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9.24.2004 Just a little reminder for y'all......tomorrow night (Saturday, Sept. 25th) at Cafe 111 www.cafe111online.com (it's not REALLY a cafe'.....) on Court St. in Downtown Brooklyn (the REAL New York!) It really is EASY to get there. Easier than walking down the street and getting asked for "a few seconds for Greenpeace" from an NYU white kid with dreadlocks. The whole band'll be there...hope you will be, too. Tom Shaner will be on at 9pm, followed by us at 10 Sharp. It's gonna be fun. Especially for me. I have some kinda cruel cold. I have more snot in my head than a whole first grade class in January. My voice is two octaves lower than Johnny Cash's. Sounds like puberty has finally kicked in. What's next? Chest hair? What about the ability to grow sideburns! (I did a Losers Lounge Neil Diamond tribute once, and had to spend $27 dollars on sideburns at a costume shop!!) Danny Li (of Botswana's and The Senders fame) came over with an armload of Skeeter Davis records, which I was excited about, until he informed me she had just passed away! God bless her wacky self. One of my favourite girl-duo songs of all time was her (With Betty Jack Davis, no relation) as The Davis Sisters singing "I Forgot More (than you'll ever know about him)" Just the title alone says it all! Maybe I'll work up a Skeeter song forSaturday. Hope you're well and diggin' this weather! 9.13.2004 Holy Crap. I can't believe it. The High Action Boys are doing a gig! I tell ya, sometimes getting a band together in the same room at the same time is about as easy as getting everything you actually ordered at a taco bell drive-thru window, or finding someone who admits to voting for "the idiot".....in other words......next to impossible. So when my old (and I mean old) friend Tom Shaner of Industrial Tepee called to say he was putting a night together at a cozy little place on Court street in Downtown Brooklyn, I said "sure, I wanna try out the new guitar I bought....just put it down as "Tom Clark" on the bill, and anyone else I get to do it is a bonus!" Well, as I walked by the bar the other day, the sign said "Tom Clark and the High Action Boys"....uh oh.....I didn't know if I could deliver that on a short notice......with Leo just getting back from the road, Phil on diaper duty and Craig just trying to stay out of general trouble (a full time job at that)....I made the calls, and the planets all lined up. We're on! Unbelievable! Like I said before "Holy Crap". This joint is a restaurant/bar atmosphere that sort of reminds me of some of the ol East Village haunts that fell by the way over the years (except it smells a WHOLE lot better, and the food is good!) I just saw the raucous Kenny Young and the Eggplants there and all I can say is "free Goldfish at the bar" (the cracker kind, not the state fair kind) That's worth the trip right there. We're ready GO! .....hope you are, too. It's very very close to where you are, and eeeeeeeeeasy to get to !! Directions to follow soon, or go to their website at www.cafe111online.com The date is Saturday, September 25th.......and I think we hit at 10 sharp (I'll let you know for sure soon enough) Can't wait to see you there. On another note (I can hear you sigh......"oh, Christ, here goes Tom again on another pointless, aimless rant....probably about string cheese or the like.........") No, not this time, Bucko! Just got back from Illinois (lock the front door, Oh Boy!!) Second time I've used that joke this week....anyway.....I really did just get back from visiting Ma Clark and the Kinfolk (sounds like a name for a band.....hmmmmm) Whilst I was there I took Ma Clark to her old stomping grounds, Maple Park, Illinois, for their 150 Year Celebration (my favorite quotes of the trip.....Mom seeing the "150 Year" bit and saying..."That can't be right, because I remember the Centennial.....ooooh....damn" and my mom discussing the downtown strip of buildings saying "the buildings are so short that if you wanted to kill yourself you'd have to jump off twice!" Good one, ma....good one...!) I had a great time....my Grandfathers blacksmith shop is being turned into a museum (!!), the fireworks display was huge (they had twice as many as they should, it rained last 4th of July....leftovers!) and the biggest Bratwursts you ever saw for a buck and a quarter. Not to mention my cousins Fred, Mel and Peg having that eerie awareness that my beer can was empty and getting a new one in my hand before I could say "hey, bartender"! I've discovered, also, that as well as my Punk Rock Nephew Brian, there's another upcoming rock star in the family and she's only a freshman in High School (same age I was when I did my first 2 hour gig!) My cousin Maggie just got her first Fender Stratocaster.........."Helllllllooo, Maple Park, are you ready to ROCK!?" She's got all the right influences (R.E.M., the Strokes, etc....) and she hangs out with the local slackers (bussed in from Sugar Grove! Home of The House Of Plenty All-You-Can-Eat Smorgasboard) Keep an ear out! Punk Rock Nephew Brian is gigging more steadily than his Uncle Tom (the "one we're not supposed to talk about...not in this house!!")