craft and put out albums which can likely never be replicated. D4 did the latter.

1. Guitar Romantic(2003)-The Exploding Hearts

It’s hard for me to describe the Exploding Hearts. Powerpop won’t do it. Pop Punk won’t do it. Not even flat out “punk”, as subjective as it is, can describe them. They take every quality of every melody based underground genre from before
1980 and blend it into their own sound. You could say they started a new genre, except genres usually consist of more than one band, and no one else is talented enough to touch these guys.

ANGRY YOUNG MAN

Primal Scream – The Glory of Love, Molotov – Here we come, La Patrulla Espacial – Boogie del Humo, Raveonettes – Attack of the ghost riders, Finley Quaye – Spiritualize, The Cult – Spiritwalker, The Dictators – Baby let´s twist, Gary O´ – Get while you can, Relespública – A fumaça é melhor que o ar, Talking Heads – Air, Seychelles – Venus Sharapova, The Cure – 10:15 Saturday Night, Adicta – Allí Estare.

Here is the link to http://www.posterbomb.com for all of your Lowbrow art , books , rock posters , concert posters , pinstriping art , art prints & More!

Thanks for stopping in.
What you are going to see on this site is what has taken us years to culminate. As avid collectors of low brow, kustom kulture art and music, we thought, through the years, how difficult it has been trying find the things we need to scratch our proverbial itch. Enter, Poster Bomb. You will find this site to be very eclectic. All of the art is original, much of it limited release. Due to the nature of what we will offer you, the inventory will change frequently, and once it is sold, we will usually be unable to provide that particular piece again.
The art we offer is from artists that practice in many mediums; some are tattoo artists, some woodworkers, some metallurgists, and many cross those boundaries and defy categorizing. We have poured our heart and soul into trying to make this the newest in new, a place with a rotating inventory that will keep you on the edge of sensory overload. While we all here at Poster Bomb have put a piece of ourselves into the development, or birth, of our brainchild, we owe it all to the inspiration we have received from these artists. As hard as it has been to collect, it will be harder to part with what has taken years to acquire. Lastly, we owe our future successes to you, the individual, the tattoo artist, his client, the hot rodder, the bike builder, the musician, the person voraciously searching for what seemingly can never be found….until now. Enjoy browsing, and come back often. Welcome to POSTER BOMB!

Check out some of this awesome stuff from http://www.PosterBomb.com

NEW POSTER PRINTS ADDED FROM SCOTT FISK

(4) new limited edition poster prints from Hot Rod illustrator Scott Fisk. All poster prints are signed, numbered, and printed on 80# poster size stock, perfect for framing or you can hang em in the garage next to your ride. Check out more of Scott’s Hot Rod Art at www.car-tooner.com.

Real American Rock'n'Roll

Twenty-five years ago, a working man’s band swam upstream against the tide of electronica, arena rock and Euro-noodling to smack America upside its head and start the rock’n'roll bandwagon rolling again. Scott Kempner (“Top Ten” from The Dictators), Eric Ambel (fresh from Joan Jett and The Blackhearts), bassist Manny Calati and drummer Frank Funaro were NYC guys who thought the segregation of music into genres was absurd. They knew that rock’n'roll came from country, blues and gospel, and so too would their sound.

Call it roots rock, cowpunk, or Americana if you want to, but The Del Lords wrote heartfelt songs about the struggles and joy of life and played them with passion and fire. The first track from this debut album is the brilliant “How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live”, and if you need to define the band by a single moment, that’s as good a definition as any.

When Frontier Days announced their presence, radio didn’t get it. But those of us who were yearning for honest rock’n'roll were thrilled to climb on board for the ride, a journey that would last through five albums and a lifetime of memories. Lou Whitney’s bright production showed off the stellar guitar work of Kempner and Ambel, and while the four vocalists didn’t quite live up to Kempner’s goal of an “East Coast Beach Boys” (and didn’t The Four Seasons already own that title?), the vocals were solid and the album filled with melodic, hooky pop songs filtered through their barroom rock sound.

While millions of teenagers were pumping their fists to Bon Jovi’s “Living On A Prayer” in arenas around the world, The Del Lords were singing about the real adult world with ”Livin’ On Love” and “Double Life”. Anyone struggling to get through life, their job, or even their day could appreciate “Get Tough” and “Pledge of Love”; even the comic “I Play The Drums” deals with channeling frustration through music rather than pounding someone in the face. But don’t be fooled by that levity – these guys were as urban, gritty and streetwise in their way as The Clash were in theirs…not to mention Springsteen, Dylan, Presley and other American icons.

Kempner went on to release two excellent solo records and joins The Dictators when they get together; Ambel moved on to become an in-demand producer while continuing to make great music in bands like The Yayhoos; Funaro now plays drums for Cracker. But there’s a new buzz a quarter century later, from rumors of a reunion to the reissue of their catalogue (with bonus tracks). There are many bands whose output can be safely contained in a single greatest hits album, some even with filler. The Del Lords are not . Enjoy one of the finest American bands the way they were meant to be heard – in their entirety – and I highly recommend that you start at the beginning with Frontier Days.

The man who inspired their name.

Del Lords info at AllMusic

The Del Lords on Wikipedia

No voy a empezar la semana con complicaciones. Voy a hacerlo fácil. Hoy un disco de los Dictators, a los que todos ya conocéis ya que eran unos asiduos de los escenarios nacionales, a los que regresaron a finales del pasado 2008.