! He's tearin' up the Midwest! Anywho.......see you on the 25th....I gotta go get the cobwebs off my amp! 7.11.2004 Hey, folks! Dig this line-up!!! what a hoot this'll be! For those of you who weren't there the other day to see me and Craig tear it up before David Johansen and the Harry Smiths, it was a HOT show, and I have the sunburn to prove it! This show is later in the day, right about beer drinking time. That's the best time. Dust off your Beatle wigs, Go Go Boots and Vietnam Uniforms and come on down to the Sea Port (hey, it's been a while since we let anything English land there!!!) It's great there, and you can get a Hot Dog for $14! Woooo Hooo!!!....I mean, FAB!!!!!! xo tom THE BEAT GOES ON IS BACK! Edward Rogers and Jeanne Stahlman present THE BEAT GOES ON: THE BEST OF THE BRITISH INVASION FROM THE BEATLES TO THE ZOMBIES FRIDAY JULY 30 -- 6:00 pm -- FREE @ THE SOUTH STREET SEAPORT The Beat Goes On, the much loved series which ran for several years at The Bottom Line, is back with a special edition of "The Best of The British Invasion," hosted by Ken Dashow of Q104. Featuring the songs of such great artists as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark 5, The Zombies, The Kinks, Dusty Springfield, The Yardbirds, Marianne Faithful, Donovan, Petula Clark, Georgie Fame and Peter & Gordon, among many others, the music of the 60s was inventive, new and fresh and still has a major influence on music today. On July 30th, as part of the River to River Festival at the South StreetSeaport, TBGO will take the stage with some of the best artists on the scene today, including Phoebe Snow, Michael Cerveris, James Chance, Jenni Muldaur, Christine Ohlman, Ivan Julian, Don Fleming, Edward Rogers, Tom Clark, George Usher, The Kennedys, Lisa Burns, Michael LeMonde, DL Byron, Tish & Snooky, Richard X Heyman, Carlton Smith, Howie Statland, Eddie Skuller, Marni Rice and Ron Mutone. The show will also feature a special performance by Billy J. Kramer, who will performing two of his hits -- "Little Children" and "Bad To Me." Music director Andy Burton (Ian Hunter, Peter Noone) has put together an amazing group of musicians who will serve as the house band for the evening, featuring Daniel Rey on guitar (Joey Ramone, Ronnie Spector); Steve Conte on guitar (currently with the New York Dolls, Willy DeVille); Sal Maida on bass (Roxy Music, Sparks); Steve Goulding on drums (Elvis Costello, Graham Parker); a string section featuring Claudia Chopek on violin and Leah Coloff on cello, with backing vocals by Tish and Snooky. Also on tap will be Britain's DJ Gaz Thomas spinning from his ultra rare record collection. Come on down and join us for what promises to be a night of sizzling summer fun. For additional information contact: beatclub69@aol.com or Jeanne Stahlman at 917 519-8311 6.24.2004 Hey....Me here! Yeah, yeah,yeah....The Irish Diaries are comin'. Soon. Over. the next couple days.....I've been in DSL hell with the old New Idiot Box. So...I've been on...gulp!...Dial Up! Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! !!!!! Couple/few things comin' atcha. First off, I'm playing a cool summer s= how next Sunday (the 27th) with The Lovin' Kind in Jackson Hei= ghts, Queens. It's an outdoor show in the park there (write me for details) and the band consists of the lovely and talented power-house singer Lisa = Burns, her Hubby, former Roxy Music/Sparks/Milk n Cookies Bassist Sal Maida, the incredible Dennis Diken (Smithereens) on drums and my= self on guitar. It's at 4:00 pm. Let the good times roll! Then, on Tuesday, July 6th I'll be playing a lunchtime show, again outside(!!) opening = for one of my all-time idols, David Johansen (New York Dolls, Buster Poindexter) with his fabulous band the Harry Smiths, at= the Seaport! It's an acoustic thing, but I'll try and make as much racket as I can....It starts at noon (somehow