Formados en Nueva York a mediados/finales de los 70’s, nunca formaron parte del ambiente del CBGB’s o del Max. A pesar de que allí estaban, nunca gonzaron del favor de la crítica, como pasó con New York Dolls, Ramones o Dead Boys. Después, con el tiempo, han ganado mucha popularidad entre la pandilla rockeril. Lo que no sé si es porque son los únicos que pueden presentar sobre el escenario a sus miembros habituales o por ver a un ex guitarra de Manowar

The Dictators: ‘Bloodbrothers’ [Asylum Records, 1978]

01 – Faster & Louder
02 – Baby, Let’s Twist
03 – No Tomorrow
04 – The Minnesota Strip
05 – Stay With Me
06 – I Stand Tall
07 – Borneo Jimmy
08 – What It Is
09 – Slow Death

Descarga/Download

]]> http://olgarsson.wordpress.com/2009/03/20/massmord-och-popularmusik/ Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:03:37 +0000 David Olgarsson http://olgarsson.wordpress.com/2009/03/20/massmord-och-popularmusik/

Bara häromdagen slog det mig att jag aldrig någonsin lyssnat på bandet The Dictators. Men istället för att kolla upp bandet eller lyssna in mig på dem kunde jag inte låta bli att tänka på vilket slöseri med ett bra band-tema det var. Hade det inte varit hundra gånger roligare om de varit ett 60-talspopband med diktator-tema istället för ett pseudo-punkband aktivt under sent 70-tal?
Så mycket outnyttjad potential. Suck.

Richard  “Handsome Dick” Manitoba, American singer (The Dictators and MC5)

De acuerdo, el título me ha quedado obvio, pero me viene al pelo para comentar el ultimísimo bolo de los Dictators en Barcelona, primero de la mini gira, montado por Ruta66.

En primer lugar, celebremos el cambio de sala. El sonido de KGB es malísimo, así que el cambio a la 2 de Apolo es perfecto. Aunque para nuestra sorpresa está llenísimo, unas 300 personas me cuentan. Se ve que el co-promotor ha metido a más peña de la que hubiese sido habitual sólo con los neoyorquinos al incluir en el cartel a los Cancerberos, grupo clásico de hace muchos años que van y vienen y que según parece aún tienen público. Les veo casi al final, un par de temas, pero no me entusiasman.

Cuando por fin salen los Dictators, allí saltan chispas. Su gira española ya recurrente sigue siendo una fiesta, para ellos y nosotros. Mucho calor, como no recordábamos en aquella estupenda sala, y los de Manitoba que la empiezan liando como es habitual: New York New York y The Party starts now. Se les ve en plena forma, contentos y con muchas ganas. El sonido es crudo al principio, muy “in your face” como diría César Martín y el show gana en intensidad a medida que va avanzando. Weekend, Avenue B, Let’s twist, Savage Beat, The Next Big Thing, Pussy & Money, Who will save rock’n'roll, Loloya -con Andy Shernoff al frente-, Faster and louder, I am right. Tremendo, colosal; un montón de temas, hora y media de concierto. Las guitarras de Top Ten Kempner y Ross the Boss complementandose de maravilla y esa joya powerpopera que es Stay with me con la que llegan al final. En los bises, versión de Sonic Reducer y Two Tub Man, ovación y para casa.

De las cuatro veces que los he visto, esta es la que más he disfrutado. Y eso que, en un grupo que te impacta la primera vez que lo ves y luego simplemente los veneras aunque ya no hay sorpresa, es mucho decir.

En la fabulosa Pop Matters (linkada en la zona de Rockwebs), publicaron no hace mucho 20 preguntas con sus 20 respuestas a Handsome Dick Manitoba. Entre las perlas que salen por boca del gran Manitoba, estas:

“16. Stress management: hit man, spa vacation or Prozac?
I don’t wanna go to jail.  Screw the hippie spa and the lack of caloric gratification.  And drugs suck—Nancy Reagan was right! Let me lay out at the beach and do nothing.

“17. Essential to life: coffee, vodka, cigarettes, chocolate, or…?
I miss cigarettes more than anything I’ve ever been addicted to, but I don’t smoke now, so throw that one out. Vodka’s for chicks, chocolate is good, but I prefer the vanilla flavor, so at the moment, it would be coffee, hands down.“

Años atrás, The Dictators se habían convertido en unos habituales de nuestro país. Era raro que estuviesen un año sin hacer una gira por aquí o al menos un festival. Pero en el último par de años no recuerdo que hayan estado por aquí. En octubre se va a acabar la espera. Actuarán en cuatro ciudades, Barcelona, Alicante, Madrid y Bilbao.

Día 1 de octubre en Barcelona (La2)
Día 2 de octubre en Alicante (Sala Nave Ocho)
Día 3 de octubre en Madrid (Sala Heineken-Arena)
Día 4 de octubre en Bilbao (Kafe Antzokia)

La formación de la gira estará compuesta por:
Handsome Dick Manitoba, singer and frontman
Andy Shernoff, bass player, voice, writer
Ross Friedman “Ross The Boss”, lead guitar
Scott “Top Ten” Kempner, guitar
JP Patterson, drums