you gotta tell your boss that you gott= a do something over lunch......girls...all you have to say is those two magic words....Female Trouble....NOBODY wants to question THAT one!!) It's FR= EE!!! Hope to see you there. It's been a while. I forget what y'all look like! xo Tom 6.7.2004 Hi, Folks. Though (with Craigs help) I have FINALLY been working on our little trip diary (Ireland) and will get it out soon. In the meantime, I regret to say that as a friend and fan, we have lost one of the worlds most inventive guitarists .....ever.....Robert Quine. Kicking off his stellar career with the fantastic Blank Generation with Richard Hell and the Voidoids , he continued his amazing body of work with Lou Reed (on what a lot of people considered Lou's best post-Velvets work....The Blue Mask, Live in Italy, etc...) Marianne Faithful, Tom Wait's Rain Dogs, Brian Eno, Matthew Sweet's breakthrough record, Girlfriend, etc. etc.....and somehow, along the way, ended up on Tom Clark and the High Action Boys' Cross-Eyed and Bowlegged. Strange world, ain't it? I just have to pass on my memories of working with Bob (not counting the thousands of hours racked up just hanging out in Mojo Guitars with his running wry commentary on every and anything!) Years ago, we were doing another demo session for some label or another, and we didn't have a permanent band as much as just "who was available for whatever gig"....which was fine by me at the time. I needed a band for the recording. I had laid down basic tracks with Lenny Kaye producing, Tony Shanahan on bass, Joe McGinty on piano and organ and Joseph "Doggie" Hughes on drums out at the wonderful Excello Studios in (yet to be hip) Williamsburg. The songs were two I had just written called "She Had A Good Heart" and "Small Town, New Semester". They needed 'something', and I had to figure out what that was, quick. I was hanging out at Mojo's one day (a daily occurrence then......my girlfriend would come home from work and say "what did you do today?" "I hung out at Mojo's"...."what else?" "ummmm, nothing......just hung out at Mojo's!" ahhhhh, to be young and carefree!) and I was playing some old Gretsch and butchering a solo off a Gene Vincent record (which I still can't play) and Quine turned around and looked at me and and said "Is that Race With The Devil" by Gene Vincent??!! I was almost too ashamed to admit it...."well....sort of!" Off we went....talking about music from that period when he hit paydirt with me by saying "I saw Buddy Holly in Ohio...before he had his teeth capped" He actually SAW Buddy Holly play. He went on to tell me he had two shrines in his house, one to James Burton (see Elvis/Ricky Nelson/Gram Parsons/Merle Haggard/etc.) and one to guitar great Mickey Baker. I got the nerve to say "Hey, would you be, by any chance, interested in playing on something I'm doing right now?" Thinking....there's noooo way..... He said "ahhhh, drop a tape off here and I'll get back to you"....yeah.......right. Well, the next day I dropped a tape off, and that night I got a phone call, and right out of the gate, barely past 'hello' he said "would it be alright if I played a Byrds type thing on this one and...." In the words of Ralph Kramden..."huminah huminah huminah.......!!!" Is it alright??? So he did it. And it was FUN. The song he played "the Byrds thing" on was "She Had a Good Heart", and to polish the song off, Jeff Buckley came in and did all the background vocals. It's getting harder and harder to listen to that song with out getting a little choked up! When I would see him after he did those songs, he would always say "When are we gonna finish that record?" He said he wanted to play on the whole thing! He was one of a kind. And I mean that. Robert never got over the recent passing of his beloved wife, and now they're together again, and he can continue to be the cantankerous pain-in-the-ass we all loved and will remember fondly. If you're interested in seeing just what Robert Quine has done, check out this website, it's very well done..... http://home.earthlink.net/~stayclean/recordings.html Thanks, Bob, for all you've left us with! Tom Clark
4.8.2004 Well, here it is, there's gonna be one more or so...but tell your friends and relations where we'll be, and we PROMISE to sleep on their couches and in their guest rooms (read: barns) We'll come back with stories, photos, and sore livers. Hang in there and try to get along without us. XO Tom and Craig (I promised not to call you "LIttle Craiggy Chesler"...so I won't.....cry baby....)
4.2.2004 Top O' the Mornin', y'all! Yeah, that's right. Me and Young Craig Chesler are heading off to Ireland soon on behalf of the High Action Boys....sort of 'good will ambassadors' from the Garbage Isle to the Emerald Isle...and in gearing up for it, we are doing a warm up gig on Monday the 5th at Sin-e at 9:00 sharp! Since I first went to Ireland in '91, I would always do my last show before leaving at Sin-e, the original one on St. Marks. So in keeping with tradition (now that Shane has opened the newer, much larger Sin-e) we'll do it there again! Someday I'll write a little piece about the "old days" there. Good memories. It's an early show (I know it's a school night) and we'll be playing about 40 minutes....blazing acoustically (or stumbling woodenly) through a bunch of songs we'll be playing on this trip. Also, we made a little acoustic e.p. for Ireland only (ha haaaaa!) that we made under the influence of red wine and chili dogs over the course of a couple nights. It is NOT Sgt. Pepper's for a lot of reasons, but it was fun to make. We had a little too much fun making it, if you know what I mean. It might be available at some point soon to you Yanks.....it's a preview of 3 songs we are gonna put on the next H.A.B.'s record (except they'll be real versions with Leo and Philip!) and one new Craig Chesler composition (that I can't get out of my head!). It's "I'll Run Circles Around Those Guys", "Don't Push Me Into Someone Else's Arms", "Whatever's Bein' Said" and Craig's new masterpiece, "Nothing Out Of Something" on the the e.p.. Brother Leo mixed and fixed it for us before heading out on the road once again with Ben Folds. I might put an mp3 up on the site. Oh, I had to name it something, and couldn't think of anything, sooooo, down in the Blacksmith Shop, where this was recorded, I have a habit of yelling at everybody to "shake the handle" after using the facilities, or it will keep on running and make everyone's recording sound like it was done at Niagara Falls, so, this cd is affectionately called "Shake the Handel" Yes, I realize how 'Handel' is spelled. It's a little joke, like Roll Over Beethoven...ahhh, forget it... Oh, by the way....Poor poor poor Craig. He'll be in a country with 300 year old bars, and he won't be able to have a smoke (the smoking ban went into effect last week in Ireland! I wonder if it was their Mayor Mick O'Bloomberg that did it!) I said "at least you'll be used to it!" Craig just mumbled something under his breath about how would I like to be "used to" having a shillelagh shoved somewhere ..........Anyway......... I'll have an itinerary up later for you folks to tell all your friends across the pond about...where we will be, etc.....we will be busy! Can't wait to see our friend (my oldest pal from NY, pretty much!!) Hank Wedel and his band Open Kitchen, and (drum roll, please) The Tom Clark Tribute Band in Dublin (howdy, Niall and Conor!) I'm not kidding. These young kids these days....they have TASTE! So, Monday, April 5th, 9:00 (get there early, I'll be there!) at Sin-e, which is on Attorney St. (where The Parkside is on the corner) between Houston and Stanton. We will be back on the scene with Philco and Leopold when we get back at the end of April. See you Monday! Tom
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